Do I lose control of a creature if the aura which granted me control of it is destroyed? I gain control over a creature with e.g. Hypnotic Siren.
Do I lose control over that creature if the enchantment is destroyed?

Hypnotic Siren says "You control enchanted creature." This is a continuous effect that's present as long as Hypnotic Siren is on the battlefield enchanting a creature. Once it's gone, that effect goes away and you'll lose control of the creature, giving it back to whoever had it before. (In common situations, anyway - see this question for details.)

Since you used Hypnotic Siren as just one example, though, I should mention that not everything works that way.

If a card simply reads "Gain control of X" and doesn't mention a duration (e.g. "until end of turn"), that effect lasts indefinitely. For example, Beguiler of Wills reads:

  {T}: Gain control of target creature with power less than or equal to the number of creatures you control.

That effect lasts indefinitely; you'll get to keep the creature for the rest of the game, unless someone else has a way to gain control of it.


In Broadside, what is your strategy for placing the shore guns and mines during setup? I was recently reminded of the childhood naval game Broadside. As the defender, you get to place four shore guns and six mines during the setup phase, one on either side of two channels.

The channels are choke points that the attackers ships have to pass through to be able to win the game; one is close to the attacking fleet starting location and represents a direct path to the merchant ships they need to sink to win the game, while the other channel is out of their way.

The trick is that two of the guns are useless decoys, while the other two get a free shot on any ships that passes within range, and three of the mines can destroy an entire ship, while the other three are duds.

Does anyone who remembers this game ever develop a strategy for how to place these static defensive units, and if so, how did that change how you deployed your blue fleet once the game started?

I liked to put my good mines on one side of the board, and my good guns on the other side of the board. Then place my ships where their "broadsides" could cover the channels.

As I remember, the British fleet had 25 sails, the American only 20. But the guns and mines more than make up for it, for the Americans. Inevitably, the British ships lost sails to the guns. One or two would also hit a "live" mine.


How does Wall of Roots interact with +1/+1 counters? Wall of Roots puts a "-0/-1" counter on itself to use its ability. How does this interact with a +1/+1 counter? Do they cancel out to make a +1/+0 counter? Does they cancel out the same as a +1/+1 and -1/-1 counter and both counters cease to exist? Or do they both ignore each other completely?

They ignore each other completely, so the Wall of Roots will have both a -0/-1 counter and a +1/+1 counter (which has the net effect of having +1/+0).

The only reason +1/+1 and -1/-1 counters interact with each other is because of this state-based action:

  704.5q If a permanent has both a +1/+1 counter and a -1/-1 counter on it, N +1/+1 and N -1/-1 counters are removed from it, where N is the smaller of the number of +1/+1 and -1/-1 counters on it.

There is no similar rule for -0/-1 counters.


What happens if Kokusho, the Evening Star dies under someone else's control? I cast Kokusho, the Evening Star. My opponent plays Hijack and gains control over Kokusho untill end of turn. In that turn Kokusho dies in combat. Question: who gains life and who loses life?

The player who controlled Kokusho as it died gains the life, and each of their opponents loses life.
Whenever a permanent refers to "you", it means its current controller, and whenever a card refers to "opponents", it means its current controller's opponents. In other words, card text should be interpreted from the point of view of the controller. The specific rule that covers this is rule 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). [...]

Kokusho's triggered ability is controlled by the player who controlled Kokusho before it died because of some of the triggered ability rules:

603.6c Leaves-the-battlefield abilities trigger when a permanent moves from the battlefield to another zone, or when a phased-in permanent leaves the game because its owner leaves the game. These are written as, but aren’t limited to, “When [this object] leaves the battlefield, . . .” or “Whenever [something] is put into a graveyard from the battlefield, . . . .” (See also rule 603.10.) [...]

603.10. Normally, objects that exist immediately after an event are checked to see if the event matched any trigger conditions, and continuous effects that exist at that time are used to determine what the trigger conditions are and what the objects involved in the event look like. However, some triggered abilities are exceptions to this rule; the game “looks back in time” to determine if those abilities trigger, using the existence of those abilities and the appearance of objects immediately prior to the event. The list of exceptions is as follows:

603.10a Some zone-change triggers look back in time. These are leaves-the-battlefield abilities, abilities that trigger when a card leaves a graveyard, and abilities that trigger when an object that all players can see is put into a hand or library.

So, in summary Kokusho's ability is a "leaves-the-battlefield ability", because it triggers when Kokusho leaves the battlefield. So, it "looks back in time" when it triggers, which means that it triggers based on its appearance before it died. This includes its controller.


Settlers of Catan for 2. Rolling the dice twice. In playing Catan for 2 (the traders and barbarians expansion) on your turn, you roll the dice twice. Can you build or trade in between your dice rolls?

I would say no, you cannot.

The rules explicitly state what you can do after each roll:

  Immediately after each of the two dice rolls, the two real players obtain resources and/or move the robber (a “7” result).

Since there is no mention of building or trading, I would say you could only build and trade after finishing all rolling.

That would make the order is Roll > Get resources > Roll a second time (repeating as necessary to get a different value than the first) > Get resources from second roll > Continue play as normal.

Think of it this way -- you are player two, and the other human player is player four.  You are effectively rolling for player one's roll, then you roll for yourself and can buy and trade as normal.  Then the other human player rolls for player three, and then they roll for themselves and can buy and trade as normal.


Loki's Blessing clan upgrade in Yggdrasil during a game of Blood Rage The card says If you lose a battle, you may invade that province with a warrior for free. Does that mean that if you lose in Yggdrasil you get to invade Yggdrasil with a warrior as well?

Yes.

From the FAQ:

  Q. May Yggdrasil be invaded if I lose a battle using Loki’s Blessing (allows
  warrior to invade without cost the province where the battle was lost)?

  A. Yes, Loki’s Blessing allows you put a Warrior in Yggdrasil.


Effect dependencies and ability adding/removing effects I have an abstract question about MTG comprehensive rules, regarding 613. Interaction of Continuous Effects.

Suppose I have some active continuous effects A, B, C (given in timestamp order) in layer 7. Suppose A depends on C: rule 613 tells me I need to apply the effects in the following order: B, C, A.

Now a new continuous effect D is created in layer 6, which removes all abilities from the object that contains the static ability that is producing effect C. After an event occurs, I reevaluate the game state. I have 4 continuous effects, A, B, C and D. Rule 613 tells me to sort them so: D, B, C, A. But right after I apply effect D to the game state, effect C becomes inactive.

My question is: am I supposed to continue applying the remaining effects in the initial order (B, A), or am I supposed to re-sort them into A, B as the dependency that forced B to come before A no longer exists?

Never mind, I shouldn't be reading comprehensive rules late at night...

613.7c After each effect is applied, the order of remaining effects is reevaluated and may change if an effect that has not yet been applied becomes dependent on or independent of one or more other effects that have not yet been applied.


How much damage is dealt if a 1/1 creature blocks a 3/5 creature? If a 1/1 creature is enchanted with Druid's Call and is blocked or is blocking another creature that is a 3/5 creature, does it create 1 squirrel or 3 squirrels?

The player will get 3 tokens.
The amount of damage dealt is not limited by the affected creature's toughness (or planeswalker's loyalty, or player's life). There is no explicit rule stating this fact, but if you look at the definitions of the two kinds of damage (combat and spell/ability), there is also no rule making such a limitation:

120.2a Damage may be dealt as a result of combat. Each attacking and blocking creature deals combat damage equal to its power during the combat damage step.
120.2b Damage may be dealt as an effect of a spell or ability. The spell or ability will specify which object deals that damage.

Damage dealt beyond a creature's toughness is called excess damage, which a few cards make an explicit reference to, but other than that, the amount of damage dealt is what it says.

120.4a First, if an effect is causing damage to be dealt to a creature and that effect specifies that excess damage is dealt to another object or player instead, the damage event is modified to deal damage accordingly. Excess damage is damage greater than the creature’s toughness, taking into account damage marked on that creature and other damage being dealt to it at the same time as this damage. Any damage greater than 1 is excess damage if the source dealing that damage has deathtouch.

From this rule you can also see that a creature can sustain any amount of damage, not just how much toughness it has.
Note that if the 3/5 creature was attacking and also had trample, the attacking player could choose to deal some or all of the excess damage to the defending player. In that case, the defender would get a number of squirrels equal to the damage that was actually assigned and dealt to the 1/1.


Can I play Dominion: Hinterlands by itself? The clerk at the game shop assured me I could play Hinterlands Dominion by itself. Alas, everywhere online claims a standalone version of Dominion is required.

Is there anyway to play Hinterland Dominion by itself? Or will I need to seek restitution from the clerk?

Unfortunately, the clerk was mistaken. From Rio Grande Games' website:

  Dominion: Hinterlands is an expansion, and cannot be played by itself; to play with it, you need Dominion, or a standalone expansion to Dominion (e.g., Dominion: Intrigue). Those provide the Basic cards you need to play (Treasure, Victory, and Curse cards), as well as the full rules for setup and gameplay.

So your options are:

Buy the original Dominion
Buy Dominion: Intrigue
Buy Dominion: Base Cards (for the base cards) and download the game rules from their website

NB: Rio Grande Games' website says that the base cards are coming soon, but the set has actually been out since 2012

Ask for a refund

But in an alternate universe, it might have been a standalone…

The Secret History of Dominion, written by Dominion creator Donald X. Vaccarino, mentions that during the development of Hinterlands, they considered making it a standalone game:

  Hinterlands flirted with being a standalone. Intrigue was a standalone; Seaside had playmats and tokens; Prosperity had playmats and tokens.  Hinterlands and Dark Ages had no playmats or tokens. Would they just be slightly cheaper? Would what the price would have to be look attractive? That had been an issue before. I figured hey, one of the sets could be a standalone, let’s say Hinterlands, and the other could be a full 500 cards – no playmats, not a standalone, just gigantic. I had two solutions that let the sets be 500 cards.

  There were certain pros and cons to having Hinterlands be a standalone. In the end Jay decided against it. For a while I was trying to make the set simpler though, to make it function better as a standalone.


How can I use Sliver Overlord to find non-Slivers? I have Sliver Overlord as my commander. Is there a combo that will let me search for non-Sliver combo cards using Sliver Overlord? Id like to be able to use Sliver Overlord to find said card/ cards as well

There are 2 cards that allow you to search for non-sliver cards as if they were slivers: Arcane Adaptation and Conspiracy.

The first can add the sliver type to creature cards you own (and control), and the second sets the creature type of creature cards you own (and control).


How to get “Final Countdown” Spell card in Duel Links? I am new to Yugioh Duel Links game and am wondering how to get Final Countdown.

At the time of this answer's writing,

Final Countdown is not obtainable in Duel Links.

To verify this, you can search for it within the View/Convert Cards section of the Deck Studio. Doing a text search for the word "final" shows six cards - none of which are Final Countdown.

Moreover, according to the Yu-Gi-Oh! wiki, neither  does a skill which adds Final Countdown to a player's hand or deck currently exist.


Can I turn a manifested card face up during the declare blockers step? If I attack with a manifested (face down) card and my opponent declares blockers, is priority then passed to me so I can turn it face up for its mana cost, or must I turn it up after declaring attackers?

Yes, you get priority during the Declare Blockers step. Rule 509 describes how the Declare Blockers step progresses, and rule 509.5 says

  Fifth, the active player gets priority. Players may cast spells and activate abilities.

You can turn a manifested card face up any time you have priority, so that includes during the Declare Blockers phase. Rule 701.31b says

  Any time you have priority, you may turn a manifested permanent you control face up. This is a special action that doesn't use the stack (see rule 115.2b). To do this, show all players that the card representing that permanent is a creature card and what its mana cost is, pay that cost, then turn the permanent face up.


Why should a player call "cheat" and risk taking the entire stack of cards? In a game of cheat/bullshit with at least three players, what is the incentive for a player to challenge a claim when he/she does not stand to gain anything in winning the challenge, but risks taking the entire stack of cards if he loses the challenge?

The only situation where I think it would make sense to challenge is the following: If someone just placed his/her last card down and I am the only one who has sufficient information to conclude that he/she is cheating, then it makes sense for me to challenge in order to prevent him/her from winning.  But apart from this situation, does it make sense to challenge at all? (Assuming we play be the rules on Wikipedia, where play continues normally with the next player regardless of the outcome of the challenge)

Because if you're only ever going to call "cheat" when I play my last card, I'll cheat like crazy on every turn other than my last card and do everything in my power to make sure that I'm not cheating on my last card.


Do MTG Core sets contain new (never before seen) cards? How does this compare with expansion sets? (I clearly didn't format my prior question appropriately so I'll rephrase things).

Do MTG Core sets contain new (never before seen) cards?  Or is it just cards for the prior year's expansion set?

Assuming that there are new cards, how does this compare with the ratio of old to new cards available in expansion sets?

Core sets do contain new cards, but at a lower ratio than typical expansions. This article indicates that about half (112/249) the cards in Magic 2014 were new, while the rest were reprints. I would guess that the ratio will be about the same for Magic 2015.

By comparison, in Theros, out of 249 cards, there were 12 reprints, and 5 functional reprints (nearly identical functionality, but a different card name).


How is the die for Cat Tower configured? I just bought Cat Tower yesterday and the die came unlabeled with the stickers to be applied to each of the 6 faces. Unfortunately, it gave no indication as to how to apply the stickers.  Based upon a picture on the box, I was able to apply 3 of the faces, but am stuck on the remaining 3 faces.  Is there any indication as to how the faces should be arranged (for example I might guess the 2 one cat faces might be on opposite faces of the die).

Pictures or instructions appreciated.

A comment from the publisher on their Kickstarter page answers your question perfectly:

This is their answer, but I'm also seeing complaints about unevenly shaped dice. If this is the case for your game, you should try to get your dice replaced.

If you can't get your dice replaced, make sure you don't put duplicates on opposing faces. You want dissimilar vales to oppose each other (eg 2 and 5 on a 1d6) to negate the effect of having a flattened dice.


Spy or secret identity game I don't have as much information about the game as I wish.  I played it back in the 80's so it is at least that old.  It was a board game typical size and had squares around the edge of the board that you moved around with real life pictures of people.  I believe each person was assigned one of the people and they had a role and you tried to either figure out who the spy was or who everyone was.  I loved playing at my Aunt's as a kid but last time I went there and thought about it I couldn't find it.  Any help would be appreciated.

This sounds like Top Secret Spies, also known as Heimlich and co.

link to bgg

This game came out in 1984.  Players are all allocated a secret character and they move around the edge of the board so it fits your description.  Players could move any piece but when a piece landed on the safe all characters scored points depending on position on the board.


Is there a specified order for abilities on cards, specifically creatures? I was reviewing the a spreadsheet I created of the RTR spoiler to prepare my strategy for this coming weekend. In doing so, I noticed that here and on previous sets if a creature has flying, it is virtually always the first ability listed on the card.

Now, I see a strong parallel between Magic card abilities and Java class, method, and member modifiers. In the same vein that a public static int is syntactically the same as a static public int, a creature that is flying, deathtouch is the same as deathtouch, flying. But you never really see the latter, only the former.

A search of the official rules didn't indicate anything, nor did Google.

Is there a canonical, conventional, or official order by which I can expect cards to have their abilities listed on the card?

Edit: I take back one comment. Faerie Invaders has Flash before Flying. Perhaps Flash is 'more important' than Flying?

This question has come up in the distant past, so there is no telling whether the design philosophy has changed. In the June 2006 Ask Wizards column,

Q: I've noticed on creatures with multiple keywords (flying, trample, etc.) that the keywords are in a certain order. For instance, Flying comes before First Strike and First Strike comes before Trample (Just look at Akroma, Angel of Wrath). My question is: Imagine that there was a creature printed with every keyword in Magic, what is the ordering of the keywords and is there any logical pattern to the ordering? --Matthew Burnaby, BC, Canada
A: From Del Laugel, Senior Editor: The short answer is that there's no fixed order for keywords. I check Oracle for similar cards whenever an unusual combination comes up, but my top priority is getting the individual cards to read well. But what fun is a short answer?
[Following is an example card with just about every keyword ever, Keyword Ultimus, cut from this answer for brevity]

In a now-disappeared thread from the shut down wizards community forum, a user magicalblender supposedly compiled a list of evergreen keywords, and which ones always proceed the other. I cannot verify the correctness of this claim, as I haven't updated my cards.mwsbase database with the most recent cards.


Does heroic trigger when the creature is in a graveyard? I have an Agent of the Fates in my graveyard. I return it to my hand with Disentomb.

Does my opponent have to sacrifice a creature?

No. The Heroic ability only works if the creature you target is a permanent on the battlefield. Most abilities only work from the battlefield. From rule 112.6:

112.6. Abilities of an instant or sorcery spell usually function only while that object is on the stack. Abilities of all other objects usually function only while that object is on the battlefield. The exceptions are as follows:

There's a few exceptions, but the ones regarding activated or triggered abilities are i and j. They're quoted in full below. The basic gist of these exceptions, and rule 112.6, is that no activated or triggered abilities work outside the battlefield — unless it involves a cost or trigger condition that can't work on the battlefield, in which case it works wherever it can work.
A good example of these exceptions (specifically exception i) is Scavenge or Bloodrush. The former requires you to exile the card from your graveyard, and the latter requires you to discard it (and cards can only be discarded from your hand, nowhere else). Since those costs can only be paid somewhere outside the battlefield, Scavenge works inside your graveyard, and Bloodrush works inside your hand. (But that's the only places they work, since their costs can't be paid anywhere else.)
Since Heroic works just fine on the battlefield, though, it isn't covered by these exceptions (specifically the one regarding triggered abilities, exception j) and doesn't get to work elsewhere too.

112.6i An objects activated ability that has a cost that can't be paid while the object is on the battlefield functions from any zone in which its cost can be paid.
112.6j A trigger condition that can't trigger from the battlefield functions in all zones it can trigger from. Other trigger conditions of the same triggered ability may function in different zones.
Example: Absolver Thrull has the ability "When Absolver Thrull enters the battlefield or the creature it haunts dies, destroy target enchantment." The first trigger condition functions from the battlefield and the second trigger condition functions from the exile zone. (See rule 702.54, "Haunt.")


Responding to Plague Engineer If I have a lot of 1/1 Goblins on the battlefield and my opponent casts Plague Engineer can I save them all by responding with Fatal Push on the Plague Engineer or does the -1/-1 effect occur before I can kill Plague Engineer? Sorry, I seem to be struggling with a very basic rule here.

You cannot.

From the ruling on Gatherer for Plague Engineer:

  The choice of creature type is made as Plague Engineer enters the battlefield. Players can’t respond to this choice. The -1/-1 effect starts applying immediately.

The reason this is the case is because plague engineer's ability is static. You can't respond to the choice of creature type because it's not an ETB trigger. For as long as the engineer exists on the battlefield his ability is in effect, and he needs to be on the battlefield in order to target him, so once you are able to target him your goblins have been dead for a while.


Drawing and going first In what scenarios or formats can a player draw even when they are going first?

For example: I usually play that if there are more than 2 teams (each team having 1 or more players) then the first team can draw on their first turn.

Are there other scenarios or formats that affect this?

When there are more than two players/teams.

103.7a In a two-player game, the player who plays first skips the draw step (see rule 504, “Draw Step”) of his or her first turn.
103.7b In a Two-Headed Giant game, the team who plays first skips the draw step of their first turn.
103.7c In all other multiplayer games, no player skips the draw step of his or her first turn.


Do I decide {X} for cards in my library for effects and abilities asking for a particular CMC? Suppose I have Yisan, the Wanderer Bard on the battleground with 5 verse counters.

And then suppose I have something in my library with an {X} in the mana cost, like a Genesis Hydra.

Do I get to play Genesis Hydra as though it were cast using {3}{G}{G}?

I'm aware of rule 107.3.g, which reads:

  107.3g If an effect instructs a player to pay an object’s mana cost that includes {X}, the value of X is treated as 0 unless the object is
  a spell on the stack. In that case, the value of X is the value chosen
  or determined for it as the spell was cast.

It's my understanding that Yisan's ability goes onto the stack. Does Genesis Hydra also go onto the stack, allowing me to choose {X}? Or ... ?

There are two relevant (overlapping) rules for this situation:

107.3f If a card in any zone other than the stack has an {X} in its mana cost, the value of {X} is treated as 0, even if the value of X is defined somewhere within its text.
202.3c When calculating the converted mana cost of an object with an {X} in its mana cost, X is treated as 0 while the object is not on the stack, and X is treated as the number chosen for it while the object is on the stack.

So, in this case, Genesis Hydra's CMC is always 2 when it is in your library, so you can only search for it if Yisan has exactly two verse counters. Then, if you do search for it and have it enter the battlefield, X is still considered to be 0, so it has no +1/+1 counters and dies immediately.


In two- and three-player Citadels, how does the Bishop's ability work? In two- and three-player Citadels, if I have Bishop, am I always protected from the Warlord?  Or, am I only protected if my second character is the Bishop (i.e. I was most recently the Bishop during the Warlord's turn)?

In two and three player citadels each player still only has one city so the protection of the bishop will protect it no matter your other character.  Your two characters do not directly interact, you simply get two turns and the perks for each.

For example, if you draw both the assassin and the bishop, the murder by the assassin is not undone by the bishops turn.  If you draw the bishop and the merchant, the protection of the bishop is not undone by the merchant turn.


Where can I find a spanish language copy of the rules of Settlers of Catan. I have found a link from a 2008 blog, but this fails now

Would this would be of any use to you?

http://www.yoda.arachsys.com/siedler/siedler_espanol.pdf

Failing that, this looks pretty thorough:

http://boardgamegeek.com/filepage/30216/catan-todo-en-uno-reglas-y-mapas-para-todas-las-ve


Texas holdem with an overall time limit Is there a reasonable way to play Texas holdem in such a way that the game has a time limit? A way you can say "the game ends at 10pm" and then determine the winner/distribute the winnings in a fair way?

Some friends and I like to have a fortnightly poker game. Mainly as an excuse to get us all together as we are busy and don't get as much chance to catch up these days. Sometimes just getting us together is hard enough and because we play on a weeknight, some people become reluctant to commit setting aside a night to play because the games can drag on for hours.

You could stop the game at a certain time and say whoever has the most chips at 10pm gets all the money (we play with 4-6 people with a token $5-$10 buy in just for fun).

Another thing we have tried is when it's down to 2 people, the person with the most wins everything minus the "second place" holders buy-in which they get back.

It always seems murky and potentially unfair whatever we do though because tables can turn quickly and the guy with the most chips at can be broke after just one more hand for example.

Is a time limited game a thing? I have searched and there are all kinds of "limits" but none which seem to limit overall game time.

I have not seen anything for an official rules for a time limited game but I have played in settings where there was limited time and players would come and go as they could.

In those situations we would set the chips and the buy in to an amount that can easily be converted back and forth. For example we would set chips to mirror coins (down to the smallest amount you want to deal with) and at the end of the night (or when someone needs to leave) they cash out for how much they had in chips at that time.

Since the games are just for fun there won't be a rush at the end to get a few more chips to win it all but just a general progression to try and at least break even.


Deathtouch vs an indestructible creature, which then loses indestructible I think I know how this works, but would like to confirm. Suppose my Hill Giant is equipped with Darksteel Plate, and then is dealt damage by a Deadly Recluse. That's one point of deathtouch damage. Without the equipment, that would destroy Hill Giant; with the equipment, it doesn't.

If the Darksteel Plate is unequipped that same turn, will Hill Giant be destroyed?

I believe the answer is No, because nothing in the rules says that "deathtouch-ness" is remembered. All that's left is that there's a Hill Giant with one point of damage marked on it, ergo it survives.

No, the creature will not die.
The rules for determining whether creatures die due to damage are part of state-based action, which are checked every time a player would gain priority:

704.5g If a creature has toughness greater than 0, and the total damage marked on it is greater than or equal to its toughness, that creature has been dealt lethal damage and is destroyed. Regeneration can replace this event.
704.5h If a creature has toughness greater than 0, and it’s been dealt damage by a source with deathtouch since the last time state-based actions were checked, that creature is destroyed. Regeneration can replace this event.

As you can see, deathtouch damage is only handled once, the first time state-based actions are checked after the damage is dealt. So, in your situation, the creature takes the 1 deathtouch damage. Then, immediately after that, state-based actions are checked, 704.5h applies, and it tries to destroy the creature, but the creature is indestructible, so nothing happens. Later, after you remove the equipment, state-based actions will be checked again, but the creature hasn't taken damage from a source with deathtouch since the last time state-based actions were checked, so the rule doesn't apply and nothing happens.


Recommendations for 6-player board game What's a good game for six players? Many games can be played by 6 players, but suffer from a loss of pace, and long waits between turns. What games have parallel planning phases, or lots of interaction during turns?

Only one game per answer please (from now on) for voting purposes.

Hands down, Power Grid is fantastic.  Whenever our gaming group has a game night, Power Grid gets played at some point.  The nice thing is it comes with two different boards, and if you get tired of those, there are expansions for around $10-$15 that come with two new maps and rules.  Once you get the rules down, even with six players, we've found it plays incredibly fast.

If you get the Inns & Cathedrals expansion for Carcassonne, you can play with six players, and Carcassonne is another personal favorite of mine.  It's fun to watch people figure out how to sneak their meeples into a city or farmland for the first time.

If you want something lighthearted, sets from the Munckhin series such as The Good, the Bad and the Munchkin are fun for playing, and have plenty of interaction between players.


Clocking Android Netrunner I started playing Netrunner quite recently. Love it so far. However, we're finding it slow--or rather, I think Netrunner is finding us slow. I've only played a handful of games with one friend so far, but our fastest game has been close to 2 hours (and for a single game, not a match!). The impression I get from BGG and the tournament rules is that this is much to slow.

To encourage us to speed up, I thought using a clock would be a good idea. (Also open to other suggestions.) My question is, what time settings and rules should be used? The goal is just to encourage speedy play by introducing a small penalty for slow play.

Run out of time => forfeit doesn't sound like much fun, probably run out of time means your turn immediately ends (after current actions resolve) could work... which would mean having time that resets every turn. And maybe switch the clock while waiting for reactions, e.g., runner declares run on HQ, punches clock while corp decides whether or not to rez first piece of ICE.

How much time should go on the clock? What time settings and rules should we try? Are there established conventions for this?

To be honest, I wouldn't worry so much about slow play when learning, and I would not recommend complicating it further with a clock.  Here are my thoughts:

1) This game requires lots of mental arithmetic, especially when playing as the runner.  How much might that run cost?  Do I have the breaker suite required to make success likely?  What is the worst case scenario?  When you are learning, you can easily fall into analysis paralysis, which will slow the game down.

2) Some more information: Are you playing core only?  Which factions are you playing?  You should know that if you are playing the "FFG Recommended" matchup, Shaper vs. Jinteki, Jinteki is a notoriously slow corp to play/win with, especially against a cautious runner.

3) About tournaments, yes - two hours per game is way too slow.  In a tournament setting, you are typically allotted 65 minutes for two games (playing as both the runner and the corp).  However, because of this, I want to emphasize: decks that play fast are more common in a tournament setting than those that play slower.  For example, one of the most popular builds right now, the "Astrobiotics" deck (an NBN deck that relies on Biotic Labours to score agendas out of hand) is very light on defence and basically crumbles if it doesn't win within the first ten or so turns.  So, there are definitely decks that are really fun to play in casual play, but aren't really brought to tournaments.

4) From the above, know your decks!  If you know exactly what you have in the deck, you will know its strengths and weaknesses, and as you play more, you will start playing it much faster.

My recommendation?  Play more.  And against other people.  I'm sure there are some playgroups in Seattle you and your friend can show up to.  Learn the cardpool.   Having to read each card as it is played will drastically increase playtime.

BUT, if you are set on using a clock, I would just use it to time how long my decisions took in a given match.  If it is above ~35 minutes, consider what could have been played differently.


Adding zombies, what order It's stated in the rules that you add from 1 to 6 sequentially, but what I find unclear is if it is per turn or always.

Example (reduced to 3 entrances for simplicity)

z = zombie, - empty

Round 1 looks like

1 z--
2 z--
3 ---

adding 2 zombies the next round, should i start from 1 again and get

1 zz-
2 zz-
3 ---

or do i get

1 zz-
2 z-
3 z--

Starting from 1 makes it easier to overflow since you start adding there each time, but seems most logical and easy to do. But not sure if i interpret correctly. :)

If you look closer at the rules it is explained that you always start placing the zombies at spot 1 when adding new zombies. Also of note if you have to add more then 6 zombies in a turn you cycle around from spot 6 to spot 1 again

  Whenever adding zombies, they are added 1 at a time until
  all zombies that need to be added have been added.

  When adding zombies to the colony, always place the first
  zombie on any empty space in entrance 1, the second zombie
  on any empty space in entrance 2, the third zombie on any
  empty space in entrance 3, etc. until all of the zombies that
  need to be added have been placed. When adding a seventh
  zombie, place it on any empty space in entrance 1 again, an
  eighth zombie on any empty space in entrance 2, etc. If there
  are no empty entrance spaces in the entrance the zombie
  would be placed but there is a barricade token in one of
  those spaces, destroy that barricade token and remove the
  zombie that would have been placed. If there are no empty
  spaces and no barricade tokens, the entrance has been
  overrun, remove that zombie and kill the survivor at the
  colony that has the lowest influence value. If there are only
  helpless survivors at the colony, kill a helpless survivor. If
  there are no survivors at the colony remove the zombie that
  would have been placed without further effect. Every time a
  survivor is killed (including a helpless survivor), decrease
  morale by 1. When adding zombies to non-colony locations
  follow all of the same rules, except there is only 1 entrance to
  place zombies in so all of the zombies are placed in spaces at
  that entrance.


If the last surviving human mutates to an alien, do they win with the aliens? In Escape From Aliens in Outer Space, one of the item cards is the Mutate card, which turns a human into an alien. The rules say that the human then plays as an alien from then on. However, if the last surviving human plays that card and mutates into an alien, does the game immediately end with an alien victory, with that converted alien winning as well? We had that happen in our game today, and it felt like an unsatisfactory ending.

As written in the rules book, humans loses only when killed by aliens. Therefore it seems logical that a mutated human wins with aliens even if he is the last one.

Said this, I agree with you, this is definitely an unsatisfactory winning. To avoid it, I suggest you to set as "house rule" that the Mutate card cannot be played by the last human. This will make the human to fight for his life!


Does anyone know where this weird blue and green laughing chess set is from? I found this really weird chess set at a thrift store. Does anyone know where it’s from? (I bought it because, obviously).

It's a "playmate" chess set by Umbra. UPC: 028295167055


Can You Play Two Search Cards at Once in Competitive Play Say I have two Profrssor’s Letters which allow me to search for two basic energy cards then shuffle my deck afterwards. In competitive play, are you able to play two of those cards or similar cards at once to look for four basic energy at once.

You play Professor's Letter, search for two Energy cards in your deck.

Then you show the second Professor's Letter to your opponent, and search for two more Energy cards, without shuffling between the two.

Taking time to shuffle between the two maybe considered slow playing in tourneys, even if technically legal.


How is the current format for an MTG booster draft calculated? I know that once all three sets in a block are out, a draft consists of one pack of each; and I know that when only the first set is out, a draft consists of three packs of that set.

What's the format when only two sets are out? Does the format change depending on which sets are large and which are small? And what happened to draft during Lorwyn–Shadowmoor?

Wizards of the Coast designs sets for specific Limited environments.

The intended draft format for Lorwyn/Shadowmoor block was:

Lorwyn draft: 3x Lorwyn
Morningtide draft: 2x Lorwyn, 1x Morningtide
Shadowmoor draft: 3x Shadowmoor
Eventide draft: 2x Shadowmoor, 1x Eventide

Cards from the two halves of the set were not intended to be drafted together.

The MTG Tournament Rules specify the officially-recommended booster mix for current sets (see Appendix D).


What is a good 'Baker's Dozen' solitaire strategy? I am wondering what a good strategy is to win the 'Baker's Dozen' solitaire variant?  So far, I have tried to keep the cards descending in the same suit, wherever possible, but when the Kings are at the top of the tableau pile, it makes it very difficult.

OK, so I finally figured it out and for the record, here is what I found works well.

If you can stack cards descending by suit, do that but if it isn't possible and you have to stack on a different suit, make sure that there aren't any cards of the same suit that are of a LOWER value beneath them.  That way you can ensure you aren't locking up that suit in that tableau pile.  That worked for me!  Also, don't forget that you can put an Ace on top of a 2 if you need to pull a King from another tableau pile.


Can the "Gatling" be countered by "Missed!"? The following rules are taken from English manual of Italian version of Bang! The Bullet!.

Regarding the card Missed! the interesting part is:

  If you are hit by a BANG! you may immediately play a Missed! - even tough it is not your turn! - to cancel the shot. [...]

Regarding the card Gatling! the interesting part is the note:

  The symbols show "a BANG!" to "all the other players". Note: even though the Gatling shoots a BANG! to all the other players, it is not considered a BANG! card.

This note makes me wondering if the Gatling can be countered by a Missed! or not. Reading the rules I think that the Gatling cannot be countered but in this case the card is too overpowered.

Note that also other characters and cards are influenced by how we interpret the Gatling card.

e.g. These characters of the base game are influenced:

Calamity Janet: she could use BANG! as missed
Jourdonnais: he can draw! when he is target of a BANG!
Slab the Killer: players trying to cancel his BANG! cards need to play 2 Missed!

Using the FAQ here the following question and answer says,

Q19. How many Missed! cards are required to cancel a Gatling played by Slab the Killer?
A. Only one. The special ability of Slab the Killer applies to BANG! cards only.

For reference Slab's ability is "Players trying to cancel his BANG! cards need to play 2 Missed!"
This would infer to me that a Missed card can be used against a gattling as the question says that one card is needed to stop it.
There is also This thread on BGG which goes into detail saying a Miss can be played.  It makes the distinction between a bang card and a bang action so whilst you can only play one Bang card you can play multiple cards with bang actions and any bang action can be missed.


Does "Going Infinite" necessarily end the game? I've seen a variety of combinations that will allow a player to "go infinite"* in life, power, toughness or simply create an endless loop**.

In the case of the endless loop, I understand why it necessarily forces a draw.  The game states can only proceed to states that feed the loop.

  104.4b If the game somehow enters a “loop” of mandatory actions, repeating a sequence of events with no way to stop, the game is a draw. Loops that contain an optional action don’t result in a draw.

If a creature goes infinite in power or toughness, or a player goes infinite in life, does it necessarily signal a win/loss condition?

A particularly stubborn a player could require the now infinite player to only gain as much life/toughness/power as they are willing to physically perform the combo, but it would be poor sportsmanship, right?

* perform a combination where, at the end of the sequence, the combo may be performed again

** a particularly specific setup involving 3 oblivion rings

The comprehensive rules on taking shortcuts in Magic, as per your request. (Sorry, long...)

If you refuse to take a shortcut out of an infinite loop when you have the opportunity, you are committing deliberate timewasting as Andrey's answer suggests; a definite no-no in a tournament, and hopefully in a friendly group as well!

  Taking Shortcuts

  715.1. When playing a game, players typically make use of mutually
  understood shortcuts rather than explicitly identifying each game
  choice (either taking an action or passing priority) a player makes.

  715.1a The rules for taking shortcuts are largely unformalized. As
  long as each player in the game understands the intent of each other
  player, any shortcut system they use is acceptable.

  715.1b Occasionally the game gets into a state in which a set of
  actions could be repeated indefinitely (thus creating a "loop"). In
  that case, the shortcut rules can be used to determine how many times
  those actions are repeated without having to actually perform them,
  and how the loop is broken.

  715.2. Taking a shortcut follows the following procedure.

  715.2a At any point in the game, the player with priority may suggest
  a shortcut by describing a sequence of game choices, for all players,
  that may be legally taken based on the current game state and the
  predictable results of the sequence of choices. This sequence may be a
  non-repetitive series of choices, a loop that repeats a specified
  number of times, multiple loops, or nested loops, and may even cross
  multiple turns. It can't include conditional actions, where the
  outcome of a game event determines the next action a player takes. The
  ending point of this sequence must be a place where a player has
  priority, though it need not be the player proposing the shortcut.
  Example: A player controls a creature enchanted by Presence of Gond,
  which grants the creature the ability "{T}: Put a 1/1 green Elf
  Warrior creature token onto the battlefield," and another player
  controls Intruder Alarm, which reads, in part, "Whenever a creature
  enters the battlefield, untap all creatures." When the player has
  priority, he may suggest "I'll create a million tokens," indicating
  the sequence of activating the creature's ability, all players passing
  priority, letting the creature's ability resolve and put a token onto
  the battlefield (which causes Intruder Alarm's ability to trigger),
  Intruder Alarm's controller putting that triggered ability on the
  stack, all players passing priority, Intruder Alarm's triggered
  ability resolving, all players passing priority until the player
  proposing the shortcut has priority, and repeating that sequence
  999,999 more times, ending just after the last token-creating ability
  resolves.

  715.2b Each other player, in turn order starting after the player who
  suggested the shortcut, may either accept the proposed sequence, or
  shorten it by naming a place where he or she will make a game choice
  that's different than what's been proposed. (The player doesn't need
  to specify at this time what the new choice will be.) This place
  becomes the new ending point of the proposed sequence. Example: The
  active player draws a card during her draw step, then says, "Go." The
  nonactive player is holding Into the Fray (an instant that says
  "Target creature attacks this turn if able") and says, "I'd like to
  cast a spell during your beginning of combat step." The current
  proposed shortcut is that all players pass priority at all
  opportunities during the turn until the nonactive player has priority
  during the beginning of combat step.

  715.2c Once the last player has either accepted or shortened the
  shortcut proposal, the shortcut is taken. The game advances to the
  last proposed ending point, with all game choices contained in the
  shortcut proposal having been taken. If the shortcut was shortened
  from the original proposal, the player who now has priority must make
  a different game choice than what was originally proposed for that
  player.

  715.3. Sometimes a loop can be fragmented, meaning that each player
  involved in the loop performs an independent action that results in
  the same game state being reached multiple times. If that happens, the
  active player (or, if the active player is not involved in the loop,
  the first player in turn order who is involved) must then make a
  different game choice so the loop does not continue. Example: In a
  two-player game, the active player controls a creature with the
  ability "{0}: [This creature] gains flying," the nonactive player
  controls a permanent with the ability "{0}: Target creature loses
  flying," and nothing in the game cares how many times an ability has
  been activated. Say the active player activates his creature's
  ability, it resolves, then the nonactive player activates her
  permanent's ability targeting that creature, and it resolves. This
  returns the game to a game state it was at before. The active player
  must make a different game choice (in other words, anything other than
  activating that creature's ability again). The creature doesn't have
  flying. Note that the nonactive player could have prevented the
  fragmented loop simply by not activating her permanent's ability, in
  which case the creature would have had flying. The nonactive player
  always has the final choice and is therefore able to determine whether
  the creature has flying.

  715.4. If a loop contains only mandatory actions, the game is a draw.
  (See rules 104.4b and 104.4f.)

  715.5. No player can be forced to perform an action that would end a
  loop other than actions called for by objects involved in the loop.
  Example: A player controls Seal of Cleansing, an enchantment that
  reads, "Sacrifice Seal of Cleansing: Destroy target artifact or
  enchantment." A mandatory loop that involves an artifact begins. The
  player is not forced to sacrifice Seal of Cleansing to destroy the
  artifact and end the loop.

  715.6. If a loop contains an effect that says "[A] unless [B]," where
  [A] and [B] are each actions, no player can be forced to perform [B]
  to break the loop. If no player chooses to perform [B], the loop will
  continue as though [A] were mandatory.


In Poker, What is the Significance of "Betting on the Come" An example appears to be betting when you have only four of  straight or flush (with more cards coming), meaning that you can't (yet) beat say, a pair.

Is this a "value" bet of some sort (perhaps depending on the number players)? Is this mainly a bluff? Or could there be some "strategic" reason for making such a move, perhaps for future hands?

It can be a bluff or it can be a calculation.  If you have QJ and the board shows 10 9 3 then you have 2 overcards to the board and an open ended straight draw.  If you have 4 cards to a flush you are probably favored nearly 2 to 1 to an over pair even.

If you sense weakness in your opponent you might be able to scare them off of a hand like two 5's, that while leading as it stands, could be behind if you even have a 10 or 9.

Your opponent could also have a single ace or of the suit that has 2 on the board you do not want that over card pair or another card towards his flush to come.  So you can bet to scare him off now.

Generally betting the come you really want to take the hand down right there.  But you do not want to commit yourself to playing a hand out if the next card doesnt come in your favor.


What is this game called? I was recently taught a game with the following rules.

Deal 5 cards face down to each player in a line and then 5 cards on top of the face down cards. Then deal 3 cards to each player for their hand.

Play begins with the player to the left of the dealer. The player selects a card from their hand and plays it face down. The next player plays a card with the following rules. The card must be of equal rank or higher, aces high. If a set of 4 of the se rank is ever on the stack, the stack is cleared and all cards in the stack are removed from play and the last player to play plays again. 2 and 10s can be played on any card. 10s also clear the stack and give the playing player a turn again. If a player cannot play a card they take the stack into the hand. Only once all cards in your hand are played can you play the face up cards in front of you. And only when all face up cards have been played can you play the face down cards.

The game you describe seems to be a fairly typical example of the Shithead / Palace / Shed / Karma / China Hand / Ten-Two Slide (Wikipedia) family of card games.  These games are known by a variety of names around the world, and have many local variations.  The game you describe does, however, contain most of the basic elements:

Players are dealt three initial sets of cards: one set in their hand, one face up on the table, and one face down.
The goal of the game is to get rid of all your cards, both those in your hand and those on the table, by placing them on top of a common discard pile.
You must first play the card in your hand, then the face-up cards from the table, and finally the face-down cards, which must be played blind without looking at them.
On each turn, you may place one or more cards of the same rank onto the pile, but only (with some exceptions) if they equal or exceed the rank of the current topmost card on the pile.
The most common exceptions are that a 2 or a 10 may be played at any time; a 2 allows the next player to play any card, while a 10 (or, commonly, any four cards of the same rank together) will clear the whole pile and allow you to restart it from any rank you want.
If you cannot play any card (or fail to play a blind card), you must pick up the entire discard pile into your hand and let the next player restart a new pile.


How many times will we go through the deck before the island is sunk? In Forbidden Island, how many times will we be likely to go through the deck before the island is sunk?

I've tried to figure it out but I'm not sure how many Waters Rise! cards there are. I can see the water meter in images, so I could otherwise figure it out for different difficulties.

In Forbidden Island the treasure deck has the following breakdown:

5 each of the 4 treasures
3 Waters Rise!
3 Helicopter Lifts
2 Sandbags

Depending on the difficulty the Water Meter will begin between the 1st and 4th tick, giving you between 8 and 6 remaining ticks respectively.
This means in a game that you can cycle through the treasure deck between 2 and 3 times.

You can find a breakdown of the game contents in the rules


Can you take 2 gems of the same kind for 2-3 players? It says in the rule book that you can only take 2 gems of the same kind only if there'll be at least 4 chips left after you take the 2. Since you only have 4 chips for two players and 5 chips for three players, is the ability to take 2 gems of the same kind reserved for four players only?

You are reading the rules incorrectly, they says when there are 4 chips at the start of your turn not after you take them. The rules don't care how many gems are in a stack after you have taken them just beforehand.

Rules

  Collect Gem Chips – Either:Take 1 Gem from each of 3 different stacks (not gold)
  1: Take 2 Gems from one stack, as long as there are 4 or more chips in that stack

In a 4 player game there can be 3 chips missing at the start of your turn, 3 player 1 chip missing and 2 player no chips missing.

Testing on the iOs version of the game lets me draw two chips of the same color from a stack when there is exactly 4 chips on it in a two player game.


Will casting an aura on a creature with heroic trigger the heroic ability? I'll admit we've had a lot of trouble with the Battlewise Hoplite the last few games and what affects it and what doesn't. If he has a Battlewise Hoplite
in play and I play a Crippling Blight does his Battlewise Hoplite get a +1/+1 counter?

Heroic only triggers when "you" (the controller of the creature with heroic) cast a spell. So no, your opponent's Battlewise Hoplite will not trigger if you cast Crippling Blight on it.

Aura spells do always target when cast, so it will trigger heroic if you cast an aura spell and target a creature that you control with heroic.

  303.4a An Aura spell requires a target, which is defined by its enchant ability.


Is BGA-Studio friendly to new programmers? I love Board Game Arena (BGA), imho, it is the best real time board games site.

They have a studio where anyone can build and post new games.  I tried to build a simple bidding-tic-tac-toe, however I got stuck in all kinds of places.

Is BGA studio a friendly site to new programers?  I ask since on first (and second) glance it does not feel very friendly.  What I must know in order to build a small simple game on BGA-studio?

The site seems pretty clear that it is not for new programmers. The description on the front page of who Studio is for says

"You are a web developer fluent in server side (PHP, SQL) and client side (HTML, Javascript) languages"


Mahjong exposing And discarding So, i'm learning mahjong at the moment and there is something I don't understand. When you expose a set, do you need to discard a tile afterwards?
Also, do you draw before you expose a set?
If been trying to understand the game but the many different versions and rules makes it very hard to find definitive rule explainations.

By "exposing a set", I assume you mean the move when you take a just-discarded tile to complete a set you have in hand. When that happens:

You declare the match ("pong" if you're completing a 3-of-a-kind, "chow" if you're completing a run).
You reveal the matching tiles from your hand.
You take the tile the other player discarded and add it to your set.
You discard a tile, and play continues to your right (so if the discard wasn't from the player to your left, it changes the play order).

You don't draw a new tile, because the tile you took counts as your draw - you should always have 13 tiles in hand, or 14 when it's your turn, not counting any bonus tiles. You can only call chow from the player to your left, i.e. the one you'd be playing after anyway, but you can call pong from any other player's discard.
If you're completing a 4-of-a-kind ("kong"), then it is slightly different. You reveal your 3 matching tiles, take the discarded tile, then you draw a tile from the back end of the wall and discard a tile. The fourth tile in a kong essentially becomes a bonus tile that doesn't count towards your 13 tiles in hand, so you have to replace it so that you can still have a complete hand.


How much land does a land card represent? Thematically, how much land is a single land card supposed to represent?  (It's for a story where the Magic: The Gathering card game is going to become kind of-sort of real through ignorance and stupid amounts of raw, untapped magical talent. ...yes, it is Harry Potter.)

Thematically a land card (or permanent) doesn't represent any physical land, but rather represents the planeswalker's bond with the lands that they visit as they move across the multiverse, they then draw mana through that bond in order to cast spells (although most of the modern Magic stories ignore this).

Every type of land in the multiverse has a specific kind of mana tied to it, and as such forming a bond with that land will yield that specific type of mana when you tap into it (hence the term tapping a land).

Source: the Learn to Play Magic videos.


In Catan, should you try to exclude others players from one resource? In Settlers of Catan (the board game), in a game with four players, is it considered a good strategy to try to lock one (or two) other player(s) from a given resource in order to have an upper hand for later trading? I mean, placing your cities so that you prevent someone from accessing any ore, for example. (Ore is the easiest, because people tend to neglect it in the very beginning of the game.)

I never do it, but it happened on its own once or twice, and it is really great. You can get better bargains because people are desperate for it. So, is it a known strategy? Do you look for that kind of advantage when playing Catan?

It's not a bad strategy, if (1) you still have access to all resources, and (2) you have a group willing to trade. But it's not generally a "good strategy."

I've seen a situation where one person had a lock on all the wood (random setup). The result? everyone else went for ports, and no one traded with them.

You can't really compel competent players to pay more than 3:1 for any resource, since a port allows 3:1, and they who get too greedy tend to lose out on everything else as no one will trade with them.

If, however, you have it on good numbers (5,6,8,9), and trade it to others at 2:1 and/or can get the 2:1 port for that resource, build your cities on it, and use it for just about everything, it's workable. A lot depends upon the group being played with.


Can I advance an agenda over it's scoring cost? Say, can I put 3 advancement tokens on Hostile Takeover?

Yes, you can. From the rulebook, p. 14

  Agendas can always be advanced while installed. Cards other than
  agendas can only be advanced if their text box allows it. There is no
  limit to the number of times a card can be advanced.

and

  Scoring Agendas– When the number of advancement tokens on an agenda is
  equal to or higher than its advancement requirement, the agenda is
  fully advanced and the Corporation can score it


Are there cards which work differently on Ink-Treader Nephilim depending on who controls it? Are there any cards I could play on Ink-Treader Nephilim that would act differently based on who had control of the creature, for that matter, are there any cards in the game that do this at all?

Some cards target a creature and affect that creature's controller, so it some sense they behave differently depending on who controls the target creature. Here is a magiccards.info query for such cards. Of course, since Ink-Treader Nephilim makes those spells target every creature anyway, it doesn't really matter who controls it.

Since Ink-Treader Nephilim's controller controls the spell copies, cards that depend on your board state will have different behavior depending on who controls the Nephilim. For example, if you cast Aspect of Hydra targeting your own Nephilim, every creature will get +X/+X, where X is your devotion to green. If you cast it targeting your opponent's Nephilim, then the Nephilim will get +X/+X where X is your devotion to green and every other creature will get +X/+X where X is your opponent's devotion to green.

Similarly, for any spell that affects "you" as part of the spell, the original will affect the player who cast it and each copy will affect the player that controls Ink-Treader Nephilim. Awe Strike is an example of such a card: whoever controls the copies gains the life.

In addition, since Ink-Treader Nephilim's ability puts all of the spell copies on the stack at once, its controller chooses the order in which they go on the stack. If a spell hurts the creature's controller for example (e.g. Chandra's Outrage), then the Nephilim's controller can put the copies targeting their opponents' creatures on top of the stack and possibly kill their opponents before the copies targeting their own creatures resolve.

Similarly, if the spell's effect can depend on the number of copies that have already resolved, the Nephilim's controller can arrange them on the stack to maximize their own benefit. For example, Flesh Allergy says

  Destroy target creature. Its controller loses life equal to the number of creatures that died this turn.

This means that the creature's controller loses an additional life for each copy that already resolved. The Nephilim's controller can manipulate the order of the copies to change both how much life each player loses and in what order. In the best case, they can make their opponent lose the game before all of the copies resolve.


How do Possession and Throne Room interact? Does Throne Room cause a Possession card to give you control over two extra turns? I can see it argued both ways convincingly, so I'm looking for an authoritative answer. Google has thus far failed to get me one.

I expect this to be the same as playing the possession card twice on your turn, and related to King's Court.

From page 3 of the Alchemy Kingdom Card Description pamphlet:
  — Possession is cumulative; if you play it twice in one turn, there will be two extra turns after this one.

Also, for reference:


Does Immerwolf's bonus stay after it leaves the battlefield? A little while ago I was playing two of my friends. One of my friends was playing a wolf/werewolf deck with Immerwolf and a few other creatures out on the battlefield.  I was playing an enchantment deck and cast Path To Exile on the Immerwolf. Once the spell resolved my friend didn't remove the +1/+1 from his other creatures (from Immerwolf's ability).

I reasoned that since they weren't actual +1/+1 counters, they would no longer affect his creatures, since Immerwolf was in exile.  He disagreed, saying that the +1/+1 would stay, whether or not Immerwolf was in play.

I didn't really feel like pushing the issue since it was just a kitchen table game and it also didn't really affect the outcome of the game.  I'm just curious as to who was correct.

Immerwolf's ability only gives other creatures +1/+1 while Immerwolf is on the battlefield.

Immerwolf's ability is a static ability that creates a continuous effect. The specific rules that covers this scenario are:

  611.3. A continuous effect may be generated by the static ability of an object.

  611.3a A continuous effect generated by a static ability isn’t “locked in”; it applies at any given moment to whatever its text indicates.
  611.3b The effect applies at all times that the permanent generating it is on the battlefield or the object generating it is in the appropriate zone.

As soon as Immerwolf leaves the battlefield, the ability stops existing. Since it isn't "locked in" to those specific creatures that it was affecting, those creatures lose the power and toughness bonus.


Clarification of the Veto Card in El Grande In El Grande, it is possible to collect a Veto card, which can be used to prevent a player from performing the action of the card they choose. It can be used to veto one card in the current round or the next round.

It says something like

  when a player starts to perform their action, the veto card is played, and prevents the action.

But, does the player have to explain their full action, or just their intention to use the card? For example.

If Player A has the Veto Card, and Player B decides to play the Move King card, does Player B have to make known

Their intention to move the king
Where they intend to move the king (which indeed may be to leave it where it currently is).

Or can they get away with just declaring their intention to move the king, and leave some element of doubt for Player B?

Here are some clarifications of the Veto rules personally corrected and confirmed by the game designer Wolfgang Kramer:

  *9. Veto: If you have taken this card, then lay it in front of you
  where the other players can see it. You may use it to veto any one
  special action that a player wishes to carry out either during the
  remainder of the current round or during the next round. You may only
  veto a special action, the normal placement of Caballeros is carried
  out as usual. You may only use your Veto once, and during the special
  action is carrying out. You may not cancel an action once carried out.
  Once you have used your Veto you must return the card to the box, if
  you have not used your Veto by the end of the round after the one in
  which you took the card, then you must give it up.

  The opponents can ask for or come to an agreement with you about what
  they can do. * An opponent wants move some Caballeros, he can ask :
  "If I move this Caballeros from ... to ..., you play the Veto card?"
  or "May I move this Caballero, and this else?" or other similar
  questions.

  If an opponent doesn't want to carry out the special action, you can't
  force him thanks to the Veto, because it can prevent (but can't force)
  an action.

  9.1. Veto & Special action addressed to only one player:

  The player who is on turn determines the order of the steps of a
  special action (rule 4), so the Veto can stop his special action at
  any time before it ends.

  "INTRIGANT:4 BELIEBIGE CABALLEROS AUF DEM SPIELPLAN BELIEBIG
  UMSETZEN: The player may remove up to 4 Caballeros (their own and/or
  opponent's) from the board, and replace them in another region or in
  the Castillo.": A player may move four Caballeros. He has already
  moved two. You were pleased with these moves. Now he plans to move one
  more. You don't like that, so you play your Veto and he can't execute
  the remainder of the special action.

There's more where this came from, but I thought I'd stop there!  I think this illustrates the power of Veto quite nicely: you can indeed find out what a player plans to do with their move before choosing to veto it; and you can even use the Veto partway through a move if it begins to take a direction you don't like!


What cards were never allowed in Commander? The Commander format has a relatively big ban-list. Which cards were banned upon Commander/EDH becoming a format? Which cards never got the chance to justify their ban on the fields of battle?

According to this MTG Salvation forum post, the very first EDH ban list that applied to the very first decks that were played in the format is as follows:

Collector's Edition, "Promotional cards", poker cards and silver-bordered cards are banned. (I'm assuming poker cards are the 52-card, Magic-backed standard playing-card decks given to early DCI members.)
Unique Portal and Starter cards are banned. (This means Portal and Starter cards that don't share a name with "standard" Magic cards.)
Vintage-illegal cards are banned.
Test of Endurance is banned.

Later in that thread it says that Test of Endurance was unbanned in 2008. I'm not really sure what Portal and Starter cards it's referring to, but no such cards are listed in the current Commander banlist so either they were unbanned at some point or they were never Vintage-legal anyway. Based on the information in this article, it looks like the only cards banned in Vintage at the time were Shahrazad, Chaos Orb, Falling Star, and ante cards.
So, the list of cards that have never had a chance to see play is just the Vintage banlist.


What happens if multiple people can cast the same card? Scenario:
Victor controls a Vedalken Orrery (You may cast nonland cards as though they had flash). It's Daniel's turn.
Daniel swings with a Daxos of Meletis, not blocked.
The triggered ability happens.

  Whenever Daxos of Meletis deals combat damage to a player, exile the top card of that player's library. You gain life equal to that card's converted mana cost. Until end of turn, you may cast that card and you may spend mana as though it were mana of any color to cast it.

The top card is a Misthollow Griffin (creature that has You may cast Misthollow Griffin from exile.)

Daniel can play it because of Daxos, Victor can play it because of it's ability + the Orrery.

Who can cast it first?

What if Daniel also controlled a Vedalken Orrery?

If one player controls a Vedalken Orrery that player gets to cast the Griffin first, if both control an Orrery the player whose turn it is gets to cast it first.
The Griffin gives you permission to cast it from a different location than normal (exile vs. hand), but doesn't change when you can cast it. Daxos also doesn't change when you can cast the exiled card, so without the Orrery normally you can only cast the Griffin during your Main Phase while the stack is empty.
What happens is during the Combat Damage step Daxos's ability is put on the stack and resolves. After it resolves the Active Player (Daniel) gains priority, and can choose to cast spells/activate abilities at this time. So if he has an Orrery and wants to cast the Griffin he can. If he can't or doesn't want to cast the Griffin he will pass priority to the Non-Active Player (Victor) who will then get the chance to cast spells/activate abilities including the Griffin if he has an Orrery.

116.1a A player may cast an instant spell any time he or she has priority. A player may cast a noninstant spell during his or her main phase any time he or she has priority and the stack is empty.
116.3b The active player receives priority after a spell or ability (other than a mana ability) resolves.
116.3d If a player has priority and chooses not to take any actions, that player passes. If any mana is in that player’s mana pool, he or she announces what mana is there. Then the next player in turn order receives priority.


Does Fateful Hour apply in this combat? My opponent is at 7 life and has a Grizzly Bears (2/2) and a Gavony Ironwright (Fateful hour — As long as you have 5 or less life, other creatures you control get +1/+4.).

I attack with 2 2/2s and my opponent blocks with his Grizzly Bears. This attack will knock my opponent down to 5 life. Does my opponent's Grizzly Bears die or does Fateful Hour kick in before hand and save it? (making it a 3/6 with 2 damage marked on it)

Dealing damage does not directly destroy creatures. It's actually state-based actions performed afterwards (the next time someone would get priority) that do. His Grizzly Bear would survive because your opponent has 5 life when SBAs are performed.

All participants assign their damage [CR 510.1]. No damage is actually dealt at this point, so your opponent has 7 life for the entire process, so his Grizzly Bear is 2/2 for the entire process.

2 damage is assigned to your blocked attacker by his Grizzly Bear
2 damage is assigned to his Grizzly Bear by your blocked attacker.
2 damage is assigned to him by your unblocked blocked attacker.

All participants deal the previously assigned damage simultaneously [CR 510.2]. (The power/toughness of the participants is not checked here.)

2 damage is dealt to your blocked attacker by his Grizzly Bear.

2 damage is marked on your blocked attacker.

2 damage is dealt to his Grizzly Bear by your blocked attacker.

2 damage is marked on the Grizzly Bear.

2 damage is dealt to him by your unblocked blocked attacker.

He loses 2 life.

State-based actions are performed.

Your blocked attacker is destroyed because its toughness, 2, is not greater than than its marked damage, 2.
(Nothing happens to his Grizzly Bear because its toughness, 6, is greater than its marked damage, 2.)
(Your opponent does not lose the game because his life, 5, is greater than 0.)


During scoring, can an Inuksuk be a double? In the card game Nanuk, When the game is over and players are tallying up their points, can an Inuksuk be counted as a double card (a card with two animals on it)? Since it's a wild card, an Inuksuk can be used to finish a pair or a set. A double card is a pair on its own. So can an Inuksuk be a double, and hence a solo pair, and thus worth 1 point? Or can it be paired with a double to create 2 pairs and two points?

The rules of Nanuk(you should specify the game you mean somewhere) says Inukshuk cards may be used to "fill any pair or set"(singular) and that only double cards may be used twice. It does not say the inukshuk can BECOME a copy of another card.

I'd say no, they cannot be used in this way.


Discarding Destination Tickets in Ticket to Ride When you choose 3 destination tickets on your turn, what is the rule in regards to if you need to keep 1, 2, or 3? It seems that you must decide before your next turn.

Toward the end of the game, players may want to discard destination tickets. is this allowed?

Anyone has any copy of the rules or rules on hand to clarify this?

You may keep 1, 2, or all 3 destination tickets.

You must make your decision before the beginning of the next players turn (not before your next turn as you stated).

The only two ways you may discard destination tickets are during your beginning of game ticket selection (you must keep at least two) and when using the Draw 3 Tickets as your action for the turn (you must keep at least one). For Draw 3 Tickets, you can only discard the tickets you drew this turn.

The rules can be found on the Days of Wonder website.

  each player taking one turn at a time


Can an opponent make me discard a Miracle card before I cast it, after it is revealed? For example, if my hand is empty and I draw and reveal Temporal Mastery, can an opponent cast Funeral Charm and make me discard it before I have a chance to cast it for its Miracle Cost?

Yes. Miracle triggers upon revealing the card when you draw it. You cannot cast the card until the triggered ability resolves and you pay the cost. Until that time, the card is in your hand and subject to the effects of discard.

702.93. Miracle
702.93a Miracle is a static ability linked to a triggered ability (see rule 603.10). "Miracle [cost]" means "You may reveal this card from your hand as you draw it if it's the first card you've drawn this turn. When you reveal this card this way, you may cast it by paying [cost] rather than its mana cost."
702.93b If a player chooses to reveal a card using its miracle ability, he or she plays with that card revealed until that card leaves his or her hand, that ability resolves, or that ability otherwise leaves the stack.


Zombies/Robots, Can you combine they're coming to get you and zapbot? I was playing zombies/robots and near the end game had all of my zapbots in the discard pile. If I use "they're coming to get you" (you may play a minion on this base from your discard pile instead of your hand) can I use zapbot's ability (play another minion of power 2 or less) to play all of my remaining zapbots from the discard pile?

No, only one Zapbot can come from the discard pile.

While the text is unclear, AEG has issued an official ruling on BoardGameGeek, here.

  It only lets you play a single minion that way, not whenever you play a minion.

That is, you can make one minion play each turn on the base with "They're Coming to Get You" from the discard pile.

However, playing a Zapbot from your discard still triggers its ability, which would allow you to play additional minions from your hand.


What constitutes a pair in the game "L'Auberge des Pirates"? In the game "L'Auberge des Pirates", holding a pair is considered dangerous for your survival during the game. It is not clear, however, what constitutes a pair: will one visible card + one card in hand be considered a pair, or will two cards in hand be a pair?

According to the rules (via google translate):

This player
shows you his cards (and to
you alone). Your charge is successful
if he has a pair between the
cards in his hand and those
that he has in front of him.

And in the description of drawing a card:

Draw 1 card without the
show (if it makes a pair with
cards in your hand or those
placed in front of you, do not say anything,
you haven't lost until
you are not charged).

Despite the awkwardness of the translation, it seems clear enough that when challenged, you lose if there is a pair ANYWHERE among the cards you own, whether between two cards in your hand, or one from hand and one from in play.


Mimeoplasm on Enemy Commanders in Grave If I were to use The Mimeoplasm to exile an enemy's commander that's in their graveyard (let's say The Scarab God), and the Scarab God's owner chooses to return it to the Command Zone instead of letting it be exiled, does The Mimeoplasm still enter as a copy of The Scarab God? While the Mimeoplasm's ability to exile The Scarab God was activated, does The Scarab God not actually being exiled negate that ability?

The Mimeoplasm does enter as a copy of the chosen card even if it doesn't actually end up in exile.

This is the full text of The Mimeoplasm's ability:

  As The Mimeoplasm enters the battlefield, you may exile two creature cards from graveyards. If you do, it enters the battlefield as a copy of one of those cards with a number of additional +1/+1 counters on it equal to the power of the other card.

The first thing to note is the "If you do" clause in the second sentence. This means that "you may exile two creature cards from graveyards" is actually a cost, as specified in rule 117.12:

  Some spells, activated abilities, and triggered abilities read, “[Do something]. If [a player] [does, doesn’t, or can’t], [effect].” or “[A player] may [do something]. If [that player] [does, doesn’t, or can’t], [effect].” The action [do something] is a cost, paid when the spell or ability resolves. The “If [a player] [does, doesn’t, or can’t]” clause checks whether the player chose to pay an optional cost or started to pay a mandatory cost, regardless of what events actually occurred.

The other important bit here is the last sentence. As long as you choose to pay the cost of exiling the cards, the action is performed even if the cards don't actually end up in exile.

In addition, The Mimeoplasm's ability refers to "those cards" instead of "the exiled cards" or otherwise explicitly looking at the exile zone. This means that the cards don't need to be in exile for The Mimeoplasm to become a copy of one or get the counters.


English Rules for the card game Belote There is a card game I used to play when I was in school in the Middle East--which I understand is based on a French game called Belote.

Does anyone know of an English set of rules for this game?

The game involves 4 players in two teams, only uses the 7's and up of each suit (A,K,Q,J,10,9,8,7).

Each turn starts with a bidding process for the top card; it's either chosen to be the trump suite or not.

Scoring is different for the trump suit as is, the rank of the cards, (trump: J,9,A,10,K,Q,8,7) vs (non-trump: A,10,K,Q,J,9,8,7).

Each round consists of a player playing one card into the pile, the team with the highest value card wins that round.

There are also sets of cards like three/four/five in a row or 4 of a kind that are worth bonus points.

I'm looking for a concise set of rules in English for this game, preferably the Arabic variant, if not the French original.

You can find here : http://en.beloteenligne.com/ some additionnal information.

The Belote rules seems so easy, but there were so much strategy going on. In France, they prefer a lot Belote to Poker.
This game is known because in every family (and at school) they play belote on Sunday after the meal.


When should Curses be used? Should Curses always be laid out as a supply pile even when no kingdom cards give curses? Or should the only be available when a curse kingdom card is chose?

An extension of this question could be should Curses be able to be purchased without being forced to get them by a card.

The Dominion rules contain the following note:

Note: Curse cards are present in every game, however, they are rarely used in the basic game other than with the Witch card.

I believe you can buy them just like any other card.  The question is, why anyone in their right mind would ever want to!  Just to show off, I guess :D


In Gizmos, does blind picking from the energy dispenser count as a "Pick" action? In the board game Gizmos, some cards have triggers that are activated when you pick a particular color. Do these triggers only get activated when the player picks from the Energy Row? Or are they triggered if the player picks blindly from the dispenser as well?

It does not count as a "pick". From the rulebook, page 3:

  IMPORTANT: Some abilities may let you draw a random Energy ( ). This is
  not a Pick Action. In those cases, you don’t take from the Energy Row. Instead, you
  draw blindly from the top of the Dispenser


Winning Splendor with reserve cards Can you win a game of Splendor if you still have cards in reserve?

Yes. The rules only specify "The player who then has the highest number of prestige points is declared the winner (don’t forget to count your nobles). In case of a tie, the player who has purchased the fewest development cards wins." There is no mention that having a reserved card prevents winning in any way, but note that the cards in reserve don't count towards your score.

This means you can reserve cards you have no intention of buying to prevent someone else from buying them. Or maybe you just want a Gold Joker.


Planeswalker Ability and Death Timing A planeswalker with 7 loyalty counters has:

a –7 loyalty ability that creates a 5/5 dinosaur token
a passive ability that makes all summoned dinosaurs enter the battlefield with a +1/+1 counter.

Would the dinosaur summoned be a 6/6 or a 5/5?

My guess would be 5/5 as the planeswalker dies first, then the ability resolves.

The dinosaur enters the battlefield as a 5/5 because, as you say, the planeswalker will be dead before the ability resolves. This is the exact sequence of events:

You activate the planeswalker's ability, putting the ability on the stack and removing 7 loyalty counters to pay the ability's cost.
The planeswalker dies as a state-based action because it has no loyalty counters.
All players gain priority, and pass it or respond to the ability.
The ability resolves and the dinosaur enters the battlefield.


How do I create an account with Wizards of the Coast if I have a very old DCI number without activation code? During Battle for Zendikar prerelease yesterday I played my first "real cards" MTG tournament since GP Vienna around 2003-ish. Now I learned that there is now a DCI website where you can look up your tournament results, Planeswalker points, etc. Apparently, it is this one: https://accounts.wizards.com

Now I am wondering how to actually create an account there using my existing (8-digit) DCI number from way back. Using Create Account won't do, as it seems to create a new, unchangeable, DCI number. Using Activate DCI number functionality does not do what I want, since my number is from long before activation codes were a thing.

I have considered contacting support, but based on previous interactions I was hoping that there is an easier solution.

The website http://wizards.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/2301/=1

Actually answers this question, but not quite obvious.

It says numbers shorter than 10 digits have been converted and that you can receive your DCI number either at a local WPN store (where you have to ask) or via the contact form.


Does Unsubstantiate work on graveyard or exiled cards? Unsubstantiate says, "Return target spell or creature to its owner's hand."

It seems to me like it should allow you to return it from the graveyard.

It does not return cards from graveyard or exile.

"Spell" only refers to a card when it is on the stack:

  111.1. A spell is a card on the stack. As the first step of being cast (see rule 601, "Casting Spells"), the card becomes a spell and is moved to the top of the stack from the zone it was in, which is usually its owner's hand. (See rule 405, "Stack.") A spell remains on the stack as a spell until it resolves (see rule 608, "Resolving Spells and Abilities"), is countered (see rule 701.5), or otherwise leaves the stack. For more information, see section 6, "Spells, Abilities, and Effects."

And it cannot target a creature in the any such zone because "creature" refers to a permanent in this instance which means it must be on the battlefield:

  114.2. Only permanents are legal targets for spells and abilities, unless a spell or ability (a) specifies that it can target an object in another zone or a player, (b) targets an object that can't exist on the battlefield, such as a spell or ability, or (c) targets a zone.

If a spell or ability does intend to target something in graveyard or exile it will mention the zone specifically and refer to the target as a card:

  108.2a In the text of spells or abilities, the term “card” is usually used to refer to a card that’s not on the battlefield or on the stack, such as a creature card in a player’s hand. The term “card” can also refer to a card in any zone that’s moving “from anywhere.” On rare occasions, the text of a spell or ability may refer to a nontoken permanent as a “card . . . on the battlefield.” For more information, see section 4, “Zones.”

For example Treasured Find reads:

  Return target card from your graveyard to your hand. Exile Treasured Find.


Can I target a Shrouded creature's ability? A friend of mine tells me that an activated ability of a creature (for example, Goblin Fireslinger) can't be targeted (for example, by Reroute) if it's given shroud (for example, by Lightning Greaves).

Since a card like Reroute says "Change the target of target activated ability with a single target" and doesn't target the permanent itself, shouldn't this ability be a legal target?

If there is some ruling source about this, I'm willing to look on it.

Yes, the ability is a legal target.

Shroud applies to the creature. It says you can't choose the creature for a target.

Reroute doesn't choose the creature for the target. It chooses an ability. Those abilities are not connected to the creature (once they go on the stack, they're wholly separate objects) and they do not inherit any of the creature's abilities.


Does mixing decks in Agricola reduce the chance of synergies? This is in some ways a followup to Is the Complex deck in Agricola strictly better?.

In Agricola, are there many synergies between cards across decks, or do cards which work towards a certain theme tend to be grouped into the same deck?

I kind of like the idea of mixing the E, I, K (and, when FedEx arrives, G) decks, but does doing so reduce the chance of getting strong combos? If so, would it be better to increase the cards drawn (but still discard or draft down to 7) when combining decks?

In response to the first answer received: I can see that a larger deck reduces the risk of "negative synergy", where some cards are specifically meant to balance other powerful ones by the possibility that an opponent has that card. (Chief and Chief's Daughter, for example.) In fact, that's obviously the case with any card which mentions a specific other card, so, what if we set those cards aside and just consider the rest? Is there a greater or worse chance of getting a set of cards which happens to work together nicely without explicitly saying so?

I'm going to go with my gut response here (again) and say that mixing the decks does dilute the game, but not so much by "reducing the chance of getting strong combos"... more by increasing the chance of being dealt a powerful hand!

The key deck to examine here is the I-deck.  The other two (core set) decks are ostensibly just two piles of assorted cards, one of which contains some allegedly more difficult concepts than the other.  The Interactive Deck though is specifically designed for, well, interactivity.  If you play with just the I-deck the cards in your hand are more likely to interact with the cards in your opponents' hands than if you just mix everything together.

Let's consider the Wood, Clay and Stone Paths in the I-deck.  The Wood Path is a superb card in isolation, giving you 2 Victory Points for the low, low cost of 1 Wood.  And if you've mixed all the decks together into one mega-deck, chances are you can consider it in isolation.  The chance that someone has the Clay Path, or the difficult-to-play Stone Path, is probably small enough to discount.

Whereas if you're playing just the I-deck, chances are high that someone else does have the Clay Path, which makes the Wood Path a much less attractive proposition.  If you use it early as part of a starting player grab, you run the serious risk that someone will take it upon themselves to out-Path you later in the game.  Which forces you to think very hard about the best time to use your Wood Path - as late in the game as possible is probably good.  Which makes the Wood Path a much more interesting card, but obviously a less powerful one...


Omen Machine and no library So Omen Machine is on the field and an opponent just used Jace, the Mind Sculptor's ultimate to exile my library and I have no cards in hand, so no library left.  When it is my turn, do I lose?  Opponent think so, but since I am not drawing due to Omen Machine, I believe I survive and the exile command fizzles.  We couldn't find any specific rules to address the situation so called a draw (I still think I'm right though).

Anyone able to clarify this ruling?

You would not lose the game from being unable to draw a card.

This is because the rule that causes you to lose the game states (empahasis mine):

  104.3c: If a player is required to draw more cards than are left in his or her library, he or she draws the remaining cards, and then loses the game the next time a player would receive priority. (This is a state-based action. See rule 704.)

and Omen Machine says (emphasis mine):

  Players can't draw cards.
  At the beginning of each player's draw step, that player exiles the top card of his or her library. If it's a land card, the player puts it onto the battlefield. Otherwise, the player casts it without paying its mana cost if able.

So what happens is:

Omen Machine attempts to exile the top card of your library.
You don't have a top card to your library, so the following steps don't do anything.
You continue onto your First Main as normal, having not drawn a card and not exiled a card.

This is further supported in the Gatherer Rulings of a similar card, Maralen of the Mornsong which states:

  While Maralen is on the battlefield, no player can lose the game due to being instructed to draw a card with an empty library.


System for secretly choosing between two options? I have a graphics project for school and the task is to design a board game. I need to work out a system by which two players can simultaneously make a secret choice between two options and then present their choice at the same time. I have thought about making a little arrow that can be spun around and then moved by the player to the choice they want to pick, hidden behind a screen, but it just feels a bit messy. And using cards that can be placed down seems to be a flawed system because as soon as one card becomes scratched and identifiable the whole game becomes unplayable.

I would really appreciate any suggestions you may have as to how to do this.

Each player puts a coin on the table under their hand.  This will work perfectly if it's always the same two options, or if you can easily determine a sensible mapping from head/tails to the available two options.


If a player completes all their routes, are they required to pick up new destination cards even if the game is almost finished? Let's say Player 1 has just finished playing all their trains and everyone is now taking their final turn. Suppose Player 2 completed all their routes on their previous turn. Is Player 2 still required pick up 3 new destination cards and keep at least 1? Doing so will cost Player 2 points unless Player 2 had previously completed one of these new routes earlier in the game.

Would it be possible in this situation to allow Player 2 to pick up 3 new destination cards and have the option of discarding all three of them should they find keeping any would cost them points?

According to the rules (available here) you are not required to pick new destination cards when you complete the ones in your hand.

Player 2 can simply perform one of the other actions for his last turn, e.g. drawing train cards.


Can you trash Crisium Grid to make the run Successful? As the runner, can you, when you encounter a server that has Crisium Grid, trash it to make that run successful or do you have to make another run after you trash it?

This is a little technical.

The run is successful, but doesn't count as successful for card effects. This distinction usually doesn't matter.

The point you access cards (and are therefore able to trash) is after the success or otherwise of the run is determined. If you need to make a successful run, e.g. on HQ to trash Off the Grid, then you need to make a second run once you have trashed it.

If you make a run with a card that has mandatory replacement effects on a successful run, e.g. Keyhole, you may access cards (and therefore trash Crisium Grid) since the Keyhole thinks you weren't successful so its replacement effects don't happen.

There's a slightly clunky interaction with Security Testing. The original run does not get you credits because it doesn't count as a successful run for purposes of card effects. However if you make a second successful run after trashing the Crisium Grid, it is not your first successful run of the turn on that server, so you don't get credits there either.

Hope that's clear.


Accepting Queen's Gambit Why is it considered a disadvantage to accept Queen's Gambit? How should I play to take advantage of an accepted Queen's Gambit?

(All online guides I've seen simply state not to do it, but don't explain why it's bad or how to take advantage of it.)

White has a slight advantage in the Accepted line, but it will depend what level you play at.  Even at the higher levels both Anand and Kasparov have played it.

You give up the center in the QGA as black, but white has an isolated Queen's pawn to deal with.  There are too many alternatives for the QGA to go over them all here.

In general, white is taking the center, and hopes that his advantage will compensate for the pawn.  A very logical move then is 3. e4, grabbing the center with a pawn duo, though 3. Nf3 has been more popular.

If Black tries to hard to keep the pawn, he'll only hurt himself.


Hexproof on an opponent's creature If I play an enchantment which gives hexproof on an opponent's creature, whose spells is it protected from?  Does it gain protection from my spells because it's his creature, or from his spells because it's my enchantment?

That depends on how the enchantment is worded.

If the enchantment actually says "Enchanted creature has hexproof", then the enchanted creature will be untargetable by you after the enchantment resolves, but will still be targetable by your opponent. (Note that the creature having hexproof will not cause the enchantment to fall off.) That's because a creature with hexproof cannot be targeted by spells or abilities controlled by anyone other than the creature's controller.

There don't seem to be any such enchantments, but the same applies to equipment such as Mask of Avacyn. (Since you can only equip to creatures you control, this would only be relevant if you had a creature equipped with Mask of Avacyn, and an opponent later took control of this creature.)

If, on the other hand, the enchantment says "Enchanted creature can't be the target of spells or abilities your opponents control," then things are a little different. This enchantment appears to do the same thing, except that in this case "your opponent" refers to the opponent of the enchantment's controller. So it actually has the opposite effect, and allows you to target the creature (since you control the enchantment), but not your opponent.

An example of this is Canopy Cover.