Does Deflect need to be paid when a spell targets a battlefield (area effect) rather than directly targeting the unit with Deflect?

Ruling: Deflect only needs to be paid when you directly target or choose a unit with Deflect. If a spell targets a battlefield or affects all units without choosing specific units, you do not pay Deflect.

Nuances:

• For effects that say "deal damage to all units" or similar area effects, Deflect does not apply because you aren't choosing/targeting any specific unit
• For effects that let you split or distribute damage and you choose to assign any amount to a Deflect unit, you must pay Deflect for that unit
• If you choose the same Deflect unit multiple times with separate targeting instances (like choosing 6 times), you pay Deflect each time
• If you split damage from one source among multiple Deflect units (choosing each unit once), you pay Deflect once per unit chosen
• When your opponent makes the choice of which unit is affected, you don't pay Deflect even if they choose a unit with Deflect