Is sealing a card considered drawing?

@martinsn94, I think you're not supposed to reshuffle to seal in any of those cases. From what I've gathered, the official ruling is that sealing is not drawing, and you only reshuffle when drawing (or when instructed so). If you have to seal cards with an empty deck, you don't seal. If you need to seal cards to pay for an action but your deck is empty, you cannot do said action.

Is that right, @Jordan Luminais?

@Gerardo you're right, but sealing also tels you to reveal x cards, then place them in the sealed deck. So you most likely you can't do a seal action or get a get all the punishment if you dont have enough cards in the deck. That will also give new tactics with the deck if you now you're gonna be forced to seal :)

These are all very good points, and there could very well be dreams later on that rely on the sealing mechanic not reshuffling your deck in order to win that particular dream. In the last dream I played, that would have been a nice mechanic as now half my deck is sealed up and I prefer not to use Awakenings.

Etherfields does seem very deliberate in its rules, so I also hope for an official response soon because I enjoy playing this game RAW. But as you mentioned, until then we should all play this particular mechanic the way that makes the most sense to us and optimizes our enjoyment of the game.

Yeah I am loving the game a ton so far, so either way this shakes out, I’ll be happy.

Regarding my previous comment about "knowing what cards are coming up" ... there are some limitations, so just to temper what I said, I want to referencing this other thread here: https://www.etherfields-secrets.com/forum/turn-cards/are-we-allowed-to-look-at-future-turns

We can still toy with entities in the slumbers to get a preferred loot on the turn cards, but it's a lot more guesswork than simply looking ahead at when your most needed loot will come up.

I've read the thread several times and I think everything is answered, but having to follow the thread is confusing. I'm working on a simpler QA format of the conversation now. Hope to post it soon. It's just being checked for correctness. : )

@Jordan Luminais I cannot speak for others, but for me it boils down to a simple question: in case you are told to seal cards with an empty deck, do you re-shuffle (and don't take a penalty, as you are not drawing)? Or you just do nothing (as you have no cards to seal and you only reshuffle when you need to draw)?

The reason this is confusing is because the first time it was asked, the answer was that you reshuffle and take no penalty (https://www.etherfields-secrets.com/forum/other-cards/sealing-cards-with-empty-influence-deck), but the last AR answer in this very thread is that you are not supposed to reshufle to seal, as you only reshuffle if needed when drawing.

These apparently conflicting answers might actually reflect a difference in meaning we are not grasping (sealing as a punishment vs sealing as a requirement for an action, perhaps?) , or truly be due to a change of thought regading the rule itself. That's why further official clarification would be much appreciated :)

Anyone have any further info on this? Empty influence deck, asked to seal a card ... what happens?

1. If an action is dependent on the seal of a card it cannot be done? Seems correct or at least the 'intention' seems right. Not in the rulebook ..

2. If an entity forces you to seal, but empty deck do you shuffle at no penalty and seal, or just ignore?

3. What if skipping a Slumber, and deck is empty? Shuffle no penalty and seal? Or cant do it?

Be nice to have a definitive answer about SEALING and an empty influence deck

I think the easiest solution is the most internally consistent.

you only seal what you have.

no deck means so sealing. If a Cost requires you to seal, you can’t do it.

This does mean you can’t force an early reshuffle by entity sealing, and it may be wise to deplete your deck early to avoid sealing your last two cards, only to have to seal 3 more on the reshuffle.

This is consistent with the philosophy of the rest of the game which tries to avoid keeping track of numbers between steps (no need to remember how many you still have to seal after the reshuffle.) it also follows the letter of the rules since no where does it state the sealing results in a reshuffle.

Until this is officially stated otherwise, this seems the most internally consistent way now.

@David Lewis This is a good summary David. I will do this unless it is otherwise stated 'officially'. Thanks.

This is exactly how I play since the beginning, that just sound logical :)