Since the Shadows rules already state that once an attachment is brought out of shadows it has to be attached to a valid target… does the Response on Turncloack restrict it in any special way? It seems to me that if Turncloack is an attachment and the restriction isn't passive, but a RESPONSE, then, really, all that you're getting is that attaching to an opponent's character during the Challenges phase can be cancelled, while that's not the case if it's brought out of Shadows at any other point.

What am I missing there? If that's the case… that card suddenly becomes ridiculously powerful targeted kill during Dominance.

Yeah I don't see why this card was worded the way it was. I would just use this in dominance and forget letting them have a chance at canceling it. Maybe they meant it to be restrictive but failed? like they did with Sorrowful Man?

doulos2k said:

This is the way I see this type of shadows attachment working. Without being able to trigger the Response(which requires it to be Challenges phase), you won't be able to attach it to anything. If you bring it out of any other phase that is not the Challenges phase, you are welcome to do so… however doing so will automatically force it to be discarded from play since you need the attachment to specifically allow you to attach it to a card using the text it has on the card. The text on Shadows attachments needs to specify how it is attached when it is brought out of the Shadows.

Per the FAQ:

Do Shadow attachments have two chances to
attach when they come out of Shadows, once
by the rules and once by the text on the card?

No. The text on a Shadow attachment explains
and clarifies how a Shadow attachment
attaches when it comes out of Shadows. If
the Shadow card cannot legally attach (or
the attempt to attach is canceled) the card is
instead discarded and is not considered to have
come into play. The card's controller is not
permitted the attempt to bring a second card
our of Shadows that phase.

So the only time you can bring Turncloak out of the shadows successfully is during the Challenges phase and if the Response is canceled or there are no opponents characters it can legally attach to, it will be discarded from play.

Aaah - the FAQ to the rescue again. Thanks Bomb… should've seen that myself.

Staton said:

As is, they probably meant it to be exactly what it is - something that restricts your choices (since you can ONLY bring it out of Shadows usefully in the Challenge phase - because of the event - you have to give up every OTHER card that you could bring out of Shadows in the Challenge phase) that, while powerful, forces your opponent into rethinking his entire challenge strategy because of the "dominance problem" looming on the horizon (he can either play his challenges defensively to win dominance, play his challenges aggressively and lose the character in dominance, or just kill that character for military claim).

It's a meta-game card, not direct kill. And it's more likely than not that it was meant to be a meta-game card, not direct kill.