Spell is a card type. Spell cards usually represent the actions, including the magic and activities on the characters of Eternal. Spells have a wide variety of effects, such as drawing cards, interacting with enemies, and to defending units from incoming attacks.
After a spell is played and its effect resolves, it goes immediately to it's player's void.
Some spells have the fast subtype. Where Spell cards can be only played during the player's own turn (like most card types), Fast Spell cards can additionally be used during response windows such as the players' attack phases or at the end of the opponent's turn (see the section Fast Spells for more details).
Playing Spells[]
Spells are generally played from the hand. Unlike most other card types which remain on the play zone's field, spells instead have an immediate effect then go to the void.
Some cards and mechanics play spells from zones other than the hand. Cards with Warp can be played as if they were in the player's hand while on top of the player's deck. Cards like West-Wind Herald play spells directly from the void for free.
Many spells target other cards or players. Targets are chosen as the spell is played. Spells with targets cannot be played if none are available.
If the spell's target is no longer available as the effect resolves, it has no effect on that target, but other effects may still apply. For example, if unit targeted by Predator's Instinct is killed in response, it dies and doesn't gain Killer; this also applies it the target is no longer valid, for instance if a unit targeted by Suffocate is then buffed to more than 3 attack. However if an enemy unit targeted by Dispel becomes Devoured by the enemy player, the player who cast Dispel will still draw a card.[1]
Tokens[]
Some cards create entirely new spells that were never in the player's deck to begin with. These token spells behave just like other spell cards—once played, token spells go to the void and they persist for the remainder of the game.
Fast Spells[]
Spells with the Fast designation can be played on your turn as with normal spells, as well as in the following situations:
- When the opponent plays a spell, curse, or cursed relic
- When one of the opponent's cards does something that affects you or your units
- When the opponent or their units attack - this includes attacks with Killer units and Relic Weapons
- After you or the opponent declares blockers in an attack.
- At the end of the opponent's turn
Note that card abilities can be responded to depending on whether they interact with you or your units. For example, the summon abilities of Talir's Favored or Saddled Serasaur will not give the opponent a response window, but that of Black-Sky Harbinger will, and with Pteriax Mount, it will only give a window if the ability is used on an enemy unit.
Fast spells take effect before the action it is reacting to, so it can help protect something or otherwise change how the original spell or ability will affect the game. After the reaction finishes, an additional reaction can be played if the player has yet another fast spell (and the power to play it). This continues until the reacting player is finished.
Note that, because reactions are themselves spell cards, the original player might be able to react to a reaction with their own fast spell. This uses the same rules.
Interacting with Spells[]
Negate[]
Negating a spell with a card such as Backlash causes it to be discarded without effect.
Spells that are negated still count as being played for cards such as Calderan Cradle.
If a spell with Unleash is negated, the additional copy will not be drawn.
Aegis[]
Aegis will block a single spell's effect on the protected unit or player. If a spell has multiple effects on a single target, such as Rebuke, Aegis will block all of them, but it would not prevent effects not on the target. For example, if Shield Bash is blocked by Aegis, the player will still gain and draw a card.
See main article: Aegis
Spells Matter[]
List of Spell Cards[]
References
- ↑ Editor's note: This is different from how targeting works in Magic: the Gathering, where, if all the spell's targets become illegal, the spell fizzles and has no effect whatsoever.