Ride the Wind

If I play Ride the Wind targeting my unit at Vilemaw's Lair and attempt to move them to base, what happens?

They will be readied.

This is a rules quirk that players and judges identified as a result of a small additional rule added in the Vendetta rules update. We're going to give some clarity to this that will resolve this issue, but if you don't understand the conversation or why it is necessary, don't worry. This isn't an actual change to how we've been interpreting and ruling cards, but smoothing out a bug.

In short, the linked instructions rules are too expansive currently on what qualifies as an "ignored" instruction. To clarify this definition: an ignored instruction is one that wasn't performed as part of the execution of a spell or ability's instructions because it mistargeted (i.e. because the targeted object wasn't a legal target on resolution). This is a case where, for example, you play Hidden Blade choosing an enemy unit and they play Star-Crossed in reaction, returning their unit to hand. When Hidden Blade resolves, the unit isn't on the board, so we ignore the "Its controller draws 2." instruction. Alternatively, if Hidden Blade is given the Repeat keyword by the Academy and both executions target the same unit, this is the reason why the unit's controller doesn't draw 4 cards.

An instruction is not ignored if an ability, effect, or circumstance of the game prevents it from occurring. This could take the form of a replacement effect that replaces the event of the instruction with something else, it could take the form of an ability like Vilemaw's Lair that says "Units can't move from here to base." or it could take the form of a game action like Buff or Ready being performed on a unit that already has the appropriate state. It could even take the form of a unit, gear, or spell no longer being in an appropriate zone as long as the instruction doesn't target those objects. The instruction in these cases isn't ignored, but instead negated. A negated instruction has its effects skipped, replaced, or prevented. A negated instruction will not cause any linked instructions to be ignored unless those instructions refer specifically to the action being performed.

Some examples:

- If a unit at a battlefield says "I can't be killed." and a player plays Hidden Blade choosing that unit, the unit's controller will still draw 2 on resolution of Hidden Blade. (The instruction was negated and not ignored, so the linked instruction will still execute.) - If a unit at a battlefield is chosen by Hidden Blade and in reaction its controller plays Flash moving it to base, that unit's controller will not draw 2 on resolution of Hidden Blade. (The instruction was ignored, so any linked instructions will be ignored.) - If a unit at a battlefield is chosen by Hidden Blade and in reaction its controller plays Zhonya's Hourglass, that unit's controller will draw 2 on resolution of Hidden Blade. (The unit is on the board and can have its information checked, and the instruction was negated and not ignored.) - If a unit at a battlefield has been affected by Smite previously this turn and it is chosen by Hidden Blade, that unit's controller will not draw 2 on resolution of Hidden Blade. (Although the instruction is executed, the unit is not on the board to have its information checked. Additionally, the unit was moved to a non-board zone by an effect other than Hidden Blade and thus no longer has a controller that Hidden Blade can reference.)

359.3.e.6. Instructions that can't be followed because of illegal targets, or because they reference information that is unavailable, are considered Ignored. Instructions that can't be followed for any other reason are Negated. Example: A player plays Ride the Wind choosing to move their unit at Vilemaw's Lair to base. Base is a legal move destination for Ride the Wind, but on resolution of Ride the Wind's effect, the move instruction will be negated because Vilemaw's restriction makes the instruction impossible. Example: A player plays Hidden Blade targeting a unit at a battlefield. In reaction to Hidden Blade, the unit's controller plays Flash, moving it to base. Hidden Blade's instruction "Kill a unit." will be ignored on resolution of the spell.

359.3.e.14.b. If the Game Action performed in an earlier linked instruction is Negated, this will not affect the later linked instruction, unless the later linked instruction directly references the Game Action being performed. An instruction is Negated if the event its execution generates is replaced or skipped, or if the game action can't be performed because of a reason other than it being Ignored. Example: Hidden Blade reads "Kill a unit at a battlefield. Its controller draws 2." This effect is split into two instructions: killing the unit and the targeted unit's controller drawing 2. The later linked instruction doesn't reference an action directly, so it will execute even if the kill action of the earlier linked action is negated. Example: Deathgrip reads "Kill a friendly unit. If you do, give +[M] equal to its Might to another friendly unit this turn." If the friendly unit in question is not killed by Deathgrip because its death is replaced with another event, the later linked instruction will not execute because "if you do" directly references the game action. Example: Ride the Wind is a spell that reads in part "Move a friendly unit and ready it." Vilemaw's Lair is a battlefield that reads "Units can't move from here to base." If Ride the Wind is played on a unit at Vilemaw's Lair choosing the base as its destination, the move instruction will be negated on resolution by the passive ability of Vilemaw's Lair, but the ready instruction will still execute.