>>96180137
Influencing and Directly Influencing:

Influencing is just the game terminology for a written card effect.
Directly Influencing is the game terminology for a combat (implicit) operation.

Influences (effects) are put on the Thread while they await resolution. Card effects can Nullify them while they are on the Thread, or even change their target.

Like pre-MTG10 rules update, Directly Influencing (attacking) DOES use the Thread.

Like YGO, and unlike MTG, you choose the targets of your attacks (Direct Influences).

As Turn Player conducting combat during the combat phase, you can only add regular Influences (written card effects) to the stack in response to another's player's response. Basically you are limited to conducting exclusively Direct Influences (combat operations) during the combat phase unless the other player has a response, in which case you can respond normally with effects.

Direct Influence operations are simple stat comparison calculations, which are notated on the starter playmat for easy reference. If a card's stat reaches 0, it is Archived (sent to the grveyard).

Entity Combat:
vs Entities:
Subtract each Entity's Will from the other until the end of the Combat Phase.
vs Avatars:
Subtract your Entity's Will from the Avatar's Time. (a direct attack)
vs Structures:
Reduce target Structure's Equilibrium by: (Will - Equilibrium) + 1

Meme Combat:
(Choose one)
1.) -1 to any player's Manifest card.
2.) Reduce your Meme's Virulence by (X+1), then reduce the stat of any single Manifest card by X.
[Because you can build card vertically, resetting them and combining their stats and effects, option #2 becomes important]

An Influence is NOT a Direct Influence. For example, an effect that Nullifies an Influence, cannot be used to Nullify a Direct Influence, and vice versa.