The Deck of Many Things

Magic: The Gathering Crossover

… fates, seven sources. All consequences are final.

Step into the ChamberLive draw simulator Place the DeckDigital table deck
The deck's measure … of … cards
Colors
Mana Curve
01234567+
Tone
Mechanics
Recent alterations
Drawing from the Deck

Notes from the deckkeeper

Rulings for the strange corners of the Deck. Bouncing, randomness, custom mechanics, the moments when the table is uncertain. When all else fails, The Fates can undo any draw; the Deck's safety valve is built in.

On drawing from the Deck

Can I respond to a Deck draw with instant-speed effects from my hand?

No. A fate drawn from the Deck is cast immediately, without paying mana costs, and does not use the stack. It cannot be countered. Only The Fates can answer a draw.

If a fate drawn from the Deck creates a permanent and that permanent is later bounced to hand, where does it go?

First to your hand, as the bounce effect specifies. Then the Deck reclaims its own; it is shuffled back, not kept. A fate cast from your hand travels the stack like any other spell, and can be countered there.

If The Jester draws me two more fates, and one of those is The Fool (which also draws), do they resolve in sequence?

Yes. Each fate resolves completely before the next is drawn. The Jester's draw triggers, Card A resolves, then Card B; if Card B is The Fool, its forced draw triggers and Card C resolves. Only then does the table return to its normal turn.

Does the Legend rule apply to permanents drawn from the Deck?

No. The Rules card is plain on this: "The Legend rule does not apply to permanents drawn from the Deck of Many Things." The Deck overrides the rule.

Can I draw from the Deck if I already have a Fate Point but don't wish to spend it?

No. A draw from the Deck demands the cost of a Fate Point. If you do not pay, you do not draw.

If I gain a Fate Point but already hold one, what happens?

You may instead draw immediately from the Deck. The Fate Point cannot be hoarded; the Deck offers the draw in its place.

On The Fates

Can The Fates' Rewind ability undo itself?

No. Shuffling The Fates into the Deck is part of the cost of activation. By the time Rewind resolves, The Fates is already gone, returned to the deckkeeper's keeping. The draw of The Fates cannot be undone by its own ability.

If The Fates uses Deny to exile a permanent that created tokens, do the tokens leave with it?

No. Tokens stand on their own once made. Exiling the permanent that birthed them does not unmake them; only the source departs.

Can Cleanse remove any emblem, or only those born of the Deck?

The card text speaks plainly: "Exile target emblem or curse card named Curse of Weakness." It targets any emblem, whether the Deck made it or not, or the specific curse.

Does Weave (look at the top three, reorder, then draw) count as spending a Fate Point?

No. Weave's draw is part of the ability's own effect, not the Fate Point cost. The Deck does not claim a Fate Point for it.

Can I use The Fates' Rewind on a fate another player drew?

Yes. The Fates' abilities do not specify "a card you drew." Any fate drawn from the Deck, by any hand at the table, can be unmade by Rewind.

On Avatar of Death

If the marked player gains Hexproof or Shroud, can Avatar of Death still attack them?

Yes. Attacking does not target. "Must attack the marked player" is a combat requirement, not a targeted ability. Hexproof and Shroud do not stop the assault, only the spell.

If a player creates a token copy of Avatar of Death, which one is "real" for shuffle-into-Deck purposes?

Only the original Avatar of Death (the non-token copy) returns to the Deck when it dies or the marked player loses. Tokens cease to be when they leave the battlefield, as the rules of Magic dictate; the Deck does not reclaim what was never truly there.

"A random opponent gains control": by what means?

A die, a coin, the spread of cards; whatever the table agrees upon. Each opponent excluding the marked player has an equal share of the chance. The Deck does not specify the method, only that fortune chooses.

What happens when Avatar of Death deals combat damage to a player who is not the marked one?

Avatar of Death must attack the marked player if able. If through redirection or some stranger path it deals combat damage to another, that player still loses. The ability reads "deals combat damage to a player," not "to the marked player." Any player struck is a player lost.

On Soul Prison

Can you sacrifice Soul Prison itself to its own "sacrifice creatures totaling 15+ power" clause?

No. Soul Prison is an artifact, not a creature. The sacrifice clause demands creatures you control, and Soul Prison is none. The Soul Guardians it births (6/8 creatures) do count, but two of them total only twelve power; the table will need more.

The Unicorn · Divine Undoing

What does "Undo one choice you made during the game" mean in Magic's rules?

This is the most ambiguous fate in the set. Until a clearer ruling is laid down, use this guideline. A "choice" is any decision point where you had alternatives: casting a spell, attacking with a creature, activating an ability, choosing a target, choosing which card to discard. To "reverse visible effects" is to undo the direct consequences. If you chose to attack and a creature died in combat, that creature returns to the battlefield. The table agrees on what reversal is fair and practical; if the table cannot agree, the active player decides.

Practical translation, if the table prefers something parseable: "Return one permanent that left the battlefield this game to the battlefield under its owner's control, or return one card that was exiled or discarded to its owner's hand." This captures the spirit of undoing a choice without leaving the table to argue.

On The Comet's Suspend

The Deck rules say fates are cast immediately, but The Comet has Suspend. Which takes precedence?

Suspend overrides the Deck's usual casting rule. When you draw The Comet, exile it with two time counters instead of casting it immediately. Each upkeep, remove a counter. When the last one falls, the spell casts itself; you pay nothing. The delay is intentional. The Comet's nature in the source is conditional, and the Deck honors that.

On Eternal Damnation

Can Eternal Damnation be lifted by any hand other than The Fates'?

No. Eternal Damnation is a permanent change to the game's state. Only The Fates' Rewind can undo it, and only by rewinding the entire draw that caused it (The Void or The Donjon). No other fate in the set lifts the damnation.

If I bear Eternal Damnation and The Jester instructs me to draw from the Deck, what happens?

The instruction is simply ignored. While you bear Eternal Damnation, no instruction, no force, no forced draw can return you to the Deck.

Other rulings

Do mana costs on the Deck's fates matter?

Not for casting from the Deck. Every fate drawn is cast for free. Mana costs serve two purposes only: they establish color identity for game effects that reference it, and they apply if a fate has been bounced to your hand and you wish to cast it as a normal spell.

Can I choose not to cast a fate drawn from the Deck?

No. A fate drawn is a fate cast. The casting is immediate and not optional; the Deck does not let you hold what it has given.

What if I draw a fate that requires targets, and no valid targets exist?

The spell is countered by the rules and fails to resolve. It then follows the Deck's replacement rule: shuffled back, not sent to the graveyard.