Cactus Game Design Message Boards

1. If my opponent has less than 3 cards in deck (or 9 with a Samaritan), am I still allowed to use SWJ to set them aside to get any Lost Souls put in play? Answered.

2. When the cards return to deck, how do they return? I.E.: Are they shuffled or do they return in the exact order they were in before (minus any Souls, of course)? Answered.

3. It doesn't specify a time, so do you have to discard and use it as soon as you activate it? Or can I save it as sort of a Harvest Time for battle in case my opponent uses Burial or SoG/NJ on the shuffler to empty their territory of Lost Souls? Answered.

Samaritan Water Jar
Type: Artifact • Special Ability: Discard this card to reveal the top 3 cards of an opponent's deck (or 9 if a Samaritan Hero is in play) and set them aside. Put Lost Souls in play instead. When that deck has no cards, return those cards from set-aside to deck.

1. Yes.

2. I would say if possible, return them in the same order (just 3 would be easy). If there is uncertainty, (i.e. 27 cards like ProfA mentioned) I would rule they should be shuffled.

I doubt it's documented anywhere, but I do remember at one point a ruling was made that if more than 3 cards are returned to deck all at once* (i.e. negating multiple Draw 3 cards) then the deck is shuffled.

I specify "all at once" because this would not apply to cards like Words of Discouragement or Book of Hozai.

3. Artifacts abilities take place once they are activated. So, when you flip up SWJ, you read what it says. Since the discard is not optional, it happens right away. Some Artifacts either specify a different time when the action can be performed, have an optional ability, or both. In those cases, you don't have to perform the action right away, if at all. But with Arts like SWJ and Stalks of Flax, you have to discard as soon as they are activated.

Unless there actually is a rule on "more than three returned at once," the person who played SWJ should get to chose the order. That's how the ruling is on every other card like it (revealer, Susanna, etc.).

I don't believe #2 question was rubber stamped yet--could we get a final answer for it please? (and a million dollars? or whatever that wants to be a millionaire show says)
Thanks! 

Aha, Thank you!