Do I pay Deflect when targeting a gear attached to a unit that has Deflect 2?

Question

Accepted Answer

No. Targeting a Gear that is Attached to a Unit does not make you pay the Unit’s Deflect. Deflect only adds an additional cost when the spell or ability chooses the permanent that actually has Deflect. You only pay Deflect if the targeted Gear itself has an active Deflect (printed or granted); note printed rules text on attached Equipment is inactive while attached, but any granted Deflect on that Equipment is active and will add cost [809.1.c][356.2.a.2][FAQ:unleashed#14].

You do not pay the Unit’s Deflect 2 when you target the attached Gear, because the spell/ability is choosing the Gear permanent, not the Unit permanent. You only pay Deflect if the Gear itself has an active instance of Deflect (for example, if some other effect granted Deflect to that attached Gear). Printed Deflect on an Equipment that is attached is inactive while attached, so it would not impose a cost; granted Deflect on the attached Gear will impose an additional cost when that Gear is chosen [809.1.c][356.2.a.2][FAQ:unleashed#14].

Determine which permanent the spell or ability is choosing — the attached Gear card or the Unit card [809.1.c]. If the spell/ability is choosing the attached Gear, check whether that Gear has any active Deflect (printed or granted). Printed rules text on attached Equipment is inactive while attached, so printed Deflect on the Gear would normally be inactive and not apply; granted Deflect on the Gear will be active and will add cost [FAQ:unleashed#14]. If the Gear itself has active Deflect, apply the Mandatory Additional Cost from Deflect to that spell/ability as you play it and pay that cost in the pay-costs step (Power may be any Domain) [809.1.c][356.2.a.2][357.1.a]. If the Gear does not have active Deflect, you do not pay the Unit’s Deflect just because the Gear is attached to that Unit.

If a spell or ability chooses both the Unit and the attached Gear as separate chosen permanents, Deflect applies separately for each permanent that actually has active Deflect. You would pay the additional cost for each time you choose a permanent with Deflect [809.1.c]. If the Gear had printed Deflect but is attached, that printed Deflect is inactive while attached and will not add cost; however, if some other effect granted Deflect to that Gear while attached, that granted Deflect is active and will add cost [FAQ:unleashed#14]. If an effect causes the attached Gear to become an unattached permanent before the spell/ability resolves or before costs are paid, the interaction depends on timing — always check which permanents are being chosen at the time the spell/ability is played and whether any Deflect instances are active when the additional costs are applied [809.1.c][356.2.a.2].

Deflect only imposes an additional cost when a spell or ability chooses the permanent that actually has the Deflect keyword. The Deflect keyword is functionally “Spells and abilities an opponent controls that choose me cost an amount of Power equal to [Deflect Value] more to play as an additional cost for each time they choose me” [809.1.c], and the cost it creates is a Mandatory Additional Cost [356.2.a.2]. An attached Gear is its own permanent (the Equipment card remains a distinct card Attached to the Top-Most card; see [818.3]), so targeting the Gear is choosing that Gear permanent, not the Unit permanent. Therefore, targeting the Gear does not cause you to pay the Unit’s Deflect 2. If the Gear itself has an active Deflect, you would pay that Deflect cost instead. Note that when Equipment is attached, its printed rules text is inactive, but any granted keywords remain active — the FAQ explicitly clarifies that granted Deflect on an attached Equipment will add to the cost of enemy spells and abilities that target it, while a printed Deflect on the Equipment would be inactive while attached [FAQ:unleashed#14]. Finally, Power used to pay any Deflect cost can be of any Domain [809.1.c.1][357.1.a].