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1
Quill & Tankard Regulars - Issue 11
Sep 07 2012 05:05 AM |
CardGameDB
in Game of Thrones
Small Council Quill & Tankard Regulars Ire Ratatoskr WWDrakey
...and thus I postulate, that it could be said, that to become a true Archmaester one needs to not only know about all the nobles and creatures of the lands of Westeros, but rather learn to BE each and every one of them! Be the wolf! Be the lion and learn to roar! Who's that snickering there in the back? What do you mean with "one too many"? You think I'm rambling? Do you know what it truly is To Be A Dragon? Here, grab a chair and let me show you...
Beware The Sphinx - To Be A...
Beware the Sphinx is a series of articles concentrating on important cards with several peculiar, complex or unintuitive interactions. An emphasis is kept on both new and competitively relevant cards. Remember, the Sphinx is the riddle, not the riddler.
This time in Beware the Sphinx, we take a slightly different approach and have a look at a complete cycle of event cards. As ancient as anything in the A Game of Thrones LCG, the To Be A... -cycle stands out from most other events by several clearly unique properties.
When looking at the cards, the first peculiar thing about the events is the requirement of having a Military Battle, Intrigue Gambit or Power Struggle in your used pile. Now, since your revealed plot card is not in your used pile, most decks will only be able to use these events starting from turn 2. Further, unless you're running a theme deck with one of these plot traits, especially now that the Fury -cycle of plots is restricted, this limitation can tie up your plot choices quite a bit in the beginning of the game. Naturally there are also ways of working around this limitation, such as Bran Stark (Core), Citadel Law (MotA) and the mostly forgotten Rookeries.
Now, the second interesting aspect of these events is that the standing of a character in the event is actually a cost, not an effect. (Remember, if the formula do X to do Y is used, then X is a cost and Y is an effect.) What does this mean in practice? If you cancel any triggered effect, any costs remain paid. In this case, the cost of standing the character. Additionally, characters that are immune to events or triggered effects can still be used to pay costs. Essentially this means that the To Be A... events are uncancellable stand events that can also be used to stand immune characters like The Red Viper (PotS), Joffrey Baratheon (TftRK) or High Septon (LotR)!
Of course, there are also some drawbacks to the events being worded so that standing is a cost. The first obvious one is that if you don't have any knelt characters, then you will be unable to trigger the effect. Usually this is mostly an issue with To Be A Kraken, since you would want to use in it in, say, the plot and marshalling phases, but it can be hard to have a knelt character there.
Three of the events (To Be a Kraken (SB), To Be a Viper (SB), To Be a Lion (SB)) are worded as responses, limiting their usage to particular conditions. As printed, the three others (To Be a Stag (SB), To Be a Wolf (SB), To Be a Dragon (SB)) are more freely playable, since they are Challenges: actions. However, there is quite an interesting twist in To Be a Dragon (SB) and To Be a Stag (SB). Working by their printed text alone, you would be able to use both events regardless of having a legal character in your discard or dead pile. This is because there is no word "choose" in their card text, which means that the cards being returned aren't actual targets (for further discussion on this, see here or here). Alas, this is not to be, since after the cards were printed they were given the following erratas in the official FAQ:
(v1.3) To Be a Stag, F46
To Be a Dragon , F48
These cards cannot be played if there is no
eligible character to return from the discard/
dead pile.
So, basically, there is an additional restriction to these cards, one solely indicated by the FAQ. Oddly enough considering that Baratheon tends to be the House with the most standing abilities, these additional limitations hit them the hardest, for several reasons. One, the House tends towards having quite a flatline STR distribution at 3 STR. Two, it's quite hard to get a low strength character into your discard pile without resorting to cards like Asshai Initiate (KotStorm) or Loyal Guard (WotN). Three, the effect of merely returning a card to your hand from your discard pile is inherently weaker than returning one into play from your dead pile. Oddly enough, no additional limitations for playing To Be a Wolf (SB) exist. This essentially makes it one of the strongest cards in the cycle.
Other interesting applications for the To Be A... events:
- There is a loop that can be triggered by having a discard pile consisting solely of two copies of
To Be a Dragon (SB) and having a standing Street Waif (AToT) in play. End result if not cancelled: All of your 3 gold or cheaper Targaryen characters back into play from your dead pile. - Combining To Be a Kraken (SB) with Alannys Greyjoy (ODG) can lead to some heavy cancel-power.
- If your opponent does not name 'event' with To Be a Wolf (SB), you can just search for another copy of the event to get a larger number of your characters standing.
Dear Archmaester
Dear Archmaester collects interesting, unusual and unexpected rulings from the FFG Rules forum.
Q: Dear Archmaester,
can I trigger the Response: on Banner for the Storm (CtB) when it is already attached to a character, and move it to a different character?
A: You can. Banner for the Storm explicitly states that it can be attached from play or from your hand. While it is attached to a character, it is in play. The text of the Response is not removed or inactivated just because the card is now an attachment. Nothing prevents you from triggering it while Banner for the Storm (CtB) is attached to a character.
Q: Wait a second - does that mean that I can trigger I'm You Writ Small (Core) over and over again, even after it has become an attachment?
A: No, it doesn't. The difference is that events have to be played from hand. That's part of their Play Restrictions. Unless some card effect specifically allows you to trigger an effect on a event card that's not in your hand, you can't. Card effects that do allow that are Doran's Game (GotC), Robert Baratheon (KotS) or Endless Endurance (LoW).
Questioned by the Conclave
Questioned by the Conclave is a series of quizzes for our readers, loosely based around the topics of the Issue in question. Correct answers will be posted in the comments, after enough readers have had their chance of testing their knowledge. The difficulty of the questions will vary from those directed at Apprentices, to those best suited for Archmaesters.
1) While we're talking about Banner for the Storm (CtB), what happens if you have a Banner for the Storm (CtB) attached to one of your characters, and it gets blanked by Meera Reed (TftH), Frozen Solid (LoW) or a similar effect?
2) Another blanking question: I put Khal Drogo (Core) into play via his Response. At some later point during the phase, somebody plays Nightmares (LoW) and blanks him. Does he still go back to hand at the end of the phase?
3) I play Confession (KotS) and kneel Shireen Baratheon (FtC) to pay for the effect. Can you cancel it with Paper Shield (QoD)?
4) You have all the pieces assembled. You have three standing Influence. You have No Use For Grief (DB) and a copy of The Red Viper (TftRK) in hand. This time, the combo has GOT to work. You've planned it all out. You will pick Battle of Oxcross (PotS) as your plot. Then you will marshal the Viper. If your opponent is dumb enough to attack you with Military, you will graciously admit defeat and kill the Viper for Claim. It is never wise to count on your enemies' blunders, though, and that's what your contingency plan is for. If your opponent gets wise and refrains from declaring a military challenge against you, you will return the favor and not declare one against him either. Then you will kill the Viper with your passive plot effect. And then the hammer will fall. You will kill everybody with the Viper's Response:, drop No Use For Grief (DB) on your opponent and get them all out. Nymeria Sand (OSaS), Obella Sand (DB) and Tyene Sand (OSaS). Even little Dorea Sand (TftH). The three unnamed Bastard Daughter (OSaS)s and the Maiden of Poisons (ODG), all three of them. Also Obara Sand (TWoW), a copy of whom you removed from play during setup for an additional Mulligan, and Sarella Sand (PotS), a copy of whom got discarded for Intrigue claim last round. Doesn't matter much. All that means is those two will have only one duplicate each. All the other unique Sand Snakes will enter play with two duplicates each. An insurmountable wall of Sand Snakes, ready to slash and tear, to utterly crush the life out of your enemy. You chuckle evilly as you flip the plot.
A fine plan, don't you agree, dear reader? A fine plan, except for one minor flaw. What's the one tiny inaccuracy in the scenario described above?
Antti Korventausta (WWDrakey) is a self-proclaimed Finnish AGoT philosopher and nitpicker, who also used to practice Quantum Mechanics, but found that it paled to AGoT in both interest and complexity. As a Stahleck regular and judge, he sometimes has oddly vivid dreams of understanding portions of the game. In AGoT, he'll play anything as long as it's suitably twisted... often ending up with something that has horns on it.
Helmut Hohberger (Ratatoskr) started playing AGoT in September 2010 and has never looked back (although his wife has, longingly). As a German, he loves rules - and I mean *loves* 'em. Try triggering a Response at the end of a phase on his watch, and he'll probably invade your country. He has actually read the FAQ, and was made a judge at Stahleck 2011 and at various other events. He sometimes answers rules questions on boardgamegeek and the FFG rules board. Some of his answers haven't even been contradicted, corrected or expanded upon by ktom - there is no higher accolade for a rules board morlock.
Every Maester needs a Raven on his shoulder. As a Finn, Iiro Jalonen (Ire) got pulled under the waves by Krakens years ago, and has never looked back. A self-inflicted Shagga and active member of the global AGoT community, he has always strived to know the rules of the game, in order to make them do ridiculous things.
- bigfomlof likes this
40 Comments
will try to answer for a first time:
1. It will remain as banked attachment as it is attachment at the time and does not have some restriction what so ever. (don't feel strong on this one)
2. Yes, because the effect to putt him in play still resolves till the end.
3. yes, because event had no influence cost paid.
4. A flaw? this is awesome and I had pulled it with different TRV a few times.
But yes, if your opponent doesn't do a Mil challenge you can not play No Use For Grief at the end of the phase so you better taunt him.
So, what does everybody think...which one's the best of the "To Be a Critter" events?
2. Yes, because response resolves as a whole at the time it is played. When he is blanked, the response is already "Active"
3. Yes, because its the actual payed cost that matters.
4. The flaw is killing Viper with Battle of Oxcross. This "killing your character" effect happens "At the end of the phase". After that no player actions can be performed - no responses, and even no saves.
2. Yes, Khal Drogo creates a lasting effect, if it triggers, it resolves fully.
3. Yes, such actions only have an Influence cost if it is actually paid with influence.
4. You can't trigger responses (even save/cancel ones) at the end of phase.
Also, on a funny note, I think that if you actually trigger Viper's response, all Sand Snakes would actually have to burn a duplicate (according to the latest FAQ, and Darkstar entering play during Valar) - but I am not sure of this, and would like to see it confirmed.
As for "To Be...", the best is obviously Wolf, followed by Dragon/Kraken. Others are pretty meh in my opinion.
2) He still goes back to hand, because his return is part of the response that put him into play.
3) Yes, because what matters is how the event was effectively paid for (on a side note, an event that says "kneel X influence" cannot be cancelled by Paper Shield even if X happens to be 0 - Recruitment (VD) because a cost of 0 is still a cost).
4) You cannot trigger responses at the end of a phase.
About Banner for the Storm, doesn't the phrase "with the text '...'" mean the old text is completely replaced by the new?
I'll link to it tomorrow, after we've resolved the QbtC. Although, if your Search Fu is strong, you'll certainly be able to find it.
As for the others - no googling dammit! Answer the damn questions yourselves!
The difference between this and the Darkstar/Maester of the Sun situation is that there, Darkstar enters play between the initiation and the resolution of the same effect. Here, you have two entirely different effects - the Viper's Response and No Use for Grief's Response. The First Player decides which of these goes off first, and the one that does gets resolved fully before the second one initiates.
2) Yes (->Flint)
3) Yes (-> Khudzlin)
4) You can´t trigger the response (->Drago 13).
Q: How can you play No Use For Grief without a Sand Snake character has been killed (or did I miss something in your scenario)
Q: Is Obara Sand in the discard pile due to Mulligan? You re-shuffle your opening hand into your deck...
Q: Can you put a shadow card like Maiden of Poisons into play because of:
When you use Obara's ability during setup, you remove her from the game. That means she goes back into the box or whatever. She's not in the discard pile, and neither is she in any other area related to the game.
Yes, you can put Shadow cards directly into play from your hand with put into play effects. The decisive part in the quote you made is "play restrictions". That cards with the Shadow crest have to go into Shadows when you play them from your hand is a play restriction, and "put into play" effects get past that.
And thx to all authors for an excellent article, which points out and clarifies a lot of (related) rules to me. I enjoyed reading it and now I´m looking forward to the resolving of your little quiz
You're right of course. I was posting without thinking. What I meant was that, in a Framework Action Window, the First Player would get the first Response opportunity. I apologize for the confusion caused.
For the purpose of Paper Shield, Confession has two different actions "printed" on it:
1. Kneel 3 Influence to discard a card.
2. Kneel a Holy Character to discard a card.
If you kneel Influence, PS won't work. If you kneel a Character, it most definitely will.
2) Yes.
3) No. (Probably wrong since I'm the vast minority here.)
4) Can't play responses in the "end of phase" window.
2) Nightmares will "end" at the "end of challenges", which means that Drogo will not be blank during the "end of challenges" portion of the framework. He still returns to hand.
3) Absolutely. The event had a cost of a knelt character. It was not paid for with influence, so you cannot read into the card that it could have had an influence cost. It did not in this case.
4) The flaw here is Battle of Oxcross is against an "end of phase" issue where there is no opportunities for Step 2 (saves/cancels) or Step 4 (responses) - so you can't trigger Viper if you chose to kill him for the effects of BoO, and you further can't play the NUFG event as another response. Niether are allowed during the "end of phase" portion of the window.
Wouldn't the player who controlled TRV get to choose "I'm going to use his response" and then that response get resolved, the other player get a response action, then the controller get to choose "I'm going to play No Use for Grief"? Or do you have to trigger all responses before any are resolved?
The FAQ does at no point say Do X1 or do X2 to do Y, in which either do X1 or do X2 is the cost, the whole thing do X is the cost.
You don't have to kneel influence AND a character, so they are not combined by any means. They are two options. However you pay for the event, that is the cost.
General Ruling: Only printed text can be blanked by card effects.
(2) Khal Drogo (CS) creates a lasting effect when he enters play that returns him to his owner's hand at the end of the phase. Blanking Drogo doesn't change or cancel the lasting effect. In order to disrupt the lasting effect, you had to cancel Drogo's ability in the first place. (Which is pretty useless....)
Conclusion: Lasting effects are game mechanics that don't depend on printed card text once they have been initiated.
(3) An event has no influence cost unless you have chosen to pay an influence cost and physically knelt influence providing cards to pay this cost. So Paper Shield can legally cancel Confession in the mentioned scenario.
(4) Let the FAQ do the work:
(2.6) End of the Phase
Each end-of-the-phase Framework Action
Window should be played without step
two (Save/Cancel) and without step five
(Responses). No triggered effects can be
played after the initiation of the end of the
phase.
That means: no responding to the Viper's death. Nobody can play No Use for Grief. Conclusion: No sandsnakes.
EDIT: I found a link where ktom answers to the third questions. (For the ones who don't believe any other person on this planet.)