text:
What happened to the silver border cards? There are none in Unfinity
All the cards in the Unfinity (Un-set) are black border. Some have regular round/oval stamps, some have an acorn stamp and some have no stamp.
What do the different stamps means?
Here is a close up of the acorn stamp:

With "Unfinity," WotC decided to retire the silver border and instead mark individual cards in the set as either Un- cards or Eternal-legal cards.
The "security stamp" at the bottom of the card replaces the silver border:

If you see a standard oval security stamp, or no security stamp at all (for commons/uncommons), that card is Eternal-legal like any normal black-border card.

If the security stamp is shaped like an acorn, it's a goofy/experimental Un- card.
(Even common Un- cards should have the acorn. Look at Gobsmacked, for example.)

That does mean that a bunch of Unfinity cards are Eternal-legal and you can play them in Legacy, &c. Including a bunch of cards that give stickers, which makes Legacy a sticker format now.

Unfortunately, mistakes were made in production!
A bunch of Unfinity cards were misprinted, so actually you have to look up the card on Gatherer or Scryfall to know whether it should have an acorn or oval stamp if there's any question about set legality.

What about the blank ones with no stamp?

No stamp is considered the same as a traditional oval stamp, i.e., eternal/"black border". (As you probably know, in normal sets, commons/uncommons don't get a security stamp. In Unfinity, they do if it is acorn, otherwise they follow the normal rule.)

(Added clarification)

It is possibly worth noting that even aside from the issue of printing errors, this was a somewhat controversial decision among some groups of players (as were some of the things they choose to make eternal-legal, such as attractions). That said, it makes sense for Wizards because the ink for those silver borders was not only a spot color (read as ‘made printing more expensive’), but also as I understand it a custom color (read as ‘made printing exponentially more expensive’).

@AustinHemmelgarn Additionally, the silver and black border cards have to have separate sheets. This makes the collation process more complex as the rarities from each sheet have to be separated out and then merged with each other. With only a single border color they can use their usual process.

@AustinHemmelgarn That's a good point about print costs, though I imagine having to do way more of those little foil badges, and having to stamp cards with different badges (which they immediately messed up) also adds to the costs.

@eyeballfrog None of which mattered with the previous un-sets, since all the cards were silver bordered, except lands which are on their own sheet (and Steamflogger Boss which was on the land sheet probably for that reason)


text:
What's this circular board game with dice and pegs?

I have this game but don't know what it is.  My grandmother had it on the bar in her tavern/candy store around the 1920's in Baltimore.  The customers used it as a bar game to play for drinks, etc. My cousin had it in a closet for last 50 years.  None of us know what it is called or how to play it. She may have brought it over from Europe with them when they emmigrated. I have searched but cannot find any details.  Any ideas?
The game consists of:

A circular board featuring: 24 spaces for pegs, 4 dark spaces, and 4 “pits”. Each of the spaces for pegs fits up to five pegs, and the “pits” appear to be places for storing pegs.
A rolling space in the middle with a large number “5” printed on it.
Seven six-sided dice.
Approximately 70 metal pegs.

It looks like a variant of Shut the box for 4 people, your board would be between the black spots.

The dice to me look like a mix of dice that maybe came with it and ones from other places over the years.  a shut the box variant seems to make sense as 6 areas between each black division.  maybe first to score '5' in a number?

Farkle itself was invented too late for the time period you're referencing, but it could be in the same family of games.  It uses 6 dice and would need score tracking for several people.

source: Stack Exchange

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

sort: votes


text:
What happens if the defeating the last monster costs the player their last life point?
Players must take away life points when defeating a monster with the heart symbol:

What if a player ends the game with only 1 remaining life point but must yet suffer 1 life point after defeating the last monster? Does he lose the game?

Unfortunately this does seem to be ambiguous.
Looking at the rules here is seems losing all your life points does not mean you have automatically lost.
Rules to suggest this.

The player with the most Victory points wins

and

A player who loses their last Life point on the Life tracker dies and
leaves the game.

I'm not convinced 'leaves the game' is the same as 'lost'. especially as a score is still caluble. It looks if you marker reaches end of life tracker then that is -20 points and not elimination.

If you look at the life tracker image the skull is in the same space as -20,  the others are all distinctly separate.
This however is contradicted by this BGG forum question.  One of the answers refers to a designer diary that suggestions many publishers didn't like player elimination.  (I've not found that source directly).  Whether that means the intention in the published version was player elimination I am not clear.   "leaves the game" could easily be interpreted as 'cant win' or 'takes no further part but still has a score'

Thank you (+1) ! Glad to see you also find it ambiguous. Plus, the rules slightly differ between the french version and the english version of the rulebook!

all_licenses: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/


text:
What board game is this with octagonal Chinese pieces sitting on grid intersections?
Will anyone tell me what kind of game this is

For future reference: if you have a image, you can Google to find its source

This is Janggi or "Korean chess". It can be distinguished from Xiangqi ("Chinese chess") by the lack of river dividing the board horizontally in the middle.

Also can be distinguished for Xiangqi because: the pieces are octagonal, the pieces vary in size, the king starts in the middle of the palace, and the characters on many of the pieces are different

It looks like a form of Xiangqi, a relative of shogi and chess.

Not quite - the lack of river across the middle of board means it's the Korean variant; see my answer.

Thanks for picking up on that, it's interesting to see what distinguishes all the East Asian chess-likes.


text:
Settler ships on the starting island
In the Catan Explorers and Pirates expansion, settler ships can convert to settlements upon discovering unexplored territories. Can settler ships also convert to settlements on the starting island?

As long as you observe the usual Catan distance rule (2 paths between settlements) you can use a Settler Ship to build a settlement on any unoccupied intersection where all the adjacent hexes have been discovered.
This is set out in the rules for Scenario 1: Land ho! on page 5 of the Catan: Explorers & Pirates rulebook:

Building a Settlement with the Aid of a Settler Ship
If either end of one of your settler ships points toward
the corner of a terrain hex, you may build a
settlement there.

The additional note on the same page relating to building settlements upon discovering unexplored territories is just noting that Settler Ships are the only way to gain a foothold on the newly discovered territories.


text:
Can a replacement effect on a permanent apply as it enters play?
Question in the title, but here's a specific example:
Let's say I cast Semester's End with Lae'zel, Vlaakith's Champion and some other creatures/planeswalkers on the field. Will all the other creatures/planeswalkers re-enter the field with one additional counter each or will LVC's replacement effect kick in as it enters and the other perms enter with two additional?

Be careful about using the word "trigger" in this context; as triggered abilities are a specific thing in Magic, separate from static abilities that create replacement effects.

If Lae'zel is among the permanents exiled, they will all re-enter with one additional counter.
Lae'zel's effect doesn't work on other permanents because it doesn't exist yet when those creatures enter the battlefield:

614.4. Replacement effects must exist before the appropriate event occurs—they can’t “go back in time” and change something that’s already happened.

Although some permanents have replacement effects that work on their own entering the battlefield, Lae'zel's effect isn't one of them:

614.12. Some replacement effects modify how a permanent enters the battlefield. (See rules 614.1c–d.) Such effects may come from the permanent itself if they affect only that permanent (as opposed to a general subset of permanents that includes it).


text:
Hexproof and "Cannot be countered"
If I play a creature with "cannot be countered" and it has hexproof would either of them make it completely immune during the cast, because as I read something like Mindbreak trap can remove something with "cannot be countered" because it never resolved, but would there be a way around something like that. I thought hexproof but am not sure

Just thought of shroud but I think it is in the same boat as hexproof

Suspect this answers your Q but maybe indirectly/in a round-a-bout way: https://boardgames.stackexchange.com/questions/38667/can-i-give-a-creature-spell-hexproof-to-prevent-it-from-being-countered

No, to both ideas.

The fact that a creature has hexproof has no bearing on the spell the creates the creature; see "Can I give a creature spell hexproof to prevent it from being countered?".
A spell which "cannot be countered" stops only effects which say "counter target spell", for example Counterspell. It does not stop:

The spell being exiled, for example with Mindbreak Trap
The spell being returned to hand, for example with Unsubstantiate
The spell being put into its owner's library, for example with Aether Gust
The turn ending while the spell is still on the stack, for example with Discontinuity

If a spell had the ability "This spell can't be targeted", would it be safe from your first three points?

@MatthewJensen yes, because all three of those spells target. But I'm not aware of any effects which make spells on the stack untargetable.

Even if one did exist, that still wouldn't save you from another case of point 1: Summary Dismissal.

@LizWeir even a Swift Silence or overloaded Counterflux, as they don't target

My least favorite version of this is Hullbreaker Horror, to just bounce everything from the stack

All the other answers address parts of your question pretty well, but there's one more keyword that hasn't been brought up. If you're looking for a way that a spell can get around the non counter ways of removing it from the stack, the keyword you need is split second.

702.61. Split Second

702.61a Split second is a static ability that functions only while the spell with split second is on the stack. “Split second” means “As long as this spell is on the stack, players can’t cast other spells or activate abilities that aren’t mana abilities.”
702.61b Players may activate mana abilities and take special actions while a spell with split second is on the stack. Triggered abilities trigger and are put on the stack as normal while a spell with split second is on the stack.
702.61c Multiple instances of split second on the same spell are redundant.

If a spell (that doesn't target) both says it can't be countered and has split second, I don't believe there is anything in magic that would prevent it from resolving, all the methods of stopping a split second spell generally involve countering triggered abilities like the one on Kheru Spellsnatcher, which would be stopped by the "can't be countered" part of this theoretical card.

Is there any way to give spells which don't have it already Split Second?

Ooooh, good to know about the Kheru Spellsnatcher being able to counter split-second spells, I never noticed. Not that it matters much, but still, good to know. :D

See also Willbender if you're into real shenanigans here. (Voidmage Apprentice and Silumgar Spell-Eater also counter when turned face-up)

@PhilipKendall Molten Disaster gives itself split second if you pay the kicker cost. All other occurrences of "split second" in the text of any card ever printed are simply the static ability on the card. There's nothing that gives it to another spell.

@fgysin because split second does not interfere with triggered abilities and morph doesn't use the stack, flipping a creature with morph that triggers a counter ability when it is turned face up gets around the split second restrictions.

@PhilipKendall No, at this point it becomes academic, a card that hard to interact with probably (hopefully) won't ever be printed.

Note, there are already (3) creatures with split second - and there are existing ways to make your creature spells uncounterable, which covers the fringe cases like morph, so if you come at it from that direction...

So what we now need is a morph creature that will exile/bounce a spell on the stack upon flipping. :)

Since we're deep in the hypotheticals here, it would also be removed from the stack if its controller loses the game or concedes. (Are there any morphs that hit face when they turn face-up?)

@Cadence Atarka Efreet is the only one, deals 1 damage to any target when turned face up.

"Counter" applies to spells on the stack. "Hexproof" applies to permanents on the battlefield. "Counter" has no effect on permanents on the battlefield, and "Hexproof" doesn't apply to spells on the stack. Note that the card represents a spell while it's on the stack, and represents a permanent when it's on the battlefield, making Marc90's use of "card" less precise than "spell" or "permanent". When you cast a spell represented by a particular card, the default is that text on that card applies to the permanent that the spell will become. This default is overridden if the text specifically says it applies in a zone other than the battlefield, or it can't apply on the battlefield. For instance, since "counter" only makes sense while the spell is on the stack, it applies on the stack.
In addition, "Hexproof" only stops a permanent from being targeted. So if there were a card that said "Exile all spells on the stack", then even if Hexproof applied on the stack, it wouldn't protect from that card, since that doesn't use the word "target". Sundial of the Infinite ends the turns and removes everything from the stack, so it effectively counters everything on the stack, regardless of whether they "can't be countered", and without targeting anything.

There is a card which is (essentially) "Exile all spells on the stack": Summary Dismissal (credit to LizWeir for the comment on my answer)


text:
Does protection let me block something that can't be blocked?
My friend has a sorcery that makes it so a creature can't be blocked but I have a creature that has protection from all creatures. If he attacked me with his creature that can't be blocked, does my protection from creatures not nullify that?

Hey!  Welcome to B&CG!  Please consider editing in the exact cards you are dealing with, just in case it helps our gurus come up with an answer for you.

@Allure Correct, it is easy enough to name them which means it should be easy enough to include them in the question when asking. Knowing exactly which cards  the person is asking about can help make sure everyone is on the same page and a correct answer is given.

Yeah the actual cards don't matter here; the effect does and it's unambiguously described.

@PatLudwig That isn't important here since the question is about interaction of common keywords/abilities, it's not important to know the creature with protection from [color] and the unblockable creature are (for example) specifically Beloved Chaplain and River Sneak respectively to know how cards with those abilities (don't) interact.

No, protection will not do anything in this case.
Protection helps with 4 specific things and nothing else. A creature with protection   [from quality] cannot be:

Damaged, by sources with that quality (the damage is prevented).
Enchanted / Equipped / Fortified, by cards with that quality.
Blocked, by creatures with that quality.
Targeted, by spells or abilities from sources with that quality.

Although #3, cannot be blocked by, is related to blocking, it does not allow you to block an unblockable creature. Protection does not do anything outside of these things.


text:
Scoring bridges in Tri-Ominos
Can I score for forming two bridges with placement of 1 Tri-Omino? I got the top of the bridge in one and a side in the other.


text:
Does an attacker take damage?
If I use my creatures to attack an opponent's creatures (to try to kill a few of them) but they still have some hit points left over, do I as the attacker get the remainder of the hit points taken off?

how are you attacking your opponent's creatures directly?

Short answer
No, blocking creatures do not do any damage to the attacking player.
Longer answer
You seem to have a misunderstanding about how combat works in MTG.  You don't attack your opponent's creatures.  You attack the player.  If that player has creatures, they can use those creatures to block your creatures to prevent your creatures from doing damage to the player.  A blocked creature deals its damage to the creature(s) blocking it and does no damage to the player it attacked (barring abilities like Trample) and the blocking creatures deal damage to the creature they blocked.  Your opponent's blocking creatures are not attacking you, so they won't deal any damage to you, even if they have an ability like Trample (though there may be triggered abilities that trigger and deal damage to the attacking player when a creature blocks.  e.g. Assembled Alphas).


text:
Does taking somebody's Commander phase that player out?
What does happen to the person if I take their Commander does the person phase out of the game for two turns? Because I thought I read it a couple months ago about that just not sure

As per my answer, this doesn't happen. If you could find the piece you read, we may be able to help you understand what it is trying to say.

Whilst the flavour of the Commander format is that the commander card "is" the player, and there are rules relating to the commander card, there's no requirement that the commander be on the battlefield or in the command zone for the player to play

related: https://boardgames.stackexchange.com/questions/41642/are-you-able-to-take-control-of-another-players-commander

Assuming that by "person" you mean player, this cannot happen as a player cannot phase out; quoting Rule 110.5:

110.5 A permanent’s status is its physical state. There are four status categories, each of which has two
possible values: tapped/untapped, flipped/unflipped, face up/face down, and phased in/phased out.
Each permanent always has one of these values for each of these categories.
[...]
110.5d Only permanents have status.

More generally, there is absolutely nothing in the rules which means a similar effect to this (e.g. the commander itself phases out for one or more turns) happens; it being rather hard to prove a negative I can't give a rules citation here.
There could conceivably be an effect from specific cards which would make something like this happen, but I'm not aware of any; Scryfall returns nothing for "phases out" and "two turns".

If it was part of how Commander worked we ought to reference the commander website or comp rules rather than scryfall (which also don't mention phasing out for two turns).

@doppelgreener The point I was trying to make (apparently not very well) was that there could be a card which said something like "If you lose control of this permanent, you phase out for two turns" - so it's not Commander-specific.

Oh right, I misread that sentence and missed that detail somehow. Thanks.

More to the point, I don't think a player can phase out. Rule 110.5d is quite clear that only permanents can be phased in or out.

@Cadence I think that's an important part. The OP needs to understand that not only is there no such rule, but the very concept of "person phases out" doesn't make any sense to start with.

Edited to include!


text:
Melding in American Canasta
In modern American canasta a meld of 180 is needed to meld. You can meld with enough points but have only one card left to discard. The card is a wild card. Is this acceptable?

You must have at least 2 Canastas in order to go out, so if you do not have that then you cannot meld all but 1 card since you have to discard a card to end your turn.

You can go out if you can satisfy both of the following conditions:

your team has completed two canastas, and
you are able to meld all but one of your cards and discard your last card.

If you do not satisfy the conditions for going out, you are not allowed to leave yourself without any cards at the end of your turn: you must play in such a way as to keep at least one card after discarding.

https://www.pagat.com/rummy/canasta.html#american

Although Gendolkari didn't say this explicitly, your final discard card is allowed to be a wild card if that is what's needed to meld the rest of your cards.  There is no rule stating that a card is not allowed to be discarded at any point in a hand.


text:
Can I use black in a Genku commander deck?
Genku, Future Shaper is a white/blue card that includes this ability:

Whenever another nontoken permanent you control leaves the battlefield, choose one that hasn't been chosen this turn. Create a creature token with those characteristics.

2/2 white Fox with vigilance.
1/2 blue Moonfolk with flying.
1/1 black Rat with lifelink.

Can I use black in a Genku commander deck because of his ability to make 1/1 black rat tokens?

No, you can not use black, red, and/or green cards in a Genku commander deck.
What matters for commander deck construction is color identity:

903.4. The Commander variant uses color identity to determine what cards can be in a deck with a certain commander. The color identity of a card is the color or colors of any mana symbols in that card’s mana cost or rules text, plus any colors defined by its characteristic-defining abilities (see rule 604.3) or color indicator (see rule 204).

Genku's color identity is white and blue. Color words don't count.


text:
Sarkhan, Soul Aflame Becoming a dragon that entered
So I have Sarkhan, Soul Aflame as a copy of The Ur-Dragon that entered this turn. When Sarkhan attacks both Sarkhan and The Ur-Dragon's effects go on the stack, I choose to resolve Sarkhan first, draw the cards and put an Ancient Silver Dragon onto the battlefield. Could Sarkhan become Ancient Silver Dragon before combat damage is dealt?

You may be interested to learn that there are some cards which can turn into different cards before combat damage is dealt.  For example, the Lazav in my answer could activate his ability after blockers are declared and end up dealing damage to the opponent as a different creature.  Slightly different is Satoru Umezawa, who gives all of your creatures in hand the "ninjutsu" ability, allowing them to trade places with unblocked attackers.
https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=548547

No.
Sarkhan does not have the crucial piece of text "and it has this ability" (see Lazav, the Multifarious).  This means that it can only use the ability once per turn.  Therefore, it cannot become a copy of ASD, because it is a "The Ur-Dragon" and does not have the ETB trigger of regular Sarkhan.


text:
Can I attack with more than one Master of Cruelties?
I have two Master of Cruelties on the board, and I'm wondering: am I allowed to attack with both of them? I know that he has the rule of "Master of cruelties can only attack alone", but if he is the only one attacking can two attack at once?

Related: https://boardgames.stackexchange.com/questions/35535/how-does-having-multiple-permanents-with-the-same-name-affect-those-permanents (I don't think this is a duplicate, because it's really more about what "attack alone" means).

Only one1 Master of Cruelties can attack. When a card refers to itself by name, that means that copy of the card, and only that copy of the card. This is covered by rule 201.5 in the comprehensive rules:

201.5 Text that refers to the object it’s on by name means just that particular object and not any other objects with that name, regardless of any name changes caused by game effects.

When a card means to refer to other cards with the same name it will use wording like what is seen on Relentless Rats, though almost2 every card that has referenced cards with the same name has never included itself, either by specifically saying other like the Rats, or looking for cards in a zone other than where the first card is, like Slime Against Humanity looking for copies of itself in the graveyard and exile while it is still on the stack, or Squadron Hawk looking in the library when it is on the battlefield.

A way to get around restrictions like this was to force the creature in tapped and attacking. When it says it can only attack alone it means if you declare Master of Cruelties as an attacker, you can't declare any other attackers. But putting Master of Cruelties into play attacking with Kaalia of the Vast means it was never actually declared as an attacker, so the restriction doesn't apply.
Plague Rats counts itself when looking for cards named Plague Rats in play, and the copy of Shadowborn Apostle that has its ability activated can be one of the ones sacrificed.

Since we are talking ways to get around the restriction, let me mention Blade of Selves

@TheThirdMan Yes, anything that puts the creature, or a token copy of it in cases like Blade of Selves, in play attacking gets around this - Kaalia was just the most obvious example for Master of Cruelties since it was a one shot kill combo in EDH if they can't block.


text:
Rummikub Joker Rule Question
Can you use a rummikub joker tile in an existing run?  Or must a joker always be replaced in order to use it?

While a joker is on the table it retains the number and colour set when it was initially placed.
This means it can be used as part of a players manipulation, as long as the number and colour needed are the same, and all sets are valid at the end of the manipulation.
The joker only needs to be retrieved if it's wildcard abilities are required for placing a set.


text:
Which variant of Rummy requires a last round of a "run of seven" and a set of three?
I've heard of a variant of Rummy with a “run of seven” and a set of three involved. What is that variant and how do I play it?

Phase 10 has things like a "run of 7", but not a "run of 7 + set of 3".

@jrw32982 it's possible in the version I described, when a player lays a 7-set and during subsequent play lays a 3-set to void their hand. AFAIR we went from one 7 to one 10.

You might be referring to the game Conquian which is a variant of Contract Rummy.
In the first round, players must lay a Meld of 3 cards. A Meld is  either a Set or a Run (Set is 3 cards or more with equal rank, e.g. (8♠ 8♣ 8♥), A Run is ascending cards belonging to the same suit, e.g. 8♠ 9♠ 10♠)
The Contracts progress through two melds of three (laid at the same time), then one meld of four cards and another of three, etc. One of the later contracts is a meld of 3 and a Run of 7.  There are many variations in the way the game is played.

In more detail, this is the version I play:

Two decks of cards might be needed. The number of players can be two or more.

The dealer shuffles the deck, and deals 7 cards face down to each player, lays the deck face down, and turns over one card to begin the discard pile.

Twos are wildcards, which need not follow suit in a Run.

On each turn:

The active player must either draw one card from the top of the deck, or as many cards as they wish from the discard pile, which must be consecutive cards including the top card.
Then, if they can lay all the required melds, they do so.
If they have already placed their melds, they can place more melds (of any size), or add to the melds of any player, or exchange any player's wildcard twos from their melds, replacing them with the card they represent (if they are holding it). They may then use the two immediately to make and lay more melds.
Finally the player may optionally discard one card face up onto the discard pile, and their turn ends.

A Run may go 'over the top', i.e. QKA23 and must be the same suit (except twos).

The object is to lay all one's cards. The round ends when the first player does so.
Each player then counts up the score of the cards remaining in their hand (court cards score 10, two scores 15).
After the last round, the player with the lowest score is the winner.
The game ends when a player complete the last contract. The Contracts we play are:

1 three, 2 threes
1 four, 1 four + 1 three, 2 fours
1 five, 1 five + 1 three, 1 five + 1 four
1 six, 1 six + 1 three ... etc.
1 seven
1 ten

The name we know this game by is mentioned in the link. It's a homophone of Conquian, with no negative association intended, yet I avoided using it.


text:
What is this note-taking convention?
I have come across similar auctions a few times but have not been able to figure out what the convention is. Will be thankful if someone can help.
N. E. S. W
P. P. 1D  P
1H p. 1S. P
2c p

2c is Alert asking partner to bid 2d and may hide a weak hand with diamonds or an invitational hand.
Thanks

This is the XYZ convention. It applies when the partnership has made their first three bids at the 1 level. Briefly, 2D is an artificial game force and 2C is a relay to 2D, either to sign off or to describe an invitational hand. It's an extension of two-way New Minor Forcing to any rebid at the one level by opener, instead of just 1NT.

Ok. Thank you so much. That is very helpful and so kind of you to answering

Can it not just be fourth suit forcing?

Fourth-suit forcing doesn't relay partner into 2D and is not bid when you have a hand that wants to sign off in diamonds. I agree that many partnerships play fourth-suit forcing here, but that doesn't match the description given in this case.

2C is not a "relays". 2C is a puppet.  A relay is an artificial bid asking partner to describe their hand. A puppet is an artificial bid forcing partner to make an automatic bid which says nothing about their hand. Puppets and relays are two very different concepts.

@Michal I don't know how to tell you this, but this usage is common. But go off with your prescriptivist self

But also, from the link in the post: "Although it is mandatory in the XY Notrump form of the convention to complete the relay 2♣ to 2♦, when Z was a suit, opener may be unlimited. In such a case it is acceptable, if opener has too good a hand to risk being dropped in 2♦ to bypass the relay and make a (forcing) bid."

@ruds - common it might be, it is not correct.  After all, last time I checked Puppet Stayman was called Puppet Stayman not "Relay" Stayman.

Words mean what they are used to mean, not what one person thinks they should mean. A puppet bid and a "relay to" are essentially the same thing in common usage.


text:
Can the "you can't play neigh card" downgrade be countered by a neigh card?
In Unstable Unicorns can the "you can't play neigh card" downgrade be countered by a neigh card?

Yes, Slowdown (the Downgrade card that says "You cannot play Neigh cards.") can be countered.
Wiki on Downgrades

Downgrade card:
Upon entering a stable a downgrade's effect is active.

versus
Wiki on Neigh

Neigh
All Neigh cards contain the card effect text "Play this card when any player tries to play a card. Stop that player's card from coming into play and send it to the discard pile instead."

So the Slowdown card doesn't come into play, doesn't enter a stable, and doesn't prevent the playing of Neigh against it.


text:
What are the chances of going out first go in Rummikub?
One day I had picked up twice before getting the 30 face value tiles in sets needed to first go down. Then I put them down and proceeded to put down all my remaining tiles. What were the chances of that happening? Must be pretty slim! There were three players.
Rummikub Rules: Usually in Rummikub it takes about 15-30 minutes for someone to put down all their tiles.  You have to pick up if you can’t go. People put down sets of numbers either all the same number but different colours or a run of the same colours. Each time there must be 3 tiles in the set. The first time you put down one or more sets the face value of them must add to 30. Once you’ve gone down you can then add your tiles to what others have put down if your tiles fit in with their set. Once there are more than 3 in a set you can take the forth tile and move it to create your own set. You can split longer sets up provided there is always at least three left. There are also a couple of wild tiles.  If a wild tile makes up a set, you can take it if you can replace it with the correct number it is in place of in a set. Then you can add it to two matching tiles in your hand to make a fresh set of three. Eventually you put everything down.

can you clarify your question? Because right now the best answer is: "yes, must be pretty slim!".  If you are looking for an answer of "x percent" then specify exactly the scenario.

The question's entirely clear and doesn't need further clarification: what are the odds of a perfect first turn? “Yes, must be pretty slim!” would not be the best answer, nor even an acceptable one. A good answer will lay out the actual odds.

"I had picked up twice before getting the 30" -> won the round on Turn 3.
where some melds placed on the table by other players that offered Add/Switch opportunities?

Yes there were other sets on the table that presented opportunities to put things down.  I am not sure exactly how many.   I think you are probably right, the chances are slim!  Probably impossible to calculate.

Must be pretty slim! --
For a given scenario it is possible to get an approximation of the chances with a game simulator running Monte-Carlo experiments.


text:
When does it not make sense anymore to play into an opponent's territory?
I am a GO beginner. I think I know the basic rules. I have a strategy question:
Why does it NOT make sense to play into an opponent's territory?
I think I understood that the free(!!!) positions inside an territory are counted as points. If I play into this territory and form a group that is alive (because it has two eyes) don't I still take points away from my opponent?
Example: White has formed a line of connected stones let's say around one edge of the board. Let's assume the territory is quite large and has 25 free positions in it. So white would win 25 points for it. Now if i am black and let's assume I already have some stones in that territory. Wouldn't it make sense to try connect my stones INSIDE that territory and try to create a group that is alive, has two eyes and cannot be beaten anymore. Wouldn't this take away points from white?

You are quite right that making a live group in your opponent´s territory reduces their score. As Piet´s answer below says, your chances depend on what that territory looks like. In very many games a point arises where one player has loosely (and thus efficiently) sketched out territory, and the other must choose between invading (trying to live inside it) and reducing, i.e. pushing from the outside, to try to reduce their territory and perhaps increase one of your own. Invasion is obviously wrong if you cannot live, but otherwise the choice also depends on the effect on the rest of the board.

It very much depends on the actual form of the territory. The smaller and the more closed off the territory is, the less the chance that an invasion would succeed in becoming alive. But there are many instances where an invasion makes perfect sense.
One good way to use the threat of an invasion is as a Ko-threat.
Of course, trying thing is part of learning. Especially as a beginner, trying an invasion helps you to gain a feeling what might succeed and what not. I often start an invasion; some work, some don't.
I suggest you study Live-and-Death-Go-Problems to learn how to make a group survive.


text:
How does Gift of Immortality work with sacrificing its creature before a boardwipe?
What happens when you sacrifice a creature enchanted with Gift of Immortality in response to a boardwipe?

Just to be clear: Do you sacrifice the creature before the board wipe resolves, or afterwards?

Either way I believe that you would lose the creature and the enchantment since Gift of Immortality has a delayed trigger to reattached to the creature.  The first effect would kill the creature while it is enchanted with Gift of Immortality and it would be brought back onto the field while the second effect would kill it while not enchanted and then Gift of Immortality would try to reattached at the end of the turn a fail and end up in the graveyard.

@Hackworth How could you sacrifice the creature after the board wipe resolves?

@GendoIkari "When enchanted creature dies, return that card to the battlefield under its owner's control." Then you sac it with the same unspecified outlet that would allow you to sac it beforehand.

If you sacrifice the enchanted creature in response to the board wipe (before it resolves), the creature dies and returns to the battlefield under its owner's control, while Gift of Immortality itself goes to the graveyard. The board wipe then resolves, killing the creature again, but this time without the enchantment, so the creature just goes to the graveyard as usual. When the end step arrives, Gift of Immortality tries to return to the battlefield attached to the creature, but since the creature is no longer on the battlefield, Gift of Immortality remains in the graveyard.


text:
When does the Tactical Officer trigger?
Does the tactical officer skill trigger off of other people repairing the shields or just when she repairs it?

This is hopefully something answered in the rulebook. I have not played this game, but I'd assume that this question has all the information it needs to answer.

@ryanyuyu The details of the card in question should be included in the question. It is useful to have more then a single sentence for a question.

Tactical officer reads : "After repairing the shields, may draw 2 random skills from the skill deck."
It is my understanding that this wording is in reference to himself only. If they had intended it to be after anyone repairing shields, they would have explicitly called that out:
such as "After anyone repairs the shields ... "


text:
How do we lose control of an omen if it can't be dropped, traded, or stolen?
I was playing a game of B@BG last week and a question came up with the meenlock omen card. It says that it 'cannot be dropped, traded or stolen,' but also says 'if you lose control of this omen lose two speed'. How do you lose control of an omen? We presumed that to lose control of an item, it must be taken from you, but the meenlock can't be stolen. What other ways can you lose control of an omen?

Specific haunts scenarios can cause you to lose them. Especially haunts that directly involve them (haunts that are triggered by them being found). Some haunts may, for example, immediately in the setup cause the traitor to take possession of the omen. Others will involve players fighting over the omen, and include specific rules for how you can take or lose the omen.


text:
Which game is this token showing rocks in the sea from?
Can anyone help identify the game this token comes from? I was moving some boxes and found it lying on a shelf. It's blue and purple and appears to be showing rocks in the sea.

Do you own Spirit Island? There are irregular water tiles like that, depending on edition they might have rocks on it

@Zibelas not spirit island, no version I've ever seen looks like that, and the edges are wrong for that game

As someone who plays far too much Spirit Island, can confirm that it that is not a piece

I do own spirit island, and will check the box for that game, but others here seem to doubt that answer. Thanks.


text:
Do role tokens trigger celebration?
Do role tokens like young hero count as a nonland permanent entering the battlefield for Celebration triggering?

Yes, role tokens are non-land permanents and count towards Celebration.
Role tokens are token enchantments, so they are non-land permanents.

303.7. Some Aura enchantments also have the subtype “Role.”

Role tokens are created much like any other token; they trigger all applicable ETB abilities.

111.1. Some effects put tokens onto the battlefield.


text:
What's going on with Burning Chariot having psychic weapons and abilities but not being a psyker?
Burning Chariot (10th edition Chaos Demons Index, Balance Dataslate January 2024) has both an Eldritch Flames (Psychic) ability and a Fire of Tzeentch [PSYCHIC] ranged weapon. According to the core rules, it could only use these if it's a Psyker. However, it's missing the Psyker keyword.
Core rules (pg 38):

PSYCHIC WEAPONS AND ABILITIES
Some weapons and abilities can only be used by PSYKERS. Such weapons
and abilities are tagged with the word ‘Psychic’.

Does this mean that Burning Chariot can’t use its Eldritch Flames or Fire of Tzeentch? If so how are these meant to be used?

Not an answer, because guesswork: It's a mistake. The core rule doesn't really do anything, because Psychic exists as a tag for other abilities to defend against.

Psychic weapons and abilities work fine on non-Psyker models
This rule was clarified in Rules Commentary, and now reads as follows (emphasis added):

Weapons with [PSYCHIC] in their profile are known as Psychic weapons. Abilities tagged with the word 'Psychic' are known as Psychic abilities. Generally speaking, Psychic weapons and abilities are used by Psykers, but the absence of the Psyker keyword does not prevent a model from using any Psychic weapons or abilities it has.

Possible Interpretations:
Intentional Exclusion: This might be an intentional omission by the designers, meaning the Burning Chariot cannot use these abilities despite their "Psychic" tag. This seems unlikely considering the chariot's lore and connection to Tzeentch.
Oversight/Errata: This could be an oversight or an error in the datasheet, requiring an official errata from Games Workshop clarifying the intended functionality.
Special Rule: There could be a specific rule for the Burning Chariot allowing it to use "Psychic" abilities despite not being a Psyker. This would be similar to some Daemon Princes who can use psychic powers without the keyword.
Current Status: Until an official clarification or errata emerges, there's no definitive answer.

Given that this has been unchanged through the dataslates since the release of 10th, there's some evidence this is intentional. But... this is GW we're talking about.

Welcome to BCG Stack Exchange.  Have you got any evidence to suggest one particular reason in your list is correct, or even relevant? There is a reason each question can receive multiple answers, and each user can even give multiple answers. A scattershot approach makes it difficult to properly curate the post, particularly with voting for the correct and helpful aspects (against the incorrect and unhelpful).


text:
WH40K 10ed: Is “change to a 6” and “change to a unmodified 6” means the same? Why? Or why not?
The question is about Warhammer 40,000 10th edition rules.
Take a look on Infernal Master and Fluxmaster
Infernal Master (Thousand Sons, index page 35)

Glimpse of Eternity (Psychic)
Once per turn, you can change the result of one Hit roll, one Wound roll, one Damage roll or one saving throw made for this model to an unmodified 6.

Fluxmaster (Legiones Daemonica, index page 40)

Altered Reality (Psychic)
Once per battle round, after a Hit roll, a Wound roll or a saving throw is made for this model, you can change the result of that roll to a 6.

Are these abilities do the same? If yes, why does they have different spelling? If no, what’s the difference in practice?


text:
Tactics to fight or deter Diplomatic races in 2 player games
Last night I was playing a two player game and my opponent swapped to a Diplomatic race partway through the game. they managed to surround me, effectively hemming me in and limiting my score. In the end I lost by two points.
What tactics can be used when facing an opponent with a diplomatic race? Are there any preparations I should make when playing knowing that a diplomatic race is in the available race selections, even if it's not yet selected?

Related: http://boardgames.stackexchange.com/q/8586/409 (Sounds like I was right that it's not super broken if it's picked up midgame, but it's definitely awful as a first race.)

As @bwarner commented, I'd say abandon all regions and start invading from the maps borders
From the rules (emphasis mine):

If a player wishes to free up some more Race tokens, he may opt to entirely empty up some - or all - Regions, leaving no Tokens there; but in this case, these now abandoned Regions will no longer be considered his, nor bring him any Victory coins. If the player chooses to abandon all the Regions he previously occupied, his next conquest must follow the same rules as its First Conquest (see First Conquest, p. 4).

It's a tough one. I'd say that it's pretty hard to be completely surrounded, so focussing on avoiding that is a good first step. If you see the diplomatic option come out, you could consider spreading to increase your race's surface area as much as possible, making it difficult or impossible to surround. Or take the diplomatic race first!
If the unfortunate happens, I'd say the best course of action is to immediately decline and next turn appear at the other side of the board.

Note that you can remove all your tokens and reappear on the other side of the board at the beginning of any turn, without needing to decline.  It slows you down a little, but no more than being hemmed in significantly would.

My wife and I leave the Diplomatic badge in the box unless there are three or more players. We find that if it's not in the game, it can't cause any problems.

That's fair enough, however I play using the iPad app, and this isn't an option for me.

@Rob: I didn't know you couldn't take it out. That sucks. I think Diplomatic is broken with 2 players.

In early versions of the iPad app, Diplomatic wasn't included.  I consider it broken for 2 player games, so wonder why they added it back.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/


text:
Can you use the angel token in conjunction with the rabbits foot
If I have both the angel feather and the rabbits foot in my hand can I make a roll, and then if I fail that roll use the rabbits foot to re-roll on die and use the angel feather to call an 8 on the re-roll?
I don't think you can but my friends say yes you can and I can't find any rule that states you can or can't either way.

I wouldn't expect the rules to say anything about this; the card text is intended to be the rules. There's also nothing in the FAQ about it.
Angel Feather reads:

When you attempt a roll of any kind, you can call out a number from 0 to 8. Use that number instead of rolling the dice.

To me, that fairly clearly implies that you choose the number before you roll - you use the number instead of rolling. If you could use it after you roll, I'd expect it to say something more like "After you attempt a roll of any kind, you may choose a number from 0 to 8, and use that number instead of the number you rolled."
Rabbit's Foot says:

Once during your turn, you may reroll one die. You must keep the second roll.

Once you've rolled, it's too late to use a number instead of the roll. Once you've gone pat that and rerolled a die, you're even more clearly past that point. It sounds like you're right - you can't use these things together.

+1, You might want to indicate that the official FAQ doesn't disagree with your answer [no mention of timing usage of Angel Feather], just in case someone is looking for the FAQ. What is the past tense of roll, "roll" or "rolled"? , I'd expect it to say something more like "use that number instead of the number you rolled."

@user1873 Both past and present fit there - I had present, as in "instead of the number you (are about to) roll". But I guess the more likely formulation is past.

Sounds like you answered the wrong question? He's not talking about using the feather after the second role, but rather using it after be first, instead of the second. And I'm pretty sure you can do that. Feather says before a role of "any kind." The extra role for rabbit's foot is a role of any kind."

@GendoIkari No, I think I answered the right question. The confusing thing here is that Angel Feather talking about "a roll" means "a roll of many dice" - before you roll all the dice, you pick a number. Rabbit's Foot, on the other hand, is talking about a single die (a 0, 1, or 2). The reroll that Rabbit's Foot allows (one die) is not the same thing as the roll that Angel Feather replaces (many dice).

Sorry, missed that rabbits foot is single die only. But your answer does say "once you've rolled, then rerolled, it's too late..." which sounds like you are talking about how you can't use angel feather after both rolls, rather than before the second role.

@GendoIkari Okay, revised to make that clause that even more obvious.

Though the rules and the FAQ don't directly address this, I'm pretty sure it is allowed based on a literal reading of the cards. Angel Feather says to use it when making a roll of any kind, and re-rolling due to Rabbit's Foot's ability seems like a clear example of a roll of any kind. Angel Feather doesn't say only when making the first roll of an attempt, it just says a roll of any kind.

No, Angel Feather replaces a roll - the action where you roll some number of dice and add them up. Rabbit's Foot rerolls a single die, just a part of a roll. At that point, the other dice are all fixed. Angel Feather wants to replace the roll, all the dice, before you roll them, and by the time you're using Rabbit's Foot, it's too late to do that.

If your argument were valid, this would let you roll five dice, get 0, 1, 2, 2, 2, use the Rabbit's Foot to reroll the 0, then say "aha, I'll use the Angel Feather to replace that roll with an 8, and get a total of 15".

By the way, the reason it says "roll of any kind" is that there are a lot of different skill checks and such - roll your speed, roll your strength, make an omen roll, take two dice of damage, roll four dice, and so on. It's clarifying that it works on anything in the game that causes you to roll a set of dice, not just skill checks. It's not trying to say that it can replace the roll of a single die with a number - it works on the roll as a whole, not a single die (which is just a 0, 1, or 2).

@jefromi, Agreed. I was thinking incorrectly that Rabbit's Foot let you re-roll the entire roll. In which case I think my conclusion would be correct. But as it only lets you re-roll 1 die, I was mistaken.

@Jefromi A reroll is, by definition, another roll. Saying that the second roll, of one die, can be angelfeather'd, does not extend to allowing one die from a larger roll to be angelfeather'd.

all_licenses: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/


text:
Do actions that affect all cards also affect cards in your hand.?
In Smash Up the wording on the cards is often critical to how they play. Unfortunately the rules are very light on certain situations and I haven't been able to find an answer online to a situation that arose at a game last night.
My friend was using Dinosaurs and Pirates, and was attempting to take the Tsar's Palace base. The bases ability is:

Minions of power 2 or less cannot be played here.

He then played the Howl card from his hand. This states:

Each of your minions gains +1 power until the end of your turn.

Next he then tried to play a First Mate (Power 2) from his hand onto the Tsar's Palace, under the assumption that it is now Power 3 because of the Howl card.
My interpretation is that the Howl card, and all action cards, will only affect minions already in play on the table, and not minions in his hand. Therefore the First Mate is still Power 2 until it is played and therefore cannot be played on the Tsar's Palace.

Which of us was right? Do action cards that affect every minion on the table also affect minions in your hand?

I found a similar question on the Aldreac forums. The question was about targets of actions and minion abilities. The answer given was to treat each location of the game (your hand, the deck, the discard pile and in play) as separate dimensions. Cards can only affect the in play dimension unless they specifically state otherwise.
Whilst there are is no actual rule in the rule book to state this, the meaning of this is clear if you examine two things. First, the wording on the cards. No card states that it only affects cards in play. They do however state when they target cards out of play, such as in your hand or in the discard pile. From that you can take that unless a card states otherwise, it only affects in play.
Secondly, the game would break if you didn't take that to be the case. Take the Microbot Alpha. It's ability is to make all of your minions Microbots, and it gains +1 for all other Microbots. Now if this affected all cards, those in all other dimensions, then you would instantly pop any base, and could instantly win the game by taking the Factory (+1 VP for every 5 power) when combined with the Microbot Fixer and a couple of other minions.
When taking both into consideration, the only logical conclusion is the game must have been written with actions only affecting minions in play.

You've got the right of it - just like in every other card based game, in-play cards that affect other cards (unless they specifically mention your deck or hands) only affect cards that are in play.  There is a discrete moment when the card is in play before it is affected by other cards in play.

See, I would disagree with War Raptor. I would say the +1 power doesn't allow the raptor to be played, because it doesn't get the +1 until after it's in play.

Playing Howl, will not allow First Mate to be played on the Tsar's Palace base.
In this thread on BGG, Mark Wootton, who appears to be AEG's Director of Company Development said:

Q: What about the Homeworld base ability and the War Raptor? The Homeworld states that when you play a minion on it you can play another minion of Power 2 or less. Is the Raptor a valid play, since before it's added to a base it's Power 2?
A: The order of effects is:
1) To play an extra minion check its power is correct. War Raptor = 2 Power
2) Any abilities on that minion trigger. War Raptor becomes 3 (or more) Power
3) Trigger any ongoing effects in play e.g Leprechaun or Flame Trap
So if, for example you had an action played on the base that said "All your minions here gain +2 Power" you could still play a 2 power minion there. Because it is 2 power when it is played.

The base checks first if First Mate is the correct power, before Howl is applied.
(Note: I disagree with Mark Wootton's last example, although it is immaterial to the correct answer here. I contend that an Action worded as he suggests would only affect Minions currently "here" at the base. For the Action to affect Minions played later that turn, it would have to be an Ongoing effect (that might be what he meant, as there are Actions that are played on a base with similar effects).

I'm sorry, but how is that relevant? Whether ongoing or not they still don't affect cards in the hand. Also, if they do affect cards in the hand, then when the action is played, all the cards in his hand are increased by 1 for that turn. Your point is irrelevant.

@Styphon, it would be relevant if base effects weren't checked first. An AEG representative has clarified the rules, saying that base effects are checked first. My Ongoing clarification would also have been sufficient to prove that Howl wouldn't have pumped First Mates power in the first place, though.

War Raptor gains its bonuses after it is played.  Not before.  Minion abilities trigger upon hitting the ground as it were.  So its a 2 when it lands and THEN becomes a 3 right away.  So it can be played on the Homeworld under the conditions of that base. (For that same reason it couldn't be played on the Tzars palace.) As for OP's question about the Tzars palace - it's very simple.  If you play a general bonus like Howl it is in effect until the end of your turn.  Your minions during that period gains the ability. Hence when you play a minion whose printed power is 2 during that time it should be considered a 3 until the Howl card is no longer in effect.  So it can land safely on the Tzars palace.


text:
When referring to "every location" in Dead of Winter does this include the colony?
When a crossroad card says that something happens at every location does that include the colony? Does the colony by itself count as one location or do each of the numbered entrances count as a location?
Specific case: A card offers to draw two zombies away from every location. How many of them will be gone from the colony? Zero? Two? Up to twelve?

The Colony is a location with six entrances. So for instance Raiding Party says add two zombies to every location. This includes the colony which would get one zombie in Entrance 1 and one zombie in Entrance 2
In your specified case when taking away zombies you would again take only two from the colony not two from every entrance
From the manual page 5:

The game board is made up of 7 different locations, including the colony board and 6 location cards.

Page 12; note the specific phrasing indicating that other locations are "non-colony locations" thus including the colony as one location just a special location.

Add 1 zombie to the colony for every 2 survivors (including helpless survivors) present there (rounded up). Add 1 zombie to each non-colony location for every 1 survivor present at that location.

thus the colony IS a location. a single location. The rest of it is a combination of cards saying to add/remove zombies from locations and not entrances.


text:
Can a creature with flash be killed before it can block?
Let's say my opponent attacks me with a Marit Lage from Dark Depths.  I have a Scryb Ranger in hand and they have a Doom Blade in hand.
For lack of the Doom Blade, I could chump-block with Scryb Ranger.
Does my opponent have an opportunity to kill Scryb Ranger before I can declare it as a blocker?

Yes, the Scryb Ranger can be killed before it can block.
The key rule is:

117.3b The active player receives priority after a spell or ability (other than a mana ability) resolves.

In order to block with Scryb Ranger, you need to play it before the Declare Blockers step, and for it to survive until the declare blockers step so that you can block with it:

Declare Blockers Step

509.1. First, the defending player declares blockers. This turn-based action doesn’t use the stack.

The last possible opportunity to do so is the Declare Attackers Step.  If you play it then, even though your opponent has already passed during the Declare Attackers step, they get a chance to act again after Scryb Ranger resolves (thereby being on the battlefield), during which they can cast Doom Blade and kill it.

@Allure Technically you only need to play it before the declare blockers step begins, either before or during the declare attackers step. The idea of playing it during the declare attackers step is to surprise your opponent and get them to commit to the attack - not something particularly useful when chump blocking an indestructible creature, granted.


text:
How do battles function if they are turned into a creature?
There are a number of ways to turn battles into creatures, for instance the classic Liquimetal Coating and Karn, the Great Creator's +1 ability.
Now, your battle is a creature, based on my reading of the rules I would expect the following to be the case:

If you cast the battle on the same turn you turn it into a creature it should have summoning sickness.
You should be able to attack with your battle creature, while simultaneously have your creatures attack your battle.
When your creature/battle is attacked by your creatures and takes damage greater number of defense counters it should offer you the ability to cast its backside.

As of 2023-05-14, the second and third of these are untrue in Arena; I initially believed the first to be untrue as well but I realised Arena simply does not indicate the summoning sickness in the normal way on the battle creature (left in the question so not as to invalidate existing answers).
Is my understanding of the rules in error or are these Arena bugs?

I think you're right. As the person who cast the battle you are its default controller, and so everything should behave just like it were any other permanent under your control. At a guess, I suspect that the Arena developers implemented battles by putting them under the opponent's control because that made all of the common interactions work.

I think that's unlikely. When the last counter of a siege is removed, its controller may cast the back face. If the controller is the other player under the hood, that part would be harder to implement. It should be relatively simple to verify who controls a battle: just give it an activated ability and see who can activate it.

Or just check the valid targets of Assassins Trophy or similar.

1. Summoning Sickness
Your first point is correct. A creature you control has summoning sickness if you did not control that permanent since the beginning of your current or most recent turn. It does not matter how its characteristics have changed in that time. See this question for full details of how summoning sickness works.

2. Attacking with creature battles
However, your second point is incorrect because a permanent that is both a battle and a creature cannot attack or block. The main rules that cover this are 508.1a and 509.1a:

508.1a The active player chooses which creatures that they control, if any, will attack. The chosen creatures must be untapped, they can’t also be battles, and each one must either have haste or have been controlled by the active player continuously since the turn began.
509.1a The defending player chooses which creatures they control, if any, will block. The chosen creatures must be untapped and they can’t also be battles. For each of the chosen creatures, the defending player chooses one creature for it to block that’s attacking that player, a planeswalker they control, or a battle they protect.

On the other hand, there's nothing in the rules to say that a creature battle can't be attacked.
There are other rules that cover related situations, such as 506.3e and f:

506.3e If an effect would put a creature that’s also a battle onto the battlefield attacking or blocking, that permanent enters the battlefield but it’s never considered to be an attacking or blocking creature.
506.3f If a resolving spell or ability would cause a battle to become an attacking or blocking creature, that part of the effect does nothing.

3. Damaging creature battles
Your third point is correct sometimes. If a creature/battle is dealt damage, there are three different rules that control the effects of that damage:

120.3d Damage dealt to a creature by a source with wither and/or infect causes that source’s controller to put that many -1/-1 counters on that creature.
120.3e Damage dealt to a creature by a source with neither wither nor infect causes that much damage to be marked on that creature.
120.3h Damage dealt to a battle causes that many defense counters to be removed from that battle.

So, any damage dealt to a permanent that is both a creature and a battle will result in removing that many defense counters, and in either putting -1/-1 counters on it or marking damage on it. If the damage removes the last defense counter, the triggered ability inherent to Siege battles triggers, as described in rule 310.11b:

Sieges have the intrinsic ability “When the last defense counter is removed from this permanent, exile it, then you may cast it transformed without paying its mana cost.”

After that, state-based actions are checked, and any of the following could be relevant:

704.5f If a creature has toughness 0 or less, it’s put into its owner’s graveyard. Regeneration can’t replace this event.
704.5g If a creature has toughness greater than 0, it has damage marked on it, and the total damage marked on it is greater than or equal to its toughness, that creature has been dealt lethal damage and is destroyed. Regeneration can replace this event.
704.5h If a creature has toughness greater than 0, and it’s been dealt damage by a source with deathtouch since the last time state-based actions were checked, that creature is destroyed. Regeneration can replace this event.
704.5v If a battle has defense 0 and it isn’t the source of an ability that has triggered but not yet left the stack, it’s put into its owner’s graveyard.

The last one won't actually apply, because the creature/battle is the source of an ability that has triggered but has not yet left the stack. If any of the others apply, the creature/battle dies.
After that, the triggered ability is put on the stack and resolves. If the creature/battle is still alive, the ability will exile it and you can cast it transformed as usual. However, if it died, the ability will not be able to exile it, and there will be nothing to cast.

I figured you'd know the answers.  So, I think you've answered 1 & 2, but not 3?

You're right. I was under the impression that creature battles couldn't be in combat at all, but the rules don't seem to support that, so I've updated the answer.

Small correction in your last paragraph After that, the triggered ability is put on the stack and resolves.  The triggered ability is already on the stack, as you stated 2 paragraphs earlier.  If it weren't on the stack, then rule 704.5v would have moved the battle to the graveyard. Besides the case Arcanist Lupus pointed out for creature battles, that rule seems it would mostly apply if the triggered ability is directly countered (via Stifle, Trickbind or a similar effect), or if another effect immediately ends the turn (Sundial of the Infinite, Glorious End, Time Stop, etc)

No, that is not correct. An ability triggering and going on the stack are two separate events that happen at separate times. I didn't say that it went on the stack, I said that it triggered. And rule 704.5v says "it isn’t the source of an ability that has triggered". I suggest reading rules 603.2 and 603.3 for more information. And, to your other point, I did acknowledge that that SBA wouldn't apply; I just thought it was worth mentioning for completeness.

Number 1 is correct.
Battles do not interact with summoning sickness, so a battle turned into a creature should interact with summoning sickness exactly like any other permanent turned into a creature.
Number 2 is incorrect.
murgatroid explained this in detail, so I won't repeat it
Number 3 is tricky.
Damage dealt to a battle creature is applied both as it would to a battle, and as it would to a creature

120.3e Damage dealt to a creature by a source with neither wither nor infect causes that much damage to be marked on that creature.
120.3h Damage dealt to a battle causes that many defense counters to be removed from that battle.

For simplicity's sake, let's consider a 5/5 creature battle with 5 defense counters.  It's dealt 5 damage.  5 defense counters are removed, and 5 damage is marked.  Now state-based actions are checked.

704.5g If a creature has toughness greater than 0, it has damage marked on it, and the total damage marked on it is greater than or equal to its toughness, that creature has been dealt lethal damage and is destroyed. Regeneration can replace this event.
704.5v If a battle has defense 0 and it isn’t the source of an ability that has triggered but not yet left the stack, it’s put into its owner’s graveyard.

What's this extra text on the battle state-based action?  "isn't the source of an ability that has triggered but not yet left the stack"?
That's to handle Sieges, which replace the normal battle state-based action with an exile-and-then-play effect.  For some reason, rather than actually replace the action, they instead use a triggered ability (rule 310.11b), and then inserted a rule into the state-based action that makes it ignore battles with an existing triggered ability waiting to resolve* **.

310.11b Sieges have the intrinsic ability “When the last defense counter is removed from this permanent, exile it, then you may cast it transformed without paying its mana cost.”

But the special exception for triggers only exists in the Battle state-based action, not state-based actions in general.  So if the battle as a creature was dealt lethal damage, it will die to the creature state-based action before the exile effect can resolve.
If the battle creature is indestructible, or loses all its defense counters without taking lethal damage then you should be able to exile and cast it as normal.

*Sagas do the same thing
**State-based actions are checked before triggered abilities are put on the stack, but this doesn't matter because the triggered ability has still triggered, even if it's not on the stack

If you're going into detail on that third point anyway, it seems like you should probably quote rule 310.11b, which is kind of the crux of the whole thing.

I was going to ask if state-based actions are always checked (and handled) in the specified order (so 704.5g always happens prior to 704.5v), but I see now that you're saying that 704.5v doesn't apply at all, due to the funny trigger exception? Is that correct?

@BradC that's right, they carved an exception directly into the action to allow Sieges to use a trigger instead of a replacement effect.  All state-based actions are handled simultaneously.


text:
Late 80's game, post apocalyptic dinosaurs and guns
I am trying to remember what was either a board game or a strategy game from the late 1980s. The setting was a post-apocalyptic USA with a campy 1950s vibe. You controlled dinosaurs that you have to upgrade to battle others. Upgrades included armor and weapons. I also remember some of the upgrade cards were labeled 'Factoids' and were shaped like CRT Televisions.
I don't think it was:

Lost Valley of the Dinosaurs
Impact: The Battle for Wolf Ridge
Cadiliacs and Dinosaurs (a video game)

Could it have been Gammarauders?  That has Factoid cards with images of TVs (with feet!) and came out in 1987.  Some, although not all, of the creatures in the game were dinosaurs.


text:
Sacrifice Garna before ETB resolves
Garna, the Bloodflame has an ETB (enter the battlefield) effect that states that I may "return to your hand all creature cards in your graveyard that were put there from anywhere this turn".
There was a ruling in 2018 that states "Which creature cards to return to your hand is determined as Garna's triggered ability resolves. If Garna somehow finds its way into your graveyard before that, perhaps due to the "legend rule", it will be returned to your hand."
I would like to cast Garna and then immediately sacrifice him before his ETB resolves.  I built a deck with multiple cards that can sacrifice creatures including: enchantments (e.g. Goblin Bombardment), Planewalkers (e.g. Vivien on the Hunt), Creatures (e.g. Thermopod), Sorceries (e.g. Life's Legacy), and Instants (e.g. Fling).
I thought that I may cast instants or trigger activated abilities on permanents already on the field immediately when Garna enters the field.  As the top of the stack triggers first, they could move him to the graveyard before his ability resolves.  My group (which includes all the individuals who taught me this game and the only people I've ever played with) ruled that the ETB would trigger immediately upon entering the field and the "legends rule" is a very specific case which would trigger before the ETB. They said something about activated abilities resolve at sorcery speed as opposed to instant speed but I didn't understand.
While I was more that willing to concede that point for the match, I really would prefer to understand how this mechanic actually works as it seems fundamental:

Could I cast an instant immediately after casting Garna to sacrifice him before his ETB triggers?
Could I activate an ability on a permanent already on the field to do that?
Planeswalker ability?
Sorcery?

(For the record, I do not think the sorcery should work but thought that would be a useful example.)

the "legends rule" is a very specific case which would trigger before the ETB

Your playgroup is correct on this specific point; the legend rule is a state-based action (SBA) and does not use the stack. Quoting Comprehensive Rule (CR) 704:

704.1. State-based actions are game actions that happen automatically whenever certain conditions (listed below) are met. State-based actions don’t use the stack.
[...]
704.5. The state-based actions are as follows:
[...]
704.5j If a player controls two or more legendary permanents with the same name, that player chooses one of them, and the rest are put into their owners’ graveyards. This is called the “legend rule.”

As SBAs do not use the stack, there is no opportunity to respond to them before they resolve.
However, your playgroup was incorrect to say

activated abilities resolve at sorcery speed as opposed to instant speed

Activated abilities are covered by CR 602 and this does not contain a restriction on when they may be activated; compare with CR 307.1:

A player who has priority may cast a sorcery card from their hand during a main phase of their turn when the stack is empty.

Coming to your specific questions:

Could I cast an instant immediately after casting Garna to sacrifice him before his ETB triggers?

No. His ETB triggers immediately on entering the battlefield and is placed on the stack. However, you could hold priority, and cast an instant while the trigger is on the stack but before it resolves.  The instant will resolve first, and if it sacrifices Garna (like Fling does), then Garna will be in the graveyard when his ETB triggered ability resolves and will come back to hand as desired.

Could I activate an ability on a permanent already on the field to do that?

Yes.

Planeswalker ability?

No. CR 113.5:

Some activated abilities are loyalty abilities. Loyalty abilities follow special rules: A player may activate a loyalty ability of a permanent they control any time they have priority and the stack is empty during a main phase of their turn, but only if no player has previously activated a loyalty ability of that permanent that turn. See rule 606, “Loyalty Abilities.”

Garna's trigger is on the stack so this prevents activating loyalty abilities.

Sorcery?

No; see CR 307.1 above and again the stack is not empty.

THANK YOU!   So Goblin Bombardment and Fling would work while Vivien on the Hunt would not!  That means none of us were exactly right!

I've edited the "instants can go on the stack after trigger but before resolution" section to make clear that if OP does it, what OP wants to have happen will happen.  It's "obvious", but was not clear.  Please revert, or re-edit, if anything I said was wrong, or if you don't believe it's necessary.  Love the answer!

@Mycroft No problem with that, I almost put that in myself :)

"Could I activate an ability on a permanent already on the field to do that?" "Yes." Unless it says something like "Activate this ability only as a sorcery".

@nick012000 I think there's little value in MtG answers to list possible exceptions; there are just too many of them.


text:
What difficulties occur in a three sided version of Space Hulk?
The Space Hulk Campaigns book outlines Marine vs Marine rules. Is it possible to then play Terminators vs Chaos Terminators vs Genestealers or are there game mechanics that make this unworkable e.g. Overwatch over two turns?

TLDR

Three sided play should be entirely possible, and sounds fun!
The game mechanics should not be affected to any great degree.
I see the game progressing for each individual action as though the game is only a one on one.
Players would need to simply keep the bigger picture in mind as the game progresses.
Whether there is two or three players one full turn still ends when the same player starts his turn again.
You may want to develop house rules for the total number of AP in a turn, to avoid bottle-necking?

I have only ever played the tabletop version a couple times; but I have played the steam version quite a few, though it has been a few years. Personally, I foresee no issues playing a three sided match in this game. Simply progress the turns as you would normally. When you take an action against another player the game would progress as though it was simply a one on one; strategically you would just have to pay attention to where the other third player is.
In my mind I see Marine -> Genestealer -> Chaos for a turn order. As this would play out I see the Terminator entering overwatch at the end of his turn. The game would of course progress as normal for the Genestealer turn. Then on the Chaos turn the Terminator would remain in Overwatch and the game would essentially progress as if it were only Marine vs. Chaos for that turn. Then when the Marine starts his new turn the game progresses as normal.
Looking at the broad picture each player would look at the game as "me vs. whoever's turn it is" and on their turn they would look at it one action at a time as "me vs. whoever I want to attack this with this action."
The only trip up that might come into play that I can think of is the number of free actions/ actions points/ command points that you have. I feel like you might want to have some house rules in this case. If you only have the standard maximum number of actions in a turn it is possible that the game will not progress quickly enough (kill off opponents) and all three players will bottleneck in one area limiting everyone's choices?
Perhaps I have forgotten something that would come into play and hinder this progression. If so let me know... otherwise I hope this helps.

I meant to put Traitor Marines as opposed to Chaos but it's moot now. Thinking about it, ovewatch and other effects must last two turns, otherwise one marine player would lose out. Would an Assault Cannon on Ovewatch (or any ammo limited weapon?) for the Chaos Marine be disadvantaged here as the Terminator is harder to kill than a Genestealer, so would use more ammo up the turn after they set Overwatch?

That was exactly my though as well. And regarding weapons, maybe. That is another aspect that you might need to develop some house rules to make it fair. The first time you play I would kind of make it a test game and start exactly as the rules describe. Then once you reach a situation where you see the rules fail or at least heading in that direction, come up with a community adjustment to try and fix it. Then keep playing with that rule in place. The hardest part should be just ensuring that one faction does not have an edge over everyone else and everyone has a chance to win.


text:
Responding to a Triggered Ability, multiple times
My opponent is at 3 life and has a Dread on board. I have a Fungal Plots, and a Slimefoot, the Stowaway, a 1/1 green Saproling token, and 8 mana open.

I attack with my token, and he blocks. My token dies, triggering Slimefoot's effect.
When Slimefoot's triggered effect resolves, this damage triggers Dread's effect.
In response to Dread's triggered effect, I use Slimefoot's token generation activated ability twice.
Then once those token generation effects resolve but before Dread's ability does, I use Fungal Plots to sac those tokens, triggering Slimefoot's effect two more times, for lethal.

Is my understanding of the rules correct that I can make this line of play?

Yes. Every time something on the stack resolves, there's another round of priority before the next thing resolves, so you can activate your creatures' abilities before the "destroy Slimefoot, the Stowaway" effect resolves.

@Andrew I may be missing something, but I don't see any reason that attacking was required to do the combo. You do need all the deaths to occur together so that they can resolve before the "destroy Slimefoot, the Stowaway" effect resolves, but the creation of the tokens can happen at any time.

@Andrew Perhaps your comments are based entirely on Arcanist Lupus' comment, and not on reading the answer before it was edited?


text:
How do I place stations in Ticket to Ride on Steam?
I'm playing Ticket to Ride, Europe, online using the Steam version on a Macintosh. I understand the rules of stations, just not how to physically place on the game board. For example:

In this map I'm attempting a route from Madrid to Wien. My opponent has blocked me from Müchen to Wien. You can see in the lower right hand corner that I have 3 stations available. If I click on my stations I get the same dialog that I get if I click my avatar, the one that shows routes complete, train cards, route cards, and trains. Curiously, it does not list stations. I've tried all the modifiers, control, command, option, shift click etc...
I cannot drag to the made route, I cannot click on the cities where I want the stations. How do I place a station in the online version?

this will probably be closed as not in scope of boardgames.stackexchange.com.  however have you tried dragging a card to the city?  That's what you do in the iOS app.  You said you tried dragging to the route and clicking on a city  but not dragging wagon cards to a city.

That's it. Quick, add that as a answer and I'll you some points.

I’m voting to close this question because this is asking for instructions on how to use the controls of a computer based version of a board game.

"Questions about computer implementations of board games are fine." -- https://boardgames.stackexchange.com/help/on-topic

@StartPlayer : you should definitely add your answer as an answer, since this is indeed on-topic for bg.se.com

I've reopened, because the close reason that was used here says "except for computer-based versions of board or card games." Deeming this type of question off-topic would be a policy change; please post on [meta] if you want to discuss that sort of thing.

Just in case StartPlayer doesn't put in an answer. Once he does I'll mark his as correct.

Have you tried dragging a card to the city? That's what you do in the
  iOS app. You said you tried dragging to the route and clicking on a
  city but not dragging wagon cards to a city.
StartPlayer

... and until then you can mark this one as correct. (You can change your "correct" designation later when / if StartPlayer answers.)

You need to take any card and move it to a specific station that you would like to claim. And that is it.


text:
What happens to token creatures and planeswalker creatures that die?
The Allied Fires Challenger Deck from Magic 2020 contains Sarkhan the Masterless, who can both create dragon tokens, and turn other planeswalkers into dragons.
If a planeswalker that becomes a dragon dies, does it go into the graveyard? What about the dragon tokens that Sarkhan creates?

Just a heads up here: due to a recent banning you will not be allowed to use that deck in any competitive MtG events. It's still absolutely fine for playing casually with your friends of course :-)

If a planeswalker becomes a creature, it acts as a creature in every way, including being able to kill it and send it to the graveyard with normal damage.
This means that if you activate Sarkhan the Masterless's +1 ability, then all your planswalkers (including Sarkhan) could be killed with something like Doom Blade or Flame Lash. It will be sent to the graveyard just like any other creature.
When a token creature dies, it does go to the graveyard, but then ceases to exist the next time state-based actions are checked. You can see more details about that here.


text:
Can Konami accept a Yu-Gi-Oh card that I made?
I made a Yu-Gi-Oh card but it is not broken like current broken Yu-Gi-Oh cards and here it is to see but please before you make your decision about it take another look on ''dragun of red eyes''.

In general, creative industries have a hard policy not to even look at fan submissions. Why? Because if they do look at fan submissions and later come up with something similar to the fan submission, they put themselves at risk if the fan claims that the official product is a derivative work of their submission.
So to answer the question in the title of your question: No, Konami will not accept this. It doesn't matter if it's the most brilliantly designed card in the history of Yu-Gi-Oh, they're going to ignore it.

This is a big factor. A quick example is they could have developed a card for an future expansion and if a fan submits a similar card before it is released they could have to deal with claims that they got the idea from the fan.


text:
Do multiple return to battlefield effects "stack"?
If a creature I control without flying has a coin counter from Athreos, Shroud-Veiled dies, and I have Luminous Broodmoth and Athreos on the field.  What happens?
Do I only get the original creature back? With or without flying counter? Does this cause me to get a copy of the creature since both cards say return to battlefield?

Both Athreos and Broodmoth's abilities create a triggered effect ("Whenever ...") when the creature dies. As the controller of the effects, you choose the order in which they go on the stack.
Whichever effect resolves first (the second one you put on the stack) finds the card it's looking for and returns it to the battlefield, with a flying counter if it was Broodmoth's effect.
The second effect to resolve looks for the card, can't find it in the zone it expects it to be in (because it's already been returned to the battlefield) and fizzles.
Or in other words: you get one creature back, with your choice as to whether it has a flying counter on it or not. As an aside at this point, you're never going to get a copy of something unless an effect explicitly says "create a copy" or similar.

Athreos can put coins on opponents creature. Would it be any different in your opponent controls Athreos? I would expect the active player, other player order, meaning Athreos ability would resolve first, and your opponent would get your creature.

If you pick Luminous Broodmoth's ability to use, does it still have a coin counter on it?

@Richard Correct. Triggers are put on the stack in APNAP order (603.3b), so if the Athreos is controlled by your opponent and the creature dies on your turn, Athreos's trigger will resolve first and Broodmoth won't do anything.

@nick012000 No, the counter disappears the moment the creature leaves the battlefield (122.2), so it certainly won't exist when it returns.


text:
Where are token creatures created from?
I got a challenger deck with Sarkhan the Masterless which can create dragons.
In the deck there are two dragons. Do they just count as part as your library and if you have only one you can only create one dragon (given it dies) and if you have 5 you can create 5?
They also have a front and a backside. Can I only use them once?

I think you're confusing tokens and token cards.
Tokens are game objects that are generated by various spells and permanents. They are never part of your deck and indeed can not exist outside the battlefield. If a token moves to, for example, the graveyard, it vanishes instantly after moving, as far as the rules are concerned.
When an effect tells you to create tokens, you just do it—they exist now on the battlefield and don't “come from” anywhere inside the game. You can represent them with anything you want, even dice or scrap paper or a basic land with sharpie on it, but Wizards of the Coast also prints token cards you can use.
Token cards are cards that you can use to represent tokens. While they're by no means the only way to represent tokens (see above), they are by far the most convenient way to do so, as you can use the cards to easily represent various game effects, like their tapped state or whether or not they have counters on them.
Token cards don't go in your deck. You keep them with you while you're playing, maybe left inside your deck box. When an effect instructs you to create a token you can take one of those out and put it on the battlefield to represent the token.
You can find token cards from various booster packs, and pre-constructed products. They are not in any way tied to these products and can be used anywhere. Various sites also offer custom token cards with their own artwork. Some are two sided, so you can use the side you need (ie. the side that represents the token that was created). As far as the rules are concerned, the other side does not exist.

I've updated your post to describe a bit more about how tokens and token cards get used. Please feel free to revise what I've written as you see fit!

Also worth noting that for at least the first decade of Magic, “token cards” hadn’t been invented — “creature tokens” were always represented by some everyday object.  At my high school, we usually used coins — pennies, 2p’s, or 5p’s if there were multiple kinds of token in play.  Ah, thrulls and saprolings…

@PLL I seem to recall reading somewhere that this was why most token creatures had equal power and toughness, so the coin or dice value could indicate that easily.

It might also be worth noting that token cards should look different from playable cards. They are treated different in-game (they are removed from the game when they leave the battlefield, regardless of where playable cards would go under the same circumstances). You can also have playable cards with the same type as tokens. If you have a card that says "create a dragon token", that doesn't mean all dragon cards are tokens. There are plenty of non-token dragon cards just like you can have different playable cards with the same type.

In addition to the token cards that just represent tokens, some Mystery Booster "playtest" cards have a concept of a "token card" that's like a more durable token, not vanishing if it goes to a zone other than the battlefield. These aren't legal in normal Magic formats.

Do they just count as part as your library?

No, tokens are not part of your library. Your library consists of cards, and a token is not a card. Comprehensive rules 111.1:

A token is a marker used to represent any permanent that isn’t represented by a card.

For your next question:

if you have only one you can only create one dragon (given it dies) and if you have 5 you can create 5?

You can create as many tokens as effects allow you to. The only requirement is that it is clear to your opponent(s) how many tokens you have on the battlefield at any time and what type each of those tokens is. If you run out of the official tokens, just use anything that's convenient.

Can I only use them once?

As above, you can use them as many times as effects allow you to.

The pieces of cardboard included with your deck that represent tokens (such as a dragon) are really just memory aids. You can put them on the field to represent tokens that you make, but you're allowed to use anything to represent your tokens, as long as you and your opponent are clear what each thing is. You could use flipped over cards from outside the game, sticky notes, Pokemon cards, index cards, scraps of paper, dice, etc.
For instance, if you are able to use Sarkhan's -3 ability five times over the course of the game, you would create 5 dragon tokens, even if you run out of dragon token cards to represent them with. Some decks can spew out tens or even hundreds of tokens, and it would be impractical to require a card every time.
You can reuse these token cards any number of times. Similarly, if you have a token card that has a 5/5 Dragon on one side and a 1/1 Servo on the other and the 5/5 Dragon side is currently being used, you aren't prevented from making Servo's. You can still make a Servo, you just have to use some other object to represent it.

Tokens are not part of your library because tokens are not cards. You can create as many tokens as effects allow you to so you can use tokens more than once.


text:
Galaxy Trucker: when exactly does a player lose by getting lapped?
In the Galaxy Trucker board game, a player that is being lapped has to concede.
In our last game, the leading player discovered a "free space" card and decided to spent some batteries resulting in lapping some other players. However, the slower players were all able to fly fast enough in order to overtake him back during the resolution of the free space card.
Do the lapped players loose the flight or is the condition only checked after the card is completely resolved?

Ahh... I just found the answer in the quick overview (could not find it in the main rule book)
Conditions are checked when the card has been completely evaluated. In our case the lapped truckers do not lose.


text:
Can I create an online version of a game?
Can I create an online version of a card game? Just for experimenting. Is there any possible legal implication?
In this case the card game is called Rick and Morty: Total Rickall.

This question might be better off at our sister site [law.se]. There aren't many legal experts here ...

This question rose at our big brother site BGG.  https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/399061/i-want-program-board-game-need-legal-info

Sort of. Maybe.
What you definitely can't do is to use the name "Rick and Morty", any art from the game or anything else which is covered by copyright, trade marks or any other form of intellectual property which is owned by anyone other than you.
However, it is probable that game mechanics themselves cannot be copyrighted, so you may be able to create a game which has exactly the same mechanics as Rick and Morty: Total Rickall, but with your own art, your own name, etc. However, if this becomes at all popular, I'd still expect the publishers of the game and/or the Rick and Morty rights holders to make your life difficult. You might win in court, but it's probably not worth the fight.

Certainly some games have had sanctioned-but-unofficial implementations made, so you can try contacting the publisher, but with the R&M brand it's likely they don't even have the rights to let you have the rights to do that.

The Chips n Guac game seems to be a good example of this.

Programs like Cockatrice work around it by presenting themselves as very generic "tabletop simulators" that just so happen to enable all mechanics required to play - in this case - Magic: The Gathering. They also don't include any card images - those could in theory be found elsewhere on the Internet.


text:
"Enters the battlefield as a copy" and Thryx, the Sudden Storm
I control Shark Typhoon and Thryx, the Sudden Storm. I decide to cast Clever Impersonator and want it to enter the battlefield as a copy of my Shark Typhoon. I'm trying to figure out answers to following questions:

What is the converted mana cost of Clever Impersonator? Can it be countered? What will be power and toughness of shark token created by Shark Typhoon?
Does Clever Impersonator cost one less to cast?

When you cast Clever Impersonator, it is still Clever Impersonator and has all the properties of Clever Impersonator, most notably here having CMC 4. It is only when the spell resolves and it enters the battlefield that you choose which nonland permanent it is going to copy and it takes on the characteristics of Shark Typhoon.
Therefore:

Yes, it can be countered (because it has CMC 4)
No shark token will be created because it's a creature spell.
No, it still costs 2UU to cast.

While Clever Impersonator is on the stack, it is still itself
Clever Impersonator's ability is a replacement effect that changes how it enters the battlefield. That means that the choice of what it is impersonating and the change into a copy of that permanent happen while the spell is resolving, as it enters the battlefield.
Until that point, Clever Impersonator's attributes are the ones printed on the card.  It is a creature spell with a mana cost of 2UU, and as such it will not be effected by either Shark Typhoon (because it's a creature spell) or Thryx (because the CMC* is less than 5).
*Converted Mana Cost.


text:
Can I cast Mizzium Mortars for its alternate cost with Fires of Invention?
Can I cast Mizzium Mortars for its alternate cost with Fires of Invention?

Have you read the Gatherer rulings on Mizzium Mortars?

Both "without paying mana cost" and "Overload" are alternative costs, and when you cast a spell, you can only choose 1 alternative cost to use. So you can either cast Mizzium Mortars for free, or you can cast it by paying its Overload cost and getting the Overload benefit. But you can't do both.

118.9. Some spells have alternative costs. An alternative cost is a cost listed in a spell’s text, or applied to it from another effect, that its controller may pay rather than paying the spell’s mana cost. Alternative costs are usually phrased, “You may [action] rather than pay [this object’s] mana cost,” or “You may cast [this object] without paying its mana cost.” Note that some alternative costs are listed in keywords; see rule 702.

702.95. Overload

702.95a Overload is a keyword that represents two static abilities that function while the spell with overload is on the stack. Overload [cost] means “You may choose to pay [cost] rather than pay this spell’s mana cost” and “If you chose to pay this spell’s overload cost, change its text by replacing all instances of the word ‘target’ with the word ‘each.’” Casting a spell using its overload ability follows the rules for paying alternative costs in rules 601.2b and 601.2f–h.

118.9a Only one alternative cost can be applied to any one spell as it’s being cast. The controller of the spell announces their intentions to pay that cost as described in rule 601.2b.

The Gatherer page for Fires of Invention says (emphasis mine):

You may choose to pay the mana cost or an alternative cost for spells you cast, even if their converted mana cost is less than or equal to the number of lands you control.

as well as

If you cast a card “without paying its mana cost,” you can’t choose to cast it for any alternative costs. You can, however, pay additional costs. If the card has any mandatory additional costs (such as that of Fling), you must pay those to cast the card.

So yes, you can cast an overloaded Mortars, but the Fires will not help you to pay for it.