Rulings: Groundfighting

It's not the set range card that restrain you. It's the weapon. You can try to cancel your own weapon with groundfighting ...

If you have the Eye of hazimel, and DotB is played, can you play Potence strike card ? If you can't, does groundfighting work to cancel DotB ?

Unique equipment.
The minion with this equipment gets +1 bleed and +1 strength. This minion may enter combat with any minion controlled by another Methuselah as a action. If this minion is a vampire, he or she has superior Potence [POT] and superior Chimerstry [CHI] , and combat cards cost this vampire 1 less blood. While the bearer is ready, this equipment cannot be transferred, moved or stolen. If this equipment is burned, this minion takes 5 unpreventable damage. During your untap phase, burn 1 pool or burn this equipment.

To MiketheKnife: As Ohlmann and Brandon have said, it's not the set range card that is preventing you from playing your strike. It's the weapon card itself.

This anarch has a Mark V.
Opposing vampire plays superior Shadow Step to set the range to close.
Would Shadow Step restrict this anarch's choice of strikes this round?
No - this anarch's choice of strikes is restricted by the text of Mark V.
The third use of Groundfighting cannot be used (on Shadow Step).

Ohlmann wrote:

It's not the set range card that restrain you. It's the weapon. You can try to cancel your own weapon with groundfighting ...

If you have the Eye of hazimel, and DotB is played, can you play Potence strike card ? If you can't, does groundfighting work to cancel DotB ?

Unique equipment.
The minion with this equipment gets +1 bleed and +1 strength. This minion may enter combat with any minion controlled by another Methuselah as a action. If this minion is a vampire, he or she has superior Potence [POT] and superior Chimerstry [CHI] , and combat cards cost this vampire 1 less blood. While the bearer is ready, this equipment cannot be transferred, moved or stolen. If this equipment is burned, this minion takes 5 unpreventable damage. During your untap phase, burn 1 pool or burn this equipment.

This is a fascinating question.

I would say that if the minion with the Eye of Hazimel does not also have both and from (a) non-equipment source(s), then Groundfighting could be used to cancel DotB.

Aaron wrote:

Ohlmann wrote:

It's not the set range card that restrain you. It's the weapon. You can try to cancel your own weapon with groundfighting ...

If you have the Eye of hazimel, and DotB is played, can you play Potence strike card ? If you can't, does groundfighting work to cancel DotB ?

Unique equipment.
The minion with this equipment gets +1 bleed and +1 strength. This minion may enter combat with any minion controlled by another Methuselah as a action. If this minion is a vampire, he or she has superior Potence [POT] and superior Chimerstry [CHI] , and combat cards cost this vampire 1 less blood. While the bearer is ready, this equipment cannot be transferred, moved or stolen. If this equipment is burned, this minion takes 5 unpreventable damage. During your untap phase, burn 1 pool or burn this equipment.

This is a fascinating question.

I would say that if the minion with the Eye of Hazimel does not also have both and from (a) non-equipment source(s), then Groundfighting could be used to cancel DotB.

DotB would not restrict such a minion's choice of strike. Their own lack of Potence restricts their choice.

Molloy wrote:

DotB would not restrict such a minion's choice of strike. Their own lack of Potence restricts their choice.

But the reason the vampire would lack Potence is because of DotB.

Aaron wrote:

Completely logical. This is one case where LSJ said the card actually did what it says it does.

What if the anarch has a Zip Gun in hand? DotB restricts his strike choice but he cannot play Groundfighting.

With the same logic, why should Groundfighting be allowed to cancel a Grapple on a minion without a weapon? Nothing on the table indicates that he can play anything but a hand strike either. The situations are exactly the same, but somehow Groundfighting is allowed in one case and not the other.

Even better: let the anarch have and a Desguised weapon in hand, that he wants to play at superior.

He is allowed to cancel an Immortal Grapple before playing his Desguised weapon and striking with the weapon.
He is not allowed to cancel a DotB before playing his Desguised weapon and striking with the weapon.

Why?

Here's a related question:

Minion A has Potence.
Minion B has a Meat Hook.

Minion B plays Drawing Out the Beast. Based on LSJ's ruling Dec 16 2010, this would render A unable to strike to destroy the Meat Hook. Can A cancel with Groundfighting?

Meat Hook - Equipment
Melee weapon.
Strike: strength+1 damage, only usable once each round. Once each combat, if this weapon is used to strike at close range and the opponent doesn't dodge the strike, the bearer gets an optional press this round, only usable to continue combat. At close range, a vampire with Potence may destroy this weapon as a strike with first strike that costs 1 blood.

Drawing Out the Beast - Combat
Only usable before range is determined on the first round. Frenzy.
ani: During this combat, opposing vampire gets +1 strength, but he or she cannot use maneuvers to maneuver to long range, cannot use presses to end combat and cannot use equipment. A vampire may play only one Drawing Out the Beast each combat.
ANI: ...