Obvious Rule Patch: Difference between revisions

** With the recent release of Xyz Monsters, there was a brief period where there were very few written rules about how they actually work - one key problem was the fact that the monster used for Xyz Summoning stayed on the field until "detached" by an effect. Fine, but when does "leave the field" effects trigger? [[Word of God]] said when detached, and ''all hell broke loose''. Two already powerful cards got so absurdly broken that a copy could easily fetch well over 100 dollars. Konami quickly made an rule change: These cards ''never'' trigger their effects because they aren't treated as cards anymore. It's just as weird as it sounds.

* The DCI banned / restricted lists from ''[[Magic: The Gathering]]'', introduced soon after the first major tournaments.

** An even clearer example would be the times MTG has had to give cards errata; it is currently not their policy to reword a card for simply being too powerful, but there are quite a few cards that have different wordings due to rules changes, or interactions that literally break the game (as in, "create situations that the rules don't cover"). This was exacerbated with two major rules changes ('96 and '09). Other cards used to often be the subject of errata which prevent them operating the way the card text might imply them to, sometimes again even ''before the card is released'', although this has been phased out over time.

*** The old errata policy allowed cards to be errata'd for power reasons, but this has since been reverted. Overpowered cards are now banned. For example, [http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=642 Time Vault] has been errata'd multiple times with various awkward wording to ensure there was ''no way'' to easily untap it and gain infinite [[Extra Turn|extra turns]]. The latest errata, while much simpler than even the original card, makes the card obviously broken in half (and banned almost everywhere).

*** [http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=159249 Animate Dead] has always worked (generally) functionally as it was originally intended: it enchants a creature and [[Animate Dead|brings it back from the dead]], but the creature dies if the Enchantment does (just like the various Necromancy spells from [[Dungeons & Dragons]]). However, the exact mechanics of this process, if and how a creature that would otherwise be immune to a Black Enchantment can be affected and targeted by this, etc., have caused Animate Dead to be another nightmare of errata and Magic legalese. There's a reason only 2 other cards like Animate Dead have ever been made, and every other Reanimation spell thereafter are Instants and Sorceries. Damn!

** The standard Constructed Deck construction rules of today (at least 60 cards, no more than 4 copies of any non-basic card) are a major obvious rules patch. Originally, the only rule was a minimum of 20 cards per player in the game, theoretically allowing for decks that could win on the first turn nearly 100% of the time (assuming somebody willing to hunt down the requisite number of rare cards to make them work).

** Speaking of [[Magic: The Gathering|Magic]], a few powerful creatures ([http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=5713 Serra Avatar], [http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=191312 Darksteel Colossus], [http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=140214 Purity], [http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=140168 Dread], [http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=189213 Guile], [http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=140227 Vigor], [http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=189214 Hostility], [http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=179496 Progenitus] and ''[http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=193632 Kozilek, Butcher of Truth]'') have an ability that prevents them from going to the graveyard, shuffling them back into the deck instead. While this looks like an advantage, that just hides a darker motive: it prevents players from discarding the creature cards ''on purpose'' so that they can revive them using ''way'' cheaper [[Animate Dead]] spells. (This is not an idle concern, as entire decks are built around this very tactic.)