Draft of CoE Digest #204 Q4 - Stormcrow Analysis - Open until March 18th

[Manuel]

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1) The thread will be open until March 18th.
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3) After the review period, the RC will carefully consider everyone's contributions, revise the draft as appropriate, and then the Digest will be published and official.

How does the timing of Stormcrow work?

For reference, here is the original card text:

The direct influence of each Wizard is reduced by 2 (by 4 if Doors of Night is in play). Discard all resource permanent‐ events that have been played on each company with a Wizard (i.e., on the company as a whole, not individual characters, e.g., Fellowship). No such cards may be played on each Wizardʹs company. Discard this card when any play deck is exhausted. Cannot be duplicated.

When parsed closely, the timing works as follows:

1. The direct influence of each Wizard is reduced by 2 (by 4 if Doors of Night is in play): The application of this attribute modification is an action triggered by a passive condition; for each Wizard in play, Stormcrow checks whether Doors of Night is also in play and then applies the appropriate modification to the Wizard’s direct influence. Regardless of whether Stormcrow is already in play when a Wizard is played, or if a Wizard is already in play when Stormcrow is played, this DI-reducing effect initiates a new chain of effects per the normal rules for passive conditions.

2. Discard all resource permanent-events that have been played on each company with a Wizard: This is also an action caused by a passive condition, which checks if there is a resource permanent-event played on a company with a Wizard and then discards each of those resource permanent-events. But, unlike the DI-reducing action, this discarding effect is declared and resolved immediately whenever the passive condition is met (without a chain of effects) due to Annotation 9a:

”If a card is required to be discarded by some passive condition, the card is discarded immediately when the condition resolves, not in the following chain of effects.”

So as soon as Stormcrow resolves, resource permanent-events played on the Wizard’s company are immediately discarded prior to the DI-reducing effect being implemented in the subsequent chain of effects.

3. No such cards may be played on each Wizard's company: This is a rule effect that is implemented immediately when Stormcrow resolves. It is not an action, but rather a new rule that prohibits the prescribed actions from being taken while it is in effect.

4. Discard this card when any play deck is exhausted: This is another passive condition effect that is declared and resolved immediately when any play deck is exhausted, per Annotation 9a.

[Konrad Klar]

Essentially the same story (and the same disagreement) as for ". Additionally, any sage at a site in a Dark-domain or Gorgoroth, or moving with a or Gorgoroth in his site path, loses his sage skill." in text of In the Heart of his Realm.

Some state may be a result of action caused by passive condition. Some state may be ongoing effect of card in play.
But not both at the same time.

Dependence on a presence of some card in play and/or on condition that caused some action is not peculiarity of a result of action caused by passive condition.
Company returned by action from Snowstorm remains returned even if after resolution of the action Snowstorm is discarded (condition of having at least one in company site path disappears too, because company that does not move does not have site path anymore).

1. The direct influence of each Wizard is reduced by 2 (by 4 if Doors of Night is in play): The application of this attribute modification is an action triggered by a passive condition; for each Wizard in play, Stormcrow checks whether Doors of Night is also in play and then applies the appropriate modification to the Wizard’s direct influence.

Not action as not action is an increasing/decreasing of prowess of characters caused by Clear Skies, Star of High Hope, Night. And a presence in play of characters (of proper type) is not passive condition of course. Ongoing effect active as long as one of mentioned cards is in play.

2. Discard all resource permanent-events that have been played on each company with a Wizard: This is also an action caused by a passive condition, which checks if there is a resource permanent-event played on a company with a Wizard and then discards each of those resource permanent-events. But, unlike the DI-reducing action, this discarding effect is declared and resolved immediately whenever the passive condition is met (without a chain of effects) due to Annotation 9a:

One time action performed when Stormcrow comes in play, just like discarding action from Gates of Morning or Doors of Night.
And due to "No such cards may be played on each Wizardʹs company. " rather there will be nothing to discard again as long Stormcrow is in play.

3. No such cards may be played on each Wizard's company: This is a rule effect that is implemented immediately when Stormcrow resolves. It is not an action, but rather a new rule that prohibits the prescribed actions from being taken while it is in effect.

I would say "new effect" but basically I agree here.

4. Discard this card when any play deck is exhausted: This is another passive condition effect that is declared and resolved immediately when any play deck is exhausted, per Annotation 9a.

I agree here too.

[Manuel]

Thanks everyone for your contributions. The RC will study them carefully and come up with a final digest soon.