Anarch Convert

If Methuselah A has an Anarch Convert in play can Methuselah A influence one more to convert a vampire???

I´m thinking that one cannot, since the change of making "the moving cards from the uncontrolled region into the ready region" optional and thereby not allowed if leading to an auto contest, which would be the case even if intended to be used for conversion.

[LSJ 20080526]

this ruling clearly statse "yes" but is from a time when you could not choose to delay the entering of a vampire (if rules memory serves me correct), so the questions is more:

Is [LSJ 20080526] still valid under current rules?

The LSJ ruling is still valid.

Already answered by Ankha: www.vekn.net/forum/rules-questions/77224-vampires-entering-play-triggered-effects-and-contesting?start=12#92435

The above ruling answers whether the ability can be used when it would lead to a contest situation, which has been ruled to be allowed as it happens before the actual contest and moving of the cards out of play...this is not being questioned here and that ruling is not affected by the outcome of this.

The question is if, since the rule change that it is optional to move cards from the uncontrolled region to the ready region, whether the check that prohibits auto contest would prevent one from moving a second Anarch Convert towards the ready region so that it can get to the state of "As the convert enters play" at all, or not?

You never contest when you use the ability, so I'm unsure how the change to the influence rule would have any affect. You have a way, even when you bring it into play that would prevent self-contestation, so you'd be forced to use it. If for some reason, there are no legal targets to convert and you control a Convert, then you'd be prohibited because the only possible outcome of influencing at that point is to self-contest, which is not allowed.

You are basically saying that because it has an optional ability that results in that the card gets removed from the game and thereby wouldn´t lead to a contest situation that the auto contesting rule wouldn´t be checked nor prevent one from deciding to bring the card into play.

You might be right... but it is not how I think it should logically work.

I believe this crypt card is different from all others which are playable even when there is one already in play, the other cards are explicitly worded either as "not unique", "non-unique" or "cannot be contested" making it a static trait if you wish...
Anarch Convert on the other hand has an optional ability that can be chosen to be used or not and that ability doesn't actually provide the ability to make auto contesting or regular contesting irrelevant which would occur when/if entering play. For the static traits, it makes sense, but for AC it doesn´t... because I think that the check of the auto contest, if I'm not mistaken, would be related to the decision of whether one is allowed to influence/move the card into play or not.