Rules Questions thread

Cosier is right that Second Chances has to do some locking in of eligible targets when it is enqueued. If some units leave play in a way eligible for Second Chances, then immediately some other unit leaves play in a way that would be eligible for Second Chances while Second Chances is waiting around to do its thing, Second Chances would not help the latter unit no matter what.

There’s no other ability in the game that works like this because no other ability in the game tries to do what Second Chances is doing. Normally if there’s a triggered ability that affects a certain thing, it locks in what it affects when it is enqueued, and normally if there’s an ability that lets you choose, it lets you choose from a broad class of things during resolution.

Second Chances says “Whenever one of your non-token units leaves play from something other than combat damage, return it to play. Once-per-turn.” I am interpreting this to mean something like “Whenever one or more of your non-token units leaves play from something other than combat damage and this ability hasn’t triggered this turn so far, return one of them to play.” It seems like that ability locks in the set of eligible units (“one of them”) when it triggers.

For Cosier’s concern about choosing units that aren’t there anymore, let’s again think about what we would do if the card said “Whenever one or more of your non-token units leaves play from something other than combat damage and this ability hasn’t triggered this turn so far, return one of them to play.” With this text we have to choose the unit (not decide at random) during resolution. If we locked in a set of {Skeleton Javelineer, Thieving Imp} when we enqueued it, but the Javelineer was gone, we would still have to choose something. This is true in the same way that a player cannot choose a target for Orpal’s maxband that was around when the maxband triggered but is not around during its resolution. I think that choosing randomly vs. not choosing randomly should not change that.

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I see, thank you!

If Second Chances rescues an ephemeral unit as it’s leaving play at end-of-turn, will that unit try to die again, or is the end-of-turn event a once-per-turn trigger?

it will not try to die again until the next turn

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I recall reading somewhere in this thread that “is destroyed” and “dies” are synonymous for units (although my attempts to search for it failed). The rulebook says that if a token ever leaves play, it’s destroyed. Does that mean that casting Undo on a token will cause it to trigger “dies” effects like Captured Bugblatter or Technician?

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Opponent has Midori midband + any unit with 1 damage. I cast polymorph: squirell. Does unit die?

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No. It is 2/1 due to midori

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See Post #2 in this thread, last detail bullet.

Basically, checking for death from damage exceeding HP is the last thing the game does after looking at all the other modifiers. (:

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No, it doesn’t. For a unit to trigger ‘dies’ effects, it has to leave play and be heading for the discard pile. Whether it reaches the discard pile or not doesn’t matter (tokens will be trashed before they get there, lots of other effects will send the card somewhere else), but it has to have been heading there.

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The same occurs if you bounce a token with Stewardess out of the Patrol zone. It gets destroyed (due to being unable to join your hand), but you don’t get the bonus and bugblatter won’t trigger.

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Do “at end of turn” effects (Bloodrage Ogre, Trashing due to Quince’s Midband ability, Ephemeral, etc) happen before or after “until end of turn” effects (Manufactured Truth, Rampant Growth, etc.) wear off? Or is it active player’s choice?

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“At end of turn” happens a short, but noticeable step before the turn ends (and “Until End Of Turn” effects wear off).

i.e. Rampant Growth armor is still around to prevent damage from Bloodlust.

Players do not get a choice in the order they happen.

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That is not necessarily true. I haven’t seen a clarification on this timing before. Do you have some particular quote or reference? Until and At could be interpreted either way.

“At end of turn” is generally a phrase for triggered abilities that happen during your turn, right before it ends. “Until end of turn” is generally a phrase for continuous effects that expire as your turn ends.

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I enjoyed playing few matches with Anarchy Present X
Using Sanatorium (i keep reading it insanitarium for some reason) to bring Lizzo then max band Geiger to bring it again for total 8 base damage was delicious.

Is this correct.
Sanatorium brings two immortals. Thet will just keep exhausting at the end of every turn.
I can attack with them every turn. But I cannot patrol with them at all

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Yes, that’s correct. Ephemeral will exhaust them at the end of both turns until they leave play.

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From the rulebook:
…they don’t actually count as patrollers until they’re locked in. When you end your main phase, your patrollers are locked in…

From Ironbark Treant ruling:
…He’s 3/2 on your turn.

Based on the rulebook, its a ‘legal action that can be taken’ to put your immortals in the patrol zone.

Based on the Ironbark Treant ruling, its a bit unclear if anything a player controls is ever “patrolling” during that players, or if Ironbark Treant is errata’ed so that its ability only functions on the opponents turn.

If the Ironbark Treant ruling means they are not patrollers on your turn, then its correct to say that “you can’t patrol with them at all” (however you can still put them in the patrol slot during your main phase regardless, they just wouldn’t ever count a ‘patrolling’).

If the Ironbark Treant ruling means that Ironbark Treant is errata’ed such that it only functions during an opponents turn, then they would be considered patrollers until they became exhausted later (based on dying from ephemeral in this case) after your discard/draw step.

Perhaps its not beneficial to put them in the patrol zone (knowing they will soon exhaust), but it seems to be ‘a legal play that can be made’.

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I’m pretty sure there’s a ruling saying that units don’t count as patrolling (and certainly don’t give patrol bonuses) on your turn. So @Coiser is right: you could assign them to patrol zones at the end of your main phase, but they will exhaust and therefore be sidelined at end of turn.

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Coiser took it literally when i said "cant patrol at all"
I know I could technically lock them in patrol but they would exhaust before the opponent’s turn. And there is no benefit of having them do that (if there is any benefit let me know)

Btw even if you put ephemeral (that is not indestructible, two lives, soul stone) in your patrol, sure it will be patrolling but when it dies it will not give you technician or scavenger bonuses. Because it says in the rulebook that these bonuses only happen during opponent turn.

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