diff --git a/forge-game/src/main/java/forge/game/ability/effects/DamageDealEffect.java b/forge-game/src/main/java/forge/game/ability/effects/DamageDealEffect.java
index aeceb081a9c..905c0b0c31c 100644
--- a/forge-game/src/main/java/forge/game/ability/effects/DamageDealEffect.java
+++ b/forge-game/src/main/java/forge/game/ability/effects/DamageDealEffect.java
@@ -123,7 +123,7 @@ public class DamageDealEffect extends DamageBaseEffect {
         stringBuilder.append(".");
         if (spellAbility.hasParam("ReplaceDyingDefined")) {
             String statement = "If that creature would die this turn, exile it instead.";
-            String[] sentences = spellAbility.getParam("SpellDescription").split("\\.");
+            String[] sentences = spellAbility.getParamOrDefault("SpellDescription", "").split("\\.");
             for (String s : sentences) {
                 if (s.contains("would die")) {
                     statement = s;