Cactus Game Design Message Boards

This question came up at nationals but I would like to get a second opinion.  The question is can strife withdraw all heroes in the main battle before a side battle resolves ( lamp is up). If yes an explanation of how this is different then darius decree in an all good side battle.

Yes, Strife ("Withdraw all but one hero.") can withdraw all heroes in the Field of Battle except for one, regardless of what battle they are in.  The reason is that the default targeting for withdraw is "Field of Battle" instead of the normal "in battle" (which refers to only the active battle).

Default Conditions
 Withdrawn characters return to their owner's territory.
 Targets must be in the field of battle.

Lampstand ("Protect all cards not in battle from evil Dominants (grim-reaper icon cards).") protects all cards that are "not in battle" which is a specific list of locations:

Not in Battle
Several Redemption® cards contain special abilities that refer to cards that are “not in battle”. Cards"not in battle" are cards found in (1) territories, (2) set aside areas, and (3) Lands of Redemption.

Note that "Field of Battle" is not included in any form, so NOTHING that is in any battle is protected by Lampstand.  Strife is not stopped at all because those cards are not protected.

By contrast, Darius' Decree ("Opponents may not play good Enhancements from hand, unless an Evil Character is in battle. You may discard this card to discard all Heroes in set-aside areas.") uses the phrase "in battle."  Therefore, it only applies to the active battle.  Even if there is an evil character "in the Field of Battle" it is still not "in battle" for the purposes of Darius' Decree if there is a side battle of only heroes.  Therefore, in an active side battle with no evil character in it (even if there is one in a different battle), opponents are restricted from playing good enhancements.

"Not in battle" has a specific definition for what it represents, it does not change to mean "not in the present battle" in this situation. "Not in battle" always and in every situation means cards in territories, set aside areas, and lands of redemption. "In battle" has a specific definition for what it represents, it does not change in this situation. "In battle" always and in every situation means cards in the current, active battle.

Lampstand and Darius' Decree use different wording, therefore there is no reason to rule them the same way.

Prior to them establishing a specific definition of "not in battle" (it used to just mean cards that didn't qualify as "in battle") you would have been correct. However, since it now has a definition, that definition applies in all cases.

I do agree that it is odd (I was against the definition when they put it in place), and they created that definition to limit Lampstand's power (otherwise it stopped Mayhem, would have stopped Vain Philosophy, lots of other cards, etc). Cards that are in a suspended battle are in the field of battle but not in the current battle. "In battle" is shorthand for "in the current battle."

So yes, technically cards in a suspended battle are not "in battle" and not "not in battle", as awkward as that sounds.

I mean it's w/e. If that's the definition then that's fine. I really doubt they were thinking of side battle cards when they made it.  As long as it's the consensus I will play that way.