Swerve vs Hexproof

[Bilygote]

Situation: player A casts {Arachnus Web} targeting  player B's {Riverfall Mimic}, which is player B's only creature

In response: Player B casts {swerve}, and changes the target to Player A's {Tangle Angler}

Player A has {Asceticism} on the BF and 5 creatures, 2 {Rhox Charger}, 2 {Blight Mamba}, & 1 {Tangle Angler}

How should this resolve?

[Double-O-Scotch]

{asceticism} is in play. He can't {swerve}. There is no legal target to choose.

[jmreardon]

This play is legal. Swerve doesn't target a creature, and the controller of Arachnus Web can legally target his own creature with Arachnus Web.

[Double-O-Scotch]

Touché! Nice find. {swerve} is better than I thought it was...

[scarsabrex]

The new targeting still has to be legal...

[Mattao19]

The new targeting still has to be legal...

True but it's the owner that's targeting the Hexproof creature therefore it's legal bc the opponent isn't targeting.

[Bilygote]

Thanks

[Toast616]

But isn't player b ,the controller of swerve, giving web a new target? thus changing essential ownership of the spell to b, because b is choosing the new target and targeting a's creatures which can't happen because of asceticism?

[scarsabrex]

Wait i see what's going on, i mixed up who had the {asceticism}. This works perfectly.

[Wally]

{asceticism} is in play. He can't {swerve}. There is no legal target to choose.

Swerve needs to specify a new target on resolution. It however cannot. Swerve may be cast but the target is not changed.

From the card rulings on swerve.

10/1/2008   You don't choose the new target for the spell until Swerve resolves. You must change the target if possible. However, you can't change the target to an illegal target. If there are no legal targets, the target isn't changed. It doesn't matter if the original target of that spell has somehow become illegal.

[Wally]

I think what is being lost here is the understanding on who is 'Changing the target' of the original spell.
From my understanding the caster of {Swerve} is the one who nominates the new target not the web's caster, and because of that, the caster of {Swerve} is not able to target his opponent's creatures due to the pseudo Hexproof.

[Kaleo42]

The specific rulings on swerve very clearly state that this can get around hexproof. Swerve does not target anything with hexproof at any point. Swerve targets and effects a spell, whatever choices would be legal for that spell's controller are legal for swerve.

[Wally]

Ok just to clarify then. The caster of swerve does not nominate the new target but the resolution of it forces the original spells caster to find another valid target?