Ok, this is getting ridiculous. Looking at the bugs thread it is amazing how many cards are not functioning the way you would expect based on their text. Sure, some of them are bugged, but it is almost impossible to know for sure because wording is not consistent on different cards with the same effect.
We NEED these conflicts to be officially resolved and enforced in the game. Paper MTG prides itself on having consistent language and wording on all of its cards. We need something similar here.
Some examples:
Summon vs Cast (duh): In the first run of legacy Across Ixalan, using Vivien’s Invocation counted toward the “summon 3 or more creatures” objective on the first node. I have noticed it counting in other legacy events as well. I have also noticed it not counting in most events (ever since Hibernium changed the way “cast” objectives function back in Innistrad). Clarifying this issue (also including whether or not token creation counts) should be a top priority for Oktagon.
Bounce vs Full Hand: Are cards that say “return target creature to its owner’s hand” supposed to instead destroy the creature if its owner has a full hand, are they supposed to temporarily increase the owner’s max hand size, or are they supposed to just not cast? All 3 versions currently exist in the game (along with a 4th that only bounces 1 reinforcement, somehow), and it is maddeningly confusing. Just look at the A World Reborn event. There is a fight (2.1) that runs 3 different cards with bounce effects, and all 3 function completely differently. We need you guys to pick one interaction, say that it is the correct one, and then make all bounce cards function in that way (rewording them if necessary)
Creature Damage vs Combat Damage: Several cards (Rabid Bite, Savage Stomp, Gravitic Punch, and Vivien’s Invocation for sure, possibly others) read, in some way “Target creature deals damage to…” However, these effects do not appear to actually have the target creature dealing damage, since they do not trigger “when this creature deals damage” effects (Easiest to see with Spiritmonger and Emperor’s Vanguard from IXN), they do not work with deathtouch (so damage from a deathtouch creature is not lethal), and they do not work with lifelink (you don’t gain any life). It appears all of these things only work with combat damage the creature deals instead of all damage. That may not be a huge problem, but it is definitely confusing.
Destroy vs Discard: Some cards say “destroy cards in hand/deck” instead of “discard cards from hand/deck”. This creates some confusion as to whether cards that have “when [cardname] is destroyed” effects, since they read like they should trigger on those discards when they in fact should not (Gather the Pack is a prime example of this).
Exiled from Hand vs Manually Exiled (for Jump Start): Jump Start reads “whenever you exile a card from your hand”, but there are cards that allow you to exile cards from your hand (most notably Apex of Power). There should be some clarification here too.
Possession vs Ownership: In paper, there is a difference, hence why some cards say “owner’s hand” or “owner’s control” and some don’t, depending on the desired effects. Here in MTGPQ, however, many cards say “owner” but instead work based on the controller (ex. casting Perilous Voyage or Depths of Desire on a creature stolen by In Bolas’ Clutches). It makes sense here that possession is 9/10 of the law, but the wording should be changed accordingly to avoid confusion.
Did I miss any? I feel like there are more. Comment them in and I’ll edit them into the post for clarity.
Update: Remembered another:
And condition vs And/Or condition: Please provide better clarification as to when a spell that has multiple effects requires multiple valid targets to be cast. For example, Doomfall just says “exile your opponent’s first creature on the battlefield and first card in hand”. Since this is untargeted, it reads as if there does not have to be a creature on the field or a card in your opponent’s hand to be cast. In practice, though, both conditions must be met before you can cast the card. Fraying Omnipotence is another one, since it has several effects and cannot be cast without all effects being met, a potentially great card is completely useless. Please either revise how you control and/or effects on cards, or add text stating that all effects must have targets in order for the spell to be cast.
@Brigby @Oktagon_Daiane please make the devs aware of these issues (if they aren’t already) and give us some sort of answer on it. Even if you can’t fix everything right away, at least give us a definitive statement on how they are supposed to work so we know what to expect.