Cleric and hoard daisy-chaining

[Clipper]

Yes, I've made the same mistake in the past by misreading that FAQ entry myself.

As for why you have the separate stack of discards, that's because all such card effects have been ruled to be handled that way on the forums. If you take Cleric literally, then you could draw cards from the discards and then discard the cards you just drew as payment, but that is not allowed as the cards are not yet deemed to have entered your hand until the card resolves either, in the same way that the cards you discard don't enter the discard pile until the card resolves.

The only card I am aware of that breaks this trend and doesn't use the effective limbo area for cards you draw and discard is the Duck of Many Things, and that's because it very specifically declares that each action of the card is to resolve in order.