If you cast a spell (like Hextech Ray) targeting an opponent's unit with Deflect, but cannot pay the Deflect cost, are you forced to retarget your own unit, or does the spell get fully rewound back to your hand?

Ruling: At high OPL, if you place a spell on the chain as pending but select an illegal target (one requiring a Deflect cost you cannot pay), the judge will typically rewind only to the targeting step and require you to select a legal target (your own unit). At low OPL, a full rewind back to hand is expected.

Sequence:

• The card is placed on the chain as "pending" (this is a valid action)
• Targets are selected during the finalization process
• If an illegal target is selected, only that targeting action is rewound
• You must then select a legal target to proceed with the spell
• The spell does not return to hand if a legal target exists

Nuances:

• Whether a full rewind occurs depends heavily on whether information was gained (opponent's reaction, hand movements, etc.). If the judge is certain no information was gained, a full rewind may be allowed even at high OPL
• Both players can mutually agree to a full rewind at any OPL level
• Rule 355.3 states that if an illegal choice is made during the play process, actions are undone - but there is debate about whether "this process" means the entire spell or just the illegal step
• Current precedent from Chinese regionals supports rewinding only to the targeting step when a legal target exists
• The card exists on the chain as "pending" before costs and targets are finalized, which is a valid game state that can be rewound to