Cactus Game Design Message Boards

Hi there,

as tried to ask with subject:

When H. Agrippa I blocks with Herod's Sword equipped and opponent has deck protection e.g. via 4 Living Creatures: Must attacking hero be discarded or can opponent claim that he/she would rather like DC a card from top of deck instead but cannot since it is protected?
Or does deck protection not matter here for deck discard?

Herod Agrippa I: Discard James or the top card of opponent's deck (if it is a Lost Soul put it in play instead). Capture Peter. Acts 12 cards cannot be negated.

Herod's Sword: Discard a human Hero. That Hero's controller may discard the top card of his deck instead (if it is a Lost Soul, put it in play instead).

The Four Living Creatures: Protect hand and deck from opponents. Each upkeep, if you control Heavenly Temple or a Heavenly Temple Artifact, you may draw 1. Once per round, you may return this Hero to hand.

Thanks in advance!

If the deck is protected then sword can't discard from it no matter whether the opponent wants to or not. They would have to let sword discard their Hero, although they can still interrupt or negate it with SI like any other battle winner.

It cannot be negated in this particular scenario, though, since Herod’s Sword is an Act 12 card.

There's a couple scenarios where this type of thing can come up. I stopped running the Crowds soul (hand/deck protection) because I kept running into Entrapping Pharisee and Sinning Hand.

Notably on that point is that protect only works like that if an opponent's ability gives the option for the protected player to do that. It'll take away the instead on cards like these, but Herod's Temple would still work because the player is protecting their deck from opponents, not themselves.