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Let's say I make a rescue attempt and play a mass band, say Battle Cry. My understanding is that the characters enter the battle at the same time, but their abilities activate 1 at a time.

So I band in Ethiopian Treasurer and Angel Under the Oak, I choose to activate ET's ability first, can I play a silver enhancement? (Angel Under the Oak is the only silver character in battle) Then can I exchange Angel Under the Oak for a gold judge?

Battle Cry (Pa)
Type: Hero Enh. • Brigade: Red • Ability: None • Class: None • Special Ability: Interrupt the battle and band into battle as many Heroes from holder's territory as holder chooses.

Ethiopian Treasurer (Ap)
Type: Hero Char. • Brigade: Purple • Ability: 5 / 4 • Class: None • Special Ability: Search own draw pile or discard pile for one Bible icon with no special abilities. Holder may play the next enhancement card. • Play As: Search your deck or discard pile for one Bible icon with no special abilities and return it in hand. Holder may play an enhancement.

The Angel Under the Oak (RA2)
Type: Hero Char. • Brigade: Silver • Ability: 8 / 8 • Class: None • Special Ability: You may draw 2 and exchange this Hero with a gold Judge in your hand, deck, territory, or discard pile. Protect Gideon from opponents. Cannot be negated.

There are two conflicting ideas here. The ruling on mass band has always been that they enter battle at the same time, but their SA's activate sequentially. However, the definition of having entered battle says that a character has not entered battle until his SA has activated. One of these rulings needs to be changed, and I vote for the change being made to mass banding.

That's what I was suggesting.

I still don't have a good answer to this. It not terribly much of a rush, but I do think it is something that I would like to get answered.

It really only affects a few things, but last I remember it was ruled that if you play a card like Babel  (Pa) and band in someone with Two Thousand Horses  (Ki) or a similar card and play one of the end the battles all the characters have entered battle. This would suggest I would be able to play a silver enhancement before I exchange the angel.

But Pol made a good point about cards "not being in battle until their ability completes"

The way I envision it working is the band brings all the characters into battle. All their abilities should activate at once, but that would be a gigantic mess so they activate sequentially. This would allow for the silver enhancement (at least in my mind anyway)

Any chance we can get something more official than Pol making a suggestion?

Not that I know of, but there had to have been a reason for "characters have not entered battle until their SA's complete." Doing away with it because we don't remember the reason may have unintended consequences.

Either way I'm still a proponent of mass banders entering one at a time. That's easier to explain and simpler.

Keep in mind that a card that enters battle but is removed from battle before its SA is activated still gets to activate its SA if still in play.

Precedent: Spy with Warrior's Spear

MTG functions the way I'm describing, more or less. Redemption isn't conducive to having a stack resolution, but I think in this particular case it would work.