I’m not sure why we’re inventing a mechanic where if something would be referring to its self but can’t, it refers to other cards of that name. There’s no indication in the rules that media blitz should work non-intuitively (ie, having weird interactions by copying triggered abilities and treating them as constant abilities).
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I think it’s important to have inane discussions about the rules so that (a) we know how and why they work when it comes up; and (b) FFG write less ambiguous rules in future.
If there was a card that said “Project Beale is worth 1 more agenda point for each agenda counter hosted on it.” You would correctly, I believe, assume that did indeed make agenda counters on overscored Beales count double. Media Blitz says that it copies the text (and not the name) of a card, so…?
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No, because the other Beale checks are self-referential. You can’t overadvance a Beale and then score a different one with that first Beale’s number of points. It works on Medical Breakthrough because that changes stuff for the other Medical Breakthroughs as well.
But there’s not many ways to put advancements on Media Blitz. Even if you do, the “when scored” text won’t trigger, so there wouldn’t be agenda counters, and there’s no way to add those outside of draft.
But even if you couuld put agenda counters on Media Blitz, it wouldn’t matter because you can’t score it.
At no point does it enter your scoring area. I don’t care if that’s where you put Currents (or Jacksons, or whatever else), it is not scored. Even if it’s worth 5 agenda points, there’s no way to move it from being “current that is in effect constantly and in that weird limbo area” to “scoring area”. At all.
Again, with emphasis:
No matter what janky tricks you think up to make Media Blitz worth points, you cannot score it.
This goes for those that want to use it to duplicate Domestic Sleepers, too. Doesn’t work. Or, it does, but you don’t get anything for it. There’s just no point.
You don’t get the “when scored” or the “when stolen” or even the “when accessed” triggers because Media Blitz can’t do any of that after being played. The only benefits are constant ones.
[quote=“MasterAir, post:548, topic:3984”]
If there was a card that said “Project Beale is worth 1 more agenda point for each agenda point hosted on it.” You would correctly, I believe, assume that did indeed make agenda counters on overscored Beales count double. Media Blitz says that it copies the text (and not the name) of a card, so…?
[/quote]There is. It’s called Project Beale. Putting an agenda counter on one doesn’t make them both worth 3 points.
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But that’s because in the rules where cards refer to itself by name they refer to that instance of the card. I’m not sure we know of any card that refers to another card by name.
I don’t think you can make Media Blitz worth points. But I think it’s a valid question.
We’ve already seen self-referential abilities act in odd ways when copied by other cards (e.g. Wormhole/Data Raven shenanigans). Extrapolation implies that Media Blitz’s copied text might affect other cards named Project Beale in your score pile rather than itself.
Still, I do agree that Lukas probably didn’t have cheap 6-point Beales in mind when he made Media Blitz. The increasing number of copy effects in the game are just making things really complicated.
I didn’t find Wormhole/Data Raven weird at all. Wormhole seemed pretty clear to me.
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ok, so people trying to get one over on the rules aside, what can Media Blitz actually do?
Gila Hands, Private Security Force? seems like i’d rather just try to score them like i normally do if i’m so inclined to play them
the fragments? too bad they can’t double up, but you can still get the ability if it’s stolen. i don’t think even then i’d try to make a deck that revolved around scoring a fragment, since they’re still one per deck
and so those are well and good, but would anyone actually construct a deck with those in mind?
what about Medical Breakthrough? that might be interesting in a Tennin FA with Trick of Light or something, letting one stolen MB turn the others into a 2/2
here’s a list of all the agendas that can actually do something if copied by Media Blitz (help me if i made any mistakes)
- Ancestral Imager
- Eden Fragment
- Encrypted Portals (just the increased strength)
- Gila Hands Arcology
- Government Contracts
- Government Takeover (a failed Punitive won’t leave you high and dry, but you’re still on the clock if you manage to get this one)
- Hades Fragment
- Mandatory Upgrades (could see this being worth it as well)
- Medical Breakthrough
- Private Security Force
- Restructured Data Pool
- Self-Destruct Chips (maybe a janky Cybernetics Division handsize flatline deck, but there are probably better ways to spend the influence)
- Sentinel Defense Program (could be decent with some of the newer cards like Batty and An Offer You Can’t Refuse + Ryon Knight landing Brain Damage more easily)
- Superior Cyberwalls (just the increased strength)
- The Cleaners (i’m assuming currents can still mean the corp by saying ‘you’)
- Utopia Fragment
new agendas:
- Improved Tracers
- Rebranding Team (maybe for that New Angeles Sol deck that really wants to advertise everything)
from camelCase (below)
cards that are added to the runner’s score area (all the directors so far, and doesn’t seem that any of the others matter)
- The Board
- Chairman Hiro
- Director Haas
- Victoria Jenkins
seems this doesn’t work: https://twitter.com/rukasufox/status/628179631506649088
[quote=“MasterAir, post:550, topic:3984”]
But that’s because in the rules where cards refer to itself by name they refer to that instance of the card. I’m not sure we know of any card that refers to another card by name.
I don’t think you can make Media Blitz worth points. But I think it’s a valid question.
[/quote]I guess? I just don’t know how you get agenda counters onto it in the first place to make it matter. Or advancements, even. So even in the event that it did do something there, I can’t see how you can make it do that thing, at which point I start losing interest pretty quickly.
Makes the third a 1/2, which is even more preposterous than usual.
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It’s not the one in your opponents score area (although they can have agenda counters if turntables happen) it’s doubling up on overscored Beales that you have scored as 5/3 or 7/4. These could potentially become 4 or 6 point agendas (2 + 1 for their own text +1 for Media Blitz for each agenda counter). You put those agenda counters on in the normal way.
I’m not saying that’s how it does, or should work. I’m just saying it seems a logical interpretation of the rules and cards as written.
If you play Restructured Datapool and Private Security Force in the same deck, you only need to score one of them to make the runner’s life very unpleasant, as opposed to the pie-in-the-sky of scoring both.
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Don’t forget about things that aren’t agendas that are added to the runner’s score area as agendas:
- Chairman Hiro
- Director Haas
- The Board
Depending on if Unique identifiers are considered card text, you could feed a Hiro to the runner, play media blitz and rez another one for -4 hand size. Also free clicks with Director Haas.
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[quote=“higgs_bozo, post:556, topic:3984, full:true”]
If you play Restructured Datapool and Private Security Force in the same deck, you only need to score one of them to make the runner’s life very unpleasant, as opposed to the pie-in-the-sky of scoring both.
[/quote]sure i guess, but that doesn’t sound like the makings of a good deck.
ah good call. will edit them in.
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The code on Harbinger is International telegraphy alphabet no. 2 a Baudot code
it is also the same code used by the AI in the Harlan Ellison classic “I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream” about a digital consciousness (called AM) who eternally tortures the remnants of the human race. Fun times!
AM text:
“I THINK THEREFORE I AM”
also
“COGITO ERGO SUM”
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Harbinger: I AM BECOME DEATH
Apocalypse: THE DESTROYER OF WORLDS
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was wondering about that, thanks. i had completely forgotten about that from the one time long ago i had read the story because it was just nonsense to me at the time.
for anyone curious about I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream, it’s pretty intense, but you can read it here: http://hermiene.net/short-stories/i_have_no_mouth.html
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just had another thought.
Dr. Lovegood and Drug Dealer (Old Hollywood) turns two cards and 3c into ‘draw a card at the start of the corp’s turn’
maybe he’s related to Oprah. ‘everyone gets a corp draw!’
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Does dr love good work with Joshua b to get a free click per turn?
no, because Joshua B’s full effect triggers and remembers later at the end of your turn. even if Joshua B were trashed, you still get the tag at the end of the turn. just like how Keyhole still makes your run a Keyhole run if it gets trashed or turned off midrun
i was also thinking how Dr. Lovegood makes Activist Support even worse, not better lol 
i think the only use for that card was a decent-looking playmat
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It used to enable crazy Blackmail decks. Now you can play Valencia.
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So I just realized something that I haven’t seen mentioned yet. With all the talk of Film Critic hosing Corp play, there is one (especially with Media Blitz shenanigans), very important thing it doesn’t do. It doesn’t clear Corp currents, as you never steal the agenda. I’m not sure how pertinent this will end up being, but I think it’s at least something to keep in mind.
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