Find ’em, put ’em in cages, and teach ’em to fight. That’s how you show your love for the Itty Critters! - AEG
They’re tiny, and they come and go quickly, but once you learn which one to call when, the
Itty Critterslittle beasts can really pack a punch. We know you’ll want to have them all. If you can make these things as popular as certain other things (you know which ones) we’d be eternally grateful.
- - Big in Japan rulebook (updated in the The Bigger Geekier Box rulebook)
The Itty Critters are one of the 4 factions from the Big in Japan set.
Earn the trust of unique power-2 minions to handle any situation and win with a burst of power.
Other factions from the same set: Kaiju, Magical Girls, Mega Troopers.
Cards[]
The Itty Critters have the usual 10 minions and 10 actions. They are also one of the rare factions to have a titan. The total minion base power (not counting any abilities) is slightly lower than usual at only 29 or an average of 2.9 per minion compared to the usual 30 and 3.
Among their actions, there are:
- 0 play-on-minion actions,
- 2 play-on-base actions: Ittypedia (2x),
- 8 standard actions (6 that affect one or more minions, in bold): Coach Combat, Critter Cube, Evolution (2x), Gotta Get ‘Em All, I Select You!, Recall Critter, Super Effective!,
- 0 actions that directly increase a minion's power.
Minions[]
1x Critter Champion - power 5 - Talent: Search your deck for a minion of power 2 or less and play it here as an extra minion. If you control it at the end of the turn, place it on the bottom of your deck. FAQ
3x Critter Coach - power 4 - You may search your deck for a minion of power 2 or less and play it here as an extra minion. If you control it at the end of the turn, place it on the bottom of your deck. FAQ
1x Calicoin - power 2 - You may place +1 power counter on another minion here. FAQ
1x Flooffairy - power 2 - You may draw a card. FAQ
1x Krakatoad - power 2 - You may choose another minion here to gain +2 power until the end of the turn. FAQ
1x Leafaroo - power 2 - You may shuffle a card from your discard pile into your deck. FAQ
1x Shellshock - power 2 - You may destroy another minion of power 2 or less here. FAQ
1x Tadpour - power 2 - You may move another minion from here to another base. FAQ
Actions[]
1x Coach Combat - Choose one of your minions. Destroy a minion with lower power at its base. FAQ
1x Critter Cube - Choose a minion in play of power 3 or less, owned by any player, and shuffle it into your deck. FAQ
2x Evolution - Choose one of your minions. Destroy it to either play Rainboroc there, or search your deck for a minion with up to 1 more power and play it there as an extra minion. FAQ
1x Gotta Get ‘Em All - Shuffle one of each minion with a different name from your discard pile into your deck. FAQ
1x I Select You! - Search your deck for a minion of power 3 or less and play it as an extra minion. If you control it at the end the turn, place it on the bottom of your deck. FAQ
2x Ittypedia - Play on a base. Ongoing: After you play a minion here, it gains +1 power until the end of the turn. FAQ
1x Recall Critter - Play a minion of power 2 or less from your discard pile as an extra minion. If you control it at the end of the turn, place it on the bottom of your deck. FAQ
1x Super Effective! - Destroy an action on a minion or on a base. FAQ
Titan[]
1x Rainboroc - Special: After you win a base while this card is not in play, you may play it on the base that replaces it. Ongoing: After the first time each turn you play a minion here of power 2 or less, place a +1 power counter on this card. Talent: Shuffle a minion with power 2 or less from your discard pile into your deck. If you do, you may move this card to another base. FAQ
Bases[]
Clarifications[]
Here are the official clarifications as they appear in the Big in Japan rulebook:
Critter Champion, Critter Coach, Evolution, I Select You: It is now part of the rules that cards that tell you to search your deck also require that you reveal the card searched for, and shuffle your deck afterwards.
Critter Coach, Critter Champion: The minion they play must go to the bottom of the deck even if the card that summoned them is out of play by the end of the turn.
Critter Cube: The other players’ minion in your deck is drawn and played normally, and you control it. When it leaves play it goes back to the owner.
Mechanics[]
Six small, unique, cute, collectible, power-2 minions form the core of this faction, supported by other cards that handle, maintain, and "coach" them. All six boast a unique on-play ability for a specific function. The handling of these minions makes Itty Critters very adaptable and good at playing temporary bursts of power.
As part of the Big in Japan set, Itty Critters have a titan, the legendary not-so-itty critter, Rainboroc.
Critter Coaching[]
The other four minions act as the critters' handlers. They send out a minion of power 2 or less, which may or may not be a critter, from your deck, and return it to the bottom of your deck at the end of the turn. This makes them worth more than their printed power for that turn, along with the chosen minion's ability. The actions I Select You! and Recall Critter also work this way.
If any of these critters are destroyed or discarded, they are no longer in play, and so don't go back in your deck. Critter Cube, Rainboroc, Gotta Get 'Em All, and Leafaroo return these minions back into your deck so you can send them out again.
There are a few things you can do with critters sent out like this. You can play Evolution to replace them with Rainboroc or a power-3 minion. If you have Ittypedia played on the base, both Critter Coach and his critter get +1 power. With that the case, you can instead play Evolution on this critter to play a second Critter Coach (ask the Mad Scientists what kind of genetic engineering makes that possible). Send out Calicoin first and Krakatoad second for a whopping 16 total power! You can get even more by stacking your 2 Ittypedias together. Yes, Itty Critters are capable of insane drops, but struggle at sustained power over time.
Critters that grant bonus power grant it to other minions. Give it to the Coach or Champion to support Coach Combat.
While Walking in the Tall Grass...[]
A wild Leafaroo appeared! Critters can still be drawn and played like any standard minion. When compared to the Pokémon games, minions you send out from your deck are like those that Trainers send into battle, while minions you play from your hand are like those encountered on the field, including wild Pokémon and other Trainers. You can roleplay this like a random encounter. Consider restocking your deck with just the minions you need, so you can draw and play them from your hand.
Synergy[]
Itty Critters enjoy other factions that can play a lot of power in a burst, and ones with useful minions of power 2 or less.
- Dinosaurs: Ambush the bases with War Raptors, and play Rampage and other actions on your boosted minions.
- Minions of Cthulhu: Utilize a loop of talents (Critter Champion with Altar of Cthulhu > Servitor of Cthulhu > Rainboroc) to replay an extra action like Critter Cube or The Seal is Broken every turn. Add Star-Spawn to freely deal with Madness. Itty Critters allow you to replay your best minions if you wish as well.
- Shapeshifters: Get help finding just the right minions you need, including Mimics and Copycats.
External Strategy Guides[]
- KOTH #16: Critter Champion
- Action Awareness #18: Critter Cube
- The Smash Up Factions Series #21: Itty Critters
FAQ[]
Questions on Critter Champion[]
Q: It doesn't say to shuffle my deck, so I don't have to shuffle it at all, right?
A: No, you have to shuffle your deck because you searched through it. That's now an integral part of the rules.
Q: I use Critter Champion's ability and search my deck. What happens if I have no eligible minion of power 2 or less there? Am I then allowed to search my hand or discard pile?
A: Then its ability fails, you won't get a minion and will still have to shuffle your deck. You do not go through your discard pile or hand as a compensation, otherwise the card would have said so.
Q: I have Foot of the King in play and play Critter Champion. I then use her ability to play Sneaky Squire, who I then give control away to another player using his ability. At the end of the turn, if I use Foot of King's ability to take back control of my Sneaky Squire, does he get placed on the bottom of my deck? Or can I resolve the rest of Critter Champion's ability first and check if Sneaky Squire is under my control, and then take back control with Foot of the King?
A: When several abilities happen at the same time, the current player chooses the order, so either they make Foot of the King activate first and the minion will be placed on the bottom of your deck when Critter Champion is resolved next, or they make Critter Champion check first and then Foot of the King can safely take back control of the minion.
A: Update. Critter Champion's end-of-turn ability is mandatory, while Foot of the King's ability is optional, so Critter Champion's ability must be resolved before Foot of the King. Therefore, you have Critter Champion's ability resolve first (which does nothing since you don't control the minion) and then Foot of the King can safely take back control of the minion.
Q: I play an extra minion with Critter Champion's ability and then give control of Critter Champion to another player. At the end of the turn, does the minion still have to be placed on the bottom of the deck? Critter Champion is not under my control after all. If so, who checks if they control the minion to determine if it is placed on the bottom of a deck?
A: Yes, using its talent immediately sets the minion to be placed on the bottom of your deck if it passes the test, and giving control of Critter Champion doesn't undo that. So it's the player who used Critter Champion's ability who checks. If it helps, you can see it like that: When you play the extra minion, it is immediately "programmed" to go on the bottom of your deck if you still control if at the end of the turn. That program is determined when you use Critter Champion's talent and won't change no matter what happens to Critter Champion.
Rule: Removing a card from play does not necessarily undo what it did.
Q: I play an extra minion with Critter Champion's ability and then remove Critter Champion from play. At the end of the turn, does the minion still have to be placed on the bottom of the deck?
A: Yes, using its talent immediately sets the minion to be placed on the bottom of your deck if it passes the test, and removing Critter Champion from play doesn't undo that. If it helps, you can see it like that: When you play the extra minion, it is immediately "programmed" to go on the bottom of your deck if you still control if at the end of the turn. That program is determined when you use Critter Champion's talent and won't change no matter what happens to Critter Champion.
Rule: Removing a card from play does not necessarily undo what it did.
Q: If I use Critter Champion to search for a Tenacious Z, destroy it with Evolution, and then replay Tenacious Z using its ability, will it still go to the bottom of my deck, or did going to the discard pile clear it of that restriction?
A: It remains in play because it is treated as a new minion, even if it's physically the same card that you replayed. So at the end of the turn, when you check if you still control Tenacious Z, the ability is referring to the Tenacious Z that was played using Critter Champion's ability; that Tenacious Z was actually destroyed and a new one was played.
Q: If I use Critter Champion to play a minion, then use Do Over! or Doctor When to return it, and then replay it, will it still go to the bottom of my deck, or did returning it clear it of that restriction?
A: It remains in play because it is treated as a new minion, even if it's physically the same card that you replayed. So at the end of the turn, when you check if you still control the minion, the ability is referring to the minion that was played using Critter Champion's ability; that minion was actually returned and a new one was played.
Questions on Critter Coach[]
Q: It doesn't say to shuffle my deck, so I don't have to shuffle it at all, right?
A: No, you have to shuffle your deck because you searched through it. That's now an integral part of the rules.
Q: I play Critter Coach and search my deck. What happens if I have no eligible minion of power 2 or less there? Am I then allowed to search my hand or discard pile?
A: Then its ability fails, you won't get a minion and will still have to shuffle your deck. You do not go through your discard pile or hand as a compensation, otherwise the card would have said so.
Q: I have Foot of the King in play and play Critter Coach. I then use the Coach's ability to play Sneaky Squire, who I then give control away to another player using his ability. At the end of the turn, if I use Foot of King's ability to take back control of my Sneaky Squire, does he get placed on the bottom of my deck? Or can I resolve the rest of Critter Coach's ability first and check if Sneaky Squire is under my control, and then take back control with Foot of the King?
A: When several abilities happen at the same time, the current player chooses the order, so either they make Foot of the King activate first and the minion will be placed on the bottom of your deck when Critter Coach is resolved next, or they make Critter Coach check first and then Foot of the King can safely take back control of the minion.
A: Update. Critter Coach's end-of-turn ability is mandatory, while Foot of the King's ability is optional, so Critter Coach's ability must be resolved before Foot of the King. Therefore, you have Critter Coach's ability resolve first (which does nothing since you don't control the minion) and then Foot of the King can safely take back control of the minion.
Q: I play Critter Coach with its extra minion and then give control of Critter Coach to another player. At the end of the turn, does the minion still have to be placed on the bottom of the deck? Critter Coach is not under my control after all. If so, who checks if they control the minion to determine if it is placed on the bottom of a deck?
A: Yes, using its ability immediately sets the minion to be placed on the bottom of your deck if it passes the test, and giving control of Critter Coach doesn't undo that. So it's the player who used Critter Coach's ability who checks. If it helps, you can see it like that: When you play the extra minion, it is immediately "programmed" to go on the bottom of your deck if you still control if at the end of the turn. That program is determined when you play Critter Coach and won't change no matter what happens to Critter Coach. Besides, Critter Coach's ability is an on-play ability and therefore it is only evaluated when it is played and won't be reevaluated again no matter what happens to Critter Coach later (destroyed, returned, ability cancelled, or change in controller)
Rule: Removing a card from play does not necessarily undo what it did.
Q: I play an extra minion with Critter Coach's ability and then remove Critter Coach from play. At the end of the turn, does the minion still have to be placed on the bottom of the deck?
A: Yes, using its ability immediately sets the minion to be placed on the bottom of your deck if it passes the test, and removing Critter Coach from play doesn't undo that. If it helps, you can see it like that: When you play the extra minion, it is immediately "programmed" to go on the bottom of your deck if you still control if at the end of the turn. That program is determined when you play Critter Coach and won't change no matter what happens to Critter Coach.
Rule: Removing a card from play does not necessarily undo what it did.
Q: If I use Critter Coach to search for a Tenacious Z, destroy it with Evolution, and then replay Tenacious Z using its ability, will it still go to the bottom of my deck, or did going to the discard pile clear it of that restriction?
A: It remains in play because it is treated as a new minion, even if it's physically the same card that you replayed. So at the end of the turn, when you check if you still control Tenacious Z, the ability is referring to the Tenacious Z that was played using Critter Coach's ability; that Tenacious Z was actually destroyed and a new one was played.
Q: If I use Critter Coach to play a minion, then use Do Over! or Doctor When to return it, and then replay it, will it still go to the bottom of my deck, or did returning it clear it of that restriction?
A: It remains in play because it is treated as a new minion, even if it's physically the same card that you replayed. So at the end of the turn, when you check if you still control the minion, the ability is referring to the minion that was played using Critter Coach's ability; that minion was actually returned and a new one was played.
Questions on Calicoin[]
Q: If Calicoin is removed from play (e.g. destroyed, placed on the bottom of a deck, etc.) or has its ability 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 is destroyed or has its ability is cancelled), so the +1 power counters remain even if the card that placed them is removed from play or has its ability cancelled. Besides, how are you going to keep track of which +1 power counters were added by that one Calicoin's ability and which ones were not (e.g. if you're playing Itty Critters Giant Ants or Itty Critters Mad Scientists)? That would be very cumbersome.
Rule: Cancelling (or losing) an effect does not necessarily undo what it did.
Rule: Removing a card from play does not necessarily undo what it did.
Questions on Flooffairy[]
Q: If I play Flooffairy using Critter Champion, Critter Coach, or I Select You!, do I shuffle my deck before or after drawing the card with Flooffairy?
A: You must shuffle your deck before playing and resolving Flooffairy.
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.
Questions on Krakatoad[]
Q:
A:
Rule:
Questions on Leafaroo[]
Q: Do I have to reveal to the other players which card I chose to shuffle?
A: Yes. Discard piles are "public knowledge", so you can check which cards are in any player's discard pile at any time. If you take a card out of the discard pile, players are supposed to know what card was taken out. So, you should reveal it.
Rule: If you take a card out of the discard pile, show it to everyone.
Questions on Shellshock[]
Q:
A:
Rule:
Questions on Tadpour[]
Q: Can I move another player's minion?
A: Yes.
Q: If I move another player's minion, do I take control of it?
A: No. Moving is just relocating a minion, it doesn't mean that you take control of it.
Questions on Coach Combat[]
Q: It tells me to choose "one of my minions". Can I choose a minion I own that I don't control? I don't control it but I "own" it, so it's "my" minion, right?
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.
Q: Can I choose a minion in stasis?
A: No, cards in stasis cannot be chosen by cards that do not explicitly state cards in stasis can be chosen.
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 is destroyed, regardless of Diva's power. Note that you can only copy the destruction; merely choosing a minion doesn't count as affecting it so you can't copy that part.
- If Dancing King copies it onto a minion (it can be itself), that minion is considered as indirectly affected by the action and is destroyed, regardless of the minion's power. Note that you can only copy the destruction; merely choosing a minion doesn't count as affecting it so you can't copy that part.
- If We are Family copies it, the minion it is on is considered as indirectly affected by the action and is destroyed, regardless of the minion's power. Note that you can only copy the destruction; merely choosing a minion doesn't count as affecting it so you can't copy that part.
- With Funky Town, you can only copy it if you're the one who played the action and if you destroy one of your minions, but if Funky Town does copy it, the minion is considered as indirectly affected by the action and is destroyed, regardless of the minion's power. Note that you can only copy the destruction; merely choosing a minion doesn't count as affecting it so you can't copy that part.
Questions on Critter Cube[]
Q: It's weirdly worded. Since cards that leave play go back to their owners anyway, why doesn't it say "Shuffle a minion of power 3 or less into its owner's deck"?
A: It's purposely worded that way to conflict with the rules and therefore have priority over them. So, when you play Critter Cube, you can choose any minion of power 3 or less in play and shuffle it into your deck, not its owner's.
Rule: Often, card text and rules text will conflict. When there's a fight, card text wins.
Q: I draw and play a minion I previously "captured" with Critter Cube. Where does it go it if later leaves play?
A: Unless you "recapture" it with Critter Cube, the normal rule about cards going to their owners applies normally.
Q: I "capture" another player's minion with Critter Cube. I later use Critter Champion, Critter Coach or I Select You! to play it. At the end of the turn, it goes on the bottom of my deck, right? Because those cards say "on the bottom of your deck" and therefore they conflict with the rules and win.
A: Actually, those cards don't conflict with the rules. The rule about cards going to their owners specify an exception to the way Critter Champion, Critter Coach and I Select You! work. Since there's no conflict, the normal rules apply and the minion is actually placed on the bottom of its rightful owner's deck.[1]
Q: Can I choose a minion in stasis?
A: No, cards in stasis cannot be chosen by cards that do not explicitly state cards in stasis can be chosen.
Q: How does this interact with the Disco Dancers' mechanic and Funky Town's ability?
A: - If Diva copies it (and it can copy it even if its power is more than 3), Diva is considered as indirectly affected by the action and is shuffled into the deck of the action player. Note that Critter Cube is a card that ignores the rule about the cards going back to their owners, so the copied effect should work that way as well.
- If Dancing King copies it onto a minion (it can be itself and it can copy it even if the power of the minion that gets the copy is more than 3), that minion is considered as indirectly affected by the action and is shuffled into the deck of the action player. Note that Critter Cube is a card that ignores the rule about the cards going back to their owners, so the copied effect should work that way as well. Also, note that if the minion is a monster or a treasure, it remains in play because monsters and treasures can't be affected by cards that refer to a card's owner.
- If We are Family copies it (and it can copy it even if the power of the minion it is on is more than 3), the minion it is on is considered as indirectly affected by the action and is shuffled into the deck of the action player. Note that Critter Cube is a card that ignores the rule about the cards going back to their owners, so the copied effect should work that way as well. Also, note that if the minion is a monster or a treasure, it remains in play because monsters and treasures can't be affected by cards that refer to a card's owner.
- 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 (and it can copy it even if the power of the minion that gets the copy is more than 3), the minion is considered as indirectly affected by the action and is shuffled into the deck of the action player. Note that Critter Cube is a card that ignores the rule about the cards going back to their owners, so the copied effect should work that way as well. Also, note that if the minion is a monster or a treasure, it remains in play because monsters and treasures can't be affected by cards that refer to a card's owner.
Rule: Often, card text and rules text will conflict. When there's a fight, card text wins.
Rule: Cards that refer to a card’s owner do not apply to monsters or treasures.
Questions on Evolution[]
Q: When I play Evolution, do I have to destroy a minion?
A: No. While it doesn't say "you may", "Do X to do Y" abilities imply that doing X is optional.[2]
Rule: When a card says "Do X to do Y" or "You may do X to do Y", doing X is optional in both cases.
Q: When choosing a minion "with up to 1 more power", do I have to choose a minion with more power than the minion I destroyed?
A: No. You can choose a minion of any power from 0 to up to 1 more power than your minion. For example, if you destroy a minion of power 2, you can choose a minion with a power of 0 to 3.
Q: It tells me to choose "one of my minions". Can I choose a minion I own that I don't control? I don't control it but I "own" it, so it's "my" minion, right?
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.
Q: I play Evolution and search my deck. What happens if I have no eligible minion with the right power there? Am I then allowed to search my hand or discard pile? Am I allowed to backtrack and play Rainboroc instead?
A: Then its ability fails, you won't get a minion, the destroyed minion remains destroyed and will still have to shuffle your deck. You do not go through your discard pile or hand as a compensation, otherwise the card would have said so. You also cannot play Rainboroc instead because you chose the option to search your deck for a minion, giving up on the option to play Rainboroc.
Q: An opponent is playing with the Itty Critters. I manage to get their Evolution card (e.g. Trade, Mass Enchantment, Min-Maxing, Word of Recall) What happens if I choose the "play Rainboroc" option?
A: It depends. Now, let's suppose you do have a minion in play and you are able to destroy it, you're then entitled to use the "play Rainboroc" option. First, if you already control a titan, you won't be able to play another titan anyway, so your minion would be destroyed for nothing. Second, if there's no Rainboroc out of play, you can't play it because it's already in play and you won't gain control of one that's already in play either as that's not what Evolution does, so your minion would be destroyed for nothing. Other than that, if you are able to play a titan and if there's a Rainboroc that's currently out of play, you can play it on the destroyed minion's base (as per Evolution's ability) and you have control of it, even if you're not that Rainboroc's owner.
Rule: If you play a titan you don't own, you get control of it.
Q: Can I choose a minion in stasis?
A: No, cards in stasis cannot be chosen by cards that do not explicitly state cards in stasis can be chosen.
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 is destroyed. Note that you won't be able to search for an additional extra minion for the destroyed Diva, because the rest of the ability should be resolved as written and so "search your deck for a minion with up to 1 more power and play it there as an extra minion" should be understood as "search your deck for a minion with up to 1 more power than the minion that was directly affected and play it there as an extra minion."
- If Dancing King copies it onto a minion (it can be itself), that minion is considered as indirectly affected by the action and is destroyed. Note that you won't be able to search for an additional extra minion for the destroyed minion, because the rest of the ability should be resolved as written and so "search your deck for a minion with up to 1 more power and play it there as an extra minion" should be understood as "search your deck for a minion with up to 1 more power than the minion that was directly affected and play it there as an extra minion."
- If We are Family copies it, the minion it is on is considered as indirectly affected by the action and is destroyed. Note that you won't be able to search for an additional extra minion for the destroyed minion, because the rest of the ability should be resolved as written and so "search your deck for a minion with up to 1 more power and play it there as an extra minion" should be understood as "search your deck for a minion with up to 1 more power than the minion that was directly affected and play it there as an extra minion."
- 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 is destroyed. Note that you won't be able to search for an additional extra minion for the destroyed minion, because the rest of the ability should be resolved as written and so "search your deck for a minion with up to 1 more power and play it there as an extra minion" should be understood as "search your deck for a minion with up to 1 more power than the minion that was directly affected and play it there as an extra minion."
Questions on Gotta Get ‘Em All[]
Q: I don't get how this works.
A: You just shuffle into your deck one minion of each name from your discard pile. If you have several copies of the same minion in your discard pile, you choose only one copy to shuffle back into your deck. It doesn't make a difference which copy you choose.
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 doesn't affect any minions in play and so its effect can't be copied.
Questions on I Select You![]
Q: It doesn't say to shuffle my deck, so I don't have to shuffle it at all, right?
A: No, you have to shuffle your deck because you searched through it. That's now an integral part of the rules.
Q: I play I Select You! and search my deck. What happens if I have no eligible minion of power 3 or less there? Am I then allowed to search my hand or discard pile?
A: Then its ability fails, you won't get a minion and will still have to shuffle your deck. You do not go through your discard pile or hand as a compensation, otherwise the card would have said so.
Q: I have Foot of the King in play and play I Select You! I then use its ability to play Sneaky Squire, who I then give control away to another player using his ability. At the end of the turn, if I use Foot of King's ability to take back control of my Sneaky Squire, does he get placed on the bottom of my deck? Or can I resolve the rest of the I Select You!'s ability first and check if Sneaky Squire is under my control, and then take back control with Foot of the King?
A: When several abilities happen at the same time, the current player chooses the order, so either they make Foot of the King activate first and the minion will be placed on the bottom of your deck when I Select You! is resolved next, or they make I Select You! check first and then Foot of the King can safely take back control of the minion.
A: Update. I Select You!'s end-of-turn ability is mandatory, while Foot of the King's ability is optional, so I Select You!'s ability must be resolved before Foot of the King. Therefore, you have I Select You!'s ability resolve first (which does nothing since you don't control the minion) and then Foot of the King can safely take back control of the minion.
Q: If I use I Select You! to search for a Tenacious Z, destroy it with Evolution, and then replay Tenacious Z using its ability, will it still go to the bottom of my deck, or did going to the discard pile clear it of that restriction?
A: It remains in play because it is treated as a new minion, even if it's physically the same card that you replayed. So at the end of the turn, when you check if you still control Tenacious Z, the ability is referring to the Tenacious Z that was played using I Select You!'s ability; that Tenacious Z was actually destroyed and a new one was played.
Q: If I use I Select You! to play a minion, then use Do Over! or Doctor When to return it, and then replay it, will it still go to the bottom of my deck, or did returning it clear it of that restriction?
A: It remains in play because it is treated as a new minion, even if it's physically the same card that you replayed. So at the end of the turn, when you check if you still control the minion, the ability is referring to the minion that was played using I Select You!'s ability; that minion was actually returned and a new one was played.
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 is placed on the bottom of its owner's deck, regardless of whoever owns the minion that was directly affected by the action.
- If Dancing King copies it onto a minion (it can be itself), that minion is considered as indirectly affected by the action and is placed on the bottom of its owner's deck, regardless of whoever owns the minion that was directly affected by the action. Note that if the minion is a monster or a treasure, it is discarded instead. This is a different answer compared to cards that refer to a minion's owner; this card never refers to the card's owner ("you" means "the controller", who may not be the owner) and so the rule is that the treasure/monster is discarded.
- If We are Family copies it, the minion it is on is considered as indirectly affected by the action and is placed on the bottom of its owner's deck, regardless of whoever owns the minion that was directly affected by the action. Note that if the minion is a monster or a treasure, it is discarded instead. This is a different answer compared to cards that refer to a minion's owner; this card never refers to the card's owner ("you" means "the controller", who may not be the owner) and so the rule is that the treasure/monster is discarded.
- 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 (and it can copy it even if the power of the minion that gets the copy is more than 3), the minion is considered as indirectly affected by the action and is placed on the bottom of its owner's deck, regardless of whoever owns the minion that was directly affected by the action. Note that if the minion is a monster or a treasure, it is discarded instead. This is a different answer compared to cards that refer to a minion's owner; this card never refers to the card's owner ("you" means "the controller", who may not be the owner) and so the rule is that the treasure/monster is discarded.
Rule: Monsters and treasures go to their own discard pile when they leave play.
Questions on Ittypedia[]
Q: I play a minion on a base where I have Ittypedia. If I move it to another base, does it keep its +1 power?
A: Yes. The condition is only for the minion to be played there. Once played there, it keeps the +1 power even if it's moved to another base.
Q: An opponent plays this card on a base, so if I later play a minion there, it also gains +1 power, 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 "you" means "they".
Rule: A play-on-base action doesn't give an ability to the base that any player can use.
Rule: "You" on a minion, action or titan means the controller of the card.
Q: If I play an Argonaut instead of an action on Ittypedia's base, does it still get +1 power?
A: Yes. Playing an Argonaut, whether as a minion or instead of an action, still counts as playing a minion. It IS a minion after all.
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 says "Play on a base", which means that it is not a standard action.
Questions on Recall Critter[]
Q: I have Foot of the King in play and play Recall Critter. I then use its ability to play Sneaky Squire, who I then give control away to another player using his ability. At the end of the turn, if I use Foot of King's ability to take back control of my Sneaky Squire, does he get placed on the bottom of my deck? Or can I resolve the rest of the Recall Critter's ability first and check if Sneaky Squire is under my control, and then take back control with Foot of the King?
A: When several abilities happen at the same time, the current player chooses the order, so either they make Foot of the King activate first and the minion will be placed on the bottom of your deck when Recall Critter is resolved next, or they make Recall Critter check first and then Foot of the King can safely take back control of the minion.
A: Update. Recall Critter's end-of-turn ability is mandatory, while Foot of the King's ability is optional, so Recall Critter's ability must be resolved before Foot of the King. Therefore, you have Recall Critter's ability resolve first (which does nothing since you don't control the minion) and then Foot of the King can safely take back control of the minion.
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 is placed on the bottom of its owner's deck, regardless of whoever owns the minion that was directly affected by the action.
- If Dancing King copies it onto a minion (it can be itself), that minion is considered as indirectly affected by the action and is placed on the bottom of its owner's deck, regardless of whoever owns the minion that was directly affected by the action. Note that if the minion is a monster or a treasure, it is discarded instead. This is a different answer compared to cards that refer to a minion's owner; this card never refers to the card's owner ("you" means "the controller", who may not be the owner) and so the rule is that the treasure/monster is discarded.
- If We are Family copies it, the minion it is on is considered as indirectly affected by the action and is placed on the bottom of its owner's deck, regardless of whoever owns the minion that was directly affected by the action. Note that if the minion is a monster or a treasure, it is discarded instead. This is a different answer compared to cards that refer to a minion's owner; this card never refers to the card's owner ("you" means "the controller", who may not be the owner) and so the rule is that the treasure/monster is discarded.
- 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 (and it can copy it even if the power of the minion that gets the copy is more than 3), the minion is considered as indirectly affected by the action and is placed on the bottom of its owner's deck, regardless of whoever owns the minion that was directly affected by the action. Note that if the minion is a monster or a treasure, it is discarded instead. This is a different answer compared to cards that refer to a minion's owner; this card never refers to the card's owner ("you" means "the controller", who may not be the owner) and so the rule is that the treasure/monster is discarded.
Rule: Monsters and treasures go to their own discard pile when they leave play.
Questions on Super Effective![]
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 doesn't affect any minions in play and so its effect can't be copied. Yes, destroying an action affects that action, but not the card (minion or base) it is on.
Rule: Definition of "affect".
Questions on Rainboroc[]
- Main article: Titans
Q: The card says "Special" so I can use it at any time, even outside of my turn, right?
A: Be careful, "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 Rainboroc, the condition is "After you win a base while this card is not in play", so you can play it after the scoring of a base on any player's turn and where you are the winner. So Rainboroc can indeed be played on any turn, but only after a base scores where you are the winner.
Q: I have a different titan on the scored base where I'm the winner. Since the titan will be removed from play when the base is replaced, can I then play Rainboroc on the new base?
A: Yes. Rainboroc allows you to play it, but it will only happen when the new base comes into play, at which point your previous titan is no longer in play and therefore no longer preventing you from playing Rainboroc.
Q: What happens to Rainboroc when the base that it's on scores?
A: It remains on that base until the step where you discard all the cards on the base. At which point it leaves play and is set aside. Any +1 power counter on it is removed.
Q: A base is chosen to score. I have no minions there, but I have Rainboroc there. It is similar to a minion, right? So I can still get VPs from the base if 0 is among the top three total power, right?
A: No and no. Rainboroc is a titan, not a minion. To be eligible to receive VPs, you must have at least one minion or at least 1 total power on the base. If you have no minions and your total power there is 0, then you can't receive any VPs from the base. Now, if Rainboroc had any +1 power counters on it or gave you any total power (e.g. on Kaiju Island), then you would have at least 1 total power and be eligible. Otherwise, no.
Q: I play my first power-2 minion on Rainboroc's base, therefore triggering its Ongoing ability. Then I use Rainboroc's talent to move it somewhere else. I manage to play another power-2 minion on that base (e.g. with Recall Critter, I Select You!, etc.) Does it trigger Rainboroc's ability again? Or does Rainboroc only trigger once per turn?
A: Rainboroc triggers a second time. That's because when you first play a minion on a base, that's (obviously) your first minion on that base, but not necessarily your first overall minion of the turn if you already played a minion elsewhere this turn. So, when you play the second minion, it's indeed your second minion of the turn, but it's still your first played minion on that base. This is enough to trigger Rainboroc. On a side note, Rainboroc doesn't (really) have a once per turn limitation, otherwise it would actually say "once per turn".[3]
Q: On a base with my Rainboroc, if I play first Critter Coach and use its ability to play an extra power-2 minion there, will it trigger Rainboroc? The power-2 minion is the second minion I play there, but it's also the first power-2 minion I play there, right?
A: Yes, it works. What matters is not the power of the first minion you played there but that Rainboroc triggers after the first power-2 minion you play there.
Q: An opponent is playing with the Itty Critters. Their Rainboroc isn't in play. A base scores and I'm the winner there, I can then invoke Rainboroc through its Special ability and play it on the new base, right?
A: No, only the player who has it next to their deck can play it.
Rule: Playable Special cards can only be played by their current possessor.
Q: If Rainboroc's ability is cancelled, are the +1 power counters placed on it by its own ability 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 has its ability cancelled (like drawing cards, if you play Enchantress, you're not going to discard the card you drew if Enchantress's ability is cancelled).
Rule: Cancelling (or losing) an effect does not necessarily undo what it did.
Q: I haven't played any minions yet. If I play an Argonaut instead of an action on Rainboroc's base, does Rainboroc still get a +1 power counter?
A: Yes. Playing an Argonaut, whether as a minion or instead of an action, still counts as playing a minion. It IS a minion after all.
Q: I haven't played any minions yet. If I play a Howler on Rainboroc's base, does Rainboroc get a +1 power counter even though it's no longer power 2?
A: Yes. By playing a Howler, you're actually playing a minion of power 2, so it triggers Rainboroc. It only becomes power 4 after resolving its ability so it did enter play as a power-2 minion.
Rule: If it's not in play, a minion's power is equal to its printed power.
Q: I haven't played any minions yet. If I play a Mimic on Rainboroc's base while the highest printed power is 3 or more, does Rainboroc get a +1 power counter even though it's no longer power 0?
A: Yes. By playing a Mimic, you're actually playing a minion of power 0, so it triggers Rainboroc. It only becomes power 3 or more after resolving its ability so it did enter play as a power-0 minion.
Rule: If it's not in play, a minion's power is equal to its printed power.
Trivia[]
- The artist is Studio 2Minds (also credited as 2Minds Studio), who also designed the art of many other factions, including all the factions of the Pretty Pretty Smash Up set.
- Their divider (a "proper" titan-less one is in The Bigger Geekier Box) features Critter Champion.
- The font used in the Itty Critter cards is Open Season.
- This faction is based on Pocket Monsters, more commonly known as Pokémon.
- Leafaroo looks like a Grass-type Pikachu.
- Krakatoad looks like a Fire-type Bulbasaur.
- Tadpour looks like a Water-type Charmander.
- Shellshock looks like an Electric-type Squirtle.
- Calicoin resembles Meowth.
- Flooffairy resembles Clefairy.
- These 6 power-2 minions allude to the party of up to 6 you are allowed in the games.
- Rainboroc is a reference to Ho-oh.
- Critter Cube is a reference to a Pokéball. It is the first card that allows a player to steal a minion from play and play it later as your own.
- Ittypedia is a reference to the Pokédex, which was inspired by the Game Boy from the 90s.
- In Coach Combat, Critter Champion is battling against Aunt of Drakes.
- Critter Coach defeated Cthulhu.
In other languages[]
| Language | Name | Translation (if different) |
|---|---|---|
| Chinese | 宝可萌 | Pokémon |
| French | Monstrapoches | Pocket Monsters |
| German | Klitzekleine Viecher | |
| Hebrew | יצורוני עוצמה | Power Creatures |
| Italian | Bestioline | Beasties |
| Russian | Покемонстры | Pokémonsters |
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