Question on rulings.
Asked by StopShot 9 years ago
Sorry, if this does not belong here, but it seemed the most appropriate subsection to ask this.
On the gatherer website it says the card Nighthaze can be countered if the creature it was targeting no longer exists. Due to this the player does not draw a card if this happens.
When I checked the card Aphotic Wisps this rule reminder was not present on the card page. I know this card is an instant whereas the other is a sorcery as the biggest difference between the two, but if I were to cast the wisps on a creature, and that creature would be removed before the spell resolves would I still draw the card or not?
Thank you for your help.
Raging_Squiggle says... Accepted answer #2
Here is the full ruling:
608.2b If the spell or ability specifies targets, it checks whether the targets are still legal. A target thats no longer in the zone it was in when it was targeted is illegal. Other changes to the game state may cause a target to no longer be legal; for example, its characteristics may have changed or an effect may have changed the text of the spell. If the source of an ability has left the zone it was in, its last known information is used during this process. The spell or ability is countered if all its targets, for every instance of the word target, are now illegal. If the spell or ability is not countered, it will resolve normally. Illegal targets, if any, wont be affected by parts of a resolving spells effect for which theyre illegal. Other parts of the effect for which those targets are not illegal may still affect them. If the spell or ability creates any continuous effects that affect game rules (see rule 613.10), those effects dont apply to illegal targets. If part of the effect requires information about an illegal target, it fails to determine any such information. Any part of the effect that requires that information wont happen.
Raging_Squiggle says... #1
608.2b If the spell or ability specifies targets, it checks whether the targets are still legal......The spell or ability is countered if all its targets, for every instance of the word target, are now illegal.
Knowing this should answer your question. The reminders below the oracle text on Gatherer are additional helpful things to know. Just because two similar cards don't have the same reminder, doesn't make them resolve differently from each other. If a spell's targets all become illegal, the spell is countered and nothing happens. You do not draw a card.
January 22, 2016 12:44 a.m.