Lab Test

[jbouwme]

Hello to the mind trust at WizKids!

I have a question about how Lab Test: Basic Action Card works.

Lab Test: Continuous: You may send this die to your Used Pile to reroll one of the character dice in your Reserve Pool.

From the X-Men Forever Rule Book:

“…there are three different types of dice: Action, Character, and Sidekick. All dice have some sides that produce energy…”

“Energy is the main ‘resource’ that most things in the game use. All the dice in the game, depending on which face they roll, will give you a Character, an Action, or provide Energy.”

“Dice are considered to either be ‘rolled dice’ or ‘unrolled dice’, depending on their location. Dice in the Reserve Pool or the Field Zone (including the Attack Zone) are considered to be whatever their face is. If you have a Sidekick die in the Reserve Pool showing energy, then it’s an energy die. If you have a Sidekick showing the character face in the Field Zone, then it’s a Sidekick Character Die.”

It seems clear from the above quoted rules text that a Sidekick is not a Character Die unless on it’s Character side in the Field Zone, and therefore, it would not be a valid target for Lab Test. However, it is less clear if a Character Die on an energy face is still considered a Character Die, or if it is an energy die.

Could you please clarify this?

Thank you for your time,
JoceStitch

[dmrulesteam]

The following will be codified in the next Rule Book.

When Action, Character or Sidekick dice are in an unrolled game state, they are their applicable dice type and have no facial distinction.

When Action, Character or Sidekick dice are in a rolled game state, they function based on their facial distinction. This distinction is called the die’s status. The definition of status:
The distinction of a die type based on what face is showing after the die has been rolled. Unrolled dice have no status and are always defined by their die type.

When rolled onto an Action/Character face, that die can apply the abilities of their card. If rolled onto an energy face, that die is an Energy die that can only be used to purchase or field dice, pay a cost, or apply a specific ability based on the rolling of energy. Refer to the table below:

Die Type // Face the die is showing // Status
Action die // Action face // Action die
Action die // Energy face // Energy die
Character die // Character face // Character die
Character die // Energy face // Energy die
Sidekick die // Character face // Sidekick Character die
Sidekick die // Energy face // Energy die

Abilities that affect rolled Character dice also include Sidekick Character dice, unless otherwise stated (e.g. an ability that states “non-Sidekick Character dice”).

For Lab Test’s ability, since a die in the Reserve Pool is a rolled die, if a Character or Sidekick die is showing an energy face, its status is an Energy die, and therefore cannot be affected by Lab Test; if it is showing a Character face, it can.

[jackalopespam]

Regarding this new status clarification, I have 2 questions regarding specific cards.

Black Dwarf

Global: Pay 0. Once per turn, on your turn, spin any of your Sidekick dice (in the Field or Reserve Pool) to its fist face.

Black Dwarf's global mention spinning sidekick dice to a fist side. Previous versions of this sort of global have said Sidekick character die, and in the absence of the word "character" many have taken this to mean a sidekick on any face. This new Status would imply that only a Sidekick character die would be permitted since as it is seemingly not possible to have a "sidekick die" in the reserve pool unless it is on a character face. Is this the correct interpretation or would Black Dwarf allow any face to spin to a fist?

Storm: The Storm Goddess Comes

When fielded, you may reroll target action die in your Reserve Pool (on an action or energy face, but you cannot reroll an energy die that has been partially spent).

Meanwhile Storm's ability doesn't seem to mesh with this new update. If the action die is on an energy face, it would not have the status of being an action die. Is Storm's reminder text invalid or is she be a special case?

Thank you for your clarifications.

[dmrulesteam]

Black Dwarf's global mention spinning sidekick dice to a fist side. Previous versions of this sort of global have said Sidekick character die, and in the absence of the word "character" many have taken this to mean a sidekick on any face. This new Status would imply that only a Sidekick character die would be permitted since as it is seemingly not possible to have a "sidekick die" in the reserve pool unless it is on a character face. Is this the correct interpretation or would Black Dwarf allow any face to spin to a fist?

For this Global ability, the Sidekick die must be on its Character face. Hence, the ability should state “spin one of your Sidekick Character dice”.

See this ruling for reference:
viewtopic.php?f=10&t=12758

Meanwhile Storm's ability doesn't seem to mesh with this new update. If the action die is on an energy face, it would not have the status of being an action die. Is Storm's reminder text invalid or is she be a special case?

There will most likely be several non-Modern cards that do not completely coincide with this ruling. These will be handled on a case-by-case basis if a question is posted in the Rules Forum.

For Storm – The Storm Goddess Comes, resolve the effect as it is written on her card. Treat the words in parentheses as specific conditions to resolve her ability and not only as reminder text.