Zealous Aura timing?

By Hendolph, in Descent: Journeys in the Dark

Hello,

I have a question about Zealous Aura:

"Exhaust this card at the start of your turn. While this card is exhausted, each time a hero within 3 spaces defeats a monster, that hero recovers 2 Heart."

As I understand according to the rules (page 7), you're supposed to refresh your cards after the "start of turn" step. Does that mean you can use Zealous Aura only
every other turn? it would still be exhausted in the "start of turn" step after using it the turn before. Seems a bit weak.

But then, wouldn't it technically refresh again in the "card refresh" step right after exhausting it? The rules state that heroes must refresh all exhausted cards.
This means that the card effect wouldn't be active.

I find this a bit confusing.

Same goes for Arcane Healing and Dark Recovery.

During your turn, you can "active" the card so you spend 1 fatigue and exhaust the card.

From now, each time you or any other hero within 3 spaces defeat a monster, that hero recovers 2 hearts.

At the start of your next turn, you refresh the card and the effect is end until you "reactivate" (exhaust) it.

Then, if your Crusader play first in a turn and last on the next turn, you can almost use the card for 2 turns for all other heroes and only 1 for the Crusader.

Clearer ?

Edited by rugal

There are many inconsistencies related to the cards released in the 'Lost Legends' expansion. It's believed that these cards were not thoroughly playtested, or even edited much. Similar to what rugal said, I would house-rule change it to 'Exhaust this card during your turn...." It may or may not be what the designer had in mind.

@rugal it was more a question of what the order of things was. because in the rules and the turn summary cards it says that refreshing cards comes after the "start of turn" step. This would mean that I couldn't use the skill after it was just refreshed in the same turn.

But at the same time it doesn't say anywhere that the skills like Zealous Aura remain exhausted during the refresh step that follows after you just exhausted the card. Going by the rules, you would have to refresh the card right after exhausting it, because it doesn't say otherwise anywhere. This kind of suggests that it was more meant to be played during the turn and not necessarily at the start, similar to what @wyatt606 said.

I would ask FFG directly, but I don't think they will respond to Descent questions anymore.

As @wyatt606 said, this is just another example of the poor wording of the Lost Legends cards. Obviously you're not supposed to exhaust it and then immediately refresh it, that would be stupid...

My assumption is that the guy writing these didn't realise that 'start of your turn' was a key phrase that already means something.

Just play them at the beginning of your turn immediately after you've refreshed exhausted cards.

I think that thoses cards were creating with the logic in mind that "when effects occurs at the same time, you choose the order of the effects", so, when the start of turn occurs, the start of turn effects and refreshing step occurs at the same time, you can refresh first, then exhaust the cards.

But, yes, in the rules, the " start of turn effects ends then refresh cards " is contradictory to this rule.

I always refresh cards before start of turn abilities, in contradiction to the rules. I consider the rules as written here to be an unintentional oversight.

This is because the overlord’s rules are similar- refresh cards after start of turn abilities.

Yet playing this way makes half the plot cards unusable, since many of them read the same way as Zealous Aura. “Exhaust this card at the start of your turn... while this card is exhausted...”

Edited by Lightningclaw
57 minutes ago, Lightningclaw said:

I always refresh cards before start of turn abilities, in contradiction to the rules. I consider the rules as written here to be an unintentional oversight.

This is because the overlord’s rules are similar- refresh cards after start of turn abilities.

Yet playing this way makes half the plot cards unusable, since many of them read the same way as Zealous Aura. “Exhaust this card at the start of your turn... while this card is exhausted...”

that’s how I’ve been playing it. we just realized how the wording and the rules actually are and I wanted to clearify things before the next quest. it’s a bit weird that they didn’t cover this in the LL errata.

anyway, thanks everyone for the input! :)