We have updated the wording and errata for Falling Star, Chaos Orb, and Ring of Ma’rûf, with all changes going in to effect immediately as of this announcement (Friday, February 1, 2019), for all Eternal Central events moving forward.
Updated Errata and Wording for Falling Star
Choose any number of non-overlapping creatures on the battlefield. Flip Falling Star from at least a height of one foot. If Falling Star turns over completely at least 360 degrees during the flip, it deals 3 damage to each chosen creature it lands resting on. Any creatures damaged by Falling Star that are not destroyed become tapped.
(Note: Falling Star chooses upon resolution, but does not target.)
Older wording being replaced:
Falling Star
2R
Sorcery
Flip Falling Star onto the playing area from a height of at least one foot. Falling Star deals 3 damage to each creature it lands on. Tap all creatures dealt damage by Falling Star. If Falling Star doesn’t turn completely over at least once during the flip, it has no effect.
Question: Why was this slight change made in the wording for Falling Star?
Answer: A number of players have asked for clarification regarding practical usage for Falling Star. After playing with a variety of house rules this seems like the best templating for matching the original intent of the card, with a consistent tournament application for uniformity. Falling Star is not exactly like Chaos Orb, and Falling Star is far underpowered in comparison to a colorless permanent that can destroy anything. This strikes us as the correct balance to maintain flavor, functionality, and tournament practicality.
Question: Can Falling Star choose token creatures?
Answer: Yes. Simply use another card to represent each token creature chosen before flipping Falling Star.
Question: Is the controller of Falling Star allowed to rearrange the chosen creatures before flipping Falling Star?
Answer: Yes. You may move chosen creatures around for flipping Falling Star, just as you can with Chaos Orb (temporary physical position of cards in a game is not material to outcome, so both dexterity cards are the same for this purpose). This is why the non-overlapping clause is relevant and important.
Updated Errata and Wording for Chaos Orb
1, Tap: Choose a nontoken permanent on the battlefield. If Chaos Orb is on the battlefield, flip Chaos Orb onto the battlefield from a height of at least one foot. If Chaos Orb turns over completely at least 360 degrees during the flip, and lands resting on the chosen permanent, destroy that permanent. Then destroy Chaos Orb.
(Note: because of how Chaos Orb is worded, with it being destroyed after a flip, it can still be Disenchanted or Shattered in response to the activation, which will nullify the ability to flip, since it is no longer on the battlefield. This is consistent with the wording of Chaos Orb not being sacrificed upon activation, as it probably would with modern templating. Also note that Chaos Orb chooses, but does not target.)
Older wording being replaced:
Chaos Orb
2
Artifact
1, Tap: Choose a nontoken permanent on the battlefield. If Chaos Orb is on the battlefield, flip Chaos Orb onto the battlefield from a height of at least one foot. If Chaos Orb turns over completely at least once during the flip, and lands resting on the chosen permanent, destroy that permanent. Then destroy Chaos Orb.
The Change: “If Chaos Orb turns over completely at least once during the flip” has been reworded to “If Chaos Orb turns over completely at least 360 degrees during the flip.”
Question: Why was this slight change made in the wording for Chaos Orb?
Answer: Players unfamiliar with Chaos Orb and Falling Star have often asked what “turn over completely meant,” whether that meant at least 180 degrees or at least 360 degrees. They have also often asked whether the card bouncing off of a chosen card, and landing elsewhere, counts. These changes were made to remove any ambiguities with these issues, and explicitly clarify. This wording is also consistent with older DCI rulings regarding Chaos Orb and Falling Star (see in Gatherer: “It must flip 360 degrees (that’s what “flip” means). And this flip must be in the air and not in your hand.” Also, “Only cards touched when it stops moving are affected. Not ones touched while it is moving.”)
Updated Errata and Wording for Ring of Ma’rûf
Ring of Ma’rûf
5
Artifact
5, Tap, Exile Ring of Ma’rûf: The next time you would draw a card this turn, instead choose a card you own from exile or from your sideboard, and put it into your hand.
Older wording being replaced:
Ring of Ma’rûf
5
Artifact
5, Tap, Exile Ring of Ma’rûf: The next time you would draw a card this turn, instead choose a card you own from outside the game and put it into your hand.
The Change: “choose a card you own from outside the game and put it into your hand” has been reworded to “choose a card you own from exile or from your sideboard, and put it into your hand.”
Question: Why was this slight change made in the wording for Ring of Ma’rûf?
Answer: Over the years, the practical use of Ring of Ma’rûf, and the Wish cycle from Judgement, has changed as the DCI rules have changed. This Judgment Wish cycle relied on different wordings for casual versus sanctioned play (“In a sanctioned event, a card that’s “outside the game” is one that’s in your sideboard. In an unsanctioned event, you may choose any card from your collection.” “). When you play in casual tournaments that are unsanctioned though, this just creates more questions about technicalities (as most Old School tournaments are run unsanctioned, for example). This updated errata addresses two things explicitly, without the need for more wording or changing rules not listed on the card:
1) “Wishing” for a card from the exile zone (ie. something that was in play, and removed from game during play).
2) “Wishing” for a card from the sideboard.
Ring of Ma’rûf’s wording was changed during 2002 to match up with how the Wish cycle worked upon Judgment’s release, and the errata above will also coincide with how we treat Wishes in Middle School and other historical formats that allow for alternate rules. Like we do in our recommended “Middle School Rules” set, we have effectively re-adopted the “original Wish rule,” to allow for cards to be “Wished” for that were exiled during the course of play. This was the original intent of the cards, and allows for far more skillful and meaningful choices during game play than the Magic 2010 rules changes that were adopted in 2009.
Question: Can I use Ring of Ma’rûf? (or a Wish) to find a card in my opponent’s sideboard that they borrowed from me, since I technically own it?
Answer: No. For the purposes of game play, all cards in a player’s deck and sideboard are “owned” by that player.
Question: How does Ring of Ma’rûf? (or a Wish) work in a Shahrazad subgame?
Answer: You may find a card that is in the normal game, exile zone, or sideboard. You can read more about Shahrazad subgames here.
Concluding Remarks
As a parting note, we all know that Chaos Orb is awesome. Falling Star and Ring of Ma’rûf are also fun, but quite mediocre as cards comparatively in Old School. These changes will have little impact on the Old School “metagame,” but to help codify and clarify playing with these cards. If you see anybody rushing out to buy these and then resell them at dramatically higher prices to capitalize on these small changes (especially under the guise of “alerting you” to something), they are probably trash, and not worth paying attention to. Have a great day!