Does Mageseeker prevent green Leona (Leona Zealot) from entering play ready?

Question

Accepted Answer

I can't give a definitive yes/no without Mageseeker's exact text. Based on the rules and how Leona - Zealot is worded, whether she enters ready depends on whether Mageseeker creates a continuous replacement effect that changes how units enter the board (which would stop Leona from entering ready) or whether it is a triggered/after-the-fact effect (which may allow Leona to enter ready and then be changed). See assumptions below.

Insufficient information to be certain. If Mageseeker's effect is a continuous replacement-style effect that says enemy units enter exhausted / do not enter ready, that will prevent Leona - Zealot from entering play ready. If Mageseeker is a triggered ability or an effect that acts after the unit has already entered and been readied, then Leona - Zealot will enter ready (if her condition is met) and Mageseeker's effect will act afterward. This is the most defensible interpretation given the provided rules and card text.

Check Mageseeker's exact wording and whether it is a continuous replacement/static effect that changes how units enter or a triggered effect that happens after entry. Check whether Leona - Zealot's condition (opponent's score within 3 of Victory Score) is true at the time the unit would enter. If it is not true, she won't enter ready. If the condition is true and Mageseeker is a continuous replacement that says units enter exhausted / not ready, that replacement effect prevents Leona - Zealot from entering ready. If the condition is true and Mageseeker is a triggered/after effect, Leona - Zealot enters ready and then Mageseeker's effect resolves afterward (which might exhaust or otherwise change her).

If Leona - Zealot would already be Ready for some other reason when the enter event happens, instructions to Ready her again do nothing per [415.1.b] [415.1.c]. If multiple replacement effects try to change how the unit enters, those interactions depend on Replacement Effect ordering and application; the provided rules excerpt for replacements is limited, so I cannot give a guaranteed tie-breaker without the full replacement ordering rules. See assumption that Mageseeker text is required. If Leona - Zealot's ability is templated as a triggered ability (e.g., “When you play me, if..., ready me”), then the ready action becomes a chain item during finalization per [FAQ:unleashed#2] [FAQ:unleashed#1], and other responses could interact before that chain item finalizes.

The ruling hinges on Mageseeker's exact text. Leona - Zealot says “If an opponent's score is within 3 points of the Victory Score, I enter ready.” That is an instruction to Ready the unit as it enters if the stated condition is true. Readying is a state/action described in the rules; a unit can be readied when effects instruct it to be Readied [415] [415.3.b].

If Mageseeker is a continuous replacement-style effect that modifies how enemy units enter the board (for example, an effect reading something like “Enemy units enter exhausted / do not enter ready”), that replacement would apply to the event of entering the board and would prevent Leona - Zealot from entering ready even if her condition is true (because the continuous replacement changes the result of the enter event). Replacement effects interact with other game effects and may inherit modifications per [375]. Because I don't have the replacement-ordering rules here, I cannot absolutely adjudicate how multiple simultaneous replacement effects would be ordered, but the basic principle is that a continuous effect that dictates entering state will prevent another effect trying to make the unit enter ready.

If, instead, Mageseeker is a triggered ability that reacts after a unit has entered the board (for example, “When an enemy unit enters, exhaust it” or “When an enemy unit enters, stun it”), then the timing matters: Leona - Zealot's entry and her conditional instruction to enter ready happen as the unit is entering; if the condition is true she will enter ready. Then Mageseeker's triggered effect would go on the chain and resolve afterward, and it could exhaust or otherwise change that unit after it entered ready. Triggered abilities and the finalization structure are described in [FAQ:unleashed#1] and [FAQ:unleashed#2], which explain that an instruction like “ready me” can become a chain item during finalization; whether other things can respond between parts depends on how the ability is templated.

Practical summary:
- If Mageseeker's text is a continuous replacement that prevents entering ready, then no, Leona - Zealot will not enter ready even if her score condition is met. (The replacement changes how she enters.)
- If Mageseeker is an effect that triggers after a unit enters, then yes, Leona - Zealot will enter ready (if her condition is met), and then Mageseeker's effect will act afterwards.

Because you didn't provide Mageseeker's exact wording, I cannot give a definitive single-line ruling without that text. If you paste Mageseeker's card text, I will apply the above rules to give a concrete ruling. [415] [FAQ:unleashed#2] [FAQ:unleashed#1] [375]