Release Notes

Comprehensive rules updates

The following updates would need to be made to the comprehensive rules (as of November 2023):

120.3 Damage

120.3X1 Combat damage dealt to a creature by a source with scorching causes the source's controller to give the creature a number of burn counters equal to the damage dealt, in addition to the damage’s other results.

120.3X2 Combat damage dealt to a creature by a source with caustic causes the source's controller to give the creature a poison counter, in addition to the damage's other results.

122 Counters

122.1X1 A burn counter on a creature or on a creature card in a zone other than the battlefield subtracts 1 from that object’s power and toughness and as long as the weather is sunny. (See rules 613.4c and 7XX2)

122.1X2 A frost counter on a creature creates a continuous effect. This effect is "As long as it’s snowy, this creature can’t attack or block unless its controller pays {1}." This cost is paid as attackers are declared.

122.1X3 There is an inherent triggered ability associated with poison counters on creatures. This ability has no source and is controlled by the active player. This ability does not trigger for each creature with a poison counter on it, it simply triggers once. The ability is “At the beginning of each player’s end step, for each creature that player controls with a poison counter on it, they sacrifice it unless they pay 1 life for each poison counter on it.”

122.1X4 A status counter is one of either a poison counter, stun counter, frost counter, or burn counter. A status counter is not a kind of counter in itself, it is only a subset category of counters.

122.X If an effect instructs a player to put or remove a "status counter" from an object or player, they choose one of the subset of counters that define a status counter (See 122.1X4). If an effect instructs a player to remove all status counters, they remove all counters included in the subset of counters that define a status counter.

201.X Name

201.X The card "Gloom" from the Pokémon set is distinct from the card "Gloom" originally printed in Limited Edition Alpha. When playing limited for the Pokèmon set, specifying "Gloom" implies the Pokémon. Outside of limited, opposing players must ask a player naming "Gloom" to specify which Gloom is being named if it's relevant to that game.

205.3i Land types

1205.3mX The land types include Gym.

205.3m Creature types

1205.3mX The creature types include Pokémon.

614.1 Replacement Effects

614.1X Effects that read "As ... phases out" are replacement effects.

702.X1 Scorching

702.X1a Scorching is a static ability.

702.X1b Combat damage dealt to a creature by a source with scorching causes the source's controller to give the creature a burn counter, in addition to the damage’s other results. See rule 120.3. (See 122.1X, "burn counters")

702.X1c Multiple instances of scorching on a creature are not redundant. If a creature has multiple instances of scorching, each places a burn counter on damaged creatures.

702.X2 Caustic

702.X2a Caustic is a static ability.

702.X2b Combat damage dealt to a creature by a source with caustic causes the source's controller to give the creature a poison counter, in addition to the damage's other results. (See 122.1X3, "poison counters")

702.X2c Multiple instances of caustic are not redundant. If a creature has multiple instances of caustic, each places a poison counter on damaged creatures.

702.X2d Caustic does not cause loss of life from poison counters at each end step. That effect happens independently of any object's effects. See rule 122.1X3.

702.X3 Steel skin

702.X3a Steel skin is a static ability. “Steel skin” means “This can't have poison counters put on it. If a creature with caustic would deal combat damage to this, prevent that damage.” (See 122.1X3, "poison counters")

702.X3b Multiple instances of steel skin on a permanent are redundant.

702.X4 Evolve from

702.X4a “Evolve from [cardname]” is a static ability that appears on evolution cards. Some cards may have a secondary set of power and toughness characteristics. This ability functions while the evolving spell is on the stack and behaves similarly to a “mutate” ability. “Evolve from [cardname] [cost]” means "You may pay [cost] rather than pay this spell’s mana cost. If you do, it becomes an evolving creature spell and targets a creature named [cardname] with the same owner as this spell." Casting a spell using its evolve ability follows the rules for paying alternative costs (see 601.2b and 601.2f–h). If a player casts a spell this way, its alternative power and toughness characteristics are used if they are defined on the card. See 7XX1 “Evolution Cards.”

702.X4b “Evolve from” is a different keyword than “Evolve”, the former referring to a triggered ability described by rules 702.100.

702.X4c As an evolving creature spell begins resolving, if its target is illegal, it ceases to be an evolving creature spell and continues resolving as a creature spell and will be put onto the battlefield under the control of the spell’s controller.

702.X4d As an evolving creature spell resolves, if its target is legal, it doesn’t enter the battlefield. Rather, it merges with the target creature and becomes one object represented by more than one card or token (see rule 725, “Merging with Permanents”). The resulting permanent is an evolved permanent.

702.X4e An ability that triggers whenever a creature evolves triggers when a spell merges with a creature as a result of a resolving evolving creature spell or when one or more +1/+1 counters are put on a creature as a result of its evolve ability as defined by rule 702.100b.

Example: A player casts Nidorina as an evolving creature spell targeting Female Nidoran. The spell resolves and Nidorina's triggered ability is put on the stack. That player then casts Nidoqueen as an evolving creature spell targeting Nidorina. That same triggered ability is again put on the stack.

702.X4f If an evolving creature spell has a triggered ability that triggers on itself evolving, it will trigger when that spell resolves.

Example: A player casts Haunter as an evolving creature spell targeting a Gastly they own. Haunter’s triggered ability will go on the stack once the spell resolves. Subsequently, if that player then casts Gengar as an evolving creature spell targeting Haunter, the resulting Gengar’s triggered ability from the Haunter card will go on the stack.

702.X4g An evolved permanent has all abilities of each card and token that represents it. Its other characteristics are defined from the topmost card or token.

702.X4h The top card of an evolved permanent may have a defined “EVOLVED” power and toughness that is used instead of its normally defined power and toughness. See 7XX1, “Evolution cards.”

702.X4i Any effect that refers to or modifies the evolving creature spell refers to or modifies the evolved permanent it merges with as it resolves.

7XX1 Evolution Cards

7XX1.1 Evolution cards may have power and toughness characteristics labeled as “EVOLVED.” They may also have a keyword ability defined in the upper right of the frame describing an “evolve from” ability. See 720.XXX, “Evolve from”

7XX1.2 The power and toughness denoted by the “EVOLVED” frame represent alternative characteristics that the object may have while it is a spell or while it is a permanent on the battlefield. The card’s normal characteristics appear as usual.

7XX1.2a The existence and values of these alternative characteristics are part of the object’s copiable values.

7XX1.3 As a player casts an evolution card, the player chooses whether they cast the card normally or cast it as an evolving creature spell using the “evolve from” keyword ability. See 720.XXX, “Evolve from”

7XX1.4 When casting an evolving creature spell that has an alternative power and toughness, use only its alternative power and toughness when evaluating those characteristics to see if it can be cast.

7XX1.5 Both an evolving creature spell and the permanent it becomes have only its alternative set of power and toughness characteristics if the target remains valid as it resolves. If the target is invalid and the spell resolves as a creature entering the battlefield, its original power and toughness are used.

7XX1.6 If an evolving creature spell is copied, the copy is also an evolving creature spell. If the original spell has an alternative power and toughness defined, then the copy has those same characteristics and not the normal power and toughness characteristics of the card that represents the evolving spell. Any rule or effect that refers to an evolving spell refers to the copy as well.

7XX1.7 In every zone except the stack or the battlefield, and while on the stack or the battlefield when not cast as an evolving creature spell, an evolution card has only its normal characteristics.

7XX1.8 An evolution card’s characteristics other than its power and toughness remain the same whether it was cast as an evolving creature spell or cast normally.

7XX2 Weather

7XX2.1 The weather is a designation that the game itself can have. The game starts with no weather designation. "It becomes [weather]" effects refer to the game gaining the [weather] designation. Once it becomes a certain weather condition, the game will have exactly one of those designations from that point forward.

7XX2.2 Valid weather designations are windy, rainy, foggy, sunny, and snowy.

7XX2.3 The weather only changes if its designation is changing. That is, if it's already sunny, and the effect "It becomes sunny" is resolving, that effect does nothing. Triggers that would trigger on the weather changing do not trigger.

7XX2.4 Certain weather conditions have an effect on the game, such as enabling burn and frost counters. These effects apply even when no cards are in play and aren't associated with any particular card or object.

Rules Clarifications

The following notes are for rulings on particular cards.

Butterfree

• Evolved Insects would have all creature cards they evolved from return to your hand as well. For instance, if you owned a Scizor that's evolved from a Scyther, and it dies while it has Metapod's effect, you'd get both Scyther and Scizor cards returned to your hand.
• Metapod's effect won't apply to Insects that die at the same time it dies. So, for instance, if Metapod dies in combat along with other Insects you control, none of those Insects will return to your hand.

Rattata

• A creature with "Evolve from Rattata" (ie Raticate) may evolve onto the tokens that Rattata creates since they have the name "Rattata". These tokens are not copies of Rattata and don't have any abilities.

Ninetales

• If it's sunny when Ninetales attacks, and putting a burn counter would reduce a creature's toughness to less than 1, that creature doesn't die. It becomes foggy first before state-based actions are checked to see if that creature's toughness is less than 1.

Wigglytuff

• If multiple creatures with toughness greater than Wigglytuff's phase in at the same time, Wigglytuff will continue to get +1/+1 counters so long as its toughness is less than or equal to each of those creatures. This is because the intervening if clause is checked both when putting the effect on the stack and when it resolves. (For example, if Wigglytuff is a 3/3 and three 3/3 creatures phase in, Wigglytuff only gets one +1/+1 counter.)

Haunter

• You may return the sacrificed creature to your hand if its mana value is less than 6. Thus, you can also sacrifice Haunter and return it to your hand.

Weezing

• Weezing’s abilities can combine such that if a poison counter would be placed on it while it’s foggy, it would get two +1/+1 counters.

Jynx

• Casting a card with Jynx’s ability is an alternative cost, so you can’t cast an evolving creature spell this way.

Mew

• Mew’s ability copies all abilities, not just activated abilities. This works similarly to merged permanents.

Unown

• Unown’s ability is not an alternative cost, it’s a cost reduction. Therefore, you may cast evolving creature spells this way with a reduced cost.

Houndour

• The burn counter can still result in that creature dying despite it being indestructible if it reduces that creature's toughness to less than 1.

Houndoom

• If a creature you control deals damage to itself, it will get two +1/+1 counters (as long as it survives the damage).

Wild Arcanine

• Multiple instances of scorching are not redundant. So if Wild Arcanine gives scorching to a creature that already has scorching, it will result in twice the number of burn counters being put on the damaged creature.