Monocle of Clarity (& questions about the deck contents)

Izaak wrote:

Well, before this thread I wasn't even aware that not answering the question truthfully was allowed as long as you can just claim "whoops, forgot about that" when you get caught.

You're not allowed.

Your point is that people should behave like douchebag if they can get away with it, and rules should expect that. Rule does not expect that for Monocle of clarity, you're right, but since VtES lake real reason to cheat and Monocle is not an important card by any amount, I don't buy your point.

You don't have to buy it for it to be the reality.

I'm also nowhere saying people are douchebags and cheat all the time. I'm saying the rules have a hole (actually two) in that they allow people to be douchebags legally.

How do you know that the player that used mistress fanchon ability got a minion card - not a master or an event?

There is no way. Or you trust him, or call a judge everytime he uses it.


The case is that using monocle that way - forces him to ask truthfully under game conditions. Say, you ask: Is there 5 govern the unaligned in your deck?

How can I anwer truthfully a question that I don't know for sure? I think that question is not in the things pertaining to the game (the library cards are not on play or in hand) and cannot be asked.

There are more cards that allow cheating...

Any card that allows you to search your library(with a limitation) and not show other players.

Any card that has a "due not replace clause" in it.

...give an opportunity to cheat.

Also, the multiplayer nature of the game, allows players to cheat. Although there are technically rules against collusion, it's really hard to prove.

These two players are from the same playgroup and they've come up with an odd alliance. Is that unfair collusion? Or maybe they just trust each other more? Or maybe they know each other's decks already, and their alliance is a logical choice, given that information?

Or, that guy replaced his Wake. Is that cheating or an honest mistake? Will the knowledge of his next card be a significant advantage?

Obviously, the hope is that people won't cheat. But there are already so many possible ways to subtly cheat if you really wanted to, that I don't think Monocle of Clarity is a big deal.



Also, in regards to lying, there is a difference between honesty and truthfulness (though people sometimes disagree on which is which). There are also complicated metaphysical arguments about the nature of "truth." Is there an actual or universal truth? Or is everything subjective? How much is based on perception?

If someone believes something is true that person isn't lying (even if it actually isn't true). If you honestly believe that there is an Archon Investigation, you could still be wrong (maybe you forgot about a last minute deck change, maybe your friend/family member made a change without telling you, maybe it ended up in someone else's deck due to Erciyes Fragment). Even if everyone (including the judge) believes something is true, that doesn't necessarily make it true (unless you want to go with the subjective reality paradigm).

Shard wrote:

Is it legal to remove card(s) at random from your deck before the game or tournament?

In a standard tournament without decklists, it wouldn't be legal to remove cards between rounds - although it would be legal to do so before the first round (i.e. before the tournament). You play the same deck each round.

In a standard tournament with decklists, your deck must match the decklist at all times. Once the judge has your decklist, no removals are possible. If you remove anything before handing the decklist in, you must make the decklist match it.

In a multi-deck tournament (where you can change decks between rounds), it would potentially be possible to remove cards at random from your deck. Your previously 80 card Tzimisce deck now has 72 cards in it for round 2.

If you were using decklists in a multi-deck tournament, you'd need to make the two match - as for a normal tournament. (I've never heard of a multi-deck tournament requiring decklists, typically because they're not very important ones because they're small - 3.1.5 of the Tournament Rules.)


Any random removals that you do make must, of course, leave the deck in a legal state. You can't have fewer than 12 vampires, you can't have fewer than 60 library cards etc.



In any event, there's no need for you to know the contents of your deck. It might have been given to you by someone else at the start of the game. It might be a deck you last played a year ago and have dragged out at the last minute.