How does Morgana, Vindictive work when | Runesight
Aug 26, 2026
How does Morgana, Vindictive work when
Answered under Unleashed Rules FAQ and Clarifications
When you play (including as an Ambush Reaction), her “When you play me” effect is a triggered ability that becomes a Chain item and resolves through the normal FEPR process. When that Chain item resolves it deals damage to a chosen unit equal to the damage already marked on that unit. If that damage causes the unit’s marked damage to meet or exceed its Might, a Cleanup will be made outstanding and Deathknell triggers (if any) will be added to the Chain before the unit is moved to the Trash and killed during that Cleanup.
Final Ruling
Playing places the play and her triggered ability onto the Chain and these items are finalized and resolved per the FEPR process . When the triggered ability resolves it deals damage equal to the damage currently marked on the chosen unit . Because a Cleanup cannot occur during resolution, any Cleanup caused by that damage becomes an Outstanding Task to be handled after the resolution completes . During the subsequent Cleanup, Deathknell triggers (if any) are added as Pending Items before the killed unit is moved to the Trash ; then the unit is killed and placed in its owner’s Trash .
Citing
01You may play as a Reaction to a battlefield where you have units; that play is placed on the Chain as a Pending Item and must be finalized in order .
02Finalize the play of (make any required choices/costs). Once finalized it becomes a Finalized Item and will later be the newest item to resolve per the FEPR process .
03When the finalization/resolve step reaches the newest item, resolve the play and any resulting triggered ability. The 'When you play me' ability is a triggered effect tied to the act of playing ; that effect will be executed as a Chain item resolving in turn .
04When the 'When you play me' Chain item resolves, it deals damage to the chosen unit equal to the amount of damage already marked on that unit (if that marked damage is 0, the effect deals 0 damage) .
05If marking that damage causes the target's total marked damage to meet or exceed its Might, that qualifies for a Cleanup. Because Cleanups cannot occur during resolution, that Cleanup is made an Outstanding Task to be handled after the resolution completes .
06During the subsequent Cleanup, Deathknell triggers (if any) for units meeting the kill condition are added to the Chain as Pending Items before the killed card is moved to the Trash , then the units are killed and placed in Trash , and the Deathknell triggers will then be finalized and resolved in order .
If the chosen target has 0 damage marked, the ability will attempt to deal 0 damage and will not cause a kill or Cleanup by itself.
If the chosen target already has damage marked that, when the additional damage is applied, reaches or exceeds its Might, the resulting Cleanup and Deathknell processing follow the Outstanding Task ordering described above .
Whether can legally target itself or other specific units (or what makes a target legal) is not defined in the provided rules text; if a target becomes illegal before the Chain item resolves, normal targeting/invalid-target rules (not included here) will determine the outcome — this is an assumption.
The provided rules do not include the Ambush keyword's procedural text beyond the card line. I assumed Ambush functions by allowing the play as a Reaction to a battlefield you occupy and that the action of playing still follows the FEPR steps shown in and .
Examples in the official clarifications show that units placed Pending on the Chain can prevent losing control of a Battlefield during the Cleanup that follows resolution (see examples in ). This is relevant if interactions depend on Battlefield control when finalizing/playing pending units.
Assumptions
The Ambush/Reaction procedural details (exact timing of when the unit card enters the battlefield relative to when its 'When you play me' triggered ability is placed on the Chain) are not given in the provided Core Rules text. I therefore assume the play of follows the normal card-playing FEPR: the play becomes a Pending Item, is finalized, and then resolves (the triggered ability created by 'When you play me' will be handled as a triggered ability placed on the Chain and finalized in order) .
The card text's targeting rules (what units are legal targets for the 'deal damage to a unit equal to the damage marked on it' instruction and whether may target herself) are not included in the provided Core Rules context. I assume 'a unit' means any legal unit target per standard targeting rules (not provided), so interpretation of legality if the target becomes illegal before resolution is left to normal targeting/invalid-target rules not present here.
High-level: Playing (including as an Ambush Reaction) is a play that becomes a Chain Item; the card text's 'When you play me' is a triggered effect tied to that play. The play is finalized and then the newest Chain item resolves per the FEPR process . When the 'When you play me' item resolves, it deals damage equal to the damage already marked on the chosen unit — that value is taken from the current marked-damage state of the unit and applied as damage when the effect resolves .
If applying that damage causes the unit's marked damage to equal or exceed its Might, that state qualifies for a Cleanup. Because Cleanups cannot occur while Chain Items are Resolving, the Cleanup is made an Outstanding Task and will be handled after the current resolution completes . During the Cleanup the rules require that Deathknell triggers for units that meet the kill condition be added to the Chain as Pending Items before those cards are moved to the Trash , and then those units are killed and placed in their owners' Trash . The Deathknell triggers that were added will then be finalized and resolved in their normal order .
Practical consequences: If the target has no damage marked, the ability does nothing (deals 0). If the target already has damage marked and that value is enough to be lethal when re-applied (or if additional damage from other sources is applied before Cleanup), Deathknell effects will trigger and be placed on the Chain before the killed unit is actually moved to Trash, so those Deathknell effects can be finalized and resolved after the Cleanup makes them outstanding .
Limitations / assumptions: The provided Core Rules extract does not define Ambush/Reaction procedural text beyond the card's parentheses, nor does it provide full targeting legality rules, so I assumed the play follows the normal FEPR play process for units and that 'a unit' refers to any normally legal unit target. If you need rulings about whether can target itself, or the exact moment she becomes a unit on the battlefield relative to when her 'When you play me' trigger is placed on the Chain, please provide the exact Ambush/Reaction rule text or ask that specific sub-question and I will apply the FEPR sequence to that wording.
