Lorcana Vanish and when a character is banished
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Vanish banishes a Lorcana character after an opponent chooses it through an Action's effect. It does not trigger whenever anything happens to that character. The source of the effect, who controls it and whether it actually chooses the character are essential to the ruling.
The Action finishes resolving before the Vanish trigger resolves. That order matters when the Action already banishes, returns or otherwise moves the character. This guide follows the keyword in the current comprehensive rules, particularly section 8.14, and separates it from Ward, challenges and character abilities.
The three checks for Vanish
First, the character must have Vanish at the relevant time. An illustration that looks ghostly, or the Illusion classification, is not a substitute for the keyword. Read the printed text and any effects currently giving or removing abilities.
Second, an opponent must choose that character. Your own Action choosing your own character does not satisfy this condition. The keyword is concerned with an opponent's choice, so identifying the controller of the effect is more useful than identifying who physically pointed at the card.
Third, the choice must happen through an Action's effect. A character's ability can choose another character without becoming an Action. An item's ability can do the same. Both may resemble an Action on the table, but their card type and effect source are different.
| Situation | Does the situation trigger Vanish? | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| An opponent's Action chooses the character | Yes | The keyword's source and choice requirements are met |
| Your own Action chooses your character | No | The choice is not made by an opponent |
| An opponent's character ability chooses it | No | The effect is not an Action's effect |
| An opponent challenges it | No | A challenge is not an Action choosing the character |
| An effect affects all characters without choosing it | No, from that fact alone | Being affected is not automatically being chosen |
The last row prevents a common shortcut. Do not equate “this character took damage” with “an opponent chose this character.” Read how the effect assigns its result. The specific wording determines whether a choice occurs.
Resolve the Action before the trigger
Consider a hypothetical opponent's Action that chooses a character and gives it reduced strength for the turn. The opponent chooses your character with Vanish, and the Action applies its effect. Vanish then resolves and banishes the character if it is still the relevant character in play.
You do not interrupt the Action halfway through its instructions to remove the character immediately. This is particularly important if the Action has several instructions. Finish that effect according to its text, then process the triggered ability using the game's normal timing rules.
Conversely, Vanish does not wait until the next turn or until someone challenges the character. The trigger follows the Action's resolution. Leaving the character in play indefinitely because the Action itself did not say “banish” misses the additional consequence of the keyword.
If the Action already moved the character
Suppose an opponent's Action chooses the character and returns it to your hand. The choice satisfies Vanish's trigger condition, but by the time the trigger resolves, the character has changed zones. Section 8.14.2 explains that Vanish does not banish the new object in another zone.
You therefore do not search the owner's hand and banish that card as a delayed extra penalty. The same reasoning matters when the Action has already banished the character. Vanish is not a second instruction that retrieves it from the discard pile and banishes it again.
Use the actual movement and timing rather than a narrative such as “it vanished, so it must be gone somewhere.” The rules distinguish the character that was chosen in play from the card after a zone change. That distinction gives a concrete answer without guessing where the trigger should follow it.
Songs are Actions too
A Song is an Action with the Song classification. Singing changes how you pay to play it; it does not turn it into a character ability. If an opponent's Song effect chooses your character with Vanish, the Action requirement can be satisfied.
Paying ink for the same Song does not change that conclusion. The relevant question is what its effect does, not which payment method the opponent used. A Song affecting all characters without choosing the particular character still needs the same wording check as any other Action.
For this ruling, there is no need to calculate Singer values or Sing Together contributions. Those questions determine whether the Song can be played in a particular way. Vanish concerns the source and result of the resolving effect once that Action has been played legally.
Ward prevents a choice; Vanish follows one
Ward and Vanish operate at different points. Ward can restrict an opponent's ability to choose the character through an effect. Vanish responds after the opponent makes a qualifying choice through an Action. Calling both “protection” conceals an important practical difference.
If Ward makes the opponent's intended choice illegal, the opponent cannot proceed by saying that Vanish will remove the character afterwards. Check whether the Action has a legal choice first. A trigger cannot retroactively legitimise an illegal selection.
If another effect removes Ward and a later opponent's Action legally chooses the character, Vanish can then matter. Evaluate the abilities currently present, rather than assuming that a character always keeps every ability printed on its original card.
Resist is another separate question. It changes applicable damage calculations; it does not generally erase the fact that an Action chose a character. An Action can choose a character even when the eventual damage is reduced. Work out the choice, damage and Vanish trigger as distinct parts of the sequence.
Challenges and ordinary damage
Choosing a character to challenge is part of the challenge procedure. It is not choosing that character through an Action's effect. Vanish does not automatically banish a character just because the opponent declared a challenge against it.
Challenge damage may still banish the character through the ordinary damage rules. That is a different cause of leaving play. If the character survives the challenge, you do not add a Vanish banishment simply because an opposing character was involved.
Likewise, an opponent's character ability dealing damage can be dangerous without triggering Vanish. The keyword does not give a general exemption from that damage, and the damage does not become an Action. Identify each source instead of grouping all enemy effects together.
Test a sequence with concrete questions
At a kitchen-table game, put the source card beside the affected character and read its type. State who controls the resolving effect. Then locate the instruction that chooses the character. This usually resolves the disagreement before any complicated timing discussion is needed.
For a longer sequence, record the character's zone before the Action, immediately after the Action and when the trigger resolves. If the Action moved it, that movement is often the decisive fact. Avoid adding extra movements from memory when the comprehensive rules explicitly limit the trigger's reach.
In an organised event, explain the sequence to the judge before continuing if the players disagree. Give the actual cards and choices, including effects granting or removing abilities. A summary such as “Vanish versus a Song” leaves out the very details that can distinguish two different rulings.
Practical decisions when playing a Vanish character
The keyword changes which opposing cards are especially dangerous. An inexpensive Action that chooses the character may remove it through Vanish even if that Action's own effect would not ordinarily banish it. Evaluating only the printed damage or strength reduction can therefore underestimate the threat.
It also helps distinguish safe interactions with your own cards. Your Action choosing your character does not trigger Vanish merely because the character is an Illusion or because the effect changes its strength. Other effects and damage still apply normally, so “no Vanish trigger” does not mean “no possible consequence.”
Before committing the character to a plan, consider both the opponent's available Actions and the usual challenge risks. The useful question is which legal interactions can remove this specific character now. A general statement that Vanish characters are always fragile supplies less information than that board-specific check.
Frequently asked questions
Does any opponent effect trigger Vanish?
No. It must be an opponent choosing the character through an Action's effect. Character abilities, item abilities and challenges do not satisfy the Action requirement by themselves.
Does Vanish resolve before the Action finishes?
No. The Action resolves first. If it has already moved the character to another zone, Vanish does not follow the card and banish the new object there.
Does every Illusion have Vanish?
No. A classification does not automatically grant the keyword. Check the card's actual abilities and the effects currently applying to it.