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Strefan, Maurer Progenitor has the following ability:

Whenever Strefan attacks, you may sacrifice two Blood tokens. If you do, you may put a Vampire card from your hand onto the battlefield tapped and attacking. It gains indestructible until end of turn.

Does the Vampire put onto the battlefield this way has to attack the same player or planeswalker?

Geist of Saint Traft has a specific rule about it:

You choose which player or planeswalker the Angel token is attacking. It doesn’t have to be attacking the same player or planeswalker that Geist of Saint Traft is attacking.

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  • Rulings on gatherer are simply ways of explaining specific rules - the rules apply to everything worded in the same way - in this case unless the card specifies who a token is attacking when it's put into play, the controller gets to choose.
    – Andrew
    Dec 10 '21 at 22:18
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Comprehensive Rule 508.4:

If a creature is put onto the battlefield attacking, its controller chooses which defending player or which planeswalker a defending player controls it’s attacking as it enters the battlefield (unless the effect that put it onto the battlefield specifies what it’s attacking)

The Gatherer ruling on Geist of Saint Traft is simply a clarification of how the Comprehensive Rules apply; the fact that the ruling isn't on Strefan, Maurer Progenitor just means the editors at Wizards didn't put it on, rather than that the card has a different effect.

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  • My local juge says the opponent has to be a defending player (another creature has to attack them) before the Vampire enters the battlefield...
    – sinsedrix
    Dec 10 '21 at 19:55
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    Your question (at least in the body of the text) was whether they have to attack the same player or planeswalker; the answer to that is a definite "no". The question as to which opponents become defending players is a different question and format dependent - please edit your question (don't comment) to include the formats you are interested in - see rules 802 and 803.
    – Philip Kendall
    Dec 10 '21 at 20:03
  • I don't understand why the rule would apply differently according to thé format
    – sinsedrix
    Dec 12 '21 at 13:11
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    @sinsedrix Because some multiplayer formats use rule 802 ("Attack Multiple Players Option") and some use 803 ("Attack Left and Attack Right Options"); which players are defending players depends on which of those options is in use. For casual formats including Commander, the players can choose, although Commander defaults to using 802 (see rule 903.2).
    – Philip Kendall
    Dec 12 '21 at 13:32
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    Although honestly, your local judge is probably just wrong here, certainly if the Attack Multiple Players Option is in use. 802.2 is very clear on this.
    – Philip Kendall
    Dec 12 '21 at 13:36

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