Hostile Takeover

Hostile Takeover

Q: If I use Hostile Takeover to take control of my opponent's only unit at a battlefield, will there be a showdown? Will it be a combat?

You'll start a noncombat showdown. (Hostile Takeover's reminder text is a little misleading in this regard-you have to have some kind of showdown before you can conquer.) This ruling applies any time you have a unit at a battlefield when your opponent still controls that battlefield, but doesn't have any units there. (Yes, that can happen. Hostile Takeover and Stormbringer are the easiest ways to do it.)

There's a gap in the current rules that leaves this situation without an obvious outcome. We plan to address that gap in the next regular rules update. The issue is surprisingly complex, and we're not 100% sure what the answer will be when we're done.

In the meantime, though, we believe starting a noncombat showdown is the least disruptive way to handle this scenario. If you need really precise timing: assume that your opponent loses control of the battlefield in the same cleanup that begins the showdown, even though ordinarily control is "frozen" once the battlefield becomes contested.

Q: If I use Hostile Takeover to take control of my opponent's only unit at a battlefield, will there be a showdown? Will it be a combat?

Temporal Portal

What happens when I play Hostile Takeover gaining control of my opponent's ready unit, move it to base, and then play Temporal Breach choosing it? Where will the unit go?

The unit will remain in Banishment.

Units cannot be played to a base of a player other than their own controller under any circumstances. Because the owner of the unit is the one being instructed to play the unit, and the location they are being instructed to play it to is a base other than their own, it isn't possible to play the unit. During the check legality step of finalization, the unit will be returned to banishment from the chain and all actions taken will be undone.

359.3.e.16. If a Delayed Ability's duration has ended before it was generated, the Delayed Ability is not generated and any instructions related to it are ignored. Example: Targon's Peak is a battlefield that reads in part "When you conquer here, ready up to 2 runes at the end of this turn." If Targon's Peak is conquered during the Ending Phase after the beginning of the ending step, such as via an effect like Thrill of the Hunt, the delayed trigger will not be generated. Example: Hostile Takeover is a spell that reads "Take control of an enemy unit at a battlefield. Ready it." and "Lose control of that unit and recall it at end of turn." If Hostile Takeover is played during the Ending Phase, its delayed triggered ability will not trigger. "At end of turn" and "at the end of this turn" are synonymous, so it will not trigger again. Example: Akshan, Mischievous reads in part "When you play me, if you paid the additional cost, move an enemy gear to your base. You control it until I leave the board. If it's an Equipment, attach it to me." If Akshan leaves the board in reaction to his play effect, the delayed passive ability "You control it until I leave the board," will not be generated. You will not gain control of the targeted gear even for a moment.

359.3.f.4. Some information used by the effect of a triggered ability is referenced from the triggered ability itself, such as "enemy" and "friendly" status. This information is checked on execution of the referencing instruction. Example: Yasuo, Remorseful reads "when I attack, deal damage equal to my Might to an enemy unit here." Yasuo moves to an occupied enemy battlefield and his attack trigger goes on the chain. In reaction to the attack trigger, the defending player plays a hidden Hostile Takeover and gains control of Yasuo. The triggered ability is unaffected by Yasuo changing controllers, and "enemy" is in reference to the triggered ability itself, so it will resolve with no issue. Example: In reaction to the same Yasuo, Remorseful trigger, say the defending player had instead played a spell that reads "[Reaction]. Gain control of a triggered ability. You may make new choices for it." They chose the attack trigger. When Yasuo's attack trigger resolves, if they didn't make new choices for the trigger, the controller of the triggered ability will no longer be an enemy to the targeted unit, so the triggered ability will mistarget and do nothing. If they instead chose Yasuo with the attack trigger, he would be an enemy unit to the triggered ability and so it would deal damage equal to his Might to himself.