http://www.cardgamedb.com/index.php/lotr/lord-of-the-rings-card-spoiler/_/dream-chaser-cycle/the-drowned-ruins/cave-eel-r1984

That card reads: "Cave Eel cannot be engaged unless the active location is Underwater ."

The encounter phase has two parts. The first where the players optionally can engage enemys and the later where engagement checks are made. But from the wording in the rule book I'd say both are "engagements". So, that eel with its cost of 20 cannot be engaged (under any circumstances) unless your location is underwater?! (Even with e.g. tactics Aragorn.) Anyhow, the wording on the card itself sounds "pretty active" - so no optional engagements, but "passive like engagements" in the latter part of the engagement phase will still force the engagement?? Which one is it?

Help please!

No optional engagements, no card-ability engagements, no checked engagements unless the active location is Underwater.

I agree with Kakita. "cannot" is a very strong word that tends to defy all avenues and bypasses.

I read this card as meaning the Cave Eel can't experience the act of engagement, but can still experience the state of engagement.

And I think the Dunedain hunter could probably still engage it since that card puts the Eel into play engaged with you from the deck and the Eel's text isn't active until it gets into play (much the way you can resurrect a dead Beorn, even though he is immune to player cards).

8 minutes ago, RichardPlunkett said:

And I think the Dunedain hunter could probably still engage it since that card puts the Eel into play engaged with you from the deck and the Eel's text isn't active until it gets into play.

True, I forgot about this. There's also the new card that reduces the number of cards revealed in staging if you search the top X for an enemy.

Eels can't walk on land.

12 hours ago, RichardPlunkett said:

And I think the Dunedain hunter could probably still engage it since that card puts the Eel into play engaged with you from the deck and the Eel's text isn't active until it gets into play (much the way you can resurrect a dead Beorn, even though he is immune to player cards).

If you have the Eel engaged while the active location isn't underwater, i would disengage the Eel and place him in the staging area. The only place in play, where not active engaged enemies should be.

55 minutes ago, JanB said:

If you have the Eel engaged while the active location isn't underwater, i would disengage the Eel and place him in the staging area. The only place in play, where not active engaged enemies should be.

So if you clear the active (underwater) location the Eel disengages? This would likely be a more common case than Dunedain Hunter and I would think be worthy of a note in the insert, if it's referring to the state of being engaged rather than the act of engagement.

Yeah, for all that it's thematically weird (as noted, eels cn't walk on land), rules-wise I think the effect only refers to the act of engaging - if it were supposed to be otherwise I would expect the Cave Eel to have "If the active location is not Underwater , return Cave Eel to the staging area."

Thanks to you all.

Have to note the following:

Cave Eel has 2 different situations that seem to be mixed here:

First situation:

"Cave Eel cannot be engaged unless the active location is Underwater."

For me this means that you cannot engage Cave Eel, unless active location is Underwater. This only applies, though, if Cave Eel is already in play at the stagging area.

So, unless, you have an active underwater location, you cannot, optionally or by engagement check or by any card effect like Tactics Aragorn 's response, engage Cave Eel.

Although card's effect like the one from Dunedain Hunter will occur because Cave Eel isn't in play at the time you choose it and the text isn't active. What will happen then is the 1st hypothesis i mention below.

Second situation:

" Forced : At the beginning of the encounter phase, return Cave Eel to the staging area unless the active location is Underwater."

This forced effect only triggers at the beggining of the encounter phase.

So it arises two different situations:

1 - In the beggining of the encounter phase, there is no active location or the active location isn't underwater, if Cave Eel is engaged with any player, it immediately returns to the stagging area;

2 - If, by any means (ex: Legolas ' response in combat phase), after the beggining of encounter phase, you clear the active underwater location, then Cave Eel forced effect doesn't trigger and thus Cave Eel remains engaged with the player.

After this, if Cave Eel isn't killed, then hypothesis 1 will occur...

This is what i think of what is written in Cave Eel text.

Carlos José Matos