The Wonderful Thing About Triggers

Here's the official wording from the MM rulebook:

• If you are instructed to attempt a check, you must do so.

• If you are instructed to succeed at a check to do a thing, and the instruction does not use the word “may,” you must attempt the check; if you succeed, you must do that thing.
• If you are instructed to succeed at a check or do a thing, you must attempt the check; if you fail, you must do that thing.
• If you are instructed to either attempt a check or do something else, choose one of those options.
• If you are presented with 2 or more options, none of which require a check, you may choose any of those options.

Mad Dog says "If you fail to acquire this card, banish an ally that has the Animal trait from your hand or discard pile or you are dealt 1d4 Combat damage." Since there's no check involved, it falls into the last category: you choose.

Vic post clarifying "or" conditions

Indirect Hawksignal response: Hawkmoon gave me the link on an earlier thread.

Thanks a bunch. I hope this made it into the Rulebook, or at least gets FAQed for MM; it's kinda bothersome having to look it up on the forums.

EDIT: LOL, Ninja Vic strikes again, and now my post just looks embarassing...

So characters with scouting abilities are now at a slight disadvantage, because they have an ability that now works only some of the time and backfires part of the time, but paid full cost for that ability out of their character design power budget.

So characters with scouting abilities are now at a slight disadvantage, because they have an ability that now works only some of the time and backfires part of the time, but paid full cost for that ability out of their character design power budget.

Not necessarily. You can look at it as it works some of the time, backfires some of the time, and is super-effective some of the time (since you can get a 'free' explore if the trigger causes an encounter, or you could get one of the few beneficial triggers). Also, in an AP like MM, with lots of traps, scouting tends to be OP, see Alahazra in S&S.

Scouting unbalanced the game. Numerous times we absolutely coasted to victory, even in a tough scenario, because we scouted the villain, left him or her on top of a deck, and took a round or two setting up our hands to temp close the other locations and knock out the big bad. This was a necessary corrective. So far, I think it improves the game.

So characters with scouting abilities are now at a slight disadvantage, because they have an ability that now works only some of the time and backfires part of the time, but paid full cost for that ability out of their character design power budget.

If you feel such characters are less powerful in this environment, you can always choose not to play with them. There are plenty of characters who don't scout, and plenty of players who will use scouting even with triggers in the deck, who can make use of said characters.

But yes, in this set scouting isn't always good. Overkill isn't always good in MM either.

Personally, I think triggers make scouting more interesting.

I have to say that so far, Triggers have been my favorite part of MM. And that's saying something, since there are a huge host of things that I love about this expansion. Not only do they help balance out scouting, they make scouting interesting. There's suddenly tension when I go to flip over that card. Seriously, two thumbs up on this mechanic.