Why does Turn to Dust turn attached gear, but Spinning Axe doesn't die when attached? Aren't they the same effect?

Question

Accepted Answer

It is understandable why this is confusing, as both cards involve the **[Temporary]** keyword. However, they function differently because of how the keyword is applied and the specific rules regarding when an attached card's text is active or inactive.

The short answer is that **Spinning Axe does not die while attached because its printed [Temporary] keyword is inactive**, while **Turn to Dust forces the [Temporary] keyword to be active**, allowing it to trigger.

Here is the breakdown of why this happens:

### 1. Inactive vs. Active Rules Text
*   **Rule 135.4 and 718.2:** When a gear card is attached to a unit, its printed rules text is **Inactive**.
*   **Spinning Axe:** Because its printed text is inactive, the **[Temporary]** keyword printed on the card does not function. As long as it is attached, it is effectively ignored by the game engine for the purpose of triggering that specific instance of [Temporary].
*   **Turn to Dust:** This spell *grants* the **[Temporary]** keyword to the gear. According to **RiftJudge FAQ #9913** and the related Rules FAQ clarification, while a card's *printed* text becomes inactive when attached, **granted** rules text remains **active**.

### 2. Why they act differently
*   **Spinning Axe:** When attached, its printed [Temporary] becomes inactive. Since the unit it is attached to does not have [Temporary] (only the gear does, and its text is grayed out/inactive), there is no active [Temporary] trigger.
*   **Turn to Dust:** When you play this on an attached gear, you are adding a new, "active" instance of [Temporary] to the card. Even though the gear's printed text is inactive, this *granted* instance is active and fully functional. Per the **2026-04-29 Rules FAQ**, this active instance will trigger in the controller's next Beginning Phase and kill the gear.

### Summary
They are not the same effect because one is a **printed property** (which gets silenced when attached) and the other is a **granted effect** (which persists and remains active while attached).

*   **Spinning Axe (printed):** Inactive while attached → Does not trigger.
*   **Turn to Dust (granted):** Active even while attached → Triggers and kills the gear.

This is my interpretation based on the interaction between **Rule 135.4 (Inactive text)** and the **2026-04-29 Rules FAQ Clarifications** regarding granted keywords. No official FAQ exists that describes this as a single unified interaction, but these rules collectively explain why the distinction exists.