Cactus Game Design Message Boards

Okay, so I've been looking through my TEC cards thinking about what everyone has said about Widows' Tables not working with Primary Objective or Toss. I noticed 3 cards from TEC that all had similar wording in their special ability that sounds like you could still instead a cost and get the effect. Parmenas, Nicolas of Antioch and Fortunatus. All three allow you to discard a clay card (or enhancement in either case) from hand to do an effect. But they also include text referencing to Widows' Tables insteading the cost and still getting the effect.

Parmenas - you may discard a clay enhancement from hand (or place it on widows tables) to negate an evil card and return it to owner's hand.

Nicolas of Antioch - negate evil character with toughess less than x. You may discard a clay enhancement from hand (or place it on widows tables) to search your deck or discard pile for a clay convert enhancment.
X= # of your deacons

Fortunatus - look @ the top x cards of deck: you may discard a clay card from hand (or place a clay enhancement on widows tables) to take one to hand, then underdeck the rest. Cannot be interrupted.
X = # of your corinth heroes in play.

Feed back?

Those specific cards have alternate conditions for satisfying the 'cost'.  Either one can be done and still count as the cost, that is how they are worded.  And as browarod stated, we already have some cards that do that in different ways like Herod's Temple, but this one gives you two choices rather than an ability and an instead in a specific circumstance.

Those cards you mentioned were intentionally designed to be boosted when you play them with Tables out.