http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/return

Some cards in the game utilize the term Return. Return this card to hand, return this value, so on and so forth. The dictonary refers to the term Return as:

"to go or come back, as to a former place, position, or state"

"to put, bring, take, give, or send back to the original place, position, etc"

So here is my question. If you are instructed to return something to a position it never previously occupied, do you? By means of example:

Attack Au Fer
R Commit 2 foundations: after this attack is blocked return it to you hand

Can you return it to your hand if it was played from a game zone that wasent your hand (discard pile, momentum, etc)?

Healer
This attack is returned to its printed damage.

Can you return an attack to its printed damage if for some reason it was never at its printed damage?

An attack will always start at it's printed damage. You may have continuous effects that will change it as soon as it's in play, or they wouldn't have anything to change it from.

Well.. except for multiples. Hmm... You may have a point.

Keep in mind that cards taht come out in the future may alter this as well. If they made a card that said all attacks become 5 damage or something, then its not really a modification is it. There have been cards in the past that change control values so that when a card is rolled it is not the printed value, it is the abilitiy value, or feral fury for instance which is never its printed value because returning it to X was ruled to return it to 0.

In any event it does apply to multiples. A multipe has never actully been at its printed value on its own (because its printed value is 0), so can you return it to a point its not actually been at?

It seems like this issue could be neatly sidestepped with a functional errata to all cards that say, "return."

For example, Attack Au Fer could have simply said, "After this attack is blocked, add it to your hand."

"Add" is always shorter than "return," and it is never any less clear.

For vitality cases, it could become "reset" or "becomes." For Healer, options are:

"This attack's damage becomes its printed damage." or "This attacks damage is reset to its printed damage."

(Reset has less implication of having been in the initial condition, and more implication of there being a default initial condition. Think "reset button" or "reset my clock.")

Either way, I don't see a need for the word "return" in properly templated cards.

ARMed_PIrate said:

Stupid english language where one word can mean many different things.

This issue is officially "On the burner" as it does not need a ruling, as people understand what return means, and this is confusing the issue.