============================================================================== General Rulings Summary (CHANGES ONLY) Updated 10/21/98 ============================================================================== 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.activesw.com/~sdangelo/rulings.html ftp://ftp.activesw.com/pub/sdangelo/magic/rule-general.txt The above files are also available via FTP to "ftp.activesw.com" under "pub/sdangelo/magic" as "rule-general.txt". If you have neither WWW nor FTP access, send e-mail to "dangelo@netcom.com" requesting a copy of the current Rulings Summaries. A '+' is used to mark changes since the last released version on 09/16/98. Thanx, Stephen. ---- Stephen D'Angelo | Official Magic: The Gathering Rules Summary dangelo@netcom.com | Network Representative for Wizards of the Coast, Inc. ============================================================================== Table of Contents: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ No changes to this section. A - Abilities ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ A.2 - Activated Abilities + A.2.3 - Activated abilities are played as an Instant (and are Instants for all reasons) unless otherwise stated (or implied by context to be a triggered ability or some other kind of ability). There is one exception. The ability of lands to tap for mana is not stated as being played as a Mana Source, but it still is. [D'Angelo 02/03/98] A.9 - Unactivated Abilities + A.9.2 - Unactivated abilities are played as an Instant (and are Instants for all reasons) unless otherwise stated (or implied by context to be a triggered ability, phase ability, etc.). [D'Angelo 02/03/98] A.15 - Cycling: + A.15.1 - The ability is written "Cycling ". All cards include reminder text defining the ability as "You may pay and discard this card from your hand to draw a card. Play this ability as an instant." [Urza's Saga, Page 1] + A.15.Ruling.1 - Since the ability is an instant, it can be used at any time instants are legal. [Urza's Saga, Page 1] + A.15.Ruling.2 - You don't draw the card until the ability resolves, so you cannot play the newly drawn card until the next Batch of spells and abilities. [Urza's Saga, Page 1] + A.15.Ruling.3 - Using Cycling is not a spell, it's a non-activated ability of a card. It cannot be countered by things which counter spells or things that counter activated abilities of permanents. [Urza's Saga, Page 1] [DeLaney 10/05/98] 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, Page 1] + A.16.2 - The ability imposes a Phase Cost (see Rule A.6) on the permanent on the turn after you gain control of the permanent. [Urza's Saga, Page 1] This means you cannot use any activated abilities of the permanent until you dealt with this cost (see Rule A.6.9). + A.16.Ruling.1 - The Echo payment is required on the turn after you get control of the creature, regardless of how you got control. This means it happens after you play the permanent, bring the permanent into play with an effect, gain control of the permanent from another player, or through any other means. [Urza's Saga, Page 1] Even phasing the permanent in will cause Echo to have to be dealt with. [WotC Rules Team 10/17/98] + A.16.Ruling.2 - Effects which modify the play cost of a spell, like the Emerald Medallion, cannot be used to modify the upkeep cost that you have to pay. They only apply to the announcing of spells, and this is a phase cost. [D'Angelo 10/08/98] + A.16.Ruling.3 - If you gain and lose control of the card several times before your upkeep, you still only pay the Echo cost once. [WotC Rules Team 10/18/98] A.27 - Trample: + A.27.2 - When an attacking creature with Trample assigns combat damage, the player distributing the damage may assign damage to the defending player if the attacking creature is unblocked, has no blockers which can have damage assigned to them, or if lethal damage (see Rule K.12.4) is also assigned to all blockers which can receive combat damage. [Urza's Saga, Page 1] + A.27.3 - Trample is a continuous, cumulative ability. See Rule A.1.2. Having Trample more than once gives no additional effect. [D'Angelo 10/08/98] + A.27.Ruling.1 - The damage is assigned all at once. [D'Angelo 10/08/98] + A.27.Ruling.2 - The player distributing the damage can assign more damage to a creature that is needed to kill that creature, and can choose to not assign damage at all to one or more blocking creatures. If any blocking creature is not going to be lethally damaged (see Rule K.12.4), however, no damage may be assigned to the defending player. [Urza's Saga, Page 1] For example, if a Force of Nature (8/8 Trample) is blocked by three 2/2 creatures, you could a) assign all 8 damage to one blocker, b) 4 to each of two blockers, c) 3 to one 3 to another and 2 to the third, c) 3 to one, 2 to each other, and 1 to the defending player, d) 2 to each blocker and 2 to the defending player, and so on. + A.27.Ruling.3 - Blocking creatures which cannot receive combat damage (due to Gaseous Form and similar effects) are simply ignored when assigning damage. [Urza's Saga, Page 1] + A.27.Ruling.4 - If a creature was damaged prior to combat damage being assigned, 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.12.4). [D'Angelo 10/08/98] + A.27.Ruling.5 - If a blocking creature has an ability that prevents or redirects damage, this in no way affects how much damage you need to assign to make the blocker have lethal damage (see Rule K.12.4). For example, if a 2/2 creature with Protection from Green blocked a Force of Nature, you would only need to assign 2 damage to it, even though that damage will be prevented by the ability during damage prevention. [WotC Rules Team 10/18/98] + A.27.Ruling.6 - If the Trample creature is blocked, but the blocker is destroyed (or otherwise removed) before damage dealin, the Trample creature deals damage directly to the defending player. [D'Angelo 10/08/98] + A.27.Ruling.7 - If a blocking creature is to receive damage from more than one attacking creature because it blocked multiple attackers (due to an ability or because the attackers were Banded), the player assigning the damage may assign the non-Trample creature's damage first in order to maximize the amount that can be assigned to the defending player. (Note that the damage is really assigned all at once, not "first" and "next", but this model works to the same result.) [D'Angelo 10/08/98] + A.27.Ruling.8 - Trample does not apply when blocking. See Rule A.27.2. [D'Angelo 10/08/98] + Note - The Trample ability was significantly redefined with the releaes of Urza's Saga at the beginning of October 1998. Trample used to work in two steps. First damage was assigned completely to the blocking creatures. Any unprevented damage to blockers which had "trample ability" would then get redirected as automatic damage redirection to the defending player. Because of this, it used to be very effective to assign all the damage to one blocker and thereby get the maximum amount of damage through. Trample used to be very uneffective against Protection from Color and en-Kor creature abilities, however. [D'Angelo 10/08/98] C - Combat Rules ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ No changes to this section. D - DCI Tournament Rules ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ D.16 - Standard Tournament Format + Note - As of 11/01/98, the valid sets are Tempest-Stronghold-Exodus and Urza's Saga. Mirage, Visions, and Weatherlight rotate out. 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. + D.18.6 - No cards are 'banned' or restricted for the Urza's Saga format. E - Extracted Rulings on Cards ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ E.3 - Comes Into Play Abilities + E.3.3 - If the action part of the 'comes into play' ability is worded as "Do , or do " or as "Do . If you cannot, do .", then you are unable to use any activated abilities of that permanent until after the 'comes into play' ability's effect is resolved. Not even mana source abilities of that permanent can be used. [Duelist Magazine #16, Page 25] This is pretty much the same as Rule A.6.9 for Phase Costs. For example, Balduvian Trading Post requires you to sacrifice an untapped land or bury it. This means you cannot tap it for mana until after you sacrifice the land. E.13 - Templates + E.13.Ruling.22 - The text "at the time you play , do " descibes an additional part of the cost of playing the card. This cost must be paid when announcing it. [WotC Rules Team 10/18/98] G - Game Terms and Rules ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ G.2 - Bury + G.2.1 - The term "bury" means to put a card or token in its owner's graveyard. [Fifth Edition, Page 67] This usually is only done from play. G.13 - Damage Redirection + G.13.Ruling.2 - Triggered abilities (see Rule A.8) which redirect damage, are not considered damage redirection abilities even though they follow the rules for damage redirection. They are considered triggered abilities. Therefore, effects which disallow the use of damage redirection will not stop these triggers from redirecting damage. [Aahz 11/07/97] For example, Whippoorwill will not stop such damage. G.31 - Put Into Play + G.31.4 - If a card requires a target when played, and that card is put into play without playing it, then you must choose a target at the time it is put into play. [Aahz 02/16/97] If there is no legal target, then the card stays where it is and does not get put into play. [bethmo 05/02/98] For example, Clone requires a choice of a target creature just before it enters play. And if there is no creature to target it cannot come into play. K - Card and Permanent Types and Information ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ K.2 - Permanents + K.2.5 - If a spell or ability changes a permanent's type, it replaces all previous and current types. The spell or ability may list types which remain. For example, Stalking Stones says that it remains a land when it changes into a creature. [WotC Rules Team 10/18/98] K.4 - Characteristics + K.4.5 - If a spell or ability is to check the characteristics of something during its resolution, then the characteristics are locked in at the start of the resolution, and will not be looked up again. [WotC Rules Team 12/03/96] The characteristics of any permanent, even if it is the source, are locked in this way. [WotC Rules Team 10/18/98] + K.4.6 - If a spell or ability is to check the characteristics of something and that something is no longer in play at the start of resolution, use the last value that something had before it left play. [WotC Rules Team 10/18/98] K.13 - Creature Type + K.13.6 - If you are asked to choose a creature type, you do not have to choose a creature type which already exists in the game. You can make up your own type, such as Platypus, if you choose. You may not choose a name which has another meaning in the game, such as "opponent" or "land". Also, slanderous, obscene, and otherwise offensive choices are considered poor sportsmanship and may cause ejection from a tournament. [WotC Rules Team 03/31/98] You can use compound nouns such as "Duck-Billed Platypus" and can use any existing creature type or creature name. For example, "Plague Rats" is a legal type. You cannot use the names of non-creature cards or any other term that means something in the game. [bethmo 04/23/98] You cannot choose the name of a non-creature spell in Magic, such as Fireball. [DeLaney 10/17/98] K.19 - Legendary Permanents + K.19.Ruling.1 - A spell or ability that affects "all legends" is referring to "all Summon Legend" creatures. This is comparable to "all goblins" referring to "all Summon Goblin" creatures. [Duelist Magazine #2, Page 7] Something affecting "all legends" also affects all "Legendary " cards which have been animated into creatures. [bethmo 10/15/98] If a spell or ability wants to refer to all legendary permanents it will say "all legendary permanents". [D'Angelo 02/03/98] K.21 - Play Cost + K.21.4 - If a card's text includes "At the time you play , do ", then it is describing an additional part of the play cost. This is paid only once and is paid when announcing the card. [WotC Rules Team 10/18/98] 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 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ T.2 - Types of Effects + T.2.Ruling.1 - The timing rules do result in some abilities or effects of spells and abilities being dealt with prior to others. Roughly speaking, the hierarchy is: a) Continuous effects are applied at all times. b) Playing a mana source (see Rule T.12), c) Replacement abilities, d) Rules Effects (see Rule T.13) are dealt with next. e) Triggered spells/abilities (see Rule A.8) are dealt with whenever they need to be. f) Announcing any other spell or ability is last. [D'Angelo 02/03/98] T.7 - Step 4: Resolution + T.7.6 - If the spell or ability checks any aspect of a permanent in play (including the source), it does so during resolution. These values are locked in at the start of resolution (see Rule K.4.5). For example, when you use the ability of Prodigal Sorcerer, it puts "Prodigal Sorcerer deals 1 damage to target creature or player" into the batch. On resolution, the color of the Prodigal Sorcerer is looked up to determine the color of the damage that is done. [WotC Rules Team 10/18/98] This is a big REVERSAL. Characteristics of the source used to not be looked up again. + T.7.Ruling.5 - A spell or ability has its own characteristics (see Rule K.4.4), and anything which checks the characteristics of the ability will not recheck the permanent. For example, if a Prodigal Sorcerer ability is used when the Sorcerer is blue, but the Sorcerer's color changes to red before resolution, the ability is still blue and will fizzle if the target gained Protection from Blue before resolution. [DeLaney 10/20/98] T.10 - Damage Prevention Step + T.10.13 - If a spell or ability enables you to divide damage among several creatures and/or players, divide the damage first before starting any effects which happen when damage is assigned. [WotC Rules Team 10/18/98] + T.10.Ruling.10 - Urza's Saga uses a different set of notations than previous sets did. Previously, damage was "assigned" at the start of damage prevention and was "dealt" if not prevented. Cards now use "dealt" for the assignment and "successfully dealt" if not prevented. This file uses the older notation and the affected Urza's Saga cards have notes on them for how to read them that way. [D'Angelo 10/12/98] Z - Zones of Play ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Z.1 - Zones of Play + Z.1.1 - There are 8 zones in Magic. The zones are: Hand, Graveyard, Library, Territory (also called "In Play"), Out of Game, Phased Out, Ante, and Limbo. [Oracle 07/01/98] Z.7 - Out of Game + Z.7.2 - Information about the out of game zone is public. All players have the right to know what cards are in every player's out of game area. [Mirage, Page 60] Specific cards may override this and specify that cards are moved into this zone face down. This is common for older cards which used to "set aside" cards. [Oracle 07/01/98] + Note - Older cards which said to "set aside" cards place those cards into this zone. [Oracle 07/01/98] Z.8 - Phased Out + Z.8.1 - This is where cards are placed when they phase out (see Rule G.30.1). [Oracle 07/01/98] Z.9 - Set Aside + Z.9.1 - The Set Aside zone was merged into the Out from Game. [Oracle 07/01/98] + Z.9.2 - All spells and abilities which said to "set aside" a card now remove the card from the game (usually temporarily). + Z.9.3 - It's common to put these card under or near the card in play which removed them, but these cards are not in play. [Mirage, Page 60] + Z.9.4 - Cards that are set aside may only be viewed if the spell or ability that puts them there makes them face-up. Most cards should have errata to make this clear. [D'Angelo 10/08/98] 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.