Question about the 5 O'Clock Shadow
 

This came up in our last game. One of the players played it at about 5:55pm. More cards were played after, and the combat wasn't resolved until shortly after 6pm.

The argument arose from the person it was played against saying that, as it was now after 6pm, it was now only a level 5 monster. The person who played it said that it was played between the 5-6 time limit, and therefore should remain level 20.

What is the official ruling on this?

Re: Question about the 5 O'Clock Shadow
 

I'm no expert, but it seems to me that you would go by the time that the monster hit the table.

Re: Question about the 5 O'Clock Shadow
 

I'd be interested to see the official ruling, because I'd been assuming that if you pass that time during the combat, then it changes.

Re: Question about the 5 O'Clock Shadow
 

Same here. Think about the reverse situation. The monster goes down at 4:58 and someone plays a +10 on it. Time passes as combat goes on and 5:00 passes and the monster is now higher level which could make the initial play of the +10 unnecessary, resulting in a waste of the card.

Re: Question about the 5 O'Clock Shadow
 

The card says the that the Monster "is Level 20 between 5:00 and 6:00[,]" emphasis mine, which means that it doesn't matter when it hit the table. It matters what time it is at the moment that you're checking. Had it said that the Monster was Level 20 if played or found between 5:00 and 6:00, that would be a completely different story.

Re: Question about the 5 O'Clock Shadow
 

Thanks for the official ruling.