MTG Salvation

Quick question for a judge: If my opponent controls a Leonin Arbiter and casts a Path to Exile on my creature or uses Ghost Quarter's ability on my land do I still get the option to shuffle my library? Assuming I don't pay the Arbiters extra cost.

Yes. When resolving a spell/ability, you ignore any instructions that are impossible to perform (in this case the search). The shuffle is a seperate instruction and is not depending on you being able to perform the search. You must, however, choose to search, since the "may" refers to the whole package.

edit:
Sorry, just remembered this rule:

608.2d If an effect of a spell or ability offers any choices other than choices already made as part of
casting the spell, activating the ability, or otherwise putting the spell or ability on the stack, the
player announces these while applying the effect. The player can’t choose an option that’s
illegal or impossible, with the exception that having a library with no cards in it doesn’t make
drawing a card an impossible action (see rule 120.3). If an effect divides or distributes
something, such as damage or counters, as a player chooses among any number of untargeted
players and/or objects, the player chooses the amount and division such that at least one player
or object is chosen if able, and each chosen player or object receives at least one of whatever is
being divided. (Note that if an effect divides or distributes something, such as damage or
counters, as a player chooses among some number of target objects and/or players, the amount
and division were determined as the spell or ability was put onto the stack rather than at this
time; see rule 601.2d.)

With the search being made impossible by the Arbiter, you'll have to choose not to search, and thus also forgo the shuffle.

Bugger. Thank you.

Quote from odin8484 »

Quick question for a judge: If my opponent controls a Leonin Arbiter and casts a Path to Exile on my creature or uses Ghost Quarter's ability on my land do I still get the option to shuffle my library? Assuming I don't pay the Arbiters extra cost.

Gatherer states this:

If an effect says “You may search your library . . . If you do, shuffle your library,” and you haven’t paid {2}, you can’t choose to search, so you won’t shuffle.

If an effect says “Search your library . . . Then shuffle your library,” and you haven’t paid {2}, the search effect fails, but you will still have to shuffle.

So it depends on the card. For Path and Quarter, the answer is no. For cards like Flooded Strand, you would fail to search, but still shuffle.

DRay563:

I don't think that applies to Ghost Quarter or Path to Exile, which are both of the form "You may search ..., then shuffle ..." rather than "You may search ... If you do, shuffle ...", and the latter form is clearly covered in C.R. 117.12 (an example is found in Trinket Mage). More generally, if an effect is of the form, "[A player] may A, then B" but A is impossible, can the player still choose to do B?

EDIT (Dec. 9, 2017): See comment 10.

No, as the rule cited above as well as the gather ruling above both state. This is because the shuffle is not an option to be chosen, but rather something that's a consequence of a certain chosen option. If you don't choose that option (for example, because you can't), you also don't get the follow up.

Quote from peteroupc »

DRay563:

I don't think that applies to Ghost Quarter or Path to Exile, which are both of the form "You may search ..., then shuffle ..." rather than "You may search ... If you do, shuffle ...", and the latter form is clearly covered in C.R. 117.12 (an example is found in Trinket Mage). More generally, if an effect is of the form, "[A player] may A, then B" but A is impossible, can the player still choose to do B?

I think the difference in templating between Trinket Mage and Path to Exile is who is doing the searching and shuffling. With Trinket Mage, you (the controller) are searching, so it's templated with "if you do..." With Path to Exile, your opponent is the one searching, so it's templated slightly differently. However, the same logic is still applicable. If the search is optional, the shuffle only happens if the search both is possible and takes place. If the search is not optional, then the shuffle happens regardless of if the search is not possible and therefore does not take place. Additionally, the templating between the two cards segregates the actions into separate sentences. The "may" portion of Path to Exile is in the same sentence as the shuffle. The "may" portion of Trinket Mage is not part of the same sentence as the shuffle. Therefore, if they didn't include "if you do," then there's no way to tie to search to the shuffle in the text and the shuffle then becomes mandatory. Compare that to Flooded Strand. They don't say "if you do" and the shuffle is in the next sentence. The shuffle is mandatory.

DRay273:

But see, for example, Solemn Simulacrum and Squadron Hawk, which do use "You may search ..., then shuffle ...", and not, say, "Its controller may search ..., then shuffle ...".

Quote from peteroupc »

But see, for example, Solemn Simulacrum and Squadron Hawk, which do use "You may search ..., then shuffle ...", and not, say, "Its controller may search ..., then shuffle ...".

The templating is going to be (generally) "...may search library...then shuffle..." as a single sentence or "...may search library... If you do, then shuffle..." as two separate sentences. I've provided a reasonably exhaustive list of cards that follow this templating below (searched Gatherer for "may search library shuffle" excluding the quotation marks, and filtered through the results for all applicable cards). The cards with asterisks by them are ones that did not follow this templating in their original printing but have updated text in Oracle that does follow this templating.

Æther Searcher, Archmage Ascension, Arcum Dagsson, Aurochs Herd, Avarax, Bitterheart Witch, Boggart Harbinger, Boldwyr Heavyweights, Boonweaver Giant, Borderland Ranger, Centaur Rootcaster, Civic Wayfinder, Collective Voyage, Conduit of Ruin, Corpse Connoisseur, Curse of Misfortunes, Daru Cavalier, Elfhame Sanctuary, Elvish Harbinger, Embermage Goblin, Faerie Harbinger, Farhaven Elf, Fierce Empath, Flagstones of Trokair, Flamekin Harbinger, From the Ashes, Garruk, Caller of Beasts, Gatecreeper Vine, General Tazri, Ghost Quarter, Giant Harbinger, Gigantiform, Goblin Matron, Godo, Bandit Warlord, Grinning Totem, Grozoth, Heliod's Pilgrim, Hibernation's End, Higure, the Still Wind, Hired Giant, Hoarding Dragon, Howling Wolf, Hunting Cheetah*, Imperial Hellkite, Iname as One, Iname, Death Aspect, Infectious Bloodlust, Karametra, God of Harvests, Kithkin Harbinger, Knight of the White Orchid, Kor Cartographer, Krosan Tusker, Land Tax*, Liliana's Shade, Loam Larva, Lost Auramancers, Merrow Harbinger, Mishra, Artificer Prodigy, Momir Vig, Simic Visionary, Mycosynth Wellspring, Natural Balance*, Nesting Wurm, New Frontiers, Nissa, Vastwood Seer, Noble Benefactor, Oath of Lieges*, Ondu Giant, One with Nature*, Path to Exile, Pattern of Rebirth, Pilgrim's Eye, Primal Druid, Primeval Titan, Quirion Trailblazer, Ranger of Eos, Ratcatcher, Relic Seeker, Remembrance, Screaming Seahawk, Seedguide Ash, Sidisi, Undead Vizier, Sift Through Sands, Silverglade Elemental, Skyshroud Sentinel, Solemn Simulacrum, Sovereigns of Lost Alara, Sphinx Summoner, Squadron Hawk, Stoneforge Mystic, Sword of the Animist, Sylvan Ranger, Tallowisp, Thalia's Lancers, Totem-Guide Hartebeest, Trail of Mystery, Treasure Mage, Treefolk Harbinger, Trench Gorger, Trinket Mage, Ulvenwald Hydra, Verdant Succession, Veteran Explorer, Viridian Emissary, Wave of Vitriol, Weird Harvest, Welkin Hawk*, Wild Pair, Wirewood Herald, Woodland Bellower, Yavimaya Dryad, Yavimaya Elder, Yavimaya Granger*, Zur the Enchanter

There are a few cards that are slightly different, like Wave of Vitriol, because it affects multiple players. In these instances, the templating concept is still followed, even though it is modified to reflect multiple players are involved.

Cards that do not follow the above templating are Clarion Ultimatum & Doubling Chant. I chalk this up to imperfection in their screening of cards that need updating, not that these cards should follow different rules.

An official ruling published in October 2017's Magic Judge Monthly confirms that if an effect has the form "... may search ... then shuffle ..." (such as found in Ghost Quarter or Path to Exile), a player can't choose to shuffle the library due to that effect if he or she can't search it (C.R. 608.2d).