This is something that has always confused me. How do I know whether to use "it" or the card's name when referring to itself in its text? So far, I've been able to figure it out by looking at existing cards, but that is often time-consuming and not always conclusive. Is there a specific set of rules I can use?
The obvious thing to do would be to use the card's name when referring to itself in a situation where using "it" would be ambiguous. For example, "Whenever Grizzly Bears deals combat damage to a creature, destroy it" would be one such case.
Another place where the card name is often used instead of "it" is in a triggered ability whose trigger condition also notes the name of the card. (This isn't enforced too much, though, so you can feel free to ignore this if you'd like.) Examples off of the top of my head include cards with heroic, such as Akroan Line Breaker, where its name is mentioned both in the trigger condition and in the effect.
Other than that, I don't believe there are any set-in-stone rules regarding using one term versus using the other term. As long as the card text doesn't cause confusion as far as what gets affected when, it shouldn't matter too much.
Private Mod Note
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Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
How to use card tags (please use them for everybody's sanity)
[c]Lightning Bolt[/c] -> Lightning Bolt
[c=Lightning Bolt]Apple Pie[/c] -> Apple Pie
Vowels-Only Format Minimum deck size: 60 Maximum number of identical cards: 4 Ban list: Cards whose English names begin with a consonant, Unglued and Unhinged cards, cards involving ante, Ancestral Recall
Another place where the card name is often used instead of "it" is in a triggered ability whose trigger condition also notes the name of the card. (This isn't enforced too much, though, so you can feel free to ignore this if you'd like.) Examples off of the top of my head include cards with heroic, such as Akroan Line Breaker, where its name is mentioned both in the trigger condition and in the effect.
Other than that, I don't believe there are any set-in-stone rules regarding using one term versus using the other term. As long as the card text doesn't cause confusion as far as what gets affected when, it shouldn't matter too much.
[c]Lightning Bolt[/c] -> Lightning Bolt
[c=Lightning Bolt]Apple Pie[/c] -> Apple Pie
Vowels-Only Format
Minimum deck size: 60
Maximum number of identical cards: 4
Ban list: Cards whose English names begin with a consonant, Unglued and Unhinged cards, cards involving ante, Ancestral Recall
Example:
Bloodcrazed Hoplite says "it".
Centaur Battlemaster doesn't.
I guess you can do anything as long as it's clear what the effect is.