I was watching LSV's stream the other day, and this interaction came up: his opponent had True Name Nemesis in play, and LSV cast Villainous Wealth. One of the cards exiled was Cryptic Command. LSV cast it from exile, choosing "Return target permanent to it's owner's hand" and "Draw a card," and MTGO allowed him to target the True Name Nemesis for the bounce ability. His opponent countered the spell with Mana Tithe, and LSV chose to not pay the extra (1).
I have two questions about this circumstance. Why was LSV able to target the True Name Nemesis with the Cryptic Command? Was it because, while in exile, the card was the opponents? Second, assuming that LSV's opponent had not countered the Cryptic Command, would the card fail to resolve because upon resolution, True Name Nemesis is an illegal target? And was it an illegal target in the first place?
Cryptic Command shouldn't be able to target the True-Name Nemesis, unless LSV wasn't the player chosen for the Nemesis, or for some odd reason no player was chosen in the first place. This is likely a bug in MtGO.
Casting a spell (from exile or anywhere else) puts it on the stack, and control of that spell (not ownership) is what matters. A spell cast by the chosen player can't have the Nemesis as a target. It can't be cast with that target in the first place. If somehow a targeted spell/ability on the stack controlled by the chosen player would gain the Nemesis as a target after being cast/activated, it would either be countered by the game rules (if that was the only target) when it tries to resolve, or it would resolve doing as much as possible (if there is still a legal target left).
I have two questions about this circumstance. Why was LSV able to target the True Name Nemesis with the Cryptic Command? Was it because, while in exile, the card was the opponents? Second, assuming that LSV's opponent had not countered the Cryptic Command, would the card fail to resolve because upon resolution, True Name Nemesis is an illegal target? And was it an illegal target in the first place?
Thanks to Rivenor for the art.
Casting a spell (from exile or anywhere else) puts it on the stack, and control of that spell (not ownership) is what matters. A spell cast by the chosen player can't have the Nemesis as a target. It can't be cast with that target in the first place. If somehow a targeted spell/ability on the stack controlled by the chosen player would gain the Nemesis as a target after being cast/activated, it would either be countered by the game rules (if that was the only target) when it tries to resolve, or it would resolve doing as much as possible (if there is still a legal target left).
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