Do recall effects target or choose units?

Question

Accepted Answer

Whether a recall effect targets depends on how it is written. If the effect has a separate “Choose a [unit]” instruction (i.e., the unit is chosen when the ability/spell is placed on the chain), that selection is a target. If the recall is a replacement effect phrased like “If a unit you control would die, recall it instead” (using “would”/“instead”) and does not contain a separate choose instruction, it is a replacement effect and does not target.

Recall effects that begin with or include a separate “Choose a [unit]” (for example, Highlander’s “Choose a friendly unit. The next time it dies this turn, recall it exhausted instead.”) target the chosen unit. Pure replacement-effect wording that does not ask you to choose a specific unit does not target.

Look at the recall effect's wording. If it begins with or contains a separate "Choose a [unit]" instruction, that is a choice/target made when the ability or spell is placed on the chain and so it targets the chosen unit [355]. If the recall is written as a replacement effect using "would" or "instead" without asking you to choose a unit (for example, a static replacement like "The next time a unit you control would die, recall it instead"), that is a replacement effect and does not target specific units; it applies when the qualifying event would occur [369.1] [370.1]. If a spell/ability that targeted a unit earlier remains on the chain and the unit temporarily stops meeting targeting requirements (but stays on the board), the targeting relationship persists and can become legal again [359.3.e.3].

If card wording mixes elements (for example a triggered ability that first resolves then places a follow-up instruction that chooses a unit during finalization), you must split the ability per the triggered-ability finalization rules; whether a unit is targeted depends on whether the 'choose' is part of the condition/cost (chosen when placed on the chain) or part of the effect resolved later [FAQ:unleashed#2] [FAQ:unleashed#3]. If the recall is implemented as a Replacement Effect that is applied at the moment of the would-die event, there is no prior target and so nothing to be targeted or removed by effects that care about targets.

Targeting is determined by how the recall instruction appears relative to the replacement effect. The rules explicitly show the pattern: when a spell/ability first says "Choose a friendly unit" and then gives a replacement effect that references that chosen unit ("The next time it would die this turn, return it to your hand instead"), the initial "Choose" is a target selection and so the ability targets that unit [355]. Replacement Effects are identified by phrasing like "would" or "instead" and alter events when they occur rather than choosing targets at that later moment [369.1]. Replacement Effects apply to qualifying events as described by the effect and can operate without ever targeting a specific unit [370.1]. Practically, that means Highlander's text (which reads "Choose a friendly unit. The next time it dies this turn, recall it exhausted instead.") targets the unit chosen when the reaction is placed on the chain. Conversely, a card that simply says "The next time a unit you control would die, recall it instead" (no "Choose") functions as a replacement effect and does not target any particular unit. Also note that when a spell or ability creates a targeting relationship and the targeted unit temporarily stops meeting the targeting requirements but remains on the board, that relationship persists and can later be re-legal per [359.3.e.3].