Cybelotron questions

I heard about someone who recruited an ally, and then got ousted by a madness network bleed, since that ally couldn't block. But reading the rule book it says they are placed in the uncontrolled region to indicate that they can't act. Is there a firm ruling that they can't block as well? It's pretty corner case.

Malcolm wrote:

Is there a firm ruling that they can't block as well?

Yes. The ally is controlled, but not ready. Only ready minions can block (by default).

Rulebook, wrote:

1. Who May Attempt to Block: If the action targets one or more other Methuselahs (or things controlled by other Methuselahs), then the action is called directed, and only the Methuselahs who are targeted (or control the targets) may use their ready untapped minions to attempt to block the action (going clockwise from the acting Methuselah, as usual).

[LSJ 20081229] (Quoting the whole thing because it's pretty useful, but question 2 is the strictly relevant one.)

LSJ wrote:

Malone wrote:
> Is the placing of newly-recruited allies in the uncontrolled region
> merely a reminder that they can't act, or are they indeed not ready,
> or is it more than just a reminder but less than being unready...?

Both. The uncontrolled region is not part of the ready region, so a minion there
is not "ready".

> 1) The Madness Network is in play. A plays Frontal Assault, beats
> B's minions around as best she can, and B's surviving Zebulon recruits
> the Muddled Vampire Hunter in A's minion phase, which then ends. Does
> A pay Frontal pool for Muddles?

He's not ready, no.

> 2) B controls Basilia who has Feral Spirit and the Enkil Cog. During
> A's turn, Basilia recruits High Top. B decides to act one more time,
> and her Frederick the Weak plays Kindred Segregation. Can High Top
> attempt to block?

He's not ready, no.

Also, this much older ruling (from where a lot of this first started):
[LSJ 19980717]

LSJ wrote:

The short answer (ruling/correction): The Ally is controlled (and thus a
legal target for most effects), but is not ready while it is in the inactive
region. This could be better shown if the Ally were placed in the Torpor
region, but doing so would lead to its own set of questions and confusion.

The Ally is placed face-up in the inactive region when it is recruited,
which can serve as a helpful reminder that the Ally is controlled.
(Face-up cards in play are controlled, as a general rule. Face-down cards
in play are not.)

--

Another slant on this is "Can my Rom Gypsies tap to give one of my
Ravnos +1 stealth on the turn they are brought into play?"

Or "Does the Ally I just brought out count for an Autarkis Persecution
I call later on the same turn?"

The answer to both is "Yes".

Autarkis Persecution cares only about "control", not "ready": "Successful referendum means each Methuselah gains 1 pool for each minion he or she controls."


Note that you don't have to be ready to use your special ability, in the Rom Gypsies case. The same exists with numerous vampires, where many players intuit (wrongly) that you have to be ready to use your special ability. Some require that explicitly (Anson), others require it implicitly (e.g. you can't take an action if you're in torpor). But many say nothing at all, and you can - for example - use Alexandra's special ability when she's not ready, because nothing about it requires her to be ready.