Wand of Dowsing in combat

[Gryphon]

Originally Posted by Andrew Hackard

I'm ruling that the clear intent is that this is a one-shot card, even though it lacks the magical "Usable once only" language, and so the rules of one-shot cards apply to this one as well. It can be played during combat, and it can be used from the hand. (Sorry, Erik.)

Yes, this is an explicit exception, and yes, we'll get this added to the FAQ.

Soooo, WoD is now one-shot item, eh? OK, situation:
Player A is a Wizard and currently is in combat, Player B obtains WoD and using it to find something to drop in Player A's combat. Can Player A charm his monster while Player B is searching card in discard deck?

[Andrew Hackard]

Originally Posted by Gryphon

Player A is a Wizard and currently is in combat, Player B obtains WoD and using it to find something to drop in Player A's combat. Can Player A charm his monster while Player B is searching card in discard deck?

No. Once B plays Wand of Dowsing, he must be allowed to complete his action.

[Gryphon]

Originally Posted by Andrew Hackard

No. Once B plays Wand of Dowsing, he must be allowed to complete his action.

Thank you!

[Andrew Hackard]

Originally Posted by Gryphon

Thank you!

Although, to be UTTERLY clear, the action is complete when B retrieves something from the discard pile. Playing it is a separate action, and A could conceivably split the second between B's retrieval of the card and play of the card. It's unlikely, but possible.

[Grax]

Originally Posted by Andrew Hackard

Although, to be UTTERLY clear, the action is complete when B retrieves something from the discard pile. Playing it is a separate action, and A could conceivably split the second between B's retrieval of the card and play of the card. It's unlikely, but possible.

In this situation, the Wizard would still have to fight the monster that B wanders into the combat though (correct?), even if the initial monster was charmed - effectively the wizard loses his whole hand without getting the treasures from the initial combat until the second monster is resolved.

This thought is based on my understanding of the "2.9 second" rule as well as the "actions must be resolved before the next action can take place". Please correct me if I am assuming too much.

[Bogie1494]

Originally Posted by Grax

In this situation, the Wizard would still have to fight the monster that B wanders into the combat though (correct?), even if the initial monster was charmed - effectively the wizard loses his whole hand without getting the treasures from the initial combat until the second monster is resolved.

This thought is based on my understanding of the "2.9 second" rule as well as the "actions must be resolved before the next action can take place". Please correct me if I am assuming too much.

I don't think the second monster would be able to join the combat if the Wizard was fast enough. I don't have the card anywhere near me at the moment, but I don't believe at least that WoD has the implicit term that whatever you "resurrect" from the discards must be played immediately. Its action is resolved once the card is removed from the discard pile. Using the WoD resurrected card is another action. IIRC from other threads concerning Wizard's Charm, it is immediate and the "2.9s rule" doesn't apply similarly to an Epic Orc just eating a level 1 monster. And if the Charm is activated before the other player could wander in the WoD monster then combat would be over.

[MunchkinMan]

We've established, here and in the FAQ, that if a Wizard uses his charm spell, that the "2.6 second" rule does still apply, and people can wander in another Monster. What does happen immediately is the removal of the Monster, which is complete, so anything enhancing that specific Monster goes with it (under the most common circumstances). The same goes for the Orc's epic ability, Monster Munch.

Here are the appropriate FAQ entries:

Originally Posted by The FAQ

Q. Some cards say they automatically defeat a certain type of Monster (like the Snickersnee and Scary Clowns, or the Churninator and Level 1 monsters). Can anyone interfere with this? Can anyone play a Wandering Monster?
A. Yes. You may have automatically defeated the monster in question, but your fellow munchkins still have 2.6 seconds to respond. They probably cannot do anything to help the now-defeated monster, but they can still wander in a new one for you to fight. (But if the monster had special "bring in a friend" rules, such as -goths and Bats, you cannot use those rules, because the original monster is no longer there.)

. . .

Q. Does the "2.6 seconds rule" apply to defeating a monster without killing it, or just to killing it?
A. Any sort of defeat. If you defeat it without killing it, other players still have about 2.6 seconds to play an applicable card to frustrate you. However, if you removed the only monster from the fight (with Magic Lamp, for instance), they cannot play Monster Enhancers or other similar cards that affect a specific monster, because there isn't one there to fight, and they can't use any special rules for bringing in monsters (such as the Shark rules from Munchkin Booty) that depend on having a monster in the fight. They can play Wandering Monster to bring in an entirely new monster, though, as long as they do it at once.