Nonfunctional Oracle Changes

Howling Mine and friends
Howling Mine tells you to draw a card at the beginning of your draw step. Well, duh! Of course I draw a card at the beginning of my draw step. I do it every turn!

This group of cards didn't make it clear enough that this is a bonus card that you draw in addition to your normal draw. The wording of this kind of ability will now say that you draw an "additional card" just to make this clear.

Howling Mine's new Oracle text:
At the beginning of each player's draw step, if Howling Mine is untapped, that player draws an additional card.

Here are the other affected cards (you can guess what their wordings will be): Anvil of Bogardan, Grafted Skullcap, Heightened Awareness, Kami of the Crescent Moon, Malignant Growth, Overbeing of Myth, Rites of Flourishing, Spiteful Visions, Sylvan Library

Iron Maiden, Wheel of Torture
These two cards have consistency issues and confusion issues. The consistency issue is that Iron Maiden's wording doesn't match cards with similar functionality like Black Vise, Viseling, and Ivory Tower, while Wheel of Torture's wording doesn't match similar cards like The Rack, Rackling, and Storm World.

The confusion issue is that Iron Maiden and Wheel of Torture each says that it "deals 1 damage to that player for each [something or other]." That sounds like a bunch of discrete 1-damage pings, but it's not. The card calculates the amount of damage, then deals it in one lump sum. A card like Circle of Protection: Artifacts can prevent all the damage with just one activation.

We discussed aligning Stabwhisker the Odious in the same way, but we didn't for a couple of reasons. One is that it deals with life loss, not damage, so the confusing interactions are drastically decreased. The other is that if we gave it the same errata, it could never be reprinted because the new wording wouldn't fit into a split card's text box.

Iron Maiden's new Oracle text:
At the beginning of each opponent's upkeep, Iron Maiden deals X damage to that player, where X is the number of cards in his or her hand minus 4.

Wheel of Torture's new Oracle text:
At the beginning of each opponent's upkeep, Wheel of Torture deals X damage to that player, where X is 3 minus the number of cards in his or her hand.

Leeches
This is another "deal 1 damage for each [something or other]" card. It can be changed.

New Oracle text:
Target player loses all poison counters. Leeches deals that much damage to that player.

Phyrexian Negator
This card does something "for each 1 damage" that's been dealt. This is a very unusual wording outside of complex damage prevention effects. It can be synched up with Phyrexian Totem, which has a better, cleaner wording.

New Oracle text:
Trample
Whenever Phyrexian Negator is dealt damage, sacrifice that many permanents.

Candles Glow, Chant of Vitu-Ghazi
These cards say "You gain 1 life for each damage prevented this way." The life and damage don't have to be treated as discrete units; these cards can match cards like Purity or Intervention Pact that say "You gain life equal to the damage prevented this way."

Candles' Glow's new Oracle text:
Prevent the next 3 damage that would be dealt to target creature or player this turn. You gain life equal to the damage prevented this way.
Splice onto Arcane {o1oW} (As you play an Arcane spell, you may reveal this card from your hand and pay its splice cost. If you do, add this card's effects to that spell.)

Chant of Vitu-Ghazi's new Oracle text:
Convoke (Each creature you tap while playing this spell reduces its cost by {o1} or by one mana of that creature's color.)
Prevent all damage that would be dealt by creatures this turn. You gain life equal to the damage prevented this way.

Oath of Lim-Dûl
This card's wording ("Whenever you lose life, sacrifice a permanent other than Oath of Lim-Dul or discard a card for each 1 life you lost") is confusing. Although you can make a new choice (sacrifice or discard) for each discrete point of life loss, this is not at all clear; it seems that you must choose one of the actions and perform it for each life lost. This is being changed so it's more readily understood.

New Oracle text:
Whenever you lose life, for each 1 life you lost, sacrifice a permanent other than Oath of Lim-Dûl unless you discard a card. (Damage dealt to you causes you to lose life.)
{oBoB}: Draw a card.

Call to Arms, Jihad
These cards tell you to choose an opponent as they come into play. Then a later ability refers to "the chosen opponent." But that's not accurate—that ability keeps checking the chosen player whether or not that player happens to be your opponent at the current time. This could be relevant if your opponent gains control of your Call to Arms, for example. The wordings will still tell you to choose an opponent, but now they'll reference "the chosen player."

Call to Arms's new Oracle text:
As Call to Arms comes into play, choose a color and an opponent.
White creatures get +1/+1.
When the chosen color isn't the most common color among permanents the chosen player controls, sacrifice Call to Arms.

Jihad's new Oracle text:
As Jihad comes into play, choose a color and an opponent.
White creatures get +2/+1.
When the chosen player controls no nontoken permanents of the chosen color, sacrifice Jihad.

Slobad, Goblin Tinkerer
We've been using a new template for Slobad's ability (it's also seen on the Shards of Alara card Spearbreaker Behemoth), so Slobad is getting updated to the new standard.

New Oracle text:
Sacrifice an artifact: Target artifact is indestructible this turn. ("Destroy" effects and lethal damage don't destroy that artifact.)

Static abilities that affect "all other" things
We used to use "all other" on static abilities. For example, Urborg Shambler says "All other black creatures get -1/-1." The modern wording for these kind of abilities is to simply say "other." For example, Crovax, Ascendant Hero says "Other white creatures get +1/+1." Six cards are being updated accordingly, purely by deleting the word "all."

They are: Aura Flux, Sterling Grove, Stronghold Taskmaster, Urborg Shambler, Vampirism, Zombie Master

Energy Field, Forbidden Crypt, Leyline of the Void
Leaves-play triggered abilities work differently than most other triggered abilities. Leaves-play triggered abilities look at the game state just before the ability triggers. Most other triggered abilities look at the game state just after the ability triggers. The specific differences don't matter here; it's only important to understand that there is a difference.

Cards like Compost, Countryside Crusher, and others have abilities that trigger whenever certain cards are put into certain graveyards no matter what game zone those cards come from. It would be confusing and impractical to have these abilities work like leaves-play triggered abilities when dealing with permanents that go to the graveyard, but work like normal triggered abilities when dealing with non-permanents that go to the graveyard. We also run up against the policy that we never refer to permanents as "cards." So the ruling on these abilities is that they never work like leaves-play triggered abilities, even when dealing with permanents.

To help make that clear, abilities that care about cards going to the graveyard from anywhere actually say "from anywhere" right in the ability. This includes cards that only care about themselves hitting the graveyard (like Dread), and replacement effects that aren't triggers at all (like Wheel of Sun and Moon). Energy Field, Forbidden Crypt, and Leyline of the Void fall into this class of cards, so their abilities are getting "from anywhere" added to them so they match the rest.

Energy Field's new Oracle text:
Prevent all damage that would be dealt to you by sources you don't control.
When a card is put into your graveyard from anywhere, sacrifice Energy Field.

Forbidden Crypt's new Oracle text:
If you would draw a card, return a card from your graveyard to your hand instead. If you can't, you lose the game.
If a card would be put into your graveyard from anywhere, remove that card from the game instead.

Leyline of the Void's new Oracle text:
If Leyline of the Void is in your opening hand, you may begin the game with it in play.
If a card would be put into an opponent's graveyard from anywhere, remove it from the game instead.

Faith Healer
If a permanent is sacrificed as a cost and the effect refers to the sacrificed permanent, that's what it says: "the sacrificed [permanent]." Faith Healer had drifted away from that, even though that's how it was printed.

New Oracle text:
Sacrifice an enchantment: You gain life equal to the sacrificed enchantment's converted mana cost.

Temporal Distortion
"Permanents with an hourglass counter on them" should be "permanents with hourglass counters on them." That's the norm, as seen on Kulrath Knight, Rimefeather Owl, and Rimescale Dragon.

New Oracle text:
Whenever a creature or land becomes tapped, put an hourglass counter on it.
Permanents with hourglass counters on them don't untap during their controllers' untap steps.
At the beginning of each player's upkeep, remove all hourglass counters from permanents that player controls.

Animate Land
Animation abilities use "is a creature" on static abilities (Living Terrain, March of the Machines) and "becomes a creature" on abilities with limited durations (Lifespark Spellbomb, Karn's Touch). Animate Land falls into the latter category, but was worded as though it were in the former category.

New Oracle text:
Until end of turn, target land becomes a 3/3 creature that's still a land.

Spatial Binding
It says "upkeep step" when it only needs to say "upkeep." Ertai's Familiar, for example, displays the correct wording. Only the word "step" is being deleted.

Island Fish Jasconius
This card referred to itself three times as "Jasconius." That's a shortcut we employ on legendary cards—for example, Phage the Untouchable refers to itself twice as "Phage." Island Fish Jasconius, however, is not legendary. There are tons of those things floating around in the ocean (apparently)! It'll now always refer to itself by its full name.

New Oracle text:
Island Fish Jasconius can't attack unless defending player controls an Island.
Island Fish Jasconius doesn't untap during your untap step.
At the beginning of your upkeep, you may pay {oUoUoU}. If you do, untap Island Fish Jasconius.
When you control no Islands, sacrifice Island Fish Jasconius.

Diligent Farmhand, Pardic Firecat
If a card refers to another card by name, it doesn't just use that name—it says "a card named [that name]." These two cards didn't match that standard, so they're getting updated to the norm.

Diligent Farmhand's new Oracle text:
{o1oG}, Sacrifice Diligent Farmhand: Search your library for a basic land card and put that card into play tapped. Then shuffle your library.
If Diligent Farmhand is in a graveyard, effects from spells named Muscle Burst count it as a card named Muscle Burst.

Pardic Firecat's new Oracle text:
Haste
If Pardic Firecat is in a graveyard, effects from spells named Flame Burst count it as a card named Flame Burst.

Omen
This card should have the exact same wording as Ponder. It's being synched up with that card.

New Oracle text:
Look at the top three cards of your library, then put them back in any order. You may shuffle your library.
Draw a card.

Harmonic Convergence
This card "returns" objects from play to the top of their owners' libraries. "Return" is never used this way; the cards should be "put" on top of that library.

New Oracle text:
Put all enchantments on top of their owners' libraries.

Auriok Steelshaper, Lovisa Coldeyes
It's a little unclear whether the abilities on these cards affect creatures with all the listed creature types or they affect creatures with either of the listed creature types. (It's either.) They're getting an "and" changed to an "and/or" to help make this clear.

Auriok Steelshaper's new Oracle text:
Equip costs you pay cost {o1} less.
As long as Auriok Steelshaper is equipped, Soldier and/or Knight creatures you control get +1/+1.

Lovisa Coldeyes's new Oracle text:
Warrior, Berserker, and/or other Barbarian creatures get +2/+2 and have haste.

An-Havva Inn
Life-gain effects always state who's gaining the life.

New Oracle text:
You gain X plus 1 life, where X is the number of green creatures in play.

Charisma
This card said "you control that creature," even though the standard template (as seen on Sower of Temptation) is "gain control of that creature."

New Oracle text:
Enchant creature
Whenever enchanted creature deals damage to a creature, gain control that creature as long as Charisma remains in play.

Game Preserve, Paroxysm
The reminder text on these cards is outmoded (more recent cards like Cruel Deceiver and Counterbalance don't have it) and misleading. These cards manipulate cards on top of players' libraries—but those cards never actually leave those libraries. The reminder text says that those cards are "put back" or "returned" to those libraries, which strongly implies that those cards have left the library. For these reasons, the reminder text is being stricken from Oracle.

Clockwork Avian
In one of its abilities, Clockwork Avian erroneously refers to itself as "Clockwork Beast." That's an easy fix.

Frozen Solid, Stuffy Doll, War Elemental
These three cards have the trigger condition "When[ever] damage is dealt to [something]." Twenty-nine other cards have the trigger condition "When[ever] [something] is dealt damage." These cards are being synched up with the others to remove the nonstandard template from Oracle.

Frozen Solid's new Oracle text:
Enchant creature
Enchanted creature doesn't untap during its controller's untap step.
When enchanted creature is dealt damage, destroy it.

Stuffy Doll's new Oracle text:
As Stuffy Doll comes into play, choose a player.
Stuffy Doll is indestructible.
Whenever Stuffy Doll is dealt damage, it deals that much damage to the chosen player.
{oT}: Stuffy Doll deals 1 damage to itself.

War Elemental's new Oracle text:
When War Elemental comes into play, sacrifice it unless an opponent was dealt damage this turn.
Whenever an opponent is dealt damage, put that many +1/+1 counters on War Elemental.

Faces of the Past, Turnabout
Rule 413.2c says that if a spell or ability offers you a choice as it resolves, you can't choose an option that's impossible. These cards say to tap or untap all of a certain set of cards. Can you tap all of them if one of the cards in that set is already tapped? Tapping a tapped permanent is impossible. Same deal for untapping an untapped permanent. Hmmm. In addition, these cards are really confusing. It's ambiguous whether they let you individually apply the "tap or untap" action to each permanent in the set, or whether you have to pick "tap or untap" and apply it to everything. I'm trying some new wordings for these cards that are longer, but should be unambiguous.

Faces of the Past's new Oracle text:
Whenever a creature is put into a graveyard from play, tap all untapped creatures that share a creature type with it or untap all tapped creatures that share a creature type with it.

Turnabout's new Oracle text:
Choose artifact, creature, or land. Tap all untapped permanents of the chosen type target player controls, or untap all tapped permanents of that type that player controls.

Solfatara
We have two wordings for this kind of ability. Some cards say "can't play lands" and others, such as Moonhold and Turf Wound, say "can't play land cards." Given the cards that currently exist in the game, the two wordings mean exactly the same thing. Solfatara was printed with the latter wording, but it has the former wording in Oracle. As long as we're OK with allowing both wordings to concurrently exist, Solfatara's Oracle wording might as well match its printed wording.

New Oracle text:
Target player can't play land cards this turn.
Draw a card at the beginning of the next turn's upkeep.

Phyrexian Portal
This card was changed in the last update to make it clear which cards are shuffled into your library. However, the forum feedback was that the new wording still wasn't very clear. So let's try again.

New Oracle text:
{o3}: Target opponent looks at the top ten cards of your library and separates them into two face-down piles. Remove one of those piles from the game. Search the other pile for a card, put it into your hand, then shuffle the rest of that pile into your library. Play this ability only if your library has ten or more cards in it.

Keldon Battlewagon
This card and Impelled Giant have largely the same ability. Impelled Giant introduced a new, clearer wording for this ability, so Keldon Battlewagon's wording is being changed to match.

Cards that say "sacrifice a [permanent]" in a cost often later refer to "the sacrificed [permanent]." However, when the cost is "tap an untapped [permanent] you control," referring to "the tapped [permanent]" later on may be confusing, since that permanent may no longer be tapped by the time the ability resolves. Impelled Giant refers to "the [permanent] tapped this way," which is unambiguous. ("The sacrificed [permanent]" doesn't have this problem because things can't become unsacrificed!)

New Oracle text:
Trample
Keldon Battlewagon can't block.
When Keldon Battlewagon attacks, sacrifice it at end of combat.
Tap an untapped creature you control: Keldon Battlewagon gets +X/+0 until end of turn, where X is the power of the creature tapped this way.

Serra's Hymn
We have a more modern template for dividing damage prevention, as seen on cards like Angel of Salvation.

New Oracle text:
At the beginning of your upkeep, you may put a verse counter on Serra's Hymn.
Sacrifice Serra's Hymn: Prevent the next X damage that would be dealt this turn to any number of target creatures and/or players, divided as you choose, where X is the number of verse counters on Serra's Hymn.

Sabertooth Cobra
This card currently uses the word "prevent" in an ability that doesn't prevent damage. It can be simplified by just deleting some words, which would bring it closer in line with cards like Glass Asp.

New Oracle text:
Whenever Sabertooth Cobra deals damage to a player, he or she gets a poison counter. That player gets another poison counter at the beginning of his or her next upkeep unless he or she pays {o2} before that turn. (A player with ten or more poison counters loses the game.)

Counterintelligence, Plow Under
We have two wordings for spells and abilities that send multiple cards to a new zone. If we can assume with reasonable certainty that all the cards have the same owner (because they all have the same controller, for example) the spell or ability says "their owner's [zone]." It's OK if the cards happen to have different owners—the spell or ability still works fine, and sends each card to the proper place. The wording is like this just to match the greatest expectation.

In other cases, the spell or ability says "their owners' [zones]." Again, it's OK if the cards all have the same owner.

There's a fuzzy middle area occupied by cards like Plow Under, Counterintelligence, Rebuking Ceremony, Undo, and Aven Augur. The first two say "their owner's [zone]" while the last three say "their owners' [zones]." Since Aven Augur and Rebuking Ceremony are the most recent, Plow Under and Counterintelligence are being changed to match.

Counterintelligence's new Oracle text:
Return one or two target creatures to their owners' hands.

Plow Under's new Oracle text:
Put two target lands on top of their owners' libraries.

Ice Cauldron
This card got errata in the last update, but one of its sentences can be made a little easier to parse. The sentence "Add mana of Ice Cauldron's last noted type and amount to your mana pool" is being changed to "Add Ice Cauldron's last noted type and amount of mana to your mana pool."

New Oracle text:
{oX}, {oT}: Put a charge counter on Ice Cauldron and remove a nonland card in your hand from the game. As long as that card remains removed from the game, you may play it. Note the type and amount of mana spent to pay this activation cost. Play this ability only if there are no charge counters on Ice Cauldron.
{oT}, Remove a charge counter from Ice Cauldron: Add Ice Cauldron's last noted type and amount of mana to your mana pool. Spend this mana only to play the last card removed from the game with Ice Cauldron.

Raging River
This card was changed recently. However, that change used the phrase "flying creatures" rather than the proper phrase "creatures with flying."

Pestilence Rats
This card has a nonstandard use of "total." The word is simply being deleted.

Void Maw
This card's Oracle wording had an extraneous "it" that's getting deleted. It was a remnant of the last Oracle change.

Acidic Dagger
This card's Oracle wording had an extraneous "before" that's getting deleted. It was a remnant of the last Oracle change.

Torrent of Lava
This card's tap symbol wasn't formatted properly in Oracle, so that's getting fixed.

Nature's Blessing
This card erroneously had a colon where it should have a comma.

Nature's Chosen
This card's Oracle wording had an extraneous comma that's getting deleted.

Nature's Wrath
Its last two abilities are being switched so they're in the standard color order (first the ability that cares about blue things, then the ability that cares about black things).

Introduction
Functional Oracle Changes
Nonfunctional Oracle Changes
Comprehensive Rules Changes