Roebuck

Interactions of Replacement Effects

Alex Roebuck

What are replacement effects?A subset of continuous effects.Effects that modify another effect or action, or causes the

effect/action to be skipped.They can exist as a static ability on a permanent. They

function for as long as that permanent is on the battlefield....or they can be created by a one-shot effect, which means

they have no visual representation and a pre-defined duration.

Identifying replacement effectsInsteadSkip“[This permanent]

enters the battlefield with/as...”

“As [this permanent] enters the battlefield...”

What gets replaced?A replacement effect’s text will (usually)

indicate what events it affects.If the indicated event would happen, the

replacement effect is applied at the exact time that event should happen.

Many events occur as part of a larger string of actions, such as following the instructions of a spell as you resolve it. Replacement effects only modify the indicated event and not other things that should happen in the same batch of actions.

What gets replaced?

Non-static replacement effectsNot all replacement effects are static abilities

of permanents.Replacement effects can be created by a spell

or ability resolving.They might have a pre-defined duration.They might last indefinitely, or until they are

“used up.”

Non-static replacement effects

Multiple replacement effectsThe affected player / the controller of the affected

object decides which replacement effect to apply, with the following restrictions:

Self-replacement effects must be applied before any other replacement effects.

If a replacement effect would modify under whose control an object would enter the battlefield, it must be applied next.

If a replacement effect would cause an object to become a copy of another object as it enters the battlefield, it must be applied next

Any remaining effect may be chosen.

Multiple replacement effectsOnce a replacement effect has been chosen, we apply it to

produce a modified event.If any replacement effects could apply to the modified

event, the player chooses one of them using the same criteria as before.

This can include replacement effects which weren’t applicable to the original event, but which are applicable to the modified event.

A replacement effect can only apply to each event once – no replacement effect which has already applied during the event’s “modification history” can apply a second time.

The process is repeated until no more replacement effects could apply.

Multiple replacement effects

Self-replacement EffectsSome effects modify

themselves. This means that both the event that’s going to be modified and the replacement effect that modifies it come from the same source.

“Do X. Instead of X, do Y.”

Self-replacement EffectsWhy not just start with

“Do Y?”Self-replacement allows

spells and abilities to function in a variable or modified way in certain circumstances.

Self-replacement Effects

Entering the battlefieldSome replacement effects modify how a

permanent enters the battlefield, e.g. tapped; face down.

These replacement effects can come from the object’s own abilities...

...or from other continuous effects.

Entering the battlefieldTo determine which effects apply and what they do...Use the same criteria as before to apply the effects in

the correct order.Check the characteristics of the permanent as it would

exist on the battlefield.For each effect, take into account any replacement

effects which have already been applied.If the object is a spell, consider any continuous effects

that have changed its characteristics (e.g. Moonlace).Factor in the object’s own static abilities as they

would apply to it on the battlefield, but ignore continuous effects from other sources.

Entering the battlefieldThe results of the replacement effects are

calculated immediately before the object moves zones, and applied as it moves.

Entering the battlefield

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