I was at my LGS playing commander when this odd ruling I've never heard about popped up in conversation. Say I had Beguiler of Wills since last turn, my opponent has a Llanowar Elves that he controlled since turn 1, and so I tap Beguiler of Wills to gain control of Llanowar Elves. Can I not then tap that Llanowar Elves for mana? It no longer as summoning sickness I thought, but according to the people at the LGS it regains summoning sickness when it changes control. Learning this makes me question life since my group has always played by the ruling that a creature must exist on the field until it passes through one upkeep to lose summoning sickness and can never regain the status unless it leaves the field and comes back. I just want to make sure that they were right about this for future reference.
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In my group there's this thing called taking a "Ryan turn."
Yeah, that's my fault...
1st, this should be in the Magic Rulings forum, this is the forum for rulings on not-yet-released cards.
2nd, the "summoning sickness" rule is that a creature may not attack or activate abilities with the T symbol on the turn it comes under a player's control, unless it has haste. So when a creature changes control, that condition is reset. This is the reason Act of Treason and cards like it give the creature they're targeting haste as part of the effect, the creatures wouldn't be able to act without it.
302.6. A creature’s activated ability with the tap symbol or the untap symbol in its activation cost can’t be activated unless the creature has been under its controller’s control continuously since their most recent turn began. A creature can’t attack unless it has been under its controller’s control continuously since their most recent turn began. This rule is informally called the “summoning sickness” rule.
Things that make a creature sick:
-entering the battlefield**
-changing controller
Things that heal a creature from sickness:
-the start of its controller's turn
-having Haste
**do note that 'entering the battlefield' is NOT the same thing as 'turning into a creature after having been on the battlefield for eons'.
For example, a Stirring Wildwood which you have controlled since, say, the previous turn, that turns into a creature is not sick... since you have controlled it since the beginning of your turn (even if it was something else than a creature at that time).
Thanks for simplifying the rules. Also, since you mentioned transforming cards, does that apply to transform as in the card archetype such as werewolves? What about flipping cards like Jushi Apprentice? Oh, and face down cards from morph, megamorph, and manifest too? Thanks again.
Private Mod Note
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Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
In my group there's this thing called taking a "Ryan turn."
Yeah, that's my fault...
A permament that transforms is still the same permament, so control of it never ceased. Likewise with Kamigawa's flip cards and face down cards.
Note, that there are some cards that transform by exiling and then returning transformed. In that ase, it is a new permananent and subject to the summoning sickness rule again (if the transformed permanent happens to be or become a creature before your next turn). Same goes for meld pairs.
Thanks for simplifying the rules. Also, since you mentioned transforming cards, does that apply to transform as in the card archetype such as werewolves? What about flipping cards like Jushi Apprentice? Oh, and face down cards from morph, megamorph, and manifest too? Thanks again.
In general, the actions of transforming a permanent, flipping it, and turning it face up or face down don't change—
whether that permanent can attack (C.R. 302.6), or
whether a player can activate its activated abilities with the tap or untap symbol in their cost (C.R. 302.6),
since for each of those actions, the permanent is the same object before the action as after (for transforming, see C.R. 712.12; for flipped, face up, and face down, see C.R. 110.5), and none of those actions changes who controls that permanent. It follows that in general, if what is now a creature could attack before it transformed, was flipped, or was turned face up or face down, it can still attack after that action (C.R. 302.6).
EDIT (Jul. 9, 2019): One rule was renumbered with Core Set 2020.
EDIT (Oct. 13, 2019; Mar. 5, 2020): Correctness edit.
EDIT (Feb. 9, 2022): Edited, including because one rule changed in the meantime.
Yeah, that's my fault...
2nd, the "summoning sickness" rule is that a creature may not attack or activate abilities with the T symbol on the turn it comes under a player's control, unless it has haste. So when a creature changes control, that condition is reset. This is the reason Act of Treason and cards like it give the creature they're targeting haste as part of the effect, the creatures wouldn't be able to act without it.
Former Rules Advisor
"Everything's better with pirates." - Lodge
(The Gamers: Dorkness Rising)
"Any sufficiently analyzed magic is indistinguishable from science."
(Girl Genius - Fairy Tale Theater Break - Cinderella, end of volume 8)
Yeah, that's my fault...
Things that make a creature sick:
-entering the battlefield**
-changing controller
Things that heal a creature from sickness:
-the start of its controller's turn
-having Haste
**do note that 'entering the battlefield' is NOT the same thing as 'turning into a creature after having been on the battlefield for eons'.
For example, a Stirring Wildwood which you have controlled since, say, the previous turn, that turns into a creature is not sick... since you have controlled it since the beginning of your turn (even if it was something else than a creature at that time).
RULES OF MAGIC :
http://magic.wizards.com/en/game-info/gameplay/rules-and-formats/rules
Yeah, that's my fault...
Note, that there are some cards that transform by exiling and then returning transformed. In that ase, it is a new permananent and subject to the summoning sickness rule again (if the transformed permanent happens to be or become a creature before your next turn). Same goes for meld pairs.
Former Rules Advisor
"Everything's better with pirates." - Lodge
(The Gamers: Dorkness Rising)
"Any sufficiently analyzed magic is indistinguishable from science."
(Girl Genius - Fairy Tale Theater Break - Cinderella, end of volume 8)
EDIT (Jul. 9, 2019): One rule was renumbered with Core Set 2020.
EDIT (Oct. 13, 2019; Mar. 5, 2020): Correctness edit.
EDIT (Feb. 9, 2022): Edited, including because one rule changed in the meantime.