A lot of players have been asking whether you need to reveal cards that were manifested when they change zones or as the game ends. Surely, we don’t need to reveal them to verify that they were manifested legally, right? So why reveal them at all?

Well, there are a couple of reasons. Firstly, it’s good to maintain the habit of always revealing face-down permanents this way, so you don’t accidentally forget to reveal a morph. Secondly, there are times when you have both morph and manifest cards face down, and the opponent might not remember which was which… so revealing both ensures they know at least one of them was indeed a morph and was played legally. Lastly and most importantly, the Comprehensive Rules are what require to reveal face-down cards this way, and they don’t make any kind of distinction about how the card came to be face down. Here is the rule:

707.9. If a face-down permanent moves from the battlefield to any other zone, its owner must reveal it to all players as he or she moves it. If a face-down spell moves from the stack to any zone other than the battlefield, its owner must reveal it to all players as he or she moves it. If a player leaves the game, all face-down permanents and spells owned by that player must be revealed to all players. At the end of each game, all face-down permanents and spells must be revealed to all players.

So please, remember to reveal all your face-down permanents as they change zones or as the game ends, and also be careful to keep manifest cards clearly separate from morph cards!

Today’s Tournament/Rules tip written by Josh Stansfield