Brinksmanship Secondary Ousting Effect

Brinksmanship
Political Action
1 Pool
If this referendum is successful, put this card in play. Any Methuselah who has exhausted his or her library and begins his or her untap phase with less than a full hand must attempt to withdraw. On that Methuselah's next untap phase, if the withdrawal fails, that Methuselah is ousted. If any Methuselah successfully withdraws, you are ousted.

Questions, bearing in mind the last sentence of card text:

1. If you play Brinksmanship and then end up having to withdraw — and succeed at withdrawing — are you considered ousted, withdrawn or both? Who gets what VP(s)?
2. Imagine a 3-player A->B->C scenario in which you are player A and have played Brinksmanship. If player C successfully withdraws, who gets the victory point from Brinksmanship ousting you, player B or C?
3. If you play Brinksmanship heads-up and then your opponent successfully withdraws, do they get 2 VP, or do you get 1 each?


It seems likely that the answer to all of these questions will be determined by a single ruling on the way the card timing works, but I thought I should ask them separately, just to be safe.

Thanks!
-Bill

Killiam wrote:

1. If you play Brinksmanship and then end up having to withdraw — and succeed at withdrawing — are you considered ousted, withdrawn or both? Who gets what VP(s)?

I don't know if that's been asked before, but the (referenced) answers to your second and third questions imply that the withdrawal happens and then the ousting happens sequentially after it - no simultaneity or anything like that.

Therefore, I would say you withdraw (and get however many VPs withdrawal is worth, depending on tournament or non-tournament play). After you withdraw, both you and Brinksmanship are no longer in the game - you can't be ousted, you're already gone.

If this results in another player being last man standing, they get the last man standing VP.

Killiam wrote:

2. Imagine a 3-player A->B->C scenario in which you are player A and have played Brinksmanship. If player C successfully withdraws, who gets the victory point from Brinksmanship ousting you, player B or C?

C withdraws, so C is no longer in the game. Then A is ousted, and B gets the VP for that. (And then B as the last player gets the final VP, but that's not to do with Brinksmanship per se.)

Here's a four-way example [LSJ 20030604]

LSJ wrote:

> player a has a Brinkmanship in play, and very healthy
> player b still in the game, but just walling up...
> player c too strong in the game...
> Player d out of cards and crippled beyond believe...
>
> What would happen if player d successfully withdrew?
> 1.) player a is ousted and player c gets 6 pool...

... and a VP (for ousting a), correct.

Killiam wrote:

3. If you play Brinksmanship heads-up and then your opponent successfully withdraws, do they get 2 VP, or do you get 1 each?

One each, assuming non-tournament play. A and B are in play, and A has Brinksmanship. B withdraws, getting however many VP for that, so A is last man standing. Brinksmanship would go on to oust A, but the game has ended.

[LSJ 20050411]

LSJ wrote:

It "would" oust you then, if there were any game going on still.
But:

> >When your prey withdraws, the game ends (with you still standing).
> >You get the VP.

If reading the rest of that thread, exercise mild caution - in one of the posts, LSJ has to correct himself afterwards, as rather than the usual "A B C D" nomenclature for Methuselahs, a different form is used.

Thanks! That's pretty clear.