This arose a couple of nights ago playing Wraith against Baron Blade. I’ve taken a look around but can’t find another thread that answers this, so here goes:
Blade has Backlash Field in play, and Wraith uses Throat Jab. Wraith takes damage from Backlash Field but, after that, Throat Jab prevents Baron Blade from dealing any damage until Wraith’s next turn.
The wording of Backlash Field says Blade does the damage caused by Backlash Field, not the BF card itself. So if other heroes hit Blade before Throat Jab wears off, Backlash Field can’t hurt them because damage has to come from Blade, and Blade is incapacitated.
I think the above is correct, but maybe not obviously so.
The reason backlash field goes off before Throat Jab causes Blade to not be able to deal damage is, I think, because the two effects on Throat Jab (deal damage; prevent future attacks) are in separate sentences, so the trigger effect from Backlash Field has a chance to go off.
^^ Yeah, I’d read elsewhere on here that Wraith gets backlashed - I mostly needed clarification on the second part, that other heroes can’t be backlashed while Throat Jab is in effect.
Assuming Backlash Field has Baron Blade deal the damage and not “this card” (I don’t have the cards in front of me), you are correct. He would not deal backlash damage to anyone else.
I’m curious if it’s separate sentences, or separate “sections” on the card. There is a visible space between the 2 effects on Throat Jab. However, I would question if the same is true for Stun Bolt. Would he deal back 3 or 1? The sentences on Stun Bolt are crammed together all into 1 effect… though that could just be to space constraints.
I think you’ve nailed it – it’s separate sentences, not “sections”. Sections or the lack thereof are more related to available space, I think, than any mechanics of the game.
Honestly, I just think of it as a set of function calls, being loaded into a stack space of sorts. The Throat Jab card (or Stun Bolt as the case may be) calls the “Deal damage to this target” fuction," which then calls the “Deal damage to you” function on the Baron Blade character card. The Backlash Fiend had previously registered a “Retaliate” callback function with the Baron Blade character card, which then gets called once the “Deal damage to you” function finished reducing Baron Blade’s HP. The “Retaliate” function (without getting into all the similar details I’ve already gotten into) deals damage to the source target, and then is finished, and returns control to the “Deal damage to you” function. Assuming no other callbacks were registered, the “Deal damage to you” function returns control back to “Deal damage to this target” function. Now the card is finished dealing damage, and continues on to the next instruction listed on the card (which occurs after the “Retaliation” function). I guess it may sound rather complex to other people, but, for me, it makes everything so incredibly simple.
I’ve been wondering the same thing, but about one of Spite’s drugs. You know the one, the “powers deal you damage and mill you” one. When would this trigger? Is this after you declare you’re using a power or after you finish resolving your power?
Christopher answered that one. It happens after the power resolves, but since that one triggers on “using a power” rather than “taking damage” it’s a little different than Backlash.