How does King's Edict work in 1v1 and 2v2 formats? Who chooses which units to kill?

Question

Accepted Answer

Assuming King's Edict reads or functions like the example “Each player kills a unit they control,” each individual player chooses which of their own units is killed as the spell or ability resolves. This is true in both 1v1 and 2v2; in 2v2 each teammate chooses from their own units. Deathknell processing and the fact that Killing is a Limited Action also apply.

If King's Edict is a spell or ability that instructs “Each player kills a unit they control,” then when it resolves each player (including the caster) chooses which unit they control will be killed. That choice is made as the spell or ability resolves [355.10.e]. Killing via that instruction is a Kill Instruction and is subject to Limited Action rules; if a unit being killed has a Deathknell, the Deathknell is added to the chain first before completing the Kill Instruction [428.3.a] [428.1.a.1.b].

Resolve King's Edict (the spell/ability that reads “Each player kills a unit they control” or equivalent). As the spell/ability resolves, each player (including the caster) chooses a unit they control to be killed. These choices are made by the individual players at resolution [355.10.e]. For each chosen unit, process the Kill Instruction. Because killing is a Limited Action, the Kill Instruction is executed when the game processes it [428.3.a]. If a chosen unit has a Deathknell, add that Deathknell to the chain as a Pending Item before completing that Kill Instruction [428.1.a.1.b]. Complete the Kill Instruction: put the unit from the board into its owner’s Trash (it is considered Killed) [428.1].

If a player controls no units when King's Edict resolves, that player has no valid choice and nothing is killed for that player. If a chosen unit is somehow moved or becomes an invalid object between the time choices are made and the Kill Instruction resolves, the Kill Instruction only affects valid targets at the moment it resolves; if the unit no longer exists where required, it cannot be killed by that instruction (similar principles shown in targeting/location examples) [355.10.e]. If a unit chosen to be killed has a Deathknell, that Deathknell is placed on the chain first and will resolve in the normal way before the Kill Instruction completes [428.1.a.1.b]. If King's Edict worded differently (e.g., it actually targets units or instructs each team to choose rather than each player), then targeting and who chooses can change; my ruling depends on the assumed wording in the assumptions.

The core rule example directly covering this situation is the rule that explains objects chosen as part of a set: “Each player kills a unit they control” is explicitly given as an example of a non-targeting instruction where each player chooses their own object as the effect resolves [355.10.e]. That means in both 1v1 and 2v2 the controller of each unit is the one who chooses which of their units is killed by King's Edict — the spell does not let you pick your opponent's unit unless its text explicitly says so. Because Killing via a spell’s instruction is a Kill Instruction, it is subject to the Limited Action rule for killing [428.3.a], and if any chosen unit has a Deathknell that Deathknell is added to the chain as a Pending Item before the Kill Instruction completes [428.1.a.1.b]. If King's Edict instead uses targeting language or different phrasing, the targeting rules would control and the choice could be made by the spell’s controller; my ruling above assumes the wording matches the example in [355.10.e].