Pickpocket has 1 damage (2 to dead), and you defend with Spearman.

Does the Pickpocket triggers? You must randomly discard and pay 1 resource anyway, or Spearman kill him before?

Pickpocket has 1 damage (2 to dead), and you defend with Spearman.

Does the Pickpocket triggers? You must randomly discard and pay 1 resource anyway, or Spearman kill him before?

Since the card states "When pickpocket attacks", I believe the effect will trigger during Step 1 ("Choose an enemy") of the enemy attack resolution part of combat. As such, you will need to decide what to do before you select the Gondorian Spearman as a defender (Step 2) and kill the Pickpocket.

Note that this situation is not covered in the latest FAQ as far as I could tell. They do cover the case of "after this enemy attacks" (noting that it's after the Step 4 of enemy attack resolution).

Since the card states "When pickpocket attacks", I believe the effect will trigger during Step 1 ("Choose an enemy") of the enemy attack resolution part of combat. As such, you will need to decide what to do before you select the Gondorian Spearman as a defender (Step 2) and kill the Pickpocket.

Note that this situation is not covered in the latest FAQ as far as I could tell. They do cover the case of "after this enemy attacks" (noting that it's after the Step 4 of enemy attack resolution).

Actually, it seems to be (indirectly).

Q : When should Feint (CORE 34) be played?

A : This card should be played any time before resolving step 1 of the target enemy’s attack during the combat phase. (Once the act of resolving an enemy’s attack begins, it is too late to prevent it from attacking with Feint.)

This would seem to indicate that once you declare an enemy as an attacker, it's attacking. I'd say that that satisfies the if/then statement inherent in the Pickpocket's forced reaction. It's not explicit, I guess, but the spirit of the thing is there.

Ok, cleared. Thanks for your help