Let’s say I have a face down Thousand Winds and a Secret Plans on the battlefield, making my face down creature a 2/3. My opponent, knowing the mystery and danger of a face down creature, casts a Suspension Field and exiles my face down morph. My opponent breaths a sigh of relief, knowing that the threat has been dealt with. But little does he know, I hold an Erase! On my turn, I Erase his Field and… then what happens?
When a face down creature leaves the battlefield, we reveal the card so everyone knows what it is. So when it’s exiled, it’s face up and everyone knows that it’s a Thousand Winds. And when the Field leaves the battlefield, we return that creature card to the battlefield. But it’s already been turned face up, and nothing is telling us to turn it back face down (and since we’re putting it on the battlefield without casting it, we can’t return it face down). So Thousand Winds will return to the battlefield face up, and now your opponent gets to deal with your early 5/6 flyer.
One final note for today: the Wind’s triggered ability that triggers when it’s turned face up will not trigger in this case. It has to be on the battlefield when it’s turned face up in order for its ability to trigger. When it’s in exile, it’s being revealed as it leaves the battlefield. It’s not on the battlefield at that point, so the Wind’s ability will not trigger.
Today’s Rules Tip written by Nathan Long