Apostate and Wrathful Gaze

If this was covered elsewhere, my apologies; I searched for it but could not find it.

Apostate's Infernal Emissary side states that when he is reduced to 0 or fewer HP, you destroy the villain relic with the lowest HP and flip Apostate's cards. Clear enough. However, no statement is made about how to handle Apostate being destroyed, nor is there anything indicating he cannot be destroyed.

Ra's Wrathful Gaze (and Tachyon's Sucker Punch, to be fair) both destroy a target with 2 or fewer HP (it might just be 2 HP in Wrathful Gaze's case, don't have it in front of me right now).

My question: If a group somehow reduces Apostate to the HP totals that make him a valid target for one of these cards, can he be destroyed, thus bypassing his flip mechanic? Or is the intention that using Wrathful Gaze or Sucker Punch would reduce Apostate to 0 HP, thus triggering the flip mechanic? I can see this ruling going either way.

Thanks in advance!

I would play that they can destroy him with relics in play.

I like that there is a way to bypass his destruction, and I think it is still difficult enough to set up that allowing it doesn't make him significantly easier.

Actually, what it says is "If Apostate would be reduced to 0 or fewer HP..." That means that his HP is not reduced and you do the other stuff (flipping and destroying a relic) instead. I'm not sure why what they have against the word "instead," but if you add it in your head every time you see the word "would" in this game, it will make more sense.

Baron Blade was specifically re-worded so that Sucker Punch and Wrathful Gaze would not destroy him on his first side, given that >G knew this going into designing Apostate I'd go with the "tough luck Apostate, you're dead" rule... but I am be no means an offical voice.

Ya know, while normally, I'm totally in favor of the philosophy of going with what "the designer probably meant", I think I've gotta go with Matchstickman on this one.  They reworded Baron Blade during the same release cycle that they published Apostate.  I think I'm gunna assume it's intentional.  I mean, it's still not simple to reduce him down to EXACTLY 2 or 1, and it isn't quite like skipping the whole second half of the fight with Blade.

Me, too.

By the same token, I believe this means that The Ennead's "Grave Beckons" card can destroy a 3 HP or less Fanatic when she has an Aegis of Resurrection on the field.  Her HP is not reduced to zero, so the Aegis wouldn't activate.

Except, correct me if i'm wrong, but doesn't grave beckons destroy non-character cards?

I'm not sure - its image has the Argent Adept being "beckoned" by it so maybe it can destroy characters…

Well, since Unity is the only Hero with non-character targets, I imagine that card is meant not to just wreck her, so I believe it does destroy characters. 

Why did you have to upset Visionary like that? Hasn't that poor girl suffered enough?

Also, doesn't it apply to Environment targets? I don't encounter that card often enough to remember.

Grave Beckons destroys all non-villain targets with 3 or fewer HP.  It can destroy character cards, and I would say it can bypass the Aegis of Ressurrection.

Unless I'm mistaken, "Destroy each non-villain target with 3 or fewer HP."  All hero character cards have the implied text "If this card would be destroyed, flip this card and remove all other related cards from the game."  So, a hero character card can be destroyed, it just never is destroyed, only incapacitated.

True.  The point is that the Aegis wouldn't activate, as Fanatic wouldn't be reduced to zero HP in the process.  It makes sense on a thematic level that both of them are vulnerable to destruction effects which bypass their Relics rather than just one of them.

You know how often Visionary gets played with us.  And I didn't consider the environment.  Usually the Kraken is doing the destroying.