I think I have been playing descendant of thorondor incorrectly. It says when he leaves play he also deals 2 damage to any enemy in the staging area. I have always thought that this included when he leaves play due to being "destroyed" during combat, however, the rules say the character is destroyed, so is that the same as "leaving play"? I have a feeling it is not.

yes. It is... you have been playing it correctly. The definition is a bit weak in the rules.. but the rule is basically this.. the table.. is IN PLAY.... anything on the table.. is IN PLAY no matter what zone it is in. Heroes, Allies, Staging Area, Travel... etc ... that is all IN PLAY... Moving a card to any discard pile or back into your hand, is LEAVING PLAY, as it is LEAVING THE TABLE.

Descendant among others have this "leave play" key phrase, and they can be abused in ways that are not as clear to some at first glance.... like think about Descendant + Quick Strike + Eagles of the Misty Mountains for example... ... .

Thanks as always!!!

booored said:

I think you mean Sneak Attack not Quick Strike and this is not abuse I think that is exactly the sort of thing they had in mind when they designed the two eagle cards. It is simple deck synergy. I am pretty sure the game devs expect us to use it that way.

Beast Rabban said:

Of course it is what it is designed for... .. .