Hi @quantumodo,
Thank you for bringing this issue to our attention regarding version v0.5.8.199. We were able to reproduce the situation you described. However, we couldn’t find any specific rule or FAQ that addresses this scenario.
If you have any references to rules or FAQs that might clarify this, please share them with us. Your input would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks again for your help!
A relevant rule is under Status Cards (RRv1.6 p38)
A character cannot have more than one status card of each type at a time.
My understanding is that, when a constant ability (like Colossus' hero form ability) or the Steady keyword ability breaks this rule, if the rule-breaking ability goes away then the game would have to respect the rule, above, and discard the excess status card. That said, Steady has been around for much longer than Colossus and I don't see an FAQ or rule confirming that the player is meant to remove excess status cards if a character loses the Steady keyword while already having two stunned or two confused status cards.
Humorously, there's also the lovely rule "Cannot" (RRv1.6 p11)
The word “cannot” is absolute and cannot be countermanded by other abilities or effects.
• If two abilities or rules conflict, the ability or rule with “cannot” takes precedence.
The clarification bullet point under "Cannot" was added with v1.6
So, arguably, Colossus' ability and the rules governing the Steady keyword actually don't allow a second copy of a status card to be placed.
The Golden rules together with the rule for CANNOT that Haze01 has mentioned are key here.
- The CANNOT rule does not allow any character to have two tough status cards
- But one the golden rules says:
"If the text of a card directly contradicts the text of either the Rules Reference or the Learn to Play book, the text of the card takes precedence."
So, while Colossus is in its Hero form, the text in its card takes precedence and it can have two tough status cards. However, as soon as it flips to alter ego, that ability is not in effect anymore and the CANNOT rule applies again, discarding one of the tough status cards.
Hi, quantumodo,
I am not genuinely advocating that this digital edition follow the rules in such a way as to make it so Colossus' hero ability and the Steady keyword effects do not actually work as intended.
That said, I've brought up the discussion in another forum and would like to quote someone else refuting the assertion that the Golden Rule clears up this rules conundrum:
You are quoting the Golden Rule and assuming that it has priority over "Cannot", but (on Hall of Heroes' post 1.5 pre 1.6 FAQ) it was ruled that "Cannot" should have priority over everything, even the Golden Rule.
200 – The rules state that “cannot is absolute”, but how “absolute” is it really? Specifically can the “golden rule” take precedence over something that cannot be done according to the rules reference? For example. The rules reference states: “Identity cards cannot be discarded from play” but the side scheme “Mutants at the Mall” (Project Wideawake scenario) states: “Flip this card and put Jubilee into play, discarding any other version of Jubilee from play.” This looks like a very clear golden rule scenario to me, the card text specifically mentions any other versions of “Jubilee” and that should include the identity card with that very same name. However in this situation the golden rule would need to take precedence over a rule that uses the “absolute” cannot. If I were to play this scenario with the Jubilee hero, would the existing rules prevent my identity card from being discarded, because “cannot” is absolute, or would I need to follow the golden rule and thus I would have no choice but to never defeat the “mutants at the mall” side scheme?
It’s still true that identity cards cannot be discarded; Mutants at the Mall does not create an exception to that rule. We try to design the game to have “cannot” overrule just about everything else, even The Golden Rule. The way you should resolve the second sentence of Mutants at the Mall when the Jubilee identity card is in play is to flip Mutants at the Mall, recognize that the Jubilee ally and Jubilee hero are both unique and cannot both be in play, and remove the Jubilee ally from the game (do not put her in the victory display).
