If I buff a 2 might unit to 4 might in response to Gust targeting it, what happens to Gust?

Question

Accepted Answer

If Gust was played as a targeting spell aimed at the 2‑M unit, it still returns that unit to its owner's hand even if the unit is buffed to 4 Might before Gust resolves (so long as the unit stays on the board). If instead Gust is not a targeting spell and only checks the unit's Might at resolution, then it will fail to find a legal unit and do nothing when the unit is 4 Might.

Most defensible interpretation: Gust creates a targeting relationship when played. Per the official clarification, a spell that targets a game object remains linked to that object while it stays on the board even if the object no longer meets the spell’s targeting restrictions, so Gust will still return the unit to its owner's hand after it was buffed from 2 to 4 Might. The exception is if the unit moved to a non-board zone (e.g., to base or a different zone that is non-board), which severs the relationship and would prevent Gust from returning it [FAQ:unleashed#22].

You play Gust choosing/targeting the 2 Might unit (creating a targeting relationship between Gust and that unit). In response, the unit is buffed from 2 Might to 4 Might (its current Might changes; this change is tracked by the game) [710]. When Gust resolves, because it had a targeting relationship to the same game object and that object stayed on the board, that relationship remains valid even though the unit no longer meets the "3 or less" Might restriction, so Gust returns the unit to its owner's hand [FAQ:unleashed#22]. If the unit had instead changed into a non-board zone before Gust resolved, the targeting relationship would be severed and Gust could not return that unit [FAQ:unleashed#22]. If one treats Gust as not targeting but as a resolution-time conditional that only returns a unit currently with 3 Might or less, then when it resolves it finds the unit at 4 Might and does nothing (no valid target).

If the unit is buffed to 4 Might and then moved to a non-board zone (for example banished or otherwise moved off the board) before Gust resolves, the targeting relationship is severed and Gust cannot return that unit [FAQ:unleashed#22]. If the buff to increase Might to 4 is temporary and expires before Gust resolves such that the unit is again 3 Might or less at resolution, then Gust can return it (because the unit on the board is what matters at resolution) [710]. If Gust actually does not create a targeting relationship (templating ambiguity), then it will check the unit’s Might at resolution; if the unit is 4 Might at resolution, Gust cannot return it (no legal unit).

The key points are (A) whether Gust creates a targeting relationship when it is played, and (B) how that relationship behaves if the targeted unit’s Might changes before the spell resolves. The official clarification about targeted spells states that a spell that targets a game object creates a targeting relationship, and that relationship is maintained while the object stays on the board even if the object no longer meets the spell’s targeting restrictions; the only exception is if the object changes to a non-board zone, which severs the relationship [FAQ:unleashed#22].

Because a buff that changes Might is a change to the unit’s current Might (and is tracked by the game), that change is allowed and recorded normally [710]. If you played Gust targeting a 2‑M unit and your opponent increases that unit’s Might to 4 before Gust resolves, then under the targeting interpretation Gust is still linked to that same unit and will return it to its owner's hand when it resolves, despite the unit no longer meeting the "3 Might or less" clause. If the unit instead changed to a non-board zone before resolution, the link would be broken and Gust could not return it [FAQ:unleashed#22].

If one reads Gust as not creating a persistent targeting relationship but instead as an instruction that only finds/returns a unit that currently (at resolution) has 3 or less Might, then the outcome is different: when Gust resolves it will look for a unit at a battlefield with 3 Might or less; a unit that is now 4 Might does not satisfy that condition, so Gust would do nothing. The provided Core Rules text does not explicitly define which templating Gust uses, so the ruling above assumes the targeting interpretation as the most defensible reading and applies the FAQ guidance accordingly [FAQ:unleashed#22] [710].