[Takket]

Victory is Life

If I don't have any equipment in my deck, can I just play this for the 5 points and not download?

[Armus]

Victory is Life

If I don't have any equipment in my deck, can I just play this for the 5 points and not download?

You have to try to download because it's not optional. If you can't complete the download due to a lack of legal target, your opponent will get to look through your hand, deck, Tent, and (if applicable) Zalkonian Storage Capsule to verify the lack of legal target.

I would think you'd still score the points, so as long as you don't mind your opponent getting a peek at everything, you still get where you want to be, but that's a lot of information to give away for 5 points.

[9of24]

Victory is Life

If I don't have any equipment in my deck, can I just play this for the 5 points and not download?

I don't believe you can play Victory is Life in such a case. If you tried to play Victory is Life and couldn't target an equipment to download you would not meet the conditions for playing Victory is Life and it would return to your hand. Your opponent would get to verify all applicable areas from which the equipment could have been downloaded from.

[BCSWowbagger]

I think 9of24 is right (EDIT: at least about the bonus points).

I've been hesitant to post because I can't find clear Glossary support for this (I think it's there, I just haven't found it), but my understanding is that you generally score points from a bonus point box if and only if you successfully resolve the card.

[Armus]

Victory is Life

If I don't have any equipment in my deck, can I just play this for the 5 points and not download?

I don't believe you can play Victory is Life in such a case. If you tried to play Victory is Life and couldn't target an equipment to download you would not meet the conditions for playing Victory is Life and it would return to your hand. Your opponent would get to verify all applicable areas from which the equipment could have been downloaded from.

I disagree with this. From the Download entry in the glossary:

Although some downloads are
optional, others require you to
download a certain target card (or
group of target cards). If you cannot
do everything required, the entire
download is invalid.

If your download is invalid because
you could not produce the target
card(s), your
opponent is allowed to look through
your hand, draw deck, Zalkonian
Storage Capsule, and Q’s Tent (if
open), or any other source specified
for the download.

Attempting a download usually requires
the expenditure of some resource such
as playing a card, using a special icon,
or forfeiting a card draw. That resource
remains used even if the download is
invalid.

So you play ViL, you try to download an equipment, you fail, your opponent gets to verify, and the resource remains used. In the case of ViL, I don't see how that doesn't result in you still scoring the 5 points.

[Takket]

Victory is Life

If I don't have any equipment in my deck, can I just play this for the 5 points and not download?

I don't believe you can play Victory is Life in such a case. If you tried to play Victory is Life and couldn't target an equipment to download you would not meet the conditions for playing Victory is Life and it would return to your hand. Your opponent would get to verify all applicable areas from which the equipment could have been downloaded from.

I disagree with this. From the Download entry in the glossary:

Although some downloads are
optional, others require you to
download a certain target card (or
group of target cards). If you cannot
do everything required, the entire
download is invalid.

If your download is invalid because
you could not produce the target
card(s), your
opponent is allowed to look through
your hand, draw deck, Zalkonian
Storage Capsule, and Q’s Tent (if
open), or any other source specified
for the download.

Attempting a download usually requires
the expenditure of some resource such
as playing a card, using a special icon,
or forfeiting a card draw. That resource
remains used even if the download is
invalid.

So you play ViL, you try to download an equipment, you fail, your opponent gets to verify, and the resource remains used. In the case of ViL, I don't see how that doesn't result in you still scoring the 5 points.

letting someone have 5 points as a "resource that gets used" if you fail the condition of the card seems pretty unfair....... of course the "rules" and "fair" are two completely different things lol

if this card was made today i think CC would put "may" on it to make the equipment DL a bonus you don't have to do if you don't want to, or can't.

[AllenGould]

So you play ViL, you try to download an equipment, you fail, your opponent gets to verify, and the resource remains used. In the case of ViL, I don't see how that doesn't result in you still scoring the 5 points.

That's my read - you've still paid the costs of the card. You just aren't getting the full benefit (and then suffer the consequences of that failure - letting your opponent snoop through your deck). I mean, seems saner to stash an equipment in the Tent instead, but whatevs.

[9of24]

Victory is Life

If I don't have any equipment in my deck, can I just play this for the 5 points and not download?

I don't believe you can play Victory is Life in such a case. If you tried to play Victory is Life and couldn't target an equipment to download you would not meet the conditions for playing Victory is Life and it would return to your hand. Your opponent would get to verify all applicable areas from which the equipment could have been downloaded from.

I disagree with this. From the Download entry in the glossary:

Although some downloads are
optional, others require you to
download a certain target card (or
group of target cards). If you cannot
do everything required, the entire
download is invalid.

If your download is invalid because
you could not produce the target
card(s), your
opponent is allowed to look through
your hand, draw deck, Zalkonian
Storage Capsule, and Q’s Tent (if
open), or any other source specified
for the download.

Attempting a download usually requires
the expenditure of some resource such
as playing a card, using a special icon,
or forfeiting a card draw. That resource
remains used even if the download is
invalid.

So you play ViL, you try to download an equipment, you fail, your opponent gets to verify, and the resource remains used. In the case of ViL, I don't see how that doesn't result in you still scoring the 5 points.

The third bullet point does seem to say that the card is still played so I may have been wrong on it being returned to hand, however I don't think it resolves if you can't complete the initiation step of the action process. From the actions - step 1: initiation entry:

Once you begin to choose targets for an
action, you must complete the initiation of
that action (if legal).

I don't see how you can proceed beyond the initiation step if there is no equipment to legally target when playing Victory is Life. Just like you couldn't play Vacuum-Desiccated Remains to draw two cards even if no Ferengi has died.