Use the power of the Fours to defeat your enemies. Beware traps. Shoot first. - AEG
Quite a while back, in a grouping of stars not close to here, the Astroknights protected the various species of the galaxy! Boosting their strength, speed and skill with the incredible powers of the Fours, they were the equal of armies. But now their time is past, and darkness reigns. Will a
rag-tagragtag group of heroes be able to defeat a massive juggernaut of an imperium and restore freedom? Hey, it’s a space opera—of course they will!
- - Cease and Desist rulebook (updated in The Bigger Geekier Box rulebook)
The Astroknights are one of the 4 factions from the Cease and Desist set.
The Astroknights focus on increasing minion power and finding and playing key actions.
Other factions from the same set: Changerbots, Ignobles, Star Roamers.
Cards
The Astroknights have the usual 10 minions and 10 actions. The total minion base power (not counting any abilities) is 27 or an average of 2.7 per minion. There are several minions and actions that can boost the power of minions beyond their base value. Each of the ten minions are unique.
Among their actions, there are:
- 2 play-on-minion actions: Laser Sword (2x),
- 1 play-on-base action: Hidden Base,
- 7 standard actions (4 that affect one or more minions, in bold): Block the Probe (2x), It’s a Trap!, Prepare for Battle, Recycle the Trash, Use the Fours, Yield to Rage,
- 6 actions that directly increase a minion's power: Block the Probe (2x), Laser Sword (2x), Use the Fours, Yield to Rage.
Minions
1x Space Knight - power 5 - Talent: Reveal the top three cards of your deck. You may draw one action from the revealed cards. Return the rest in any order. FAQ
1x Scoundrel - power 4 - Talent: Move this minion and another one of your minions here to another base. FAQ
1x Space Prince - power 4 - Talent: Play an extra action that directly increases the power of one of your minions. FAQ
1x Walking Carpet - power 4 - Special: Before this base scores, if you are not winning, you may play an action that directly increases the power of this minion. FAQ
1x Alien Guru - power 2 - Ongoing: Once per turn, after you play an action that directly increases a minion’s power, you may also place a +1 power counter on it. FAQ
1x Annoying Alien - power 2 - Talent: Name a minion. All minions here with that name get -2 power until the start of your next turn. FAQ
1x Astro Robot - power 2 - Destroy an action played on this base or on a minion here. FAQ
1x Mannersbot - power 2 - Talent: Reveal the top card of your deck. If it is an action, draw it, otherwise return it. FAQ
1x Pupoks - power 2 - Talent: Lose 1 VP to reveal the top three cards of your deck and draw them. You may play one of them as an extra card. FAQ
1x Ghost Knight - power 0 - Ongoing: This minion cannot be destroyed. Your other minions here have +2 power. FAQ
Actions
2x Block the Probe - Choose a minion. It gains +2 power until the end of the turn. Special: You may play this card before a base scores. FAQ
1x Hidden Base - Play on a base. Ongoing: At the start of your turn, if you have a minion here, draw a card. FAQ
1x It’s a Trap! - Special: Before a base scores, reveal cards from your deck until you reveal an action. You may draw it or play it immediately. Shuffle the unused cards into your deck. FAQ
2x Laser Sword - Play on a minion. Ongoing: This minion has +1 power and is not affected by other players’ minions. FAQ
1x Prepare for Battle - Reveal the top two cards of your deck. Place one into your hand and the other on the bottom of your deck. FAQ
1x Recycle the Trash - Shuffle up to two actions from your discard pile into your deck. FAQ
1x Use the Fours - One of your minions gains +4 power until the end of the turn. FAQ
1x Yield to Rage - One of your minions gains +2 power until the end of the turn. Play an extra action. FAQ
Bases
Clarifications
Here are the official clarifications as they appear in the Cease and Desist rulebook:
Alien Guru: If the action increases the power of more than one minion, choose one of them to get the power counter.
Scoundrel: You can use its talent if you have no other minions at its base.
Space Prince, Walking Carpet, Alien Guru: A card directly increases power if it gives it “+N power”, or places a +1 power counter, or transfers a +1 power counter, or sets the printed power to a higher value. Granting a power-increase talent (e.g. The Touch), or destroying a negative power card (e.g. Change Into A Gun) are not direct power increases. This refers to actions that target cards already in play. (updated by The Bigger Geekier Box)
Mechanics
The Astroknights' main focus is actions that directly increase a minion's power. Out of their 10 actions, they have 6 that count as such. Their other cards mainly focus on drawing, searching actions and playing them as extra cards.
External Strategy Guides
FAQ
Questions on Space Knight
Q: What if I don't want to draw an action?
A: Then all three cards are returned to the top of your deck in any order.
Rule: Do exactly what the card says.
Q: If I reveal a card I don't own, what happens?
A: There are two different paths for the revealed card:
- If it's an action and you choose to draw it, it goes to its owner's hand, that's because the other players can see who owns the card and the card changes location.
- Otherwise, it goes to the top of your deck, that's because, while the other players can see who owns the card, the card is merely revealed and doesn't change location.
Rule 1: When a card that others can see goes to the hand, deck or discard pile, it goes to the one belonging to the card’s owner.
Rule 2: Cards you don’t own that are merely revealed in your hand or deck stay there.
Q: I already have ten cards in hand. What happens if I decide to use this talent and reveal at least one action? May I draw it? And if so, do I immediately discard a card?
A: You may draw it and you don't discard any card until your upcoming Draw 2 Cards phase. At that point, you will indeed need to draw two cards and discard down to 10 if you have more than 10. That's the only moment where you must discard down to 10. At any other time, you keep your hand of cards.
Rule: On your Draw 2 Cards phase, if you have more than 10 cards in your hand after drawing, discard until you have exactly 10 cards left in your hand.
Questions on Scoundrel
Q: Do Scoundrel and the moved minion all go to the same base?
A: Yes. The card text says to move those minions to "another base", i.e. one other base.
Rule: Do exactly what the card says.
Q: If Scoundrel is my only minion on a base, I can't use its talent, right?
A: Yes, you can. It's even clarified in the rulebook.
Rule: Do exactly what the card says, especially when clarified in the rulebook.
Q: If Scoundrel is on the same base as another of my minions, can I choose to move Scoundrel without moving another minion?
A: No, if you use Scoundrel's talent, you must choose another minion on the same base to move along with it.
Rule: When you use a talent, resolve it entirely.
Q: It tells me to move "another one of my minions". Can I move a minion I own that I don't control?
A: No. "Your minions" are minions you control, whether or not you own them. A minion you own but don't control isn't yours.
Rule: "Your minion" means "a minion that you control".
Questions on Space Prince
Q: If the action increases the power of several minions, does it count as an "action that directly increases the power of one of your minions"?
A: As long as it directly increases the power of at least one of your minions, it counts.
Rule: Do exactly what the card says.
Q: The extra action has to directly increase the power of "one of my minions". Can it just increase the power of a minion I own that I don't control?
A: No. "Your minions" are minions you control, whether or not you own them. A minion you own but don't control isn't yours.
Rule: "Your minion" means "a minion that you control".
Q: +1 power counters directly increases a minion's power, so actions that add power counters indirectly increases it, right?
A: No. Actions that place +1 power counters on a minion are considered as directly increasing it.
Rule: Definition of "directly".
Q: As the extra action, I play a card that gives me a choice between directly increasing a minion's power and doing something else (e.g. Fairy Godmother, Enchantment), can I choose not to increase my minion's power?
A: No. If you play it with Space Prince's ability, you must choose the option to increase a minion's power and you must target one of your minions.
Rule: Do exactly what the card says.
Q: As the extra action, I want to play a card that can increase a minion's power but only if certain conditions are met. (e.g. Encouragement Power, Door to the Beyond) Can I play it if the conditions aren't met?
A: No. If you play it with Space Prince's ability, the card must increase one of your minion's power, so the conditions must be met after you play it, otherwise the play wasn't legal.
Rule: Do exactly what the card says.
Q: As the extra action, I want to play a card that can increase a minion's power but only if I discard certain types of cards. (e.g. ... It Just Might Work, Potion Bandolier, Cull the Weak) What if I can't do it?
A: TBD
Rule: TBD
Q: As the extra action, can I play Cellular Bonding and copy an action that's considered as directly increasing a minion's power?
A: Cellular Bonding does count, as long as one of your minion's power is directly increased by Cellular Bonding.
Rule: Do exactly what the card says.
Q: As the extra action, can I play IT'S ALIVE or Crack of Dusk?
A: No, you must increase the power of one of your minions, i.e. one of your minions in play. So, these cards probably don't qualify.
Rule: Check Space Prince's clarification.
Q: As the extra action, I play War Cry. What if the monster I target is indestructible? Or if it's destructible, but the destruction is thwarted at the last second?
A: TBD
Rule: TBD
Questions on Walking Carpet
Q: The card says "Special" so I can play it outside of my turn, right?
A: "Special" does not mean the card can be played out of turn. "Special" simply means that it's an ability that can be used when its condition is met. Whether it can be used out of turn, activated straight from your hand/discard pile, or if it can only be used when it's already in play (essentially being a synonym of Ongoing), it entirely depends on the wording. In the case of Walking Carpet, the condition is "before this base scores", this means that you can only activate it before its base is scored, "its base" being the base it is currently on. Obviously, if Walking Carpet isn't in play, there's no "this base" that the condition can refer to. So Walking Carpet is actually a Special card that can only be used when it is in play.
Rule 1: A Special ability will describe how it can be used.
Rule 2: Abilities that say "Before this base scores" can only be activated if the card is on the scoring base, if the card is attached to a minion on the scoring base or if the card is the scoring base itself.
Q: If the action increases the power of several minions, does it count as an "action that directly increases the power of this minion"?
A: As long as it directly increases the power of Walking Carpet as well, it counts.
Rule: Do exactly what the card says.
Q: +1 power counters directly increases a minion's power, so actions that add power counters indirectly increases it, right?
A: No. Actions that place +1 power counters on a minion are considered as directly increasing it.
Rule: Definition of "directly".
Q: As the extra action, I play a card that gives me a choice between directly increasing a minion's power and doing something else (e.g. Fairy Godmother, Enchantment), can I choose not to increase Walking Carpet's power?
A: No. If you play it with Walking Carpet's ability, you must choose the option to increase a minion's power and you must target Walking Carpet.
Rule: Do exactly what the card says.
Q: As the extra action, I want to play a card that can increase a minion's power but only if certain conditions are met. (e.g. Encouragement Power, Door to the Beyond) Can I play it if the conditions aren't met?
A: No. If you play it with Walking Carpet's ability, the card must increase Walking Carpet's power, so the conditions must be met after you play it, otherwise the play wasn't legal.
Rule: Do exactly what the card says.
Q: As the extra action, I want to play a card that can increase a minion's power but only if I discard certain types of cards. (e.g. ... It Just Might Work, Potion Bandolier, Cull the Weak) What if I can't do it?
A: TBD
Rule: TBD
Q: As the extra action, I want to play a card that can increase a minion's power but only if I destroy one of minions (e.g. Body Shop). Can I choose to destroy Walking Carpet?
A: TBD
Rule: TBD
Q: As the extra action, can I play Cellular Bonding and copy an action that's considered as directly increasing a minion's power?
A: Cellular Bonding does count, as long as Walking Carpet's power is directly increased by Cellular Bonding.
Rule: Do exactly what the card says.
Q: As the extra action, I play War Cry. What if the monster I target is indestructible? Or if it's destructible, but the destruction is thwarted at the last second?
A: TBD
Rule: TBD
Q: If an opponent played Shielding on Walking Carpet, there's no way I can play an action that directly increases its power. Am I still allowed to play one?
A: TBD
Rule: TBD
Q: Before a base scores, the current player chooses to resolve my Walking Carpet's ability. Turns out I'm currently winning the game, so its ability doesn't activate. As we are resolving other before-scoring abilities, I'm no longer winning. Can I go back and use Walking Carpet's ability?
A: No. Walking Carpet was actually activated when the current player chose to resolve its ability. You were already winning, so its ability was resolved by doing nothing, but it still counts as having been resolved and can't be resolved again for this base scoring.
Rule: When an ability is triggered, it's resolved once per trigger.
Questions on Alien Guru
Q: If the action increases the power of several minions, does it count as an "action that directly increases a minion's power"?
A: As long as it directly increases the power of at least one minion, it counts.
Rule: Do exactly what the card says.
Q: +1 power counters directly increases a minion's power, so actions that add power counters indirectly increases it, right?
A: No. Actions that place +1 power counters on a minion are considered as directly increasing it.
Rule: Definition of "directly".
Q: If I directly increase the power of several minions with the same card, do I place a +1 power counter on each of them?
A: No. Only one of them will get the power counter, it's even clarified in the rulebook.
Rule: Do exactly what the card says, especially when the rulebook clearly addresses the issue.
Q: If Alien Guru's ability is cancelled, are the +1 power counters placed by its ability removed?
A: No. When you place a +1 power counter, it's a definitive effect (like drawing cards, if you play Enchantress, you're not going to discard the card you drew if Enchantress's ability is cancelled), so the +1 power counters remain even if the card that placed them has its ability cancelled. Besides, how are you going to keep track of which +1 power counters were added by Alien Guru's ability and which ones were not (e.g. if you're playing Astroknights Giant Ants or Astroknights Mad Scientists)? That would be very cumbersome.
Rule: Cancelling an effect does not necessarily undo what it did.
Q: If Alien Guru is removed from play (e.g. destroyed, returned, etc.), are the +1 power counters placed by its ability on other minions removed?
A: No. When you place a +1 power counter, it's a definitive effect, so the +1 power counters remain even if the card that placed them is removed from play (like drawing cards, if you play Enchantress, you're not going to discard the card you drew if Enchantress is destroyed). On the other hand, if a card is removed while it had +1 power counters, only the +1 power counters on it are removed, but that's because a card that leaves play loses all its attachments. Besides, how are you going to keep track of which +1 power counters were added by Alien Guru's ability and which ones were not (e.g. if you're playing Astroknights Giant Ants or Astroknights Mad Scientists)? That would be very cumbersome.
Rule: Removing a card from play does not necessarily undo what it did.
Questions on Annoying Alien
Q: It doesn't say that minions have a minimum power of 0 like other cards (e.g. Glymmer, Poison, Sleep Spores). So a minion's power can go negative with this card, right?
A: No. Those other cards only reminded you of the general rule that "minion power is never reduced below zero". Even if the card doesn't remind you of it, it's still one of the rules of Smash Up that you must keep in mind.
Rule: Minion power is never reduced below zero.
Q: On my turn, I use Annoying Alien's talent and name a minion. On another player's turn and before Annoying Alien's talent expires, a minion with that name is played on Annoying Alien's base. Does it get the -2 power? Or does Annoying Alien only affect minions that were present at the time of activation of its talent?
A: It also gets the -2 power because the effect remains active until the start of your next turn.
A: No, Annoying Alien only affects minions that are currently on its base when its talent is used, not minions that later appear on that base.
Rule: "Until the start of your next turn" means the effect persists until the stated deadline.
Q: Following the activation of its talent, what happens if Annoying Alien is destroyed/returned/moved to another base?
A: The effect remains active until the start of your next turn even if Annoying Alien is removed from play. If Annoying Alien is moved to another base, the effect still remains active on Annoying Alien's "original" base (the one it was on when the talent was activated).
Rule: "Until the start of your next turn" means the effect persists even if the card is removed from play.
Questions on Astro Robot
Q: Do I have to destroy an action on its base or on a minion on its base? Even my own?
A: Yes, you have to destroy one action if there's a non-standard action if any, even if the only one available is one of yours.
Rule: Do exactly what the card says.
Questions on Mannersbot
Q: If I reveal a card I don't own, what happens?
A: There are two different paths for the revealed card:
- If it's an action, it goes to its owner's hand, that's because the other players can see who owns the card and the card changes location.
- Otherwise, it goes to the top of your deck, that's because, while the other players can see who owns the card, the card is merely revealed and doesn't change location.
Rule 1: When a card that others can see goes to the hand, deck or discard pile, it goes to the one belonging to the card’s owner.
Rule 2: Cards you don’t own that are merely revealed in your hand or deck stay there.
Q: I already have ten cards in hand. What happens if I decide to use this talent and reveal an action? May I draw it? If so, do I immediately discard a card?
A: You may draw it and you don't discard any card until your upcoming Draw 2 Cards phase. At that point, you will indeed need to draw two cards and discard down to 10 if you have more than 10. That's the only moment where you must discard down to 10. At any other time, you keep your hand of cards.
Rule: On your Draw 2 Cards phase, if you have more than 10 cards in your hand after drawing, discard until you have exactly 10 cards left in your hand.
Questions on Pupoks
Q: Can I use its ability if I have 0 VP?
A: No. You must have at least 1 VP to be able to lose one and go through with its ability.
Rule: When a card says "Do X to do Y" or "You may do X to do Y", you need to completely do the effect stated as "X" before you do the effect stated as "Y".
Q: If I reveal a card I don't own, what happens?
A: It goes to its owner's hand, that's because the other players can see who owns the card and the card changes location. Also, you won't be able to play that card because it's not in your hand.[1]
Rule 1: When a card that others can see goes to the hand, deck or discard pile, it goes to the one belonging to the card’s owner.
Rule 2: Do exactly what the
cardofficial answer says.
Q: I already have ten cards in hand. What happens if I decide to use this talent? Do I draw the cards and immediately discard down to 10?
A: You draw the cards and don't discard any card until your upcoming Draw 2 Cards phase. At that point, you will indeed need to draw two cards and discard down to 10 if you have more than 10. That's the only moment where you must discard down to 10. At any other time, you keep your hand of cards.
Rule: On your Draw 2 Cards phase, if you have more than 10 cards in your hand after drawing, discard until you have exactly 10 cards left in your hand.
Questions on Ghost Knight
Q: It gives +2 power to "my other minions". Does it also give +2 power to minions I own that I don't control?
A: No. "Your minions" are minions you control, whether or not you own them. A minion you own but don't control isn't yours.
Rule: "Your minion" means "a minion that you control".
Q: One of my cards tells me to destroy one of my minions (e.g. Sacrifice), or an opponent's card forces me to destroy one of my minions (e.g. Bear Hug), or a base's ability allows me to destroy one of my minions (e.g. R'lyeh), can I target Ghost Knight? If so, is it destroyed? If not, does it stop the rest of the ability if there were more to it?
A: Short answer: Yes, no and it depends. Firstly, you can indeed choose any of your minions as long as it fits the card's requirement (e.g. if Ghost Knight is on R'lyeh, you can target it with R'lyeh's ability, but you can't if it was on another base, obviously), but you must choose one if you have any in play and if it's a mandatory ability (i.e. there's no "you may"). Secondly, because it is targeted for destruction, Ghost Knight's own ability protects it, so it will not be destroyed. Lastly, you must finish resolving the card that was originally invoked. If the card was the kind of card that says "Destroy a minion to do Y" or "Destroy a minion. If you do, do Y", then the effect stated as "Y" can't be done at all, simply because in the end Ghost Knight isn't destroyed. If the card says something else, such as "Destroy a minion. Do Y", "Destroy a minion and do Y", etc., the destruction isn't a pre-requisite so you resolve the rest of the card's ability.
Rule 1: The card you target may be immune to the effects of the ability you are performing, but it is still a valid target.
Rule 2: When a card says "Do X to do Y" or "You may do X to do Y", you need to completely do the effect stated as "X" before you do the effect stated as "Y".
Questions on Block the Probe
Q: When played as a Special, do I have to choose a minion on the scoring base?
A: No. You can choose any minion on any base.
Rule: "A minion" means "any minion in play".
Q: Is this still a standard action if I play it through its Special ability for the Disco Dancers and Funky Town?
A: Yes. A standard action is an action that doesn't "Play on a minion/base" or any variation on it. Block the Probe doesn't say that, whether it's played normally or as a Special, so it IS a standard action no matter what.
Rule: Definition of "standard".
Q: How does this interact with the Disco Dancers' mechanic and Funky Town's ability?
A: - If Diva copies it, Diva is considered as indirectly affected by the action and gets +2 power.
- If Dancing King copies it onto a minion (it can be itself), that minion is considered as indirectly affected by the action and gets +2 power.
- If We are Family copies it, the minion it is on is considered as indirectly affected by the action and gets +2 power.
- With Funky Town, you can only copy it if you're the one who played the action and if it affects one of your minions, but if Funky Town does copy it, the minion is considered as indirectly affected by the action and gets +2 power.
Rule: Do exactly what the card says.
Questions on Hidden Base
Q: An opponent plays this card on a base, so if I have a minion there, I draw a card at the start of my turn, right?
A: No. Your opponent played the action, so they control it, and therefore the action only addresses them and the ability must be interpreted from their point of view. So "your turn" means "their turn", "you" means "they" (i.e. your opponent) and "(you) draw" means "they draw".
Rule: "You" on a minion or action means the controller of the card.
Q: It only works "if I have a minion" there. Does it also work if there are only minions there that I own but don't control?
A: No. "If you have a minion" means "if you control at least one minion (whether or not you own it)". Minions you just own but don't control don't count.
Rule: "Having" cards at a base means you control them.
Q: At the start of my turn, I have a minion and Hidden Base on the same base, and I already have ten cards in hand. Do I have to draw an eleventh card? If so, is it immediately discarded? Or do I draw it and immediately choose which card to discard?
A: You must draw it and you don't discard any card until your upcoming Draw 2 Cards phase. At that point, you will indeed need to draw two cards and discard down to 10 if you have more than 10. That's the only moment where you must discard down to 10. At any other time, you keep your hand of cards.
Rule: On your Draw 2 Cards phase, if you have more than 10 cards in your hand after drawing, discard until you have exactly 10 cards left in your hand.
Q: How does this interact with the Disco Dancers' mechanic and Funky Town's ability?
A: It doesn't interact with them at all, because Hidden Base says "Play on a base", which means that it is not a standard action.
Rule: Definition of "standard".
Questions on It’s a Trap!
Q: Can I choose not to play, nor draw the action?
A: Yes. In that case, the action is treated as an unused card and is shuffled into your deck.
Rule: Do exactly what the card says.
Q: If I reveal a card I don't own, what happens?
A: There are three different paths for the revealed card:
- If it's an action and you choose to draw it, it goes to its owner's hand, that's because the other players can see who owns the card and the card changes location.
- If it's an action and you choose to play it, then you control it like any card you play.
- Otherwise, it's shuffled into its owner's deck, that's because the other players can see who owns the card and the card changes location.
Rule 1: When a card that others can see goes to the hand, deck or discard pile, it goes to the one belonging to the card’s owner.
Rule 2: When a player plays a card, they become the card's controller.
Q: If I reveal a "Special: before a base scores" action, can I play it?
A: Whether you can play it immediately or not is to be confirmed. However, you can choose to draw it, and when the right moment comes, you can play it as one of your before-scoring cards. TBD
Rule: TBD
Q: After playing this card and deciding to draw the card, I (somehow) have more than 10 cards in hand, do I immediately discard down to 10?
A: You don't discard any card until your next Draw 2 Cards phase (so not any Draw 2 Cards phase!). At that point, you will indeed need to draw two cards and discard down to 10 if you have more than 10. That's the only moment where you must discard down to 10. At any other time, you keep your hand of cards.
Rule: On your Draw 2 Cards phase, if you have more than 10 cards in your hand after drawing, discard until you have exactly 10 cards left in your hand.
Q: How does this interact with the Disco Dancers' mechanic and Funky Town's ability?
A: It doesn't interact with them at all, because It’s a Trap! doesn't affect any minions in play and so its effect can't be copied.
Rule: Do exactly what the card says.
Questions on Laser Sword
Q: What does this protect against? The minion can easily be targeted by other player's actions! It's so useless!
A: It protects against minion abilities that could affect it, e.g. Bear Cavalry, Cub Scout, Ninja Master, Supreme Overlord, Microbot Guard, Wyvern, Queen Fluffy, Felicia Day,... And the list goes on!
Rule: Do exactly what the card says.
Q: An opponent plays this card on one of their minions. If I transfer it to one of my minions, e.g. with Rules Lawyer or Tinx (possible here, because transferring the action affects the action, not the minion!), I have control of it, so my minion gets +1 power and is therefore protected against other players' minions, right?
A: No, well it indeed gets +1 power, but transferring an action doesn't make you its controller and transferring it to a different player's minion doesn't grant that player control of the action. The action's controller simply doesn't change. So, the player who played it still controls it, and therefore the action only addresses them and the ability must be interpreted from their point of view. So "other players" means "their opponents". In summary, what you just did by transferring the action to your minion is make it unaffectable by the minions of any player that isn't the action's controller (so you included!).
Rule: When you transfer an action, it doesn't change controller.
Q: How does this interact with the Disco Dancers' mechanic and Funky Town's ability?
A: - If you're asking about when Laser Sword is played, it doesn't interact with them at all, because Laser Sword says "Play on a minion", which means that it is not a standard action.
- If you're asking about when you copy an effect onto a minion with Laser Sword on it, then Laser Sword doesn't protect the minion in any way. Indeed, Laser Sword only protects against "other players' minion" (remember, here "other players" means players other than Laser Sword's controller, regardless of whoever controls the minion it is on). Even if you use Dancing King to copy the action's effect, it's treated as the action indirectly affecting the minion, not Dancing King. In fact, what Dancing King does doesn't count as affecting the minion.
Rule 1: Definition of "standard".
Rule 2: Definition of "affect".
Questions on Prepare for Battle
Q: If I reveal a card I don't own, what happens?
A: There are two different paths for the revealed card:
- If you choose to place it into your hand, it goes to its owner's hand, that's because the other players can see who owns the card and the card changes location.
- If you choose to place it on the bottom of your deck, it goes to the bottom of its owner's deck, that's because the other players can see who owns the card and the card changes location.
Rule: When a card that others can see goes to the hand, deck or discard pile, it goes to the one belonging to the card’s owner.
Q: After playing this card, I (somehow) have more than 10 cards in hand, do I immediately discard down to 10?
A: You don't discard any card until your next Draw 2 Cards phase (so not any Draw 2 Cards phase!). At that point, you will indeed need to draw two cards and discard down to 10 if you have more than 10. That's the only moment where you must discard down to 10. At any other time, you keep your hand of cards.
Rule: On your Draw 2 Cards phase, if you have more than 10 cards in your hand after drawing, discard until you have exactly 10 cards left in your hand.
Q: How does this interact with the Disco Dancers' mechanic and Funky Town's ability?
A: It doesn't interact with them at all, because Prepare for Battle doesn't affect any minions in play and so its effect can't be copied.
Rule: Do exactly what the card says.
Questions on Recycle the Trash
Q: How does this interact with the Disco Dancers' mechanic and Funky Town's ability?
A: It doesn't interact with them at all, because Recycle the Trash doesn't affect any minions in play and so its effect can't be copied.
Rule: Do exactly what the card says.
Questions on Use the Fours
Q: It gives +4 power to "one of my minions". Can I choose a minion I own that I don't control?
A: No. "Your minions" are minions you control, whether or not you own them. A minion you own but don't control isn't yours.
Rule: "Your minion" means "a minion that you control".
Q: How does this interact with the Disco Dancers' mechanic and Funky Town's ability?
A: - If Diva copies it, Diva is considered as indirectly affected by the action and gets +4 power.
- If Dancing King copies it onto a minion (it can be itself), that minion is considered as indirectly affected by the action and gets +4 power.
- If We are Family copies it, the minion it is on is considered as indirectly affected by the action and gets +4 power.
- With Funky Town, you can only copy it if you're the one who played the action, but if Funky Town does copy it, the minion is considered as indirectly affected by the action and gets +4 power.
Rule: Do exactly what the card says.
Questions on Yield to Rage
Q: It gives +2 power to "one of my minions". Can I choose a minion I own that I don't control?
A: No. "Your minions" are minions you control, whether or not you own them. A minion you own but don't control isn't yours.
Rule: "Your minion" means "a minion that you control".
Q: How does this interact with the Disco Dancers' mechanic and Funky Town's ability?
A: - If Diva copies it, Diva is considered as indirectly affected by the action and gets +2 power. Note that you don't get a second extra action for affecting a second minion, because Diva only copies the part that boosts the power and the extra action part isn't changed by the number of affected minions.
- If Dancing King copies it onto a minion (it can be itself), that minion is considered as indirectly affected by the action and gets +2 power. Note that you don't get a second extra action for affecting a second minion, because Dancing King only copies the part that boosts the power and the extra action part isn't changed by the number of affected minions.
- If We are Family copies it, the minion it is on is considered as indirectly affected by the action and gets +2 power. Note that you don't get a second extra action for affecting a second minion, because We are Family only copies the part that boosts the power and the extra action part isn't changed by the number of affected minions.
- With Funky Town, you can only copy it if you're the one who played the action, but if Funky Town does copy it, the minion is considered as indirectly affected by the action and gets +2 power. Note that you don't get a second extra action for affecting a second minion, because Funky Town only copies the part that boosts the power and the extra action part isn't changed by the number of affected minions.
Rule: Do exactly what the card says.
Trivia
- The artist is Alberto Tavira, who also designed the art of many other factions.
- The font used for the Astroknight cards is Komikazoom in small caps.
- Space Knight is a reference to Luke Skywalker with possibly Tatooine in the background.
- Walking Carpet is a reference to Chewbacca.
- Scoundrel is a reference to Han Solo.
- Space Prince is a reference to Princess Leia Organa, though portrayed by a He-Man lookalike, recreating the scene where Leia strangled Jabba the Hutt, here portrayed by a Slimer lookalike.
- Pupoks are a reference to Ewoks.
- Mannersbot is a reference to C-3PO.
- Astro Robot is a reference to R2-D2.
- Alien Guru is a reference to Yoda, portrayed by a blue Kermit lookalike, with possibly Dagobah in the background.
- Annoying Alien is a reference to Jar Jar Binks.
- Ghost Knight is a reference to Obi-Wan Kenobi's ghost.
- In Block the Probe, the Space Prince is preventing some Aliens from Probing him.
- It's a Trap! is a reference to Admiral Ackbar.
- Laser Sword is a reference to lightsabers.
- Recycle the Trash is a reference to the scene in the Death Star's garbage compactor.
- Carcasses of Robots can be seen in the compact, most notably a Hoverbot, a Zapbot and a Microbot Archive.
- The Hive of Scum and Villainy is a reference to the Mos Eisley cantina.
- A Byakhee, the Zombie Lord, a War Raptor, the Pirate King, a Shapeshifter, two Aliens, a Gnome, Walking Carpet, Scoundrel, and also the real Chewbacca can be seen in the Hive of Scum and Villainy.
- No-Moon™ is a reference to the Death Star and Obi-Wan Kenobi's statement "That's no moon... It's a space station!"
In other languages
| Language | Name | Translation (if different) |
|---|---|---|
| French | Chevaliers des Étoiles | Star Knights |
| German | Astroritter |
| ||||||