Major Templating Changes

With the Dominaria set, we made four huge templating changes. Aaron discusses them in his article, so I'm going to only briefly touch them and then list the cards. Note that I haven't included silver-bordered cards in these lists, and some cards may have slipped off the list for any number of reasons; the Oracle card reference as visible through Gatherer.Wizards.com is the final arbitrator if something doesn't match up.

Planeswalker Damage Redirection

We didn't just yoink the rule for planeswalker damage redirection and leave Jace as an unstoppable juggernaut. We issued errata to over 700 cards to be able to also deal damage to planeswalkers. The simplest guidelines to remember are:

Abilities that read "target creature or player" have been changed to "any target."

Abilities that damage or prevent damage to "target player" have been changed to "target player or planeswalker." However, if the amount of damage is calculated by using information about that player or objects they control, the ability remains unchanged and can now damage only the player.

Abilities that damage "target opponent" have been changed to "target opponent or planeswalker" with the same exception listed above. These spells and abilities can target a planeswalker you control.

Abilities that deal damage but don't call for a target haven't received errata, with one exception (Vial Smasher the Fierce—the damage was already unpredictable, so we let it continue to be unpredictable).

Note that there are a small number of weirdos and exceptions; these general guidelines are intended to help you remember the most common cases, but they're not firm rules, and Oracle text wins. The overall philosophy is that you should be able to react knowing what will take the damage (which Vial Smasher deliberately throws out the window, hence its change).

Planeswalker Damage Not Redirected

And, since this may interest many of you, here's a list of the cards I spotted that did not receive errata but can no longer interact with damage dealt to planeswalkers. This list is slightly subjective, and I'm entirely aware that edge cases exist that could add another hundred or so cards to this list.

Singular "They"

Magic has adopted the singular "they" as the third-person pronoun of choice for players, replacing "he or she." In cases where this introduces ambiguity, "that player" gets used instead.

"This spell"

Cards refer to themselves all the time. Very often, they use their name to do so. However, in cases where the card referring to casting itself, we're using "this spell" more often. For example, "this spell costs more to cast," but not "this spell deals damage" or "when this spell enters the battlefield." This isn't functional, although it makes an existing rule unintuitive, so that rule's been removed (see rule 112.6c in the rules changes section of this article).

"Mana Pool"

The mana pool still exists, but we're removing the words from cards. Now you simply add mana. This list is the biggest by far because we've printed so many lands. It's also not a functional change in any case.

Other Oracle Changes

In addition to the big long lists of changes, we made some smaller garden-variety changes like we make for every set.

Light Italics Dressing (Non-Functional)

Starting with the Dominaria set, we've changed how the name of our game is stylized. Previously, Magic: The Gathering was to be bolded; now it's italicized. This actually affects several cards that refer to Magic by name, only one of which is black-bordered—Shahrazad!

Seven silver-bordered cards also change: Booster Tutor, The Countdown Is at One, Ghazbán Ogress, Gus, Summon the Pack, and World-Bottling Kit switch to italics. Last but certainly not least, Richard Garfield, Ph.D. changes the most: we dropped the word "Magic" entirely. The rules enforce that cards are Magic cards, Garfield doesn't need to repeat it.

This is among the least gameplay-relevant changes we have ever made.

Trampling About Reminder Text (Non-Functional)

Speaking of not-at-all-gameplay-relevant changes, we've reworded the reminder text for trample. There's no such thing as a "defending planeswalker," and while we're comfortable with reminder text taking liberties like that, the new reminder text is more accurate and more direct—and shorter!

Yavimaya Wurm's old rules text:

Trample (This creature can deal excess combat damage to defending player or planeswalker while attacking.)

Yavimaya Wurm's new rules text:

Trample (This creature can deal excess combat damage to the player or planeswalker it's attacking.)

Orders of Wedges and Arcs (Non-Functional)

With Khans of Tarkir, we changed the order of mana symbols when one color meets its two enemies.

Up until then, the color facing its enemies came first, followed by its enemies in the standard two-color order. For example, Lightning Angel's cost was 1RWU.

Khans of Tarkir reordered these by putting the solitary color in the middle, paired up with its enemies in standard two-color order. For example, Jeskai Ascendancy's cost is URW.

(As an aside on two-color orders: WU is an allied order because they're next to each other in WUBRG order, but WR is wrong because there are two letters between W and R, but only one between R and W—just loop back around to the other side of the mana circle.)

At the time, we accepted both of those tricolor orders as valid. However, over time, we've decided to standardize them all going forward and older cards have received errata to order their costs per Tarkir. This isn't a functional change at all, and only two cards needed to have their rules text changed to accommodate this order. Can you figure them out?

Metamorphood Chain (Non-Functional)

Among the four cards that reference a converted mana cost plus a number, we had three very slightly different templates. The one template with two cards won by superior numbers, and the other two have fallen in line.

Metamorphosis's old rules text:

As an additional cost to cast Metamorphosis, sacrifice a creature.

Add X mana of any one color to your mana pool, where X is one plus the sacrificed creature's converted mana cost. Spend this mana only to cast creature spells.

Metamorphosis's new rules text:

As an additional cost to cast this spell, sacrifice a creature.

Add X mana of any one color, where X is 1 plus the sacrificed creature's converted mana cost. Spend this mana only to cast creature spells.

Food Chain's old rules text:

Exile a creature you control: Add X mana of any one color to your mana pool, where X is the exiled creature's converted mana cost plus one. Spend this mana only to cast creature spells.

Food Chain's new rules text:

Exile a creature you control: Add X mana of any one color, where X is 1 plus the exiled creature's converted mana cost. Spend this mana only to cast creature spells.

Rally the Word (Non-Functional)

Del Laugel, Magic's lead editor, has noted that some cards get changed once per rules manager. Rally the Horde is one of those cards, and now I'll make one of the least weird changes to it: I'm adding the word "card" where it's gone missing after the word "land."

Rally the Horde's old rules text:

Exile the top card of your library. Exile the top card of your library. Exile the top card of your library. If the last card exiled isn't a land, repeat this process. Create a 1/1 red Warrior creature token for each nonland card exiled this way.

Rally the Horde's new rules text:

Exile the top card of your library. Exile the top card of your library. Exile the top card of your library. If the last card exiled isn't a land card, repeat this process. Create a 1/1 red Warrior creature token for each nonland card exiled this way.

Kess "This Turn" Goodbye (Non-Functional)

Kess's ability has a nonstandard "this turn" on its exiling effect. We decided to zap those unnecessary words. This isn't a functional change, since a spell cast this way won't resolve during another turn. No, not even with Ertai's Meddling.

Kess, Dissident Mage's old rules text:

Flying

During each of your turns, you may cast an instant or sorcery card from your graveyard. If a card cast this way would be put into your graveyard this turn, exile it instead.

Kess, Dissident Mage's new rules text:

Flying

During each of your turns, you may cast an instant or sorcery card from your graveyard. If a card cast this way would be put into your graveyard, exile it instead.

Stonehewer Update (Non-Functional . . . ish?)

The Stonehewer Giant Avatar Vanguard card is getting what looks like some pretty extreme, majorly functionally new errata. There's just one catch: This card is available only on Magic Online, its text in-game has matched this new text for years and years, and it has literally always worked as the new text states. The change just never made it into Oracle until now.

Stonehewer Giant Avatar's old rules text:

Whenever a creature enters the battlefield under your control, create a token that's a copy of a random Equipment card with converted mana cost less than or equal to that creature's converted mana cost. Attach that Equipment to that creature.

Stonehewer Giant Avatar's new rules text:

Whenever a creature enters the battlefield under your control, create a token that's a copy of a random Equipment card with converted mana cost less than that creature's converted mana cost. Attach that Equipment to that creature.

Gilded Drake (Functional)

Gilded Drake's goal is to force an exchange or get sacrificed. Seems pretty easy. But over the last 20 years, it has constantly batted its wings against the rules of the game like an overstuffed pigeon against a plate-glass window. Since "fizzling" spells and abilities are no longer "countered," it needs yet another update.

Its new text hews a little closer to the original words. We dropped the reminder text in the process because for a card this dense in rules knowledge, if you've got an understanding of the card, that reminder text probably isn't helping.

Gilded Drake's old rules text:

Flying

When Gilded Drake enters the battlefield, exchange control of Gilded Drake and up to one target creature an opponent controls. If you don't make an exchange, sacrifice Gilded Drake. This ability can't be countered except by spells and abilities. (This effect lasts indefinitely.)

Gilded Drake's new rules text:

Flying

When Gilded Drake enters the battlefield, exchange control of Gilded Drake and up to one target creature an opponent controls. If you don't or can't make an exchange, sacrifice Gilded Drake. This ability still resolves if its target becomes illegal.

Lim-Dûl's Paladin (Non-Functional)

Jaya's good friend Dim-Bulb has some weirdness going on with his paladin's last ability. If it's attacking a planeswalker and isn't blocked, the words sound like it'll still gleefully deal its damage to the planeswalker (I mean, if you give it power somehow. Otherwise it flails adorably and does nothing.) after already making the planeswalker's controller lose 4 life. All the other cards with this "assigns no damage" effect received errata, and this one somehow slipped through for quite a while. Possibly hiding inside a magical ring.

Lim-Dûl's Paladin's old rules text:

At the beginning of your upkeep, you may discard a card. If you don't, sacrifice Lim-Dûl's Paladin and draw a card.

Whenever Lim-Dûl's Paladin becomes blocked, it gets +6/+3 until end of turn.

Whenever Lim-Dûl's Paladin attacks and isn't blocked, it assigns no combat damage to defending player this turn and that player loses 4 life.

Lim-Dûl's Paladin's new rules text:

Trample

At the beginning of your upkeep, you may discard a card. If you don't, sacrifice Lim-Dûl's Paladin and draw a card.

Whenever Lim-Dûl's Paladin becomes blocked, it gets +6/+3 until end of turn.

Whenever Lim-Dûl's Paladin attacks and isn't blocked, it assigns no combat damage this turn and defending player loses 4 life.

Introduction

Comprehensive Rules Changes

Oracle Changes