It counters Ronin, Contract Killer, Marcus Batty, The Twins, Caprice Nisei, Reversed Accounts, Test Ground, Allele Repression, Exposé and many more.

Especially against the first four cards it could be a lifesaver.

Interrupts all kinds of timing-priority shenanigans.

Very useful, if the Corp doesn't blow it up first via tags or Snatch and Grab (the issue for the Runner will be timing its play for the relevant turn).

What about stopping Jackson's Archives juggling? If you intend on going for the ditched agendas you can install first click the Councilman and the Archives are fried - as soon as this guy hits the table only a double Jackson saves the Corp.

Of course, the Corp might have rezzed him in advance - but than he must be protected. Nice efficiency in a single 0-cost card right here.

The growing popularity of Hacktivist Meeting and Drive By already provide incentives for the corp to rez cards ahead of when they may actually need them. This furthers that trend. If you want to kill that Caprice, Batty and/or Ash with absolute certainty though, only Political Operative can provide that. Councilman certainly works against Ronin, Contract Killer and other such nasties though, as that definitely isn't stuff the corp wants to have rezzed before they're needed.

The growing popularity of Hacktivist Meeting and Drive By already provide incentives for the corp to rez cards ahead of when they may actually need them. This furthers that trend. If you want to kill that Caprice, Batty and/or Ash with absolute certainty though, only Political Operative can provide that. Councilman certainly works against Ronin, Contract Killer and other such nasties though, as that definitely isn't stuff the corp wants to have rezzed before they're needed.

Political Operative cannot kill a properly rezzed Batty, who goes off at step 2.3 of the run and trashes to resolve immediately, before ever handing timing priority back to the Runner.

Rez ICE

Rez and Trash Batty

Play Psi game

Rez and Trash another Batty

Play Psi game

Rez and Trash another Batty

Play Psi Game

Now the Runner can trash Political Operative to trash a rezzed card. Paid abilities are not interrupts. Timing Priority sits with the Corp as soon as the ICE is rezzed. Do all the things you like until you stop doing them.

Then the Runner encounters the ICE that just went off 1, 2, or 3 times

If you want to protect Batty from Drive-by, use Underway Grid. Rezzing Batty before you're ready to trash him is like putting a Hades Shard on the table on turn 2.

Councilman short-circuits a Batty rez, which is bad for the Corp. Political Operative only makes a sloppy Corp player play Batty better.

Although it does not make explicit use of the terms 'avoid' or 'prevent', I read it more as a direct response instead of a paid ability.

Although it does not make explicit use of the terms 'avoid' or 'prevent', I read it more as a direct response instead of a paid ability.

Fair enough, but the card itself doesn't tell us that. I know you've been despairing a bit about losing Batty the Troubleshooter, but Political Operative is a serious errata away from changing that, and I don't think you'll see it ruled that way . . . ever.

Councilman is already designed to fulfill the "prevent / avoid' role with its "whenever." Trashing a card as a cost remains a paid ability.

Political Operative cannot kill a properly rezzed Batty etc.

All true. Councilman prevents the play you mentioned, though. The threat of Councilman is the reason you would want to rez Batty ahead of time; Political Operative is the reason you want to keep him hidden. The Councilman/PO double-threat puts the corp in a sticky situation.

Fair enough, but the card itself doesn't tell us that. I know you've been despairing a bit about losing Batty the Troubleshooter, but Political Operative is a serious errata away from changing that, and I don't think you'll see it ruled that way . . . ever.

 

Councilman is already designed to fulfill the "prevent / avoid' role with its "whenever." Trashing a card as a cost remains a paid ability.

I can't remember implying that. Yesterday I've played Marcus for the first time, so I wouldn't say I hold him dear. The Psi game failed, but the Corporate Troubleshooter did his job one match later with NEXT Gold.

I was talking about Councilman, because that's the card page we're on. He reads like a reponse effect, so the corp can't use a paid ability before it is resolved. Political Operative, on the other hand, works indeed with a paid ability window.

I can't remember implying that. Yesterday I've played Marcus for the first time, so I wouldn't say I hold him dear. The Psi game failed, but the Corporate Troubleshooter did his job one match later with NEXT Gold.

 

I was talking about Councilman, because that's the card page we're on. He reads like a reponse effect, so the corp can't use a paid ability before it is resolved. Political Operative, on the other hand, works indeed with a paid ability window.

Apologies. In my head, you were Bozfoogle . . .

I've played Marcus a good deal. 1 in a server is relatively useless. 2 works well. He's a build-around though.

Never Rez Batty ahead of time. No matter what. Really. Councilman is a resource and a connection. Kill it. It's why Snatch and Grab is in your deck.

You can also rez out of order: do the Troubleshooter first; or you can pile the Batties in there. Build to get him on the table quickly. It's what I do, and Councilman doesn't really wreck those plans -- it slows them down: that's a really good thing, since a Neural Katana and 2-3 Batties in the scoring server = win for Nisei.

I would like to know how Councilman interacts with other "when rezzed" triggers, like Advanced Assembly Lines and Lakshmi Smartfabrics.

I would like to know how Councilman interacts with other "when rezzed" triggers, like Advanced Assembly Lines and Lakshmi Smartfabrics.

What's not to know?  Councilman doesn't prevent the rez, so it doesn't prevent other triggers.

I would like to know how Councilman interacts with other "when rezzed" triggers, like Advanced Assembly Lines and Lakshmi Smartfabrics.

You've got some good ones today!

FFG could have written Councilman as a "prevent" effect. It's possible that they intended to do so and the underpaid editor simply missed it. If that's the case, nothing happens during a "when rezzed" trigger.

As it's written -- where the asset or upgrade is rezzed then de-rezzed, (it's a conditional ability using the term "whenever" -- page 21 of the Core Rules) the Timing Priority window favors the Corp. The Corp rezzes the asset / upgrade, and everything happens on it that can happen, then the conditional ability kicks in (conditional abilities are not avoid / prevent effects).

In other words, I read that as follows:

Corp rezzes Smartfabrics,

hangs on to the timing window,

rezzes any number of other cards, placing counters

hangs on to the timing window,

reveals x Agendas,

relinquishes timing window,

Runner may trigger Councilman's conditional effect, derezzing Smartfabrics, or any other single card that was rezzed in the Corp's preceding timing window.

That's what the card says, at any rate, (it's a straight-up conditional paid ability), so I expect a ruling that, in this case, Councilman is actually an "Avoid/Prevent" effect, even though it doesn't say that on the card

Meadbeard, there's no such thing as a "conditional paid ability."  Councilman's text is just a conditional ability, and so it triggers as soon as its condition is met (with the player whose turn it is going first in cases of simultaneous triggers).  It has nothing to do with the windows for rezzing cards and using paid abilities.

Meadbeard, there's no such thing as a "conditional paid ability."  Councilman's text is just a conditional ability, and so it triggers as soon as its condition is met (with the player whose turn it is going first in cases of simultaneous triggers).  It has nothing to do with the windows for rezzing cards and using paid abilities.

Yeah, apologies. Of course it doesn't change anything I just wrote. Conditional abilities are still subject to timing priority:

"Prevent or avoid effects are the only effects which can disrupt another effect."

Conditional abilities are not prevent or avoid effects, coming under a separate header in the rules. Your "as soon as" makes no sense outside of timing priority, which would otherwise create the problem we're solving here.

In this case, it necessarily has to do with the window for rezzing cards, since its condition is "whenever the corp rezzes an asset or upgrade." Timing priority says the Runner waits, and continues to wait, until the Corp is finished with everything it wants to do in the rez window. That's how Timing Priority works. Nothing about a conditional effect changes that, except:

"If players ever want to perform simultaneous effects at the same time, the player whose turn it is resolves all of his effects first."

"All of [the] effects," etc. Rezzing all of my cards in one window is a simultaneous effect. Conditional effects that are predicated on the action of the other player are necessarily non-simultaneous, however: they're reactive (in this case, it's a "may" conditional effect, not a "must" conditional effect). The Corp plays all of its "simultaneous" effects (like rezzing a pile of assets), then the Runner responds to that with the "may" conditional effect, unless that effect is a "Prevent/Avoid" effect, in which case Timing Priority may be violated. (The conditional rule covers simultaneous effects only as part of its "must" category of this effect):

"If a conditional ability uses the word “may” in its description, it is an optional conditional ability. The decision to trigger the ability belongs to the player who controls the card, provided the ability’s trigger condition is met. If a conditional ability does not use the word “may” in its description, it is a required conditional ability. It must be triggered when its trigger condition is met, although the exact time of resolution may vary (see “Simultaneous Effects” on page 22)." "It" in "It must be triggered . . ." is the only "simultaneous" effect here. "It" refers to "must" conditions.

The decision to trigger a "may" condition cannot be applied outside of Timing Priority. The corp finishes its rez window, "simultaneously" rezzing all cards and paying paid abilities (if they are part of the window) before handing the choice of a "may" condition back to the Runner.

If it were a "must" conditional effect, it'd depend on whose turn it is for resolution, but that should be written as a "Prevent/Avoid" effect. "May" doesn't even give the player the choice until Timing Priority has resolved. My money is still on this intent having been omitted from the card, and a FAQ telling us that it is a Prevent/Avoid effect. Right now, that's not what it tells us, however.

Oh.  Multiple rezzes or paid ability uses in the same window are not simultaneous -- maybe that's what you missed.  If you look again at the Simultaneous Effects section, you'll see that it only talks about triggers.  (And of course Councilman doesn't "disrupt" a rez in the prevent/avoid sense, it just follows it up with a derez.)

As another example, suppose the Runner accesses Archives with a Hades Shard (on the Runner's turn).  If they hit Shock!, the Corp may and must do the net damage immediately, not after the Runner finishes up their paid ability window.

I like this kind of deep dig into the timing structure. I admit that I may be mistaken.