============================================================================== General Rulings Summary (CHANGES ONLY) Updated 03/17/99 ============================================================================== Rulings are collected from many sources. See credits and disclaimer at the end of the file for details. These rulings are updated monthly. The most recent version is available on the web (WWW) as either of the following: http://www.crystalkeep.com/magic/rules/index.html If you do not have web access, send e-mail to "dangelo@crystalkeep.com" requesting a copy of the current Rulings Summaries. A '+' is used to mark changes since the last released version on 02/17/99. 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.16 - Echo: + A.16.1 - The ability is written "Echo". All cards include reminder text defining the ability as "During your next upkeep after this permanent comes under your control, pay its casting cost or sacrifice it." [Urza's Saga Rule Page] The rulings are made based on a wording more like "During your upkeep, if this card came under your control since your previous upkeep, pay its casting cost or sacrifices it." [D'Angelo 03/03/99] + A.16.Ruling.5 - If you manage to have it in play through an upkeep, but don't have to pay the echo (for example, if its abilities are ignored due to Humility), then you can manage to avoid the echo payment. [D'Angelo 03/03/99] C - Combat Rules ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ No changes to this section. D - DCI Tournament Rules ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ D.10 - Rules of Play + D.10.3 - After drawing your initial hand for a game, you have the option of calling a Mulligan. To do this, simply shuffle your hand back into your library and draw a hand with one fewer cards. For example, if you Mulligan once, you start the game with just 6 cards in your hand, not 7. [Tournament Rules 09/01/98] + D.10.4 - The player who is to play first chooses whether or not to Mulligan first. Once that player stops calling Mulligans, the other player chooses if they want to. [Tournament Rules 09/01/98] + D.10.Ruling.1 - In previous tournament rules, the standard Mulligan was done if a player had no land cards in their initial hand of 7 cards (and had to reveal their hand to their opponent). Each player got one free Mulligan without losing a card from their hand, and had no option for additional Mulligans. If one player called a Mulligan, the other player also had the option to redraw their hand for no cost. [Tournament Rules 10/01/96] D.11 - Sideboard + D.11.6 - Players cannot look through their sideboards during play. [Tournament Rules 09/01/98] D.13 - Classic Tournament Format + D.13.2 - Decks can be composed of cards from any edition or expansion of Magic which use the normal card back (unless the judge says otherwise). Collector's Edition cards are not allowed. Promotional cards are allowed. The poker cards are not allowed (despite the April Fools article in the Duelist). [Tournament Rules 10/01/97] Unglued cards with a silver border are also disallowed. + D.13.4 - New card sets become effective on the first day of the month following their introduction. If a set is released after the 15th day of a month, then the set's effective date is pushed out to the first of the second month. For example, a set released on January 8th is legal on February 1st, and one released on January 25th is legal on March 1st. [Tournament Rules 10/01/97] [bethmo 02/24/99] + Note - As of 04/01/99, Time Spiral is restricted, and Maze of Ith is unrestricted. [Tournament Update 03/01/99] + Note - As of 04/01/99, Memory Jar is restricted. [Tournament Update 03/11/99] D.14 - Classic-Restricted Tournament Format + D.14.4 - New card sets become effective on the first day of the month following their introduction. If a set is released after the 15th day of a month, then the set's effective date is pushed out to the first of the second month. For example, a set released on January 8th is legal on February 1st, and one released on January 25th is legal on March 1st. [Tournament Rules 10/01/97] [bethmo 02/24/99] + Note - As of 04/01/99, Time Spiral is banned. [Tournament Updated 03/01/99] + Note - As of 04/01/99, Candelabra of Tawnos, Copy Artifact, Maze of Ith, and Mishra's Workshop are no longer banned. [Tournament Update 03/01/99] + Note - As of 04/01/99, Memory Jar is banned. [Tournament Update 03/11/99] D.15 - Extended Tournament Format + D.15.3 - New card sets become effective on the first day of the month following their introduction. If a set is released after the 15th day of a month, then the set's effective date is pushed out to the first of the second month. For example, a set released on January 8th is legal on February 1st, and one released on January 25th is legal on March 1st. [Tournament Rules 10/01/97] [bethmo 02/24/99] + Note - As of 04/01/99, Memory Jar is banned. [Tournament Update 03/11/99] D.16 - Standard Tournament Format + D.16.2 - Decks can be composed of cards from the most recent edition of The Gathering (currently Fifth Edition) and all sets from the two most recent "blocks" (currently Tempest-Stronghold-Exodus and Urza's Saga-Urza's Legacy). 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 10/01/97] + D.16.5 - New card sets become effective on the first day of the month following their introduction. If a set is released after the 15th day of a month, then the set's effective date is pushed out to the first of the second month. For example, a set released on January 8th is legal on February 1st, and one released on January 25th is legal on March 1st. [Tournament Rules 10/01/97] [bethmo 02/24/99] + Note - As of 04/01/99, the following cards are also banned: [Tournament Update 03/01/99] Dream Halls, Fluctuator, Recurring Nightmare, Earthcraft, Lotus Petal, Time Spiral + Note - As of 04/01/99, Memory Jar is banned. [Tournament Update 03/11/99] D.18 - Block Constructed Deck Formats + D.18.2 - The current "blocks" are: Ice Age/Homelands/Alliances, Mirage/Visions/Weatherlight, and Tempest/Stronghold/Exodus, and Urza's Saga/Urza's Legacy. + D.18.6 - No cards are 'banned' or restricted for the Urza's Saga/Urza's Legacy format. [Tournament Update 03/01/99] + Note - As of 04/01/99, Time Spiral and Windfall are banned in the Urza's Saga/Urza's Legacy format. [Tournament Update 03/01/99] + Note - As of 04/01/99, Memory Jar is banned. from the Urza's Saga/Urza's Legacy format. [Tournament Update 03/11/99] E - Extracted Rulings on Cards ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ No changes to this section. G - Game Terms and Rules ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ G.43 - Targeting--Valid Targets + G.43.Ruling.5 - Valid targets only include things in play unless the spell or ability specifically says otherwise. [D'Angelo 02/22/99] For example, Unsummon can only work on a creature in play, while Raise Dead only works on a creature card in the graveyard. K - Card and Permanent Types and Information ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ K.2 - Permanents + K.3.Ruling.3 - Changing a permanent's subtype, such as its land type, does not erase its other types as per Rule K.2.5. [bethmo 02/24/99] 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 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 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. "WotC Rules Team" marks official rulings from the rules team. "Mirage, Page " marks rules from the Mirage rulebook. "Tempest, Page " marks rules from the Tempest rulebook. "Fifth Edition, Page " marks rules from the Fifth Edition rulebook. "Encyclopedia, Page " marks errata from the Magic Official Encyclopedia. "bethmo" is Beth Moursund, the Rules Manager at Wizards of the Coast. "Barclay" is Paul Barclay, the network representative for the "mtg-l" mailing list. "DeLaney" is David DeLaney, the network representative for the "rec.games.trading-cards.magic.rules" newsgroup. "D'Angelo" is Stephen D'Angelo, the Rules Summary network representative. "bethmo" was the previous "mtg-l" representative. "D'Angelo" was the previous "mtg-l" representative. "Peterson" is Paul Peterson, the previous "mtg-l" representative. "bethmo" was also the "mtg-l" representative before Paul. "Aahz" is Tom Wylie, the former Magic Rules Manager. "Snark" is Dave Howell of WotC. 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.