This thread is for discussing Modern Rules Problems - Anafenza, the Foremost by Nathan Long.

No paragraph to clear up the confusion about this rule?

108.2a In the text of spells or abilities, the term “card” is used only to refer to a card that’s not on
the battlefield or on the stack, such as a creature card in a player’s hand.

My guess would be a lot of the confusion is caused by the unusual pairing of ‘creature’ and ‘card’ on Anafenza, the Foremost. On a card like Leyline of the Void it doesn't matter but here one can easily think ‘card’ means to look at the object as it would be not on the battlefield.

Isnt Anafenza only checking whether the card that would be placed on the graveyard is a creature card? It never says anything about being a creature on the battlefield

Originally posted by Mauricio Flores Pauletti:

Isnt Anafenza only checking whether the card that would be placed on the graveyard is a creature card? It never says anything about being a creature on the battlefield

Anfenza checks 1) is the thing going to the graveyard a card? and 2) if so, does it have the type “creature?”

A non-creature Theros God would be a creature in the graveyard, but that doesn't matter because it will never hit the graveyard–the replacement effect checks what it looks like while it's on the battlefield. Is it a card? Yes. Does it have the type creature? Well, no; its own ability removes that type, so it goes straight to the yard and Anafenza doesn't see it.

Another interesting case with Anafenza:

Player A owns Anafenza. Player B steals it with something like Act of Treason. While Player B controls it, Anafenza gets destroyed. Since Anafenza would go to its owner's graveyard, and the owner's graveyard is an opponent's graveyard, Anafenza will exile itself.