Will of the Council

Keywords · intermediate

Will of the council is an ability word. It has no rules meaning of its own; it marks cards where, starting with you, each player publicly votes for one of the printed options, and whichever option gets the most votes happens.

How it works

• Starting with you, each player votes for one of the choices printed on the card: two named outcomes on most examples, or one of four colors on Council Guardian.
• Whichever option gets the most votes determines the effect. On a tie, the card's own text says what happens: several cards (Split Decision, Bite of the Black Rose, Plea for Power, Tyrant's Choice) resolve the second-listed option on a tie, while Council Guardian instead grants protection from every color that's tied for the most votes.
• The results range from countering or copying a spell, to granting protection from colors, to weakening or discarding cards against opponents, to choosing between an extra turn and drawing cards, all keyed to whichever single option won.

Rules notes

• Ability words carry no shared rule; the "starting with you" order and the tie-breaking outcome are printed separately on each card, though every example here repeats the same shape.
• This is one of three distinct vote-based ability words in Magic: will of the council votes are public, secret council votes are hidden until revealed together, and will of the planeswalkers always votes on the same two named options. Don't blur them together.
• See the wiki's vote entry for the general rules on how a vote works; this ability word just marks cards that use it in this specific public, ordered pattern.

Rule reference

[207.2c]