============================================================================== General Rulings Summary (CHANGES ONLY) Updated 2003/02/21 ============================================================================== 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 2003/01/22 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.7 - Amplify + A.7.1 - The ability is written as "Amplify X", where X is a number. + A.7.2 - The text "Amplify X" means "As this card comes into play, reveal any number of cards from your hand that share a creature type with this card. This card comes into play with X +1/+1 counters on it for each card revealed this way. You can't reveal this card or any other cards that are coming into play at the same time as this card." [Legions FAQ 2003/01/23] + A.7.3 - If a card has multiple Amplify abilities, each one applies separately. [Legions FAQ 2003/01/23] + A.7.4 - The player who will control the creature is the one that gets to reveal cards. [Legions FAQ 2003/01/23] + A.7.Ruling.1 - Since this ability applies as the card comes into play, you reveal cards when it is on the spell stack resolving or when some other spell or ability is resolving that puts it into play. [D'Angelo 2003/02/01] + A.7.Ruling.2 - The card Artificial Evolution can modify a card's creature types before it enters play, which will modify what you can reveal. [Legions FAQ 2003/01/23] + A.7.Ruling.3 - If multiple cards with Amplify are going to come into play at the same time, you can reveal the same cards for each of them if you want. [Legions FAQ 2003/01/23] + A.7.Ruling.4 - A copy card that enters play as a copy, such as Clone, does get to use the Amplify ability. A.13 - Double Strike + A.13.1 - The ability is written "Double Strike". + A.13.2 - This ability means that the creature deals damage during both the first strike and non-first strike damage dealing steps in combat. [Legions FAQ 2003/01/23] See Rule C.5.9. + A.13.3 - This is a static ability (see Rule A.3) that modifies the rules for the combat damage step. [Legions FAQ 2003/01/23] + A.13.4 - This is a non-cumulative ability. Having Double Strike more than once gives no additional effect. See Rule A.1.2. [Legions FAQ 2003/01/23] + A.13.Ruling.1 - Double Strike is not First Strike. Effects that make a creature lose First Strike will not make it lose Double Strike. [Legions FAQ 2003/01/23] A.28 - Morph + A.28.6 - Some cards have an ability that triggers when the card is turned face up. These can trigger due to the Morph ability being used or by any other effect that turns them face up. They do not trigger from leaving play or being revealed. [Legions FAQ 2003/01/23] + A.28.Ruling.4 - You cannot pay the Morph cost for a card that is already face-up. The Morph cost can only be paid when the card is face down. [D'Angelo 2003/02/16] A.31 - Provoke + A.31.1 - The ability is written "Provoke". + A.31.2 - A creature with "Provoke" means "Whenever this creature attacks, you may have choose to have target creature defending player controls block this creature this combat if able. If you do, untap that creature." [Legions FAQ 2003/01/23] + A.31.3 - Provoke is a cumulative ability. Having Provoke more than once will cause each Provoke ability to trigger. For example, a creature with Provoke twice will get to choose two defending creatures. [Legions FAQ 2003/01/23] + A.31.Ruling.1 - You can choose a creature that is already untapped if you want to. [Legions FAQ 2003/01/23] + A.31.Ruling.2 - If the chosen creature is unable to block for any reason (such as becoming tapped before blockers are assigned) there is no penalty. But if it can block this attacker, then it must. [Legions FAQ 2003/01/23] + Note - Also see Must Attack or Block, Rule C.7. A.35 - Trample + A.35.Ruling.1 - If a creature was damaged prior to combat damage being assigned (by a spell or during the first strike combat damage step), you only need to assign enough additional damage to make the creature have damage on it equal to its toughness before satisfying the Trample rules. In other words, enough to make the creature have lethal damage (see Rule K.10.4). [CompRules 2001/07/23 - 502.9b] C - Combat Rules ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ C.5 - Step 4: Combat Damage + C.5.9 - If an attacking or blocking creature has First Strike or Double Strike when combat damage would normally start, then there are two Combat Damage steps. In the first one, only creatures with First Strike or Double Strike assign and deal damage. In the second one, any attacking or blocking creatures which did not assign damage in the first step or that have Double Strike do so. Creatures which are destroyed in the first step are removed from combat before the second step, so they do not get to deal damage. [CompRules 2001/07/23 - 502.2b] [Legions FAQ 2003/01/23] If a creature gains or loses First Strike between the steps, this change will be ignored. The check for whether or not a creature has first strike is only performed once and determines if the creature deals damage in the first or second damage step. [CompRules 2001/07/23 - 502.2c] If a creature gains Double Strike between steps then it will deal damage in the second step. If it loses Double Strike between steps then it will not deal damage during the second step. [Legions FAQ 2003/01/23] C.7 - Must Attack or Block + C.7.5 - If a creature is required to block more creatures than it can legally block, then the defender chooses which creature(s) to block, but must choose to block as many as possible. [D'Angelo 1999/05/01] D - DCI Tournament Rules ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ D.13 - Type 1 Tournament Format + Note - Legions becomes tournament legal on 03/01/03. D.14 - Type 1.5 Tournament Format + Note - Legions becomes tournament legal on 03/01/03. D.15 - Extended Tournament Format + Note - Legions becomes tournament legal on 03/01/03. D.16 - Standard Tournament Format + D.16.2 - Decks can be composed of cards from the most recent edition of The Gathering (currently Seventh Edition) and all sets from the two most recent "blocks" (currently Odyssey/Torment/Judgment and Onslaught/Legions). A "block" is a stand-alone set and the two expansion sets which follow it. This means that cards stay in use for approximately two years. [Tournament Rules 1997/10/01] + Note - Legions becomes tournament legal on 03/01/03. E - Extracted Rulings on Cards ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ E.5 - Face Down Cards + E.5.Ruling.9 - If a copy card is turned face down, its base characteristics are retained until it turns face up. If it had the Morph ability when turned face down, then that ability can be used to turn it face up. [Jordan 2003/02/16] + E.5.Ruling.10 - It is possible for some changable copy cards to be face down at the time they would be changed. If this occurs, the change modifies the face-down characteristics. For example, if a Vesuvan Doppelganger is copying a creature with Morph at the beginning of your upkeep, Backslide could be used to turn it face down before the triggered ability resolves. Then, when the ability resolves, it would take on the new form for its face-down characteristics. [Jordan 2003/02/16] G - Game Terms and Rules ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ G.12 - Damage Redirection + G.12.8 - If damage from a single source is redirected by multiple redirection effects to a single destination, then the damage from all of those redirections arrives as a single chunk of damage from that source as if the source damaged that destination directly. For example, if Lancers en-Kor was used three times to redirect 1 damage three times to a destination, this is identical to using a single redirection of 3 damage. [Barclay 2003/02/21] K - Card and Permanent Types and Information ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ No changes to this section. M - Multi-Player Rules ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ No changes to this section. P - Phases of the Turn ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ No changes to this section. T - Timing of Spells and Abilities ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ No changes to this section. U - Unglued ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ No changes to this section. Z - Zones of Play ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Z.6 - Library + Z.6.Ruling.3 - If a zone is partially revealed (for example, the top card of your library is revealed), then rule Z.6.9 still applies as if the entire zone were not revealed. So even if you're asked to search for something that everyone knows is on the top of the library, you can choose not to find it. [Barclary 2003/02/10] 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.