I just purchased the AGoT core set and am trying to educate myself on the rules. ( I have also made a modest attempt to find the answer to this question by searching the forum....)

So, the Card Errata, as of 10/28 says:

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(v2.0) Dragonstone Port B99

The Any Phase effect should read: ".....Limit once per phase."

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Two things confuse me about this:

1) The Dragonstone Port card in my core set is B91, not B99.

2) The Dragonstone Port card in my core set DOES NOT HAVE an "Any Phase effect".

Are there mistakes in this particular erratum?

Unless they changed the card from B91 to B99 in the reprint of the Core Set, it's definitely an error in the errata. The "Any Phase" is also an error and should read "Plot" instead, unless there is something about errata I'm unaware of where Any Phase is equivalent to Plot, Marshaling, Challenges, etc. I'll send a little message to FFG highlighting this issue.

So, is this obvious mistake or Dragonstone Port trick is still legal?

Rogue30 said:

I actually was going to comment on that in my post above, but I didn't want to start another thread war, lol. This is clearly a mistake and I would consider fine and appropriate for a TO to overrule this part of the FAQ by replacing B99 with B91 and Any Phase with Plot. I've notified Nate about the error; hopefully it will be addressed in the next FAQ update.

Rogue30 said:

So, is this obvious mistake or Dragonstone Port trick is still legal?

Remember that the other discussion was predicated on the assumption that there was no additional information available. Here, there is clearly additional information available for the TO to interpret.

~oh come on ktom - be consistent and say that's legal until you have proper official document in your hands

ktom said:

I couldn't resist

~ I don't remember ever using the word "proper."

Rogue30 said:

I get it (see Desperate Tactics thread...).

Nate got back to me and confirmed that the Any Phase and B99 are both errors and should be fixed.

I also asked him about his view on the role of a TO; specifically asking him, during the middle of a tournament, how a TO should handle cards like a pre-errata Hollow Hill (where the card is in direct conflict with itself) and cards like pre-errata Dragonstone Port that lead to easy and virtually instantaneous victories. That is, to what extent can a TO appropriately make on-the-spot errata? He was kind enough to address some of what I wrote:

"TO's are the final authority at their events. This isn't to say that they're always going to be perfect, but they're in a situation where they need to be able to make any call to get through their tournament. When a player enters a tournament, that player is accepting that the TO has the final word. It's kind of like the referees at a sporting event they have the control on the field, and even if they get a call wrong and the commissioner is sitting in the stands, he's not going to run down on the field and try to change anything. (Unless we're talking WWE pro wrestling...)

The flip side of this is that TO's have a responsibility to use their best judgement and make a fair ruling. If a TO went "Willy-Nilly" with the rule interpretations, as you say, he probably won't have too many players playing in his tournaments for very long. Another way to look at it, is that each time a TO invokes this authority, he is making a judgement call, and that judgement is going to be judged by every player at the tournament, and this is going to affect whether players come back to that tournament.

The Dragonstone Port card is a good example. In general, when I was a TO, I would tend to make "as worded" rulings. If I were running an event (before I worked here) and someone showed up with an "abuse the hell out of Dragonstone Port deck," they would get the "as written" interpretation for that tournament, be congratulated at the end of the tournament for finding an abusive card, and then told "that is almost obviously an error, I'll be contacting FFG to see what they say, and at all future events I will rule that card as limit once per phase, unless instructed otherwise by FFG." In this case, the TO has upheld the letter of the law, but is also looking out for the spirit of the law, and the best interest of all the players involved in his events."

Basically, a TO can do whatever he or she wants, but it seems that Nate finds how ktom (and myself) thinks a TO should rule on a card like Dragonstone Port to be the most appropriate course of action mid-tournament.

FATMOUSE said: