Ruling Holon Mentor
- Thread starter Mewq
- Start date
Yes you may.
"Up to" does not include 0. So, you must search for at least 1 Basic Pokemon with Holon Mentor. Otherwise, you cannot play it...
^I thought you could also play it even if you encounter to have 0 basics in the deck left. But if you do, you gotta grab it.
It's the fact that it's not common knowledge. Even if you know you have no basics, you can still use it for whatever odd reason you need to. The reverse is true as well. Nobody knows if you have any basics left in your deck, so if you decide not to take any it's not against the rules. The "up to" with the minimum of one is where it's something that is of common knowledge, like drawing, because you did something and so you have to get something from it.
True: "up to" does not include zero.
Also True: Something can be in your deck but you don't have to take it.
http://pokebeach.com/forums/showthread.php?tid=31443
Also True: Something can be in your deck but you don't have to take it.
http://pokebeach.com/forums/showthread.php?tid=31443
you have to search for at least 1 pokemon it says UP TO 3 POKEMON so zero wouldent be included.
Wow its deja-vu all over again. What is being referred to here and CK has eluded to is that there are two very specific "meta"-rules that are being appealed to here. FYI I use the term meta-rule to help summarize the overall thinking behind many card rulings. I'll try to explain both rules and then explain the answer to your question.
Rule #1:
Question: What does "UP to mean":
It means anything that is NOT 0. Thus if you have a card say Claydol GE which says place up to 2 cards from your hand on the bottom of your deck. That means to move onto the conditional action (drawing to have 6 cards in your hand) you must place 1 or 2 cards on the bottom of your deck.
Rule #2:
Question: If a particular card or card type is in my deck and I've played a supporter / trainer to search my deck for this card or card type am I obligated to "find" it.? [Slight Edit thanks P/M]
No, the contents of the deck is not public knowledge therefore as your opponent has no recourse to check your deck to find out whether there truly is the card you are are suppose to find, then you can "fail the search". I've seen people indicate that this is cheating, when this topic comes up. It is not. It is a concept throroughly ingrained in the card interpretation and game play rulings given in the Compendium. Similarly, others will say you can't play a card for no effect, but all searching cards ask that you shuffle your deck after which is an effect of playing the card.
Now taking the HM question in context. Yes you must search for 1, 2 or 3 Basic and as far as I know you don't have to declare a number before you search, but you can fail your search and hence take 0.
Hopefully that's clear.
BTW If you really want clarity sit and spend a couple hours reading the Compendium. Once you've done this you will understand there is only one interpretation for every card, and when its not clear in the text (even if you happen to think its crystal clear and you are wrong), there will likely be a ruling.
Rule #1:
Question: What does "UP to mean":
It means anything that is NOT 0. Thus if you have a card say Claydol GE which says place up to 2 cards from your hand on the bottom of your deck. That means to move onto the conditional action (drawing to have 6 cards in your hand) you must place 1 or 2 cards on the bottom of your deck.
Rule #2:
Question: If a particular card or card type is in my deck and I've played a supporter / trainer to search my deck for this card or card type am I obligated to "find" it.? [Slight Edit thanks P/M]
No, the contents of the deck is not public knowledge therefore as your opponent has no recourse to check your deck to find out whether there truly is the card you are are suppose to find, then you can "fail the search". I've seen people indicate that this is cheating, when this topic comes up. It is not. It is a concept throroughly ingrained in the card interpretation and game play rulings given in the Compendium. Similarly, others will say you can't play a card for no effect, but all searching cards ask that you shuffle your deck after which is an effect of playing the card.
Now taking the HM question in context. Yes you must search for 1, 2 or 3 Basic and as far as I know you don't have to declare a number before you search, but you can fail your search and hence take 0.
Hopefully that's clear.
BTW If you really want clarity sit and spend a couple hours reading the Compendium. Once you've done this you will understand there is only one interpretation for every card, and when its not clear in the text (even if you happen to think its crystal clear and you are wrong), there will likely be a ruling.
Well writen but your 2nd question isn't entirely correct. If it says "search your deck for a card", then you must add at least 1 card from your deck to your hand.poleskitty said:
You are right P/M obviously the presence of or absense of any generic card in the deck is "public knowledge". I have updated my response to be more specific.