How does Shuriken Flip work when

Question

Accepted Answer

You may play Shuriken Flip normally or from your Trash by paying its Flow cost. Playing it creates a Chain [333]. When it resolves it deals 2 damage to up to one enemy unit at a battlefield (you may choose zero), then performs a Move action to move a friendly unit. The Move completes as part of the spell's resolution and then a Cleanup will occur [448] [319]. Any unit marked lethal by the damage is not immediately moved to the Trash — Deathknell triggers are added and the unit is killed during the following Cleanup [323] [808.1.d.2]. The card’s Flow line (“Then banish it.”) is printed on the card; the provided rules do not explicitly fix whether that banish is paid during finalization or as part of resolution, so see assumptions below.

Play: Playing Shuriken Flip (from hand or from your Trash by paying its Flow cost) creates a Chain [333]. Resolution: When the Chain Item resolves, the spell deals 2 to up to one enemy unit at a battlefield (choose zero or one), then moves a friendly unit as instructed. The move is a Move action; when that Move completes, perform a Cleanup [448] [319]. During that Cleanup, any Units whose marked damage equals or exceeds their Might will have Deathknell triggers added as Pending Items before they are actually moved to the Trash [323.4] [808.1.d.2], then are killed and placed in their owners’ Trash [323.5]. The printed “Then banish it.” on the Flow line is part of the card text; the provided rules do not specify its precise timing (see assumptions).

You announce playing Shuriken Flip (either from hand, or from your Trash by paying its Flow cost). A Chain is created for that play [333]. Finalize: choices/costs are paid and the play is finalized (see FAQ: finalization timing) [FAQ:unleashed#17]. If you played it from Trash by Flow, you paid the Flow cost during finalization; the card will leave the Trash as part of being played (and the card’s printed “Then banish it.” will be carried with the play — see assumptions about exact timing). Resolve: when the Chain Item resolves, perform the printed instructions: deal 2 to up to one enemy unit at a battlefield (you may choose zero), then move a friendly unit. The damage is applied now as part of resolution. After the Move completes, perform a Cleanup because a Move completed and Cleanups are added after Moves and many state changes [448] [319]. During that Cleanup, handle outstanding board state: Deathknell triggers are added as Pending Items for any Units whose marked damage now equals or exceeds their Might before those Units are moved to the Trash [323.4] [808.1.d.2], then those Units are killed and placed in their owners’ Trash [323.5]. If any Deathknell triggers were added, they become Pending Items on the Chain (per the Deathknell rule) and will be handled by the FEPR process after the Cleanup completes [808.1.d.2] [319].

You may choose zero targets for the "up to one enemy unit" portion, so it is legal to deal no damage and simply perform the Move. If the damage dealt makes a unit have lethal marked damage, that unit is not immediately sent to the Trash mid-resolution — it is removed during the subsequent Cleanup. That means the unit could still be moved by the same resolution (for example, you could deal damage to a unit and then move it) before the Cleanup kills it [323.4] [323.5]. If you play Shuriken Flip from your Trash via Flow, the provided rules context does not definitively state whether the printed "Then banish it." happens during finalization (as a cost) or as part of resolution (as an effect). The outcome (the card ends up banished) is the same, but the exact timing relative to Cleanups and triggers might differ depending on implementation (see assumptions and [FAQ:unleashed#2]). If the Move causes a battlefield to become Contested or otherwise affects Showdowns/Combats, additional Cleanup staging and Showdown/Combat rules may apply (see the Cleanups and Showdown rules and FAQ clarifications about staging) [319] [323] [FAQ:unleashed#5]. If any other effects replace or prevent a Kill with a different instruction (for example a recall), Deathknell will not trigger for that unit per the Deathknell rule [808.1.d.1].

Short answer: Playing Shuriken Flip makes a Chain [333]. When it resolves it deals 2 damage to up to one enemy unit at a battlefield, then moves a friendly unit. The Move is a Move action and when it completes you perform a Cleanup [448] [319]. Any unit that now has damage ≥ its Might will cause Deathknell triggers to be added as Pending Items before the unit is actually moved to the Trash, and then the unit is killed and placed in the Trash during that same Cleanup [323.4] [808.1.d.2] [323.5]. Details and reasoning:

Playing the card: Whenever a card is played, a Chain is created and the player who played it is first with Priority [333] [333.1]. If you play Shuriken Flip from your Trash using its Flow cost, you pay that cost during finalization of the play (finalization is where costs are paid and legality is checked) — the FAQ about finalization confirms Cleanups only occur between FEPR steps and that finalization is the appropriate step to consider for costs vs. effects [FAQ:unleashed#17] [FAQ:unleashed#2]. The card text’s parenthetical "You may play this from your trash for its Flow cost. Then banish it." instructs that the card is banished as part of the printed Flow line; the provided rules do not unambiguously fix whether that "Then banish it." is resolved during finalization or during resolution as an effect, so this ruling notes that ambiguity in assumptions.

Resolution effects and Cleanups: When the Chain Item resolves it performs its printed instructions in order: apply damage, then move a friendly unit. Damage is applied immediately during resolution, which changes game state (units may now have marked damage ≥ Might). The Move is executed as part of the same resolution. Because a Move completed, a Cleanup is created as an Outstanding Task and will be performed [448] [319]. During the Cleanup you handle outstanding board state: Deathknell triggers for Units with lethal damage are added to the Chain as Pending Items before those Units are moved to the Trash [323.4] [808.1.d.2]; then those Units are killed and placed in their controllers’ Trash [323.5]. If Deathknell triggers were added they become Pending Items to be finalized and eventually resolved after the Cleanup completes.

Practical implications:
- You can target "up to one" enemy unit — choosing zero is legal.
- You can move a unit even if it now has lethal damage from the spell; it will be killed in the subsequent Cleanup (not immediately mid-resolution) [323.4] [323.5].
- If you played it from Trash via Flow, the card will be banished as the card text instructs; exact timing (finalization vs. resolution) is not defined in the provided rules and is listed in assumptions.
- If moving the unit causes battlefield control/Contested/Showdown interactions, additional Cleanups/Showdown staging may happen per the Cleanup and FAQ rules.

Relevant citations: [333] [333.1] [319] [448] [323] [323.4] [323.5] [808.1.d.2] [FAQ:unleashed#17] [FAQ:unleashed#2].