Deck | Magic the Gathering

Destruction Mtg

1
Dec/110

Destruction Mtg

MTG: What happens when playing a spell with an improper target.?

What happens when you play a spell and choose an improper target? Can you simply not play the spell or does the spell fizzle and go to the graveyard?

The question arose in a game where someone tried to play Isochron Sceptre with a Ponder on it, a couple of rounds later I noticed that Ponder was a sorcery and therefore not a viable target for Isochron Sceptre (he claims he hadn't used it yet anyhow, though I'm certain he had).

In response to this he said, "oh, then I'll just tap one mana as if i played ponder from my hand and instead put the sceptre back in my hand." I said no, that he'd played the spell with an improper target and therefore it would go to his graveyard. He claimed that he'd just imprint his Boomerang on it then since he claimed he had that spell in his hand anyhow (though why he'd waste an isochron sceptre on a ponder when he had a boomerang in his hand and knows none of our decks had artifact destruction is beyond me.

So, what was the correct action?

This really depends on what situation you're in. In a tournament, the judge would most likely give him a warning, but might well rule it a game loss. In no case would he be allowed to 'fix' his error after several turns have passed in tourney play. Nor would he be allowed to use or reclaim the Ponder spell.

In a friendly game, which I'm assuming this is, there are no hard and fast rules. If you had caught it when it first occurred, the spell would fizzle and the scepter would go to the graveyard while the Ponder would remain in hand (it would not be removed from the game, it is not a valid target.) However, in friendly play it's quite common to allow players to take back such illegal declarations, it's really up to you.

But since several turns have passed, rewinding isn't that simple. The best solution is probably to leave the scepter on the board and the Ponder removed from game, but not allow him to use it. Heck if he really wants to, he could always use his Boomerang to get the scepter back so he can recast it with a legal target. In no way would I allow him to 'fix' the scepter by changing the spell to Boomerang several turns after it was initially played.