For the most part, the oft-repeated MTG mantra that “reading the card explains the card” holds true. Generally, all the information you need to use and understand a card is right there in its text, and outside interactions are fairly intuitive. This isn’t always the case, however. With cards that switch power and toughness, like About Face, the layers system of the MTG rules comes into play in unintuitive ways.
The Secret Rules Of About Face MTG
Most MTG players assume that cards like About Face are one-time effects, flipping a creature’s stats at the time the effect goes off and then only. What actually happens, however, is a little more complex than that. Today, a new Instagram video from Keepingitcasualmtg shone a light on the topic.
As stated in the game’s comprehensive rules, under Rule 613, all effects that alter a creature’s stats are applied at different sublayers of layer seven. Effects that switch power and toughness, Layer 7d, are the lowest sublayer, meaning they get applied last. Effectively, this means that any stat changes that happen on Layer 7c will be changed by Layer 7d, before reaching any creature.
In the case of Tifa Lockhart, this always means her power-doubling ability will affect her toughness, not power. No matter how many Landfall triggers there are, Tifa’s power won’t advance beyond two after an About Face has been used on her.
The real trick here is that cards like About Face last for the entire turn, rather than just one instance of power switching. Helpfully, About Face is actually pretty clear about this, but even cards like Twisted Image work over the entire turn, even if not explicitly stated.
While this is a strange interaction, it’s also not hugely relevant at present. There are only a handful of power/toughness switchers in the game, and none are in Standard. That said, it can come in handy in Commander. If you’re facing a Voltron or Infect player, cards like About Face can invalidate any pure power buffs placed on their Commander.
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