Q. When determining how much damage a model suffered from an effect (for purposes such as the Necrotic Decay Trigger), is damage reduction accounted for?
A. Yes. Whenever an effect is referring to the amount of damage a model suffered from an effect, it is always referring to the amount the model’s Health was lowered in Step 4 of Damage Timing (pg. 34). It is important to note a model’s Health can never be reduced below 0. As such, excess damage past 0 is not treated as damage suffered by the model.
Q. Hard to Kill – If a model has 2 Health remaining, can it choose to suffer 2 damage from the Necrotic Decay Trigger to increase its damage by +2 because its Hard to Kill Ability will keep it alive?
A. Any damage that would be suffered in excess due to Hard to Kill is ignored for all game effects, including costs. For example, if the Rogue Necromancy has 2 Health remaining and chooses to suffer 2 damage when declaring the Necrotic Decay Trigger, it would suffer 1 damage before Hard to Kill applies, the excess 1 damage would be ignored, and Necrotic Decay would only increase its damage by +1.