Now I searched for my answer but I very well could have missed it. If the answer is somewhere else on the forums, feel free to track me down and beat me with small children. But as you are raining blows upon me, please point me in the right direction. Thanks. Now, ONTO THE QUESTION!

So, Mandarin is eligible for the Mental Shields feat on most of his clix, as he has either Mind Control or Willpower. But, on the clicks where he has Willpower and his Special Powers, will Mental Shields activate to block MC feeback damage? I don't see why not, but some odd rulings/wording may have escaped my ever watchful eye.

Thanks.

I believe the answer is yes because if I remember the card correctly the card says when you "use" Mind Control.

I believe this was originally posted by Harpua in the judges forum.

This seems to me like the right answer, but it may get reversed down the road. As the definition of special powers are still taking shape. Particularly the new ruling suggesting that Genius (Giant Man) and Natural Perplex could be used on the same turn, because they are 2 "Different Instances" of the power.

IceHot is correct. Mandarin can use Mental Shields to prevent MC feedback damage when using MC via The Left Hand of the Mandarin special power.

He still needs to meet the prerequisite to use the feat.

On Mandarin's 4th and 8th click he is not eligible for the feat as he neither has willpower or mind control.

I think its kinda like how you cann use perplex granted by clicking oracle to perplex and using brilliant tactician on a figure that qualifies for the feat but does not have the perplex power showing... yes?, no? maybe? I'm an idiot and I should go back to my corner?

If I am not mistaken, this is slightly different, as oracle actually gives the agent perplex, thus making the character eligible for BT when the perplex is actually used (assuming that agent has OW and Perp on the dial of his/her own accord when BT is assigned). Mandarins special power allows MC to be used, but Mandarin doesn't actually have MC for the purposes of feats, etc. Thus, he would need WP on a click to gain the benefits of Mental Shields if he was using MC granted by his special power. The key is being able to "use" versus "having".

yeah, I was having a brain fart earlier, I'm tracking now

Thanks to all who responded. I just wanted to have an "official ruling" (or at least a second opinion) before I made use of it. Thanks.

You are not an idiot, BT says USE (I checked)

Mind you, you still need to possess Perplex to get BT assigned but you can kind of 'cheat' to get it before it shows up on your dial by using OotC & ICWO

Wouldn't practically any case of the wording "use" be complimented by the power being on the dial at that occurence? Even if the power is being "generated" by something such as ICwO or Squadron Supreme Feat. The only time I cannot see that happening is in the case of new white powers. However, they are just fancy names that really duplicate existing abilities is most cases such as Surfer's white power, it is hypersonic, just not ALL of hypersonic speed.

Just something I wanted to throw out there.

They've updated the TAs that used to grant powers into TAs that allow a character to "use" powers (Superman Enemy, CSA and Batman Ally all fall into this category now).

ahh. I haven't paid that much attention to the new TA descriptions, I need to look over them I guess to see how the wording has changed.

Thanks

You won't find the correct reading for Superman Enemy on the new PAC, it still reads that they HAVE Outwit. It is in the (DC I believe) Errata and Clarifications document. CSA is correct on the PAC, and Batman Ally has always been this way (not actually granting Stealth itself).

On a side note, has anyone seen if Squadron Supreme has an errata to make the team member able to USE Mind Control? As it stands right now, the team will GAIN Mind Control (enabling it to be Outwitted like CSA and Supes Enemy used to be).

For BT, the character has to have both Out wit and perplex on their dial (somewhere) but if thru ICWO you give an Eligible character Perplex earlier then it appears on their dial, then you can still use BT at that time. BT says when this character uses Perplex so it will work when used in conjunction with ICWO.

All feats must meet the requirement. BT is the only one that you do not have to have a power showing in the slot to activate the feat, because it asks for 2. You still need to meet the requirements in order to assign the feat though.

Actually, Superman Enemy states (in part): "When two friendly Superman Enemy team members are adjacent, the character with the highest point value may use Outwit."

Batman Ally never before allowed you to "use Stealth." Previous to LoSH rules, it only gave you an ability that was almost exactly like Stealth. The difference? ...uh, not much.

It's not in the E&C or FAQ. I'm not aware of any rulings made on the boards, but those would have to be put into the official documentation to get any sort of widespread acceptance.