Cactus Game Design Message Boards

As a quick refresher, here is the most recent definition of special initiative.  I've bolded the portion most relevant to my question:

Special Initiative
When a player is controlling character(s) in battle and an opponent's special ability, or a game rule that has been triggered by an opponent's special ability, would leave that player with no character in battle when the special ability has completed, they have Special Initiative.

When this occurs, all abilities are paused and suspended (including additional abilities on cards played or any triggers) and the player with their character(s) being removed has the opportunity to play an Enhancement that will interrupt or negate the ability that is causing the removal (or that triggered the corresponding game rule).  The enhancement played must be able to interrupt or negate the removing ability.  If the card with the removing ability was already removed from play due to its ability, it may still be targeted during Special Initiative by an enhancement that specifically targets its card type.

Then it goes on to list examples of this in action.  One example is Tenants Kill the Son, where TKtS creates special initiative; the rescuer gets to play an interrupt or negate, even before the defender draws a card to complete the benefit portion of TKtS' cost-benefit ability.

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Based on this, if A New Beginning is played, the defender should get a chance to interrupt or negate ANB in the middle of ANB's multi-errata'd ability.  The errata reads:

A New Beginning - "Errata:  If making a rescue attempt, remove this card from the game to shuffle all cards in play, set aside areas, and hands. If no Heroes remain in battle, end the battle, all players draw 8, and you begin a new turn."

So special initiative is created before the battle is ended, and if the battle has not yet ended, then ANB is not technically CBI.  Therefore, the defender has special initiative to play an interrupt or negate.

I'm only posting this because every time I've ever seen ANB played or discussed, it was always assumed to be completely CBI, and the defender doesn't have a chance to interrupt/negate ANB.  I disagree with this.  Elders, is my reasoning off-base with this?

I think your logic is sound. ANB used to be CBI. That was maybe 1 or 2 errata ago. Many of us old timers have continued under that pretense. Good find.

It wasn't the erratas that changed it's interruptability, it's the fact that special initiative has changed to causing a pause rather than waiting for completion (which in the case of ANB would be the start of a new turn), which made it effectively CBI.