I see what you’re saying. I was never unclear about that. I always understood that something with 1 hp died the instant it got -1/-1. I was unclear about when exactly the -1/-1 is applied, which is apparently (from what I’m reading) simultaneous with the Abomination’s arrival (i.e. state-based) as opposed to triggered by it.
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nods Yeah, it’s not immediately apparent that the Mirror should die, imo. It’s a good question. And I sympathize with your issue about how to distinguish state based actions from… anything else. I hate having to refer to long lists of discrete items: my brain deals way better with general cases and broad rules. Hence why I try to bring up the “rules vs. cards” thing as often as I can when these questions come up.
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I don’t mind so much the list thing, so long as the list is complete. The list I see, though doesn’t make clear that an ability like Abomination’s is applied immediately. I can understand why, as very few cards have static abilities that are timing-critical like this. I can’t think of a similar issue involving the abilities on battle suits, training ground, or mind-parry monk, for instance, since their abilities are such that they couldn’t be taken advantage of until all triggers are resolved anyway. Is there any other card in the game with a static ability that would work differently if the application of the effect was triggered by its arrival rather than immediately? Is there a ruling somewhere that clarifies how the application of static effects is timed with respect to the card arriving? If not, it seems like a specific ruling is in order re: Abomination’s ability.
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There’s no reason “stuff in play” wouldn’t be applying their static abilities immediately, so there isn’t a special rule to say that “yes, apply that static text as soon as the card is in play.”
The other example where this could be relevant is with Inverse Power Ninja. For example, if you already have 5 other units in play, playing a second IPN will cause both Ninjas to be 0/0 and die at the same time.
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If you have two Wandering Mimics out and they gain an ability from a unit that then dies, do they keep that ability (as each mimic can get it from each other)?
If you have two Mimics that have flying because a THIRD unit has flying, but then that third unit dies, both your Mimics lose flying. — Sirlin
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Note to self, always check card db.
Always.
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I really like this, because it covers Patrol Zone as well as Add-Ons and Tech Buildings.
Even though you “lock in” a patroller before drawing/discarding, and before your units take damage from, say, Bloodlust, because the rules explicitly say they give a bonus on opponents’ turns, they don’t really come online until the start of the next turn.
So
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Can you use the neutral starter deck if you are not using a neutral hero? The rulebook makes it sound like you can’t, but I thought heard someone mention doing just that…
I… I don’t think so? I’m pretty sure the rule is you can use the starter associated with any of your heroes, but only from among those.
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No, you have to have a hero that matches the color of the starting deck you want to use, and that includes neutral. I know that Sirlin Games went through a lot of ideas for how the neutral cards would work when Codex was still in development, so that idea might have come up back then, but it isn’t part of the rules now.
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Okay cool, that makes sense. Thank you.
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Does “destroy” count as dies in relation to patrolling.
Destroying something normally causes it to die, unless something like Two Lives interferes.
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If a unit has both Indestructable and Ephemeral, do they keep dying at the end of every turn with Ephemeral then coming back with Indestructable? If so, does Ephemeral persist (e.g. Sanatorium gives Ephemeral to an Immortal)?
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Yes to the first question, not sure about the 2nd. I assume also yes though.
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The units gain haste and ephemeral permanently. So if they don’t leave play after one turn, they’ll keep trying to die every turn, and Wandering Mimic will get haste from them. — sharpo
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Cinderblast Dragon’s ability lets you play Fire spells for free. Does this let me avoid paying for Resist?
No, it just means that you don’t pay the printed cost of the spell. It’s the same as how you have to pay 1 to rebuild a tech building if your opponent has Building Inspector in play.
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The same is true of Promise of Payment. It covers the printed cost of playing the spell, but doesn’t cover any additional payments (e.g. Boost, Resist costs).