I just wanted to clarify something. Lini's two powers are:
When you play an ally that has the Animal trait, if you would recharge, discard, or bury it for its power, you may instead shuffle it into your deck.
You may discard a card to use a d12 for your Strength or Dexterity die; if the check is against a card that has the Animal or Aquatic trait, recharge the card instead.
Does this mean that when you discard a card to bump up your die (Power 2), you can discard an ally with the Animal trait to shuffle it into your deck? I'm not quite clear on the distinction between playing the card and using a card to activate a power: does using a card to activate a power count as playing it?