Welcome back to Cerebro! Thanks for all the questions you’ve sent in so far. I’ll go through my first batch of answers below, but before I do, I’d like to take a detour into Marvel Knights territory. Any objections? I didn’t think so!

It’s fortunate that I’m not doing a preview card today, because I’ve got my work cut out for me just trying to get through the questions I’ve been asked about previous preview cards. Let’s start with the big one.

1. Yelena Belova <> Black Widow

Danny comprehensively covered the hidden area in his column this week. Here are a few additional questions I’ve seen on the subject:

Do hidden characters need range to attack? Can visible defenders stun hidden attackers?

The first set of hidden area rules deal with attacking:

Hidden characters cannot be attacked (unless a card says otherwise). When an opponent controls no visible non-stunned characters, you may attack that opponent directly.

All other aspects of attacking still work the same as before. So, hidden characters only need range to attack if they’re in the support row, and visible defenders can stun hidden attackers at an attack’s conclusion.

If hidden characters cannot be attacked, why would they need to reinforce?

The above “unless a card says otherwise” clause might be more than just empty words . . .

If I “steal” an opponent’s hidden character with Mad Hatter, can I move it to the front row of my visible area?

A second set of hidden area rules deal with character position:

Concealed character cards come into play in the hidden area; other character cards come into play in the visible area. A character can only move between areas or to a different kind of area if an effect specifically says so.

So, your visible Superman, Kal-El can only move himself within your visible area. Similarly, the hidden character stolen by Mad Hatter in the above question can only be moved to the front row of your hidden area.

Can hidden characters be the target of effects? Can they be teamed up? Can they be powered up? Can they be recovered?

Early speculation about hidden characters somehow not being in play led to an avalanche of questions on the subject. The answer to all of the above questions is an emphatic yes!

Also, note that hidden characters will be stunned by Flame Trap, bounced by Jean Grey, Phoenix Force, counted by Cover Fire, and so forth.

Is the hidden area a new game zone? Are concealed characters a new card type?

No to both. All hidden and visible areas are part of a single “in-play zone.” Concealed character cards are still character type cards—their black borders are simply visual reminders that they come into play in the hidden area.

2. Punisher, Jury

If Punisher is team attacked, can I attach more than one equipment to him?

No. Punisher’s power triggers whenever he becomes a defender, which only happens once if he is team attacked, regardless of how many team attackers there are.

If I control another character equipped with a unique equipment, can I use Punisher’s triggered power to attach a second copy of that equipment to Punisher?

Sure. This is another example of last week’s discussion about the uniqueness rule. Since you’re not recruiting the second copy, the uniqueness rule does not apply.

3. Stilt-Man

As many forum dwellers have realized, Stilt-Man’s printed text has the potential to cause a drawn game if more than one player controls a Stilt-Man. Here’s how his triggered power will be worded in the Official Card Reference after the Marvel Knights update:

Whenever a character an opponent controls gains one or more counters or comes into play with one or more counters, if that character is not named Stilt-Man, put a +1 ATK/+1 DEF counter on Stilt-Man

How many counters will my Stilt-Man gain if an opponent boosts a Sentinel Mark V? How about that new Phat guy? What if an opponent plays him on the third turn as a 5 ATK/5 DEF character?

Sentinel Mark V and Phat are both examples of a character gaining multiple counters from a single triggered effect. Consequently, Stilt-Man’s triggered effect will only add a single +1 ATK/+1 DEF counter.

4. Reader Questions

Marshall J from Huntington, WV, USA will go down in history for writing the first email ever to find its way into the Cerebro mailbag! He asked numerous questions about equip restrictions:

Can I boost Vic Stone ◊ Cyborg and put a Utility Belt on him? What about Punisher, Jury from Marvel Knights? If someone attacks him, can I put a Power Compressor on him?

The simple answer to both of these questions, and to the transfer questions below, is that an equip restriction prevents equipment from attaching to an illegal character by any means.

In Vic’s case, the triggered effect will resolve and you can search your deck for the Utility Belt. However, it will remain in your deck rather than equip to Vic.

Similarly, if your unequipped Punisher becomes a defender and the only equipment card of cost 1 or less in your hand is Power Compressor, then the Power Compressor will remain in your hand.

Note, however, that once an equipment is attached, its restrictions aren’t continuously checked.

Example: Vic Stone Cyborg may become equipped with Utility Belt if he has gained the Gotham Knights affiliation via, for example, The Brave and the Bold. If The Brave and the Bold is KO’d, the Utility Belt will stay equipped to Vic.

Can I transfer Power Compressor from Dr. Doom to an unequipped Mr. Fantastic, Stretch using Stretch's power? How about using Wayne Enterprises? How about transferring The Shrike from a League character to a non-League character via its inherent transferability?

The first thing to note about transferring equipment is that it doesn’t target the “receiving” character unless a card explicitly says so. As a result, the receiving character isn’t chosen until the transfer effect resolves.

S, you could use Stretch’s power to target Power Compressor (which will cost you 2 endurance), but if you don’t control an unequipped Fantastic Four character that can be equipped with Power Compressor on resolution, then the Power Compressor will remain equipped to Dr. Doom.

Wayne Enterprises is slightly less restrictive, but it still requires you to control an unequipped character that can be equipped with Power Compressor on resolution of its triggered effect. Otherwise, the Power Compressor will again remain equipped to Dr. Doom.

Similarly, The Shrike requires you to control a character that can be equipped with The Shrike on resolution of its triggered effect. If you don’t, it will remain equipped to the League character.

If I have Pier 4 flipped with Mr. Fantastic, Stretch and Invisible Woman, Sue Storm in play, can I move a Fantasticar from Stretch to Sue using his power if she is already equipped with an Advanced Hardware?

Pier 4 would normally allow Fantasticar to be transferred to a character already equipped with Advanced Hardware. However, Stretch’s power specifies that the target equipment may only be transferred to an unequipped character, and even with Pier 4 flipped, a character equipped with Advanced Hardware is not an unequipped character.

As in the case above, note that the effect can legally be played (costing you 2 endurance) and will resolve without being negated. However, if you don’t control an unequipped Fantastic Four character on resolution, the Fantasticar will simply remain equipped to Stretch.

Alex C from Townsville, QLD, Australia asks a question about loyalty:

On turn 5, I have Invisible Woman, Sue Storm out on the field alone. Can I play Lady Shiva, Sandra Woosan, and then flip Marvel Team-Up naming Fantastic Four and Gotham Knights before Lady Shiva resolves?

The best way to answer this question is to look at the definition of the loyalty keyword:

Recruit this card only if you control a character that shares at least one team affiliation with this card.

So the answer is no, because Lady Shiva can’t be played in the first place unless you control a Gotham Knights character.

“Lord Dream” from Portugal asks another loyalty-related question:

My opponent’s only character is Roy Harper ◊ Arsenal when he plays Terra. In response, I play Reign of Terror on Roy. Does Terra resolve or not? Is the answer the same if I play Sub-Mariner and my opponent responds by targeting my Doomstadt with Have a Blast!?

In both cases, the recruit effect will resolve successfully because of last week’s “basketball” rule—once an effect is on the chain, it’s generally too late to try to make the effect unplayable.

Silvester B from Singapore asks an ambitious question about priority during effect resolution:

My opponent attacks with Black Cat, Felicia Hardy, and the card I put into my KO'd pile has an odd cost, so I discard Harley Quinn. Can I use Harley Quinn as a power-up at the same time?

The answer is no, because there is no priority during the resolution of an effect. When Felicia attacks, her triggered power puts an effect on the chain targeting a player. After successive passes, that effect resolves as follows:

The targeted player puts the top card of his or her deck into the KO’d pile, and if that card has an odd cost, that player chooses a card to discard.

Neither player gets priority at any time during the effect’s resolution. The primary player gets priority after resolution.

You can play Harley’s power-up effect only when you have priority and Harley is in your hand. You can’t play it during the resolution of Felicia’s triggered effect because you don’t have priority. You can’t play it after resolution because Harley is no longer in your hand. You could play it before resolution, but then you would have to choose a different card to discard if the top card of your deck has an odd cost.

Thanks again for your questions. I look forward to receiving the next batch at vsrules@gmail.com.