Newsgroups: rec.games.deckmaster,rec.games.board
From: dangelo@netcom.com (Stephen D''Angelo)
Subject: MTG Rulings Summary: Arabian Nights (2/22/94)
Organization: Whimsical
Date: Tue, 22 Feb 1994 19:14:54 GMT
Here's the latest update to the Arabian Nights rulings.
Please check the "General Rulings" if you do not find the answer you are
looking for in here.
The most recent gg-l digest used was #300.
Many of these rulings are _NOT_ "official". A lot of what is said is "Common
net wisdom" picked out of posts by people I trust of that put out a good
argument. Whenever the ruling was made by an official (such as our former
net contact "Snark", the game designer "Garfield", or other net contacts
"Chris Page" and "bethmo"), I've tried to make a note of that. I don't
claim responsibility for the accuracy of the rulings or for transcription
errors, okay? I'm only human.
Let me know if you find any problems/errors/typos/etc in the text below.
I'd like to make it more accurate and complete.
A '+' is used to mark changes since the last released version (02/07/94).
Stephen D'Angelo
sdangelo@usagi.eng.sun.com (work address)
dangelo@netcom.com (checked less regularly)
----
Arabian Nights last update 02/22/94
=============================================================================
The new land types are NOT considered basic lands.
Abu Ja Far:
+ Protection from White will not keep a creature from being destroyed by
Abu's power because the power is not considered to be targeted.
[WotC Rules Team]
Aladdin:
He can hold onto more than one artifact at a time. He need not drop one in
order to pick up another. Note that you must pay and tap the card for
each use, however. [Snark]
If your opponent takes control of Aladdin, he does not take the artifacts
you already stole, but he is free to use Aladdin's power to take them
later. [bethmo]
Any artifact can be taken. This includes artifact creatures which are
represented by tokens (e.g. Wasps, Djinn from Bottle of Sulieman).
Aladdin's Lamp:
Yes, the casting cost is 10. They used two circles because 10 did not fit
into just one. This is not a typo. [Snark]
This can be used any time you draw from the library including Sindbad,
Ancestral Recall and so on. It affects only one of the cards drawn
this way, though. [bethmo]
+ Cannot be used with X equal to zero because "draw zero cards but choose only
one to put in your hand" is self-contradictory. [WotC Rules Team]
Ali Baba:
May be used to tap more than one wall per turn if you have enough mana.
[Snark]
May tap walls even when it itself is tapped. [Snark]
May be used on the turn summoned.
Ali from Cairo:
This card does indeed make you immune to damage that would take you below
1 life point (which is almost immunity to death). You can still be
affected by things which reduce your life without doing damage. [Snark]
Even works when he is tapped. [Snark]
It does not prevent direct loss of life from spells like Lich, Channel, etc.
[bethmo]
Bazaar of Bagdad:
Says you can't cast spells between drawing and discarding cards. Also note
that the rules already prevent the playing of land or use of Fast Effects
during the resolution of tapping a land. The "can't cast spells" is there
to prevent the use of interrupts which would otherwise have been allowed.
[Snark]
You draw 2 cards, add them to your hand, then discard 3 cards. [Card Text]
Bottle of Suleiman:
The Djinn is an artifact creature with casting cost of zero. [Snark]
It cannot be used to attack in the turn in which it is "created" by paying
the artifact's cost. It must be in play at the beginning of your turn in
order to be used. Note that you can pay the costs during an opponent's
turn in order to use it when your turn comes around.
The Djinn is a not a "card", it is a token. It cannot be affected by
Desert Twister or count as life for a Lich. Spells which specifically
target or use "cards" such as City in a Bottle do not affect it. It
cannot be xxxxlaced. [Snark]
The word "discarded" should read "destroyed". [WotC Rules Team]
City in a Bottle:
Removes all Arabian Nights cards from play and prevents any player from
casting any more of them until the City is removed. This can result in
collecting a lot of cards in your hand. [Snark]
The term "discarded" from play now means "destroyed". [WotC Rules Team]
If regenerated, they are immediately destroyed again, so it is not worth
doing. Death events are generated.
If tapped by some means, this card does not function in any way. The
rulebook says that continuous artifacts do not function when tapped. This
card does not override any rules. Once untapped, all Arabian Nights
cards are removed from play and no further spells can be cast. [Snark]
Oubliette does not save a creature from being discarded. In one moment,
the creature is freed, and the next it is discarded. This is faster
than an interrupt. [Snark]
Arabian Nights tokens or counters are not removed. [bethmo]
City of Brass:
Damage is done if the card is tapped by Twiddle or Icy Manipulator because
the text on the card specifically detects the card becoming tapped.
[Snark]
Cyclone:
The word "discarded" should read "destroyed". [WotC Rules Team]
Desert:
No, this is not a basic land type. [Snark]
Multiple deserts can be used to damage the same attacker. [bethmo]
(this can be so brutal that some house rules suggest max 1 dmg per
creature due to desert damage)
Can be used any time during the attack phase before damage dealing,
but does not actually do the damage until the normal damage dealing step.
You have to choose where the damage goes when tapping the desert.
Damage is sumultaneous to normal combat damage. [Snark]
Can be used on any player's attacking creatures. This includes your own
and creatures in an attack you are not involved in (multiplayer games).
[bethmo]
Can not do damage if Fog is played since Fog prevents creatures from
damaging each other and Desert damage is done after creature damage.
[WotC Rules Team]
Can still target a creature in a Banding group. Banding only distributes
creature damage.
Diamond Valley:
The sacrifice destroys the creature and all effects triggered by that
destruction work (i.e. Soul Net, Rukh Egg). [bethmo]
A sacrifice cannot be prevented by either player. [Page 27]
Cannot sacrifice during damage dealing or damage prevention portions of
the attack phase. [bethmo]
Drop of Honey:
The word "discarded" should read "destroyed". [WotC Rules Team]
Ebony Horse:
The attacking creature is untapped and removed from the attack. [Chris Page]
The creature is considered to have attacked for purposes of "attack or die"
effects like Siren's Call. [bethmo]
Erg Raiders:
If tapped and unable to attack, they will still do damage to the
controller of the card. [Snark]
Eye for an Eye:
Does white damage.
Cannot be used on effects that cause loss of life. This includes
Shahrazad, Channel, and the death of a Personal Incarnation. It can
only be used on damage. [bethmo]
+ Can only be used for damage by creatures and spells, not from artifacts,
mana burn or other effects. [Card Text]
Flying Carpet:
Destroyed if creature using it is destroyed _without_ regenerating.
[Snark]
Ghazban Ogre:
If life points are tied, the one in control of the Ogre keeps control.
In multiplayer games, if the tie does not include the current controller,
a random method is used to pick the next controller. [Snark]
Guardian Beast:
Does not prevent any artifact from destroying itself. In the future, such
artifacts will say "sacrifice self". [WotC Rules Team] These include
the Black Lotus and Sulieman's Bottle.
This cannot protect Nevinyrral's Disk because the disk destroys itself.
[Chris Page] (REVERSAL of earlier ruling)
Because "discarded" means "destroyed" for most uses, the Beast can protect
against a Disenchant. [WotC Rules Team] (This is a rule reversal)
Does not prevent you from giving back artifacts that were stolen by Aladdin
or Steal Artifact when Aladdin or Steal Artifact are removed. [bethmo]
+ Does not protect Artifact Creatures. [Card Text] This includes Animated
artifacts. Note that it also prevents Animate Artifact from being cast
on a protected artifact. [bethmo]
Hurr Jackal:
+ The Jackal's power is not usable during damage prevention. You must use it
prior to the damage prevention step. [bethmo]
Ifh-Biff Efreet:
You can pay the Efreet more than once a turn, indeed more than once in a
given instant. [Snark] Each payment counts as a separate source of damage
(because the notation is not "G:Effect" it is "spend G for effect").
[bethmo]
The Efreet does indeed damage itself. [Chris Page]
Island of Wak-Wak:
This is not considered an Island and cannot be used as a target or an
enabler for spells which require Islands. [Snark]
Effect lasts until the end of the turn (even if Wak-Wak is destroyed).
[Snark]
Changes creature's current power to zero but does not prevent raising it
after Wak-Wak has been used on it. [Snark]
Jandor's Ring:
When used with Howling Mine, Ancestral Recall, etc. you must draw one card
at a time and decide with each card if you want to use the Ring. You do
not draw all the cards then decide to use the Ring on one of them. [Snark]
Jewelled Bird:
Yes, it does intend for you to make the Bird into your ante. Your old
ante goes to your graveyard, and you get to draw a new card to replace
the bird in your hand.
This is an odd artifact because it has no activation cost. It acts more
like you'd expect a sorcery to. You do not have to tap or otherwise
activate it.
Note that the card is exchanged for your entire contribution to the ante.
This means that it replaces all the cards if you have more than one
already contributed!
Jihad:
Only the basic colors can be used. [Snark]
Note that lands and artifacts are colorless.
The word "discarded" should read "destroyed". [WotC Rules Team]
Khabal Ghoul:
Can collect tokens for creatures that died during the turn in which it is
summoned, even if it is summoned after they die. [bethmo]
Library of Alexandria:
You can tap this card before you draw for a turn, and still draw as normal.
[Snark]
If you have multiple Libraries of Alexandria, you can tap them all at the
same time and use them all since they are fast effects that occur
simultaneously. [bethmo]
Metamorphosis:
The mana generated by this spell must be used to summon creatures or you
take mana-burn damage. You can however split it up among multiple
summonings or add to it from other mana sources. [Snark]
Naf's Asp:
Can pay the 1 mana at any time after damage is done up until the upkeep
of that player's turn. [Card Text]
Old Man of the Sea:
Can be used at any time to take control of a creature. This includes your
opponent's turn. If used during an attack phase, the creature is removed
from the attack immediately. [bethmo]
Oubliette:
The creature inside will survive anything which destroys the artifact and it
is immune to being killed. The creature is considered "out of the game".
[Snark]
The creature in the Oubliette may be selected (and returned to play) by
the Ma'ruf's Ring artifact since the card was "out of play". [Snark]
If City in a Bottle is used, the Oubliette does not protect the creature
inside (if it is an Arabian Nights card) from being affected. The
Oubliette is removed from play and then the creature is freed and
removed from play immediately. Continuous effect artifacts are
considered to be faster than an interrupts. [bethmo]
If Oubliette is used on token creatures, they are permanently lost. This
is because the cards which create tokens all say that the token is lost
if it is ever "removed from play". This does not mean a "death" event
however. [bethmo]
If something happens which removes the creature from the Oubliette, the
Oubliette still hangs around. It is not discarded. [bethmo]
While out of play, time does not pass for the creature. It does not untap,
it is not affected by any effects during upkeep, and it cannot be
targeted by any spell.
+ Any damage on a creature is removed immediately when removed from play, so
the Oubliette removes all damage from the creature. [WotC Rules Team]
+ Oubliette targets the creature it is taking out of play, hence Protection
from Black will prevent this spell. [WotC Rules Team]
Pyramids:
+ When used on a land animated by Living Lands (or similar effect), this
effectively prevents the land from being killed by causing the land
to regenerate without causing it to be tapped like a normal regeneration
does. [WotC Rules Team]
Ring of Ma'ruf:
Cannot acquire the Ante cards. They are considered still "in the game" as
are cards in the library and the graveyard. [bethmo]
Can acquire a creature which was removed from the game by the Oubliette,
Disintegrate or Swords to Plowshares.
+ While in a subgame started by Shahrazad, you cannot take cards from the
parent game. This "subgame" is still part of the larger "game". [bethmo]
You do not need to show the card you acquire to your opponent. [bethmo]
Rukh Egg:
The "going to the graveyard" text means only when it leaves play as a
creature. It does NOT include being discarded from your hand. One may
be able to read this card wrong. This is one of the few "play it right"
and not "play it as it reads" corrections. [Garfield]
You get the benefit of the Egg if it leaves play due to any reason
which causes it to go to the graveyard. This includes being "destroyed"
or "discarded".
Swords to Plowshares and Disintegrate remove the Egg from the game and so
no Rukh hatches.
If the Egg is discarded by City in a Bottle, you get a Rukh. [Snark]
The Rukh that hatches is a red creature with casting cost of zero. [Snark]
The Rukh is not a "card", it is a token. It cannot be affected by Desert
Twister, City in a Bottle, or other spells which target "cards". Equally,
a Lich cannot gain life from it. It cannot be xxxxlaced. [Snark]
The Rukh cannot be used to attack until it begins one of your turns in play.
Animate Dead brings back a -1/3 Egg which will hatch into a fully functional
Rukh (the Animate Dead goes to the graveyard with the Egg). [bethmo]
If a Clone or a Doppleganger of a Rukh is destroyed, it hatches into a fully
functional Rukh. [bethmo]
A Clone or Doppleganger of a Rukh is still a card and goes to the graveyard
when it is destroyed, and goes to a person's hand when it is Unsummoned.
The text about the Rukh leaving the game permanently if it goes out of
play applies only to token creatures. [bethmo]
If the Egg is destroyed while under the control of another player, the
_controller_ of the card gets the Rukh. This applies to Animate Dead as
well. (This is a REVERSAL of a previous ruling!) [Snark]
+ Note that Disintegrate and Swords to Plowshares remove the Egg from the game
instead of sending the card to the graveyard, so no Rukh hatches. [bethmo]
Sandals of Abdallah:
They are destroyed if the creature wearing them dies _without_regenerating_.
[Snark]
Sandstorm:
This can be played before damage dealing in the attack phase to kill off or
damage creatures. [Snark]
Serendib Djinn:
If the destruction of the Land being sacrificed is prevented by any means,
the Djinn has still been paid. It is the attempt to destroy that makes
the Djinn happy. So, use those Pyramids and Consecrate Lands! [Snark]
The Djinn only damages you if an Island is successfully destroyed. [bethmo]
If you have more than one Djinn, you may feed them one at a time. This
may allow you to feed the same Consecrated Land to all the Djinns. [bethmo]
If it is not possible to destroy a land, the Djinn need not be fed.
Shahrazad:
Yes this card is as annoying as you imagine :-(
If a card is "removed from play" in the sub-game it is still shuffled back
in before returning to the main game. [Snark]
+ The player going first in the parent games goes first in the subgame.
[bethmo]
+ At the start of the subgame both players draw 7 cards. If one player has
fewer than 7 cards, that player loses. If both have fewer than 7 cards,
both players lose. [bethmo]
Singing Tree:
Can only be used during an attack phase.
Effects last until the end of the current attack phase. [Snark]
Lowers the current power to zero but does not prevent the power from being
increased after the Tree is used. [Snark]
Sorcerous Queen:
It changes the text on the card to read 0/2, any counters or enchantments
which improve (or weaken) the creature's combat values remain in effect.
[WotC Rules Team] Note that this may actually make the Rock Hydra stronger
or kill a creature with two or more -1/-1 tokens on it.
Unstable Mutation:
Note that the -1/-1 counters stay even if the enchantment is removed.
[card text]
Ydwen Efreet:
If the coinflip prevents the Efreet from blocking, you cannot put up a
different blocker instead. The coinflip occurs _after_ you assign
defenders (much like False Orders). [Snark]