Elder Sign - locked dice queries First query - can I take the locked dice from a resolved monster and use it right away to complete the rest of the adventure card it was on?
Second - if I have a locked red dice on one card or monster then draw another card or monster with a locked red dice symbol, do I have to wait to clear the red dice from the first and move it to the second before I can try and resolve the second adventure, so the second card is basically out of play until the first lock is resolved? Or can I try and clear the second card to stop the lock moving?

Locked dice on monsters are only unlocked when the monster is collected, which happens at the end of the Investigation Phase. Note that even if you failed to solve the Adventure or Other World card, you will still collect the monster trophy as long as you completed that task. You can then use the unlocked die on your next attempt.
Adventure cards can be done in any order, even if there are multiple locks active at the same time. The physical location of the locked die doesn't really matter. If you complete a card with a locked die on it the die moves to another lock if there is one, or if there wasn't a die on the card it stays locked on the card where it is. Whether it moves or not is irrelevant; you will need to remove both locks before you can use that die again.


Decision Trees in board games? I'm trying to design a new game, where one of the key mechanics of the game is to make decisions (or let the dice make them for you). I'm trying to figure out how best to design this into a card, and make it look understandable, and not require too much space. Essentially what the players have is a decision tree, for those not familiar this would be an example:

I expect to have many of these tree (1 per card) and I need to figure out how to present them. I can think of two options, I can either:

Provide a visual representation of the Tree like above. My tree would most likely just contain numbers rather than captions on it and would have a textual section to accompany it.
Just provide a textual representation which for the example tree might be:

  1) Is the picture clear? Yes (goto 2), No (goto 3)
  2) Is there sound? Yes, No (goto 4)
  3) Is the Screen Blank? Yes (goto 5), No
  4) Check the mute button
  5) Is there sound? Yes, No (goto 6)
  6) Check power cord

So to try and keep this on topic, have you seen any other games that provide a decision basis like this and how've they accomplished it? Additionally do you think one of these is better than the other (and why)?

EDIT

Freekvd raised some good questions so I'll incorporate these in:

What kind of tree complexity are you considering?: Generally I'm trying to keep them simple, sharing nodes as much as possible. Nodes would normally converge (I wouldn't really expect more than 2/3 at the same level).

Does a node always have two branches? Yes, essentially success or failure.

Do you have a maximum tree depth in mind? – A maximum of 5 items (including a terminus deep), although they tend to be quite narrow.

Here's an actual example of one of medium complexity at present:

I don't know any games that use decision trees, at least not visually. The only game I can think of that lets you manipulate rules to reach a certain goal, is fluxx.

To keep with the visual decision trees, you could use a single card per node:

Cards could be decision nodes and terminal nodes, and you would need a starting node for each tree.

Alternatively
You could use concentric pie charts to visualize the type of directional graph you're describing:

Just start at the center and follow the labels.


Mêlée based, fantasy themed Warhammer 40k army? Which army is best suited to adapting to a fantasy themed, mêlée based army (in both rules and look of model)? Do 40k armies suit mêlée combat at all?

Melee combat can be effective in 40k, but armies that focus on it to the exclusion of ranged combat will have serious issues.  Armies like Eldar rely on their shooting to reliably destroy tanks.

That being said many of the 40k armies have fantasy analogs, and most of the armies can field dedicated melee units.  Stylistically, armies like Grey Knights stay pretty close to their fantasy roots.  Chaos demons even use the same models between both games.

GW gamers all also very tolerant of themed conversions.  You can kit-bash Fantasy and 40k kits together to give a more sword and sorcery look to your grim dark.


What is timing for Global Conflicts Variant in through the ages? When playing the Global Conflicts Variant (in the Handbook) points are awarded at the end of Ages 1,2 and 3 for relative military strength.  However what is the timing of this.

Does this happen as soon as age ends or do we go through all the other stuff such as leaders dying which may affect military strength.

There is ambiguity, but I would do the Global Conflict culture award first, and then follow the usual start of a new age process as defined in the rulebook.

Discard antiquated cards
Remove antiquated leaders from play
Remove antiquated unfinished wonders.
Remove antiquated pacts
Lose 2 yellow tokens

This could be justified by noting the rulebook seems to list all those as something to do at the start of an age, while the culture award occurs at the end of an age.


In A&A-Europe - When does an economic attack makes sense? I've been playing Axis & Allies Europe (first version) for a long time and have never found a real value in using my bombers to run Economic Attacks.

It seems that the strength of the bomber is to inflict a lot of damage while supporting ground attacks.

I'd rather destroy a tank that cost 5 IPCs plus the 3 turns to get it to the front than to gamble on the off-chance that I could remove 6 IPCs in an Economic Attack.

Am I seeing this wrong? Is there an advantage to Economic Attacks that I'm not seeing?

Before the latest adjustments to 1940 editions, bombing has not been a favorite by players in  tripleA and in A&A forums. Personally I disregard it as well as most friends I play with.

  I'd rather destroy a tank that cost 5 IPCs plus 3 turns to get to the
  front than to gamble on the off-chance that I could remove 6 IPCs in
  an Economic Attack.

This applies to all editions of A&A. I agree, and I would add two more significant reasons not to bomb:

You are risking loosing a bomber (expensive unit)
and most importantly:
If that bomber is bombing there.. what is it not doing?

Bombers can do many thing, ranging from a sacrifice (I.E. clearing out an infantry unit to open the path for an allied blitz) to desperate defense (I.E. Need to defend moscow one turn and with range 6, only bombers can reach).

In this version bombing is even more crippled because of the escort rules. The defender gains even more advantage. I never saw a game were bombing was decisive.  The only thing I can point out is:

Russia has usually only one fighter
If Leningrad and or Archangel have fallen, as germany you may be just waiting to more units to have better odds in Moscow's last stand; a SBR can help in that turn that you don't assault and want to deal some damage.
Germany is going to take Archangel/Leningrad?  Move the AA's out of there and when they conquer, you may have a free money drain as allies. That bomber is going to hang around for a final stand in moscow or Dday.

But even in these scenarios, there is usually an alternative to the SBR. We have sometimes adopted a house rule for AA fire on bombings:  roll once to abort (on 2 or less); if suceed , roll once more to destroy (2 or less). Even then bombings are rare


Does Flesh Ward prevent Stamina loss from one source multiple times? The Flesh Ward spell says

  Any Phase: Cast and exhaust to ignore all Stamina loss being dealt to you from one source. Discard this spell if the Ancient One awakens.

Is a 'source' considered a physical entity or more so considered an action or event from some entity, i.e. can I use this to prevent stamina loss from a specific monster through several attacks received, eventually evade it (if say I simply had no capacity to have enough successes to kill it), then next turn still avoid stamina loss from it?

Page 7 of the Arkham Horror FAQ
says

Q: When exactly can Flesh Ward be cast?
A: When you are told to lose 1 or more points of Stamina,
you may cast Flesh Ward to prevent that loss. For instance, this can work on the Stamina from a single failed Combat check. This does not make the investigator immune to fur- ther harm from that source, it only prevents it one time.

The answer appears to be that 'one source' implies one singular event, like a single attack from a monster.


Can I use tokens and basic lands from outside my format? This may sound like a noob question but I cannot find answer anywhere and I still learning all new stuff since I last played so I will ask here.

What does the rules say about using non-format tokens and basic lands in specific format tournament?

Example: I want to play token deck in standard tournament but I don't have current standard tokens/basic lands, can I use previous release tokens if they are the same in stats, types, etc?

Yes. If a card (e.g. "Island") is allowed in the current format, you may place any print of that card into your deck.

You can even use a print of a card whose text has since been changed in Oracle. The text in Oracle always overrides the text on the card.

The cards much match the following criteria:

The card is genuine and published by Wizards of the Coast
The card has a standard Magic back or is a double faced card.
The card does not have squared corners
The card has black or white borders
The card is not a token card
The card is not damaged or modified in a way that might make it marked
The card is otherwise legal for the tournament as defined by the format
The card is a proxy issued by the judge of a tournament

(See section 3.3 of the Tournament Rules for a couple of additional notes.)

Note that wear and faded ink on older cards could be construed as markings. Sleeves can address these issues.

As for tokens, you can use anything that can be tapped. You can use an Ace of Clubs as your Spirit token if you so desire.


What does it mean when the Animator "counts as" the Finger of God? In Monty Python Fluxx, the Animator reads:

  Counts as the Finger of God if the real Finger of God is not on the table.

Does it mean that the Animator has just the nominal value of the Finger of God or does it have its ability too?
Suppose I have the Animator and the Finger of God is not on the table. Someone plays a goal which requires the Finger of God. Am I 50% winning?
Suppose I have the Animator and the Finger of God is not on the table. Someone plays a goal which requires the Animator. Am I 50% winning or do I have to wait for someone to play the Finger of God so that my Animator is just the Animator again?

It can count as the Finger of God for the purposes of Goals AND for having the ability.

That means:

I actually thought the answer was no, but in hunting for a source, I was corrected! So, yes, the card does have the Finger of God's ability as well. (The official FAQ seems to be down, but it was mentioned in this post on BGG.) This seems contrary to the game's aim of always having all the rules in effect visible on the cards on the table, but never mind.
Yes, the Animator counts as one of the required cards for any Goal which requires the Finger of God, so long as it isn't on the table somewhere else.
The Animator is always acceptable for any Goal that requires the Animator. It doesn't stop being the Animator even if it can also "count as" the Finger of God.

It's worth mentioning, however, that the Animator cannot be both the Animator and the Finger of God for the purposes of the Goal, "The Meaning of Life" (mentioned further down in that same forum).


Can I use pump spells with Fighting? In a "fight," can "pump" spells be used?

As an example, I have my 2/2 fight my opponent's 4/4, then I add a +3/3 pump to my 2/2. Would his 4/4 die to my now 5/5?

This depends on the order in which spells are played. I'm assuming you know about the stack: When spells are played or effects are triggered, they are placed on the top of the stack. When no player wants to add spells or effects to the stack, the stack gets resolved top-to-bottom; in effect in reverse order of placing things on it.

Having said that, I also assume that with "fight" you are not referring to regular combat but to spells that pit two creatures against each other. Then it matters in what order spells are played:

You play Giant Growth on your creature, the stack resolves and you now own a 5/5. You or your opponent set up a 'fight' between your 5/5 and his 4/4. Your creature survives, his dies.
Your opponent casts a fight-spell on his 4/4 and your 2/2. While that's still on the stack, you react with an instant to make your 2/2 a 5/5. Same result.
You cast a Giant Growth on your 2/2 and your opponent reacts with a fight-spell pitting your Grizzly Bears against his 4/4. In this instance, the Giant Growth hasn't resolved yet, and the 4/4 will win the duel, killing your 2/2. Giant Growth will fizzle when it resolves because its target is no longer legal.

On a side note, in the last scenario you could react to the fight-spell with another Giant Growth if you have a second spell in your hand and the mana available.


Balance of Numbers on dice Six-sided dice traditionally have opposite faces adding to a constant, and this tradition is carried over (unquestioningly, it seems) to other dice.  Is there a good reason for it?  Why wouldn't you instead seek to make opposite ‘hemispheres’ as equal as possible, ideally arranging that the center of gravity of the pips is the geometric center of the die?  (This is not possible for D6; I haven't tested it for any other numbers.)

To prevent skill from being a factor in rolling

Dice have an even distribution of the numbers around the faces to prevent (or at least reduce) the ability to modify your chances of a result by skillfully rolling the die. Dice are intended to be entirely luck based, and depending on how the numbers are distributed around the faces of the die, could lead to skilled rolling (generally considered cheating).

It is for this reason that Spindowns are generally not allowed to be rolled anywhere that a random result is required (IE Tournaments, Organized Play, etc). For the same reason, d10s shouldn't be rolled to get an Even/Odd result as you can very easily force the desired result.


Persephone Super Moves in 2v2 Two questions about how Persephone's super move Mistress's Command function in 2v2 mode.

1) If Persephone hits with Mistress's Command and then tags out to an ally (2v2 mode) before the next turn (either through powering up at the end of that turn, or using a Super Cancel Tag out of Mistress's Command), does the effect of Mistress's Command come into play on the next turn with her ally now active? If so, which player controls the enemy character, her or her ally? (Naturally, teammates can collaborate with each other, but one of them has to have the authority to make the plays).

2) Does the Super Cancel Tag rule of "half damage rounded down" have a clause of "to a minimum of 1" that was overlooked in the manual and was errata'd in? It occurs to me that Persephone's Mistress's Command is the only move in the game presently that would be affected, and the difference between it doing 1 damage or 0 damage is probably non-trivial based in various technical cases.

EDIT: Onimaru's Clockwork Soldiers would also be affected by #2.

Game creator David Sirlin answered both of these questions recently on the forums.

1) Persephone controls the opponent on the following turn from the bench.

  Abilities work from the bench. It says you control their turn.

2)  Mistress's Command (and Onimaru's Clockwork Soldiers) intentionally do 1 damage and there is no minimum associated with the rounding of the Super Cancel Tag specifically so that its effect will not trigger in such a scenario.

  "Rounded down" is specifically so that MC and CS do 0. Very much on
  purpose.


King of Tokyo: Background Dweller Background Dweller states the following:

  You can always reroll any [3] you have.

Can you reroll the 3's only after you are done rerolling or also inbetween?

At any time, including between other rolls, and these do not count against your normal reroll count.


What happens when I copy a legendary creature with Rite of Replication? What happens when you replicate a legendary creature with Rite of Replication?

The token will enter the battlefield when the spell resolves and, the next time any player would receive priority, you'd have to choose one of the legendary permanents to stay on the battlefield. The copies would then be put into your graveyard.

This is governed by rule 704.5j:

  If a player controls two or more legendary permanents with the same name, that player chooses one of them, and the rest are put into their owners’ graveyards.

This will happen the next time you would receive priority because it's a state-based action:

  704.3. Whenever a player would get priority (see rule 117, “Timing and Priority”), the game checks for any of the listed conditions for state-based actions, then performs all applicable state-based actions simultaneously as a single event.[...]

As a side note, like @Gendolkari mentioned, this interaction is no different than simply casting another copy of a legendary permanent you already have on the battlefield. In this case, the exact same rulings will apply.


How exactly does 'Inside Job' work? When a runner uses Inside Job, does the runner only bypass the first 'rezzed' piece of ice, since the card text says 'bypass the first piece of ice encountered during the run.' ? ( emphasis added)

If yes, does that mean if the corp. does not rez any ice, 'Inside Job' has no effect?

Summary: Inside Job bypasses the first piece of face up ice on a server, regardless of when that was rezzed.

Note: there are some effects that can cause to to encounter ice that hasn't been installed, such as Archangel, or that is installed on Awakening Center.  These can also be bypassed with Inside Job if the server has no rezzed ice in front of it.

The specific rule for encountering ice is:

  If the approached piece of ice is rezzed after the Corporation has the
  opportunity to rez cards, then the Runner encounters it.

The confusion here probably comes from the fact that "rezzed" is both an adjective and a verb, depending on context.  In this particular piece of rules, we are dealing with the adjectival form.  Let me translate:

  If the approached piece of ice is [face up] after the Corporation has the
  opportunity to [turn cards face up], then the Runner encounters it.

If the ice is face up, it is encountered.  This includes ice that has been turned face up on previous runs/turns.  The reason for the extra bits of the sentence is to clarify that even if the ice was rezzed just now, it is still encountered (see the run structure chart at the end of the rulebook).

If you want to stop Inside Job, try effects that prevent bypassing, like the ability on Guard.


Neuroshima Hex - Medics When playing with the Moloch army, would it ever be advantageous to use the medic tile on another medic tile when playing the game?

It would be if you have you base placed in the edge of the board surrounded by your tiles and you want to prevent enemy from gaining access to it.


How many Polyraptors? The combination of having a Forerunner of the Empire and playing a Polyraptor is pretty well known, but I have yet to understand how many you would create.

How many Raptors would a player create before the forerunner (a 1/3 creature) dies to it's own damage?

How many Raptors would a player create if the forerunner had x/5 toughness before dying to it's own damage?

I understand the Forerunner's ability is a 'may' effect but I am looking for maximum value, stopping short of infinite loops.

If Forerunner has 3 toughness, you can get 8 Polyraptors.
If Forerunner has 5 toughness, you can get 31 Polyraptors.
Each time you use Forerunner's ability, your number of Polyraptors doubles, and the Forerunner and all Polyraptors takes 1 damage.  This gives us a notion of Polyraptor "generations".  Note that in each generation, all Polyraptors 5 or more "generations" old die (from also having taken 5 damage).
Polyraptors are created 1 at a time, so when you get Forerunner's trigger, it is always at the top of the stack, meaning you have to use it then or nor at all.  There's no way I know of with just these two cards to accumulate Forerunner triggers on the stack.  Given that, you want to use Forerunner's trigger when there are as many Polyraptors as possible, namely only using the last Forerunner trigger of each generation.  This also gives us the simplest progression, since then there are no Polyraptor creation triggers on the stack when we create a new generation.
Assuming you start with 1 Polyraptor you have the following progression (if Forerunner starts at 0 damage, it will die when the number of generations equals it's damage):

Generation
New Polyraptors
Total Polyraptors

0
1
1

1
1
2

2
2
4

3
4
8

4
8
16

5
16
31 (gen 0 dies)

6
31
61 (gen 1 dies)

7
61
120 (gen 2 dies)

8
120
236 (gen 3 dies)


When playing the Rumble in the South variant, what adjustments should be made to the neutral forts? I'm playing the Game of Thrones board game in a group that only has four players.  To fix some of the balance problems with the original four-player game, we tried using the Rumble in the South variant suggested by pandorym:

  In this variant, Stark and Greyjoy are unplayable and their lands are impassable. The impassable regions thus include: Bay of Ice, Flint's Finger, Ironman's Bay, Seagard, The Mountains of the Moon and The Narrow Sea. This variant is excellent at creating a true 4-way battle with shifting alliances! However I tend to make the win condition only 6 castles instead of 7 to speed up the game.

However, while this description makes it easy to mark off which territories are out of play, it is a little unclear on how neutral forts change.  Normally, there are a whole bunch of neutral forts in the southern lands, but the middle of the board ends up being fairly empty and open for rapid conquest.

If all four players are playing in the south, do the southern neutral forts need adjustment as well, or do they still serve a balancing purpose?

I think they would be as they would for a 6 player game, as the south would have the same number of players in it. They serve a purpose to balance out things out, such as Storms End being very easy for Dorne to take, and so it would be the same in Rumble in the South


Does Sarkhan the Dragonspeaker tap with his +1? A friend and I had a little confusion. He was playing with Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker and activated the +1, then attacked. The creature did not have vigilance, and wasn't destroyed. So naturally, it would tap. But my friend said because it goes back to being a planeswalker at the end of the turn, it doesn't tap.

So, is there any rule that clarifies this?

Yes, you'll tap him to attack, like any other creature. The same goes for any other planeswalker that's presently a creature (unless it has vigilance, as you've noticed), such as Gideon Jura — being creatures, they'll follow any of the usual rules for creatures.

This also means that when he returns to being a plain old planeswalker, he'll be tapped. Planeswalkers can be tapped! There's nothing saying planeswalkers can't be tapped. He'll untap at your next untap step, just like any other permanent.


Typo in the Women's Health Clinic, Richville, MD card? We dug out my old X-Files CCG cards to play tonight, and in the process of playing, came across the card "Women's Health Clinic, Richville, MD".

Card Stats:

WOMENʹS HEALTH CLINIC, RICHVILLE, MD
XF97‐0380v2 ‐‐ Rare
Episode: End Game
Site ‐‐ Cost: 2 RP
Keywords: Site, Mono, Result, Subterfuge
Prerequisite: SUBTERFUGE 4+
Question: You may ask one MOTIVE question.

Sites have keywords, which other cards can then play against.  This card has the keywords Site, Mono, Result, Subterfuge, but lets you ask a Motive question.  In the base set as well as the first expansion, if a site had Motive as the question, it would have Motive in its set of keywords.

Here is a sample of a site that makes sense (picture is a little blurry):

However, the "Women's Health Clinic, Richville, MD" card has Result as a keyword, but you can ask a Motive question.  I can either assume 1 of 3 things:

The keywords should actually be Site, Mono, Motive, Subterfuge (third keyword matches the question asked)
The question asked should actually be Result (to match the current third keyword)
This is actually by design; while allowing you to ask a Motive question, it allows players to play Result-specific cards on the site instead.

We played the card as printed (you can ask a Motive question, but Result cards can be played on it), but the card threw us for a loop.  Does anyone have any information if this is actually a typo of sorts, or by design?

(A spoiler of the cards can currently be found here in PDF format for those interested)

Your logic is undeniable, and it seems by all accounts to be a mistake.

ALL other cards that allows questions have the question type as a keyword. Seems like this one slipped through their fingers.


MTG Layer System - Does adding a basic land type to a land grant the mana ability at layer 4 or layer 6? This question was inspired by this question involving the interaction between Dryad of the Ilysian Grove, Ichthyomorphosis, and lands.

In the original question, OP asked why his lands could tap for any color in spite of the fact that the Dryad had lost all it's abilities.  This was, of course, due to the layer system, because the Dryad added the basic land types to all of it's controller's lands in layer 4 and then the Dryad later lost it's abilities in layer 6.

However, in writing the answer, I found myself wondering about the abilities of the lands themselves.  I was wondering if the lands gain the abilities to tap for any color at layer 4, when they become all basic land types, or at layer 6, when abilities are added and removed from cards.  This distinction doesn't change the answer to the linked question in any way, due to rule 613.5.

  613.5. If an effect should be applied in different layers and/or sublayers, the parts of the effect each apply in their appropriate ones. If an effect starts to apply in one layer and/or sublayer, it will continue to be applied to the same set of objects in each other applicable layer and/or sublayer, even if the ability generating the effect is removed during this process.

However, we all know Magic is an extremely complicated game sometimes, and there could be an edge case where the abilities being intrinsic to the basic land type or added at layer 6 could potentially effect the game state.

Obviously, the Dryad's type-changing ability starts to apply in layer 4, and doesn't stop applying even though it is removed in layer 6, but does the intrinsic ability for basic lands to tap for their corresponding color appear at layer 4 or layer 6?

I can see one of two possibilites.

The ability to tap for mana is intrinsically tied to the basic land type.  A swamp doesn't gain abilities at layer 6 because Swamps tap for {B}.  Therefore, if you change a land into a Swamp via a type-changing effect, it gains the ability at that layer.
A land having a basic land type is a continuous effect, and part of that continuous effect includes adding mana abilities.  If a land is a swamp, then at layer 6 it gains the ability to tap for {B}, because abilities are added at layer 6.

When a card has one of the five basic land types it simply intrinsically has a corresponding mana ability:

  305.6 The basic land types are Plains, Island, Swamp, Mountain, and Forest. If an object uses the words “basic land type,” it’s referring to one of these subtypes. A land with a basic land type has the intrinsic ability “{T}: Add [mana symbol],” even if the text box doesn’t actually contain that text or the object has no text box. For Plains, [mana symbol] is {W}; for Islands, {U}; for Swamps, {B}; for Mountains, {R}; and for Forests, {G}.

This isn't granted by the layer system because the layer system is about interaction of continuous effects (and in fact exists inside the rule section named the same). The intrinsic ability isn't granted by a continuous effect; it's just granted by the rules as a matter of fact based on the card type. A card granted a basic land type simply has that ability as soon as it gains the type (at layer 4).

A basic land can lose all abilities though, in which case it would lose these abilities in layer 6.


Why so many people use "house rules" in EDH/Commander? Since I'm an Eternal player (Legacy and sometimes Modern) that has played just few times EDH/Commander I found difficult to understand why often players use a more strict banned list in their matches; I agree that Sorin Markov, Felidar Sovereign and Serra Ascendant are really good cards but if the authorities of French and Multiplayer Commander didn't think it was too good to be banned, why would a single group of friends ban it?

It's like I decide to play my Legacy games with my friends banning Show and Tell because it's a very strong card..

Generally speaking, in any game community the casual players are going to have a different attitude toward banning than the tournament players. In the case of M:tG, the tournament formats are very fine-tuned and the most hardcore players tend to play in sanctioned tournaments, so if anyone's going to be banning cards that aren't officially banned, it's going to be casuals who don't like losing to certain stuff.

EDH is and has always been a very casual format. It's an open secret even among the people who designed and govern it that the format would be broken in a lot of ways if anyone tried to "solve" it. Drew Levin said that "Commander is a format where everyone puts Sol Ring in their deck and then apologizes if they get to cast it". Even "serious" Commander strategy articles will often trail into digressions about not breaking the format too hard.

All of this is to say that if casual groups are banning a card, the thought process is probably something like "ok, we get it, you can beat us with that card. We'd like to actually play a game this time." If that bothers you, play a "real" format. I had to play Commander all of twice to decide it wasn't for me.

EDIT: I originally attributed the Drew Levin quote to Aaron Forsythe. I did find another article about an EDH deck created by Forsythe; the comments thread is pretty pertinent here.


Who is the controller of a Pacifism enchanting my creature? My opponent played Pacifism on a creature on my side of the battlefield. Later, I wanted to exile the enchantment with Conclave Tribunal.

My opponent had the opinion that I was now the controller of Pacifism, so I couldn't exile this enchantment with Conclave Tribunal.

I assumed that I could because I thought he was the controller of Pacifism. Who is right here?

The controller of an aura is the player who cast it, not (necessarily) the controller of the permanent it enchants. A subsequent control changing effect, like Donate, can change this, but they're relatively rare.

So you're right, you can target Pacifism with Conclave Tribunal and exile it.


What is a Gateway Game? Before joining the B&CG community, I had never heard the phrase "Gateway Game." The quintessential examples of Settlers of Catan, Ticket to Ride, and Carcassonne gives me a rough idea but Googling did not yield a more precise definition. So:

What is a Gateway Game? To help refine the definition: Why are (or are not) the following borderline cases considered Gateway games:

Monopoly
Race for the Galaxy
Spades (a card game which is a Gateway to Bridge, for some).

BGG has this definition in their glossary:

  A game with simple rules that is easy to teach to non-gamers in order to attract new players into boardgaming as a hobby.

Usually people will say that a Gateway Game must have at least these qualities:

Simple (so you can explain the rules to them quickly).
Fun (fun games will attract repeat plays).
Short (short hits can be played again, misses gives you time to play something else).

The real problem with this definition is that the focus is on the game, and not the goal. If your goal is to attract new players to boardgaming as a hobby, the focus should be on the player. There is no silver bullet with a Gateway Game. The game needs to match the player that you are trying to convert. If you know the new player or can get to know them, you can make better decisions about what games they might be interested in. Speaking in just generalities though:

Are you trying to convert a brand new player who has never played any games?

This kind of player doesn't have any background in any sort of game mechanics. It would be best to focus on a game that has only one or a couple game mechanics so that they don't have to learn too many new things all at once. For Sale/No Thanks have just a bidding mechanic. Can't Stop has a push your luck mechanic. Blokus has an area control mechanic. Cash n' Guns has a hidden selection mechanic. The shorter the game, the better, since you can try many different games until you find one that clicks. Then stick with that game for a while until that player becomes comfortable with the game mechanics and understands that strategies in the game.

Are you trying to convert a Monopoly, Risk, Trivial Pursuit, kids board game player?

Nothing wrong with suggesting something that might be already familiar. Settlers of Catan has pieces like houses and hotels, and resources (goods instead of cash) are collected based upon what players roll. If they like Risk, there is Risk Legacy, and for Trivia buffs there is Wits and Wagers.

Are you trying to convert a Party Game player?

Games with lots of player interaction, or cooperative in nature, since they focus on the social aspect of games. Forbidden Island/Pandemic

Are you trying to convert a Chess, Go, Bridge, Poker, or other classic game player?

This person is already a gamer, so you are half way there. They know how to play by the rules and they probably have a good grasp on probability or board position. You probably want to focus on a games that have less luck, and more skill.

Are you trying to convert a MtG/Yugioh/Pokemon/CCG player?

This person probably already is a gamer by most people's definition. If your goal is to open their mind up to the rest of the board gaming world, you might want to focus on card games so that they are playing a familiar game, Dominion/Resident Evil: the Deck Building Game. Nothing wrong with stretching out to something completely different though. Something themed and less abstract might be more to their liking Gears of War/Shadows over Camelot/Battlestar Galactica.

As to the question, why or why not are certain games are considered gateway games, it usually comes down to not meeting one of the criteria above.

Monopoly: Isn't fun. Players have very few interesting decisions to make that will have any impact on the outcome of the game.
Race for the Galaxy: Isn't simple. I think that mostly it is the iconography that trips everyone up here. The rules themselves are fairly simple to explain (choose an action for the turn, all players perform all actions with bonuses for selecting that action, pay cards to play cards unless military, repeat), but the total number of icons and choices per turn is probably overwhelming for most players.
Spades: Not a Hobby/Designer Game. Most "gamers" do not consider classic games like Chess, Checkers, Go, Hearts, Poker, etc. to be hobby games. Teaching someone to play these types of games will not usually get them any closer to being interested in playing designer games that you would find in your friendly local gaming store.
Settlers of Catan: A Gateway Game. One of the quintessential gateway games.  Simple rules (roll dice, distribute goods, trade/build, repeat), fun to play, somewhat short (1-1.5 hours) if you use the City/Settlement starting rule. A little bit for every type of player, lots of player interaction through trading, a screw you over mechanic, some luck so the first game isn't a complete blowout, limited options per turn so tactical decisions are easier, and clear VP point system so you know how well you are doing (mini goals).
Ticket to Ride: A Gateway Game. Simple rules (play sets of colored cars, draw cards, link cities to complete tickets), fun game play, and relatively short duration.

You are not going to find a definitive definition of what is or isn't a Gateway Game. The idea behind it though is to find a game (theme, mechanic) that the new gamer might be interested in so that they become interested in the wealth of games that are available in the hobby.


What happens when I redirect multiple large sources of damage through the en-Kor ability to Mogg Maniac? The situation is this:

I control a Shaman en-Kor and a Nomads en-Kor and a Mogg Maniac. During my opponent's turn, I cast Inferno, dealing 6 damage to all creatures and all players.

Is it possible for me to redirect the 6 damage done to the shaman and the Nomads to the Mogg Maniac AND have the Mogg deal a total of 18 damage to my opponent before the Mogg Maniac dies?

or...

Will the Inferno kill the Maniac before I can redirect any damage to it from my en-Kor creatures?

I'm confused about the timing of this combo since the shamans and the nomads en-Kor ability is an activated ability that allows me to redirect 1 damage for 0 mana.

Can someone help me understand this?  (Is the combo even possible?)

Mogg will deal 18 damage, but it will deal it after dying.

The en-Kor's redirection only works if you activate it before they take damage. When you activate their redirection ability, it creates a shield that will redirect the next point of damage it would take.

The redirection shield is a replacement effect. It causes Inferno to deal damage to Mogg instead of the en-Kor. Inferno still deals all of its damage simultaneously.

This is how the game progresses:

You cast Inferno (and retain priority).
Six times,

You activate Shaman en-Kor's first ability targeting Mogg.
Shaman en-Kor's first ability resolves, creating a shield that will redirect damage later.

Six times,

You activate Nomads en-Kor's ability targeting Mogg.
Nomads en-Kor's ability resolves, creating a shield that will redirect damage later.

Inferno resolves.

It will simultaneously deal 18 damage to Mogg and 6 damage to each player. Simultaneously, life is subtracted from players' totals, damage is marked on Mogg and Mogg's ability triggers.

State-based actions are performed simultaneously.

Any player with non-positive life lose the game. (I'm going to assume noone loses here.)
Mogg is destroyed for having marked damage exceeding its toughness.

Mogg is put in the graveyard from the battlefield.

Mogg's triggered ability is placed on the stack targeting your opponent.
Mogg's triggered ability resolves.

It deals 18 damage to the targeted opponent.

Note that Mogg only takes damage once in this scenario (even though some of it was originally intended for the en-Kor), so its ability only triggers once for the entire 18 damage.


What is the definitive source of rulings for the Pokemon TCG? I'm looking for what the definitive site for searching rulings for Pokémon TCG cards is, similar to MTG's Gatherer.  Searching for specific cards comes up with various different answers, but most are reddit threads or Pokébeach threads.

As an example, I was looking for Decidueye-GX's ability Feather Arrow, to find out whether it was allowed to be used on the first turn or not.  I found out it was, but not from anything looking official - just various discussions of the standard Decidueye-GX decks.

I'd like to be confident that my practice games are consistent with what a judge will rule in a tournament.

Official Pokémon ruling document regarding particular cards or their combinations is Pokémon TCG Rulings Compendium BW. It contains all rulings that were released by Pokémon Rules Team and approved by The Pokémon Company International.

If your card is not listed there, you can also look at similar mechanics, most of the time there is a card or a combination that fits your needs.

Your example of Decidueye-GX's Ability is covered by the TCG Rulebook though. It contains all the basic rules of the game.

  3 ATTACK AND END YOUR TURN
  On the first turn of the game, the starting player skips this step. (...)

  ABILITY: An Ability is an effect on a Pokémon that is not
  an attack. (...)

You can use an Ability on the first turn of the game if it doesn't say that you can't.


Carcassonne interaction between "The Robbers" and "The Messages" I probably didn't get some part of the rulings correctly but it seems to me that there is an interaction problem with 2 of the mini-expansions in Carcassonne. The problem seems to be the following:

Adding the mini-expansion "The Robbers" allows you to put a robber on the scoreboard and whenever a player moves a Meeple that is on the same square as your robber, you then get to steal points.
Adding the "The Messages" mini-expansion, gives you a second Meeple on the scoreboard which allows and allows you to move either one of the two when you score points.

The problem: Once you have the robber on the board, no one will ever move a Meeple that has the robber on the same square as a Meeple. They will always move the other Meeple as to not give any points to a stealing player thus rendering the robber completely useless.

How do you guys deal with this? Or am I not getting something?

Thanks

Official answer, taken from Carcassonne Central. The source is Georg Wild from HiG, via telephone call.

TL;DR; yes, it is possible that the robber might stand still until the end of the game. You haven't missed anything, this is how it's supposed to work.

  Robber and Messages:

  Robber stands near one particular counting figure and robs only its points. In this situation it is possible that robber will stand on the scoreboard till the end of the game, if the player will decide not to move this particular figure.

  Answer: Yes, it is possible that the robber would stand till the end of the game.

  Robber stands near any counting figure and robs any points that this player will receive regardless what figure player will move forward. In this situation robber stands near "virtual" counting figure and receive first available points (of course, according the rules).

  Answer: No, the robber can only rob the points from the counting figure which is on the same space as the robber.

And just to be clear, you can "rob" points from either figure (source):

  Q: When playing with The Messages and The Robber, can a player's
  Robber follow either Messenger?

  A: The Robber can rob points from both scoring figures - from the
  follower and from the Messenger (woman follower). If there are more
  than one scoring figure at the same space as the Robber and multiple
  scoring take place - the Robber can only rob from one scoring figure
  for one scoring.

  Telephone call with HiG - Georg Wild - 03 05 2013

Own thoughts: you might still be inclined to move your "locked" scoring meeple if you score 2-3 points, just to free it. Much of the strategy in the "Messengers" expansion is to keep your two scoring meeples from the dark spaces (multiples of 5) at different distances. I wouldn't mind giving over 1-2 extra points to my opponent for increased flexibility, especially if most of the robber tiles have already been drawn.


Do horcrux effects come into play before or after abilities? After resolving the dark arts cards and villain effects, my character has 1hp. That same character has the "potions" proficiency, so if he plays a spell, ally, and item, any hero gains a hp and a zap.

My character does indeed have all three types of cards in his hand and will be playing all of them. However, the "diary" horcrux is still in play, which says "Each time a Hero plays an Ally, that Hero loses 1hp."

Does the horcrux effect come into play before my character's special ability? In other words, is my character stunned or do I survive this with 1hp? We are thinking that I am stunned.

From my previous answer regarding the situation, I don't think you can avoid the stun by gaining the heart. As soon as you play an ally the horcrux would trigger, causing the stun to happen and stunning states:

  You cannot lose (or gain) [heath] any more this turn.

Then the card effects would happen. Here's a BoardGameGeek thread discussing this exact situation:

https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/1677572/diary-affect-timing


Can I have priority passed back to me during spell resolution, so that I can do more with my own spell? So, this is a basic question, but I want to make sure I'm getting this right.

Suppose I have a Lightning Bolt and a Twincast, and I want to bolt my opponent twice.

I know that to do so I can do the following:

Cast lightning bolt.
Hold priority.
Copy it choosing a new target.

Now, what I want to know is if I can cast lightning bolt, pass priority, and then, after checking if my opponent has a response for it, copy it. Like:

Cast lightning bolt
Pass priority.
Oponnent passes priority back without putting anything else on the stack.
Copy lightning bolt.

Is the forth move illegal? My spell resolves right after my opponent passes priority, without I having a second chance to put more stuff on the stack?

If you wait for your opponent to respond and your opponent has no response, your lightning bolt resolves before you can twincast it.

  608.1. Each time all players pass in succession, the spell or ability on top of the stack resolves. (See rule 609, “Effects.”)

You'll only get a chance to copy the bolt if they respond, or if you cast both spells before passing priority the first time.


Can the choice to move a commander to the command-zone be delayed? 903.12. If a commander would be put into the exile zone from anywhere, its owner may put it into the command zone instead.

If the owner chooses to let a commander go into the graveyard with the expectation of returning it, but the return fails, can the owner then move the commander to the command zone so it can be cast from the command zone? Or does the choice to move the commander to the command zone need to be made immediately?

No. The rule you quote (and its equivalent for graveyards) is the appropriate one and mentions nothing about delays. The choice must be made immediately, but can be remade whenever the commander changes zones. For example, if you allow your commander to go to the graveyard, and then a card is played to exile your graveyard, you can once again choose to send your commander to the command zone instead. Once your commander has arrived somewhere (exile, graveyard), it stays there until a card tells it to move.

For completeness, the graveyard rule:

  903.11. If a commander would be put into its owner’s graveyard from anywhere, that player may put it into the command zone instead.


The building of two districts should be considered as two separate action or as one comprehensive action? Suppose that one player is a Scholar, an Architect, a Trader, a Seer or any other character that can build more than one district per turn. Suppose also that the Tax Collector is one of the character used in this game.

The rule-book states that:

  When the Tax Collector is one of the characters in the game, players are charged a property tax for building districts. Immediately after a player builds a district, he places one gold from his stash on the Tax Collector’s character token. [...] If a player builds more than one district, he is charged the property tax for each district built. If a player has no gold remaining in his stash after building a district, he is not charged a tax. [...]

Suppose that our player has 10 golds and 2 district of cost 5. Can he build both districts and pay no gold to the Tax Collector or should he build only one district and pay one gold to the Tax Collector?

Or, in other words, can the building of more than one district be considered as a single action?

Note This question is concerning Citadels 2016 edition. However, a similar question could arise when playing the editions of 2000 and 2004 even if there isn't the Tax Collector character. So, if your answer isn't valid for all the three versions of the game, then please explicit the valid version(s).

Tax Collector collects immediately after each one, as per the text you quote.

(Note: there may be at least one version of the rules whose section for the Tax Collector reads "one or more" and "at the end of the turn" instead. EDIT: found it: the original 2004 Dark City Expansion version said "If a player builds one or more districts in his city, that player must give you 1 gold at the end of his turn."  According to this BGG post , the Tax Collector was the only character whose card text changed in the 2016 edition ).


Effectiveness of 1000 BWC in practice To anyone that has played 1000bwc, or seen it played:

Does it really work in practice?
Does it only work for fun, or can you get a semi-serious competative game out of it?
Does anyone actually play this game or is it a random novelty?

It really works in practice. I've been part of an annual game of 1KBWC for many years, and it's still fun.
It only works for fun. Any competitive elements present are pastiches of elements of other games.
I actually play this game. That does not prevent it from being a random novelty, but it answers the first part of the question handily.


Is Gleam of Authority's bonus constant or one-time? I am looking for some clarification on the card Gleam of Authority.  The wording on the card is

  Enchantment - Aura

  Enchant Creature

  Enchanted creature gets +1/+1 for each +1/+1 counter on other creatures you control.

There is also a tap ability to bolster and vigilance. My question is on the enchanted creature get +1/+1 for each +1/+1 counter on other creatures you control.  Is this text a one time application?

For example, if I have 3 +1/+1 counters, my enchanted creature gets +3/+3.  If I add another +1/+1 counter to the board later, will the enchanted creature now have +4/+4 or will it remain +3/+3?

Thanks!

It is a constant thing, not one-time, so if a creature you control gets another +1/+1 counter after the enchantment comes into play, the enchanted creature will increase in power and toughness.

The ability is a static ability, which means that it is in effect as long as the enchantment is in play, and its effect on the creature depends on the current board state, not the board state when the Enchantment entered the battlefield.

The relevant rules are these:

  604.1. Static abilities do something all the time rather than being activated or triggered. They are written as statements, and they're simply true.
  604.2. Static abilities create continuous effects, some of which are prevention effects or replacement effects. These effects are active as long as the permanent with the ability remains on the battlefield and has the ability, or as long as the object with the ability remains in the appropriate zone, as described in rule 112.6.
  611.3a A continuous effect generated by a static ability isn’t "locked in"; it applies at any given moment to whatever its text indicates.


Does a quantified comparison between differing non-basic lands exist? Part of the joy of building decks is the theory crafting that can be applied.

Consider a deck with thirty-seven non-land cards, leaving optimal room for 23 lands. For context, the deck is Dimir, (black and blue) or UB.

At current, the land base is: 8 Swamp, 7 Island, and 4 Polluted Delta. For the remaining 4 slots, there is a wide list of options for non-basic lands, including:

Sunken Hollow
Choked Estuary
Watery Grave
Temple of Deceit

Each land offers blue and black mana, and either off-sets the cost of coming into play tapped or has a mechanism to come into play untapped. Other possibilities include the pain lands

Is there a quantifiable evaluation of the cost/benefit of choosing either land to fill the void?

Context: This situation could possibly be extended to any of the other 10 pairs, with the possible exceptions of those including green, giving the innate color fixing there.

The limited options in the question aren't directly comparable. Looking at non-basic lands in general, they categorize as follows:

Requires a Cost or condition to tap.
Filters mana
Is throttled
Come into play tapped
Come into play tapped, but offer an immediate benefit
Come into play tapped, unless you meet a cost or condition

Further, some of the non-basic lands are enhanced over their counter parts by being sub-typed, increasing their search-ability. As designed, the strength of the card increases with its rarity.

Note: Some of the differences in the lands are inherent because of the set they were introduced in. Example: At common, Dimir Blackwater appears stronger than Dimir Guildgate, because 1 life is gained. However, inside the Gatecrash block, the subtype Gate has a functional role.

Given that the needs, costs, and capabilities of each deck they could be played in differ, it is difficult to fully evaluate the impacts of each. The cost-benefit analysis of a land that comes into play tapped with a benefit versus one that has a mechanism to not come into play tap is more nebulous outside of their context. Even within the category of lands with a mechanism to enter the battlefield untapped, looking at Watery Grave versus Sunken Hollow, it is difficult to compare the cost of two life against meeting the condition. Independent of the actions of the opponent, two life could be negligible in a fast deck or one that gains life; however, in a deck that chews on your own life total consistently, that two life may be a bit beyond the pale.

All that said, there are four varieties of non-basic lands that can be evaluated, nearly independent of the deck they are in. Keeping to the Blue/Black premise of the question, these are:

Sunken Hollow
Choked Estuary
Drowned Catacomb Didn't include in question, cause I don't have any.
Darkslick Shores Didn't include in question, cause I don't have any.

The conditions of these lands are:

Enters tapped unless you control two or more basic lands.
Enters tapped unless you reveal a(n) Island or Swamp card from your hand.
Enters tapped unless you control an Island or a Swamp.
Enters tapped unless you control two or fewer lands.

Of these four, the first has the additional benefit that it has the associated land subtypes, making it searchable by Polluted Delta. First though, we should evaluate the ability to satisfy the condition statistically, under the assumptions you play a land each turn you are able to, the opponent doesn't destroy your lands, all four of the remaining land slots are given to one of these 4 options, and you have at least one in your hand. As an extension of that last condition, since we are applying that probability to all four cases, they can be evaluated without having to use multivariate hyper-geometric distributions. That would be hard.

Enters tapped unless you control two or more basic lands.

Sunken Hollow benefits being played turn 3, after two basic lands. For this, there is a decision point which creates two possibilities: is Polluted Delta used to search only for basic lands, only for Sunken Hollow, or some combination.

Enters tapped unless you reveal an Island or Swamp card from your hand.

Choked Estuary just wants a card in hand. Early in the game, this is relatively easy. However, as the assumptions are maintained, and lands are played, the probability a land will be in hand to support playing Choked Estuary untapped dwindle, with the search effect of Polluted Delta narrowing the supply even further.

Enters tapped unless you control an Island or a Swamp.

Drowned Catacombs just wants a card with the appropriate land sub-type in play. Since it can't be searched for with Polluted Delta, there are 19 cards in the population of 60 that could be played before it.

Enters tapped unless you control two or fewer lands.

Darkslick Shores really want to be played on or before turn 3, or with no more than 2 lands in play. It can't be searched from the deck with Polluted Delta, reducing its odds to four successful copies among the population of 60. In this special case, it is less about the last assumption from above (we already have the card), and more about the likelihood it is drawn quickly. As the game goes on, and other lands have been played, this card gets progressively worse.

Graphic

This graph depicts a rough estimation of the chances you'll be able to satisfy the conditions of the cards, narrowed to the range of 40% to 100% over the number of cards sampled as the game progresses (7 to 21) over fourteen turns. Excepting for the requirement that lands be played before Sunken Hollow and Drowned Catacombs, the lines show the probability you've drawn sufficient land to satisfy the condition. For the multivariate concern that is Choked Estuary, There are three lines, reflecting the best, worst, and average case; for the worst, it assumes you've drawn and played every basic land in the deck before drawing the Choked Estuary. The average splits the difference.

Of the four lands evaluated, Drowned Catacombs [blue line starting at (7,.94)] has the greatest probability to satisfy the requirement, so it is the best option.

Chocked Estuary ranks next [diverging lines starting at (7,.88)], up until turn 6; at that point, Sunken Hollow [four converging lines where y ranges from .57 to .72] edges it out if all four Polluted Delta's are used to find basic lands. As the game continues, the average case continues to decay.

Darkslick Shores is not depicted on the graph, because of the four it has the cruelest requirement.

The line not referenced is the probability of drawing at least 1 of 4 cards as the game progresses. This is the probability influencing the last assumption.


Is there a limit to how many characters can be placed on a room space? Is there a limit to how many characters (specially monsters) can be placed on room space? I just played a session where the keeper placed 4 cultists, a shogoth, and two more monsters on the same space (space, not room) as the investigators, and it seemed to me that there is no logic to doing that in such a small space.

I can understand that it looked odd but no, there is no limit on the number of monsters or investigators in a space.

Double checked the manual and it says nothing in either direction. So while the manual doesn't explicitly allow for unlimited number of monsters in a space it neither disallows it.


Yugioh: Sacrifice a field card to destroy target monster Is there a Yugioh card with the effect (activated on the field) that you can discard a card in your hand and/or one you control to target another card on the field and destroy it?  This would, in theory, be nice to couple with Master Hyperion -- because you could then use Master Hyperion's effect to send the card recently put in the graveyard to the banished area to resolve Hyperion's effect.

Snipe Hunter is your guy. He can discard as many cards from your hand as you like to target any card on the field. Then you roll a die and if it's 2, 3, 4 or 5, the card is destroyed.

A good once-per-turn option is Scrap Dragon. He allows you to target one card on each side of the field which then get destroyed.

Spell and Trap wise, there's Raigeki Break, Phoenix Wing Wind Blast and Dark Core. There might be more of them, see my advice below.

Other than that, there are mainly only specific cards which won't work with Hyperion, such as Exiled Force or Chiron the Mage. That kind of card isn't that rare.
You might want to look for Cards that destroy cards on the field on the wikia. Most of them have a drawback, which is often discarding or Tributing cards.


Munchkin Combat Rules Clarification: Do you lose one-shot items played if later forced to run away Say a player is level 6 and faces a level 10 monster, the player decides to play a one-shot +5 card, making the player level 11. After that card is played, another player enrages the monster making it level 15.

The player in combat cannot defeat the enraged monster and is forced to run. Does the player have to discard the one-shot item, even though it was not used to defeat the monster?

Seems to make sense that the player must discard all one-shot items played even if they were unsuccessful. However I do not believe this was specifically covered in the rulebook.

Once you play a card, that's it. It is no longer in your hand. You can't pick it back up and put it into your hand. From the Munchkin FAQ under Miscellaneous Questions (emphasis mine):

Q. If I announce I'm going to do something, am I locked into that decision or can I change my mind? For instance, I was a Wizard and declared that I was going to fight a monster, but then the monster was enhanced further. Can I change my mind and Charm it?
A. You're NEVER locked into a final decision unless a card or rule says so. (However, there are no "take-backs" once you have played a card or rolled a die.)

If you start to play a card and then immediately change your mind, then you haven't actually played the card, and you aren't locked into your decision. However, if you play your card, and then one of your friends plays an Enrage, then the game has clearly progressed beyond the point where you can change your mind.


If I no longer control a permanent when it would be sacrificed, is it still sacrificed? Let's say I control Planar Chaos and in response to its ability give it away with Zedruu the Greathearted's ability, will Planar Chaos still be sacrificed if I lose the coin flip?

The rules say:

  701.16a To sacrifice a permanent, its controller moves it from the battlefield directly to its owner’s graveyard. A player can’t sacrifice something that isn’t a permanent, or something that’s a permanent they don’t control. Sacrificing a permanent doesn’t destroy it, so regeneration or other effects that replace destruction can’t affect this action.

(emphasis mine)

So in that case, your opponent will control Planar Chaos and it won't be sacrificed.


Failing an attempt to cast Mists of Releh The card 'Mists of Releh' allows you to pass an evade check upon succesfull cast. Should your attempt to cast the spell fail, can you then proceed to do a regular evade check or does it count as failing the evade check?

The exact wording is as follows:

  Cast and exhaust to pass an Evade check. The casting modifier is equal to the monster's Awareness.

Yes you certainly can.

From the Arkham Horror FAQ:

  Q: If you fail to cast Mists of Releh, can you still make the
  Evade check normally?

  A: Yes.


What should I know before my first MTG draft? As a birthday present, I'm taking my cousin to a MTG draft at a local game store this weekend. I haven't really played Magic since Tempest block, but I've been keeping up with rule changes and so forth on this site. My cousin is in high school and has been playing casually with friends for a few months.

We're not expecting much victory, really just to have a good time. I've glanced at a couple questions about draft strategy, and I'll probably read up on BREAD, but is there anything else I should know? Things I should bring? Etiquette? Non-strategy-related tips?

Make sure you know the policy on rares - will rares be re-drafted at the end? Do you keep all rares you draft? Is it a 'winner-chooses' system? Most of the time you'll keep what you draft, but not always.
Talking about the cards you're drafting is generally frowned upon - reading signals and predicting what your opponents are drafting is a big part of the strategy, so discussing your picks is disruptive.
The above applies for discussing what you think your neighbors are drafting, too.
Find out if basic lands will be drafted or removed from the pack before drafting.
Find out what the policy is with regards to looking at your cards during the draft. Some groups won't allow you to look at your picks during drafting; some allow a minute between packs to review
It's really not acceptable to complain about your luck, bad as it may be. Part of drafting is making the best of what you have, and half the skill is mitigating any poor luck with good decisions.
There will almost always be a 'pile-up' where someone isn't 100% sure of all the cards, so needs to read them before choosing - be patient with them! However on the other hand, don't take needlessly excessive time deliberating over a choice.
Make sure you are aware of the drafting order - usually it'll be first pack left, second pack right, third pack left, but some pods do it differently. Passing the wrong way can really confuse matters.
If you find a couple of packs waiting for you, make sure you go through them in the right order. If you're not sure, check with your neighbor.
Take your own lands. Some stores will provide lands but occasionally they'll run out, and having your own can take the pressure off.
Sleeve your cards. All kinds of good reasons to do this; preventing differences between lands and the slippery new cards, protecting cards (especially if rares will be redrafted).
Don't be afraid to ask a judge. It's always best to be safe than sorry.
Don't be too shy to ask spectators to back off if they are distracting you or disturbing your game
It's usually considered polite to offer your deck to your opponent to cut or shuffle to their satisfaction before playing. Not doing so will cause suspicion that you may be deck-stacking or cheating in some other way. In more formal, higher level tournaments it is mandatory to present your deck.
Bring a pen and paper for life tracking and counters to use for all kinds of stuff (+1/-1, etc). Dice are considered too accident-prone in competitive play. If you're just in a casual store draft, dice should be fine. Phone apps are also considered ok for life tracking. In more formal, higher level tournaments it is also standard to track your opponent's life total.
Sometimes you will be unfortunate enough to come across someone who uses cheap tactics to try and put off their opponents. For example, arranging their lands in front of their permanents, or tracking their life in base 6. Do your best not to let these maneuvers distract or fluster you. If you have any concerns at all, call a judge - it's what they are there for. (and if someone's life tracking is obscured in some way, keep track of it yourself, carefully, as they may be using these odd counting methods to disguise cheating.)


What is a Conspiracy Card and how does it work? What is a Conspiracy ability and how does this card work?: Assemble the Rank and Vile

How does Hidden Agenda work?

How do you activate Hidden Agenda?

What and Where is the Command Zone?

What do you even do with it? I cannot understand anything it is saying.

Conspiracy is a special, standalone set in MtG, currently consisting of two expansions: Conspiracy; and Conspiracy: Take the Crown.
First and foremost, I'd recommend you read these articles, which explain some of the set and its mechanics:
The Conspiracy format
The Mechanics of Conspiracy
The second article explains both what are Conspiracy cards and how Hidden Agenda works. Also, this is the official rule for Conspiracy cards:

905.4. At the start of the game, before decks are shuffled, each player may put any number of conspiracy cards from his or her sideboard into the command zone.

And here are the rules for cards with Hidden Agenda:

702.105a Hidden agenda is a static ability that functions as a conspiracy card with hidden agenda is put into the command zone. “Hidden agenda” means “As you put this conspiracy card into the command zone, turn it face down and secretly choose a card name.”
702.105b To secretly choose a card name, note that name on a piece of paper kept with the face-down conspiracy card.
702.105c Any time you have priority, you may turn a face-down conspiracy card you control in the command zone face up. This is a special action. Doing so will reveal the chosen name. See rule 115.2h.
702.105d Hidden agenda and another ability of the object with hidden agenda that refers to “the chosen name” are linked. The second ability refers only to the card name chosen as a result of that object’s hidden agenda ability. See rule 607.2d.

(Mostly) Unrelated to Conspiracy is The Commander format, from which the term Command Zone is taken. The Command Zone is a special zone in a game of Commander, where the commander (or general) of your deck begins the game.
Some Conspiracy cards reference the Command Zone, as it's a zone in the game that's reserved for objects with overarching effects on the game. See rules 408.1...

408.1. The command zone is a game area reserved for certain specialized objects that have an overarching effect on the game, yet are not permanents and cannot be destroyed.

And 408.3:

408.3. In the Planechase, Vanguard, Commander, Archenemy, and Conspiracy Draft casual variants, nontraditional Magic cards and/or specially designated cards start the game in the command zone. Each variant has its own rules regarding such cards. See section 9, “Casual Variants.”


Can I gain a random Ally card from the reserve if the deck and discard do not have one? When instructed to gain a random Ally card, if the asset deck and discard do not have any ally cards (and the reserve has 1), can I take the Ally from the reserve?  The rulings of interest are from the reference guide
Under Gaining Possessions and Conditions, the guide says:

Gaining a Card with a Specific Trait: Some effects instruct an investigator to gain a card with a specific trait (for example, “Gain a Madness Condition”). The investigator searches that card type’s deck then discard pile for the first card matching the specified trait and gains that card. Then he shuffles the deck.

Note that this does not say you can take a card from the reserve, but it also is speaking of not just the asset cards but others, such as conditions, spells, etc, so the omitted mention of the reserve could be a candidate for clarification.
The guide says, for specific cards:

Gaining a Specific Card: Some effects instruct an investigator to gain a specific card by name (for example, “Gain an Axe Asset”). The investigator searches that card type’s deck then discard pile for the first card matching the specified name and gains that card. Then he shuffles the deck.
•  If the named card is in the reserve, the investigator gains that card instead.

So for a specific card the reserve is game, but to the letter of the rules, the directive was to gain a card with a specific trait, not a specific card.
My house rule on this was to allow the reserve to provide the ally card, and if there were more than one, for it to be drawn randomly.

I can't find anything specifically about this in the rules or in any official rule clarifications. Given that I'd go with a strict reading of the rules and only allow a random ally to be drawn from the deck or (if none in the deck) the discard pile as per the section you quote.

When in doubt, applying the rules literally is usually the correct option. Especially, if it makes things harder for your Investigators.


Reordering Static Effects with Dependencies on a Changing Board State All of the discussion about Dryad of the Ilysian Grove's Layer 4 confusion and other discussions about continuous effects got me thinking about an unintuitive situation that can result from dependencies and seemingly unrelated changes to the board state.  Here is the scenario:

Player A controls some basic Forests, a Gingerbread Cabin and Life and Limb.  All of their Forests (including the Cabin) are 1/1 Saprolings.
Player B casts Blood Moon.  Life and Limb's ability is dependent on Blood Moon because it changes what it applies to (specifically, whether it applies to the Cabin).  As such, the Cabin becomes a Mountain when Blood Moon is applied, and does not become a Saproling when Life and Limb is applied.
Player A casts Sprout Swarm and creates a 1/1 Saproling token.  This now creates a dependency of Blood Moon on Life and Limb as now the application of Blood Moon to the token will depend on whether Life and Limb has been applied yet.  This forms a dependency loop as outlined in 613.7b-c.  We would apply Life and Limb first due to the timestamp order, then reevaluate and determine no further dependencies exist.  Then we would apply the effect from Blood Moon.  As such, both the Gingerbread Cabin and the Saproling token will have the stats of 1/1 green Land Creature -- Saproling Mountain.

So my question is about whether this is correct.  Can the presence or absence of an object with no static abilities of its own shake up the orders of these continuous effects in a meaningful enough way to determine whether a seemingly unrelated object will have effects applied to them?  Or am I missing or misunderstanding something that would not cause this unintuitive result?

Yes, the existence of an object with no abilities can change the order in which effects are applied.

In the section about dependencies, rule 613.7a says

  An effect is said to “depend on” another if (a) it’s applied in the same layer (and, if applicable, sublayer) as the other effect (see rules 613.1 and 613.3); (b) applying the other would change the text or the existence of the first effect, what it applies to, or what it does to any of the things it applies to; and (c) neither effect is from a characteristic-defining ability or both effects are from characteristic-defining abilities. Otherwise, the effect is considered to be independent of the other effect.

The highlighted section clearly indicates that the dependency order of effects depends not only on the effects themselves and the objects those effects are on, but also the full set of objects that those affects could apply to. So a change to that set can change how effects are applied.

So, your description of how that example would play out is correct. The existence of the Saproling token changes the dependency order between Life and Limb and Blood Moon, which results in Gingerbread Cabin ending up with different characteristics.


Can two Enduring Scalelords create an infinite loop? With two Enduring Scalelords, is it possible to create an infinite loop by putting a +1/+1 counter on a creature, then because of that, place a +1/+1 counter on both Enduring Scalelords, and because of those gaining +1/+1 counters, they get a +1/+1 counter for the other Enduring Scalelord?

To quote directly from the rulings on Gatherer:

  If you control two Enduring Scalelords, putting a +1/+1 counter on one of them will cause the ability of the other one to trigger. When this ability resolves, you’ll put a +1/+1 counter on the other Scalelord. This will cause the ability of the first one to trigger. This loop will repeat until you choose not to put a +1/+1 counter on one of the Enduring Scalelords.


Is the Hand pattern probabilities equal to suit pattern probabilities? In Spades, I wish to know the probability a certain suit is distributed in a particular way.  For example I wish to know what is the probability that the diamonds are distributed either 4-4-4-1 or 5-4-4-0 among the 4 players.

Is this question equal to the probability a hand is distributed 4-4-4-1 or 5-4-4-0 among the four suits?  If this is true, then I can use the Hand pattern probabilities

EDIT: This question came up because I wanted to know what is the probability that my partner will not be able to cover my nil bid on the forth trick of a suit.  Only on those two hand distributions (4-4-4-1 or 5-4-4-0) is it possible for an opponent to lead that suit, me having that suit, and my partner to not be able to cut with a spade.

I guess I need the conditional probabilities, conditioned on the number of cards I have from that suit.  Do you know to find the distribution when I have either 4 or 5 diamonds?

Yes, and the tables are used in exactly this way by Contract Bridge analysts and experts.

However, be careful when extrapolating from these tables to perform analysis based on your own holding in any suit, not just the suit under examination. The formulas for properly calculating conditional probabilities are non-intuitive.

A good first test that you are understanding  conditional probability is a clear grasp of the Principle of Restricted Choice.


No doom tracker markers when sealing a gate with an Elder Sign Yesterday we came across a very 'rare' situation in Arkham Horror. We had been lucky with getting one Elder Sign via setup (random possession) and managed to buy another 2 within the first few turns of the game.

Due to some fortunate Mythos cards, not many gates opened on the first few turns (monster surges or blocked by Kates ability) and so we managed to seal two gates using the Elder signs, resulting in 0 doom tracker tokens on the Great Old One (GOO).

What would happen should we seal another gate with the Elder Sign and no doom tracker tokens were available to take from the GOO?

This would be very rare -- the only time a gate would be placed without a doom token is if it came from a gatebuster. But, theoretically, it could happen -- you seal a gate with an Elder Sign, then a gatebuster opened up another gate, then you used a second Elder Sign to seal it. And you got monster surges all other times.

The two rulings I could see is either you couldn't use the Elder Sign (because you couldn't fulfill the full requirements, just like if you didn't have enough clues or money to purchase something), or you would ignore that part of the card and simply seal the gate. Our group would probably choose the latter (although you probably would be smarter to not use the Elder Sign at this point).


How would Solidarity of Heroes work with Heroic counter abilities I have built a Satyr and Centaur ramp deck that works on the heroic ability to boost counters with instant spells. I would like to know how Solidarity of Heroes would effect this ability as it states:

  Choose any number of target creatures. Double the amount of +1/+1 counters on each of them.

My gut instinct would be that I control both the heroic ability and the effect that is placed on the stack by Solidarity of Heroes so I could choose which happens first.

So essentially could I target a Setessan Oathsworn with Solidarity, put two +1 counters on Oath with the heroic ability, then double the counters with Solidarity?

My confusion lies with when Setessan is being targeted by the spell to double the counters that puts the heroic ability on the stack, then the spell resolves putting Solidarity on the stack which means it would possibly resolve first doubling zero counters...

Yes, you can do this, but no, you don't choose the order, so you don't get to choose whether it happens or not.

When you cast Solidarity of Heroes, you chose your targets, and once the spell is cast, anything it targets becomes targeted. This triggers heroic, which goes on the stack on top of Solidarity of Heroes. Heroic resolves, giving you 2 +1/+1 counters, and then Solidarity of Heroes resolves, doubling all counters on that permanent.

Casting a spell:

  601.2c Any abilities that trigger when those players, objects, and/or zones become the target of a spell trigger at this point; they'll wait to be put on the stack until the spell has finished being cast.


Ugin's Condition Tokens & Doubling effects Using Ugin, the ineffable's +1 ability that creates a token with the condition that if it leaves play, return the related exiled card to hand.
How does this condition interact with effects such as Doubling Season's (or similar cards) x2 token production.

If either token leaves play do you return the exiled card?

This is addressed by one of the Gatherer rulings for Ugin:

  If an effect such as that of Doubling Season causes Ugin to create two Spirit tokens, you still only exile one card from your library. You’ll put that card into your hand the first time that either of the tokens leaves the battlefield.


BlackJack Game with no splitting I'm playing a black jack game that does not allow splitting. My question is, do I play A/A as a soft 12 or hard 2? If I play it as a soft 12, do I follow the same hit/stand procedures as say a soft 13 (in other words, double if the dealer shows 5 or 6). Recommendations? Should I ALWAYS play it as soft until it becomes a hard number (provided I'm not at 18 through 21)??

Thanks for your input

I am no expert but this would be my answer.

I would play it as a soft 12, like a soft 13, and hold on to a good position (18 to 21) unless it becomes a hard number. This seems to be the most practical solution I could think of.


Can I sell a third party expansion? I've got an expansion for a semi-popular board game that my friends and I have been having a lot of fun with.  I was wondering if I could package and sell the expansion to the game without consent from the original publisher.  I know I'd need to create all of my own materials (artwork, text, etc.) but I wasn't sure if I could market it as "Third party expansion to X".

Are there any pitfalls I should be wary of?  I don't want to rip off the company or cause problems with them, but ideally I wouldn't need to have a lot of contact with them either (since they may not like it, even if it is perfectly legal.)

0) I am not a lawyer. I am definitely not YOUR lawyer. I don't even play one on TV.

1) go read the circular on Trademark at the USPTO.gov website.

2) Realize that, if you aren't in the US, you need to find the equivalent for wherever you are.
Canadian IPO —
UK IPO — French IP Agency
Directory of Intellectual Property Offices

3) Realize that anywhere you intentionally sell it, you have to obey their trademark laws, too.

4) before doing anything commercially, hire a lawyer specializing in intellectual property law, and have him go over the risks and requirements with you.

Fundamentally, a 3rd party supplement can't use the distinguishing marks of the core game (TSR v. Mayfair), and can't use the unique phrases associated with the game, either. The closest I've seen to doing so that wasn't challenged nor licensed was "Not a complete game; requires the use of n, by n." and "For use with n and other n games."


Shard of Greed - Clarification about counters and usage There is a spell card called Shard of Greed which has the following effect:

  Each time you draw a card(s) for your normal draw in your Draw Phase, place 1 Greed Counter on this card. You can send this card with 2 or more Greed Counters to the Graveyard; draw 2 cards.

After reading the effect of this card, I have planned to make the following steps during a duel (in my turn):

Summon Card Guard in attack mode to activate its effect: place 1 Guard Counter.
Place another card or use a copy of Card Guard already placed in my field which adds one more counter.
Activate Shard of Greed on my side of the field.
Give Shard of Greed those counters and send Shard of Greed to the Graveyard and in my next turn1 draw 3 cards.

Basically, I'm trying to emulate the effect of the spell card called Pot Of Greed.

I'm wondering if the steps mentioned here in my question are valid. I already checked the rulings of this card, but the page doesn't mention certain things related to my question. I also sent some tweets to users who have more knowledge about Yu-Gi-Oh!, but I haven't received answers so far.

1 I'm not sure if the effect of Shard of Greed is activated immediately after sending this card to the Graveyard or if I have to wait for my next turn.

That does not work for two reasons. The first reason is that Shard of Greed can only use greed counters. This does not necessarily mean that you can only use counters from its own effect, but at the moment there are no other card that exist in the game that use greed counters.

The second reason is that the card explicitly says:

  You can send this card with 2 or more Greed Counters to the Graveyard; draw 2 cards.

Because it does not say that you get to draw one card for every counter on it, you would not be allowed to draw more than two cards.

Also Shard of Greed's activate effect has a spell speed of one, which means that you can only activate it either during your Main Phase 1 or during your Main Phase 2. I hope this helps to clarify the card for you.

Additional information regarding the commented questions:

Cards like Skelengel and other cards that allow you to draw will not let you more greed counters on this card. The reason being that the card specifies:

  Each time you draw a card(s) for your normal draw in your Draw Phase

Meaning that you can not add more counters on to Shard of Greed with the effects of cards, only by normally drawing a card. Also the part that says "card(s)" makes it so that even if you had a card that allowed you to draw more cards during your draw phase (ie: Heart of the Underdog) you will not be able to place multiple counters on your card during the same turn.

Also your question on counters is relatively simple. There are various types of counters in the game. Spellcasters typically use Spell Counters, and Six Samurai usually use Bushido Counters the reason for differing between these counters is that the card makers don't want people being able to abuse cards such as Shard of Greed in the exact kind of situation you are describing. This also means that when playing, you need a way to differentiate between the types of counters you have on the field if you are using multiple counters.


Dummy's role during the play of a hand If, during the play of a hand, dummy touches a card in the dummy hand, is that card considered to be played?

Broadly, no. The exception is if nobody noticed that the dummy played a card not indicated by declarer until each side has played to the following trick.
The relevant passages from the Laws of Duplicate Bridge

Law 45 (Card Played)
...
B. Play of Card from Dummy
Declarer plays a card from dummy by naming the card, after which dummy picks up the card and faces it on the table. In playing from dummy's hand declarer may, if necessary, pick up the desired card himself.
C. Card Deemed to be Played
...

A card in the dummy is played if it has been deliberately touched by declarer except for the purpose either of arranging dummy's cards, or of reach a card above or below the card or cards touched.

...
D. Dummy Picks up a Non-designated Card

If dummy places in the played position a card that declarer did not name, the card must be withdrawn if attention is drawn to it before each side has played to the next trick, and a defender may withdraw and return to his hand a card played after the error but before attention was drawn to it; if declarer's RHO changes his play, declarer may withdraw a card he had subsequently played to that trick. (See Law 16C.)

When it is too late to change dummy's wrongly placed card (see above), the play continues normally without alteration of the cards played to this or any subsequent trick. If the wrongly placed card was the first card of the trick, then the failure to follow suit to that card may now constitute a revoke (see Laws 64A, 64B7 and 64C). If the wrongly placed card was contributed to a trick already in progress and dummy thereby has revoked, see Laws 64B3 and 64C.

...
F. Dummy Indicates Card
After dummy's hand is faced, dummy may not touch or indicate any card (except for purpose of arrangement) without instruction from declarer. If he does so the Director should be summoned forthwith and informed of the action. Play continues. At the end of the play the Director shall award an adjusted score if he considers dummy suggested a play to declarer and the defenders were damaged by the play suggested.


What exactly does "can't attack/block alone" mean? Some cards, such as Loyal Pegasus and Mogg Flunkies feature the rules text

  Card name can't attack or block alone.

For attacking, this is unambiguous; the creature can only attack if another attacker is also declared.

For blocking, which of the following is the case?

The creature can only be declared as a blocker if blocking the same creature as another blocker
The creature can only be declared as a blocker if any other creature is also declared as a blocker, regardless of what that creature is blocking

From the Comprehensive Rules Glossary:

  Block Alone A creature “blocks alone” if it’s the only creature
  declared as a blocker during the declare blockers step. A creature “is
  blocking alone” if it’s blocking but no other creatures are. See rule
  506.5.

So it's your second option.


If I put a copper and add 4 more random cards into my hand from my starting deck, does it change the odds of getting the 5:2 split? I was thinking about a situation where someone accidentally reveals a copper from their starting hand while shuffling their deck or discovers that they only have 9 cards in their starting deck (and they are certain they put the required 3 Estates in).

If they added a copper from the supply to their first hand, and drew 4 more of the remaining 9 cards, would their odds of getting a 5:2 or 2:5 hand versus a 4:3 or 3:4 hand be any different than if they drew a normal 5 card starting hand from a normal 10 card deck? (I realize that a 5:2 hand is slightly different than a 2:5 hand, in that it allows you to change your possible 2:5 coin buy after an opponents first purchase. The thing I am wondering though is if it changes the chances of getting a 5:2 split versus the more likely 4:3 split).

Short Answer:

No.

Long Answer:

The odds of getting a 5:2 split over the more common 4:3 split is unchanged, even if the first card is intentionally chosen to be a copper.

Mathematically, this can be proven using hypergeometric distribution.  This can be calculated using the following function, where N is the size of the deck, n is the number of cards drawn, and m is the number of coppers available:

P(X=k) = (m choose k) * ((N-m) choose (n-k)) / (N choose n)

With a normal starting deck, you would use values of N=10, n=5 and m=7.  Without boring you with the math proper, these would give you a result breakdown as follows:

2 copper: 1/12
3 copper: 5/12
4 copper: 5/12
5 copper: 1/12

So you would normally have a 1/12 + 1/12 = 1/6 chance of getting the 5:2 split.

Now, if the first card is preemptively selected to be a copper, this changes our starting numbers.  Since the first card is known, your starting draw would effectively be a four card draw from a nine card deck containing only six coppers.  Punching in the values N=9, n=4 and m=6 into our function, we end up with the following table:

1 copper: 1/21
2 copper: 5/14
3 copper: 10/21
4 copper: 5/42

Even though the spread of numbers is significantly different, your odds of a 5:2 split work out to 1/21 + 5/42 = 7/42 = 1/6, which is exactly the same as before.

However, note that although the odds of the split themselves are unchanged, by selecting out the first copper you are now over twice as likely to get the 5:2 draw as you are to get the 2:5 draw.


How do Strionic Resonator and Charmbreaker Devils interact? I'm working on a red instant and sorceries deck featuring Charmbreaker Devils. As I understand it, this ability:

  At the beginning of your upkeep, return an instant or sorcery card at random from your graveyard to your hand.

is a triggered ability. So I should be able to use Strionic Resonator to copy it. How exactly does copying it work? Is there a chance that the same card in my graveyard is chosen twice, or will I always get two instants or sorceries back, as long as there are two to start with?

You will get two cards.

The following describes what happens, in order:

Charmbreaker Devils's ability triggers.
Charmbreaker Devils's ability is placed on the stack. [Stack: CD]
You activate Strionic Resonator's ability targeting Charmbreaker Devils's ability.  [Stack: SR, CD]
Strionic Resonator's ability resolves.

Make a copy of Charmbreaker Devils's ability. [Stack: CD#2, CD#1]

Charmbreaker Devils's ability #2 resolves.

Return an instant or sorcery card at random from your graveyard to your hand. [Stack: CD#1]

Charmbreaker Devils's ability #1 resolves.

Return an instant or sorcery card at random from your graveyard to your hand. [Stack: -empty-]

Whichever card was returned to your hand by #2 (step 5) will not be around when #1 resolves (step 6). You cannot obtain the same card from both (unless you cast it between step 5 and 6).


In King of Tokyo advanced play, does the monster in Tokyo Bay move into Tokyo City if the Tokyo City monster yields? Then the attacking monster would enter Tokyo Bay unless both spots are yielded and attacker enters Tokyo City?  This is important because when monsters are eliminated and there become fewer than 5 players, the rules state that the monster in Tokyo Bay vacates their position leaving only Tokyo City occupied, so the exact location of a monster in Tokyo becomes relevant at that point.

The rules state

  After a Monster that is not in Tokyo attacks, it must take control of Tokyo if either Tokyo City or Tokyo Bay are unoccupied or abandoned. If there is a choice, Tokyo City must be occupied first.

If Tokyo Bay monster doesn't take over, then there could be a scenario where the monster in Tokyo City dies because of a card leaving only 4 players and the monster in Tokyo Bay would be forced to leave, leaving Tokyo unoccupied.

Again quoting the rules

  If a Monster is eliminated and that
  brings the number of Monsters
  below 5, Tokyo Bay can't be occu
  pied anymore. The Monster in it
  must leave Tokyo.

It seems to make more sense that Tokyo Bay monster would move to Tokyo City, but it is not spelled out.

No, Monsters do not move from Tokyo Bay to Tokyo City.

In a 5-player game, there are multiple possible outcomes when you are attacking Tokyo City and Tokyo Bay.

If neither Monster dies - The attacker occupies Tokyo City , since you are still playing 5-player. The Monster in Tokyo Bay can choose to yield or not.
If the Monster in Tokyo City dies - The attacker occupies Tokyo City, and the Monster in Tokyo Bay must leave per the rule you quoted above, because there are now only 4 players.
If the Monster in Tokyo Bay dies - The attacker occupies Tokyo City if the Monster in Tokyo City yields.
If both Monsters die - The attacker occupies Tokyo City , since you are still playing 3-player. Neither Monster can choose to yield, because they are dead.


Can I choose "Artifact Creature" as a creature type as Adaptive Automaton enters the battlefield? I want to use the card Adaptive Automaton in my white artifacts deck. Most of the creatures in the deck are artifact creatures. Now, I am not sure if "artifact creature" is a correct creature type. Let's take Palladium Myr for example. It is of creature type "Myr" and also an "artifact creature". Are both attributes real creature types?

In case I cannot choose "artifact creature", those automatons will find a new home in my Elves deck, but I would prefer to have them in my white artifacts deck.

No, you can't, because "artifact" is not a creature type, it's a card type.

The information on the type line is divided into two portions, the type(s) and the subtype(s). Each word before the dash represents a type of the card, and each word after the dash (if any) represents a subtype. For example, Palladium Myr's type line says "Artifact Creature - Myr" so "artifact" and "creature" are its types and "Myr" is its subtype.

When a card says "creature type," it effectively means "subtype of a card which has 'Creature' or 'Tribal' as a type." In other words, the creature type is always a subtype, something that must appear after the dash.

Also, the complete list of possible creature types is given in the comprehensive rules, rule 204.3k as of this writing. When a card like Adaptive Automaton asks you to choose a creature type, you're only allowed to choose one of the words from that list (according to rule 204.3d).


The Duke - Assassin Movement We have been playing the game, The Duke, and confusion came up regarding the movement for the Assassin tile.

Based on the slide rules, a tile can move as many spaces as they want in the shown direction until they would hit another tile, friendly or enemy.

The jump rules state that a tile can jump over an adjacent tile to the space beyond it.

So the question is, for this tile with a jump slide, can the slide begin in the adjacent tile or must the assassin move at least two spaces away?

According to the official rules, the Slide and Jump Slide icons allow

  ...a Troop Tile to move any number of squares in the direction shown

It seems that the icons are place on the outside edges as emphasis that their movement is not limited in that direction.


Discard pile should face up or down? In Arctic Scavengers, should the players' discard pile face up or down? It seems that the rulebook does not specify this.

The discard pile should go face down. The rules are not super-clear about this, but in the "Sample Round", it says:

  The player draws 1 card from the
  junkyard (dig of 1) and places that card face-down in her discard pile.

You can find a discussion about this rule here.


Forgetting to place a city on the board, or to move the robber. Which fix is acceptable? Last night I played Catan with some friends. There were two situations where we did not pay attention and did not complete our moves properly:

A player paid 2 wheat + 3 rock for a city, but forgot to place it on the board. The player realized the mistake after the next player rolled the dice, and asked to upgrade his/her settlement to a city.
A player rolled 7, but forgot to move the robber. The next player completed his move. After that another player also rolled the dices and bought 2 development cards with his/her 6 remaining cards. The player who forgot to move the robber realized what happened, so moved the robber to a new location and asked the third player to get back his resources, so that he can steal one of them.

Which of these two scenarios are acceptable?

1) The player paid for the city, they should get the city.  Now, if the next die roll would have given them double resources, that's where it'd get a little dicey (see what I did there?).  If they have the choice of where to put the city and want to put it where you get double resources, I'd say it'd be reasonable to say they don't get double that time.  If they only had one city choice, give them double.

If you can divine intent, give them the benefit, otherwise just try to smooth things out.

2) This is a weird miss.  You've had 2 turns of production (and potential non-production).  At that point, backing up would be a bit of a pain.  The easiest fix would be to immediately have the 7 roller move the robber, steal a resource, then proceed.

This does not penalize the double-development-card player, since they might not have been able to even buy them if the robber was moved. This restores the resource parity, since the 7 roller didn't get a resource.