CoE Digest #211 Q4 - Unmoved agent with Inner Cunning/Nobody's Friend
Posted: Sat Feb 07, 2026 10:30 pm
Can an agent be revealed at any appropriate site with Inner Cunning/Nobody’s Friend, even if the agent hasn’t moved yet?
Short answer:
Yes.
Long answer:
This has been an oft-debated semantic question based on the wording of Inner Cunning and Nobody’s Friend. Here is the relevant text of Inner Cunning for reference:
However, the key to this answer comes right before that parenthetical, as it specifically refers to “the site where he came into play”. Importantly, this isn’t the site where he was revealed, but rather the site where he was played initially, the past tense of “came” indicating that this is not a stipulation on the currently resolving action of the agent being revealed. This overrules Rule 4.2.1 about checking for legal movement from the agent’s home site, and allows for legal movement to be checked from any Shadow-hold or Dark-hold, but importantly the parenthetical is not applied to the agent’s current site.
As further evidence of ICE’s intention for Inner Cunning and Nobody’s Friend, here is an excerpt from the MEDM Players Guide about the two cards:
Therefore, it is this committee’s ruling that an agent with the appropriate home site type may be revealed to have come into play any site of the appropriate type with Inner Cunning/Nobody’s Friend, even if the agent hasn’t moved yet.
Short answer:
Yes.
Long answer:
This has been an oft-debated semantic question based on the wording of Inner Cunning and Nobody’s Friend. Here is the relevant text of Inner Cunning for reference:
Some players have pointed to the parenthetical “(which is not represented by a card)” and argued that agents can’t be revealed if they haven’t moved yet, because upon being revealed their current site must be played with them and would thus be “represented by a card”.As a permanent-event, playable on a face-down agent who was brought into play this turn. When the agent is revealed, and if his home site is a Shadow-hold or a Dark-hold, the site where he came into play (which is not represented by a card) may legally be any Shadow-hold or a Dark-hold. Discard when the agent is revealed.
However, the key to this answer comes right before that parenthetical, as it specifically refers to “the site where he came into play”. Importantly, this isn’t the site where he was revealed, but rather the site where he was played initially, the past tense of “came” indicating that this is not a stipulation on the currently resolving action of the agent being revealed. This overrules Rule 4.2.1 about checking for legal movement from the agent’s home site, and allows for legal movement to be checked from any Shadow-hold or Dark-hold, but importantly the parenthetical is not applied to the agent’s current site.
As further evidence of ICE’s intention for Inner Cunning and Nobody’s Friend, here is an excerpt from the MEDM Players Guide about the two cards:
Ostensibly, agents may “lie in wait” until they are needed and then immediately be “right on top” of a company at any Shadow-hold or Dark-hold, whereas the second sentence about not being able to appear at a company’s new site seems to refer to the company moving to a non-Shadow-hold-or-Dark-hold and yet even still the agent can start next door and move to meet them.They can allow an agent to lie in wait until the time is right, and to be right on top of a company when needed. Even if an agent lying in wait with Nobody’s Friend or Inner Cunning on him cannot appear at a company’s new site, he can usually move to meet the company the same turn revealed.
Therefore, it is this committee’s ruling that an agent with the appropriate home site type may be revealed to have come into play any site of the appropriate type with Inner Cunning/Nobody’s Friend, even if the agent hasn’t moved yet.