When Smoke Screen (-4 Might to a minimum of 1) is used on Jinx during combat, and Jinx takes 1 damage that is cleared during cleanup, does Jinx die or survive after losing Attacker status and the Assault bonus?

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Accepted Answer

It depends on timing. If Smoke Screen reduces Jinx's Might at a time when the already-marked 1 damage equals or exceeds her current Might, Jinx is killed immediately. If no such lethal condition ever becomes true before Combat Cleanup heals damage, the 1 damage is healed during Cleanup (before Attacker/Defender removal and before "this combat" effects expire) and Jinx survives that turn.

A unit is killed the moment its marked damage equals or exceeds its current Might [143.2.a]. However, Combat Cleanup heals damage earlier in the resolution order than the removal of Attacker/Defender designation and the expiration of "this combat" effects [461.1.a.1] [461.7.a] [461.7.b]. Therefore: if Smoke Screen causes the 1 damage already on Jinx to become lethal before Cleanup, she is killed immediately; if that never happens and the damage remains non-lethal until Cleanup, the damage is healed in Cleanup and she survives.

A combat occurs and damage is assigned and dealt; Jinx receives 1 damage and 1 damage is marked on her (damage is marked per normal combat damage resolution) [460.2.d]. At any time after damage is marked, a player may play Smoke Screen as a Reaction. When Smoke Screen resolves it changes Jinx's current Might (subtract 4 to a minimum of 1), and the game immediately evaluates lethal conditions using the unit's current Might [710] [143.2.a]. If, at the moment after Smoke Screen resolves, the marked damage on Jinx is greater than or equal to her new current Might, the kill condition is true and Jinx is Killed immediately [143.2.a]. If Jinx is not killed by that moment (marked damage is still less than current Might), play continues until Combat Cleanup. During Combat Cleanup the game heals all units (removes all marked damage) as a special cleanup insertion [461.1.a.1]. Because this healing happens before Attacker/Defender removal and 'this combat' effects expiration, Jinx will be healed while any temporary 'this combat' Might bonuses (such as an "Assault" bonus) are still present [461.1.a.1] [461.7.a] [461.7.b]. After Cleanup heals damage, the combat ends and Attacker/Defender designations are removed and 'this combat' effects expire; since Jinx no longer has marked damage, expiration of a Might bonus after healing cannot retroactively make her meet the 'killed' condition.

If Smoke Screen is played before the damage is dealt (i.e., it changed Jinx's Might prior to damage assignment), the damage assigned in combat would be assigned based on the new Might per the combat damage rules, which could change how much damage is assigned [460.2.c]. The provided scenario states the 1 damage was already marked, so this is a timing variant. If another effect moves Jinx to a non-board zone (hand, deck, etc.) or removes her from the board before Smoke Screen resolves, target relationships and checks can change; see rule 359.3.e.12 for target/zone changes. In that case the lethal check and other interactions may be different [359.3.e.12]. If an effect sets Jinx's Might to 0 (or negative) such that it's treated as 0 when referenced, note that the rules treat Might < 0 as 0 when referenced; lethal is evaluated against the actual Might for increases/decreases per [143.2.b] and [710]. If Might becomes 0 while damage >= 0, the kill condition could be met immediately.

Two rule principles decide this interaction. First, a unit is killed the moment its marked damage is greater than or equal to its current Might: 'If a Unit ever has nonzero damage marked on it equaling or exceeding its Might, it is Killed.' [143.2.a]. Second, Combat Cleanup explicitly heals all units as an inserted step of the cleanup, and that healing happens before the rules remove Attacker/Defender designations and before 'this combat' effects expire: 'Insert “3c. Heal all Units.”' as part of Combat Cleanup [461.1.a.1], and 'Remove Attacker and Defender Designation...' and 'All “this combat” effects expire simultaneously.' occur later when combat ends [461.7.a] [461.7.b]. Put together: if at any point before Cleanup (for example, immediately when Smoke Screen resolves) the 1 damage marked on Jinx becomes >= her current Might, she meets the kill condition and is Killed right then [143.2.a] [710]. If that never happens before Cleanup — i.e., the marked damage remains strictly less than her current Might until Cleanup — the Cleanup will Heal the damage while any temporary 'this combat' bonuses are still in effect [461.1.a.1] [461.7.b], and so she will be healed and survive after Attacker status and the Assault bonus are later removed [461.7.a]. Therefore, whether Jinx dies or survives hinges purely on whether the damage vs. Might lethal check becomes true at any time before the Cleanup healing step.