What are the odds in Scrabble of not being able to make a legal move on opening turn

(NOTE : Final revision of my original answer)
The odds of the first tileset not having a single valid word is exactly 91,595,416 / 16,007,560,800 or .5722%, with it occuring once every 174.76378 games.  This value is calculated by using the dictionary found in this answer, but can be adapted for any other dictionary.

This was brute-forced via python.  Code will be available at the end of the answer.

We start by noticing that any tileset that contains at least one blank tile can play a valid word.  The only letter that does not form a two letter word is the letter "V", and there are only 2 "V" tiles in a scrabble game.  Therefore, any tileset with one blank can form a valid word, because (?VV....) must contain 4 more letters, one of which will combine with the "?" to form a valid word.
We also discovered, after the fact, that all possible tilesets that contain the letter "O" are also, in fact, valid.  The only 6 tile tileset that contains "O" and cannot form a word is "OCCVVQ" and any other letter will form a word. "A" is the only other letter that doesn't form a two letter word with "O" but "AVO" and "OCA" are both valid words, and you can't include more than one O or one A or else you can form "AA" or "OO".
These observations remove 53.32% of all possible tilesets, and allows us to perform the rest of our calculations using a 90-tile scrabble set that has no blanks and no Os in it.
We then remove from the dictionary all words that satisfy one of the following criteria

Word is longer than 7 letters long (can't spell an 8 letter word on the first turn)
A subset of the tiles required to form that word can also make another word (we're just looking to see if we can form a valid word, therefore there is no reason to check to see if a tileset can form the word "AND" when "AN" is a perfectly valid word as well)
Word requires at least one blank tile to solve (any tileset with a blank is valid, therefore no reason to examine these words).  These are the words FUFF (3rd F), JUJU (2nd J), KECK and KUKU (2nd K), SYZYGY (3rd Y), ZIZ, ZUZ, and ZZZ (2nd/3rd Z).
Word requires an O to solve.  All O tilesets are valid and we've removed them from the bag.

By applying these three rules, we can reduce the scrabble dictionary down to 149 words out of the original 280k~.

AA
AB
AD
AE
AG
AH
AI
AL
AM
AN
AR
AS
AT
AW
AX
AY
BE
BI
BRR
BUB
BUD
BULK
BULL
BY
CH
CIRRI
CIVIC
CLY
CRY
CUB
CUD
CUE
CUFF
CULL
CUZ
CWM
DE
DI
DRY
DUD
EE
EF
EGG
EH
EL
EM
EN
ER
ES
ET
EUK
EW
EX
FA
FLU
FUB
FUCK
FUD
FY
GHYLL
GI
GRR
GU
GYP
HI
HM
HYP
ICE
ICY
IF
IN
IS
IT
IVY
IWI
JA
JEU
JIZ
JUD
JUKU
KA
KEG
KI
KUDU
KUZU
KY
LI
LUCK
LUD
LULL
LUV
LUZ
MI
MM
MU
MY
NTH
NU
NY
PA
PE
PFFT
PHT
PI
PLY
PRY
PWN
PYX
QI
QUA
RHY
RIZ
SH
SLY
SPY
ST
SWY
THY
TRY
TWP
TYG
TYPP
TYPY
UH
ULU
UP
UR
US
UT
UVA
VAC
VAV
VEG
VIE
VLY
WHY
WIZ
WRY
WUD
WULL
WUZ
XI
XU
XYLYL
YE
YIRR
YU
ZA
ZE
ZO

At this point, we are going to brute force the number of invalid tilesets to get the numerator.  We do this by examining tilesets that are in alphabetical order, but do not care if it's unique.  For example, we will examine (A1A2BCDEF) and (A1A3BCDEF) but not (A2A1BCDEF), where A1, A2, and A3 refer to distinct A tiles in the bag.
The first tileset examined is (A1A2A3A4A5A6A7), followed by (A1A2A3A4A5A6A8), then (A1A2A3A4A5A6A9), and then finally (A1A2A3A4A5A6B1).  We continue down that path in the way that only a computer can do to determine every single alphabetized combination.
(Note that in the final version of my code, we change the definition of "alphabetical order" in order to get a speed improvement, but the final solution is the same.  Also, for speed reasons, we would never actually examine (AA.....) because "AA" is a valid word, so we would skip all tilesets of the form (AA.....))
After running through all the tilesets, we end with a final count of 91,595,416 tilesets.  This is our numerator, and the denominator is very easily calculated

100! / ((100-7)! * 7!) = 16,007,560,800

This is the calculation for finding the number of combinations possible, without replacement, and not caring about order (which we don't because otherwise this problem would be an few orders of magnitude harder to brute force.

I'm going to be putting some interesting notes down here as I play around with the program.

There is exactly 1 distinct tileset that has an "A" in it and is still invalid.  This tileset is "ACCUUUU".  The proof is left as an exercise for the reader.
Of the 91,595,416 invalid tilesets found, there are only 22,308 that contain exclusively vowels.  This is a much smaller number than I originally thought, but from reading the valid word list it makes sense.  As previously discussed, A only has the invalid tileset "ACCUUUU" and all O tilesets are valid.  Combined with the fact that "EE" is also a valid word, all vowel only tilesets without a valid word have to be of the form "EI...U..." or "I...U...".
Tilesets with a mix of vowels and consanants takes up a slightly larger amount of invalid tilesets, at 106,201 possible combinations.
Shocking no one, the vast majority of invalid tilesets are consonant only tilesets.  Of the 91,595,416 invalid tilesets, 91,466,907 of them are consonant only sets, which makes up 99.86% of all invalid tilesets.
Once the dictionary is purged of words that contains the letters [AEIOUY] there are only 13 words that can still be formed.  These 13 words can be, in turn, checked by looking at the letters [HPMRS].  This means that any tileset that contains nothing but the letters [BCDFGJKLNQTVWXZ] is invalid.  This comprises 15 of the 26 letters and 38 of the tiles in the bag.  Tilesets that contain only these letters comprise roughly 12% of all invalid tilesets.

Code, if anyone wants to run it for themselves (WARNING: slow, running on a beefy computer it still about a half hour to spit out an answer)
words = []

words_in_dictionary = 0
words_short_enough = 0

def is_all_c(arr1):
   for c in arr1:
      if c in ['A','E','I','O','U']:
         return False
   return True

def is_all_v(arr1):
   for v in arr1:
      if v in ['B','C','D','F','G','H','J','K','L','M','N','P','Q','R','S','T','V','W','X','Y','Z']:
         return False
   return True

#basic function to check if an array, arr1, is fully within a second array, arr2
def i_in_j(arr1, arr2):
   for a in arr1:
      if a in arr2:
         arr2.remove(a)
      else:
         return False
   return True

#basic function to check to see if word can be made from the tileset passed in
def is_valid_tileset(tileset):
   for word in words:
      if i_in_j(word["sorted"][:], tileset[:]):
         return word["base"]
   return None

# we have a big dictionary, 270k-ish words long, we need to load it
print("loading dictionary")
with open("dictionary.txt", "r") as dictfile:
   for line in dictfile:
      words_in_dictionary = words_in_dictionary + 1
      base_word = line.strip()

      #we are going to parse out the words longer than 7 letters now because it's quicker
      #we are also going to get rid of words with "O" in it
      if len(base_word) <= 7:
         if not "O" in base_word:
            words_short_enough = words_short_enough + 1
            word = {"base": base_word, "sorted": sorted(base_word)}
            words.append(word)

print("total words in dictionary is " + str(words_in_dictionary))
print("words 7 letters or shorter is " + str(words_short_enough))

# now we need to build our dictionary of unique words
# any word where a subset of the letters in that word can be used to build another word will be discarded
# for example, "AND" will be discarded because we can make "AN" out of that word
i = 0
while i < len(words):
   temp_sorted_working_word = words[i]["sorted"]

   j = 0
   while j < len(words):
      if i == j:
         j = j + 1
         continue

      if i_in_j(words[i]["sorted"][:], words[j]["sorted"][:]):
         del words[j]
         if i > j:
            i = i - 1
            j = j - 1
         elif j > i:
            j = j - 1

      j = j + 1
   i = i + 1

# there are also 8 words from this list that cannot be built without blanks, and we know that any tileset
# with at least one blank is valid
i = 0
while i < len(words):
   if words[i]["base"] in ["FUFF", "JUJU", "KECK", "KUKU", "SYZYGY", "ZIZ", "ZUZ", "ZZZ"]:
      del words[i]
   else:
      i = i + 1

print("unique minimilized word combinations is " + str(len(words)))

# this is an array of all tiles in scrabble, minus the blanks (since we don't care about them)
# because we're pruning words from the dictionary, we've rearranged the letters to try and remove as many
# words as possible as quickly as possible, to make lookups run faster, this means that the vowels and
# R,S,T,L,N have been moved up the list, it doesn't really impact anything, as alphabetical order is arbitary
# and nothing from this point forward depends on us having a sorted list
letters = ['A', 'A', 'A', 'A', 'A', 'A', 'A', 'A', 'A', 'Y', 'Y', 'E', 'E', 'E', 'E', 'E', 'E', 'E', 'E', 'E', 'E', 'E', 'E', 'I', 'I', 'I', 'I', 'I', 'I', 'I', 'I', 'I', 'U', 'U', 'U', 'U', 'H', 'H', 'P', 'P', 'M', 'M', 'R', 'R', 'R', 'R', 'R', 'R', 'T', 'T', 'T', 'T', 'T', 'T', 'W', 'W', 'C', 'C', 'N', 'N', 'N', 'N', 'N', 'N', 'S', 'S', 'S', 'S', 'B', 'B', 'F', 'F', 'G', 'G', 'G', 'L', 'L', 'L', 'L', 'D', 'D', 'D', 'D', 'J', 'K', 'Q', 'V', 'V', 'X', 'Z']

invalid_tilesets = 0

for a in range(0, 84):
   # if we've finished using a letter in the tileset, we're gonna remove the words in the condensed dictionary
   # that utilize those letters, this is more of a speed thing than anything else because those dictionary lookups
   # are expensive
   if a > 0 and letters[a-1] != letters[a]:
      i = 0
      while i < len(words):
         if i_in_j([letters[a-1]], words[i]["sorted"]):
            del words[i]
         else:
            i = i + 1

   print("invalid_tilesets = " + str(invalid_tilesets) + " | new_first_letter = " + letters[a] + " | words in dictionary = " + str(len(words)))

   for b in range(a+1, 85):
      if not is_valid_tileset([letters[a], letters[b]]):
         for c in range(b+1, 86):
            if not is_valid_tileset([letters[a], letters[b], letters[c]]):
               for d in range(c+1, 87):
                  if not is_valid_tileset([letters[a], letters[b], letters[c], letters[d]]):
                     for e in range(d+1, 88):
                        if not is_valid_tileset([letters[a], letters[b], letters[c], letters[d], letters[e]]):
                           for f in range(e+1, 89):
                              if not is_valid_tileset([letters[a], letters[b], letters[c], letters[d], letters[e], letters[f]]):
                                 for g in range(f+1, 90):
                                    if not is_valid_tileset([letters[a], letters[b], letters[c], letters[d], letters[e], letters[f], letters[g]]):
                                       invalid_tilesets += 1

                                       if invalid_tilesets % 10000 == 0:
                                          print("invalid_tilesets = " + str(invalid_tilesets) + " | " + str([letters[a], letters[b], letters[c], letters[d], letters[e], letters[f], letters[g]]) + " | " + str([a,b,c,d,e,f,g]))

print("invalid_tilesets = " + str(invalid_tilesets))


Can I activate Keegan Lane via Acme Consulting ability?

No.
From ANCUR UFAQ [Michael Boggs]:

  Can the additional tag from Acme Consulting be removed?

  No. The Runner is considered to have an additional tag during
  encounters with outermost ice, even when they have none, but it does
  not exist for the purposes of being manipulated (such as removing it).


Can I Redirect a Retract to affect my opponent?

Redirect only allows you to change a spell's targets. Retract does not target; it just affects you. Rule 114.1a says

  An instant or sorcery spell is targeted if its spell ability identifies something it will affect by using the phrase "target [something]," where the "something" is a phrase that describes an object, player, or zone. The target(s) are chosen as the spell is cast; see rule 601.2c. (If an activated or triggered ability of an instant or sorcery uses the word target, that ability is targeted, but the spell is not.)

Retract doesn't use the phrase "target [something]" so it does not target and cannot be affected by Redirect. If you did cast Redirect targeting Retract, it would give you the chance to choose new targets, but since Retract has no targets, it wouldn't do anything.


How does Phasing work with Phyrexian Unlife?

If you have zero or less life, a phased out Phyrexian Unlife will not save you from losing the game. Under the rules for Phasing, rule 702.25b says

  If a permanent phases out, its status changes to "phased out." Except for rules and effects that specifically mention phased-out permanents, a phased-out permanent is treated as though it does not exist. It can't affect or be affected by anything else in the game. A permanent that phases out is removed from combat. (See rule 506.4.)

Since the phased-out Phyrexian Unlife can't affect anything else in the game, that means it can't affect whether you lose the game from having 0 or less life.


How does each copy of a spell cast to Zada, Hedron Grinder count towards Storm abilities?

Unfortunately no. Storm counts how many spells were cast, where Zada just copies spells already on the stack.

Storm

  When you cast this spell, put a copy of it onto the stack for each other spell that was cast before it this turn. If the spell has any targets, you may choose new targets for any of the copies

Zada

  Whenever you cast an instant or sorcery spell that targets only Zada, Hedron Grinder, copy that spell for each other creature you control that the spell could target. Each copy targets a different one of those creatures.


Poker hand probabilities in Doomtown:Reloaded

Creating a computer simulation is probably actually the easiest way to do this.

User 'Big Easier' created such a program and used it to create probabilities for the starter decks, which can be found here:

https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/1258645/draw-hand-simulator-preconstructed-decks

He mentioned putting the code on github, but I cannot find it.  Perhaps you could send him a message and get a copy of it.


Games that can be played with just normal playing cards that are engrossing enough for a hardcore gamer

I generally enjoy trick-taking games as they involve a bit more strategy than "pick a card that's the same color".  Examples include Hearts, Spades, Pinochle, Oh Hell, etc.

The interesting elements to me are keeping track of what cards have been played, what order to play your cards in to achieve your goal, and trying to figure out your opponents' strategy.


Turn Count Inconsistency when using Attack in Exploding Kittens

I have a very interesting answer to this question that might or might not be correct...
For all of this to make sense, I believe the first step should be to differentiate between a normal turn and an attack turn.
If you do that, all different scenarios and rules start slowly making more sense and matching up:
1) Official Rules:

ATTACK 2X 4 CARDS
Do not draw any cards. Instead, immediately force the next player to take 2 turns in a row. Play then continues from that player. The victim of this card takes a turn as normal (pass-or-play then draw). Then, when their first turn is over, it's their turn again.
If the victim of an Attack Card plays an Attack Card on any of their turns, the new target must take any remaining <attack> turns plus the number of attacks on the Attack Card just played (e.g. 4 turns, then 6, and so on).

See how I edited in a word there? Would it remove the contradiction from your examples?
1.1)

P1 plays Attack, so P2 has 2 turns. (0 normal and 2 attack)
P2 plays Attack, so P3 has 4 turns. (0 normal and 4 attack)
P3 plays Attack, so P4 has 6 turns. (0 normal and 6 attack)
P4 plays Attack, so P5 has 8 turns. (0 normal and 8 attack)
P5 plays Five Different Cards (to get Attack) and draws Shuffle, with 7 turns left. (0 normal and 7 attack)
P5 plays Attack, so P6 has 9 turns. (0 normal and 9 attack)

So far so good!
1.2 & 1.3)

The inconsistency is that P1 already has 1 turn when playing Attack, which would imply adding 1 turn per Attack card

Now this inconsistency is gone! Normal turns don't get carried over, only attack turns!
2) Mobile Game
Another source for rules that gave me this idea is the mobile Exploding Kittens game.
The game has interesting type of cards called "Slap" (as a replacement for attack cards, functionality seems to be identical):

There are double slaps, triple slaps as well as single slaps and their behavior does seem to fit in with my answer:
Imagine you start the game by single slapping someone:

P1 (1 normal turn, 0 attack) -> Slap
P2 (0 normal turns, 1 attack)

This is the behavior that you would expect according to my explanation but what if P2 slaps back?

P1 (1 normal turn, 0 attack) -> Slap
P2 (0 normal turns, 1 attack) -> Slap
P3 (0 normal turns, 2 attack)!

That's precisely what happens in the game! It seems like for the rules to make sense you really need to differentiate between normal turns that happen when someone finishes their turn, and the forced "attack" turns that happen once someone gets attacked/slapped.
2.1) Official Rules (again)
The game behavior and my explanation both match up with the "Double Slap" description as well:

Double Slap
3 Cards with  4 Cards without
End your turn without drawing a card and force any other player to take 2 turns in a row.
This is not the same as drawing 2 cards in a row! The target of this card should take their first turn (play cards and/or draw). When their turn is over, it’s their turn again.
If the targeted player plays a Slap Card in return, they pick a player to take ALL remaining turns (4 turns, then 6, and so on). Play always continues from the targeted player.
Triple Slap works the same way as Double Slap, but adds 3 turns instead of 2.

This description matches my explanation as well!

Whether this is the correct interpretation of the rules or not is up for debate, but this was the one and only way I have managed avoid any logical inconsistencies while playing the game both in real life and virtually and reading different rules (old rules are even more different!).


Can "aggressive" or unusual play in blackjack get someone thrown out of a casino?

I think winning an excessive number of times get you thrown out of a casino. And the casino will then try to find "good" reasons like card counting or whatever dodgy moves you made. If splitting tens is one of them, and you placed a high bet and you won a lot, then certainly the casino will use that to support their claim. If you just split tens and then lose, I don't think the casino will throw you out. :)

I think the unwritten rules that you mention are a set of heuristics that the casino uses to decide whether or not you are suspicious. More or less like a spamfilter deciding whether an email message is spam or not. Some actions make you more suspicious and once you go over a threshold the alarm bells start ringing. Of course the number one alarm bell would be the fact that you are winning, but I can imagine that a persistent ten-splitter might eventually become suspicious for being "out-of-the-ordinary". I just don't think the casino will chuck you out as long as you don't win too much.

Regarding your card counter's book. In the end (s)he is a card counter, so if the casino chucked them out for splitting tens perhaps (s)he had been doing other moves in line with being a card counter inherently, and has, perhaps without knowing, made several other alarm bells ring already. Maybe the splitting of the tens was "the straw that broke the camel's back"

As far as my knowledge reaches regarding Blackjack, I believe in order to split tens they need to be the same denomination. So a Jack and a King cannot be split.


In Jokers and Pegs Game can I use a joker to help my partner after all my pegs are home safe?

I would say you can. It doesn't say you can't in the rules but it does say once you have finished you can help the team member to your left that is still going.

"Each player must play his own pegs until all five pegs are in the SAFE position. Then he can help his teammates. When playing with six players, you will help the teammate player to your left, if he still has playable pegs."

http://web.archive.org/web/20111028173900/http://www.1stingames.com/rules/pegsnjokers/rules.htm


When you move a suspend card from your hand to the exile zone, you are performing a special action, much like playing a land. This cannot be stopped by a Counterspell, nor even by a card like Stifle.

Each of your subsequent upkeeps, a triggered ability removes a time counter. This can be stopped by a card like Stifle. (Note: Stifling the "remove a counter" trigger won't permanently stop the spell, you will simply delay the spell by a turn.)

When the final time counter is removed, another triggered ability (which can also be the target of Stifle and friends) will cast the suspended spell upon resolution. At that point, the spell will finally be on the stack, and a legal target for cards such as Counterspell.


You could try it. It probably wouldn't fundamentally ruin the game. It would reduce the randomness. Depending on your group's preferences that could be a good or bad thing. Overall the event cards are more or less breakeven, so removing them wouldn't slow the game down much, and would reduce the reading and decisions encountered in the game, which would probably speed it up.

Normally the black ball sets the base speed to 3 (regardless of what the other ball is); that makes the average base speed 3.5. The second change you propose, to use 2 for the black ball, would raise the average base speed to 4. Not a huge difference and again, unlikely to break the game. And faster movement would get ships to colonizable planets faster.

Cannons would indeed lower in importance, and they're arguably already a lower priority than other uses.


What is Devoid and what is special about it?

Normally a card’s color is defined by the types of mana required to cast it. Devoid changes this default so that a card can cost colored mana while still being colorless.

This has a number of benefits when combined with various other cards. For example, Eldrazi Temple produces 2 mana, but it can only be used to cast colorless Eldrazi cards or activate abilities of colorless Eldrazi.

Herald of Kozilek has Devoid itself, and also makes other colorless spells cheaper.

Devoid also makes it so that  from things with protection from certain colors don’t work. For example Goblin Piledriver has protection from blue. Without Devoid, Ulamog's Reclaimer wouldn’t be able to block the Piledriver.

Eldrazi by theme are colorless; but giving them colored mana in the cost makes them harder to cast, and makes it so that they don’t all fit in all the same decks. Devoid allows these cards to be colorless while still having those restrictions.

Note that it’s not only an advantage. It can hurt you as well; cards such as Honor of the Pure will not work with your Devoid creatures, even if they cost white mana to cast.

See this article about the development of the mechanic, which goes into more detail about the decisions they made.


Is anyone aware of any score keeping apps (BB10 or Android) that can keep track of score (including extra meta-data)?

My friends and I use rankade, which has an app both for iOS and Android (but I prefer the webapp, personally, as it has the graphs). You can use it for every game, and the thing I like the most is the fact that it gives you the whole history (and rankings) for both the group (collective matches) and for each single boardgame. I don't think it can track every single metadata you're asking, though.


What is the penalty for bidding out of turn?

Here is a summary of the relevant rules that @Pieter Geerkens linked to. I am leaving out some of the more sophisticated points, for example, the fact that an artificial/conventional pass call is treated as a bid for the purposes of these rules. The guiding principle is not to punish the out-of-turn bidder, but to make it impossible for the offending team to benefit from the information improperly exchanged. That's why many of them refer to Law 23, which allows a TD to further adjust the score if it is determined that the offending team gained an advantage by the improper call.

In most cases, a bid on LHO's turn is treated as a change in call, which is treated separately. In practice this is a difficult mistake to make--you don't usually make two bids in immediate succession.

Pass out of Turn

If no player has bid yet, offender must pass at next opportunity.
After any player has bid, offender must pass at next opportunity; in addition, if offender passes at his partner's turn to call, offender's partner may not double or redouble.

Bid out of Turn

If offender bids on RHO's turn, and RHO passes, offender must make the same bid, but there is no other penalty.
If offender bids on RHO's turn, and RHO does not pass, offender may make any call. If the call is the same "denomination" as the original call (same suit or NT), offender's partner must pass at next opportunity. If the call is any other denomination, offender's partner must pass through the entire auction, and if offender's team defends, lead restrictions will go into effect (more on that in a bit).
To explain the differences above: If partner bids 1C, and I get excited and bid to 2C before RHO passes, no harm done. If partner bids 1C, and I hasten and bid 2C, and RHO says, wait! I wanted to bid 2H, and I say OK, fine, 3C, that's not a very big deal. But if I say, wait, based on opponent's 2H bid, I want to bid diamonds instead... that conveys a huge amount of information about my hand to my partner, and allowing partner to continue to bid would be unfair.
If offender bids on partner's turn, partner must pass through the entire auction, and lead restrictions may apply here as well.
Lead restrictions: If a specific suit is named, declarer can require the offender's partner to either lead, or not lead, that suit at the player's first opportunity. A prohibition to lead the suit lasts as long as that player keeps the lead. If no specific suit is named, the declarer can prohibit offender's partner from leading any one suit.

Double / Redouble out of Turn

In all cases, opponents have the choice to allow the double or redouble to stand. In this case, there is no penalty.
If offender doubles on partner's turn, partner must pass through the auction.
If offender doubles on RHO's turn, and RHO passes, the offender must make the same double or redouble, and offender's partner must pass at the next opportunity.
If offender doubles on RHO's turn, and RHO does not pass, the offender may make any bid, but offender's partner must pass through the auction.


Are there any non-green, non-artifact mana ramp cards?

There are, but they are purposefully few and far between.

Mana acceleration is considered to be in green's part of the "color pie," with the exception of the occasional black card, and a little bit of a fast-mana theme in red (formerly black). Blue and white occasionally get ways to cheat on mana a bit, but only when they're tied into some other element of those colors.

This answer has discussion tailored to Commander, which also applies pretty well to other casual and multiplayer decks.

In competitive terms, the most relevant cards are:

Dark Ritual is the classic mana acceleration card, in black. It's still an influential card in Legacy.
High Tide features in Legacy blue decks. The trick with this is to take one "big turn" where you develop tons of mana by playing cards that untap your lands, like Time Spiral and Candelabra of Tawnos.
In Modern, Desperate Ritual, Pyretic Ritual, Seething Song (this one's banned at the moment) — along with Manamorphose, which actually gives you extra mana if you have a cost-reducer or copy-card in play — are commonly played in storm decks.
In formats with fetchlands, Deathrite Shaman is a mana dork that doesn't actually require a green deck to work very effectively.

Note that there are a lot of colorless cards that are used to cast normal colored cards (like Ancient Tomb).

Also note that oftentimes it's more effective to "cheat" on costs (using reanimation or hand-to-play cards like Show and Tell) than to accelerate your mana.


Does a Seeker of the Way affected by Arcbond deal one batch, or multiple sets, of damage?

I would say that Ajani's Pridemate only gets 1 counter.

  702.15b Damage dealt by a source with lifelink causes that source’s controller, or its owner if it has no controller, to gain that much life (in addition to any other results that damage causes)

And for damage:

  119.4. Damage is processed in a three-part sequence.

    119.4a First, damage is dealt, as modified by replacement and prevention effects that interact with damage. (See rule 614, “Replacement Effects,” and rule 615, “Prevention Effects.”) Abilities that trigger when damage is dealt trigger now and wait to be put on the stack.

    119.4b Next, damage that’s been dealt is processed into its results, as modified by replacement effects that interact with those results (such as life loss or counters).

    119.4c Finally, the damage event occurs

In this case, there is a single source, and a single event of damage.  Yes, it's hitting multiple things, but it's only one event of damage.

Additionally, Gatherer says of Ajani's Pridemate:

  A creature with lifelink dealing combat damage is a single life-gaining event. For example, if two creatures you control with lifelink deal combat damage at the same time, Ajani’s Pridemate’s ability will trigger twice. However, if a single creature you control with lifelink deals combat damage to multiple creatures, players, and/or planeswalkers at the same time (perhaps because it has trample or was blocked by more than one creature), the ability will trigger only once.


Can a player use the Wand of Dowsing card during a combat which is not his?

This should help you.

Q. The Wand of Dowsing doesn't say "Usable once only," but I have to discard it after I use it. Can I treat it like a one-shot (play it from my hand rather than the table, or play it during combat)?
A. The clear intent is that this is a one-shot card, even though it lacks the magical "Usable once only" language, and so the rules of one-shot cards apply to this one as well. It can be played during combat, and it can be used from the hand. We've fixed this error in recent printings.

Source: Munchkin FAQ


Is a mathematical approach viable as long as there are 5 players with almost all the dices left?

A straight probability is never a bad place to start. You know that 1/6 of the dice will be your number (before you start adding in the 1s. In a five-player game, there are 25 dice. So, it's safeish to assume that there should be around 4 twos (for instance). Obviously you don't want to start that high, but it gives you a good benchmark for when you should start worrying.

How much do I have to factor the play style of my opponents into the equation at that stage of the game?

This is hard to answer since we don't know your opponent's. Any information/tells they're giving up is useful, so I'd start paying attention.

What is a good betting strategy to avoid being involved in a showdown?

Liar's Dice boils down to two questions:
1. What is riskier: calling your opponent's bid or one-upping him?
2. What is riskier to the player after you: calling your bid or one-upping?

To avoid showdowns, you need your opponent to bid low enough that you can safely bid low enough that your opponent would rather bid again rather than call. (Put another way, if your bid is plausible, but the next player can't one-up without being called himself, they'll probably call you and hope for luck. You need to leave the next player room to also be safe-ish.)

Of course, the whole point of the game is the tension of bids becoming ever-more-unlikely, so avoiding showdowns entirely is not going to happen. What you want to be aiming for is to make sure that it's safer for your opponent to bid rather than call you.


When the creature phases in on your next untap step, your opponent will control it. It phases in on your next untap step because rule 702.25a says

  Phasing is a static ability that modifies the rules of the untap step. During each player’s untap step, before the active player untaps his or her permanents, all phased-in permanents with phasing that player controls “phase out.” Simultaneously, all phased-out permanents that had phased out under that player’s control “phase in.”.

Since the permanent phased out under your control, it phases in on your untap step. Your opponent will control it because rule 702.25e says

  Continuous effects that affect a phased-out permanent may expire while that permanent is phased out. If so, they will no longer affect that permanent once it’s phased in. In particular, effects with “for as long as” durations that track that permanent (see rule 611.2b) end when that permanent phases out because they can no longer see it.

The Threaten effect lasts "until end of turn", so at the end of your turn the effect ended. Therefore, when the creature phases in, the effect that made you control it expires and control reverts to the previous controller.

If Time and Tide causes the permanent to phase in during your turn, you will still control it until your turn ends. Rule 702.25d says

  The phasing event doesn’t actually cause a permanent to change zones or control, even though it’s treated as though it’s not on the battlefield and not under its controller’s control while it’s phased out. Zone-change triggers don’t trigger when a permanent phases in or out. Counters remain on a permanent while it’s phased out. Effects that check a phased-in permanent’s history won’t treat the phasing event as having caused the permanent to leave or enter the battlefield or its controller’s control.


Does damage of Echoed Voice (Toucannon SUM) increment each turn?

[CC] Echoed Voice 60
  During your next turn, this Pokémon's Echoed Voice attack does 60 more damage (before applying Weakness and Resistance).

"does 60 more damage" adds damage to the base damage, 60 here. It basically checks if you used the attack last turn, if yes, bonus damage applies. There's no increment.

None of you is right here. The damage goes 60-120-120-120... if the attack is used every turn.

This follows official ruling from The Rules Compendium EX:

  == EXTRA COMET PUNCH (Metagross ex - EX:Hidden Legends)

  Q. Metagross-EX's "Extra Comet Punch" attack says, "During your next turn, E.C.P. does 50 damage plus 50 more damage". Does this mean that on the first turn I do 50, then on the second consecutive turn 100, then on the third consecutive turn 150, then 200, etc.?

  A. No, but it does mean that whenever you do Extra Comet Punch in consecutive turns you add +50 to the base damage of the attack. So on the first turn you would do 50, then second turn does 100 (Base 50 plus extra 50 from previous turn), then third turn does 100 (again, Base 50 plus extra 50 from previous turn), etc. But don't forget, benching or switching Metagross-EX ends this effect! (Jun 17, 2004 PUI Rules Team)

And also another official ruling from The Rulings Compendium LVX:

  Silver Wind (Mothim - OP Series 7; Mothim - Secret Wonders; Dustox ex - Legend Maker; Others)

  Q. If I use Silver Wind once, then I use it again on my next turn, it would do 60 damage (assuming there's no weakness or resistance, and that neither active Pokémon is switched out). On the third turn would it do +30 more damage (bringing it up to 90), and on the fourth 120 damage, and so on?

  A. Sorry, but Silver Wind only adds 30 to the base damage done by the attack; it is not cumulative in the manner you suggest. (Jun 17, 2004 PUI Rules Team)

Joe pointed out in comment that there is also another official ruling in the latest version of compendium, The Rulings Compendium Black and White:

  Meteor Mash    (Metagross - Celestial Storm)

  Q. If I use Metagross' "Meteor Mash" attack several turns in succession, does the damage keep piling up as 60, 120, 180, 240, etc.?

  A. No, Meteor Mash tops out at 120. It only adds +60 to the base 60 damage, it does not accumulate on successive turns. (Celestial Storm FAQ; Aug 2, 2018 TPCi Rules Team)


No, “this way” is defined nowhere in the comprehensive rules. This specific kind of interaction also doesn't get spelled out explicitly in the rules for exile, resolving spells & abilities, effects, zones, etc. (Though there are some relevant touchstones.)

However, understanding Etali's behaviour doesn't come down to that definition. Etali works the way it does as a result of being a one-shot effect: it exiles some cards, then allows you to cast them, and that offer doesn't apply in future. You may only choose to follow up on this one-shot effect during that ability's resolution.

For you to be able to access cards from prior turns, one of two things would have to happen:

The one-shot would have to reference all cards exiled with Etali so far, which would mean the following wording:

  Whenever Etali, Primal Storm attacks, exile the top card of each player's
  library, then you may cast any number of cards exiled with Etali, Primal Storm without paying their mana costs.

Alternately, you'd have to be granted a continuous effect to be able to cast those cards later.

In case 2, the effect would have to carry a duration. Kheru Spellsnatcher and Hostage Taker both exile a card as a one-shot effect, then immediately also set up a continuous effect that allows you to cast that card for as long as it remains in exile (that's the duration). Alternately, the continuous effect can be provided by a static linked ability, as found on Nightveil Specter or Hedonist's Trove.

This means Etali could also be written one of two other ways, which would let you cast its spells at any time:

A one-shot that sets up a continuous effect (like Kheru Spellsnatcher):

  Whenever Etali, Primal Storm attacks, exile the top card of each player's library. For as long as those cards remain in exile, you may cast them without paying their mana costs.

A one-shot with a static linked ability providing the continuous effect (like Nightveil Specter):

  Whenever Etali, Primal Storm attacks, exile the top card of each player's library.

  You may cast cards exiled with Etali, Primal Storm without paying thier mana costs.


What are good strategies for booster drafts?

Evan Erwin has an interesting article about learning to draft on Star City Games.

He uses an acronym BREAD to remember the order you should be picking.

Look for Bombs
Look for Removal
Look for Efficient spells.
Look for Aggro (1-3 mana creatures to get in the early damage)
Take the Dregs.

I'd modify his acronym and make E also stand for Evasion. It's good to find creatures with flying, or "cannot be blocked" abilities… even if it's Trample, to get through creature stalemates.

Pay attention to your mana curve. You generally don't want to end up with a deck of 4+ mana cost spells and no low mana spells or a bunch of aggro creatures with no finisher.
The 4th - 5th pick is likely the best pack to see what colours seem under-picked. If there's a card you're surprised to see still in the pack, you may want to go that way.


Can Hour of Devastation kill Heliod, Sun-Crowned?

Heliod will die in this situation.

The key is that state-based actions are evaluated simultaneously. After the spell resolves, Heliod and each Healer's Hawk all have 5 damage marked on them. Then state-based actions are evaluated, and all of those creatures die at the same time. There is no time when Heliod has the damage marked but is not a creature.

This is all covered by rule 704.3:

  Whenever a player would get priority (see rule 117, “Timing and Priority”), the game checks for any of the listed conditions for state-based actions, then performs all applicable state-based actions simultaneously as a single event. If any state-based actions are performed as a result of a check, the check is repeated; otherwise all triggered abilities that are waiting to be put on the stack are put on the stack, then the check is repeated. Once no more state-based actions have been performed as the result of a check and no triggered abilities are waiting to be put on the stack, the appropriate player gets priority. This process also occurs during the cleanup step (see rule 514), except that if no state-based actions are performed as the result of the step’s first check and no triggered abilities are waiting to be put on the stack, then no player gets priority and the step ends.

The answer is actually different if the Healer's Hawks are replaced with 2 or 3 Benalish Marshal, which has the ability "Other creatures you control get +1/+1.". In that case, when evaluating state-based actions, the Benalish Marshals have lethal damage marked and die, but Heliod does not because he has more than 5 toughness. Then state-based actions are evaluated again and Heliod is no longer a creature so again he does not die.


Blackjack Strategy Chart for only hitting and standing

You shouldn't have much trouble at all finding a chart..

What you are looking for is known as Basic Strategy

Replace any double/split with a hit, surrender with fold if your simulation does not allow it.

Edit: As Hymie pointed out in the comments, splits are not always a hit.. in fact many splits you would stand on. A close approximation would be to use the same rules as if pairs (6,6 8,8 etc) were just treated as though they were their totals (12, 16 in those examples).

Generally speaking, if the dealer card is 7 or better, you draw to 17, otherwise you draw until 12 and stand otherwise (with some exceptions, notably 12 vs dealer 2,3)

Not sure if you allow soft-totals for the player..


Fiery Temper and Electrostatic Pummeler on the Stack

You generally cannot cast a spell that requires a creature as a target while that creature is still on the stack, because by that time it's still a spell.

While a creature card is on the stack, it's not a creature, but a creature spell. On the stack, only spells/abilities can exist, and spells/abilities can only exist on the stack.

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

When a spell or ability says, for example, "creature" without further specifying the type of object, it means "creature permanent":

  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.

A creature, on the other hand, is a certain type of permanent, and permanents can only exist on the battlefield; everything on the battlefield is a permanent.

  403.3. Permanents exist only on the battlefield. Every object on the battlefield is a permanent. [..]

Since both Fiery Temper and Blossoming Defense require a "creature" (= "creature permanent") as a target, not a creature spell, neither of you can cast Fiery Temper or Blossoming Defense on the Electrostatic Pummeler while it's on the stack. The creature spell has to resolve first, which results in the Pummeler entering the battlefield as a creature permanent.

Once the Pummeler is on the battlefield and both of you can start casting spells on it, the usual "last in, first out" stack resolution procedure commences.

Note that whenever a spell or ability resolves, either player may play new spells or abilities, even if the stack hasn't fully resolved yet. So if the enemy Electrostatic Pummeler is on the battlefield and you cast Fiery Temper on it, your opponent can respond with Blossoming Defense, let the BD resolve, then activate the EP's ability to make it a 6/6 before your Fiery Temper resolves, thereby saving the EP.


What happens when a creature with flying blocks my non-flying attacker?

It's your turn and you are attacking your opponent; that means you won't lose life from combat damage. The flying creature will deal combat damage to your non-flying creature. The fact that it has flying has nothing to do with it; that just determines whether it can block or be blocked.

Everything you need to know about this is covered in the basic rules; look for the section 'ATTACKING AND BLOCKING'.

  An attacking creature that is blocked deals damage to the creature or creatures that are blocking it, and vice versa.


Is it possible to determine the exact probability of getting a card in a pack?

Cards are printed on four different sheets: Basic Land, Common, Uncommon, and Rare. (Mythics are printed on the Rare sheet.)

The number of times a card is printed on the sheet determines how rare it is relative to other cards on the same sheet. For most sets (Alliances and afterward, plus Ice Age), all cards of the same rarity level are printed the same number of times. Within each set, every card with the same rarity has the same probability distribution*.

Older sets only had two print sheets (Common and Uncommon) and varied the number of times any given card was printed on it; this is where you get rarity codes like C5 and U2 – the card was printed 5 times on the Common sheet, or 2 times on the Uncommon sheet. "Rares" in this era didn't really exist, but all of the U1 cards are considered rare today. Because of this rarity distribution, it was actually possible for certain cards on the Common sheet to be more rare than certain cards on the Uncommon sheet, if the Common was printed very few times (eg, C1) and the Uncommon was printed many times (eg, U4).

When designing packs*, a nonfoil Mythic rare appears in approximately 1 in 8 packs. I believe the actual ratio is something between 7 and 8 which varies by set, but 8 is a good approximation.

Foil cards have the same rarity distributions as their nonfoil counterparts, but they are printed on foil sheets and their appearance in a pack is not dependent on sheet distribution but rather on card packing*. Approximately 1 in 6 packs contains a foil card.

Some sets throw the above numbers slightly out of whack with special packing parameters*. Modern Masters contains a foil instead of a basic land, for example. Dragon's Maze contains a Gate, shockland, or Maze End instead of a basic land. Innistrad replaces a regular common with a dual-faced card of any rarity. The "Alara Premium Foil Booster" contains 15 foils from the block. And so on.

* Note: How the sheets are divided up and packaged is not necessarily the same as how they're printed, changes on an almost set-by-set basis, and is not published information.


"Counter target ability from a [quality] source" -- changing [quality]?

Rule 112.7 says

  The source of an ability is the object that generated it. The source of an activated ability on the stack is the object whose ability was activated. The source of a triggered ability (other than a delayed triggered ability) on the stack, or one that has triggered and is waiting to be put on the stack, is the object whose ability triggered. To determine the source of a delayed triggered ability, see rules 603.7d–f.

So, if you want to answer the question "Is the source of this ability an artifact?" for example, you just have to answer "Is the object whose ability was activated an artifact?" That object exists independent of the ability and can become an artifact after its ability is activated. So yes, in your example you can target Mayael's ability with Ouphe Vandals.

In addition, as 3C273's answer quotes, rule 608.2b says, in part

  If the source of an ability has left the zone it was in, its last known information is used during this process.

This means that in your example, if Mayael left the battlefield after Liquimetal Coating's ability resolved, it's last known information would include being an artifact, and Ouphe Vandals' ability would be able to target its ability. It would be inconsistent if this was different from the situation where it doesn't leave the battlefield.


Can the Swamp Rat's special ability be used to end combat?

The swamp rat's ability allows it to place a damage marker on an outfit instead of an armed marker to perform an action but only when that action is valid. The engine cannot be used to make a move action when defending against an attack. Therefore you cannot use the swamp rat's ability to move to escape combat. You could, however, use it to power the shields one more time.


No, you can't.

Breaking an Ice Cage on a Skinshifter with another Skinshifter's ability won't work for 2 reasons:

First and most straightforward, the Skinshifter's ability does not require a target, and Ice Cage requires the enchanted creature to be targeted by a spell or ability for it to break.

Second, you can use Skinshifter's ability only to change itself, not another Skinshifter.

If a card says "Something happens to CARD NAME", then this always references the card this text is printed on, unless explicitly stated otherwise. If a card references another card by name, the syntax is always something like "A card/creature named XY", for example like Llanowar Sentinel, or Angel's Herald.

The rules for that is this:

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


What are some fun setups for Dominion for two players?

Since random setups have already been recommended, let me suggest a couple of individual card combos that can form the core of an interesting set.

Option 1: Core strategies in the base set. Choose 2 of these, and fill in the rest of the cards randomly.

Woodcutter/Workshop + Gardens (+ Cellar): obvious gardens path
Throne Roome + Remodel/Mine: TR helps the fact that these strategies are slow on their own
Chapel: trash as fast as possible and race for provinces
Witch/Militia (interesting both with and without Moats): slow down your opponent with attacks
Smithy/Moneylender: accelerate the early game to 5+ coin hands

Option 2: Interesting card interactions in the base set. Choose one and fill in the rest randomly.

Witch + Gardens strategy cards: do you curse your opponent and make his/her Gardens more valuable?
Militia + Library: you can attack to slow down your opponent, but if he/she has a Library in hand then the attack is mostly wasted. Do you go for offense or defense?
Chapel + Thief: if you trash your starting cards to accelerate your deck, you will be more vulnerable to having your few (and good) treasure cards stolen.

Finally, if player interaction is a really important criterion for you, you should seriously consider adding the Intrigue expansion. Not only is it built around the theme of interaction, but it also has lots of cards that combo well with base set cards to create interesting strategies (Duke/Duchy, Gardens/Bridge, Gardens/Ironworks, etc.).


How much would it cost to get started with Magic: The Gathering?

There have been many answers to this question, as there are many different ways to handle getting started in magic. Really, the best thing to do is to explore carefully and decide how you are going to play that's the only way to get a feel for how much your initial investment will be.
First and foremost, as others have suggested. Regardless of how you want to play, as a new player, Duels of the Planeswalkers is a fabulous way to get a feel for how the game is played. It's available on many different systems, most consoles and PC, as well as some tablets. It gives you an excellent way to get an idea of what different colours do, how they interact, the beginnings of how to use your resources correctly and the best strategies to employ in given situations. If you want to know whether you will like the game at all, this is the best way to find out.
If you like the game enough to continue from that point to the next step. There are 2 options, Paper magic, and Magic Online (often referred to as MODO). both of these are open to casual and competitive players alike, and the decision comes down to whether you are going to want to play with friends in your local area, with a hard collection to show for your money, or be able to jump in to a game of magic any time of the day or night. Whichever you choose, you will be making a similar level of initial investment, so your choice here really counts!
If you choose to take the online route, then jump onto the internet and make yourself an account, there are plenty of resources out there to help players get started on MODO, and there are bots who will give new players a handful of free digital cards to help grow their collections initially, besides that, you can buy boosters and enter tournaments just like with paper magic. you can even cash out your digital cards from recent expansions into paper copies if you complete a full set. If you go down the route of MODO, your initial minimum investment will be in the region of $10 for an account, from there you can jump straight in to playing some games.
if you choose the paper Magic route, then you need to make a decision about what kind of Magic you are looking to play. This is a very subjective choice, and depends massively on the player, realistically, without doing a bit of experimenting, you will struggle to figure out exactly what you want to do with magic. I will expand on this below:
Casual Play
There are many players (in fact, the vast majority) who will happily buy a few boosters here or there, and then build whatever decks they fancy out of what cards they have, and battle with their friends. These players get a lot out of every single card they own, and generally open a few boosters here and there a few times a week. Players like this will be playing at home with their friends, round a kitchen or dining table, with whatever decks they put together for that evening, maybe building a deck in a different colour for each of their friends that come to battle.
If that is the kind of magic you are looking to play, then your initial investment will not be sky high, there are many good answers already covering this, so I wont paraphrase them. I will say that sealed product (boosters/starter decks etc) would be your best choice. You would be able to spend as much as you feel you want to to get a collection big enough to build what decks you need to have fun with your friends, this could be as little as $20 as others have suggested, or I would say up to $100 would give you a very good basis to work from for a larger pool of cards to play with.
Like Competitive Play described below some casual players choose to follow certain deck construction rules (called a format) when building their decks. One of the most popular formats is called Commander, which involves creating a deck around a specific Legendary Creature, called your Commander. These decks are 100 cards (99 + the Commander), you can only have one a given card in a deck (other than basic lands), and all cards in the deck must have a color identity that is included in the commanders color identity. There is a Commander special release every November with 5 new decks that are around $35 a piece and are usually fairly competitive (for a casual audience, they aren't Competitive in the sense they would do well in a tournament).
Competitive Play
If casual play at home with friends doesn't sound like your thing, (either because your friends aren't interested, or you are looking to meet loads of new people to play against, or you want to play to win) and you are looking to play in tournaments, then things go a lot differently, both in how to get started, and how much your initial investment will be.
There are many different types of tournaments, Limited formats, which require no prior investment whatsoever, are a good way of entering tournament play without having to spend any money prior to the tournament. You get the same chance everyone else gets, and it all comes down to learning how to play that format (be it draft or sealed) better than everyone else. Entry to these tournaments is often more expensive than traditional "build a deck beforehand" constructed tournaments, but you get to keep the cards you use in the tournament, so its a good way of picking up cards to expand your collection, whilst playing competitively. The cost of draft or sealed tournaments varies, so your local store is the best place to find out more information about this style of play.

If you want to know more about the types of tournaments, and advice about them, continue below, however, there is a LOT of information to process, and if you already feel like casual play is more for you, then this information is of little use to you. have fun YOUR way, and at YOUR pace!

Limited
As previously mentioned Limited formats require no prior cards, you play with the cards you are given by the Tournament Organizer. For limited events you have a 40 card minimum deck size rather than the 60 cards needed for all the constructed formats.
Booster Draft this is the most popular form of limited play. The way it works is you are seated at a table with several other people (8 players per table is considered ideal, however numbers can differ based on tournament attendance). Each person is then given 3 booster packs, they each open one of their packs and keeps a card from it passing the rest to the player on their left. They then take the pack passed to them from their right pick a card from it and repeat this process until there are no more cards to pass. This process is then repeated for the second and third packs, alternating direction with each pack. Each player then makes a deck from the cards they chose.
Sealed Deck is the other main form of limited play. In this format each player is given 6 booster packs and has to make their deck from the cards in those packs. This format generally has a lot more luck than Booster Draft since you only get to see 6 booster packs vs 24 boosters you get to see in draft so if you are unlucky and get bad cards there isn't really anything you can do to mitigate it.
Constructed
Constructed competitive play is a whole different ballgame. This is where things get different, as in terms of "bang for your buck", you are best off buying individual cards from a reseller, rather than opening boosters and hoping to get the cards for your deck.
First and foremost, Event Decks have been made especially for you. they are more expensive than starter decks, but with very good reason. They contain more rare and powerful cards, and are generally built so that you can have a hope to compete in a tournament with them right out of the box. They even have instructional inserts to explain how the deck is meant to be played, and giving you some tips on how to use the cards that are included to best effect! These decks serve as an excellent starting point to build on. Note: Event Decks were discontinued with the release of Battle for Zendikar.
Playing at this competitive level, especially as someone starting out, it is very important that you start by paying attention to what kind of decks are winning tournaments week after week. There are plenty of websites that will give you a list of the decks (and every card they played) that came in the top 8-16 or so of the tournament. This gives you a very good idea of what kind of decks can do well reliably, and hence what you should be looking to invest your money into building. You can of course disregard this and build whatever you want, but if we are talking about investing $200+ in something, it's probably best to go with a tried and true formula, at least until you have some experience.
You may want to pick one of the cheaper decks that performs well, so you don't have to spend quite so much so soon, and that's fine, cheaper does not mean worse, and you can build something quite playable with under $100 if you pick carefully. You can also replace some of the most expensive cards with something more affordable if you wish, but bear in mind those cards are expensive for a reason, they're good!
There is some key information to remember however with constructed play, and that is the concept of rotation. Standard is the most popular constructed format, by a very large margin. If someone is playing non-casual magic with their own pre-built decks, chances are they are playing standard. One of the key things about standard is that every six months, usually around late September and early April, several sets of cards are "rotated out" of the format, meaning they are no longer legal for play. this means if you choose badly how you invest, you may well find that in a few months you are no longer allowed to play your expensive cards and have to spend that money all over again. Cards stay in Standard for approximately 15-18 months. On the positive side, this keeps the format feeling new and fresh, however, conversely, it does mean you have to continue to invest in new cards to play.
This puts a lot of people off these formats. Fortunately, there are other constructed formats that do not rotate, however these come with a trade off, as the initial investment is much higher. Eternal formats also tend to have a smaller player base, which means local tournaments are harder to come by, if they happen in your area at all.
Non-rotating formats
Modern - this is the newest and cheapest non-rotating format. This obviously provides a massive advantage, in that cards you buy for this format will not ever rotate out of the format. This means that once you buy a deck - with some caveats - you wont have to make a big investment again. The exceptions to this are bannings, and newly printed cards. If the key elements of your deck are banned (such as Splinter Twin) then you may find you have to invest in an entirely new deck. Similarly, new cards may be printed which become key elements of your deck (such as the new Beck // Call which may well become a core element of modern Elves), however, overall this investment tends to be much more manageable than the continued investment in rotating formats.
Some players dislike modern, and a lot of the complaints raised against it centre around the fact that your investment into the format is not necessarily stable, as if key elements of your deck are banned, you need to reinvest into a new deck. Modern's banlist is relatively young, and as such is still undergoing more change than in other formats. Modern has seen cards banned or unbanned in many of the announcements since the format was officially released. This turbulence puts a lot of players off the format.
Legacy - This is a much more expensive, but also much more stable eternal format, which means that cards from all sets can be played unless they are explicitly banned. The highest value cards in this format are for the most part pretty safe from bannings, as they have been in the format for a long time, and would have been banned a long time ago if they were causing a problem. The main issue with Legacy is that the investment into a deck can easily reach into the region of $1000s. The main advantage is that your investment is unlikely to be invalidated by future card releases or bannings, and for the most part, wont require much (if any) continued investment as additional cards are released.
Legacy has its own problems however, and the prohibitively large cost of the key cards in the format takes its toll, While there are areas with a thriving legacy scene, and even some with higher legacy tournament attendance than any other format, in other areas, the player base is much smaller, and in some areas practically non-existent. Considering the cost of the format, it definitely requires some consideration of your local area to ensure you will be able to play.
Vintage - the most expensive and intense eternal format. This format has a very small ban list (banning only cards such as Contract from Below which reference the "Ante" mechanic which was removed from the game early on, "Dexterity" cards which require you to physically flip cards from a foot above the table such as Chaos Orb, cards with the Conspiracy type like Hymn of the Wilds, and Shahrazad) and a "Restricted" list, of cards which you may only include a single copy in your deck. Some of these cards cost hundreds or thousands of dollars each, and their power level makes them essentially required in your deck. As a result, Vintage tournaments are very hard to come by. I would not recommend going into vintage to someone just starting out.
So, having looked at all your options, here is an overview of what you can expect
Casual play - Comparitively cheap, you can happily play with an investment from anywhere between $20 and $100, depending on how many players you want to support. You can continue to invest to add variety, or play with what you have.
Limited - No initial "hump" of investment to be able to play other than tournament entry, but quite high continued investment.
Constructed
Standard (Rotating) - Reasonable initial investment (approx $50-$500), with similar investment to be made at least every 1-2 years.
Modern (Non-rotating) - Medium to high initial investment (approx $300-$2000), good chance of investment being stable, but good chance you may have to continually invest to keep current.
Legacy (Eternal) - High to very high investment (approx $500-$4000), quite stable investment, continual investment requirements small or non existent.
Vintage (Eternal) - Extremely high investment (approx $4000-$25000) very stable investment, continual investment requirements highly unlikely.


Can't find the specific price for MTG japanese cards

While it is sometimes the case, not all foreign cards are actually worth more than there English counterparts. Nonetheless, older cards definitely might be.

While you can check eBay, this is likely your best source:

http://www.hareruyamtg.com/en/

If you can't find a reference anywhere, check other foreign languages of that card, such as korean or russian.


What combination of kingdom cards makes for the fewest number of turns to end the game?

You can end the game, even buying/gaining every single card in the entire supply, on turn 1! There are multiple possible ways to do this, but here is one:

The Kingdom:

Fortress
Villa
Pixie
Pooka
Tracker
Overlord
Lurker
King's Court
Bridge
Library
Travelling Fair
Advance

I'm not going to go into all of the details here, because it gets quite long and complex, but the final step is to have bought a Travelling Fair, and a Villa to return to action phase. Then have a hand of:

King's Court, King's Court, Lurker, Lurker, Overlord

Play King's Court (a)

Play King's Court (1)

Play Lurker (1), trash Overlord from supply
Play Lurker (2), gain Overlord from the trash (put it on your deck because of Travelling Fair)
Play Lurker (3), do anything, doesn't matter

Play King's Court (2)

Play Overlord(1) as Pixie, draw next Overlord, trash it to get the Boon
Play Overlord(2) as Lurker, gain Overlord from the trash
Play Overlord(3) as King's Court (a)

That last step wraps back to the first... you have the same hand, same card on top of your deck, same cards in the trash. Except you have received a Boon.

With the infinite Boons, you will have received every Silver in the game from The Mountain's Gift, drawn them all into hand from The Sea's Gift, and gained all of the cards with The Earth's Gift.

The full details of this combo are written out in this forum post. All credit goes to Mith and other f.ds members.

There is also a video of this combo being demonstrated on Dominion Online:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbWdV9H2SKk

So that particular combination requires a very convoluted setup and an extremely lucky starting hand, with the exact right Heirlooms. So here's a very short game that happened in a real, regular randomized game:

Turn 3, draw Quarry + 4 Copper.
Stonemason -> 2 Villas (5 times).
Stonemason -> 2 Trade Route (4-5 times).
Win off Museum points

Empties the Villa, Stonemason, and Trade Route piles to end the game.

Details in this forum post.


Where can I get these Carcassone expansions?

First off, the expansions you have listed are official.  Depending on which expansion you're trying to find (and which print run) may be a little challenging:

The Cathars (BGG) (German: Die Katharer) was originally released in the German magazine "Spielbox", and then again in the set "Der Carcassonne Almanach".  It was re-released in the US as part of the "Cult, Siege and Creativity" set (although it was renamed to the "Siege" in the set, explaining why you may have had a hard time finding it, and apparently the artwork was altered for the US release as well).
Starting in 2010, the Crop Circles (BGG) (German: Die Kornkreise) can be found in German versions of the base game.  I'm guessing it will be released in an anthology set (like "Cult, Siege and Creativity") at some point, but that's speculation on my part.


Fluxx Play All Card and Hand Limit Cards

No. Play All replaces the Play One, or any associated play rule cards.

Of the many New Rule cards in Fluxx, there are several archetypes, including: Draw, Play, and Hand Size. Each are categorically separate from the others, which is why each directs you to discard any previous associated rules.


When can I use a power of a Keeper in Adventure Time Fluxx?

In the official rules, it states:

  If a keeper has a special power, you must have the card on the table in front of you in order to make use of the power.

So as long as you have the keeper in front of you on the table, you can use its power.


Why does Pinochle utilize ultra-high point values for melds?

The current 10 points for every Ace, 10 and King in the trick pile is a new way of scoring.  The original scoring had different values for different cards so although the multiples of 10 aren't needed now they were before.

According to http://www.playingcardsandmore.com/pinochleanoverview.aspx

Original Card Values: Each Ace 11, Each Ten 10, Each King 4, Each Queen 3, Each Jack 2, Each Nine 0.
The Simplified Card Values: Each Ace 10, Each Ten 10, each King 5, Each Queen 5, Each Jack 0, each Nine 0.

And now it is even more simple than that - we only do things with multiples of 10.


What is the optimal method to shuffle an organised deck of cards

That's very, very simple in fact: shuffle the discard pile constantly. Take a player that, while not playing his turn, shuffles the discard pile of cards. When discarding, simply give the cards to this player (who can change when he's tired), he will put them in the deck and go on shuffling.


When are Mice and Mystics encounter cards flipped & discarded?

What if we have not actually had a surge and we go to a new tile, which has a special encounter, should the previous encounter card be discarded?
Yes, the previous encounter card is discarded. From the rule book

Encounters - Each time a mouse explores an area that has not already been explored during that chapter, the mice will have an encounter. Unless otherwise stated in the chapter being played, draw a card from the encounter deck. Each encounter card has multiple potential encounters based on how far the chapter has progressed. Use the encounter that matches the page space that the hourglass marker currently occupies on the story control board. Place the new minions using the placement rules below, then determine an initiative order. Once the minions are placed, place the encounter card face-up on top of the encounter deck. If there is still an encounter card face up from a previous encounter, discard the old card. This new face-up encounter card will now determine the next non-chapter-specific surge effect.

What if we have a surge on a tile that has a special surge, but we already have an encounter card present?
You perform the special encounter, but you don't discard the encounter card.

Room tile rules: some room tiles that are being used in a chapter will have specific rules that apply to that room. Each room tile that has special instructions [...] or special surges that instruct players on what minion(s) to place when a surge happens in that room (special surges take place instead of a surge listed on an encounter card). (page 5, Story Book)
[Step 3] If there are no chapter-specific surge instructions, follow the surge effect on the face-up encounter card that is on the encounter deck and then discard that card. (page 15, Surges)


How to decide if I should use a counterspell in MTG?

Considering your link to Solar Flare builds, I'll assume you're talking about the Standard format as of right now.

The timing of your counters relies heavily on what deck your opponent is running.  To some extent, it does rely on knowing your opponent's deck, but most Standard decks fall into an archtype.  Recognizing those archtypes isn't too difficult if you spend some time in the format, and recognition means you'll know what some of the more commonly-run threats for those decks are.

Assuming your opponent is running aggro and is effectively racing to see if they can take you down before you can start to get some of your meaner cards (traditionally Sun Titan into a Liliana via Unburial Rites, etc.), you need to be able to survive their early game.  This may mean throwing counters away early on, on things that could build into bigger threats (e.g. Lord of the Unreal, Phantasmal Image, Stromkirk Noble, etc.) to slow them down.

Assuming your opponent is running control, you're looking for bombs and other counters.  They're doing the same thing as you; playing the waiting game, looking for the opportunity to get something game-winning through.  This often means a slow game, where each player will play a land and then pass, leaving mana open for counters and their-turn fun (like White Sun's Zenith, Blue Sun's Zenith, and Forbidden Alchemy).

Midrange decks are much harder to gauge - you'll often have to play a game before you get a good feeling for what their bombs are, what you're watching out for.

Lastly, one of the strongest things you can do is threaten a counter.  Whether or not you have one in hand (and whether or not you're even playing them, if you're still playing blue), if you leave mana open for a counter, they may not play a more threatening card for risk of it getting countered.  Never let your opponent feel comfortable - even if you've played three Mana Leaks, what's to say you don't have another counter (Dissipate, Negate, etc.), or destruction, or a Snapcaster!  For this reason, I'd caution against tapping out, as you lose this threat entirely.

One more note - there's a reason Snapcaster Mage is so popular! Every Snapcaster (ideally used) means another Mana Leak, Dissipate, Doom Blade, Go for the Throat, or Dismember that you've already used once.


Which Seven Wonders Leaders Should I Be Hoping To Recruit?

Unfortunately, I'm not aware of any hard data of the sort that RftG or Dominion players collect.

That said, Bilkis (once per turn, pay 1 to the bank for 1 of any resource) is my pick for best all-around leader. She lets you get away with playing fewer resource cards and avoids enriching your neighbors.

Other choices are more situational:

Imhotep (resource discount for Wonder stages) is great for Giza B or Wonders that have an inconvenient cost.

Hammurabi (resource discount for blue cards) is good unless you're committed to a maximum-science strategy.

The vanilla VP leaders are pretty good for their cost, and since in general you will be happy to pay 1 coin for 1 VP, the largest ones, Cleopatra and Nefertiti, are strongest.

If you can get two leaders that support either science or military, that can be strong. It does sort of commit you to that path, so if you draft 2 military leaders and your neighbor decides to pursue a military strategy, you might find yourself frustrated. Either one, although science moreso, is high-risk/high-reward.

Of the military leaders, Caesar and Hannibal grant shields, which give you a leg up and signal to your neighbors that you're not worth fighting. Alexander and Nero give you bonuses for winning. Pericles is expensive, but can be worth 8 or 10 points if you're going military. Leonidas provides a discount for military, although if you often get a fair number of brown buildings anyway you might not need the discount.

Of the science leaders, Archimedes provides the discount, which (in contrast to military) can be important especially in Age 1 since the science costs require advanced resources. Hypatia and Aristotle make your green cards and sets worth more. Euclid, Ptolemy, and Pythagoras provide science symbols; they're expensive but can be worth lots of points if they fill up a set or give you the 5th card of a kind.


At the moment (Feb 2018), the publisher lists the expansion 7 (Catapult) as not available anymore. So your option would be to find this 2nd hand.

Expansion 8 is available at the publisher's shop.


Does an increase in monster Toughness also mean an increase in monster trophy value?

You always apply whatever toughness modifiers are in effect when you exchange the trophy, the trophy's worth when you gained it is irrelevant.

To refer to your examples, a Fire Vampire killed before a Heat Wave, and exchanged during a Heat Wave is worth +1 toughness, while a Fire Vampire killed during a Heat Wave and exchanged after the Heat Wave has ended is worth only the monster's base toughness.

From the Arkham Horror FAQ (page 3):

  Q: When spending monster trophies, do you count any
  modifiers to toughness currently in effect?

  A: Yes, use the modified toughness. This bonus applies to
  the use of any monster trophies spent at any location.


Is The Resistance conclusively easier for the Resistance in a six player game?

I have found that the number of players does not matter but rather the players themselves. In a six player game, well in all games below 7 players, resistance members have to make perfect choices on missions 3 and 5. What that means is that the players with the spy role are doing something to tip off to everyone that they are spies which makes them easy to not put on a team.

If you look at the simple math for missions 3 and 5 you will find that the resistance has gathered a lot of information if they can keep picking perfect teams. With a resistance member as the team leader on the first pick they have a 60% chance of picking right (assuming they pick themselves first), 3 resistance 2 spies. Each pick they make lowers the odds pick 2 takes it to 50%, 2 resistance and 2 spies. Pick 3 takes it to 33%, 1 resistance and 2 spies.

How often each side wins will boil down to the play style of the group playing and how much unintended information they give out. Truth be said from my experience playing this at all player levels the spies should have the edge and win more often because they have perfect knowledge in the game and the resistance has flawed information.

Also are you playing with any of the expansions?


What are the differences between Pandemic and Pandemic 2013?

The differences between the original version of Pandemic and the 2013 version are essentially cosmetic. The only significant change is to the Role cards. The 2013 games features 2 new roles, Contingency Planner and Quarantine Specialist, that aren't in the original version. It also has the revised Operations Expert from the original On The Brink expansion. There are pictures of these cards here. There have been some changes to the rulebook to clarify some things in the original rulebook that caused confusion.

The original Pandemic is not compatible with the 2013 expansion packs (the card backs have different designs), however you can buy replacement cards to make the original Pandemic compatible with the new expansions.


How well do differently-sized units of Fire Warriors work?

Six edition has had a big impact on fire warrior squads.  While some of the points in the article user1873 links to in his answer are still valid there are other factors that should be considered.

The short answer is you probably want to go either min or max on squad size.  Other numbers are acceptable but situational(like if you got some extra points and no better option to spend them on; going from 6 to 8 guys in a squad is OK to do).

Here's some changes in 6th edition that will have an effect on whether to go min or max.

Transports

Transports for units in the new edition have lost some usefulness. In 5th, taking a min squad to get a transport was often a no-brainer. Even a transport with as limited offensive punch like a Devilfish was worth it due to the overall strength of vehicles in the last edition.

Now transports are not scoring or denial units.  Even squads inside can't score or deny.  That means to take an objective, you will need to disembark.  That's a difficult thing to do effectively when you have a very fragile 6 man unit inside.

Overall the game is lighter on scoring units, so you can't treat them as transport upgrades anymore.  While the Devilish is one of the more survivable transports in the game right now, a Tau army needs to prioritize on high firepower and scoring units first.

Rapid Fire Weapons

The big change to rapid fire weapons is that they can fire up to their full range even when moving.  This gives Firewarriors a nice 36" reach on a given turn.  With this kind of range, Firewarriors don't have to rely on transport mobility to effectively engage targets.

Wound allocation

Wound allocation is now done against closest models.  This means you can use drones or attached battlesuit commanders(preferably with Iridium Armor and a pair of shield drones)  to soak incoming fire.  This is a big survivability boost, making large squads hard to kill and great at camping objectives.

Morale

Units can now almost always regroup.  This makes playing the morale numbers game much less important.   The new Cadre Fireblade and updated Ethereals also help keep your units around thanks to higher leadership and re-rolls.

Allies

Tau troops aren't great, but fortunately now you can bring someone else's much better troop options along to the party.  You'll get much better ROI for your points with a maxed out Marine tactical squad versus a maxed out Firewarrior squad.

Conclusion
Updated for the new Codex

The new codex does increase the play-ability of Fire Warriors, but they are still defensively a weak unit. With the slight points decrease and the extra shots you can get from Ethereals and Fireblades, there's more reason to max the squad size now than to minimize it.

I still think it is better to leverage ally troops to score and deny objectives.  That is if your ally's troops are better.  (Though you should pick an ally option with better troops IMHO.  Something like Space Marines, Grey Knights, Okrs, or Necrons.)

I would suggest going max on the squads.  Upgrading to the shas-ui is no longer necessary since you can stick an Ethereal of Fireblade to the unit and get a bigger efficiency boost. I could see the Devilfish having use in some list, but overall you should probably stick to foot squads.


If I can cast sorceries at instant speed, can I use sorcery-speed activated abilities at instant speed?

No, Teferi only affects sorcery spells. This is because the phrase “any time you could cast a sorcery” (or “do this only as a sorcery”[see note]) doesn't actually mean any point you are able to cast a sorcery spell, but instead it means whenever it's a main phase of your own turn and the stack is empty:

  307.5 If a spell, ability, or effect states that a player can do something only “any time they could cast a sorcery,” it means only that the player must have priority, it must be during the main phase of their turn, and the stack must be empty. [...]

To confirm this we can take a look at the rulings on Hypersonic Dragon which has a similar ability:

  You may cast sorcery spells as though they had flash. (You may cast them any time you could cast an instant.)

One of its rulings says:

  Hypersonic Dragon’s last ability has no effect on abilities that you can activate “any time you could cast a sorcery.” (2017-11-17)

There is no card that generally provides instant timing to abilities that can only be activated “any time you could cast a sorcery”, and such a card will probably never appear.

There are cards that let you activate specific sorcery-speed abilities at instant speed. Leonin Shikari lets you use Equip abilities with instant timing, Teferi, Temporal Archmage does the same for loyalty abilities. However there is nothing that lets you eternalize at instant speed.

Note: Eternalize says “Eternalize only as a sorcery” in its reminder text. This “do thing only as a sorcery” phrase is a short-hand for “any time you could cast a sorcery” that you may see in reminder text. (You'll see the same short-hand used for Equip abilities such as on Explorer's Scope.) The full text for the Eternalize ability is as follows:

  702.128a Eternalize is an activated ability that functions while the card with eternalize is in a graveyard. "Eternalize [cost]" means "[Cost], Exile this card from your graveyard: Create a token that's a copy of this card, except it's black, it's 4/4, it has no mana cost, and it's a Zombie in addition to its other types. Activate this ability only any time you could cast a sorcery."


What is the Trans America Express card for?

The Trans America Express card replaces the Longest Path card in the original game.

Giving players a replacement larger set of cards gave the designers license to make a couple changes.  The name change you noted is one.  Also 4 Destination Tickets had their rewards lowered to be in line with the rest of the destinations.


In Scrabble, What is the big deal with playing with etched in tiles?

Apparently there is enough of a concern, because according to the latest tournament rules:

  Tiles that can be distinguished by feel are not permitted, except as deemed appropriate by the Director for players who are blind.

In addition, to keep players from swapping tiles with adjacent games:

  Adjacent games should not use identical tiles.

My finger sensitivity isn't good enough to tell tiles apart, but I'm more than certain that people with better-than-normal finger sensitivity could easilty tell tiles apart.


If you have to steal coins from a player and this player does not have enough: steal as much as you can. Here is the official reply from the designer, Bruno Faidutti:

  You get what your target has and the game ends.

In your examples:

Bishop: if the richest player has $1, that means that everyone has exactly $1, otherwise the game would had ended. You just steal $1, the game ends immediately and you win with at least $2 in hand (as everyone has $1, except the person you stole from).
Inquisitor: similarly, if someone has $3 or less, you steal as much as you can and the game ends.

Some more insight on the timings.

Paying coins to the tribunal for falsely calling a bluff takes place after the called character applies their ability. From the rulebook, p. 6-7:

  The players is indeed the announced character, that player immediately
  uses the character’s power (which can happen outside of their turn).
  Then, all the other players who had falsely claimed to be the
  announced  character pay a fine of one gold coin to the courthouse.

Therefore, if you tie with the richest players, call the Bishop's or the Witch's bluff and are caught lying, you shall pay your $1 to the tribunal AFTER the Bishop/Witch apply their powers. This is discussed in detail here.

Nevertheless, if, in this way, you steal the last coin of a player, therefore triggering the end of the game, false challenges must be paid afterwards to the tribunal, in order to determine the winner, as clarified by Bruno Faidutti:

  In this case, it sounds fair to state the false claimants pay, and the
  tied player who doesn't have to pay wins.


I was poking around the other day looking for the same answer. Plaincards.com sells software to design your own cards and blank cards to print your designs on. Seems pretty cool, but it looks like you're limited to standard playing card sizes (i.e. no tiny Arkham cards). Their complete product line appears here. I'm not sure what size cards Bohnanza uses.

I'm in the midst of designing my own game but I need different sized cards (1.5" by 2.5") so their apparent lack of that size is kind of a deal breaker.

DeLano Service is another site that could get cards made. Sounds to be a bit more fancy that what you're looking for, perhaps more like a prototype company that an supplier of blank cards, but perhaps they'd sell blank cards if asked.

(Note: I have no affiliation with either site.)


In Lords of Waterdeep on iOS, why does placing a corruption token on The Palace of Waterdeep indicate you won't get to take the Ambassador?

I posted the question to Playdek support. They said it is a bug in the UI. The message is intended for when an agent is assigned to The Place after someone else has already taken the Ambassador, but before they've had a chance to use it. In that case, the player assigning the new agent does not get to take the Ambassador (see page 22). It is incorrectly being displayed when placing a corruption token (probably any cube) on The Palace. They said selecting "yes" would have worked correctly, i.e. it would not have canceled the earlier play (I had already made an alternate move, so I couldn't confirm), and that it should be fixed in a future release.


Can abilities with no "tap/untap" cost be activated while a creature has summoning sickness?

Correct. Activated abilities may be used whenever you have priority as long as you can pay the cost and aren't forbidden to. The tap/untap symbol as part of the cost can prevent you (from summoning sickness). Having to use an ability restricted to sorcery speed can prevent you. Other than that (less any other restrictions), it's fair game.


What happens if I go past Phase 10 in Phase 10 Twist?

The rules cover this, under the "If you land on the PHASE 10 Space..." section:

  You may skip over the 10th Phase space by earning a 2 or 3-space move from one of the two preceding spaces.

So you indeed win if you go out while on Phase 9.


Rules or constraints for assembling the cards in your Pokemon deck

Basic stuff like your questions are handled by rulebook.

  (...) assemble your own deck (stack of Pokemon cards) prior to coming to the game/match/fight/battle. So by the time you get to the battle, you already know what cards are in your deck, and you've intentionally selected for them to be there.

Yes, that's right. (rulebook page 22)

From time to time, there are also special tournaments where you build a deck from cards you get from organizers just before the tournament starts (and no other cards) so you don't need a preconstructed deck.

  Is there a max deck size (max # cards) a player can bring to a battle?

Unless stated otherwise, Pokémon TCG deck has always 60 cards. (rulebook page 22)

  Is there a max # or % of Pokemon/Trainer/Energy cards you can have in your deck?

At least one Basic Pokémon is required. Cards are limited by their name - you can't have more than 4 cards with the same name in your deck (except Basic Energies). No other limit exists. (rulebook page 22)

On all official tournaments, there are additional restrictions on cards that can be used.

  Do you have to shuffle your deck prior to play?

Definitely yes, Pokémon TCG is based on randomness, random drawing is one of the core concepts. (rulebook page 8)

  What happens when you run out of cards in your deck during play?

During your turn, nothing. But drawing at the beginning of your turn is mandatory, so if you can't do that, your opponent wins. (rulebook page 8 or 10)


Can I kill and revive the same creature with Betrayal of Flesh entwined?

No. All targets are picked as part of casting the spell. The spell resolves and places the creature in the graveyard far later.


What happens with mortgaged properties during bankruptcy?

The player is bankrupt and out of the game and you get the mortgaged property with some conditions. You will have to pay the bank 10% of the mortgaged value when you get it and before you unmortgage it if it is not on the same turn.

Rules

  If you have mortgaged property you also turn
  this property over to your creditor but the new owner must at once
  pay the Bank the amount of interest on the loan, which is 10% of the
  value of the property. The new owner who does this may then, at
  his/her option, pay the principal or hold the property until some later
  turn, then lift the mortgage. If he/she holds property in this way until
  a later turn, he/she must pay the interest again upon lifting the
  mortgage.


Is it still possible to assign combat damage, and return the creature back to its owner's hand?

Yes, this is exactly one of the tricks which is no longer possible after the Magic 2010 rules changes (scroll down to 5) Combat Damage No Longer Uses the Stack). It's even mentioned explicitly:

  How can you Unsummon your creature and have it still deal damage?

This didn't really make sense from a flavor perspective, and therefore they've fixed it:

  The Fix: As soon as damage is assigned in the combat damage step, it is dealt. There is no time to cast spells and activate abilities in between; the last time to do so prior to damage being dealt is during the declare blockers step.

So you either have to Unsummon your creature before damage is assigned (but then the other creature survives as well) or both of them will die.


In Star Wars: Imperial Assault, what information should be revealed to the Rebel players in the campaign?

Things the Rebels can know
The mission briefing

The Imperial player reads the “Mission Briefing” section of the mission’s rules aloud to all players.
— Rules Reference: Mission Setup

The full effect of any triggered events (both story text and effects)

Each event can contain any combination of story text and additional rules that apply to the mission. When an event is triggered, all of the text and rule information within that section is read aloud and resolved, in order.
— Campaign Guide: Mission Events

Note that mission effects are either instant (marked with a ▶) or ongoing (marked with a ◆). The non-italicized text after the mission briefing is almost always an event of this sort, so should be read out loud.
Rules referencing the mission ending or progressing (which are followed by the Rebel Alliance symbol)

Certain rules reference the mission ending or progressing, followed by the [Rebel Alliance] symbol. This indicates that the preceding text is an objective that the heroes are attempting to fulfill, which should be emphasized to the Rebel players by the Imperial player.
— Campaign Guide: Mission Events

Any previously stated rules

[Rebel players] are always allowed to ask the Imperial player to repeat any current or previous rules.
— Campaign Guide: Hidden Information

Things Rebel players aren't supposed to know
Event summary

This section is used for the Imperial player's reference only and contains abreviated versions of event triggers.
— Campaign Guide: Event Summary

Effects not chosen when the Imperial player gets to pick an effect

In some cases, an event will require the Imperial player to choose one of a number of effects, which can be instant or ongoing. When he chooses one, he reads the effect aloud and resolves it, but he does not read or resolve any of the unchosen effects.
— Campaign Guide: Mission Events

Anything in the Campaign Guide not read to them by the Imperial player

Rebel players are not allowed to read any of the information found within this Campaign Guide, but they are always allowed to ask the Imperial player to repeat any current or previous rules.
— Campaign Guide: Hidden Information

In other words, the Rebel players are allowed to listen to what the Imperial player reads from the Campaign Guide, but cannot read the Campaign Guide for themselves (since that would allow them to read something they weren't supposed to know). Note that this clearly says that they can ask the Imperial player about rules that have previously been revealed, so the Imperial player must have been allowed to tell them something.
This seems to have been the rule you were rather hung up on. I agree it's probably bad wording, so I'd like to suggest this rewrite that goes with what I think is the spirit of the rules:
Rebel players are not allowed to directly read any of the information found within this Campaign Guide, but the Imperial player must read aloud any information that they are instructed to reveal from it. Rebel players are always allowed to ask the Imperial player to repeat any current or previous rules.

Your particular situation

If I recall correctly, during the first campaign mission (after the tutorial mission), the mission ends after round 6 if the Rebels haven't yet achieved their goal. The Rebel players were understandably miffed when the mission ended unexpectedly.

Unfortunately, this was something the players should have known. As shown above, the rules says that the Imperial player should read aloud:

The mission briefing
All triggered effects
Rules that include the Rebel Alliance symbol, marking the mission progressing or ending in the Rebels' favor

All three of these are present in Aftermath, the first mission:

Mission Briefing
[...]
◆ The mission ends when all terminals are destroyed [Rebel Alliance symbol], at the end of Round 6, or when all heroes are wounded.

So the Rebels should have been informed of this point because it was in the Mission Briefing, was an effect, and had the symbol indicating that it was for mission progress and should be emphasized to the Rebels (in this case, that the terminals needed to be destroyed). And of course, the players are allowed to ask you to repeat it whenever they want to.

I know, for example, that if an Imperial deployment can be triggered by a Rebel action, such as the opening of a door, the Rebels should not be aware of this.

You are correct that in Aftermath the Rebels should not be made aware of this ahead of time because it was not part of the Mission Briefing or any other previously revealed event. But once the trigger for the event happens (in this case, the door being opened), the entire event text must be read aloud to the Rebels.