Q: Without realizing my Calcite Snapper has shroud, my opponent tries to Path to Exile it. Whoops! Does he have to Path his own shroud-less creature now?
A: He attempted to cast Path to Exile illegally (on accident, one would hope). So it's going to go back into his hand, the land he tapped to cast it gets untapped, and the game rewinds to right before attempted to cast it with him getting the appropriate penalty. Nowhere do the game rules suggest he has to pick a different target for it.
my question is: is there a more reasonable way to explain that he must backtrack the game (untap the land, return the spell to its hand)? Would they get any penalty (warning, caution)?
No, he isn't forced to path his own creature. Since he performed an illegal action while casting his spell, the game is automatically rewound to the point just before he announced the spell.
Rules for you:
601.2. To cast a spell is to take it from where it is (usually the hand), put it on the stack, and pay its costs, so that it will eventually resolve and have its effect. Casting a spell follows the steps listed below, in order. If, at any point during the casting of a spell, a player is unable to comply with any of the steps listed below, the casting of the spell is illegal; the game returns to the moment before that spell started to be cast (see rule 715, “Handling Illegal Actions”). Announcements and payments can’t be altered after they’ve been made.
715.1. If a player realizes that he or she can’t legally take an action after starting to do so, the entire action is reversed and any payments already made are canceled. No abilities trigger and no effects apply as a result of an undone action. If the action was casting a spell, the spell returns to the zone it came from. The player may also reverse any legal mana abilities activated while making the illegal play, unless mana from them or from any triggered mana abilities they triggered was spent on another mana ability that wasn’t reversed. Players may not reverse actions that moved cards to a library or from a library to any zone other than the stack
Honestly, 'the rules say so' is a good reason in MTG.
If they are called, a judge may asses the need for a penalty, depending on their investigation.
the game must be backtracked because an illegal action has been performed. you can not path the shrouded creature.
If however, it was a journey to nowhere or o-ring, then he would indeed have to path his own creature, reason being the cast of the enchantment was legal, but the ability can not target the shrouded creature.
When casting a spell, before it resolves, you have to announce legal targets as outlined in the comp. rules. you can also see there that it says that the game would be backtracked unless legal targets are chosen.
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Q: Without realizing my Calcite Snapper has shroud, my opponent tries to Path to Exile it. Whoops! Does he have to Path his own shroud-less creature now?
A: He attempted to cast Path to Exile illegally (on accident, one would hope). So it's going to go back into his hand, the land he tapped to cast it gets untapped, and the game rewinds to right before attempted to cast it with him getting the appropriate penalty. Nowhere do the game rules suggest he has to pick a different target for it.
my question is: is there a more reasonable way to explain that he must backtrack the game (untap the land, return the spell to its hand)? Would they get any penalty (warning, caution)?
My old nickname was lockheart87.
Rules for you:
715.1. If a player realizes that he or she can’t legally take an action after starting to do so, the entire action is reversed and any payments already made are canceled. No abilities trigger and no effects apply as a result of an undone action. If the action was casting a spell, the spell returns to the zone it came from. The player may also reverse any legal mana abilities activated while making the illegal play, unless mana from them or from any triggered mana abilities they triggered was spent on another mana ability that wasn’t reversed. Players may not reverse actions that moved cards to a library or from a library to any zone other than the stack
If they are called, a judge may asses the need for a penalty, depending on their investigation.
If however, it was a journey to nowhere or o-ring, then he would indeed have to path his own creature, reason being the cast of the enchantment was legal, but the ability can not target the shrouded creature.
When casting a spell, before it resolves, you have to announce legal targets as outlined in the comp. rules. you can also see there that it says that the game would be backtracked unless legal targets are chosen.
Thank you Mr. Stuff for the awesome sig and avatar =)