Rules Team Rulings 19-MAY-2003

As always, errata and reversals of previous rulings do not go into effect for constructed deck tournaments until 30 days (i.e., until June 18, 2003).

Reversals in this RTR

Alternate hunt actions.

Mask of a Thousand Faces.

RULINGS

Contesting

The incoming contested card has no effect prior to being contested. That is, if you contest an Elder Library, you don't draw up to your new Elder Library hand size and then discard when the Library becomes contested - it is simply contested. Likewise contesting Jan Pieterzoon doesn't cycle a card from each player's hand.

End of round

Things that are played "at the end of round" (Disarm, Taste of Vitae, etc.) are played after presses are handled (in the "after presses are handled" phase, much like Torn Signpost is played in the "before maneuvers are handled" phase).

Alternate Hunt Actions (REVERSAL)

Previously, modifications to the amount gained by special hunt actions (Legacy of Caine, Week of Nightmares, etc.) could not be made, but other modifications (to stealth, say) were allowed. The restriction against modifying the amount is now dropped. Any hunt modification (Aaron's Razor, Hesha, etc.) is allowed on special hunts (Legacy of Caine, Week of Nightmares, etc.), following card text. Note that card text on Festivo dello Estinto and Inbase Discotek explicitly move the additional blood from the blood bank (rather than from the new, non-default, target of the hunt).

Specifically

  • Aaron's Feeding Razor, Amadeo, Hesha Ruhadze, Hungry Coyote, Succulent Vitae (superior), Tainted Vitae move additional blood, if available, from the source to the hunter.
  • Festivo dello Estinto the successful hunter, after gaining blood from whatever source, fills up with blood from the blood bank.
  • Foul Blood the hunter takes 1 less blood from the source.
  • Immaculate Vitae (superior), Masquerade Endangered, Vampiric Disease no blood is moved from the source.
  • Inbase Discotek, Frankfurt the hunter, after gaining a blood from whatever source, gains a blood from the blood bank.

Rachel Brandywine

You activate her ability at the end of the discard phase, after discarding your card(s). That is discard (to the ash heap), draw back to hand size (from the library), then move the cards you just discarded from the ash heap to the library and shuffle. If you exhaust your library while trying to draw back up to your hand size in the middle, then you can continue to draw back up to your hand size after adding the new cards to your library, as normal.

Mask of a Thousand Faces (REVERSAL)

All effects that had been applied to the action or the acting minion carry over as if they had been applied with the Masker as the acting minion. The standing rule that "Mask cannot be used to mask an action if the Masking vampire is not capable of taking that action, nor if any action modifiers have been played on this action that could not have been played if the Masking vampire were the acting minion. (Not counting blood that has already been spent.)" still applies, and it applies to other effects as well. So if Backways is tapped to give the acting Gangrel a stealth, then non-Gangrel cannot mask the action. If Redirection is used at inferior by a 7 capacity vampire, then vampires with capacity of 7 or more cannot mask the action (since they are not younger than the reacting vampire). And so on.

Draba or Veiled Sight vs. Mask of a Thousand Faces (REVERSAL)

The stealth reduction of Draba and Veiled Sight carries over at the same level as before the mask. The two effects can be treated as equivalent to "-X stealth" where X is (was) the current amount of stealth of the action, with the X unchanged by the play of the mask.

ERRATA

Canceling cards and retrieving costs

Cards that cancel other cards as they are played and retrieve the cost (resulting in a loss as the cost is paid and then a gain as the cost is retrieved) instead cancel the card and nullify the cost (no cost is paid for the canceled card). The Anarchs version of Sudden Reversal has the new "(no cost is paid)" wording, and other cancel cards are to be handled similarly. Those other cards are Contingency Planning, Denial of Aphrodite's Favor, Direct Intervention, Iron Heart, The Jones, and Rewind Time.

Angelica, The Canonicus

Can only use her ability once each action (when attempting to block).

Archon/Templar

These cards are placed on the target if the referendum passes. The vampire with the card gets the abilities. The action given by the cards in play cannot be repeated by that minion twice in the same turn, by the base rules on repeating actions. The card is burned if the ability is removed (via the referendum given in card text). If the vampire has two Archon/Templar cards, he can take the action allowed by one and, if he untaps, then take the action allowed by the other.