Secret council

Secret Council
Ability Word
Introduced	Lord of the Rings Commander
Last used	Murders at Karlov Manor Commander
Typical Text	Secret council — ... each player secretly votes for [...] , then those votes are revealed.
Statistics	5 cards 20% 20% 20% 40%
Scryfall Search
keyword:"Secret Council"

Secret council is an ability word introduced in the multiplayer Lord of the Rings Commander set. Just like Will of the council and Council's dilemma, it calls for all players to vote on an effect but with the twist that the voting is secret.

Description

To secretly vote, each player writes down their chosen option without showing it to anyone else. Each player then keeps their vote secret until all players simultaneously reveal their votes.

Before secret votes are revealed, players may announce how they intend to vote, but they can't reveal what they wrote down until all votes are simultaneously revealed. Players can lie about how they intend to vote before the votes are revealed. Abilities that trigger "whenever players finish voting" trigger once all players have voted or once all secret votes are revealed, but they won't go on the stack until the current spell or ability finishes resolving.

Rulings

• Each player must vote for one of the available options. They can't abstain.
• No player votes until the spell or ability resolves. Any responses to that spell or ability must be made without knowing the outcome of the vote.
• The phrase "the vote is tied" refers only to when there is more than one choice that received the most votes. For example, if a 5-player vote from among three different choices ends 3 votes to 1 vote to 1 vote, the vote isn't tied.

Examples

Example

Elrond of the White Council
Legendary Creature — Elf Noble
3/3
Secret council — When Elrond of the White Council enters the battlefield, each player secretly votes for fellowship or aid, then those votes are revealed. For each fellowship vote, the voter chooses a creature they control. You gain control of each creature chosen this way, and they gain "This creature can't attack its owner." Then for each aid vote, put a +1/+1 counter on each creature you control.