If the political card, which closes down all wormholes, actually passes (I forgot the name of the card), and all wormholes disappear, would one still qualify for Master of Gates, even if they dont have ships in all the systems that the wormholes used to be in?

Thanks in advance!

 The wormholes are closed to travel, but they're still there in the hex.  They're just not traversable.  So it would still be possible to claim the secret objective if you had ships in all wormhole hexes.  The Keeper of Gates would not automatically get his Secret Objective if the wormholes close (using the logic that he would instantly satisfy the requirement of having "zero" gates).

I agree with Mike; thematically, the wormholes are shut down for travel, but they still "exist".  (Keep in mind, if you revote the agenda later, or repeal it, the wormholes COULD open back up, meaning they weren't permanently destroyed).

Thank you both for your speedy reply! This makes a lot of sense and has helped our group out a lot.

This is my first time on the forums and I would like to clarify something for future questions. Respectfully I ask, are answers on the forums provided by FFG sanctioned judges? How can I tell who is qualified to make the definitive ruling? Would this question now be considered to be added to the next FAQ revision?  

Thanks again for your attention, I have more questions on the way!

-Phoenix Ascension

This ruling is because of the text on the card itself so that would just be the normal rules of the game. Official rulings on things can be found in the FAQ and if someone posts their reponse from Corey who is the official FFG rules guy for TI3.

...but seldom answers personally.

For what it's worth, Corey's screenname is "YourBestFriend".  He'll OCCASIONALLY (rarely) post in threads directly.  However, he is very good about responding to Rules Question requests using the link found via the Contact Us page.  Many of the answers posted here and in the past were from email responses from Corey; many others can be found in the FAQ.

Phoenix Ascension said:

BTW there is no sanctioned judges for TI3, because there is no existing tournament scene for that game.

As said be others, Corey answer rules question sent to him. (He is the expansion game deseigner.)

But, usually even veterant post here and debate a lot (if the point is to obscure) before posting rules question to Corey.

Some of us, not me, even take part in the expansion play testing.

 Yes, I would definitely post here first before contacting Corey - the vast majority of questions will have a definitive answer. Only when there's a lot of debate/unclear wording in the rules do we ask Corey for the answer.

 Corey is good about responding to answers personally... it usually takes about a week, but he will get back to you.  However, in order to keep him from being bothered about every little thing, it's good to hash things out on the boards first.

Cool. Thank you all for clarifying that for me. I can tell this is a very helpful and informative community.

My Appreciation,

Phoenix Ascension