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Rules Q&A » Post: CR 201.4b and referring to an object with the same name

CR 201.4b and referring to an object with the same name

Jan. 21, 2019 06:36:28 PM

Mario Haßler
Judge (Uncertified)

German-speaking countries

CR 201.4b and referring to an object with the same name

Hi there!

CR 201.4b says:
If an ability of an object refers to that object by name, and an object with a different name gains that ability, each instance of the first name in the gained ability that refers to the first object by name should be treated as the second name.
There are cards with abilities that not only refer to themselves by their name, but also to other objects with the same name, e. g. Escaped Shapeshifter (“As long as an opponent controls a creature with flying not named Escaped Shapeshifter, Escaped Shapeshifter has flying. (…)”) or Avarax (“(…) When Avarax enters the battlefield, you may search your library for a card named Avarax, reveal it, and put it into your hand. (…)”).

While the parts “Escaped Shapeshifter has flying” and “When Avarax enters the battlefield” clearly fall into the scheme covered by CR 201.4b (de facto meaning “This creature has flying” and “When this creature enters the battlefield”), the other appearances “a creature with flying not named Escaped Shapeshifter” and “a card named Avarax” don't.

So what happens when a creature not named “Escaped Shapeshifter” or “Avarax” has the mentioned abilities? For example, Sakashima the Impostor copies Escaped Shapeshifter or Avarax, but keeps its own name; does the copied text read

(A) “As long as an opponent controls a creature with flying not named Escaped Shapeshifter, Sakashima the Impostor has flying” and “When Sakashima the Impostor enters the battlefield, you may search your library for a card named Avarax, reveal it, and put it into your hand”, or is it

(B) “As long as an opponent controls a creature with flying not named Sakashima the Impostor, Sakashima the Impostor has flying” and “When Sakashima the Impostor enters the battlefield, you may search your library for a card named Sakashima the Impostor, reveal it, and put it into your hand”?

Thank you in advance.

Kind regards,

Mario Hassler

Jan. 22, 2019 02:52:43 AM

Nathan Long
Forum Moderator
Judge (Level 2 (Judge Foundry))

USA - Southwest

CR 201.4b and referring to an object with the same name

Hi,

Thanks for your question. The rule you quoted applies only to abilities where the ability is referring to itself. It doesn't apply to abilities of the card that refer to a particular card name that also happens to be the card's name. In your case, A would be the correct text for the Sakashima copy - Sakashima would be looking for creatures your opponents control that are not named Escaped Shapeshifter, not Sakashima.

Thanks,
Nathan Long
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