Maybe this is old news, but this is definitely the first time I've noticed this...
It just came to my attention on the rules forum.

Rule 602.1c states
"Powers that trigger when a character “is attacked” or “defends” will trigger for each attacking character."

Whenever I read this before, I just though of older cards like Beast Boy that we all know work this way.

However, JLA is the first set to use the wording "defends".

Nth Metal
Equipment, 0
Whenever equipped character attacks or defends, you may power-up that character.

and

Whenever Metamorpho attacks or defends, you may choose one: Metamorpho gets -2 ATK / +2 DEF this attack; or Metamorpho gets +2 ATK / -2 DEF this attack.


I for one, have never thought that those cards triggered once per attacker. I know that no one that I play with (which includes people who have good reputations for knowledge of the game) has ever thought that these cards worked this way.

This has huge implications for sealed pack play. I would hate to see people go into the PC and have some rules-savvy pro spring this on them when they're team-attacking Metamorpho, causing them to makea game-losing mistake on their init.
I really feel like UDE needs to update the rules document to get rid of this "once per attacker" thing, as most people assumed that once they started printing everything as "becomes a defender" that everything only triggered once....


But I could be wrong, any thoughts?
-Anthony

I think you're right. The clarification for single use only would say "becomes a defender" not "defends".... but then again there may be a clarification in the FAQ for these that I'm too lazy to look up.

Even if there was something in the FAQ, the Comp Rules trumps the FAQ's if there's a discrepancy, and the Comp Rules are pretty clear on this one...

yeah, i thought it was the new wording on these cards that caused the effects to trigger a single time.

does nth metal actually say: attacks or defends...?

if that is the case, it can be kind of big especially with ally ....

I think your the first to bring it up on-line, or at least from what I've seen, but this has been a topic of back room discussion for a few players and most judges for awhile. It's kind of like a gentleman's agreement mainly because this is defensive ruling.

It really only leaks out to other players when something ridiculous is done with it and it is required to rule on it. So far, that's been 0 times since JLA pre-release in official stuff and once in a casual game.

Still waiting for that one wrong move where 4 weenies run into a Beast Boy with Nth Metal equipped, who has the Brotherhood team-up, and there is a face-up Lost City in play. lol

don't forget that a fire would be protected by beast boy!!!

Or in the sealed portion of PC Atlanta, when a player will team attack 3 small guys into Metamorpho, and not realize that they're going into a 18 DEF wall, and then promptly lose the game and possibly a large sum of money....

Or when a player team attacks into a Nth Metal equipped Ally character and is now faced with twice the amount of triggers than he was expecting...

Sorry, this situation needs to be cleared up quickly BEFORE someone is screwed by it. Let's be proactive, not reactive.

It won't be the first time someone loses a large sum of money because they didn't know the rules. Or claim they didn't know the rules ;)

edit - Anyway, afaik this was how it always worked before, to my knowledge nothing changed.

It IS how it always worked, but its not how 95% of the players THINK it works. And this includes high-level pros who have a very good pulse on the game.

This can create VERY ugly situations, I myself was involved in a situation at the first PC in which a rules ambiguity cost me literally thousands of dollars.
This is an EXTREMELY good opportunity to be PROACTIVE in avoiding ugly rules situations for judges at the PC.

My suggestion is either
A) Errata the 4 cards in JLA that use the "defends" wording to read "becomes a defender". OR
B)Update the rules to read that triggered powers that trigger off "defending" only trigger once per attack.

I prefer B, as I rather like the "defends" wording; it is much cleaner than "becomes a defender". And, I can forsee that things triggering once per attacker are a thing of the past that UDE is trying to put behind them.

I honestly believe that the once per attacker clause was never meant for Nth Metal and Metamorpho... I think that UDE did not realize what they were doing there, to be honest.

Okay, I'm just a casual palyer who likes the game, but I'm no rules lawyer. I've been to one PCQ and placed top 8, but this never came up.
Someone please explain with some detail what all the hubub is about here, because I don't get it. The main reason is probably because I run a JLA deck, and I don't know all the ins and outs of the ally mechanic.

How does a difference in wording turn Metamorpho into a defensive monster?

TY for your help.


BadAxe1.

According to the rules, whenever a character 'defends', any ability that triggers on defending triggers once per attacker. So if you team attack with three guys into Metamorpho or a guy with Nth Metal, the ability is going to trigger 3 times, which means 3 powerups or 3 Metamorpho choices. If a character 'becomes a defender', these things would only trigger once.

Because if it said becomes a defender, which only happens once, regardless of the number of attackers, his power would only trigger once, giving him +2/-2 or -2/+2.

Since it said whenever he defends, which triggers for each attacking character, he would get +2x/-2x or -2x/+2x, where x is the number of attacking characters. So if Metamorpho defends against 5 characters, he would get +10 DEF or +10 ATK

To be honest, it is the player's responsibility to keep track of these things. (It's in the Policy Document)

If they don't know how the cards/mechanics work, that is their problem.

Maybe it's how UDE wanted it to work? Maybe they wanted to make Nth and Metamorpho and whatnot trigger each time per attacker?

Yeah, this is how we all play it at my hobby league, and no one has ever called it unfair. That is how the rule is written, and that's how it works...Where's the problem? You know not to team attack Beast Boy, Metamorpho, or an Nth Metal Ally...So should everyone else.