That I understand, but more damage is done by ruling one way then another, then going in a third time and trying to make a global ruling.
I find it very disconcerting, this is the same a Battle Fury, which had a ruling one way on the card text and which was completely obliterated by an errata'ed version of the card taking it 180 degrees the opposite direction from the previous ruling.
They've actually not flip flopped on this ruling any, sIKE (yet). The current ruling is consistent with the previous one. Wildhorn was incorrect when he told you that Magebane did not do damage when dispelled. The FAQ still says it does do damage when dispelled, and clarifies that it's damage occurs after the spell has finished resolving. The question is how this actually occurs within the framework of the rules. The timing just doesn't seem to work any which way you spin it for Magebane to be able to actually do it's damage. We understand that it is intended to function that way, but we just don't quite understand how it is allowed to function that way. And the answer to this question can impact other effects.
If the answer is that it triggers upon entering the Resolve Spell Step, before the effects actually occur, such as what seemed to be suggested by the discussion in the previous thread you linked to, then that has ramifications for other effects such as Divine Reward which would then cease to function as intended in some situations.
However, having it trigger after the spell has resolved also doesn't make sense because then Magebane is no longer even in play. We may have to have some kind of delayed trigger rule implemented such that Magebane and similar effects triggers upon entering the Resolve Spell Step but don't actually take effect or check for if it can even legally occur until after the spell has finished Resolving. However, that seems needlessly messy and convoluted to me.
At first, I was thinking along the lines of simultaneous effects where we simply state both the card destruction and the damage trigger at the same time. In typical Mage Wars fashion, you then get to choose the order they occur in. Since the damage has already triggered though, destroying Magebane first doesn't actually prevent it. However, this kind of logic would then affect other aspects of game play. Such as, Bleed and Regenerate both trigger from the Upkeep phase. You decided to resolve the Regenerate first to destroy the Bleed, but the damage from Bleed has already triggered so you still take it anyways. That's not currently how it works (unless I've seriously misinterpreted something).
So, right now I'm of the opinion that they should just reverse their decision regarding Magebane dealing damage when Dispelled. I have no problems with Magebane doing damage in that situation, but reversing this decision seems simpler than changing the rules (such as by adding Delayed Trigger rules) or changing the card itself to allow that kind of functionality. Perhaps another option can be found besides the ones I've discussed though. Regardless of how they decide to handle the question, as long as they make the rules clear and consistent I shall be happy.
