RulingHall of Heroes (rules 1.5)2023-11-16

111 – We had an interesting discussion about when and how targeting works for an attack when a guard minion…

Question

111 – We had an interesting discussion about when and how targeting works for an attack when a guard minion is involved. We know that you can use Melee to target both a guard and a Villain thus targeting after the cost is paid… But what if you play an attack card such as Return the Favor the process of paying the cost (revealing a treachery card) causes a guard minion to come into play does the attack still have a legal target (or has it not yet determined a target)? ….you can see this thread on reddit for further discussion https://www.reddit.com/r/marvelchampionslcg/comments/16339tb/odd_chain_of_events_correct_resolution/

Answer

According to “Initiating Abilities” in the Rules Reference, a card’s ability is not considered initiated until all of its costs are paid. Because the cost of Return the Favor includes revealing (and resolving) a treachery, the attack is not considered initiated until after all costs are paid. So, if a Guard minion enters play as a result of the cost being paid, its constant ability comes into effect immediately, before the point that the attack initiates. As a result, the attack “fizzles”, the player discards Return the Favor and is not considered to have attacked the villain. (It’s not a question of a “valid target”, since the “valid target” is the villain—the thing we need to be looking at instead is whether the ability can initiate.)

— Alex