Subject: [O] April Rules Team Rulings (copy cards) (repost) From: Paul Barclay Date: Wed, 22 Apr 1998 13:52:19 +0100 Message-ID: Copy Cards The rulings about permanents that copy cards or tokens have grown quite convoluted. In order to simplify these, the Rules team has repealed all of the existing body of special-case rulings for these cards and replaced them with the following rulings and errata. 1) When something copies a card or token, it reads all the base characteristics of the card or token, ignoring any changes made by other spells or abilities. Those characteristics become base characteristics of the copying permanent. In most cases, this means it will inherit exactly what's printed on the copied card (or governing text on the card that generated a copied token). However, if one permanent copies another that is already copying something else, it will copy the copied characteristics. Similarly, if a permanent copies something that sets its base characteristics when entering play, such as Primal Clay, it will copy the existing characteristics rather than allow you to choose new ones. 2) If a permanent has an ability with a usage restriction (for example "Use this ability only once per turn" or "You cannot spend more than in this way each turn") and it becomes a copy of something else with the same ability, the restriction carries over to the new copy of the ability. That is, you can't get around the restriction by duplicating the ability. 3) If a permanent copies a legend already in play, it is treated as the newer of the two and sacrificed, even if it has been in play longer than the copied legend. Copy Card Errata Clone Clone comes into play as a copy of target creature card or creature token. Copy Artifact Copy Artifact comes into play as a copy of target artifact card or artifact token, but also counts as a global enchantment. Dance of Many During your upkeep, pay UU or bury Dance of Many. When you play Dance of Many, choose target summon card. When Dance of Many comes into play, put a token creature into play and treat it as a copy of that summon card. If either Dance of Many or the token creature leaves play, bury the other. Echo Chamber 4,T: An opponent chooses target creature card or creature token he or she controls. Put a token creature into play and treat it as a copy of that card or token. The token creature is unaffected by summoning sickness this turn. At end of turn, remove the token creature from the game. Play this ability as a sorcery. Fork Fork resolves as a copy of target instant or sorcery spell, except that it does not copy that spell's color. When you play Fork, choose all targets required by the copy. (You cannot change other choices made by the original caster.) Unstable Shapeshifter Whenever any creature card or creature token comes into play, Unstable Shapeshifter becomes a copy of that card or token and gains this ability. Vesuvan Doppelganger Vesuvan Doppelganger comes into play as a copy of target creature card or creature token, except that it does not copy that creature's color, and gains "0: Vesuvan Doppelganger loses all abilities and becomes a copy of target creature card or creature token, except that it does not copy that creature's color and gains this ability. Use this ability only during your upkeep and only once per turn." Volrath's Shapeshifter As long as the top card of your graveyard is a creature card, Volrath's Shapeshifter is a copy of that card with this ability and the ability "2: Choose and discard a card" added to it. Any undefined characteristics are not copied. 2: Choose and discard a card. Examples Here are a few notable effects of these changes. These are not new rules--just the results of applying the new rules to existing cards. We mention them here because repealing the old special-case rules changed them. 1) When a Doppelganger or Shapeshifter changes form, it does not trigger abilities that depend on cards leaving play. Likewise, counters and effects granted by abilities of the previous form are not removed from it. (The new form still does not trigger "comes into play" abilities--these rulings do not change this.) 2) Whenever a card refers to itself by name, it means "this card" even if its name changes. This rule applies to Doppelgangers and Shapeshifters too. For example, if a Shapeshifter copies a Thalakos Dreamsower and uses the copied card's ability, then changes to another form, the targeted creature will still remain tapped as long as the Shapeshifter card remains tapped. 3) Copy cards do not retain any of their own characteristics except those specified in the card text. If one copies an artifact creature, for example, it is no longer a legal target for spells or abilities that target summon cards. 4) Vesuvan Doppelganger does not "remember" which creature it copied--it can recopy the same creature next turn. 5) If a Doppelganger is copying a creature with an upkeep cost, it cannot shift forms before paying the upkeep. If it copies a creature with cumulative upkeep, and later shifts to a different creature with cumulative upkeep, the old cumulative upkeep counters apply to the new form's upkeep cost. For example, a Doppelganger copies a Firestorm Hellkite (cumulative upkeep UR) and remains in that form through three upkeep payments, gaining three cumulative upkeep counters. If it then shifts to copy a Soldevi Simulacrum (cumulative upkeep 1), its next upkeep payment will be 4. 6) If a Vesuvan Doppelganger, Unstable Shapeshifter, or Volrath's Shapeshifter copies another of those three, its next shift will completely eliminate one set of abilities. For example, say Volrath's Shapeshifter is in play and copying the top card of the graveyard, an Unstable Shapeshifter. Now I summon Grizzly Bears. This triggers the Unstable Shapeshifter's ability: lose all abilities, copy the Grizzly Bears, and gain the Unstable Shapeshifter's ability. The result is a card with the artwork of Volrath's Shapeshifter but the function of an Unstable Shapeshifter, as long as the card remains in play. 7) Effects of Sleight of Mind, Magical Hack, etc., are not copied. 8) If Volrath's Shapeshifter is in play and Minion of the Wastes is the top card of the graveyard, the Shapeshifter will become a 0/1 Minion of the Wastes, since the copied card has undefined power and toughness while it is not in play. - Beth "BethMo" Moursund Magic Rules Manager, Wizards of the Coast Paul. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- -- Paul Barclay -- DCI level III judge -- MTG-L NetRep -- -- Manufacturing Engineering Group: Mill Lane, Cambridge, England CB21RX -- -- Official MTG-L Network Representative for Wizards of the Coast, Inc. --