Does entering combat tap you...?

Hello!

For as long as I, and my friends, have been playing, we've "known" that if a vampire enters combat - for instance, if they're the target of a Bum's Rush - they tap, as part of entering combat.

We've known this is a rule. None of us have ever thought differently.

Now, we're trying to grow our playgroup, so I looked up that rule to include it in our "quick-play" rules, and very much to my surprise, that doesn't appear to actually be the case - if I'm 'forced' into combat, I do not tap.

My mind reels.

Is that correct?

Entering combat as the result of another minion's action does not tap the targeted minion, unless as specified by card text (see: Deep Song).

Well, crap.

As you can imagine, this is a rather immense change.

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For anyone out there looking to playtest a really easy solution to "making combat decks better", I now have a heavily playtested suggestion...

Almost always, when there is no way to block someone rushing your minion, you would tap just to deny maneuver/press/hand size +1/choosing strikes first. "Solution" mentioned above might help tiny bit stealth rush, which does not seem significant enough to rewrite the rules.

ThatGuyThere wrote:

Now, we're trying to grow our playgroup, so I looked up that rule to include it in our "quick-play" rules, and very much to my surprise, that doesn't appear to actually be the case - if I'm 'forced' into combat, I do not tap.

My mind reels.

Is that correct?

Four things in the game tap you.

1) Taking an action.
2) Successfully blocking an action. (Being targeted by an action is not the same as blocking it.)
3) Invoking the 'slave' rule.
4) Explicit card text.

kombainas: Actually, it lets you get in and tap them so that the rest of your minions can't be Deflected or Misdirected. It lets you sacrifice a weenie to tap out their big guy. It lets combat monsters who get to untap once or twice leave your prey terribly under-defended.

(It also ups the value of "Strike: Combat Ends, untap this vampire" cards.)

Honestly, though, never having played the game otherwise, I don't know how much it changes. But I know that my playgroup has always found that Bruise-and-Bleed decks have a place, since every combat taps out a defender.

I know that "losing" the ability to forcefully tap your prey's guys seems to dramatically weaken combat-oriented decks.

It'll be an interesting few weeks as this "change" shakes out in my playgroup.