When do static bonuses go away relative to damage dealt? I use Radiant Archangel in a deck full of flying creatures. It is a 3/3 flyer with +1/+1 for each other flying creature in play. During a game, I had seven other flying creatures, making it a 10/10. My opponent cast a spell (and I'm sorry I don't recall the spell) that did 6 damage to all my creatures.

He contends that this kills Radiant Archangel as well because the static bonus of +1/+1 for all the flying creatures in play goes away once they are dead and the damage sticks around until the end of turn. Thus, after the spell resolves, the other flying creatures are gone so Radiant Archangel is only a 3/3, and it has 6 damage so it's dead.

I contend that when the damage was dealt, it was a 10/10 and survived the attack, and that the 6 damage can come out of the +1/+1 bonuses that the other flying creatures provided and that it lost once they were gone.

Does anybody have any official rulings on this?

Your friend is correct. By CR 119.6, and/or 302.7, Radiant has six damage marked on it for the rest of the turn. The damage doesn't come out of the toughness, buffed or otherwise. What happens in order is:

His spell does 6 damage to your creatures
State-based actions are checked. Your other seven creatures now have 6 damage, and are destroyed for having damage greater than or equal to their toughness. Radiant is not destroyed yet, having toughness greater than damage.
Since state-based actions destroyed creatures, they are re-checked with the new gamestate. The other flyers are no longer buffing Radiant, so she is now a 3/3 creature, still with 6 damage marked on it, so Radiant is destroyed at this point.

119.6. Damage marked on a creature remains until the cleanup step, even if that permanent stops being a creature. If the total damage marked on a creature is greater than or equal to its toughness, that creature has been dealt lethal damage and is destroyed as a state-based action (see rule 704). All damage marked on a permanent is removed when it regenerates (see rule 701.11, "Regenerate") and during the cleanup step (see rule 514.2).
302.7. Damage dealt to a creature by a source with neither wither nor infect is marked on that creature (see rule 119.3). If the total damage marked on that creature is greater than or equal to its toughness, that creature has been dealt lethal damage and is destroyed as a state-based action (see rule 704). All damage marked on a creature is removed when it regenerates (see rule 701.12, "Regenerate") and during the cleanup step (see rule 514.2).


Carcassonne - taking control of a city We have just started playing and have the river expansion game.

I had hoped to try to take control over a city by placing a last wall piece and placing a meeple.  This was a U shaped piece and no tiles where in the interior city....just walls.  I was told I could not because it joined other walls of the city and was an end piece.  I'm confused as to how one would take over a city and gain all the points.

Thanks in advance,

Basic Rules:

On your turn you place a tile.  After placing the tile you can place your meeple onto any uncontrolled feature on that tile.  After placing meeples, all completed features are scored.

Assuming that you are trying to gain some control of a controlled city

Let's assume the situation is this:

In the situation that you have presented you have placed your tile to close a city.  Once that tile is placed, looking at the board, it is already controlled by another meeple, therefore you cannot place a meeple there.

To take some control of a city requires two moves.  The first is to place a tile that is not connected to the city that you want to control, separated by a single tile space from the city and place a meeple on that city.  On a later turn, play a tile that connects the main city to the small city you created on the previous tile.

This would give blue and red equal control, splitting the points. To take complete control would require you to perform this step again.  (Or a big meeple from Inns and Cathedrals)

Assuming that the feature is uncontrolled.

Place the tile.  The city is uncontrolled, so place a meeple.  Score the completed city.


Do reserved cards influence the end of the game? I have some reserved cards in Splendor and 15 prestige points at the end of my turn. Is this the final round of the game, or do I have to buy all my reserved cards to end the game? Do reserved cards have some "negative" points assigned to them for points counting?

Reserved cards have no effect on the end game trigger, and do not count as negative points. The rules just say that "When a player reaches 15 prestige points, complete the current round so that each player has played the same number of turns. The player who then has the highest number of prestige points is declared the winner".


If the only attacker is removed from combat, is a creature still counted as having attacked this turn? I'm querying an effect which specifically removes creatures from combat altogether such as Reconnaissance or Spires of Orazca.

If the only attacking creature is removed from combat by an effect like this, how does this attack or lack thereof interact with things like the Raid mechanic and Curious Obsession?

Does it check "Was an attack initiated at all?" this turn or "Was an attack "successfully" made"? Does an effect like the above "prevent" an attack?

I wondered this since burning the creature at any point after it has already been declared as an attacker still makes it count for "a creature attacked this turn".

Declaring a creature as an attacker is a singular event that is not undone by later removing that creature from combat. For example, you will get the benefits of Raid and you will not have to sacrifice Curious Obsession in a turn during which all of your at least 1 attackers have been removed from combat.

Note that effects like that of Spires of Orazca are not the only ways to remove a creature from combat. Simply destroying or exiling a creature also remove it from combat.

  506.4. A permanent is removed from combat if it leaves the battlefield, if its controller changes, if it phases out, if an effect specifically removes it from combat, if it's a planeswalker that's being attacked and stops being a planeswalker, or if it's an attacking or blocking creature that regenerates (see rule 701.14) or stops being a creature. A creature that's removed from combat stops being an attacking, blocking, blocked, and/or unblocked creature. A planeswalker that's removed from combat stops being attacked.

Effects like Raid or the 2nd ability of Curious Obsession do not care whether or not the attacking creature(s) were in combat the whole time, or that they dealt combat damage, or anything else. All that matters is that you have successfully declared at least one creature as an attacker this turn.

  Declare Attackers Step

[..]

  508.1m Any abilities that trigger on attackers being declared trigger.

Note that there are effects that put a creature onto the battlefield "tapped and attacking". Creatures that have been put onto the battlefield this way do count as attacking creatures, but do not count as having been declared as attackers. In practice this doesn't matter for Raid or Curious Obsession because all those effects have a prerequisite of an already attacking creature, which would already satisfy Raid and CO. But it would matter for abilities that require a certain number of creatures to have been declared as attackers, such as Windbrisk Heights


How does black kill white in this Tsumego? I'm struggling with "Basic problem #46" from Tsumego Pro. It looks like this, black to play:

$$ |--------------
$$ | . O O . . . .
$$ | . . O X X . .
$$ | . O O X . X .
$$ | X X X O X . .
$$ | . . . O . . .
$$ | . O O . . . .
$$ | . . O . . . .
$$ | . . . . . . .

In the built-in "correct" solution, after black takes the vital point, white plays 2 right below, after which a, b, and c all kill white:

$$ |--------------
$$ | a O O c . . .
$$ | 1 b O X X . .
$$ | 2 O O X . X .
$$ | X X X O X . .
$$ | . . . O . . .
$$ | . O O . . . .
$$ | . . O . . . .
$$ | . . . . . . .

I don't understand why white would play 2 here, depriving themselves of a liberty. If instead it started the semeai below the three black stones, I'm not able to find a variation where black is able to avoid seki. For example:

$$ |--------------
$$ | . O O 3 . . .
$$ | 1 . O X X . .
$$ | 5 O O X . X .
$$ | X X X O X . .
$$ | 6 4 2 O . . .
$$ | . O O . . . .
$$ | . . O . . . .
$$ | . . . . . . .

(3 and 5 could also be in reverse order), or this one:

$$ |--------------
$$ | . O O 7 . . .
$$ | 1 . O X X . .
$$ | 5 O O X . X .
$$ | X X X O X . .
$$ | 3 4 2 O . . .
$$ | 6 O O . . . .
$$ | . . O . . . .
$$ | . . . . . . .

If black 3 at 4 then black is dead. If black 5 doesn't happen (either on the 3rd or the 5th move), then either:

$$ |--------------
$$ | a O O 3 . . .
$$ | 1 5 O X X . .
$$ | . O O X . X .
$$ | X X X O X . .
$$ | 6 4 2 O . . .
$$ | . O O . . . .
$$ | . . O . . . .
$$ | . . . . . . .

(or 5 at a, or 3 and 5 reversed once more) and black is dead, or:

$$ 5 anywhere but a, b, or c
$$ |--------------
$$ | a O O 3 . . .
$$ | 1 b O X X . .
$$ | c O O X . X .
$$ | X X X O X . .
$$ | . 4 2 O . . .
$$ | . O O . . . .
$$ | . . O . . . .
$$ | . . . . . . .

and white plays c, killing black. If 3 and 5 are on two of a, b, and c in the last diagram, black is dead once more.

What variation am I missing where black can kill white if white plays this way?

Seems Black has to take the 1-2 vital point to avoid White making 2 eyes. If White begin to deprive Black's liberty from outside, then Black get connected by taking on 1-3 and White deprives outside again. After that, both Black and White have same 3 liberties, but 2 of them are in common used. This becomes seki and it should be the best result for White.


What can I do to make my opponent play faster at Regular REL? I play low-key Magic the Gathering tournaments, like release parties and Friday Night Magic. They're good fun but I'm often stuck looking at the clock, trying to avoid a game-3 draw. I know the problem isn't me because my sets against quick-playing opponents are usually over with 20 minutes to spare.

The obvious non-procedural workarounds are:

Draft fast aggro
Try really hard to win 2-0 so you don't need to play a third game

I don't exactly have the skills to do this consistently. :)

At higher rules enforcement levels, you can call a judge if your opponent is taking too long. That option's not readily available at Regular REL, though, and generally you're supposed to be forgiving of a player's inexperience or procedural missteps. Bearing that in mind, what can I do to encourage other players to play faster without being a jerk?

I'm surprised that you seem to think there is no possibility of official intervention at Regular REL.  From a recently updated official document on Judging at Regular REL:

  General Unwanted Behaviours -

  There will sometimes be issues that do not have official fixes, but
  need to be discouraged. These include, but are not limited to;

  Players taking unreasonable amounts of time side-boarding or making
  play decisions
  Inadequate shuffling after a search
  Asking for, or
  providing, strategy advice during a tournament match or booster draft

  In all of these cases, educate the player on better behaviour – for
  example, alternate shuffling techniques or the importance of allowing
  players to make their own decisions. Players continuing to exhibit
  specific unwanted behaviour after being instructed otherwise should be
  issued with a Game Loss.

A Judge should be available to advise persistent time-wasters that, actually, there is a limit to how long they can spend "thinking about their moves" in a game of Magic.  Obviously the Judge will be gentle at first, as this is only Regular REL; but really, no one is being done any favours , if new players are not told early on that they need to play the game at  reasonable pace, that is to say, fast enough that a full three games can be comfortably completed in the time allowed.

Don't be a jerk about calling a Judge over, but equally, you shouldn't be afraid of doing so. It's not being rude to ask, in a neutral and polite way, for the basic ground rules of tournament Magic to be enforced.


Creating Scenarios for Mansions of Madness OK. So Mansions of Madness is practically here. I know I can't be the only one who's hotly anticipating this game.

The only question I have about it is this: The game comes 5 scenarios included, each with 3 variations, for a total of 15 unique games.

Can the included scenarios be hacked, modified, customized or remixed? Can entirely new scenarios be created from the existing components?

I know that there are people out there who have had their hands on this for some time already, and I want to know what they think.

Sure, 15 scenarios is a lot - especially since players won't know exactly what path they're on until they uncover late-game clues. But I'm interested in the answer to this question from a re-playability standpoint, especially with regard to community-created scenarios vs. officially released expansions. I don't have anything against official expansions - I just imagine that if the game is as good as I expect, my group will be ready for something new well before FFG is ready to release one.

EDIT: Now that the game has been out for a while, the community really seems to be supporting it. BGG has a number of scenarios and tools for crafting your own.

Ok, so I'm answering my own question, at least in part.

First of all, I think the internets were greatly deceived when they spread the idea that each of the five scenarios (there are indeed 5) had only three variants. Some of the scenarios had what looked by my calculations to be upwards of 40 permutations.

Second, the Keeper's role is much more dynamic than I had previously realized. It strikes me that the Keeper's game is similar to the Demons' game in claustrophobia, a truly wonderful asymmetrical 2-player game. Like the Demons, the Keeper accrues Threat over time, which he must pay for all his actions. It seems to me that the vagaries of Keeper play will keep even an identical scenario from playing out the same way twice.

Finally, I think that the answer to my hackability question is a resounding no. The thing that has me so excited about MoM is that it provides narrative out-of-the-box. The game does a lot more storytelling than most. That very quality seems to make it hard to vary beyond the included scenarios. Each card is tied tightly to a choice or combination of choices and the stories will fall apart if not constructed properly.

This is my opinion as of having read all the books, but having played zero games. I will update this answer if that opinion changes.


What, functionally, is the difference between the effect on Rooftop Storm and cards like Omniscience? There are plenty of cards in MTG that have effects that allow you to cast cards for free, such as Aluren and Omniscience.  These cards phrase their abilities as

  You may cast spells from your hand without paying their mana costs.

There are obvious differences in what cards are free, like the aforementioned Aluren that only allows creatures of converted mana cost 3 or less, but the cards all contain some form of the phrase "without paying their mana costs".

Contrast this with Rooftop Storm, which reads

  You may pay 0 rather than pay the mana cost for Zombie creature spells you cast.

Now obviously, if you ignore the restrictions on the three cards I've mentioned, they all allow you to cast certain cards for free.  But why does Rooftop Storm phrase its ability in this way?  Are they functionally different in certain situations?

The ruling on Omniscience states:

  If a spell has Variable Colorless in its mana cost, you must choose 0 as the value of X when casting it without paying its mana cost.

This implies that the alternative casting method allowed by Omniscience is identical to casting with a cost of 0, which is what Rooftop Storm does. Trinisphere still functions on cards cast with Omniscience.

It seems like the difference in wording is mere flavor, and not the difference between cost=0 and cost=null.


Which game is this six-sided die with two sets of runic-looking plus, minus and empty sides from? I have just received this die as an extra gift in a pack of games I bought online, but I really cannot identify where is this from?
The other 3 sides are equal to the 3 visible, overall two have that cross, two that line and two have no symbol.

These are fudge or fate dice used for the fudge role playing game.

Fudge uses customized "Fudge dice" which have an equal number of plus, minus and blank sides. A number of these dice are rolled, usually four at a time ("4dF" in Fudge dice notation), and for every plus side that comes up the result of using the Trait is considered one step higher (e.g. from Fair to Good) and for every minus side that comes up the result is considered one step lower. The goal is to match or surpass the difficulty level, also on the adjective scale, of the test. Thus, a Good attribute is considered to be Great if the player were to roll two plus sides, one minus side, and one blank—the minus side cancels out one of the plus sides and the remaining plus side raises the result by one step. The same Good attribute would be considered Poor if you were to roll three minus sides and one blank. The same dice roll can be achieved with six-sided dice, treating a 1 or 2 as [−], a 3-4 as [ ] and a 5-6 as [+].

Note: the symbols in the corners are +, - and 0.


How long do I have to collect rent in Monopoly? I'm playing Monopoly with Alice, Bob, and Carol (in order of turns; my turn is after Carol's).

Alice lands on my property, and I'm not paying attention.  The rule book states:

  The owner may not collect the rent if he/she fails to ask for it before
  the second player following throws the dice

I always interpreted that to mean once Bob rolled the dice I was out of luck (i.e., Alice —who owes me money— was the first player and Bob was the second).  But I can definitely see that being interpreted as giving me until Carol rolls the dice, being the second player to play after Alice.

Suppose the players are Anne, Bill, Charlize, David, Elizabeth, and Fred.

Anne rolls the dice, moves her counter and lands on Fred's property. Fred fails to notice.

The players following Anne are Bill, Charlize, David, etc. Bill is the first player following Anne, and Charlize is the second. So Fred must notice and request rent before Charlize rolls.

A specific scenario:

The first following player, Bill, now rolls the dice and moves his counter. Any transactions are processed as necessary.

The second following player, Charlize, now reaches for the dice as Fred notices Anne's counter and request payment. As the second following player, Charlize, has not yet thrown the dice, the request by Fred is in order and must be honoured.

The question is now asked: "why the second following instead of first following player?"

Simply, to prevent a pair of players from sitting down and guaranteeing that the one in elder position wins. Under a "first following" rule, if Alfred and Betty sit down beside each other, with Alfred rolling first, then Betty simply must be very fast at rolling the dice to ensure that Alfred never pay rent.

Next game, Alfred and Betty switch places and  Betty is guaranteed to never pay rent.

And so on. This is called "The Bum's Rush".

There are also more subtle ways to play it, where the younger hand rolls very quickly only at strategic moments in the game. Same effect, with only a very slight reduction in effectiveness.


Does Quicken allow me to cast a sorcery during my opponent's turn? The card Quicken has the effect

  The next sorcery you cast this turn can be cast as though it had flash.

Does that mean I can cast my next sorcery during my opponent's turn?

Yes, that's what it means.

In addition to the quoted rules text, Quicken has useful reminder text:

  It can be cast any time you could cast an instant.

This is a shorthand that really means you need only priority to cast it.

  304.5. If text states that a player may do something “any time he or she could cast an instant,” it means only that the player must have priority. The player doesn’t need to have an instant he or she could actually cast. Effects that would prevent that player from casting a spell or casting an instant don’t affect the player’s capability to perform that action (unless the action is actually casting a spell or casting an instant).

Now, what Quicken actually does is letting you ignore the normal timing rules for casting a Sorcery, and instead allow you to cast it any time you have priority, as long as it's within the same turn.

Whether you use it to cast a Sorcery in your own turn when you normally couldn't cast a Sorcery (for example in your Upkeep or End Step), or during an opponents turn is completely up to you!


Who wins when the Inquisitor kills somebody in Blood Bound? In the game Blood Bound, the rules for winning are as such:

  The game ends when one player becomes captured, after which
  all players flip their character cards faceup to disclose their full
  identities. If the active player captured the leader of the rival
  clan, the active player and his clan are victorious and win the
  game. If the active player captured anyone other than the leader
  of the rival clan, the active player and his clan lose; the rival
  clan is victorious and wins the game.

However, in the case of an uneven number of players, an inquisitor is included, who wins solo with the following win rules:

  Determine the victorious clan as normal (see “Winning the
  Game” on page 5). Now, flip all curse cards faceup. If the
  victorious leader has the “True Curse” ability card, the Inquisitor
  steals the victory away from that clan, and he alone wins the
  game. If any player other than the leader of the victorious clan
  has the “True Curse” ability card, the card has no effect.
  Additionally, if the Inquisitor becomes captured, he alone wins
  the game.

However, the rules are ambiguous on who wins if the Inquisitor is the one to give the final wound to a player, clan leader or otherwise. We had a game where the Inquisitor, identified early and unable to win, decided to ally himself with one of the teams and took out a clan leader on their behalf, theoretically giving the other clan the win. However, as the active player, the Inquisitor has no clan,and thus did not kill the leader of his "rival clan." Who wins in that case? The Inquisitor did not fulfill his win condition, but also the clan leader wasn't taken out by a clan member. Did we all lose?

Nobody has met the win condition for their team in the game.

Blue did not capture the Red leader or capture someone besides the Red leader.
Red did not capture the Blue leader or capture someone besides the Blue leader.
Nobody captured the Inquisitor.
The Inquisitor did not place the True Curse in front of the winning leader (because no winning leader exists).

Nobody wins. Everybody loses. That is the price of outing the Inquisitor early and then giving them the position to end the game as a kingmaker or peasantmaker.


How does Fisher work? Say I have four territories in a row along the river and the Fisher Special power. Are they worth 2 bonus coins or 3? If I have two territories that skirt the river but are non contiguous are they worth anything?

We were playing that their bonus is (# of river adjacent territories/2) but I suspect that each unique pair of adjacent territories that are both adjacent to the river counts. The terminology in the rules isn't clear enough for me to be sure either way.

Four territories in a row are worth 2 bonus coins.  Adjacency doesn't matter.
Per the FAQ:

Q. If a Fisher Race occupies 4 regions in a row that borders the river, does that count as 3 pairs (AB, BC, CD) ?
A. No. That would count as 2 pairs, AB and CD. Note that these regions do not need to be adjacent to each other.


Do Haunt 21 Zombies Have Stats Reduced With Damage? Pretty much the title: we played and did so, the regular zombies getting their might reduced each time they took damage. If this is correct, could they have the damage taken from their speed points instead, like a regular player character?

I know the Zombie Lord is different: he dies after 7 damage and does not reduce stats but I wanted to make sure about the regular zombies.

No you do not reduce their stats - the zombies are killed by a single successful Might attack against them.

The special zombie attack rules listed in the traitor's tome state:

  Defeating a Zombie with a weapon that requires a Might attack kills it. Dynamite can also kill zombies. Any other attack stuns a Zombie as normal.

Normally monsters cannot be killed in combat but are only stunned when they would take damage, so there are no standard rules for monsters taking damage.

However when a haunt specifically overrides the standard rules, only then can a monster take damage. This is the case for the Zombie Lord, but there is no specific rule listed for the individual zombies.


Xia: damage on outfits and rolls After you apply damage to an outfit, and then activate the outfit multiple times (such as shields), do you apply the penalty to the total of all the dice, or to each individual die?

For exampl,e my Tier 1 shield has 1 damage. I activate two spaces (for 2d6). Would my total defense be 2d6-1 or 1d6-1 and 1d6-1?

Thanks :D

You add the penalty to each individual use of the outfit. So yes, if you activate a d6 shield twice and that outfit has one damage on it you would -1 from both dice rolls individually


When does the Gypsies racial ability come into play? Do you collect the coins at the end of the Gypsy player's turn, or at the end of the game round?

The Gypsies ability states:

"Place 1 bonus Victory coin (taken from the Victory stash) in each Region you abandon. You cannot conquer these Regions again this turn, but you receive the coins they hold as a bonus at turns end".

At the start of your turn, you place coins in each Region your Gypsies occupy. At the end of the Gypsies turn, collect all coins in those Regions that you don't occupy and return the remaining coins if any to the Victory stash.
The rules state a turn ends after troop redeployment and Victory coin scoring.

Picks a Race and Special Power combo

Conquers some Regions

Scores some Victory coins

Gypsies essentially allows you to score a Region for one additional turn after abandoning it, because Gypsies are always on the move.

Abandoning a Region
"Only those Race tokens that were taken back in hand may be used to conquer new Regions. If a player wishes to free up some more Race tokens, he may opt to entirely empty up some - or all - Regions, leaving no Tokens there; but in this case, these now abandoned Regions will no longer be considered his, nor bring him any Victory coins."--Small World rule book pg. 6


Volrath's Shapeshifter, Static Buffs, and Combat damage Inspired by this question.

I have an Elvish Archdruid, a Volrath's Shapeshifter, and a Llanowar Elves on the battlefield.

I attack with Elvish Archdruid and Llanowar Elves. My opponent blocks in such a way that Elvish Archdruid takes 2 combat damage and Llanowar Elves takes 1 combat damage.

Does the Llanowar Elves survive through combat?

Assuming nothing other than what is described happens (no first strike, no destruction spells cast, etc.), then yes, the Llanowar Elf will survive.

After combat damage has been dealt, but before any players have an opportunity to play spells, State-Based Actions are checked. The Archdruid is "marked" as having received lethal damage and is to be destroyed. The Llanowar Elf has not received lethal damage, and is therefore not marked for destruction. Then all applicable SBA are performed, meaning the Archdruid is actually destroyed.

Then SBA are checked again. This time, the Archdruid is on top of the graveyard, so the Shapeshifter boosts other elfs. So the Llanowar Elf is again 2/2, and has therefore not received lethal damage. It is therefore not marked for destruction. So when the SBA are performed, nothing happens.

At this point the SBA didn't change the game state, so they are considered finished, and the game continues on to letting players put on the stack any triggered abilities that may have triggered since before the combat damage was dealt. If any triggered abilities were put on the stack, SBA are again checked, and if any of them happen, then triggered abilities are once again put on the stack. And so on, until there are neither any SBA nor triggered abilities left to put on the stack. Then, for the first time, does the active (attacking) player get priority and can activate abilities and cast (instant / flash) spells.

There is no checking for lethal damage "between" the Archdruid boosting the Llanowar Elf, and the Shapeshifter doing the same.


Is pile shuffling considered slow play? Pile shuffling does not randomize a deck. Except during pregame, where pile shuffling allows players to count the number of cards in the deck, it might be considered a waste of time, and therefore considered slow play.

I see tons of players pile shuffle at large tournaments. I watch them pile shuffle while totally engulfed by hordes of judges because they are playing on camera. I always pile shuffle my deck during pregame to count cards. I pile shuffle my opponent's deck to do the same.

Is pile shuffling at a Magic: the Gathering tournament considered slow play, during pregame or otherwise?

This question is related to the question about Mana Weaving. The difference between the two questions is the actual, real-world experience I have at tournaments and watching video coverage. I've seen judges ask a players to stop mana weaving. I've never seen a judge ask a player to stop pile shuffling. So even though I would expect the answers to be the same from a strict rules standpoint, the answers appear to be different in reality.

If the answer depends on the REL, please answer for both Regular and Competitive.

The tournament rules now clearly cover pile shuffling:

  Pile shuffling alone is not sufficiently random and may not be performed more than once any time a deck is being randomized.

The description from the update bulletin explains a bit more:

  Section 3.9 (Shuffling): This change has to do with "pile shuffling." Pile shuffling alone is not a sufficiently random form of shuffling. Update states that a player may only pile shuffle once each time a deck is randomized. The one pile shuffle is allowed in order to count the number of cards in the deck.

So, pile shuffle once, and you're okay, as long as you still actually shuffle your deck - it will not be considered slow play. Pile shuffling more than once would be against the rules, though it's not clear whether it'd be deemed slow play or just improper shuffling.


Why can the activated ability of Genju of the Fields stack multiple times? According to a ruling on Genju of the Fields, its activated ability can be activated multiple times to enhance its lifelink effects:

  8/1/2005: When activated multiple times, it will have the triggered ability multiple times. When the animated Plains deals damage, the ability will trigger once for each copy of the ability. If, for example, you activate the ability three times, the Plains will deal two damage, and you'll gain six life.

I would like to know why because I interpret it differently.

I think that the ruling was made with the thought that the creature and ability were separate, such that even though the land becomes a creature multiple times with no effect, the ability accumulates.

This confuses me because I've always had the notion that when a land becomes a creature with its abilities listed out, it replaces the other types. This (misconception?) is reinforced by the fact that when lands become creatures, they inherently stop being lands unless they say otherwise.

Can somebody point me to the comprehensive guide ruling that causes this behavior?

Genju of the Fields' activated ability creates multiple separate effects:

Enchanted Plains is a Spirit Creature until end of turn. It's still a land.
Enchanted Plains is white until end of turn.
Enchanted Plains gains the ability "Whenever this creature deals damage, its controller gains that much life." until end of turn.
Enchanted Plains has power 2 and toughness 5 until end of turn.

When the ability is activated, each of these effects is created. If it's activated again, another copy of each effect is created. Each of the other effects has the same outcome if there are multiples (making a permanent white multiple times still results in it being white), but the ability granting effect grants a new ability for each copy.

It's important to remember that permanents don't lose abilities unless something explicitly says so. When you activate Genju of the Fields' ability, the permanent it's attached to keeps all of its abilities, including the ability to tap to add white mana to your mana pool, and it gains a new ability that is similar to lifelink. Rule 112.10 specifies this:

  Effects can add or remove abilities of objects. An effect that adds an ability will state that the object "gains" or "has" that ability. An effect that removes an ability will state that the object "loses" that ability. Effects that remove an ability remove all instances of it. If two or more effects add and remove the same ability, in general the most recent one prevails. (See rule 613, "Interaction of Continuous Effects.")


If I escape and give my die to an adventurer, can he use the rolled value immediately? Rules say, for a player who escape,

  ...he can give one of his dice to any adventurer still inside the temple. This adventurer may use the die immediately.

Does this mean the person can use the face value of the die and use it for that current turn, then continue to use that die to roll future turns?

Edit: the best link to the rules I could find here.

The question is a bit old but I think I have an answer to it (sort of).  The rules state:

After a player has performed one action, he must re-roll all dice used for this action.

There's room for interpretation but I'd say that you could pass a die you didn't use for the escape action and they could use the face value.  However, the rules pretty much state that you can't pass a key you used to escape to someone such that they can use it as a key to escape.  As per the wording in the rulebook under the escape action:

 Each player must roll the required number of key icons by himself!

The wording that 'This adventurer may use the die immediately' also seems to suggest the face value passed can be used for an action but I wonder if that is a case of slightly imprecise wording.

I strongly suspect the intent of the rules is that the passed die must be rolled before its face value can be used but they don't explicitly state that or the opposite, except for the case of keys in an escape action, which seems fairly clear to me.  Whenever I've played the game it has always been considered a new die that you must roll in order to use it and that is the simplest interpretation of the rules, in my opinion, and how I am likely to always play it.

I think the issue is a minor one that is best to house rule as you see fit but I definitely wouldn't allow people to pass keys they rolled for an escape action for others to use as a key, that definitely seems wrong to me and would reduce the tension at the end of the game too much.


Backgammon stack rule When can we stack checker(one on top of other) on a single point? Can I stack the checker on a single point when we have an only 3-4 checker on a point?
- Is there any rule regarding we can only put checker on top of another checker when we have more than 5 checkers on a single point

Stacking pieces on the same point is not necessary unless it would otherwise be unclear where those pieces are meant to be. There are no rules about how you place pieces on a point; it is only common sense that mandates clarity on exactly which point a piece occupies.

You could stack every subsequent piece on the first one on the same point, if you really felt the need. However, this is strongly discouraged, because it may disguise the number of pieces on that point, especially if the point has only two pieces.

You gain nothing from stacking them before you need to, and risk an accusation of poor gamesmanship. Why bother?


When is it beneficial to freeze the discard pile? I started playing Canasta this past weekend with some of my relatives. We played with four people, two teams of two. I understand most of the strategy for the game, but freezing the pile generally seems like a terrible idea.

I noticed that, in general, the team that froze the pile wasn't the team that ended up picking it up. What it did create was large discard piles, and whoever picked it up got a lot of points that hand, along with the wild card that the other team used to freeze the pile in the first place.

In some cases, the reason a player froze the pile was to avoid discarding something that the other team had already melded, but it still seems more beneficial to dump a card on a relatively small discard pile that you know will get picked up. Plus you wouldn't be losing a wild card in the process.

I also understand that this gives you some leeway in discarding; suddenly you're able to discard cards that have been melded and are on the table since there is a low chance that the opposing team is still holding onto them.

I feel like I might be overlooking some other benefits of freezing the discard pile. When is it beneficial to freeze the discard pile? In what circumstances might this be a good play?

When your team doesn't have enough points to start, but the other team has started, they will be able to take the pile more often and you don't want to keep cards because they have them open.

Sure, freezing the Box costs a wild card, but a lot of time I prefer to lose a wild card instead of giving the box to my opponents over and over.

Also a really good strategy is to freeze the box to let it grow; you keep a trap in your hand to get the box.


How long does it take to play Cuba? How long does it take to play Cuba? And does the playing vary considerably between different numbers of players?

The time does depend on # of players, as turns are sequential, yet total rounds is fairly constant.  I would say 30 minutes per player is a good average.  The game will change significantly with # of players, as it makes use of several first-come mechanics (limited board resource slots) and, of course, the voting mechanic.   4-5 players will be the closest in game-play.


In Scarborough Fair, how is the length of a path defined? The rules say that the customer always takes the shortest number of paths to the next stage.  It also says that the number of tents along the way is irrelevant.  Is path defined as a segment between tents, or is a path defined as a segment between stages?

Put another way, there's a couple places on the board that have paths between stages which have only one tent along the way.  Is the length of these segments one (stage-to-stage), or is the length two (stage-to-tent-to-stage)?

Two adjacent stages have a path length of one.  The designer has a video playthrough on the official website which makes this clear.  I was parsing things too closely and confused myself.


What model is this, that represents Enslavers? I spotted this model on a Bell of Souls article about Enslavers.

But when googling, I can't find the model, and I don't think the article says.
I'm also not sure Enslavers ever had models, so I don't know what else to Google?
What is this model?

That pic/those models first appeared on BoS back in 2007 under the "Warhammer 30,000 League – Week 3" report. Other pictures in that report also show those figures.

With the description:

Balkus
Alpha Legion, Enslavers
The Alpha Legion under the command of Master Arkos, scored a hard fought victory for the Imperium upon the lost empire of Balkus. With its fate unknown for over 5000 years, the vile warp-spawned Enslavers have been cast out of this world forever. Captain Arkos has yet again done a service for the Imperium!
World Status: Compliance

The White Dwarf article in your link is apparently the only source for those rules. The models in the picture seem to have been original/custom.


In Pandemic, at the end of your turn can you discard even when you have fewer than 7 cards, so the Archivist can pick up that card on his next turn? In Pandemic, at the end of your turn can you discard a card even when you have fewer than 7 cards, so that the Archivist can pick up that card on his next turn?

No, discarding is not one of your choices of actions, and the discarding to hand limit is very specifically only for when you have too many cards.

If you want to discard a specific card like this, your best available option is to use it for an action: fly to that city, fly from that city to anywhere, or build a research station.


What is the point in disclosure of the bidding system to opponents? I fully understand and agree with the rule "do not communicate in illegal ways" (pose, tone of voice, etc), but I don't quite understand the point in requiring the disclosure of one's bidding system to one's opponents. What does this aim to achieve?

True disclosure sounds hard to achieve in practice. Partners know each other's habits, and as a result bidding communication still has "hidden" parts - it is just not possible to describe every habit to opponents.

This raises a related question. Suppose the bidding system should be disclosed. Why not then require only a single bidding system for all players?

Bridge players hate guessing.

Allowing non-disclosure will basically turn the game into a pointless guessing game, with luck (and to some extent, the bidding system) becoming the predominant factor, rather than skill. This will surely drive away the good players, and all that will be left will be self proclaimed bidding theorists...

Just because you cannot achieve 100% full disclosure does not mean you get rid of it completely.

The current rules [of full disclosure, different systems] allows for (somewhat reasonable) innovation in bidding while trying to pit opponents on an even ground, making skill the predominant factor. Making skill the main factor, with the right amounts of luck, is what keeps people coming back.


Why are the white stones in the bottom left of this game counted as points for black? I played the following game:
https://online-go.com/game/25722260

In the final position, it seems to me that the stones in the bottom left are in seki, but the score estimator says that the white stones are dead.  Counting up my points, it seems to me that I should have won by 12.5 points, but it says I'm winning by over 30.  What's happening here?  Is there a tactic I'm not seeing or a rule I am unaware of? The scoring system being used is Chinese.

It is possible depending on previous turns that some variants of the Superko rule would allow black to win that fight. For example, if black played A3, white might not be allowed to capture at A5 if that position had already appeared earlier in your game. However, even if that rule is in effect and relevant, I doubt it would be incorporated into the scoring system, so my guess is this is just a bug in the digital adaptation.
EDIT: PJTraill comments that we can see from your picture that H8 was the most recent move; since that space was empty before and is now filled forever, no earlier positions should be relevant for Superko. Thus there is no way to break that seki.


Terminus as an instant? If my opponent has Sensei's Divining Top in play on my turn, can he activate it in response to my attack phase in order to play Terminus for its miracle cost?

Yes, your opponent can do this, as long as the Terminus is the first card drawn that turn. It doesn't matter whose turn it is, or that Terminus is a sorcery, Miracle will trigger if it is the first card drawn on by that player on that turn.

From the Avacyn Restored Mechanics article:

  As you draw an instant or sorcery with miracle, if it's the first card you've drawn this turn, you can immediately reveal it. When you do so, you may cast it for its miracle cost. It doesn't matter whether it's an instant or sorcery; if you choose to cast it, you do so right away, even if it's at a time (such as your draw step) when you couldn't normally cast it.

And the CR:

  702.93a Miracle is a static ability linked to a triggered ability (see rule 603.10). "Miracle [cost]" means "You may reveal this card from your hand as you draw it if it's the first card you've drawn this turn. When you reveal this card this way, you may cast it by paying [cost] rather than its mana cost."


Can "Crabs Adjust Humidity" be used as an expansion to "Cards Against Humanity"? Crabs Adjust Humidity is a cardgame just like Cards Against Humanity

Can the cards be shuffled and used as an expansion pack? Or are there other differences which prevent this?

(PS: Are they equally fun? Or should I just refrain from buying Crabs Adjust Humidity?)

Seeing as it's billed as an "unofficial expansion to Cards Against Humanity" (see website), I think the answer must be "yes". That said, it does appear the card backs are different, so you may need to slap everything into opaque-back sleeves to make it work really well.


Do Lands count as permanents? Did I find a bug in Magic Arena? I played a match with Chromatic Orrery on the battlefield.
I had no creatures, no enchantments or anything else on the field but around 10 Lands of 7 different types. 7 mixed and 2 single colors and one radiant fountain
I activated the ability of Chromatic Orrery "Draw a card for each color among permanents you control"
Nothing happened.
Are Lands colorless, not permanent or is this a bug?

Lands are colorless permanents, so they will not cause you to draw any cards with Chromatic Orrery.
This is a result of rule 202.2:

202.2. An object is the color or colors of the mana symbols in its mana cost, regardless of the color of its frame.

202.2b Objects with no colored mana symbols in their mana costs are colorless.

Lands have no mana cost, so they have no colored symbols in their mana cost, so they are colorless.


Is there a situation or way that a sabotage run is a good idea in TI:3? I have often considered using the optional rule of a sabotage run on a War Sun, but have always decided it would be a waste of fighters. I was wondering if there exists a situation when you might want to do a sabotage run?

Quoted from the rule book:

  Game option: Sabotage Runs

  Although the mighty War Sun unit is the undisputed king of space, history has shown that such hubris of creation often hides a fatal flaw that can be exploited by the smallest of spacecraft.

  When using this game option, Fighter units have adesperate chance of a pre-Space Battle strike at an enemy War Sun in the contested system. This desperate attack is called the “sabotage run.”

  Announce the Run
  A sabotage run takes place before an actual Space Battle begins, immediately after any Destroyer Anti-Fighter Barrage.

  Both players (attacker first) may announce that they are making a Sabotage run against an enemy War Sun in the battle (if no War Sun is present among the enemy units, a player cannot undertake a sabotage run).

  If both players have War Suns, the attacker should resolve his sabotage run first, followed by the defender.

  After announcing a sabotage run, a player must commit a number of Fighter units to the dangerous task. After a number of Fighters have been committed, the sabotage run is executed over two rounds of die rolls.

  1) The Outer Defenses
  Roll a die for every Fighter committed to the sabotage run. On an unmodified result of 9 or 10, the Fighter makes it through the outer defenses of the War Sun. All other results destroy the Fighter unit, which receives no return fire.

  2) The Inner Defenses
  For every Fighter unit that made it past the outer defenses of the War Sun, roll another die (one at a time). If the fighter rolls an unmodified result of 10, the sabotage run is successful and the War Sun is immediately destroyed. Such a destroyed War Sun receives no return fire. All other die results instantly destroy the Fighter unit, which receives no return fire.

  Surviving Fighter units are able to participate in the subsequent Space Battle. An unharmed War Sun is able to participate in the Space Battle with no ill effects.

  Should an opponent have two War Sun units, a player is allowed to make a sabotage run against both units by dividing his committed Fighters into two separate pools. With each of these pools attacking one specific War Sun, simply resolve each separate sabotage run, one at a time

Situation:

Hostile force:  1 carrier, 10 fighters, 4 cruisers, 1 war sun, 1 ground force

Defending force:  1 carrier, 6 fighters, 1 cruiser, with 3 ground forces defending the planet.

The planet in question is highly valuable, and this is the final turn (or losing it will cost you the ability to gain VPs this turn).

In this situation, you are unable to destroy the war sun in straight combat, and if it lives to the end of the battle, it will single-handedly destroy all defending ground forces while keeping the lone ground force secure for the invasion.  On the flip side, should the war sun be destroyed, then the invasion will be unsuccessful this turn (1v3 odds) excepting extreme luck bias.  Therefore, the #1 priority for this battle is the destruction of the war sun - the other massive segment of the fleet is irrelevant.

Strafing run, GO!


Munchkin: carrying vs equipped I'd like more concrete info about what you can do with items that are being carried or equipped.

Carried items:
Q: Can you use the "if you discard this card" effect for items you carry?
Q: What kind of cards can be carried? example can I carry a class card?
Q: Is there limits to what I can carry? example I'm carrying 4 armor cards.
Q: Can I sell cards for gold that I'm carrying?
Q: Are cards you carrying considered to be "in play"?

Equipped items:
Q: Some items don't have body icon, is there limits of how many of that type of item I can equip? example in the adventure time version I had a book and a math card that are not one shots but don't have an icon for which body part they belong to.

Note: all rules quotes below are from the Munchkin rulebook PDF. The same or very similar text is found in the Adventure Time rulebook PDF.

Can you use the "if you discard this card" effect for items you carry?

If you are talking about one-shot items, absolutely (as long as there is not a restriction on the item that you do not meet).

The rules specifically state under "One-Shot" Treasures on page 3 that they:

  may be played from your hand or from the table.

This does not specify that they have to be equipped to use.

If you have a different item that is not a one-shot and provides a discard ability, as long as you meet the other requirements (if any), then I would think that it is fine to use with carried items.

What kind of cards can be carried? example can I carry a class card?

No, you cannot carry class cards.

The rules state that only Items can be carried, where an Item is defined  in the Items section on page 3 by:

  Most Treasures are Items. Items have a Gold Piece
  value. (“No Value” is equivalent to zero Gold Pieces, and
  these cards are also Items.)

Thus any card with a listed gold piece value (or "No Value") is an Item and can be carried. Class cards do not have a value, nor do they come from the Treasure deck, and therefore cannot be carried.

Is there limits to what I can carry? example I'm carrying 4 armor cards.

You can carry any number of Items that are not Big, but only one Big Item.

The rules state under Big Items on page 3 that:

  You may carry any number of Small items, but only one Big
  one. (Any item not marked Big is considered Small.)

Can I sell cards for gold that I'm carrying?

Absolutely. Under the Selling Items for Levels section on page 3 it states:

  You may sell Items from your hand as well as those you are carrying.

Are cards you carrying considered to be "in play"?

Yes. Under Card Management on page 1 of the rules:

  In Play: These are the cards on the table in front of you, showing your Race and Class (if any) and the Items you are carrying.

Some items don't have body icon, is there limits of how many of that type of item I can equip?

There is no limit to how many untyped Items you may have equipped, but where the item has a type there is a limit (for Adventure Time this is the icon in the top left, which is what I assume you mean by the body icon).

Under the Items section of page 3 of the rules:

  Anyone can carry any Item ... but you may equip only one Headgear, one suit of Armor, one pair of Footgear, and two “1 Hand” Items (or one “2 Hands” Item)

Any item that does not have a type can be equipped without limit.


In Monopoly Deal, can I put properties of the same color on the table, but not in a "set" I want to get properties on the table, but not complete the set. I am trying to avoid having a complete set stolen. I realize by keeping same color cards separate, they could be taken in a forced deal or sly deal, but when it is my turn, I can arrange my properties how I want to collect rent or if I get three complete set, arrange them on my turn for the win. But by keeping the same color cards separate, at least I won't lose an entire set when the deal breaker is played.

If you have enough to make a set, then you have a set.
From the compiled FAQ on BGG:

If you have more properties of one color than is needed to make a complete property set, you must form as many complete sets as possible, and group the remaining properties of that color together.


Are the 2 planeswalker sets from Amonkhet balanced? New player here, looking to play very casually with my wife. We bought the 2 Amonkhet planeswalker decks (Liliana, death wielder and Gideon, martial paragon). Are these 2 decks designed specifically to be balanced against one another? or will one of these 2 have an advantage?

In the official announcement post, the following line is mentioned, from which you could deduce that these decks are meant to be played against each other:

  The decks are meant for newer players but can be fun for anyone to battle them against one another.

Of course, whether decks are balanced in practice is always questionable, and other than the decklists also depends on the skill of the players which are playing them, and their affinity to the deck's theme. Generally, you should end up with a somewhat balanced deck, however - very likely more balanced than any two random decks you would construct from your card pool on your own.


Changing a creature's base Power and Toughness until End of Turn I have a question regarding spells that change other creatures' base power and/or toughness (for example, 3/3). I'm asking because in a few days I will probably receive my Oko Planeswalker Deck from Throne of Eldraine edition, and I know there are some such cards in it.

When I have an instant that says target creature has base power and toughness, for instance, 3/3 and I cast it and it resolves, only base statistics change, correct? Do counters, attached enchantments or equipment, abilities, other effects stay on my creature?

This might get complicated, but it's covered by the layer system:

613.1. The values of an object’s characteristics are determined by starting with the actual object. For a card, that means the values of the characteristics printed on that card. For a token or a copy of a spell or card, that means the values of the characteristics defined by the effect that created it. Then all applicable continuous effects are applied in a series of layers in the following order:
...
613.1f Layer 6: Ability-adding effects, ability-removing effects, and effects that say an object can’t have an ability are applied.
613.1g Layer 7: Power- and/or toughness-changing effects are applied.
...
613.2. Within layers 1–6, apply effects from characteristic-defining abilities first (see rule 604.3), then all other effects in timestamp order (see rule 613.6). Note that dependency may alter the order in which effects are applied within a layer. (See rule 613.7.)
613.3. Within layer 7, apply effects in a series of sublayers in the order described below. Within each sublayer, apply effects in timestamp order. (See rule 613.6.) Note that dependency may alter the order in which effects are applied within a sublayer. (See rule 613.7.)
613.3a Layer 7a: Effects from characteristic-defining abilities that define power and/or toughness are applied. See rule 604.3.
613.3b Layer 7b: Effects that set power and/or toughness to a specific number or value are applied. Effects that refer to the base power and/or toughness of a creature apply in this layer.
613.3c Layer 7c: Effects that modify power and/or toughness (but don’t set power and/or toughness to a specific number or value) are applied.
613.3d Layer 7d: Power and/or toughness changes from counters are applied. See rule 122, “Counters.”

The effect you describe does not remove auras/equipments/counters from the creature. But it does affect what effect they have on the creature:
For abilities, it matters how/when the creature got them. A creature which is printed with flying (a characteristic-defining ability) will lose it due to Oko, Thief of Crowns's effect; the same holds for a creature which was already equipped with Angelic Armaments. If you equip the Armaments after Oko's ability, it will have flying.
The 3/3 effect is applied in Layer 7b (overwriting the power/toughness printed on the creature card); most effects you describe are applied in Layer 7c (but counters in Layer 7d), so they are applied later and do give bonuses (or penalties) on top of the 3/3.


Do field enchantments stack? Do field enchantments, such as cards that say "opponent puts the top two cards of their library into their graveyard", stack with multiple iterations of it on my field? The specific example I'll use is what happened last night:

My friend had played two copies of Drowned Secrets and was basically milling me out for 4 cards every time he played a blue spell. I let it play out, but I would like to know what the legality of it is going forward. I'm aware of the Legendary card rule, but we're just getting into Magic, and we're learning the rules as we go along.

Yes; each Drowned Secrets on the battlefield will trigger when the controller casts a blue spell. It is no different than 2 unrelated abilities both triggering upon the same event.

For example, if you had both a Drowned Secrets and a Merrow Levitator on the battlefield and you cast a blue spell, both abilities would trigger. It is no different with 2 separate Drowned Secrets.

Other abilities besides triggered abilities stack as well; such as if you had 2 copies of Honor of the Pure on the battlefield. In that case, White creatures you control would get a total of +2/+2.


In Euchre, Can a person of the opposing team go alone if trump was ordered up by the other team? I ordered up trump from the dealer of the opposing team and the same person said they were going alone and asked for their partners best card. Is that legal in the euchre rules?

According to both the Bicycle Card Company Rules and the EuchreLinks.Com website Rulee only the person actually naming the trump denomination, termed the maker, has the option of going alone.

Playing Alone
If the player who fixes the trump suit believes it will be to his side's advantage to play without the help of his partner's cards, the player exercises this option by declaring "alone" distinctly at the time of making the trump. This player's partner then turns his cards face down and does not participate in the play.

Or

The player, who chooses the trump suit, either by accepting the up-card's suit as trump, or by naming a different suit, is called the maker. Before the play of the hand begins, the maker may announce; "Alone", in which case the maker's partner places his hand facedown and does not participate in the play.

Note that both these Rule compilations do not include your House Rule of a card being passed from maker's partner to the maker.


How many steals runner do when accessing multiple agendas in the archives? The runner accesses cards in archives and there are 3 agendas in it. The corp's identity is the "Argus Security" (whenever the runner steals an agenda, he or she must either take 1 tag or suffer 2 meat damage). How many times the id's ability triggered? One or three?

Argus gets triggered 3 times.
From the rulebook (page 18):

  Archives: The Runner accesses all cards in Archives and any
  upgrades in its root. The Runner turns all cards faceup when
  accessing them, and does not need to keep them in order. The
  Runner steals all agendas in Archives and cannot trash cards
  that are already in Archives. After accessing Archives, all
  cards in Archives return to Archives faceup

  Accessing Multiple Cards
  When accessing multiple cards, the Runner accesses them one
  at a time in any order he likes.[...]

  The Runner must fully resolve his access to a card (steal it, pay
  to trash it, etc.) before accessing the next card. If the Runner
  scores an agenda that gives him seven or more points, he
  immediately wins the game, even if he would otherwise access
  more cards.

To summarise: runner accesses all cards in archives. Runner must steal all agendas they access. Runner accesses each card separately and fully resolves each access before continuing to the next card, so Argus ID gets triggered on each steal separately.


Can you tap artifacts to an improvise cost to help pay for kicker costs? If you have an Inspiring Statuary on the field can you pay UU and tap two artifacts to play a kicked Into the Roil?

Yes, you improvise to pay the total costs of a spell and kicker is an additional cost.

This is per Comprehensive Rules:

  702.125a Improvise is a static ability that functions while the spell with improvise is on the stack. “Improvise” means “For each generic mana in this spell’s total cost, you may tap an untapped artifact you control rather than pay that mana.”

Total cost is defined in the Casting Spells rules:

  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. (...)

And kicker is an additional cost:

  702.32a Kicker is a static ability that functions while the spell with kicker is on the stack. “Kicker [cost]” means “You may pay an additional [cost] as you cast this spell.”


Do you win a game of Catan even if you don't realize you have won? If someone "wins" the game and then all players count points and a different player realizes that if they had played their victory point, they would have won, who wins? The person who declared the win or the person who had enough points but didn't realize it, but figures it out when or after another person has declared victory. In other words, do you have to declare victory 'on your turn' to win? If your turn has ended, can you declare victory on someone else's turn?

I have found reference to this in other posts, though I didn't see a question phrased as directly as this.

In reference to the online Rules (PDF):

On page 5, you will find the following under "Ending the Game":

  If you have 10 or more victory points during your turn the game ends and you are the winner! If you reach 10 points when it is not your turn, the game continues until any player (including you) has 10 points on his turn.

There is no requirement of declaring victory (though in other parts of the rules it does use the phrase "claim victory" or something similar.

On the online FAQ the question is addressed pretty directly:

  Victory Conditions - What if someone has reached the required number of victory points for a win but is unaware of it? Did this player win anyway?

With response:

  Yes. The game ends as soon as a player has reached the required number of victory points on his turn. If he’s unaware of it, you should tell him, because you can’t take an already gained victory away from him.

And on another FAQ page you are not allowed to not claim victory to "pad" your score in an official game:

  Victory Conditions - May I continue scoring points after having reached the number of victory points required for a win?

With response:

  This could make sense in a private tournament where the scores from several games are added up. For individual games and official tournaments, the following applies: You have won as soon as you have reached the required number of victory points on your turn – and then the game is over.

So, if you want to run a private tournament with some "house rules", you could, but in an official game the first player to have 10 points on their turn wins, regardless of if they realize it or announce it.


Where can I find a list of all the cards in Elder Sign? I'm looking for a breakdown of the common item, unique item and spell cards so I know what my chances are when buying certain cards. I've done a bit of googling and have not come up with anything.

Someone over on boardgame geek added a list of all cards for all expansions since I originally asked the question and did my search.


Can I kill an indestructible creature with -X/-X and sufficient damage marked on it? Can I hit a 4/4 indestructible creature with a Lightning Bolt (3 damage) and give it -1/-1 with Tragic Slip to kill it? (Does it matter which way around I cast those?)

I read this description here and it says, damage is removed in cleanup step, so it should be on the creature still after both spells.

  702.12. Indestructible
  702.12a Indestructible is a static ability.
  702.12b A permanent with indestructible can’t be destroyed. Such permanents aren’t destroyed by lethal damage, and they ignore the state-based action that checks for lethal damage (see rule 704.5g).
  702.12c Multiple instances of indestructible on the same permanent are redundant.

Spell order doesn't matter; either way you cast the spells, you wind up with: a 3/3 indestructible creature with 3 damage marked on it.
You've asked if you can hit it with both Lightning Bolt and Tragic Slip... but I presume you also mean to ask "will that kill it?" and the answer is no, the indestructible creature will survive.
See the part of your quote that says: "such permanents aren't destroyed by lethal damage, and they ignore the state-based action that checks for lethal damage." By that, they are talking about the fact it's a creature with 3 toughness and 3 damage marked on it (until the turn ends) — that's lethal damage. And lethal damage doesn't kill indestructible creatures, so it will be fine.
(Please note that damage never reduces toughness. Some of the MTG video games have treated it like it does, which is unfortunate and incorrect — toughness isn't like Health. Instead, damage simply sits on the creature, not changing the Toughness, but we measure it against their Toughness to see if they should normally die. Toughness is more like a Max Health attribute if anything.)

It could however be killed by tragic slip's -13/-13 effect (use the lightning bolt to kill something else for this), or by Grasp of Darkness, either of which will reduce its toughness to 0 or less, which removes even indestructible creatures. This is because lethal damage "destroys" a creature, but toughness 0 or less merely puts that creature into its owner's graveyard (without counting as "destroys"):

State-based actions:

704.5f If a creature has toughness 0 or less, it’s put into its owner’s graveyard. Regeneration can’t replace this event.
704.5g If a creature has toughness greater than 0, and the total damage marked on it is greater than or equal to its toughness, that creature has been dealt lethal damage and is destroyed. Regeneration can replace this event.

Your red/black options also include exiling the indestructible creature, such as with Gild or Oblivion Strike, or using special workaround cards which nullify its abilities like Burn from Within.


Can a Hero Event be used on another Hero player? Can a hero player use a Hero Event card to help out another hero player's character, or must they only use Hero Events on their own character?

Yes, Hero Events may be used on any hero unless they state otherwise. The rules specifically point this out:

Events (Gold bordered) are taken into the player’s hand and kept secret from the Zombies. They can be strategically played on any Hero to give them an edge or save them from a grizzly fate. (page 4)
Note that Events are not associated with any one Hero, but instead are held by the player to be used whenever is appropriate (some cards are listed as Play Immediately. These cards often have an effect that is used for the Hero currently taking their turn). (page 11)


Can I give myself multiple turns at once with Beacon's of Tomorrows? If somehow I cast multiple copies of Beacon of Tomorrows at once or in the same turn, will I get all of the turns back to back? Or, because of it's wording, would all of the extra turns happen in the exact same point of time?

You will get it back to back. See Comprehensive Rules.

  500.7. Some effects can give a player extra turns. They do this by adding the turns directly after the specified turn. If a player is
  given multiple extra turns, the extra turns are added one at a time.
  If multiple players are given extra turns, the extra turns are added
  one at a time, in APNAP order (see rule 101.4). The most recently
  created turn will be taken first.


Good Euchre bidding strategy guide? Is there a good Euchre bidding strategy guide?

I like the game, but find my bidding to be very hit or miss. And I've been unable to find a strategy guide for Euchre bidding patterns.

Either a good strategy or a link to a good preextant guide would answer my question.

The website http://OhioEuchre.Com/ has much information on bidding strategies. Euchre is a game of chance where aggression pays off. The more you play the better you will get. Take chances! Even when you are getting euchred you're learning more about the game.

The person that said there is little strategy to euchre is incorrect. Just play in any tournament. You'll see that the same people seem to win most of the time. I don't think they're just luckly. I think they took the time to learn the different strategies of the game


Gather Specimens on Meddling Mage You cast Meddling Mage which has you name a card as a replacement effect. An opponent responds with Gather Specimens which takes control of Meddlig Mage as a replacement effect. Who gets to name the card?

Do you get to decide who, by ordering the effects?
You always have to name the card (the "you" is locked in when you cast it)?
Or is it something else?

Your opponent gets to name the card, because his replacement effect always comes first.

From the Gatherer rulings on Gather Specimens:

  The Gather Specimens replacement effect is applied before any other replacement effects that would also modify how the creature enters the battlefield. These are usually worded “as [this creature] enters the battlefield” or “[this creature] enters the battlefield with.” For example, if your Gather Specimens has resolved, then the following things are true: -- If a creature with devour would enter the battlefield under an opponent's control, you choose and sacrifice your creatures as it enters the battlefield under your control. -- If Voice of All would enter the battlefield under an opponent's control, you choose a color as it enters the battlefield under your control.

The reason for this:

It is important to note that you do not name a card when you cast Meddling Mage. You name a card as it enters the battlefield. This naming cannot be responded to; it's not something that ever goes on the stack.

When Meddling Mage would enter the battlefield, there are two different replacement effects to apply: Meddling Mage's effect which causes a card to be named; and Gather Specimens which causes it to enter under your opponent's control instead.

Normally, you would get to choose the order:

  616.1. If two or more replacement and/or prevention effects are attempting to modify the way an event affects an object or player, the affected object’s controller (or its owner if it has no controller) or the affected player chooses one to apply, following the steps listed below.

However, in this case you don't get the choice:

  616.1b If any of the replacement and/or prevention effects would modify under whose control an object would enter the battlefield, one of them must be chosen. If not, proceed to rule 616.1c.

and then

  616.1e Once the chosen effect has been applied, this process is repeated (taking into account only replacement or prevention effects that would now be applicable) until there are no more left to apply.

So first you must choose to apply the Gather Specimens' replacement effect. Now there is a new event, Meddling Mage entering the battlefield under your opponent's control. At this point it's no different than if your opponent had cast Meddling Mage. When it would enter the battlefield under his control, he applies the Meddling Mage replacement effect and names a card.


In Omaha Poker, can we use 0,1,3 or 4 hole cards when selecting the best 5 cards? According to Wikipedia, in Omaha, a player must use exactly two hole cards and three communal cards when selecting the best hand.

In Texas Hold'em Poker, it is possible to use only the communal cards without using any hole cards, if the communal cards alone give the best hand.

So, is Omaha different from Texas Hold'em, in the sense that an exact number of hole cards must be used in Omaha?

To answer you title question: No. You are obliged to use 2 and only 2 of your hole cards.

There are main 2 differences between Texas Hold'em and Omaha Hold'em.

The number of hole cards you have.
The number of hold cards you must use to create your final hand.

In Texas Hold'em you get 2 hole cards dealt to you, but are not required to use any of them to form your final 5 card hand.

In Omaha Hold'em you get 4 hole cards dealt to you, but are required to use 2 (and only 2) of them when forming your final 5 card hand.


Saboteur inbetween the goal cards If I reach a goal card that is a rock, can I put a path card going from that goal card to another one, even though that goal card dosen't have a path connected to it on that side?

No.

The general rule is that you orient the goal card to connect with the path you added.  That goal card is now part of your path, and to add a path from there, it has to correctly match the path on the goal card.


How are Scrabble Bingo's calculated with regard to word multipliers? Are bingos added to the basic score of the word and then modified by multipliers or are they added on after the play is scored?

According to Hasbro's rulesheet the fifty point bonus is added to the word score after all the letter and word multipliers have been taken into account.


Do you die instantaneously if your life total hits 0? Way back when, the first combo I built a deck around was

Force of Nature
with a
Spirit Link
on it. If, at the beginning of my upkeep, I have less than 8 life and I don't pay the upkeep, will I lose the game before the life gain kicks in?

104.3b If a player’s life total is 0 or less, he or she loses the game the next time a player would    receive priority. (This is a state-based action. See rule 704.)

When the Force of Nature damages you, Spirit Link's trigger goes on the stack. If, between sustaining the damage and getting 8 life back from Link, your life total hits 0, you'll die.

This is confirmed by the Oracle text for Spirit Link:

  You only gain the life when the triggered ability resolves. If you are
  reduced to zero life before the ability resolves, you will lose before
  gaining the life.

Luckily, you can avoid this problem by replacing Spirit Link with Lifelink.


What are the main results in game theory regarding Go? What are the main mathematical results concerning Go?

Go is a game with simple rules but high game complexity. It is inefficient to apply primitive chess AI methods (such as position brute force and empirical position estimation functions) to a Go game.

I am interested in results in the application of mathematical Game theory to Go. Are there any good results in this field?

On Numbers

The one big overarching result in mathematical Go starts with the use of surreal numbers to evaluate positions on the board. The surreal numbers is a class of numbers including the real numbers as well as many, many, infinite and infinitesimal numbers.

The surreal numbers are recursively defined; a surreal number is a pair of sets of previously defined surreal numbers, called the left set and the right set, where each number in the left set is less than each number in the right set. In Go, the left set represents White's possible moves, and the right set Black's! The surreal number thus defined is thought of as being between all the numbers in its left set and all the numbers in its right set. ("Less than" is recursively defined as well.) Zero is the first surreal number,

0 = ({},{})

that is, its left set is empty and its right set is empty. A more usual notation for this is

0 = {|}

In Go, 0 represents a situation where the players have reached a draw. Using 0, we can define more surreal numbers:

 1 = {0|}
-1 = {|0}

That is, 0 is to the left of 1, and 0 is to the right of -1. In Go, 1 represents a situation where the game has ended and Black is up one point, and -1 White is up one point. Using -1, 0, and 1, we can define

2    = {1 |  }
1/2  = {0 |1 }
-1/2 = {-1|0 }
-2   = {  |-1}

Already the surreal numbers become nontrivially useful for talking about Go! 1/2 represents a situation where Black is up a half a point. Notice that the contents of 1/2 are 0 on the left and 1 on the right, which means that if it's White's turn, White can change the position to a 0, and if it's Black's turn, Black can change the position to a 1. Thus the following in the middle of a Go board might have value 1/2:

$$Wcm31
$$ X X X O
$$ X . . O
$$ X X X O

The great thing about surreal numbers is that since they're numbers, you can add them. Adding them corresponds to having situations in distinct parts of the Go board. Then you can see what the whole game's worth (i.e., how much Black will win by). Of course, this is only practical in the endgame. See this Sensei's page for an example of a situation worth -10 31/32. And check out this pdf or this book by Knuth to get an introduction to surreal numbers.

And Games

When we throw away the condition that "each number in the left set is less than each number in the right set," and just let anything at all that was previously defined show up in either set, we get things such as

* = {0|0}

where the situation is not technically zero, but either White or Black can move to a position where the situation is zero. For instance, * is the value of a draw with one dame left in a ruleset where we are obligated to fill in dame.

Everything that we obtain in this way is called a game. Notice that then  Conway's book On Numbers and Games uses "number" to mean surreal number, and "game" to mean this. Follow the links on The Sensei's page on Combinatorial Game Theory to find out more specifics.

The Main Results

I would have to say the "elimination of dominated and reversible options" is one of the main results within combinatorial game theory applicable to Go. Pages 17-19 of this paper by Brit C. A. Milvang-Jensen explain it well. Unfortunately, as the Sensei's page on Canonical Form points out, the fact that a certain position may count as a ko threat may be lost when we eliminate dominated and reversible options, so the application of the result is not formally straightforward.

The most salient concept from combinatorial game theory in Go is probably that of temperature, or miai value, and cooling. Temperature is how much more Black would gain from playing in a position than from passing, and cooling is a method of reckoning in which one imagines having to pay a tax of a certain number of prisoners for the privilege of playing in a certain position.

The most thorough book on mathematical Go is probably Mathematical Go: Chilling Gets the Last Point by Berlekamp and Wolfe. This Sensei's page about it includes an example of a situation to which it's easy to apply the theory if you know it well, but professional 9-dans may puzzle over it to no avail.


Scenario 55, can you attack medusa without the mirror? Played this scenario with a group today and got into a debate on whether or not you needed the mirror to attack Medusa. I know that the killing blow had to be made by someone with the mirror though.

Page 5 of the rule book incidentally describes what "cannot die" implies, albeit in the context of Explorers before the haunt starts. It's worded in a way that implies a definition of the term, however.

  Before the haunt starts, no one can die - that is, no trait can go below its lowest number in the line (it stays at the lowest number instead).

The Secrets of Survival book indicates the following special rule for the survivors:

  Medusa can be killed only by an explorer who deals enough physical damage to kill the traitor while possessing an Image in the Mirror card.

While the game does not explain what "cannot die" means in the context of the traitor, it is reasonable to expect that they follow the same rules as the Explorers do pre-haunt. When you inflict physical damage to Medusa, if you do not have an Image in the Mirror card, Medusa does not reduce her stats to the Skull if the damage otherwise would.


Saboteur/survival game with dice mechanics I'm trying to remember a game I played a year or so ago.

Traitor/Hidden Saboteur premises with dice based game play.
You are all on a ship or base with various bits that become damaged over time. The good guys are trying to survive to a set round limit (I think) and the Saboteur wants them to fail and the base to break or for characters to die/be eliminated.

Each round there is something to fix and its a skill test you beat with numbers on a dice. On your turn you roll the dice behind a little cardboard screen and you must then select one to put towards the skill check. However the dice have negative and positive numbers and you must play at least one.

This means that placing a negative dice doesn't reveal you as the traitor, you could just be someone who had a bad roll and is putting a -1 because that is the best you can do.

I think the dice colours were blue, black and red.

Sounds like Dark Moon which started life as a fan supplement for Battlestar Galactica.


Do Adventure cards count towards "number of instant and sorcery cards in your graveyard"? If I summon Crackling Drake while having only having a Giant Killer on my graveyard (or in exile) will my Drake be 0/4 or 1/4?

I got confused by some answers. Some say that when an adventure card is anywhere except the stack it's a Creature card. So it would be 0/1.

But there is this example from rule 601.3e:

  Melek, Izzet Paragon says, in part, "You may cast the top card of your library if it's an instant or sorcery card." If you control Melek, Izzet Paragon and the top card of your library is Giant Killer, you may cast Chop Down.

In the case above Giant Killer (Chop Down) is considered a Instant Card, but there is also this example:

  You won't be able to cast Chop Down with the ability of Torrential Gearhulk because in your graveyard, it is not an instant and it would thus be an illegal target.

So now Giant Killer (Chop Down) is not considered an Instant Card.

Can anyone explain what makes these cases different? Is it because it's being "targeted" or maybe because one is being cast from the library and the other one from the graveyard?

Thanks!

No, an adventure card is an instant/sorcery only on the stack and only if it's being cast as such. At any other time, it counts as a creature object. You can cast the adventure part through Melek because of intricacies in the spell casting rules.

715.4. In every zone except the stack, and while on the stack not as an Adventure, an adventurer card has only its normal characteristics.

So for current adventure cards, they are only creature cards while in exile or the graveyard, and do not count for Crackling Drake.
So if Giant Killer is only a creature card in the library, why can you cast it with Melek? The example you gave is from rule 601.3e:

601.3e If a rule or effect states that only an alternative set of characteristics or a subset of characteristics are considered to determine if a card or copy of a card is legal to cast, those alternative characteristics replace the object’s characteristics prior to determining whether the player may begin to cast it.
Example: Garruk’s Horde says, in part, “You may cast the top card of your library if it’s a creature card.” If you control Garruk’s Horde and the top card of your library is a noncreature card with morph, you may cast it using its morph ability.
Example: Melek, Izzet Paragon says, in part, “You may cast the top card of your library if it’s an instant or sorcery card.” If you control Melek, Izzet Paragon and the top card of your library is Giant Killer, an adventurer creature card whose Adventure is an instant named Chop Down, you may cast Chop Down but not Giant Killer. If instead you control Garruk’s Horde and the top card of your library is Giant Killer, you may cast Giant Killer but not Chop Down.

The fact remains that Giant Killer is only a creature card while in the library. However, due to the rules around adventure cards, if you can cast Giant Killer, you may instead cast it as Chop Down, in which case it assumes its alternative characteristics, which include being an instant, so it's eligible for Melek.

715.3. As a player casts an adventurer card, the player chooses whether they cast the card normally or as an Adventure.

So Melek looks at the top card of your library and asks "Can I cast you as an instant or sorcery", and Giant Killer says "Yes, but only if you cast me as Chop Down". Therefore, you are allowed to cast Chop Down, but not Giant Killer through Melek.
So if you can cast Chop down with Melek, why can't you through Torrential Gearhulk? The difference is that the Gearhulk's ability requires a target card. Since, as we already established, Giant Killer is a creature card in the graveyard, the Gearhulk can not target it in the first place. The ability either has to target a different card or is immediately removed from the stack due to lack of targets, and you can't get permission to cast Chop Down that way.


Am I allowed to have a creature have 0 toughness, but still assign combat damage? So basically, I have this card called Metropolis Sprite, and I was wondering, after blockers are declared, right before combat, can I use the ability multiple times to make it say a 3/0 or 4/-1 and have it still do damage, but die after?

No

You can activate Metropolis Sprite's ability one or more times before combat damage is dealt. However, after each use of the ability resolves (before damage is dealt), state based actions will be checked. When this happens the game will look to see if Metropolis Sprite has more that 0 toughness. If it doesn't, it will be put into the graveyard. Then, combat damage will be dealt. If Metropolis Sprite isn't on the battlefield at this point, it won't deal any damage.

Similarly, if Metropolis Sprite is at 0 toughness (perhaps from a prior use of it's ability), there won't be a moment for you to activate its ability again. (IE, it's impossible to get Metropolis sprite to 4/-1 with just the creature's ability.)


Cause of abbreviations on Yu-gi-oh! cards Why are certain Yu-gi-oh! cards abbreviated in unusual and inconsistent ways?

A number of Yu-gi-oh! cards have unusual, inconsistent abbreviations in their card names that stand out.

Perhaps the most notable is the Lord of D.:

This card abbreviates the word which is clearly supposed to represent "dragon" without apparent reason for doing so.  The word is definitely not too long to fit - other card names can testify to that.  The word itself is also not taboo - it appears in the names of other cards, as well as in it's own body text in describing a creature type (Dragon-Type, a core creature type).

Speaking of dragons, another example comes in the form of the Red Eyes B. Dragon.  Here, the word "black" has been abbreviated.  Again, proof that the name wouldn't have been too long otherwise can be seen by comparing it to the Blue Eyes White Dragon, which is slightly longer in its first word and identical in length in the third word in question.  The name "Red-Eyes Black Dragon" is also spoken aloud prominently in the show, as it is a trademark card held by main character Joey Wheeler.

Perhaps the most awkward is the card, "The A. Forces."  In this particular case, I can not even tell what this letter stands for despite analyzing the context (perhaps its the same word as the one found here?  Joking, of course, but that would actually give it a reason to be censored!)

What is the reasoning behind this haphazard abbreviating of seemingly random words on these cards?

As strange as it sometimes comes through, Yu-Gi-Oh! Cards are commonly being censored for the western market, not only visually, but also in text. One prominent example is the renaming of "Magic Cards" to "Spell Cards" shortly after the release of the third set "Magic Ruler", which was released as "Spell Ruler" in Europe. This renaming is probably due to Wizards of the Coast complaining about the similarity to their own game's name ("Magic the Gathering") and possibly even threatening legal action.

Notably, Konami was very strict in removing sexual, cultural, religious and political references as much as possible, but also several cases of copyright driven censoring (like the Magic thing mentioned above). Examples include

Premature Burial, Injection Fairy Lily or The Cheerful Coffin (the originals had cross symbols in their pictures, religious reference),
Sangan (who was originally called "Critter", which was too close to the unrelated "Critters" franchise/brand),
Tragedy (the original showed a Guillotine, which refers to European and notably French history as a symbol of the cruelty during the French Revolution) as well as
countless girlish characters whose clothes and bodily features were "adjusted" (most well-known example for this is Dark Magician Girl).

There are many, many more examples.

As for your examples:

Lord of Dragons doesn't seem to be offensive, so it's either a copyright thing (there are several "Dragon Lord" brands in gaming and entertainment) or one of the few cases where the name was already abbreviated in the OCG for style reasons. @Discord's guess is actually not that far off, avoiding the reference to the Dragon-type might actually have been a reason so as not to confuse the children this game was targeted at.
Red-Eyes B. Dragon is interestingly the only one (well, the only family) where they did it by abbreviating, but the word Black was entirely stripped from Yu-Gi-Oh!. I have no idea why they did this, but up to this day, nearly every single instance of the word Black has been categorically censored. Dark Magician, Dark Hole, Dark Magician Girl, Dark Magician of Chaos and many more all had the Black instead of the Dark when they were first released in Japan. Some of Red-Eyes' cousins share the transition to "Dark" (Red-Eyes Darkness (Metal) Dragon), some don't (Red-Eyes B. Chick). As far as I know, the only exceptions to the Black censorship are all objects without soul (such as Pitch-Black Power Stone), which supports the theory that this censorship is intended to avoid references to skin colour (as pointed out by @SQB).
The A. Forces, as has been noted by @ire_and_curses, is a reference to the Allied Forces, which is a term used to describe Germany's enemies during World War II (specifically, the USA, the UK, France and Russia), who ended up winning the war and dividing Germany, leading to a long history of cultural, economical and political tension known as the Cold War. The term has also been used in other military contexts, but always in conjunction with war.


Are there any Xanathar Strategies for Skullport I played a game of Lords of Waterdeep and received The Xanathar as my lord, who in my opinion is the worst of them all.  My question is are there any viable strategies to win with the Xanathar, knowing that my opponents will avoid having minimal if any corruption tokens at the end of the game?  When playing this lord I always seem to end up in dead last, due to not having access to any bonus points.

As a general rule, you should be looking to take more actions that give you corruption than the other players. For all players, these actions give more resources than other actions in exchange for an end-game penalty. For The Xanathar, this end-game penalty is less than it is for other players. If you end the game with no corruption tokens with The Xanathar, then you haven't taken any advantage of his strategy, and you have just played the way you would have with any other Lord.

If you end the game with 10 corruption tokens, and no one else has any, then you will get -40 from the penalty, and 40 from The Xanathar's bonus. It is NOT accurate in this case to say that you got no bonus from The Xanathar. Rather, you got a 40 point bonus. The -40 that you got is theoretically offset by the extra-powerful actions and quests that you had throughout the game.

While other players will be taking those extra powerful actions and quests sometimes, they will also be spending other actions to get rid of corruption. Either way, this means that the player who ends with the most corruption should have gotten more out of their actions throughout the game than other players.

This doesn't mean that you should go crazy with taking corruption. If you have 19 corruption tiles, for -7 each, then the bonus isn't going to be enough to save you from that.

Finally, keep in mind that The Xanathar is more difficult to play than the other Lords, and it very well may be weaker in general.

Here are a few threads where this is discussed in depth:

How to win with the Xanathar

Xanathar, Halaster, Sangalor: New lord cards broken?

The Xanathar


What happens to the House card in Monopoly Deal if I lose my complete set? In Monopoly Deal, if I'm forced to sell off one of my properties, and that property is part of a complete set with a House on it, what happens to the House?

I would think it should be discarded, but this came up today and I wasn't sure what the proper ruling was.

This question is probably too old to be answered again, but the accepted answer sounds incorrect according to several sources.

http://monopoly.wikia.com/wiki/Monopoly_Deal

  If a property set has a House/Hotel on
  it and the property set is broken up,
  the House/Hotel is moved to the
  owner's bank, per Hasbro.

http://boardgamegeek.com/thread/375594/rules-clarification

  Hasbro wrote:
  If you break up a full
  set that has houses and hotels, those
  houses and hotels have to go into your
  bank.

And you probably had stop playing. But might be useful for new players like me :)


Settlers of Catan 15th Anniversary Edition? I just heard about a 15th-anniversary edition of the Settlers of Catan game, and I must be blind because I can't find anything on Mayfair's site about it.

So my questions are:

What exactly are the contents?
How does this differ from the 10th-anniversary version?  Is it not 3D?
Is this in English or German?

I held this in my hands last week.  (Closed box)

All wood, large painted set
It is not 3D, but the tiles looked quite thick (nearly domino sized)
English version
Retailed for $150 I believe
Has the 5-6 player expansion in it as well

Here is the page at Mayfair.


Exalted trigger timing My opponent is playing an exalted deck and I am playing Pyxis of Pandemonium. The exalted text reads:

  Whenever a creature you control attacks alone, that creature gets +1/+1 until the end of the turn.

After my opponent declares attackers but before we move into the declare blockers phase I activate Pyxis of Pandemonium's second ability:

  Each player turns face up all cards he or she owns exiled with Pyxis of Pandemonium, then puts all permanent cards among them onto the battlefield.

As a result my opponent gets permanents that have the exalted ability. Will these newly created permanents exalted ability trigger or have they entered the battlefield too late? Does my opponent have the opportunity to change his attackers as we are still in the declare attackers phase? (not to the new creatures however as they will have summoning sickness)

The creatures enter the battlefield too late for their "exalted" abilities to trigger.  "Whenever [object] attacks" abilities only trigger when attackers are actually declared; as the newly un-exiled creatures were not on the battlefield at that time, their abilities did not trigger, and they cannot trigger after the event has already taken place.

  508.2a Abilities that trigger on a creature attacking trigger only at the point the creature is declared as an attacker.

Also, your opponent cannot change attackers after they have already been successfully declared, regardless of what step you're on.


Small World: Strategies for using dwarves in a 2-player game We started playing Small World in a 2-player setup and the race which we found very difficult to play was Dwarves. The con of dwarves is their low number of troops (3), which means that it is hard to exploit their special ability (doubled income from mines, even in decline) as they quickly become short in numbers.

One of interesting setups we tried was flying dwarves which made it easy to catch a few of mines, although on the small map it was also easy for the opponent to conquer the mines rendering the dwarf special power not so useful. After a few tries we ended up avoiding dwarves in 2-player games.

Are there any potentially successful dwarf strategies on the small map, or are dwarves a kind of niche play that is only reasonable in bigger games?

Dwarves just aren't a great race, you're never going to want to pick them highly.  However, once there is a little stack of Victory coins on top of them, who knows?  If you reckon you are in a position to conquer a couple of Mine regions (perhaps, as you say, by Flying) and then hold them over a fair number of turns, defended by your Active race, then they may be cost effective.

In general though, it's not advisable to look at Small World and say "all races and powers must be balanced - if this one seems excessively weak, I must be missing something".  The races and powers are not created equal: players must use their skill and judgment to decide how much they're willing to pay to grab a good combo, or willing to be paid to take a less-than-attractive one.  That's one of the major factors in being a great Small World player!