Searching and Finding

Searching means looking through a set of cards, typically to select one or more cards from that group for a purpose. Finding a card is selecting a card or cards from that set.

1. Effects that specify to search for or find a card with certain characteristics (cost, name, element, etc.) in a private zone, the player has the option to not choose a card, even if there is a legal choice. This can be considered an optional "failure to find." If there is a legal choice among revealed cards or legal choices among public cards, players do not have the option to decline choosing the legal card, i.e., they cannot opt for a failure to find.

2. If an effect specifies that a player would find or search for a card without defined characteristics (simply stated as "a card"), a card must be chosen if there is at least one legal choice. Players cannot fail to find a card in this case.

3. Some effects may ask a player to move or put a card from one zone or set of cards to another. This action requires that a player search for a card with the matching or required characteristics to proceed with moving that card. If a card has no characteristic, such as face-down cards or cards in private zones, it cannot be a legal target for any characteristic-defined searches.

Any time an effect would specify that a player would search for or activate a card from a zone or that a player would materialize a card from the material deck, that effect resolves and proceeds if no card is a legal choice or no card is found. There will not be a change in game state.