Buff

When you play me, buff up to two other friendly units.

(Each one that doesn't have a buff gets a +1 [M] buff.)

Only effects that choose are restricted. Zhonya's Hourglass saves the next friendly unit that dies anywhere. Stand United can only give a buff to a unit at the battlefield where it was hidden, but its other effect, which causes buffs to grant an additional bonus, applies everywhere. This is a change from previous rulings on these cards, intended to simplify the question of what hidden cards can and can't do.

If a buffed unit you control would die, you may pay [C], exhaust me, and spend its buff to heal it, exhaust it, and recall it instead. (Send it to base. This isn't a move.) When you conquer, ready me.

When you recycle one or more cards to your Main Deck, buff a friendly unit. (If it doesn't have a buff, it gets a +1 [M] buff.)

Shady Spectacles applies a copy effect to the equipped unit. Copy effects copy the printed (or copied, if another copy effect has already been applied) traits of the unit being copied. empowered is a status, a temporary modification, and not part of the printed traits of the card, so it will not be copied by Shady Spectacles. Whatever temporary modifications are applied to the unit as the copy effect is executed on that unit will be unaffected by the copy effect. If the unit has Might increases or decreases, a buff, the empowered status, Temporary, attacker, defender, etc those will remain in place.

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.

355.10.c.1. This includes costs within instructions, identified by phrases like "[do X] to [do Y]." The cost within that instruction is "[do X]." e.g., "When I hold, you may kill another friendly unit here to draw 1" does not target anything. e.g., "When you play me, you may spend a buff to move a friendly unit" targets the friendly unit, but not the buff.

383.1. Triggered Abilities can usually be recognized by the word "when" followed by a game action or event; the word "at" followed by a point in time during the turn sequence; or the phrase "the [Nth] time" followed by a game action or event. Examples: " When you conquer here, you may spend a buff to draw 1." " At the end of your turn, ready 2 runes." "The first time I move each turn, you may ready something else that's exhausted."

426. Buff

426.1. Buffing is the action of placing a Buff counter on a Unit . See rule 701. Buffs for more information.

426.1.a. A Buff is also an object.

426.1.b. To Buff a unit, place a Buff Counter on it if it does not have one already

426.1.b.1. If the unit already has a Buff Counter on it, it does not get another one.

426.1.c. Units with Buff Counters can still be chosen for actions that Buff units, but will not be Buffed as part of the execution. Example: A spell reads "Buff a unit. Then, if it was buffed this way, draw a card." It will place a buff counter on a unit that has no buff counter, and then its controller will draw a card. However, if the player chooses a unit with a buff counter on it already, then the card will not be drawn. Example: A unit reads "When you buff me, ready me." If that unit is chosen for a game effect that would buff it and it is already buffed, its ability will not trigger.

426.2.a. Players may only Buff units when Game Effects direct them to do so.

426.3. This action is formatted as " Buff [one or more units]." e.g., "Buff a unit." e.g., "Buff a friendly unit." e.g., "Buff two friendly units at the same battlefield."

476.3. The removal or disqualification of an effect is separate from the application of the effect, but still can only be applied once. Example: Fiora, Victorious has printed Might 4 and says "While I'm Mighty, I have Deflect, Ganking, and Shield." If a player places a buff on Fiora, her Might is increased in the Arithmetic layer, after the layer for Ability-Altering Effects. The Ability-Altering Effect layer is then re-checked and the abilities Deflect, Ganking, and Shield applied. Since each effect has been applied once and there are no other effects to apply, Fiora's characteristics are finalized as 5 Might with Deflect, Ganking, and Shield. While a buffed Fiora, Victorious is in combat as a defender, an additional +1 Might will be applied in the Arithmetic layer, giving her 6 Might and the 3 keywords. Example: A buffed Fiora, Victorious is in combat as a defender when her buff is removed. Reevaluating the layers in sequence, she no longer gains Deflect, Ganking, and Shield during the Ability-Altering Effect layer, so when the Arithmetic layer is evaluated, neither the buff (which is gone) nor Shield (which she no longer has) apply. She goes directly from 6 Might with three keywords to 4 Might with no keywords.

702.1. Buffs can be tracked with a buff reminder card from a Riftbound booster pack or with any spare object in your surroundings.

702.2.a. To Buff a Unit , a player chooses a Unit and then places a buff on it. That Unit is Buffed for as long as the buff remains on it.

702.2.b. Spending a Buff removes a single Buff counter from a Unit .

702.2.b.1. A buff cannot be spent from a Unit that does not have a buff.

702.3. There can only be one Buff on a Unit at a time.

702.3.a. If a Buff is added, or instructed to be added, on a Unit that already has a Buff , it is not placed instead.

703. Each Buff individually contributes +1 Might to a Unit.

811.2. Abilities and instructions of hidden cards other than the choices listed above function as normal. Example: Stand United is a spell that has Hidden and says "Buff a friendly unit. Buffs give an additional +1 might to friendly units this turn." If it's played from Hidden, the first part of its ability must choose a friendly unit at the same battlefield, but the second part of its ability affects all friendly units with buffs, no matter where they are.

506.3.e.3. The trigger would add a Buff token to a unit. (Example card: Sett, Brawler)

508.9. Buffs must be represented by an object that unambiguously represents a buff in game terms.