Does Cruel Patron's additional cost (killing a friendly unit) count as targeting?

Ruling: Cruel Patron's additional cost does not target. The choice of which unit to kill is made during the cost payment step, which occurs after target declaration.

Sequence:

• Declare targets during step b of playing a card
• Pay costs (including choosing which unit to kill for Cruel Patron's additional cost) in a later step
• Since the choice happens during cost payment rather than target declaration, it does not count as targeting

Nuances:

• The rules text is acknowledged as ambiguous and may need clarification to explicitly exclude choices made for additional costs from targeting rules