Draft of CoE Digest #203 Q1 - Foolish Words - Open until January 22

[Manuel]

In order to contribute to this thread please follow these rules:

1) The thread will be open until Jan 22.
2) There will be a maximum of one reply per forum user, and that reply cannot be edited. We want to actively avoid starting "flame wars", so please speak your peace, let others speak their peace, and that's it.
3) After the review period, the ROC will carefully consider everyone's contributions, revise the draft as appropriate, and then the Digest will be published and official.

Can Foolish Words be revealed on-guard when a character that wasn’t in play during the movement/hazard phase makes an influence attempt?

First, we have to bring this ruling from CRF, Turn Sequence Rulings:

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.
If we only look at this CRF, it would seem that Foolish Words can’t be revealed on a character that wasn’t in play during the movement/hazard phase, because the target of the card didn’t exist.

However, this is the general rule for revealing on-guard cards, but Foolish Words has its own text allowing it to be revealed on-guard under certain circumstances:

Any riddling roll, offering attempt, or influence attempt by the target character is modified by 4. If placed on-guard, it may be revealed and played when a character in the company declares a riddling, offering, or influence attempt. During the organization phase, a character with this card may tap to attempt to remove it. Make a roll (or draw a #): if this result is greater than 7, discard this card. Cannot be duplicated.

This means Foolish Words follows its own mechanism of how it can be revealed from its on-guard state, which supercedes the general rule for on-guard cards from the CRF. Another example of cards that have their own mechanism would be Searching Eye; if it had to follow the general on-guard rule, it could never be revealed because the scout card it is canceling didn’t exist during the movement/hazard phase.

[dirhaval]

Yes.

I agree that Foolish Words has its own mechanism. Therefore, can be played on a character that could not be a target of the hazard earlier during the turn.
However, an example would be rescuing a character; then that character makes an influence attempt during the same site phase.
The hazard could not play on the prisoner - not a legal target during the movement/hazard phase.
Reading the ME Universal Rules Document v4.2 states the site is tapped when a rescue is successful.
Rescued character can make influence/riddling/offering attempt against opponent's resources even at a tapped site, right?
Helm of Her Secrecy also comes to mind.

This hazard is popular in Worlds winning decks; in about half in all the winning years since 1996.
Bonus points if you played this hazard on The Mouth at Cirith Gorgor.

[Manuel]

Thanks everyone for your contributions. The RC will study them carefully and come up with a final digest soon.