...a full description of almost everything this card can do with taunt...
That there be a dangerous request...I'll try to keep it brief.
Goliath was the first character with Taunt...and the only one until Shimei came along. Taunt allows you to 'challenge' your opponent instead of rescuing on your turn, and you get to do something if you win (including if they decline).
Taunt
Last Updated: 10/10/2012
Released: 10/10/2012
General Description
A tauntallows a player to make a battle challenge with an Evil Character.
How to Play
In the place of your normal battle challenge or rescue attempt on your turn, you may make a "tauntbattle challenge"
with an evil character that has a taunt identifier. A Taunt battle challenge is begun by placing the evil character into
battle and declaring an opponent. The opponent may accept the taunt battle challenge by placing a Hero into battle
to fight the evil character. If the evil character wins the taunt battle challenge, activate the special ability in the
parentheses after the taunt identifier.
Winning the Taunt Battle Challenge
Your Evil Character can win the Taunt Battle Challenge in one of four ways:
1. Your opponent does not accept the Taunt Battle Challenge by placing a Hero in battle to oppose the Evil Character.
2. All Heroes are removed from the Field of Battle by a special ability.
3. The Evil Character wins by a defeat by numbers (i.e. the strength of all Evil Characters and Evil Enhancements in
battle are greater than or equal to the toughness of all Heroes and good Enhancements in battle, and the toughness
of all Evil Characters and Evil Enhancements is higher than the strength of all Heroes and good Enhancements in
battle.
4. The battle ends as a stalemate by numbers or special ability.
Default Conditions
● A tauntbattle challenge takes the place of your normal battle challenge or rescue attempt for the turn.
● If you decline any kind of battle challenge, you lose the battle challenge.
Now, you may find an insert in your packs that defines Taunt a little differently.
Anytime that your opponent has no lost souls...
When it was first introduced, you could only Taunt if no opponent had any Lost Souls in territory (even if you did not have access). We changed that after last Nationals in REG 3.0.0 to make it so that Taunt could actually be used even in cases where there might be a Lost Soul; you're already giving up a rescue, so why make it so it can hardly ever be used?
So, what you do, is you put your EC that has "Taunt" in its identifier into battle instead of starting a battle challenge or rescue attempt with a Hero. Your opponent can accept, by placing a Hero in battle just like an EC would normally block; if they do, there is essentially a battle challenge that takes place (the 'defender' doesn't get to rescue souls if they win). If the Taunting EC wins, or if the opponent declined the challenge, then the Taunter is victorious and gets to activate the ability listed in its identifier after "Taunt." For Goliath, you get to underdeck a Hero.
For Shimei, he forces your opponent to skip their next battle phase. Now...that's really strong, and in testing, that got...abusive for some reason
So he says "Limit once," meaning that you can only use his "victory" ability
once...until you reset him somehow (since it isn't "per game," any reset in hand, deck, or discard means that it can happen again). Basically, you challenge with him instead of rescuing, if you win or are unopposed, you get to force your opponent to skip their next battle phase. Once this happens, he
can still taunt in future turns, he just cannot use that "victory" condition more than once unless reset.
Taunt is really cool when you think about it thematically. Goliath makes people run away if he wins, just like what happened in the story. Shimei makes people avoid conflict, just like with David. But that's another topic...
