Core Rules 1.1 Changes (Origins)

Cannot include more than one of a Battlefield of the same name when there are more than one required for the deck.

A card owned by a player can never, for any reason, be put into the hand of another player. If it would be, it's put into its owner's hand instead.

Champion is a supertype that applies exclusively to units. It impacts the rules for deckbuilding.

See rule 103.2.a in Core Rules 1.1 (opens source rules in a new tab). Chosen Champion for more information.

Signature is a supertype that may apply to game objects of any card type. It impacts the rules for deckbuilding.

See rule 103.2.d in Core Rules 1.1 (opens source rules in a new tab). for more information about Signature cards.

Token is a supertype applied to temporary game objects of any card type.

See rule 170 in Core Rules 1.1 (opens source rules in a new tab). Tokens for more information.

Tags have no innate rules meaning, but may be referenced by game rules and card effects.

Tags used to link Legends, Champion Units, and Signature cards are known as Champion Tags.

Symbols

While a Battlefield remains Contested, Control of a Battlefield cannot change.

While a Battlefield is Controlled, its Controller controls its Abilities. That player takes responsibility for adding them to the Chain if applicable, and makes all choices required by them unless otherwise specified.

While a Battlefield is Uncontrolled, its Abilities are also Uncontrolled. The Turn Player takes responsibility for adding them to the Chain if applicable, makes all choices required by them unless otherwise specified, and is treated as their Controller if any game rule or effect requires one.

“You” in a battlefield’s abilities refers to the battlefield’s Controller, as does the implied “you” in instructions like “draw 1.” If the battlefield has no Controller, “you” refers to no one, and all such instructions are ignored.

A Showdown is marked as Staged at a Battlefield when the Contested status is applied to a Battlefield with no current controller.

Invoke a Special Cleanup.

See rule 318 in Core Rules 1.1 (opens source rules in a new tab). Cleanups for more information.

Insert “2a. Heal all Units.”

If there are Units present at the Battlefield the Combat is taking place at, but do not have a designation, they gain the same designation as their Controller now

If there are Units present at the Battlefield the Combat is taking place at, but have the opposite designation of their controller, they lose that designation, and gain the same designation as their controller now

If there are Units at locations other than the Battlefield that the Combat is taking place at, but have either Attacker or Defender designations, they lose those designations now

The Combat remains Staged at that Battlefield as long as there are Units present from two opposing players there.

This process does not pass Priority.

Each Item is Finalized in the order it was appended to the Chain.

Abilities that Add resources, Units, and Gear resolve immediately when Finalized and do not progress to Step 2: Execute.

See rule 346 in Core Rules 1.1 (opens source rules in a new tab). Playing Cards for more information.

Pass Priority

If only one player’s Units remain at the Battlefield, and if that player does not already Control the Battlefield, that player establishes Control over the Battlefield.

See rule 179 in Core Rules 1.1 (opens source rules in a new tab). Control for more information on Control.

See rule 442.1 in Core Rules 1.1 (opens source rules in a new tab). for more information on Conquering.

If two players’ Units remain at the Battlefield, Control cannot be established and the Battlefield remains Contested. This results in a Staged Combat.

See rule 433 in Core Rules 1.1 (opens source rules in a new tab). Combat for more information.

It is a permanent or rune on the board, a spell or ability on the chain, a player or zone, or specified explicitly or implicitly as being in some other zone. e.g., “Kill a unit” targets a unit on the board. e.g., “Recycle a unit from your trash” targets a unit card in your trash.

It meets all targeting restrictions. e.g., A unit is a valid target for a spell that refers to a “unit at a battlefield,” “enemy unit,” “unit you control,” or “unit with Might 4 or greater” only if it meets the appropriate criteria.

It is not the spell or ability itself. e.g., A spell that says “Counter a spell” cannot target itself. e.g., An ability of a permanent can target that permanent, because abilities and their sources are separate objects.

Passive abilities never have targets.

Replacement effects never have targets.

Units and gear never have targets, although their abilities may.

It is in a zone whose information status is not Public. e.g., “Ready a legend” targets a legend, because the Legend Zone is Public. e.g., “Return a unit from your trash to your hand” targets a unit card in your trash, because your trash is Public. e.g., “You may play a unit from your hand, ignoring its costs” does not target a unit card in your hand, because your hand is not a public zone.

It is included only as part of a targeting restriction for another choice. e.g., “Kill a unit at a battlefield” targets a unit, but not a battlefield, because the units are targets and “at a battlefield” is a restriction. e.g., “Kill all units at a battlefield” targets a battlefield, but not any units. e.g., “Move a unit to a battlefield” targets both a unit and a battlefield.

It is included only as part of a cost, trigger condition, or replacement effect. e.g., “As an additional cost to play me, kill a friendly unit” doesn’t target anything. e.g., “When a friendly unit dies, kill a gear” targets a gear, but not a friendly unit. e.g., “When you play me, the next time a friendly unit would die this turn, return it to your hand instead” doesn’t target anything. The replacement effect applies when any friendly unit dies. e.g., “Choose a friendly unit. The next time it would die this turn, return it to your hand instead” targets a friendly unit, because “choose a friendly unit” is not part of the replacement effect.

It is programmatically selected based on its characteristics rather than chosen by the spell or ability’s controller. e.g., “Kill all units at a battlefield” targets a battlefield, but does not target any units. e.g., “Kill all units at battlefields” doesn’t target anything. e.g., “Destroy a unit. Its controller draws 2 cards” targets the unit, but not its controller. e.g., “Ready your legend” doesn’t target anything, because you can only have one legend. e.g., “Ready a friendly legend” targets a legend, because in a 2v2 game there are two friendly legends. e.g., “Recycle all cards in your trash” doesn’t target anything, because it affects all cards and you only have one trash.

It is part of a set of objects chosen in whole or in part by other players. e.g., “Each player kills a unit they control” does not target. Each player, including the one who played the spell, chooses a unit to kill as the spell or ability resolves.

It is identified in an instruction that a player “must” complete. e.g., “You must recycle one of your runes” doesn’t target anything. You choose from among your runes as the spell or ability resolves. e.g., “Recycle a rune you control” targets a rune. You choose a rune you control as you put the spell or ability on the chain.

As they’re finalized on the chain, such cards can choose any group of valid targets that collectively fulfill the targeting restriction.

If the group of targets no longer collectively fulfill the targeting restriction as the spell or ability resolves, that spell or ability’s controller can choose a subset of the original targets that fulfills the targeting requirement for the spell or ability to affect.

Costs that are replaced with other events by replacement effects are still considered paid.

Any passive abilities become active.

This card becomes a Finalized Chain Item.

If there are other Pending Items on the Chain, then the controller of those Pending Items completes Steps 2 through 5 of Playing Cards for those items before continuing.

See rule 326 in Core Rules 1.1 (opens source rules in a new tab). Chains for more information.

The phrases that identify triggered abilities do not always appear at the beginning of sentences or abilities.

If an ability triggers “the [Nth] time” something happens and that trigger condition is met multiple times simultaneously, the ability’s controller picks one of those instances to serve as the trigger condition. The ability triggers only once, due to the chosen condition.

The Condition of a Trigger is evaluated after a potentially inciting event has been processed.

Play Effects are Triggered Abilities with the Condition that the Permanent that has the Play Effect being played to the board.

Conquer Effects are Triggered Abilities with a Condition of a Unit participating in, and successfully Conquering a Battlefield.

Hold Effects are Triggered Abilities with a Condition of a Unit being present at a Battlefield during the Beginning phase when a player scores Victory Points from Holding.

Attack Triggers are Triggered Abilities that trigger when a Unit gains the Attacker designation for the first time during a combat.

Defend Triggers are Triggered Abilities that trigger when a Unit gains the Defender designation for the first time during a combat.

“Do this” can be followed by “N times.” The Reflexive Trigger will thus be added to the chain N times when its condition is met.

This is not an Ability being countered.

If there are legal options to choose, the ability’s controller must choose them. They may not decline this stage of playing a Trigger.

Activated Abilities will have a cost listed before the “:” in their text.

Triggered Abilities will typically not have a base cost associated with them when placed on the chain due to their conditions.

This is not an Ability being countered.

A Unit that is already Ready cannot be Readied again.

If a Unit is instructed to be Readied while it is already Ready, nothing additional happens.

Each player Recycles cards to their own Main Deck and Rune Deck, regardless of which player is instructed to perform the Recycle action.

Assigning Damage during Combat Resolution is not Dealing Damage, but will cause Damage to be Dealt when assignment is complete.

To Deal Damage to Units, mark the specified amount of Damage on the Unit.

Damage is marked on each unit separately.

Damage can be Dealt to more than one Unit at the same time.

Assigning Damage causes Damage to be dealt outside of being directed to Deal Damage.

See rule 433 in Core Rules 1.1 (opens source rules in a new tab). Combat for more information.

If a game effect does not specify a source, the game effect describing the Deal action is the source.

If a game effect does specify a source, then that source is what is considered the origin of the Damage for this Deal action.

Damage Dealt as a result of being assigned during Combat has the Units as its source.

If Damage is cleared for any reason it is considered Healing.

Players may only Heal units when game effects instruct them to, or at specific points in the turn.

The Killed Unit or Gear is said to be Killed by that Game Object.

A spell or ability that contains a Kill instruction is responsible for Killing the Unit or Gear.

When one or more Units is killed due to a Cleanup, the spell or ability that resolved immediately prior to that Cleanup that applied damage to the Unit or Units is responsible for that Kill action.

Abilities originating from Game Objects that are responsible for Kill Actions are responsible in addition to the Game Object that created them.

Priority and Focus will not pass from Add abilities being finalized, and will resolve before any other outstanding items on the chain are finalized.

If a player must Draw cards in excess to the number of cards in their deck, they will Draw as many as possible, perform this action, then Draw the remaining amount instructed.

If a player must put one or more cards from their Main Deck in any other zone, such as the Trash, in excess of the number of cards in their deck they will do so as much as possible, perform this action, and then complete the remaining number required by the instruction.

If an instruction directs a player to look at or reveal cards in excess to the number of cards in a player’s Main Deck, that player looks at or Reveals as many as possible, but does not Burn Out, then proceeds with the rest of the instruction.

Performs as much of the prescribed action as possible.

Recycles their trash into their Main Deck. Reminder: When multiple cards are Recycled to the Main Deck at the same time, those cards must be randomized