FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions for Ashes Reborn

• Common Confusion
• Rule Clarifications
• Chained List
• Card Errata
• Recommended First Fives
• Individual Card FAQs
• Ashes: Red Rains FAQ

Common Confusion

Plaid Hat Games maintains a FAQ for Ashes Reborn, which can be found here. Other sources of confusion are listed below.

Combat (Master set rules, page 10)

"Blocking" vs "Guarding"

Blocking is when one or more of your units intercept opposing unit(s) attacking your Phoenixborn.

Guarding is when either your Phoenixborn or a unit with the ability Unit Guard is put in front of an opposing unit attacking one of your units. Using your Phoenixborn to guard is usually referred to as "PB Guard" and can only be done once per round. When playing with physical cards, using the Phoenixborn Guard is represented by turning your PB sideways.

PvP: Units that block or guard must counter during their battle.

PvE: Aspects on defense always counter if unexhausted, and they do not become exhausted as a result of countering.

"In battle" and Tame

The definition of "Battle" on page 22 of the Master set rules provides more clarity on what a battle is: "An attacker is in battle with the unit or Phoenixborn it is dealing attack damage to." This means that even if there are 2 attackers and 2 blockers, each attacker and each blocker is only in battle with 1 other unit, and effects that are limited to "units in battle with this unit" only affect the battle the unit with that ability is in.

Example: A Hammer Knight and Iron Worker attack the opposing Phoenixborn. The player of the targeted Phoenixborn blocks the Hammer Knight with a Beast Tamer and the Iron Worker with a Mindfog Owl. The Beast Tamer's Tame 1 ability only affects the Hammer Knight, because neither the Iron Worker nor the Mindfog Owl are in battle with the Beast Tamer.

When do units exhaust as part of combat resolution?

For attackers, exhaustion tokens are placed after resolving their battle, if their wounds do not exceed their life.

For blockers and unit guards, exhaustion tokens are placed as a result of countering an attack. The Alert ability (e.g. Hammer Knight) prevents exhaustion being placed as a result of countering. A guarding Phoenixborn does not get an exhaustion token; they are turned sideways to indicate that they have guarded this round.

It is possible due to the resolution of effects and abilities that a defender does not exhaust if the attacking unit they are blocking is removed from combat before countering occurs. One example is Crystal Archer's Preemptive Shot 1 which can destroy a 1-life attacker when the Archer is declared as a blocker.

When can you choose to not counter with a unit?

If an unexhausted unit you control is directly attacked, and you do not or cannot guard it, you may choose to not have that unit counter (and thus, it won't exhaust). If the unit is already exhausted, it cannot choose to counter.

Targeting

When does a card or ability "target?"

Any card that says "target (something)" targets a card. Examples include "target unit," "target Phoenixborn," and, in the case of Whiplash (from the Corpse of Viros expansion), "target leftmost unit." Cards that have an effect that do not say "target," do not target (e.g. Nature's Wrath). Cards that target may be stopped by the appropriate card that cancels the effect (Golden Veil for units, Vanish for Phoenixborn or players).

Alterations target when they are attached, as per definition in the Master set rules, page 22.

The Concealed ability

The Concealed ability (present on Stormwind Sniper, Shadow Hound, and Lurk) is only active while the unit has no exhaustion tokens on it, and does not prevent abilities and effects that do not target. Cards like Mist Typhoon will still affect these units even when they have no exhaustion tokens. Chaos Gravity is trickier; it cannot place an exhaustion token onto these units as a part of the first effect, but it can move an exhaustion token to these units, because it does not target during that portion of the card ability.

Once the unit with Concealed is exhausted, it may be targeted as any other unit, as the exhaustion token renders their abilities blank.

Area of Effect (AOE) Selection and Resolution (Master set rules, page 17)

Some abilities and spells are card "area of effect" spells, because they do not target (e.g. Mist Typhoon). When these spells and abilities resolve, only the cards currently in play may be affected. In some cases, the affected cards may change during the resolution process, however, their initial selection does not get undone; they are still affected by the ability or spell. These spells and abilities affect units with Concealed (such as Stormwind Sniper or The Corpse of Viros's Lurk aspect), as Concealed only protects from targeted spells and abilities.

Example of resolution: Survival of the Fittest is played, and one player controls a Gilder and a Blood Archer, neither with any tokens. If the player who played Survival selects the Gilder first, and places the status token from the Gilder's Inheritance 1 ability onto the Blood Archer, the Blood Archer is still destroyed as a part of the resolution of Survival of the Fittest, as it did not have a token when it was selected as an affected unit.

Turn Structure

How/when fatigue works (Master set rules, page 6)

Fatigue damage occurs during the Prepare Phase (start of a round) when you have to draw until you have at least 5 cards in hand. For every card below 5 you are unable to draw, you take 1 damage on your Phoenixborn; this is referred to as fatigue damage. For example, if you have 3 cards in hand, and only 1 card left in your draw pile, you will take 1 fatigue damage that round. If you already have, or draw up to, at least 5 cards during the Prepare Phase, you will not take fatigue damage.

There are other cards that can punish having an empty draw pile but these are not fatigue damage, and the damage effect is stated on the card. For an example of this, see Abundance.

"End of the round" (Master set rules, page 13)

Abilities and effects that trigger "at the end of the round," like Cursed 1 on Blood Puppet, happen after the Recovery phase. These effects are outside of the Player Turns phase, which means Reaction cards and abilities cannot be played during this phase. However, abilities that trigger off of effects caused by any end of round abilities will still trigger.

Example: At the end of the round, a player using Jessa Na Ni has a Chant of Revenge and a Blood Archer with Fade Away attached. After the recovery phase, Fade Away triggers, destroying the Blood Archer and removing it from the game. Jessa cannot use Screams of the Departed because the ability states "Once per turn," and it is not during a turn. Chant of Revenge, however, gets a status token.

Reactions

You can only play reactions during the Player Turns phase; this means that the Prepare and Recovery phases do not allow for reactions or reaction abilities (blue text boxes, such as the one on Swift Messenger). As such, you are not allowed to use Summon Sleeping Widows or Final Cry as a reaction to a unit you control being destroyed at the end of the round due to an effect like Fade Away or the Fade ability.

There is a difference between Reaction spells and Reaction abilities, but only for cards that explicitly differentiate between them (Law of Sight). However, there is no difference between them in terms of Reactions per turn limit; if a player plays a Reaction ability in a turn, they are not allowed to play a Reaction spell later that same turn, or vice versa.

It is possible to play a Reaction to a Reaction. If a unit you control is destroyed by damage, and you respond with Summon Sleeping Widows, your opponent may then respond with Ice Trap to destroy one of the Sleeping Widows, provided they have not already played a Reaction this turn.

Specific cards

Void Pulse and Return to Soil

These two cards both have an "if that destroys the unit, after it is destroyed" clause that begins a sentence. Under the rules in the rulebook, this means the effect should trigger after the unit has been placed in the discard or conjuration pile, as appropriate. However, both effects are intended to take place in the same window: after the unit is destroyed, before it is discarded. This causes Void Pulse's draw and dice change ability to happen before your opponent gets a chance to play reactions, such as Final Cry. It also means that you cannot chose the destroyed unit as a card to remove with Return to Soil. These two clarifications are in the FAQ linked above.

Rowan Umberend

Rowan's Exhume ability allows you to replay an ally, which will trigger both "when this unit comes into play" and "when this unit is destroyed" abilities, such as both the abilities on Knowledge Seeker.

Miscellaneous

Printed vs Resolved Card Values and "X"

For "printed" values, X is X and no other value. It is not zero, nor is it the value of X at the time of resolution. Example: Rile The Meek will never get to deal a damage from a Wishing Wing, even if it has zero status tokens on it.

For non-printed values, X is its current numeric value as given by its definition (unless looking at magic play cost, which the rules explicitly calls out as zero). Example: Amplify may be played on a Wishing Wing, if and only if it has zero status tokens on it.

Rule Clarifications

Abilities and Text

• Any text in a card’s text box that has the format of “X = ...” is not considered an ability. Only bold named text on a unit is considered an ability, such as Unit Guard.
• Abilities and other effect text still exist on cards that are exhausted; however that text is not active and cannot be used by that card. If a card would copy the printed abilities of a card that is exhausted, it may indeed copy those abilities.
• When paying an exhaust cost to activate a spell or ability, fully resolve the activated effects even though the exhausted card no longer has ability or effect text.
• Inexhaustible text that is granted to another card is also considered to be inexhaustible on that card.

Battle

• If an attacker leaves battle before resolving its attack (either through becoming exhausted, leaving play, or another effect), any blocker or guard does not counter and a Phoenixborn declared as a guard would not use its guard for the round (do not rotate it 90°).
• If a blocker or guard leaves play before its battle is resolved, the attacker will resolve a battle with the original target of its attack.
• If an unguarded unit that is the target of an attack leaves play before that battle is resolved, the battle ends without dealing damage, but the attacker is still exhausted.
• Attackers are declared in a single step and blockers or guards are declared in a (separate) single step. After all attacker or blocker/guard choices have been made, effects that trigger when units are declared as an attacker/blocker/guard are resolved in the order of Simultaneous Effects (p. 17).

Card Information

• If an effect has a player search their draw (or other) pile for a specified card, that player is not required to select a card, even if there is an eligible card remaining in that pile. If an effect has a player search their discard pile or any other area whose contents are public information, the cards must be revealed when selected.
  • e.g. searching your discard pile for an ally and placing it into your hand.
• Face down cards that were public knowledge before being placed face down underneath another card in play may be examined by any player by request.
  • e.g. cards placed underneath Mount conjurations or Canyon Shelter.
• If a card in play indicates the ability to place a conjuration into play, any player may request to see a copy of the named conjuration from the owner’s conjuration pile for reference.

Dice

• Dice that are placed onto cards, such as with the charm and divine dice powers, are returned to their owner’s exhausted pool when the card they are on is discarded or otherwise removed from play. Dice that are placed onto cards are not considered to be in any player’s active or exhausted pool.
• When selecting a number of dice for an effect, choose as many as you can up to the indicated amount.
• You may take a Meditate side action with no dice in your active pool.

Timing Outside of Player Turns

• Reaction spells or cards with a blue reaction box cannot be played outside of the player turns phase (e.g. Final Cry). Effects that can only trigger during a turn, or once per turn, also cannot be played outside of a player’s turn (e.g. Jessa Na Ni’s Screams of the Departed ability). Effects without these limits still may be triggered and resolved outside of the player turns phase (e.g. Chant of Revenge gaining a status token.)
• Effects that resolve outside of the player turns phase, such as end of round effects, resolve one player at a time, starting with the first player. In a 2p game of Red Rains, the players should resolve these effects one after another. These effects resolve one at a time, in the order of the player’s choice, until no more of these effects are left unresolved.
• If a new effect becomes active during the resolution of these effects, it is resolved, only if the player who controls that effect is still in the process of or has yet to resolve their effects.

Miscellaneous

• If a unit would ever come into play onto a full battlefield, it is discarded instead. 
• If a unit leaves play and then is placed back into play, it comes into play without any tokens on it, alteration spells attached to it, and it is not attacking, blocking or guarding. If it left and returned to play within the same turn without being placed in a discard pile, conjuration pile or hand, it is considered to be the same unit and is still subject to any other effects that had applied to it (see ‘Hope Everthorn’).
• You may not take main or side actions during another player’s turn, even if a card effect states you may take additional actions this turn.
• A card effect cannot place a conjuration into play that has been destroyed but not yet discarded unless it refers to that specific copy (e.g. via “this unit” or “that card”)

Chained List

Ashes Reborn does not currently have a Banned or Restricted list. Instead, it has the Chained List, which is a set of cards that are not allowed to be included in a player's First Five, and cannot be played in the first round even if they come into a player's hand, for example, by card drawing, deck searching by cards like Open Memories, or a card that gets the chained card from the discard pile. In subsequent rounds, they may be played as normal.

This list is intended for Organized Play events, typically tournaments or leagues. That said, it is common practice to use the chained list for all play, even casual games online. Rare exceptions for certain formats, such as pre-constructed only, may exist. Always confirm with your opponent before playing.

The Chained List

As of April 5th, 2023, the list includes:

• Explosive Growth
• Golden Veil (added January 25th, 2024)
• Hypnotize (added January 25th, 2024)
  
• Meteor
• Psychic Vampire
• River Skald
• Summon Shining Hydra
  

Reasoning

"There exist certain cards and card combinations that violate one or more of the core gameplay philosophies of Ashes when included in a player’s First Five."

Some of the cards on the list are part of specific combos that are overly oppressive, and some are against the core principle of First Five.

PHG has included reasoning with each update of the chained list. You can read here:

1. https://www.plaidhatgames.com/news/2021/06/02/ashes-june-update/
2. https://www.plaidhatgames.com/news/2022/05/16/ashcon2/
   
3. https://www.plaidhatgames.com/news/2022/10/03/new-organized-play-rules/
4. https://www.plaidhatgames.com/news/2023/04/05/ashes-card-changes-and-organized-play-update/
   
5. https://www.plaidhatgames.com/news/2024/01/25/ashes-organized-play-and-faq-update-v5/

Previous Cards

These cards were chained previously, but are no longer chained.

• Exhortation (removed January 25th, 2024)
• Massive Growth (removed January 25th, 2024)
• Summon Sleeping Widows (removed January 25th, 2024)
• Three-Eyed Owl (the conjuration; removed April 5th, 2023)

The reasoning to remove each card is included in the update links above.

Technicalities

While it is possible to follow the current Organized Play rules and construct a legal deck that, due to the Chained list, cannot actually have a First Five (example here), doing so will result in a disqualification for the event. Source: Nick Conley, upon being asked about the linked deck.

Card Errata

The following cards have received official errata. While Plaid Hat has decided that print runs will now include the fixed version of the cards instead of the older version, it is possible a product was printed before the errata and may not be up to date.

These 4 are available in a print-and-play file at plaidhatgames.com, or included in The Frostwild Scourge expansion set.

• Salamander Monk Spirit (The Song of Soaksend)^[1]
  
  • Conjuration count 2
  • 0 attack
  • Replaced Transparent with [INEX: Fleeting: Discard this card at the end of this round.]
• Brennen Blackcloud (Master Set - The Children of Blackcloud, and The Corpse of Viros)^[1]

  • 18 life down to 16 life

  • Revised Spirit Burn: Main, Exhaust, 1CC: Destroy an ally you control to deal 2 damage to a target Phoenixborn.

• Three-Eyed Owl (Master set)^[1]
  • Conjuration count 2
  • Gained Peer 1: When this unit comes into play, look at 1 random card in a target opponent’s hand.
  • Revised Memory Drain 1: At the end of the prepare phase, choose a target opponent to discard 1 card of their choice from their hand.
• Indiglow Creeper (The Boy Among Wolves)^[1]
  • Conjuration count 1

The fifth will be available in The Spawn of Shadowreck.

• Rimea Careworn (The Ghost Guardian)^[2]
  • 20 life down to 17 life
  • Battlefield size up from 4 to 5
  • Revised Visions: Side, Exhaust: Draw 2 cards. Then, look at 2 random cards in a target opponent's hand.

 

References

1. https://www.plaidhatgames.com/news/2023/04/05/ashes-card-changes-and-organized-play-update/
2. https://www.plaidhatgames.com/news/2024/06/26/introducing-the-spawn-of-shadowreck/

Recommended First Fives

Here is a list of First Fives for each of the preconstructed Ashes decks. Note that these are just recommendations to start from, and feel free to modify your First Five to suit your preferences and unique matchups against different opponents. These also may differ from those found in the Rulebook, as there are many viable approaches for how to use each deck.

Aradel - The Mist Guardian

Summon Blue Jaguar, Summon Mist Spirit, Summon Butterfly Monk, Shifting Mist, Steady Gaze

Astrea - The Goddess of Ishra

Summon Steadfast Guardian, Summon Light Bringer, Summon Weeping Spirit, Imperial Ninja, Sun Sister

Brennen - The Children of Blackcloud

Summon Dread Wraith, Chant of Worship, Blackcloud Ninja, Fire Archer, Crimson Bomber

Coal - The Iron Men

Chant of Revenge, Hammer Knight, Iron Worker, Anchornaut, Strengthen

Dimona - The Queen of Lightning

Summon Cloudburst Gryphon, Rayward Knight, Crystal Archer, Rayward Recruit, Adept Duelist

Echo - The Masters of Gravity

Chaos Gravity, Sonic Swordsman, Summon Mirror Spirit, Changing Winds, Gravity Training

Fiona - The Protector of Argaia

Mind Maze, Summon Nightsong Cricket, Summon Mind Fog Owl, Summon Majestic Titan, Confusion Spores

Harold - The Demons of Darmas

Summon Vampire Bat Swarm, Drain Vitality, Master Vampire, Adrenaline Rush, Beast Warrior

Hope - The Artist of Dreams

Summon Fox Spirit, Summon Wishing Wing, Realm Walker, Dreamlock Mage, Dream Fracture

James - The Grave King

Summon Fallen, Grave Knight, Rising Horde, Immortal Commander, Vengeance

Jericho - The Breaker of Fate

Summon Time Hopper, Summon Turtle Guard, Swift Messenger, Standard Bearer, Accelerate

Jessa - The Bloodwoods Queen

Summon Blood Puppet, Blood Transfer, Blood Archer, Living Doll, Undying Heart

Koji - The Boy Among Wolves

Summon Indiglow Creeper, Summon Biter, Join the Hunt, Hunt Master, Jungle Warrior

Leo - The Roaring Rose

Summon Orchid Dove, Summon Nightshade Swallow, Memory Theft, Beast Tamer, Change Psyche

Lulu - The Gorrenrock Survivors

Summon Emberoot Lizard, Summon Omen Bringer, Fighting Spirit, Inflame, Phoenix Barrage

Maeoni - The Snakes in Silver

Summon Silver Snake, Summon Gilder, Open Memories, Empower, Call Upon the Realms

Namine - The Song of Soaksend

Summon Squall Stallion, Summon Salamander Monk, Guilt Link, Magic Syphon, String Mage

Noah - The Shadows of Viros

Summon Masked Wolf, Summon False Demon, Small Sacrifice, Resummon, Summon Sleeping Widows

Odette - The Law of Lions

Summon Emperor Lion, Summon Winged Lioness, Sword of Virtue, Shield Mage, Power Through

Orrick - The Messenger of Peace

Concentration, Summon Ash Spirit, Summon Ruby Cobra, Sunshield Sentry, Flock Shepherd

Rimea - The Ghost Guardian

Ancestral Army, Summon Ghostly Mount, Summon Ancestor Spirit, Augury, Hollow

Rin - The Frostdale Giants

Summon Ice Golem, Summon Frostback Bear, Frost Bite, Frost Fang, Ice Trap

Rowan - The Scholar of Ruin

Summon Ruin Dweller, Ritualist, Crypt Guardian, Knowledge Seeker, Discovery

Saria - The Cloudsea Siren

Summon Seaside Raven, Summon Three-Eyed Owl, Abundance, Rose Fire Dancer, Purge

Sembali - The Spirits of Memoria

Summon Admonisher, Celestial Knight, Shadow Guard, Chained Creations, Angelic Rescue

Tristan - The Ocean’s Guard

Summon Prism Tetra, Summon Seafoam Snapper, Summon Tidal Crab, Tsunami Shot, Wave Crash

Victoria - The Duchess of Deception

Summon Shadow Hound, Summon Shadow Spirit, Secret Door, Body Inversion, Flash Archer

Xander - The King of Titans

Summon Cerasaurus Mount, Sacred Ground, Earthquake, Raptor Herder, Pain Shaman

(Jessa/Coal/Noah/Brennen) - The Corpse of Viros Ceremonial Deck

Summon Calamity Golem, Summon Bone Crow, Old Salt, Phoenix Attendant, Phoenixborn Unique Card

Individual Card FAQs

Accelerate

Q: If I use Copycat on Accelerate, can I take side actions on my opponent’s turn?
A: No. Per the Rules Clarifications, players can only take main or side actions on their turn.

Ash Spirit

Q: If I am the only player with no cards in my draw pile at the end of the round, do I have to take 1 damage from my own Ash Spirit’s Smolder 1 ability?
A: Yes, Ash Spirits can be a double-edged sword. Be careful around fiery sheep!

Blink

Q: What happens to the unit I use Blink on if, by the end of the turn, the battlefield it is returning to play onto is full?
A: Per the Rules Clarifications, it is discarded. 

Blood Archer

Q: If placing a wound token on my Blood Archer from the Blood Shot 1 ability would cause my Blood Archer to be destroyed, do I still get to deal 1 damage to a target unit?
A: Yes, fully resolve the ability, even though the Blood Archer is not in play when that part of the ability resolves.

Bone Crow

Q: When attacking with Bone Crow, if it triggers its Feast 1 ability, but the target of the attack changes to an unwounded card when my opponent blocks or guards, do I keep the attack bonus from Feast 1?
A: Yes.

Canyon Shelter

Q: If I have multiple copies of Canyon Shelter in play, can I activate one copy of Canyon Shelter to place a unit underneath a different copy of Canyon Shelter since focusing causes some copies to be underneath others?
A: No, each copy of Canyon Shelter independently has units underneath them. 

Chained Creations

Q: If I use Chained Creations to destroy a conjuration, can I place an exhaustion token on Resummon?
A: No. Resummon does not specifically say what kind of conjuration it puts into play, so Chained Creations cannot exhaust it.

Channel Magic

Q: Can I use this card in player vs player Ashes games?
A: Yes, up to 3 copies of Channel Magic can be included in a player’s deck, like any other card.

Chant of Transfusion

Q: What happens if my opponent uses Golden Veil to cancel the movement of a wound token onto a target unit they control?
A: Both units are targeted before resolving the effect of Chant of Transfusion, so if a Golden Veil is played, the wound token will not be moved at all.

Choke

Q: If I play Choke, can I still deal 1 damage to a target Phoenixborn even if they were exhausted before I played Choke?
A: No. Choke requires you to exhaust a Phoenixborn to deal the damage.

Copycat

Q: If I use Copycat to resolve a copy of Meteor, how much damage can I do? 
A: Just the base 1 damage to all units. The copy of Meteor was played without paying its play cost, so no were spent to play it, even if one was spent to play Copycat.

Q: When I use Copycat on Odette’s Enter the Fray ability, which Phoenixborn is dealt damage in return?
A: Yours. When using Copycat, the default assumption should be that you become the player casting the spell and your Phoenixborn is using any Phoenixborn ability being copied.

Q: Can I play Copycat after my opponent uses Copycat to copy the same spell or ability? 
A: Yes. Copycat may be played immediately after the originally copied spell or ability is resolved.

Q: If I use Copycat in response to an effect that can place a conjuration onto my battlefield, like Summon Shining Hydra, do I get to do so?
A: You may only place that conjuration if you happen to have a copy of it in your conjuration pile. This can only be done if that conjuration was added to your conjuration pile during deck construction as a result of including the card that can place it in your deck build. So in this example, you may only place a Shining Hydra via Copycat if you included your own copy of Summon Shining Hydra in your deck build, thus having a copy of Shining Hydra to place. If you did not include Summon Shining Hydra in your deck build, you do not have a Shining Hydra available to place vis Copycat.

Dark Presence

Q: If I use Dark Presence to give Beast Tamer the Terrifying 1 ability in addition to Tame 1, and it attacks, can it be blocked by a Turtle Guard with an attack value of 2?
A: Yes. Abilities like Terrifying check the relevant stat value only during the declare blockers/guard step, and then are otherwise irrelevant. If the Turtle Guard has an attack value above that of the Terrifying ability when it can be declared as a blocker, it may be declared.

Dimona Odinstar

Q: Is this the first ‘Mount’ unit that references exhausted units?
A: Yes, Dimona instead Promotes allies that have proved their worth in battle!

Disengage

Q: Does my attacking unit become exhausted after playing Disengage?
A: No (see Battle above).

Double Down

Q: When a conjuration is destroyed and I play Double Down as a result, can I place that same copy of that conjuration into play?
A: No, conjurations must come from the conjuration pile, and at the time of resolving Double Down, the destroyed conjuration is not yet in the conjuration pile. You must place 2 copies (or as many as you can) of that conjuration from your conjuration pile.

Emperor Lion

Q: If I play Law of Sight while using the Emperor Lion’s Decree ability, will I draw cards that I saw on the top of my draw pile while searching for a Law?
A: Due to the possibility of manipulating the order of your draw pile, you should shuffle your draw pile immediately after searching your draw pile for a Law and revealing it, despite the fact that shuffling is listed as the last part of Decree’s effect. This will ensure the cards drawn from Law of Sight are random.

Empyrean Mount

Q: Does Battlemaster do anything when targeting a unit for an attack?
A: No. If you want your Empyrean Mount to battle a specific unit, instead attack the Phoenixborn and use Battlemaster to choose that unit as a blocker. If you attacked the unit directly, your opponent could still declare a guard.

Era’s End

Q: What effects resolve when playing Era’s End in the case that one of those effects would exhaust a card with an effect pending resolution, like Crypt Guardian?
A: All unexhausted cards in play with an end of round effect at the time of playing Era’s End will be recognized as in queue to resolve. However, if one of those cards becomes exhausted, say by Crypt Guardian’s Shackle 1 ability, during the process of resolving Era’s End, the exhausted card will lose its ability text and will not resolve from Era’s End when it’s time comes to resolve.

Q: Who chooses how to resolve an opponent’s effect triggered by Era’s End?
A: The controller of the card resolving. 

Fade Away

Q: Is the ‘remove from game’ text on Fade Away considered a second effect, or a modifier of the first effect?
A: It is a modifier of the first effect, indicating that after the ally is destroyed, instead of discarding it, remove it from the game.

Fade Away and Undying Heart

Q: If Fade Away destroys an ally I control that has Undying Heart attached, do I return the ally to my hand or remove it from the game?
A: Return it to your hand. The effect of Undying Heart returns the ally to your hand before that ally would be discarded. Fade Away attempts to remove the ally from the game instead of discarding it. Since the ally is returned to your hand (and not discarded), Fade Away does not remove the ally from play. 

Fear and Undying Heart

Q: If I use Fear to destroy a unit with Undying Heart attached to it, will the amount of wound tokens I remove from Jessa be modified by Undying Heart’s +1 recover value?
A: Yes, Fear uses the recover value the unit had at the time it was destroyed.

Fox Spirit

Q: If I activate Pounce 2 by attacking an exhausted unit with my Fox Spirit and the target of the attack changes from my opponent’s guarding, what happens?
A: Once Pounce 2 activates, the +2 attack persists for the remainder of the turn regardless of how the opponent chooses to respond to the attack.

Ghostly Mounts

Q: If I summon Spectral Charger Mount and my opponent destroys it with Ice Trap, what happens to the ally that was removed from play to summon my Mount?
A: Consider placing the Mount and the ally underneath the Mount to be a single step; thus Dismount would trigger and place the ally into your hand.

Golden Veil

Q: When canceling one of several effects on a card with Golden Veil, such as the exhaustion token placement on Law of Fear, what happens to the remaining effects on Law of Fear that were not currently resolving?
A: Only currently resolving effects are canceled. Passive modifiers like Law of Fear’s -1 attack effect, Bound, and Fleeting, are still in effect after the exhaustion token placement is canceled by Golden Veil.

Hope Everthorn

Q: Can I use a reaction spell like Summon Sleeping Widows at the end of my turn when a unit I control is destroyed as a result of Duplicate?
A: Yes, and this reaction is considered to be used on your turn that is currently ending with regards to the “Limit 1 reaction per turn” rule.

Q: I used Duplicate on my Vampire Bat Swarm and that copy was destroyed before the end of this turn. If I put it back into play with the Swarm ability, will it be destroyed as a result of Duplicate at the end of the turn?
A: Yes, when using the Swarm ability to place that Vampire Bat Swarm back into play, it is still under the effects of Hope’s Duplicate ability.

Hunter’s Mark

Q: If I use Enchanted Violinist’s Song of Sorrow ability to destroy a unit with Hunter’s Mark attached to it, do I trigger the discard effect from Song of Sorrow?
A: Yes. Hunter’s Mark modifies the amount of wound tokens placed by Song of Sorrow, but the source of the damage is still the Enchanted Violinist, allowing you to discard 1 card from the top of that opponent’s draw pile.

Imperial Ninja

Q: What happens if I only can discard 1 card from my deck against an Imperial Ninja’s attack?
A: If you choose to discard the card from your deck, the Interrogate ability still causes you to discard the looked at card, since you discarded fewer than 2 cards.

Iron Worker

Q: If I am at or above my maximum hand limit of 5, can I still draw cards with Iron Worker’s Overtime ability?
A: Yes. You may draw 0-2 additional cards during the draw step, regardless of how many cards you have in your hand. 

Meteor

Q: If I spent to play this, am I required to deal the damage?
A: Yes. You may not spend a and ignore the damage boosting effect of Meteor.

Mind Probe

Q: When I use Mind Probe, does my opponent get to see the order I return the cards back to their draw pile?
A: No. You are allowed to pick up the remaining cards, determine their order secretly, and return them to your opponent’s draw pile.

Nightsong Cricket

Q: If I play Crescendo to destroy my Nightsong Cricket, can that copy of Crescendo be added into my hand by its Renewed Harmony ability?
A: No, Crescendo is not fully resolved at that time, and is not yet in the discard pile.

Odette Diamondcrest

Q: How much damage does Odette take when using Enter the Fray against a Dread Wraith?
A: If you use Enter the Fray against an undamaged Dread Wraith, Odette is dealt 3 damage, because the Dread Wraith’s attack is increased to 3 by the time Odette is dealt damage by her ability.

Q: How much damage does Odette take when using Enter the Fray and it destroys the target unit? 
A: If the targeted unit is no longer in play when Odette is dealt damage from her ability, use the attack value of the unit at the time of its destruction (e.g. a Dread Wraith that has a Frozen Crown and 7 wound tokens on it when destroyed would deal 11 damage to Odette!)

Piercing Light

Q: Do multiple copies of Piercing Light stack the Overkill ability?
A: Yes (Stacking Abilities, Glossary). 

Radiant Leviathan

Q: If my Radiant Leviathan is destroyed during the end of round steps, will the Prism Tetras it summons be discarded by Scatter?
A: It depends on when the Leviathan is destroyed. End of round effects are resolved player by player, starting with the First Player. If you are the First Player and resolve all your end of round effects first, then your opponent destroys your Leviathan (say, with Red Raindrop), the Tetras you summon will not be discarded from Scatter, as you have already passed the window in which you resolve your end of round abilities for that round. If your Leviathan is destroyed by Fade Away while resolving your end of round effects, the newly summoned Tetras will have to resolve Scatter during your end of round resolutions.

Rayward Recruit and Blessing of Lightning

Q: Must I choose a divine die on its power side when resolving Blessing of Lightning or the Armed ability?
A: No, any divine die, regardless of what face it is on, and including the die spent to play them, can be used to resolve these effects.

Q: Can I use the dice spent to play these cards when resolving their effects?
A: Yes, costs are paid before resolving these effects, so you may use the spent divine die.

Redirect

Q: What happens if I use Redirect to make a unit I control with Armored 1 receive that damage?
A: The unit receives full damage. Since the damage was dealt to your Phoenixborn, but received by the unit, Armored 1 does not trigger (Damage Resolution, p. 16).

Q: If I use Redirect to make my Blood Shaman receive enough damage for it to be destroyed, can I use Blood Shaman’s Blood Ritual 1 ability?
A: It depends on the source of the damage dealt to your Phoenixborn that triggered Redirect. The source of the damage does not change when Redirect is used. If the source of damage was your own spell, ability, or dice power, then yes. Otherwise, Blood Ritual 1 does not trigger.

Return to Soil

Q: If I use Return to Soil to destroy a Raptor Herder, can I remove it from the game with the rest of Return to Soil’s effect?
A: No. The destroyed Raptor Herder is not in the discard pile at the time of resolving that part of Return to Soil. 

Rile the Meek

Q: What happens when I use Golden Veil to stop damage from Rile the Meek?
A: That damage, and all subsequent instances of damage from Rile the Meek, are canceled.

Rowan Umberend

Q: If an ally I control is destroyed by Fade Away, can I still Conscript it with Rowan, or will it be removed from the game?
A: You may use Conscript without Fade Away removing the ally from the game (See Fade Away above). Since Conscript prevents the ally from being discarded, Fade Away cannot remove the ally from the game instead of discarding it. 

Safeguard

Q: If I play Safeguard and pass as a main action, ending the round, does Safeguard carry over into the next round? 
A: Yes. You will be protected by Safeguard until the start of your next turn, regardless of if the round ends between those turns.

Seafoam Snapper

Q: If my Seafoam Snapper with 1 status token is dealt 2 damage while I have Fate Reflection in hand, how much damage will I do if I play Fate Reflection?
A: Fate Reflection will always deal the amount of damage dealt (2 in this case), whether or not another effect would also prevent damage. Additionally, even if Fate Reflection is used to prevent the damage, Tough is not an optional effect, so you will spend the status token for Tough even when using Fate Reflection.

Shield Mage

Q: What does Shield Mage’s ability do? 
A: Since your units cannot be targeted by attacks an opponent controls, the Shield Mage’s Defensive Aura ability essentially means your opponent must target your Phoenixborn for an attack instead of your units. This allows you to assign blockers more freely than if they were able to target your units for attacks.

Stasis

Q: Can Stasis be used as a reaction against Squall Stallion’s Lightning Speed ability?
A: No. Per its effect text, Stasis is considered a reaction spell for the purposes of Lightning Speed when played using the blue reaction text box.

Strange Copy

Q: If I use Strange Copy to turn my unit into a Vampire Bat Swarm, when it is destroyed, how does the Swarm ability work?
A: You may spend 1 or 1 to return that unit to play as a Vampire Bat Swarm (without tokens or alteration spells). It is not considered to be the original unit until Strange Copy wears off at the end of the turn.

Q: If I use Strange Copy to turn my unit into a Shield Mage while my opponent is attacking a unit I control, what happens?
A: The opponent continues attacking that unit. Shield Mage’s Defensive Aura ability will not be active in time to affect the declaration of this attack.

Q: If I use Strange Copy to copy an exhausted unit, do I copy its exhaustible abilities even if they aren’t active on that card?
A: Yes. Per the Rules Clarifications above, the Strange Copy unit will have all of the source unit’s printed abilities, even if the source unit is exhausted.

Q: If I transform my Psychic Vampire into a different unit with Strange Copy and it survives battle damage, but then is destroyed by a reduction in life value when it transforms back into Psychic Vampire, can I trigger Lobotomize?
A: No. Psychic Vampire is not dying from an opponent’s effect at that point, but rather from the game state change of Strange Copy’s effect wearing off.

Q: Does an ally being copied into a conjuration (or vice versa) change its card type?
A: No, the original unit is still considered its own card type for the purposes of cards like Chant of Revenge triggering when an ally you control is destroyed.

String Mage

Q: How does cancelling work when moving a token with Exchange Link 1?
A: Golden Veil can cancel the entirety of the Exchange Link 1 ability since it is played when a unit is targeted by the effect, but before resolving the effect (Target, p. 26).

Tidal Shift

Q: What happens if Tidal Shift gets canceled, such as by Golden Veil?
A: The entire card effect is canceled since the unit is targeted before resolving any of Tidal Shift’s effect.

Transmute Magic

Q: Am I required to target all players with the last effect? 
A: Yes. Per the effect text, you target all players at once, then a cancel effect (such as Vanish) can be declared and resolved. Otherwise, you then change dice in the order of your choice.

Tristan Darkwater

Q: What numerals does Tristan’s Magnify ability affect?
A: Abilities with a numeral in their ability title are affected. Increase that numeral by 1, and all instances of that same numeral in that ability’s text. Do not increase numbers written out (e.g. “one”).

Tsunami Shot

Q: What happens when I use Golden Veil to stop Tsunami Shot?
A: That damage, and all subsequent instances of damage from Tsunami Shot are canceled.

Undying Heart and Fade Away

See Fade Away.

Vampire Bat Swarm

Q: If a Vampire Bat Swarm is attacking or blocking, is destroyed, and triggers Swarm to re-enter play, is it still attacking or blocking? 
A: No, the new Vampire Bat Swarm is not considered to be attacking or blocking (see Rules Clarifications above).

Victoria Glassfire

Q: When I use the Surprise! ability and I have fewer dice in my active pool than the number of dice re-rolled for my opponent, how many of my dice do I roll?
A: Roll as many dice as you can up to the amount re-rolled for your opponent.

Void Pulse

Q: How does the sequencing of effects work with Void Pulse? Can I use the dice spindown effect to prevent my opponent from having the dice to play a reaction spell in response to their unit’s being destroyed, like Final Cry?
A: Void Pulse’s secondary effect of drawing cards and changing dice is triggered “after [the unit] is destroyed.” As the active player, you must draw cards/change dice before your opponent has the opportunity to trigger any effects off of their unit’s destruction, such as playing Final Cry.

Ashes: Red Rains FAQ

Rules Clarifications

• In a 2 player game of Red Rains, the Chimera takes a turn against each opponent, starting with a turn against the first player (or the player the first player token is pointing to when the Chimera is the first player).
• Red Rains tokens are placed one at a time, potentially triggering an ultimate to resolve, followed by continued placement of the remaining Red Rains tokens that would be placed.
• While players are allowed to make decisions regarding choices the Chimera must make, this choice should be ignored when the Chimera is resolving simultaneous damage as a result of an aspect attacking. When an attacking aspect deals damage to a defending unit that counters, always resolve the attack damage first.
• The Chimera will continue reshuffling its discard pile to create a new draw pile any time it is depleted, even after it reaches Fatigue.
• The Chimera does not reshuffle its draw pile when it is required to create a hand of 5 cards for the purposes of effects that affect the Chimera’s hand if the draw pile has less than 5 cards. In this case, use as many cards as there are remaining to create the hand.
• Facedown aspects are not considered to be in play until they are revealed. 

Play Variants

Grim Fates: When making choices for the Chimera, instead of the players choosing any options for the Chimera, they may instead force themselves to choose the worst possible outcome for themselves, evaluated to the best of their ability. Players may apply this rule globally, or may choose to apply it to specific cards to better satisfy their play preferences. Some examples of cards to apply the Grim Fates variant to:

• E.g. Abundance allows the players to normally choose how many cards the Chimera will draw. Under the Grim Fates variant, the Chimera would always attempt to draw 2 cards, as to not take direct damage before reaching Fatigue.
• E.g. Generosity gives the Chimera a choice between receiving 2 beneficial effects. Under the Grim Fates variant, the Chimera should choose the effect most beneficial to it, or take the effect that the player wanted to resolve the most afterwards.

FAQs

General

Q: Does the Chimera have to spend dice from its active pool when it activates a side action behavior?
A: No. The side action behaviors are just considered to be dice powers for the purpose of cards that check for the source of an effect. For example, Golden Veil can cancel the effects of a spell, ability or dice power, therefore it can cancel a side action behavior that targets a unit you control.

Light Bringer

Q: If I use Light Bringer’s Infatuate ability to force the Chimera to take an Attack main action on its next turn, does it still roll the behavior and rage dice if there are facedown aspects?
A: No. The Chimera Rulebook (pg. 10) lists the actions the Chimera will take on its turn. Light Bringer’s Infatuate ability makes the Chimera choose to Attack with its leftmost unit that can attack, instead of rolling dice to determine its actions for the turn.

Coal Roarkwin

Q: In a 2-player game, if my opposing battlefield has no faceup aspects on it, but my partner’s opposing battlefield does, can I use Slash to deal 1 damage to the Chimera?
A: Since the Chimera controls units, even though they are opposing your partner, you cannot use Slash to deal 1 damage to the Chimera directly. You still may use Slash to target units on the battlefield opposing your partner though.

Whiplash

Q: How does Whiplash’s targeting work?
A: Whiplash will destroy the leftmost unit among units the opposing player controls with 1 or more wound tokens on it. If there are none, it will deal 1 damage to the opposing player’s leftmost unit.