Does Brutalizer's text work correctly when it uses 'this' to refer to itself, given that the text is granted to the attached creature?

Question

Accepted Answer

No. An Equipment’s printed rules text is inactive while it is Attached, so it cannot itself be functioning as a granted active ability on the unit while it is attached. If an Equipment’s text is somehow granted to a unit before or as part of the attaching process and the granted ability exists on the unit, words like “this” will refer to the source of that granted ability (the unit) when the ability resolves.

For Brutalizer specifically: it only has an Equip ability and does not grant its printed text to the equipped unit, so there is no 'this' grant issue. More generally: an attached Equipment’s printed text is inactive and therefore cannot be the active source of a granted ability while it is attached [FAQ:unleashed#14]. If a piece of Equipment’s text is placed on a unit as a separate (active) ability (for example because the grant occurred before the Equipment became Attached or via an exception while Attaching), that ability’s referents such as “this” reference the source of the ability (the unit) when it resolves [359.3.f.1] [725.1].

Check whether the Equipment is Attached. If it is Attached, its printed rules text is generally inactive per the Equipment-in-attachment rule in the FAQ [FAQ:unleashed#14]. If the Equipment’s printed text is inactive, it cannot be functioning as an active ability on the equipped unit while attached (i.e., it isn’t simultaneously 'granting' itself while inactive) [FAQ:unleashed#14]. Consider whether an exception applies during the attaching process: if the Equipment has a passive or triggered ability that applies during Attaching, that text can be processed while it is Attaching [725.1]. If a granted ability does end up existing as an active ability on the unit (because it was created before attachment or as part of the attaching process), treat the granted ability as coming from the unit when it resolves. Words like “this,” “my,” or “its” in that ability refer to the source of the ability (the unit) at resolution [359.3.f.1]. Weaponmaster-related interactions can cause Equip text to be referenced even when text is otherwise inactive; Weaponmaster explicitly makes 'necessary portions' of an Equipment’s text no longer Inactive for the purpose of paying the Equip cost and attaching [821.1.c] [725.3].

An Equipment that grants a keyword (e.g., Temporary) to itself via another effect: the granted keyword can be active even while the Equipment is Attached (see FAQ example where granted Temporary on an attached Spinning Axe still triggers) [FAQ:unleashed#14]. If an Equipment’s passive somehow creates an ability on the unit during the act of Attaching, that creation can be processed due to the Attaching exception; afterward, the Equipment’s printed text is still inactive unless another rule explicitly reactivates it [725.1] [FAQ:unleashed#14]. Weaponmaster can make necessary parts of an Equipment’s Equip ability active for the purpose of attaching via a Weaponmaster resolution, so evaluations of ‘this’ during that resolution may differ from the normal attached state [821.1.c] [725.3]. If the granted ability contains referents tied to the original Equipment as a distinct object (not merely the word 'this'), clarity is required: granted text on the unit will have the unit as its source for words like 'this' per [359.3.f.1]. The provided rules do not fully define more exotic cross-source referents, so adjudication should follow the principle that the source of the granted ability supplies those referents.

The crux of the question is twofold: (A) whether an attached Equipment’s printed text can be active and thus be granting abilities to the equipped unit while it is attached, and (B) if a granted ability exists on the unit that contains 'this,' what object 'this' refers to. The provided FAQ makes clear that attached Equipment have their printed rules text made inactive while Attached, so you should not treat the printed text of an attached Equipment as an active source of granted abilities in the normal state [FAQ:unleashed#14]. There is an important exception: certain portions of an Attached card’s text can 'partially cease to be Inactive' during the process of Attaching (or Detaching), and triggered or passive abilities that apply during the Attaching process can be processed as the card Attaches [725.1]. Weaponmaster-style effects are also specifically allowed to reference an Equipment’s Equip ability and necessary portions of its text for the purpose of attaching [725.3] [821.1.c]. If, because of one of these exceptions (or because the grant happened before the Equipment became Attached), an ability derived from the Equipment’s text exists on the unit as an active ability, the referents in that ability behave as referents normally do: words like “this,” “my,” or “its” are information referenced from the source of that ability, so they point to the unit if the unit is the source of the ability [359.3.f.1]. Applying that to Brutalizer: it only contains an Equip instruction and does not grant other printed text to the equipped unit, so there is no instance of the Equipment’s printed text being granted to the creature while Attached. Therefore there is no special problem for Brutalizer. For a hypothetical Equipment that attempted to grant its own printed text to the equipped unit while it was Attached, the default ruling is that the Equipment’s printed text is inactive while Attached and thus would not be operating as a granted, active ability on the unit unless an attaching-time exception or a Weaponmaster-like effect made the necessary text active during that process [FAQ:unleashed#14] [725.1] [821.1.c]. If the grant occurred and the ability is active on the unit, 'this' in that ability will refer to the unit (the ability’s source) when it resolves [359.3.f.1].