Would Defiant Dance kill units with two might, due to the wording not saying to a minimum?

Question

Accepted Answer

No. Defiant Dance changing a unit's Might (giving -2) does not by itself kill a 2 Might unit. It only changes the unit's current Might; death is caused by lethal damage or explicit kill effects, not by reducing Might to 0 per the provided rules [710] [460.2.c.2].

Playing Defiant Dance to give a unit -2 :rb_might: will lower that unit's current Might (for the turn) but will not automatically kill it. The card changes a unit's Might value, and units die from lethal damage or effects that explicitly kill them; reducing Might to 0 is not described as a kill condition in the provided rules [710] [460.2.c.2].

You play Defiant Dance. As it resolves, apply its effects: one chosen friendly unit gets +2 :rb_might: this turn and another unit gets -2 :rb_might: this turn. These alter those units' current Might values as soon as the spell's instructions resolve [710]. Changing a unit's Might updates its current Might but does not apply damage or a 'kill' instruction. The rules describe death in terms of lethal damage (non-zero damage ≥ a unit's Might) and explicit kill effects, not 'Might reaching 0' as a removal condition [460.2.c.2]. Therefore, after Defiant Dance resolves a 2 Might unit reduced by -2 will have 0 current Might for the turn, but it will remain on the board unless some other effect deals damage to it or an explicit effect kills it.

If another card or ability explicitly says 'kill this unit if its Might is 0' or has an effect that triggers on a unit's Might being reduced to a particular value, that specific text would cause the unit to die. That text is not present on Defiant Dance and is not present in the provided Core Rules excerpt. If a simultaneous resolution or later effect assigns damage to the unit after its Might has been reduced, lethal damage is calculated against its current Might (which may be 0). Note that 'lethal damage' is defined relative to the unit's Might [460.2.c.2]. If a unit's Might is referenced during an ability's resolution and that unit becomes illegal or moves off the board while on the chain, checks of that unit's Might become null and related calculations are ignored [359.3.e.12].

The text of Defiant Dance only modifies a unit's Might values for the turn (one unit +2, another -2). The Core Rules state that 'Units on the board are evaluated according to their current Might'—meaning these modifications change the unit's current Might immediately [710]. However, the provided rules describe unit removal in terms of damage and explicit kill effects. The combat damage rules define 'Lethal Damage' as non-zero damage equaling or exceeding a unit's Might, which indicates death is resolved via damage meeting or exceeding Might, not by Might itself being lowered to zero by a buff or debuff [460.2.c.2]. Because there is no rule in the provided context that a unit with 0 Might is automatically killed, the most defensible ruling is that Defiant Dance will not kill a 2 Might unit simply by reducing its Might to 0. It will remain on the board with 0 current Might until another effect deals damage or explicitly kills it. Additionally, if any ability is checking a unit's Might while that unit becomes illegal or leaves the board during resolution, that Might check becomes null and is ignored [359.3.e.12]. If you have a card or rule text not included here that explicitly says 'kill units with 0 Might' or similar, that would override this interpretation; absent such text, reducing Might to 0 is not a kill condition per the provided rules.