Essay:Prophecies and Their Timing

With the introduction of Prophecy Cards and Fate abilities in Prophetic Visions there are a lot of effects that will resolve in some new or at least less common timing windows (and some of them are quite quirky.) This essay will attempt to serve as a guide to help players determine when specific prophecies resolve. Note that if there are multiple abilities that resolve in the same timing window, including those of prophecies, the active player determines the order of the resolution of those effects.

General Notes

Important things to remember regarding all prophecies:

• Prophecies only fulfill on your opponent's turn.
• Prophecies are written from the viewpoint of the prophecy's [Control and Ownership|owner].
• Fate: abilities are written from the viewpoint of the active player.

You can download a printable summary of this guide here: Archon Arcana and Bad Penny Press Prophecy Guide

Card Specific Timing

Ask Again Later

Ask Again Later resolves after your opponent has chosen their active house, but before they choose whether or not to pick up their archives. When resolving Ask Again Later, your opponent names a house on your identity card and if the card revealed from your deck doesn't match the named house, Ask Again Later gets fulfilled. This timing window is the same as Giant Gnawbill and Snag’s Mirror. If your deck is empty, no card is revealed, and the prophecy will not fulfill.

Bad Omen

Bad Omen's "at the end of your opponent's turn" happens in the "end of turn" effects window, similar to Fangtooth Cavern or Curse of Cowardice.

Expect the Unexpected

Expect the Unexpected is fulfilled any time your opponent shuffles their deck for any reason during their turn. This includes shuffling their discard pile to refresh their deck, shuffling after a search, or as a result of any ability text that instructs your opponent to shuffle their deck, such as Future is Past, Not Finished with You, Training Costs or Warfaline. If a player has an empty deck and is required to shuffle their deck to form a new draw pile, the prophecy would fulfill before the rest of the draw is completed. In the case of shuffling after a search, the search completes, then the deck is shuffled, then Expect the Unexpected will be fulfilled.

Fate Laughs at Your Plans

Fate Laughs at Your Plans will fulfill when your opponent picks up their archives during step 2 of their turn. It will also fulfill if your opponent picks up only some of their archives as allowed by an effect like The Archivist. Abilities like that found on Prof. Garwynne and Cultural Exchange will not fulfill Fate Laughs at Your Plans.

Forge Ahead With Confidence

Forge Ahead With Confidence will fulfill after your opponent forges a key during their turn. This includes forging a key during Step 1 or by using a card like Key Charge or Key Abduction to forge. Forge Ahead With Confidence will not fulfill after your opponent forges their third key, as the game is over.

Go Forth and Conquer

Go Forth and Conquer fulfills in the same window as other "after fight" effects like those found on Little Niff and Shattered Throne. These can be ordered by the active player in the same resolution window as After Fight: abilities as well.

Heads, I Win

Heads, I Win (and Tails, You Lose) has two abilities. The first ability can be resolved by the person who made the prophecy active. At the end of that player's turn, they can choose to flip the card over, essentially activating the prophecy on the reverse of the card.

The second ability of Heads, I Win will fulfill during the opponent's turn after playing a creature adjacent to a card that matches the played creature's house. If the existing card in the battleline belongs to 1 or more houses that the played card also belongs to, Heads is fulfilled. The prophecy fulfills at the same time as other "after play" effects resolve, which is after any bonus icons on the played creature resolve.

It Only Gets Worse

It Only Gets Worse resolves after the stolen Æmber is added to your opponent’s pool. If an effect steals multiple Æmber, the prophecy fulfills after all Æmber has been moved. The active player chooses the order of any other effects that resolve after Æmber is stolen, such as Book of Malefaction or Molephin.

Look How Far You've Come

Look How Far You’ve Come typically fulfills in step 3 of the turn, though it could possibly fulfill during other steps if another effect results in a creature being played. The prophecy fulfills in the same window as other “after play” effects, so the active player determines the order of resolution for those effects and fulfilling the Prophecy.

Outlook Not So Good

Outlook Not So Good fulfills in a player's “choose an active house” step. The prophecy fulfills after an active house has been selected, but before the choice is made to pick up cards from the player’s archive. Cards like Daat or Book of leQ will not cause Outlook Not So Good to fulfill.

Overreach

Overreach's "after an enemy creature is used to reap" will fulfill in the same window as other "after reap" effects. The prophecy fulfills after the Æmber is gained from the reap. If there are multiple "after reap" effects to be resolved, the active player chooses the order in which those effects are resolved, including when Overreach is fulfilled. Examples of cards would be any card with an After Reap: ability as well as cards like Æmber Imp, Jackpot Greene, and Psionic Officer Lang.

Signs Point to Yes

Signs Point to Yes' "at the end of your opponent's turn" fulfills in the "end of turn" effects window, similar to Fangtooth Cavern or Curse of Cowardice.

Stars Aligned

Stars Aligned's "at the start of your opponent's turn" fulfills in the "start of turn" effects window, which is before the "Forge a Key" and "Choose a House" steps. This is same timing window as the resolution of abilities on cards like Director of Z.Y.X., Gambling Den, and General Order 24.

Tails, You Lose

Tails, You Lose (and Heads, I Win) has two abilities. The first ability can be resolved by the person who made the prophecy active. At the end of that player's turn, they can choose to flip the card over, essentially activating the prophecy on the reverse of the card.

The second ability of Tails, You Lose will fulfill during the opponent's turn after playing a creature adjacent to a card that is different from the played creature's house. If the existing card in the battleline belongs to 1 or more houses that the played card does not belong to, Tails is fulfilled. The prophecy fulfills at the same time as other "after play" effects resolve, which is after any bonus icons on the played creature resolve.

The Cards Will Tell

The Cards Will Tell fulfills when your opponent draws a card during their turn outside of step 5, the "draw cards" step. This fulfills in the same window as Ihaka of the Depths and The Amasser. If an effect would cause your opponent to draw more than 1 card, the draw is stopped while the prophecy fulfills.

The Early Bird

The Early Bird's "at the end of your opponent's turn" fulfills in the "end of turn" effects window, similar to Fangtooth Cavern or Curse of Cowardice.

The End is Nigh

The End is Nigh fulfills on your opponent's turn after the destruction of the third creature that turn. If multiple creatures are destroyed by an effect that results in the third creature being destroyed, complete the resolution of the destruction first, then, once all creatures have left play, fulfill The End is Nigh. The End is Nigh fulfills in the same timing window as the effects on cards like Pile of Skulls, Soul Snatcher, and Tolas. If the destruction of a creature is replaced, it does not count as being destroyed for the fulfillment of The End is Nigh. (Note that Destroyed: abilities resolve prior to creatures leaving play, so prior to the fulfillment of The End is Nigh.)

The Second Mouse

The Second Mouse's "at the end of your opponent's turn" fulfills in the "end of turn" effects window, similar to Fangtooth Cavern or Curse of Cowardice.

Treat Each Action as Your Last

Treat Each Action as Your Last is fulfilled after your opponent plays their second action card in a turn. This falls in the same resolution window as "after play" abilities, and your opponent as the active player chooses which order to resolve these in. This means it's possible for your opponent to choose to fulfill Treat Each Action as Your Last before or after the played action's Play: ability is resolved. Any bonus icons on the played action would still need to resolve first, as those bonus icon resolution happens before the "after play" resolution window.

The played action would not be put into its owner's discard pile until after all "after play" abilities have resolved, including the fulfillment of Treat Each Action as Your Last.

Trust Your Feelings

When you place a card under Trust Your Feelings after making it an active prophecy, you must name any house. A lasting effect is then established that resolves in the same resolution window of other "after a player chooses an active house" abilities. Trust Your Feelings is fulfilled when your opponent chooses that house to be the active house for the turn.

Trust Your Feelings is not fulfilled by abilities such as Daat's, which instruct your opponent to "choose a house", even if that selection results in your opponent's active house changing to the named house.

If Trust Your Feelings becomes a new active prophecy by virtue of it being flipped from Heads, I Win or Tails, You Lose, the resolution of a card being placed under Trust Your Feelings never occurs, and thus its lasting effect is never established. If this happens, it is not possible for Trust Your Feelings to be fulfilled.

Wasteful Regret

Wasteful Regret is fulfilled after your opponent discards a card from their hand during their turn. Since cards are discarded one at a time, Wasteful Regret must be fulfilled after the first card is discarded from their hand even if multiple cards are pending discard. Other cards in hand that are pending discard are still considered to be in that player's hand while Wasteful Regret is fulfilled, and can still be targeted by Fate: abilities that interact with cards in their hand.

Wasteful Regret also falls in the same resolution window as Scrap: abilities, so if your opponent discards a card from their hand that has a Scrap: ability, they as the active player choose if they wish to first resolve the card's Scrap: ability or fulfill Wasteful Regret.

Wounds Into Wisdom

Wounds Into Wisdom is fulfilled after a friendly creature is dealt damage during your opponent's turn. This requires damage to actually dealt to the creature (ie. if damage counters would be placed on the creature). If all pending damage would be prevented through effects, wards, and/or armor, Wounds Into Wisdom would not fulfill. Redistributing damage does not count as damage being dealt, and would also not cause Wounds Into Wisdom to fulfill.

The "after dealt damage" window is at the very end of the damage timing chart and would be processed prior to returning to other abilities in the same or later resolution windows. (For example, if the damage is dealt in a fight, Wounds Into Wisdom would resolve before abilities in the After Fight: resolution window.)

However, if the damage dealt destroys the creature, the complete destruction sequence (resolving Destroyed: abilities, moving cards to discard, etc.) would be processed first prior to fulfilling Wounds Into Wisdom, as processing destruction is nested within the damage sequence itself, and comes before the end of the damage sequence where Wounds Into Wisdom would fulfill. (Similar to Venator Altum's FAQ.)