Cactus Game Design Message Boards

If I choose the blocker or create a side battle in teams, do I choose which opponent controls the defending/opposing character?

Wouldn't it be the same process for defenders deciding who is taking the block? (Person to left has first option or can pass to their teammate)


If the side battle is started while there is already a defender/attacker, then that defender/attacker controls that Team's side in the side battle.

If the side battle is started prior to there being a defender (Hidden Treasures, ET, etc) then I would rule the person to the left has the option to play the side battle or they can pass to their teammate.

I only play teams at Nationals, but Kevin and I have used CTB multiple times. It was always ruled that if we active a CTB ability pre-block that we were allowed to choose which player controlled the blocker. I assume the same would be true of side battle abilities used pre-block.

I would imagine that a key would be whether a card said that it chose the blocker (an EC in the game who would need someone to control them in battle) or chose the opponent (a player on the other team who would do the controlling).

527   ObedienceofNoah   Obedience of Noah   3/2   Genesis 6:22   Blue   HE   Holder may choose the Evil Character that his opponent uses to block his rescue attempt.   N

It's my understanding that in Teams, if a card specifies an opponent, then the controller of that card chooses which opponent they wish to target.

It is my understanding is that if you play a card that says "opponent" after the other team has chosen who is blocking then it refers only to the player who is controlling the EC in battle.

If you play a card that says "opponent" before the other team has chosen who is blocking then you can pick either of the other team's players, but they still get to then chose who will actually block.

The reasoning behind this is that just because you attack with a hero that makes an opponent discard a card, you shouldn't be able to remove the other team's ability to choose who will play defense that turn.

Based on this, I think that CTB abilities should be able to choose which EC blocks, but should not be able to remove the other team's ability to choose which player defends.  Does that seem fair to everyone?

I don't care for that interpretation. It significantly weakens CTB (which I understand you don't like), needlessly complicates the rules by adding an exception and goes against the standard ruling that I've gotten at both Boston and TN Nationals.

Actually I don't mind CTB.  It's a pretty fun little ability.  However I think the other alternative is to expand the power of CTB beyond just choosing the EC (which is what it is supposed to do).

The first year I ran TEAMS at Nats (Columbus) we were playing with a modified rule for Doubt (to make it actually useful) and allowed people to play it directly into battle.  But then some sneaky people tried to play it into battle "for" their opponent to stop their opponent from choosing who to block with.  Basically they were trying to make a CTB card out of a card that was not a CTB card.

This has the same feel to me.  It is turning cards that have one ability (ie. discard a card, or block with a certain EC) into a different ability that they shouldn't have (ie. decide which of your opponent team's players will block this turn).

My interpretation is much more similar to how CTB works in most multi-player games.  I declare which LS I am trying to take, then I attack and play CTB pre-block.  I can choose any EC on the table to actually block, but the person who has the LS still controls them.  So my choosing the EC doesn't affect at all which player in the game controls the battle.  This should work the same way.  The CTB card chooses which EC is in the battle, but the opposing team would still get to choose who controls that EC.

Does it make more sense if you look at it that way?

My interpretation is much more similar to how CTB works in most multi-player games.  I declare which LS I am trying to take, then I attack and play CTB pre-block.  I can choose any EC on the table to actually block, but the person who has the LS still controls them.  So my choosing the EC doesn't affect at all which player in the game controls the battle.  This should work the same way.  The CTB card chooses which EC is in the battle, but the opposing team would still get to choose who controls that EC.

I agree with this although in T1 it's not declaring which LS I am going for, (which would be Rescuer's Choice), but which player I am attacking. No matter which EC I choose, that player is the one who will control it.

That's the thing with TEAMs though, I'm not attacking a player, I'm attacking a team. If we ever did a Multi-TEAM format, and I attacked one team and chose a different team's EC to block, the defending team still controls the EC in the battle.

So are we all agreed then that a CTB ability chooses which EC the opposing team must block with, but does NOT force a specific member of that team to control that character?

Still no.

What exactly is the cause for reservation. The only thing I can think of would be a desire to force a specific player (who you know cannot block you) into trying to block you. To me this defeats the purpose of TEAMS.

This.  I don't understand how CTB can override the game rules that operate for TEAMS and separate TEAMS games from any other type of game.  And it seems so clearly to go against what TEAMS is about on defense:  letting the players decide as a team who blocks.

Also, Justin's explanation makes the most sense to me. 

I agree with Kirk