THE CARD
Name: Yithian Mental Contact
Set: Mythos Limited
Type: Event
Affects: Opponent's Card Play
San: -1
Unique: Yes
Special Effect Box: Your opponent changes his or her mind and Buries the card(s) that were just played or whose orientations were altered, except Adventure cards. Ignore any effects those card(s) might otherwise have had.
CLARIFICATIONS
Before anything else, it's useful to note that Yithian Mental Contact is not an "instant". There are no "instants" in Mythos. Yithian Mental Contact is played on your next Turn after something bad has happened (or on your next Turn after something good has happened, if you're perverse). It then retroactively undoes the effects. More on undoing effects in a bit, but first an examination (and clarification) of several of the phrases on the Card.
Yithian Mental Contact starts off by saying "Your opponent changes his or her mind". This alludes to an important aspect of the card: it can only be played against a card play or an orientation change that a player specifically chose to take. If a player plays a card, flips a Spell, rotates an Artifact, or walks to a Location, you can Yithian Mental Contact that. You can not Yithian Mental Contact someone who was forced to change the orientation of a card by someone else.
EXAMPLE: Meghan has Dysentery played against her. This MSGS Epidemic causes her to flip face-down all of her allies. This flipping of Allies was not an action she chose to do, and thus you can't Yithian Mental Contact it, and force Meghan to bury her allies. (You can, of course, Yithian Mental Contact the playing of Dysentery, but that's a totally different issue.)
The bottom line is: Yithian Mental Contact is intended to stop an action that someone did on their turn, as long as it involved a card being played, or a card's orientation being changed.
The phrase "Just Played" is very important, because it has some specific, legalistic meanings, namely:
JUST PLAYED: A card played since your last Turn in the current Round that has not been affected by any other Card play.
[Note: This is the official definition of Just Played, acting as errata on the definition in rules prior to the Dreamlands rules.]
The "has not been affected by any other Card play" phrase is the only part of "Just Played" that needs any further clarification. If a card has been buried, flipped or discarded by another card; taken by another player; or in some other way directly affected by other Card play, it is no longer considered Just Played. For example, if someone casts a Spell to Bury a Monster that had been Just Played, or if someone flips an Ally that had been Just Played, you may no longer Yithian Mental Contact it.
Yithian Mental Contact also affects cards whose "orientations were altered". This is pretty straight forward, and mainly refers to Spells, Artifacts and Allies that were flipped or rotated to achieve a special effect. It also may refer to a location which has been rotated due to walking. It explicitly does not refer to gates which have been used [Rules: "As a reminder, rotate your top Location card so that it faces your opponent to indicate that the Gate has been used... [this] does not count as the 'orientation change' referred to in some card special effects"].
EXAMPLE: Austin uses the gate at his Current Location. He rotates that location, and brings a set of four joined Formless Spawn into his Threat. Meghan wisely decides to Yithian Mental Contact that action. Austin is forced to bury his four Spawn. He also returns his gate to its original unrotated orientation (since rotating the gate was an effect of card play), but does not Bury it because the gate-use rotation is simply a reminder, not a real orientation change.
In addition, Burying is not an orientation change, thus freeing cards like the Sphere of Nath, which are Buried to achieve a special effect, from being affected by Yithian Mental Contact when they are used.
Finally, Yithian Mental Contact says: "Ignore any effects that those card(s) might otherwise have had". Anything that resulted directly from the original card being played is undone. This means, for a start, that any Sanity gained due to the card play is lost, and any Sanity lost due to the card play is gained back. If the Yithianed card Buried an Ally, it returns. If it caused some Event card to be buried (Night, Day, Storm), that Event returns. The split-second that a card hits the table, it may cause one or more things to occur. These are the things that are undone when Yithian Mental Contact is played.
EXAMPLE: Meghan casts Summon/Control Greater Servitor, and summons a Star Spawn, which does Austin 5 point of damage. On his turn, Austin plays Yithian Mental Contact on Meghan. Meghan changed the orientation of her Summon/Control spell (by flipping it) and Just Played a Star Spawn. These cards are both buried. These cards had three other effects: the flipping of the spell cost Meghan one San, the summoning of the Star Spawn cost Meghan two San, and the attack of the Star Spawn cost Austin five San. The players each regain their lost Sanity.
Note that Yithian Mental Contact is not a perfect time machine. Other players might have taken specific actions due to a Card which has been Yithianed. They have no opportunity to take their actions back. Only those actions which occurred the split-second the Yithianed card was played are undone. Such is the power of the Yithians.
EXAMPLE: Brian plays Arkham Sanitarium. He flips the top card of his story deck, finds it is not a Monster, and gains 6 Sanity, bringing his total to 10. Austin casts his Summon/Control Greater Independent spell, summoning a Color Out of Space which does Brian 6 points of damage, dropping him back to 4. Meghan Yithians Brian's play of Arkham Sanitarium. He loses the 6 San he gained, and falls to 0 Sanity, immediately ending the game (he also puts the card he had to flip back on top of his Story Deck, but that's pretty irrelevent given that the game is over). Meghan has the highest Adventure + Sanity total, and so wins. Austin would in fact have not attacked Brian had he not played Arkham Sanitarium, since it caused Meghan to win the game.
Also note that Yithian Mental Contact might cause a sudden change in the universe due to the reversal of that one card. These changes are dealt with at the moment Yithian Mental Contact is played, and are not looked at in any retroactive manner.
EXAMPLE 1: Brian passes. Austin plays a card. Meghan plays In the Nick of Time, and another card. Brian passes. Austin Yithians Meghan's In the Nick of Time. She Buries both it and the other card she played. The universe has changed, and there are now two passes in the current round, which immediately ends. (Why didn't Austin just pass? He wanted to get rid of the additional card Meghan played, and end the round at the same time.)
EXAMPLE 2: Austin plays Waning Moon, burying the Direct Sunlight which had been in play. Meghan plays an Ally, Joe the Vampire Cultist (not a real card), which has the special effect text: "May not be played if Direct Sunlight is in play; bury if Direct Sunlight is played". Brian Yithians the Waning Moon. The Direct Sunlight is returned to play. The Universe has changed, and poor Joe is immediately buried.
Sometimes the change in the Universe with result in a temporarily contradictory situation. This is dealt with by looking at all cards in play, and applying all appropriate results at the exact same time, right after the Yithian Mental Contact is played.
EXAMPLE: Meghan plays Dawn of a New Day, Burying the Waning Moon which had been in play. Brian plays New Moon, a special Day Event which has no effect on other Day Events in play. Austin Yithians the play of Dawn of a New Day, causing Waning Moon to be returned to play. The universe has changed, and there are now both a Day and Night event in play. Each says to bury the other. Both cards are simultaneously buried.
The majority of the time, Yithian Mental Contact usage should be pretty simple, but if there are ever any questions, follow three basic steps:
1.) Bury any cards that the Yithianed opponent had Just Played or changed the orientation of.
2.) Undo any effects which took place the instant the original card play or orientation change took place.
3.) See if the changed universe has any new effect on cards that are currently in play. If so, apply all effects simultaneously.
QUESTIONS
Q: If I cast a spell, flipping its orientation, and that spell then gets Yithianed, do I get the Sanity back that I spent on the spell?
A: Yes. The sanity cost you spend to activate the spell is considered one of the effects the card had. The same is true for artifacts that have activation costs.
Q: What happens if someone Yithian Mental Contacts a Card that was required for the card I just played (ie, someone Yithian Mental Contacts Aldeberan Moves in the Sky, which I depended upon to reuse my Gate at Stonehenge)?
A: Absolutely nothing. As was noted already, Yithian Mental Contact is not a perfect time machine. In the grey areas between the last reality and this one, your action managed to slide through. Yithian Mental Contact only undoes the effects that occurred the second the Yithianed card hit the table, and then forces all cards in play to examine the changed universe.
Q: What happens if I get hit with a Townsfolk Riot, and instead of playing a new Location, I Yithian Mental Contact the Townsfolk?
A: The Riot is buried, and you do not take the 5 Sanity Loss, because it was an effect the card had.
Q: Can I Yithian Mental Contact an Unexpected Calamity?
A: No. By the time you could, it is the next Round, and thus the strict definition of Just Played ("...in the current Round...") is no longer met.
Q: Can I Yithian Mental Contact a Yithian Mental Contact?
A: Yes. Ad infinitum.
Q: What happens if someone plays Ring of Eibon on me, and forces me to use my Yithian Mental Contact, and I decide to Yithian their Ring of Eibon usage?
A: In practice, the Yithian Mental Contact is used, the Ring is buried, and the former Ring wielder gets the two points he spent to activate his ring back. Theoretically, you iterate through an infinite number of alternate realities until you find one where you decide to Yithian the Ring, even though the Ring didn't force you to. Alternatively, the Universe may implode.
STRATEGIES
Most strategy involving Yithian Mental Contact is pretty dull. Someone does something detrimental to you, and you make them take it back. This strategy section outlines the main uses of Yithian Mental Contact, with perhaps a few interesting twists.
Using Yithian Mental Contact Defensively - This is probably the most common use. Someone does something nasty to you personally, and you make them take it back. Perhaps they hit you with a Spell or used an Artifact against you. Alternatively, maybe they just played some Monsters to their Threat that are clearly going to be attacking you during the combat phase. You're watching out for Number One.
Using Yithian Mental Contact Offensively - With just a little more work, you can use Yithian Mental Contact in an offensive manner. Know someone is trying to get a Tome out to finish an Adventure? Yithian the next Tome location they play. Suspect someone might win if they can increase their Sanity? Make their Sanitarium go away. See someone play a Tome full of useful Spells? Yithian it, and they all go tumbling to their Story Deck.
Destroying Spells, Artifacts and Allies - Sometimes your opponent may have out Spells, Artifacts, or Allies which are a real nuisance. Fortunately, Spells in Tomes are always flipped when used, and Artifacts and Allies are sometimes flipped to access their special effects. You can use Yithian Mental Contact to bury these items as soon as your opponent attempts to use them. Perhaps that special effect wasn't directed at you at the time, but you've still robbed him of a valuable resource.
Using Yithian Mental Contact to Win the Game - This is very tricky, but by using Yithian Mental Contact carefully, you can make it a game winner. I gave one example above, where Meghan Yithianed Brian's Arkham Sanitarium to bring the game to a quick end. I could give others, but they'll vary immensely from game to game. Overall, they boil down to two important points. At game's end, remember that you can: use Yithian Mental Contact to cost your leading opponent Sanity gains; and also that you can use Yithian Mental Contact to take advantage of sequences of actions where one player did something only because of what the player before him did.
COUNTER STRATEGIES
Yithian Mental Contact is a hard card to counter because it undoes almost everything else that can be done. There are, however, three potential defenses.
Yithian Mental Contact - Vitally important card plays can be protected by your own Yithian Mental Contact. And, if you Yithian Mental Contact your opponent's Yithian Mental Contact, he isn't going to play another one, since it's unique.
Burying Cards - You can take advantage of the fact that Yithian Mental Contact only can stop card play and orientation changes. If you fear Yithian Mental Contact, make use of cards that are buried when used. For example, give Spells to Allies, rather than putting them in Tomes (sure, they're buried, but at least you get to use them). Also, make use of Artifacts or Allies that are buried when their special effects are used (ie, the Sphere of Nath and Wakalea). A little excessive? Perhaps. But this is the only way you can absolutely guarantee you will be proof from time-hopping Yithians.
Eltdown Shards (Glyph Version) - This is probably the most overlooked defense. It makes you totally immune to Yithian Mental Contact, which makes it almost worth the trouble to learn this obscure language.
Pnakotic Manuscripts - This Tome from Mythos: The Dreamlands can be Buried to undo any event just played, including Yithian Mental Contact. Although requiring an obscure language (either Atlantean or Hyperborean), this card is playable in the Waking World.