Can a Space Marine army consist of units from different chapters? I'm a newcomer to the Warhammer 40K tabletop miniature game and I'm researching different armies, but I wasn't sure if different Space Marine chapters were compatible.

For example, could I play an army consisting of Space Wolves, Blood Angels and "regular" Space Marines without raising any eyebrows in "normal" play?

TL;DR Yes they can, however the rules for alliances vary by edition
As well as with some others...

History of Allies
Previously in second edition there were rules in each codex for who could ally with who, specifically mentioning which armies you were allowed to team up with. From what I can tell you could just add any unit you wanted to your force.
Come third edition, these rules had gone and been replaced with a system for using multiple force organization charts to field multiple armies. (Page 131 of the 3rd edition rule book)
Space Marine Chapter allies backstory:
Quoting from 'Using Allies in Warhammer 40,000' here is a view of space marine allies in previous editions:

Space Marines:  Space Marines hold the "typical" Imperial view of other races:  They are untrustworthy Heretics who should only be regarded as subjects for conquest.  However, Space Marines also have a history of looking down their noses even at other military forces within the Imperium, regarding Imperial Guard and Ministorum forces as "only human".  Even so, Space Marines will work with other Imperial forces, as all are fighting for the best interests of Mankind.
When circumstances dictate, Space Marines will sometimes fight alongside Eldar or Ork forces, especially in times of war against the Chaos forces.  While it is degrading to the average Space Marine to fight alongside such heretical filth, it is sometimes necessary to do so in order to protect their Emperor.

There are however some caveats, quoting again:

Space Wolves and Dark Angels:  These two Space Marine chapters do not work well with each other, as they have a long-standing feud going back to the days of their Primarchs.  But this feud is always put aside in the face of a dangerous foe.  However, it is not forgotten.  Before battle, one Marine is picked from both chapters to act as a "champion", and these two champions fight a duel in memory of the duel between their two Primarchs, so many years ago.
Dark Angels/Black Templars:  Dark Angels and Black Templars have always been extremely anti-alien, refusing to work with them even in the most dire of circumstances.  Though most Space Marine chapters will ally themselves with alien forces if the needs dictate such an alliance, these two chapters will never work alongside any force that is not human.

(emphasis mine)
That covers some of the backstory of the armies, and some of the history from the hobby side.
6th edition
With the new ally rules out in 6th edition you are able to combine two different spacemarine armies together, most of which are battle brothers or allies of convenience. There is, as I have linked, a look-up table or matrix to reference when pairing up allies. Also note that the minimum number of units needed to be fielded in a secondary army is far fewer than your primary, but there is room for your force to grow if you so wish.
See page 113 of the 6th edition rule book for details.

6th edition ally matrix
Of the other chapters space marine allies include:
Battle Brothers:

Black Templars
Blood Angels
Dark Angels
Space Wolves

Allies of Convenience

Grey Knights

I've linked them through to the articles about them on the WH40K Lexicanum.
Whilst I don't want to list every ally of the specialized space marine chapters, they mostly show the above pattern, baring Space Wolves and Dark Angels whom consider each other only Allies of Convenience.
7th Edition
This edition behaves much like the previous edition, except it has an updated matrix of Allies:

Seventh edition allies matrix
The biggest difference is that all units from the Armies of the Imperium are Battle Brothers
8th Editon
The most comprehensive guide I've found to the 8th edition allies is here.
In short you're free to make an army with any number of different component units, in free play. Competition play has more rules, as described in this other Goonhammer article.
This edition has a marked change to how allies work. Now armies now have Faction Keywords, and each detachment of your army must all have have the same 'Superfaction' keyword. Then to gain the benefits of a faction, the members of that detachment must be members of that faction:

These keywords, and adhering to the above Superfaction, faction and subfaction keywords give you access to more Command points allowing special actions during play.
The article is very well written, and goes in depth into how to form an army. Suffice to say, it's much more nuanced how to build an army with different allies than previous edition, but still possible.

So yes, now you can combine spacemarine armies.


What card should I play when my partner has bid nil and I can't follow suit but do have Spades? Setup:

My partner has bid nil or blind nil. The player to my right led the trick, and I can't follow suit, but have one or more Spades in my hand.

Possible situations:

I know my partner has no Spades left.
I know my partner has no card of the led suit left, but may have Spades.
I don't know whether my partner has any Spades or led suit cards left.

My response:

Play my lowest Spade. I know that this will allow my partner to get rid of any high cards.
Play my highest Spade. My partner may have a Spade, so playing high will allow them to play their high spades to get rid of them.
Play my highest Spade. My partner may have or may not have to follow suit, or may or may not have to play a Spade.

Is this a valid (i.e. good) strategy? How would additional knowledge of what cards have been played affect my strategy?

It depends. Have you and the opponents bid for most or all of the tricks? If so then your left hand opponent (LHO) will probably not let the trick go by for fear of going down themselves. If not, and RHO has led a low card, then partner's nil may be in danger and you probably won't have to work hard to get your bid, so you need to protect partner from LHO playing low.

If you are going to protect partner, do you think he will have to follow suit? If so, then you can either trump small so he can throw a high card, or discard small and save your strength for later if you think he can duck this trick. If not, then a high trump will allow him to under-trump if he has an awkward middling trump.

Of course, if you know the cards that have been played, hopefully you'll know how many high cards are gone and what risk this trick poses. A good partner will also try to help you by good discarding - ideally he'll discard short suits first (if you have K765432, you don't gain anything by chucking the King early!), and by discarding a low card in a suit he's essentially saying "this suit is safe, please lead it whenever you can". Deliberately winning the lead with the intention of giving partner a free discard is very helpful.

(In any case, aren't spades always trumps? Or is that just the MS online version?)


How do you handle drawing more flood cards than there are tiles on the board in Forbidden Island? Pretty much what it says on the tin--when you're drawing, say, 5 flood cards and there are 4 tiles left in the game, are you supposed to keep shuffling and re-drawing one of those 4, thus automatically sinking one tile per turn?

Yes. From the rule book page 8.

When the Flood Draw Pile Runs Out
If the Flood draw pile ever runs out, immediately shuffle the Flood discard pile and stack the cards face down to form a new Flood draw pile. If this happens in the middle of a turn, continue drawing Flood cards as necessary from the new pile.


What counts as a creature "in play"? There's a source that heals you for each creature in play. Obviously creatures already kept (both yours and your opponents) count.

However, do unresolved creatures in your own spell count?

This came up in a game of my own yesterday, and seeing that there was no answer here, I asked over at BoardGameGeek.

According to Matt Hyra (the lead developer of the game) Creature cards in your spell are in play as long as they're revealed.

Therefore unresolved creature cards in the same spell do count towards the resolution of Baconus the Butcher's ability. Other players' face down creatures do not count.


What if I don't own a house in Life and land on a pay square The rules in my game say I don't need to buy a house. So what happens in the game if my house is destroyed per the board? Playing the other night I landed on two squares that we treated differently. What was correct?

First square: "Burglary. Pay $50,000 if not insured." I figured an apartment or whatever I'm living in could be burglarized so I paid it. Should I have?

Second square: "Tornado destroys house. Pay $125,000 if not insured." I don't own a house - hence I did not think I should pay this square. Should I have?

[Edit]: The version I have is Hasbro 2005. The rules state "Draw 2 House Deeds at random from the deck. Decide which one, if either, you want to buy."

I'm not sure what version of the game you are playing.  From Hasboro's rules for LIFE:

  BUYING A HOUSE When you reach this space [the red one that has a stop sign and the words BUY A HOUSE], stop --even if you have
  moves left. Draw 1 House Deed at random from the deck. Pay the bank
  the price on the deed (not the insurance amount; that’s a separate
  transaction). If you’re short on cash, you must borrow from the bank.
  Then spin and move again.

You do have to buy a house.  So if your house was burglarized or destroyed by a tornado, you still have to pay the money.  Note that having a tornado doesn't make you get rid of your house, you just have to pay to "repair" it.


What are the Blackjack rules used in Atlantic City casinos? I understand that Blackjack in Atlantic City casinos is regulated by the state and that they determine the rules of Blackjack that all the casinos must adhere to.

Specifically, I would like to know:

Is the dealer required to stand on a soft 17?
How many decks are used?
Is the shoe normally played to the last card or is it shuffled before being empty?
How many times can you split?
Can you double down after splitting?
Can you double down after splitting Aces?
Can a split Ace be dealt more than one card?
Does a split Ace and ten value card count as Blackjack or 21?
If the dealer has Blackjack and you have 21 (but not Blackjack) do you lose the hand?
What is the payout for Blackjack?
Is insurance offered? How much does it cost?
Is late or early surrender offered?
What is the minimum bet per hand at the major Atlantic City casinos?
By how much can you increase or decrease your bet between hands?

Random article from Google

Stand on soft 17
Eight decks
No mention of shoe emptying rules
Splitting up to 3 times (total of 4 hands)
Double down after splitting is allowed
Not explicitly mentioned but unlikely due to one card after split Ace
One card each after splitting an ace (and no resplit)
Ace and ten after split is 21
The dealer does check for Blackjack, so 21 never occurs vs Blackjack
Blackjack pays 3 to 2
Insurance is allowed and pays 2 to 1, typically insurance is up to half your original bet in this case (not explicitly mentioned)
Late surrender is allowed
No mention of minimum bet
No mention of betting rules


Organizing a game night with non-gamers? My wife and I want to organize a game night. Most of our friends like to play board games - they are familiar with games like Settlers of Catan and Ticket to Ride. However we are more adventurous. Besides making new friends, what are some ideas for how to organize a game night with friends who like games but who are not board game aficionados?

Depending on the size of the group and the time allotted:

Get games where people do not loose, though people can win. E.g. everybody keeps playing until the end and the player with the highest score wins.Not a game where people get killed and then have to watch the rest play for another 4 hours. (Titan, I am looking at you).
Do not get uber long games. E.g. no Titan, no Doom, the board game, no eclipse (the game can be short, but NOT on the first time you play it).
Start with relative easy on-complex games to start with. E.g. Alhambra. Of if you play Catan make sure it is the basic version and not the game and the Cities and knights extension.
Get a few short games to fill time gaps. E.g. bohnanza or Der Schattendieb.
If you have 7 or 8 players consider running to games simultaneously. E.g. thurn-and-taxis (up to 4 players), basic catan for those who never played it before starting on a more complex game, powergrid etc etc.
Last but not least, consider a few non board games for variation. Machiavelli can be played with a large group.

On games nights I also like to pre-arrange food. Usually with some short games while people arrive and the cook (mostly me) cooks, then dinner, a clean table and some games. Add some non-greasy snacks.


Can you use the row the card is in as a clue? If you are the spymaster, can you use the row as a clue?  For example, can I say "Top 3" for the field operator to guess the top row?

No. First entry under "Firm Rules"

Your clue must be about the meaning of the words. You can't use your clue to talk about the letters in a word or its position on the table.

I agree with a comment on another answer to keep the firm rule in place; as position clues can be used on every board, the game will become repetitive if they're allowed.


Is there any harm in leaving board games out in a car during cold weather? I live in an area where during the winter the temperature falls below -18°C/0°F. Will any harm come to board games that I leave out in a car in that temperature? I know that hot weather can be tough for some types of games (e.g. those with adhesives). I don't know if the reverse is true.

Will any harm come to board games that I leave out in a car in that ['below -18°C/0°F'] temperature?

No.

I have had some board games for 30+ years that, during that time, spent two years in a Minnesota storage garage and three years in an Upstate New York storage garage; in which neither had heat or air conditioning (neither location was ever particularly hot during the Summer).

Some games had adhesive tape repairs; some had a clear adhesive film protecting the graphics of the gameboard.  None exhibited any damage due to storage conditions.

Note: For long-term storage, all games are placed within plastic garbage bags which, in turn, are put inside plastic totes.

On one occasion, I noted one factory shrink-wrapped game developed a some minor condensation between the shrink-wrap and game box.  The game box lid was concave from being pressed; causing space between the shrink-wrap and box.  The condensate was noted when I brought this game home, from storage, during cold outside temps. It did not appear to damage or stain the cover of the gamebox.


What happens to destroyed districts in Citadels? In Citadels when you destroy someone's district with the warlord it isn't clear what you do with the card. Does it return to the bottom of the district deck? This is the only other place district cards seem to go, other than player's hands and being in play.

It seems Fantasy Flight Games has never officially ruled on this, even though the question has been asked multiple times since the release of the game. However, there have been discussions from players about where the district card goes.

Board Game Geek

In this forum on BGG most people seem to agree that "Discarded/destroyed cards go to the bottom of the District (draw) deck." There is one person who says that they play with a discard pile, although a discard pile is never mentioned in the official rules.

Also on BGG, a user rewrote the character cards to "prevent ambiguity." He added this line to the Warlord:

  Place the destroyed district to the bottom of the District Deck face-down.

If you scroll down through the comments, nobody challenges this even though there is discussion about some of the other reworded character cards.

The third place on BGG where this sentiment can be found is here. About halfway down, user Mark Biggar notes that cards destroyed by the Warlord are "discarded" to the bottom of the District deck. There is no dissension on this thread, either.

Fantasy Flight Games Forums

The other place I could find any mention of this was on the FFG Forums. This thread is pretty bad. It has this badly worded question (emphasis mine):

  If the Warlord destroys one of your districts does it go back into your hand or at the bottom of the discard pile?

This is accompanied by a comment that doesn't really address the OP's question. This doesn't seem to really help with deciding where the destroyed district goes.

Conclusion

The consensus from BGG seems to be districts destroyed by the Warlord go to the bottom of the District deck. I'd go with this as the answer to your question.


Do you lose additional turn if sent to jail by Community Chest? I've read through the rule book and don't see this specific situation mentioned.
If you roll doubles and land on a Community Chest square, and the card draw is a Go To Jail card, are you able to roll again to try to get out of jail?

When you end up in jail your turn ends and you have 3 turns to roll doubles to get out of jail or pay the $50 fee. The turn ending doesn't matter if you had additional dice rolls due to getting doubles.
I bolded the section in the rules that talks about turns ending.
https://www.hasbro.com/common/instruct/monins.pdf

“JAIL”… You land in Jail when… (1) your token lands on the space
marked “Go to Jail”; (2) you draw a card marked “Go to Jail”; or
(3) you throw doubles three times in succession.
When you are sent to Jail you cannot collect your $200 salary in that
move since, regardless of where your token is on the board, you must
move it directly into Jail. Yours turn ends when you are sent to Jail.
If you are not “sent” to Jail but in the ordinary course of play land
on that space, you are “Just Visiting,” you incur no penalty, and you
move ahead in the usual manner on your next turn.
You get out of Jail by… (1) throwing doubles on any of your next
three turns; if you succeed in doing this you immediately move
forward the number of spaces shown by your doubles throw; even
though you had thrown doubles, you do not take another turn;
(2) using the “Get Out of Jail Free” card if you have it; (3) purchasing
the “Get Out of Jail Free” card from another player and playing it;
(4) paying a fine of $50 before you roll the dice on either of your next
two turns.
If you do not throw doubles by your third turn, you must pay the
$50 fine. You then get out of Jail and immediately move forward the
number of spaces shown by your throw.
Even though you are in Jail, you may buy and sell property, buy
and sell houses and hotels and collect rents


In bridge, can you tell your partner that your two bid is a weak two? In bridge, can you tell your partner that your two bid is a weak two or a strong two as you make the bid?

No - presuming you mean during the hand after the call has been made.

OP makes no mention as to whether this is Rubber or Duplicate Bridge. However, there is great conformity between the two sets of Laws, so I will briefly outline the structure as defined in the Rubber Bridge Laws, and allow the Director of any relevant Duplicate Game to cover any extensions pertaining to that variety of the game.

The Proprieties listed in the Laws of Rubber Bridge () state:

  2. Communication Between Partners

  Communication between partners during the auction and play should be effected only by means of the calls and plays themselves, not through the manner in which they are made nor through extraneous remarks and gestures, nor through questions asked of the opponents and
  explanations given to them.

  ...

  When a player has available to him improper information from his partner’s remark, question, explanation, gesture, mannerism, special emphasis, inflection, haste or hesitation, he should carefully avoid taking any advantage that might accrue to his side.

No discussion of partnership agreements or holdings is allowed during the hand. Any such would be Unauthorized Information to either partner receiving said information, penalized as in Law 16:

  Law 16 – Unauthorized Information

  A player may be subject to penalty if information is conveyed from his partner other than by a legal call or play.

  A. Regarding information obtained from partner:

  If a player conveys information to his partner by means of a remark, question, unmistakable hesitation or unwonted speed, special emphasis, tone, gesture, movement, mannerism or any other action that suggests a call, lead or plan of play, is unauthorized. When the offending side has profited by use of this unauthorized information, it should, in conformance with Proprieties 1, redress any damage done to the non-offending side.

  ...

  A player on the offending side must not base any subsequent calls or plays on such unauthorized information. If it is determined that this has been violated and the non-offending side has been damaged, the result should be adjusted to redress any damage done to the non-offending side.

As regards Alerts and Announcements, the ACBL Alert Procedure states:

  An announcement is one word or a short phrase which tells the opponents directly the meaning of partner's call. When bidding boxes are used, the "Alert" strip is tapped also. Announcements are required in the following instances: ...

Note:

That it is always the partner of the player making the call that performs the Announcement.
That only the specified calls that are to be Announced, and Weak Two Bids are NOT in this list (ACBL Alert Chart).


Exile then return Jace, Vryn's Prodigy? Jace, Vryn's Prodigy has the text

  If there are five or more cards in your graveyard, exile Jace, Vryn's Prodigy, then return him to the battlefield transformed under his owner's control.

What is the point of exiling him and then returning him?

There are 2 aspects to this question:

Why is it necessary at all to include extra actions, why not just transform Jace?

Answer: If Jace was simply transformed from creature to planeswalker, he would not get his 5 loyalty counters and would go to the graveyard as a state-based action. A planeswalker only gets the initial loyalty counters when the permanent that represents it enters the battlefield as a planeswalker.

It's also in the card's rulings, indirectly:

In some rare cases, a spell or ability may cause one of these five cards to transform while it’s a creature (front face up) on the battlefield. If this happens, the resulting planeswalker won’t have any loyalty counters on it and will subsequently be put into its owner’s graveyard.

To solve problem 1, why exile Jace instead of taking all required steps manually?

To fully "reset" a creature so that nothing can continue affecting the planeswalker or generally cause confusion, you would have to take care of many things: Remove all counters, unattach auras (there are "enchant permanent" auras that do not fall off automatically) and equipments, end permanent effects that would continue to be active after transformation such as change of controller and color, remove effects such as Cipher, and so on; finally you would have to add 5 loyalty counters manually.

Exiling and returning the creature transformed takes care of all of these issues at once, and, maybe most importantly in this context, it also takes care of any future issues that could crop up from new mechanics and interactions.

Furthermore, solving these issues explicitly would require much more rules text on the card.

In conclusion, the answer is From a rules perspective it's one possible solution that produces a functional planeswalker, and from a design perspective it's the most elegant and future-proof way of doing so.


Do supply limits apply when resolving march orders? My understanding is that supply restrictions occur at two times:

When the supply card is drawn in the Westeros phase, and supply tracks are adjusted and armies reconciled.
During mustering, you can't create an army that would exceed supply limits.

However, the question is - is it within in the rules to say, during mustering create an army that does fit supply limits, and then use a march order to merge it with another army?

Or do supply limits also apply when applying march orders?

Yes, supply limits apply. From the rules, page 8:

  A player is never allowed to take any action in the game that would cause him to exceed his actual supply limit as dictated by his position on the Supply track (such as mustering, marching or retreating, all explained later).


Untapping a creature enchanted with Charmed Sleep I have a question that relates to untapping a creature enchanted by Charmed Sleep. It says "Enchanted creature doesn't untap during its controller's untap step". That's clear.

But when someone has an instant or activated ability that causes the creature to untap? Does this creature untap then? What happens to this Aura? Is it destroyed?

But when someone has an instant or activated ability that causes the creature to untap? Does this creature untap then?

Yes, it does. Note that the aura says "doesn't untap during its controller's untap step", so it explicitly does not say anything about the rest of the turn.

  What happens to this Aura? Is it destroyed?

The aura stays on the creature (since it does not have any text like 'Enchant tapped creature'), so if the creature is tapped again in the future, it won't untap automatically during its controller's untap step.


How to make custom Cards Against Humanity Cards? Cards Against Humanity has a free download for a PDF to print custom cards (e.g. PDF for printing custom white cards). However, it seems that these cards are not the same shape/size as the official cards which you get when you purchase the game. The reason for this, clearly, is that while the game is offered via a creative commons-type license, so you can print your own, they want to differentiate their own version.

However, I want to print custom cards which can be used alongside the 'official' version which I own. For this to work, they need to look exactly like the other cards - at least in shape, color, card stock, and finish. That way, when such cards are mixed into the deck and we are playing, it isn't possible to tell when someone has a 'custom' card or an 'official' one.

So my question is, how should I go about printing such customer cards?

If I want to print custom cards which fit in with the regular cards which you can purchase, what card stock should I use to print them with the appropriate weight, glossy surface, etc? I have experience printing a magazine and would be happy to go to either a Kinkos or small-scale printer.

A simple solution if you are willing and able to spend some money:

Buy another copy of the game, a foam paint brush, and a small container of white paint. Using the foam brush you can paint a nice, even, thin coat of white paint over the face of the cards and use a black permanent marker when they dry to write whatever your heart desires!


Does Humility stop all creatures from being able to morph? This question is related to this one. Does Humility stop all face-down creatures from being able to morph?

Yes, it stops morph:

  702.36e Any time you have priority, you may turn a face-down permanent you control with a morph ability face up. This is a special action; it doesn’t use the stack (see rule 115). To do this, show all players what the permanent’s morph cost would be if it were face up, pay that cost, then turn the permanent face up. (If the permanent wouldn’t have a morph cost if it were face up, it can’t be turned face up this way.) The morph effect on it ends, and it regains its normal characteristics. Any abilities relating to the permanent entering the battlefield don’t trigger when it’s turned face up and don’t have any effect, because the permanent has already entered the battlefield.

(emphasis mine)

Humility makes a creature lose all abilities, including morph and its cost, which is part of the ability itself:

  702.36a Morph is a static ability that functions in any zone from which you could play the card it’s on, and the morph effect works any time the card is face down. “Morph [cost]” means “You may cast this card as a 2/2 face-down creature with no text, no name, no subtypes, and no mana cost by paying {3} rather than paying its mana cost.” (See rule 707, “Face-Down Spells and Permanents.”)


How does Engine Room work with Roslin’s Religious Visions ability? If the Engine Room is used during Roslin's turn, would either Crisis Card she chooses automatically have a jump icon, or just the first one drawn?

I submitted this question to Fantasy Flight support. Here's the response:

  For the purposes of using the Engine Room during Roslin's turn, whichever card Roslin chooses to resolve is treated as "the next Crisis Card drawn." Hope that clears things up.


Can I cast Tactical Advantage multiple times on the same creature? I'm new to Magic the Gathering. I have a question about Instants and Tactical Advantage:

Target blocking or blocked creature you control gets +2/+2 until end of turn.

Am I allowed to use 2 Tactical Advantages in a row on the same creature on the same turn, if I have enough mana? So I'd bring my creature up +4/+4.

Yes, you can cast as many spells as you want on the same creature.
The targeting requirements for Tactical Advantage are that it must be a creature you control, and it must be blocking or being blocked. Tactical Advantage changes none of these properties, so the second Tactical Advantage is just as legal to cast as the first.


How do casinos split uneven bet? For example if I bet $5 and get a blackjack that pays 3:2, this means that I should get payed 7.5.

The problem is that the there is no $0.5 dollar chip. How this situation is handled in the casinos?

From Wikipedia:

  $2.50 chips are mostly used for blackjacktables, since a "natural" (a 21 on the first two cards dealt to a player) typically pays 3:2 and most wagers are in increments of $5. However, the Tropicana Casino and Borgatain Atlantic City, New Jersey, and others, have used $2.50 (pink) chips in $7.50 to $15 and $10 to $20 poker games.

They have $2.50 chips especially for the case you're describing.


Can white tokens be used to pay for white mana in a convoke cost? Can white tokens be used to pay for white mana in a convoke cost?

I know that tokens with summoning sickness can tap for convoke, but I was wondering if these tokens are considered "white". For example, if I want to cast Ephemeral Shields and I have two untapped white soldier tokens, can I tap both tokens to cover the colorless and the white in the mana cost?

Yes, you can use white tokens to pay for white mana costs with Convoke. The rule for Convoke says

  Convoke is a static ability that functions while the spell with convoke is on the stack. "Convoke" means "For each colored mana in this spell’s total cost, you may tap an untapped creature of that color you control rather than pay that mana. For each generic mana in this spell’s total cost, you may tap an untapped creature you control rather than pay that mana." The convoke ability isn’t an additional or alternative cost and applies only after the total cost of the spell with convoke is determined.

And a relevant rule regarding tokens says

  110.5b The spell or ability that creates a token may define the values of any number of characteristics for the token. This becomes the token's "text." The characteristic values defined this way are functionally equivalent to the characteristic values that are printed on a card; for example, they define the token's copiable values. A token doesn't have any characteristics not defined by the spell or ability that created it.

So, when a spell or ability creates a White Soldier creature token, it is functionally equivalent to a creature card that is White and a Soldier. This functional equivalence extends to paying for white convoke costs.


Is there a simple strategy for re-learning Magic the Gathering? I began playing MTG around Beta/Unlimited but haven't played MTG since about 4th Edition/Fallen Empires/Ice Age.

I have been considering picking the game back up, and could use some suggestions on how to re-learn the game.

I already know that I can pick up a fair amount of commons/uncommons very inexpensively so I'm not concentrating on deck building but rather picking up the rules.

The biggest change I see is the concept of the stack, and the formalization of the rules (which I have a great link to and am browsing through).

I feel I'm probably best off ignoring the plethora of new cards/combos that have appeared on the scene and getting a feel for the flow ... the cards/combos will come from playing and being active again.

I also know that the best way to reinforce this information will be by playing, learning a game is rarely simply academic.

Is there a fairly straightforward strategy for re-learning MTG beyond these steps I've already identified?

I can think of a few ways to relearn Magic:The Gathering without simply reading the rules. Which, by the way, because of the new stack concept*, streamlining of phases/steps and elimination of many odd special-case rules, is easier than ever in my opinion.

Download the Magic the Gathering Online Demo if you have a PC or if you have an XBox, the Duels of the Plainswalkers 2012 Demo. Since they take care of the game rules for you, you can walk through games, learn the turn sequence and how the stack works. That MtGO link has a YouTube video that walks through the game.
Find a store near you and drop in for Friday Night Magic. It's been my experience that most MtG players are quite happy and willing to teach new players the ropes.

*honestly, the stack isn't that new. ;-)


How to evaluate this board situation under Japanese or European rules In a game, the following board position remained after both parties passed:

$$ -----------
$$ .XO.X.X.OX.
$$ .XO.....OX.
$$ .XOOOOOOOX.
$$ .XXXXXXXXX.
$$ ...........

In the post game analysis it turned out that

Black on the move can create a seki by connecting her two stones inside the white group
White on the move can create a ko to prohibit the Seki. When black wins the ko, the result is a seki.

$$W
$$ -----------
$$ .XO4X1X6OX.
$$ .XO.325.OX.
$$ .XOOOOOOOX.
$$ .XXXXXXXXX.
$$ ...........

White takes the ko first with 7.

But the situation was left as it is on the board, how is it counted (under Japanese rules or European rules)? When playing resumes, who has the first move? Do ko threats on the board count?

I will only discuss the Japanese pro rules, since as far as I know there are no official European rules. The tournament of the European Go Congress 2015, for example, was played with AGA rules. I think most European tournaments are played with "Verbal European-Japanese Rules" which usually require to fill all dame points and kos before the end of the game. Then I think the position would be counted as a Seki by the referee.

Senseis claims that these are the official Japanese pro rules in a translation of James Davies.
Two paragraphs are relevant for the question:

9.2 After stopping, the game ends through confirmation and agreement by the two players about the life and death of stones and territory. This is called "the end of the game."
9.3 If a player requests resumption of a stopped game, his opponent must oblige and has the right to play first.

and

13.1 After the game stops according to Article 9, if the players find an effective move, which would affect the result of the game, and therefore cannot agree to end the game, both players lose.

As you already noted the best B can get is a Seki and the best W can get is killing the black stones. Therefore the only interesting situation is when B wins in case of the Seki and W wins if W can kill. Then it is important which player has more ko threats, though most likely the kos where already played as the situation appeared after both players passed.
My interpretation is the following:

B has more ko threats: B claims resumption according to Article 9.3 and W plays first. W can play the ko but cannot win it. B wins.
W has more ko threats or no ko threats: B does not want to resume the match since B will lose the ko. In the case of no ko threats W takes first and B looses the ko as well. W does not want to resume the match since it would be B's turn and B will complete the Seki which results in a loss of W. Thus both players lose according to Article 13.1

On Senseis you can also find commentaries on these rules pointing out some ambiguities around these Articles and adding interpretation.
Edit: One of the comments there is this one which I think clarifies that the position in the question would result in a loss of both players. The relevant paragraph is §13 - Interpretation of the Rules of Play. The example there is similar to the position in the question. The point is that both players will agree that there is an effective move. Therefore Article 13.1 is to be used. W cannot claim that the stones are dead as long as this effective move exists. It is not important that this move will not be played as no player will ask for resumption.


Can I create an online version of a game? Can I create an online version of a card game? Just for experimenting. Is there any possible legal implication?
In this case the card game is called Rick and Morty: Total Rickall.

Sort of. Maybe.
What you definitely can't do is to use the name "Rick and Morty", any art from the game or anything else which is covered by copyright, trade marks or any other form of intellectual property which is owned by anyone other than you.
However, it is probable that game mechanics themselves cannot be copyrighted, so you may be able to create a game which has exactly the same mechanics as Rick and Morty: Total Rickall, but with your own art, your own name, etc. However, if this becomes at all popular, I'd still expect the publishers of the game and/or the Rick and Morty rights holders to make your life difficult. You might win in court, but it's probably not worth the fight.


Do I get to declare HQ Mole before watching the first cards I'd access anyway? If I make a successful run on the HQ or R&D, do I have to declare I'm going to use a Mole before watching the cards I would access, or can I access them, and then decide if I want to access more (HQ or R&D Moles) or trash them (Mercenary Subcontract)?

There is no official rulings, because an official (Wizards of the Coast) hasn't yet ruled.
The last official rules errata was v1.7 from March, 2000.

March 11, 2000 - Netrunner Rulings, v1.70 - Author: Top Runners' Conference   List of official rulings used by the Top Runners' Conference. It is compiled primarily from rulings made on the Netrunner mailing list by representatives of Wizards of the Coast. Covers Limited, Proteus and Classic.

The next official rules errata v1.8 has been stalled, you can read the discussion thread here. There is errata concerning the Moles cards, but I do not believe that WotC has provided an official ruling regarding the matter within their mailing list.

D. all topics concerning errata and clarifications discussed on netrunneronline, but maybe not completely validated.
D10a. HQ Mole - ... Clarification: HQ Mole triggers during the “access cards” phase, and can be used anytime during this phase access. When Runner has HQ Mole installed, he or she may first access the card(s) normally accessed without using HQ Mole, processing any immediate effect that would occur due to this access (like the 2 Net damage of Setup!). After that, he or she may still trigger HQ Mole to access the additional cards.
Similarly, when Runner has multiple HQ Moles installed, he or she may use them one by one (and processing for each Mole any immediate effect). In other words, Runner is not required to declare at once how many HQ Moles will be used, but can decide after each HQ Mole used, if he or she will trigger another one.

It is possible that WotC hasn't ruled on the matter, but netrunner online (not official), may have come to a decision. This can be observed on their rules page.

67 HQ Mole - When Runner has HQ Mole installed, he may first look at the card(s) that he would access without using HQ Mole, and after that, he may still trigger HQ Mole to access the additional cards. In the same sense, when Runner has multiple HQ Moles installed, he may use them one by one; i.e. he is not required to declare how many HQ Moles he will use already when his run is successful. When Runner has finally decided how many HQ Moles he uses and after looking at all the cards stored in HQ that he will access, he decides in which order he accesses the cards. As always, he may intermingle with upgrades accessed from HQ.(–Netrunner Online)


Bridge game individual movement split between "Pro"s and "Am"s I'm interested in whether anyone knows of bridge movements for individual events in which the players are split (by experience) into "pro"s and "am"s. Thus in each partnership there is a pro player and an am player.

I'm aware of collections of individual movements, but none of them seems to enforce this split.

Rainbow movements have individuals remaining a single direction, but only work for a number of tables that is a prime number. If you had 'Pros' sitting North and East, and 'Ams' sitting South and West, then you can also switch partners once each round. My copy of Duplicate Bridge Direction by Alex Groner (1977)  describes these in Chapter 7 and lists detailed movements for several possible table numbers in Appendix F

The Bridge Guys provide sample table cards for numerous movements, including  a 5 table Rainbow Individual Movement .


Will suspend foil a "Cheesy" victory? If I play The Cheese Stands Alone (or Barren Glory) and destroy my other permanents somehow, will I win the game if I currently have a card suspended? Do that count as a card in play?

Yes, you will win.

  702.61b A card is "suspended" if it's in the exile zone, has suspend, and has a time counter on it.

And a ruling on exile:

  Exile is a gamezone outside the field of play. It was known as
  "Removed from the game" before it was renamed in the wake of the Magic
  2010 rules update.


Do I roll for reinforcements when I lose a Pygmy due to a Sorcerer taking control of it? When Pygmies are killed the player can roll the die and get 0-3 new pygmies for his next turn. Does he get to do this if a sorcerer uses his special ability to take control of a lone pygmy?
My guess would be yes due to the way elves interact w/ sorcerers, but I couldn't find anything conclusive in the base set rules, and there is only a summery insert w/ the expansion!

Yes, you can roll for reinforcements.

The Rules for the expansion read:

  Each time you lose a Pygmy token, roll a reinforcement die ...

The Sorcerer definitely causes you to lose a Pygmy token, it is not required to be killed.  Therefore you get to roll the reinforcement die to replace them.


How do dash costs work with commander tax? If I have the card Zurgo Bellstriker as my commander, and I cast it for its Dash cost, do I have to add commander tax to it? Or does the Dash cost override it?

My gut tells me I would still have to pay commander tax, but I am checking regardless.

Yes, the additional casting cost still applies.
The dash cost of Zurgo is an alternative cost, while the "commander tax" is an additional cost. You simply add them together for the total cost of casting your commander.

903.8. A player may cast a commander they own from the command zone. A commander cast from the command zone costs an additional {2} for each previous time the player casting it has cast it from the command zone that game.
702.108a Dash represents three abilities: two static abilities that function while the card with dash is on the stack, one of which may create a delayed triggered ability, and a static ability that functions while the object with dash is on the battlefield. “Dash [cost]” means “You may cast this card by paying [cost] rather than its mana cost,” “If this spell’s dash cost was paid, return the permanent this spell becomes to its owner’s hand at the beginning of the next end step,” and “As long as this permanent’s dash cost was paid, it has haste.” Paying a card’s dash cost follows the rules for paying alternative costs in rules 601.2b and 601.2f–h.
601.2f The player determines the total cost of the spell. Usually this is just the mana cost. Some spells have additional or alternative costs. Some effects may increase or reduce the cost to pay, or may provide other alternative costs. Costs may include paying mana, tapping permanents, sacrificing permanents, discarding cards, and so on. The total cost is the mana cost or alternative cost (as determined in rule 601.2b), plus all additional costs and cost increases, and minus all cost reductions.[..]


For each intersection, ask yourself if it belongs to white or black.

The issue with your examples is that the games are not finished yet. You should keep playing until you can answer the question above. For now let me just try and address the top right corner.

In scenario 1, white is currently enclosing two intersections. But black will eventually capture the white stones, and all the points will go to black.

In scenario 2, white is enclosing 4 intersections (marked x below), and black cannot capture the white stones because they have two eyes. Eventually that will count as 4 points for white.

The intersections marked o will probably end as "dame" (neutral points), as neither white nor black can enclose them.

$$W Scenario 2
$$ --------------------
$$ | . . . . X o O x x |
$$ | . . . . X o O O O |
$$ | . . . . X o O x x |
$$ | . . . . X o O O O |
$$ | . . . . X X X X X |
$$ | . . . . X . . . . |
$$ | . . . . X X X X X |
$$ | O O . . . . . . . |
$$ | . O . . . . . . . |
$$ --------------------


If creatures targeted by Living Inferno's ability all die, what happens? If I were to target a ton of creatures with Living Inferno's ability and then all those creatures were to die (or be sacrificed, per Dismiss Into Dream) in response to Living Inferno's ability going on the stack, what would happen?

I can see one of two things:

The creatures die, then LI's ability checks for the creatures, sees that they aren't there, and then fizzles.
When LI's ability goes on the stack it records the creatures power, thus ensuring that LI gets dealt damage when it's ability resolves.

The ability fizzles if and only if,  all of it's targets are gone, so long at least one of it's targets is still there, It will still resolve and deal damage to that target, but if they're all gone, the ability is countered(fizzles)
Creatures on the battle field can't perform actions(such as dealing damage) if they are illegal targets of the ability, and they're illegal targets of the ability if they've changed zones(such as from the battlefield to the graveyard).
If they died while  living Inferno's ability was on the stack, than those creates would not deal damage.

both of these points are covered by section 608.2b of the comp rules

  608.2b
  If the spell or ability specifies targets, it checks whether the targets are
  still legal. A target that’s no longer in the zone it
  was in when it was targeted is illegal. Other changes to the game
  state may cause a target to no longer be legal; for example, its
  characteristics may have changed or an effect may have changed the
  text of the spell. If the source of an ability has left the zone it
  was in, its last known information is used during this process. The
  spell or ability is countered if all its targets, for every instance
  of the word “target,” are now illegal. If the spell or ability is not
  countered, it will resolve normally. However, if any of its targets
  are illegal, the part of the spell or ability’s effect for which it is
  an illegal target can’t perform any actions on that target, make
  another object or player perform any actions on that target, or make
  that target perform any actions. The effect may still determine
  information about illegal targets, though, and other parts of the
  effect for which those targets are not illegal may still affect them.

  Example:
  Sorin’s Thirst is a black instant that reads, “Sorin’s Thirst
  deals 2 damage to target creature and you gain 2 life.” If the
  creature isn’t a legal target during the resolution of Sorin’s Thirst
  (say, if the creature has gained protection from black or left the
  battlefield), then Sorin’s Thirst is countered. Its controller doesn’t
  gain any life.

  Example:
  Plague Spores reads, “Destroy target nonblack
  creature and target land. They can’t be regenerated.” Suppose the same
  animated land is chosen both as the nonblack creature and as the land,
  and the color of the creature land is changed to black before Plague
  Spores resolves. Plagues Spores isn’t countered because the black
  creature land is still a legal target for the “target land” part of
  the spell. The “destroy target nonblack creature” part of the spell
  won’t affect that permanent, but the “destroy target land” part of the
  spell will still destroy it. It can’t be regenerated.

This is also supported by the Gatherer ruling for pit fight

  1/24/2013     If either target of Pit Fight is an illegal target when the
  ability tries to resolve, neither creature will deal or be dealt
  damage.

take note that  pit fight does not fizzle in this case, because it still will have 1 target.

if  pit fight isn't good enough for you because it uses the fight mechanic, than the ruling for Flesh/Blood also applies

  4/15/2013     As Blood is resolving, if only one of the targets is legal,
  Blood will still resolve but will have no effect: If the first target
  is illegal, it can’t deal damage to anything. If the second target
  creature or player is illegal, it can’t be dealt damage.


What happens if I blink a transformed double-faced planeswalker? If I blink Garruk, the Veil-Cursed with something like Skybind, does he come back and instantly die?

When you blink Garruk, the Veil-Cursed, it will return as Garruk Relentless as if you had just cast it.
When a permanent such as a planeswalker leaves the battlefield, it becomes a new object with no relation to its former existence. When it returns, it will enter the battlefield as if you had cast it from your hand, non-transformed and with full loyalty.

400.7. An object that moves from one zone to another becomes a new object with no memory of, or relation to, its previous existence.
121.2. Counters on an object are not retained if that object moves from one zone to another. The counters are not “removed”; they simply cease to exist. See rule 400.7.
209.1. Each planeswalker card has a loyalty number printed in its lower right corner. This indicates its loyalty while it’s not on the battlefield, and it also indicates that the planeswalker enters the battlefield with that many loyalty counters on it.
711.8. A double-faced card enters the battlefield with its front face up by default. [..]


How does a firefighter "recover" after being knocked down? In the Experienced rules, it says that a firefighter that is Knocked Down (by fire advancing to their location) is placed on the nearest ambulance parking spot.  It also says that they must "visit the ambulance to recover".

Is this just adding the "story" behind why they end up in that spot?  Or is it meant to be literal, that they cannot take other actions until they (or someone else) radio the ambulance to that location?  We decided to take it literally, since it seemed to add a bit more "cost" to being knocked down (otherwise it can actually be advantageous at times), but I couldn't find anything concrete one way or the other.

This seems to be pretty explicit in the version of the rules I have, found here. Under Knocked Down in the Experienced Rules, it very specifically states:

  When a Firefighter is Knocked Down, the Firefighter is placed in one of the two spaces of the Ambulance's current Parking Spot.

My interpretation of this is that the Firefighter has to go to where the Ambulance is parked, since the Ambulance can only have one current Parking Spot when a Firefighter is knocked down. So you shouldn't have to get the Ambulance moved to where the Firefighter goes because the Firefighter should already be going right to the Ambulance.


When do flip effects happen in the battle phase? If my opponent attacks one of my monsters in face down defense position, and that monster has a flip effect such as "destroy target monster," at what point is the card flipped and the effect takes place? Is it before damage is dealt? If I destroy the attacking monster, is any damage dealt? If the flip effect is "switch target monster to defense mode, and I target the attacking monster, which stats are used in damage calculation?

First I must suggest you give some read to the Rulebook, so you get a better understanding of these basic concepts. What you ask here and more is explained there I think.

Now to answer your questions, the flip effects take effect when the card is flipped up, and that is during the Damage Step.

In few words, when a monster attack that attack can be divided into different Steps (it is a bit different and more complex than this description, so do read the Rulebook to get a better and more accurate understanding):

Attack Declaration: Here you are saying "my monster X attacks your monster Y". At this time bot you and your opponent may take turns on activating and chaining cards and effects to that attack declaration. No flip still
Damage Step: According to the rules this step is divided into:

Start of Damage Step
Before Damage Calculation
Damage Calculation
After Damage Calculation
End of Dama Step

The moment Before Damage Calculation is when the monster is flipped if face up. Again, if possible, you and your opponent may take turns activating effects here.
Damage Calculation: This is "main" attack step. Here is where the attack and defense points are added and the result takes place (destroy monsters, inflict damage, etc.). Do notice that even though the attacking monsters was destroyed on Damage Step, the receiving monster will still be destroyed if it has less defense points. This is because destroying the attacking monsters on this step does not cancel the attack that was made; if you want to stop it it should be on Attack Declaration or before.

Another important thing is that the flip effects takes place After Damage Calculation, as per this ruling:

  If the attacked monster has an effect that activates when it is flipped face-up (such as a Flip effect), that effect will NOT activate at this time. Its effect will activate after damage calculation, even if the flipped monster itself leaves the Monster Zone before then.

Let's illustrate this with an example of a monster attacking a face down Man-Eater Bug:

Attack is declared. Opponent may activate cards like Mirror Force, or Magical Cylinders here to prevent the attack. If not, we continue...
Damage Step. MEB is flipped up eventually before damage calculation, before that turns of effects may be activated as well, and after this...
Damage Calculation. Here we compare the ATK and DEF of the involved monsters; say MEB had less defense, so it is then destroyed by battle. Any piercing damage is applied, card is sent to GY, and any after effects take place, as the flip effect of MEB which then destroys a monster.


Are professional ranks representative for how many stones of handicap players can give each other? It was mentioned elsewhere that a 9p could not give 7 stones to a 2p. I have no databases available and wondered if this is correct.

Bonus:  If they aren't representative, why not? And is there a historical reason for it developing that way?

Historically, pro ranks were an indicator of playing strength. It was said that 3 (later: 4) ranks are about a stone difference. To my knowledge, there never was a time when 1 rank difference actually meant 1 stone.

In the 20th century, there was a sudden and increasing change in the strength of new pros. This is generally considered to be a consequence of intensified training in insei schools as well as the advent of the internet and the worldwide communication it enabled.

For instance, earlier, Go schools occasionally developed secret moves - new moves that would stump many opponents who were not familiar with it. Nowadays, such a move would be known by millions right after it is played, and days later, everyone would have studied it already. Modern insei schools make use of this and always present their students with the most up-to-date material and worldwide research, making sure their students are fully aware of the current moves in Go.

Also, there is incredibly fierce competition among the insei. Only a handful of new pros is selected each year, and even the slightest mistake will ruin your chance to become pro. Therefore, everyone is working extremely hard.

This leads to new pros being able to compete on par with previous pros. They already possess the same knowledge as their seniors, and thanks to their young age get less easily exhausted from long, intense games, they are sometimes even said to be stronger than older pros.

In fact, to be successful as a professional Go player, you have to become pro early (around the age 15) and win titles while you still have a slight edge over the competition. In just 10, or 15 max, years, you'll be overwhelmed by the next generation. Very few pros could stay at the top for an extended period of time, one of the most notable being Go Seigen, who dominated the Go world for 30 years. But apart from exceptions like him, modern pros, even huge talents like Lee Sedol, are falling behind very quickly.

This means that rank is basically meaningless. A new 1p may well as strong be as an older 9d. Or the other way around. I asked several pros about this and the reply was always the same: Rank is no longer a useful measurement of playing strength. Personally, I call it an 'experience indicator', but even that is not completely correct.

To compare pros, you need to look at their results in games over time. There are various lists that attempt precisely that, and those lists are a lot more useful than the rank given. Since young pros who do very well get promoted quickly they ensure that the top spots in those lists tend to be occupied by 9 dans, still.

Interestingly, high dan promotions in China and Korea are linked to great performance in title tournaments - both for amateurs and professionals. For instance, a Chinese 6 dan (amateur) is a 5 dan who won a regional tournament. A Chinese 8 dan (amateur) is the current champion of all China (meaning there is only one of them at any time), former champions are 7 dan (*). In a similar fashion, winning an international tournament yields an immediate promotion from 1p to 8p in Korea, while regularly, advancing the ranks is a lot slower. (I'm not 100% up-to-date on details of this topic though.)

Seen this way, ranks of new pros can be seen as a measurement for achievements. Being awarded 9p is indication of outstanding accomplishments. A rank of 1p should not be seen as failure, especially with young pros it simply means their accomplishments will be for later.

Edited to add in 2014:

At times there is a promotion for professionals that specifically promote Go in the West. This is meant to compensate for their lack of tournament experience that is implied by their increased teaching. Since pro rank is an important factor in payment (when teaching), this is an important help for pros working in the West. I am specifically aware of a Korean promotion of Korean professionals from 8p to 9p or from 1p-7p to 8p.

(*) This information about Chinese 6d-8d amateur players appears to be incorrect. I've received multiple explanations as to what the current state actually is, and they all differed, so I'm at a loss here.


Which of two conflicting abilities takes precedence? The runner card Titanium Ribs reads:

  You choose the card(s) from your grip to trash whenever you take damage.

The corp card Chronos Protocol: Selective Mind-mapping reads:

  For the first net damage the Runner suffers each turn, you may look at the
  Runner's grip and select the card that is trashed.

If the runner has an installed Titanium Ribs while playing against Chronos Protocol and takes a single net damage (the first of a turn), which player chooses the card that is discarded?  Also does the corp get to look at the runner's grip?

Summary
The player whose turn it is takes precedence. In resolving their ability, the current players makes it impossible for the other player to resolve their ability, so the other player can't trigger it.
In the Runner's turn the Runner chooses, and the Corp does nothing.
In the Corp's turn the Corp looks at the Runner's grip and chooses.

Details
I will be referring to these rules. From page 21:

Triggered Abilities
In order to use a triggered ability a prerequisite must be met. This prerequisite is either a trigger cost that must be paid (PAID ABILITY) or a trigger condition that must be met (CONDITIONAL ABILITY). Once an ability is triggered, its effect is resolved immediately and can only be stopped by PREVENT
or AVOID effects. Players must follow all restrictions on the cards when triggering abilities.

From page 22:

Simultaneous Effects
When one or more abilities have the same timing trigger or can be triggered at the same time, each player chooses the order his own abilities trigger. A player can trigger an optional conditional ability before a required conditional ability if they both have the same trigger condition.
If players ever want to perform simultaneous effects at the same
time, the player whose turn it is resolves all of his effects first.

Both of the cards in question have conditional triggered abilities. For Titanium Ribs, this is "you take damage". For "Chronos Protocol", this is "the first time this turn the Runner takes net damage" (note that this is an optional ability).
The first time the Runner takes net damage each turn, both of these conditional abilities can trigger. If they do (the Corp chooses to trigger the optional ability), we must follow the rule for simultaneous effects (the player whose turn it is resolves all of his effects first), while keeping in mind the rule on triggered abilities (once an ability is triggered, its effect is resolved immediately).
Additionally, from the rules FAQ, page 3:

A player cannot trigger an action/ability unless he is also able to resolve it.

If one player has resolved his triggered ability and trashed a card, the other player will not be able to resolve their own ability, and so cannot trigger it.
Resolution during the Runner's Turn

The Runner resolves all of his effects first:

Titanium Ribs:

The Runner chooses the card to trash.
The Runner trashes that card.

The Corp resolves all of his effects second:

Chronos Protocol:

In order to resolve Chronos Protocol, the Runner must trash a card due to damage.
The Runner has already trashed a card for this damage, so Chronos Protocol could not be resolved in this situation.
Because of this, the Corp cannot trigger Chronos Protocol.

Resolution during the Corp's Turn

The Corp resolves all of his effects first:

Chronos Protocol:

The Corp looks at the Runner's grip and selects a card to trash.
The Runner trashes that card.

The Runner resolves all of his effects second:

Titanium Ribs:

In order to resolve Titanium Ribs, the Runner must trash a card due to damage.
The Runner has already trashed a card for this damage, so Titanium Ribs could not be resolved in this situation.
Because of this, the Runner cannot trigger Titanium Ribs.


Questions about pigs We recently purchased some Carcassonne expansions, and I have some questions about the pigs.

First, pigs can be placed on your field to increase the multiplier. But what if fields are merged? Do pigs count as farmers, or are they just multipliers? Example:

Red has a field with one farmer and a pig.
Blue has a field with just one farmer.
The fields are combined. Does red win, or do both red and blue share the spoils where red has the x4 and blue the x3 multiplier?

Second, the expansion with the dragons introduces portals. Is it possible to place a pig through a portal, or is it meeple only?

Traders and builders rulebook:

  The pig counts only if he owns the field. For ownership of the field, only the farmers are counted.

The PDF from Rio Grande Games for the princess and dragon does say that the magic portal can be used by a follower and the PDF from Rio Grande Games for Traders & Builders does call the pig a follower in the rules.

However checking with the Complete Annotated Rules that cites a lot of sources:

  The original rules say: ’12 new
  followers in 6 colours (one builder
  and one pig for each player)’. In the
  Big Box rules, the builder and pig are
  no longer considered to be followers,
  which has a large number of
  consequences for their use. The RGG
  edition of the Big Box also changes
  this rule.

I've always played the portal as Meeple (big and small), Mayor and Wagon are free to be deployed but nothing else which is in line with the above statement.


Spells and Items during combat It is quite clear that an investigator can only use one item that gives the highest bonus in combat,  even if they have multiple items (i.e. Multiple weapons)

However,  what about spells such as Wither? We must first test Lore to see if we get a bonus and then flip the card and fulfil additional effects based on our results.  Its possible that you don't get the bonus due to failing the test.

Does this count as the component that you used for combat and you cannot use any other items, even if you failed? Or is it special since the spell doesn't give a plain combat bonus like regular items?

From the reference guide, page 11:

  He may use one effect that provides a bonus (for example “Gain +3 Will”). If multiple effects provide a bonus, he uses only the highest bonus.

This wording implies that when multiple effects are available he uses the highest bonus, not that he strictly uses the effect with the highest bonus potential. It implies to me that all the effects are in play and overlapping.  Narratively it supports the idea that multiple items operate concurrently, an idea also supported by the fact that items that grant rerolls can accumulate. This is how we have been playing.

Note that choosing to use Wither comes with its own cost when it fails, so there is already a penalty when it is attempted and failed.


Why Does The Parade Scoring System Work The Way It Does? Has anyone here apart from me played Parade?  It's a simple, cute, yet original and maddeningly addictive little Alice-in-Wonderland-themed card game from a Japanese designer.  Basically, there are 6 suits of cards, ranked from 0-10.  You want to avoid collecting these cards where possible, as they score their face value against you at the end, unless you have the most or equal most cards in a suit, in which case they score 1 point against you each.

It just seems to me that the designer possibly missed a trick with this scoring system.  Obviously there are interesting choices to be made in that it's better to collect 5 or 6 green cards rather than the green 7 or 8 on its own; but it still seems like it would have been much more interesting for the cards you have the most of to count positively in your favour.  Then it would have been just like Hearts: you'd have had to keep an eye out for players trying to "shoot the moon", and it could often be better to tactically pick up a few cards than just avoid picking anything up as much as possible.

As it is, I feel mitigating your losses by picking up more cards in the same colours is semi-interesting, but being able to turn losses into positive points would have been really interesting - especially as the game can be brought to a premature end by any player having at least one card in each suit.  But am I missing something?  Would inverting the rules in this way ruin the balance of the game, for a reason such as, e.g., it being too easy to score a ton of points and end the game quickly?

If anyone has both played Parade and can provide some analysis/insight into why it's scored the way it is, I'd be very interested!

Obviously, I don't know Naoki Homma's reasoning for his points system, but probably the answer to your question is that turning the points around would drastically disbalance the game.  The main reason is this:

A positive point for you is like giving every other player a negative point

When playing with multiple players in a game, one must be very careful about giving one player an advantage because it's the same as giving all other players a disadvantage (and visa-versa).  This bonus is powerful enough so that a single extra card (making 6 cards) can make a huge point swing:  -10 -9 -8 -7 -6 = -40 points to +6 * 3 (in a 3 player game) = 18 points.  So one card makes the difference of 58 relative points in the game.  The other way, it turns -40 into -6, which is still huge (34 points), but nearly half as big.


If my creature has shadow and flying, can it only be blocked by creatures with shadow AND flying? My understanding is that creatures with shadow can only block or be blocked by creatures with shadow, and creatures with flying can only be blocked by creatures with flying. If I have a creature with shadow and cast a spell that gives it flying (say, Jump), can it now only be blocked by nothing but a creature that also has both those abilities?

In a general sense, you are correct. Both abilities impose a restriction that's tracked individually. A creature must satisfy all the restrictions in order to block your super-evasive attacker.
My one niggle is that there are non-flyers that can block fliers, such as creatures with reach. And there are a few creatures, like Wall of Diffusion, that don't have shadow but have "~ can block creatures with shadow as though ~ had shadow" as an ability, which allows them to block shadow creatures (and non-shadow creatures as well, since they don't actually have shadow).
Here's some comp rules for ya, with this exact example:

509.1b The defending player checks each creature he or she controls to see whether it’s affected by    any restrictions (effects that say a
creature can’t block, or that it can’t block unless some    condition
is met). If any restrictions are being disobeyed, the declaration of
blockers is illegal.
A restriction may be created by an evasion ability (a static ability an attacking creature has    that restricts what can block
it). If an attacking creature gains or loses an evasion ability after
a    legal block has been declared, it doesn’t affect that block.
Different evasion abilities are    cumulative.
Example: An attacking creature with flying and shadow can’t be blocked by a creature with flying but without shadow.

Trivia: Stronghold Overseer has both flying and shadow natively. On a 5/5 body to boot!


If I exile Rout with Narset's ability, when can it be cast? Let's say I control Narset, Enlightened Master and attack, exiling the top four cards of my library, including Rout (alt link). Rout's first ability states that I can cast it any time I could cast an instant by paying an additional {2}.

I think I've narrowed this down to two possible scenarios:

Rout's first ability defines an alternative cost (like Bestow or Overload) and thus can't be paid as I'm already casting it using an alternative cost ("without paying its mana cost").
Rout's first ability is an optional additional cost (like Kicker) and can be paid to allow me to cast the spell any time I could cast an instant.

Which, if either, of the above interpretations is correct?

It's a cost increase, so you may use it in combination with Narset's alternative cost.

The cost to cast a spell or activate an ability is calculated as follows[CR 601.2e]:

total cost to cast
= mana cost or alternative cost
+ additional costs and other cost increases
- cost reductions

Rout's ability adds to the total cost, so it's a cost increase. It's not an additional cost since it doesn't use the word "additional"[CR 117.8], so it's just an generic cost increase[1]. It's not an alternative cost since those replace the mana cost. Alternative costs usually include the phrase "rather than pay" or "without paying its mana cost"[CR 117.9].

So, the total cost to cast is {2}. (Alternative cost of free, plus a cost increase of {2}.)

Another example of a cost increase: Thalia, Guardian of Thraben.

To my knowledge, there's nothing that distinguishes between additional costs and other cost increases. They're the same except in name.

  601.2e [...] The total cost is the mana cost or alternative cost (as determined in rule 601.2b), plus all additional costs and cost increases, and minus all cost reductions. [...]

  117.8. Some spells and abilities have additional costs. An additional cost is a cost listed in a spell’s rules text, or applied to a spell or ability from another effect, that its controller must pay at the same time that player pays the spell’s mana cost or the ability’s activation cost. A cost is an additional cost only if it’s phrased using the word “additional.” [...]

  117.9. Some spells have alternative costs. An alternative cost is a cost listed in a spell’s text, or applied to it from another effect, that its controller may pay rather than paying the spell’s mana cost. Alternative costs are usually phrased, “You may [action] rather than pay [this object’s] mana cost,” or “You may cast [this object] without paying its mana cost.” [...]


Can I combine troops from multiple regions when conquering? I have a question regarding Smallworld and using tokens to attack a region from multiple regions.

The scenario is this: A group of 7 Shrooms is sat between a group of 2 dwarfs to the north and 6 to the south. Can the dwarfs combine forces to attack the region with the Shrooms?

No, they cannot combine. (in the way that you are implying).

Attacks are not made from units on the board, they are made from units "in hand".  Once deployed to the board, units may not be moved or picked back up until the next turn.

Each attack is from one distinct region to another.  Note that during the Ready your Troops phase, you should pick up all extra troops from each area (and can even eliminate all troops from areas if you wish) in order to make a bigger attack force.

In your example, if those troops haven't attacked this turn, then you can effectively combine them when you ready your troops.


Teaching Arkham Horror to new players I am teaching the game to a ton of new people this week. I was going to be playing with only 3 others and planned to join in myself, but now that we're up to 8 players including me, I figured the game would be more fun if I keep things moving as a non-player Arkham Master. Staying out of the game as a player and act as rules guardian, referee for things 1st player normally resolves, reader of cards, and general knowledge base.

My concern here is on teaching the game quickly without making the players feel like I'm leaving out important decision making details.  Arkham has a lot of rules, is there a new player cheat sheet or anything? If not what rules would you say a player MUST know if an experienced player is moderating the game? My intuition says to explain skills sliders, skill checks, phases, derived checks such as combat and horror, movement points, clues, closing, sealing, and otherworlds and the win/lose conditions for the game.  Has anyone taken the time to teach new players AH more than a few times?  What process do you use to explain the game?

If you are acting as a guardian, you can simplify a bit the part about the monsters movement  as you will do it and focus more on the parts of the turn their players can actually do an action.

Giving them a quick reference card before you explain the things can help them follow better your explanation.

Also with many new people I'd maybe do a pre prepared sample turn with just 2 or 3 characters and monsters to show them the mechanics of the game.


Are there vector graphics available of the mana symbols of magic? I'm looking for vector graphics of each of the mana symbols (normal, hybrid, phyrexian, 2-or-color). Where can I find them?


Couple questions about rerolls So the Cook has the ability called Scrounger that in the rules states:

  Scrounger: Discard 2 Determination tokens to reroll any gray Action
  die. Note! You cannot use the Determination tokens gained from an
  unsuccessful die roll to reroll that die which gave you those
  Determination tokens.

So this brings two questions to mind for me:

1) Can the cook use his ability to reroll a gray die that was rolled by another player or can that only be on his rolls?

2) Since it says "Note! You cannot use the determination tokens gained from an unsuccessful die roll to reroll that die which gave you those determination tokens", does that mean if you already have 2 tokens you can gain the two from the unsuccessful roll and the 2 you already had to then reroll the die? Which would leave you at 2 tokens and the rerolling the die. This seems to me to be not the case but had a friend saying the logic was there. However it seems to me there is not a downside to rolling unsuccessful the first time provided you have 2 tokens.

1) As stated by the rules, the "re-roll" ability may be only applied to the player using it. http://boardgamegeek.com/thread/1043001/players-reroll-abilities

2) When you re-roll the dice you completely ignore any previous beneficial results from the re-rolled die. But you may use these 2 tokens received from the "success" die to re-roll the "wound" or "card" die. http://boardgamegeek.com/thread/1098036/do-you-get-keep-determination-tokens-if-you-reroll


Possible way to counter or sidestep split-second spells (like Trickbind) in a particular situation I have on the battlefield Will-o'-the-Wisp, and my opponent (it is his turn now) is going to attack in his combat step with his flying Air Elemental.  I have to face this 4/4 creature and, in normal situations, I should not feel afraid of it. But I know – or I imagine that – my opponent has in his hand a Trickbind. The question is: may I sidestep this split second spell, by activating the regeneration ability of Will-o'-the-Wisp two times, in order to make sure it will survive the combat phase? In other words, I activate regeneration (B) one time, and then, retaining priority, I activate regeneration one more time (B again), sending to the stack two activations of the same ability.

Yes, that would work. After activating the regeneration ability, you get priority:

  117.3c If a player has priority when they cast a spell, activate an ability, or take a special action, that player receives priority afterward.

so you can activate it again. Trickbind does not counter any (other) abilities of the permanent already on the stack.


What does it mean to "control target player"? I'm looking for a nice Sorin card, for in my commander deck. I found Sorin Markov, which states:

  -7: You control target player during that player's next turn.

What does this mean? Do I command the player to take certain actions which they can't refuse, such as forcefully attacking another opponent and/or themselves? Or do I actually play their hand, library and board as if it was my own (during that one turn)? Something else perhaps?

If you control another player, you essentially are that player for purposes of gameplay. You make all gameplay decisions for that player and can see all in-game cards that the controlled player could see. Basically, imagine playing against yourself with your opponent's deck for the duration of the control change.

Because of effects that allow a player to control another player, the game rules make a distinction between the physical person playing the game and its invisible, in-game avatar called "player".

The distinction is that the in-game player can only make decisions called for by the game rules or game objects. Conceding the game, actions called for or forbidden by the Tournament Rules, and anything unrelated to the game concern only the physical player, and are therefore out of the scope of "controlling a player" effects.

While you control an opponent, there are still 2 players in the game, and each player individually has to adhere to the game rules. For example, that means every player has to pay costs for their own spells and abilities with their own resources; if player A controls e.g. Ashnod's Altar, A can't sacrifice player B's creatures for its ability just because A currently controls B; creatures controlled by B still can't attack B, and so on.

The correct answer to this question must quote the rather lengthy section 715 of the Comprehensive Rules in its entirety:

  Controlling Another Player

  715.1. Some cards allow a player to control another player during that player’s next turn. This effect applies to the next turn that the affected player actually takes. The affected player is controlled during the entire turn; the effect doesn’t end until the beginning of the next turn.

  715.1a Multiple player-controlling effects that affect the same player overwrite each other. The last one to be created is the one that works.

  715.1b If a turn is skipped, any pending player-controlling effects wait until the player who would be affected actually takes a turn.

  715.2. One card (Word of Command) allows a player to control another player for a limited duration.

  715.3. Only control of the player changes. All objects are controlled by their normal controllers. A player who’s being controlled during their turn is still the active player.

  715.4. If information about an object in the game would be visible to the player being controlled, it’s visible to both that player and the controller of the player. If information about cards outside the game would be visible to the player being controlled, it’s visible only to that player, not the controller of the player.
  Example: The controller of a player can see that player’s hand and the face of any face-down creatures they control.

  715.5. While controlling another player, a player makes all choices and decisions the controlled player is allowed to make or is told to make by the rules or by any objects. This includes choices and decisions about what to play, and choices and decisions called for by spells and abilities.
  Example: The controller of another player decides which spells that player casts and what those spells target, and makes any required decisions when those spells resolve.
  Example: The controller of another player decides which of that player’s creatures attack, which player or planeswalker each one attacks, what the damage assignment order of the creatures that block them is (if any of the attacking creatures are blocked by multiple creatures), and how those attacking creatures assign their combat damage.

  715.5a The controller of another player can use only that player’s resources (cards, mana, and so on) to pay costs for that player.
  Example: If the controller of a player decides that the controlled player will cast a spell with an additional cost of discarding cards, the cards are discarded from the controlled player’s hand.

  715.5b The controller of another player can’t make choices or decisions for that player that aren’t called for by the rules or by any objects. The controller also can’t make any choices or decisions for the player that would be called for by the tournament rules.
  Example: The player who’s being controlled still decides if they will leave to visit the restroom, trade a card to someone else, agree to an intentional draw, or call a judge about an error or infraction.

  715.6. The controller of another player can’t make that player concede. A player may concede the game at any time, even if they are controlled by another player. See rule 104.3a.

  715.7. The effect that gives control of a player to another player may restrict the actions the controlled player is allowed to take or specify actions that the controlled player must take.

  715.8. A player who controls another player also continues to make their own choices and decisions.

  715.9. A player may gain control of themselves. That player will make their own decisions and choices as normal.


Alternatives to Mulligans in Magic: The Gathering !edited: Added non-opinion-based question

I am currently looking into ways of doing Mulligans in another way, or replace Mulligans altogether, for casual play around the kitchen table. I don't like the shuffling and reshuffling three times, for a two time mulligan.

I want to hear what to do, so that option is roughly equivalent to a normal Mulligan.

Here is my idea:

Draw (7+X) cards, keep (8-X) cards

Instead of having the option to take a Mulligan, at the beginning of the game, all players draw X additional cards, then shuffle (2X-1) cards back into their library (or put them on the bottom of their library). For each additional card draw, your starting hand size, which you may keep, decreases by 1:

Draw: (7) - 8 - 9 - 10 - 11 - 12

Shuffle back: (0) - 1 - 3 - 5 - 7 - 9

Starting hand: (7) - 7 - 6 - 5 - 4 - 3

(no mulligan taken)

Players can draw 8, and keep 7, but can decide to keep drawing until the decide to keep, and shuffle cards back/put them on the bottom of their library for each card they drew additionally.

For example: Timmy does not care about odds and draws 7 cards, no mulligan. Johnny wants to test his new combo deck, and decides to draw 10, keep 5. Spike draws 8, is not quite satisfied, draws to 10, decides to keep, and shuffle five cards back, starting with a hand of 5.

Handicapping idea:

Timmy may draw up to 10 cards, and still keep 7.
Spike may only draw additional cards, if he starts the game with 3 life less for each card drawn additionally. Starting hand size is either 7, or reduced as before.

How have I to tweak the number of cards drawn and discarded, so that the quality of hands is similar to that of a regular Mulligan?

Your proposed mulligan rule would be better for the quality of a hand compared to a single mulligan under current rules, but much worse for larger/more mulligans. I would expect the number of viable decks to decrease, especially decks and archetypes that rely on few key cards would suffer.

Generally, mulligans are a system to exchange card advantage for card quality. Card advantage in this context is obvious, it's simply the number of cards in your starting hand compared to in your opponent's hand. Since your new system makes sure to keep the ultimate number of hand cards the same after the same number of mulligans (shifted by 1), we can focus on the resulting card quality. Card quality is hard to define because it depends on the deck's strategy, but generally, holding at least one of a certain card is a good, generally applicable definition of card quality of your starting hand. That's why I will evaluate your scheme on that criterion.

You have designed the system such that the number of cards in hand after drawing an extra n+1 cards is equivalent to taking n mulligans under current rules. Threfore, it would be always optimal to draw 8 cards and shuffle 1 back to 7 rather than just keeping the 7. That means that the chance to draw at least 1 of a certain card in your starting hand of 7 goes from 39.9% to 44.5%, without downside. That means that if you already have a playable hand, you get a chance to further improve that hand for free.

However, if you have an unplayable hand, e.g. too much or too little or the wrong color of mana, and you would like to get rid of the whole hand, then you could only do so at large card disadvantage. Also, the chance to find a certain card increases much more slowly with your scheme than under the current one.

Under the current rules, the cumulative chance to get a certain card in your starting hand after n mulligans are roughly:

0 mulligans: 40% (7 hand cards remaining)
1: 61%
2: 73%
3: 80%
4: 83%
5: 85%
6: 87% (1 hand card remaining)

By contrast, if you draw an extra n+1 cards under your rules, the probabilities for at least 1 of a certain card in your hand are:

1 card drawn: 44.5% (7 hand cards remaining)
2: 48.7%
3: 52.7%
4: 56.5%
5: 60.1%
6: 63.4% (1 hand card remaining)

I have used the hypergeometric calculator with values (top to bottom) 60, 4, 7 (hand size, adjust for actual card draw), 1. The first list of probabilities is obtained by multiplying the probabilities for "x < 1" (i.e. the wanted card is not in hand) for hand sizes 7 through 1. The second list is simply the probability for "x => 1" for hand sizes 8 through 13, which results in the same final starting hand size as the respective current mulligan.

As an effect, I would expect the meta to adapt around such a drastic change of the maths behind mulligans. It would become much harder to get a certain key card on your starting hand. Deck construction would have to take that into acount, by not including disproportionately important cards into the deck's strategy. That would be counter the core idea of "build-around cards", which are usually found in the rare or mythic rare slots of a set. Arguably, that mulligan rule would reward homogenous decks, decks where cards can more or less stand in for each other, and therefore decrease the number of viable archetypes.


Can a player use the Wand of Dowsing card during a combat which is not his? During a combat I had, a player played a blue card (Wand of Dowsing) and selected a card in the pile that would cancel the combat that I was having. Is that legal ?
The "Wand of Dowsing" card states that:

Go through the discards to find any one card you want. Take that card and discard this one.

Here is the card:

This should help you.

Q. The Wand of Dowsing doesn't say "Usable once only," but I have to discard it after I use it. Can I treat it like a one-shot (play it from my hand rather than the table, or play it during combat)?
A. The clear intent is that this is a one-shot card, even though it lacks the magical "Usable once only" language, and so the rules of one-shot cards apply to this one as well. It can be played during combat, and it can be used from the hand. We've fixed this error in recent printings.

Source: Munchkin FAQ


How do I (self) publish a pencil and paper game? I invented a pencil and paper game that'd be interesting to people who like Hex, Go, etc.

Since there's really nothing I can sell, nor any sort of special pieces, cards, boards, etc needed for it (being a P&P game), how can I publish it in some way to get it "out there"? I'm not really trying to make any money off it anyway.

Edit: If anyone has anything to add about the publicity aspect of this, I would like to know about that too.

If your game doesn't need any materials (or those would be more easily to come by on their own, such as graph paper), I would suppose the elements of your game you're trying to ship would be the rules. Since you're not trying to distribute them commercially, the only real problem is to get it out there.
If I'm correct so far, here's what I'd do:
Pick a Licence
An important part for both you, as well as players of your game, is the licence you intend to release it under. A licence determines what you intend to do, and what people may do with it - for example, whether they may redistribute it, and whether they need to give credit to you.
If you're willing to allow remixing and redistribution, there are a number of tested licences available for choosing, and the GNU project provides some recommendations about what you choices. They are rather software-oriented, so you might want to have a look at the Creative Commons licenses as well, which work for every type of work, or specific game licenses such as the OGL (Open Game Licence).
This is an important step, seeing as some licences aren't revokeable, and depending how popular your game gets, you'll be on stable ground legal-wise. Even for smaller games, this step is worth reading into for a little bit. Of course, until you decide on a licence, your country of origin's default copyright laws will apply, but a licence will still be helpful with attribution of the original author, for example if you end up hosting it on some friend's webspace.
Launch a Web Page
The easiest, probably cheapest way would be to set up a webpage from where people would be able to download a version of your game, and possibly get additional information about it, such as errata or update information, and maybe even a discussion forum. This has a few advantages over any print-reliant method:

you will be able to publish new versions with no delay at all, and players will know where to get the latest version of the game
you save the costs of printing copies of your rules on paper, as well as shipping costs and effort for the finished products
you maybe want a webpage anyway at some point in order to advertise your game
even without a monetary interest and a free game, you can provide information on how to donate money towards you or the project easily
aside from providing written rules, you could provide videos or other media that won't work on print

Making a web page dedicated to your game (as opposed to a blog post in your [insert your probably unrelated topic here] blog) would likely be preferrable, as it will not only appear more serious, but also give you the possibility to adjust the features and layout of the page to your liking.
If you don't have any experience in making web pages, you could rely on one of many web services that offer free blogs and a user interface that doesn't require HTML or programming skills, or find a friend or person online to put one up for you. There are too many possibilities to name them all, and more specialized communities at that.
Of course, asking a professional web designer would be a possibility if you're willing to spend the money.
Advertise your Web Page
Once you have your web page up and running, you probably want people to find it. I won't be getting into much detail here since it's not directly a part of your question, but advertising it on social media, your local game stores, local and online playgroups that play similar games (as you mentioned Go), general online game communities, and friends are general good starting points in my experience.


What happens when a creature enchanted with Soul Link would deal lethal damage to a player? Player A has 3 life left. Player B attacks with a Dauthi Marauder that has been enchanted by Player A's Soul Link. Does player B win, or does nothing happen?

On the one hand, "whenever" makes it sound like the trigger (dealing damage) and the effect (healing damage) happen simultaneously.

On the other hand, combat damage doesn't go on the stack, while most other things do. So, possibly the combat damage is dealt, state-based actions are checked, and now it's too late for the Soul Link effect to heal player A.

If anyone knows which way is correct, my thanks!

Soul Link's ability is a triggered ability. From the comprehensive rules:

  510.2. Second, all combat damage that’s been assigned is dealt simultaneously.

  ...

  510.3. Third, any abilities that triggered on damage being assigned or dealt go on the stack.

State-based checks occur before the triggered ability is resolved, so Player A loses before gaining life from the Soul Link.


Safe Zone vs Magic Cylinder Player A's monster attacks player B's monster.
Player B activates Magic Cylinder.
Player A activates Safe Zone on his own monster.

Q: The attack will not be negated because Safe Zone prevents targeting the monster, right? And since attack is not negated, Magic Cylinder doesn't inflict damage to Player A's life points, right?

Magic Cylinder:

  When an opponent's monster declares an attack: Target the attacking
  monster; negate the attack, and if you do, inflict damage to your
  opponent equal to its ATK.

Safe Zone:

  Activate this card by targeting 1 face-up Attack Position monster on
  the field; that face-up monster cannot be targeted or destroyed by
  your opponent's card effects, or be destroyed by battle. It cannot
  attack your opponent directly. When this card leaves the field,
  destroy that monster. When that monster leaves the field, destroy this
  card.

The specific situation you mention does not work out no. Targeting happens at the moment of activation of a card or effect. It's only after that, that you get to chain anything.
So this means that when player B activates magic cylinder, it's already too late.

However, if player A already had Safe Zone active, player B would not be allowed to play Magic Cylinder.


How are + Action cards used in Dominion? We were confused by the + action cards.  It says you have to start at the top of the card and work your way down. so when do you play a second action card and are you allowed to play another action card if you havent done everything on the first action card.  Also, can you total up all of the extra coins on all of your action cards and combine them for one buy?

When playing a +Action card do not resolve the extra action until the current card is finished.  From pg. 7 of the rules

  It does not mean play another Action immediately. The
  instructions on the current Action card must be completed before playing
  any additional Actions.

You should total up all the extra coins on the cards you've played for one purchase unless you have played cards with + Buys.  (You don't have to spend everything you've gained in each turn BTW). (also page 7, under Buy Phase)

  The player may play
  some or all of the Treasure cards from his hand to his play area
  and add to their value the coins provided by Action cards played
  this turn.