Hello.

The following question arose in my community:

Suppose you cast Electrolyze targeting a couple creatures (A and B) and your opponent has Goblin Flectomancer in play. As far as we know, you can't sacrifice the goblin to change target B of Electrolyze to target A, but I'm not fully sure as to why.

According to

114.3. The same target can’t be chosen multiple times for any one instance of the word “target” on a spell or ability. If the spell or ability uses the word “target” in multiple places, the same object, player, or zone can be chosen once for each instance of the word “target” (as long as it fits the targeting criteria). This rule applies both when choosing targets for a spell or ability and when changing targets or choosing new targets for a spell or ability (see rule 114.6).

I understand that if you have 2 targets and only one “target” word you need to choose 2 different targets but I find difficulties understanding this or where in the rules says that you have to stick with your initial decision due to the wording of Electrolyze and similar cards.

When you play Disenchant targeting Blood Moon I could use the goblin to change its target to, lets say, Ornithopter, because even though we chose an enchantment as the target for Disenchant, it is not a modal spell and I can change the target even if it is not the same type of permanent.

In the case of Electrolyze I could argue that by activating the goblin I'm just changing from the previous selection of Electrolyze of “deal 1 damage to 2 target creatures” (legal choice) to “deal 2 damage to one target creature” (which is also a possible option when choosing how to cast Electrolyze).

Am I understanding it wrong? is there any other place on the rules that specifically deals with this interaction? If all we have is rule 114.3, shouldn't it be more explicit about this?

Thanks.

Edit: It has been pointed to me that this wouldn't work with the described scenario. The goblin wouldn't work as was my intention on the described issue as you have to change all the targets or none. Lets just assume that the ability would try to change the targets to creature C instead or that we use Spellskite instead of the goblin as the example and that the Spellskite is creature A and you try to use his ability to change target B to himself as well.

Edited Carlos Navarrete Granado (Feb. 18, 2014 09:32:22 AM)

Cards do what their Oracle text says. Effects like Spellskite and Goblin Flectomancer just allow you to change the target or targets of the spell. Nothing on the cards says that you can change the number of targets the spell has, so you can't.

For instance, I cast Electrolyze choosing two targets. You activate the Spellskite's ability. You can change one of the targets to Spellskite, but not the other. It still requires two different targets, and nothing about Spellskite lets you change how many targets the spell has, just what the spell is targeting. And because Electrolyze doesn't use the word ‘target’ multiple times, you can't choose to target the same permanent both times. So you can change one of the targets to Spellskite, but you can't change the other target to that same Spellskite, since Electrolyze with two targets requires two different targets.

Nathan Long
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