If my unit is possessed by Hostile Takeover and has equipment attached, can I reattach that equipment to another unit?

Question

Accepted Answer

If you control a unit temporarily via Hostile Takeover, you cannot reattach an Equipment that you do not control. Only the controller of a Gear may activate its Equip (an Activated Ability of Gear) to detach/attach it, unless another effect specifically changes control or allows detaching by a different player. [150.2] [821.1.c.5]

No — merely taking control of a unit with Hostile Takeover does not let you reattach an attached Equipment that is still controlled by its original controller. Reattaching requires activating the Equipment’s Equip ability, and only the Equipment’s controller may execute a Gear Activated Ability during their Main Phase [150.2]. If you already controlled the Equipment (for example, you owned/controlled the Equipment card before the control change or another effect transferred control of the Equipment to you), then you could use its Equip ability to move it (subject to normal timing and legality) [150.2] [821.1.c.5].

You resolve Hostile Takeover and take control of the target unit; the unit's controller changes, but nothing in Hostile Takeover says attached Gear changes controller. To reattach that Equipment to a different unit, someone must activate the Equipment’s Equip ability (a Gear Activated Ability). The player who controls the Equipment is the one who may activate that ability during their Main Phase [150.2]. If you (the temporary controller of the unit) do not also control the Equipment, you cannot legally activate its Equip ability and therefore cannot detach/reattach it. If you do control the Equipment (because it was yours before the control change, or another effect changed control of the Equipment to you), you may attempt to activate its Equip ability to attach it to a legal target, subject to the Equip cost and other attachment legality checks (and the possibility that the Equipment cannot be detached or attached in certain situations) [821.1.c.5].

If another effect explicitly transfers control of the Equipment to the player who cast Hostile Takeover, then that player can use the Equip ability to reattach it (subject to timing/legality) [150.2]. If the Equipment has no Equip cost or an Equip ability that cannot be activated, it cannot be paid/activated to move; Weaponmaster’s text shows there are special cases when you may attach an Equipment you control when playing a unit, but that requires the Equipment to be under the attacker’s control [821.1.b]. If the Equipment cannot be detached from its current Top-Most card or cannot legally be attached to the new unit, it will remain attached where it is [821.1.c.5]. If some replacement or triggered effect fires when control changes that specifically affects attached Gear (not present on Hostile Takeover as provided), that effect could alter the above; this ruling assumes no such additional text exists.

Taking control of a unit with Hostile Takeover only changes who controls that unit; nothing on Hostile Takeover says attached Gear changes controller. Equip is an Activated Ability of Gear, and the Activated Ability of Gear may only be executed by the Gear’s controller during that player’s Main Phase in an Open state [150.2]. Therefore, if the Equipment attached to the possessed unit is still controlled by the original player, the temporary controller of the unit cannot activate that Equipment’s Equip ability to move it to another unit. If, however, the player who gained control of the unit also controls the Equipment (for example, the Equipment was theirs before the control change, or another effect transferred control of the Equipment to them), then they may activate the Equipment’s Equip ability and attempt to attach it to a legal unit, subject to Equip costs and any restrictions about detaching or attaching; if the Equipment can’t be detached or attached for any reason, it remains where it is [821.1.c.5]. Weaponmaster-style effects demonstrate a special case where a unit’s play effect can cause an Equipment you control to attach despite normal timing, but that text specifically names Equipment you control, reinforcing that control of the Equipment matters for attachments [821.1.b]. Finally, note that if any other effect explicitly changes control of the Equipment or grants permission for a non-controller to move it, that effect would override this default behavior; this ruling assumes no such additional effect is present.