If opponent plays Sprite Mother at a battlefield and I Gust it (returning it to hand), does the token still get created?

Ruling: No token is created. When Sprite Mother is returned to hand before her ability resolves, she is no longer at a location where a token can be played, so the ability creates no token.

Nuances:

  • If Sprite Mother is moved to a different battlefield location after her ability triggers but before it resolves, the token will be created at the new location
  • The ability doesn't target, so it's not a mistargeting issue - the "here" reference simply means the token can only be created where Mother currently is when the ability resolves
  • If the ability didn't reference "here" and instead targeted a battlefield or had other location text, it could resolve even with Mother in hand