I'm wondering what the text on Snow Warg does when I defend with a character who has just 1 hit point left. Does he / she die? If able part is throwing me off here.

mmm - never really noticed the 'if able'… i mean if you werent able theyd already be dead right?

perhaps it takes into account any damage cancelling effects in the future??

or is this another timing issue? i thought the damage would be dealt before the attack resolves??

rich

richsabre said:

It is assigned before the attack resolves. The exact text on the card is:

Forced: When Snow Warg attacks, deal 1 damage to the defending character, if able.

But because I only have 1 hit point left i'm not able because she dies.

In a previous card game from Decipher there where 2 different kind of wounding. Direct wounding and exerting.
Direct wounding would kill and exerting was only possible to the moment where there was only 1 hit point left, thus keeping them alive.

That is why i'm wondering here.

i see - well i was playing it as the character dies leaving the attack undefended….no idea if thats right though

rich

Technically, this ability may not actually do anything. The timing ("When ___ attacks") is similar to the corrected text on Dol Guldur Beastmaster. In that case, DGB's "When ___ attacks" effect kicks in during step 1 of enemy attack resolution (FAQ, p.2). If we apply the same logic to Snow Warg (whose effect has the same wording pattern), Snow Warg's effect will resolve BEFORE any characters are declared as defenders.

Now, it's possible that SW and DGB do not function in exactly the same way (as much as I love this game, imprecise/inconsistent card text is, unfortunately, all too common). It seems like a stretch to say FFG would intentionally design an effect that just did nothing. Assuming SW actually does its damage during or after step 2 of enemy attack resolution (when there is actually a defender to be damaged), the defender's health has no bearing on the "if able" portion of the effect. This game makes no distinction between wounds/exhaustion--it's all just damage. Assuming SW's effect works as it apparently "should," a defender with one hit point would be killed, and the attack would become undefended (likely leading to another dead hero).

The "if able" seemingly refers to the presence or absence of a defender. If there is no defending character, you are unable to "deal 1 damage to the defending character." There's nothing inherent in a character with 1 hit point that would shield that character from the SW.