Justice Pie + Thief
 

Hi,

I looked around, but couldn't find an answer to this question.

Player A is a thief.
Player B is in combat.
Player A uses thief ability by discarding a card.
Player B runs away from combat.
Player B uses Justice Pie.

Is Player A's thief card in "play" after using the thief ability thus allowing Justice Pie affect Player A?

Justice Pie: "Play this card when you are cursed or when you Run Away. The curser, or everyone who played a card against you in combat, must discard two cards!"

Thief: "Backstabbing: You may discard a card to backstab another player (-2 in combat). You may do this only once per victim per combat, but if two players are fighting a monster together, you may backstab each of them."

Re: Justice Pie + Thief
 

No. The thief did not play a card to affect the combat. He discarded a card to power an ability. Those are two completely different instances. Playing a card would have been something like a monster enhancer or a one shot to affect the combat strengths of the munchkins or monsters.