23 Seconds UFAQ

This is the seventh in a series of unofficial FAQs released with each new data pack. Below are rulings from ANCUR staff regarding some of the cards in 23 Seconds, as approved by lead designer Damon Stone.

FAQ 3.1 Update

1. Can the Corp purge virus counters if there are no virus counters hosted on any cards and the only purge-to-trash card in play is a Political Graffiti hosted on an agenda in a score area?

Yes.

2. What does the new “Cannot” section of the FAQ mean? Are there any game play examples to demonstrate it?

“Cannot” always takes precedence over “may” or “must” abilities. If the subroutine on Excalibur resolves during a run initiated by Jak Sinclair, then Always Be Running will not be able to require the Runner to spend their first click to make a run. The Runner could play Deuces Wild after hitting Excalibur, and could choose the effect that exposes a piece of ice, but could not make a run: the rest of the effect fails to resolve.

3. Is there a difference between “make a run” and “having made a run”? Does the new “Initiate vs Make a Run” section change how effects like SEA Source, Power Shutdown, etc. work?

“Having made a run” counts any run initiated by any means, so there is no change in the functionality of cards like SEA Source or Power Shutdown. The new FAQ section about “make a run” versus “initiate a run” only applies in the context of effects instructing the Runner to run. The only card that currently distinguishes between making and initiating a run is Always Be Running.

Pālanā Foods

This ruling is an update to the original ruling in the Business First UFAQ to account for the new turn structure numbering.

4. The Runner has Safety First and Drug Dealer installed. What is the exact timing of the two draw effects, and how many times does Pālanā Foods gain 1?

Conditional abilities that trigger when the Runner’s turn ends do so at Runner 2.4, and abilities that trigger when the Corp’s turn begins do so at Corp 1.2. Pālanā Foods will gain a credit for both Safety First and for Drug Dealer, assuming each was the first time the Runner drew a card.

Mumbad City Hall

These rulings are reversals to the original rulings provided in the Democracy and Dogma UFAQ due to the update to the search and shuffling rules.

5. If Near-Earth Hub uses Mumbad City Hall to install Mumba Temple in a new remote server, do they draw a card before or after shuffling R&D?

During resolution of the search effect from Mumbad City Hall, shuffling R&D must come before doing anything with the card the Corp searched for. Thus, R&D is shuffled before installing Mumba Temple and triggering Near-Earth Hub.

6. If the Corp uses Mumbad City Hall to play Heritage Committee, when is R&D shuffled?

During resolution of the search effect from Mumbad City Hall, shuffling R&D must come before doing anything with the card the Corp searched for. Thus, Heritage Committee is played only after R&D is shuffled.

Personality Profiles

This ruling is a slight clarification to the original ruling provided in the Salsette Island UFAQ. The trigger still happens before the search.

7. Does Personality Profiles trigger when the search for Hostage begins or after a connection is found and added to the Runner’s grip?

When the search initiates, before the Runner looks at the stack.

Raman Rai

This ruling is a reversal of the original ruling provided in the Salsette Island UFAQ due to the new timing structures for gaining and losing clicks introduced in FAQ 3.1.

8. Does the Corp have clicks yet during the Draw Phase? Can they use Raman Rai with the mandatory draw?

No, the Corp does not have clicks to lose until the Action Phase begins.

Temple of the Liberated Mind

This ruling is an update to the original ruling provided in The Liberated Mind UFAQ due to the new timing structures for gaining and losing clicks introduced in FAQ 3.1.

9. The Runner uses a power counter from Temple of the Liberated Mind in turn step 1.2 (before "Turn begins") or step 2.3 (before "End of turn"). Can the gained click be spent on actions at either of these times?

The Runner cannot spend clicks on taking actions until "Take actions" during step 1.5 of their turn. Before that step of the turn, clicks can still be lost or spent through card effects, such as Wyldside or Bioroid ice during a run initiated by a card effect. A click gained during step 2.3 after the action phase does not return the runner to the action phase, and it will not be available to spend until the Runner’s next action phase because clicks can only be gained or spent during a player’s own turn. However, it can still be lost by card effects (for example, if the Corp plays An Offer You Can't Refuse and resolves the first subroutine on an Enigma).

Consulting Visit

This ruling is a reversal to the original ruling provided in The Liberated Mind UFAQ due to the update to the search and shuffling rules.

10. When does Consulting Visit shuffle R&D?

During resolution of the search effect from Consulting Visit, shuffling R&D must come before doing anything with the card the Corp searched for. Thus, the found operation is played only after R&D is shuffled.

GPI Net Tap

11. If the expose effect is prevented, can the Runner still trash GPI Net Tap to jack out?

Yes. Each effect is separate from the other. "Then" does not imply any conditionality to the expose effect, it only indicates the order of resolution.

Hernando Cortez

12. If a piece of ice will gain a subroutine from an effect like Sensei or Komainu, does that subroutine factor into the additional cost for Hernando Cortez as well?

No. Those effects cause the next piece of ice encountered to gain a subroutine, but ice is rezzed during the approach.

13. How many credits is the additional cost incurred for rezzing a piece of ice with flexible subroutines while Hernando Cortez's ability is active (such as NEXT Silver, Ashigaru, Tour Guide, etc.)?

The abilities that cause these pieces of ice to gain/lose subroutines are only active once the pieces of ice have been successfully rezzed. Because costs are always paid before the rez, Hernando Cortez will not add an additional cost to these pieces of ice.

Mirror

14. If the number of recurring credits available on Pheromones has decreased (e.g. from the Corp using Cyberdex Virus Suite during the run on R&D), can the Runner still use Mirror to replace a recurring credit if the number of credits still hosted on Pheromones is greater than or equal the number of virus counters?

No. Recurring credits can only be replaced up to the value shown on the card, never over it.

15. Can the Runner use Mirror's ability to replace a spent recurring credit on Whizzard?

Mirror's ability does not require the choice of a card, so it can replace a recurring credit on any active card whether or not it is installed.

16. Can the Runner use Mirror's ability to replace a spent recurring credit on a Corp card?

Yes.

17. If the number of recurring credits available on Pheromones has increased, can the Runner "replace" the new recurring credit using Mirror's ability?

No. The recurring credit must have actually been spent.

18. The Runner starts the turn with 1 virus counter on Pheromones. The Runner then makes a run on HQ, during which the Runner spends the credit on Pheromones and the Corp uses Cyberdex Virus Suite. The Runner makes a second run on HQ, bringing the number of virus counters on Pheromones to 2. If the Runner then makes two successful runs on R&D, can Mirror replace a spent credit on Pheromones both times?

The first Mirror trigger can replace a recurring credit, but the second Mirror trigger cannot. Mirror cares only whether the card hosted recurring credits that were spent since the last replacement, but the game will only allow Mirror to replace a credit if there is "room" for the recurring credit to be replaced.

Deuces Wild

19. When does the Runner choose and resolve the second option for Deuces Wild?

The Runner does not have to choose which mode to resolve next until the first has finished resolving.

20. Can the runner choose the same option on Deuces Wild twice?

No.

21. With Always Be Running installed, may a Runner play Deuces Wild with their first click?

No. Deuces Wild is not a Run event.

22. If all ice is rezzed, can the runner select the fourth option on Deuces Wild?

Yes. Each effect is separate from the other. "Then" does not imply any conditionality to the expose effect, it only indicates the order of resolution.

23. Why is Dan D'Argenio depicted as wearing sleeves on Deuces Wild?

Cards must be sleeved to be legal for tournament play.

Fairchild 1.0

24. What happens if the Runner has no installed cards or no credits when encountering Fairchild 1.0?

When one of Fairchild 1.0's subroutines resolves, the Runner must follow the instructions to the extent that they are able. So if they have no credits, they will need to trash an installed card. If they have no installed cards, they will be forced to pay a credit. If they have neither credits nor installed cards, they will not be able to fulfill the instruction at all, so the subroutine does nothing.

Chrysalis

25. Can the Runner use Political Operative to trash a rezzed Chrysalis

Yes.

Georgia Emelyov

26. Can the Corp move Georgia Emelyov to a new remote server?

No. Georgia Emelyov must be moved to another server that already exists. New remote servers can only be made during installations.

Hard-Hitting News

27. How does "After you resolve this operation, end your action phase." on terminal operations like Hard-Hitting News work?

Immediately after the operation resolves and is trashed from playing it, "after you resolve this operation" triggers meet their trigger condition. Ending the action phase then advances the game to the discard phase. This skips the paid ability window that would normally follow the end of an action, ceases the resolution of any other pending abilities or effects, and invalidates any conditional abilities. If the operation was played as part of a card ability, any remaining effects from that card ability immediately stop resolving as well.

28. If the Corp plays Hard-Hitting News as the first operation for Subcontract, what happens?

The game advances to the discard phase following the resolution and trashing of Hard-Hitting News. The paid ability window that would normally follow the action of playing Subcontract is skipped, and no pending abilities or triggers are resolved - including the playing of a second operation with Subcontract. The played Subcontract is immediately trashed by the game because its resolution is ceased and considered complete.

29. If the Corp plays Hard-Hitting News as one of the operations looked at by Accelerated Diagnostics, what happens?

The game advances to the discard phase following the resolution and trashing of Hard-Hitting News. The paid ability window that would normally follow the action of playing Accelerated Diagnostics is skipped, and no pending abilities or triggers are resolved - including the playing or trashing of any remaining cards looked at by Accelerated Diagnostics. The played Accelerated Diagnostics is immediately trashed by the game because its resolution is ceased and considered complete.

Controlling the Message

30. If the Runner trashes more than one Corp card at the same time, such as with Apocalypse, how many traces does Controlling the Message initiate?

One.

31. If the Runner plays Apocalypse and the trace from Controlling the Message is successful, does Aryabhata Tech trigger?

No. Controlling the Message triggers off of the Runner trashing the installed Corp cards, and only abilities on active cards can trigger.

Sandburg

32. The Corp has 10. A Parasite with 1 hosted virus counter is installed on an Ice Wall without advancement counters. Is the Ice Wall trashed if the Corp plays Hedge Fund?

Yes. The Corp's credit pool dips below 10 after paying the cost of Hedge Fund, so Ice Wall's strength is reduced to zero momentarily.