| Whenever you pass a piece of ice, you may trash Copycat. If you do, choose another rezzed copy of that piece of ice protecting any server. The run continues as if you had just passed the chosen piece of ice (you are now running from this new position). | |
| The copycat function should be used with extreme caution, or you might end up on the wrong side of cyberspace. |
Clarifications[]
| Page 7, Column 1, Paragraph(s) 9, FAQ |
|---|
| If a piece of ice is bypassed, Copycat still triggers since the ice is also passed. |
Related FAQs[]
- FAQ 1.4.28 - Copycat cannot be used after breaking and trashing Paper Wall.
Related Rulings[]
- If the Runner uses Copycat after passing the last piece of ice protecting a server, Awakening Center's and Caprice Nisei's abilities fail to resolve.[1]:Ruling
- If the Corporation uses Himitsu-Bako's ability to return it to HQ, the Runner cannot use Copycat to move the run to another installed Himitsu-Bako.[2]:Ruling
- If the Runner uses Copycat to bounce past a new piece of ice, the run continues by approaching the piece of ice installed after the chosen piece of ice. The Runner does not have to approach any ice before the chosen piece of ice.[3]:Ruling
Reversed Rulings[]
The following rulings used to apply to Copycat but have since been officially reversed.
Sources[]
- ↑ Copycat v. Awakening Center RulingThis is basically a question about what stops conditional abilities from triggering. We know the card becoming inactive does, but does the trigger condition going away due to another ability generally stop it as well?
For instance, suppose I'm running Copycat, and running on a server that's Ice Wall -> Awakening Center with something hosted on it. When I pass the Ice Wall, the Awakening Center's condition is met. But if I trigger the Copycat to move to a different server, does the Awakening Center still happen and do I still have to encounter whatever bioroid is on it?
Similarly, what if there's Caprice Nisei? Does she still get to play the psi game even if I've Copycatted to a different server?
The ability on Copycat would resolve first, and since you are no longer fulfilling the condition for Awakening Center it does not resolve. - ↑ Copycat v. Himitsu-Bako RulingSuppose I have Copycat installed. I make a run and encounter Himitsu-Bako. I break the subroutine. Still at 3.1, the corp chooses to trigger the paid ability of Himitsu-Bako. Can I trigger Copycat?
You cannot trigger Copycat because there is no longer an active reference to the piece of ice that was passed. - ↑ Installing Ice Mid-run RulingAs per the current timing structure of a run, when passing a piece of ICE, if any ICE remains on the server you approach the outtermost ice on the server NOT ALREADY APPROACHED (step 2.1).
Strictly reading this, should the runner pass an Architect or Minelayer which installs a new piece of ICE on the same server, then the runner should not approach the new ICE, and if they pass this also, they'd hop over any already approached ICE (including any bypassed) as they proceed inwards.
This seems kind of unintuitive, but rules-as-written I'm finding it hard to see how it wouldn't be correct without a change to the timing structure, or an addition to the FAQ.
Do you mean to say that the Runner would approach the new piece of ice? That isn’t how it works, but I agree that a strict reading of the rule could support this position. I’ll address this in the next FAQ.