Topic: Rules Summary (with all official rulings)
The rules of WHI can be a little complicated, and the FAQ doesn't address every issue that anyone has a question about, so we (Entropy and Mallumo) maintain this Rules Summary to help new (and old) players keep track of how the cards work. Deckbox has great card mouseover abilities and we think rules are easier to learn when you can see the cards in question.
If you have a specific question, please create a thread, rather than posting in this one.
Last updated: 1/3/2013 - Updated Q/A on Rip Dere 'Eads Off!
10/21/2012 - Updated ruling on attacking legends, when attacking a legend the zone that it is attacked through is considered to be attacked. Updated links to FAQ 1.9
10/3/2012 - Updated links for Condensed Rulebook and FAQs
8/13/2012 - Expanded Outpost of Tiranoc. Added Valley of Many Eyes. Expanded Quests Q&A. Added "Just played" and Leaving Play Q&A.
6/30/2012 - Added Legends questions.
6/9/2012 - Added Arkayne Vampire and Lore Seeker. Expanded Card Ownership/Control and Branded by Khorne.
5/10/2012 - Added Tunnel Fighter and The Unending Horde. Fixed Chillwind entry. Added Corruption, Unit damage and Quests questions. Added Deck, Hand and Discard Pile Q&As.
Entropy has created an updated, printer-friendly version of the rulebook that incorporates the base rules, all rulebook errata, and all information from the FAQ into a single document. Individual sections can be quickly navigated to using the "Bookmarks" feature of your PDF reader:
Unofficial Printer Friendly Condensed Rulebook & FAQ v1.9.
It is a compilation of the:
Official Rulebook
Official v1.9 Printer-Friendly FAQ.
It also now (1.9) contains some additional information about timing in the battlefield phase.
General rules
Burning Zones
Q. Can I still use units abilities/draw cards/get resources if the relevant zone is burning?
A. Yes. A zone that is burning still functions normally except that it cannot be assigned damage (including indirect damage) (official FAQ).
Q. Can I attack an already burning zone?
A. Yes (official FAQ).
Q. If a zone has developments destroyed so that it would have enough damage on it to burn it, does it burn?
A. Yes (rulebook, p12).
Q. If a attack a burning zone with a unit that has the Scout keyword (i.e. Dwarf Ranger, Free Company), can I still activate the Scout ability after combat?
A. Yes. James' Ruling
Beginning of Turn
Q. Do effects that occur "at the beginning of the turn" occur before the Kingdom phase?
A. Yes. They occur in the action window before the Kingdom phase.
Q. If I have multiple Action: that trigger "at the beginning of turn", do I put them all in the same stack, or different stacks?
A. They all must go onto the same stack after triggered forced/constants are resolved. (v1.4 Flowchart)
Q. If I have multiple Constant, Forced, and Action effects occuring at once, what resolves first?
A. All effects exist independently of their source once they are triggered. Constant Effects are always resolved first, then Forced Effects. They do not stack, each resolves completely on its own. Triggered Actions are resolved in the next available Action window. See the Flowchart in the FAQ for more details.
A2. Whenever multiple effects of the same type occur at the same time (i.e. multiple Forced effects), the player whose turn it is resolves his in the order of his choice, then the next player resolves his in the order of his choice. (FAQ v1.1 - Simultaneous Effects)
Q. If a card enters play during the action window in Phase 0 (or a development is flipped over) and that card has a Forced effect that triggers at the beginning of the turn (like Bloodthirster), does the forced effect trigger.
A. No. Forced actions all trigger before player actions, so the window for triggering forced abilities that turn has already passed.
Counterstrike
Q. Can I respond to my unit taking counterstrike damage, e.g. by sacrificing a unit to Grudge Thrower?
A. No, you cannot respond to counterstrike damage with an Action because it is a triggered constant effect (rulebook).
Q. Can I cancel counterstrike damage, e.g. via toughness?
A. No, counterstrike damage is uncancellable (rulebook, p16).
Q. Can I redirect counterstrike damage, e.g. via Warrior Priests' ability?
A. Yes. Redirection of damage is not cancellation. However, note that if the redirection happens via an action (e.g. Blessing of Valaya) then that action must be played before declaration of defenders, since you cannot respond to counterstrike damage.
Feared
Q. Can a unit with a blank text box be the target of a text-box clearing effect, like Feared?
A. Yes.
Q. If a unit is granted text by another effect, such as Tyrion, is that text also removed by Feared?
A. Yes. Any text that is gained will be blanked by effects like Feared.
Quests
Q. Can I have 2 units questing on the same quest card?
A. No, but you may have them quest on 2 copies of the same quest (rulebook, p11).
Q. Can I add a unit already in play to a quest when I play the quest?
A. No (rulebook, p11).
Q. What happens if a unit on a quest is destroyed, moves zone or leaves play?
A. All resource counters on the quest are removed (rulebook, p11). Nate's ruling
Q. Can I use a quest action, like Extending the Wastes, when there is no unit on the quest?
A. No. In order to use any ability on a quest, there must be a unit questing on it. (James Ruling)
Q. What happens to a unit when the quest it is questing on is removed from play?
A. The unit stays in the play.
Q. Can I use a quest action that requires the removal of tokens from the quest if there are no tokens on it, but a unit is questing?
A: Yes. You can for example remove 0 tokens from Return to Glory to put a 0-cost unit from your discard pile into play, if a unit is questing on it but there are no tokens on it.
Q. What happens to a unit when the quest it is questing on is moved to another zone?
A. The unit stays in its zone.
Corruption
Q. If my unit is corrupted, can I still use its special abilities? And does it contribute power if in the Quest zone or Kingdom zone?
A. Yes, and yes. A corrupted unit may not be chosen as an attacker or defender but is otherwise unaffected (rulebook, p17).
Q. If my unit is already attacking or defending and becomes corrupted, what happens?
A. Nothing, it was already chosen as an attacker or defender (rulebook, p17).
Q. If a unit enters play corrupted (Warpstone Excavation, Seeking New Slaves, etc), does it trigger "when a unit is corrupted" effects, like Tainted Well.
A. No. (FAQ v1.3, FAQs)
Q. Can I attach Daemonsword or Warp Lightning Cannon to a corrupted unit?
A. Yes. In these cases, the corruption is neither a cost nor a requirement, merely part of the effect.
Unit damage
Q. If a unit has 0 hit points, is it destroyed?
A. Yes, it is destroyed immediately (official FAQ & rulebook, p7 - the number of damage tokens on it is equal to its hit points ).
Q. If a unit has reduced hit points and damage on it so that the damage equals its hit points, is it destroyed?
A. Yes, it is destroyed immediately (rulebook, p7).
Q. When I am assigning indirect damage, can I assign more damage to a unit than would be needed to destroy it?
A. No (official FAQ).
Q: Can you move more damage on to a unit than it takes to destroy that unit? i.e. can Orc Shaman move 5 damage to a unit that has 1 HP?
A: You cannot move more damage to a unit than it takes to destroy that unit. So Orc Shaman could only move 1 damage to a unit with 1 HP.
Q. Can I redirect more damage to a unit than it takes to destroy that unit?
A. Yes.
Q. If I move damage onto a target with toughness, does it prevent the damage?
A. No. Moving damage is not considered dealing or assigning damage (it is considered moving), and damage moved from one unit to another does bypass toughness. Nate's ruling
Q: Do units, like Wood Elves, lose any damage and resource tokens on them when they become a development?
A: Yes. However, if the card is also a unit then unit rules take precedence and it can have damage/tokens on it for as long as it is a unit. Whenever you see the word "becomes," then you know that the card is considered to have changed states for as long as the effect applies, but it does not physically change states. So withJudgement of Loec, the unit it is attached to stays face-up and is considered to be a development for as long as Judgement remains attached. The unit is normally no longer considered to be a unit, has no power or HP, and cannot defend.
Q. Is a unit without damage tokens on it a legal target for a healing effect like Tear of Isha?
A. Yes. However, if no damage tokens are removed, no healing takes place, and you won't be able to trigger effects like The Glittering Tower's.
Q. When a unit is the source of the damage it is dealt, its text says "takes damage". Does taking damage trigger "when a unit is dealt damage" effects?
A. Yes. Taking damage merely means the unit itself is the source of the damage it is dealt. Therefore, a unit that takes damage has been dealt damage.
Actions
Q. If I have a card with an optional action (e.g. Runesmith, Nurgle Sorceror), can I use it more than once?
A. Yes, as long as you can pay the cost, there is not a limit to the number of times you can play the action unless specified on the card.
Q. Do loyalty icons on tactics reduce the cost of tactics played in response?
A. No. The tactic is not in play and only race symbols in play count towards loyalty costs (rulebook, p11 & official FAQ). Nate's ruling
Q. Can I respond to myself or my opponent playing units, support cards or developments with an action?
A. Yes (rulebook, p11). However, you may not play units, support cards or developments in response to other actions.
Q. Do I choose what zone to put a unit into when I play the action, or when the unit enters play?
A. When you play the action. James' ruling
Q. If I have a card with a triggered action, like Dwarf Ranger and multiple triggers occur at once, do I get to use the action multiple times?
A. Yes. "Each response action can be triggered once per copy of the response action" (FAQ v1.1 "FAQ")
Q. If I have multiple copies in play of a card with a triggered action like Mining Tunnels or Dwarf Ranger, does the action trigger multiple times each time the trigger event occurs?
A. Yes, similar to the above question. For example, if you have 2 Dwarf Rangers in play, and 2 other dwarf units are destroyed, each Ranger will trigger twice, allowing you to deal 4 individual damage to targets of your choice. (FAQ v1.1 "FAQ")
"Just played"
Q. Since card effects that cancel another card "just played" don't say "target", can I wait with determining which card I want to cancel until the cancellation effect resolves?
A. No. For example, if there are already two tactics on the chain, and you play High Elf's Disdain, you have to choose which of the two tactics Disdain is meant to cancel, and you cannot change your mind later. (Caleb)
Leaving play
Q. When a unit is sent to the discard pile from play, do "leaves play" effects trigger before "enters discard pile" effects?
A. No. There is no timing difference between leaving play and entering the discard pile. All effects with either trigger are triggered simultaneously, and resolved in the usual order. (Caleb)
Combat
Q. If a unit in combat moves out of the attacking zone (normally the battlefield) or defending zone, what happens?
A. Unless specified on the card that it can attack or defend from other zones, the unit is removed from combat. Note that if it already had damage assigned to it and it remains in play, it will still take the damage. Nate's ruling
Q. If I defend with a unit with toughness or other damage cancellation abilities, does the attacker have to assign damage equal to the current hitpoints remaining of the unit or the total damage required to destroy it?
A. The total damage required to destroy it at the point where damage is assigned (including cancellation effects, but not other effects, such as redirection). For example, if you defend with a unit with toughness 1 and 2 hitpoints, at least 3 damage must be assigned to that unit before further damage can be assigned to the capital. (FAQ v1.1 "Core Set Rulebook Errata" and "Redirecting Damage")
Q. If I play a card like Waaagh! or use an action like Grudge Thrower before combat, do I get the bonus?
A. Yes, that kind of action creates a continuous effect that waits for the appropriate time to give the bonus. James's ruling
Limited cards
Q. If I put a Limited card into play via a card effect (e.g. Dwarf Cannon Crew), can I still play a Limited card from my hand?
A. No. See Dwarf Cannon Crew below.
Destruction/Order Only
Q. Is Destruction/Order Only just a deck building restriction, not a control restriction? i.e. you can take them with Seeking New Slaves, etc.
A. Deckbuilding restriction only. (Lukas)
Attachments
Q. Can I play attachments, such as Warp Lightning Cannon or hexes, onto my opponents units?
A. Yes. This is the exception to the rule that states you may only play Support, Quest, and Unit cards into your own 3 zones. (FAQ v1.1 "Attachments")
Card Ownership/Control
Q. When a card specifies "your units", does that mean units I currently control, or units I own?
A. Units you currently control. (FFG Europe)
Q. Which cards do I control?
A. You control all cards you own, whether they are in or out of play, unless a card effect specifically changes who controls the card. However, card effects can only target cards in play, and only reference cards in play, again unless an effect specifically targets or references cards out of play. So you for example won't get loyalty from the cards in your hand even though you control them.
Detailed Combat Damage Steps
Declared attacking units power is totaled =>
Assign said damage =>
Declared defending units power is totaled =>
Assign said damage =>
Active player gets first chance to take an action =>
Next player gets opportunity to take an action =>
Continue until both players pass consecutively =>
Apply Damage step starts =>
Cancel/Redirect damage and resolve any "next X damage that would be dealt" effects =>
move all assigned damage to units and zones =>
remove all units whose HP is equal to or less than the number of damage tokens on them and place a burn counter on any zone whose HP is equal to or less than the number of damage tokens on it =>
Trigger any "has been dealt damage" effects on surviving units and any "has dealt damage" effects on attacking units (provided 1+ damage was dealt)
Detailed Non-Combat Damage Steps
Player triggers an effect, paying all costs, that would cause damage =>
opposing player has an opportunity to trigger an Action: in response =>
each player can continue to trigger actions until both players pass consecutively =>
Resolve the Action Chain in reverse order (Last card played is the first resolved)with no opportunity to trigger any additional actions =>
Damage is Assigned (assuming that the resolution has not invalidated the target or canceled the playing of the card outright) =>
Apply Damage step starts =>
Cancel/Redirect damage and resolve any "next X damage that would be dealt" effects =>
move all assigned damage to units and zones =>
remove all units whose HP is equal to or less than the number of damage tokens on them and place a burn counter on any zone whose HP is equal to or less than the number of damage tokens on it =>
Trigger any "has been dealt damage" effects on surviving units
Legends
Q. Can a Legend be attacked through a burning zone?
A. Yes. Lukas
Q. If a Legend is attacked and killed, what happens to any extra damage?
A. Nothing, it is not applied to the capital.
Q. Can indirect damage be applied to Legends?
A. Yes.
Q. How does my legend participate in combat?
A. During the battlefield phase, a legend may use its battlefield power to attack as though it were a unit located in the battlefield zone. During the opponent's battlefield phase, he may choose to attack your legend instead of your capital. After your opponent declares which zone he is attacking, he must declare whether he is attacking that zone of the capital or a legend through this zone. If the legend is attacked, it contributes the power it has in that zone (as damage) to the battle. If a zone is attacked, the legend cannot participate in the attack.
Q. When I attack a legend through a zone, is that zone considered to be attacked?
A. Yes.
Q. When I attack a legend through a zone, is that zone considered to be the "defending zone"?
A. Yes.
Q. What are the exact consequences of a legend being corrupted in relation to combat?
A. A corrupted legend cannot be declared as attacker. It cannot be declared as the defender of a zone (if it has the ability to defend a zone from a card effect like Descendant of Gods). A corrupted legend can be attacked. A corrupted legend that is being attacked can be dealt combat damage, but does not contribute any combat damage itself, and it not considered to be participating in combat.
Developments
Q: If I have a development that is also a unit (by some other card effect, such as Kairos Fateweaver), and that development-unit is destroyed, does it trigger "unit enters discard" effects such as Offering to Hekarti?
A: The "unit enters discard" effect will only trigger if the development was a unit card itself. When cards hit the discard pile, they do so as whatever type they truly are, and not what type they may have been while in play. Cards which trigger off of a unit being destroyed, such as Garden of Morr or Doomsayer of Morr, will still trigger from the development-unit being destroyed, regardless of the development's true type.
See Judgement of Loec below for additional unit/development questions.
Q: If my opponent knows what card one development of mine is, am I allowed to rearrange/shuffle all my developments in that zone so that he can't tell anymore? In case he wants to make a distinction which development he returns to my hand with Long Winter, for example.
A: Yes, you can re-arrange or shuffle your developments before one is destroyed/returned to hand.
Deck
Q. Do I have to let my opponent know how many cards remain in my deck?
A. Yes. Any time your opponent asks you how many cards are left in your deck, you have to count the total and answer.
Hand
Q. Do I have to tell my opponent how many cards I have in my hand?
A: Yes. If your opponent asks you, you must count the total and answer.
Q. Can I reveal my hand if I have no cards in it?
A. Yes. If you have no cards in hand, you can still reveal a hand of 0 cards to a card effect
Q. Can I target my opponent with an effect that would make him discard from his hand, like Bladewind, if he has no cards in hand?
A. Yes. If he doesn't actually discard a card though, he is not considered to have discarded one. In the case of Bladewind, you would therefore not get to draw a card.
Discard Pile
Q. Can my opponent examine my discard pile?
A. Yes. You do not have to tell your opponent what is in your discard pile, but your opponent may examine its contents at any time.?
A. Yes.
Last edited by Entropy (2013-01-03 18:03:47)