It’s been long since Wizards of the Coast first announced that three of the new Baldur’s Gate Commanders would receive MTG errata. On June 1, Wizards released an article summarizing all Oracle text changes to the three cards mentioned. I made the mistake of thinking everyone already knew about this and almost got blown out in a Commander Legends Draft because someone treated a changed card as it read. Arm yourself with information before getting blown out by outdated text on an MTG card!
To be clear, the errata being issued onto these cards are generally to make what the cards are supposed to do more precise to the player. These cards technically play correctly as read in some cases, but there were a few catches where they didn’t or had a bizarre interaction with the rules of MTG that most would miss.
For the record, these changes are not reflected on the copies of the cards released for Baldur’s Gate. I’ll link the original article at the end of this one so you can windmill slam the proof on your friend’s playmat.
Dynaheir, Invoker Adept
This is the weird card where following the Oracle text is a necessity. Ironically, the new text is a buff to Dynaheir, Invoker Adept because of an odd rules interaction that many may miss. Here is the old and new text in comparison:
Haste
You may activate abilities of other creatures you control as though those creatures had haste.
{T}: When you next activate an ability this turn by spending four or more mana to activate it, copy that ability. You may choose new targets for the copy.
Haste
You may activate abilities of other creatures you control as though those creatures had haste.
{T}: When you next activate an ability that isn’t a mana ability this turn by spending four or more mana to activate it, copy that ability. You may choose new targets for the copy.
The difference in texts for Dynaheir is that the new text does not trigger on mana abilities. Before players become up in arms about not being able to copy their crazy mana ability combos in their Dynaheir EDH deck, I’m here to tell you that they never worked in the first place. Mana abilities don’t go on the stack, so there’s no ability to copy. Some more veteran players know this already, but what you may not know is that Dynaheir’s old text WILL see the mana ability and trigger. Since the mana ability doesn’t go on the stack, it will fail to copy anything and you will lose the ability. The MTG errata rectifies that error by removing the ability for Dynaheir to trigger on mana abilities at all.
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Zevlor, Elturel Exile
The original text for Zevlor, Elturel Exile reads:
Haste
Pay Two and Tap: When you next cast an instant or sorcery spell that targets a single opponent or a single permanent an opponent controls this turn, for each other opponent, choose that player or a permanent they control, copy that spell, and the copy targets the chosen player or permanent.
The new text reads like this:
Haste
Pay Two and Tap: When you next cast an instant or sorcery spell that targets only a single opponent or a single permanent an opponent controls this turn, for each other opponent, choose that player or a permanent they control, copy that spell, and the copy targets the chosen player or permanent.
The MTG errata here reflects that the original spell can only target one permanent or player. If the spell Zevlor wants to copy has multiple targets, Zevlor cannot copy it. The original text does play the same as the new one, but it’s easy to make assumptions because of how unclear it was.
Neera, Wild Mage
The old text for Neera, Wild Mage reads like this:
Whenever you cast a spell, you may put it on the bottom of its owner’s library. If you do, reveal cards from the top of your library until you reveal a nonland card. You may cast that card without paying its mana cost. Then put the rest on the bottom of your library in a random order. This ability triggers only once each turn.
The new text is a tad bit different:
Whenever you cast a spell, you may put it on the bottom of its owner’s library. If you do, reveal cards from the top of your library until you reveal a nonland card. You may cast that card without paying its mana cost. Then put all revealed cards not cast this way on the bottom of your library in a random order. This ability triggers only once each turn.
As the article from Wizards of the Coast summarizes, there was some confusion on what to do if you chose not to cast the spell revealed by Neera, Wild Mage. The MTG errata addresses that, stating that you put it on the bottom of your library.
READ MORE: Flood Your Opponents With Value With This EDH Adventures Guide
For those who need the original article as proof during a game, you can find it here.
