This is really feel-bad, to the point that I would be very very tempted to deviate here (and to be honest, if I was the HJ of this event I probably would deviate, and if I was a FJ I would immediately ask the HJ for permission to deviate before applying any ruling) because the current game state is very easily fixable and the resulting game state would be super-broken. The correct ruling, as others have said, is Missed Trigger, Nathan gets a Warning and a Zombie, Alex gets nothing. However, I believe that policy on this one is really awful, since it encourages broken game states.

“Broken” gamestates are one of the natural consequences of players making mistakes and not noticing in a timely fashion. There shouldn't be a motivation to avoid “feel bads” at the expense of consistent policy, because those moments will do a lot of work in terms of educating and encouraging players to pay close attention and play better in general. Even though Alex isn't getting any penalty, he should still learn something from the experience.

EDIT: Screwed up player names.

Edited Michael Shiver (Feb. 5, 2014 09:47:23 AM)

Thank you everyone for participating in this week's Knowledge Pool. The next Knowledge Pool Scenario will be posted shortly. If you have any further comments or concerns about the scenario and the final answer, feel free to message me privately.

The second trigger on Bridge From Below is clearly a Detrimental Trigger, and Nathan has committed Missed Trigger and should receive a Warning. Alex has the choice of adding the trigger to the stack. If he wants it, (and we assume he does in this scenario since he pointed it out) then we will put it in the appropriate place on the stack if possible. Otherwise, we'll put it on the bottom of the stack.

The “appropriate place on the stack” refers to the place where the trigger would naturally exist if not forgotten. Although the appropriate place no longer exists, it is tempting to put the Bridge From Below trigger on the top of the stack so that the Bridge will be exiled before the other trigger resolves. This would cause the Bridge From Below trigger that is already on the stack to do nothing because of its intervening if statement. However, it is correct to put the trigger on the bottom of the stack according to policy. The “Feel Bad” factor is neither significant or exceptional and should not be a reason to deviate from policy. Inconsistent rulings will cause players to be much more upset with judges in the long run than a player getting a trigger in an odd seeming order. Nathan will get his 2/2 Zombie, Cabal Therapy will resolve, and then the Bridge From Below will be exiled.