============================================================================== General Rulings Summary (CHANGES ONLY) Updated 2002/02/27 ============================================================================== Rulings are collected from many sources. See credits and disclaimer at the end of the file for details. This release is under rules used by SIXTH EDITION and SEVENTH EDITION. Both of these editions use the same rules. These rulings are updated monthly. The most recent version is available on the web (WWW) as the following: http://www.crystalkeep.com/magic/rules/index.html A '+' is used to mark changes since the 2002/01/12 release. Thanx, Stephen. ---- Stephen D'Angelo | Official Rulings Summary NetRep dangelo@crystalkeep.com | Network Representative, Wizards of the Coast, Inc. ============================================================================== Table of Contents: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ No changes to this section. A - Abilities ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ A.3 - Static Abilities + A.3.3 - A static ability may apply while a spell is on the stack. For example, Kaervek's Torch. These are usually limited to restricting targeting or countering of the spell, but also can include additional costs ("As an additional cost to play...") and optional cost ("You may pay rather than paying...") abilities. [CompRules 2002/02/20 - 412.4] + A.3.4 - A static ability that modifies how or whether you can play a card applies while that card is in a zone from which it can be played (usually your hand). [CompRules 2002/02/20 - 412.4] A.24 - Madness + A.24.1 - The ability is written "Madness ". [D'Angelo 2002/02/23] + A.24.2 - This ability has two abilities that are part of it. The first one is "If a player would discard this card from his or her hand, that player discards it but may remove it from the game instead of putting it into his or her graveyard." The second one is, "Whenever this card is removed from the game this way, until he or she passes next, he or she may play it at any time he or she could play an instant as though it were in his or her hand by paying rather than paying its mana cost. When he or she passes next, be or she puts it into his or her graveyard." [CompRules 2002/02/20 - 502.24a] + A.24.3 - Playing a card using this ability follows the rules for alternate costs (see Rule E.1). [CompRules 2002/02/20 - 502.24b] + A.24.Ruling.1 - The fine grain timing around this ability can be a bit difficult to follow. What happens is that if you discard the card (it does not matter why you are discarding), then you get the choice of whether or not you want a chance to play the card. If you don't want to, simply put it in your graveyard as normal. If might want to, you do not pay at this time. Instead you remove the card from the game and put a triggered ability on the stack (as per those rules, see Rule A.3). What this means is that players may respond to this trigger with other spells and abilities. Once any responses are resolved and both players pass, the triggered ability resolves. You can now play that spell just like you would as if it were in your hand (but it is not in your hand) by paying the Madness cost instead of the mana cost. And this spell can be played any time an instant is legal, regardless of its type. As normal, you can only play a spell or ability when it is your opportunity to do so. The text saying "until he or she passes next" means that you can choose to put other spells or abilities on the stack prior to playing the Madness spell. [D'Angelo 2002/02/23] + A.24.Ruling.2 - You are in no way required to play the spell even if you choose to remove it from the game. You can simply choose to pass when you have a the chance to play something and the Madness spell is placed into the graveyard. The timing for putting it into the graveyard is also a bit odd since this is also a triggered ability. When you pass, put a triggered ability on the stack. When that ability resolves, the card it put into the graveyard. [D'Angelo 2002/02/23] + A.24.Ruling.3 - Madness does not allow you to discard the card just because you want to. Another spell, ability, or game rule has to cause the card to be discarded. [D'Angelo 2002/02/23] C - Combat Rules ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ C.4 - Step 3: Declare Blockers + C.4.Ruling.9 - As per Rule C.4.6, once a creature is a "blocking creature", it remains one. Even removing the attackers it blocked from combat will not change this status. So if a spell or ability affects "blocking creatures" the creature will be affected. If the spell or ability asks if the creature is "blocking a creature", however, the answer is "no". To put this in plainer language, asking if a creature is a "blocking creature" means the same as "is involved in the combat on the defending player's side" while "blocking a creature" is a specific question about how it is involved. [D'Angelo 2002/02/23] D - DCI Tournament Rules ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ D.13 - Type 1 Tournament Format + Note - Torment becomes legal on 2002/03/01. + D.13.8 - Some cards are 'restricted' so that only one may appear in the combination of deck and sideboard. These cards are: [Update 2001/12/01] Ancestral Recall, Hurkyl's Recall, Regrowth, Balance, Library of Alexandria, Sol Ring, Berserk, Lotus Petal, Strip Mine, Black Lotus, Mana Crypt, Stroke of Genius, Black Vise, Mana Vault, Time Spiral, Braingeyser, Memory Jar, Timetwister, Channel, Mind Over Matter, Time Walk, Crop Rotation, Mind Twist, Tinker, Demonic Consultation, Mox Diamond, Tolarian Academy, Demonic Tutor, Mox Emerald, Vampiric Tutor, Doomsday, Mox Jet, Voltaic Key, Dream Halls, Mox Pearl, Wheel of Fortune, Enlightened Tutor, Mox Ruby, Windfall, Fact or Fiction, Mox Sapphire, Yawgmoth's Bargain, Fastbond, Mystical Tutor, Yawgmoth's Will, Fork, Necropotence, Frantic Search, Recall, Grim Monolith. D.14 - Type 1.5 Tournament Format + Note - Torment becomes legal on 2002/03/01. + D.14.9 - Some cards are 'banned' so that none may appear in the deck or sideboard. These cards are: [Update 2001/12/01] Amulet of Quoz, Fork, Recall, Ancestral Recall, Frantic Search, Regrowth, Balance, Grim Monolith, Sol Ring, Berserk, Hurkyl's Recall, Strip Mine, Black Lotus, Jeweled Bird, Stroke of Genius, Black Vise, Library of Alexandria, Tempest Efreet, Braingeyser, Lotus Petal, Time Spiral, Bronze Tablet, Mana Crypt, Timetwister, Channel, Mana Vault, Time Walk, Chaos Orb, Memory Jar, Timmerian Fiends, Contract from Below, Mind Over Matter, Tinker, Crop Rotation, Mind Twist, Tolarian Academy, Darkpact, Mox Diamond, Vampiric Tutor, Demonic Attorney, Mox Emerald, Voltaic Key, Demonic Consultation, Mox Jet, Wheel of Fortune, Demonic Tutor, Mox Pearl, Windfall, Doomsday, Mox Ruby, Yawgmoth's Bargain, Dream Halls, Mox Sapphire, Yawgmoth's Will, Enlightened Tutor, Mystical Tutor, Fact or Fiction Necropotence, Falling Star, Rebirth, Fastbond. D.15 - Extended Tournament Format + Note - Torment becomes legal on 2002/03/01. D.18 - Block Constructed Deck Formats + D.18.2 - The current "blocks" are: Ice Age/Homelands/Alliances, Mirage/Visions/Weatherlight, Tempest/Stronghold/Exodus, Urza's Saga/Urza's Legacy/Urza's Destiny, Mercadian Masques/Nemesis/Prophecy, Invasion/Planeshift/Apocalypse, and Odyssey/Torment. + D.18.9 - No cards are 'banned' for the Odyssey/Torment format. E - Extracted Rulings on Cards ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ No changes to this section. G - Game Terms and Rules ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ G.4 - Colorless Mana + G.4.2 - Colorless mana is specified in text such as "one colorless mana". [D'Angelo 2002/02/01] Colorless mana may also be specified on cards using a gray circle with a number in it. [WotC Rules Team 2002/02/01] G.11 - Damage Prevention + G.11.6 - Unpreventable damage will not use up points of a damage prevention "shield" that counts points of damage. Unpreventable damage will not use up a general damage prevention "shield". [WotC Rules Team 2002/02/01] G.17 - Generic Mana + G.17.Ruling.2 - A few older cards used the generic mana symbol when they talk about mana they generate. All such cards have errata to say they generate colorless mana instead of using that symbol. [D'Angelo 1998/05/28] The rules now allow for the use of the number in a gray circle for use in the generation of colorless mana, so this may show up on newer cards as well. [WotC Rules Team 2002/02/01] G.39 - Targeting--Announcing and Resolving + G.39.Ruling.3 - During targeting checks, the current game state is always used. This is usually obvious, but in casese where indirect information is asked for (such as "the card target spell is targeting") it might be tempting to apply the last known information rule, but this is not correct. [Barclay 2002/02/12] K - Card and Permanent Types and Information ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ K.26 - Tombstone Icon + K.26.1 - Cards may include a tombstone icon on the upper left corner of the card, by the card name. [WotC Rules Team 2002/02/01] + K.26.2 - This icon has no game effect. It has been added to newer cards to make it easier to identify cards that have an ability that can be used while the card is in the graveyard. [WotC Rules Team 2002/02/01] M - Multi-Player Rules ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ No changes to this section. P - Phases of the Turn ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ P.2 - Phases of the Turn + P.2.3 - A spell or ability may grant a player an additional turn after the current one. If multiple additional turns are granted during one turn, take these additional turns in the reverse to the order granted. In other words, the most recently granted extra turn is taken first. [CompRules 2002/02/20 - 300.6] (This is a big REVERSAL. Extra turns used to be taken in the order granted.) T - Timing of Spells and Abilities ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ T.4 - Step 1: Announcing a Spell or Ability + T.4.Ruling.5 - As noted in Rule T.4.2, any additional or optional play costs are dealt with after the spell or ability is on the stack. [CompRules 2002/02/20 - 412.3] T.8 - Continuous Effects + T.8.4 - If the end condition for a continous effect using the "as long as" template for the end condition is met before the effect is applied, then the effect never takes place. You do not apply the effect and then end it, and you do not let the effect continue until end of game. For example, if an effect lasts "as long as this card remains tapped" and the card untaps before the effect is applied, then the effect never is applied. [WotC Rules Team 2002/02/01] If the end condition for other templates, primarily "until ", is met before the effect is applied, you wait for the next time that condition occcurs. [WotC Rules Team 2002/02/01] U - Unglued ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ No changes to this section. Z - Zones of Play ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ No changes to this section. Index ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ No changes to this section. Acknowledgements and Disclaimers ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ While this work is not officially issued by Wizards of the Coast, it is the official collected rulings from official sanctioned representatives of and publications by Wizards of the Coast. This summary is collected from rulings made by officials and network representatives of Wizards of the Coast, along with a number of unofficial rulings also collected from the net. Whenever a source for a ruling is known, the name of that person is listed with the ruling. "Aahz" is Tom Wylie, the former Magic Rules Manager. "Barclay" is Paul Barclay, the previous MTG-L mailing list NetRep. "bethmo" is Beth Moursund, the Rules Manager at Wizards of the Coast, and former MTG-L mailing list NetRep. "CompRules" marks rules from the Sixth Edition Comprehensive Rules. "D'Angelo" is Stephen D'Angelo, the Rules Summary network representative, and former MTG-L mailing list NetRep. "DeLaney" is David DeLaney, the network representative for the "rec.games.trading-cards.magic.rules" newsgroup. "Dommermuth" is Brady Dommermuth. "Encyclopedia, Page " marks errata from the Magic Official Encyclopedia. "Fifth Edition, Page " marks rules from the Fifth Edition rulebook. "Jackson" is Collin Jackson, the DCI Rules Documentation NetRep. "Jordan" is Jeff Jordan, the MTG-L mailing list NetRep. "Mirage, Page " marks rules from the Mirage rulebook. "Peterson" is Paul Peterson, a previous MTG-L mailing list NetRep. "Tempest, Page " marks rules from the Tempest rulebook. "WotC Rules Team" marks official rulings from the rules team. These files may be freely copied and posted anywhere you'd like. The contents can also be included in other formats (such as HTML or databases) or in products, but there are two restrictions. I insist that the files are not sold for profit. Anything you put them in must be available at no more than cost of duplication. Also, you must give credit to me and list the version date your work is derived from. Thanks. Every attempt has been made to make this summary accurate, but errors do creep in. Nothing in this work is guaranteed to be accurate. Use at your own risk. Magic: The Gathering and all of the cards listed herein are copyrighted by Wizards of the Coast.