Rules Roundup 2019-04-12

Questions

• When determining who goes first, does whoever wins the method used get to choose who goes first or do they HAVE to go first?
  For casual games, especially with newer players, we recommend the person randomly chosen goes first. For more serious, competitive games, that player can choose to go first or second.
• The Round Up two weeks ago mentioned that the loser of game 1 picks who goes first for game 2, and so on for game 3. However, the official and most recent FAQ that’s published says that the player who starts the game alternates. Which should we go by, officially, for the tiebreaker?
  The player who goes first alternating is meant for casual play. In a multi-game structure or best two-out-of-three scenario, the loser of one game chooses who goes first in the next game.
• Does Prowl - Military Strategist (bot mode) ability trigger when Prowl - Military Strategist gets KOed?
  No, it doesn’t. In bot mode, Prowl is not a car.
• Say Optimus Prime - Battlefield Legend attack a character with a Body Armor equipped, during the attack, Vaporize is revealed as attacking, and I choose to use the Vaporize on the Body Armor, does the defender still have tough 3?
  OPBL’s ability says it triggers before defense flips, so the defender would lose that tough 3 in this scenario.
• I couldn’t find this having been asked before - if Marksmanship is played against a Combiner - does this do the 2 damage? Are Combiners in bot mode?
  Combiner mode is not the same as bot mode, so Marksmanship would not do 2 damage.
• Force Field states "If the upgraded character would take 5 or more attack damage - Instead scrap this card and the upgraded character takes 4 attack damage." If we follow the exact text of this and we have 2 Force Fields on the same character. If the upgraded character would take 5 or more attack damage both Force Fields would trigger, then they would take 8 attack damage (4 from each Force Field) This doesn't seem like the intended effect of Force Field but following the exact wording, isn't this what should happen?
  No. Force Field is a replacement effect, and only one of those applies at a given time. Once that happens, it reduces the initial attack damage to 4, which invalidates the second Force Field.
• Say I have a Field Communicator on a Specialist (Let's say it's Arcee, because why not?). Is it then possible to play a second Field Communicator to replace the first? (In order to re-trigger the effect on a specialist)
  Yes.
• If Dreadwing has two Force Fields equipped, wouldn't they both be scrapped at the same time? If a character would take 5 or more attack damage, both Force Fields would be triggered. Then you resolve them one at a time, in the order of your choice. The first one would scrap and reduce damage taken to 4. The second would scrap but the damage was already reduced to 4. This follows the Dinobot Sludge + Data Pad ruling where both effects are triggered at attack, and even if Data Pad puts your hand equal to your opponent, you still resolve Sludge's ability to draw 2 cards. Correct?
  No. Force Field is not a triggered ability. See explanation regarding replacement effects above.
• It is my turn; my opponent is tapped out. I have one untapped Bot, I play Inferno Breath and tap my bot to deal 3 damage. It is now my turn to attack, but I have no bots to attack. I figure we will both untap, but who goes next? Do I attack as I have not attacked for my turn? Is it my opponent’s turn even, though I did not attack? Rules state you must attack each turn.
  If you have no untapped characters when it’s time to attack, you simply skip the attack and your turn ends. In the scenario you described, all characters will untap and your opponent’s turn will begin.
• When you play an action, is it set aside until the turn ends because I've seen people do that? Or when you play an action, is it set aside until it fully concludes its skill?
  All actions (and cards you flip for the battle) go into the played area until the end of the turn, when they are scrapped. (Secret Actions may stay in the played area a little longer).
• A situation came up today after Grimlock in bot mode (Wave 1) attacked Motor Master in truck mode. Does the extra damage carry over if Motor Master is KO’d? We couldn’t quite figure out the timing. If Motor Master is KO’d, does his ability then not work, or is the extra damage assigned prior to the KO?
  In this scenario, Motormaster would be KO’d and his ability would not apply. Grimlock’s ability will trigger after Motormaster is KO’d.
• I have a question about shuffle timing. What is the exact trigger that causes a player to shuffle their scrap pile into their (empty) deck? Does a shuffle occur anytime deck size = 0, or only when an effect (say, your draw step) causes you to draw a card, but you cannot do so without shuffling? If I draw the last card in my deck on my draw step, will my stay empty until I play a battle card that instructs me to draw (or declare an attacker and flip cards in combat)?
  You shuffle as soon as your deck is empty.
• Say I have 2 untapped bots and my opponent's bots are all tapped out. I do my first attack and flip. Do those cards go to the scrap pile after damage is done?
  They go to the scrap pile at the end of your turn.
• Regarding when Battle Masters go to the KO area when they're removed from the battlefield in upgrade mode: Do they switch to bot mode when they go there or do they stay in upgrade mode? And if they do stay in upgrade mode, how does this interact with Emergency Maintenance?
  They stay on their Upgrade side and it does not interact with Emergency Maintenance because upgrades are not counted as characters.
• I am playing with Metroplex, and I have Backup Beam and Debilitating Crystal attached to him. My opponent has Menasor equipped with Stunticon Swagger. It is my turn, and I play Height Advantage to get the extra bold 4 to try and activate Metroplex's triggered ability from card flipping. As I declare him as the attacker, and Menasor as the defender, Debilitating Crystal activates. I choose to bounce Swagger to my opponent's hand. Does my bold then become active because the effect of Swagger is no longer active? Am I allowed to use the bold from the upgrade and the action now?
  Yes. Both bold effects would apply in this scenario. Stunticon Swagger does not stop a character from getting bold prior to the attack.
• Does Thrust count as a Tap ability? Similarly, does Incoming Transmission count as a Plan effect? Or, because neither have the keywords, are they exceptions to the rule?
  No. Thrust doesn’t use the Tap symbol and Incoming Transmission does not say “Plan” (and is slightly different from Plan because it isn’t optional to place the card back).
• Simultaneous triggers are resolved in the order you choose, but when do you choose the order? Is it when they trigger, or as each resolves? Example: Abilities A, B, and C all trigger simultaneously. Can I resolve A, see the results of that, and then choose whether I want to do B or C next?
  Yes. You choose which to use one at a time.
• How do nested triggers resolve? Example: I trigger A, B, and C. B triggers D and E. What order do those resolve in? (Assuming choices, of course).
  Assuming you chose B as the first one, you can then choose A, C, D, or E.
  

  
  Note that Wizards of the Coast changed this with the Expanded Rules 2.0. When a nested trigger occurs, you put any unresolved triggers aside, resolve the new ones, and then go back to the triggers you put aside. So in the example above, it would be, assuming B first: B, then D/E, then A/C.
  
• So, when a Battle Master is KO'd, does it count as a KO since they are technically not sent to the KO pile? Or is the instance of "KO" simply contingent on reaching your HP total?
  It is a KO and they go to the KO Area, before flipping to its Upgrade side.
• Speaking of when a Battle Master is KO'd, it states that you "play" the Upgrade side. Does that mean that you are technically Upgrading a character triggering effects like Wheeljack's alt mode? Furthermore--and I think I know the answer to this question--does this "play" take up the Upgrade for a turn?
  Playing the Upgrade side of a Battle Master is just like playing an Upgrade from anywhere else. Wheeljack’s ability will trigger. As you probably know, this does not count as the one upgrade for your turn.
• When a player uses Peace Through Tyranny to take an extra turn and on their extra turn has no characters to attack with do they still get the ability to play cards, flip a character, and then just pass instead of attack?
  Yes, they can still do all of their normal turn actions.