Thorg Taunt + Teleport

[lettucemode]

Thorg is in one zone, his controlling mage and an enemy Grizzly are in an adjacent zone. Thorg taunts the Grizzly. The Grizzly's controller teleports the Grizzly one zone such that he is two zones away from Thorg. The Grizzly is activated and wants to move into its original zone to attack the Mage. Can it do this?

The rulebook says "If the Taunted creature is in a zone adjacent to Thorg, then it must either move into Thorg’s zone, or make a ranged attack which targets Thorg, if able." This seems to suggest that the Grizzly would have to attempt the double-move into Thorg's zone after moving into the Mage's zone, since there is no restriction on when the Taunt is checked. However he would be hindered by the Mage after making the first move and so could not complete the double-move, leaving him free to attack. If the Grizzly was Elusive however, he must double-move to Thorg's zone.

The FAQ says "When that creature is activated, its controller must determine if it can make a ranged attack against Thorg, or move into Thorg’s zone. If it is able to do either of these, it must take one of those actions." This also suggests that the Grizzly must double move into Thorg's zone but is less restrictive. The Taunt is checked at the time of the Grizzly's activation and Thorg is reachable with a double-move if there is a non-hindering path, and the Grizzly is forced to take that path.

What say you?

[ACG]

Thorg is in one zone, his controlling mage and an enemy Grizzly are in an adjacent zone. Thorg taunts the Grizzly. The Grizzly's controller teleports the Grizzly one zone such that he is two zones away from Thorg. The Grizzly is activated and wants to move into its original zone to attack the Mage. Can it do this?

The rulebook says "If the Taunted creature is in a zone adjacent to Thorg, then it must either move into Thorg’s zone, or make a ranged attack which targets Thorg, if able." This seems to suggest that the Grizzly would have to attempt the double-move into Thorg's zone after moving into the Mage's zone, since there is no restriction on when the Taunt is checked. However he would be hindered by the Mage after making the first move and so could not complete the double-move, leaving him free to attack. If the Grizzly was Elusive however, he must double-move to Thorg's zone.

The FAQ says "When that creature is activated, its controller must determine if it can make a ranged attack against Thorg, or move into Thorg’s zone. If it is able to do either of these, it must take one of those actions." This also suggests that the Grizzly must double move into Thorg's zone but is less restrictive. The Taunt is checked at the time of the Grizzly's activation and Thorg is reachable with a double-move if there is a non-hindering path, and the Grizzly is forced to take that path.

What say you?

I agree with your interpretation; if it is possible for the taunted creature to move into Thorg's zone (i.e. it may legally do so), then it must move into Thorg's zone.

[IndyPendant]

Incorrect, actually.  The second quote is a clarification of the first.  Thus, the checks only happen when the creature is first activated.  In the OP's example, since at the time of activation the creature was two zones away from Thorg, Taunt does not take effect and it is not required to move into Thorg's zone.

Note that a Taunted creature with a Ranged 0-2 attack (such as a Royal Archer) would not be required to attack Thorg if activated when two zones away from Thorg, either.

[Zuberi]

If I understand the question, you would like to know when the Taunt is checked. Either:

A) When the creature finds itself within one zone of Thorg.
B) When the creature is activated.

The Codex entry seems to tell us that A is correct, while the FAQ seems to tell us that B is correct. I kind of get the same impression as IndyPendant in that the RAI is that both must be correct and the Taunt only has an effect if the creature is one zone away from Thorg when activated. However, you are correct in that the rules are not explicitly written that way. You have to combine both sources to get that ruling.

Thus, I would personally rule that both conditions have to be met, but I do not think you would be completely out of line if you decided to go with just one or the other. As far as which one is more legitimate though, in such a case, both are equally so and you would just have to flip a coin.

[Shad0w]

Check the date on the docs. I will also message Aaron to see if we get current info.

[Laddinfance]

This is quite interesting and I'm looking into it now. I think it's fair to say either side could be correct. However, I will say that the Rules and Codex supplement is clear that Manditory Actions are checked at the start of a creatures action. But Thorg's taunt had the stipulation if they're within 1 zone, so right now I would be inclined to say that if you "teleport" away from Thorg that his taunt would have no effect. But, There is fair room on both sides of this issue. I'm going to dig into it a bit.

[IndyPendant]

Heh.  And I was so sure.

Now I'm confused!  And eager to see what the solution becomes. ; )

[sIKE]

I would rule that the teleport breaks (everything, cause we know that it does,) the Taunt even if teleported to the same zone.