From: phaedrus@halcyon.com (Mark Phaedrus)
Subject: Re: When may players take a new hand?
Keywords: rules 
Organization: The 23:00 News and Mail Service
Date: Fri, 29 Jan 1993 04:43:34 GMT

In article <1993Jan27.172948.23234@mnemosyne.cs.du.edu> tfuegi@nyx.cs.du.edu (Tom Fuegi) writes:
>	I have the Mayfair @1991 edition and find that its rules only
>mention that players with no challenge cards can have a new hand on the
>turn in which they are offensive player but before their first challenge
>in that turn.
>	Nowhere in the rules does it say that a new hand may be drawn
>during another player's turn (special powers/cards excepted).

     I wish I had my rules with me so I could quote you chapter and verse,
but here's how we always play it:
     If you're the offensive player, and have no challenge cards before the
start of your first challenge (before you flip the destiny pile, in other
words), you play any cards you wish to and can legally play (interphase and
any-time cards), discard the rest of your hand and draw a new one.  If you run
out of challenge cards after that point and before cards are played, the 
challenge and your turn are immediately over (the challenge is not considered 
lost or won by anyone; your tokens and those of all allies return home to 
bases).  If you have no challenge cards at the end of your first challenge, 
your turn is over whether you like it or not; you don't get to draw a new hand
for your second challenge.  (It's unclear what happens if you have no 
challenge cards at the start of your turn, and you draw a new hand, and that
new hand doesn't have any challenge cards either; we've always played that this
is a horribly tragic break and your turn is over.)
     When you are drawn/chosen as defensive player, if you have no challenge
cards, you play what you can and want to, discard your hand and draw a new
one, just as the offensive player does.  The difference is that if you are
the defensive player and you run out of challenge cards after this point and
before cards are played, the challenge is not over; instead, you immediately
play what you can/discard the rest/draw a new hand and continue the challenge.
A defensive player can go through multiple hands in the same challenge. 
     This difference between the offensive and defensive player can have a
profound impact on play.  One of the more memorable sequences I've experienced
in a CE game:  I (Visionary) was going for my fifth base against Virus.  The
other three players all allied against me with four tokens, so I was facing a
x14 on Virus' card.  Virus had three cards in his hand.  I called "You will
play a Compromise."  Virus looked pained.  Vulch immediately Plagued Virus.
Virus cackled with glee, threw away his Compromise, Attack 6 and Warp Break
(and three tokens, but at this point who cared?), and drew a new hand.  Just
my luck, no Compromises in it.  Vulch cackles with glee, and plays a card,
which turned out to be an Attack 30, giving him a challenge total of (cough)
420.  I had played a 6, knowing that if Vulch actually managed to play a decent
card I was out of luck no matter what.  So the total was 7 to 420.  I calmly
whipped out my reverse-the-sign-of-any-attack-card Flare, and won 7 to -420. :)
     One power you need to re-examine carefully given this rule:
Connoisseur.  As the rules are written, it is quite legal for a defensive
Connoisseur to draw fourteen cards to build a new hand, choose seven non-
challenge cards as his hand, play the useful ones, discard the hand, draw
fourteen new cards to build yet another hand, and so on, until he actually
draws eight or more challenge cards out of fourteen, and so gets stuck with
at least one.  Around here, this is a capital offense. :)  I consider it a
vital house rule that Connoisseur must always choose at least one challenge
card as part of his hand, unless he genuinely manages to draw fourteen
non-challenge cards.
-- 
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