Hey rules board! Quick question here.

I play an effect that searches my deck for a character with a certain trait and put it into my hand… am I required to resolve it?

I'd thought yes, but since your deck is not public knowledge, in the instance you didn't have a character of the correct type to search for, how would you prove that you were unable to resolve the effect?

Are you basically on the honor system when you trigger one of these, that if you have a character of the correct type you must reveal and put it into your hand?

If an effect allows you to search your deck for a particular card, you are obliged to reveal the card you find in order to prove it matches criteria whether the search effect tells you to reveal or not. (The exception to this is if the search effect tells you to put the card into play or some other "public knowledge" state; revealing would be redundant in such circumstances.)

However, if an effect allows you to search your deck for a particular card, you are not obliged to reveal your entire deck in order to prove that you haven't got a card that matches the criteria left. Yes, you are on the "honor system" in that situation, but it's usually not an issue. After all, not a lot of people go through a search effect, find a qualifying card, and decide "nah, I don't really want it…."

ktom said:

Thanks for the quick reply ktom.

I was trying to determine if Yoren's Task could be used as a pre-plot action in that way to avoid Rule by Decree by not actually taking a character. Rats.

Rave said:

If there is one in your deck to be found and you "don't find it" on purpose, you are technically cheating. You don't have to actually show your entire deck to your opponent and prove you aren't cheating. You are on the honor system about this. Of course, two turns later, when you play a new NW character, your opponent could get suspicious….