Swerve

Swerve

Card Information

Type: Instant

Mana Cost: Blue manaRed mana

CMC: 2

Part of the Reserved List: No

Color Identity: Mana symbol for RMana symbol for U

Set: Shards of Alara (ALA)

Rarity: Uncommon

Collector Number: 200

Oracle Text

Change the target of target spell with a single target.

Format Legalities

duel(Legal)
brawl(Not Legal)
penny(Not Legal)
predh(Legal)
future(Not Legal)
legacy(Legal)
modern(Legal)
pauper(Not Legal)
alchemy(Not Legal)
pioneer(Not Legal)
vintage(Legal)
historic(Not Legal)
standard(Not Legal)
timeless(Not Legal)
commander(Legal)
gladiator(Not Legal)
oldschool(Not Legal)
premodern(Not Legal)
oathbreaker(Legal)
standardbrawl(Not Legal)
paupercommander(Not Legal)

Card Rulings

  1. March 1, 2010

    An Aura spell on the stack targets the object or player which it will enchant upon entering. Thus, an Aura spell is a "spell with a single target", which means you may use Swerve to change that target. Doing so will cause it to enter enchanting the new target rather than the original one.

    Source: wotc
  2. October 1, 2008

    If a spell targets the same player or object multiple times, you can't target it with Swerve.

    Source: wotc
  3. October 1, 2008

    Swerve targets only the spell whose target will be changed. It doesn't directly affect the original target of that spell or the new target of that spell.

    Source: wotc
  4. October 1, 2008

    If you cast Swerve on a spell that targets a spell on the stack (like Cancel does, for example), you can't change that spell's target to itself. You can, however, change that spell's target to Swerve. If you do, that spell won't resolve when it tries to resolve because Swerve will have left the stack by then.

    Source: wotc
  5. October 1, 2008

    You don't choose the new target for the spell until Swerve resolves. You must change the target if possible. However, you can't change the target to an illegal target. If there are no legal targets, the target isn't changed. It doesn't matter if the original target of that spell has somehow become illegal.

    Source: wotc
  6. October 1, 2008

    If a spell targets multiple things, you can't target it with Swerve, even if all but one of those targets has become illegal.

    Source: wotc

Price History

Wizard conjuring a magic the gathering cards

To study a single card is to glimpse the heart of a spell - a frozen moment of ambition, artistry, and arcane intent. Within each glyph lies a spark: a story untold, a duel turned, a destiny altered. Treat it not as mere parchment, dear seeker, but as a shard of the Multiverse itself.

Gandareth the Odd
Keeper of Cardboard Secrets and Loremancer of the Lost Ink

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