using the team, does the team ability do nothing now unless I use the ATA?

for example running this team

74 CA012 Diamondback
91 CA026 Viper
69 CA038 Cobra
90 DP013 Anaconda
64 CA039 Eel
21 UL206 Zelda Dubois
39 FF027 Asp
35 UL024 Sidewinder
483

for 500 point, I can't add in the ATA since they all qualify and that would cost 36 points, but Asp and Sidewinder already have it (and it would be free for them), would they be able to use it or does it no longer function without the aid of the ATA?

tl:dr does they team ability still exist these days without the ATA?

It's only an ATA, you can't use it as a standalone Team Ability. So, while Asp and Sidewinder don't have to pay for the ATA, if you can't pay the points to assign it to the other characters, those two can't use it either.

Also, just for reference, Wizkids just posted the all of the current Team Abilities on the WIN board and Serpent Society was not on the list of Marvel TA's.

...I'm not sure about that.

Up until the latest Player's Guide it was still listed as a Team Ability with the note "see Serpent Society ATA". I doubt they'd answer, but it's worth an ask on the WIN if one wants an "official" answer.

But I will say this: if that's your rationale, technically none of the Indy TAs work anymore since there is no official notation of them anywhere.

As to why that notation is used for the ATA: all the characters with the TA have the keyword, so if you run a SS theme team you would have to assign it to all the characters and the 0 point cost was introduced so you weren't double paying.

...I may ask just to see.

That's really the only way to know at this point. It definitely needs some sort of clarification.

When the change was originally made, it was ruled that figures with the TA printed on the base still had it. Since then, a lot has changed, including the theme team requirement for the use of ATA's.

The list on TA's on the WIN is obviously not comprehensive, as it only includes TA's currently in Modern Age. TA's not in that post don't just cease to exist. And the post does say "Provided below is a list of team abilities", it in no way implies "these are the only TA's in the game".

Agreed with all of that Mr. Lantern.

I put in a question on it, so we'll see what they say (they haven't denied my PnP question yet about the new ATAs, but have yet to answer it as well, so things are probably a bit backed up).

Its also worth noting, the new ATA PnP thing isn't even necessarily something the rules team can answer. Because of the general issues now with PnP (the extent of which, we still don't actually know), there's going to be a lot more to that discussion than just the rules team giving an answer, or asking game design. The issue is probably way above their heads at this point, since it deals with licencing.

So that's going to take time, and most likely won't even be addressed by them in the rules forum. It will probably be via an article on the main site, releasing them in a pdf, or letting us know how/if they will be distributed.

Personally, I have a feeling things like ATA's are going to be addressed as a whole in the future, most likely to completely circumvent any licensing issues. That's probably a ways off, though.

I hope so. I tried to make it as "rulesy" as possible (basically framing it as, "if someone shows up to an official Wizkids event, do they need the actual card to play the ATA").

Hopefully it's something that gets cleaned up with the "new rules."

Or they might just phase ATAs out completely.

Hopefully not, but its probably an option on the table. The easiest solution is probably just keeping them available in text-only form, even if its just in a WIN posting like they have for the TA's at the moment. That way, its easy to find for reference. Including ATA cards in Monthly OP kits could also be an option.

They could even release an updated build sheet at some point that could include a separate field to write out the ATA, if necessary.

Honestly, if they can't make ATAs readily available, they just need to remove them entirely.