[MECCG] CRF 7 Rulings by Term

[Ichabod]

III. Rulings By Term

Actions

Tapping a resource can only be done at a time when you could otherwise
play a resource event.

Active Conditions

An active condition must be in play or established when the action
requiring it is declared. Active conditions serve as the price of an action.
They are restrictions on the player invoking the action.
Annotation 5: If an action requires an entitiy to tap as a condition for
the action's main effect, that entity must be untapped when the action is
declared; else, the action may not be declared. Tap the entity at this point;
this is considered synonymous with the action's declarartion, i.e., it is not
a seperate action. When it comes time to resolve the action in its chain of
effects, that entity must still be in play and tapped or the action is
cancelled.
Annotation 6: If an action requires an entity to be discarded as a
condition for the action's main effect, that entity must be discarded when the
action is declared; this is considered synonymous with the action's
declaration, i.e., it is not a seperate action.
Annotation 7: If any other active condition for an action does not exist
when the action is resolved, the action has no effect; if the action were
playing a card from your hand, it is discarded.
Annotation 8: An action that requires a target is considered to have the
active condition that the target be in play when the action is declared and
when it is resolved. An action may not be declared if its target is not in
play. However, dice-rolling actions may always be targeted by other actions
declared later in the same chain of effects.
When a card mentions an alternate use, the active conditions given in the
begining of the card text need only be met if they are also mentioned by the
alternate use.
Your opponent's resources may be the active conditions for your resources,
but may not be the targets for your resources.

Agent

Rules Erratum: A tapped agent may take an action to untap (i.e., move from
tapped status to utapped status).
Rules Erratum: An agent may tap to play creatures at a site if the company
is moving to the site.
Playing a card that makes an agent attack is considered the attack's
declaration.
Agents are not creatures.
Rolls made by agents during combat are done simultaneously with rolls made
by characters during combat, after step 4 of the strike sequence.
Only face-up agents are considered for uniqueness.
While in play agents played as hazards may not become minion characters,
and agents played as minion characters may not become hazards.
An agent played as a character in a Ringwraith deck can only be played at
his home site.
When constructing a Ringwraith deck, agents are always considered
characters.
To wound an agent you only need to defeat the prowess of one strike. To
eliminate one you must defeat the prowess and body for all strikes.
Revealed agents may return to their homesite, even if they are at one of
their homesites.
Cards played on an agent remain face up when the agent turns face down.

Ahunt Manifestations

If one Ahunt is out and you move through four of the regions listed on it,
then you face the attack once.

Ally

Allies may tap to cancel attacks from Slayers and Assassins.
Allies cannot be targetted to be taken prisoner, and otherwise cannot be
taken prisoner.
Allies that may not be attacked by certain attacks may still tap to give +1
prowess to characters facing auch attacks.
Playing an ally is not an influence attempt.
If an ally's controller leaves play for any reason, that ally is discarded.
@ Allies can be healed as if they were characters.

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 cancelled once its strikes have been
assigned. A strike may not be cancelled once the dice-roll for the strike has
been made.
Annotation 14: A cancelled 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 creatue 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 do.
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.
Excess strikes applied as -1 modifiers do not have to have their body
defeated
@ Any effect that would change the number of a 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.

Burglary Attempts

After a succesful burglary attempt, another character may tap to play a
minor item.
The character who fails the burglary roll must face the automatic-attack as
though he were a one-character company. He can receive no combat support other
than what he himself can provide.
On-guard creatures are faced after a Burglaring attempt regardless of the
success of the attempt.

Body Check

Annotation 22: When a character fails a body check, his items may be
immediately reassigned to unwounded character in his company. Reassigning of
the eliminated character's items is considered to be synonymous with his
failed body check, i.e., no action may take place between the failed check and
reassigning the items. Unassigned items are discarded.
Effects that modify a character's body also modify the number an Orc or
Troll would be discarded on. A maximum to body applies equally to the discard
number.
If an Orc or Troll could be discarded and eliminated by a result, discard
them instead of eliminating them.
@ "Affecting the body check" includes modifying the die roll or the body of
the character making the check.

Cannot be Duplicated

Short-events that cannot be duplicated cannot be played if a card of the
same name is currently having an effect on play.
Annotation 11 (modified from its original version): Some cards cannot be
duplicated in limited cases -- generally on a specific target. Multiple copies
of these cards or their effects may be in play normally, so long as each
applies to a different target. A card that cannot be duplicated can be played
when a copy is already in play only if the copy in play is currently being
targetted by an effect that will discard it.

Card Effect Limitations

You may not play the following cards if your opponent is a Ringwraith or
Sauron. Additionally, if you are not a Ringwraith or Sauron, a Ringwraith or
Sauron opponent can play these cards against you and not be affected by any of
their global effects.

All hazard events that require an agent*
Bane of the Ithil-stone
The Black Enemy's Wrath
Foul Fumes
In the Heart of His Realm
Mordor in Arms
Mûmak
Worn and Famished

@ *Near to Hear a Whisper and Sudden Fury from Middle-earth: Against the
Shadow and Great Need or Purpose may be played because they do not target a
specific agent.
The following cards are also listed in the MELE Rulesbook as having no
effect on a Ringwraith/Sauron player, but this interpretation has been
modified.
Chance of Being Lost and Winds of Wrath: You may play these cards against
any opponent who is using the same type of location deck (hero sites or minion
sites) as yourself.
Great Secrets Buried There: This card may be played against a Ringwraith
or Sauron player one month after the release of Middle-earth: Against the
Shadow.
The Nazgûl are Abroad: This card may be played against a Ringwraith or
Sauron player. The only restriction is that the first two paragraphs are
ignored when you play Nazgûl creatures against a Ringwraith or Sauron
opponent. Any player can recycle Nazgûl hazards as stated on the card.

Character

A character enacting an effect counts as a character in his company.
A character in play must always be in one of three independent states:
untapped, tapped, or wounded.
@ You can have three of a non-unique character in your deck.

Company

If all characters in a company are removed from the company, all resource
permanent-events played on the company as a whole are discarded.
@ If all characters in a company leave play, the site goes to the location
deck or discard pile, depending on its tapped status. If this happens during
the movement/hazard phase, the site card stays in play until the end of all
moevement/hazard phases. In this case, on-guard cards may still be played on
the site.
@ The following allies make a company overt: The Balrog, Creature of an
Older World, Great Bats, Great Lord of Goblin-gate, Last Child of Ungoliant,
Regiment of Black Crows, and Two-headed Troll.

Corruption

Annotation 23: When a character fails a corruption check, the standard
effects of this (i.e., the character being discarded or eliminated and his
items being discarded) are implemented immediately and are considered
synonymous with the failed check. A card causing the corruption check may
modify the standard effects of a failed check (e.g. The Precious), but this
timing would not be changed. Certain cards, e.g., Traitor, which do not cause
a corruption check, but specify an action that results from the passive
condition of a failed check, take effect as the first declared action in a
chain of effects immediately following the chain of effects that contains the
corruption check.
? Characters with 0 corruption points must still make corruption checks.
A character may attempt to remove a corruption card without tapping. The
roll is at -3. A corruption card may only be attemtped to be removed once per
turn if the tapping requirement is ignored.
You can not attempt to remove a corruption card without tapping if you have
attempted to remove that card already this turn.
The resolution of a character tapping to give +1 to a corruption check
happens when the corruption check itself resolves.
If an effect is in play that prevents a character from being discarded, the
character is not considered to fail his corruption check if a result is
achieved that would discard him. A Wizard would not be eliminated and his
player would not lose the game.

Darkhaven

Whenever an effect targeting a hero refers to Darkhavens, interpret it as
refering to Havens instead.
@ Attacks at Darkhavens are canceled only if the company is at the Darkhaven.

Detainment Attacks

When a strike from a detainment attack succeeds, the character who was
facing that particular strike must tap.
Detainment attacks that would force item discards normally do not force
discards while they are detainment attacks.

Discard

A discarded character may be brought into play again by any player.
When a card is discarded, so are all permanent-events on that card.
Cards discarded from a player's hand must be discarded one at a time as
seperate actions.
Whenever a character is discarded, all non-follower cards played with that
character are also discarded.

Eliminated

When a card is eliminated, all permanent-events on that card are discarded.

Exhausted

Permanent-events discarded when the play deck is exhausted are shuffled
into the new play deck along with the rest of the discard pile.

Gold Ring Item

When a gold ring item is tested, the ring is discarded and its marshalling
points are lost whether or not you are able to play a special item.
Ring special items played as a result of storing a ring at a Dark Haven
will come into play stored.
@ Special items, played after a ring test from storing a gold ring item, come
into play stored.

Hand Size

Effects which increase your hand size or allow you to hold one more card in
your hand mean you draw up to your new hand size or discard down to it at the
appropriate points during the game.

Haven

Havens can tap.
Whenever an effect targetting a minion refers to a Haven, interpret as a
Darkhaven instead.

Hobbits

If a Hobbit is a starting character and leaves play, then it may only be
brought back into play normally at Bag End.

Influence

Restricted direct influence is limited in its use, usually to characters
and/or factions of specific races. Unrestricted direct influence has no
restrictions on its use.
When a character suffers a minus to direct influence, it must come from
unrestricted direct influence first. If there is no unrestricted influence and
there are multiple instances of restricted direct influence, the player may
choose which restricted direct influence the minus is applied to.
If a card reduces direct influence, making it illegal for a follower to be
controlled, the follower does need to be controlled until their next
organization phase.
A character removed from the control of direct influence outside the
organization phase does not need to be controlled by general influence until
their next organization phase.

Items

The "free" minor item may only be played immediately after playing the
resource that taps that site.

Marshalling Point Pile

Under standard rules, no more than half of your marshalling points can come
from any one type of marshalling point. Do not round up.
You may not target hazards in your opponent's marshalling point pile for
removal.

May not Untap

Nothing may untap a character who is the subject of an effect that states
the character may not untap.

MELE vs. METW

Hero items may not be used as condtions for minion resources, and minion
items may not be used as conditions for hero resources.
If you are playing against a deck with three Wizards in it, you may play
any combination of three Ringwraiths, except one each of three different
Ringwraiths.
Hero characters may now cancel automatic-attacks at their homesite,
regardless of their opponent.
You may not have both the minion and hero version of a unique item in your
deck.

Minion characters

Minion characters are not affected by cards that target agents.

Multi-player Games

Only the player to the left of the moving player may take advantage of
drawing cards, including cards drawn for events like The Nazgul are Abroad and
From the Pits of Angbad.
All players reset their hand size when any turn or movement/hazard phase
ends.
In multi-player games the following hazards count as 1/2 a creature:
hazards that can be played as events or creatures, Ahunt Dragon
manifestations, and At Home Dragon manifestations. Agents in a Wizard deck
also count as 1/2 creatures.
You may only play The Lidless Eye if none of your opponents are
Ringwraiths.
Twilight may only be played by the moving player and the hazard player. As
an exception, a player who's own enviroment will be discarded by an
environment may play Twilight to cancel that environment.
@ For Spying out the Land and Here is a Snake, each hazard player shows
hazards immediately before he draws and/or plays hazards, and then can only
play those hazards. Players who are not playing hazards are not required to
show hazards.

Normal

@ Normal means as written on the card, not considering other card's effects.

Nazgûl

If a Nazgûl is tapped to become a short-event as printed on its card, it
turns into a short-event upon declaration. At this point, the Nazgul is a
short-event just as if had been played as such from your hand.
The body refered to in the text of female characters with combat bonuses
against Nazgûl is the body of the Nazgûl

Optional Rules

If a character is facing two strikes, and the first strike kills the
character, the second strike is considered succesful.
A character tapping to face two strikes is at -3 prowess against both
strikes. The character taps when resolving the second strike.
For recently visited sites in multi-player games, the automatic-attack gets
+1 for each player who has that site in their discard pile.

Passive Conditions

A passive condition causes an action to happen as stated on a card already
in play.
Annotation 9: If a card specifies that an action is to occur as a result of
some specific passive condition, this action becomes automatically the first
action declared in the chain of effects to immediately follow the chain of
effects producing the passive condition. The passive condition must exist when
this resulting action is resolved in its own chain of effects, or the action
is cancelled. Note that actions in the strike sequence follow a different set
of rules.
Annotation 10: If more than one action is required to be the first action
declared in a chain of effects, the player whose turn it is chooses the order
in which they are declared. No other actions may be declared in this follow-up
chain until the multiple required actions have been declared.
A card causing an action as a result of a passive condition must be in play
when the action resolves, or else the action is cancelled.
When something would be discarded by a passive condition, that discard is
considered simultaneous with the resolution of the the passive condition.

Reveal

@ Any revealed cards are shown to all players.

Ringwraiths

You may have any number of Ringwraiths in your sideboard, as long as you do
not duplicate more than one of them in the combined deck and sideboard.
Characters with combat bonuses against Nazgul also get those bonuses
against Ringwraiths.

Ringwraith Followers

Ringwraith followers may still use magic as printed on their card.

Sage Only

Any card requiring a sage to play is a sage only card.

Short-event

Short-events are discarded when resolved in a chain of effects, not when
declared. Thus, they can be targetted by certain special effects in the chain
of effects.

Sideboard

The sideboard is increased to 25 cards.
You can access hazards from your sideboard when your opponent's Wizard is
in play. You must declare this at the end of your opponent's untap phase and
then access hazards as if you had tapped a Nazgûl permament-event to do so.
The hazard limit against all of your opponent's companies that turn is halved,
rounded up.
Tapping a Nazgûl to bring cards in from the sideboard does not turn the
Nazgûl into a short-event.

Site

To untap a site the character doing so must be at that site.

Site Path

Certain cards refer to the site's site path. The site's site path is always
the site path given on the site card, regardless of how the company got to
that site.
Events can alter both a site's site path and a company's site path.

Skill Cards

@ Two or more skill cards may be played by a single character outside of
combat.
@ Two skill cards may not be declared by one character against a given
strike.

Targets

An action that is played out through one or more specific entities as
stated on a card or in the rules is considered to "target" the entities. A
targeted entity is said to be a "target" of the action. A card that acts on a
class of entities does not target them.
Annotation 1: A card is not in play until it is resolved in its chain of
effects. When the play of a card is declared, no elements of the card may be
the target of actions declared in the same chain of effects. An exception to
this is a dice-rolling action, e.g. a corruption check.
Annotation 2: A corruption check or any dice-rolling action can be targeted
in the chain of effects during which it was declared.
Annotation 3: Long-events and certain other cards do not have targets
because they are not played out through one specific entity, i.e., they
generally affect an entire class of things.
Annotation 4: An action may not target a face-down card nor any element of
a face down card. Face down cards include unrevealed new site cards and on-
guard cards.
You cannot target an opponent's character or resouces with your own
resources.

Timing

The validity of an effect, including the hazard limit, is checked upon
declaration and upon resolution.
Annotation 24: If a card specifices that more than one action occur when
the card itself is resolved in a chain of effects, all of these actions are to
be resolved in the card's chain of effects uninterrupted and in the order
listed on the card. No actions may be declared to occur between these multiple
actions. The actions listed on the card are considered to have been declared
in the reverse order as they are printed.
(amendment to original version of Annotation 24): As an exception, if one
of the effects of a card is an attack, cards may be played that cancel the
attack, cancel one of its strikes, or that otherwise are playable during the
strike sequence--see Annotation 18.
Annotation 27: If a card has optional effects, the player playing the card
must choose which will take place. He must do this at the time the card is
played, not when it is resolved in its chain of effects. When such a card is
resolved, if any active conditions for the choice of effects do not exist, the
card has no effect and is discarded. The player may not at this point choose
to implement an alternative effect of the card.

Trophies

Creatures whose marshalling points are listed with an * give marshalling
points when used as trophies.
Defeated Dragon manifestations can be used as trophies.
Trophies can be discarded to satisfy thief creatures.

Under-deeps

Marshalling points with companies at an Under-deeps site do not count only
for the purposes of calling the Free Council. They do count at the actual
Council itself.
When a company's site of origin is an Under-deeps site and the company
reveals a new site at the start of its movement/hazard phase, the company is
declaring it will make a roll to determine if the movement was successful. No
cards can be played between the site being revealed and the roll except for
Reach of Ulmo.
At an Under-deeps site, after a successul rescue attempt, a character can
tap for a minor item only.
@ Automatic-attacks that allow the revealing of creature cards are not
stopped by Stealth or Secret Entrance.

Wizard

You may put two of the same Wizard in your deck, or you may put one copy
each of two different Wizards in your deck.

------- "The Crossing-guard of Mordor" -------
Craig "Ichabod" O'Brien http://www.cstone.net/~ichabod
ich...@cstone.net Me:CCG Official Netrep
"It's for discipline that the Lord scourges his worshippers" Jdt 8:17
-- Check out my Shadowfist, INWO, and MECCG traders on my web page --