Counts As

Frequently Asked Questions

Aspects

• If the Lair Aspect finds a way to move their Incarna without counting it as Presence, can you it move to a Coastal land?
  No, "Home of the Island's Heart" applies to your Incarna whether or not it counts as Presence at the time. Any attempt to move it to a Coastal land fails – it and all Invaders, Dahan, Beasts, and Presence that would move with it instead stay where they are.

  (There wasn't space to fit this extra restriction on the Aspect card.)
  Tags: Move, Counts As, Incarna, Lair Aspect (Lure of the Deep Wilderness), 2 more...

Effect Rules

• If your Incarna is the only Presence you have left on the island, do you need to continually count it as Presence to avoid losing?
  No. You can choose to count it as Presence for victory and defeat checks without having to count it as Presence for everything else.

  Similarly, pieces that can count as Beasts don't need to continuously count as such against the Tsardom of Russia, just for the victory and defeat checks.
  Tags: Victory and Defeat, Counts As, Incarna, Settle Into Hunting-Grounds, 3 more...
• Does a piece that counts as two token types (e.g., both a Badlands and a Beasts via "Settle Into Hunting-Grounds") have a double impact on effects scale with both token types (e.g., "Beset by Many Troubles")?
  No. Each piece either counts for the effect or doesn't count for the effect; there's no way for a piece to count multiple times.

  It's akin to counting up the number of rocks that are white or red – a rock that's both white and red would only be counted once.
  Tags: Counts As, Beset by Many Troubles, Beasts Prey on the Injured (Beasts Event), Settle Into Hunting-Grounds, 3 more...
• If a Spirit has a Growth Action that adds or moves its Incarna, can it just leave its Incarna in place (whether on the island or in the supply)?
  No, the Growth Action isn't optional: if the Incarna is in the supply, it must be added; if it's on the island already, it must be moved.

  That being said, you can count an Incarna on the island as Presence for the purpose of checking where it moves. So, e.g., Wandering Voice Keens Delirium can count its Incarna as the Presence it's moving the Incarna to, thereby moving the Incarna to the land it's already in (which would then add Strife with Spread Tumult and Delusion).

  Similarly, with its empowering growth option Ember-Eyed Behemoth can choose to move its Incarna to any land within range 1, including the land it's already in.
  Tags: Move, Counts As, Incarna, Wandering Voice Keens Delirium, 3 more...
• If both a Beasts and something that counts as a Beasts (e.g., a sacred site of Many Minds Move as One) are in the same land and something destroys a Beasts there, can you choose which one is destroyed?
  Yes. Even if there are two ordinary Beasts tokens in a land, players get to choose which one gets destroyed – it just doesn't usually matter which one you pick.

  Similarly, if a Presence and an Incarna are both in a land and something would destroy Presence there, the Spirit can choose whether to destroy the Presence or the Incarna.
  Tags: Counts As, Incarna, Many Minds Move as One, A Joining of Swarms and Flocks (Many Minds Move as One), 8 more...
• If your Incarna and 1 of your Presence are in the same land, is that land a Sacred Site for you?
  Yes, if you choose to count your Incarna as Presence for that action.
  Tags: Sacred Sites, Counts As, Incarna, Ember-Eyed Behemoth, 4 more...
• When I can count one piece as another, can I change that mid-action? (eg: counting Many Minds Move as One's sacred sites as a Beasts?)
  Not generally, no. Unless otherwise specified, the rule for "You may count Thing X as Thing Y" is that you choose per piece, per action, and your decision applies for that whole action.

  You can choose differently for nested actions - eg, if you flip the Blight card and it has immediate effects. (Example: You play Insatiable Hunger of the Swarm, and count all of your Sacred Sites as Beasts. It adds Blight which flips the Blight Card, revealing the one which destroys 1 Beasts on each board. You choose to not count any of your Sacred Sites as Beasts for that. You then continue resolving Insatiable Hunger of the Swarm, and your Sacred Sites count as Beasts for it.)
  (Discussion elsewhere)  Tags: Counts As, Settle Into Hunting-Grounds, Many Minds Move as One, A Joining of Swarms and Flocks (Many Minds Move as One), 0 more...
• When a Spirit with an Incarna adds Presence, may it add its Incarna?
  Yes, but only to reposition an Incarna already on the island. If the Incarna is not on the island, it doesn't count as Presence, so it can't be added by an action that adds Presence.

  The Incarna is considered added even if it's repositioned back into the land it came from. (It's not considered moved.)
  Tags: Adding Presence, Repositioning Presence, Counts As, Incarna, 2 more...

Event Cards

• If the Event Beasts Prey on the Injured happens in a game with Many Minds Move as One, do Many Minds' Sacred Sites count as a Badlands?
  Yes. The Sacred Site counts as a Beasts due to Many Mind's special rule, then counts as a Badlands due to Beasts Prey on the Injured.

  Note that this isn't relevant for Settle Into Hunting-Grounds, since the Presence of a Spirit affected by it already counts as Badlands - see this FAQ.
  Tags: Counts As, Badlands, Beasts, Many Minds Move as One, 3 more...

General Play

• If a Spirit's Presence counts as Beasts (say, due to "Settle Into Hunting-Grounds"), and a "destroy Beasts" effect destroys their Presence, is it still considered destroyed Presence? More generally, if Piece A also counts as Piece B, and a "destroy/remove Piece B" effect destroys/removes it, does it go to the supply for A or B?
  It's considered destroyed Presence. When a piece is removed from the board, it goes to the supply (or other destination) for that physical type of piece.
  Tags: Presence, Pieces, Counts As, Beasts, 15 more...

Power Cards

• If you've used "Settle into Hunting-Grounds" (your Presence counts as Beasts and Badlands), and draw the "Beasts Prey on the Injured" Event (Beasts count as Badlands), does your Presence now count as 2 Badlands each?
  No. "Piece A counts as Piece B" changes (roughly) "what does this physical object represent"; applying it multiple times has no effect.
  Tags: Counts As, Badlands, Beasts, Settle Into Hunting-Grounds, 5 more...
• With Settle into Hunting Grounds, can your Presence count as both Badlands and Beasts for the same action? (e.g., if an Event does Damage per Beasts)
  Yes.

  It can also count as just one or the other.
  (Discussion elsewhere)  Tags: Badlands, Beasts, Counts As, Settle Into Hunting-Grounds, 0 more...
• If Pent-Up Calamity removes a Spirit's Presence to deal damage (via that Presence counting as, e.g., Beasts): can the threshold replace that Presence?
  No, it will replace an actual token of the type you chose to remove.

  When a piece is removed from the board, it goes to the supply (or other destination) for that physical type of piece, it doesn't "remember" what it was while on the island.
  (Discussion elsewhere)  Tags: Pieces, Counts As, Incarna, Pent-Up Calamity, 4 more...
• If a Spirit with an Incarna uses Settle Into Hunting Grounds, can the Incarna still move that turn?
  Yes, but only if you choose not to count it as Presence for that action (and therefore not count it as Badlands or Beasts with Settle Into Hunting Grounds either).

  For instance, Breath of Darkness Down Your Spine using Leave a Trail of Deathly Silence can't get the Badlands bonus if they choose to Push the Incarna.
  Tags: Counts As, Incarna, Settle Into Hunting-Grounds, Leave a Trail of Deathly Silence (Breath of Darkness Down Your Spine), 1 more...

Spirits and Innate Powers

• If Many Minds Move as One uses "Settle Into Hunting-Grounds," do the two "may count as Beasts" rules stack?
  No. A land with 2 of their Presence could count as 1 Beasts (via their Special Rule) or 2 Beasts (via the Major Power), but not 3.
  Tags: Counts As, Many Minds Move as One, Settle Into Hunting-Grounds, A Joining of Swarms and Flocks (Many Minds Move as One), 3 more...
• When a Spirit uses a special rule to make a sacred site with only one Presence (e.g., River Surges in Sunlight using River's Domain in a Wetland), do they count as having two Presence there?
  No, they still just count as having as many Presence as they have disks in the land.

  Similarly, when an Incarna counts as a Sacred Site, it's still just counts as one Presence.

  While two Presence is enough to make a land a Sacred Site (as suggested by the iconography), the reverse is not true.
  (Discussion elsewhere)  Tags: Sacred Sites, Counts As, Incarna, River's Domain (River Surges in Sunlight), 4 more...
• If Rising Heat of Stone and Sand has a Sacred Site in a land for targeting purposes due to "Entwined Power," do Invaders there have -1 Health from its "Blistering Heat" Special Rule?
  No, the Spirits can use each other's Presence for targeting only, not for any other purpose (even in the period of targeting).

  To expand on the situation, a land contains one Presence from Rising Heat of Stone and Sand, one Presence from another Spirit, and a Town with 1 Damage. "Entwined Power" is used between the two Spirits, and then Rising Heat uses a Power that requires a Sacred Site there for targeting. Even though targeting the Power is legal by "Entwined Power," the land only counts as a Sacred Site for Targeting, not for the Special Rule "Blistering Heat."
  Tags: Counts As, Rising Heat of Stone and Sand, Blistering Heat (Rising Heat of Stone and Sand), Entwined Power, 0 more...
• When Roiling Waters Bleeding adds a non-Beasts piece that counts as a Beasts token (e.g., the Presence of a Spirit under "Settle Into Hunting-Grounds"), does it deal Damage?
  Generally, no. "Lands of Blood and Savagery" checks if the piece that's being added is already a Beasts, not if it will be a Beasts once it arrives.

  Nevertheless, Roiling Waters Bleeding deals Damage if repositioning a piece on the island that already counts as a Beasts, whether that's the Incarna of Breath of Darkness Down Your Spine, the Presence of a Spirit under "Settle Into Hunting Grounds", or a Sacred Site belonging to Many Minds Move as One.
  Tags: Counts As, Repositioning Presence, Roiling Waters (Wounded Waters Bleeding), Wounded Waters Bleeding, 5 more...
• Can you use an optional “counts as” effect to get an Element marker from Observe the Ever-Changing World? (e.g., by making a Presence count as a Beasts with Settle into Hunting Grounds)
  No, "counts as" effects don't change which pieces are in a land, just which traits those pieces have. A Presence turned into a Presence-Beasts-Badlands by Settle into Hunting Grounds is still the same Presence it always was; it just also counts towards effects that check Badlands and Beasts.
  Tags: Counts As, Incarna, Observe the Ever-Changing World (Shifting Memory of Ages), Shifting Memory of Ages, 1 more...
• If Many Minds Moves as One gathers multiple Sacred Sites into one land with an action, do they still count as separate Beasts for the rest of that action?
  Yes, while Many Minds can only use A Joining of Swarms and Flocks on one pair of Presence in each of its Sacred Sites (Jagged Earth, page 29), those Presence-pairs-as-Beasts remain Beasts for the rest of the action even if they move to new lands. In particular, Many Minds can use The Teeming Host Arrives to gather Presence pairs from three different lands with the middle threshold and then Push each of those Presence pairs with the final threshold.

  This doesn't let Many Minds gather multiple pairs of Presence from the same land with a single Gather instruction, so The Teeming Host Arrives can't gather more than two Presence from one land.
  Tags: Counts As, A Joining of Swarms and Flocks (Many Minds Move as One), The Teeming Host Arrives (Many Minds Move as One), Tigers Hunting, 5 more...
• Playing Many Minds Move as One: if I treat my Sacred Site as Beasts Token in order to move it, do I have to move both Presence to the same land?
  Yes.

  If the Sacred Site consists of more than two Presence, all but two of those Presence get left behind. [JE p. 29]
  Tags: Sacred Sites, Counts As, Many Minds Move as One, A Joining of Swarms and Flocks (Many Minds Move as One), 0 more...
• What happens when an Incarna would go to place off the island that only Presence goes, like being returned to a Presence Track by "Numinious Crisis" or moved to Serpent's "Deep Slumber" track by "Absorb Essence"?
  It leaves the island, ceases to be Presence because it's no longer on the island, and returns to the Incarna supply instead of wherever it was going to go. It can then be added to the island normally by anything that adds that Incarna.

  For "Absorb Essence" in particular, both Serpent and the other Spirit will get the immediate benefits of using the Power, but Serpent's Presence limit won't go up.
  Tags: Counts As, Incarna, Absorb Essence (Serpent Slumbering Beneath the Island), Deep Slumber (Serpent Slumbering Beneath the Island), 2 more...