These notes explain how Eldritch Moon cards work in 2HG. You can find the regular release notes here. In fact, the regular notes make a whopping 9 references to Two-Headed Giant this time! Perhaps one glorious day this little addendum will be completely redundant.
2HG has a few quirks, often about the combat phase and life total changes, but the majority of cards work as you’d expect. The golden rule of 2HG is: “You” still refers to you alone, not both you and your teammate. An ability that boosts “creatures you control” for example. See the 2HG FAQ if you want to know more about the rules of the format.
The weirdest card for 2HG this set is Emrakul herself!
If you’re going to play in a 2HG prerelease you should also check out the 2HG Hidden Gems that shows which cards to look out for. Shadows over Innistrad has its own Release Notes and Hidden Gems.
CARD-SPECIFIC NOTES
Campaign of Vengeance
- You choose one of the defending players who loses 1 life. The defending team doesn’t lose 2 life.
Cryptolith Fragment
- The mana ability results in each team losing 2 life.
- In 2HG your life total is the same as your team’s life total. Thus if both teams have 10 or less life, the third ability will trigger.
Emrakul, the Promised End
- In 2HG when you take control of one player, you take control of both players. MADNESS!
- To make up for that: when you take an extra turn, your team takes an extra turn.
Fortune’s Favor
- Even though you target a specific opponent, teammates are always allowed to share information and talk so in practice both opponents can look and decide.
Fiend Binder
- When this attacks you choose one player as defending player from whom you can target a creature. You don’t get to tap two creatures.
- The choice has no bearing on other choices about ‘defending player’ or who you’re attacking. For example, you can attack one opponent’s planeswalker but target the other opponent’s creature with this ability.
Lone Rider
- While your life total is shared, changes to that life total still happen to players individually. The trigger does not count life gained by your teammate.
Lunarch Mantle
- As the activated ability is granted to the creature, if you put this on your teammate’s creature, he or she can activate it, not you.
Mind’s Dilation
- The ability looks at both opponents separately, so it can potentially trigger twice each turn.
Otherworldly Outburst
- If you target your teammate’s creature and it dies, you get the token, not your teammate.
Providence
- In 2HG setting your life to 26 sets your team’s life total to 26. This only counts as losing/gaining life for you, not for your teammate.
Tree of Perdition
- In 2HG your life total is the same as your team’s life total. The activated ability exchanges the toughness with the opposing team’s life total.
- The exchange counts as losing/gaining life only for the player you target with the ability.