This might be a dumb question, but is it possible to play an Arianne Martell from your hand using an Arianne you've marshalled? I assume you can't, as you can't have two unique characters on the table at the same time, but I wasn't sure if there was a loophole since she returns to your hand after the other copy is played.

Remember that if you have a copy of a unique card in play, any other copy of that card that enters play becomes a dupe on the first copy. So if you used the Arianne in play to put another copy of Arianne into play from your hand, the new copy would become a dupe on the old copy. Then, you would return the old copy to your hand. When the old copy returns to your hand, the one that just came into play as a dupe would go to the discard pile.

You could save the old copy by discarding the copy that just came into play as a dupe, leaving it in play. But in that case, all you've done by triggering Arianne's ability is put a copy of her from your hand into the discard pile. There's got to be a better use, right?

Actually, ktom, this is one of those cases where the full ability might be worth having had spelled out:

Action: Put a character with printed cost 5 or

lower into play from your hand. Then, return

Arianne Martell to your hand (cannot be

saved). (Limit once per phase.)

As I read it, you could use the ability to put Arianne Martell into play (as a duplicate), but since you won't have succesfully put a character with cost 5 or lower into play, the "Then" effect won't resolve succesfully. You'll have "cheated in" a duplicate in whatever phase you're in, which isn't the worst use of Arianne (but rarely the best).

You're right.

I wasn't thinking about the implications of the character entering play as a dupe on the "then" effect.

Neither was I remembering that Arianne's return to hand is "cannot be saved," so you wouldn't be able to save her with the dupe even if it allowed the "then" part to happen.

Gotta follow my own advice about looking at the exact wording of the card before deciding how it works!

Well, that's not quite as powerful as I was hoping for, but maybe a dupe could be relevant in a pinch.

Now to get to work on my North/South deck - Martell supported by Night's Watch.

Thanks!

Blanked due to being incorrect.

Incorrect, it absolutely DOES matter if you successfully put the character into play.

The word “Then”

If the effect text of an ability includes the word “then,” the text preceding the word “then” must be successfully resolved in full (i.e. the game state changes to reflect the intent of the pre-then aspect of the effect in its entirety)before the remainder of the effect described after the word “then” can be resolved.

• If the pre-then aspect of an effect does successfully resolve in full, the resolution of the post-then aspect of the effect must also attempt to resolve.
• If the pre-then aspect of an effect does not successfully resolve in full, the post-then aspect does not attempt to resolve.

--RRG P. 21

Well, that's not quite as powerful as I was hoping for, but maybe a dupe could be relevant in a pinch.

Not powerful in that it's not a "cheat" to stand her or knock unfriendly attachment and/or lasting effects off of her, but dropping a save on her in the middle of the challenge phase? That's pretty darn useful in a bunch of situations.