1) I have cards that say "Discard 1 random card from your opponents hand".
This seems very straight forward. Opponents foldsouts his cards you only get to see the back side and pick a card.
2) Then we have cards tha say "Your opponent discards 1 random card from his hand".
This is no longer that simple.
A) I would say that I just discard 1 card while seeing them. Since it has to be random for the controller.
B) Others seem to argue that the random part is for the one discarding the card. But since the controller can see the cards how can it be random. If I were to shuffle the cards in my hand and pick a card then yes that would conform to there view of random. What I see most players do is let the controller pick a card which would imply that the effect is exactly the same as the first text.
I've looked at the meaning of random and there is support for both arguments.
I've checked out all official FAQ's and can not find anything about a discard.
Answer:
Let me begin by saying that this "...I just discard 1 card while seeing them." is NOT how you randomly discard a card.
If you knowingly select the card to discard, how can it be random? When I look at my hand and decide, "hmm... I think I will pick XXX card and discard it", that isn't random. That was you selecting 1 specific card to discard and not using any process to determine, at random, what the card will be.
If a card is selected at random, you have to use some method for choosing that card that is, itself, random. You can shuffle the hand and then place them face-down to have the opponent select which card is discarded. You could set each card down and then roll a die to determine which card is discarded.
It is normally easiest to shuffle your hand and then have your opponent select which card is discarded, because this tends to be the easiest method for randomly discarding a card. The method has to be something that will determine the choice at random. Willfully selecting your own specific card to discard by looking through your hand does not select the card at random.
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Curtis Schultz
Official UDE Rules Dude
CurtisSchultz_Netrep@Hotmail.com
