Council of Elrond

Lots of rules stipulate when you must face an automatic attack. You must face it each time you enter a site. My question is whether you could opt to face it more than that. That is, assuming the attack isn't removed, it is still there, and it seems like all you need to do to face it is have entered the site.

I haven't looked into this much myself yet.

Wow. Looking up the answer to this question may unlock a can of worms.

MELE, Combat wrote:Combat normally occurs when one of three things happen:
· When a creature hazard is played on a company.
· When a company at a site with an automatic-attack decides to attempt to play a resource card for that site (i.e., decides to attempt to enter and explore the site).
· When any other card indicates that a company must face an attack.

In theory, you have to face the automatic-attack for *every* resource you try to play at a site in a given turn.

On to the original question:

MELE, Site Phase wrote:Site Phase
In the order you decide (i.e., you decide which goes first, second, etc.), each of your companies may:
· do nothing or
· follow this procedure:
1. Enter its site.
2. If the site has an automatic-attack, it attacks the company. The attack is resolved normally (see pages 28-34).
3. If the site is untapped, a character in the company may attempt to play an item, ally, or faction that is "playable" at that site. Tap the character and the site.
Certain resource cards other than items, allies, and factions are playable during the site phase and state the conditions under which they may be played. Such a card only requires an untapped site if it states that the site taps when played.

The automatic-attack(s) is/are faced once per company, according to this. Each company during the site phase may follow this process once.

Bandobras! Where have you been!

The thing is that we know step 3 is repeatable. So perhaps step 2 is also repeatable?

CRF wrote: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.

That's the can of worms. Repeating step 3 might require repeating step 2 per the combat rules. The turn summary indicates that each company follows the process once, but this does not allow for multiple item/ally/faction resource plays on the same turn.

Except we know that companies were never intended to have to face automatic attacks more than once per turn (Tidings of Bold Spies aside).

It's not like multiple-resource-per-turn deck strategies are something new. They've been around literally as long as this game has. There was ample opportunity to clarify that people needed to face the auto-attack once per resource if that's what the rules were intended to do. Instead Rescue Prisoners, a card from the very first set, received errata that sent it from a competitive staple to nigh-unplayable. Thorough Search, also from the first set, got errata that removed its ability to play Greater Items.

Now as to whether you could voluntarily face an automatic attack a second (or third, etc.) time in a turn? I have no idea - though I wonder what benefit you would get from it.

Except:

MELE, Resource Cards, Non-Event wrote:Resource events do not generally require an untapped site nor that the automatic-attack be faced.

Also, Thorough Search is an alternate method for item play which outlines its own restrictions, so has less bearing on this particular topic.

Playing of the Thorough Search is still a company's activity.

That is indisputable, but it isn't a resource card for the site, so wouldn't require facing an automatic-attack again.

When a company at a site with an automatic-attack decides to attempt to play a resource card for that site (i.e., decides to attempt to enter and explore the site).

This implies either:

a) The company at beginning of its site phase decides that it will attempt "to play a resource card for that site" and to do so it must enter the site and face its AAs.
This assumes that such decision must be taken at the point (not after entering the site and facing AAs) and does not take into account other reasons for entering the site.

b) Each time when the company "decides to attempt to play a resource card for that site" it must enter and explore the site (face its AAs), so it must repeat a procedure that was already taken (because otherwise the step 3. of MELE, Site Phase could not be taken).


Both sound like products of some mental loop, where pre-requirements of step 3. of MELE Site Phase have been provided as though they were conditions of the step.

I'm no sure whether even the errata is needed.
Maybe what CRF says is sufficient.

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.

Play of an ally, item, faction, or resource card which will normally tap the site must be
after the company resolves all automatic, agent and on-guard creature attacks.

The second one is too ambiguous to resolve the problem.