So no chance to play with friends yet since I just got the box.. maybe this weekend. Meanwhile I was shuffling the new decks, dealing myself cards and "pretending" to play against an invisible deck... just to get a feel for what the new heroes are like.
Well with Argent Adept I got out the following cards:
Telamon's Lyra: Power: Activate the Perform text of a harmony card and the accompany text of a rythm card.
Inspiring Supertonic: Ongoing, Harmony: Perform: One player may use a power now.
Syncopated Onlsaught: Ongoing, Rythm. Accompany: The argent adept deals 1 target 1 sonic damage.
So... Lyra, Power and 1 damage, Lyra, Power and 1 damage, Lyra, Power and One Damage, Lyra, Power and One Damage, etc.
It is an infinite loop that keeps spitting out 1 sonic damage until all targets that cannot prevent 1 damage are turned to dust. If you also have Counterpoint Bullwark you could have everyone draw their decks too...
So I'm not a big fan of "well if those 3 cards are a win, they are a win" so I'm wondering what I should house rule.
Say the Lyra is in use (since it says NOW) and cannot be used until it resolves... or admit it is an infinite loop and make an infinite loop clause ("ok Billy, you get 3 loops but that is it!")?
It’s not infinite because of one specific rule: a Power can only be used once in a turn. (Per page 6 of the Enhanced Edition rulebook: “Even if a hero may use multiple powers in a turn, each instance of a power may only be used once per turn.”)
So, while the Lyra will allow you to use another instrument (or even his base power), which might also allow you to use Inspiring Supertonic again, it won't let you use it's power again that turn; you'll eventually run out of powers you haven't already used in that turn.
If you could somehow add into your loop destroying an instrument, redrawing it, and replaying it, then you might have an argument that it is a new instance of the power. But even that is a bit iffy and I would be pretty impressed if you found a reliable way to do it.
The "each individual power may only be used once per turn" rule has been important since day one, as Legacy using The Legacy Ring to "Galvanize" twice is pretty ridiculous and way over-powered. One of the reasons The Argent Adept is considered a higher difficulty hero is that he specifically plays off that rule.
Related question: Can Performs and Accompanies be used only once per turn, as well? That's how we've been playing it, but I can't recall seeing anything specific in the rules about that.
I think the reason people are getting confused now is that the older cards said "you may use an additional power…" and even without knowing the once per turn rule they tended to intuit that this meant multiple powers. Argent Adept says "use a power now", and even though this is less confusing for the timing of off turn power use, you need to remember to tell people the rule that each power can only be used once a turn unless a card specifically says otherwise.
Related question: Can Performs and Accompanies be used only once per turn, as well? That's how we've been playing it, but I can't recall seeing anything specific in the rules about that.
Page 2 of the Infernal Relics rulebook states that Perform and Accompany abilities are NOT powers and may be used multiple times a turn.
Nice... I'm happy to wrap my head around him before the weekend comes... we have an overdue rematch against Voss but right after I wanna see AA and Nightmist against one of the new mystic villains...
The Apostate has something similar to this with the Gauntlet of Perdition and Close Quarters Combat in Megalopolis. Does that just loop too or is there some rule I missed.
(Per page 6 of