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State-Based Actions

Or Automatic Updates

August 2013.

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In general

State-Based Actions (SBAs) • Don't use they stack • Don’t care what happens while resolving a spell or

ability• Are checked throughout the game before any player

recieves priority• Aren’t contolled by players

Don’t they sound a bit rebellious and self centered?

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Meet the SBAs

1) A player loses the game if he/she• Has 0 or less life• Attempts to draw a card from an empty library• Has 10 or more poison counters

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2) If a creature has toughness:• 0 or less, it goes to its owner's graveyard

Regeneration can't help here

• Greater than 0 (for example 3) and has been dealt damage equal or greater than its toughness (let’s say 3 or 5), it’s

destroyed (lethal damage) • Greater than 0 and it's been dealt damage by

something with deathtouch, it's destroyed Regeneration can help in both cases

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Example: Plague Myr equipped with Basilisk Collar deals combat damage to Melira, Sylvok Outcast. The myr will lose its infect, but it will still have deathouch (+ lifelink) and deal 1 damage to Melira who will be destroyed.

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3) If a planeswalker:• Has 0 loyalty, it's put into its owner's graveyard• Has the same planeswalker type with at least another

planeswalker (and they have the same controller), the controller chooses only one which stays on the battlefield “Planeswalker Uniqueness Rule“

Example: You control Jace, the Mind Sculptor and your opponent plays Jace, Architect of Though. Both planeswalkers survive. If you play Jace Beleren, you choose which one of your Jaces remains.

This was before the changes

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4) “Legend rule”• There can’t be 2+ legendary permanents with the same

name on the battlefield at the same time under the same controller only one will remain on the battlefield, depending on the controller’s choice

Example: Your opponent has Karakas and you play your Karakas as well. Both remain on the battlefield.

Opponent You

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4) “Legend rule”Example: Both you and your opponent control the two Niv-Mizzets

(Dracogenius and the Firemind), but if you play another Firemind, you choose which one stays alive.

YouOpponent

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5) “World rule“• If there are 2+ permanents with the “World”

supertype, all but the newest one go into their graveyards.

Example I: Arboria is on the battlefield, you play Chaosphere and an soon as it's on the battlefield, Arboria is put into its graveyard.

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• In case there’s a tie (for the newest one), they ALL die (go to the graveyards).

Example II: Arboria, Chaosphere and Revelation are in their graveyards. Someone casts Open the Vaults. As soon as the worlds enter the battlefield, they end up in their graveyards again.

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6) Attaching and unattaching • An unattached Aura or an Aura attached to an illegal

object (or player) goes to its owner's graveyard

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6) Attaching and unattaching • An Equipment or Fortification attached to an illegal

permanent becomes unattached and remains on the battlefield• If any other permanent (creature, land...) becomes

attached to an object or player, unattach it and leave it on the battlefield

7) Counters• If a permanent has X +1/+1 and Y -1/-1 counters (X>Y)

simply remove Y +1/+1 and Y -1/-1 counters

• If a permanent has a limit to the number of possible counters placed on it, remove the excess ones

Example: Rasputin’s maximum is 7

Example: Champion of the Parish has 5 +1/+1 counters and 3 -1/-1 counters. In total that’s 2 +1/+1 counters.

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8) A bit unusual SBAs• A phased out token or one not on the battlefield• A copy of a spell in a zone other than the stack• A copy of a card in any zone other than the stack or the

battlefield

Ceases to exist

Example: A 2/2 wolf token got hit by a lightning bolt, it dies (goes to the graveyard), but doesn’t stay in the ‘yard it ceases to exist (it doesn’t get exiled!)

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• 2HG A team loses the game if they get 15 or more posion counters

• Archenemy A non-ongoing scheme whose trigger isn’t on the stack is put face down on the bottom of the scheme deck

• PlanechaseIf a phenomenon card (whose trigger isn’t on the stack) is face up in the command zone, the planar controller planeswalks

• Commander/EDHA player that recieved 21 or more combat damage by the same commander loses the game

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SBAs in detail • Whenever a player would receive priority, the game checks

for SBA and performs them simultaneously. The check is repeated if any SBA are performed as a result of the check.

Example: In the combat damage step, a kicked Ardent Soldier is blocked by Lockjaw Snapper and they deal damage. The soldier is 1/2 with a +1/+1 counter and deals 2 damage to the 2/2 snapper, while the snapper deals 2 damage to the soldier in form of

-1/1 counters. The soldier has now 1 +1/+1 and 2 -1/-1 counters, SBA are checked and performed: remove 1 of each counters from the soldier (it has a -1/-1 counter now), Lockjaw Snapper has lethal damage marked on it so it's destroyed and its ability triggers. The game checks again for SBA.

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• Put all triggered abilities on the stack. If there are no more triggered abilities waiting to be put on the stack, the appropriate player gets priority.

Example continued: Now Lockjaw Snapper's trigger goes on the stack. If both players pass their priority, the trigger resolves and Ardent Soldier gets another -1/-1 counter.

SBA are check once again and applied, they "see" the soldier's toughness is 0 and it's put into its owner's graveyard.

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• If SBA result in a permanent leaving the battlefield at the same time other SBAs are performed, that permanent's last known info is derived from before those SBA were performed.

A Young Wolf with a +1/+1 counter is targeted with Grim Affliction and proliferated. Even though the counters cancel each other out, undying will not trigger.

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• If multiple state-based actions would have the same result at the same time, a single replacement effect will replace all of them.

Example: Vampire Nighthawk blocks a regenerating Lotleth Troll. The regeneration replaces the outcome of deathtouch and lethal damage, so the Troll survives (maybe even kills the vampire).

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Short list of SBAs

• Lose the game: 0 life, 10 poison counters, empty library draw• Creatures die: ≤0 toughness, lethal damage ≥ toughness,

deathtouch damage ≥ 1• Planeswalker uniqueness rule• Legend rule• World rule• Aura unattached or illegal graveyard• Equipment/ Fortification unattached or illegal battlefield• Counters: remove excess • Tokens, copies of spells and cards mind the zones