I did a search but couldn't find the information I wanted in the forum, so I thought I'd ask.

How does The Red Wedding exactly work?

The text says the opponent to your left chooses one lord and one lady, if possible. Does this mean he can choose any lord and any lady? He can choose both one of my lords and one of my ladies? Or does he have to choose both from what he controls. I've seen discussions where it can be interpreted either way, and was wondering how this card specifically worked.

Thanks!

Your opponent can choose any Lord and Lady in play, they don't need to be controlled by him.

There truly is only one way it can be interpreted. In fact, being able to choose any Lord and any Lady in play (regardless of who controls them) is the least discussed aspect of this card on these boards.

Look at it this way: if you had a card that says "choose a Lord character," would you be limited to cards you control? Or cards your opponents controlled? Or, really, to anything other than the presence of the Lord trait? Of course not, because in this game, if a limit or restriction isn't expressly written (in either card text or rules), it doesn't exist.

Now what if you had a card that said "choose 2 Lord characters"? Again, are there any limitations or restrictions on that related to control, ownership, etc.? No. So any 2 Lord characters in play are fair game. Compare it to something that says "choose 2 standing Lords characters you control." Suddenly, you have specific restrictions that must be followed.

So, that's a long winded way of saying that since Red Wedding doesn't place any restrictions of any kind on the Lord or Lady characters (other than the traits), the player to your left is free to choose any Lord and any Lady in play (unless some other card effect - like, say, "immune to card effects" - prevents it).

I figured that, which makes Red Wedding kind of a dual-edged sword, which is par for the course for this game.

However, I've read in the FAQ that in several instances simply picking a character to single out for a card effect must be among cards you control. However, upon further reading, that only applies to paying a cost to generate an effect.

Technically, I guess you could make a major nitpicking argument that picking a lord & lady is a cost to kill one & give the other 2 power, but that would be some pretty major rules lawyering. The language of what constitutes a cost is pretty specific.

Anyway, thank you much for the quick response.

TheFlatline said:

No, you couldn't. As you said yourself, the language for describing a cost is very specific. "Do X to do Y."