It's odd that "add to battle" and "band" function so similarly yet have different rules, that's part of why there was a huge discussion about it. They mean the same thing but for some reason band has an exception to the default to play rule. I'm thinking that the way band was defined came before the "default to play crusade". Because band was established (in womens) before default to play rules were ironed out, and band was played as "add a character to battle from territory or hand", it kept its real flavor. I really think add to battle got robbed here, but its such a minority of cards (Gates of heal not included) that attempt to function like a band that its not a huge deal. I haven't been playing long enough to really know. I am really curious as to whether or not Den of Robbers and Sound the Alarm were allowed to bring a character into battle from hand. What it seems like is that Claudia's band ability in womens was created in attempts to be more succinct. So really, it would have been realistic to treat add the battle and band exactly the same in relation to characters, like ignore and repel; however, Gates of Hell (I'm guessing) was made after the default to play rule for special abilities was hard and fast and band and add to battle were elected to be universally distinct. So the wording on Gates of Hell most likely holds with the intention of the card as ruled in this thread and consistently in the past. I have never actually played a game were someone tried to add a demon from hand with Gates of Hell but I understand the confusion.
