Dear forum, I'm trying to understand the new rules for modal double-faced cards. Suppose I have Akoum Warrior in my hand, it's the main phase of my turn, and I haven't played a land yet. What rule says that I'm allowed to play Akoum Warrior as a land with its back face (Akoum Teeth) up?
I'm looking at the Comprehensive Rules dated September 25, 2020. Rule 711 talks about double-faced cards in general, and it doesn't mention anything about playing lands. Rules 116.2a allows me to play a land per turn as a special action, but it doesn't mention double-faced cards. 305.1/3 and 701.14a also talk about playing a land, but they also don't mention anything relevant. 711.4a says that while the land is in my hand, only the characteristics of the front face matter, and the front face isn't a land, so that doesn't allow me to use the special action for playing a land. Perhaps the special action cares about whether the permanent will be a land? But 711.9 says that when I put the card onto the battlefield from my hand, its front face will be up, and I don't see what overrides this. There's probably a rule or combinations of rules hidden in the Comprehensive Rules, but if so, I can't find it.
Note that I'm not just asking whether I'm allowed to play the back face as a land. I'm sure that I can. My original motivation was to find out how the modal double-faced cards interact with the effects of Shelldock Isle, though the Zendikar Rising release notes answers that, and how it interacts with Isochron Scepter.
Unfortunately, nothing in the comprehensive rules, at the time of this writing, clearly addresses the case of playing a modal double-faced card as a land from a player's hand (or other zones than the stack or battlefield), even though the intent arguably doesn't match what those rules currently say. Indeed, the intent is arguably that if a modal double-faced card is in a player's hand (regardless of what types its front face has), that card's back face can nevertheless be played as a land if that face is a land. See also this thread.
It is hoped that the comprehensive rules will change to better reflect this intent. And in the meantime, in casual unsanctioned games, the players in the game can agree on modifications to the comprehensive rules ("house rules") to better reflect the intent of those rules.
With the rule update for Commander Legends, C.R. 718.4 now covers the case of a player playing a modal double-faced card as a land. That player "chooses one of its faces that's a land before putting it onto the battlefield. It enters the battlefield with that face up."
EDIT (Jan. 5): Updated this comment to conform to rule update for Commander Legends.
Thank you, the thread you linked answers that the Comprehensive Rules do not currently address this. I should have found that recent thread, but I was looking for "double-faced" rather than the abbreviation "MDFC".
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I'm looking at the Comprehensive Rules dated September 25, 2020. Rule 711 talks about double-faced cards in general, and it doesn't mention anything about playing lands. Rules 116.2a allows me to play a land per turn as a special action, but it doesn't mention double-faced cards. 305.1/3 and 701.14a also talk about playing a land, but they also don't mention anything relevant. 711.4a says that while the land is in my hand, only the characteristics of the front face matter, and the front face isn't a land, so that doesn't allow me to use the special action for playing a land. Perhaps the special action cares about whether the permanent will be a land? But 711.9 says that when I put the card onto the battlefield from my hand, its front face will be up, and I don't see what overrides this. There's probably a rule or combinations of rules hidden in the Comprehensive Rules, but if so, I can't find it.
Note that I'm not just asking whether I'm allowed to play the back face as a land. I'm sure that I can. My original motivation was to find out how the modal double-faced cards interact with the effects of Shelldock Isle, though the Zendikar Rising release notes answers that, and how it interacts with Isochron Scepter.
Unfortunately, nothing in the comprehensive rules, at the time of this writing, clearly addresses the case of playing a modal double-faced card as a land from a player's hand (or other zones than the stack or battlefield), even though the intent arguably doesn't match what those rules currently say. Indeed, the intent is arguably that if a modal double-faced card is in a player's hand (regardless of what types its front face has), that card's back face can nevertheless be played as a land if that face is a land.See also this thread.It is hoped that the comprehensive rules will change to better reflect this intent. And in the meantime, in casual unsanctioned games, the players in the game can agree on modifications to the comprehensive rules ("house rules") to better reflect the intent of those rules.With the rule update for Commander Legends, C.R. 718.4 now covers the case of a player playing a modal double-faced card as a land. That player "chooses one of its faces that's a land before putting it onto the battlefield. It enters the battlefield with that face up."
EDIT (Jan. 5): Updated this comment to conform to rule update for Commander Legends.