In Ticket to Ride: Märklin, do Passenger cards allow you to complete Destination tickets?

It is important to note that passenger cards are not used to claim routes. Although they are drawn like train cards, they are not played when claiming a route. They are played only when using the Move Passengers action to collect Merchandise tokens from cities. Each passenger card played allows you to move your passenger through one route belonging to another player.

Excerpts from the rulebook:

  [When Moving a Passenger] The player may move any one of his Passengers that is already on the board. The Passenger must move from the city he currently occupies along any or all of the player's continuous routes, picking up one Merchandise Token from each city
  he moves. The player can only use the same route once per turn, i.e., a Passenger may
  not backtrack over the same route. The player does not pick up a Merchandise Token in the city in which the Passenger starts. At the end of the turn the Passenger that moves is removed from the game.

And the role of the passenger cards:

  When moving a Passenger, the player can play any number of Passenger Cards and use one route belonging to an opponent for each Passenger Card played.

(p. 3-4 of the rulebook)

Passenger cards do not give you any ability to use opponents' routes for any other purpose, including completing tickets at the end of the game.


Firstly, note that it doesn't matter who owns what territory until the game is over, and none of these are realistic ending scenarios. However, let's assume the game did end with each of your first two boards.

On the first board, the entire board would be considered White's territory.

On the second, among two good players, Black and White would agree that Black's stone is dead. White would then automatically capture Black's stone before scoring.

What happens if Black refuses to agree his stone is toast? You do indeed have to play it out and end up with board 3. However, White is not penalized for playing those extra stones:

If you are playing with area scoring, stones on the board are a point each just like territory controlled, so board 3 scores just as well as board 1 for White.
If you are playing with territory scoring, all play after the game has ended is considered purely hypothetical - it exists solely to resolve the dispute over which stones are still alive. White proves her claim that Black's stone is dead by playing until board 3, but then the game reverts back to board 2 (and White auto-captures Black's dead stone) before scoring.


sorry! Move backward 4 card, can you move a piece from start?

No.  From the official rules (emphasis mine):

  To move a pawn from your START out onto the track, you must draw either a 1 or a 2... You may not start a pawn out with any other cards.


Do Adventure cards count towards "number of instant and sorcery cards in your graveyard"?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


The cards currently in your hand are left on the table. The keepers and creepers in front of you are left where you were.

You take over your targets position in the game, and they assume yours.


Yes, the discard pile is face up. This is standard in almost any game, unless the rules specify otherwise. While the rulebook for Bang! doesn't seem to specifically state this either way, it does say that brown-bordered cards are

  played by putting them directly into the discard pile and applying the effect described with text ore symbols on the cards".

This wouldn't make sense if the discard pile were face-down, as you wouldn't see the card that was just played if that were the case.

And yes, if someone is discarding multiple cards at once, they could put the least helpful card on top to try and hurt Pedro Ramirez. However, it is not common that a player will actually be discarding many cards at once; most cards that go into the discard pile go there from being played. Only if you have exceeded your hand limit at the end of your turn would you be discarding more than 1 card at a time.


How many spins does it take to complete a game of Hi Ho! Cherry-O?

Looking at the work that's been done so far, it seemed to me that this is basically just a Markov chain, and in looking for ways to calculate Markov chains, I found that someone has been there and done that.

The data from his work matches the simulations here, which should be no surprise given that the rules are very easy to code:

Minimum game length: 3
Expected game length: 15.8
Maximum game length: Unbounded
50th percentile (median): 12
95th percentile: 40
25th percentile: 7
75th percentile: 21

He also posts the Matlab code that he used to calculate the chain ... it's actually pretty simple, comparatively speaking.

The Markov chain transition matrix shown below lists the probabilities of transitioning from one state (i.e. number of cherries pre-spin) to another (number of cherries post-spin).

          # of cherries after spin
       0   1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9  10
     --------------------------------------------
  0 | 3/7 1/7 1/7 1/7 1/7  0   0   0   0   0   0
  1 | 3/7  0  1/7 1/7 1/7 1/7  0   0   0   0   0
# 2 | 3/7  0   0  1/7 1/7 1/7 1/7  0   0   0   0
  3 | 1/7 2/7  0   0  1/7 1/7 1/7 1/7  0   0   0
b 4 | 1/7  0  2/7  0   0  1/7 1/7 1/7 1/7  0   0
e 5 | 1/7  0   0  2/7  0   0  1/7 1/7 1/7 1/7  0
f 6 | 1/7  0   0   0  2/7  0   0  1/7 1/7 1/7 1/7
o 7 | 1/7  0   0   0   0  2/7  0   0  1/7 1/7 2/7
r 8 | 1/7  0   0   0   0   0  2/7  0   0  1/7 3/7
e 9 | 1/7  0   0   0   0   0   0  2/7  0   0  3/7
 10 |  0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0


Can I get infinite turns with this combination?

The crux of the matter is that Wormfang Manta leaves the battlefield, giving you an extra turn, but is then returned to the battlefield, causing you to skip your next turn. Since your next turn is the extra one, it is skipped. Effectively, the two effects cancel one another.


Space Marine Attack Bike Twin-Linked bolter

On a bike you can fire as many weapons as there are riders.  So an attack bike can fire up to two weapons since it has two riders.  This is regardless of how-many wounds the bike has sustained.

The entry for the the Space Maine bike in the equipment list will indicate which weapons it has.  Much like the entry for Terminator Armor indicates that it allows deep-striking. The twin linked bolter is mentioned there.

And there is no good reason to shoot anything but the heavy weapon and the twin linked bolter.  You suffer no penalties for using them on a bike and are hands down a better option than the pistol in every way.


Controlled Creature returns to which hand?

That ability can only be activated while the Metalwork Colossus is in your graveyard, to return it to your hand. Your cards in general cannot be be in any other player's graveyard or hand.
Rule 400.3 says

If an object would go to any library, graveyard, or hand other than its owner’s, it goes to its owner’s corresponding zone.

and the rules regarding abilites have these subrules that describe when you can activate that ability:

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:

112.6k An ability whose cost or effect specifies that it moves the object it’s on out of a particular zone functions only in that zone, unless that ability’s trigger condition, or a previous part of that ability’s cost or effect, specifies that the object is put into that zone. The same is true if the effect of that ability creates a delayed triggered ability whose effect moves the object out of a particular zone.


How does the new Sangan errata affect Exodia?

Having all five pieces of Exodia triggers a win condition, not a monster effect. No card may directly prevent this win condition from triggering.
No card may negate or override the win condition printed on Exodia the Forbidden One. There are multiple rulings to this effect in OCG, including that Prohibition cannot block the effect of Exodia the Forbidden One (this ruling in particular is among those that UDE also issued independently for TCG, before Konami took that over).
There are only three situations in which a player with all five pieces of Exodia will not win:

The player drew the remaining piece(s) of Exodia as a result of an effect that requires them to draw X cards and then discard X cards from their hand (e.g. Graceful Charity - Draw 3, then Discard 2). Exodia's win condition will not be checked until after the cards are discarded from the player's hand.
Both players were required to draw cards (e.g. Morphing Jar), and as a result of that, both players now have all five pieces of Exodia in their hand. The official ruling in OCG (and unofficial from UDE) is a draw.
The player had only the remaining piece of Exodia in their deck and was required to draw two cards from a single card effect (e.g. Pot of Greed). The first draw will add Exodia to their hand, completing Exodia. The second draw causes them to lose the game via Deck-out, before Exodia's win condition is checked for.

Exodia's win condition also occurs before any cards can react to the event that caused its satisfaction (e.g. Magical Thorn) and prevents the remainder of any chain in progress from resolving (e.g. if "Backup Soldier" is played against "Delinquent Duo" and "Backup Soldier" results in Exodia being completed, Delinquent Duo no longer resolves as the game has already ended)


No,  That symbol is spend 'any' element once.

page 24 of rules here states

  This multi-colored circle represents any single uses of the six element

This means you can not spend multiple elements to boost the attack.

Note the card does not have the 'refresh item symbol' or 'consumed' symbol  see page 8 of rules.

  if a card depicts neither of these symbols there are no restrictions on the number of times if can be used during a scenario other that was it written in the text of the card

As the card has the symbol to use just one element that is all you can use.

Its also worth looking at this BBG thread on the difference between 'single attack' and 'attack action'.  The item above can only be used on single attacks.  Not on those with an Area Of Effect of targeting more than one enemy in other ways.


What's the difference between "target creature" and "target creature you control"?

You can pick anything matching the targeting condition.

If the targeting condition is "target creature", you can pick any creature. Period.

If the targeting condition is "target creature you control", you can pick any creature you control. Period.

If a characteristic (e.g. Green), status (e.g. Untapped), controller or owner isn't specified, it's not a factor. You could even pick a tapped creature for "Tap target creature" (even though it's impossible to tap a tapped creature) because the only part that's important when picking a target is "target creature". There is only one implicit limit to targeting: It's illegal for a spell or ability to target itself.[CR 114.5]

Keep in mind that there are many cards that add other limits. In particular, those with Shroud, Hexproof or Protection.


Why do some players get starting trade goods in 7 player TI3?

Position 3, which gets the 6 trade goods is, as you say, clearly the worst, all cramped up there.

The two which get 4 trade goods, positions 1 & 2, only have 3 tiles which are directly connected to their home world, whereas the remaining 4 positions are connected to the board with 4 tiles. This gives them more movement options and I guess this would be why the others are compensated :)


Can one choose a card with Bestow when searching for an Aura?

No.
In your deck, cards with Bestow are just normal Enchantment Creatures because that's what is written on the type line.
The Bestow ability only functions in zones that the card cast be cast from (normally your hand). Bestow does nothing at all to a card in your library.

702.102. Bestow

702.102a Bestow represents a static ability that functions in any zone from which you could play the card it’s on.

Even if the Bestow ability did function, Bestow doesn't change your card into an aura unless it is put onto the stack stack by casting it using the Bestow cost.

702.102b As a spell cast bestowed is put onto the stack, it becomes an Aura enchantment and gains enchant creature. It is a bestowed Aura spell, and the permanent it becomes as it resolves will be a bestowed Aura.


Pulmonic Sliver's ability is a replacement effect and doesn't use the stack. That means that when you pay the activation cost for Evolutionary Leap, you may choose to put Pulmonic Sliver on top of your library, and as soon as Evolutionary Leap's ability resolves, it will find that Sliver. Most of the times, that is not what you want, but fortunately Pulmonic Sliver's ability is optional.


The only detailed (non-Thai) resource on Makruk I could find so far is the book "Thai Chess & Cambodian Chess (Makruk & Ouk Chatrang)" by Gary Gifford. Besides the rules of both games including a dedicated chapter on counting rules with some endgame problems, the largest part of the thin book (<100 pages) is about openings and annotated games.

I think it is a good book to get started with Makruk, since it gives some basic idea of the strategy, but given the limited scope you can of course not expect deep analyses.

One side note: The author claims in several places that it is not possible to checkmate with 3 queens/met even if they cover both colors. This is not the case, and in one case where he even gives a specific position, Stockfish in fact finds a mate in 20 (where the counting rules would allow up to 59 moves).


Can you break up your own full set when playing a Forced Deal?

The card text, as you quote, does indeed unambiguously prohibit trading away a card from your own full set, yes.

You might conjecture that this was not intended, but as it stands (with no errata or contrary ruling from an official source), card text prohibits the trade.

That said, Monopoly Deal is a lighter game, so I would certainly go with what feels right (obvious designer intent) over a strict adherence to card text. Just make sure that everyone at the table knows what the rule is and is happy with the change.


In Robo Rally, can any number of robots be pushed?

They had the same discussion on bgg. Yes you can push multiple robots.


Basically it's because it buffers you very, very well against creature loss. If you're playing a weenie deck it protects you from deck-clearing spells. Or if you're sacrificing creatures, this card gives you extremely cheap, essentially unlimited new draws. The equip ability means you can just reuse it over and over again.

It's also very wide-ranging - almost any competitive deck is going to be better off having a few of these around, so it distorts the format. The basis for that statement is discussed in this very detailed article from the development team:

  Skullclamp was banned in Standard, frankly, because it was everywhere.
  Every competitive deck either had four in the main deck, had four in
  the sideboard, or was built to try and defend against it. And there
  were a lot more successful decks in the first two categories than in
  the third. Such representation is completely unhealthy for the format.
  Your deck has to either have Skullclamps, or have Skullclamp in its
  crosshairs—a definitive case of a card “warping the metagame.”
  Look, for example, at the Top 8 decks from Ohio Valley Regionals. Or
  at those from the more recent German Nationals. Combined, those 16
  decks contained 58 out of a possible 64 Skullclamps. Never in my
  memory have I ever seen a card show up in those numbers.

It's interesting to note that the development team themselves completely underestimated the power of this card. The story of how it made it to release, discussed in the linked article, is quite fascinating.


What's the optimal setup for Cluedo: The Great Museum Caper?

I am not sure if anyone has actually used math to calculate the optimal strategy. That would of course require the correct play strategy for the camera strategy to really be the "optimal". This person has a thorough explanation of a strategy including the why.

http://boardgamegeek.com/thread/598248/pretty-hard-to-beat-4-player-setup


While covering the Queen, what happens if I pocket only an opponent's coin?

No, you fail to cover the Queen so your turn ends and the Queen is replaced in the centre of the board.


In Bridge, Do You Count Defensive Points In the Opponents' Suit When Making a Takeout Double?

Nearly all American experts would not make a takeout double here, and my impression is that most Europeans would not as well.  Having 3 cards in their suit is a flaw when deciding to try and declare the hand rather than defend, and points outside their suits do matter: with only 9 points outside of their suit, your offense-to-defense ratio is low.

If opener has 6 hearts, and partner 3 or 4, your K will not take a trick on offense (it will be ruffed).  And if partner has 1 heart, the K could be useless as well.  But it will always take a trick on defense, so the heart K should be discounted slightly when considering the takeout double.  Qxx of hearts would discounted heavily because it would be useless on many hands.

There are several ways to lose by doubling here: partner has 3 hearts, partner gets you into a 4-3 minor fit, partner competes over 2H and gets you too high, partner drives to game expecting more.

Partner is still there.  He will reopen after 1H P P if he has one of the hands you want, and I would recommend playing a pre-balancing style where partner can double light after 1H P 2H... then he will protect you from having passed this hand.

In all, too many flaws: only 9 points outside their suit, poor shape, no spots, bad vulnerability.  If opponents were vulnerable that's another flaw since you might be able to get 100 or 200 by setting them.


Dacxive Animators happens at the end of combat but Gen Synthesis happens at the end of each round of invasion combat. Thus, it's possible that Special Ops training would work with Gen Synthesis.


Agendas typically follow the same rules for deck composition as any other card in Netrunner.  This means there is a maximum of three copies of the same card allowed in a deck. Either player can score multiple copies of an agenda, especially if the reward for scoring it aids their playstyle (e.g., using Priority Requisition to rez big ice in a glacial build, or Astroscript Pilot Program in a fast advance deck).

There are a couple exceptions to this rule, but they will say specifically on the card that only one can be included in a deck (the most recent card like this is Jinteki's Philotic Engagement).

If you are playing core only, you should take all of the faction specific agenda AND all of the neutral agendas for your deck. This will mean three copies of Priority Requisition, and Private Security Force, plus the in faction ones. In a typical built deck (49 cards), you will need 20 agenda points to be in the deck, made up however you want from the available neutral and in faction agendas.


Kess, Dissident Mage and adventure cards

Yes, you can cast an Adventure as an instant with Kess. For those details, see this question. Because that's a duplicate, I'll just focus on the second part.

You will get to choose the order to reply the replacement effects, so as long as you choose to apply the effect from the Adventure first, the card will end up exiled as an Adventure, and you can cast it later as a creature.

We can see that both effects are replacement effects:

  614.1a Effects that use the word “instead” are replacement effects. Most replacement effects use the word “instead” to indicate what events will be replaced with other events.

And the rules for choosing which one comes first:

  616.1. If two or more replacement and/or prevention effects are attempting to modify the way an event affects an object or player, the affected object’s controller (or its owner if it has no controller) or the affected player chooses one to apply, following the steps listed below. If two or more players have to make these choices at the same time, choices are made in APNAP order (see rule 101.4).

Once the first one of the replacement effects is considered; the other one will not do anything:

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

You are correct that if Kess, Dissident Mage's replacement effect causes the card to go to Exile, then you will not be able to cast it as a creature later; because the ability to do that is part of the replacement effect on the Adventure itself:

  715.3d Instead of putting a spell that was cast as an Adventure into its owner’s graveyard as it resolves, its controller exiles it. For as long as that card remains exiled, that player may cast it. It can’t be cast as an Adventure this way, although other effects that allow a player to cast it may allow a player to cast it as an Adventure.


Where can I get my Magic the Gathering play critiqued?

Interesting question. I would generally say that there's not much point having your play critiqued in general - you want to be critiqued by people who are better than you.  But the real pros are generally too busy winning drafts to offer commentaries on other people's (they'd be in serious demand if they weren't).

I therefore have an alternative suggestion: forget about other people discussing your play, just go to a good pro draft videos site like channelfireball.com and try to understand the choices they make (and discuss them with others in the comment section if you don't understand them).

That alone is a bit of a non-answer to your question, I guess.  If you really want to create transcripts of your drafts and offer them up for others to analyse, I'd recommend the MTGSalvation Limited forum.  Not that you can guarantee that people will be interested in going through your picks with a fine-toothed comb and debating them, but you stand a better chance there than in most places, I'd have thought...


Phase 10 - Do I have to lay down as soon as I have the cards?

No you are not need to go down if you have your phase in your hand.

Taken from the rules:
MAKING A PHASE: If, during your turn, you are able to make a Phase with the cards in
your hand, lay the Phase down, face-up on the table before discarding. For example,
you are trying to make Phase 1. You have 3 “5s” and 2 “7s” and you draw another “7.”
You now have 2 sets of 3, and you may lay them down. In the next hand, you will be
working on Phase 2.

They say that you may lay them down so I would say you can wait as long as you want to laid down your phase.
Link to the rules: http://www.tactic.net/site/rules/FIN/03140.pdf


It's important to note that there's a direct relationship between the near-ubiquitous Free Parking and no-auctions rules and people's perception that Monopoly is a game that takes forever to play.  The playing time of Monopoly is a function of how fast people run out of money, which is a function of

a) how quickly all the properties get sold and developed and

b) how slowly new money enters the game.

If you don't auction properties, it takes a lot longer for all the properties to get sold.  If you put fines in Free Parking, they come back into the game.  You've now turned a 60-90 minute game into one that takes 3-4 hours to play.  The next step in this process is getting on boardgamegeek.com and telling everyone how terrible a game Monopoly is.


Can "Stealth Tower" copy your opponent's bases?

Your opponents bases are In Play so Stealth Tower can copy them too.

After Stealth Tower copies a base, it remains a copy of that base regardless of what happens to the original (destroyed or returned to hand, etc).

This relies on an understanding of what "In Play" means in the context of this game.

  A Player Turn consists of three phases: Main, Discard and Draw.

  1) Main Phase

  At any time during your Main Phase you may perform any of the
  following actions, in any order you wish.

  Play cards from your hand
  Use the Primary Abilities of in-play Bases
  Use the Ally/Scrap abilities of in-play Ships and Bases
  Use Trade to acquire new cards from the Trade Row
  Use Combat to attack an opponent and/or their Bases

  Playing Cards: There is no cost to play a card, simply place it in-play (face-up on the table in front of you [the active player]).
  There are two types of cards you can have in your deck: Ships and
  Bases.

  Bases: Unlike Ships, Bases are not discarded at the end of the turn.
  Instead, they remain in-play until they are destroyed or scrapped.

  2) Discard Phase

  Lose any Trade remaining in your Trade Pool
  Lose any Combat remaining in your Combat Pool
  Put all in-play Ships into your Discard Pile [and leave all Bases in-play]
  Put any cards left in your hand into your Discard Pile

  3) Draw Phase

  Draw five cards, then your turn ends

In the Main Phase the first action says you can play cards from your hand. Playing a card involves putting the card from your hand in-play in front of you. During the Discard Phase all in-play Ships are discarded, but Bases (and Outposts, which are Bases) remain in-play. Therefore Bases Played by any player are in-play, even after their turn ends.


How to value old MTG cards in foreign languages when none are for sale?

Option 1: Look the cards up on cardmarket.com or other secondary market sites:

Have you tried any other site except for TCGPlayer? There are numerous other sites which let you gain insight on prices of MTG-cards. I'm guessing you live in the US so you may not know about Cardmarket.

Note that this site is mostly used in europe, so prices may differ significantly from the prices in the US. But on the other hand you will find pretty good comparable figures since people often offer cards in foreign languages. Cardmarket also lets you filter by languages and card gradings.

Other options: CardKingdom.com, magicmadhouse.com, mtgmintcard.com

Option 2: Determine the approximate Value of Cards on your own:

Since the cards you're looking at are pretty old, they are most probably relevant in the formats Vintage or Legacy. Are your cards present in any of the meta decks? If not, they probably won't be worth too much. If they are not in any of the meta decks, how do you evaluate their power level?

Does it have Strong stats? (if it is a creature)
Combo potential?
Good Value for low mana costs?

If you can answer any of these questions with yes, they may have some value. Certainly this approach can only give you a seperation between potentially valuable cards and bulk. You can never exactly tell the value of a card without having access to the market.


Are airplanes involved in defense if they are on an aircraft carrier?

The air units that are on an aircraft carrier participate in the defense, they are not considered cargo. On page 20 of the rulebook under Order of Play.

Air Units: A given air unit may participate in the sea combat or the land combat portion of the amphibious assault; it may not do both. The attacking player must declare the air units involved in the land and sea combats and cannot change their assignments later. Attacking air units, whether involved in the sea or land combat, may retreat
according to the normal rules. Defending fighters on aircraft carriers can defend only in the sea combat. Defending air units in a territory can defend only in the land combat.

And in the Appendix (page 30) under Aircraft Carrier, or (page 27) under Fighter the example image.

The Sinking of a Defending Carrier: The attacking Japanese submarine sinks the U.K. carrier, then submerges after the defenders Fire. Both the U.S. and U.K. Fighters can Fly 1 space to safety. They can land at New Zealand (a friendly territory), or on the U.S. carrier (a friendly carrier). Otherwise they are destroyed.
Fighter Defense: Whenever a carrier is attacked, its fighters (even those belonging to friendly powers) are considered to be defending in the air and can be chosen as casualties rather than the carrier. (However, a fighter can’t be chosen as a casualty from a submarine hit, because submarines can attack only sea units. See Submarines, on page 32.)

and from the online FAQ:

If my fighters are on an ally's carrier, when do they move and fight?
Your fighters move along with the carrier when it moves. They can't fly out to attack on your ally's turn, but they fight normally if the carrier's sea zone is attacked. If the carrier moves into an enemy sea zone to attack, however, your fighters can't be part of the attack but they can be taken as losses, if you agree to sacrifice them.


Do you need a solo player variant to make a Print&Play game successful?

There is nothing particularly exclusive to print and play regarding solo play modes.  They have the same problems as buy and play games.

There are a great many games that cannot adapt to single player, at least not while still being fundamentally the same game.

I would suggest to your friend that he can work on a different game, perhaps inspired by the first, that would play solo, and free him from the burden of making a solo mode that works.

You can check the geek lists at Board Game Geek Print & Play, and you'll see many of the top ranked games do not support 1 player.

As for an optimal number of players, you have averages, but there is no direct correlation between # of players and P&P popularity.  Other aspects of the game (fun, gameplay, etc.) are more important.

A general statement about game popularity (not just P&P) does say that games that require a large number of players (>4) or do not support up to 6 players tend to get played slightly less compared to games of equivalent gameplay, this is only due to the obvious logistics involved in finding a game that fits the number of players you have.


Axis and Allies 1940 has Germany always going before The Soviet Union

Rules

  Order of Play
  1. Germany
  2. Soviet Union
  3. United States
  4. United Kingdom
  5. Italy
  6. France (controlled by an Allied player)


In The Captain Is Dead Episode 2: Adrift, do all systems with any damage gain damage no matter where hostile aliens are?

What that means is that if an alien is in a room with a system that is damaged such as engineering and the teleporter has damage then another damage token will be added to the teleporter. If the comm system also had damage to it but there are no aliens on the bridge then no damage tokens will be added to it when the aliens cause the teleporter to get another damage token. What is happening is that the aliens are just causing more damage in the area they currently are.


Big picture, if Russia joins Germany, you're in trouble.  Russia isn't spread thin at all: Turkey isn't doing anything, Austria-Hungary is dying, and you're tied up with the British; if Russia allies with Germany, there is no pressure on them from anyone.  In that case, your enemies would have 4 fleets to your 3, plus an army in Stp that can take Norway, which means that you can stall but will eventually lose to pure numbers unless you can bring to bear other pressures on Russia + Germany.  Let's examine options for those pressures:

The low countries.  France can take Belgium if you ping Holland from the North Sea (they can ping Bur from Mar and do a supported move to Bel.  They don't actually want to dislodge Bur because a German retreat to Gas would be disastrous).  Alternatively, you can move NTH to HEL and refill NTH from SKA or Edi and set up to take Belgium in the fall and then attack Holland next year, but Germany is likely to move Kie to HEL which would foil that.  If you pull it off, this puts Germany on the defense at least on land.  You will have to stall in the sea long enough for this to matter, so it's not a perfect plan.
Attack Denmark.  Taking Denmark in the spring is largely useless.  If you took it, there will be 3 if not 4 fleets ready to kick you right back out before supply updates (expect BOT to BAL), and you would only have 2 fleets to defend, but you are probably not going to be able to take it in the Fall, especially if Germany moves Kie to HEL (which I would expect).  If you're going to take it, you need to do so hard, namely with the North Sea filling the North Sea from Edi.  This leaves you with 3 fleets to defend (if it works), which might be able to hold it.  Alternatively, you could convoy the army over, which still leaves you with three strength to hold Denmark but also lets you go to the Norwegian Sea.  This plan has several risks, notably that you can still end up in a 4 on 3 situation in the Fall and get kicked right back out of Denmark.
Gain other allies.  This is probably your best option.  You may have leverage on Russia because Germany took Sweden (a traditionally Russian territory).  You may need to offer Russia a lot of concessions, Sweeden and Berlin at the very least.  But if the fleet in BOT helps you against Germany, the whole situation changes.  Now Germany is losing ground in both the low countries and Scandinavia and will quickly collapse.  You could also try to court Italy.  You (or France) could offer them Munich in exchange for one unit of help against Germany, which changes the German land offense from a slow slog through the Netherlands to a real threat against the German heartland.

I'm curious to see what happens.  You should post an update in 1904.


Kathril, Aspect Warper and his ability's "targets"

Your general understanding is correct; this ability does not target, because it doesn't use the word "target". It IS still a normal triggered ability though.

603.1. Triggered abilities have a trigger condition and an effect. They are written as “[When/Whenever/At] [trigger condition or event], [effect]. [Instructions (if any).]”

Your confusion seems to be that you were under the impression that all abilities (or at least all triggered abilities) target. This isn't the case. What we have here is simply a triggered ability that has no targets.
Because the affected creatures are not targeted, you do not have to choose them when you put the ability on the stack. Instead, you choose them as part of resolving the ability.

608.2d If an effect of a spell or ability offers any choices other than choices already made as part of casting the spell, activating the ability, or otherwise putting the spell or ability on the stack, the player announces these while applying the effect.

So when Kathril, Aspect Warper enters the battlefield, its ability triggers. The next time a player would receive priority, that ability goes on the stack. Because there are no targets (and it is not a modal ability), no choices are made as part of putting it on the stack. Players will receive priority like normal and could respond to that ability. Something like Willbender cannot be used here, because the ability doesn't have a target, making the ability an invalid target for something like Willbender.
When both players pass priority, the ability will resolve, at which point you follow the instructions, making choices as needed.


It's not necessarily the stack that you need to figure out, it's triggered abilities and abilities resolving.

Here's what happens.

Opponent casts Wrath.
Wrath resolves, placing your creatures in the graveyard.
Reveillark's ability triggers. Since it and the other creatures are already in the graveyard, they are legal targets (well, not the Reveillark itself)
Reveillark's ability resolves, returning the other two creatures.


What happens if the last Shadow and Hunter die at the same time?

By a strict reading of the rules, the only requirement is that all of the opposing faction are dead, regardless of whether you or anyone else in your faction survived. Therefore, unless there is an official clarification to contradict it, all Hunters and Shadows win in this scenario.

Not much of a source, but this BGG thread agrees.

This would also mean that if a Hunter kills the last Shadow but also a third neutral at the same time, the Shadows would still win at the same time as the Hunters.


What happens if Always Watching is destroyed mid-combat?

The ongoing effects from Always Watching end as soon as it is destroyed, so your creatures no longer have vigilance and +1/+1 by the time combat damage is dealt, and both Gliders will die.
However, your Kitesail will remain untapped because vigilance is only important at the moment attackers are declared:

702.20a Vigilance is a static ability that modifies the rules for the declare attackers step.
702.20b Attacking doesn’t cause creatures with vigilance to tap.

So your Kitesail remained untapped when it attacked because it had vigilance at that time, and the game does not rewind and tap it just because it lost vigilance later.


How to fix very high impact of losing players last turn

While I haven't played Game of Thrones, kingmaking is something that happens in a ton of games.  And I've only ever found a couple ways of effectively dealing with it.

Embrace it.  Sometimes, it is just part of the game.  Sometimes picking an otherwise sub-optimal move in hopes of currying favor for a possible (or probable) kingmaker scenario is a valid tactic.  Not snowballing someone to oblivion can gain enough favor that you win the table politics.  If you choose to embrace it, realize that table politics can become far more important in your games.  It can also make those games more interesting (or more frustrating) depending on your feelings towards table politics.
Treat it like luck.  This may not work if kingmaking scenarios happen often, but you can treat it like any other luck-based or random event.  Just like when you need to draw that certain card or get that high roll to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, sometimes you just have to hope a kingmaker chooses you over the others.  Winning or losing because of a kingmaker can feel like a cheap win or loss.  It can also be a learning opportunity into how you should play to avoid such scenarios if it bothers you.  Also, like other random events, sometimes you just get screwed.  Don't let it bother you and move on.
Encourage not being a jerk.  If this really bugs you or people in your playgroup, encourage people who become kingmakers to just stay out of it, especially if their motives are less than sportsmanlike.  Just like with any other not-technically-illegal-by-the-rules-but-still-a-jerk move, tell people you don't like it when that happens.  If one person keeps doing it, stop playing with them (and possibly politely explain why).  You play the game to have fun.  Don't play with people who suck the fun out of it.  Either they will learn and stop or they won't be around to suck out the fun.1

1 I realize this is an easy thing to say and a much harder thing to do without bruising egos and hurting friendships, but setting healthy boundaries is essential to good relationships.  And if someone can't respect those boundaries (or at least agree that maybe playing a certain game isn't good if they value you as a friend) then they might not have been a very good friend to begin with.


Does Blowfly Infestation create a loop with Hapatra, Vizier of Poisons?

If there is a creature with 1 toughness on the battlefield when a creature with a -1/-1 counter dies, you can create an arbitrarily large number of enter the battlefield triggers as @gendolkari explains.

This is an optional infinite loop and so the game won't end in a draw because you can always choose to end it by giving Haptatra the a -1/-1 counter from blowfly infestation.  If Haptara has more that 1 toughness, the loop will end because a creature does not die.  If Haptara has 1 toughness, the loop will end because her ability is no longer active.

  421.2. If the loop contains one or more optional actions and one player controls them all, that player chooses a number. The loop is treated as repeating that many times or until another player intervenes, whichever comes first.


What's this game featuring a 15x15 peg board, and 60 pegs for the two sides?

Use of pegs instead of "stones" suggests Gramps was imitating the commercial game "Pegity", which predates Pente by a number of years.  Pegity was played on a hole grid, with pegs (all plastic when my family played it in the late 1960s and early 1970s, though apparently originally wood).

I haven't seen a set in forty years so don't recall the grid dimension.  The main play difference between Pegity and go-moku (and the later, unexpanded Pente) was four different colors of pegs, at least in the plastic version -- the game still revolved around forming a row of 5 on rows, columns, or diagonals.


There isn't going to be a nice numerical value that you can assign to surveil like you can to scry because the utility of surveil depends on your deck.

If you have a deck with no graveyard interaction, surveil is pretty much identical to scry in terms of card advantage.  It's arguably worse, because moving the cards to a public zone gives your opponent information about what cards you want in your hand, makes the cards vulnerable to graveyard interactions your opponents might have, and makes it slightly easier for you to deck out (all of which are pretty minor).

On the other hand, if your deck has graveyard interaction, surveil suddenly jumps in value.  Discarding a card with flashback or jump-start gives you half the value you would have gotten from drawing it.  Surveiling a Narcomoeba is actually significantly better than scrying or even drawing it.  And a deck with undergrowth becomes more powerful with every creature dumped into the graveyard.

All this makes the 'value' of surveil significantly more variable than the value of scry, and significantly harder to analyze.


Two Headed Giant Sealed Events Card Trading

Not only are you allowed to share cards, you are as a team considered to have a single card pool that you build your decks from. Section 9.6 of the Tournament rules says

Two-Headed Giant Limited Rules
All the rules for Limited Tournaments (Section 7) apply, except as described below.
The DCI recommends that each team receive eight boosters per team for Two-Headed Giant Sealed Deck tournaments and six boosters per team for Two-Headed Giant Booster Draft tournaments. For the recommended product mix for the current block, refer to Appendix D.
Cards not used in a team’s starting decks are considered a shared sideboard by the two players that both players can access.


Moving the Gardener/Panda 'in a straight line' in Takenoko

The "straight line" is between tiles, not the precise position of the gardener. This isn't a miniatures wargame like Warhammer 40k; it's a tile-based abstract Euro.

Here are the diagrams of what a "straight line" means from the rulebook:

As you can see, the "straight line" limitation simply means that movement must be across shared edges of tiles, in a straight line, rather than "around the bend".


The fact that the ability says "gain control of target creature" only means that the chosen target must be a creature at the time it is chosen and at the time the ability resolves. This is just like any other targeted spell or ability: targets have to meet the specified conditions when you choose them, and also when the spell or ability resolves.

After the ability resolves, it doesn't matter what happens to the targeted god's characteristics - whether it stops being a creature, changes color, starts being a creature again, changes power and toughness, gains or loses abilities, or so on. Nothing causes the control-changing effect to end, unless it has its own built-in time limit (for things like Act of Treason). Of course it can be overridden by another control-changing effect, i.e. player 2 could steal the god back. Here's the relevant rule:

  611.2c. If a continuous effect generated by the resolution of a spell or ability modifies the characteristics or changes the controller of any objects, the set of objects it affects is determined when that continuous effect begins. After that point, the set won't change. (Note that this works differently than a continuous effect from a static ability.) A continuous effect generated by the resolution of a spell or ability that doesn't modify the characteristics or change the controller of any objects modifies the rules of the game, so it can affect objects that weren't affected when that continuous effect began. If a single continuous effect has parts that modify the characteristics or changes the controller of any objects and other parts that don't, the set of objects each part applies to is determined independently.

You're basically right about the difference between this and Mind Control, by the way. With Mind Control, the control-changing effect comes from a static ability of a permanent, as opposed to the Siren's effect which comes from the resolution of an ability. The relevant rule for Mind Control is this one:

  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.

So in that case, the control-changing effect only lasts as long as the Mind Control is actually enchanting the thing.


Celestial Flare Question declaring blockers

The blocking creature now blocks nothing. You cannot have it block another creature and blockers cannot be assigned again.


How many cards can I hold? (How do conflicting effects work?)

It depends, whichever one entered the battlefield last is the one that takes effect.
When a permanent enters the battlefield it receives a timestamp. Then when determining the result of continuous effects (the kind generated by both Kruphix and Null Profusion) you apply them in timestamp order.
So if the Profusion entered last you will have a max hand size of 2, and if Kruphix entered last you won't have a maximum hand size. If they were to enter the battlefield at the same time then the Active Player (the player whose turn it currently is) decides what the order of the timestamps is.

613.6. Within a layer or sublayer, determining which order effects are applied in is usually done using a timestamp system. An effect with an earlier timestamp is applied before an effect with a later timestamp.
613.6c An object receives a timestamp at the time it enters a zone.
613.6j If two or more objects would receive a timestamp simultaneously, such as by entering a zone simultaneously or becoming attached simultaneously, the active player determines their relative timestamp order at that time.
613.10. Some continuous effects affect game rules rather than objects. For example, effects may modify a player’s maximum hand size, or say that a creature must attack this turn if able. These effects are applied after all other continuous effects have been applied. Continuous effects that affect the costs of spells or abilities are applied according to the order specified in rule 601.2f. All other such effects are applied in timestamp order. See also the rules for timestamp order and dependency (rules 613.6 and 613.7).


Here is an example.

A BEL-HOL
F NTH C BEL-HOL
F HOL-BEL

Two pieces can trade places if and only if one of them is convoyed. So in the above examples, BEL and HOL trade places because BEL is convoyed. Without the fleet to convoy, the two pieces in HOL and BEL would bounce and stay in their respective palces.


What happens to spells cast from Nightveil Specter's ability?

Casting a spell exiled with Nightveil Specter follows almost all steps mentioned in section '6. Spells, Abilities, and Effects' of the comprehensive rules, including

  608.2k As the final part of an instant or sorcery spell's resolution, the spell is put into its owner's graveyard. As the final part of an ability's resolution, the ability is removed from the stack and ceases to exist.

So, yes, it's put into its owner's graveyard, unless the card itself specifies otherwise (e.g. Time Reversal or Beacon of Immortality).


How can I search MagicCards.info for an exact color identity match?

When you search ci:gur on magiccards.info, you are looking for cards that match that color identity, i.e. that are legal in a deck with whose commander has a GUR color identity, including artifacts. When you append the m, it appears to search for cards that have more than one of those colors in their color identity.

So, in that context, when you are looking for a GUR commander, you are really looking for a card that matches that color identity, but does not match any subset of that color identity.. You can express that using the negation syntax to filter out those sub-combinations, like -ci:ru. The final search is t:creature t:legendary ci:gur -ci:gu -ci:ur -ci:gr. This results in a total of six creatures that have that exact color identity.

I created a Chrome extension to help construct that search automatically. I also recently discovered EDHREC, a site with similar search functionality.


Yes, the artifact was returned to your hand. The fact it then ceased to exist doesn't matter, you still returned it to your hand.


What happens to armor a marine has gained during a campaign when he dies?

I'm not a player of the Doom board game, but I'm a player of many other board games and the Doom computer game and therefore think I can make a fair interpretation as to what the rulebook and campaign book rules might mean together.

I think rule 1 (A killed marine...) means that at any time the marine is killed during a scenario he will respawn with the default (as in without any items and bonuses) armour and health.

The second rule (A marine starts a scenario...) in my opinion is not contrary to that because it refers to the beginning of a scenario.

If a marine is killed during the scenario then rule 1 applies and rule 2 does not, if it is the beginning of the scenario rule 2 applies. This seems to match with the Doom computer game, if you finish a level you can take the armour and life to the next level, however if you are killed during a level you respawn with the default armour (0 I believe) and the default health (100 I believe) at the beginning of the level.


What was the game with a plastic Bigfoot that left footprint counters?

It was called simply "Big Foot" (Milton Bradley, 1977)

The game centers around a model of the BigFoot. 10 plastic disks (5 blank and 5 with the footprint of the Bigfoot) are secretly loaded into the base of the creature.


Do I need to have Imploding Kittens to use Streaking Kittens?

Yes, you can use the base game with only the second expansion, as none of the cards in the Streaking Kittens expansion requires anything from the Imploding Kittens pack.


You have to assume that the third card will be a calamity: the rules are designed to prevent you being certain, but it's always wise to expect the worst, and very likely in your position.

You need to consider

Which calamity will it be?  Depending on how many cities your trading partner has, there are several he may have picked up and wish to trade; if you are careful to specify three cards, you won't get more than one, which you may be able to survive.
And will the situation be any better next turn? If this is 'the most optimal trade possible', you really have either to accept it or resign yourself to a game without trading, which isn't likely to end well.

There may be other reasons to reject this specific trade: card-counting indicates that the two calamities you are worried about definitely came out this turn, or other people have decided not to trade with this person already.  But both are fallible; assuming you can actually use the trade cards for a Civilization card, I would suggest you accept.


Has Marty Bergen's hand evaluation system been validated experimentally?

Yes - but not (as far as I know) with a Monte Carlo simulation. Experts have long known (and I mean long known - since before I learned the game in 1972) that Aces were undervalued and Quacks (Queens and Jacks) over-valued in Work's Point Count. Numerous remedies have been suggested over the years to address this. When you hear an expert talk about "a good 15" or "a bad 11", for example, they have performed the analysis above and noted that the hand has more Aces than Quacks perhaps, or no Aces at all, or weak spot cards in support of the Honours.

However, past attempts to devise a more accurate system, such as the following, have all relied on overly complex adjustments or expertise not available to average players:

add a point for every Ace-Ten in the hand past the first; subtract a point if none.
Use a 5/4/3/2/1 point count for Ace through Ten; and multiply the result by 2/3 to restore the count back to a 40 Point deck. My recollection is that this system has been verified with a Monte Carlo simulation - but I read that over 10 years ago and cannot remember the source.
Establishing minimum Quick Tricks standard for certain bids, especially openings - which weights Aces and Kings preferentially relative to Quacks:

  Ely Culbertson had it right when Bridge was in its infancy. He said that an opening bid should have around 2 1/2 quick tricks. This standard, he said, could be a benchmark for judging defensive capabilities of openers & general trick taking potential for competing [to] games & slams. In my opinion, quick tricks should be more than just a requirement for an opening bid. You should evaluate your hand re quick tricks for penalty doubles, forcing pass theory, T/O doubles, overcalling & balancing also.

  Edmonton Bridge Centre, Alberta, Canada

Apply personal fudge factors ( requires thousands of hours of experience to do correctly)

So if you are wondering if Bergen's proposal is more accurate than a straight Work Count - absolutely.

As for the other evaluation suggestions mentioned by Bergen - All experts - and I mean all - have made these adjustments for at least 75 years. Culbertson, Lightner, and Jacoby were making them, and teaching them, in the 1930's, as was Goren in the 1940's and 50's. Anyone who doesn't make these adjustments suffers poor results - in short order.

If you are wondering if it is the most accurate possibility - most likely not. However Bergen has managed to come up with a modification that is an improvement, and is fairly simple to evaluate. That latter is a big plus.

Additionally, there are two problems with using Monte Carlo simulations in analyzing Bridge:

Resulting is the practice of judging a bid or call solely by its results on a particular hand. Beginners are prone to this, and need to unlearn it as one prerequisite to becoming intermediate. Bids and calls are properly judged by the expected result, in a statistical sense, based solely on the information available at the time from the auction.
Double Dummy analysis is interesting, but Bridge is played as a Single Dummy game. That a particular result is possible on a hand does not necessarily imply that it can be reasonably reached at the table. This is one of the ways in which cheaters are detected - though it takes time to compile sufficiently robust statistical arguments.


In Sorry can I split a 7 move card to a single pawn and move it only 2?

No, you cannot use the 7 card if you lack a man (or pair of men) that can move a total of 7 spaces.

In the scenario you provided, you have one man that can move 2 spaces, and all three other men can move 0 spaces (whether this is as a result of being on Start or being in Home is actually irrelevant, as the only three cards that can move a man out of Start are 1, 2, and SORRY!). Since you cannot split the 7 card with any of the three men that can move 0 spaces, your only other option would be to move the remaining man 7 spaces, which also cannot be done. Therefore, you forfeit that movement (and thus, the turn).

It's worth noting that the only 4 cards that could be used in the exact scenario you provided (three men in home, last man 2 away) are a 1, a 2, a 4, and a 10 (forces your man one space back). Any other card would automatically cause a forfeited move because you cannot perform the movements on the card.


Is there any interaction between hypothetical continuous effects?

The Sunweb can't block the Jukai Messenger.

There's a bit of confusion here about the scope of "as though". It definitely only applies to the stated situation ("...can be blocked..."), but

  613.10. Some continuous effects affect game rules rather than objects. For example, effects may modify a player’s maximum hand size, or say that a creature must attack this turn if able. These effects are applied after all other continuous effects have been applied. Continuous effects that affect the costs of spells or abilities are applied according to the order specified in rule 601.2e. All other such effects are applied in timestamp order. See also the rules for timestamp order and dependency (rules 613.6 and 613.7).

Muraganda Petroglyph's effect is a power/toughness changing ability, so it's applied first (in layer 7). The Messenger has an ability, so it stays a 1/1.

Deadfall's effect modifies game rules (changing the way blocking works), so it is applied last. (Ability-removing effects do get applied earlier on, but this is not an ability-removing effect - the creature never loses forestwalk.)

So when deciding whether Sunweb can block, we have a 1/1 Messenger with forestwalk (which is non-functional, thanks to Deadfall). Sunweb therefore can't block it, since its power is 2 or less.

There was also some question about the scope of "as though" in this case. One possibility is that it applies only to the blocking legality decision itself, and thus it doesn't interact with the other effects. Another is that it applies to the whole game state at the time that blocking legality is decided, in which case if it were to apply before the other effects, it would change the outcome. It's difficult to tell for sure which of these is correct; the rules don't go so far as defining "can be blocked as though". But since according to 613.10, it's applied last, we don't have to worry about any of that.


Yes, a king can do that, but he has to land in between two pieces. If the diagonal had been b - - w w - - -, he wouldn't have been able to capture the pieces.

And yes, a king can change direction, but again, he has to land on the field where he changes direction. A player must capture as many pieces as possible.

There are many variants of draughts, as evidenced by the WikiPedia article. Pick one you like, or make up your own.


There is no real "correct" answer here, in terms of official game rules. It is going to depend completely on the friendliness/casualness of your playgroup. In a tournament setting, such a thing would need to be clarified in the tournament rules; otherwise a judge would need to be informed of the situation and make a ruling.

My game group pretty much always tends to follow this basic rule: If no other player has taken an action that revealed new information to you after you made your move, you are still free to undo your move. Note that this action could be as simple as a "whew, glad you went there!" or an actual game-action such as playing a card.

In your case, I think the rule would apply. Because the number of cards in hand is open knowledge in the game anyway, you did not take any action that revealed new information (showing that you had no cards shouldn't be considered new information).

Basically, you are free to enforce whatever rules you decide on... often if there's an uncertainty in such situations, we also just take a vote amongst the players, and see who is ok with allowing the take-back. There's nothing "wrong" with a rule that says "you took your hand off, therefore the play is finalized", but in my opinion it decreases the general friendliness and thus the overall enjoyment of the game.


Can this sequence of events cause a commander to be permanently phased out?

I would say that Isamaru does phase back in. Rule 702.25m does not check whether a phased-out permanent would have otherwise phased back in, and it does not in any other way distinguish between direct and indirect phasing, so my interpretation is that it provides an additional way that phased-out permanents could phase back in separate from the direct and indirect phasing described in the other rules.

The situation does change if Alice Donates Isamaru back to Bob before casting Reality Ripple. Rule 702.25m specifically applies to objects that phased out under the control of a player who as left the game. If instead Bob controls Isamaru when it phases out, then 702.25m never applies to Isamaru, and no rule instructs it to phase in, so it stays phased out forever.


Why cards installment mentioned on the Diversified Portfolio?

Yes, you can have a remote server without cards in it if it's an empty server, but has ICE protecting it. The server exists, but doesn't qualify for Diversified Portfolio


How damages from an attack applies to a player?

All combat damage happens at the same time, barring abilities such as first strike. That means player 3 gains 9 life from the attack (and player 1 ends up at -8 life before losing).

From the CR:

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


According to the rulebook, you get out of the Jail if...

  (2)
  using
  the
  "Get
  Out
  of
  Jail
  Free"
  card
  if
  you
  have
  it;
  (3)
  purchasing
  the
  "Get
  Out
  of
  Jail
  Free"
  card
  from another
  player and
  playing
  it;

Regarding the speed die:

  Use
  the
  white
  dice
  ONLY
  when rolling
  to
  get
  out
  of
  jail.

Therefore, if you play the "get of of jail free" card, you immediately get out of jail and you roll to move, not to get out of the jail. Therefore, you do use your speed die, as you're already out.

Nevertheless, if you roll to get out of jail and you roll doubles, you still do not use the speed die, even if you succeed. It's just that when rolling to get out of jail, if you roll doubles you use that result as your move.


What's the missing white card in this New Phyrexia cycle?

These aren't a cycle per se.

Note the fifth one, Psychic Barrier:

It's more that "loses 1 life" (or "gets a poison counter") was seen as an easy thing to tack onto staple effects to make them feel more "Phyrexian".


What's the AP of Eldrad's Staff and Yreil's spear?

You are correct in that neither weapon entitles a model wounded by them to a standard armour save. Invulnerable armour saves would be taken as normal.

The approach to determining this is if a weapon or a weapon's special rules are not covered in the Rule Book ("Big Yellow Book" or BYB, 6th edition) then you take the description as written in the Codex.

In the case of these two weapons:

Staff of Ulthamar

There is no mention that this is a weapon listed in the BRB, and so we use the description on p51 of the current Codex: Eldar:

  "In combat it always wounds on a roll of 2+ and ignores armour saves."

The Spear of Twilight

The Codex mentions on page 53 that this is a Singing Spear and adds a further rule, ignoring armour saves, to that weapon description:

  "It is a Singing Spear that ignores armour saves (see page 27)."

Referring to Page 27, the Singing Spear is a weapon that is similar to a Witchblade but note that it is not listed as a Witchblade. It has it's own weapon profile, rules and description listed in this Codex and these are not overridden by anything in the new rule book.

As a result we use the profile detailed on this page, remembering to add in the "ignores armour saves" rules mentioned in the Spear of Twilight's own description.


Carcassonne: Replacement/Extra player sets.

Did find possible Farm & Cart replacement on BoardGameBits not the correct ones but if it is for replacement it might help someone.


What are Death's stats for the “Chess with death” haunt in Betrayal at the House on the Hill?

I assume you're referring to Haunt 37, titled Checkmate

As per the REVISED Traitor's Manual, Death has a Knowledge of 8 (and it cheats). It has no other stats, and cannot be attacked by any means. As per the (revised) Survivor's Handbook, Each Holy Seal token removes one die (two in 3- or 4-player games) from all subsequent knowledge rolls by Death. (in a 5-player game, the effective minimum knowledge for Death is 3, while in smaller games, it is possible for Death to be forced to take a 0 on the roll).


What's new in A Game of Thrones 2nd Edition?

Well, according to this post at BGG, the rules changes are

Unit counts - each house has 5 knights and 2 siege engines, instead
of 4 knights and 3 siege engines.
Setup changed to include various neutral forces tokens.
Wildling Attack cards added.
Garrison token of 2 for each house's starting position.
Play to 7 castles regardless of player count.
Wildling threat of 12 triggers an attack.
Messenger raven allows you to look at the top card in the Wildling Attack deck (OR replace an order).
Raiding a Consolidate Power order makes the target lose a power token (in addition to the raiding house gaining a token).
When playing your 7th house card, you get the other 6 cards back, but not that last one played.
Special raid order can remove a defense order, but NOT 2 orders.
Special consolidate power order can muster units OR gain power tokens as usual.
4 player game is played without Tyrell (instead of without Greyjoy).
Tides of battle cards.


Why does a run of 4 in Cribbage score only 4?

First off, taken one way this might be an unanswerable question

I'm struggling with the question. It seems to be asking folks to guess on what they think the rationale might have been for scoring 4-card runs as 4-points instead of 6 (or some other number); however, since the game was invented in the 17th century its inventor is long-since dead, and absent some comprehensive history on the game and its inception that I'm not aware of the real answer to the question is not knowable. In other words, we can come up with some reasons that seem logical to us, but we will probably never understand the thought process of the game's inventor.

That said, here's why I like the rule as-is (and incidentally I like your question because I've had the same thought):

The best possible hand in cribbage is 29, which involves the Jack that counts for nobs and all of the 5s. Now although hands with lots of fives are always good, often retaining just one or two will only result in a mediocre score where you count a few 15s, a pair, and are done.

In contrast, a strategy that relies on runs, pairs, and 15s will have a lower maximum score, but will get more points if the up card is not exactly as desired.

For example if you're drawing for the best possible hand failing to get that last 5 as the up card will cost you 14 points, as you'll only score 15-8, a pair royal for 6 and 1 for his nobs for 15.

Consider now the runs, pairs, and 15s strategy, say for example, 6-7-7-8-9. Based on the rules this hand scores: 15-2 (7-8), 15-4 (7-8), 15-6 (6-9), run for 10 (6-7-8-9), run for 14 (6-7-8-9), and pair for 16 (7-7). A super solid hand. In the previous example there is only one card in the deck that gets you the extra 14 points. In this hand the best draw is one of the 4 nines, but the drop-off in points isn't that much if you draw another 8, or a 7, or a 6, or a 5. Less upside potential, but a much more robust hand statistically speaking.

Now here's why scoring runs differently breaks things.

If runs of 4 were scored as 6--or more precisely, if you got to count for 3 points every unique run of 3 that you could make, this hand scores much higher. The count to 15-6 is unchanged, but then: run for 9 (6-7-8), run for 12 (6-7-8), run for 15 (7-8-9), run for 18 (7-8-9), pair for 20 (7-7). Or perhaps a much simpler but more dramatic example is a hand of 5-6-7-8-9, where the score for just the runs would go from 5 points to 9.

If the value of runs is increased, this incentivises players to only go for the much more likely (and now also relatively more lucrative) run hands instead of the larger payoff but higher risk 15 hands. This would make the strategy of the game more myopic and because everyone would be playing the same way because the relative payoff of going for the knock-out blow would be much reduced.

I don't want to make too much of all this (too late probably) because ultimately a players freedom is highly restricted by their cards (you only get to discard 2 after all), but the incentives of changing the rule appear to be to be tilted in the wrong direction.


Blinking face down Auras and Non-Permanents

Instants and sorceries would stay in the zone they're currently in, in your case in Exile. They do nothing.

304.4. Instants can’t enter the battlefield. If an instant would enter the battlefield, it remains in its previous zone instead.
307.4. Sorceries can’t enter the battlefield. If a sorcery would enter the battlefield, it remains in its previous zone instead.

If an Aura enters the battlefield other than by resolving, you can choose a legal object or player for it to enchant. Note that this does not target the chosen object. If you can't because there are no legal objects to enchant, it remains in the zone it came from; in your case, in Exile.

303.4f If an Aura is entering the battlefield under a player’s control by any means other than by resolving as an Aura spell, and the effect putting it onto the battlefield doesn’t specify the object or player the Aura will enchant, that player chooses what it will enchant as the Aura enters the battlefield. The player must choose a legal object or player according to the Aura’s enchant ability and any other applicable effects.
303.4g If an Aura is entering the battlefield and there is no legal object or player for it to enchant, the Aura remains in its current zone, unless that zone is the stack. In that case, the Aura is put into its owner’s graveyard instead of entering the battlefield.


The ability triggers and is resolved after you have declared all of your attackers, and before blockers are declared, during combat. (It won't trigger in the middle of declaring attackers.) Breaking down the Declare Attackers Step (itself the second step of the combat phase) we get:

508.1. First, the active player declares attackers. This turn-based action doesn’t use the stack.
(skipped: most of the steps on how this plays out)
508.1f The active player taps the chosen creatures. Tapping a creature when it’s declared as an attacker isn’t a cost; attacking simply causes creatures to become tapped.

So, first, you choose all of your attackers, and they all get tapped as part of that process.

508.2. Second, the active player gets priority. (See rule 116, “Timing and Priority.”)
508.2b Any abilities that triggered on attackers being declared or that triggered during the process described in rules 508.1 are put onto the stack before the active player gets priority; the order in which they triggered doesn’t matter. (See rule 603, “Handling Triggered Abilities.”)

Now that you've chosen your attackers, all of the abilities that triggered during that process are put on the stack.
So, at this point, just after all attackers are declared, Depala's ability is to be put on the stack. As it resolves, you can pay {X}, reveal the top X cards of your library, and then take the dwarves and vehicles from it and put them in your hand.
Then you still have priority, and can still cast instants and so on — then once you've got nothing else to do, we move on to declaring blockers, then combat damage, then end of combat.
This also means, to your specific questions:

You don't tap Depala as an attacker, use her ability, then declare more attackers. All attackers are already declared.
You do not and cannot wait until after combat. The ability is triggered and resolves right there in the middle of combat, after declaring attackers, and before moving on to declaring blockers.


In Elder Sign, why do multiple locks have to be resolved in order?

I've always taken this rule to mean that the die would go to the next lock in order of appearance. I've assumed that if you resolved the other adventures/monsters that would lock the die, they would just disappear.

There is also this FAQ on Fantasy Flight Games website where they don't even mention this "order" rule.


Marionette Master + Mana Tokens (Gold, Treasure, etc.)

Yes.
"Artifact" means "artifact permanent", which means "artifact card or token on the battlefield".

109.2. If a spell or ability uses a description of an object that includes a card type or subtype, but doesn’t include the word “card,” “spell,” “source,” or “scheme,” it means a permanent of that card type or subtype on the battlefield.
110.1. A permanent is a card or token on the battlefield. [...]

To sacrifice a permanent, it is moved to the graveyard.

701.15a To sacrifice a permanent, its controller moves it from the battlefield directly to its owner’s graveyard. [...]

In fact, you can't sacrifice an object unless it's a permanent you control.

701.15a [...] A player can’t sacrifice something that isn’t a permanent, or something that’s a permanent he or she doesn’t control. [..]

So if you have sacrificed an artifact token, you have put an artifact you control into a graveyard from the battlefield, so your Marionette Master's triggered ability will trigger.


The most truly objective method may be to conduct a scientifically rigorous poll. You will need a random sampling of people from the world, we'll limit it to native English speakers to ensure that translation doesn't become a concern. Each will need to be kidnapped to prevent self-selection bias, and deprived of both sight and sound so that other factors don't influence the decision. A researcher not playing, and unaware of the order in which the respondents will present their pits will need to explain the experiment, then leave the room. At this point, each armpit should be passed over the respondent's nose at a set speed and distance in a randomized order, after which the researcher should reenter and ask the respondent to rate the stench.
After a representative sample, probably several thousand people, you should be able to say with conviction whose armpits are the stinkiest.

If for some reason the illegality of the prior method concerns you, a less rigorous result could be obtained by passing armpits in front of a single blindfolded volunteer impartial judge, or by a consensus of blindfolded players.


show and tell, gilded drake and primeval titan

Yes, you will get to search for lands with the Titan's ability; similarly to your other question, the key here is that both Primeval Titan and Gilded Drake have triggered abilities.  Both of those triggers are put onto the stack after Show and Tell has finished resolving, and the controller of the ability is locked into place when the ability is put on the stack:

  112.8. The controller of an activated ability on the stack is the player who activated it. The controller of a triggered ability on the
  stack (other than a delayed triggered ability) is the player who
  controlled the ability’s source when it triggered, or, if it had no
  controller, the player who owned the ability’s source when it
  triggered. To determine the controller of a delayed triggered ability,
  see rules 603.7d–f.

When Primeval Titan's triggered ability is put onto the stack (which will generically be just before Gilded Drake's ability is put on the stack, since the active player's triggers are placed on the stack before any inactive players', and it's hard but not impossible to cast Show and Tell outside your turn), the controller of the land-search ability is locked in as the controller of the titan; at this point you still control the Titan, since Gilded Drake's ability hasn't even gone on the stack yet, much less resolved.  The fact that you don't control the Titan when the ability resolves is moot.


How many of the same artifact can be on the battlefield at once?

There is no limit. If you have more than one out, each one will trigger independently and give you a life.
The only three limits are:

Legendary permanents with the same name,
Planeswalker permanents sharing a subtype and
Enchantments with the World supertype.

704.5j If two or more planeswalkers that share a planeswalker type are on the battlefield, all are put into their owners’ graveyards. This is called the “planeswalker uniqueness rule.”
704.5k If two or more legendary permanents with the same name are on the battlefield, all are put into their owners’ graveyards. This is called the “legend rule.” If only one of those permanents is legendary, this rule doesn’t apply.
704.5m If two or more permanents have the supertype world, all except the one that has been a permanent with the world supertype on the battlefield for the shortest amount of time are put into their owners’ graveyards. In the event of a tie for the shortest amount of time, all are put into their owners’ graveyards. This is called the “world rule.”


There are lots of good (and bad) times to back stab, I'm not sure there is an out and out correct answer. This is one of the fun aspects of Diplomacy: its variation.

However, early back stabbing is probably almost always best avoided, as you will probably lose credibility with the other players if they think you are unreliable.

Sometimes the best back stabs are against players you have had very long alliances with, when they least expect it.

I also sometimes wait until I have a (usually hidden) alliance with another player, against the same player I am planning to back stab. That way they get hit with a double whammy and you have an extra level of insurance.

Finally, just past the 5th playing hour, as the tiredness and alcohol kicks in, if my experiences are anything to go by, is usually a good time to back stab and lose friends ;)


If I kill an opponent's Guile while I control a Planar Void will they get to shuffle it back into their library?

It depends on who controlled which card and whose turn it is.

Both cards trigger on the same event, namely Guile going to the graveyard. Therefore the triggered abilities go on the stack at the same time. When that happens, the active player (the player whose turn it is) starts putting his or her triggered abilities on the stack, then the other players do the same in turn order.

  603.3b If multiple abilities have triggered since the last time a player received priority, each player, in APNAP order, puts triggered abilities he or she controls on the stack in any order he or she chooses. (See rule 101.4.) Then the game once again checks for and resolves state-based actions until none are performed, then abilities that triggered during this process go on the stack. This process repeats until no new state-based actions are performed and no abilities trigger. Then the appropriate player gets priority.

So there are 6 scenarios:

You control Guile and Planar Void:

You choose the order of the triggers, so you decide whether Guile goes to exile or the library.

Your opponent controls Guile and Planar Void:

Your opponent chooses.

You control Guile, your opponent controls Planar Void, it is your turn:

Guile is exiled.

You control Guile, your opponent controls Planar Void, it is your opponent's turn:

Guile is shuffled into the library.

You control Planar Void, your opponent controls Guile, it is your turn:

Guile is shuffled into the library.

You control Planar Void, your opponent controls Guile, it is your opponent's turn:

Guile is exiled.


What is the starting side of the "SYNC: Everything, Everywhere"?

The one with deckbuilding info (minimum deck size and influence limit), of course. That is, the one that reads "The Runner pays 1 credit more when spending a click to remove a tag (not through a card ability)."


How can I ensure the Commander deck I'm creating is appropriate for my group's meta?

If there's one thing you can learn from Mark Rosewater's "Making Magic" articles (check out the section on "Empires"), it's that the best way to find out if a deck is unfair and/or miserable is to play it. This may seem like something you could shortcut, but card evaluation is really hard, and cards or decks that seem oppressive at first glance may turn out to be actually really fun and exciting; and vice versa.

The key thing here is to have a group happy to communicate that your deck is stopping them having fun, and to be able to tell which deck it is that's doing it. The best way to tell this is the same way you'd analyse anything; change one thing and see what happens.

For example, if everyone turns up with a new deck, and one can't compete, one's horrifically broken, and one just feels like it could be fair if the removal suite in the opposing decks were different, you change the broken one, and see how it fits. If you change all of them, suddenly you could get massive swings against the "could be fair" which you weren't expecting.

Also, be aware that if your deck is requiring people to significantly adapt their decks to deal with it, then even though it seems fair, it's actually warping.

Another issue is play skill; for example, Black Lotus is an entirely reasonable card as long as you're using it to ramp into Centaur Courser on turn 1. The deck may seem reasonable, and then suddenly stop being reasonable in the hands of a more experienced player. So it's worth agreeing that, just because a deck was fine originally, it could now be time to retire it as it starts to cause issues.


"Just Say No" cancels the effect of a single card. So if you have two rent cards to play, you should play them one at at time to see if your opponent plays JSN to each.


How does "reveal a card, play it, then return it" work with locations?

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

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

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


Well, the good news is that you are not in Furiten. The waits on that hand are 2-char, 5-char, and 8-char, and none of those have been discarded by either player, so Furiten does not apply.

What you DID fall victim to is the yaku requirement. That hand does not meet the requirements on account of it being open. It would need to be a concealed hand for a win by Tsumo OR reached (which requires a concealed hand) for a win by either Tsumo or Ron. Despite this, you would be tenpai should it come to that point because you only need one tile to "complete" your hand (despite the fact that you cannot go out with that hand).

Looking at the hand and the discards at that time, it would appear the best course of action is to hope your opponent discards a green dragon so that you can pon it (or hope you draw one yourself) and convert your 1-dot triple into eyes. Yakuhai (Triple of any dragon, seat wind, or round wind) is applicable even if the hand is open, so it would make the hand legal to win by Ron on a 2, 5, or 8-char (assuming I remember Furiten rules correctly).

Note that if you were to draw (or meld in) a 2, 5, or 8-char before completing this switch and discard a 1-dot, I'm fairly certain you would be in Furiten from that point because your waits would be a Green Dragon (which makes a hand you can go out on) and a 1-dot (which makes a hand you cannot go out on), and you would be required to win by Tsumo.

As goldPseudo also pointed out, the following related question is also pertinent to open hands in general:

Why couldn't this hand win with ron?


How do I deal with Enchantments while playing mono-red?

There are a few artifact answers to Enchantments in standard. Red will have access to those dealing with permanents, which are going to be slower. However, there are "ramp" cards in Standard for red that help you get them out more quickly.

Ratchet Bomb, can come out quickly, but takes time to "charge up" to the point where it can deal with more expensive enchantments. Although slow, it also deals with other permanents (eg. planeswalkers). If you get it out before the enchantment or planeswalker and charge it up, it can be a threat on the board causing your opponent to think twice before casting.

If you can ramp into a Spine of Ish Sah, say with a Geosurge on turn 4, you will be well on your way to victory, and getting rid of that pesky enchantment.

However, I think the most efficient way to deal with enchantments in standard, if you insist on mono-red, is to use the Sylvok Replica, and access green mana through dual lands  and/or a colourless ramp like Alloy Myr, Manalith or even Sphere of the Suns that also helps you power your X burn spells and getting bigger threats out more quickly.

But at that point you may as well just splash green dual lands or ramps and put Naturalize on the sideboard.

In Legacy, if it's Blue enchantments you're concerned about, Jaya Ballard, Task Mage is a great choice. Aura Barbs punishes those who dare use enchantments against you. Of course, Larry Niven's Disk has been the go-to solution for red burn decks since forever.

PS. I don't agree with this:

  Red must be fast and win before enchantments are out" is not a good solution, because in the example above the enchantment can hit in round 2.

Meh, CoP:Red isn't in Standard anymore, and even in Legacy the opponent is unlikely to have enough mana to deal with all your threats if you have a red weenie swarm, or save some of that red magic for when he's tapped out. You also have colourless options.

Red decks still win because they're fast. They generally aren't afraid of many enchantments.


A question about flickering a stolen creature

They won't be 'stolen' anymore when they return to the battlefield. One of the rulings under Lumbering Battlement says

When the cards return to the battlefield, they will be new objects with no connection to the cards that were exiled.

'Stealing' a creature is a continuous effect, i.e. a creature is always controlled by its owner unless another effect changes this. When a stolen creature returns to the battlefield, the game doesn't know about the effect anymore and its owner will control it.

400.7. An object that moves from one zone to another becomes a new object with no memory of, or relation to, its previous existence.

Nine exceptions are listed there but this isn't one of them.
There is even a special ruling about these type of cards/effects which I didn't know about (thanks @doppelgreener):

One-Shot Effects

610.1. A one-shot effect does something just once and doesn’t have a duration. Examples include dealing damage, destroying a permanent, creating a token, and moving an object from one zone to another.
610.3. Some one-shot effects cause an object to change zones “until” a specified event occurs. A second one-shot effect is created immediately after the specified event. This second one-shot effect returns the object to its previous zone.
610.3c An object returned to the battlefield this way returns under its owner’s control unless otherwise specified.

Finally, @murgatroid99 mentions a card which explicitly modifies this behaviour, Cloudshift:

Exile target creature you control, then return that card to the battlefield under your control.


What's the difference between "exile" and "destroy"?

Exile and the Graveyard are two different zones in magic. "Destroy" puts a card into the graveyard, and "Exile" puts it in the exile zone.

Why does the distinction matter? Well...

Some cards can retrieve things from your graveyard, like Eternal Witness. The cards that can get them from exile are far fewer, but Pull from Eternity comes to mind.
Cards in your graveyard are used as a resource by certain spells or abilities, most commonly spells with "Delve", like Treasure Cruise.
Many cards have abilities that only work when they are in the graveyard. These are primarily used to recur themselves from the graveyard, like Scrapheap Scrounger.
Eldrazi "Processors" from Battle for Zendikar block have bonus effects if you move an opponent's card from exile to their graveyard, so getting their cards to exile in the first place is valuable. For example, see Wasteland Strangler.
"Regenerate" creates a shield that protects a permanent from destruction, but not from being exiled.
"Destroy" will not be able to destroy a permanent with "indestructible" (e.g. Athreos, God of Passage), but "exile" will work.
Abilities that trigger off a creature/permanent "dying" (like on Blood Artist) only trigger if it goes to the graveyard from the battlefield. Permanents being exiled from the battlefield won't trigger the ability.

(It is of course worth noting that there are far more cards in magic that let you interact with the graveyard than those that let you interact with the exile zone. This is why effects that exile are generally considered more powerful than effects that merely destroy)


Both trigger at 1.2. Because it’s the corp’s turn, their card will activate first (see page 22, Simultaneous Effects), so the runner gets flatlined.


What are the advantages and disadvantages of going first

I think you covered most of it already; of course there are many other possible turn-counts. Theoretically team 1 can go for a 3+3+3 win in 3 turns; though that would be very difficult and require some luck as well.

Another minor advantage for team 2: On team 1's first guess, they will always have the full board of 25 options to pick from. Whereas for team 2, at least 1 and usually a 2-3 of the options will already be covered up, making the guessing for team 2 slightly easier on the first turn.

Other than that, the swings of which words got covered up when will tend to be pretty much random for either team, and I think this luck ends up outweighing any potential advantage for either team.


If you look closely, there is a magnetized side of the tower that simply swings open. This allows you to place the entire stack of tiles in the tower at once.


Can neutral cards be used as a resource?

You can add them to the domain as a resource.  You do need at least one card from a non-neutral card's faction in order to pay for that card though.

http://boardgamegeek.com/thread/612548/playing-neutral-card-domain-question


What deck should be used for a beginner in Netrunner

Jinteki is a bad choice for first time corp player because, with only the starter set, the deck does not have enough ways to generate credits. Having no money means you cannot do much and usually leads to the new player not having fun. If you are trying to teach someone, fun is the whole idea, so this is obviously counter productive.

With core set only decks, I would do Weyland vs Shaper. Both play styles are easy and both run pretty rich.

If you are up to building decks specifically for teaching there are some better options.

Here is a board game geek thread that has a lot of beginner deck suggestions, though some decks here use more than just the core set. Here is a reddit thread that has beginner decks using only the core set.

FFG has actually released decks that it thinks are the best for teaching. These decks leave out a lot of the more complicated mechanics such as Trace. They focus on both players setting up their side of the board quickly so there is almost always an "end game".

Note that the Demo decks clearly don't follow normal deck building rules. They are purely for teaching. In addition they only require 6 points to win by agenda points.

  Jinteki - Personal Evolution
  Agendas:
  3x Priority Requisition
  3x Nisei mk2
  1x Unorthodox Predictions
  Operations:
  3x Hedge Fund
  1x Restructure
  2x Trick of Light
  2x Neural Emp
  Assets:
  2x Melange Mining Corp.
  2x Private Contracts
  2x Snare!
  2x Project Junebug
  ICE:
  3x Wall of Thorns
  2x Bastion
  2x Wall of Static
  3x Enigma
  3x Chum
  3x Neural Katana

  Shaper - Kate "Mac" McCaffrey
  Events:
  3x Sure Gamble
  2x Modded
  2x Freelance Coding Contract
  2x The Maker's Eye
  2x Infiltration
  Resources:
  1x Professional Contacts
  1x Aesop's Pawnshop
  1x Ice analyzer
  2x Armitage Codebusting
  2x Public Sympathy
  Hardware:
  3x Akamatsu Mem Chip
  Programs:
  2x Magnum Opus
  1x Net Shield
  Icebreakers:
  2x Battering Ram
  2x Gordian Blade
  2x Pipeline


Splendor: can I use gem coins instead of development cards?

It's not explicit in the rules whether you're allowed to do that, but they say:

  if  a  player  has  2  blue  bonuses  and  wants  to  purchase  a
  card which costs 2 blue tokens and 1 green token, the player
  must only spend 1 green token.

Use of the word must would suggest that the discount from the cards is mandatory.

Also, I can see no reason why you would want to use up coins when you don't need to. You can always take 3 coins (or 2 of the same colour if 4 or more are left). You only have to discard coins if you have more than 10 at the end of your turn:

  A  player  can  never  have  more  than  10  tokens  at  the  end  of
  their turn (including jokers). If this happens, they must return
  tokens until they only have 10 left.

So in the example in your question you could carry on taking new coins and discard the unwanted emeralds at the end of your turn if you had more than 10 coins.


What is the appropriate response to a jump rebid by responder under Standard American?

I agree in part and disagree in part with Forget. The Standard American system booklet indicates that responder's rebid of a suit at the three level is invitational, not forcing. However, your hand is a maximum for your rebid, and therefore you should accept the invitation.

While visualizing the kinds of hands partner might have is a useful exercise, particularly for slam bidding, (a) you have to visualize a half dozen or so different hands to draw useful conclusions rather than finding just one, and (b) it's probably not valuable enough to justify the energy expenditure when you're making a 3- vs 4-level decision with a run-of-the-mill balanced hand.


I own the deluxe addition and am very glad I bought it. The board gives a nice way to track the game and can easily be converted if you are going to use the optional Supermuchkin rules (advance to level 20 to win). Yes it can be done with paper and dice but I have kids and the board makes it easier for everyone to use.


I assume you are talking about Psychic Probe as the card forcing the reroll.

Based on the English translation of the French faq from Boardgame Geek:

  Psychic probe: If you still have rerolls left, you cannot use them after a psychic probe effect (which takes place the moment you declare that you keep the dice results).


Who is "You" when the creature controller is not the owner?

"You" always refers to the controller of the ability, which is the controller of the creature at the time the ability triggers. So in this case, the player who controls Firedrinker Satyr at the time the damage is dealt to it - your opponent - will have the Satyr deal damage to them.

  109.5. The words "you" and "your" on an object refer to the object's controller, its would-be controller (if a player is attempting to play, cast, or activate it), or its owner (if it has no controller). For a static ability, this is the current controller of the object it's on. For an activated ability, this is the player who activated the ability. For a triggered ability, this is the controller of the object when the ability triggered, unless it's a delayed triggered ability. To determine the controller of a delayed triggered ability, see rules 603.7d-f.

from the comprehensive rules (or HTML version).


In Kill Team, can a Genestealer Cult team have a genestealer?

Yes you can

In the Kill Team book, just above the entries for the Genestealer cults, there is a one-liner that explicitly states it.

Odd location, I would've preferred to have the Genestealer entry to have the Genestealer Cult Faction Keyword.