Cactus Game Design Message Boards

Covenant with Moses
Type: Covenant • Brigade: Yellow • Ability: 7 / 3 • Class: None • Special Ability: Use as an enhancement or an Artifact. Burial Shroud, Unholy Writ, Thirty Pieces of Silver, and Household Idols are negated for one round. May be used twice.

1. Do I have to announce the activation of an artifact and wait for a response, sort of like asking for initiative in battle? For instance, if my opponent has HHI active and DoN in his hand, and I have banding heroes, can I flip up CwM and say, "I'm activating Covenant with Moses," then immediately bring in my heroes before he can play DoN?

2. If yes to #1, what if I have Mary the Mother of James with Garden Tomb active, and my opponent has only one EC in territory and HHI up? If I activate CwM and slip in Mary, then my opponent plays DoN after Mary enters battle, what happens? Can my opponent block or is Mary still ignoring ECs? Would Mary win a LS if no EC blocks (say my opponent had no ECs at all)?

3. CwM says that it negates Unholy Writ et al for one round. In a multiplayer game, If Player A has UW activated, and Player B activates CwM, I know that Player A could DoN my CwM. But what if no one plays DoN during Player B's turn? If Player C draws DoN on his turn, could he negate CwM since Player B's turn is over (i.e. does it become CBN at the end of Player B's turn)?

1) No, you cannot "rush" between phases without giving your opponent a proper chance to play their cards.

3) It does not become CBN, its an ongoing ability.

Decreases are ongoing abilities, but they can not be negated after the turn the decrease passes, right?

Any of the "place" cards that are decreases could be negated for that turn (or following turns), but any previous turn decreases would be CBN.

What is the definition of "one round"?  Intuitively I would think it means "the time in which each player takes exactly one turn", and thus it lasts until the beginning of your Prep Phase of your next turn (when you can keep it activated or change your artifact).

This is correct.