Query status, January 2008

Hi,
A brief summary of what's been happening the last few months:

* We had a long-standing query about using last-known information in
the check for a legal target before a spell or ability can resolve.
There's now a line in rule 413.2a:

...If the source of an ability has left the zone it was in, its
last known information is used during this process to determine its
characteristics. ...

So, the resolving spell or ability can check the characteristics
of a missing source to see if protection abilities mean that the
target is illegal, which wasn't obviously the case when the query
was raised in 2006.

* There was a query about the wording on Lashknife Barrier, Urza's
Armor and so on. The general state of affairs is that the Oracle
wording broadly follows the original wording, and that rule 419.7c
is provided to stop the prevention from looking like a replacement
that would continually reapply.

* There are still issues with Gatherer's text display modes, I still
don't know what the schedule might be, if any, for getting them
seen to.

* No word yet on updating Word of Command's text and/or rulings
to match all the other effects that let you play a spell at an
odd time or from an odd place.

* The recent query about Sentinel's rulings (and incidentally,
the same with Halfdane) got sent in.

A good crop of different issues - many thanks to the readers for
continuing to point out and discuss the rules issues.

--
-- Zoe Stephenson, NetRep rec.games.trading-cards.magic.rules
Group FAQ: http://www.daeghnao.com/magic/faq/ --
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