Artifact, 1 (1) As The Rack comes into play, choose an opponent. At the beginning of the chosen player's upkeep, The Rack deals X damage to that player, where X is 3 minus the number of cards in his or her hand.1 Invented in Mishra's earlier days, the Rack was once his most feared creation.
Illus. Richard Thomas
You choose one opposing player as this card enters play and it only affects that one player. This choice is not changed even if this card changes controllers. It becomes useless but stays in play if the chosen player leaves play. [Jordan 2001/02/13]
Amount of damage is determined when effect is resolved and not when it is announced. [D'Angelo 1995/10/05]
No damage is done if X is zero or less. [D'Angelo 2001/08/31]
Extended tournaments (see Rule 803) banned this card from 1999/10/01 until 2006/10/20 when it became part of Time Spiral.