Okay so i'm a noob and as I look through cards I see things like "Target creature gains haste until end of turn." Goblin Motivator so I assume when they say target they don't mean the person you are facing they mean you and if that was the case why don't they say "Your creature gains haste until end of turn."? And then there are cards like Radiating Lightning that I assume when they mean target they mean the person you are facing.
"Target" just means "what do you want this spell to affect". There is a bit more to it in terms of game rules, but Motivator says Target Creature so it can only affect a creature. Lightning says Target player so you target the player. You can tell because they each say this. Both spells are explicit in what can be targeted. Hero's Downfall is another example and this can target a creature or a planeswalker because that is what the targeting restriction is.
There is no way to infer that "target" means a creature, player, or planeswalker in any case without another word to tell you what is a legal target. So, "target", on its own, isn't enough.
Also, "Your creature gains haste" doesn't mean anything. There has to be a choice made somewhere since what would happen if you controlled more than 1 creature? Something needs to be in place so players know what creature is being affected and the targeting mechanism allows for that. Also, the Motivator can give Haste to any creature: itself, another one of your creatures, or even a creature controlled by an opponent.
A "target" is a technical kind of choice you make when you put a spell or ability on the stack. Some spells and abilities have one target, some have several, and some have none. Knowing the difference between targets and non-target choices is important in the case of some abilities that stop targeting.
As a sidenote, with a recent templating change, there is now the phrase "any target" on many new cards, and many old ones have been errataed to use that as well. "Any target" means "a target creature, player, or planeswalker".
Another side note: cards with abilities like Redirect and Reroute exist. With the template the way it is, these cards function more smoothly and effectively, allowing for more game play shenanigans.
As a sidenote, with a recent templating change, there is now the phrase "any target" on many new cards, and many old ones have been errataed to use that as well. "Any target" means "a target creature, player, or planeswalker".
It's better to add also, that "any target" is a template that appear exclusively on direct-damage spells or abilities and the errata on old cards appears only for those spells (so the red spells basically). For destruction, return to hand or anything else, "any target" will not be used.
Because "any target" includes players, and the only card which "destroys" a player is Baron von Count.
There is no way to infer that "target" means a creature, player, or planeswalker in any case without another word to tell you what is a legal target. So, "target", on its own, isn't enough.
Also, "Your creature gains haste" doesn't mean anything. There has to be a choice made somewhere since what would happen if you controlled more than 1 creature? Something needs to be in place so players know what creature is being affected and the targeting mechanism allows for that. Also, the Motivator can give Haste to any creature: itself, another one of your creatures, or even a creature controlled by an opponent.
I̟̥͍̠ͅn̩͉̣͍̬͚ͅ ̬̬͖t̯̹̞̺͖͓̯̤h̘͍̬e͙̯͈̖̼̮ ̭̬f̺̲̲̪i͙͉̟̩̰r̪̝͚͈̝̥͍̝̲s̼̻͇̘̳͔ͅt̲̺̳̗̜̪̙ ̳̺̥̻͚̗ͅm̜̜̟̰͈͓͎͇o̝̖̮̝͇m̯̻̞̼̫̗͓̤e̩̯̬̮̩n͎̱̪̲̹͖t͇̖s̰̮ͅ,̤̲͙̻̭̻̯̹̰ ̖t̫̙̺̯͖͚̯ͅh͙̯̦̳̗̰̟e͖̪͉̼̯ ̪͕g̞̣͔a̗̦t̬̬͓͙̫̖̭̻e̩̻̯ ̜̖̦̖̤̭͙̬t̞̹̥̪͎͉ͅo͕͚͍͇̲͇͓̺ ̭̬͙͈̣̻t͈͍͙͓̫̖͙̩h̪̬̖̙e̗͈ ̗̬̟̞̺̤͉̯ͅa̦̯͚̙̜̮f͉͙̲̣̞̼t̪̤̞̣͚e̲͉̳̥r͇̪̙͚͓l̥̞̞͎̹̯̹ͅi͓̬f̮̥̬̞͈ͅe͎ ̟̩̤̳̠̯̩̯o̮̘̲p̟͚̣̞͉͓e͍̩̣n͔̼͕͚̜e̬̱d̼̘͎̖̹͍̮̠,͖̺̭̱̮ ̣̲͖̬̪̭̥a̪͚n̟̲̝̤̤̞̗d̘̱̗͇̮͕̳͕͔ ͖̞͉͎t̹̙͎h̰̱͉̗e̪̞̱̝̹̩ͅ ̠̱̩̭̦p̯̙e͓o̳͚̰̯̺̱̰͔̘p̬͎̱̣̼̩͇l̗̟̖͚̠e̱͉͔̱̦̬̟̙ ̖͚̪͔̼̦w̺̖̤̱e͖̗̻̦͓̖̘̜r̭̥e͔̹̫̱͕̦̰͕ ̗͔̠p̠̗͍͍̱̳̠r̰͔͎̰o͉̥͓̰͚̥s̟͚̹̱͔̣t͉̙̳̖͖̪̮r̥̘̥͙̹a͉̟̫̟̳̠̟̭t͈̜̰͈͎e̞̣̭̲̬ ͚̗̯̟͙i͍͖̰̘̦͖͉ṇ̮̻̯̦̲̩͍ ̦̮͚̫̤t͉͖̫͕ͅͅh͙̮̻̘̣̮̼e͕̺ ͙l͕̠͎̰̥i̲͓͉̲g̫̳̟͈͇̖h̠̦̖t͓̯͎̗ ̳̪̘̟̙̩̦o̫̲f̙͔̰̙̠ ̹̪̗͇̯t͖̼̼͉͖̬h̹͇̩e͚̖̺̤͉̹͕̪ ͚͓̭̝̺G͎̗̯̩o̫̯̮̟̮̳̘d̜̲͙̠-̩̳̯̲̗̜P̹̘̥͉̝h͍͈̗̖̝ͅa͍̗̮̼̗r̜̖͇̙̺a̭̺͔̞̳͈o̪̣͓̯̬͙̯̰̗h̖̦͈̥̯͔.͇̣̙̝
Former Rules Advisor
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(The Gamers: Dorkness Rising)
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Two Score, Minus Two or: A Stargate Tail
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