What happens to Tideturner's trigger if it is returned to hand (gusted) after being flipped from facedown? Does the targeted unit still move?

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Accepted Answer

If Tideturner is returned to hand (moved to a non-board zone) after being played from Hidden but before its play effect finishes resolving, its play effect will not move the targeted unit. The chosen target is selected when Tideturner is played, but because the instruction refers to “me” (Tideturner) and that earlier linked instruction cannot execute once Tideturner is in hand, the later linked instruction to move the other unit is also ignored.

When you play Tideturner from Hidden you choose the friendly unit target as part of finalizing the play [355.5] [811.1.d.2]. If Tideturner is returned to hand (a non-board zone) before the play effect resolves, the instructions to "Move me to its location and it to my original location" cannot be executed because the source ("me") is no longer the same on-board object; instructions that can't be followed are ignored and because the two moves are linked the later move will also not execute [359.3.e.6] [359.3.e.14.a] [359.3.e.12]. The targeted unit will therefore not be moved.

You play Tideturner from Hidden and, as part of finalizing the play, you choose a friendly unit to be the target of the play effect [355.5] [811.1.d.2]. The play effect’s text reads: "Move me to its location and it to my original location." Those are two move instructions written in sequence (the first refers to "me", the second refers to "it"). Before the play effect finishes resolving, Tideturner is returned to hand (moved to a non-board zone). Because Tideturner is now in a non-board zone, the instruction that tries to move "me" (Tideturner) to the target's location cannot be followed. Instructions that can't be followed are ignored [359.3.e.6]. The two move instructions are linked by order; a later linked instruction only executes if the earlier linked instruction executed. Since the first (earlier) linked move was ignored, the later instruction to move the chosen unit to Tideturner's original location is also ignored [359.3.e.14.a]. Result: the targeted unit is not moved; the play effect does nothing.

If Tideturner is moved to another board zone (for example, to your Base) rather than to a non-board zone, it remains the same game object on the board and the move instruction referring to "me" could still be executable. The critical failure case is moving Tideturner to a non-board zone (hand, trash, banish) which severs the object-reference and causes the instructions to be ignored per the rules about unavailable information and impossible instructions [359.3.e.12] [359.3.e.6]. Also note that choices for targets are made when Tideturner is played, so the choice itself doesn't disappear merely because Tideturner later moves—what fails is the ability to carry out the instruction that referenced Tideturner once it's in a non-board zone [355.5] [359.3.e.12].

When you play Tideturner from Hidden you make the required choices for the play at that time, including choosing the friendly unit target for the play effect [355.5] [811.1.d.2]. The play effect contains two sequential move instructions: first "Move me to its location", then "and it to my original location." If, before the play effect finishes resolving, an opponent returns Tideturner to your hand (moving it to a non-board zone), the game can no longer execute the instruction that references "me" because the source object has changed zones and the information about it is not available in the same way [359.3.e.12]. Instructions that cannot be followed are ignored [359.3.e.6]. Further, the two moves are linked by order in the text; a later linked instruction only executes if the earlier linked instruction executed. Because the first move (moving "me") was ignored, the later move (moving "it") will also be ignored [359.3.e.14.a]. Therefore, although you initially chose a target when you played Tideturner [355.5] [811.1.d.2], if Tideturner is returned to your hand before its play effect resolves the targeted unit will not be moved.