Monocle of Clarity

Wouldn't Moncole of Clarity be balanced if it were restricted to game related questions? Opinions? -- ________________ "There's nary an animal ______ ___@^^^^\ / \ that can out run a / \ @ \_____/ David Schwartz \____greased_Scotsman!"____/ > (^^^^^\ _______ ___/ \---\ / \ da...@schwartz.manawatu.gen.nz / \_____________/ \__________________________________/

da...@schwartz.manawatu.gen.nz (David Schwartz) writes: >Wouldn't Moncole of Clarity be balanced if it were restricted to >game related questions? Opinions? The real problem with the Monocle of Clarity (and I apologize if you know this already) is that it can be used to make another Methuselah do whatever you want... Consider the following question: "Is the answer to the question I am asking right now different from the answer to the question, 'Will your minions block any of my minions' actions for the rest of the game?'" If you respond with "Yes" then the answers to the two questions are different, and you don't plan to block any of the Methuselah's actions for the rest of the game. If you respond with "No", then the answers to the two questions are the same, and you still don't plan to block any of the Methuselah's actions for the rest of the game. It is the existence of this paradoxical line of questioning that led to the card being banned. You can effectively make other Methuselahs do your bidding! ---- Dave (d-h...@cs.uiuc.edu)

well, it's not that it's unbalanced and broken, atleast that's what i thought. it was that it created hel when you tried to enforce the part about telling the truth. do you write it down and then demand a do over if he lied? and how do you tell if he lied or not every time, when evidence becomes buried? i always thought it was an interesting card, but the judges don't always want to bother to come over and check for you. if you could get some disinterested third party to verify, then it works. otherwise it's just a pain in the neck. ooooo . . . bye jacob :d (this is the account from home. the other one is "jrob...@mica.edu")

>Wouldn't Moncole of Clarity be balanced if it were restricted to >game related questions? Opinions? The monocle isn't really unbalanced, it was only banned because there was too much confusion about the types of questions you could ask, and how they are answered. I always play that you can ask any question you want, and the victim must answer to the best of his ability. If you ask "Are you going to bleed next turn?" Then the person can't really know whether he will or not. Circumstances can change that could prevent him from bleeding so the only appropriate answer is "I don't know." This reduces the usefulness of the Monocle, but it is still good for questions like "Do you have any intercept in your hand?" Or "Do you have a wake in your hand?" I don't think it would need to be banned it WotC just posted some rules about it. Dallas

In our group environment we only allow game related questions to be relevant to no more than one turn in the future. This balances the card for us, any one else have other house rules for it? One of our friends uses it to ask out of game questions, personally I don't see it as a big deal. Truth or Dare, come get some lovin'. -- Bernard Bresnahan Convention Chair Gamers of Eastern Michigan University http://www.izzy.net/~bernie David Schwartz wrote: > > Wouldn't Moncole of Clarity be balanced if it were restricted to > game related questions? Opinions? > > David Schwartz greased_Scotsman!" > da...@schwartz.manawatu.gen.nz

David Hyatt writes: >>Wouldn't Moncole of Clarity be balanced if it were restricted to >>game related questions? Opinions? >The real problem with the Monocle of Clarity (and I apologize if >you know this already) is that it can be used to make another >Methuselah do whatever you want... >Consider the following question: >"Is the answer to the question I am asking right now different from the >answer to the question, 'Will your minions block any of my minions' >actions for the rest of the game?'" Ah, but this isn't a game related question. It may seem like it, but let me break it down. >"Is the answer to the question I am asking right now different from the >answer to the question, 'Blah?'" I doesn't matter what the other question is, this question is not game related. >"Will your minions block any of my minions' actions for the rest >of the game?" Had you asked this it would have been legal. But that's not what you asked. What I'm saying is you can't ask meta-questions (like your example), personal questions, or off-the-wall questions. Only things which directly relate to the game at hand. With that restriction, I ask you to find an abusive question. -- ________________ Note to myself: ______ ___@^^^^\ / \ change your .sig / \ @ \_____/ David Schwartz \__________________________/ > [ quoted text not captured ]

da...@schwartz.manawatu.gen.nz (David Schwartz) writes: >David Hyatt writes: >>>Wouldn't Moncole of Clarity be balanced if it were restricted to >>>game related questions? Opinions? >>The real problem with the Monocle of Clarity (and I apologize if >>you know this already) is that it can be used to make another >>Methuselah do whatever you want... >>Consider the following question: >>"Is the answer to the question I am asking right now different from the >>answer to the question, 'Will your minions block any of my minions' >>actions for the rest of the game?'" >Ah, but this isn't a game related question. It may seem like it, >but let me break it down. >>"Is the answer to the question I am asking right now different from the >>answer to the question, 'Blah?'" >I doesn't matter what the other question is, this question is >not game related. Yes it is. It is related to a game-related question ("Blah?"), and is therefore game related itself. >>"Will your minions block any of my minions' actions for the rest >>of the game?" >Had you asked this it would have been legal. But that's not what >you asked. >What I'm saying is you can't ask meta-questions (like your example), Ah, that's a new rule, and hard to explain (and enforce). Better to ban the card than to create such obscure guidelines for (already confused) tournament judges. >personal questions, or off-the-wall questions. Only things which >directly relate to the game at hand. With that restriction, I ask >you to find an abusive question. OK: (From the mind of Alan Kwan, I believe): (To Prey): Will your next block attempt be an attempt to block an action taken by one of <name half of your ready minions>? "No": Bleed (act) with just those minions. "Yes": Bleed (act) with just the other minions. Your prey can now not block any of your actions (provided you limit yourself to acting with only half of your vamps). -- L. Scott Johnson (sjoh...@math.sc.edu) | Bad Track 0. http://www.math.sc.edu/~sjohnson | Why can't you be more Graphics Specialist and V:tES Rulemonger. | like Track 1?

da...@schwartz.manawatu.gen.nz (David Schwartz) writes: >I doesn't matter what the other question is, this question is >not game related. >>"Will your minions block any of my minions' actions for the rest >>of the game?" >Had you asked this it would have been legal. But that's not what >you asked. >What I'm saying is you can't ask meta-questions (like your example), >personal questions, or off-the-wall questions. Only things which >directly relate to the game at hand. With that restriction, I ask >you to find an abusive question. You are absolutely right. The actual question that I asked was not game-related. It seems like your restriction is reasonable. Dave

David Schwartz <da...@schwartz.manawatu.gen.nz> wrote in article <4s4HyAC...@schwartz.manawatu.gen.nz>... > Wouldn't Moncole of Clarity be balanced if it were restricted to > game related questions? Opinions? > > -- > ________________ "There's nary an animal ______ > ___@^^^^\ / \ that can out run a / \ > @ \_____/ David Schwartz \____greased_Scotsman!"____/ > > (^^^^^\ _______ ___/ > \---\ / \ da...@schwartz.manawatu.gen.nz / > \_____________/ \__________________________________/ > We have yet seen players that use Monocle to ask others question that have nothing to do with the game running !! For example a sicky guy was asking : "did you fell well (...) with your girlfriend last night ?? how many times ??". This can be a psychological way to enervate opponent, as using the Master that force players to speak in rimes. -- Michel BRIAND Toulouse, FRANCE media...@calva.net

I thought at some point a ruling was issued that limited the scope of monocle questions to the next turn cycle (until your next untap), thereby curtailing the limiting of player's actions for the entire game with a single question, as well as the need to keep track of what answers have been given and must be abided by. Given, the prospect of abuse still exists, but in a greatly reduced form... ********************************************************************* Santiago * A recent study shows that research causes e-mail: * cancer in lab rats. ia...@mail.utexas.edu *