[MECCG] CRF 14 Part 2 of 6
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Beginning of the Game
Untap Phase
Organization Phase
Choosing a New Site
Followers
Organizing Companies
Playing Characters
Storing Items
Long-event Phase
Movement/Hazard Phase
General
Movement
þ General
þ Playing Hazards
þ Returning to Site of Origin
Combat
þ General
þ Attack
þ The Strike Sequence
Site Phase
General
Company vs. Company Combat
Exploring a Site/Automatic-attacks
Influence Attempts
On-guard Cards
End-of-Turn Phase
Free Council
Beginning of the Game
# If a character is put in the deck due to duplication in the starting company, then it does not
count against the 10 character limit.
# You should either draw numbers for the whole game or roll dice for the whole game.
Your starting company can only contain 20 points of unmodified mind.
Non-character cards duplicated in the character draft may not be placed into the play deck.
Your staring hand is eight cards, regardless of what characters you have at particular sites.
Untap Phase
Corruption checks triggered at the end of the untap phase happen after everyone untaps.
Organization Phase
Choosing a New Site
Rules Erratum: When a company splits, any of the resulting companies can move with
region movement. Region movement is not limited to one company of a split.
Any single site path cannot have more than one copy of a particular region.
Any company may declare as its new site a site already on the table. That site will remain on
the table at least until the end of that company's movement/hazard phase.
Two companies may not start at the same site of origin and move to the same new site.
Effects that are played during the organization phase, and depend on the site or site path of a
moving company, create an effect which is not declared until the new site is revealed. If the
site or site path is not of the appropriate type when the effect resolves, the resource has no
effect. If the company has multiple movement/hazard phases on the same turn, the card
applies separately to each phase, having an effect only if the correct conditions are met.
Followers
A character cannot use a bonus to direct influence against "Blue Mountain Dwarves" to
control characters with the home site Blue Mountain Dwarf-hold. The bonus only applies to
the faction.
Bonuses to direct influence against characters apply only once, not for each character.
Organizing Companies
When a company splits up, its player chooses which characters are the original company and
which characters are a new company, unless otherwise directed by a card. All resource
permanent-events played on the original company stay with the original company.
Company composition changes that you choose to make, including bringing a character into
play, must all be done at the same time during the organization phase. During this time no
other actions may be taken.
If a company splits, all but one of the split companies must attempt to move to a different
site this turn. The company may not rejoin in the same phase.
You may transfer a character from one company at a site to another, without creating a third
company.
See also Rulings by Term, Company and Influence.
Playing Characters
Rules Erratum: You may play a character if you do not have enough influence to control
them. However, if there are any characters you do not have the influence to control at the
end of your organization phase, the character you brought into play this turn must be
returned to your hand.
If you play a Ringwraith at a non-Darkahven site where there is one of your non-Ringwraith
comapnies, one of the companies must move that turn. If both companies are still there at
the end of the movement/hazard phase, discard the non-Rinwraith company. [Effective
11/17/97]
Storing Items
Minions who roll equal to or one less than their accumulated corruption when storing an
item are only tapped.
A minion who taps from a corruption check for storing/transferring an item still successfully
stores/transfers that item.
Long Event Phase
Movement/Hazard Phase
General
Annotation 25: A company is considered to be at the site given by its site card at all times
except from the moment their new site card is revealed during their movement/hazard phase
until their old site card is discarded during the same movement/hazard phase. During this
period a company is considered to be en route between sites and not at any site.
Annotation 25a: A company's movement/hazard phase is concluded when a moving
company removes its site of origin and both players agree to reconcile (discard down
to/draw up to) their hand sizes. No resources (and obviously no hazards) can be played, and
no resource effects can be activated, until the site phase or until both players have drawn
cards for the movement of a following company.
Annotation 25b: Players drawing cards when a new site is revealed is synonymous with the
resolution of the new site being revealed. It happens immediately, not in the following chain
of effects.
Annotation 26: If at the start of a player's movement/hazard phase, there are multiple
effects in play such that their net effect depends on the order they are applied, the player
who is currently not taking his turn (i.e., the hazard player) decides the order in which they
are to be applied. Once this interpretation is established, all further actions are applied in the
order they are resolved for the rest of the turn.
Once the effects of an environment card have been applied to a target during a given
movement/hazard phase, that effect is not applied again to that target during the current turn.
When you draw cards for movement, you may continue drawing cards until you either want
to stop, or have drawn the number of cards allowed for the movement.
Companies at the same non-Haven/non-Darkhaven site must join at the end of all
movement/hazard phases, before the site phase starts. Companies at the same
Haven/Darkhaven site may join at this time.
If companies would join at the end of the movement/hazard phase such that the company
composition rules are violated, one company of the hazard player's choice must return to its
site of origin.
If two companies join at a site, cards affecting one of the companies now affect them both.
Removing the site of origin and resetting to hand size are simultaneous actions, and they are
the last actions in any movement/hazard phase. This means a moving company is not at a
site until the site phase. [effective 11/17/97]
The same region (as in region card) may not occur twice in a single site path.
A non-moving company's current site is considered its new site for card play.
Movement
General
If a company does not move, it still has a movement/hazard phase. No cards are drawn
based on the company's movement, and the only hazards that can be played on the company
are creatures that can be keyed to the company's site and events.
Lebennin and Ithilien are not adjacent, even though they look that way on some maps.
If a company moves twice in one turn, resources played during the organization phase, like
Secret Passage, are reapplied to the company at the beginning of each of their
movement/hazard phases, if the conditions of the card are met.
If both players have access to region movement, then neither player may be stopped from
using region movement. Access includes region cards or an appropriate map.
Playing Hazards
Some hazard permanent-events allow you to tap or discard them for an effect, and this does
not count against the hazard limit unless specified otherwise on the card. [effective 11/17/97]
Hazards may only be played on a company whose movement/hazard phase is being resolved,
or on the site they are moving to. Long-events and permanent- events may effect more than
one company even though they are only played "on" one company.
If a card must be keyed to two or more instances of a region type, those region types do not
have to be consecutive in the site path.
If you say you are done playing hazards and your opponent plays a resource before the
movement/hazard phase ends, you may then resume playing hazards, assuming you have not
yet reached the hazard limit.
If a company is moving from a surface site to an Under-deeps site, hazards may not be
played keyed to the region of the surface site.
Angmar Arises, In Darkness Bind Them, and Reaching Shadow may not be used to play
creatures keyed to double shadow-lands.
A creature "played at" a site is the same as being "keyed to" the site.
A creature "played at a site in" a region is the same as being "keyed to" the site by name.
For the purposes of interpreting hazards, no Darkhaven or Haven has a site path except for
Geann a-Lisch.
You check the hazard limit at declaration and resolution. At declaration there must be less
hazards already declared than the hazard limit. At resolution there must be no more hazards
declared than the hazard limit.
Returning to Site of Origin
If a company returns to its site of origin, its site path immediately disappears, and its
movement/hazard phase immediately ends.
An effect that returns a company to its site of origin may not be declared in the middle of an
attack.
Combat
General
Side effects of losing a character are resolved immediately after the character is lost, before
other characters resolve their strikes.
All strikes of an attack must be assigned before any are resolved.
See also Rulings by Term, Ally and Body Check; and Turn Sequence, Site Phase, Company
vs. Company Combat.
Attack
Annotation 12: An attack is considered to be resolved and concluded when the final strike,
all special actions resulting from the final strike, and the associated body check are resolved.
Annotation 13: An attack may not be canceled once its strikes have been assigned. A strike
may not be canceled once the dice-roll for the strike has been made.
Annotation 14: A canceled attack has no effect on its target company, except that the
company is considered in its history to have faced the attack.
Annotation 15: An attack must be the first declared action in a chain of effects, i.e., a
creature card may not be played in response to another card in the same chain of effects.
Revealing an on-guard creature is an exception.
In order to cancel an attack or to directly affect an attack, the character doing so must be in
the company facing the attack. Note that the region/site type a hazard creature was keyed to
can be affected otherwise.
Cards only modify attacks if they say they specifically mention attacks.
When a minion company defeats an attack with no * by the MPs, the creature goes to the
out-of-play pile belonging to the person who played the attack. They may still be taken as a
trophy, but go to the appropriate out-of-play pile when the trophy is discarded.
Excess strikes applied as -1 modifiers do not have to have their body defeated.
If an attack states all characters in a company face a strike, then effects which allow a
character to face more than one strike have no effect against the attack. Similarly, effects
that change the attack's number of strikes have no effect. As an exception, effects which
reduce the number of strikes to a specific number do work.
Any effect that would change the number of strikes for an attack may not be played after
strikes are assigned. This includes cards that have other additional effects, and cards that
only indirectly change the number of strikes.
Attacks created by events are not keyed to anything unless specifically stated as being keyed
to something on the card.
There are three levels of cards which reassign strikes. Alatar is the top level, and overrides
any other conflicting card which changes the assignment of strikes. Cards which say they
"always" or "in all cases" change the assignment of strikes are the next level, and override
any other conflicting effects except Alatar. Cards which say they change the assignment of
strikes "regardless of ..." certain factors are the third level, and are overridden by all other
effects from conflicting cards. If two effects on the same level conflict, the resource
overrides the hazard.
If an attack can not be cancelled, strikes from the attack may still be cancelled.
An attack is considered faced by a company if it successfully resolves in its chain of effects.
@ Attacks or strikes keyed by name to a region or site cannot be cancelled by effects which
refer only to the type of the region or site.
The Strike Sequence
Annotation 16: When a wounded character becomes unwounded, he is considered in his
history to have been wounded and must face any special actions the wounding strike
presented him.
Annotation 17: The only actions that may be declared during a strike sequence are those
outlined in Annotation 18.
Annotation 18: When a defending player chooses to resolve a strike against a particular
character, the only actions that may be taken by either player until the strike dice-roll is
made are the following: playing hazard cards that affect the strike, the attacker may decide
to use any or all of his remaining -1 modifications due to strikes in excess of the company's
size, a target untapped character may take a -3 modification so that he will not automatically
tap, and the defending character may play resource cards that affect the strike. An action that
has the condition that a target character tap, but which otherwise has an effect not outlined
here, may not be declared at this point. This is true even if the recipient of the strike would
be the target character tapping and thus receive -1 to his prowess.
Annotation 19: Following each successful strike or failed strike, a body check must be
rolled (unless the failed strike has no body). However, if the strike calls for any special
actions to follow it (e.g., a character wounded by "William" may be required to discard his
items), these special actions are resolved before the body check. The body check is the first
declared action in a nested chain of effects that immediately follows the strike dice-roll and
special actions resulting from the strike. Other actions may be declared in response to a body
check, in the same chain of effects, but these are limited to those actions that directly affect
the body check dice- roll. E.g., Tookish Blood could not be declared in response to the body
check caused by Giant Spiderswounding a Hobbit. No action may be declared in response to a
special action resulting from a strike unless the special action is a dice-rolling action, i.e., a
special action is generally considered synonymous with the strike dice-roll. If the special
action is a dice-rolling action, an action may be declared in response to it if the action
directly affects the dice-roll.
Annotation 20: If more than one special action is to follow a strike, the defending player
decides the order they are resolved.
Annotation 21: A successful strike against a character is synonymous with that character
being wounded, i.e., inverting a character card on the playing surface is not a separate action
from the successful strike.
Wounded characters only suffer a -2 prowess. In general, wounded characters are not
considered tapped.
Non-item prowess bonuses are applied in the order the player controlling the character
decides.
If a character is facing two strikes, and the first strike kills the character, the second strike is
considered successful.
There is time between the strike sequences to take actions that are otherwise legal.
Site Phase
General
Items, factions and allies must be played during the site phase.
There is no one resource card per site phase rule. However, the tapping of the site usually
limits you to one card per site phase.
The site taps upon successful play of the resource that would tap it.
A company may not play any resource during the site phase until they have faced all
automatic-attacks, unless that resource directly affects an automatic-attack. Removing an
automatic-attack does not directly affect it, although cancelling does.
You may only play a free minor item after playing an ally, faction, or item that taps the site.
See also Rulings by Term, Item.
Play of an ally, item, faction, or resource card which will normally tap the site must be after
the company resolves all automatic, agentm and on-guard creature attacks.
Company vs. Company Combat
The defender may take actions that affect the attack or any of the strikes. The attacker may
only take actions that affect individual strikes.
True F na and Sacrifice of Form cannot be used in company versus company combat.
Hazards have no effect on company vs. company combat.
Only the defender is considered to be facing an attack, but all characters are considered to be
facing strikes.
@ Tapped defending characters choose their strikes after untapped attacking characters have
assigned their strikes.
@ Minion and hero companies can attack each other. Hero companies may not attack each
other. A Fallen Wizard covert company is considered a hero company.
See also Card Rulings, Swarm of Bats.
Automatic-attacks
A card that can cancel an attack can cancel an automatic-attack, and this counts as facing the
automatic-attack.
Automatic-attacks added to a site are faced after the normal automatic- attacks for the site.
Multiple automatic-attacks are faced in the order listed and/or resolved.
Company composition and overt/covert status is checked before each automatic attack.
Any character may tap to cancel one automatic-attack at his home site.
The only resources you may play against automatic-attacks are ones that cancel the attack,
cancel a strike, or would be otherwise playable during the strike sequence.
Influence Attempts
It is not possible to influence an item away from a Wizard or Ringwraith.
You may influence a Hobbit if you are not at Bag End.
A successful influence attempt on an opponent's resource does not tap the site.
You may only make one influence attempt against your opponent's resources during each
turn.
When influencing factions across alignments, you roll against the number on the card in
play, that you are trying to influence away.
For a Fallen-wizard, the resource revealed must match the alignment of the site at which the
attempt is taking place.
On-Guard Cards
Rules Erratum: An on-guard card may only be revealed if it could have also been played
during the movement/hazard phase. This means all targets of the card must have existed
during the movement/hazard phase in order for the card to be revealed.
A revealed on-guard card retroactively takes effect as though it were both declared and
resolved immediately prior to the chain of effects during which it was revealed.
An on-guard card may be revealed when the company plays a resource that potentially taps
the site. The card must affect the company or a character in the company that site phase.
Note that this clarification is looser than the rule printed on p.61 of the Unlimited Rules
book
A successful ring test does not allow an on-guard card to be revealed.
You may reveal a card in response to an influence attempt against a faction even if the
on-guard card only has an effect if the attempt is successful. You may also reveal a card in
response to such an attempt that affects the actual influence attempt.
Only declared or on-going cards and effects can be considered when determining the
validity of revealing an on-guard card. Potential effects that have not been triggered cannot
be considered.
A card cannot be revealed that:
Returns a company to its site of origin.
Taps a company's site.
Potentially removes a character from a company, besides combat or corruption checks.
Forces a company to do nothing during its site phase.
Directly taps a character in the company.
A card that potentially removes an ally from the company can be revealed, so long as it
otherwise is legal.
The on-guard card is not considered to be in any player's hand.
When an on-guard card is revealed, it immediately ceases to be considered an on-guard card.
Creatures may only be revealed on-guard if there is an automatic-attack at the site.
If two companies are at a Haven, on-guard cards played on one company can only be
revealed against that company, and can only affect that company (unless the hazard states it
affects all versions of the site).
See also Rulings By Term, Burglary Attempts.
End-of-Turn Phase
End-of-turn effects are triggered by the ending of the End-of-Turn phase. Once both players
are done with all actions in the End-of-Turn phase, all End-of-Turn effects are declared and
resolved in the order chosen by the current player. No further actions may be declared that
turn.
Cards may be played during the End-of-Turn phase after hand size has been reconciled.
Replacing one site with another at the end of the turn counts as movement, without a
movement/hazard phase.
End-of-Game
These rulings apply to any end game, whether it is the Free Council, the Audience with
Sauron, or the Day of Reckoning.
Characters may tap to aid corruption checks, if they are in the same company.
Long- and permanent-events still in play will still have an effect.
Only resources that directly affect corruption checks may be played during the Free Council.
This includes cards that reduce a character's corruption point total or prevent a character
from being discarded.
When determining if more than half of your marshalling points come from one type of
marshalling point, ignore negative marshalling points. The easy way to do this is if one
category is more than half of your positive marshalling points, reduce that category to equal
all of your other positive marshalling point categories combined.
To calculate marshalling points at the Free Council, follow these steps:
Total up the marshalling points for each category. The modifications from My
Precious, factions played on a leader, and eliminated characters apply now.
If your opponent has no points in a category double your points in that category.
Doubling does not apply to the Miscellaneous or Kill categories.
If one of your categories accounts for more than half of your positive marshalling point
total, reduce it so that it has the same number of points as the rest of your positive
categories combined.
Subtract any points that are subtracted from your total, including points from unique
resources your opponent has duplicated in his hand.
See also Rulings by Term, Under-deeps.
Marshalling points that minions have at an Under-deeps site do not count for calling the
Audience with Sauron, but do count at the Audience with Sauron.
You may only call the Free Council if you have met the deck cycling and marshalling point
requirements, not if only your opponent has.
You may not recieve kill MPs from a card you played.
MPs from special and minor items count as item MPs.
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