Before we set out from the Shire and into the wilds of this set, the Missed Trigger Project took a long look at every trigger waiting along the road. After much reviewing, rereading, and a second breakfast’s worth of discussion, we found only one triggered ability that would be usually considered detrimental and therefore upgrade to a Warning.
That does not mean the journey was without adventure, though. A few triggers are still worth pausing over, and that one in particular sent us there and back again as the team debated it at length before finally settling on an answer. So gather your party, check your packs, and let’s take a closer look at the interesting trigger questions this set has to offer.
Before we begin, we must have a little light on:
The Master of Lake-town
In J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit, the Master of Lake-town is depicted as an opportunistic, greedy leader obsessed with trade, gold, and self-preservation. When Smaug attacks Lake-town, the Master flees with the town’s wealth, eventually dying of starvation in the waste after running off with the dragon-gold given to rebuild the city. His card mechanics reflect this perfectly.
This card had some team members going back and forth. If we review the philosophy found in the M19 Policy Changes article, we are told that Mill effects need to take the whole card into context. If the owner and controller of The Master missed the first triggered ability to mill themselves, it would be a usually detrimental triggered ability and warrant an upgrade to a Warning. But, when you read the second triggered ability though, we are in a little bit of a pickle here. That second trigger cares about the number of cards in graveyards, so maybe this trigger does not meet the requirements to require an upgrade when you take the whole card into context?
Our team went back and forth on this one, eventually reaching out for an Official Answer. We could see justification on both sides of the upgrade and not-upgrade pathways.
The official answer came back: This card’s first trigger is a usually detrimental triggered ability if it effects the owner and controller of it requiring we upgrade to a Warning.
We would also caution that if you took a call and this came up, it’s certainly worth some extra scrutiny.
Peculiarities Worth a Tale at the Green Dragon
No journey through Middle-earth is complete without encountering a few unexpected surprises along the road. To keep your judging adventure on track, here are the rest of the handful of key cards worth mentioning.
Gandalf, Goblins’ Bane trigger makes a physical change to the board state when it resolves, namely dealing 1 damage to each opponent. This trigger is not like Prowess; it will be missed when any part of the trigger has not been acknowledged and it’s not possible it is still on the stack.
If the 1 damage was remembered, then the +1/+1 has not been missed. If called over to a table regarding a discrepancy in Gandalf’s power and toughness, asking about that earlier 1 damage is key.
Last Light of Durin’s Day does not have a Reflexive triggered ability; It reads, “If you do,” instead of reading, “When you do,”.
If you had 5 or more quest counters on this Enchantment, when a Mountain enters and you resolve the trigger, everything just happens as written. The opponent would not have a chance to respond with a Containment Priest effect before Smaug enters!
With the proliferation of Reflexive triggers, this might be confusing for some players.
As The Company learned on their journey through Mirkwood, even the smallest details, like some forgotten triggers, can completely alter the path ahead. So, before you set off for your next event, grab a well-earned second breakfast, and may your tournament floor run smoother than a trip to The Prancing Pony!