Does entering a direct action combat tap an untapped target?

Cat_in_Exile wrote:

As a follow-up, am I correct in assuming a targeted minion can then also choose to block an action which is already directed at itself?

Excellent question. This is another common question among new players: is an untapped minion targeted by an action eligible to block that action? As far as I know, the rulebook doesn't explain this clearly:

"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)."

This would be a good section to explain that untapped minions targeted by the action can block the action. The reason why it is necessary to include this, in my view, is because it's not intuitive that a minion targeted by an action would be able to block.The word block means "to render unsuitable for passage or progression through obstruction." In the context of VTES, the new player already has a preconceived notion of what the word block means, and therefore would likely conclude a minion being targeted by an action can't obstruct the progression of the action because that minion is the end object of that action. It is clear, however, that other minions are able to obstruct the progression of the action to the end object (the minion being targeted).

Cat_in_Exile wrote:

Wow, thanks for the detailed explaination.

As a follow-up, am I correct in assuming a targeted minion can then also choose to block an action which is already directed at itself?

Yes. Because the action used to target a minion to enter combat necessitates targeting a Methuselah's [stuff} and thus the Methuselah's side of the table. Therefore any of that Meth's untapped minions can attempt to block this incoming action before resolution, including the target itself if untapped.

(Naturally card text is always excepted. So yes, you can "wake" (i.e. cards that allow that minion to act as if untapped for the remainder of the actions) the target and attempt to block.)

If there is no block, and declared passes to block, then action proceeds to resolution, which is the reward of combat with the desired target.