I've seen variants on this question quite a few times on various fora, but never the explicit ruling, so I thought I'd submit an official inquiry once and for all so that people could have a citation when it comes up in the future. I was pretty sure about the answers for #1 and #2 ahead of time, but there was some question in my mind about #3...

Blast from the past this time... I'm sure you've gotten this question quite a bit. Wargs (OG Wargs, that is) have the text "Forced: "If Wargs is dealt a shadow card with no effect, return Wargs to the staging area after it attacks."

1. Does "a shadow card with no effect" merely refer to the existence of text that says "Shadow: ___" on the card, or does it refer to the possibility of the effect changing the game state? e.g., in Conflict at the Carrock, Wargs could get Roasted Slowly as a shadow card, whose shadow effect is "Shadow: If attacking enemy is a Troll, remove 2 damage tokens from it." Does this count as a shadow card WITH an effect, thus keeping the Wargs engaged?

2. Barring considerations such as #1, if you cancel the shadow card's effect with Hasty Stroke or whatnot, do the Wargs return to the staging area?

3. If you discard the shadow card before it ever resolves, and it turns out that shadow card had no shadow effect, do the Wargs return to the staging area?

The response:

I love the old questions! Because I know how to answer them

1. A shadow effect is (and must be) denoted by the “Shadow:” text and bar graphic.

2. If you cancel a shadow effect, the Wargs was still dealt a shadow effect.

3. If you discard the shadow card from the Wargs before it attacks, then it never has the opportunity to trigger its effect.

Cheers,

Caleb