TYPE
Instant

ABILITY
Change the target of target spell with a single target.

FLAVOR TEXT
"We can't beat the necromancers in numbers or raw power. We must beat them with ingenuity and timing." —Rannon, Vithian holdout

ILLUSTRATOR
Karl Kopinski

LEGALITIES
Standard Future Historic Timeless Gladiator Pioneer Explorer Modern Legacy Pauper Vintage Penny Commander Oathbreaker Standardbrawl Brawl Alchemy Paupercommander Duel Oldschool Premodern Predh

LANGUAGES
DE EN ES FR IT JP PT RU ZH-CN ZH-TW

RULINGS

• 2008-10-01 If a spell targets the same player or object multiple times, you can’t target it with Swerve.
• 2008-10-01 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.
• 2008-10-01 If a spell targets multiple things, you can’t target it with Swerve, even if all but one of those targets has become illegal.
• 2008-10-01 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.
• 2008-10-01 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.
• 2010-03-01 An Aura spell on the stack targets the object or player which it will enchant upon entering the battlefield. 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 the battlefield enchanting the new target rather than the original one.