<p>No, you can't. You need to specify all targets. It would say "up to two targets" if you could target less. That is also for example the downside of the card <a href="http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=247382" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Hex</a>.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-01-13T04:07:04.290Z
And to see "up to" in action, see Cruel Revival, which is deliberately worded so that you can kill something without needing a zombie to get back.
Free Monica Cellio
CC BY-SA 4.0
2014-01-12T18:56:21.950Z
2018-09-10T19:44:31.887Z
2018-09-10T19:44:31.887Z
Ivo
<p>Say I have a spell like <a class="mtg-autocard" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Victimize">Victimize</a> that says, among other things &quot;choose two target creature cards in your graveyard&quot;...  what if I only have one creature card in my graveyard? Can I still cast the spell? Do I need to have two valid legal targets to actually cast the spell?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-01-13T14:06:29.273Z
Additional note: You can't target the same object twice by a single instance of the word "target".
ikegami
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-09-10T21:34:33.423Z
If you could choose to not target anything, then you could play something like Aether Tradewinds and choose no target you control.
Acccumulation
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-09-11T14:08:45.963Z
For more precise wording you can choose fewer target than a spell 'permits' (e.g. up to two targets can be 0, 1 or 2) but not fewer than it 'requires' (e.g. two targets can only be 2). There's also the distinction between separate instances of the word target (Decimate can target a single Artifact Enchantment Land Creature four times, but each instance of the word target needs to be valid, while Victimize needs two distinct targets).
Samthere
<magic-the-gathering>
Can you chose fewer targets than a spell permits?
neubert
# Can you chose fewer targets than a spell permits?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2014-01-12)

Say I have a spell like [Victimize](https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Victimize) that says, among other things "choose two target creature cards in your graveyard"... what if I only have one creature card in my graveyard? Can I still cast the spell? Do I need to have two valid legal targets to actually cast the spell?

**Tags:** magic-the-gathering

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Additional note: You can't target the same object twice by a single instance of the word "target".  
> **username_2**: If you could choose to not target anything, then you could play something like Aether Tradewinds and choose no target you control.  
> **username_3**: For more precise wording you can choose fewer target than a spell 'permits' (e.g. up to two targets can be 0, 1 or 2) but not fewer than it 'requires' (e.g. two targets can only be 2). There's also the distinction between separate instances of the word target (Decimate can target a single Artifact Enchantment Land Creature four times, but each instance of the word target needs to be valid, while Victimize needs two distinct targets).  

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_4 on 2014-01-12. Score: 10 | Accepted answer

No, you can't. You need to specify all targets. It would say "up to two targets" if you could target less. That is also for example the downside of the card [Hex](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=247382).

> **Comments:**
> **username_5**: And to see "up to" in action, see Cruel Revival, which is deliberately worded so that you can kill something without needing a zombie to get back.  

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