Deceiver
Unofficial Riftbound rulings for Deceiver, with rules explanations, examples, and Core Rules citations.
How do Reactions that remove units interact with Deceiver's Reflection?
Deceiver's controller chooses the copy target when the separate reflexive trigger undergoes finalization, after the Reflection token enters: if responses made before the Reflection is played to that battlefield remove every legal copy target from that battlefield, the reflexive trigger leaves the chain without finalizing and the ready Reflection neither becomes a copy nor gains Temporary; if, after the Reflection is played to that battlefield and its copy target is chosen, a response removes that target before the reflexive trigger resolves, the Reflection does not become a copy but still gains Temporary.
The interaction follows this sequence:
Deceiver's original trigger finalizes. The copy target is not chosen yet because choices for a reflexive trigger generated by an item are not made while that item is finalized. Once no pending items remain, opponents may respond before the original trigger resolves.[406.4]
The original trigger resolves. It starts playing a ready Reflection token at the battlefield recorded by "there." The token waits as a pending chain item while the original trigger finishes resolving. The reflexive trigger is then added after the token.
The Reflection enters, then the reflexive trigger reaches finalization. Pending items finalize in the order they were added, so the Reflection finalizes, resolves immediately, and enters before the newer reflexive trigger. There is no response window between the Reflection entering and the target choice because every pending item must finalize or leave the chain before players can respond. Deceiver's controller must choose another unit at that battlefield as the reflexive trigger's target. If no other unit there is a legal target, the reflexive trigger is removed without finalizing, so the Reflection remains ready but does not become a copy or gain Temporary.
If a legal target exists, the reflexive trigger finalizes. Once no pending items remain, opponents may respond before that trigger resolves. If the chosen unit is no longer legal when the trigger resolves, the copy instruction cannot be followed, so the Reflection does not become a copy. The reflexive trigger still resolves and gives the Reflection Temporary, doing as much of its effect as possible.
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Written by Christian “Near” Ivicevic.
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