Does the first strike damage step happen even if no first strike damage is going to be dealt? Inspired by this question

Lets suppose that I attack with multiple creatures, and one of them has first strike but not trample. That creature gets blocked, but the blocker gets bounced/killed before the combat damage step.
Now I have an attacking creature with first strike, but no first strike damage is going to be dealt. Will there be an additional combat damage step anyway?

I believe the answer is yes, but the rules are not clear about it and it is counterintuitive enough that I want to make sure. Also note that this question is purely hypothetical, I have yet to come up wth a situation where this would be relevant.

Relevant rules:

  510.5. If at least one attacking or blocking creature has first strike (see rule 702.7) or double strike (see rule 702.4) as the combat
  damage step begins, the only creatures that assign combat damage in
  that step are those with first strike or double strike. After that
  step, instead of proceeding to the end of combat step, the phase gets
  a second combat damage step.

When a creature with First Strike or Doublestrike does combat, there will be a second combat damage step, whether or not that creature actually deals damage.

510.5. If at least one attacking or blocking creature has first strike (see rule 702.7) or double strike (see rule 702.4) as the combat damage step begins, the only creatures that assign combat damage in that step are those with first strike or double strike. After that step, instead of proceeding to the end of combat step, the phase gets a second combat damage step.

Nothing in that sentence indicates that one of these creatures has to be able to deal >= 1 damage for the second combat damage step to occur. The presence of "at least one attacking or blocking creature [having] first strike (see rule 702.7) or double strike (see rule 702.4) as the combat damage step begins" is the only condition for the consequences laid out in the rest of the rule. Also, "assigning" and "dealing" combat damage are two different things:

510.1. First, the active player announces how each attacking creature assigns its combat damage, then the defending player announces how each blocking creature assigns its combat damage. [..]
510.2. Second, all combat damage that’s been assigned is dealt simultaneously. [..]

If your suspicion were the case, even power-reducing effects like from Bewilder or damage-preventing effects like from Healing Salve, or any number of other effects that would result in no combat damage could prevent the second combat damage phase from happening, which appears even less plausible.


Can Etrata 'hit' commanders and count them toward game loss? Etrata, the Silencer has this ability:

Whenever Etrata deals combat damage to a player, exile target creature that player controls and put a hit counter on that card. That player loses the game if they own three or more exiled cards with hit counters on them. Etrata’s owner shuffles Etrata into their library.

It used to be the case that it would be useless to exile a commander this way. However as of June 7 2020, MTGCommander.net announced a new rule for sending your commander to the command zone from graveyard or exile that now uses state-based actions:

If a commander is in a graveyard or in exile and that card was put into that zone since the last time state-based actions were checked, its owner may put it into the command zone.

(The hand/library rule is still a replacement effect.)
Under these rules, can I exile somebody's commander with Etrata and count it toward them potentially losing the game?

Yes, you can exile a player's commander this way now, and you can cause that player to lose the game this way if it's the third card of theirs you exiled with a hit counter. This happens even if the player wants to move their commander to the command zone—because they lose the game before they get the option to do that. However, it still won't be helpful to pick their commander for the first or second 'hit'.
The events now unfold like this:

Etrata deals combat damage to a player.
Her ability goes on the stack. You choose their commander as the target.
(Let's assume players do nothing in response and let the ability resolve.)
Etrata's ability resolves. As part of resolution, the target creature is exiled with a hit counter on it. Then, that creature's owner loses if they have three or more cards in exile with hit counters on them. Then, Etrata gets shuffled into her owner's library.
Now that Etrata's ability has finished resolving, state-based actions are checked. As part of this, the player whose commander was just exiled has the choice to move their commander to the command zone:

If they choose to move their commander, it vanishes from exile and is now in the command zone without a hit counter on it. It will not count toward future 'hits' anymore.
If they choose to leave it in exile, it will stay there with a hit counter on it.

You'll see that during ability resolution their commander is still in exile. This means if you've exiled two other cards and then the player's commander, that player now loses the game. They don't have the option yet to move their commander out of exile.
If you exile their commander for the first or second hit, then they won't lose the game and can subsequently move the commander out so it won't count as a hit for the next time. So that's still not a good choice.
What if I have multiple Etratas, or I copy her ability with Strionic Resonator?
State-based actions still get checked between any two abilities resolving. If you want to pull this off, Etrata still needs to exile their commander for the last 'hit' and not the first or second. This means target the commander with the first such trigger that goes on the stack.
This would work:

Attack with three Etratas (using Helm of the Host) that all deal combat damage to the player.
Because the abilities go on the stack simultaneously, you choose the order. Choose their commander for the first ability to go on the stack, then two other creatures for the next two.
The topmost Etrata ability resolves, exiles one of those other creatures, and doesn't cause the player to lose the game.
The next Etrata ability resolves doing the same with another creature.
The last Etrata ability resolves, exiles their commander, and causes them to lose the game.

This would also work:

Have a card owned by that player in exile with a hit counter on it from a previous turn.
Attack with one Etrata and deal combat damage to that player.
Etrata's ability goes on the stack — choose their commander for the target.
Using Strionic Resonator, copy the ability and choose another creature for the target. This goes on the stack on top of the original trigger.
The copied ability resolves first, exiling the other creature for the second 'hit'.
The original ability resolves next, exiling their commander for the third 'hit' and causing them to lose the game.

However, if you choose the commander for the first trigger that resolves, the player will be able to move their commander out of the command zone before the next ability resolves. This means the next ability won't count that 'hit'.


Is pawn promotion to rook or bishop something that is seen in play? Reading What is the proper Algebraic Notation for a pawn being promoted? made me wonder whether pawn promotion to rook or bishop ever happens.  The only time I can think this might happen is when promotion to a queen would provide stalemate.

Are there any other situations where one might choose a rook or bishop over a queen (or knight)?  Secondly, has this ever been a case where promotion to a rook/bishop gave an advantage in an actual game?

Under-promotion to bishop/rook happens from time-to-time.  I've only seen it in three cases:

The pawn will be captured regardless of what it's promoted to, and the promoting player wants to be cocky
It's checkmate with just a bishop or just a rook, and the promoting player wants to be cocky (in those cases, a queen would mate also)
Promoting to a queen is stalemate

Of those, the only one that's interesting is #3.  It's extremely rare, but has happened in tournament games.  For example, in the game Ruben - Sultan Khan, 1930:

Playing 1. f8=Q leaves Black in stalemate, but 1. f8=R does not (though 1. Kf6! would have been better :) )

Here is another example (Vasiukov - Tukmakov, 1976)

White, in a last-ditch effort, played 1. Rg1+ -  1.. hxg1=Q would be stalemate!  Black responded 1.. hxg1=R! 0-1

Under-promotion to knight is more common (though still very rare) than to rook/bishop because, unlike rooks/bishops, the knight has the possibility to attack squares the queen cannot, which can sometimes be necessary to win material or force checkmate.


Is the Pandemic expansion "In the Lab" available in multiple languages? I like to play Pandemic. I have bought the game and the expansion "On the Brink" in Dutch.
Is the expansion "In the Lab" available in multiple languages? Even in Dutch?

Check the versions listed on BGG, it appears there's no Dutch version:
https://boardgamegeek.com/browse/boardgameversion?linked_src_objecttype=thing&linked_src_objectid=137136

Also, I haven't found a Dutch version for this on several Belgian and Dutch web shops.

(On a side note: the Dutch version of Pandemic has some textual errors on the role cards. Just in case you didn't know.)


What happens if you have a Uba Mask and a Thought Reflection in play? What happens if you have a Uba Mask and a Thought Reflection in play, do both effects still apply will I just be exiling two cards on each draw step?

The rules for interaction of replacement effects specify that

  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.

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.

Both cards create replacement effects so when they affect you, you choose the order (also the steps 616.1a-616.1c are not relevant here). If you apply the Mask effect first, the Reflection effect has nothing to apply to - you exile one card. If you apply the Reflection effect first the Mask effect will replace both draws with exiles.

This is also mentioned in a ruling on Thought Reflection:

  If two or more replacement effects would apply to a card-drawing event, the player who’s drawing the card chooses what order to apply them.


Rock-paper-scissors type randomizers Most non-luck-free games use either open-ended randomizers (like dice, or spinners) or closed-ended randomizers (cards, chit pulls, etc).

But there is an alternative, which is simultaneous revelation of chosen selections (rock-paper-scissors).  One example of games that use this type of randomizer are games with written orders, like Diplomacy - which is so completely driven by the diplomatic factor that most people regard it as being luck-free.

Are there any games that use rock-paper-scissors type mechanics as an explicit randomizer?

Race for the Galaxy has this kind of randomness in the action selection phase, although it has a lot of luck of the draw in it as well.  A typical early game example is the explore, settle, trade relationship in the early game.  Often, you want to explore if other players trade, settle if they explore, and trade if they settle.

On the other hand, I disagree that this is not inherently lucky.  If we play Rock Paper Scissors, and I play uniformly at random, the only way that you are going to beat me is luck.  Even if we introduce a little bit of information into the game, if I am making a decision that has any randomness in it, and I certainly should be if the game can be reduced to a mixed strategy, then the game still has some luck involved.


How big is a Consuming Aberration after it is stolen with Act of Treason? Suppose I take a Consuming Aberration with an Act of Treason. Consuming Aberration says: Consuming Aberration's power and toughness are each equal to the number of cards in your opponents' graveyards.

Therefore, which graveyard do we count to determine how big the Consuming Aberration is in this instance?

You would count the cards of the graveyards of the opponents of whoever controls the Consuming Aberration. "You" in Static Abilities, such as the one setting Consuming Aberration's power and toughness, refer to the controller of that card. Act of Treason gives you control of the creature, so the Static Abilities are yours. Per the Magic Comp rules (emphasis mine):

  109.5. The words “you” and “your” on an object refer to the object’s controller, its would-be controller
  (if a player is attempting to play, cast, or activate it), or its owner (if it has no controller). For a
  static ability, this is the current controller of the object it’s on. For an activated ability, this is the
  player who activated the ability. For a triggered ability, this is the controller of the object when the
  ability triggered, unless it’s a delayed triggered ability.


Is splitting your 3 settlements allowed? Let's say I've placed settlements in two separate forests. In both forests there are still (more than) 3 fields free. Now I draw another forest card and have to place my 3 settlements.

Am I allowed to split my 3 settlements and place 1 settlement in terrain A and 2 settlements in terrain B? (next to my other settlements, of course)

Or do I have to build these 3 settlements in the same forest terrain, if possible?

As long as you are next to your existing settlements and the terrain types match the card, there is no requirement that the three settlements that you play be in the same physical piece of terrain.


Are Wargames Research Group rules still available? I used to use Wargames Research Group rules, mainly for modern warfare (post-WWII) wargames. Does anyone know if they are still available, or maybe a more recent update of them?

They are still available, though free versions may be hard to track down. The best place to start would be WRG's own website, though copies are for sale on Amazon and elsewhere.


Can I use a nonbasic land that taps and gives me either a red or white mana if I only have red mana in my deck? Can I use a nonbasic land that taps and gives me either a red or white mana if I only have red mana in my deck?

Yes, as long as you're not playing Commander

In normal decks, you can use whatever (format legal) cards you want in any combination. You can play a Plains in an all Red deck if you really want to, though it's probably a bad idea.

If you're playing Commander, there is an additional rule that says that cards must match the color identity of the commander. This means that your cards can't have any mana symbols anywhere on them that don't match one of your commander's colors. In this case, if your commander isn't at least partially white, then you can't use a land that could tap for white mana.


Crimson Hellkite vs Telekinetic Sliver + Darkheart Sliver If player A taps his Telekinetic Sliver to tap an opponent's Crimson Hellkite, the opponent can pay 2 red mana (he can pay X, but lets say he pays two) and tap the Crimson Hellkite to put the effect "Crimson Hellkite does two damage to target creature" on the stack.

Now what if a player has a Darkheart Sliver in play and wants to sacrifice his Telekinetic Sliver to gain three life?  Can he do it?  Does this go on the stack too, and resolve first?

Does the opponent's ability on the stack then fail because there's no target anymore?

Is player A then unable to tap the Crimson Hellkite because it is already tapped?

Is this the correct way to resolve this?  If not, what would be the possible scenarios (for simplicity, assume there are only these three creatures in play, no cards left in players's hands and only basic lands on the table)?

I'm a bit confused by this:

  "Each player chooses the order in which his or her triggered abilities are put on the stack"*

and I've no idea at all if it applies or not to the above scenario.

If player A taps his Telekinetic sliver to tap opponent's Crimson Hellkite, the opponent can pay 2 red mana (he can pay X, but let say he pays two) and tap the Crimson Hellkite to put on the stack "Crimson Hellkite does two damages to target creature".

Correct.

  Now what if player has a Darkheart sliver in play and wants to sacrifice his Telekinetic sliver to gain three life? Can he do it? Does this goes on the stack too and resolve first?

Yes.

  And then the opponent's ability on the stack fails because there's no target anymore?

Yes.

  And then player A cannot tap the Crimson Hellkite because it is already tapped?

The ability played by Player A will still resolve, it just won't change anything, since as you say, the Hellkite is already tapped.

  "Each player chooses the order in which his or her triggered abilities are put on the stack"

There are no triggered abilities in the scenario you outlined. They were all activated abilities. This line does not apply. See 603.1 in the comprehensive rules:

  603.1. Triggered abilities have a trigger condition and an effect. They are written as "[Trigger condition], [effect]," and begin with the word "when," "whenever," or "at." They can also be expressed as "[When/Whenever/At] [trigger event], [effect]."


Band of Misfits copying Feast and then Island I play Throne Room on Band of Misfits and choose Feast.  Since it left play, the next time I play Band of Misfits I can choose a new card, as per this ruling (from the Complete and All-Encompassing FAQ):

  If you use Throne Room to play Band of Misfits twice, it will be the
  chosen card the second time you play it, so you will play it as the
  same card twice. However, if the card is removed from play (like a
  Feast), it will be just a Band of Misfits again the second time. You
  can then choose another Action card from Supply to play it as. The
  card will stay where it is, and the chosen card's abilities will
  trigger even as the Band of Misfits will immidiately revert back to
  being just Band of Misfits (since it's not in play), but you will
  resolve the triggered abilites of the card.

What if I choose Island for the second use?  I don't think Band of Misfits has lost track of itself, so it seems like it should be able to move itself from the trash to your Island mat.  Is that correct?

As of September 2019, Band of Misfits has received official errata that changes its behavior in regards to this question.

The new text for Band of Misfits is:

  Play a non-Command Action card from the Supply that costs less than this, leaving it there.

So Band of Misfits no longer "becomes" another card, instead each time you play it, it causes you to play another card from the supply without that card moving from the supply.

This means that when you use Band of Misfits to play a Feast, the Band of Misfits is no longer trashed. And neither is the Feast because the effect expects Feast to be in play but it isn't. And when you use it to play an Island, you will set aside a card from your hand onto the Island Mat, but neither the Band of Misfits nor the Island will get set aside.

So the new result of Throne Room + Band of Misfits choosing Feast and then Island is:

Play Throne Room

Play Band of Misfits

Play a Feast from the Supply

Gain a card costing up to $5

Play Band of Misfits (again)

Play an Island from the Supply

Choose a card from your hand to put on your Island Mat


In spades, is a deuce of clubs considered a spade? In Spades, is a deuce of clubs/hearts considered a spade?  I played with some people that argued they consider their suit to be spade.

The deuce of club and hearts do not considered a spade in the standard game, however there are variants where they do.
From Pagat:

In some versions of Spades, some or all of the four twos are elevated to the top of the spade suit, are ranked in some specified order, and are considered to be spades. The rest of the cards rank as in normal.

For example, in the New York City rules the trump suit ranks is as follows: big joker, small joker, 2♦, 2♠, A, K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3
In the Deuces high rules the trump suit is is as follows:2♠, 2♦, 2♣ 2♡, A, K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3
Those variants are pretty common, and are implemented for example at AI-factory's Spades free app.


What is needed to play X-wing with 4 players? I've heard that we can play X-wing with 4 players. Does anyone know if this requires an expansion, or is it perhaps a house rule?

The game is structured such that there are shared turn phases.  Everyone's moves happen in a single phase and the order is determined by model statistics.  Then everyone's shooting happens in a single phase and the order is determined by model statistics.  You can basically add as many people to that system as you like and they just take their actions in order based on their model's stats.

To play in two teams of two all you need is to own enough models so that each team member has enough to control that the game is interesting.

To play in a free-for-all with more than two players the only house rule required would be determining the tie-breaker for who goes first when two models have tied statistics.  (In the two player game it is always Imperials have the initiative if all other checks are tied, so if there are "imperial" players who are enemies you need a system to break the tie.)


How does having multiple permanents with the same name affect those permanents' abilities? Many abilities in MTG use a permanent's name in the ability. Does this mean that if I have 2 copies of that permanent, the ability will affect both permanents?

Activated ability example:
Vector Asp - If I activate the ability of one of my Vector Asps, can I choose which of them gain infect until end of turn? Or will they both gain infect?

Triggered ability example:
Sin Collector - If I cast a second Sin Collector, when it enters the battlefield, will each Sin Collector trigger and allow me to exile a total of 2 cards instead of 1?

No to all.

When an ability uses the name of the card it is printed on, it actually just means "this object", not "an object that has this name".

  201.4. Text that refers to the object it's on by name means just that particular object and not any other objects with that name, regardless of any name changes caused by game effects.

So Vector Asp's text really means "{B}: This object gains infect until end of turn."

In order to get the sort of effect you are thinking of, the ability would use the language "a card named [card name]". For example, Daru Cavalier. It says "you may search your library for a card named Daru Cavalier", which allows you to find any card with that name.


Soviet space exploration board game (now with pictures) I have an archaeological question :). I used to have this space exploration board game that my father bought in the USSR in the 80s. I can't remember its name and I've been trying to find it on Russian websites for several days now, but it seems to be rather obscure and rare. I remember it had a board put together from several separate cardboard pieces (not foldable as usual). There were pictures of various Soviet space probes and satellites printed around the board. The main theme, if I recall correctly, was to put your satellites around major planets. The dominant color on the board was dark blue, with pictures of planets and stars. I have already checked that it was NOT any of the following:

Большое космическое путешествие (Great cosmic voyage)
Риск (Risk)
Космос (Cosmos)
В космос (Into the cosmos)
Приключения на Луне (Adventures on the Moon)

Any help in identifying this game will be greatly appreciated.

EDIT:
I remember one more thing, although not that relevant. The player's pieces look a bit like these, although slightly more slender and reminiscent of a space rocket.

Ok, after a visit to my grandmother I was able to unearth the box with the game. To my delight it was almost completely intact. It's called "Путешествие в космос" ("A trip to space"). It's really hard to find anything related to this game on Google - all the results refer to a newer game by the same title. I'll post some more details, including a scan of the manual and photos of the board, later today or maybe tomorrow.
EDIT:
Ok, while waiting for the BoardGameGeek submission to be accepted, I decided to post the photos now for everyone to see. Enjoy!!!
If someone would be interested in the English translation of the manual, let me know.
EDIT 2:
The submission to BoardGameGeek has finally been accepted. You can view it here. Have fun!!!
Box

Manual Cover

Manual Text

Board Front (Upper Left)

Board Front (Upper Right)

Board Front (Lower Right)

Board Front (Lower Left)

Board Back (Lower Left)

Board Back (Lower Right)

Board Back (Upper Right)

Board Back (Upper Left)


Are Kaladesh cards still Standard legal? I am still seeing deck recipes with cards from Kaladesh block like Botanical Sanctum and Metallic Mimic. I thought that Kaladesh block was rotating, are the cards still legal?

Standard currently consists of the following sets

Kaladesh
Aether Revolt
Amonkhet
Hour of Devastation
Ixalan
Rivals of Ixalan

The next rotation will occur when the set after Core 2019 releases. At that time Kaladesh, Aether Revolt, Amonkhet and Hour of Devastation will rotate.


Mah Jongg set recommendations? I have wanted to get a Mah Jongg set, but have hesistated because I don't know what to look for in a set so I don't buy something flimsy.

Can anyone suggest what makes a good (or bad) Mah Jongg set? (e.g. materials, printing, etc.)

Good but inexpensive set:

Decent weight bakelite or similar plastic pieces, readable "engraved" (molded, really) figures.

I've a set I paid $15 for back in 1988; it's got a few thousand hands on it (I used to play a full game of 16 hands every week, sometimes more than one), and it's still in great shape, but the vinyl over cardboard snap case is about dead. Replacing it would be about $25-$35 now. Higher end plastic sets run to about $50-$75

For the simplest "traditional" game, you need set with just the 7 honors (4 each: N, S, E, W, C {Red}, F {green}, and blank). You should hold out for one with 4 flowers and 4 seasons.

For the American game, 8 "big jokers" are also needed.

It's nice if the set has a deal marker and round marker; many times, this is a die for the round, and a carrier which the die fits into as a round marker.

Almost all sets come with 3 pretty poor quality dice.

It's generally worth it to make certain at least the suit of 10,000's (characters) is marked with western numbers as well; it isn't needed, but is nice, on the suits of bamboo and coins (balls).

The better looking the winds and seasons, the easier they are to tell from the 1 bamboo.

Some have marked extra tiles, usually marked "B"... I use these as my 7th honor, and reserve the blanks as replacement tiles.

More expensive set

Look for the wood or bamboo to be slotted, and the ivory or bone to fit that slot tightly; you should see no space, and normally, the slot is dovetailed. Bone will have visible pores, and is pretty opaque; Ivory has a different pattern, and is slightly translucent. In both cases, look for paint only in the engraved areas, even pieces, and consistent size and color.

If you find an ivory set for under $100, suspect that you're being had. Inexpensive ivory sets just don't exist... many that claim it are bleached bone, or even plastic.

Bone sets can look very nice. But they also run $50 to $150 depending on a lot of factors.

Paper Sets

Mah Jongg cards (often spelled kards) are available for under $25. Most are only the traditional set, usually with both the four winds and four seasons, and the blank is replaced with a white dragon image.

So long as the set is a comfortable size, and is plastic coated, it should work fine.

One can make a passable set using a Mah Jongg font, and an business card template. If you laminate the cards with contact laminate, they come out feeling like lightweight japanese cards... And play just fine.

One other word of warning: when searching for Mah Jongg Cards, you'll get some hits that are the scoring combinations for the American Game, rather than cards with which you play the game itself. Kards almost always refers to playing pieces.

Final Thoughts

If you and those you play with are comfortable with the visible symbols, the set is good enough.
if you find an american style set, it gives you the option to play either game. If you get a traditional set, you can't play the american game.


Are 'tiles' that are part of the coastline counted when scoring? In Carcassonne: New World, the game doesn't start with a single start tile but with a board representing a coastline, that of the East Coast of the USA. It is divided by lines to mimic tiles, against which the players' tiles are placed. When scoring a feature that contains these starting 'tiles', are these counted?

Again, US rules to the rescue. My Dutch rules do not include these examples, but in the scoring examples in the rules of the US version, one of the examples shows a trail (this would be a road in regular Carcassonne) that consists of two tiles and two tile-sized sections of the starting board. The score is calculated using all four tiles.


Can I look up a large list of cards on MagicCardMarket.eu? MagicCardMarket.eu is apparently the go-to store for buying Magic cards in Europe, and I'm using it for the first time. I've a list of cards I'd like to buy to finalise a deck, and I can't find any way to search for them except one by one.

Other card sellers I was used to using in another country let me input my entire want list and search for all those cards at once -- and it'd make suggestions for each one. I gather I can set up a want list so that sellers can contact me, but that's an advertising mecahnism, not a search mechanism — I want to search for all cards on a list I've got.

Thanks to JonTheMon in chat I've been able to find out how to get to this feature. It's a registration-only feature hidden behind another feature.

The basic steps are: register → set up a wants list → via that wants list, enter the shopping wizard.

The detailed steps

Register an account. You can't access the feature anonymously yet.
Once your account is registered and verified, mouse over the Buying menu and pick My Wants from the dropdown.
Once on the Wants screen you'll see nothing other than the option to create a "new list" with a single input. This input will be used to name the list itself:

Enter the name of your list here and hit the plus button. In my case I named the list after the deck I was buying cards for, and called it "hapatra wants". You can set up other Want lists later, or delete them.
Once your list is created you'll see the screen below. Hit Add Deck List for mass adding:

Enter your cards in the 1x Card name format and hit the plus when you want to add them:

You'll see a confirmation below, and can hit the small "back to your wants list" button at the bottom:

Now that your wants list is set up, you can hit Shopping Wizard:

From the shopping list you can configure how you want to search, and it'll produce one or more batches of cards from sellers matching your criteria.


In Diplomacy, will I be "cornered" as Turkey if I don't use the "juggernaut" opening? Turkey is fairly easy to play in an alliance with Russia (the "juggernaut"). The two of them partition the Balkans and Austria-Hungary, possibly with the help of Italy. Then they go their separate ways with Russia fighting Germany and/or England, while an enlarged Turkey crushes Italy. They need to come to an agreement about the Black Sea, but as long as Turkey builds mainly fleets and Russia mainly armies, they're fine.

A problem seems to arise if Turkey allies with say, Austria-Hungary against Russia. Turkey can get control of the Black Sea and Sevastopol (maybe Rumania). But it needs fleets to cover these areas, and its navy seems to be stretched out between these areas and the Mediterranean. If it tries to move north, it will likely be "capped by whoever (Germany or Britain) has captured Moscow.

Turkey's next natural target seems to be Italy (another naval power), except that it is vulnerable to a counterblow by land from Austria-Hungary in the Balkans. And if Austria-Hungary builds mainly armies, the combined Turkish and Italian land forces might have difficulty reconquering the Balkans even if they were allied.

So how would Turkey avoid getting "boxed in," absent an alliance with Russia?

Well the answer to the question literally posed in the title is yes. You can be boxed in, but this will not necessarily happen. Hey, even if you do ally with Russia, Austria and Italy can put up an effective blockade keeping you in the corner.

It is certainly a viable strategy with significant growth opportunities to ally with either Austria or Italy. (Maybe you really should be asking Don Scheifler and not me, since he soloed as Turkey off the back of an Austrian-Turkish alliance at the recent World Championships).

The key, as always, is to try to keep your growth paths open while keeping your allies busy so that they can't afford to stab you. Of course the other six players are trying to do the same thing...

To look at the particular senario you bring up of an alliance with Austria. OK so you've got the Russian neutralised and say picked up SEV in the process (which is a great longterm gain), then barring western intervention (and this is the key), you and Austria are favourites to roll through Italy. Yes a stab is a risk, but this is the case in any alliance. Arguably an Austrian stab is less likely to be devastating than a Russian stab, since under normal circumstances Turkish home centres can't be taken without fleet power which Austria is unlikely to posess. Just keep your ally busy and then they won't have the units free to stab you (or you could be the stabber).


What are the biggest events to follow for the most competitive decks in Magic the Gathering? Obviously I would be following the Grand Prix, Pro Tours and World Championships that are hosted by Wizards of the Coast. I'm assuming events hosted by Star City Games are worth following too (do they provide deck lists)?

What are the big events that provide deck lists that I should be following to be the most up to date on Standard decks?

Now that TCGPlayer.com includes decklists from StarCityGames (SCG) and larger MTGO tournaments, they are my go-to site for decklists. Here is a search for the number 1 and 2 decks from all of the recent major Standard tournaments.

In case the link rots, you can go to TCGPlayer.com, click on "Magic Decks", and search for the winning decks from major events. Right now it looks like they include:

Grand Prixs
Pro Tours
Pro Tour Qualifiers (including those on MTGO)
Magic Online Championship Series (MOCS)
SCG Classic/SCG Open

You can also view the MOCS decklists directly on the Wizards of the Coast website. The search functionality is pretty buggy. Searching for Standard format will yield no results in over two years. However, you can search for "Standard MOCS" without quotes to get at the more recent results.

StarCityGames.com also hosts their own decklists, which you can find here.


How do Aether Rift and Library of Leng interact? Let me give you a run down of the board state.

I had an Elderscale Wurm enchanted with Canopy Cover on the battlefield. Damage could not reduce my life total below 7.

My opponent had Forgestoker Dragon on the battlefield and a lot of other, smaller creatures. He could pay to kill any other creature that came out on the battlefield, but had no effects in his deck to deal with Elderscale Wurm nor Canopy Cover.

Similarly I had no way to deal with his dragon, and if I attacked with my Elderscale Wurm it would die, and I would lose to his horde.

But, I had one more card in my library than he did, so we assumed I would eventually win until we looked at the other two cards my opponent had on the battlefield- Aether Rift and Library of Leng.

Aether Rift says:

  Enchantment

  At the beginning of your upkeep, discard a card at random. If you discard a creature card this way, return it from your graveyard to the battlefield unless any player pays 5 life.

Library of Leng says:

  Artifact

  You have no maximum hand size. If an effect causes you to discard a card, discard it, but you may put it on top of your library instead of into your graveyard.

My opponent only had creatures in his hand. He wanted to use the interaction between these two cards to randomly discard a card, not pay 5 life,(I could not pay the 5 life cost because it would bring me below 7 life, negating Elderscale Wurm's effect) and have it go back to the top of his library, so that he would have 1 more card than I did, thus I would mill out before he did.

Is that how this interaction works?

He would be able to put a card on top of his library in order to not lose, but not quite the way you are thinking it works.

What happens is a the beginning of your opponent's upkeep Aether Rift's ability goes on the stack, and when it resolves they discard a card at random. when the card gets discarded Library of Leng's replacement effect occurs allowing your opponent to put the card on top of their library. If they chose to put the card on top of their library the rest of Aether Rift's ability doesn't apply since as far as the game knows a creature card was never discarded (a card was discarded if anything else cares about that, but nothing is known about that card, including its type [CR 701.7c]). Your opponent will then draw the card they just "discarded" at the beginning of their draw step. They can keep repeating this process until you run out of cards in your library.


Does attacking Ochran Assassin ( with +1 counter) kill both Swiftblade Vindicator and Garrison Sergeant with double strike? I saw a similar question regarding Ochran Assassin against first strike. Mine is similar, but the here it goes:

I have two creatures; Swiftblade Vindicator 1/1 with Double strike, and Garrison Sergeant with double strike since I control a Boros Gate.

The Ochran Assassin attacks me with a counter, so his total is 2/2. I am forced to block with both, but the attacking player chooses the order. First he hits my Swiftblade, and after my Garrison.

My question here is this: If Swiftblade Vindicator has double strike, he hits the Ochran in the first combat step. In the second they both hit eachother. This far I understand.

But at this point I thought that both die, and the Ochran can't hit the Garrison Sergeant. But my friend said that apparently he can still hit him with 0 hp, during the 2nd combat step, after having battled my Swiftblade Vindicator.

Is this correct, or should my Garrison Sergeant have survived this encounter, being 2nd in the order block order?

In this situation, the Assassin dies in the first strike combat damage step, before it has a chance to deal any damage. Your opponent chooses the order in which the Assassin deals combat damage to your creatures, but that doesn't affect when your creatures deal their combat damage.

Both of your creatures have double strike, so in the first combat damage step they deal a total of 4 damage to the Assassin and the Assassin dies.

If the Garrison Sergeant did not have double strike, this would play out differently. In the first combat damage step, the Vindicator would deal 1 damage to the Assassin. So the Assassin would have 1 damage marked on it so it would still be alive. Then in the second combat damage step, simultaneously, the Vindicator would deal 1 damage to the Assassin, the Sergeant would deal 3 damage to the Assassin, and the Assassin would deal 1 damage each to the Vindicator and the Sergeant. Then all 3 would have taken lethal damage, so they would all die.


Can triggered effects occur even though a creature has summmoning sickness? During my previous turn I had cast onto the battlefield Aven Wind Mage, which has the ability:

Whenever you cast an instant or sorcery spell, Aven Wind Mage gets +1/+1 until end of turn.

On their next turn, my opponent activated the ability of Siege-Gang Commander to deal two damage to my Wind Mage, attempting to destroy it:

{1}{R}, Sacrifice a Goblin: Siege-Gang Commander deals 2 damage to any target.

I responded to this with Dramatic Reversal:

Untap all nonland permanents you control.

even though I knew that all my creatures were already untapped. My opponent claimed that this was illegal as Aven Wind Mage has summoning sickness and does not get to trigger its ability, keeping it alive.
Who is correct in this situation - can I legally play Dramatic Reversal although there are no tapped creatures to untap and as a result give Aven Wind Mage the needed +1/+1 until the end of turn to keep it alive?

You are correct - summoning sickness is not relevant here as it does not prevent a creature's triggered abilities from triggering. It would prevent you from attacking with Aven Wind Mage, or paying costs with the {T} symbol, but you weren't attempting to do those things. See that linked question for the full details.
Another potential confusion in the play here is that it is perfectly acceptable to cast Dramatic Reversal even though it would not directly affect anything. By contrast if you had tried to cast Aerial Assault with no tapped creatures on the battlefield, this would not have be a legal play as that specifies

Destroy target tapped creature.

and you would not have been able to specify a valid target for the spell. The difference here is between an illegal play (one you're not allowed to do) and an ineffective play (one you're allowed to do but doesn't have any real effect).


Does Cremate counter Flashback, Scavenge, and their ilk? I'm looking at the card Cremate:

  Cremate - {B}

  Instant - common RTR

  Exile target card from a graveyard.

  Draw a card.

Now, can I use this to respond to a flashback or scavenge?

According to the comp rules, the first thing you do when casting a spell (in the case of flashback) is:

  601.2a The player announces that he or she is casting the spell. That card (or that copy of a card) moves from where it is to the stack.

Because it moves on to the stack, is it still in the graveyard for me to exile? And even if it was, would the effect be countered?

But if you can't use it to counter flashback and such, it seems to detract from its usefulness at instant speed.

Whenever one has a question involving keyword abilities, one should start by finding out what abilities they represent.

  702.33a Flashback appears on some instants and sorceries. It represents two static abilities: one that functions while the card is in a player’s graveyard and another that functions while the card is on the stack. “Flashback [cost]” means “You may cast this card from your graveyard by paying [cost] rather than paying its mana cost” and “If the flashback cost was paid, exile this card instead of putting it anywhere else any time it would leave the stack.” Casting a spell using its flashback ability follows the rules for paying alternative costs in rules 601.2b and 601.2e–g.

One can't cast Cremate in response to Flashback since Flashback doesn't go on the stack. It's a static ability that allows you to cast the card from somewhere it couldn't normally be cast.

If one casts Cremate in response to someone casting a card from a graveyard, Cremate won't be able to target the card just cast. By the time the card in the graveyard is cast, it's no longer in the graveyard; it's on the stack, where it's not a valid target for Cremate.

  702.96a Scavenge is an activated ability that functions only while the card with scavenge is in a graveyard. “Scavenge [cost]” means “[Cost], Exile this card from your graveyard: Put a number of +1/+1 counters equal to the power of the card you exiled on target creature. Activate this ability only any time you could cast a sorcery.”

If one casts Cremate in response to someone activating Scavenge, Cremate won't be able to target the card with Scavenge. Part of the cost of activating Scavenge involves exiling the card. By the time the ability is activated, the card is no longer in the graveyard; it's in exile where it's not a valid target for Cremate.

  But if you can't use it to counter flashback and such, it seems to detract from its usefulness at instant speed.

Yes, but keep in mind that Scavenge and Sorceries with Flashback (as opposed to Instants with Flashback) can only be used "any time you could cast a sorcery” (in your main phase when the stack is empty). If you initiate the Cremate, if it's outside of his turn, or if it's outside of his main phases, he can't Scavenge or cast the Sorcery. Scavange and Flashback is often quite expensive, so cost could also affect when one can take advantage of it. End of Combat Damage step would be a good time to cast it.

Yes, it could take a bit of planning to use Cremate, but that's not too much to ask from a one mana cantrip.


Is playing multiple money cards multiple actions in Monopoly Deal? Does playing three money cards to your bank counts as an one of your actions or all three of them?

Adding three money cards to your bank counts as all three of your actions.
The rules describe step 2 of the turn as:

Play up to 3 cards
... Play 3 cards in any combination of the following: ...
A. Put Money/Action cards into your own bank ...
B.Put down properties into your own collection ...
C. Play action cards into the center

Putting down three money cards would count as playing three cards, all three of which fall under category "A" above.


Cosmic Encounter Data: Which powers are best? Cosmic Encounter was the first of many games based on the idea that you get some special power that allows you to break a rule in the game. Which powers were best?

I include two answers for this question, one based on my own data set, another based on a combination of 3 different players' data sets. Both sets of data are from the early 1980s, based on Ted Schmeckpeper's data collection method (http://daveola.com/CosmicEncounter/Magazine/Encounter.1.3.pdf): Each game is worth a number of points equal to the number of players, and these points are divided among the winning players and their powers.

In addition to the two answers I provide below for the 1977 EON version of Cosmic Encounter, this would be a great place to collect additional data sets on any of the more popular versions of Cosmic Encounter. So feel free to post as answers more data sets, links to data sets, or tabulated results.

The following tabulated results are from over 500 games of the 1977 EON version of Cosmic Encounter. The vast majority of games were from 3 to 5 players, and I personally played in approximately half of them. Due to the high variability in game outcomes, one has to question the statistical significance of powers played only a small number of times (< 15?). The label headings are defined as follows:

Games: Number of games played
Wins: Number of games won (solo + shared)
Solo: Number of solo wins
Points: The number of points from each win added together. Each game is worth a number of points equal to the number of players, and these points are divided among the winning players and their powers.
Ratio: Points/Games, a measure of how good a power is (does not take into account player strength)
Player Avg: Players were rated like powers, so this represents the average of the players who played this power
New Ratio: Points/(Games X Player Average), a measure of how good a power is adjusted for the average strength of players using the power
Avg/Win: The average number of Points per Win, a measure of how often the power wins solo or shared victories when it wins, relative to other powers


How does "reveal a card, play it, then return it" work with locations? During a game of DC Comics Deckbuilding Game: Rivals, we had a strange situation (which could also happen in the base game).

The Joker's second form says the following:

  Once during each of your turns, if you play a Villain and a Super Power, reveal the top card of the main deck. Play it, then return it.

The player activated this ability and drew a location, which says the following:

  When you play this card, leave it in front of you for the rest of the game.

Which instruction wins? We have one effect that says we have to return the card and another that says we have to leave it in front of you for the rest of the game.

The joker's ability card would take priority. You would play the location card. Take any effect the location card gives you then return it at the end of your turn. For example Wayne Manor

  When you play your first HERO on each of your turns draw a card.

So on your turn if you play a villain, you draw wayne manor and then you play a hero you get a card draw and then you put wayne manor back at the top of the deck when you're done with your turn.


In Eldritch Horror, how much complexity and extra playing time do expansions add? How much more complexity in terms of additional rules, things to remember, do either of the expansions (Mountains of Madness, Forsaken Lore) add to the base game. I don't really consider new cards, characters, or ancient ones necessarily adding complexity unless the details within them add a twist to how we think of the base game flow. Answers could simply be a percentage number, or go into detail.

I'd also like to know how much longer the game takes with either or both of the expansions. Right now, I play a 2-player 2-character (1 for each player) game in about 1.5-2 hours (maybe 20 minutes of that is setup and tear down).

I have the Forsaken Lore expansion and haven't yet seen that it increases playtime, but it may increase difficulty (much in the same way that playing against Cthulhu in the base game is a little more challenging than say, any of the other Ancients). I have played the Forsaken Lore expansion now a couple of times and it's just as lengthy as the base game.


Housing shortage in Monopoly So the rules of Monopoly state that you can't buy a house if there are no houses left for sale. You can't even pay all at once and buy a Hotel if there aren't enough houses to place 4 on the property first. But, what happens if you have a hotel in a property, all the houses are gone, and you want to (or are forced to) sell your hotel? I'm guessing that you are forced to go ahead and sell the hotel and all 4 houses at once?

Yes, you can only downgrade a hotel to a number of houses if that number of houses is actually available in the bank. If there are no houses, you must sell the entire hotel outright. This fact can be used strategically:

  If there is a shortage of houses, players should consider buying the last houses rather than buying hotels because each hotel built returns four houses to the bank for other players to use. When there are no houses in the bank, no one else can build houses. Also, players with hotels can't easily convert them to cash in this situation; they would have to strip an entire colour group of its hotels to raise money since buildings must be removed evenly from a colour group and because the hotels cannot be exchanged for houses since there are no houses in the bank. The owners of inexpensive monopolies should be particularly eager to use this tactic to prevent the owners of expensive monopolies from fully developing.


Can I use counterspells to make my Decree of Silence last longer? Decree of Silence says:

  Whenever an opponent casts a spell, counter that spell and put a depletion counter on Decree of Silence. If there are three or more depletion counters on Decree of Silence, sacrifice it.

Can I "stretch" my Decree of Silence by using other spells and abilities to counter spells so its triggers will fizzle?

For example:

If my opponent casts a Sorcery, can I use Negate from my hand to counter it so that Decree won't get a depletion counter?
If I also have a Jace, Unraveler of Secrets emblem ("Whenever an opponent casts his or her first spell each turn, counter that spell") in play, can I sequence the two triggers so that the first spell each opponent casts each turn won't cause Decree to get depletion counters?

No, because casting a spell is different from resolving a spell, and adding a depletion counter does not depend on Degree of Silence actually countering the spell.
When you counter a spell, you only prevent it from resolving.

701.5a To counter a spell or ability means to cancel it, removing it from the stack. It doesn’t resolve and none of its effects occur. A countered spell is put into its owner’s graveyard.

Decree of Silence triggers on an oponent casting a spell. That event happens as soon as the opponent has put the spell on the stack, made all choices, and paid all costs. It's impossible to retroactively prevent the casting of a spell.

601.2. To cast a spell is to take it from where it is (usually the hand), put it on the stack, and pay its costs, so that it will eventually resolve and have its effect. [..]
601.2i Once the steps described in 601.2a–h are completed, effects that modify the characteristics of the spell as it’s cast are applied, then the spell becomes cast. Any abilities that trigger when a spell is cast or put onto the stack trigger at this time. If the spell’s controller had priority before casting it, they get priority.

Decree of Silence's ability also won't fizzle once it's triggered. It is not necessary for Decree of Silence to actually counter the spell to get a counter. Countering the spell and placing a counter are independent of each other, so it doesn't matter if the spell that triggered it is countered beforehand. If you counter the spell before DoS resolves, DoS will still do as much as possible:

609.3. If an effect attempts to do something impossible, it does only as much as possible.

Its ability does not target anything, so it can't fizzle due to lack of targets. It does not require any information about the spell as it resolves, so there is no potential for failing to carry out its instructions on those grounds. While exceptions exist, triggered abilities generally don't care about what happens to the source once they have triggered.
If the "adding a counter" effect was dependant on "countering that spell", the ability would be worded as a special kind of delayed triggered ability:

603.12. A resolving spell or ability may allow or instruct a player to take an action and create a triggered ability that triggers “when [a player] [does or doesn’t]” take that action or “when [something happens] this way.” These reflexive triggered abilities follow the rules for delayed triggered abilities (see rule 603.7), except that they’re checked immediately after being created and trigger based on whether the trigger event or events occurred earlier during the resolution of the spell or ability that created them.


What is this tile-based game? I bought a game at a thrift store because it was not used.

It consists of 104 ivory tiles. The tiles are numbered 1 to 13, with 2 sets in red and 2 in black; and then four more sets but these are numbered 1 to 11, with 2 sets in light blue and two with the numbers in yellow.  Below each number is an indented circle.  Also, there are two other tiles with a smiling moon face on it, one face is in red the other in black, these, too, have an indented circle on them.  Included in the case that it came in were four "racks".  It appears they are to hold the tiles.

I don't play games too much but I do like them.  Does anyone have any idea what this game is?

It sounds like you have yourself a Rummikub set, but with the blue and yellow sets missing their 12s and 13s. The indented circles are there mainly for the benefit of distinguishing the 6 and the 9 from each other. The racks are used for resting your unplayed tiles on - played tiles are placed on the table between the players.

The components of Rummikub

Numbered tiles coming in four colours: generally red, black, blue and yellow.
Each colour has two sets of tiles numbered from 1 to 13.
Two jokers. Normally these are black and red, and represented by a smiling face.
Four racks, since it's a game for up to four players.

All in all, you should have 106 tiles: 104 numbered, and two jokers.

That said, if you do have 104 tiles, you should only be missing two tiles, not eight! Have you counted correctly? Try laying them out and checking.


Multiple players considered last on Charity board in Medieval Academy The rules state that when multiple players are at square 0, all of them are considered last on that track. But there's only one -10 Chivalry Points token for the Charity track. What happens if two players are considered last on this track?

As you say, the rules (quoted below) cleary state that in case of a tie on the "0" spot of the track, all tied players are supposed to get the whole penalty. I would use substitute (unused coat of arms for a value of -10 for instance) to track that...

  If your disc has never moved on a track, you are automatically
  considered last on that track. As such, you can not get
  anything positive from that game board (no positive Chivalry
  Points, no bonus from the Gallantry game board), or if it is
  a game board that gives negative points, you and every other
  player on square 0 of that track will be considered last and
  will get the corresponding coat of arms. If 2 or more player
  get last place this way, no negative points will be given to the
  players ranked second to last.


Know any games designed for old game systems like Orion or Sly A Game System is a set of components and/or rules that are intended to be used to create games.  That is, one set of components that allows to play several diffrent games.

Recent game systems like piecepack, Decktet, or Stonehenge have tons of games to try, but older game systems like Sly and Orion only seem to have the official rules (PDF) that came with them.

Somehow Icehouse managed to survive from the 1980's until the web could attract a community for it, does anybody know of any additional rule sets written for other game systems published before 1995?

Since nobody else seems to have made any new games for Sly, I did it myself. Well, I guess some credit should go to Eric Solomon.


Mansions of Madness, Custom Scenarios: where to start? My gaming group has finished all of the official MoM scenarios a couple of times, and have been looking for some good custom fan-made ones to try out. However, I'm not even sure where to start looking, or how to tell if a given scenario is any good. Where do I find good custom scenarios for the game, and/or how do I tell if a scenario is good?

I would advise that you check out the Mansions of Madness page on BoardGameGeek. Specifically, I would look in the Files section to find more custom scenarios. Although I'm not clear how your group would define "good", a reasonable way of evaluating the good and interesting scenarios is to see how many Thumbs Up each File has been given.  A quick way to determine the most popular entries is to sort on the "Hot" rating of each file.

Please note that not all the Files listed are scenarios. Several files are player aids and reference sheets. Also the site supports multiple languages so some scenarios may exist that are written in a non-English language. A quick perusal of the Files shows several user created custom scenarios have fairly good ratings (20+ Thumbs Up).


Sake & Samurai / Beer & Vikings: Burning up spirits while being tormented The rules for the games Sake & Samurai and Beer & Vikings allow dead players to "torment" players that are still living by stealing their Sake/Beer tokens. But any player is always allowed to "Burn up" as many Sake/Beer tokens as he likes to perform special actions.

How should any dead player ever successfully steal a token when the target of the "tormenting" can simply burn up all tokens that might be stolen?

The creators of the game responded to my inquiry:

  Yes, this is possible, but if the target burns every token, he/she loses any chance of winning! So tormenting has to be played "not too aggressively" by Spirits, in order for the target to agree to a little loss - that's usually how we see it played!


When purchasing the 13th technology, can you use its power right after doing so? The 13th technology on the manual reads:

  After resolving one or more powerups gained from performing a Main action, you may pay 1 cocoa to gain an additional power-up (same Action Board)

While the main action part on the manual reads:

  Pay the cost in gold as shown on the selected tile and place one
  of your Technology markers (wooden discs) on it to mark that
  you have acquired this Technology. Refer to the Appendix for an
  explanation of the ongoing benefit of each Technology tile.

  After placing the Technology marker, advance once on one
  temple, depending on which column the selected Technology
  belongs to: for the left column, for the centre column,
   for the right column

  Afterwards, power up one of your workers on the Alchemy (5)
  Action Board, unless you used the 3rd option when selecting the
  tile (you used a single power 4 or 5 worker to place your marker
  on a second-row Technology).

Therefore, you get the power-up after you have already received the technology, and advanced on a temple. Does this mean that when powering-up your die, can you immediately pay one cocoa to gain an additional power-up?

TLDR: Can you use the technology 13 power on the same die power-up you get from purchasing the technology?

No you can not.

From the FAQ file on BGG here the following Q and A is included.

  Q: When do Technology benefits trigger? A: Each Technology triggers at
  most once during your turn. Most Technologies trigger after performing
  the Main action on the board (or boards) listed at the bottom of each
  Technology tile. No Technology will trigger during the turn when it
  was acquired.

I've tried to find evidence to back this up in the rules printed though and could not.


Impersonation in regional pro tour qualifier So... my friend has won a Preliminary Pro Tour Qualifier that qualifies him to play a Regional Pro Tour Qualify in the format of Team Standard. He is allowed to bring two friends. However, he can't go. If me and two other friends go instead, with me pretending to be him (giving his name and DCI number instead of my own), then:

A) Would we get away with it?

B) What is the consequence if we are caught? Would I be banned from tournament play for instance?

There are several possible, and likely, punishments if you get caught.
First of all, if you are caught, you are all but guaranteed to be disqualified from the event you're participating in on behalf of your friend. Impersonating another player would be "Lying to a tournament official" when you register for the event, and therefore fall under Cheating in the Tournament Rules.
The Head Judge still has the authority to issue rulings even if the situation is not covered in the tournament rules:

GENERAL PHILOSOPHY

Only the Head Judge is authorized to issue penalties that deviate from these guidelines. The Head Judge may not deviate from this guide’s procedures except in significant and exceptional circumstances or a situation that has no applicable philosophy for guidance. Significant and exceptional circumstances are rare—a table collapses, a booster contains cards from a different set, etc. [..]

Your behaviour will be reported to Wizards, where it will be reviewed according to the Wizard Terms of Use and additional penalties might follow:

ORGANIZED PLAY.

b. Rules and Enforcement. By participating in organized play, you expressly acknowledge and agree to comply with any official organized play and tournament rules (see rules for Magic: The Gathering and Kaijudo) updated and published by Wizards from time to time and incorporated herein by reference (see applicable game websites for current rules). Organized play events are adjudicated by members of the Wizards’ community who provide us with reports regarding play (win/lose records) as well as player behavior, conduct, and violations of tournament rules and the Code of Conduct, and recommendations regarding disciplinary actions.  [..] You also agree that all disciplinary decisions regarding actual or alleged violations of tournament rules and the Code of Conduct are final, at Wizards sole discretion, and that Wizards has no liability to you whatsoever in regards to such investigations and decisions.

By impersonating another player, you are breaking the Wizards of the Coast's Code of Conduct, which explicitely states:

Do not impersonate other persons, including fellow users or Wizards of the Coast staff, by screen name or self-representation, or attempt to obtain sensitive information from other members.

If you demonstrate that you cannot follow this Code of Conduct, the Terms of Use, or the Privacy Policy, then you may lose access to ALL of your accounts and all associated content, usernames and screen names.  You may also be suspended or expelled from organized play and the Wizards Play Network.

Therefore, it's entirely possible your and/or your friend's account might be temporarily or permanently banned.


Help identify "blockart" game I remember a very good boardgame named "BLOCKART" that I played decades ago.

It has a white board that has deep rectangle/hexagon slots.
There are a lot of colorful rectangular cuboid tokens. Each can fill a slot.
There are also some cute triangle prism tokens that can fill half of a slot.
The tokens come in  4 colors - blue,green,yellow and red.
I could purchase "addon" to add tokens of other colors.

Today, after searching for several years, I finally find its image in the internet.

However, that is it, there is no further information.

Please provide some description :-

What is the manufacturer / distributor name?   What is its official website/page?
If it does not violate this site, may you provide some locations I can buy it (online perhaps)?
Are there any other similar game (board with deep slot + colorful rectangular cuboid tokens)?

All material are made of plastic.

It looks like the product is actually called "BLOCK ART", and I believe it's made by Japanese company "Nichigan" (based on this).

I can't find a web page for Nichigan. Maybe someone that can read Japanese might have better luck? Its logo.

It appears to be vintage, and it's probably no longer produced. Your best bet of finding one is probably through the vintage toy crowds. It's not going to be easy or cheap.

Alternatives:

MARBLE ART, by the same company
Hunt down this Chinese knockoff(?)
A more advanced wooden version
Build your own from Lego pieces
Hire someone with a 3d printer to make one


Does the Carcassonne Hunters & Gatherers tile with 3 fish, 2 rivers and 2 forests have a menhir? Does the second tile from the right in the extract from the rule book below contain a menhir?

The rule book lists it under menhir tiles, but so does the one with the 2 lakes which obviously does not contain a menhir.
It seems to be the only tile with an L-shaped forest that does not have the usual picture of a menhir. Other such menhir tiles are the one with a mammoth and an auroch, one with a pit trap and one with mushrooms.

Simple answer: If the tile doesn't have a picture of a menhir, it doesn't contain a menhir.
I suspect the point of confusion here is differentiating between "tiles with a menhir on them" and "menhir tiles". The menhir tiles are a special stack of tiles that you play from after you complete a forest with a menhir in it; these ones all have a special back and should not be shuffled in with the regular tiles:

(note: other editions of the rulebook refer to the menhir tiles as "bonus tiles", which is boring but also less ambiguous.)
Those menhir tiles are the ones listed in the instructions you quoted, to showcase their added value. This does not mean, nor is meant to mean, that the menhir tiles also contain a menhir.


Are there standard board sizes for the industry? I've been looking around on the internet and it seems 'quad fold' is the most common type of board. Is this true? What are the standard dimensions? Is there a comprehensive list of sizes somewhere? Does it depend on which side of the Atlantic I'm on?

My board game knowledge is pretty 'bleh', so feel free to go into painful detail about box and board sizes.

There are some common sizes and yes, they depend. It's not really about which side of whatever ocean you're from, but rather about what factory you make them in. For example, if you ask a factory that produces a 60x42 cm board (random values, here!), they will have these settings in their printing, cutting and folding machines. They will probably accept if you ask for a 59x43 cm board, but it will cost you more.

If you intend to make a game of your own and build it with cardboard and duct tape, there is absolutely no standard. I've never heard a player saying "That board could use 1 more centimeter in width".

As for the box, things get a little bit more tricky. Because boxes are to be aligned in the shelf (at the shop or at home). Having different sizes means playing Tetris to put them all in place. A very interesting discussion that took place on BoardGameGeek will tell you about the boxes and the standards linked to each manufacturer. Yes, you got it! That depends on the manufacturer!

Again, if you intend to create a new brand and flood the market with tons of your games, you could choose whatever size you like, that will be your standard. Just remember what XKCD said about standards…


In Caylus what is the point of placing a worker at the gate In Caylus I can't see the interest of placing a worker at the gate (first fixed building along the road) unless you really can't decide what to do and prefer to let the choice to bad fortune.

You can use it several ways.

For example, if you want to push building the castle, but not in the first place, so you can make your opponent waste a little more resources to obtain a favor.

Also you can use it if you aren't sure how the probost will move, to make sure you will use your pawn.

Anyway, it's another way to put some preasure on your opponent, a way to have a little advantage.


Why did Experiment One not get a counter when my Undying creature returned to play? Yesterday on MTGO an ability didn't trigger and I don't understand why.

I had Experiment One in play, with one +1/+1 counter on it, so it was 2/2. Experiment One has Evolve (Whenever a creature enters the battlefield under your control, if that creature has greater power or toughness than this creature, put a +1/+1 counter on this creature).

I also had Strangleroot Geist, without counters. It has Undying (When this creature dies, if it had no +1/+1 counters on it, return it to the battlefield under its owner's control with a +1/+1 counter on it.)

Strangleroot Geist then died. So it goes. Its ability triggered, and it returned to the battlefield with a +1/+1 counter on it, making it 3/2.

At this point I expected Experiment One's ability to trigger, as it is 2/2 and a 3/2 enters the battlefield, but it didn't.

Why not?

Well, it should have.

In the ruling for Experiment One it clearly stats:
If a creature enters the battlefield with +1/+1 counters on it, consider those counters when determining if evolve will trigger. For example, a 1/1 creature that enters the battlefield with two +1/+1 counters on it will cause the evolve ability of a 2/2 creature to trigger.

You should report this bug to the MTGO support.


MTG Myr Welder Exile question On the card Myr Welder it says two things.

  Imprint -- {T} : Exile target artifact card from a graveyard.

  Myr Welder has all activated abilities of all cards exiled with it.

My question is about how it can have abilities if it's been exiled? IIRC being exiled means it it cast out of the play past the graveyard, never to return.

Does it possibly mean it has the abilities of the cards it's exiled (tapping each time), while it remains in play, i.e. instead of "exiled with it" it should read "exiled by it"?

Those two abilities are called Linked Abilities, which means the second one is referring to cards exiled by the first one. Specifically, rule 607.2a says

  If an object has an activated or triggered ability printed on it that instructs a player to exile one or more cards and an ability printed on it that refers either to “the exiled cards” or to cards “exiled with [this object],” these abilities are linked. The second ability refers only to cards in the exile zone that were put there as a result of an instruction to exile them in the first ability.

So, the second ability does in fact mean

  Myr Welder has all activated abilities of all cards that it has exiled.

There's nothing wrong with the wording, though. The fourth definition of the word "with" on dictionary.com is

  by the use of; using

In other words, they are saying that it has all of the activated abilities of cards "exiled [using] Myr Welder".


Enrage and damage calculation mid phase I attack with Bellowing Aegisaur and other creatures and they choose to block all of my creatures.

Would I, as the attacker, get to assign combat damage, and can choose Bellowing Aegisaur's attack to be first making its Enrage go into effect placing +1/+1 counters on my other creatures before their damage is calculated?

Conversely, if I block with it can I ask them to assign damage in order and if they choose Bellowing Aegisaur before some of my other blockers would they receive their counters before their damage calculation?

No, all damage is dealt simultaneously.

  Combat Damage Step

    510.1. First, the active player announces how each attacking creature assigns its combat damage, then the defending player announces how each blocking creature assigns its combat damage.

    510.2. Second, all combat damage that's been assigned is dealt simultaneously. This turn-based action doesn't use the stack. No player has the chance to cast spells or activate abilities between the time combat damage is assigned and the time it's dealt.

This would only work if the creature blocking Bellowing Aegisaur had first strike or double strike.


Has online play testing been an important part of any boardgame designs? I am wondering if any game designers have used an online implementation of a game to balance and tweak it before commercial release.

VASSAL offers a way to create on online version of a game easily. I was involved in play testing Crown of Roses using a VASSAL module. The map for Clash of Monarchs has been critised as being difficult to use and the reason provided for this was that most of the play testing was done online which had a much clearer map.


Can the Mage Wars Warlock be played without any Demon cards? As the subject states, I was wondering if the Mage Wars Core Set comes with enough Fire type cards to allow the Warlock Mage to build a spellbook with absolutely no Demon cards. Without seeing the cards, I will assume that most, if not all of the other Dark magic cards are OK, but I would ultimately prefer a pure Fire Magic spellbook.

So as to preemptively answer the almost inevitable 'Why?', I will simply say that, as an orthodox Christian, my conscience doesn't allow me to play a game with such cards. I would prefer not to debate/explain this further, as I believe such a discussion is well beyond the scope of this site.

In the starting Core Set I would have to say that it would be a very tough if not an impossible feat to be able to play the Warlock without the Demon cards, as there is only one Flame type creature, but it just happens to also be a Demon.  So you would have to spend quite a bit of your deck points on the doubled points from creatures not being a dark or fire type.

This may be doable, as you may be able to counter balance with some of the powerful Flame attack spells that can really do some damage, especially when combined with an equipment called Elemental Wand, to allow you to bind and recast the attack spells each turn.


Can you play an instant (airlift) to move quarantine specialist prevent infection after the infection card has been drawn? We had a situation where in the infection stage, a city was drawn that was about to cause an outbreak.

To stop this, we used an instant to move out quarantine specialist there.

Is this within the rules, or cheating?

That is against the rules.

You must resolve each card fully before you can do anything else, so if you draw a card that causes an outbreak, you must first perform all of its steps. After you resolve that, you can play an Event, if you like. And, of course, you could play an instant before drawing and revealing the first Event card.

From the rules, page 7:

  Event cards can be played at any time, except in between
  drawing and resolving a card.

You might also be interested in this similar question: In Pandemic, when does the discard-over-7-cards rule take effect?.


Does Pillar of Flame exile creatures with undying? Let's say Pillar of Flame is used on a creature with undying, such as Butcher Ghoul, when it doesn't have any counters on it. If Pillar of Flame deals enough damage to kill it, and therefore exile it, will the creature get exiled? Or will it come back with a counter on it?

I've been playing it so that it does get exiled and doesn't return with a counter on it. Am I right in doing this?

Yes. Pillar of Flame stops undying creatures.

To explain why, let's take a look at the specific wording of the cards.

The Undying ability (e.g. on Butcher Ghoul) says:

  Undying (When this creature dies, if it had no +1/+1 counters on it, return it to the battlefield under its owner's control with a +1/+1 counter on it.)

This is a triggered ability. It goes on the stack after the specified event (in this case, the creature going to the graveyard) occurs.

Pillar of Flame says:

  If a creature dealt damage this way would die this turn, exile it instead.

This is what's called a replacement effect. A replacement effect happens in place of some other event.

So, the creature never dies — when a situation would normally cause it to die, you exile it instead. This means "When this creature dies" never triggers at all. (Because of how the Pillar of Flame card is worded, this happens even if it is killed by something else, like combat damage or getting -1/-1 from Golgari Charm or whatever.)

(Note, however, that Pillar of Flame doesn't defeat regeneration. The creature never "would die" because regeneration replaces the event that would send it to the graveyard in the first place.)

Pillar of Flame was designed specifically to remove undying creatures in this way, both to balance Constructed games and to evoke the flavor of holy power driving back the darkness in Avacyn Restored.


Can another instant be used to buff an attacking creature, after another instant was cast that would kill the creature? Specific example: Attacking player sends a 3/2. Defending player plays Shock to deal 2 damage to the creature. Attacking player then attempts to cast another Instant which would lend the attacking creature additional +/+.

I was under the impression the Shock would resolve first, and the attacking player can’t then buff a 3/0 creature since it would be dead.

The creature survives.

Some time ago Magic followed a system where instants that did damage resolved last. That's since been changed to a simpler LIFO (last in first out) system. So what happens is:

The defending player casts Shock.
With Shock "on the stack" (i.e. before it resolves), the attacking player casts a pump spell (say, Giant Growth).
Neither player does anything else.
Giant Growth is the "last in" spell (the most recent one cast), so it resolves first. The 3/2 becomes a 6/5.
And then Shock does damage. The 6/5 becomes a 6/5 with 2 damage marked on it, and lives.

For this scenario to happen, the attacking player needs to do nothing ("pass priority") until the defending player casts Shock. In other words, he needs to be willing to do only three damage that combat step. The attacking player also needs to cast Giant Growth in response to the defending player casting Shock. If the attacking player lets Shock resolve, then he wouldn't be able to cast Giant Growth at all (since the creature is dead and Giant Growth needs a target). With this order, the Giant Growth never fizzles.

An alternative way things could happen is:

The attacking player casts Giant Growth before damage (presumably to do 3 more damage to opponent).
Defending player casts Shock in response.
Now, per the same LIFO system, Shock resolves first. The 3/2 dies, and Giant Growth fizzles.

For this scenario to happen, the defending player needs to do nothing ("pass priority") until the attacking player casts Giant Growth (which the attacking player must do prior to damage assignment if he wants to use the pump spell).


When does the parasite lose its power? We ran into this crazy situation tonight in a game of cosmic encounter. (shocking...)

The parasite had the chance to force an alliance with an attacking player and then win, but he had no extra ships. All of his home and foreign colonies had only one ship. He had three home colonies, so if he were to send any of his home ships to ally he would immediately lose his power.

Is the parasite able to form the alliance first, then send ships against the will of the attacker, even if he loses his power immediately when he sends his ship? Or is it impossible for the alliance to happen because he loses his power as he's sending ships?

No idea of this can even be definitively answered...

Notice that the text of the Parasite say that "...you may use this power to ally..." (emphasis mine). It does not say "... you may use this power by allying...".

The point is that the use of the power and the actual process of allying are not one-and-the-same; using the power triggers and allows for allying when not invited.

So as long as you have three home planets (or two in a four-planet game), you may use your power. Your power gets you to ally.

During the Alliance phase of the next encounter, you'll either have three home planets or you won't.


Can the Runner prevent resources trashing via the "The All-Seeing I" if there is no bad publicity? The corp does not have any bad publicity tokens and plays the "The All-Seeing I". Can the runner prevent resources from being trashed?

Yes. Spending the bad publicity is a way to prevent the total effect of All-Seeing I, but it does not state that the trashing cannot be prevented by other means. Cards like Fall Guy and Dummy Box are still able to prevent some of the resources from being trashed, even though they are themselves resources; this ruling can be applied to this situation.

It's also worth noting that if you have a Jarogniew Mercs in play among other resources, it would be left standing after All-Seeing I resolves.


What are the strength and firepower of Ivory X bombardments? The 2nd Infantry Division online briefing for Flames of War has a special rule called Ivory X that lets you fire anti-tank guns and anti-aircraft guns like a normal artillery bombardment.  The briefing lists the strength, anti-tank, and firepower values of these bombardments as '-'.

Does this mean that they use the normal direct fire stats (seems overpowered)?  Or do they fire with essentially 0's, meaning they can't hurt armor or dug-in infantry outside of causing pinning?

I don't own a copy of the rule book, it's 75$. The briefing you linked to says the following about the Ivory X Special Rules:

  Ivory X Special Rules

  You may purchase an Ivory X Staff Team for +25 points. Deploy the Ivory X Staff Team when you would deploy Independent Teams.

  Anti-aircraft Artillery Platoons and Towed Tank Destroyer Platoons that have a Command team within 6”/15cm of the Ivory X Staff team can use it as a Staff Team to fire Bombardments.

  Anti-aircraft Artillery Platoons and Towed Tank Destroyer Platoons that do not have a Command team within 6”/15cm of the Ivory X Staff Team cannot fire bombardments.

  A Bombardment controlled by Ivory X uses all of the American Artillery special rules on page 240 of the rulebook, except for Time On Target.

Without a copy of the rules, it is difficult to say if anything within the rules for American Artillery special rules contradicts what is in the linked briefing.

Luckily, you can gather from the rest of the briefing that the Ivory X bombardments can only be used to pin down enemy units. The historical accounts mention that Ivory X was able to pin down the enemy. This is also supported by the fact that all Ivory X bombardment rows of the chart show '-' for Rate of Fire, Anti-Tank, and Firepower.

  Ivory X provided the Indianhead Division with plenty of firepower in the form of .50 cal and 40mm anti-aircraft guns. Their harassing fire helped keep the Germans from moving freely through the outskirts and hills of Brest, allowing the Indianheads to easily move in and outflank the enemy.

  Firing Ivory X bombardments   40”/100cm - - -

  Firing Ivory X bombardments   48”/120cm - - -

  Firing Ivory X bombardments   64”/160cm - - -

The only thing that still confuses me a little about the rules, is regarding Towed Tank Destroyer Platoons. The rules mention that linked Ivory X Tank Destroyers are the only ones eligible to fire a bombardment and only using the Ivory X special rules. Rereading the above Ivory X Special Rules, would lead one to believe that you only have two possible answers to the question. My guess is that the answer is the former, but the use of the word "can" could mean that you have a choice of either pinning down enemies or firing bombardments as a Staff Team.

1) Use the 1 ROF, 2 Anti-Tank, 6 Firepower stats for Staff Team when firing bombardments.

2) Use the - ROF, - Anti-Tank, - Firepower stats for firing bombardments to pin down the enemy (cannot hurt them).

Staff team 16”/40cm 1 2 6 Automatic rifles, Moves as a Heavy Gun team
M18 Hellcat GMC Light Tank 2 0 0 .50 cal AA MG.
M1 76mm gun 32”/80cm 2 12 3+

  Towed Tank Destroyer Platoons that begin the game linked to Ivory X do not use the US Tank Destroyers special rules and only deploy the Tank Destroyer Section on the table.

  A Towed Tank Destroyer Platoon can only fire a bombardment using the Ivory X special rule.


Which programs can break subroutines on a trap? If I Rez a trap (eg: Howler) which programs can break subroutines on it? Is it just AI like Crypsis or are there others?

Traps generally do not have one of the 3 usual subtypes (Barrier, Code Gate, or Sentry). So they cannot be broken by breakers for those types of ice. In general you need an AI breaker like Crypsis, Overmind, Knight, or any of the other AI breakers. However traps can still be bypassed with Femme, just like any other ice.

Note that some traps DO have a breakable subtypes. Such as data mine. Because this trap is AP it can be broken with Deus Ex.


Does ion damage penetrate shields? In X-Wing, there are several ships (such as the Y-Wing) which use ion canons.

The description says:

  If this attack hits the target ship, the ship suffers 1 damage and
  receives 1 ion token. Then cancel all dice results.

Assuming the target ship has shields is the damage dealt to the target ship's shields or it's hull?

No, Ion Damage is handled as normal, plus an Ion token

This is addressed in the core rules on page 16 under the heading "Suffering Damage":

  When a ship suffers damage or critical damage, it suffers them one at a time following these steps. ...
  1. Reduce Shields: If there are any shield tokens remaining on the ship's card, remove one of the tokens and skip Step 2. ...

(Emphasis theirs)

The rules for receiving damage are separate from the rules for dealing damage, so unless the card specifically states that it bypasses shields, the targeted ship would receive the 1 point of damage following the normal rules.


Why do you get an extra point for each fenced stable in Agricola? Most of the scoring rules in Agricola makes sense because they reward you for doing well in various categories (like crops and animals). However, I haven't been able to figure out why the rules reward fenced stables with a bonus point. When combined with the fact unfenced stables can can only hold one animal, this seems like to make unfenced stables unnecessarily weak. Why did the game creators choose to add an extra point for fenced stables?

Unfenced stables give you a point by removing an unused farmyard space at the end of the game.

Since you get -1 point for each unused farmyard space, and stables count as a used farmyard space, they are also 'rewarded' with one point. In order to keep the balance, the rules ensure that you effectively get one point for each stable no matter where it is placed. This allows stable placement to be determined solely by your desired animal capacity instead of points for the stables themselves.

Alternatively, the game creators could have removed both of these benefits and given stables no points, but that would have made stables far too weak in the game.


Lilith Lady of Lament special summoned by Tour Guide from the Underworld By using Tour Guide from the Underworld, special summoned Lilith Lady of Lament.

Q: Can Lilith's effect of tributing monster still be activated? As, tributing 1 dark monster (as a cost), but not have the ability to take 3 traps from the deck.

Tour Guide from the Underworld:

  When this card is Normal Summoned: You can Special Summon 1 Level 3
  Fiend monster from your hand or Deck, but it has its effects negated,
  also it cannot be used as a Synchro Material.

Lilith Lady of Lament:

  If this card is Normal Summoned, its original ATK becomes 1000. (Quick
  Effect): You can Tribute 1 DARK monster; reveal 3 Normal Traps from
  your Deck, your opponent randomly chooses 1 for you to Set on your
  field, and you shuffle the rest back into your Deck. You can only use
  this effect of "Lilith, Lady of Lament" once per turn.

Yes, Lillith's Effect Can Still Be Activated.

Tour Guide From the Underworld's effect states that the effects of the Special Summoned Monster are negated - not that they may not be activated. The distinction is important, because simply negating the effects of a card does not disallow attempts to activate those effects.

Applying the concept in the opposite direction, consider Majesty's Fiend, which simply says:

  Monster effects cannot be activated.

Given that continuous monster effects are not impacted by effects like that of Majesty's Fiend, we can clearly see a separation. In conclusion, unless the card specifically says "cannot be activated," or some rearrangement thereof, you can still attempt to activate the effect - provided of course that you can pay activation cost.


Can two investigators trade the same spells? If two investigators each have the same spell (but with different flip side consequences), can they trade these spells during the trade action?

Page 12 on the rules Reference Guide:

  As an action, an investigator can trade any number of possessions with another investigator on his space.  The two investigators may freely give any number of possessions to the other, as long as both investigators agree to this trade.

It's basically telling us that you can trade as many items as you want.  And since each spell is their own piece of cardboard, you can go ahead and trade those back and forth, since there's nothing that says you can't.  Hell, you could trade one clue token for another clue token, since nothing is stopping you.


Perplexing Chimera + Hypnotic Siren. Do I control all of my opponent's spells? Say I have a Perplexing Chimera.

Text: Whenever an opponent casts a spell, you may exchange control of Perplexing Chimera and that spell.  If you do, you may choose new targets for the spell.

Then I bestow Hypnotic Siren on my own Chimera (I still control it).

Now when I use the Chimera to steal my opponent's spells, I think the siren will keep it under my control, because I'll still control Siren as an aura.  I can gain control of everything my opponent casts.

Does this work??

No, this does not work. Exchanging control using Chimera's ability sets up a continuous effect; the same as the one created by Hypnotic Siren (or Mind Control, etc). When there are multiple effects that are applied in the same layer, they are all applied in timestamp order. This means that because the Chimera's ability resolved after the Siren's ability, your opponent will get the Chimera back.

  613.6. Within a layer or sublayer, determining which order effects are applied in is usually done using a timestamp system. An effect with an earlier timestamp is applied before an effect with a later timestamp.

    613.6a A continuous effect generated by a static ability has the same timestamp as the object the static ability is on, or the timestamp of the effect that created the ability, whichever is later.

    613.6b A continuous effect generated by the resolution of a spell or ability receives a timestamp at the time it's created.

Discussion on this interaction with Mind Control here.


Why is having shields in AoS 'optional'? There are some units in Age of Sigmar, Skaven Stormvermin for example, that says that "some units cary shields into battle." The units ability to carry a shield is not restricted by any weapon combos or special abilities, and the shield gives a flat +1 bonus to save rolls when the unit is equipped with them. So what reason would you 'not' equip shields to the unit since it is just better? Is it only because of the physical models that may or may not have shields on them, or something else I missed?

Age of Sigmar is very much designed with the "beer and pretzels" mindset. The main reason is that you may have a bunch of models without shields. If your opponent doesn't care, you can always say that all the models have shields.


What happens when all 12 aliens are on board? Does the game end when all 12 aliens board the ship, or does it end when the ship needs 13 or more on board (or something else)?

The rulebook states the following on page 7 under "ways to lose the game":

"You'll also lose if you are asked to place a hostile alien on the board, and you don't have enough remaining to place. (See "Hostile Aliens" for details.)"

So if you run out of aliens to add to the board, then you're done for!

Have fun!

Tavis Parker
The Game Crafter


Is number diversity really important? People often say you should go for number diversity in your initial settlements.  Obviously having higher-probability numbers is good, but is 6-9-4 and 8-5-10 really better than 8-5-10 and 8-5-10?

I'd say having repeated numbers is better, as it allows you to get your resources in a clump, allowing quick and surprising expansion.  Often I've won a game this way from 8VPs, whilst others are on 9VPs and no-one is trading with them.

Am I wrong?

Does playing cities & knights make a difference to your opinion, where the Green bonus of a free resource makes my strategy even stronger?

Alex P's answer touches upon an interesting philosophical angle to this question. Suppose there are two strategies of game play in a four player game. Strategy A will reliably give you "good performance" (whatever that means for the current game - say 100 points) if carried out well; strategy B, if carried out well, gives you "bad performance" in 60% of your games (say 60 points) and "exceptionally good performance" 40% of the games (say 110 points).

In this (fictional) game, strategy A gives you better performance on average, but it may give you a lower probability of ending up in first place: in an environment where your three fellow players also play A, the game will be a toss up and strategy A will win you 25% of games, all other factors being equal, whereas strategy B will win you 40% of games. If your three fellow players play B, then strategy A will win only if all three of them have bad luck - less than 22% probability - and strategy B will turn it into a toss up again, so 25% wins. In both cases, strategy B will give you a higher probability of ending up in first place than strategy A.

Thus we see that even a relatively small chance of a relatively small improvement of your score over the alternative strategy may be worth a large risk of a really bad score - if all you care about is ending up first. However, you may prefer doing relatively well compared to your peers for certain, to having a slightly higher chance of winning overall but also a higher chance of ending up dead last. In that case, strategy A is better.

How does this apply to your question? Even if we leave the social aspects of the game aside (where players are more likely to impede further success of already successful players), going for clumped-up bunches of resources has some of the properties of strategy B: if you can ensure a steady trickle of resources, you will do well, but if you gamble the same number of settlements on a few numbers and they happen to come up more often, you will do even better - at the risk of losing badly if the dice don't go your way. Thus my answer is: all else being equal, spread the numbers if your objective is to do relatively well; concentrate the numbers if your objective is to have the highest chance of winning, and you're willing to accept a high risk of ending up last. (The key phrase in that sentence is "all else being equal", of course - in practice this consideration should be only one of many arguments when weighing different courses of action against one another.)