Marvel Champions Codex

RulingHall of Heroes (rules 1.6)2024-11-14

34 – I’ve got a couple interesting questions for you today. Suppose that I’m attacking Venom with Heroic…

⚠ This ruling is from an older rules version (Hall of Heroes (rules 1.6)) and might be outdated.

Question

34 – I’ve got a couple interesting questions for you today. Suppose that I’m attacking Venom with Heroic Strike, and choose to deal the damage to Bell Tower, then I know that enemy isn’t Venom because I didn’t damage him, 1) so is Venom even being attacked? In particular, do I trigger his Retaliate? Secondly, suppose I defeat Stage 2 of Venom with Heroic Strike, paying the fist resource. 2)Can I stun stage 3 (is it still “that enemy”)? 3) If I stun Stage 3, do I take Retaliate (is stage 3 considered a target in that case)? 4) If I don’t pay with a fist resource (so don’t affect stage 3 at all), do I trigger the Stage 3 response?

Answer

  1. Yes. Even if the damage from Heroic Strike is redirected to Bell Tower, Venom is still the initial valid target of an (attack)-labeled ability, so he was still “attacked” and his Retaliate will trigger. We are issuing an updated ruling regarding Heroic Strike’s ability to stun here. Since Venom is the initial valid target of Heroic Strike—meaning, he was able to be dealt damage and therefore a “valid target” of HS when it’s played—he is still “that enemy” targeted by HS and can still be stunned by HS, even when the damage from HS is redirected to Bell Tower. He was still targeted by the ability, he’s still the attacked enemy, he can still be stunned. (Note, this doesn’t change our rulings on other abilities that use “that enemy” language, this is just a unique case because of how Bell Tower fits into the interaction.)
  2. We are issuing an updated ruling regarding Heroic Strike’s ability to stun here. Since Venom is the initial valid target of Heroic Strike—meaning, he was able to be dealt damage and therefore a “valid target” of HS when it’s played—he is still “that enemy” targeted by HS and can still be stunned by HS, even when the damage from HS is redirected to Bell Tower. He was still targeted by the ability, he’s still the attacked enemy, he can still be stunned. (Note, this doesn’t change our rulings on other abilities that use “that enemy” language, this is just a unique case because of how Bell Tower fits into the interaction.)
  3. Yes; if the 6 damage from Heroic Strike defeats Venom II, you can still stun Venom III. The target of both effects is the same character, “the Venom villain.” A stage was defeated, but the character was not.
  4. Yes; “Venom” the character has still been attacked, and “Venom” has Retaliate during the window it triggers.
  5. Yes; same as before, “Venom” the character has still been attacked, and “Venom” has Retaliate here.

— Alex