texts: How to calculate the power level of a Commander deck?

texts:
I've been playing Magic casually for almost half a year now, mostly in the multiplayer Commander format. Regularly, I hear people talk about the power levels of decks. Especially when I'm playing with someone new, they ask me "what power level are we playing?" My response usually is something like "I don't know".
After asking around and looking online, I've learned the following details—please correct me if I'm wrong.
Power Level
I've heard a couple parameters so far that influence the power level of a deck:

the amount of win conditions (e.g. bomb cards, infinite combos)
the ease of manipulating chances to play those win conditions (e.g. tutor cards)
flexibility in removing threats from opponents (e.g. single target removal, and the ease of having them in hand when needed)
having certain staple land and mana cards

So far this has been helpful, but whenever I ask how exactly they come to the conclusion of their deck's power level, I usually receive a shrug and/or blank stare (or find articles that beat around the bush). I've asked multiple people at different gamestores, but found no clear reasoning so far, so I get the sense it's more of a gut feeling than a clear calculation.
Question
Is there a tier system of some sort? If possible, I would like to see clear and concrete pointers for how to calculate the power level of any deck. If this is ultimately a gut feeling based on certain parameters, a guide for rating my decks with this gut feeling is much appreciated.
Example
For clarity, an example might work. Let's say I have Samut, Voice of Dissent as my commander. The primary win condition is smashing face for commander damage, making her stronger with equipments and auras, with the help of some big trampling creatures. There's quite some ramping options, but there's hardly any card draw in the deck. There's one potential infinite combo in there with Godo, Bandit Warlord and Helm of the Host, and about four removal cards for dealing with threats from creatures, enchantments or artifacts. The deck contains a couple of land fetchers (such as Renegade Map, Traveler's Amulet, but no tutor cards.

In case it matters for answering this question, I'm mostly interested in:

Commander
casual play (winning is not my main goal)
multiplayer


texts:
What happens when I play Procession and use Throne Room as an action card affected by Procession?

Let me give you an example. I have a hand of:

Procession
Throne room
Bridge
Village
Silver

I play Throne room within Procession and then:

Do I play only one action card in Throne room, e.g. Bridge, and it is played 4 times (Throne room played twice, both with Bridge inside) or
Do I play two action cards in Throne room, e.g. I use Bridge in first play of Throne room and then Bridge is used and when I play Throne room for the second time I have to use Village (my only action card left)?

In other words: does Procession treat an action card in Throne room as one card (as we usually do when we play Throne room) or not?


texts: Engineers end of game victory point stronghold

texts:
When an Engineer builds a Stronghold they get 3 victory points for each bridge. My question is when the game ends do they get this victory point bonus for each bridge again?

I'm kinda confused because the rule book says the end-of-turn bonus cards do NOT yield their bonuses on the final round. I'm wondering if the same rule applies for favor tiles and the Engineer-bridge victory points.


texts: If player pulls card out of his hand and then puts it back in his hand, and opponents have seen the card, must player play that card?


texts: When my friend has totem armor on a creature and I use Anger of the Gods, what happens? They are both replacement effects but which is applied first?


texts: Three beginner clarifications about Cribbage

texts:
I started playing Cribbage on my phone 2 days ago and want to play with my friends, so I have some questions:

How do you determine who leads the next hand? I know the after the deal, the Pone leads, but after that, who leads?
After scoring a play, does each player take back their cards so that they can score their hands later?
Are cards shuffled every time the dealer changes?


texts: Picking colors for an abstract game (game design)

texts: What are the "do's and dont's" when it comes to picking colors for the two players and the board in a 2 player abstract game? When you ask the players themselves, everyone has their own finicky preferences, with no real consensus between them. (Red & green might be the only way to go for player A, while player B hates red & green because he's colorblind.) Anyway, how do you come up with a colorscheme that pleases everyone - or what ones are already used that work?


texts:
I've started playing with friends and for spells, the bonus on the hit dice is current focus.

  Determine a magic attack's success by making a magic attack roll. Roll 2d6 and add the attacking model's current FOCUS. roll an additional die if the roll is boosted. Special rules and certain circumstances might modify the attack

What does it mean? Is it the remaining focus you have at the time of the spell? And if so, is it counted before or after you spend the focus?

Example:

With my warcaster, I have 6 max focus (the number of focus I have at the beginning of the round) after spending some of my focus on my warjacks, I have 2 left available. I decide to cast a spell that costs me 2 focus.

So my bonus to hit is 6, 2 or 0?


texts: If I find a hidden number, do I have to be on the tile to replace it?

texts: Say that I notice a hidden number on a tile on the other side of the continent. Do I still replace the tile card even though I am nowhere near it?


texts: How does Wizard's Lightning stop Archfiend's Vessel?

texts:
So, I'm watching this youtuber play Magic: the Gathering Arena, and he was able to stop an Archfiend's Vessel from triggering when it is pulled from the graveyard by casting a Wizard's Lightning, targeting it.  You can see the interaction starting around the 13:50 mark here:  Wizard's Lightning stops Archfiend's Vessel  For reference, Archfiend's Vessel says that when it enters the battlefield from or is cast from your graveyard, exile it.  If you do, create a 5/5 black Demon creature token with flying.  Wizard's Lightning deals 3 damage to any target.
I'm confused about how this works, and my question is just: how?  When the Vessel enters the battlefield, its ability triggers immediately, Wizard's Lightning is played, deals 3 damage, kills the Vessel, but the Vessel's ability was already on the stack, shouldn't it have still been able to go off?  Is this a quirk or bug with Arena, or is this how the interaction is actually supposed to resolve?


texts: In Act 3 of the board game Die Hard: The Nakatomi Heist Board Game, there is a hostages tile on the board.  When the Thieves team Shoots, are they able to shoot though the hostages at John? Or do the hostages block the necessary line of sight?


texts:
Just started playing, and I noticed there are the double (Any color) paths, I thought that meant two different paths could be taken, but then I noticed it was blocked when one person put their train down.

If you can only put one path down, and it's any color- why is there two paths if you can only ever use one?


texts: If a creature has both hexproof and shroud, is it functionally the same as just having Shroud? What happens when a creature has both shroud and hexproof?


texts: Do I "control" creatures in my graveyard?

texts:
Cloudshift has

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

Are creatures already in my graveyard still under my control? Can I return one of them to the battlefield?

(No, I don't think that one answers my question. It's not "permanent", but "creature you control")


texts: Can HP-granting armor be moved between wounded troops during deployment phase?

texts:
In XenoShyft Onslaught, after the combat phase ends, surviving troops on a player lane keep their current damage token. Then, on the next deployment phase, the rules states that a player can move equipment between troops on his lane :

  3. DEPLOYMENT PHASE

  Once all Troops and Equipment cards have
  been deployed, each player has one last
  chance to arrange their Lane as they wish changing
  the order of Troops (only within
  their own lane), moving Equipment cards
  around, etc.

If a trooper with a certain amount of HP, equipped with a HP-granting armor, takes an amount of Damage Token exceeding his base HP but inferior to his total HP (base + armor), can the armor be removed from this trooper and given to another?

If it can be done, what happens then to the trooper? Is he discarded instantly, thus freeing a slot (which can not be done, since troops can not be undeployed from the lane)?


texts: In Agricola, why are Minor Improvements not separated by number of players whereas Occupations are?

texts:
In Agricola, Occupations cards are each marked with 1+, 3+ or 4+, indicating the number of players for which they are valid. For example, you cannot be dealt a 3+ or 4+ card in a two-player game. With a few exceptions (such as those that refer to the "Travelling players" space) the 3+/4+ cards would be playable, and potentially useful, in any game, but presumably they are restricted for purposes of balance.

Why do the Minor Improvements not follow the same system? There are a number of cards where their behaviour changes directly in response to number of players, especially in the I deck (e.g. Slaughter-house, Milking shed, Punner). Others don't directly refer to other players but still change in their utility, for example because of different availability of certain actions (e.g. Bake bread; see also here).

Intuitively, in designing the game I feel it would have made sense to have the same system for both Minor Improvements and Occupations: either decide that both should be available in all games, and accept that some will be more useful than others for a given number of players, or categorise them both in order to fine-tune the balance.

Is there any reason that they follow two different systems?


texts:
I played a game of power grid with 6 players using the map of Italy, with one zone removed. In step 2, I had power plants to produce electricity for 11 (6-4-1) houses with cheap resources, and built 13 houses, preparing to end the game (14 houses) once a suitable plant is in the market. However, one of the players had plants to power 15 houses, so I didn't buy a 4-house plant in the market, fearing that once I bought it, he would build up to 15 houses immediately to win the game (he had 11 houses at that time), and waited for better plants.

Afterwards, step 3 was entered. My player order was 2 at that time. I bought a 6-house plant, replacing the 1-house plant, preparing to end the game with 16 houses, fully powered. However, the other players had filled in all the cities in the map immediately, with no more space left, making me unable to build the 3 additional houses to win the game.

Is this a rare scenario? Can this happen when everyone plays the game normally? Should I instead try to end the game earlier when I already had 13 houses?


texts: In Robo Rally, what happens to locked registers if I power up with more than 4 damage?

texts: If I wake my robot with locked registers, do I have a 'blank' there until it unlocks?


texts:
I've recently learned about holding the priority after playing a spell or ability.

I understand this can be used for beneficial effects affecting your own spells, for instance copying your own instant/sorcery with Twincast or Reverberate.

But since the stack resolves it's content 1 by 1, I don't see how playing two spells back to back without passing priority would differ from playing one, let it resolve, then play another.

Apart from spell copying/redirecting/etc... effects, what would holding the priority allow a player to achieve ?


texts:
I tried to solve this tsumego, black is on the move:

it seems to me that white can kill black only if he wins the ko two times. Is that correct? After first ko win he will connect at 1-3 and after second win he will take at 3-2.


texts:
Have you ever tried playing Small World with visible VP ?

It sometimes frustrates me to discover in the end that some player had much more or less VP that we expected. Memorizing the VP count for every player is feasible but requires so much concentration.

Consequences I envisaged :

game might take longer because of added strategic thinking
new players may get earlier the feeling of which strategy is successful and also who they should attack
less talk during turns "you should attack him, not me since he made 14 points last turn"

What are your experiences or feelings with this variant ?


texts: What is the difference between state-based effects and effects on the stack?

texts:
Being new to MTG, I've learned that abilities from spells go to the stack and resolve in reversed order of their placement on the stack. But I haven't heard of the term state-based effects until reading Do things on the stack or state-based effects resolve between first strike and normal combat damage?

  My creature deals his first strike damage, immediately killing the opponent's creature before he is able to deal combat damage as a state-based effect.

Do state-based effects refer to combat damage and creature stats, such as the amount of remaining health of the creature? And do stack-effects—if that's how it's called—refer to all triggered abilities by any spell? Am I misinterpreting and/or missing something?

I'm uncertain whether my deductions are correct, so a clear definition of state-based effects and stack-effects (including source for further reading) is much appreciated.


texts:
I just picked up Boss Monster and I'm a little confused about items.
The rules say:

  If you kill a Hero with an attached item, you may place the face-up item in your score-keeping area. However, you may only have one face-up item at a time. (You may choose which item to keep face-up)

The All About Item Cards guide also says:

  Before you claim the new Item, you have a choice: A) immediately use your existing Item, B) turn your existing Item face-down, or C) leave the existing Item face-up and turn the new Item face-down.

  To show that an Item is used, flip it face-down. There are also some other effects in Tools of Hero-Kind that can flip an Item face-down, but these do not trigger the ability

From what I can tell, the only cards in the Tools of Hero-Kind expansion that can flip cards face-up are Excavation and Burial Mound. Which only amounts to three cards.

Am I missing something? Does this mean that if you don't control one of those three cards that you can never flip up a face-down item?


texts: Can you create more than one of the same-colored grape at harvest?

texts: Say you already have a level 3 red grape. Can you harvest a field that has a 2-red-vine, and a 1-red-vine, and create a 1-grape and a 2-grape from it, as one harvest action?


texts: Do Friday Night Magic games count toward your DCI rating?

texts:
I've gone to a few FNM drafts, and it's structured as three qualifying matches, followed by a single-elimination tournament for the top 8.

Do all these games affect your DCI rating?


texts: Do I need On The Brink to play In The Lab?

texts:
I bought the Pandemic base set, and In The Lab, as I saw it plays up to six people. (Though I notice now that's for team play).

When I got home, I saw the box says that you need both the base set and On The Brink to play.

Is this correct?


texts:
Can you play x-wing with more than 2 people?

If so, what all do I need to achieve more than 2 players?

Free for all? Teams?


texts: Can the sorcerer's ability be used at any time during the turn?

texts:
I've always played Smallworld with the belief that the Sorcerer's swap/replace ability was only used at the end of the player's turn.  But I recently played it with a different group who said the power could be used at any point during a player's turn.

How do other people play this ability?  Does it really matter?


texts: I have a tough ruling I need some help with: On my opponent's turn he played Contaminated Ground on my Island. I tapped that Island for blue mana in response. I then wanted to let the stack resolve and cast Blink of an Eye on Contaminated Ground before the end of the step. Rule 500.2 is what makes me believe this is possible. His sense is that after we both pass priority, the step ends and I won't have the mana to cast the spell. What's the actual ruling here?


texts:
I have three card clarifications that came up while playing games last night.

Treasure card "Proton Gem":

  You may add this card to your spell face up. It counts as a Wild Magic card but is not discarded.

Interpretation 1: Spells are crafted before a round starts. The player places the treasure in place of either a source, quality or delivery card. When the player's spell is revealed the treasure is placed aside and the wild card action takes place.

Rebuttal: The treasure says the player can add it to the spell, but does not specify when.

Interpretation 2: A player composes its spell then when revealed the player adds the treasure to its spell and goes through the wild card action.

Rebuttal: Spells are composed before a round so the treasure can't be added whenever the player wants.

Delivery card "Nuke-U-Lur Meltdown":

  3 damage, and 1 damage to each player adjacent to that foe.

Interpretation 1: The caster is considered a player. If the caster is also adjacent to the target for the caster will take 1 splash damage.
Interpretation 2: The intent of the card would not be to have it damage the caster even if the caster is adjacent to the target.

Source card "Professor Presto's"

  If you played a Wild Magic card as part of your spell, gain a treasure.

Interpretation 1: The action of drawing a treasure triggers once even if the player composes its spell with more than one wild magic card.

Interpretation 2: The action of drawing a treasure triggers once for each wild magic card in the player's spell.


texts: What card game is this? Similar to spades

texts:
I'm from a latin american country and a game called casino is very popular (not to be confused with poker or actually casino games)
It's a four player game with a partnership. Making it a 2v2. The first team to reach 21 points wins.
The cards considered points are the aces scoring as 1 point. The 10 of diamonds and the 2 of spades both counting as 2 points respectively.

The dealer gives 13 cards to each player.
This is where the games separates itself from spades or all fours.
Instead of going by rounds and winning tricks or bidding how many points you'll get, the game is played by taking towards your team as many cards as possible. You do this by taking same numbered cards.

Example. The first player to play puts down a 4 (since it's advice to start playing low numbered cards) the next player decides, if possible, to take the 4 in the table with a 4 of his own. If he does he adds to the team card pool. If he wishes not to take the card or can't he has to drop another card. For example putting down a 3.
Now the next player may choose to use a 7 he has in his hand and take both cards, (because 4+3=7) and so on and so forth.

Points start appearing when you add them to a certain card. For example if you know you have all four kings you can add an ace (which counts as a number 1) to a queen (making it 13 the numerical value of a king)

At the end of the round you count how many aces your team got or if you got the 10 of diamonds or the 2 of spades
So that's the main difference with other trick and bid games. There are times where there are several cards in th table when the first 4 turns finish and players may choose to either take or add and combine cards.


texts: If I have a creature that says "other creatures you control have indestructible" and my opponent plays a destroy all creatures. Does it kill all creatures or just my creature that says that it gives others indestructibility?


texts:
I'm considering buying a small table, and I want to be sure it'll support all the games I might want to play on it. Sadly, however, I don't have access to Settlers and all its expansion right now.

An article about making a custom Catan board suggests that the base game should fit within 18" by 24", but that doesn't include the sea border or any of the expansions or extensions.

What is the physical size of the Settlers of Catan board when set up?

...with the 5-6 player extension?
...with the Seafarers expansion?

...and the Seafarers 5-6 player extension?

...with the Cities & Knights expansion?

...and the Cities & Knights 5-6 player extension?

...with the Traders & Barbarians expansion?

...and the Traders & Barbarians 5-6 player extension?


texts: Can you play older versions of cards in standard?

texts: Say, for example, you have a card that is still legal in standard but the version you have of it comes from a set that has since been rotated out. Can you still play the version from your older set?


texts: In Elder Sign, If I free a locked die by defeating a monster, can I use it in the same turn?

texts:
If a monster locks a yellow die, can I use an item/spell to gain that die once I defeat the monster?

Also, I have not looked through the cards, but if there is a monster that locks the green die, would I gain the green die to use for rolling on the very turn I defeat that monster?


texts: Canasta and the rules on invalid melding

texts: Would like to know what happens when you come down with an invalid meld You have now exposed all your cards on the table. I was told you have to leave them down on the table and use them as discards. Until they are all gone. My question is is if you come down with a valid meld can your partner open and put her meld down? Or do you have to wait till all the cards that were exposed are discarded?


texts: Where can I get my Magic the Gathering play critiqued?

texts:
I started playing Magic again last year right after the release of Dark Ascension after a long hiatus. I decided to get more serious in trying to win, but I've hit a roadblock in my play. I go x-1 in my FNM booster drafts regularly, but also regularly lose to the top players at my store.

I also play the Swiss draft queues  on MTGO, but while I do win the tournaments there sometimes, many times I feel that I am not drafting the right archetype, missing signals, or not really playing well. This also applies to my deck building and play for Constructed as well (mostly Standard).

Is there a place where I can get my deck building choices and technical game play critiqued so that I can get better?


texts:
Is there an online site to play the card game Phase 10 on?
A clone is fine, but I'd really like to avoid a download.


texts: Is a pawn allowed to capture onto a promotion square?

texts:
I was playing chess with my father.

My pawn was on the second-to-last square before promotion. He had two rooks side-by-side blocking my pawn, therefore I naturally took the rook beside it because a pawn moves diagonally to take the piece.

He said this was an illegal move and not allowed, that a pawn cannot take a piece diagonally and then gets promoted because it's on the other side. Is this true?


texts: What is an efficient way to organize my magic collection?

texts: Currently, I have a rare binder with all of my rares, and the rest of my cards are broken into several boxes by color, gold/multi color, and land.  The problem with this methodology is that if I have a specific card in mind that's a common, I have to search through the entire box until I find it.  Is there a better way to manage by cards?


texts: What happens when I play a Swindler and no cards with the same cost as the trashed card are in the kingdom set?

texts:
Swindler: +2 Coins, Each other player trashes the top card of his deck and gains a card with the same cost that you choose.

Say my opponent has played a Black Market and now the top card of their deck is a 4-cost card they purchased with it. There are no cards in the kingdom set that cost 4, and I play my Swindler. My opponent trashes the 4-cost card from the top of his deck, but what, if anything, does he gain since there are no other 4-cost cards in the kingdom set?


texts: When I get rewarded with a crystal and already have 3, do I forfeit the reward?

texts: When I get crystal rewards (for example via rolling dice after winning in some adventure sites), do I forfeit them if I already have 3, or can I reroll?


texts: Do cursed investigators in the herald variant repeatedly fall unconscious?

texts: In the Herald variant of Curse of the Dark Pharaoh, cursed investigators lose stamina every upkeep. If they reach zero and become unconscious, do they wake at St. Mary's Hospital only to keep falling unconscious unless someone sends a blessing their way? Do they lose the curse when becoming unconscious? I didn't see any reference to losing or retaining blessed/cursed status but surely there is some means to keep investigators from being caught in this loop


texts: What is the term for a stalemate in Checkers?  What are the official conditions for a "no winner game"?


texts: What do you say the rules should be for a free for all duel in Yu-Gi-Oh?

texts: In a free for all duel, no players should attack, except for the last player, because they're battling two or more opponents. In a regular duel, the last player can attack, so why not in a free for all duel? It's harder for them, anyway. 10,000 life points for a three way duel and 12,000 for a four way, since there are so many other opponents. In a three way, 18 cards or less in the extra deck. In a four way, 20 cards or less in the extra deck. In any free for all, everyone draws six cards in all.


texts: Paying with property wild cards, can they be placed anywhere?

texts: In Monopoly Deal, when paying rent with a property wild card, can the opponent receiving the card place it anywhere in their property collection?


texts: Blocking creatures with menace and an equipment giving 'can only be blocked by one creature'

texts:
I ran into an interesting interaction tonight when I played Magic. So here's the setting:

I have a Pyreheart Wolf out and the equipment known as Vorrac Battlehorns.
Pyreheart Wolf's ability says: when this creature attacks, your creatures have to be blocked by two or more creatures this turn, the ability that we now know as menace.
Vorrack Battlehorns ability is: equipped creature has trample and can only be blocked by one creature.

I also have one other creature out.
I have the equipment equipped to said other creature. I go to attack phase. I attack with both my creatures.

My question: does the Pyreheart Wolf's ability trigger first or does the equipment's ability trigger first?


texts: Are the reckoning effect Lore checks on Glamour cards considered spell effects?

texts:
The Unique Asset "Sealing the Old Ones" allows one to discard spells when a Lore check is passed as a Spell Effect.  Glamour Spells from the Strange Remnants expansion don't have a Lore check in the standard main body of the spell, but rather have Lore checks as part of their reckoning effects, as if they are ongoing spell effects that get checked every reckoning for any side effects.

Does this reckoning effect Lore check count as a spell effect for the purposes of deciding to discard it to add an eldritch token to the Sealing the Old Ones Unique Asset?


texts: Crazyhouse Chess: is it possible to get all eighteen queens?

texts:
Over here it was previously discussed whether one can end up with all nine queens.

There is a variant of chess called Crazyhouse in which captured pieces may be reintroduced as the capturer's. In theory, then, a player may have two queens and sixteen pawns which all may be promoted.

Is it possible to get eighteen queens without checkmating before that, or else putting the opponent into a draw?


texts: What are good standard strategies for Carcassonne ?

texts:
I've only just discovered Carcassonne (thanks to the iPhone app), but I keep losing (in 3-player games).

Which standard strategies are there? (game without extensions, 3-4 players).

One strategy per answer please.


texts: 4-4 pincer variant - not in joseki dictionary


texts: Munchkins: Apocolypse Preparing for the 7th seal

texts:
Ok, so we are mid-game and the pressure is thick. My so called "friend", has been stealing all my small items the entire game. The host of tonights game has favored his apocolypse doors for every knock, and consequently this game is nearing the 7th seal. For those of you that know, this is the hail mary Game Over play. My thief of a friend does a quick count of his combat bonuses and then whispers to me, "we are tied for first...." I didn't come here to split the glory. Once the disaster that flips up the 7th seal is played, I try to equip some items for a bonus.

May I equip cards to "buffer" my combat bonus, in response to the apocolypse 7th seal attempt to open?


texts: Can a card be un-cast, if the player realises it was a bad decision?

texts:
Let's say a player casts a spell, completely allows it to resolve, and accepts its consequences - then realises that was a bad idea, or there was something better to do. That player realises there was a better card to play, or that the spell will do something they don't want to happen, such as deal enough damage to that player to kill them.

Does the caster have the opportunity to go back and fix that mistake (and to stay alive), even though they already accepted the consequences?


texts: If my opponent Mindslavers me, and then I Mindslaver myself, does it "override" my opponent's control? I assume it works the same as if someone, for example, Act of Treasons on a creature, and then someone else Act of Treasons it, simply gaining control again, but just making sure.


texts: Can you move someone else's Jenga piece (properly placed in center position) at the top of stack before placing your piece? Husband moved wife's piece in attempt to not lose.


texts: Would stealing control of my opponent's commander with Control Magic and killing it let me maintain control of it?

texts: If I played Control Magic and enchanted Marath, Will of the Wild, then took off the 3 counters, would Marath return to my opponent's command zone or would I retain control and have the option of casting him for his mana cost?


texts:
I played with a group recently who was convinced that an effect like "each creature" will target (while "all creatures" does not).

I consider rule 114.9a good enough to prove that it must say "target" or have a keyword whose rule says target or... it doesn't target.

But they are so sure that I think I will get some push back.  Is there anything besides rule 114.9a that I could use to clearly show that "each" does not target?  (Assuming I am right and it doesn't.)


texts: What is the African board game in this picture?

texts:
What is the name of the board game in the picture below?

Any article/document about the game would be very appreciated.


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

texts:
I have looked and can't seem to find any.

I have seen many green cards and some artifacts that do this, but nothing in Red, Blue, Black or White.

Are there any?

Note: By "Mana Ramp" I mean a card that generates mana, or one that lets you play more than one land per turn.  The end result, for example, would be on turn 4, playing a white only deck, I could tap more than 4 mana.  (Normally you only get one land per turn so a max of 4 mana on turn 4.)


texts: Do you have to have exactly 60 cards in a Magic the Gathering deck? Some people I've talked to at FNM say yes, others say no.


texts: Can Yahenni become indestructible after taking lethal damage, and does it die then?

texts:
I cast Cruel Entertainment targetting both me and an opponent, who controls Yahenni, Undying Partisan and some other creatures. My own turn ends, and I take control of their turn, in which I attack with Yahenni only. It is blocked by a creature which deals lethal damage to Yahenni.

Now, can the activated ability of Yahenni ("Sacrifice another creature: Yahenni gains indestructible until end of turn.") still be activated after taking lethal damage, so that I can wipe the whole board of the opponent?
If so, does the fact that Yahenni then becomes indestructible negate the fact that it has taken lethal damage in that combat phase (in which the opponent will still have Yahenni on the board)?


texts:
When me and my friends normally play Catan, no one reveals the number of resource cards  they are holding in their hands (which is legal according to the rulebook).

Is it also legal to hide Development Cards after you get them in order to not let others count them? Say in your pocket? Or, should all the cards be kept in the hand or on the table, visible to everyone ?


texts: Who Takes The Trick In Rage If Everyone Plays A Black Card?

texts:
We've often had it happen that when playing rage, no one plays a "suit" card.  First player plays "Change Rage", second player plays "Out Rage" etc. etc.

In this case is there a rule as to who takes the trick?  Would it be the first player or would the trick simply be set aside and not count towards anyone's total?


texts: Do counters combine? Can three +1/+1 counters be considered one +3/+3 counter?

texts:
Some cards like Animation Module allow you to copy a counter. My question is if a creature has three +1/+1 counters, is that considered one counter or three distinct counters.

Would Animation Module be allowed to use it's second ability to get +3/+3 or only copy one (of the three) counters to get an additional +1/+1?


texts: Fixing the "Vs. Player" squares in Encore!

texts:
Few squares in Encore! are more dreaded by our play group than the "Vs. Player" squares — "Team vs. Player" and "Player Vs. Player." It's not just that they're harder; they're palpably less fun, and kill the momentum that's generated by the game. They remove the collaborative element that's a big part of the game's appeal, and have the potential to cause tension. (Instances where the chosen player gets a word that they blank on,  or when the rest of the team has to sit in silence as the "best" player seizes the spotlight for a while or a stymied teammate struggles with a word that his or her friends can think of half a dozen songs for.)

Here are some steps we've taken to try and fix the problem:

On XvP squares, the "player" is not necessarily chosen in advance; rather, it's the person on the singing team who begins the first song after the timer starts running. This means you'll never be completely without a song unless no one on your team had one.
At our last Encore! party, I served as timekeeper and as the "player" — XvP became "challenge the host." This worked well for the team challenge, but Player vs. Me had many of the same difficulties as Player vs. Player.

We like Encore! and play it regularly, but it seems that this one element is more likely to cause awkwardness in the game than any other. How can this be reduced or eliminated?


texts: Where should I place tokens via Builder resolved from another server?

texts: I've got several ices on a remote server. On the top of them - rezzed Builder. I've got rezzed Wormhole, protecting another server (HQ, for example). The runner makes a run on HQ and faces the Wormhole. It's subroutine is triggered (resolve a subroutine on another piece of rezzed ice) and I decide to resolve the Builder's subroutine. On what server's ice can I put the advancement token? HQ or the server with the Builder on top?


texts: Can I give my creature Persist and Sacrifice it to Greater Good to save it from destruction by Beast Within?

texts: I have Child of Alara and my opponent targets it with Beast Within. I then cast Cauldron Haze to give persist to the Child of Alara and sacrifice it to Greater Good. Does my creature come back with the -1/-1 counter or is it dead?


texts: Do the Saar need to wait a whole round to build a Space Dock?

texts:
Most races in Twilight Imperium need to wait a whole round in order to build a Space Dock from the moment they take control of a system, that is because of the following requirement in the rules (emphasis mine):

  The active player must have controlled the planet for the entire
  current round. Thus, it is not possible to build a Space Dock on a
  planet that has just been acquired during the current round.

However, the Saar do not build their Space Docks on planets, as specified on their racial sheet. So, can they build a Space Dock wherever they want immediately as they control a system, or do they need to wait a round like all other races?


texts: Magic The Gathering can this combo be done?

texts: Quick question, can I use Smallpox and choose to sacrifice Strip Mine but in response sacrifice Strip Mine to use it's effect too?


texts: Is it possible to defeat Azathoth when playing with only 1 Investigator?

texts:
I'm new to Eldritch Horror and am baffled by how difficult this game is. I've won difficult co-op's before (like Ghost Stories and Pandemic with 7 Epidemics) but Eldritch seems impossible. Thusfar, I've only played against Azathoth (the recommended Ancient One to get acquainted to the game) and only with 2 Investigators (although I've tried different combinations of Investigators). I've read posts like this one (https://www.reddit.com/r/boardgames/comments/2an394/is_eldritch_horror_too_easy_with_only_2/) suggesting that it's too easy, and so I'm wondering if I'm missing something. I'm aware that Azathoth is not the Ancient One with the highest win rate, but it should be possible to win.

I've also seen this post (What is a solid basic strategy for surviving Eldritch Horror?) on basic strategy, but I have never lost from running out of Mythos Cards...every loss (5, now) has been from Doom hitting 0 (because awakening Azathoth is immediate loss). So here are my questions:

I always lose from Doom getting to 0, meaning I need to prioritize closing Gates. How can I effectively do this with only 1 or 2 Investigators?
How important is the choice in Investigators? (Again, I know there are stats, but I'm looking for a qualitative answer.)
Is the game difficulty significantly different with different numbers of Investigators? 1 Investigator seems dramatically more challenging than 2 due to the values on the Icon Reference.
I know some cards like the Icon Reference have been updated. How important is it for me to see if I have the old info or the new info (in terms of my success rate)?
This question is on some general rules that I'm unclear about. I've chosen the easier interpretation for each so far. When resolving a Monster Surge, do you place Monsters on Gates in which the color is covered by an Eldritch Token? E.g. With Azathoth, the Green Gate starts with an Eldritch Token; so does a Monster Surge happen when the Omen Token is on Green and a Mythos Card requires it? Similarly, does Doom advance for each Green Gate in this case or just the Eldritch Tokens on the space? Finally, do Reckoning Effects apply to Cards/Monsters that get drawn during the current Mythos Card?


texts: Can I rez PAD Campaign before my turn starts?

texts:
PAD Campaign is an Asset that reads:

  Gain 1 [Credit] when your turn begins.

Am I allowed to rez it (or other similar Assets such as Adonis Campaign) before the start of my turn so I can benefit from it immediately and not give the runner a chance to react to it?

My understanding is that I can rez it after any action by either player, and that includes the last action of the runner's turn. Am I right in thinking this?


texts: Mirage Mirror + Itlimoc, Cradle of the Sun

texts: If I use my Mirage Mirror to copy another player's Itlimoc, Cradle of the Sun, will my copy be this version of the double sided card, or the original front face of the card, Growing Rites of Itlimoc?


texts: Multiplayer Rules Considering Enchantments

texts:
Rule 810.5 about the Two-Headed Giant game variant says:

  810.5. With the exception of life total and poison counters, a team’s resources (cards in hand, mana,
  and so on) are not shared in the Two-Headed Giant variant. Teammates may review each other’s
  hands and discuss strategies at any time.
  Teammates can’t manipulate each other’s cards or
  permanents.

Now, my question is: Is it possible to enchant or target my teammates' permanents or does this rule forbid this?


texts: Can Shapesharer copy an enters the battlefield ability, like Stoneforge Mystic's?

texts: If I use Shapesharer to copy Stoneforge Mystic do I get to search my library for an Equipment card when I perform the copy?


texts:
In the game of Spades, after spades are broken, you can lead a trick with a spade.  In which situations leading with a spade is wise?

I thought about three situations:

Have high cards in side suits but some opponent is void in that suit.  After the spades are out those high cards are sure takes again.
Long suit in spades.  By playing spades you can remove all other spades in the round, then from your ~4th spade you are the only player with spades and each spade is a take.
Only have spades

I wonder if some one have other situations where leading spades is the best move


texts: In bridge, what caused bidding "standards" to decline post Goren?

texts:
I was weaned on "Goren" in the 1960s, and as some readers of my other questions have pointed out, am not totally comfortable with "Standard American" or other newer standards. These may be some examples why:

1) A "strong" (Goren) 1NT was 16-18 points, now it's 15-17.
2) "Five card majors" now means "any five cards." Goren preferred suits led by at least one honor.
3) Goren had stringent high card point requirements for raises of major suits. Nowadays, people like Larry Cohen and Marty Bergen advocate raising with "trumps rather than points."

What led to the above "weakening" of Goren's standards? Has declarer play improved more than defender play? Has there been a change of ethos from "don't go down if you can avoid it" to "don't go down more than your opponents' likely score?"

And speaking of which, is this why penalties were stiffened for doubled, non vulnerable from 100, 300, 500, 700... to 100, 300, 500, 800...?


texts: What happens if I pocket both my own coin and my opponent's while covering the Queen?

texts: I pocketed the Queen, and then in the covering strike I pocketed a coin of each player. What happens?


texts: In Chess, Why Does Black Sometimes Play "Cramped" Openings?

texts:
I'm referring to openings such as d6 (Pirc Defense) or e6 (French Defense) in answer to say, e4. These openings often make it more difficult to develop pieces than say, c5 or e5. In particular, the black squared bishop needs to be fianchettoed after d5, and the white squared bishop is locked behind a wall of pawns after e6 (and d5). For these reasons, White (almost) never begins a game with d3 or e3. A certain chess master had the opinion that "Cramped positions carry within them the germ of defeat," and would play c5 as black, whenever possible.

Do such openings (French and Pirc defenses) represent a desire for a "closed" game style of play? Could black be trying to get white to overreach? Or is it that these are among the better choices available to black, given that s/he moves second, with the other openings offering problems of their own?


texts: Grand Tour USA (Helvetiq): How can you travel to Hawaii and Alaska?

texts: Players can typically move by passing through bordering states following correctly answering a question. Although there are chance cards which allow for travel via oceans, they seem too infrequent to be the only means of getting to the 2 non-contiguous states. I can't find anything in the rules to address this issue; anyone have a fix?


texts: Is Magic: The Gathering a consistent game? That is, is there any possible situation where the rules contradict on what to do next, and also, can a game hypothetically go on indefinitely?


texts: Can you play the Crisis Expansion's Crisis Mode with the core game and Heroes Unite combined?

texts:
The description for the DC Comics Deck Building Game: Crisis Expansion 1 says the following:

  This is not a standalone product. DC Comics Deck-building Game or Heroes Unite is required to play.

Is it possible to play with both at once in Crisis mode, maybe with house rules? Since the deck size in Crisis is the time limit, my first thought is that it could maybe be done if you mixed them all up, then reduced the size, but I'd be interested to know if this works well in practice (bonus points if there is something official that says whether or not they work out together).

To be clear, I know that I can just add the decks together and play without further modifications, but that makes the difficulty far, far easier because you have about 75% more cards (meaning you'll probably never end the game by reaching the end of the deck). I'd like to know if there is a way to play it that keeps the difficulty about the same.


texts: Mtg creature spells, instants, priority?

texts:
A Friend and I were playing a game last night.
I tapped 4 mana, and I had 4 Creatures in my graveyard to help reduce Ghoultree's mana cost. So I summoned him, my friend then cast an instant that exiles creatures from my graveyard. Does Ghoultree then fizzle, because I now don’t have enough mana to cast it?

Or because he wasn’t countered he still enters battlefield because I am the active player and have priority?


texts: Stuffy Doll blocking 11/11 trampler. Phyrexian Obliterator blocks 11/11 trampler

texts:
What my problem is when last night a Stuffy Doll blocked my 11/11 trampler, the result was me taking 11 damage and Stuffy Doll absorbing one of that damage from the defending player who took ten damage. We called mtg for a ruling and that was the one given. How is it that Stuffy Doll takes 11 damage, but at the same time ten of it gets through to opponent? I was expecting to take one damage from Stuffy Doll, seeing as how Stuffy Doll only really took one. I don't understand that in one case Stuffy Doll has taken one and in the other Stuffy Doll has taken 11. Sounds like a logical fallacy ie 1 = 11.

Second question is what if I block an 11/11 trampler with a Phyrexian Obliterator ? Will the opponent have to sacrifice 5 permanents or 11 permanents?  Would it be any different if the attacking creature didn't have trample?


texts: Official Diplomacy sets, variations and where to buy

texts:
Diplomacy only seems to have one set available to buy widely that I am aware of, built by Gibson Games.

It's nothing special, an averagely constructed cardboard board with plastic pieces.

Are there any other officaly distributed boxes available? Preferably available to order online.

There also lots of variations of Diplomacy available online, have any of these made it 'into the wild'?


texts:
In Monopoly, there are two utilities. They cost 150, and rent is 4x the dice roll if one utility is owned, or 10x the dice value if both are owned.

Are the utilities something I want to purchase if possible? Or are they junk? How valuable are they compared to the other properties on the board?


texts: How can I cheaply and easily create stackable tiles?

texts:
I'm building a prototype with stackable tiles in several different shapes. I 3D-printed some tiles that lock together nicely, but it is too expensive to 3D-print all the tiles I need to make multiple copies.

My solution so far is printing out the tiles on card stock, gluing to a bristol (i.e. presentation board) covering with a plastic sheet usually used to cover books. On the bottom I glue a layer of non slide rubber sheet to encourage pieces to stay in place.

I then cut the board into tiles with a utility knife and a straight edge.

Does anyone have better ways of making tiles that don't slide much?
I am making the game board the same way but I am having trouble getting the bubbles out from under the coating. Any tips?
Can a stack paper cutter be used to cut out the tiles which are 4 layers thick?


texts: Should you overcall with a (slightly) weaker hand if it is more "disruptive?"

texts:
In bridge, if you overcall two clubs over an opening one spade, you haven't taken up much bidding space, because your overcall hasn't kept your opponents out of any suits, only one NT.

If you overcall two clubs over one diamond, you've done quite a bit more damage, because you have prevent your opponents from bidding a major (or no trump) at the one level.

Does it therefore follow that you can overcall two clubs with a slightly weaker hand over one diamond than a one spade bid because the "disruption" to the opponents is significantly greater?

That is, assuming all other things being equal, like vulnerability and part scores. Perhaps the type of game might make a difference in the answers.


texts: Trouble: Despicable Me Edition-Why is the 1 red?

texts: My family got a brand new copy of Trouble: Despicable Me Edition. We were wondering why the 1 on the regular die was red, when the only special roll is 6.


texts:
Scenario:

Player A attacks with a 6/6 creature.
Player B assigns TWO blockers to block the 6/6 creature, each is 3/3 with first strike.

Which of these happens?

B's first strike blockers deal their damage first, destroying A's larger creature before it deals any damage
Each blocker must take its turn blocking. So the first 3/3 blocker does first strike damage, then dies. Then the second blocker does first strike damage, and lives.


texts: Axis and Allies 1941 planes and industry

texts: I recently played axis and allies 1941 for the first time with a friend and at one point during gameplay he took over my capital with a bomber by destroying my only tank and used its last movement to take it over later I was doubtful so I looked in the rulebook days later and confirmed that planes can never take over enemy territory I brought this to his attention and he agreed that he shouldn't have took it over but then argued that I would have lost my economy anyway because his plane destroyed my capital making it neutral territory until I took it back I don't think this is the case but just to be sure can planes or any unit destroy your economy in such fashion. To simplify my question can industry be destroyed.


texts: Can I use "De Vermis Mysteriis" every round?

texts: The "De Vermis Mysteriis" card seems very strong. The card does not have any rules for discarding after use. Is it really possible to keep it an improve a skill round after round? Combined with some sort of sanity replenishment it seems almost too strong.


texts: What is the smallest territory in go that can be successfully invaded?

texts:
Let's stay one player has a corner of the board totally enclosed, but with no stones in it, like this:
$$ ------------------
$$ | . . . . . . X .
$$ | . . . . . . X .
$$ | . . . . . . X .
$$ | . . . . . . X .
$$ | . . . . . . X .
$$ | . . . . . . X .
$$ | X X X X X X X .
$$ | . . . . . . . .

How big does this space have do be before the other player can successfully invade it?  Successfully invade here means build an alive structure despite the owner of the territory defending it move-for-move with expert play on both sides.  The defender's surrounding stones should be assumed immortal.
It seems obvious that 4x4 and smaller is not invadable, and I strongly suspect a 5x5 space isn't invadable either.
This page on Sensei's Library suggests that a 6x6 space is not invadable under optimal play, but there is some dispute.  Is that true?  How about 6x7 or 7x7?


texts: Running a MTG draft without actually having to buy new boosters for each player every single time?

texts:
MTG drafting sounds like a really awesome way to play the game. I'd love to try it with some of my friends, but having to spent >5$ for each player every single time you want to play seems unnecessarily prohibitive.

How can I make MTG drafting work with cards I already have? The big issue I see is with the random selection of the starting cards. Do the boosters that are meant to used with drafting really contain completely random cards? How can I simulate their distribution? Should I have each starting set of 15 cards contain only cards from 1 set? How can I make sure there's a variety of cards (enough creatures, instant, and sorceries to keep things interesting) being used without destroying the randomness of selection?

I know not using boosters will take away a small part of the game, mostly the total randomness of what all the packs contain. I'm not looking for a perfect draft simulator, but as I have 3000+ cards I don't see why my group can't have >95% of the fun of drafting without having to buy new boosters every time.


texts: In Robo Rally, what happens if I run out of cards and can't play a card on the 5th register?

texts: The crab legs option card lets me play 2 cards in one register. If I have 4 damage, this leaves me with no cards to play in the 5th register. Is this just a pass in that turn?


texts: Is there a best character in Button Men? Is there a worst character?

texts: Button Men is a free Print&Play game for 2 players. Each player chooses a character card, and the polyhedral dice associated with that character, and takes turns trying to capture their opponent's dice. There are over 200 characters created for it. Dice with more sides can capture opponent's dice more easily, but they are worth more to your opponents when they are captured.  Some analysis has been done with regard to strategy, but have the clearly best and worst character cards emerged?


texts: How long do ghost cards stay in play. I was wondering if they were just a one time deal. Can you only get rid of them with a panic or cat bayou.


texts: How is the die for Cat Tower configured?

texts:
I just bought Cat Tower yesterday and the die came unlabeled with the stickers to be applied to each of the 6 faces. Unfortunately, it gave no indication as to how to apply the stickers.  Based upon a picture on the box, I was able to apply 3 of the faces, but am stuck on the remaining 3 faces.  Is there any indication as to how the faces should be arranged (for example I might guess the 2 one cat faces might be on opposite faces of the die).

Pictures or instructions appreciated.


texts: When playing Saboteur card game for 2, where can you put the ladder card? Can you e.g. put it next to a brown card, once it has been turned and there is no gold on it?


texts: When first prototyping a new board game idea - how do you start?

texts:
I've been working in online gaming for many years but i've always had a love for board gaming.  I'm a great believer in paper prototyping any game or feature too.

I wondered what are the major pitfalls or techniques that board game designers use when they come to designing a boardgame to methodically work through the problems they find?

Having the ideas is the easy bit, but what can I do to effectively work from prototype to completion?

Any tips are welcome.


texts: How does Psychic Surgery work with Scheming Symmetry?

texts: If I have the card Psychic Surgery out and I cast Scheming Symmetry, when exactly do I get to exile? Does the Psychic Surgery trigger resolve before or after the card tutored with Scheming Symmetry (or similar tutors, such as Vampiric Tutor) gets put on top of the library?


texts: If a creature's toughness were to reach 0 before the stack is finished resolving, does it die, or does the stack finish. For example, if a Llanowar Elf had Gigantic growth cast on it and the growth was responded to by Dismember what would happen? Would Dismember bring it to 0 and Gigantic raise it to 3 before it could die? Or does it bite the dust?


texts: Can you choose the same option twice for Incendiary Command?

texts: This card came up as a discussion.  One person was insisting you could choose the same option for Incendiary Command twice and there is no ruling from MTG.  Similar cards say you can only chose an option once. Does anyone know which is right?


texts: What is the most time-efficient way to earn gold in Barbarian Prince?

texts:
Like the title says. Does this change over the course of the game (example, when you hire followers, when a wizard/witch/monk join your party)?

What is the average gold earned per day using the most efficient strategy?


texts: Can you purchase a ship to win your final Fame Point?

texts:
In Xia: Legends of a Drift System, there are many ways to gain Fame.  One of them is to purchase it, at the cost of 5,000 credits per fame point.  However, the rulebook explicitly states that you cannot purchase your final fame point in this manner.  Another way to gain fame is to purchase a new ship.

Is there anything preventing a player from purchasing a new ship for 5,000 credits and receiving his final Fame point in this manner?


texts:
I don't understand the last line of Nature's Way:

  It deals damage equal to its power to target creature [...]

Does it mean when I cast this card, one of my creatures gains vigilance and trample and also deals damage (like an instant)? And after this, can I also attack with this creature?


texts: What game uses dice with compass point arrows, forbidden signs, explosions, arrows and targeting reticles?

texts:
A while ago I bought a few bags of factory 2nd dice. Out of those bags, there are a handful of dice that I have not been able to immediately identify. Some I have later been able to identify through image searching, such as the Warhammer Blood Angels, Adeptus Mechanicus and Tyranids logo dice, as well as the green and pink nebular swirl dice.

However, I am still unsure as to what some of the dice are. I’ve tried looking at dice websites, searching on Google and even using reverse image searches, all to no avail. For some, I am not even sure how to concisely describe them to accurately search for them.

What I want to know is what game are these dice from? Or, if they are not from a specific game, what they are called. Below are images of the dice:

I also have green and purple dice similar to the ones in the above image.

This question has also been asked over at  RPG.SE


texts: Mystery of the Abbey - How to track clues over time?

texts:
If I have Novice Gerard in my hand early in the game, and quickly learn that player A has one Templar Novice crossed off and player B has one Templor Novice crossed off, I know I can eliminate all three Templar Novices.

...However, if I learn early in the game that player A has one Templar Novice crossed off, and then learn 15 minutes later that player B also has one crossed off, I need to somehow deduce whether they have the same Novice eliminated, or two different ones.  It would be helpful if I could look at my sheet and determine how old my previous clue was, and whether or not these players have had the chance to share this information with each other or not.  (Obviously, this is a simplified example, but hopefully you get the point.)

With a sheet covered in markings, it's easy to lose track of where and when I learned each piece of information, and this sometimes affects how I can interpret a new clue.  How do you go about tracking whether a clue on your sheet is "stale" or "fresh"?


texts: Why was TAMSK removed from the GIPF series?

texts: Is the gameplay broken or was it just too hard to manufacture?


texts: Eclipse - Influence action to remove enemy discs?

texts:
Here's the scenario: I have a ship currently in an opponent's sector, he has no ships.  Do the rules allow for me to remove his influence disc and place one of my own?  The rules (2nd ed) around influence action are as follows:

You may move an influence disk to one of the following (forgive the paraphrasing):

Sector where there is not currently an influence disk there and you have an adjacent sector under your influence
Sector where only you have a ship
Back to your track

I am wondering if anyone has any actual evidence one way or the other on this, because it seems that under the second condition, you may use the influence action to remove an influence tile and place one of your own.

I've seen a couple forum posts on this, most answers I have seen have been something to the effect of "you can never remove an opponent's influence disc except during combat phase" with next to no justification in the actual rules for that statement, though it seems this is still the general consensus.

Planets also complicate the question, as it is explicitly stated that you may not send population cubes to occupied planets (rather, it says you may only colonize unoccupied planets), and there is no mechanism for destroying population cubes other than at the end of combat phase, neutron bombs or not.

My group and I are looking to make an official ruling going forward, and to us evidence is paramount.  What we are leaning towards is the following:

Under the second condition of influence action, it is possible to place an influence disc on an opponent's sector, returning that influence disc to their track.  However, you may not colonize occupied planets.  Therefore, using the influence action in this way is possible yet not necessarily wise (you are giving your opponent an extra disc to take action, without them losing their population cubes until the end of the next combat phase -- and only if you still have a ship there at the end of that combat phase).


texts: What is the availability of the complete sets Wizards of the Coast is apparently selling?

texts:
I recently found, what appeared to be complete sets made by Wizards of the Coast.  I had been contemplating buying a complete set of Dragons of Tarkir, with seemingly many vendors making offers, and now I find that (at least on Amazon.com) there are no vendors offering.

Are complete sets always offered?
When are complete sets offered?  Only as part of pre-release?  Or for longer?!

An example of what I'm describing can be seen in this picture

Here is a link to an ebay auction, for a "factory sealed" complete set of Khans of Tarkir:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Khans-of-Tarkir-KTK-Complete-Set-with-Mythics-MTG-Factory-Sealed-/181643375810?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2a4ac9f4c2

Here is a link that may rot more slowly, pointing to all magic the gathering "complete sets" offers on EBay:

http://www.ebay.com/sch/Complete-Sets-/19114/i.html

one week ago, there were at least 3 vendors providing "factory sealed" sets of Dragons of Tarkir on amazon.  Now I can't find any.


texts:
So I won these d12s at an arcade only to realise they're not normal. Instead of having 1-12 on them, they have some array of numbers from 3-8 or 4-9.
There were red, blue and white ones, and I don't know if all the same coloured ones had the same array of numbers or not.

The two I got is as follows:

Blue: a four in a circle, three fives in squares, two sixes, two sevens, three eights, and a nine.
White: as above, but one number lower (from three to eight)

All they (incorrectly) 'knew' was that they're for Dungeons and Dragons which afaik they are not.


texts: Can Conjurer's Closet be used to keep a stolen Commander?

texts:
We had this situation come up in a game last night, and we think we stumbled upon the right answer, but we're not sure.

So, Player A's Commander (Sliver Overlord) was stolen by Player B using a Zealous Conscripts. Player B also had a Conjurer's Closest in play. At the end of the turn Player B decided to use the Conjurer's Closet on the Sliver Overlord, with the idea that after it was 'blinked', it would permanently be under her control.

But then we remembered that Player A can choose to have their Commander return to the Command Zone when it would be exiled or go to the graveyard, so that trick wouldn't work. (Player B ended up using it anyway, as Player A couldn't recast his general at that point.)

Did we play this out correctly?


texts: Can you use Halicarnassus to build a duplicate card?

texts: As the title. If not, what happens if you build the wonder, say in Age II, and all the cards are duplicates of cards you've already built?


texts: Oxygen level card restriction on Terraforming Mars

texts:
The restrictions to be met for playing a card are always clear when referring to temperature; they either say "temperature below or equal to X degrees" or "above or equal to X degrees". However, when the restriction is on oxygen level, we have only found cards explicitly saying "below or equal to X% level", but none explicitly stating "above or equal to X% level". We therefore have the doubt on how to interpret the restriction for those that state only "X% level". Does it mean the card can only be played when the oxygen level is that "exact X% level"? Or can it be played when it is "X% level or above"?
Thanks!


texts: Where does a card that is recast with Rebound end up after resolution?

texts:
The "Rebound" ability found on some cards has this reminder text:

  If you cast this spell from your hand, exile it as it resolves. At the beginning of your next upkeep, you may cast this card from Exile without paying its mana cost.

This means that, if I cast, for example, Blessed Reincarnation, and I decide to use his Rebound ability, the card will be replayed from exile.

The question is then the following: from the text of the cards, with regard to the Rebound ability, it is not clear whether, once the card is used for the second time - thanks to the rebound ability - the card in question ends up in the graveyard, or returns to Exile, this time definitively.

So for example, once Blessed Reincarnation's Rebound ability is used, -
1) this card will go into permanent exile; or,
2) this card will go to its owner's graveyard.


texts: Can you reveal your hand when you fold in poker?

texts:
In some situations in poker it might be beneficial to reveal my hand when I fold.

Is it allowable to do this, or must the contents of a folded hand remain secret?


texts: Can you spend more than 2 gold on the House of Wonder to purchase more than one Cleric or Wizard?

texts: The House of Wonder says you can spend 2 gold to get either a cleric or a wizard.  If I have 4 gold, can I get 2 of those adventurers in one turn?


texts: Pillar of Flame, Blood Artist and Goblin Arsonist Trigger Ability

texts:
Quick Question on these Spells

Pillar of Flame, Blood Artist and Goblin Arsonist

Lets say I cast pillar of flame on Goblin Arsonist or Blood Artist, would it still trigger their ability? From my understanding after being hit by Pillar of Flame the creature still dies but instead of going to the graveyard, it'll be exiled. Can anybody help me with this?Thanks!


texts:
In Spades, what are the methods that count how many tricks a short side-suit is worth?

Steve Fleishman's book Master Spades describe the method called Simple bidding (Appendix A).  According to Simple bidding, a void or singleton side-suit + exactly 3 spades is worth 1 trick.

While this method indeed simple, it is not very accurate.  Do you know about a better method to evaluate short side suits?  In particular: Isn't void + 3 spades worth more than just 1 trick? I think it worth about 2.


texts: Missions in Risk -- is Australia really an island?

texts:
For some reason, I agreed to play Risk with my wife and her friend the other night, and we decided to try the Mission cards in Risk because no one wanted to go for global domination.  I would soon be reminded why I don't play this game.

One of the mission cards states "Control two islands".  While there is nothing in the rules that states what exactly is an "island", to me, islands would be any of the following countries:

Great Britain
Iceland
Greenland
Indonesia
New Guinea
Madagascar
Japan

However, our friend also claimed Australia was an island, albeit a "very big island".  Pulling up the Wiki Answers article as well as the Wikipedia article state that Australia is a technically a continent and not an island, partly due to being on its own tectonic plate.  The Wikipedia article does mention that Australia has been dubbed the "island continent", which was enough to give our lawyer friend something to hold on to.

Barring common sense, are there any rulings as to which countries count for the mission card?


texts: Playing Hidden Predators after an opponent already controls a large creature

texts: What if my opponent ALREADY has a creature with power 4 or greater in play when I play Hidden Predators?


texts: If I play Grapeshot and my oponnent plays Negate, can I play a Remand on Grapeshot to send it back to my hand?


texts: Can I choose to sacrifice from Remorseless Punishment if I have Sigarda, Host of Herons in game?

texts:
If I have Sigarda, Host of Herons in play, whose rule text says.

  Spells and abilities your opponents control can't cause you to sacrifice permanents.

And my opponent plays Remorseless Punishment:

  Target opponent loses 5 life unless that player discards two cards or sacrifices a creature or planeswalker. Repeat this process once.

Can I choose to sacrifice my creatures, avoiding this effect due to Sigarda, or am I forced to choose another option?


texts: Is there a way to make Splice effects cheaper?

texts: Is there a way to make the Splice costs cheaper? For example, if I am splicing Splicer's Skill onto a spell, is there a way I can reduce the cost that I must pay?


texts: When both players have the same 2 pair, can a 3rd pair be used as a valid kicker?

texts:
player A : 4,4
player B : A,10
board : K,K,Q,Q,2

Which player wins? I guess Player B but player A claims he has a pair of 4 which is a bigger kicker. who is correct?


texts:
I recently purchased a new game: Hnefatafl
Now as far as I'm aware, this is the game that Thud is based on, which is the real game I want to play. For reference, here is my set:

And here are my pieces:

I have twelve defenders, and 24 attackers. It looks like those aren't enough (based on the number in the wiki link), so how can I make up the numbers? Or can I play n a smaller board?
Also, what is the best way to reproduce that original board? Do I need to consider anything balance-wise if I do shrink the board/number of pieces? What else should I consider?
edit:
This is actually hnefatafl according to this wikipdia page I found


texts: Is not buying money the worst strategy in Dominion?

texts:
From all posts read on Dominion (ie. this), I see a stress on money. I must say that I played only 14 times, but I consistently lose: I try all the times to build a balanced deck , with lot of actions (especially those that give other actions), also attacks. I never focus too much in buying Silver or Gold, but maybe that's the problem.

So, it's not buying Silver and Gold the biggest mistake in Dominion strategy?


texts: How to show turn order when turn order can change during the round

texts:
I'm working on a game where the order of players' turns matters quite a bit, and I'm having trouble coming up with a way of showing the order.

During the round, each player will take their turn.  These turns happen in a specific order.
During a player's turn, they can take actions that will push themselves up or down a single place in the turn order for the next round.  This pushes them past the adjacent player in the turn order.
You can't push yourself earlier if you're already going first.  Likewise, you can't push yourself later if you're already going last.
You only get to take one turn per round.
Whatever is used to show turn order needs to show which player goes next during the current round.

An example might help.  Round one, the turn order is Jim, Steve, then Betty.  On Jim's turn, he does something that causes him to fall back one step.
Round two, the turn order is Steve, Jim, Betty.  On Betty's turn, she does something that causes her to move up one step.
Round three, the turn order is Steve, Betty, Jim.

How do I show the turn order in a way that allows this behavior naturally?


texts: How are M:TG cards printed in regards to the rarity of each card?

texts:
I've seen pictures of the source sheets. They pack many different cards per plate, not one card repeated a hundread times in the same plate.

Suppose that a set contains 300 cards and there are 3 plates with 100 cards each. If there are 100 rares, 100 uncommons, and 100 commons, I'd imagine that there is one plate with rares only, one with uncommons only, the third with commons only. Is this how they distribute the cards' rarities?


texts: Is there a good casual online place to practice/learn bridge?

texts: I know that Pogo.com (which powers Yahoo Games) has a long running online bridge game and that there are a handful of places for serious tournament/MasterPoint level bridge players online (though most seem based on software written a decade or more ago) but are there any places to play, practice and learn bridge in a more casual manner? Ideally via a well designed modern piece of software?


texts: Looking for the name of an old board game featuring a wolf, I think he was called Willy. I can't remember much about it, but I played it a few times in the 80s, may have been older than that. It was quite scary for me because I was young. I think there was a figure of the wolf and there may have been a red and yellow piece for a player to choose. Does anyone remember this game?


texts: How to successfully store games on edge?

texts:
Last night it took me nearly 10 minutes to get a game from the bottom of my current stack of games and put everything back.

I'm convinced that stacking my board games on top of each other is no longer a reasonable solution, and is actually one thing preventing me from playing games as often as I'd like.  Ideally it should be as easy to get a game out and set up as it is to turn on the TV, and while I can't realize that situation yet, I would at least like to  get a little closer.

I'm planning on storing my boxed games on edge, with the internals separated in baggies, but this leads me to a few questions, which you will hopefully have a solution for:

Games in long thin boxes, such as monopoly and clue, tend to open if there's not enough pressure on the top and bottom, making removal difficult and/or tricky (incompatible with children) and causing them to spill their contents.  Rubber bands slip off, break, and interfere with removing boxes from the shelf.  Do I have any options here, or do I need to give up on storing games like I store books?
Limited space means I can't have a shelf for each size of game box. What are some good organization strategies or techniques so games are easy to find, and fit well next to each other despite widely varying dimensions?
What other organization strategies should I consider, or is there a way to use the stacking method while allowing games to be easy to remove and put away?


texts: What are some basic strategies for Labyrinth?

texts: My comp sci class currently is on the topic of AIs and we're tasked to write an AI for Labyrinth (the Ravensburger game) and have them play each other to see who wrote the best AI. As someone who's never heard of the game or even touched before I can only think of a limited amount of strategy for the game. Can anyone who has played Labyrinth bestow some common and advanced strategies upon me? Thanks in advance.


texts: How to craft multiple symbols cards as the Vagabond?

texts:
I played a bit of this game and the rules are still quite fuzzy for me. The craft rules for the Vagabond tells he can craft if he got a "fresh" hammer and he produces one element of the color of the zone he's in.

Can he stores them and move afterwards to produce an element of another color and then craft the wanted card?

I've checked on boardgamegeek and didn't find answer on the matter


texts: Question about priority and how spells would resolve

texts:
Fleecemane Lion enters the battlefield from hand on the owners turn.

Opponent casts Terminate on Fleecemane Lion.

Owner of Fleecemane Lion makes it monstrous.

This would make Terminate invalid correct?

Then following this, opponent casts Chaos Warp, again targeting Fleecemane Lion.

Would chaos warp then resolve before the ability can complete and give it Hexproof?

Thanks for all your help!


texts: Multiple Lathliss, Dragon Queen - multiple Dragon tokens?

texts:
If I have 2 of the same creature in play and I activate the ability by playing another card, does it trigger twice since I have 2 of them or does it only activate once?

Example:
I have 2 Lathliss, Dragon Queen and 1 Mirror Gallery (so I can have both out) in play.
I play Archwing Dragon triggering the ability to create a 5/5 Dragon with Flying.

Would this create two 5/5 Dragons with Flying or just one?


texts: Simplistic Area Control Board Game with Discs

texts:
I'm trying to find a game I played 4 years ago. It was a very simplistic game, everybody had a specific color and bag of disc of their color. The board was also a simple grid. On the board you had your starting locations and also a bunch of other "land masses" ( different colored squares ). If I remember correctly the rest of the board background was a blue, maybe space. The goal was to color as much "land mass" as possible with your discs before everyone ran out. Taking your turn you would place 1 disc in a straight line direction away from your starting position until you hit land mass, another player, or the edge of the board. You could use any of your colored discs as a launch point to lay your next disc. Game ends when all players have placed. Scores were based on how much of each land mass you owned ( or how many discs possibly ).
I think there were other rules that allowed you to place additional discs. I think you could replace a players color with your own in certain circumstances. Disc placement may have been based on dice rolls. I don't remember any cards. If I were to guess this is game came out maybe 2005+? We played as 3 players, I would think maybe 4 or 6 is max player count.


texts: Is there a rule specifying which direction your card faces?

texts: With the introduction of Link cards, it makes a difference if some cards face you or face your opponent. Is there a rule that specifies that a card has to be played facing you?


texts: When a creature affected by a change-of-control effect is destroyed, where does it go?

texts: If I use Captivating Crew to gain control of opponent's creature before my combat phase and then attack with that creature, if that creature is then blocked and destroyed does it go to opponent's graveyard? Seems like it would. Just wanting to know for sure.


texts: Do negative counters trigger Protean Hydra?

texts:
Damage to Protean Hydra is prevented by removing +1/+1 counters from it. The card states:

  Whenever a +1/+1 counter is removed from Protean Hydra, put two +1/+1 counters on it at the beginning of the next end step.

So if a -1/-1 counter is placed on it, it cancels out one +1/+1 counter. Is the counter still considered to be 'removed' or does it just disappear?

Main Question: If Protean Hydra has a -1/-1 counter placed on it (say for example by Contagion Clasp), will it receive 2 +1/+1 counters?


texts: What is this check/checkmate rule in Shogi?

texts:
I was playing on an Android app and the computer player dropped a Rook next to my King like this (there were other pieces on the board, but they are not relevant):

It was then my turn, and the square I mark here with green was offered as one of the spots where I could safely move my King:

I thought this was strange, since after my move the Rook would be a promoted Rook and it would have access to the green spot. So I moved there to see what would happen:

Faced with the King in an adjacent square, the promoted Rook just moved away:

This was extra strange, because the promoted Rook was actually protected by other pieces and had no reason to move away. In other words, the King could not turn around and kill the promoted Rook because it would put itself in check.

What was that all about? Why was I even allowed to move to the green spot?


texts: In Keyforge, does an attacked, exhausted creature deal damage to the attacking creature?

texts:
The Fight rule says:

  Each of the two creatures deals an amount of damage equal to
  its power (the value to the left of the card’s title) to the other creature.

However, if the attacked creature is exhausted, does it still strike back when attacked ?

Update after Arcanist Lupus's answer: Creatures unexhaust at end of turn, but I used Persistence Hunting to exhaust the enemy creature before I attacked it.


texts: Whats a good house rule to give the Rogue a chance at winning Dungeon?

texts:
I was playing the new release of Dungeon! by wotc with about 6 young players.  Looking at the cards, I noticed that its nearly impossible for the Rogue to ever win.

What is the best way to give the rogue a fighting chance?  Should we reduce the amount of loot required to 5,000 or 8,000?  Or should we perhaps give the rogue a "sneak attack" +1 to all dice rolls (on top of the magic sword)


texts: How to properly play activated abilities of twilight drover and other creatures?

texts:
When playing Twilight Drover with multiple counters, I have the following questions which also apply to other creatures:

How many times can I play the activated ability within one turn when it does not have the TAP symbol? I want to clarify as some people say once and other people say as many times as long as I have mana for it.
Can I only play the activated ability on my turn or can I also play it when it is not my turn?
If the creature had two different activated abilities and neither ability had the TAP symbol nor asked you to only choose one, then can you play both of the abilities or only one of them?
Can any of the activated abilities be countered?


texts:
I found a white die in our box of board games and I don't know what game it belongs to.

It has six sides with white numbers on them; 1 - 6, one number to a side. Each number has an orange circle around it.

Does anyone know what game this die might belong to?


texts:
Now I have absolutely NO idea why this card has been banned from play. Sure it's effect that lets you draw a card every time your opponent special summons is powerful to the point where it should be limited, but why banned?

First off there are multiple ways to stop it, Tri-Gate Wizard, Debunk, Solemn Strike, Banisher of the Radiance, etc.

Second, it can help people turn a duel around, but as I said a SPYRAL player I once beat with it, "You chose to special your monsters, even at the cost of letting me draw cards. The fact that you lost is your own fault. If you hadn't chosen to special summon, you would've been able to win."

So in other words, it doesn't force your opponent to special summon, it forces them to RECONSIDER special summoning. Now obviously it can stop mass summonings, but THAT'S THE POINT. It's the best way to keep OP decks like Pendulum Magicians in check. It's supposed to help give each player a chance to win.

So with that being the case, why on earth does Maxx "C" need to be banned rather than limited?


texts: Which characters do Threads of Fate plot rule apply to?

texts:
The Threads of Fate plot rule states

  [Loop Start] Place 2 Paranoia on all characters who had Goodwill last
  loop

The spreading incident allows for Goodwill to be moved from a character to another character. So my question is, does this plot rule apply to characters who had Goodwill at any time or just characters who ended the loop with Goodwill?


texts: What's the probability to start a game of Vintage Dredge with Bazaar of Baghdad in your opening hand?

texts:
I want to pick up Vintage Dredge in the card game Magic - The Gathering and I want to know the probability of starting with Bazaar of Baghdad in your opening hand.

We can assume that this is a 60-card deck with 4 Bazaar of Baghdad and 4 Serum Powder, and that we will mulligan aggressively for the Bazaar. Then we will perform the following procedure: we start by drawing 7 cards. After each draw, if the hand contains a Bazaar of Baghdad we are done. Otherwise, if the hand contains a Serum Powder, we use Serum Powder's ability to exile the hand and draw the same number of cards. Otherwise, we mulligan normally, drawing 1 fewer card. If we get to 1 cards without drawing a Bazaar we have failed. What is the probability of finding a Bazaar this way?


texts: In Stone Age, can I use the resources gained on a turn to pay for the cards?

texts: In the current round, I have no resources but have placed 1 meeple on a card and the rest on wood. I roll the die and get a few wood resources which can cover the cost of the card. Am I allowed to use the resources gained in the current turn to buy the card?


texts: Are there any legal go arrangements that can never occur in an actual game?

texts:
Are there any arrangements of stones that are:

legal, because all groups have at least one liberty, yet
impossible, because no sequence of moves could possibly result in such an arrangement.

I'm definitely not looking for illegal arrangements where a group exists without any liberties, like this:

$$ +--------
$$ | X X O .
$$ | X O . .
$$ | O . . .
$$ | . . . .

(By the way, what I'm looking for is the same concept as a Garden of Eden in Conway's Game of Life.)


texts: Trostani Discordant vs. In Bolas's Clutches

texts:
Say I control a Trostani Discordant. My opponent casts In Bolas's Clutches on Trostani. At the end of opponent's turn, Trostani triggers and "each player gains control of all creatures they own". Does Trostani return to my control or does the Clutches' effect take precedence?

My guess is that this is a time stamp issue, in which case usually the later spell takes precedence. Therefore Trostani stays under my opponent's control. However Trostani's effect is a trigger, so I am not sure. I'm also unsure if In Bolas's Clutches creates a continuous effect that overrides Trostani's trigger. In particular, In Bolas's Clutches doesn't say "when [this card] enters the battlefield, gain control of ..."; it simply says you control the permanent, which could mean it applies a state-based action to gain control of the permanent if you ever lose control of it.


texts: Who wins? Painter's Servant or Mycosynth Lattice?

texts: Painter's Servant makes all cards the color of your choice. Mycosynth Lattice makes all cards colorless. What happens if they're both in play at the same time? Does the most recently played one take precedent?


texts: How do traits work in Betrayal At House On The Hill?

texts:
Why are some character traits missing a number and some have repeated numbers?

For example, Father Rheinhardt has two 7s in the Sanity trait but no 6 at all.


texts: What happens to the president's quorum card hand when he loses the title?

texts: Do they get handed over to the new president or do they get shuffled back into the quorum card deck?


texts: What happens at the end of a players turn to a buffed creature that took more than its unbuffed base health?

texts: Let's say I have Blood Bairn and 3, 1/1 token creatures. An opponent attacks me with a 6/6 creature. If I use Blood Bairn's ability and sack all 3, 1/1 creatures and then block with Blood Bairn, after combat, the opponent creature should die and Blood Bairn survives. My question is this: at the end of his turn as Blood Bairn returns to a 2/2 creature, does it die because it took 6 damage from the previous combat?


texts: In Axis and Allies Pacific, What constitutes an adjoined sea space for a scramble? Sea space in square contains the fighters or all sea spaces that touch that square?


texts: Until end of turn effects and Doubling Season

texts: Alright so I'm pretty sure doubling season and like cards don't affect actions related to +X/X until end of turn or -x/X until end of turn because it doesn't physically say counters. My friend on the other thinks the opposite. For instance I have doubling season up, opponent gives me a -1/1 counter it would give my creature -2/2 due to doubling seasons wording, I give the negative counters to Quillspike to get +3/3. Here's where the difference comes in. He believes that for each negative counter given to Quillspike, Quillspike would receive +6/6 until end of turn even though they aren't worded as counters. Is this correct?


texts: Is there a reasonable suit preference signal on this lead?

texts:
The contract is 3 NT, and the bidding has been a straightforward, 1NT, pass, 3NT, all pass.

West leads the king of diamonds from AKTxx. The defenders have agreed that this means three honors, counting the K (if West had AKxxx without the T, he'd lead A, then K or low, depending on how others play). But West could have AKQxx or KQJxx, etc.

Dummy (North) has two little ones, E has J72, and South has Qxx. South is going to win a trick with the Q if all the diamond leads come from West.

East has an ace in spades, hearts, or clubs. Given this, and the defenders' diamond honors, there aren't enough points left for other entries.

If East gets a lead to his ace, he can return a diamond to the AT tenace, trapping South's queen for five diamond tricks plus the side trick (down two).

In this sequence, can East play the J, 7, or 2, depending on the location of his side suit ace as a suit preference signal? Put another way, is it possible to have a suit preference signal in three suits in no trump (rather than two in a trump contract)? Or if the defenders agreed to play this way, and lead as described above, would they be giving up too many options (e.g. attitude and count signals) on other hands where the layout was slightly different?


texts: Why is 21 damage from a commander lethal?

texts:
In commander, there is the extra rule:

  903.14a A player that’s been dealt 21 or more combat damage by the same commander over the course of the game loses the game

I am wondering as to the origins and intent of this rule.  Why is commander damage tracked separately per commander and why is 21 the particular number chosen to be lethal?

Motivation for the question:

This rule is incredibly cumbersome from a game tracking standpoint.  Even with just 4 players, it means that in addition to 4 life totals, there are 12 commander damage totals to track as well (or possibly even 16 commander damage totals if control changing effects are prevalent).  This takes the number of things that need tracking well out of range of most magic tracking apps and counter methods, making pen and paper or large dice piles the only good tracking options.

My playgroup finds this so cumbersome that we ignore the commander damage rule almost entirely (we consider 20 damage from a commander in a single hit as lethal, and otherwise don't care).  This decision was made under the key part of commander philosophy:

  House rules or "fair play" exceptions are always encouraged if they
  result in more fun for the local community.

But this piece of philosophy also suggests that the commander damage rule originally was to create fair or at least interesting play.

Also, the number 21 is very odd in the context of magic.  Magic game constants, aside from starting hand size, are usually multiples of 10: 20 life in a normal game, 30 life in two headed giant, 40 life in commander, 60 card minimum deck size in a normal game, 40 card minimum deck size in limited, 100 card deck size in commander...

[I'm posting my speculations as an answer, but I would love an answer with authoritative or historical sources.]


texts: When scoring in Prosperity, is there a maximum limit for research?

texts:
In Prosperity, the rules for scoring Research say:

  Research: each player moves a number of spaces in both Research tracks equal to the number of Research symbols visible on their
  individual board. For each track, the player with the highest marker
  scores 3 Prosperity points, the second player scores 1 point. In case
  of a tie for the first place, all leading players gain 2 points (and
  no points are awarded for second place).

The Prosperity board has only a limited number of spaces on the two Research tracks. What happens if during scoring a player reaches the end of the track? Do they count the 'extra' steps for the purpose of determining first place, or would several players at the end of the track each be tied?


texts: In Citadels, when do characters get the extra gold from their colour?

texts:
In the Citadels one of the benefits of your characters is receiving extra gold from buildings of the same colour.  For example, each green building gives one extra gold to the merchant.

I am wondering; does this bonus start immediately at the beginning of your turn, or can one trigger the bonus at will?  In the last example it could be beneficial to build a new building before triggering the bonus so one gets an extra gold piece.

Also, do you have to trigger the whole ability at once or can you split it up?  This is especially important for the merchant who already gets 1 gold by default as special ability.


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

texts: Let's say I have my black coin near the pot but there is a white coin which is blocking it from my strike. Can I pot my black coin by striking only the white coin?


texts: How do Snapcaster Mage and Cipher cards interact?

texts: Let's say I cast a card with Cipher from my graveyard with the help of Flashback (provided by Snapcaster Mage). Will I be encoding it on a creature instead of exiling it from the effect of Flashback?


texts: How are holographic trading cards printed in an industrial setting?

texts: Are printing techniques trade secrets?  I'm wondering what type of printer, foil, cardboard, etc., is required to print holographic cards of the sort you might see in Magic or Yu-Gi-Oh.  I can find nothing about this online, and I'm wondering how the companies themselves source the industrial printing equipment.


texts: Take out double at first opportunity to double?

texts:
I dealt and passed - LH opponent passed, partner passed and RHO opened 1 Heart.
Holding:

♠ K98   ♥ 109   ♦ A986  ♣KJ2

can I double as this is the first opportunity to do so?


texts: Is it possible to convert a settler ship into a settlement without moving and then build or is it considered a move?

texts:
Is it possible to purchase a settler during the build and trade phase, then load him onto a ship, move him, and then on a next turn convert him into a settlement during build phase?

Or is it considered to be a move and can it be done only during the movement phase?

Edit:

The things I find confusing are:

Manual says: you can not build after moving phase (spend resources) with exception of converting because it does not cost resources
Manual doesn't say I can not convert during build phase
Manual says I can convert anytime when my ship points hex
Manual says I can build a ship on a hex occupied by pirate ship without paying tribute because its not moving (so why converting would be moving ?)

So based on this info I would assume that I can convert setter ship into settlement during my build phase if it is in a correct position already, and then I could upgrade and/or build other stuff.


texts: Special summon 2 Interplanetarypurplythorny Dragon

texts:
Interplanetarypurplythorny Dragon:

  If a monster you control is destroyed by battle or card effect and sent to the Graveyard: You can Special Summon this card from your hand.

Opponent destroyed 1 monster I controlled on field, and I have 2 cards of Interplanetarypurplythorny Dragon in hand, can I special summon both of them at once?


texts: King of Tokyo: Damage dealt on first entry in to Tokyo

texts:
I've looked around SE and can't seem to find an answer to this specific question.
I recognize that a new version of KOT is out that redefines how Tokyo is entered; this question is regarding the old version where a (claw) must be rolled to enter.

The rule book states "If Tokyo is unoccupied, the first
Monster to obtain at least one (claw) gets the control of Tokyo and places his figure in Tokyo without dealing any damage."

Is that to say that all (claw) rolls do not deal damage? Or only the first (claw) does not do damage, and the remainder can be dealt to those outside Tokyo?

I'm under the impression that damage cannot be dealt at all if you are the first to enter Tokyo, but discussions elsewhere have called it in to question.


texts: Is the Mystery that is active when the portal opens in Strange Remnants still useful for progressing the investigators?

texts:
When starting the Final Mystery in Strange Remnants, players are instructed to place a clue on the card for each solved active mystery.  Does this active mystery still remain relevant to the game, i.e.

Do things that "advance the active mystery" still advance that active (not the final) mystery
Does solving these mysteries place an additional clue on the card, or is it pointless once the card has been flipped?


texts: When is my earliest opportunity to destroy a creature I couldn't counter?

texts:
My friend has been playing a sliver commander deck and uses Root Sliver which is a thorn in the side of my control.

Lets say I have an instant in my had that can destroy the Root Sliver and a counter creature card that I may want to use on the next sliver (and the mana to do both). I can't cast it while Root Sliver is still on the stack as it is not on the battlefield yet so I cannot target it.

As I understand it after the stack resolves however my opponent regains priority meaning they can put their next sliver spell on the empty stack before I have a chance to play my card to destroy the Root Sliver.

I was originally thinking I could put both the counter and the destroy in the stack but the counter would have to go on first so that it would resolve after the destroy, but since before the destroy resolves the sliver on the stack is not a valid target for the counter so this move is illegal.

Is it possible to kill the Root Sliver in time to counter the next sliver?


texts: Captain Sisay and flip legendarys from Kamigawa?

texts: Can Captain Sisay search for a card that is only legendary when it is flipped? ex. Bushi Tenderfoot


texts: Can an Aura which was not cast be attached to a permanent with shroud?

texts:
If an Aura is placed on the battlefield using Genesis Wave or an ability like Sun Titan's, can it enchant a creature that has shroud (or an opponent-controlled creature with hexproof)?

I'm looking at these rules specifically:

  303.4a An Aura spell requires a target, which is restricted by its enchant ability.

  303.4f If an Aura is entering the battlefield under a player’s control by any means other than by
     resolving as an Aura spell, and the effect putting it onto the battlefield doesn’t specify the object
     or player the Aura will enchant, that player chooses what it will enchant as the Aura enters the
     battlefield. The player must choose a legal object or player according to the Aura’s enchant
     ability and any other applicable effects.

  702.17a Shroud is a static ability. “Shroud” means “This permanent or player can’t be the target of
     spells or abilities.”