text:
Which monster does the summon focus on? Long way around, avoiding traps, or get stuck behind a player?
We're a bit confused about how to select Monster Focus and Player Summon Focus. Check out the situation below:

We use little miniatures for the player summons instead of the disks. So the little dog/wolf miniature in the image is one of the creatures summoned by a player. It has 2 movement.
What will the summon choose as its focus?
And what path will it attempt to take to get to the focus?
Paths 1, 3, and 4 all lead to Living Bones 6.
Path 2 leads to Living Bones 9.
Both Living Bones 6 and 9 are 2 hexes away, so by default I would assume that it tries to focus on Living Bones 6, but we're not sure how to resolve it.
If it tries to take Path 1, it gets stuck behind the player and cannot attack.
Path 4 is 4 hexes, but it goes through an obstacle, so for determining focus I believe we're supposed to treat obstacles as barriers unless there is absolutely no other possible path. (Is that right?)
Path 3 is 5 hexes to get to Bones 6. Path 2 is 5 hexes to get to Bones 9. Since both of those paths are 5 hexes long, I assume the initiative order is the tie-breaker and so it would focus on Bones 6.
The summon has 2 movement. If it takes path 3, on turn 1 it will move one hex and then get stuck behind the player. On a subsequent turn, assuming it's still focusing on Bones 6, would it continue to be stuck since it can't move 3 to get all the way through the players?
The trap in Path 4 does enough damage to the kill the summon. Would it take Path 4 because it's the only path that would actually allow it to get closer to its target, even though it'll die doing it?
Or would the summon see that it wouldn't be able to get through Path 3 and would it try to avoid the trap in Path 4 and therefore choose Bones 9 as its focus?
Or, as a wildcard option, would the summon choose to focus on Bones 6 but take Path 5 because it's the only path that it could ACTUALLY fully complete? (With the understanding that while it's moving along path 5, on the next turn it will be obviously closer to Bones 9 and its focus will change to 9 at that point.)
We downloaded the flow chart on how to determine monster focus, but our group has some disagreements about what it means to have a "possible path", etc and so we aren't agreeing on what the flow chart means and when a monster/summon will throw itself on a trap or not.

Focus: Living Bones 6
Target Hex: The hex next to Living Bones 6 and Living Corpse 6.
Path: Path 3
Move To: First hex of Path 3.

1. Determine the focus.
I'm assuming the summon doesn't fly, and that the summon has a melee attack.

The minimum amount of movement required to attack Living Bones 6 (without setting off the trap) is 5.
The minimum amount of movement required to attack Living Bones 9 is 5.
Even if given infinite movement, the summon can't attack Living Corpse 3.
The minimum amount of movement required to attack Living Corpse 6 (without setting off the trap) is 5.

This rules out Living Corpse 3, and leaves us with a three-way tie. Proximity is the first tie breaker.

Living Bones 6 is 3 hexes away.
Living Bones 9 is 3 hexes away.
Living Corpse 6 is 4 hexes away.

This rules out Living Corpse 6, and leaves us with a two-way tie. Turn order is the second tie breaker. Living Bones 6 acts before Living Bones 9, so the summon will focus on Living Bones 6.
2. Determine the target hex.
I'm assuming the summon doesn't fly, that the summon has a melee attack, and that the attack targets a single opponent.
There is only one hexes from which the summon can attack Living Bones 6, so the summon will move towards that hex.
3. Determine the path taken.
Giving an infinite movement, Path 3 is the only shortest that doesn't set off the trap.
4. Move as much as possible along the path.
The summon will end its movement in the first hex of Path 3.

If you have access to the Forgotten Circles expansion, check out the back cover of its scenario book. It does a good job explaining the monster/summon AI. Also, you should take both of these quizzes: Basic Quiz (PDF), Advanced Quiz (Geeklist).

Both Living Bones 6 and 9 are 2 hexes away, so by default I would assume that it tries to focus on Living Bones 6

This is not correct. They are 3 hexes away, and proximity is not the primary criteria for choosing a focus. The primary criteria for choosing a focus is the minimum amount of movement needed to get into range to attack the candidate.

If it tries to take Path 1, it gets stuck behind the player and cannot attack.

Even given an infinite movement, that path won't ever be fruitful. That rules out that path.

Path 4 is 4 hexes, but it goes through an obstacle, so for determining focus I believe we're supposed to treat obstacles as barriers unless there is absolutely no other possible path. (Is that right?)

Correct.

Path 3 is 5 hexes to get to Bones 6. Path 2 is 5 hexes to get to Bones 9. Since both of those paths are 5 hexes long, I assume the initiative order is the tie-breaker and so it would focus on Bones 6.

You first need to rule out Living Corpse 6 (also 5 hexes). See above.

The summon has 2 movement.

This isn't relevant any point in the decision process. Always assume an infinite movement of the current type (flying or not).

On a subsequent turn, assuming it's still focusing on Bones 6, would it continue to be stuck

There's no point in guessing what it will try to do next turn as that's also irrelevant.

The trap in Path 4 does enough damage to the kill the summon.

Not relevant.
If the only path to its focus would bring it to the trap (which isn't the case here), it will go through the trap even if it kills it.

Or, as a wildcard option, would the summon choose to focus on Bones 6 but take Path 5 because it's the only path that it could ACTUALLY fully complete?

There's no point in guessing what it will try to do next turn as that's also irrelevant.

I was working on clear and unambiguous step-by-step instructions that could be used to determine the focus, target hex and path. (Like the flowchart, except clearer and unambiguous.) I'll see if I can complete that tomorrow.

Thank you for the detailed answer, I appreciate it! This is the Focus Flowchart that I found on boardgamegeek: https://boardgamegeek.com/filepage/144945/gloomhaven-enemy-focus-and-movement-flowchart

One of the reasons why I kept referencing what the summon might do on the next turn and whether or not it would "get stuck" is because that was part of my party's disagreement. I wanted to make sure that the explanation would cover whether or not the summon would "get stuck" behind the player on Path 3 assuming that nothing on the board changed in subsequent rounds. (After getting stuck the number of moves to Bones 6 would be shorter than Bones 9, so it would still focus on 6 and remain stuck.)

Question 2 of Quiz 2 covers "getting stuck". See also Question 4


text:
When will a summon/monster step on a trap?
Follow-up question to Which monster does the summon focus on? Long way around, avoiding traps, or get stuck behind a player?.

If I replace the first player on Path 3 with a trap... would the summon then focus on Bones 9 and take Path 2? My assumption is yes.
If I replace the first player on Path 3 with a trap AND put a trap on Path 2... would the summon then focus on Bones 6 and take Path 1? (getting stuck behind that player?)
Or would the summon focus on Bones 9 and take Path 3 stepping on the trap because all of the paths that could actually reach a hex from which to attack go through traps and so it has no other choice and takes the shortest path through a trap? If it does decide to walk through the trap and that trap would do enough damage to kill the summon, would it kill itself or would it go for Asimov's 3rd law and preserve itself?

Following https://boardgames.stackexchange.com/a/47856/20168.
For the first scenario:
Focus: Living Bones 9
Target Hex: The hex between the door and Living Bones 9.
Path: Path 2
The reason for this is that monsters/summons will treat traps/hazardous terrain as obstacles unless there is no other path. See the answer in https://boardgames.stackexchange.com/a/47856/20168 for more details.
If there was a trap on path 2, then the summon would take path 4 and step on the trap (assuming it had enough movement to do so). This happens regardless of whether the trap would kill the summon or not. I.E.
Focus: Living Bones 6
Target Hex: The empty hex adjacent to Living Bones 6 and Living Corpse 8.
Path: Path 4

See Questions 4, 5 and 7 here.

In addition, monsters will not move if the space they started in and the space they would end in are the same number of hexes away from the target.
When monsters move, they will move in such a way that they can get the most out of their attack. For example, if Living Bones wants to attack 2 or more targets and only 1 target is in range, if it is also moving that turn, it will try to be in range of the maximum number of targets that it can.

@Shankensteinium, Re "monsters will not move if the space they started in and the space they would end in are the same number of hexes away from the target.", 1) This is not relevant here. 2) It's not (quite) true. Your very own second point shows a scenario where it could move without getting closer to the monster it targets. The actual rule is that every step of movement must bring it closer to the hex it targets.

@Shankensteinium, Re "it will try to be in range of the maximum number of targets that it can", 1) This is not relevant here. 2) It's not (quite) true. It will try to maximize the number of targets while keeping its primary focus one of the targets. This means that it won't move out of range of its primary focus so it can attack 2 (other) targets.

Tangential but unless I misread, the pdf quiz from the linked post says the walking on trap rule only applies to melee not ranged.  Which I thought was interesting e.g. I would have wondered if I had read this Q&A (I haven't checked citations on any of it).

@joedragons, That's not true. The rule for traps and hazardous terrain hexes doesn't care whether the attack is melee or ranged. Is it Q7 that confuses you? Given an infinite movement, the archer can attack the Spellweaver without setting off the trap, but not the Cragheart. So the archer will focus on the Spellweaver

@ikegami Yes thanks, that was my confusion I believe.

In scenario 2, the first player on path 2 is replaced with a trap also. So it could attack Bones 9 using 2 movement points landing on a trap or it could attack Bones 6 using 4 movement points and also moving over a trap. Shouldn't it go with the one that takes less movement points?

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text:
Can multiple 40k psykers cast the same spell in the same phase?
I really enjoy psykers, and I've built a Tyranid army that is pretty psyker heavy. This question is for 8th edition rules for Warhammer 40k.
The friends I play with, are trying to tell me that once a single power (other than smite) is manifested, that power itself cannot be manifested again in that turn. With multiple units that are capable of knowing multiple powers, this seems like a problem.
I'm currently running with:

A Swarmlord which knows Smite plus two other powers
a Broodlord which knows Smite plus one other power
a Tervigon which knows Smite plus one other power
a Neurothrope which knows Smite plus one other power
a unit of Zoanthropes which know Smite plus one other power

Since the Hive Mind Discipline psychic list has 6 powers, if this is true, then I can at least cover them all and not have to worry about overlap. But if I get another psyker unit or character, then I'm in trouble.
The closest mention I can find in the rulebook is in the Psychic Phase on pg. 178:

A psyker cannot attempt to manifest the same psychic power more than once in a turn.

This sounds like a single psyker unit or character just can't cast the same spell itself. Can different units or characters cast the same psychic power in the same phase?

Either your friends are confused, or they don't want you to use your unit's abilities.

So I've found out where the rule is in the book. The rule is found under the Matched Play Mission Rules, found at the bottom of page 215.
Psychic Focus

With the exception of Smite, each psychic power can be attempted only once per turn, rather than once per psyker per turn.

So this only applies to Matched Play, involving point limits and restrictions for organized events or tournament play. If you're playing Open or Narrative play matches, this does not apply.

There's also a rule (though it may be a Beta rule, certainly it's used in tournaments) that if you attempt smite multiple times in a turn, it's one harder to manifest each time. So first smite requires a 5, second a 6, and so on.

I've been wanting to find where that rule is too. So you know exactly where that rule is?

2018 FAQ

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How many wounds does each Ripper Swarms model have in 40K 8e?
In the 8th edition Tyranid codex, on page 91 for Ripper Swarms, the unit description text is as follows:

This unit contains 3 ripper swarms. It can include up to 3 additonal Ripper Swarms (Power Rating +2) or up to 6 additional Ripper Swarms (Power Rating +3). Each model is armed with claws and teeth.

This doesn't help that you can't buy Ripper Swarms on their own. So far, I've collected models that seem to be given as a bonus for buying other unit boxes. I've found that if I purchase a Termagaunt or Hormagaunt unit box, they'll come with three models of Ripper Swarms, but if I buy a Genestealers unit box, it will come with two models of Ripper Swarms.
How many models actually make up a Ripper Swarm? The unit description states a wounds of 3. Does that mean that each model has 3 wounds, and a full unit is nine models, for a total of 27 wounds?
Or are you supposed to collect a handful of these, and glue two or three onto a single base and then that base has 3 wounds? Which then a full unit is three bases, for a total of 9 wounds?

Technically, you can buy Ripper Swarms on their own... From Forge World. They're pretty cool, but much expensive! Early on you'll probably want to use 3-6 "models" on each base... but as you expand your army you'll end up with more and more (they do come with almost every kit) you may want to start making some "packed" bases just cause it looks cool!

Each Ripper Swarm model has 3 wounds, as per the 8th edition codex.
A unit of Ripper Swarms is made up of anything from 3-9 models of Ripper Swarms. Each base is a model. Regardless of what you actually put on the model aesthetically, it will have 1 base, and that based model will have 3 wounds. So a unit composed of 3 models of Ripper Swarms would have 9 wounds total, 3 wounds each. A unit of 4 would have 12 wounds total, etc.
You can mix and match unit sizes to accommodate the number of models you have too. It's perfectly legal to run a unit of 3 Ripper Swarms and a unit of 4 Ripper Swarms in the same army.


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Flickerform - are returning auras being attached once they enter the battlefield?
I activate Flickerform and the ability resolves. Once the game moves to the next end step, the removed creature comes back, and then all auras which where attached to it (as per ruling in the Gatherer).
My question is: Does returning the auras qualify as "attaching" them, or is this more like "the whole stack comes back as it was"?
Asking for a friend.

Yes, an aura that has been Flickerform'ed triggers Siona and all other abilities that trigger on an aura attaching.
As the rule for auras state, all auras that enter the battlefield in any way become attached to a legal target (or go to their owner's graveyard) and thus trigger e.g. Siona, Captain of the Pyleas.

303.4. Some enchantments have the subtype “Aura.” An Aura enters the battlefield attached to an object or player. What an Aura can be attached to is defined by its enchant keyword ability (see rule 702.5, “Enchant”). Other effects can limit what a permanent can be enchanted by.

As you can see, the rule has a wording equivalent to Flickerform's ("enters the battlefield attached to" vs. "to the battlefield [..] attached to"), so there is no difference between an aura entering the battlefield the usual way, i.e. casting, and any other way, such as Flickerform.


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Parallax Wave & Commander
Does 400.7h apply, when in EDH a commander gets exiled using Parallax Wave, then moved to the command zone and then later Parallax Wave leaves the battlefield?
I suppose it's all about the wording, as per this question?

Note that moving the commander to the command zone is optional. The commander's owner gets one chance to choose as a state-based effect whether it should be moved from exile to the command zone. In this instance one might opt not to do so.

If the commander's owner chose to return it to the command zone, it will stay where it is, per rule 607.2a:

607.2a If an object has an activated or triggered ability printed on it that instructs a player to exile one or more cards and an ability printed on it that refers either to “the exiled cards” or to cards “exiled with [this object],” these abilities are linked. The second ability refers only to cards in the exile zone that were put there as a result of an instruction to exile them in the first ability.

If the commander isn't in the exile zone, it isn't subject to Parallax Wave's last ability.
If it was returned to the command zone and ended up in exile (possibly because it was played and then exiled again) it still isn't affected because its current incarnation in exile wasn't put there by Parallax Wave.

Rule 400.7h does not apply. It works on a subtly, but distinctly different template of ability.
One example of an ability enabled by 400.7h is Reckless Impulse:

Exile the top two cards of your library. Until the end of your next turn, you may play those cards.

In this case, "those cards" needs to refer back to "the top two cards". But because of rule 400.7, this would not normally be possible, because when those cards were exiled, they became new game objects:

400.7. An object that moves from one zone to another becomes a new object with no memory of, or relation to, its previous existence.

400.7h allows Reckless Impulse and cards like it to maintain the connection between the cards they find in their original zone and the objects they become in exile.
Parallax Wave, on the other hand, has two (relevant) abilities:

Remove a fade counter from Parallax Wave: Exile target creature.

When Parallax Wave leaves the battlefield, each player returns to the battlefield all cards they own exiled with Parallax Wave.

The latter ability affects cards that are already in exile, so it does not need to remember their previous state. By rule 607.2a, all that matters is that a) they are in exile and b) Parallax Wave put them there.

Maybe one could address why 400.7h doesn't apply? As that concern was explicitly raised in the question.

@Arthur 400.7's exceptions are about a single ability causing an object to move zones and keeping track of it. 607.2 is about linked abilities which may involve moving an object to a zone and referring to it in that zone.

Don't tell me. I know this. Tell the people who read your answer.

It seems to me that if the commander is put in the commander zone, then it wasn't Parallax Wave that put it there, it was the player through 704.6d. So  400.7h doesn't apply. Parallax Wave keeps track of the commander through the exile, but not through the move to the commander zone, because Parallax Wave is not what performed that move.


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Path of Mettle and Aragorn, Hornburg Hero
I was wondering, if Path of Mettle transformed into the "Tower-side" if I controlled Aragorn, Hornburg Hero and attacked with at least two creatures.
Walking this through step by step is like:

in the declare attackers step I declare at least two creatures to attack an opponent
Once I'm done declaring attackers, those gain First Strike and Renown as a state based action, since Aragorn has a static ability, and no triggered ability (e.g. "whenever a creature you control attacks, it gains")
After statebased actions are checked, the active player gains priority and triggered abilities are put on the stack. Since I control two attacking creatures with First Strike, the transform-trigger of Path of Mettle is placed on the stack

Does this play out as described, or did I go wrong?

Related: https://boardgames.stackexchange.com/questions/56423/if-an-action-causes-a-creature-to-gain-an-ability-does-it-trigger-effects-that

Yes, Path of Mettle will transform. It's pretty tricky though.

508.1. First, the active player declares attackers.

508.1a The active player chooses which creatures that they control, if any, will attack.
508.1k Each chosen creature still controlled by the active player becomes an attacking creature.

In your case, "becomes an attacking creature" may as well read "gains first strike" due to the continuous ability.

508.1m Any abilities that trigger on attackers being declared trigger.

The entire process is referred to as "declaring an attacker". That means that this rule:

508.2a Abilities that trigger on a creature attacking trigger only at the point the creature is declared as an attacker. They will not trigger if a creature attacks and then that creature’s characteristics change to match the ability’s trigger condition.

refers to the point when you have completed all of 508.1. I believe if that rule said "only at the point the creature is chosen as an attacker" instead, then the ruling would be the opposite; because it would mean that the creature would have to fulfil the condition when you get to 508.1a, instead of just when you get to the end of 508.1.


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Danny Pink and "enters the battlefield with"
In this recent installment of "too specific" on EDHREC.com the author argues that Metallic Mimic wouldn't be that good with Danny Pink since creatures of the chosen type enter the battlefield with that counter.
If I remember correctly, other cards which trigger when a counter is put onto something also trigger when creatures enter the battlefield with that counter, e.g. Hapatra, Vizier of Poisons creates a snake token when Deity of Scars enters the battlefield under the same controller - this is somewhat rooted in 122.6a of the comprehensive rules.
Since the wording isn't different, Danny Pink's static ability should allow the player to draw a card for each creature which enters the battlefield with a counter. This is backed by the ruling on Fathom Mage. Am I correct, or did I miss some miniscule difference between Danny & Hapatra/Fathom Mage?

I think it's clear that what makes Danny Pink different from the other examples is that it doesn't directly have the ability that triggers from putting counters on creatures, instead it has an ability that grants the triggered ability to creatures. That presumably raises the question of whether a creature entering the battlefield gets the triggered ability in time to see the counter it is already entering with.

In the linked ruling on the Fathom Mage exactly that case is covered: "If Fathom Mage enters the battlefield with a +1/+1 counter on it (perhaps due to Master Biomancer), its last ability will trigger once for each +1/+1 counter it entered the battlefield with." @murgatroid99

That's not relevant to my point. Fathom Mage has the triggered ability printed on it, so it has the ability in all zones and there is no question about when it gets it. Other creatures do not have the triggered ability granted by Danny Pink's ability printed on them, so they only have the triggered ability while they are on the battlefield. To be clear, I agree with your conclusion, but there is a difference between a triggered ability and "Creatures you control have [triggered ability]".

@murgatroid99 Haven't we already discussed this on my question about sagas?

I don't see the relevance of that discussion to this one.

Danny Pink and Metallic Mimic are a combo.
Danny grants the ability to your creatures through a static ability with a ability-granting continuous effect, so they enter the battlefield with the ability already on them. There is no delay to static abilities.

604.1. Static abilities do something all the time rather than being activated or triggered. They are written as statements, and they’re simply true.

604.2. Static abilities create continuous effects [..].

While you control Danny and Metallic Mimic, your applicable creatures enter the battlefield with Danny's granted ability and a +1/+1 counter. That counter counts as having been placed on that creature:

122.6. Some spells and abilities refer to counters being put on an object. This refers to putting counters on that object while it’s on the battlefield and also to an object that’s given counters as it enters the battlefield.

There is no timing conflict between Danny's ability and other rules. An object's abilities are among its characteristics and therefore governed by the layer system, which always comes first.
The layer system is the sole method of determining an object's characteristics such as its abilities. Whenever anything in the game, including other rules, asks about the characteristics of an object, the layer system is used. The only difference between Danny Pink and e.g. Fathom Mage is that Fathom Mage gets its ability innately, while Danny grants its ability in layer 6.

Interaction of Continuous Effects

613.1. The values of an object’s characteristics are determined by starting with the actual object. For a card, that means the values of the characteristics printed on that card. [..] Then all applicable continuous effects are applied in a series of layers in the following order:

613.1f Layer 6: Ability-adding effects, keyword counters, ability-removing effects, and effects that say an object can’t have an ability are applied.

When the rules check whether or not the +1/+1 counter from Metallic Mimic triggers either Danny Pink or Fathom Mage, the layer system will return in both cases that the object in question has a triggered ability that triggers on counter placement.
In conclusion, there is no practical difference between Danny Pink and Fathom Mage as far as their interaction with Metallic Mimic is concerned and the author of the article is mistaken in dismissing the Danny Pink/Metallic Mimic combo.


text:
Does "Seize the Spotlight" target?
Seize the Spotlight from the new Streets of Capenna EDH deck lets my opponents choose fame or fortune when cast.
For each opponent who chose fortune I draw a card and create a treasure token.
For each opponent who chose fame I

gain control of a creature that player controls until end of turn.

Since there's no mentioning of the word "target", I should be able to choose any creature controlled by that opponent, even ones with hexproof or shroud. Am I correct?
I was wondering about this, since usually spells of this kind include the word "target" and thus this new spell feels a bit overpowered.

Seize the Spotlight does not target, as its text does not use the word "target"
You can indeed choose any creature you want, including creatures with shroud and/or hexproof.

115.1a An instant or sorcery spell is targeted if its spell ability identifies something it will affect by using the phrase “target [something],” where the “something” is a phrase that describes an object and/or player.  [..]


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Dominion - Can you trash horses?
In the game dominion are you allowed to trash horses with say a card like improve?
On the card it states it is not part of the supply.
Is there any place in the rules that states that you can or can not?

Yes, you can.
There is nothing about being part of the supply that affects trashing; they are still "cards" and thus are affected by things that talk about cards.
The rules for trashing from the base game rulebook don't say anything that would restrict it to supply cards:

"Trash a card" - Put a card into the Trash pile.

This is a way of getting rid of a card; a trashed card is no longer one of your cards.

"Gaining" is different because of the rules for gaining itself; the rules for "gain a card" include that the card must be from the supply unless specifically said otherwise.

"Gain a card" - Take a card from the Supply and put it into your discard pile.

Sometimes a card will let you gain a card from a place other than the Supply, but by default
gained cards come from the Supply.

Now, your specific example of Improve and Horses is tricky because normally you wouldn't have a Horse in play at the start of cleanup; since it returns itself to its pile when you play it. But with things like Ways from Menagerie, there are ways to do it.

If you simply didn't play the horse wouldn't it just stay in your hand to be disgarded at the end of the turn?

@silent-tiger That is covered in your link.  there is a note from the designer stating "you don't have to play it; you can Remodel it".  So if you don't have to play it then it would be discarded from your hand during clean up

@silent-tiger You could keep a Horse in your hand and then discard it like normal at the end of the turn, but Improve only trashes cards from play; it can't be used to trash cards from your hand.

Oh good point, I get it. I also get the ways comment now.


text:
What position takes the most moves to solve for the jail puzzle (Klotski)?
For full details on the puzzle: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klotski#Khun_Chang_Khun_Phaen
May only use the legal pieces available in the original puzzle.  A move is counted as moving any piece on square in any direction.
The minimum number of moves for the original puzzle is 81.
2442
2442
0330
2112
2112
This position for example takes a minimum of 126 moves to solve:
4420
4420
1233
2212
2112
Where 4 is the main piece, 2 is the vertical pieces, 3 is the horizontal pieces, 1 are the single square pieces and 0 are the gaps.  The exit is at the base of the puzzle.
What is the positions which takes the most moves to solve?

This is more a math problem.
You can solve this by creating an graph of all positions and the transitions between them. Find the longest path between any node and an end node. Do not visit the same node twice else you can go on forever.

As the wikipedia article states, there are many, many names for that puzzle.
 I'm a bit surprised, the Wikipedia article does not mention an exhaustive analysis documented in the book Winning Ways for your Mathematical Plays, Vol 2.  The authors state that the longest possible puzzle has the starting position:
1441
2442
2022
1021
5566

and the ending position is the flipped version of that position.  They call it the "Century and a half" puzzle, and state it's the longest sliding block puzzle with those pieces.  They also provide a "map" that shows the entire space of configurations, and how to move between them.

Does the book mention how many moves it takes?

Nope.  But, from the name of the puzzle, one can infer it's 150 moves.


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Living Weapon and Hammer of Nazahn
If I have Hammer of Nazahn out (which allows me to attach any equipment to a creature as it enters the battlefield), will it work with a living weapon such as Batterskull? Would Batterskull's "living weapon" ability force it to equip to a Germ creature or could I still use Hammer of Nazahn's ability to attach it to any creature I wish?

Both abilities trigger at the same time, so you can place them on the stack in the order of your choice. If you place Hammer of Nazahn's ability on the stack first, then it will resolve last. This means you will first attach the equipment to the Germ creature when the triggered ability from Living Weapon resolves, then you may attach it to a different creature when Hammer of Nazahn's ability resolves.


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Yahtzee where to 6’s near end of game
It’s near the end of the game but I still don’t have 6’s, my bonus or a Yahtzee.  I roll all 6’s for a Yahtzee.  I’m reluctant to put that in the Yahtzee slot because I need at least four 6’s to get the bonus.
When this happens, and it’s happened to me a few times, why not put the Yahtzee in the 6’s?  That way, I get 65 points as opposed to 50 (30 for the 6’s, 35 for the bonus).

It sounds like you're asking "why not make the best play?" And I don't have a good answer for that.


text:
Does everyone get to see the color of a train card drawn from the pile?
Does a person drawing a train card from the pile have to show everyone the color of the cards drawn?

Unless a game's rules specify otherwise, cards moved from one private location (e.g. deck) to another (e.g. hand) are kept private in transit too.

@those who rejected the tag: As the comments to the lead answer discuss, this question applies perfectly well to Ticket to Ride Europe.

No, when you draw a card from the deck it is hidden to the rest of the players. Other players only know what you get when you pick one of the face up cards.
One of the benefits of drawing from the deck is others don’t know what you get but you also don’t have a choice of what you get. Another possible benefit depending on the version is the ability to draw a wild card from the deck and get another draw afterwards.

The other advantage, of course, is that drawing a locomotive (wild card) doesn't end your turn.

@ikegami Well that depends on the board  you are playing right? On USA you can only pick 1 train (deck or table), while with nordic you can pick again when you pick a train from deck?

https://boardgames.stackexchange.com/questions/5824/what-are-the-restrictions-on-picking-up-locomotives

@RvdK That rule just says that if you pick a locomotive from the face up cards you cannot afterwards pick a card from the deck. But if you pick a card from the deck and it turns out to be a locomotive you can still draw a second card (since picks from the deck are secret this would make a for a weird rule if otherwise).

@RvdK Reread the answers to the thread you just linked to: on USA, you can pick two cards from the deck, or two face-up non-loco cards, or a single face-up loco card. Ikegami was wrong, though. Your turn still ends once you've drawn your cards; it's just that you get two from the deck versus one face-up loco.

@lly, Re "Ikegami was wrong, though. Your turn still ends once you've drawn your cards", huh? I didn't say otherwise. I fully agree that drawing two cards face-down ends your turn.

@lly I don't know that anyone's actually wrong here. I think ikegami was implying that "drawing a locomotive doesn't end your turn before drawing a second card," which, of course, is what we're all saying anyway.

@Lord Farquaad, Re "is what we're all saying anyway", That's part of it. RvdK also claimed that your turn ends if you draw a face-down loco, but that isn't true.

@ikegami Oh, yeah I missed that; you're right.


text:
Duplicate bridge mislead
If player pulls card out of his hand and then puts it back in his hand, and opponents have seen the card, must player play that card?

Not sure if relevant but ACBL? Or Europe/elsewhere? There are duplicate bridge laws which might potentially vary with (large) jurisdiction.

@Aryabhata: My understanding is that the Laws of Duplicate Bridge are promulgated by, and authorized by, the World Bridge Federation; albeit with assistance and co-operation from from the A.C.B.L., E.B.L., and Portland Club. Only where specifically designated in the Laws are authorities delegated to National and Organizing committees.

@ForgetIwaseverhere: That makes sense. Hopefully this one is a global rule.

The relevant rule is Law 45 (C) from the Laws of Duplicate Bridge (2017)

LAW 45 - CARD PLAYED
...
C. Card Deemed to be Played

A defender’s card held so that it is possible for his partner to see its face is deemed played
  to the current trick (if the defender has already made a legal play to the current trick, see
  Law 45E).
Declarer is deemed to have played a card from his hand if it is:
  (a) held face up, touching or nearly touching the table; or
  (b) maintained in such a position as to indicate that it has been played.
A card in the dummy is played if it has been deliberately touched by declarer except for the
  purpose either of arranging dummy’s cards, or of reaching a card above or below the card
  or cards touched.
(a) A card is played if a player names or otherwise designates it as the card he proposes to
  play (but see Law 47).
  (b) Declarer may correct an unintended designation of a card from dummy until he next
  plays a card from either his own hand or from dummy. A change of designation may be
  allowed after a slip of the tongue, but not after a loss of concentration or a
  reconsideration of action. If an opponent has, in turn, played a card that was legal before
  the change in designation, that opponent may withdraw the card so played, return it to
  his hand, and substitute another (see Laws 47D and 16C1).

So to answer your question: No, a Defender's card is not played simply because an opponent (Declarer) can see which card it is; rather it is played if it is held so that the Defender's partner can identify it,
Further clarification through Minutes of the W.B.F. Laws Committee, where necessary, are available here.


text:
What is the expansion card stack in rivals for catan
What is the expansion card stack in era of intrigue rivals for catan

What are you trying to figure out here?


text:
Do Haunt 21 Zombies Have Stats Reduced With Damage?
Pretty much the title: we played and did so, the regular zombies getting their might reduced each time they took damage. If this is correct, could they have the damage taken from their speed points instead, like a regular player character?
I know the Zombie Lord is different: he dies after 7 damage and does not reduce stats but I wanted to make sure about the regular zombies.

No you do not reduce their stats - the zombies are killed by a single successful Might attack against them.
The special zombie attack rules listed in the traitor's tome state:

Defeating a Zombie with a weapon that requires a Might attack kills it. Dynamite can also kill zombies. Any other attack stuns a Zombie as normal.

Normally monsters cannot be killed in combat but are only stunned when they would take damage, so there are no standard rules for monsters taking damage.
However when a haunt specifically overrides the standard rules, only then can a monster take damage. This is the case for the Zombie Lord, but there is no specific rule listed for the individual zombies.


text:
Sorry! question regarding moving within safety zone
Scenario:
Red has two pawns in home and two in the safety (pawn-a on 5, pawn-b on 2). Red draws a 3.
Question:
Must red move pawn-a up to pawn-b, thus killing pawn-b, or is Red allowed to forfeit this turn?
Rule 6: Moving Pieces
Once pieces have been entered they are moved forward in the direction of the arrows on the board, unless otherwise directed by the cards.  Pieces may pass each other, whether or not they are of the same color.  The occupied square counts like any other.  Pieces of the same color may not occupy the same space.  If a player is unable to make a move, for this or any other reason, he forfeits his turn.  However, a player MUST make any move directed by the cards drawn if possible, whether or not this is to his advantage.  A player may move 1 piece (or divide his move among 2 pieces if he draws a "7"), or enter a piece at each turn as the cards allow.  When a move ends on a square occupied by an opponent the latter is sent back to his START.

What part of the rules you quoted doesn't answer your question? It's pretty clear to me from this excerpt of your quote: "Pieces of the same color may not occupy the same space. If a player is unable to make a move, for this or any other reason, he forfeits his turn." There's also no mechanism to send your own pawn back to the start: "When a move ends on a square occupied by an opponent the latter is sent back to his START." (emphasis mine)

Red's turn would be forfeited according the the rules on hasbro.com since they have no legal moves.
Rules

Two pawns of the same color may never occupy the same space. If your only possible move would make you land on a space already occupied by another of your own pawns, you forfeit your turn.

Hmm...I've always interpreted it as:
Two pieces may not share a space, whether or not they are of the same color.
If your piece is able to move, you must.  If there is a pawn in the final square, that pawn goes back to START, whether or not it is of your own color...similar to the slide rule that if you end on the triangle and slide, all pawns along the slide return to START, even your own.

@Guest Not sure what that is supposed to mean as the rules I linked are not numbered.

Could be a difference in rules between editions.  I'm direct quoting from my game box.

@Guest It could be a difference but I am giving a direct quote from the rules on the hasbro site which one would assume are the most current and up to date version of them.

Damn it, now the hard part...do I tell my wife I was wrong?  We played last night and the game ended abruptly because of my misinterpretation.  Thanks for the help!

A person CAN forfeit their turn if the only place they could move to (no sliding) would force their own pawn back to START.

Please provide a transcript of whatever text is in that image.


text:
What happens at the end of a players turn to a buffed creature that took more than its unbuffed base health?
Let's say I have Blood Bairn and 3, 1/1 token creatures. An opponent attacks me with a 6/6 creature. If I use Blood Bairn's ability and sack all 3, 1/1 creatures and then block with Blood Bairn, after combat, the opponent creature should die and Blood Bairn survives. My question is this: at the end of his turn as Blood Bairn returns to a 2/2 creature, does it die because it took 6 damage from the previous combat?

Related Question: When is “end of turn” in Magic?

Your Blood Bairn will survive.
This is because "Until end of turn" buffs and Damage are removed at the same time during the Cleanup-step.

514.2. Second, the following actions happen simultaneously: all damage marked on permanents (including phased-out permanents) is removed and all “until end of turn” and “this turn” effects end. This turn-based action doesn’t use the stack.

Would this be a different outcome in a multiplayer match if my turn was not the next turn after the above combat?

@Legion413 Nope, Clean-up doesn't really care about who's turn it is now or next. All marked damage will be removed and all "until end of turn" effects will end, regardless of who owns/controls them.

Awesome. Thanks for the help with my question. I love this community!

@Legion413 No problem, good first question. I recommend checking out the rules I linked for some more context and to better understand how cleanup works.

@Legion413 Also if you're satisfied with the answer, there's a check mark near the voting of the answer that allows you to accept it.  In case you didn't know.


text:
Are two teams that attempt a planet mission present with each other
I have two teams that attempt a planet mission one after the other.
The first team has a Emergency Transport Unit. Now the second team encounters a dilemma that would kill one of the personnel.
Emergency Transport Unit says that:

When your personnel present is about to be killed, you may return this equipment to its owner's hand to place that personnel on your ship at this mission instead. He or she is stopped.

There is extra ruling specifying what "at this mission" means, but not what "present" means (or at least I couldn't find it)
Can I use the Emergency Transport Unit to safe that personnel?

The answer is actually in the core rules (p 13). Section "Present"

If a  card is  on   a  planet, it  is  present with any    other personnel and equipment on the same planet


text:
How does Accelerated Aging effect Lenara Kahn with an Engineering Pad
My opponent has a Lenara Kahn (whose first listed skill is Astrometrics) in her team, together with an Engineering Pad (which gives all Engineers, like Lenara, Astrometrics).
On a mission attempt I play Accelerated Aging (which makes the first listed skill unusable).
Now its unclear to us what happens:
Either the Padd goes first (that means she had 2 Astrometrics) and the Aging removed that skill from her list (so she had none left).
-> This argumentation says that as she already had the Padd with her on the mission attempt, the addition must come first.
Or the Aging goes first which removed her Astrometrics and then the Padd which gave it back to her (so she ends up with 1 Astrometrics).
-> This argumentation says that the Padd is active only when required, so it adds an Astrometrics in the end.

You say aging removed the skill, but it doesn't. It just presents it being used. Lenara still has the upgraded skill but can't use it.

From this ruling we read (emphasis mine):

When a personnel gains a skill that is not printed on his or her card, that skill is not inserted anywhere into that personnel's listed skills and is therefore unaffected by Accelerated Aging.
However, if a personnel gains an additional level of a printed skill he or she already has, that printed skill can still be affected by Accelerated Aging.

Given that Lenara Kahn already has Astrometrics (that is, it's already printed on her card), it seems that Accelerated Aging will affect her.
Disclaimer: I was not so familiar with this game, but did quite some reading and searching. Still, open for suggestions.

Going by the text of the card (since I'm not familiar with the game), Accelerated Aging doesn't remove Astrometrics from Lenara Kahn as you claim; it just prevents her from using it.
So, even if she's affected by Accelerated Aging, Lenara Kahn has Astrometrics, and the Engineering Pad will therefore simply increase the level of that skill for her.


text:
Can an about-to-be-killed medical be stopped for Emergency Treatment of another personnel
I play an Ardent Predator and my opponent fails to meet the criteria so two personnel are selected to be killed.
(Example: A E.M.H. Program and a Picard)
None of the non-selected personnel has medical.
Can my opponent use Emergency Treatment (or any other card that requires a present medical)?
On the one hand, while the effect of Emergency Treatment takes place (When a unique personnel is about to be killed) takes place, the med is not yet killed. On the other hand the med is also about to be killed, so shouldn't be able to do something.


text:
Could I play forever with this loop combination?
Let it be my main phase: I got Omniscience on the field and one Clear the Mind in my graveyard and another one in my hand.
Could I then play forever?
Because I would never run out of cards, so these rules would never apply, right?
MTG Arena: If I continue to do this combo over and over again, would at some point my timer start to run out?

I assume your library is empty and your graveyard contains no other cards; otherwise you risk drawing something else (an Island?) and you'll have no Clear the Mind to cast anymore.
Even then, you cannot play forever; it's a "loop", but one with non-mandatory actions, and you'll have to use a shortcut to state how many times you want to perform the action.

720.1b Occasionally the game gets into a state in which a set of actions could be repeated indefinitely (thus creating a “loop”). In that case, the shortcut rules can be used to determine how many times those actions are repeated without having to actually perform them, and how the loop is broken.

This loop is only useful if you have some other effect, e.g. Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind which turns your card draws into damage, or as you mention, Psychic Corrosion to mill your opponent.
(I don't know what happens in this situation in MTG Arena, I don't play it.)

I use [mtg:Psychic Corrosion] a lot, so I could count how many cards the opponent has left in their deck to completely empty it - nice!

Autocard links are nice, but they don't work in comments :(

There are no shortcuts in Arena, you just have to play the loop out. Generally, your turn doesn't end as long as you are taking actions, but there is apparently a hard limit on turn length. (There isn't a visible 30 minute clock as there is in MTGO).

@winklerrr You don't need to know how many cards your opponent has in their library. If you declare that you're doing it 60 times, and your opponent has only 40 cards in their library, the last 20 times you do it nothing happens. Another tactic is to throw in a card with Storm, such as Grapeshot. Since you don't have to pay the mana cost, you can still cast Grapeshot even in a mono-blue deck.

@PhilipKendall There is now a hard clock in best-of-3 formats on Arena (I don't think there is in best-of-one). You can see the clock for each player by hoovering over their hourglass counter on the left of the screen.


text:
Scenario 47: Replacing Dead Head With Body Token?
Just got done playing my first full game with three of my other friends. My buddy who introduced us to the game became the traitor, and we had a blast. However, the fate of the Heroes is in the hands of this very rule!
As stated in the rules for the Ouroboros, their body stays in each room it moves through. However, when one of the heads is defeated, is it replaced with a body token? Otherwise, does the head stay in the room dead and impeding the movement of the Heroes (assuming the head takes up the majority of the room causing a bit of trouble for traveling)?

I don't have a full answer, but it's worth noting that stunned enemies do not slow your movement.

According to the rules, the Ouroborus cannot be stunned. Thanks for the point, though!

You do not replace the Ouroboros head with a body token
During a Haunt, special actions are explicitly given in the following books:

Secrets of Survival (read by the Heroes)
Traitor's Tome (read by the Traitor)

According to the Traitor's Tome, the Ouroboros head only leaves behind a body token on movement, and only if there isn't already a body token in the room it just left. Since neither the Traitor's Tome nor the Secrets of Survival state that anything happens when an Ouroboros head is killed (outside of the Survivors winning if both are killed), it is not replaced with a body token on death.

Thanks for the answer! However, is the head still kept on the map? Does it impede movement for the Heroes?

Stunned monsters in general cannot impede movement for the Heroes. While the base rules don't seem to explicitly state this, it's implied that dead characters (hero, traitor, or monster) cannot impede movement either. I would assume that a dead character's token/piece is removed from the board when they die, but I can't see where specifically in the rules this is stated. If someone else can point to where this is stated, by all means do so (or edit the answer to include this information).

This seems reasonable. I’ve marked your answer as the final answer. Thank you for your help.


text:
Using an existing Canasta to pick up the discard pile
I understand that you can pick up the top discard (and then the whole discard pile) if the pile is not frozen, and the top card matches a meld you have on the table.
I have some friends who play that you cannot do this if the meld is already a canasta. That makes a matching card a much safer discard - the opponent could conceivably still take the pile with matching cards from their hand, but if they already have a canasta of the same cards on the table, this is much less likely.
Any opinions, or definitive rules on this?

Related: https://boardgames.stackexchange.com/questions/42422/can-you-play-a-wild-card-on-an-existing-canasta-to-go-out

Yes, you can add to a Canasta just like you can add to any other meld.
Source:

Additional cards may be added to a canasta to score their point values, but these do not affect the bonus - except that a wild card added to a natural canasta reduces it to a mixed canasta.

Other rules sources aren't as straight-forwardly clear on that point, but they say you can add to a meld on the table, and a Canasta is defined as a meld of 7 or more cards.

Thanks. And thanks for posting the source of your answer - can I ask where that comes from? I'd like to read the whole thing.

The word “source” is a link to the page. :)

@RichardPrestage another resource is https://www.pagat.com/rummy/canasta.html


text:
Card that deals damage and adds a +1/+1 counter
Simple question: Is there a permanent that has "Pay 1 Mana: Target creature takes 1 damage and gains a +1/+1 counter" or "Tap: Target creature takes 1 damage and gains a +1/+1 counter"?

No, there isn't such a card.
Gatherer is the official source for Magic card wordings, and has a powerful search engine behind it.
The text of the card you're looking for would certainly contain the wording "(deal/deals) 1 damage to (target creature/any target)", and also the term "put a +1/+1 counter".
So we can search for any card that at the same time contains the terms "1 damage to", "put", and "+1/+1", resulting in this search
As you can see, none of the currently 10 results fitting that pattern match your exact requirements.
Also note that  under most circumstances, dealing 1 damage and putting a +1/+1 counter on the same creature in the same effect would cancel each other out, as far as survivability of that creature is concerned. It's unlikely that such a card will ever be made, because the +1/+1 counter is supposed to be the reward for surviving the initial damage, which has to come in a separate effect.
That "+1/+1 counter for surviving damage" mechanic isn't all that rare. You might be looking for cards such as in this search. Those are the cards that put +1/+1 counters on themselves or other creatures whenever those creatures are dealt damage. Then all you need is a source of ping damage, which is plentiful on permanents, at least for {t} cost. A repeatable ping damage ability, i.e. one with a mana cost instead of tap or other cost, will usually cost at least {2} per damage, because {1} per damage would be too strong.
In any case, you will probably never find both ping damage and putting a +1/+1 counter effects in the same ability of any card.

Not to my knowledge. Would be a weird effect, since it cancels itself out (almost).
You can always use magiccards.info for in depth card search.


text:
Do basic land types affect a card's color identity?
A card's color identity, as I understand it, is defined by all mana symbols in its cost and rules text. This means that the color identity of Temple of Silence is black and white, since it has "{T}: add {W} or {B}" in its rules text.
But what about Godless Shrine or Indatha Triome? These lands can also be tapped for various colors of mana, but those colors don't appear in the rules text: the ability comes from the card's subtypes, which don't contain any mana symbols. The mana symbols do appear on the card, but only in reminder text, which as far as I know has no effect on the rules.
So, what is the color identity of a land that taps for colored mana (because of its subtypes), but contains no mana symbols in its rules text? For a specific example, if my commander is Elenda, the Dusk Rose, can I include an Indatha Triome in my deck?

No, you may not include lands with basic land types that produce mana outside your commander's color identity.
Land with basic land types have innate mana abilities. While this makes them a special case among all cards, these abilities are not reminder text and do have an effect on gameplay.

305.6. The basic land types are Plains, Island, Swamp, Mountain, and Forest. If an object uses the words “basic land type,” it’s referring to one of these subtypes. An object with the land card type and a basic land type has the intrinsic ability “{T}: Add [mana symbol],” even if the text box doesn’t actually contain that text or the object has no text box. For Plains, [mana symbol] is {W}; for Islands, {U}; for Swamps, {B}; for Mountains, {R}; and for Forests, {G}. See rule 107.4a. See also rule 605, “Mana Abilities.”

That seems to indicate that cards like the Triome (land with basic land types, no other abilities with colored mana symbols) have a colorless identity and thus could be included in any commander deck, because the innate ability is granted to objects, rather than cards.
However, for such cards, there is a special rule that looks at the color of mana they could produce.

903.5d A card with a basic land type may be included in a Commander deck only if each color of mana it could produce is included in the commander’s color identity.

So no, you could not include Indatha Triome in your Elenda Dusk Rose commander deck, because it produces {G}.

Does that count as rules text, though? For example, I've been told that Extort doesn't add WB to a card's color identity, even though it grants the ability "whenever you cast a spell, you may pay {W/B}, etc etc".

The fact that the card has the ability does not imply that the text of the ability appears in the card text.

I added another rule that more directly addresses the question


text:
Are basic lands legal in every format by definition?
I've been told offhand that basic lands are always legal in every sanctioned format, as a special rule. This would mean that I could play a Wastes in a Standard deck, since they're basic lands.
However, the five "core" basic lands have also been reprinted in every set, and every sanctioned format allows at least one set. So they could be legal for that reason, not because of a specific rule—which would mean the Wastes would not be legal in Standard.
Which (if either) is correct? The Comprehensive Rules don't seem to cover format legality questions.

This might be considered a duplicate of Can you play older versions of cards in standard? There aren't exceptions to that, although basic lands might be a case worth addressing specifically.

Basic lands are only legal in a format if they were printed in a set that is legal in that format.
The formats are defined in the Tournament Rules, not the Comprehensive rules, and that is where deck legality for each format is defined, specifically in section 6.
The rules do not explicitly say that basic lands are allowed, rather they say what sets are legal for each format, and what cards are banned. As you mention, every one of Plains, Island, Swamp, Mountain, and Forest have been printed in every set, so they are therefore legal in every format. Any other basic land is only legal if a set in which they were printed is legal.
The Standard deck construction rules in particular say

When Snow-Covered Lands are not legal in Standard, they are treated as the equivalent basic lands. Players must replace them when discovered, but no infraction is committed.


text:
Why does Blood Moon remove abilities?
According to the rulings on Gatherer, Blood Moon removes all abilities from nonbasic lands: a Forsaken Sanctuary will enter untapped, and will not tap for white or black.
My question, though, is—why? The rules text says only that "nonbasic lands are Mountains", which seems like it sets subtypes, but doesn't do anything about abilities.
I know that some abilities, like Forests tapping for green, are inherent to their subtype, so it makes sense that an Indatha Triome can no longer tap for green (the ability came from the Forest subtype, and it lost that). But I'm unclear on why changing a land's type removes abilities printed on the card itself.

I would guess because basic lands don't have any abilities aside for tapping for mana for the type of land that they are.

@JoeW As far as I can tell, Blood Moon doesn't make them basics, though; they still count as nonbasic as far as other effects are concerned.

@Draconis You are correct- the Basic supertype is something different.

This appears to be rule 305.7, which I got from: Gamepedia.

305.7. If an effect sets a land’s subtype to one or more of the basic land types, the land no longer has its old land type. It loses all
abilities generated from its rules text, its old land types, and any
copy effects affecting that land, and it gains the appropriate mana
ability for each new basic land type. Note that this doesn’t remove
any abilities that were granted to the land by other effects. Setting
a land’s subtype doesn’t add or remove any card types (such as
creature) or supertypes (such as basic, legendary, and snow) the land
may have. If a land gains one or more land types in addition to its
own, it keeps its land types and rules text, and it gains the new land
types and mana abilities.

Note, the old wording, on the original card in The Dark expansion uses "basic mountain."  My guess is that this rule was added after.

Note that, according to the final sentence, this doesn't happen if the effect specifies "in addition to its other land types" (Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth). It's a pretty unintuitive rule and it probably only works like this because the rules explicitly specify that it does.

Yeah, I've never understood what the point of this rule was, if not to keep Blood Moon working with its original wording. I wonder why they never errata'd it to say something like "Nonbasic lands lose all abilities, gain "{T}: Add {R}", and are Mountains." (Maybe that should be a followup question, but I'm skeptical that anyone would actually be able to answer it.)

@AugustJanse While the required rules are a bit clunky, I've always found that the result is actually pretty intuitive, even if it's not entirely the same as things work for other types. I basically read it as "they are now mountains" (and conversely, "they are now also swamps").

I think the point of this rule is that it lets cards say "Nonbasic lands are Mountains" which literally means "Nonbasic lands have the subtype Mountain and lose other subtypes" and they can (almost) have the effect "Nonbasic lands are the card named Mountain".

@DavidZ that sounds like a question for Maro

@murgatroid99 Yeah, it seems plausible that's what the card was originally supposed to do. Now I wonder if there are any other effects that turn a permanent into essentially a copy of another card identified by name, without explicitly listing out the attributes of that other card?

There are a few other cards that make use of this rule for the same kind of effect, including mtg:Song of the Dryads and Quicksilver Fountain. But this rule is specific to basic land types, and it is useful mainly because all of the basic land types have a card of the same name that has the desired properties.

the the dark ruling does not apply anymore. It does not turn the non-basics into basic lands

It makes sense thematically too. Whatever your land used to be and used to do, it’s a mountain now. And maintains don’t do anything other than tap for red.

It makes the lands mountains. It does not provide the 'in addition to it's other types' suffix. So all the non-basics become what the rules says is a mountain which is...

From the glossary of the Comprehensive Rules (August 7, 2020—Double
Masters)
Mountain One of the five basic land types. Any land with this subtype
has the ability “{T}: Add {R}.” See rule 305.6.

Interesting it does not turn it into a basic land, the lands are non-basic mountains and will still turn on Dryad Sophisticate ability for instance.

305.6. The basic land types are Plains, Island, Swamp, Mountain, and Forest. If an object uses the words “basic land type,” it’s referring
to one of these subtypes. An object with the land card type and a
basic land type has the intrinsic ability “{T}: Add [mana symbol],”
even if the text box doesn’t actually contain that text or the object
has no text box. For Plains, [mana symbol] is {W}; for Islands, {U};
for Swamps, {B}; for Mountains, {R}; and for Forests, {G}. See rule
107.4a. See also rule 605, “Mana Abilities.”

This doesn't answer the question, which is why the land also loses its other abilities.

the part because it does not have in addition to its other types absolutely answer the question. If it did have that it would not have any abilities removed.

@NeilMeyer What you haven't explained or cited is why that difference means it loses all abilities. For example, Cerulean Wisps changing a creature's color to blue does not make it lose all abilities, and a Bestow creature does not lose all abilities despite its rules saying “it becomes an Aura enchantment” (no “in addition to”). There is an actual specific rule that says doing this for a basic land type, and only a basic land type, removes all other abilities, but you haven't described or cited it.


text:
What card types can't appear in your library?
From the new Kaldheim release notes on [Alrund, God of the Cosmos]:

You may choose any card type, but the ones that may appear in your library are artifact, creature, enchantment, instant, land, planeswalker, sorcery, and tribal (a card type found on some older cards).

This wording surprised me, because I didn't think any other card types existed.
What other card types are there that can't appear in your library?

Conspiracy, phenomenon, plane, scheme and vanguard.

300.1. The card types are artifact, conspiracy, creature, enchantment, instant, land, phenomenon, plane, planeswalker, scheme, sorcery, tribal, and vanguard.

313.1. Conspiracy cards are used only in limited play, particularly in the Conspiracy Draft variant (see rule 905). [...]
313.3. Conspiracy cards remain in the command zone throughout the game. [...]

310.1. Phenomenon is a card type seen only on nontraditional Magic cards. Only the Planechase casual variant uses phenomenon cards. See rule 901, “Planechase.”
310.2. Phenomenon cards remain in the command zone throughout the game [...]

309.1. Plane is a card type seen only on nontraditional Magic cards. Only the Planechase casual variant uses plane cards. See rule 901, “Planechase.”
309.2. Plane cards remain in the command zone throughout the game [...]

312.1. Scheme is a card type seen only on nontraditional Magic cards. Only the Archenemy casual variant uses scheme cards. See rule 904, “Archenemy.”
312.2. Scheme cards remain in the command zone throughout the game [...]

311.1. Vanguard is a card type seen only on nontraditional Magic cards. Only the Vanguard casual variant uses vanguard cards. See rule 902, “Vanguard.”
311.2. Vanguard cards remain in the command zone throughout the game. [...]


text:
Is there any way my opponent can prevent me from winning in this situation?
I have Judith, the Scourge Diva and Footlight Fiend in play, and have 1 life; my opponent has Dreadhorde Butcher and 2 life. They swing with the Butcher, I block with the Fiend, and they both die.
At this point, my opponent's trigger goes on the stack first (since they're the active player), then mine (non-active player). My two triggers do two damage to my opponent, killing them before their own trigger can resolve and kill me.
But now we're wondering—is there anything that could have made me not win in this situation? For example, could I have activated an ability or played an instant, changing who was the active player at the crucial moment? Or was their fate sealed as soon as I blocked?

Considering only the cards mentioned, and assuming you chose the proper targets for the triggered abilities, your opponent is guaranteed to lose once you block with the Fiend.
The active player is the player taking the current turn [CR 102.1], not the player with priority or anything like that. So in that entire sequence, there is no way for your opponent's triggered abilities to go on the stack on top of yours. As mentioned in the question, both of your abilities go on top of the stack and each deals 1 damage to the opponent, so they lose before their own creature's triggered ability can resolve.

But now we're wondering—is there anything that could have made me not win in this situation?

Of course. Them casting Shock targeting you, them casting Healing Salve targeting themselves, etc.

For example, could I have activated an ability or played an instant, changing who was the active player at the crucial moment?

Depends on what you mean by "changing the active player". If you mean whether "active player" is something that can be directly changed, then no. But of course there are plenty of ways of indirectly changing the active player. For instance, Sundial of the Infinite can end the turn, at which point it will no longer be your opponent's turn.


text:
Can I reorder the abilities of Hydra's Growth and Simic Ascendancy?
Suppose I control Simic Ascendancy and Hydra's Growth. Each of these has an ability that triggers at the beginning of my upkeep.
Since I'm the controller of both of these abilities, can I choose the order in which they go on the stack, so that Hydra's Growth's ability resolves first (adding +1/+1 counters), this triggers Simic Ascendancy's other triggered ability (adding growth counters), and then Simic Ascendancy's original ability resolves (I win the game due to those growth counters)? This seems like it should be possible, but Arena doesn't allow it.

You can't do the specific sequence you are trying to do because if there aren't already 20 growth counters on Simic Ascendancy at the beginning of your upkeep, its last ability doesn't trigger at all.
Simic Ascendancy's last ability has what's called an "intervening if" clause, described in rule 603.4:

A triggered ability may read “When/Whenever/At [trigger event], if [condition], [effect].” When the trigger event occurs, the ability checks whether the stated condition is true. The ability triggers only if it is; otherwise it does nothing. If the ability triggers, it checks the stated condition again as it resolves. If the condition isn’t true at that time, the ability is removed from the stack and does nothing. Note that this mirrors the check for legal targets. This rule is referred to as the “intervening ‘if’ clause” rule. (The word “if” has only its normal English meaning anywhere else in the text of a card; this rule only applies to an “if” that immediately follows a trigger condition.)

The text of Simic Ascendancy's ability says this:

At the beginning of your upkeep, if Simic Ascendancy has twenty or more growth counters on it, you win the game.

So, if it doesn't have 20 growth counters at the beginning of your upkeep, the ability doesn't trigger at all, so there's no opportunity to reorder it so that it resolves after Hydra's Growth's ability. In fact, on Gatherer Simic Ascendancy has a ruling about this:

If Simic Ascendancy doesn’t have twenty or more growth counters on it as your upkeep begins, its last ability won’t trigger. You can’t take any actions during your turn before your upkeep begins.

In general, if two or more triggered abilities trigger at the same time, you can reorder them. This is described in greater detail in this question.


text:
Can I freeze a tapped creature?
Suppose I have a Sharktocrab and my opponent has a Cavalier of Thorns in play. They attack with the Cavalier, and it becomes tapped. On my turn, I Adapt my Sharktocrab, putting a +1/+1 counter on it and causing its ability to trigger.
Can I target their Cavalier with this ability, preventing it from untapping during their next untap step? Or is it an invalid target, because of rule 701.20a:

To tap a permanent, turn it sideways from an upright position. Only untapped permanents can be tapped.

(Emphasis mine.)
Arena lets me do this, but it seems like it should be forbidden.

Possible duplicate: https://boardgames.stackexchange.com/questions/21024/are-untapped-permanents-still-legal-targets-for-untap-target-permanent-eff. See also: https://boardgames.stackexchange.com/questions/42565/why-can-cards-like-frost-breath-tap-creatures-that-are-already-tapped-but-tefer

This is legal because Sharktocrab is applying two unrelated effects to the same creature.
Sharktocrab reads:

Whenever one or more +1/+1 counters are put on Sharktocrab, tap target creature an opponent controls. That creature doesn't untap during its controller's next untap step.

The first thing to note is the targeting restrictions. "Target creature an opponent controls" means that any creature your opponent controls can be targeted, regardless of its other characteristics.
Then you do two things to the target creature: you tap it, and you prevent it from untapping.  But the "freeze" effect isn't dependent on the tap effect.  They are just both applied.  In the case of the tap effect, it will have no effect on already tapped creatures.  But the freeze effect gets applied anyways.

The rule that for your last paragraph is 609.3.


text:
How does Kaya's Ghostform interact with Elenda, the Dusk Rose?
Let's say I have Elenda, the Dusk Rose in play, enchanted with Kaya's Ghostform. My opponent has a zombie creature token.
I then cast Kaya's Wrath, destroying Elenda and the zombie.
When the zombie dies, Elenda's ability goes on the stack, intending to giving her a +1/+1 counter. Since Elenda just died, normally this would do nothing (the ability can't find its target as it resolves).
But can I, as Elenda's controller, choose to resolve Kaya's Ghostform first, returning Elenda to the battlefield, then resolve her triggered ability, giving her the +1/+1 counter? Or is the Elenda that returns "different" from the Elenda whose ability was triggered?

You can indeed choose which ability resolves first, but it won't help you.

Or is the Elenda that returns "different" from the Elenda whose ability was triggered?

Yes, this is exactly what is going on. The rules state:

400.7. An object that moves from one zone to another becomes a new object with no memory of, or relation to, its previous existence.

There follow nine exceptions to this rule but the situation caused by Kaya's Ghostform isn't one of them.

Ah, alas. So if I understand right, the triggered ability is looking for a specific entity to put the counters on, and that entity has permanently ceased to exist?

Yes, that's right. I have looked at rule 608 but I can't find a subrule that specifically applies to this situation (since Elenda's ability doesn't target).


text:
What was the point of "Substance"?
I've heard people mention the "Substance" keyword ability before, as an ability that has never been printed and does nothing. This seems…strange, to say the least. And searching Gatherer turns up nothing on it.
What is/was the point of Substance, if it has never been printed and does nothing? Did it ever actually exist? And if so, why?

Is there a reason the wiki doesn't answer your question?  https://mtg.gamepedia.com/Substance

@John Mostly I'm confused as to why adding "Substance" makes it any better. You still have a triggered ability that goes off at the start of the cleanup step; why is it easier to remove Substance at that point and destroy the permanent when Substance is removed, rather than just removing it outright?

(…which Gendolkari explained in his answer: "until end of turn" isn't the same as "at end of turn", so "gains Substance until end of turn" makes everything work out better.)

Substance existed at one point in time in the Oracle wording of twelve cards, but it was never printed on a card.
It was created to get around an issue caused when they changed the timing rules for end of turn effects, but wanted to keep the functionality on certain cards the same.
The idea was to give a card substance until the end of turn, and then have a triggered ability that would trigger when the card lost substance. This would allow effects to wear off at the end of turn when they wanted it to. Now, they use "at the beginning of the next cleanup step" to achieve the same thing.
This article discusses the change where they removed the substance keyword.

Twelve cards (Waylay, Thawing Glaciers, and the ten-card Armor of Thorns cycle) had "at end of turn" triggers back when that truly referred to the very end of the turn. To preserve their functionality (especially because some of them were practically nonsensical if they were sacrificed before damage clears), they were given a wording that allowed their delayed triggered abilities to trigger during the cleanup step (a time when nothing normally triggers). To achieve this, the relevant permanents gained substance (a static ability with no effect) until end of turn, then triggered when they lost substance—because "until end of turn" effects wear off at the same time that damage does.
These cards will now have a more straightforward "at the beginning of the next cleanup step" trigger, and the rules have been adjusted accordingly. Note that this new wording is somewhat misleading, since it's not the first thing that happens in the cleanup step (just like "at the beginning of your draw step" triggers aren't the first thing that happen during your draw step—you draw a card first). In the cleanup step, the player whose turn it is will discard down to seven cards, then "until end of turn" effects will end and damage will be cleared, then these abilities will trigger.

This article discusses more details around how substance worked.

Should "end" in "at the beginning of the next end step" be "cleanup" instead?

@BenjaminCosman Fixed, thank you! The change from end step to cleanup step is exactly what caused the problem that they used substance to address!


text:
How can I reorder triggered abilities in Arena?
Suppose I have Goreclaw, Terror of Qal Sisma and Bishop of Binding in play. When my creatures attack, I want the Bishop's ability to resolve first (targetting himself), so that he's big enough to get Goreclaw's bonus.
How do I make that happen in Arena? The Oracle rulings on Goreclaw seem to say it's possible ("If another creature has an ability that changes its power when it attacks […] you may have that ability resolve before Goreclaw’s last ability."), but I haven't figured out how to actually accomplish it.

Daily reminder that questions about Arena are on-topic, even if they are about something technical that is specific to the Arena client.

You can enable or disable automatic ordering of triggered abilities and other decisions in the Options -> Gameplay menu, available through the gear symbol in game and out of game.


text:
Which Magic cards have format-specific errata?
The Scryfall page for Chaos Orb has a note:

If you are playing Chaos Orb in the Old School format, the card's text is “{1}, {T}: Choose a nontoken permanent on the battlefield. If Chaos Orb is on the battlefield, flip Chaos Orb onto the battlefield from a height of at least one foot. If Chaos Orb turns over completely at least once during the flip, and lands resting on the chosen permanent, destroy that permanent. Then destroy Chaos Orb.”

I'm curious what other cards have errata specific to certain formats like this. Looking up the Old School format, I couldn't find anything about this modification to Chaos Orb.

"Old School" is an unofficial format, and it is not standardized. The errata may come from this Hareruya article, which cites this ChannelFireball article (archived).

No sanctioned formats contain format-specific errata.
A card has the same text in all official (paper) formats. Old School is an unofficial format who have chosen to let Chaos Orb (one of the very few cards on the Vintage ban list) to be played, but from reading the text, they have nerfed it somewhat so it can affect only one permanent. It is worth noting the text you have quoted is a "Scryfall note, 2019-01-27", not an official ruling from Wizards. I'm sure other unofficial formats contain specific tweaks as well.
What's with that "(paper)" qualifier?
Alchemy and Historic, the digital-only formats available in MtG: Arena, do have changes to cards for those formats only. For example, Omnath, Locus of Creation costs an additional mana in those formats as opposed to paper formats. You can argue semantics about whether this is an errata, a "digital rebalancing", a nerf and whether the two cards are the same card or different cards.

The Arena format changes is a good example, although those changes can be much more than simple errata (they can change casting cost or power/toughness, add or remove entire abilities, etc.). If you want to search up these rebalanced versions, Scryfall differentiates them using a "A-" in front of their normal name, so "A-Orcish Bowmasters" is the nerfed version that removes the ETB trigger. Good luck trying to figure out which Arena formats support which version of each, however.

@bradC as far as I know all formats use the rebalanced (or in some cases like Symmetry Sage further unbalanced) versions of the cards. The only way you play the original printed versions were in direct one on one games where anything goes.

@Andrew Pretty sure Standard, (60-card) Brawl, and Explorer formats use the original versions; Alchemy, Historic, and (100-card) Historic Brawl use the rebalanced versions. But there have also been bugs in various formats where the wrong version was used. That's why I said "good luck", because even if you figure out how it is supposed to work, it hasn't always been implemented correctly.

What @BradC says - Standard is the same as paper Standard, and Explorer is "paper Pioneer lite" so they both use the unmodified cards. 95% sure on 60-card Brawl as well. This is supported by the Omnath links in my answer - the unmodified card is legal in Pioneer, while the modified card is legal in Historic.

Not to mention special events using more specialized formats (singleton, pauper, etc.); sometimes they specify ("alchemy pauper", for example), other times you just have to see which versions of cards show up in the deck builder.


text:
What is a good way to find information on previous ban lists?
Many people say it's fun to go back and play previous formats of Yu-Gi-Oh, like the popular "Goat Format" from the mid 2000s. I have been having a hard time finding a resource to easily view every banlist since the beginning of the game (for the TCG). Is there a good website to look at that might have all this information in one place? The TCG NA website does not have easy ways to access previous banlists, which I was really surprised by.
Bonus points if there's also a way to find out what the available cardpool was for these periods, though you probably could work that out yourself.

This is an old post but still comes up at the top of google so thought id share this resource for anybody like me who comes across this post. This is easily the best option currently:
www.yugiohbanlistarchives.com
Users can query by date and it displays the banlist as you would see it on the official konami site and its completely up to date.

This is excellent! Thanks for sharing this, I'll definitely be using this from now on assuming it continues to be up to date.

Is there a good website to look at that might have all this information in one place?

Seems that the good ol' Wiki has a complete  collection of Historical Banlists.
It seems very exhaustive and complete.
I also found a Historic Limited/Forbidden Chart which displays the information regarding forbidden and limited cards in a graphical way (green, yellow, red color code). Perhaps that is a better way to see the evolution of bans of cards.

I've come across the chart before, and it's nice, except it hasn't been updated for banlists within a few years. The Wiki seems fine other than the fact that the lists aren't ordered. I would love to see anything more user-friendly than this though.

You can always give some love to the wiki and edit it (?) lol ... will see if I find any other useful reference

It's not a website, so probably isn't worth making an answer out of, but it can also be noted that most versions/derivatives of YGOPro are able to use banlists from quite a while back; I can't check the exact range at the moment, but from what I recall it goes back quite a ways. The only disadvantage is that there's no real way (as far as I'm aware) to filter out only the cards from the F/L list.

@squid true. On ygo pro you can ... "browse"? on those past formats and select the one you want to apply for your current deck/game

How do you do that? My ygopro only seems to have the current banlist, never any history of past lists. Is there some setting I need?

IIRC, on the Deck Building on the upper menu there is a part wher eyou selec the banlist or legality. There you can chose a specific banlist, or no banlist at all. IIRC, it has quite some lists, but I am not sure if it has all

Other option could be:

Forbidden & Limited Card List in yugioh-card.com/uk

There, you can check the current and previous banlists.

After a few months, I've found a good resource as of the January 20th TCG banlist. In this reddit post, user u/mtsoren882 created a google sheets spreadsheet documenting all TCG banlist changes. It seems fairly exhaustive, and has been updated once since it was created in October of 2019. I'm unsure how long it will be supported into the future, but as of right now this seems to be the most complete resource.
I like this more than the lists on the wiki, since all changes are easy to follow, and are put in order. Hope this helps people in the future!

Thought I would also add in that there is this website I made earlier this year, and it auto-updates the ban lists displaying them similarly to the main Yugioh website. It also generates .conf files if you want to download them:
http://ygo.anihelp.co.uk

Disclosing your affiliation is necessary here, thank you.  However, some people strongly disagree with self-promotion on this site so you may face some downvoting. [help/behavior]

+1 This seems like a genuinely useful case of self-promotion. "How do I do that thing?" "Here, I made this thing to help you do that thing."


text:
Responding to Fusion/Ritual Summons
There are many spells in Yu-Gi-Oh that summon monsters. Some of the more common varieties are Fusion and Ritual summoning. These mechanics involve using a spell that, upon it's resolution, summons a monster.
My question is, am I allowed to chain a trap like Bottomless Trap Hole to a Fusion or Ritual summon (or any other spell that summons a monster on resolution?) I know you can use cards that specifically negate spells and traps that summon monsters like Solemn Warning, but am I able to use a card like Solemn Strike to negate the Fusion or Ritual summon, even though it only happens on resolution?

Leaving an answer here because the answer by spaff is incorrect.
Things actually get a bit more complicated
First of all, this has very little to do with spell speeds, as a summon itself does not have a spell speed.
The spell used for summoning the monster does, and there's no problem negating this with a card like 'Magic Jammer' or 'Solemn Warning'.
Once the monster is summoned successfully, a window opens in which you can react to the summon with cards like 'Bottomless Trap Hole' or 'Torrential Tribute'.
Note that this is not the same as chaining. These cards will start a new chain at that point.
Lastly, we have cards that negate a summon (e.g. 'Solemn Strike' or 'Black Horn of Heaven').
These cards cannot be use against other effects that would summon a monster (except if they specifically mention being able to negate that effect itself, such as 'Solemn Warning', which can do both)
So the kind of summon these cards can negate are called (in the case of a special summon, I'm ignoring normal or tribute summons here) inherent special summons.
These are summons that do not form a chain when performed.
This includes Synchro, Xyz, Pendulum, and Link summons. They also include contact fusions (e.g. Gladiator Beast fusions) and monsters like 'Cyber Dragon' or 'Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning'

Thanks for this! I wasn't quite sure of the truth, there was some dissent regarding the answer. This is closer to how I thought it was supposed to work.

In short, yes.
A trap like BTH is of speed 2, and a counter-trap like Solemn Strike is of speed 3. Both of these can be chained to the summoning of a monster. Quick play spells only reach a speed of 2, so regardless of the spell/monster effect used to achieve these Fusion/Ritual summons, both regular, continuous, and counter trap cards can be legally used in response.
As for your question on resolution, it wouldn't matter. Solemn strike negates the summon, so essentially, the card used to summon resolves, and then Solemn Strike prevents the monster from ever actually hitting the field. This is an attractive effect to a lot of players against certain decks because this prevents effects that happen when monsters are summoned, since the spell spell resolves, but the summoning does not.

Here's a followup question. What about quickplay spells/traps/quick effects that need a target, like Compulsory Evacuation Device? You would be unable to chain these to the Fusion/Ritual spell activation, since the monster isn't on the field to target when the Compulse is chained, correct?

In this specific question about spells that summon monsters (e.g. ritual and fusion) solemn strike cannot be used

Could you post a source on that? I don't want to get the ruling wrong in the future.

@OutOfCharacters Correct, since it would be in a chain, you would have to wait until the card hits the field. However, a monster hitting the field does NOT start a chain, so your trap will be link 1. Here is a link for more useful information on what you're looking for. https://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Summons_%26_Chains


text:
How does combat work in Fury of Dracula
In the rules for Fury of Dracula after resolving combat cards it says players refresh hands. I understand how this works for Dracula redrawing a new fifth combat card, what is unclear to me is how this applies to hunter players. Does this mean hunters gain a new copy of the default 3 hunter combat cards? Or do they take back the combat card they played assuming the resolved combat doesn't force it to be discarded?

Which edition? It works differently in all of them :)

@Pod I think probably 3rd edition

TL;DR - At the start of combat you add 3 Combat cards to your hand (1 Dodge, Punch, and Escape). The end of each combat round you pick up any cards played in previous rounds of combat, not including the current rounds cards. Finally, once combat ends you remove the 3 combat cards (1 Dodge, Punch, and Escape) from your hand.
Combat ( in short ) Works Like This:

Pre-Combat The hunter takes 1 Dodge, Punch, and Escape card from the hunter
  combat card piles and adds them to his hand of item cards (these do
  not count toward his hand limit).
1. Each player chooses 1 card from his hand and places it facedown. The
  hunter must choose one of his cards that has a banner (red or yellow).

Combat happens, players reveal and finally step 8:

8. Refresh Hands: Dracula draws the top card of the Dracula combat deck. Combat cards played during this round remain in front of the
  hunter who played it. Hunter combat cards played during the previous
  round are returned to their owner's hand.

This limits the hunters options on what they can play if combat continues.
Anything played in this round of combat will not be available to play in the next round of combat.
Anything played in a previous round of combat is now available to be played in the upcoming round of combat ( if there is more combat to be had ).
Finally, if combat is finished you simply remove the 3 combat cards from your hand ( 1 Dodge, Punch, and Escape ):

After combat ends, each hunter in the combat places his hunter combat
  cards (Dodge, Punch, and Escape) back in the combat card piles near
  the board. Dracula shuffles all Dracula combat cards into his deck.

Rules on BGG

Does this mean that for Dracula's mesmerize card the hunter is only mesmerized for the next round of combat? assuming mesmerize is successful of course

Mesmerize only works on the current round of combat. Cards are revealed, we first see if the Hunter's card negates Mesmerize (Symbol check). If the Hunter did not cancel Mesmerize then Mesmerize occurs and cancels the Hunters card effect. If Mesmerize is cancelled then the Hunters card resolves as normal. All of this will happen during the current round of combat, not future rounds.

Sorry perhaps I phrased that poorly. I meant for Dracula's mesmerize effect on bite, if I recall bite when played against a mesmerized hunter adds a bite mark and has another extra effect. Is this limited to only the next round after mesmerize is played? Doesn't mesmerize also have a damage reducing effect when successful, how long does that last?

The Mesmerize effect only applies during that round of combat but is kept in front of the Hunter during the entire phase of combat. Other cards ( such as Fangs which I believe is what you're referring to ) can use Mesmerize to enhance it's effect. So, Mesmerize is kept in front of the Hunter during the entire combat phase but it's Mesmerize effect only happens during the round it's played.

I think this doesn't explain clearly that vampire's played cards are never picked up during combat, only Hunter gets his/her cards back after a round.


text:
Is there any bonus to a second Plague knife on Plague Marines?
I'm new to 8th edition 40k and as far as I understand you no longer receive the extra attack for 2 melee weapons. But the Death Guard codex gives the option:
"Any Plague Marine can replace their boltgun with either a bubotic axe or a second plague knife."
Is there any bonus to taking a second plague knife or a second identical melee weapon in 8th Edition?

You'll want to look for the Vectors of Death and Disease special rule which suggests that amongst it's other effects, having two plague knives increases the bearer's attacks characteristic.

@aslum is correct, having a second plague knife (or a bubotic axe) increases the models attacks by one. As I understand it this extra attack can be made with any weapon the model has (i.e. if you wanted to you could use the extra attack from the axe as a knife attack).
I think that taking extra melee weapons has no benefit RE number of attacks unless it says so in the data sheet or weapon rules. It does allow you to a choice of weapon to use. For example a model with a power fist and a close combat weapon might not want the -1 to hit when fighting a horde of poorly armoured enemies.


text:
Phase 10 - acquiring cards after completing a phase
After laying down the required cards that complete a phase, does the player continue to draw cards or does he play only the cards that remain in his hand?

Yes, they keep drawing
A player still does all the steps of a turn, regardless of whether or not they have completed their phase (i.e. Draw, lay down a phase if they haven't already and can, optionally add any additional card(s) to a laid-down phase, discard).
This allows more time for other players to finish their own phase while still making 'finished' players try and scramble to empty their hands on completed phases to avoid getting points.


text:
If ants are better than spiders, why are there more?
I recently picked up the game, and have been thinking about it (since I haven't had someone to play it with yet).
In chess, the pawn is the weakest piece and also the most numerous at 8. The rooks, are much more powerful, but you only have 2, and queen is unique.
So why in Hive are you given 3 ants (infinite slide... almost free choice) and 2 spiders (exactly 3 slides)?
It seems that ant/spider roles should be reversed.
I know they're different games, and I haven't tried Hive enough to draw conclusions, but I was wondering if anyone who's more experienced had any insight on the flow of the game. I know i could use house rules and just switch their roles, but would that make the game too slow/difficult to complete?
It seems as if spiders would be throw away early pieces, with the ants doing a lot of the mid-late game work?

The way Hive is played is that a lot of pieces end up trapped by the 'one hive' rule. Ants are very good at this. Once your ants are trapped, it's hard to win. Spiders are weaker pieces and get sacrificed easily. With too few powerful pieces, it would be hard to keep the game interesting. The boardgamegeek faq adds:
Aren't spiders just weak ants?
A spider is indeed strictly weaker than an ant. Some people are bothered by this and propose many variants to "fix" the "problem". Others are not bothered by it, and say "A rook or bishop is strictly weaker than a queen in chess, too." While more limited, Spiders are useful in many circumstances, particularly in the early phase while the hive is small. Learning to use your spiders correctly can give you an advantage, especially in a circumstance where you might have just used a soldier ant. If used correctly, you'll usually only use them once, and they'll give you the pinning power you need early on, without wasting your soldier ant pieces for when you'll really need them in the late game.

Although I'm not a really experienced Hive player, I assume it's due spiders movement is limited and the game would be far more stalled if 3 spiders were in play and with Ants. When most of the pieces are on the board and the position is somewhat stalled with only 1-2 pieces able to move for each player feels like having more options of mobility benefits unlocking other pieces for movement, unlike with the spider that would mean slower movements and harder to place in spots where you free other pieces.

Another way to phrase this would be: why doesn't the game have 5 ants? And when playtesting the game what might have happened?
5 ants: the game would be all about ants, and ants are already op
4 ants: probably still ant dominated
3 ants: maybe ok but now there are less pieces and you need enough pieces to make the decision when and where to play them meaningful.
2 ants: probably wasn't enough? (maybe games dragged on or were too short with only 2 ants?)
Solution... Spiders! Weak ants, that count as pieces, are almost fodder, but can still be used to great effect in many scenarios.
This is pure speculation based on how I might approach such designing balance in a situation like this.