How to Handle Quality Changes with Hidden Information

Asked by Delphen7 1 year ago

Say Player A casts Moonlace on some nonpermanent spell, such as Lightning Bolt (that is controlled by Player B).

Moonlace has these rulings: "Moonlace’s effect doesn’t wear off." and "If Moonlace is cast on a spell that becomes a permanent, the permanent will enter the battlefield colorless and will remain colorless until it leaves the battlefield (or until another effect changes its color) ". Since Lightning Bolt is not a permanent, it will ostensibly be colorless in the graveyard.

Say Player B casts another Lightning Bolt. There is now a colored Bolt, and a colorless Bolt in the graveyard. If any player casts a shuffle effect, such as Blessed Respite, there is now no way to differentiate the two bolts from each other.

Since it could matter which bolt is which (For an effect like Ceremonious Rejection), how does the game handle differentiating each one?

Caerwyn says... Accepted answer #1

This is an incorrect reading of Moonlance's ruling. When Lighting Bolt enters the graveyard, it becomes a new object with no memory of its prior, colorless self and will revert to being a regular Red Lightning Bolt. Rule 400.7. There are a few exceptions to this rule, but none are relevant to Lighting Bolt in this situation. Permanent spells become colorless permanents because there is a specific exception to Rule 400.7's "no memory, or relation to, its prior existence" language. Rule 400.7a specifically states that spells which change characteristics of a permanent (such as color) continue to apply to the permanent itself.

Here are the relevant rules:

400.7. An object that moves from one zone to another becomes a new object with no memory of, or relation to, its previous existence. There are nine exceptions to this rule:

400.7a Effects from spells, activated abilities, and triggered abilities that change the characteristics or controller of a permanent spell on the stack continue to apply to the permanent that spell becomes. Effects from static abilities that give a permanent spell on the stack an ability that allows it to be cast for an alternative cost continue to apply to the permanent that spell becomes.

June 18, 2022 6:42 p.m. Edited.