Jaya, Venerated Firemage + Chandra's Pyrohelix = 4 damage among two targets?

It would be four damage; this is indicated in the rulings below the card on Gatherer:

  If damage dealt by a source you control is being divided or assigned among multiple permanents an opponent controls or among an opponent and one or more permanents they control simultaneously, divide the original amount before adding 1. For example, if you attack with a 5/5 red creature with trample and your opponent blocks with a 2/2 creature, you can assign 2 damage to the blocker and 3 damage to the defending player. These amounts are then modified to 3 and 4, respectively.


What land destruction enabler was wrongfully banned in the early history of Magic: the Gathering?

Dingus Egg was banned once upon a time, and it does 2 damage to the land's controller when a land is put into the graveyard from play. A few of these do a lot of damage per land, I've seen it in a few land destruction decks over the years. It's not currently banned in any formats it would otherwise be legal in.


Can I choose the value for X for spells cast with Bolas's Citadel?

No, you cannot choose any value for X other than 0 when casting cards using Bolas's Citadel.

The phrase "rather than pay its mana cost" or "rather than pay [card name]'s mana cost" is a standard phrase in Magic indicating that the cost specified is an alternative cost. This is stated explicitly in rule 117.9:

  Some spells have alternative costs. An alternative cost is a cost listed in a spell's text, or applied to it from another effect, that its controller may pay rather than paying the spell's mana cost. Alternative costs are usually phrased, "You may [action] rather than pay [this object's] mana cost," or "You may cast [this object] without paying its mana cost." Note that some alternative costs are listed in keywords; see rule 702.

So if you cast spells using Bolas's Citadel's second ability, you are required to pay an alternative cost of life equal to the spell's converted mana cost. Then rule 107.3b applies:

  If a player is casting a spell that has an {X} in its mana cost, the value of X isn't defined by the text of that spell, and an effect lets that player cast that spell while paying neither its mana cost nor an alternative cost that includes X, then the only legal choice for X is 0. This doesn't apply to effects that only reduce a cost, even if they reduce it to zero. See rule 601, "Casting Spells."

So, you are required to choose 0 for X when casting spells with X in the mana cost.

This is confirmed by an official ruling on Bolas's Citadel's Gatherer page:

  If a spell has {X} in its mana cost, you must choose 0 as the value of X when casting it without paying its mana cost.


Do I "control" creatures in my graveyard?

Rule 109.2 says

  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.

In its targetting clause, Cloudshift says "creature" without any of the specified words, so it's referring to a creature permanent on the battlefield.

In general, you don't control anything in the graveyard. Rule 109.4 says

  Only objects on the stack or on the battlefield have a controller. Objects that are neither on the stack nor on the battlefield aren't controlled by any player.

Effects that deal with cards in the graveyard would refer to their owner.


Chess (and variations) Endgame Complexity

There are a very large, but only finite number of possible chess games. This is a consequence of the 50 move rule, which limits the maximum theoretical number of moves to about 5000 (although in real life, chess games over 100 moves are extremely rare). To see this, we know that 50 moves without a pawn move is a draw. There are 16 pawns, and each pawn can move 6 times.

So we have 50 * (16 * 6 + 1) + 1 = 4851 moves.

This means that the complexity of chess is actually O(1), because in theory with a big enough lookup table, you could find the answer to any chess position immediately. This gives rise to the amusing idea, first described by Shannon, of a game between two perfect players:

  A game between two such mental giants, Mr. A and Mr. B, would proceed
  as follows. They sit down at the chessboard, draw the colours, and
  then survey the pieces for a moment. Then either: -

  (1)Mr. A says, "I resign" or

  (2)Mr. B says, "I resign" or

  (3)Mr. A says, "I offer a draw," and Mr. B replies, "I accept."

Of course, the size of that lookup table is completely impractical (larger than the number of atoms in the observable universe), but your question asked about computational complexity, not practicality!

It thus follows that all chess endgames are also O(1). Chess positions with up to 6 pieces have been perfectly solved, and lookup tables constructed in this way. However the size grows rapidly; the implemented 6-piece database is around 7GB, and the 7-piece database is estimated at 1.2TB.

If the constraints on threefold repetition are ignored, then chess becomes PSPACE-hard. If you're also willing to throw away the 50 move rule, then chess becomes EXPTIME-hard.


The above rules are good, but there are a couple of things you can do to improve your odds.

With a total of hard 16, against a dealer's T, it is very close whether you should stand or hit. You should hit if the count is at all negative, because you will make a winning hand often enough to compensate for the times that both you and dealer would have busted.

With a hard 13 against a dealer upcard of 2, you should hit if the running count is -1 or lower. Dealer is a favorite to improve, and with a low running count, you need to "keep up."


Playing Pathfinder ACG with all adventure deck cards in early scenarios

There is no official rule or FAQ per se. On page 19 of the rule book it gives some guidance on what to do after you have completed all the adventures.

I have read on other forums that some do go ahead, adding cards from other adventure decks, but that this will make the game more difficult.


Is the Arena default deck "Line of Fire" bad or is it just me?

The default decks are all bad. Just look at the cards it runs - it has underpowered spells like Infuriate, underpowered creatures like Slaughter-Priest of Mogis, and doesn't max out on the actual power cards like Kroxa.
Of course, the point of the default decks is to give new players a taste of Magic's gameplay. From that point of view, the fact that good decks will destroy this one isn't actually a bad thing, and chances are it was constructed to provide an enjoyable game against other default decks. It is entirely possible this deck is bad relative to other default decks - I have not played or followed Standard for several months so I do not know - but that would just be a sign that you should upgrade this one by replacing the bad cards with good ones (hint hint).
What this means is ...

If you are looking to play a fair game (i.e. both players have similarly-powered decks), try the draft formats. Caveat: last I saw these formats are expensive to enter, and quite skill-intensive. As a new player you could very well lose gold quickly.
Alternatively, you can spend money on cards and build an actual competitive deck. Again I am not familiar with the Arena meta anymore, but there is a legitimate sacrifice deck in Historic, and in the past, BR sacrifice was also a real thing in Standard (I suspect it fell out of the meta after recent sets however).
Finally, if you want to get an overall view of what's good in the metagame, the default decks are not the place to start. Try instead a website like MTG Top 8 which indexes the winner's metagame.

Warning: there is apparently some wrinkle in MTG Arena's matchmaking algorithm such that "good decks" are queued into other good decks. It is why back when I played, if I queued up with monored, I was odds-on to play against other monored decks. It means that you are in for a shock if you upgrade your deck thinking you will get easy wins against bad decks. I don't know how Wizards define "good deck", however, and Wizards certainly has good reason not to reveal it or people will game the definition.


Necromunda: what happens to plague zombies when they go down?

Downed zombies act the same as any other downed ganger: their movement is a 2" crawl (the plague zombie's owner chooses the direction), and they make the same end-of-round injury check as any normal ganger. The only exception is that if a plague zombie rolls a "1", it doesn't take the flesh wound as it stands up. This makes plague zombies about as tough as any other ganger: with the exception of close combat, it takes an injury roll of "6" to take them out.

If a downed zombie "charges" into combat, it simply gets taken out automatically, just like any other ganger that crawls into combat (unless there are multiple combatants, of course).

As a side note: in the fluff, plague zombies are still alive – just brain-damaged by the plague. So it makes sense that all of the rules of living gangers apply to plague zombies, with the exception of the rules that apply to pain or psychology.


Can you gain a Silver with Trader if the original supply pile was empty?

"When...would" text is only applied when the event specified actually would occur; if it is impossible for any reason, then the conditional is ignored.  The following is the relevant section in the FAQ:

  19.2 "When would"

  An ability that happens when an event would occur (such as when you would gain a card), happens before the event actually occurs (before you gain the card). Note however that this ability can only happen if the event would have otherwise occurred, i.e. if the event would have occurred if no when-would abilities had interfered (so you cannot for instance trigger a when-would-gain ability when "trying" to gain a card that's not available in Supply)

Donald X explicitly refers to this exact situation in this post on BoardGameGeek:

  Trader only works if you really would gain a card. If you try to gain a card from an empty pile, you can't use Trader then. I see how this is a question and sadly it is not covered in the FAQ.


You are mistaken about the lack of another option: He has the option of not paying the cost, since it's an optional cost ("unless you")[1].

If he doesn't pay the cost, the goblin isn't able to attack, so it doesn't attack[CR 101.2].

You are never forced to meet any requirements. If you don't have enough mana to cast a spell, you don't have to play that land that would allow you to cast it. If Norn's Annex prevents your Goblin Brigand from attacking, so be it. This is supported by a ruling

  If you control Norn's Annex, your opponents can choose not to attack with a creature with an ability that says it must attack.

He might also have the option to sacrifice the Brigands, to destroy the Annex, etc.


In Keyforge, what happens to the Æmber on a creature that is archived?

All the Æmber currently on that creature will go to the opponent's pool.

From Keyforge's Rules

The glossary for Leaves Play reads (ellipses and emphasis mine):

  If a card that is in play leaves play (is returned to hand or deck, destroyed, discarded, archived, or purged), all non-Æmber tokens and status cards on the card are removed, [...].

  If a creature with Æmber on it leaves play, the Æmber is placed in the opponent’s Æmber pool. If a non-creature card with Æmber on it leaves play, the Æmber is returned to the general token pool.

Therefore, all the Æmber on a creature will be placed in your opponent's Æmber pool when it leaves play, not only when it's captured.


Yes, "use the location" is short for "use the ability at the location".
See this usage from the designer's posts here and here.
The designer refers to this variously as (emphasis added):

using the ability at the location is optional.

location ability may be used

You can use the forest but decide not to defeat anything

So when you activate it ...


Getting Joker from the existing groups in Rummikub

The Joker has poorly written rules, and the version of the rules you are playing by matters.

First of all, sets of 4 tiles are never required to remain as 4 tiles, the minimum of 3 tiles is the only requirement. So a fourth tile can always be removed from a set without needing to be replaced.

By the latest version of rules, if you have (4-4-4-Joker) as a set, the Joker is already clear and ready to be used elsewhere without needing to be replaced. Here's why:

OLD RULES:
The 2009 version of rules says (emphasis added):

  A joker can be retrieved from a set on the table by a player who can replace it during his turn with a tile of the same numerical value and color it represents. The tile used to replace the Joker must come from a player's rack and not from the table.

This version is very restrictive, and even though it says can and not must, it does not provide any alternative examples of how to clear the Joker. So if you want to play in a way where the Joker MUST be replaced no matter what, then these are the rules you want to follow.

But the game has been improved since then, so I suggest following the new rules. It makes for much more interesting manipulation of the table, where the fun of the game lies.

NEW RULES:
The 2017 version of rules says this about Jokers:

  A joker can be retrieved from a set by replacing it with a tile of the same numerical value and colour it represents. The tile used to replace the joker can come from the player's rack or from the table.

Notice the small update there so that Jokers may be cleared now either from the rack or from another tile on the table. The rest is still worded the same but it does say can instead of must.

HOWEVER, this version of rules includes a section, 4 ways to clear the joker are:

1 Joker is replaced.
2 Joker is not replaced
3 Joker is not replaced
4 Joker is not replaced

There is nothing in the rules that differentiate between Jokers in groups and runs, so the fact that example 1 shows replacing in a group should not be taken to mean that Jokers in groups must be replaced but Jokers in runs do not need replacing. If Jokers in runs do not always need replacing, then Jokers in groups do not always need replacing.

Also, rummikub.com/rules/ has a video tutorial for the basic game. Watch the section on Jokers here:

  @2:30 "You can clear the Joker with tiles from your rack, or by manipulating the table."
  @2:45 "Cleared Jokers on the table are waiting to be used again, as long as 3 tiles remain in every set"

While explaining, the video shows the same example (#2) in the image above. There is no mention of needing to replace the Joker. That line has been updated to simply say "as long as 3 tiles remain in every set" as the only requirement. Sometimes you have to replace to achieve that, but not always.

Another source is the Official Rummikub App, where the Joker can be cleared from a group of 4 tiles without needing to be replaced. Below the game on that webpage, another version of rules are written. About Jokers it says:

  Sets containing jokers may be split and manipulated like regular sets.

And under Manipulation Examples of regular sets it has:

  Removing a fourth tile from a set and using it for a new set

So if the Joker (or any tile) is a fourth tile of a set, then it can be removed without needing to be replaced.


What scale are Warhammer Fantasy models?

Gaming miniatures are usually described as Xmm rather than 'X/Y(th)' as is used in scale modelling.  The distance is from the base to the eyes on a normal human.

Current new models coming out for Wahammer Fantasy are 32mm Heroic scale.  GW has been pushing up the scale of the game in recent years, ostensibly so that more detail can be fit onto plastic models.  Older models, many of which are still the current sculpt that's for sale, are 28mm heroic.

'Heroic' just means that certain features, like heads and weapons, are not to scale with the body.  This makes them look better and easier to recognize when viewed from comparatively far away on a gaming table.  It does however make it hard to use parts from true-scale models, since a model that is the same height will look like it has a tiny head and twig for a weapon next to gaming models.  If you do a straight conversion based on the model's height you will come out with approx. 1/56th for a comparable true scale model, but in reality that will look very silly and most people use more like 1/35th when incorporating true scale parts into a gaming army.


That's a great question. I never noticed that the setup rules only list the top three in the line of succession. We have always played as if the full line of succession were in play there. So in your example, the admiral would be Apollo. Not having an admiral (or president for that matter) would cause some significant game play issues. I have to assume the intention was to always use the full line of succession. So I would say, yes, someone always has to be admiral.

In the base game, the only way this can happen is in a three player game where someone chooses a support character, i.e. Tyrol. I think this was an oversight in the rules. Without Tyrol, it would be impossible for this to happen, because someone would have to choose one of the three military leader characters.

If you follow the rules-as-written, to the letter, it could be even stranger in a game including the Pegasus expansion. Cain is first in line of succession, but I don't believe anything in the rule book technically modifies the rule you mention on page 5 of the base rule book. So if Cain and Helo were both selected, a literal interpretation of the rules would give the admiral title to Helo. Clearly that isn't the intent. I think the obvious answer is to always refer to the line of success lists.


How to combine Risk, Catan, and Monopoly?

10 PLAY Catan
20 IF RND<0.5 GOTO 10
30 PLAY Risk
40 GOTO 10
50 PLAY Monopoly

Despite first appearances, this algorithm is not faulty.


The Comprehensive Rules cover Commander rules (903) in about a page. It only lists one additional rule for winning/losing the game.
Yes, 10 poison counters kills you in Commander.
No, poison damage doesn't count double, Commanders that deal poison damage, deal damage as any other poison creature would deal damage.

903.13. The Commander variant includes the following specification for winning and losing the game. All other rules for winning and losing the game also apply. (See rule 104.)
903.13a A player that’s been dealt 21 or more combat damage by the same commander over the
course of the game loses the game. (This is a state-based action. See rule 704.)


Do you need military power when using the Rebel Sneak Attack to settle an additional military world?

You still need to have sufficient military power to place the world. Nothing about the placement text implies that ordinary requirements are suspended. Indeed, the game designer says (emphasis mine):

  Yes. And, just like IL doing a normal Settle after a declared
  takeover, the player doing this declares this additional settlement
  during their powers and payment step, discards RSA, pumps Military if
  needed, etc., and then delays the resolution of this additional
  settlement until the pending takeover is resolved. If the declared
  takeover fails, then the RSA additional placement is lost, RSA is
  still used up, etc., with the world itself then being returned to its
  owner's hand.

  Exactly the same restrictions as IL after a takeover apply to an RSA
  additional settlement after a takeover, along with the additional
  restrictions noted on the RSA power.

Regarding your Improved Logistics comment: Improved Logistics is a bit of an aberration - it's really, really good. But this card allows takeovers, which is a two card swing (from them to you), which you seem to be discounting. Also, consider that Rebel Sneak Attack would be extremely powerful if it allowed placement of any military world for free (think high value Rebel Homeworld, etc.).


40 life.

Hammerfist Giant is dealing 40 total damage, so you gain 40 total life.


Can I strike the opponent's pieces directly without penalty?

This is fine.

Based on these rules; it doesn't matter which pieces the Striker does or doesn't touch. Rewards/penalties only care about what's pocketed (or overboard).


These cards are starting equipment.  At the beginning of the game draw those cards and place them in front of yourself.  They are no different than cards that you squire through out play.

These abilities grant no ongoing benefit once the game starts


I'm looking for a card game with a deck of noun cards and a deck of occupation cards

In this instance it's Snake Oil. You combine two nouns from your hand to sell to the active player to help them in their occupation

Fun-Employed is similar in that the active player has a job posting to fill and players have a 4-hand 'resume' and can swap cards from their hand with a set of 10 cards on the table to best tailor their hand to the role.


Bioroid 2.0 Ice: can runner spend 2 clicks more than once?

The runner can use this option multiple times, provided he/she has enough clicks to spend, same as with 1.0 model bioroids. Main difference from 1.0 is that runner cannot spend just one click to break exactly one sub with 2.0 bioroids.


Why doesn't Rishkar, Peema Renegade have Support 2?

Rishkar can put a counter on himself. You can't do that with support.

If that were not the case, there's another reason: most keyword mechanics only last for the single block in which they are introduced. For example, support was introduced in Oath of the Gatewatch. Once that block was printed, that's it for support. Future cards which have functionally identical mechanics will have the text of the mechanic written out, rather than using a keyword. An example is Gearseeker Serpent, which functionally has affinity for artifacts, but does not use the keyword.

The exceptions are evergreen mechanics, which can be used in any set. These are things like flying, deathtouch, and scry. Support is not evergreen, though.

I'm not sure exactly what reason Wizards uses to justify limiting keyword mechanics in this way, but I can think of one good possibility: when they use a keyword in a set, they want to make it common enough that people playing with those cards will internalize the keyword. That's the whole point of a keyword, after all; you see it often enough that you come to learn what it means and then you don't have to read the reminder text or the relevant rules. But putting a keyword on only one card doesn't save any mental effort compared to writing out the text of the mechanic, and it may even be more confusion than it's worth to newer players who would then have one more unfamiliar word to deal with on the card.


As you can see from page 6 of the rules:

  Pushing Other Robots

  When robots collide, one will push the other. Robots can be pushed
  anywhere on the board (or off the side!), even into a pit or onto a
  conveyor belt. A robot can’t be pushed through a wall, though, so the
  movement of a pushing robot will simply stop if the pushed robot runs
  into a wall. Robots can run into walls all day long without taking any
  damage from it, so they don’t accumulate Damage tokens this way.

You always push robots, unless a wall prevents them from moving. So there is no mention of direction. As long as they collide they are moved.

This also works recursively. If robot A pushes robot B and robot B collides with robot C, then robot C is moved too (as long as there is no wall preventing movement of either robot.


Can a unit join another unit if they are the same type of unit?

No, units can never join together.

Forming Units, pg 5

  Once formed into a unit, the models move and fight as a single entity
  for the rest of the battle.

Moving your units, pg 13

  Individual models are not permitted to leave their units and so a unit effectively remains a single entity.

1" Apart, pg 13

  Whilst moving a unit is not allowed to appraoch closer than 1" to another unit, friend or foe

The only exception to this are Characters, who may join and leave units (pg 96-101). The rules for characters joining and leaving units are detailed and explicit, there are no such rules for normal units.


Sure, visit the Tool Hut.  Tools are explicitly there to negate the luck factor.

Another option is to get more people.  There will still be luck in the rolls, but if you put two people on a space instead of one, you'll produce more each time.


Is a 'Can't be countered' ability the same as 'protection From' or 'Can't be targeted?'

"Can't be countered" spells are still legal targets for counter-spells.  They just won't actually get countered

and this was already answered earlier today with the gatherer Rulings from Render Silent

  4/15/2013     A spell that “can’t be countered” is a legal target
  for Render Silent. The spell won’t be countered when Render Silent
  resolves, but that spell’s controller won’t be able to cast spells for
  the rest of the turn.

and here's another ruling which will help illustrate the difference between illegal targets of a spell and can't be countered

  4/15/2013     If the spell is an illegal target when Render Silent tries
  to resolve (because it’s been countered by another spell, for
  example), Render Silent will be countered and none of its effects will
  happen.


Do Gather The Townsfolk's (or cards like it) tokens go on the stack separately?

Tokens don't go on the stack, only spells and abilities. Gather the Townsfolk creates both tokens simultaneously.

You cast Gather the Townsfolk.
Gather the Townsfolk resolves:

Put two 1/1 white Human creature tokens onto the battlefield. Cathars' Crusade's triggers twice.

Cathars' Crusade's ability is placed on the stack twice.
The second instance of Cathars' Crusade's ability resolves:

Put a +1/+1 counter on each creature you control.

The first instance of Cathars' Crusade's ability resolves:

Put a +1/+1 counter on each creature you control.

Both tokens (and any other creatures you might have had) got two +1/+1 counters.

As for your second question, someone casting a split second spell would not change anything.

A split second spell between steps 1 and 2 would resolve before step 2, then you continue with step 2. Same goes for one cast between steps 3 and 4, or between steps 4 and 5.

Split second merely stop you from casting a spell or activating an ability in response to the split second spell.


What happens if an alliance is created that would create an illegal battle?

Apparently there are not yet any errata to clarify this issue, but a couple of house rule options leap to mind:

Your house rule seems like a good one. Since it must follow a Sol Offensive, re-moving the Sol units (i.e. changing the move that had just been made) seems to result in the fewest extra changes to the game
You could disallow alliances between players that occupy the same space. This might be a little harsh, but it's by far the easiest to enforce, and since the Sol player was attacking anyway, they won't be too often worried about being refused this option!
The suggestion I'd be tempted to make if it came up in a game I was playing (which it hasn't) is that the alliance is allowed, on the requirement that the pieces don't still occupy the same space during the battle phase (i.e. one of the players must move during their movement). You could require that agreeing this is a requirement of forming an alliance. If neither player moves, then the alliance is void because offensive troops were not removed from an ally's area (which works thematically too). Since players only get one move, forming this alliance would cost one of them a fair part of their turn, which might be too high a cost to form the alliance, but as long as the parties are aware of this I don't think this is a problem.


Does the Candle item work with It Is Meant To Be?

No, you cannot.

Candle says:

  If you draw an event card, roll 1 additional die (maximum of 8 dice) for that event's trait rolls.

(Emphasis mine)

It Is Meant To Be says:

  You can choose instead to roll 4 dice and write down the result. [...]

The dice rolling for It Is Meant To Be is not a "trait roll".

A trait roll is one where you are rolling a number of dice equal to one of your traits (Speed, Might, Sanity, or Knowledge). "Roll 4 dice" is not making a trait roll.

From the rules:

  Sometimes a card or room
  tile tells you to attempt
  a roll based on one of
  your explorer’s traits
  (Speed, Might, Sanity, or
  Knowledge). When that
  happens, roll as many dice
  as your explorer currently
  has in that trait. For
  example, if your explorer
  must attempt a Sanity roll,
  and she currently has a
  Sanity of 4, roll 4 dice and
  add the dots together to
  get the result. Whether you
  succeed or fail, the card or
  tile will tell you the results
  of your attempt.

This rule does not specifically define "trait roll", but it strongly implies that "trait roll" is either "sanity roll", "might roll", "speed roll", or "knowledge roll"; because it defines a "trait" as one of those 4 things.


How is 6-player Castle Panic (with wizard tower) supposed to work?

The point of reducing the number of cards is to keep the players from having too many resources at their disposal. If you have 5 players with 5 cards each, that's 25 cards for the players to work with. If you have 6 players with 4 cards each, that's 24. It's about the same number of resources in total.

Being able to trade twice is a huge advantage in resource management; I suspect the lower number of cards is actually to counteract the strength of being able to trade two cards instead of one. The extra trading allows the players to more precisely control who has access to which resources at a given time.

If the players had that amount of control and the extra 5 cards, the game would be too easy. The game is designed to be a challenge.


MtG: making makeshift cards for home play

A sensible method is to get hold of some commons - I know "your budgets are limited", but if there's a game store that does drafting near you, quite often people just leave their commons lying around on the tables for anyone who wants them, they're that desperate to get rid of them; and even if not, there are other ways to buy them in bulk for cheap - put stickers over the text box, and use cards with like casting costs as proxies.  So if you want to represent e.g. a Primeval Titan (casting cost 4GG) you would use a Craw Wurm or Yavimaya Wurm instead.

Otherwise it seems like you'll end up doing WAY too much cross-referencing - what was a #73 again?  The casting cost should be a useful cue for remembering which card you have in your hand, and you can write any extra information you need on the sticker of course...


Can I pay kicker on a creature put into play with Kaalia's ability?

Kicker is an additional cost that can be paid as you're casting a spell, which you an see from the reminder text on Desolation Angel:

  Kicker {W}{W} (You may pay an additional {W}{W} as you cast this spell.)

You can only pay it when you're casting Desolation Angel. If it's being put directly onto the battlefield, like with Kaalia's ability, it's not being cast, so you can't pay the kicker cost, and it'll destroy only your lands.


The whole point of Copycat is to allow you to use another minion's ability. Making it impossible to copy most minion's ability makes makes no sense to me, and it makes no sense to the others with whom I've played either.

Keep in mind that you're already limited to abilities of other player's minions in play (something you have no control over), and that ongoing abilities and talents only work for your turn. This offsets the ability to have some flexibility in the effect of the minions ability.

We have it come into play with the abilities of the minion it copies. Playing a Copycat masquerading as an Enchantress ("Draw a card.") would have you draw a card, because it is an Enchantress as far as any can tell (except in name and power).

It's not really an "again" type of situation. You get to use the Enchantress's ability once. Just like the Enchantress did.


Trash an Estate or Curse your opponents? Full Version

What makes an early-game trasher powerful, especially against an opponent giving out curses, is determined mainly by two things: how many cards it can trash at once, and the benefit it gives.

Curse:

Develop
Island
Mine
Moneylender
Trade Route

Island fails to negate the VP loss when trashing a curse and gives no benefit when played. Trade Route likewise gives no benefit when played at this point other than the +Buy. Mine and Moneylender can't trash curses at all, so Witch away! And, well, we don't talk about Develop...

Trash:

Ambassador
Bishop
Chapel
Masquerade
Remake
Steward
Trading Post

Ambassador, Chapel, Remake, Steward, and Trading Post all trash multiple cards per play. Bishop gives similar trashing power in a multiplayer game. Your Witch is unlikely to be able to keep up cursing fast enough to hurt your opponents.

Depends:

Hermit
Jack of All Trades
Remodel
Salvager
Transmute
Trader

Hermit and Jack can't trash treasures, and the rest give little or no benefit when trashing a Copper. Now, of course your question specified that you have an Estate in hand. To me, playing any of these would be contingent on having that Estate.
For Remodel in particular, the relevant things to consider are:

Is there a 3 or 4 cost card that I really want?
Is there a decent 2 cost card my opponents can turn that curse into?


The official announcement of any rules changes is made in an article on Wizards' Magic site. This article is generally posted the week of a set's pre-release event (Khans of Tarkit Update Bulletin), or in the case of products that do not have pre-releases like the Commander 2014 decks the set's release date. Occasionally they are a little late for example the Commander 2014 Release Notes were not posted until the week after the decks released.

Wizards also usually release an article when previews start detailing all of the mechanics that will be in the set, for example Mechanics of Khans of Tarkir. The difference between these articles is that the Mechanics of ______ articles do not have any actual rules text, they just describe how the mechanics work, and they only contain information on one set.

The Update Bulletin on the other hand has the actual text for the mechanics that will be in the Comprehensive Rules, it also contains any other updates and changes they are making to other rules (for example they recently changed Convoke and Delve in the Magic 2014 Update Bulletin even though Delve wasn't in the set at all). It also contains any changes to the Oracle text of cards.

For your Judge Cast video Wizards actually posted an article about a month prior to the video listing some of the changes they were planning on making. This doesn't happen very often, but they do it occasionally for bigger changes that might change how people play the game. So for that change there was a big change to how the Legend Rule and Planeswalker Uniqueness Rules worked and releasing the news early allowed people to prepare for the changes, so for example if you played Commander and your decks way of dealing with opposing commanders was to clone them that would no longer work so you would have to redo a large portion of your deck and telling everyone there would be changes coming would allow you to get your deck ready for when they did.

So while they occasionally post additional articles on their site, the primary source for any rules information is usually either the Mechanics of ______ and the ______ Update Bulletin articles.

Anything outside of an official Wizards source is a secondary source probably getting their information from either of these two sources, or statements by Wizards employees on social media. On rare occasions there might be leaks of upcoming rules that other sites report on before it is officially posted on Magic's site I would not consider them to be a primary source, since they are still getting their information from Wizards it just isn't published yet.


Use case for Plough Driver, Groom, & Manservant in Agricola

I think you are being a bit harsh on these cards. Let's say you renovate to stone in round 11 - definitely doable. Ignoring any combos, for the cost of one action and 1 or 2 food, you could get:

Plow driver -> 3 fields for 3 food. That is likely to get you at least 6 net points (with extra if you sow at some point). It's also similar payback to one of the plow minor improvements, with the bonus that the action space required (occupation) is one that is much less contested at that stage of the game than the plow field spots.
Groom -> 3 stables for 3 wood. Similar to using the rooms/stables action to build stables (a reasonably common move in the last couple of rounds, in my experience), but a little cheaper.
Manservant -> 9 food (so 7/8 net). Not stellar, but certainly better than you'd get from something like fishing.

I think any of these could form a reasonable move, depending on the state of the game and what other actions are available. They certainly don't look horrible. Then, there are a few situations that would boost them from average to good moves. As well as the two cards you mention, there are others that might help you renovate earlier, and a few that help with playing occupations such as the tutor, bookshelf and writing desk.

I wouldn't plan my whole game around using them, but would definitely give them a go under certain circumstances, and particularly if the stone spaces crop up early, making prompt renovation more practical.


Are you allowed to not block and let the damage slip through?

You are not forced to block attacking creatures.

There are certain creature abilities that force you to block, but generally, you can leave attacking creatures unblocked, and they will deal their damage to you instead of your creatures. I suggest you read the Basic rulebook:

  Your opponent chooses which of his or her creatures will
  block. Tapped creatures can’t be declared as blockers.
  For blocking, it doesn’t matter how long the creature has
  been on the battlefi eld. Each creature can block only one
  attacker, but multiple blockers can gang up on a single
  attacking creature. If that happens, the attacking player
  orders the blockers to show which is fi rst in line for
  damage, which is second, and so on. Creatures don’t have
  to block.


What happens when Patchface discards somebody's last character card?

The House card discarded by Patchface stays in the discard pile, all other cards are returned to the non-Baratheon players hand.
I don't believe that an official answer exists for this situation, as noted here in this BGG thread. I believe that a literal reading of the rules leads to a definitive answer. Important information of note from the rule book (page 19), under 3. Choose and Reveal House Cards:

"Playing a House card during combat is mandatory. Both attacker and defender must play a card." (rule book, page 19)

"At the end of a combat, if a player used his last (i.e., seventh) House card, he then returns the other six House cards currently in his discard pile to his hand. The last played card remains in the discard pile."

"Note: All House cards, whether available or used (i.e., discarded), are public knowledge. As such, a player’s discard pile or hand may be examined by others players at any time except during Step 3 of combat.

From the rules, I agree that you must pick up six House Cards, otherwise it would be impossible to satisfy the mandatory playing of a house card during the next combat (1st rule quote). The rules indicate using your seventh House card as the only rule (besides card rules text, like that of Roose Bolton) that makes you eligible to pick up the other six House cards in your discard (2nd rule quote). Luckily, the rules define two possible statuses for House cards, available or used (i.e. discarded) (emphasis mine) (3rd rule quote).
From the FAQ1.0 2nd Edition, we know that Patchface's ability applies after a player would pick up their six other cards, after playing their seventh. Since the non-Baratheon player isn't playing their last card though, the sixth card (played by the non-Baratheon player) is discarded, then Patchface discards their seventh and last card, making the non-Baratheon player pick up all their other cards including the House card played this combat. The House card discarded by Patchface stays in the discard pile.

Q: If a House card’s text ability says “after combat...,” when is that card resolved?
A: At the end of the Combat Clean Up step of Combat Resolution (after played House cards are discarded to their respective discard piles).
Q: If the Baratheon player plays his “Patchface” House card but his opponent is playing his last remaining House card, does the Baratheon player still get to discard one of his opponent’s House cards?
A: Yes, Patchface’s text ability would allow the Baratheon player to discard one of his opponent’s six House cards at the end of the Combat Clean Up step.


Mairsil, the Pretender Out of Battlefield abilities

Unless otherwise specified, static abilities like the second ability of Mairsil, the Pretender function only while the card is on the battlefield.

  604.2. Static abilities create continuous effects, some of which are prevention effects or replacement
  effects. These effects are active as long as the permanent with the ability remains on the battlefield
  and has the ability, or as long as the object with the ability remains in the appropriate zone, as
  described in rule 112.6.

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

To clear up some confusion: All abilities that aren't spell abilities, activated abilities or triggered abilities are static abilities and are subject to the rules I mentioned above. But there are some exceptions to rule 112.6 that define which abilities might be effective even outside the battlefield. Some examples are:

Characteristic-defining abilities (like "This card is all colors.")
Abilities that say that say that they function in a specific zone.
Abilities that modify the deck-building rules (like "A deck can have any number of cards named Relentless Rats.")


How does Decree of Silence interact with multiple spells cast?

If your opponent cast Giant Growth without waiting for Titan Strength to be countered, both will be countered.

Whenever your opponent casts a spell, Decree of Silence will trigger and its ability will become the topmost object on the stack. When that ability resolves, the first spell will be countered, Decree gets its third counter and will be sacrificed. Therefore, if your opponent casts Titan Strength and just waits for the stack to resolve, Decree will be gone and he will be able to play Giant Growth without it being countered.

If, however, your opponent casts another spell before that ability resolves, Decree is still on the battlefield and will trigger again, putting another instance of its ability on the stack.

Now the stack starts resolving. The second spell gets countered and a counter is put on the Decree. It will be sacrificed immediately afterwards. Now the first instance of the Decree's ability resolves. It does not put a counter on Decree because it's already in the graveyard, but it will do as much as possible, i.e. it will counter the first spell.


When does Thorncaster Sliver's ability resolve?

Ability, before blockers are even declared.

The ability triggers when the Sliver attacks, which means when it's declared as an attacker.

The ability gets placed on the stack the next time a player would get priority [CR 112.3c], which is still within the Declare Attackers step. That means the ability resolves and causes damage to be dealt in that step too.

My earlier answer covers a very similar scenario in detail.


When do static bonuses go away relative to damage dealt?

Your friend is correct. By CR 119.6, and/or 302.7, Radiant has six damage marked on it for the rest of the turn. The damage doesn't come out of the toughness, buffed or otherwise. What happens in order is:

His spell does 6 damage to your creatures
State-based actions are checked. Your other seven creatures now have 6 damage, and are destroyed for having damage greater than or equal to their toughness. Radiant is not destroyed yet, having toughness greater than damage.
Since state-based actions destroyed creatures, they are re-checked with the new gamestate. The other flyers are no longer buffing Radiant, so she is now a 3/3 creature, still with 6 damage marked on it, so Radiant is destroyed at this point.

119.6. Damage marked on a creature remains until the cleanup step, even if that permanent stops being a creature. If the total damage marked on a creature is greater than or equal to its toughness, that creature has been dealt lethal damage and is destroyed as a state-based action (see rule 704). All damage marked on a permanent is removed when it regenerates (see rule 701.11, "Regenerate") and during the cleanup step (see rule 514.2).
302.7. Damage dealt to a creature by a source with neither wither nor infect is marked on that creature (see rule 119.3). If the total damage marked on that creature is greater than or equal to its toughness, that creature has been dealt lethal damage and is destroyed as a state-based action (see rule 704). All damage marked on a creature is removed when it regenerates (see rule 701.12, "Regenerate") and during the cleanup step (see rule 514.2).


What effect does Coat of Arms have on face-down creatures?

From that same page (emphasis mine):

  Creatures turned face down by Ixidron are 2/2 creatures with no text, no name, no subtypes, no expansion symbol, and no mana cost.

"Creature type" is a shorthand for a creature-specific subtype (205.3m in the Comprehensive Rules). Face-down creatures have no creature type, so Coat of Arms does not affect them.


You add the penalty to each individual use of the outfit. So yes, if you activate a d6 shield twice and that outfit has one damage on it you would -1 from both dice rolls individually


Omnispell Adept and Alternative/Additional costs of Sorceries/Instants

Alternative, no; kicker: yes. The rulings below the card in Gatherer state so:

If you cast a spell “without paying its mana cost,” you can’t choose to cast it for any alternative costs. You can, however, pay additional costs, such as kicker costs. If the card has any mandatory additional costs, such as that of Severed Strands, those must be paid to cast the card.

Basically, Omnispell Adept's ability is already an alternative casting cost and you can't replace that. The relevant rule is 117.9:

117.9. Some spells have alternative costs. An alternative cost is a cost listed in a spell’s text, or applied to it from another effect, that its controller may pay rather than paying the spell’s mana cost. Alternative costs are usually phrased, “You may [action] rather than pay [this object’s] mana cost,” or “You may cast [this object] without paying its mana cost.” Note that some alternative costs are listed in keywords; see rule 702.
117.9a Only one alternative cost can be applied to any one spell as it’s being cast. The controller of the spell announces their intentions to pay that cost as described in rule 601.2b.


Is the extra attack from frenzy on the profile of the Vargheist?

The Vargheist is supposed to have 4 attacks. Its profile states it has 3 attacks naturally, and then you add 1 for the frenzy special rule.

This is due to the unit being able to lose Frenzy, and as such losing the extra attack, without changing the unit's baseline.

This is the same for other units such as Witch Elves, and dual wielding units, with the extra attack being added to the unit without changing the unit base stats.


How can I mitigate some of the downtime between player's turns?

I think the main points have mostly been hit. A few strategies:

Direct interaction during other players' turns. For example, if there is a combat element, if the defending player has interesting choices such as playing cards from hand to gain advantage. As mentioned, Magic is a good example as the defending player has plenty of decisions to make and cards to play. Counterpoint is Risk, where defender just rolls dice doesn't work as well for keeping interest.
Indirect interaction during other players' turns. In a recent game Eminent Domain, player gets to piggyback on the decision the current player makes. Or in a game like Battlestar Galatica, there is so much meta-game discussion that regardless of whose turn it is, all players are engaged and invested even if the game mechanism doesn't allow them to interact with the "game" at that moment.
Pre-planning while avoiding Analysis Paralysis. Player can more or less make all decisions about their turn while other players are doing their own. A key part of this is avoiding adding new information during current player's turn. For example, if the player must draw a card, have them draw at end of turn rather than beginning of turn. This will give them more time to internalize their choices.
If there really is no way to do any of the above, then you need to find a balance in length of turn. Perhaps make really short turns, but if the player only has a few actions each turn they may be all the more frustrated because they feel like they can't get anything done on their turn. If you instead give them lots of actions, you can make the player's turn feel really beefy, but that's going to make the wait for next go-around that much worse.

I don't think there's a golden rule for amount of downtime. Instead, it's all about perceived downtime. My "turn" may only come up every 15 minutes, but as long as I am thoroughly engaged in what my opponents are doing during their turns, and I have true decisions and actions to take during their turns... it doesn't matter.


The way that you phrase the question makes me think that you misinterpreted the rules for how Blood works. Blood is not spent by cards like "Brush Aside". The "for every-" means that you just count the amount of blood. Blood is resource and you need to make sure that if you need them, you have them. Constantly using "Power Returns" will make it hard for you to use other abilities effectively, but it's a nice card to have when you are running low on options.


What are the different rarities of tokens in Magic: The Gathering?

I couldn't find an official answer, but I can make an educated guess based on how cards are produced in general.

Cards are printed in big sheets and then cut out and randomized. These sheets are grouped by rarity. You print sheets based on the desired ratio of rarities in the final product, e.g. 1 rare sheet per 10 common sheets if the two sheets are of equal size.

Sometimes, more than one copy of a cards is on each sheet. For instance, early sets, particularly the small sets which tried to simulate three rarity levels with only two print sheets, had multiple copies of some cards -- this is why Camel is listed as "Common 5" in some collector guides, or why Knights of Thorn is an "Uncommon 1" (functionally a rare for The Dark). For a more modern example, consider mythic rares: mythics don't get their own sheet; instead the rares sheet has two copies of every vanilla rare and one of each mythic.

This is undoubtably how the ads and tokens sheet is arranged as well: all of the ad and token cards are printed on one sheet, but there are multiple copies of the "common" tokens and few copies of the "rare" ones. For example, a whole sheet of around a hundred M13 ads and tokens might contain twenty goblins and only one Liliana emblem. The exact mix of cards is likely to vary from set to set, but you can get a good idea of the rarity of "rare" tokens if you know the overall sheet size.


Can I cast Killing Glare with X=0 while no creatures with zero power are on the battlefield?

No, you have to pick a legal target (a creature with power 0 or less) when you cast the spell, as instructed by the third step of casting a spell.

  601.2c The player announces his or her choice of an appropriate player, object, or zone for each target the spell requires. [...]

If you can't, any steps of casting the spell already taken are undone.

  601.2. [...] If, at any point during the casting of a spell, a player is unable to comply with any of the steps listed below, the casting of the spell is illegal; the game returns to the moment before that spell started to be cast [...]


Does a Go variant on an infinite board exist?

There are variants like 3 dimensional Go, which may be interesting to you.  However, from personal experience as well as seeing higher dans struggle, I'd guess humans are far worse at them than computers :)

I'm not aware of any kind of "infinite" Go that is even remotely playable. The basic problems are ladders, which need to end, and counting, which requires complete separation of space.

As far as I can tell, infinite Go could be achieved via a sequence of spaces that interact, either hierarchically or flat. You could define that a ladder may not leave its subspace etc. Play could either be simultaneous in all subspaces, or in only a selected (number of) subspace(s). While this seems borderline theoretical computing science, I believe it would provide a gameplay quite similar to the original, just with certain additions that make turns a lot more complex.


Dice worker placement game about terraforming a planet


How does jumping work in Descent 2nd Edition?

You cannot jump in Descent 2nd Edition. I believe this statement is in the rulebook to notify First Edition players that this is a difference in the editions: you can no longer spend extra movement to jump across a pit you are aware of.


How does Mining Village's extra effect work in Dominion?

You draw the card, but may not play it prior to fully resolving Mining Village.

Always work from the top down on a card.  For Mining Village you do the following

+1 Card
+2 Actions
Optional - trash Mining Village for +2 coins.


What's the "biggest change we've ever made" in Magic?

This was to do with Vision design (see podcast #495 and #496) and the introduction of the design play team. There's an article here where Maro talks about it from October of 2017.

It's a very interesting article and gives me high hopes for the future of Standard considering how much of an issue they've been having in terms of creating balanced and fun Constructed environments recently.


Getting priority after putting a spell on the stack

Yes, you can always respond when another player casts a spell or activates an ability. Steps or phases where players get priority only end if all players have passed priority in succession and the stack is empty. You will also get priority on opponents' turns.
The active player is the player whose turn it is.

116.3. Which player has priority is determined by the following rules:
116.3a The active player receives priority at the beginning of most steps and phases, after any turn-based actions (such as drawing a card during the draw step; see rule 703) have been dealt with and abilities that trigger at the beginning of that phase or step have been put on the stack. No player receives priority during the untap step. Players usually don’t get priority during the cleanup step (see rule 514.3).
116.3b The active player receives priority after a spell or ability (other than a mana ability) resolves.
116.3c If a player has priority when they cast a spell, activate an ability, or take a special action, that player receives priority afterward.
116.3d If a player has priority and chooses not to take any actions, that player passes. If any mana is in that player’s mana pool, they announce what mana is there. Then the next player in turn order receives priority.
116.4. If all players pass in succession (that is, if all players pass without taking any actions in between passing), the spell or ability on top of the stack resolves or, if the stack is empty, the phase or step ends.


How does Circu, Dimir Lobotomist interact with defeated players in a Free for All?

Since there is some confusion about the original wording of the question, let's first assume you control Circu, Dimir Lobotomist, used it to exile a couple of spells from an opponent's library and that opponent is now defeated.

  800.4a When a player leaves the game, all objects (see rule 109) owned by that player leave the game ...

The exiled cards owned by the defeated player leave the game, and don't count for Circu's ability anymore:

  607.2a If an object has an activated or triggered ability printed on it that instructs a player to exile one or more cards and an ability printed on it that refers either to "the exiled cards" or to cards "exiled with [this object]," these abilities are linked. The second ability refers only to cards in the exile zone that were put there as a result of an instruction to exile them in the first ability.

Your other opponents can cast those spells again (unless you've also exiled said card from a library of an opponent who is still in the game).

If you meant to ask what happens when an opponent controlling Circu, Dimir Lobotomist is defeated; the exiled cards stay exiled, but Circu's static ability stops functioning: it's no longer on the battlefield, and you (and other opponents) can cast spells with the same name as the exiled cards once again.


Countermeasures to "analysis paralysis"?

Gentle prodding is probably the best suggestion, but if that doesn't do the trick sit them down after the game and let them know what they're doing. A player that over analyzes every move generally isn't much fun to play with, and telling them that (nicely) can help.

If that doesn't work, try practicing with some simple games (for example poker). Once they get used to making faster decisions, it often translates into other games, especially when combined with gentle prodding.

As a final resort, try playing timed games, where the impulse to think long and hard about a decision is countered by a running clock. Good examples are chess/go with a timer, outburst, trivial pursuit, and cranium.


Can I cast Kheru Spellsnatcher's spell after it leaves the battlefield?

Yes, you may cast the exiled card whether you control Kheru Spellsnatcher or not.

Kheru Spellsnatcher's ability creates a continuous effect (with unlimited duration) that modifies the rules of the game. Specifically, it allows you to cast the exiled card from exile.

  611.1. A continuous effect modifies characteristics of objects, modifies control of objects, or affects players or the rules of the game, for a fixed or indefinite period.

The effect does not specify whether or not Kheru has to be on the battlefield, and indeed does not reference Kheru at all. Therefore it does not matter what happens to the Kheru that exiled the card. All that matters is that the card remains exiled.

There are similar effects that require the originator of the effect to remain on the battlefield or some other condition, but they either specify so, such as Awakener Druid, or the ability that allows you to cast those cards are a separate ability, such as that of Nightveil Specter that naturally disappears when the Nightveil Specter does.


These are percentages, used by the DCI as tie-breakers. From Section C4 of the Tournament Organizer's Handbook:

OMP - Opponents’ Match-Win Percentage. A player’s match-win percentage is that player’s accumulated match points divided by X
times the number of rounds in which he or she competed, or 0.33, whichever is greater.
GWP - Game-Win Percentage. Similar to the match-win percentage, a player’s game-win percentage is the total number of
game points he or she earned divided by X times the number of games played.
OGP - Opponents’ Game-Win Percentage. Similar to opponents’ match-win percentage, a player’s opponents’ game-win percentage is
simply the average game-win percentage of all of that player’s opponents. And, as with opponents’ match-win percentage, each opponent has a minimum game-win percentage of
0.33.


From Antoine Bauza (the designer of Tokaido):

  Eriku can look at the first Meal card of the deck and choose to buy it
  instead of one of the regular cards. At the first Inn, He can also
  look at the top card and buy it (no regular hand here of course). So
  He can eat one more meal than the others... Official rules and wording
  will come on Funforge Website I guess...

So at the first inn, presumably before setting off, Eriku can look at the top card of the meal deck and choose to buy it. Then, on arriving at each subsequent inn, he may include the top card of the meal deck in his choices of what to eat.

Source:
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/thread/1063646/what-is-erikus-ability


Is it a bad idea to to run 24 tap and shock lands in standard

Yes, going all shock and check lands has disadvantages. Running one to three basic lands is recommendable for any 3 color deck.

As you already noted, the lack of basic lands can be punished by certain powerful cards that are balanced by allowing the opponent to search a basic land. In Standard, these are Settle the Wreckage, Assassin's Trophy, and Field of Ruin. In fact, 3 color decks are so common that dedicated land destruction decks have sprung up that look to punish the extreme cases of decks running only non-basic lands. The latter 2 cards mentioned above are cornerstones of that deck, together with Casualties of War.

Another problematic aspect to the approach is inherent and largely independent of the specific meta:

To use shock lands immediately, you have to "shock" yourself, which can put you in a precarious situation against any form of aggro deck.

To use check lands immediately, you have to have a shock land in play already. With 50% check lands, it is not uncommon to have a starting hand with all lands being check lands, which means your mana base will be a full turn behind the curve, which is a great tempo disadvantage in almost any matchup.

To alleviate these problems, it is worth considering to replace some of the check lands with basics of the type you need the most. One to three basic lands can greatly reduce 2 of the 3 mentioned problems. Typically, running shock lands is preferrable to running check lands, because having the choice between a tapped land and 2 life loss is typically better than running the risk of being forced to play a land tapped.

Example: at 24 lands total, with 12 shock and 12 check lands, you have the following probabilities that all the lands in your starting hand are check lands:

1 land: 50%
2 lands: 24.5%
3 lands: 11.7%
4 lands: 5.5%

If you run 24 lands total but only 9 check lands and 3 basics, the probabilities to get all check lands in the starting hand are reduced to:

1 land: 43.7%
2 lands: 18.6%
3 lands: 7.7%
4 lands: 3.1%

The exact number of basics to run entirely depends on how color-hungry your specific deck is, but if your deck in its current form cannot afford to run basic lands at all, you should probably adjust the spells of your deck rather than run the risk of all non-basic lands.


Does the Strive mechanic give the opportunity to cast the spell multiple times, or just have multiple targets?

It's just one spell with (potentially) multiple targets. It doesn't count as being cast multiple times, and it will only trigger Prowess once.

Taking Aerial Formation for an example, the text says:

  Strive — Aerial Formation costs {2}{U} more to cast for each target beyond the first.

  Any number of target creatures each get +1/+1 and gain flying until end of turn.

This is known as an additional cost. As its name might suggest, it just increases the mana cost of the spell—it won't count as casting it more than once. Incidentally, it's handled by competitive rule 601.2b, the same rule that handles the {X} in mana costs. It's the same kind of thing: another flexible mechanism where you pay more to improve the spell.

Suppose you want to target three creatures: you announce you intend to pay that cost twice, so you add 4UU to the mana cost of the spell (normally just U), making the spell cost 4UUU total. Then you pick your three targets, pay the cost, and put the spell on the stack. Now the spell's cast, and Prowess is triggered once.

Other abilities which add additional costs to spells are Kicker (Citanul Woodreaders) and Buyback (Capsize). Then there's Multikicker (Bloodhusk Ritualist) which, like Strive, can be paid any number of times.


Do Untap triggers still trigger when the creature is untapped?

You do not need to tap it before the creature dies, you will have an opportunity before the untap trigger resolves.

Goblin Sharpshooter does not contain an intervening "if" clause, but rather a normal triggered ability [CR 603.1]. This means that whenever the event occurs, "a creature dies," an untap trigger is placed on the stack [CR 603.1] . As with all objects, you and your opponent have the opportunity to cast spells and activate abilities in response to to the objects on the stack before they resolve [CR 116.4].

Intervening "if" clauses require that the event that they are checking is true when being placed on the stack and when resolving [CR 603.4]. For Goblin Sharpshooter to not trigger because it is untapped would require a triggered ability like:

Whenever a creature dies, if ~this~ is tapped, untap it.

  603.1. Triggered abilities have a trigger condition and an effect. They are written as "[Trigger condition], [effect]," and begin with the word "when," "whenever," or "at." They can also be expressed as "[When/Whenever/At] [trigger event], [effect]."

  603.2. Whenever a game event or game state matches a triggered ability's trigger event, that ability automatically triggers. The ability doesn't do anything at this point.

  603.4. A triggered ability may read "When/Whenever/At [trigger event], if [condition], [effect]." When the trigger event occurs, the ability checks whether the stated condition is true. The ability triggers only if it is; otherwise it does nothing. [...]

  116.4. If all players pass in succession (that is, if all players pass without taking any actions in between passing), the spell or ability on top of the stack resolves or, if the stack is empty, the phase or step ends.


What happens if one of the targets of Role Reversal is enchanted by a spell that changes its controller?

Role Reversal will actually exchange the creatures.

All control changing effects, including Role Reversal, are the same sort of effects: continuous effects. Control Magic has a static ability that creates a continuous effect as long as it is on the battlefield. Role Reversal creates a continuous effect at resolution that, as the quoted ruling says, lasts indefinitely.

So, determining what happens with both of them is determined by the Interaction of continuous effects rules. Both of these are control changing effects, so rule 613.6 applies:

  613.6 Within a layer or sublayer, determining which order effects are applied in is usually done using a timestamp system. An effect with an earlier timestamp is applied before an effect with a later timestamp.

  613.6a A continuous effect generated by a static ability has the same timestamp as the object the static ability is on, or the timestamp of the effect that created the ability, whichever is later.
  613.6b A continuous effect generated by the resolution of a spell or ability receives a timestamp at the time it's created.
  613.6c An object receives a timestamp at the time it enters a zone.

The end result is fairly intuitive: the Role Reversal was cast later, so its effect gets applied later and it determines the final outcome.


Help me refind this 3d go variant - pieces can be stacked in a pyramid fashion

It sounds like it might be Margo, except that Margo is played on a 7X7 grid, not 9X9. Per the linked website by Cameron Browne:

  Two players, White and Black, each have at least enough marbles of
  their colour to cover the board.

  Start: The board is initially empty. White places the first piece at
  any board point, then Black may elect to swap colours in lieu of
  making the next move (swap rule).

  Play: Players then take turns placing a piece of their colour either:
             1) at an empty board point, or
             2) stacked on top of four existing pieces (of any colour).

  Players may not pass.

The capture rules sound like what you describe, and I think the "pinched" stones at the bottom of "pyramids" are what the rules refer to as

  Pinned Pieces: When a group is captured, any of its pieces pinned by higher-level enemy pieces remain in place. For example, move c captures the following White group but leaves two pinned pieces.


Can I activate Angus Mackenzie between two combat phases?

Yes, it is too late.
This is covered by the rules under 506.6, in particular 506.6d and 506.6g.
Spells which may be cast only before a particular point in the combat phase, but not only during combat, may only be cast before the stated point of the first combat phase. And activated abilities share the same restrictions.

506.6g Rules 506.6 and 506.6a–f apply to abilities that state that they may be activated only at certain times with respect to combat just as they apply to spells that state that they may be cast only at certain times with respect to combat.
506.6d Some spells state that they may be cast “only before (or after) [a particular point in the combat phase],” but don’t meet the additional criteria described in rule 506.6c. If a turn has multiple combat phases, such spells may be cast that turn only before (or after) the stated point of the first combat phase.
506.6c Some spells state that they may be cast only “during combat” or “during a certain player’s combat phase” in addition to the criteria described in rule 506.6. If a turn has multiple combat phases, such spells may be cast at an appropriate time during any of them.


In MTG what happens to equipment after playing "Temporary Insanity"

Just to enhance @thesunneversets's answer, here are the answers from the Comprehensive Rules:
Answer 1:  No, you only gain control of the creature, not the equipment.  From 301.5d:

An Equipment’s controller is separate from the equipped creature’s controller; the two need not be the same. Changing control of the creature doesn’t change control of the Equipment, and vice versa. Only the Equipment’s controller can activate its abilities. However, if the Equipment grants an ability to the equipped creature (with “gains” or “has”), the equipped creature’s controller is the only one who can activate that ability.

Answer 2: Not in this case.  While he has control of the equipment, you can only equip as a sorcery, and you can't play sorceries on someone else's turn.  Again from 301.5d:

An Equipment’s controller is separate from the equipped creature’s controller; the two need not be the same. Changing control of the creature doesn’t change control of the Equipment, and vice versa. Only the Equipment’s controller can activate its abilities. However, if the Equipment grants an ability to the equipped creature (with “gains” or “has”), the equipped creature’s controller is the only one who can activate that ability.

And then from 702.6a:

Equip is an activated ability of Equipment cards. “Equip [cost]” means “[Cost]: Attach this permanent to target creature you control. Activate this ability only any time you could cast a sorcery.”

Answer 3:  This is valid.  Devour has you sacrifice creatures, and you can only sacrifice creatures you control.  The creature you devour would go back to its owner's graveyard (in this case, your opponent's graveyard).

702.80a: Devour is a static ability. “Devour N” means “As this object enters the battlefield, you may sacrifice any number of creatures. This permanent enters the battlefield with N +1/+1 counters on it for each creature sacrificed this way.”
701.13a To sacrifice a permanent, its controller moves it from the battlefield directly to its owner’s graveyard. A player can’t sacrifice something that isn’t a permanent, or something that’s a permanent he or she doesn’t control. Sacrificing a permanent doesn’t destroy it, so regeneration or other effects that replace destruction can’t affect this action.

Question 4:  Yes, the Equipment would return to your friend's side of the table:

701.3d To “unattach” an Equipment from a creature means to move it away from that creature so the Equipment is on the battlefield but is not equipping anything. It should no longer be physically touching any creature. If an Aura, Equipment, or Fortification that was attached to something ceases to be attached to it, that counts as “becoming unattached”; this includes if that object and/or that Aura, Equipment, or Fortification leaves the battlefield.
403.1. Most of the area between the players represents the battlefield. The battlefield starts out empty. Permanents a player controls are normally kept in front of him or her on the battlefield, though there are some cases (such as an Aura attached to another player’s permanent) when a permanent one player controls is kept closer to a different player.


Would multiple Trepanation Blades Stack?

Yes. When the equipped creature attacks, both triggers go on the stack at the same time (in an order of your choice), then are resolved one at a time.

So, for example, I attack with an Invisible Stalker wielding two Trepanation Blades. Both triggers go on the stack. We resolve the first: spell, spell, land; the Stalker gets +3/+0 until end of turn. We resolve the second: spell, land; the Stalker gets +2/+0 until end of turn. Now my Stalker is a 6/1.


What is the highest score recorded for a single play in Words with Friends

According to recordsetter.com the current record for a single word turn is 1674 points with the word "oxyphenbutazone".
This word has been used for various other records such as 1670, 1672 and 1673 points.
It's worth mentioning that most of these records have been set by setting up the game in a way that optimized for this specific play.


English language translations for the base game as well as two expansions are available at BoardGameGeek. Here is a link.

Value  Name
 1     Wheat Field
 2     Livestock Farm
 2-3   Bakery
 3     Café
 4     Convenience Store
 5     Forest
 6     Stadium
 6     TV Station
 6     Business Complex
 7     Cheese Factory
 8     Furniture Factory
 9     Mine
 9-10  Restaurant
10     Apple Orchard
11-12  Produce Market

And these are the landmarks:

Cost   Name
 4     Train station
10     Shopping Mall
16     Amusement Park
22     Radio Tower


Does military power accumulate in Race for the Galaxy

Military power is not "used up" when you settle a world. All that matters is that each time you are settling a military world, you have enough military power to meet the requirement. So yes, even if you only have 1 military power, you can settle multiple worlds that each have a requirement of 1.


Gloomhaven - movement dance to gain momentum

If they moved 4 spaces then it counts as four.  Where they end is irrelevent.

From the rules on moving :-

  A “Move X” ability allows a character to move up to X number of hexes on the map. Figures
  (characters and monsters) can move through allies, but cannot move through enemies or
  obstacles. Traps and other terrain effects of hexes must be resolved when a figure enters them
  with normal movement. A figure cannot end its movement in the same hex as another figure.
  Figures can never move through walls.

Note what it doesn't say.  There is nothing to prohibit finishing in the same space.  There is nothing to prohibit moving back and forth between two spaces.  For some attacks and items where number of spaces moved is taken into account then this is a valid tactic.

There is also This question asked on BGG. The designer gave a thumb up to answer confirming a player can finish a move where they started.


First of all, and more important than anything else by far:  if you are a beginner, don't worry about positional stuff (yet) !  Learning chess theory (positional chess) will teach you how to form a correct plan, but that skill is completely useless if you can't execute it skillfully - a poor planner with good tactics will beat a great planner with poor tactics, every time.

Thus, if you are below 1800 USCF rating, or you don't know what your rating is, I would suggest focusing solely on tactics, and ignoring everything I'm about to say until you've improved more.

So, you're over 1800, you're satisfied with your tactics, but too often you end up with positions like the one shown above, and have no clue what to do next.  Now what?

Now you learn about the various imbalances in the game, how they work together, and how to take advantage of them.  This also means learning about endgames, as having the favorable imbalances will usually turn into having a favorable endgame.  These are book-length topics, far too large to explain in one post; fortunately, there are lots of good books out there.

The best books for learning the basics of both of these things are both written by the same person:  Jeremy Silman.  For chess theory, I would recommend How to Reassess Your Chess, 4th Edition (make sure you get the 4th edition - it is vastly different from the earlier editions).  For endgames, check out Silman's Complete Endgame Course.  Both are very easy to read, and are geared towards players between 1400 and 2100 levels.

Now that you're comfortable with tactics, and have read the books I recommended above (right? :P), and know all about the various imbalances in different positions, let's take a look at your position in-particular.  What are the imbalances in your position?

Pawn structure: The first thing to note is that it's a closed center - this means, unless you can rip open the center, play will likely occur on the flanks (sides) of the board.
Control of important squares:  White has clear control of d5, while black has d4 - these are excellent outposts for knights.  However, white also temporarily has b5 and f5 available for his knights (temporary, because they could easily be pushed away by pawns), while black does not even have the option of knight-to-b4/f4, as they are guarded.  Both b4 and d4 knights would threaten Nc7+ (forking king and rook).
The move g3 has white committed to the push f4, but has left white with a glaring weakness at h3 - he should work quickly, or black will take advantage of it.
Development: Black is actually hindered in development, because he made the (poor) choice to bring his queen out in front of the rest of his troops.  This will likely come back to bite him, as white can push the queen around with his pieces, forcing black to waste time moving his queen, while white happily develops his own pieces in the process.
Bishops: White's light bishop is his poor bishop (ie. most of his pawns are on light squares), while black's dark-bishop is his poor one - so white would like to trade light-bishops, while black would like to trade dark-bishops.
King safety:  Black hasn't castled yet, but still has the choice of either king- or queen-side castling.  White already castled, but moved his g-pawn, leaving a weakness on h3.

So, what does all this mean in the end?  Here is my interpretation of the above (note that I could be completely wrong - I am a strong player, but no grandmaster):

Either player could still (hypothetically) have good play on either flank.  White could play the queenside by playing for a b4 push, or the kingside by Ne1, f4.  As white, I would prefer the queen-side play, simply because opening the kingside with black's queen and both bishops right there is ominous.

Black could play the queenside by a6, b5, or the kingside by playing for h5, h4, hxg3, bringing the rook into the attack as well.  As black, I would prefer the kingside right now, knowing that white will probably try to play the queen-side (or lose the fight if he tries to go kingside, due to black's better development, and white's king being there).

Unfortunately, due to black's poorly-placed queen, white has an immediate threat:  1. Nd5!, forking the queen and c7.  Then after 1.. Bxd5 2. cxd5 Nb8 (to answer white's next move) 3. Qa4+ Nd7 4. b4 White is quite obviously winning:  he has the double bishops, the initiative, better development, and his attack on the queenside if moving along while black's kingside attack hasn't even started.

It's black's move, but he doesn't have a good response to this threat; his best move appears (to me) to be 1.. O-O-O, but then after 2. Nd5! Qg6? 3. Nh4! Bxh4 4. Bh5 the queen is lost; thus after 1.. O-O-O 2. Nd5, black's only response is 2.. Bxd5, leading to a position similar to above, favorable for white.

So white has a way to force a highly favorable position, but the game is still not won.  As black, don't give up - you still have your kingside attack!  Make sure to deal with white's queenside-threats, but don't allow yourself to be lulled into playing defensively!

Note that this analysis would be very different if black's queen were still on d8 - in that case, I would probably say black has a slight-edge, since he can still choose to castle on the kingside, his strong side, and attacks in otherwise-even positions tend be slightly stronger when they are on the side the enemy king has castled.  So the real answer is, stick to your first-principles; don't move the queen out too early! :P


For Scrabble, Is there a most common phonies list anywhere?

I'm not a Scrabble expert, but to me it looks like you are going about this the wrong way. Your stated goals

  I learn for sure which words sound like words but really aren't so I
  don't play them.
  I become a better challenger. Part of the game (at
  least in tournaments) is to be able to recognize when your opponent
  has played a bad word. From my experience, this is an often neglected
  part of a new Scrabble player's development.

can both be achieved by learning all legal scrabble words. If you know all the legal words, anything that isn't one of those words is (obviously) an illegal word.

While this might sound like an insurmountable task, to me it sounds a lot more feasible than learning everything that isn't a word. The set of legal words is much smaller than the set of illegal words!


Can you still battle a monster even if it will not pursue you?

Absolutely.
"Will not pursue anyone of level X or below" is a rule that only affects your potential to run away from the monster, it does not prevent you from facing or killing the monster.
However it does leave you with an easy way out in case your friends do decide to power the monster up (not likely at level 1 or 2, but it may still happen).
From the official FAQ:

Q. I'm fighting a monster that says "Will not pursue anyone of Level X or below." I'm below that Level; can I still fight the monster?
A. You certainly can fight the monster. If you do not win the combat and have to Run Away, you escape automatically (no roll required).


What is the maximum score in Ticket to Ride USA, and how to aim towards it?

Straight from Board Game Geek:

  In order to get 295 you must get one of the most important cities Miami! You end up sacrificing New Orleans and Sault St. Marie to do so.

  Follow the same route from Vancouver to Santa Fe, but then you deviate from there:

  Santa Fe -> Denver -> Kansas City -> St. Louis (Splitting Point Here)
  St. Louis -> Nashville -> Atlanta -> Miami
  St. Louis -> Chicago -> Pittsburg (Splitting Point Here)
  Pittsburg -> Toronto
  Pittsburg -> New York -> Boston -> Montreal

  This route will give you the same 62 points for train length, but 223 for destination cards resulting in 295!

  Dropped Destinations: Dallas to NY; NO to Vancouver; NO to Chicago; Sault St. Marie to OKC; Sault St. Marie to Nashville (48 points)

  Added Destinations: Denver to Pittsburg; Miami -> LA; Miami -> Boston; Miami -> Montreal (51 points)

Following this as close as possible, you should be able to beat 200, and eventually eclipse your wife's score of 250. It's going to take a little luck, but this seems like the best blueprint.


Are the counters limited in Wrath of Ashardalon?

This is not an official ruling, but the way I've seen it played is, when a daily power is used a second time, all related tokens are removed from the board and placed again by the player according to the rules of that power.


What is the  "this effect"  that doesn't remove White Ward?

It refers just to the protection granted by White Ward, not protection granted by other effects.

The easiest way to see this is just to look at another similar card, Spectra Ward:

  Enchanted creature gets +2/+2 and has protection from all colors. This effect doesn't remove Auras.

That's the same language as White Ward, and it has a ruling in Gatherer:

  The protection granted by Spectra Ward won’t cause any Aura to be put into its owner’s graveyard, including Spectra Ward itself. However, if the enchanted creature gains protection from white in another way, Spectra Ward will be put into its owner’s graveyard as a state-based action.


Is it a good idea in TI:3 to play with fixed alliances?

Never tried it, and I think that making and breaking alliances is a big part of the game. The fact that there can be only one winner keeps everyone on their toes!

How would you resolve secret objectives? Will you still go for the victory point path or would you try galaxy domination?


If you have ANY condition (whether it be debt, or a dark pact, or hallucinations), you cannot gain it again while it is in play.  So, if you take a debt (getting 2 additional "bucks" or influence for that purchase), on any subsequent turn while you are still in debt you cannot do that again or get the bonus.  It only happens once.

If, on a later turn, you are able to rid yourself of your debt (e.g., through its reckoning event), you can take on another debt to get the 2 additional bucks for another purchase.  But this is only available if you can clear the previous debt condition, since you only get the 2 bucks when you gain the condition card.

EDIT: The official ruling is found in the Reference Guide on p. 4 under the "Conditions" header: "An investigator cannot have multiple copies of the same Condition. If he would gain a Condition that he already has a copy of, he does not gain another copy of that Condition." and "If a Condition’s effect does not list a limit, it may only be used once per instance of the triggered event."

It is probably discussed in the manual too, but I find it is easier to look things up in the Reference Guide, generally speaking.

The above should be understood in conjunction with the Bank Loan text on the board: "When performing an Acquire Assets action, you may gain a Debt Condition to immediately add 2 successes to your test result".  Again, you can only gain a condition you don't have so this only triggers once, when you gain the debt.


Can I control a planeswalker with Confiscate?

Yes. All cards and tokens on the battlefield are permanents, including Planeswalkers.

110.1. A permanent is a card or token on the battlefield. A permanent remains on the battlefield indefinitely. A card or token becomes a permanent as it enters the battlefield and it stops being a permanent as it’s moved to another zone by an effect or rule.
110.4. There are five permanent types: artifact, creature, enchantment, land, and planeswalker. Instant and sorcery cards can’t enter the battlefield and thus can’t be permanents. Some tribal cards can enter the battlefield and some can’t, depending on their other card types. See section 3, “Card Types.”


Is a cultural win viable in Civilization?

Cultural victory is possible, but in my experience is the hardest of the victories.  Technology victory is just a time limit on the game and not in and of itself interesting.  I have found military and economic victories to be much easier.  However, I have seen cultural victories happen.  Here are factors that make it easier:

Have a helpful civilization.  Rome looks the best on paper, though Egypt can actually be better both due to the starting wonder, which can help kick-start culture production, but also from it's ability to build free buildings which lets you build at least one city that is entirely devoted to culture production (other civilizations can't do this anywhere near as efficiently because such a city is surrounded by temples, universities, trading posts, great people, and a wonder, and as a result is deprived of hammers with which to build these buildings).  America is also okay in their ability to get wonders easier (from their discount when spending trade).  The Chinese can be good as well, as they get some free culture at the start of the game to kick-start progress, though their real strength is if this gives them a great person that produces two culture.  The Germans and Russians are really not worth trying with (see this thread https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/626430/tracking-victory-types/page/1, which also illustrates the comparative difficulty of a culture victory to other victory types).
If playing as America, Rome, or Egypt, put your capital next to the incense on your starting tile; if you later get feudalism, any of your cities will be able to harvest this (note that it can still only be harvested by one city each turn, but it could be a city other than your capital if your capital can produce more than 7 culture through the culture action).
Wonders are key.  Stonehenge, The Louvre, and the Sydney Opera House are the big three you want to get because they give you free advances on the culture track.  The other nice thing about these is they add culture icons to your cities, letting you produce more culture when you hit that action.
Have at least one of your cities devoted to producing culture.  Early game, this will mean building culture producers in that city.  Once the city is ready, hit culture with it every turn.  Do not be afraid to spend trade to get buildings you need in that city (if you are not playing Egypt).  It is better to do this for a few turns if it can get you a solid culture producer faster.
Get technology that feeds your strategy.  Key technologies include: Theology (for the Cathedral and increased hand size), Metal Casting (for the culture production ability, with the added perk of giving you a unit upgrade), and Printing Press (for the University; you should pretty much ignore its coin ability unless you are pivoting to an economic victory).  Other technologies you should consider are Chivalry (for the culture production ability and the government), Monarchy (for the government), Mass Media (if other people have Civil Service), Pottery (for the hand size), Civil Service (for the hand size), and Philosophy (for the great people and the ability to build temples first and upgrade them to cathedrals later).
Cities that have poor culture production can still be used to produce large amounts of culture by producing incense.  Incense can turn into 5 or 7 culture a piece mid-game with the technologies mentioned above.  Don't be afraid to harvest incense before you have these technologies and hold on to it.  Don't use incense on any ability that produces less than 5 culture (don't use the ability on Currency and don't spend incense on abilities like Philosophy).  Go for villages, as they can help you get resources to fuel your progress.
The culture cards and great people you get help your progress.  Great people can help your culture producing cities produce more culture.  This is great (pun intended).  The culture cards can get you the resources to get more culture, can help defend against an aggressive military player, and can disrupt the production/buildings of someone going for an economic or military victory.  If you start advancing on the culture track early, this can start a positive feedback loop.  Also, if you have philosophy and extra non-incense resources, get some great people.  They can help start your culture production (especially if you get one of the great people with two culture icons).  Spending a culture card as an incense to get enough culture to buy another card may seem like a waste, but it's actually exactly what you want to be doing, since this pushes you both closer to victory and closer to the tier 3 culture cards, which are more powerful.
Favor archers when buying units, as you are definitely going to research Metal Casting, which puts those at level 3.
There isn't a necessary tier 4 technology for culture.  Mass Media can be okay, but really feel free to research anything as your first tier 4 tech if it helps you more.  Atomic Theory can be very powerful, as later culture cards (princely gift) give you access to uranium and taking two actions with all of your cities can let you get a truly silly amount of culture in a turn.  Alternatively, you could get one of the military techs to defend yourself.
Build cities next to desert rather than water; trading posts (which generate culture) are more useful to you than harbors (which don't).  Build later cities next to natural wonders if possible to get the extra culture.  The purple forest is probably the best.  Using scouts on natural wonders can be helpful too.
Build all three cities.  This is important in any strategy in Civ, and culture is no exception.
Don't neglect trade production.  You will need it to research technology and also get through the higher ranks of the culture track.
Have a government of Monarchy, Feudalism, or Democracy.  Monarchy gives you extra culture production, which is good.  Feudalism can let all your cities harvest incense if any of your cities has it, which can be used on resource abilities to make culture.  Democracy can help in that you get extra trade and give up something not particularly useful (you shouldn't really be attacking other cities if going for a cultural victory).
Don't neglect military but it shouldn't be a huge focus.  Military is for spare actions and spare technology researches.  The culture cards do help you militarily, and if you see a battle you can win, go for it, as this lets you steal culture or incense from your opponent.  But attacking their capital is not your goal.  If you are in a position where you think you can do it, it's probably because you have spent too much of the game focusing on military.  Make sure you defend your cities, as if they take one of your cities, they can steal one of your hard-earned culture cards or, worse yet, destroy a city you sunk lots of trade and great people you put in to developing.
Don't hoard culture.  Buy cards as soon as you can and play cards as soon as you can.  Obviously don't buy cards if it would put you over hand limit and you want all the cards in your hand, but holding culture is dangerous as it can be stolen by battles.
When you are getting to the end of the track, go as fast as you can.  Forget everything but culture and buy advancement on that track every single time you can.  Discard great culture cards if you have to; you're going for the win.


Is the bloodrush ability affected by cards that reduce casting cost?

Bloodrush is an activated ability that you can use from your hand. You are not casting the card when you use it. Thus, bloodrush is unaffected by any effects that modify casting costs.

Cards that affect abilities, however, do affect bloodrush — as long as they can affect cards in your hand. E.g. Suppression Field will make all bloodrush cards more expensive to activate because it doesn't limit the scope of "activated abilities," but Training Grounds does not modify bloodrush costs because it is scoped to creatures you control (not creatures cards in your hand).

In Smokebraider's case, the card specifies "abilities of Elementals," which means permanents with the Elemental type. This is clarified in the Oracle text:

  10/1/2007     The mana can't be spent to activate activated abilities of Elemental sources that aren't on the battlefield.


The Mancala variant Oware was strongly solved in 2002. This basically means they have a database with the best move and outcome of all possible positions in the game. The researchers made their database available via a Java applet, but unfortunately, it's offline now.


Power Tile Combo: Initiative combined with Crusade

As you said in the question, Crusade gives you ☥ for units killed in Battle.

As you also stated correctly, the effects of the Initiative happen before the Battle. (The power tile itself shows that it's a day phrase tile, not a battle phrase tile.) Therefore the kills of the Initiative won't generate ☥.

And there is no mystery with the Escape DI card: it cancels the Battle. Therefore effects before the battle phrase can't happen. Therefore the Initiative tile won't have effects.