Tricksters use their mischievous nature to make life extremely difficult for opponents. - AEG
Stealing things, stopping things, starting things, hiding your keys in the morning, collecting underpants for profit… for years, you've thought of these little people as pests. Now they've turned up as pesticide.
- - Core Set rulebook
The Tricksters are one of the 8 factions from the Core Set.
When you see Tricksters laughing, it's at you, not with you. They love to sabotage their enemies and see them squirm.
Other factions from the same set: Aliens, Dinosaurs, Ninjas, Pirates, Robots, Wizards, Zombies.
Cards[]
The Tricksters have the usual 10 minions and 10 actions. The total minion base power (not counting any abilities) is the usual 30 or an average of 3 per minion. They are also one of the rare factions to have received a titan from the TITANS Event Kit.
Among their actions, there are:
- 0 play-on-minion actions,
- 6 play-on-base actions: Block the Path, Enshrouding Mist (2x), Flame Trap, Hideout, Pay the Piper,
- 4 standard actions (none of them affect minions): Disenchant (2x), Mark of Sleep, Take the Shinies,
- 0 actions that directly increase a minion's power.
Minions[]
1x Leprechaun - power 5 - Ongoing: After another player plays a minion here with less power than this minion’s power, destroy it (resolve its ability first). FAQ
2x Brownie - power 4 - Ongoing: After another player plays a card that affects this minion, that player discards two random cards. FAQ
3x Gnome - power 3 - You may destroy a minion on this base with power less than the number of minions you have here. FAQ
4x Gremlin - power 2 - Ongoing: After this minion is destroyed, draw a card and each other player discards a random card. FAQ
Actions[]
1x Block the Path - Play on a base and name a faction. Ongoing: Minions of that faction cannot be played here. FAQ
2x Disenchant - Destroy an action that has been played on a minion or base. FAQ
2x Enshrouding Mist - Play on a base. Ongoing: On your turn, you may play an extra minion here. FAQ
1x Flame Trap - Play on a base. Ongoing: After another player plays a minion here, destroy it (resolve its ability first) and this card. FAQ
1x Hideout - Play on a base. Ongoing: If another player’s action would affect your minions here, destroy this card and the action does not affect your minions. FAQ
1x Mark of Sleep - Choose a player. That player cannot play actions on his or her next turn. FAQ
1x Pay the Piper - Play on a base. Ongoing: After another player plays a minion here, that player discards a card. FAQ
1x Take the Shinies - Each other player discards two random cards. FAQ
Titan[]
- (available in each Smash Up TITANS pack released with the TITANS Event Kit)
1x Big Funny Giant - Special: Instead of your regular minion play, you may play this titan on a base that has no player’s minions. Ongoing: Other players must discard a card to play a minion here. At the end of your turn, if there are no other players’ minions here, place a +1 power counter on this titan. Talent: Destroy a minion of power 2 or less here to move this titan to another base. FAQ
Bases[]
Clarifications[]
Here are the official clarifications as they appear in The Bigger Geekier Box rulebook:
Brownie: This is not triggered by cards that do not directly affect the Brownie, or by cards already in play that affect it.
Flame Trap, Leprechaun: The minion must be played at this card’s base, and still be at the same base with this card after the minion’s ability is resolved, to be destroyed. If the minion is immune to destruction, Flame Trap is still destroyed.
Hideout: If Hideout cancels the effects of an Ongoing ability, the cancelation lasts until the end of the current turn.
Mark of Sleep: Does not prevent using the abilities of actions already in play.
Mechanics[]
Hopefully you might have guessed that Tricksters are full of tricks. These include punishing opponents for affecting your minions, making bases difficult, deadly, or even impossible to play on, straight up disallowing a player from playing their cards, undoing an action attached to a minion or base, and forcing your opponents to discard cards. It is no mere exaggeration to call these guys full-scale full-time nuisances. Fortunately for their opponents, all the restrictions Tricksters place on them have some condition that makes them temporary or partially ineffective.
Strategy[]
Tormenting your friends might be fun and all for you, but does that win you the game? Frankly, there's no guarantee that it will. There's a coin here with two sides to it:
- What should you do if your opponents ignore you, deciding you aren't worth the effort to deal with?
- What should you do if you manage to piss off your opponents and they decide to attack your minions?
Turning the game in your favor requires smart navigation between these two states of affairs. You need to hobble your opponents enough so that you win and they don't: Slow and Discouraging.
Punishing Passivity[]
If your opponent won't or can't resist your incursions, then go on the offensive. Claim any particularly advantageous bases for yourself, then when it appears your opponent won't play there, follow where they went with your Gremlins, Brownies, and Leprechaun. You want to invade bases where your opponent is and try to stop them from playing any more power there than you, so you won't have to play as much there yourself to break the base and win it. Gnomes can be used here to keep the balance of power on the base under control. Once you've got Enshrouding Mist ready, drop two minions and win the base.
Sounds like walking a fine line, right? Well, we are talking about winning the game, after all. Tricksters have no power boosts and their minions average 3 power. Tricksters play dirty and you've got to use everything they've got. This is not a simple or easy faction to win with.
In special cases where you get rewarded for destroying your own minions, such as at Cave of Shinies, put your Gremlins on the chopping block, since your opponent isn't. You still draw a card and they discard one. If you have to play Gnome for this, you need one other minion on the base with the Gremlin to fulfill Gnome's requirement.
Punishing Aggression[]
First of all, when it's against your Gremlins and Brownies, you might try to act distraught, but of course you're laughing inside. You should put them in the most obnoxious and dangerous places, rather than your Gnomes and Leprechaun.
A much bigger problem for you is if your opponent can get rid of your minions by out-powering you and winning first place on bases. You always have to be on the lookout for this. Tricksters aren't good at destroying cards already in play. You have to anticipate your opponents and carefully control how many of their minions finally end up on the bases and where.
Synergy[]
Tricksters are good at stalling out games, so factions that benefit from that help. If your goal really is inflicting pain and suffering, there are some other factions good at that, too.
Elder Things - Pain, punishment, terror, and madness.
Vampires - These guys have an unfortunate habit of lunching on their allies. You might as well feed them your Gremlins. Vampires are good at pulling close leads from up behind their opponents. They have a few ways to add +1 power counters on your Leprechaun, making him much better at his job.
Aliens - Send your opponents' minions back to their hand, then block them. Also appreciates a good stall.
External Strategy Guides[]
- The Geek Profs: Smash Up Strategy - Tricksters
- Action Awareness #3: Disenchant
- KOTH #4: Leprechaun
- Calling All Titans: Big Funny Giant
- Smash Up Tricksters Faction Review!
- Smash Up Tier List - Core Set: Tricksters
FAQ[]
Questions on Leprechaun[]
Q: A low-power minion is moved to its base, does Leprechaun destroy it?
A: No. Leprechaun only destroys minions after they are played, not after they are moved.
Rule: Specific words are not synonymous no matter how similar they seem.
Q: I play a Weed Eater on a base with an enemy Leprechaun. Weed Eater starts at power 5, so is it destroyed or not?
A: Yes. You resolve the minion's ability first, so its power drops to 3. And unless something can boost your Weed Eater's power or lower the Leprechaun's power, Weed Eater's (modified) power is less the Leprechaun's.
Q: I play a War Raptor on a base with two War Raptors and an enemy Leprechaun. Is it destroyed or not?
A: No. You resolve the minion's ability first, so its power is increased to 5.
Q: I play a power-5 minion on a base where another player has a power-5 Leprechaun and Sleep Spores. Is my minion destroyed?
A: Yes. Sleep Spores's ability applies immediately to your minion, so your minion has a power of 4 and is destroyed.
Q: I play a power-5 minion on a base where another player has a power-5 Leprechaun and Hatchling. Is my minion destroyed?
A: It depends. Unlike Sleep Spores, which is applied immediately, Hatchling's ability is a mandatory ability that's activated after you're done playing your minion and resolving its ability. But, Leprechaun's ability is also a mandatory ability that's activated after you're done playing your minion. According to the rules, it's the current player who decides the order in which these two mandatory abilities are activated. If Hatchling is activated before Leprechaun, your minion's power will be lowered to 4 and it becomes vulnerable to Leprechaun. However, if Leprechaun is activated before Hatchling, the minion survives Leprechaun's destruction and has its power lowered by 1.
Rule: The current player decides the order of events that are supposed to happen simultaneously.
Q: If a player plays a minion (such as a Microbot Guard) to destroy the Leprechaun minion, will the Microbot Guard be destroyed after it destroys the Leprechaun?
A: Based on the wording, yes, but it's actually no: The Bigger Geekier Box ruled that Leprechaun and the minion must be on the same base after resolving the played minion's ability for the played minion to be destroyed.
Q: If a player plays Dusty Henry to shuffle the Leprechaun minion into its owner's deck, will Dusty Henry be destroyed after Leprechaun leaves play?
A: Based on the wording, yes, but it's actually no: The Bigger Geekier Box ruled that Leprechaun and the minion must be on the same base after resolving the played minion's ability for the played minion to be destroyed.
Q: If a player plays a minion on Leprechaun's base and moves Leprechaun (e.g. Bear Cavalry) to another base, will the minion be destroyed?
A: Based on the wording, yes, but it's actually no: The Bigger Geekier Box ruled that Leprechaun and the minion must be on the same base after resolving the played minion's ability for the played minion to be destroyed.
Q: If a player plays a minion on Leprechaun's base and moves itself (e.g. Twister) to another base, will the minion be destroyed?
A: Based on the wording, yes, but it's actually no: The Bigger Geekier Box ruled that Leprechaun and the minion must be on the same base after resolving the played minion's ability for the played minion to be destroyed.
Q: If a player plays Felicia Day on a different base than Leprechaun's base and therefore moves Leprechaun to its base, will Felicia Day be destroyed?
A: No. For Leprechaun's ability to activate (or any "After X, do Y" abilities for that matter), Leprechaun must "witness" the minion being played on its base when it is played even if the destruction would only happen way after that, so it must already be on Felicia Day's base right when it's played and before Felicia Day's ability is resolved. This is clearly not the case here.
Q: On my turn, a base with an enemy Leprechaun is 1 power away from breaking. I play a power-1 minion there. Does the base break before my minion is destroyed?
A: No. You only check if a base scores during phase 3 of a player's turn.
Q: I play a low-power minion with a talent on a base with an enemy Leprechaun. Can I use its talent before it's destroyed?
A: Sadly no. While you do have to resolve your minion's immediate abilities before it's destroyed, a talent is not among the things that are resolved when the minion enters play.
Rule: When you play a card, an ability that starts with "Talent:" is never resolved immediately.
Q: Can it destroy monsters?
A: If the monster is played by another player's card, yes because it's a minion and it's played by a player. If the monster is played by The Gauntlet's ability, no because the rulebook says so.
Q: I play a Mimic on an enemy its base. Is my Mimic destroyed?
A: Supposing Leprechaun is still at power 5, then no. When you play Mimic, its ability is resolved before Leprechaun's ability, so Mimic becomes power 5 (or more, if there's a higher printed power in play!) and so the Leprechaun can't destroy it.
Rule: An Ongoing ability only becomes active when the card is in play.
Q: If I play an Argonaut instead of an action on Leprechaun's base, is it still destroyed?
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.
Questions on Brownie[]
Q: I play a card with a talent that can affect Brownie (e.g. Snow White, Monkey on Your Back). If I use the talent on Brownie, do I discard cards?
A: From the What Were We Thinking? rulebook, playing a card with a talent and using the talent on the same turn does trigger cards that react to a "card being played". Indeed, the rulebook clarifies that if you play a card with a talent, and use the talent on the same turn to move one of your minions to Forgotten Horrors' base, it does trigger Forgotten Horrors (Reminder: "Forgotten Horrors - "Ongoing: After you play a minion here or play a card that moves your minions to here,..." So you could generalize this by saying that if Brownie triggers from another player playing a card that affects it, then Brownie also triggers from another player playing a card with a talent and using this talent on the same turn to affect Brownie. So, the answer would be yes, Brownie makes you discard a card if you use a talent, but only if the talent is used on the same turn as the card with talent is played.
A: UPDATE. Actually, The Bigger Geekier Box ruled that out. So, since talent is not activated when you play a card and since Brownie only activates from the card being played, the answer is no, you don't discard any card.
Rule: When you play a card, an ability that starts with "Talent:" is never resolved immediately.
Q: I play Assassination on a Brownie. Since Assassination only affects Brownie at the end of the turn and not after it is played, I don't have to discard any cards, right?
A: Wrong. Playing an action on a minion already counts as affecting it, so Assassination actually affects the Brownie when it is played.
Rule: Definition of "affect".
Q: I play We are Family on a Brownie. So from now on, if any other player plays a standard action that directly affects another minion on its base, I can copy it onto Brownie and force that player to discard two random cards, right? Mwahahahahahaha!!!
A: Sorry no, despite its wording, The Bigger Geekier Box clarified that the Brownie only triggers from being "directly" affected and We are Family copying an effect onto it only counts as "indirectly" affecting it.
Q: What if Brownie is affected by a base's ability that triggers when a player plays a card? (e.g. The Deep)
A: The card that affects Brownie is the base, not the card that was played by the player, so Brownie's ability doesn't trigger.
Q: Before Unicrave scores, it is replaced by No-Moon™, which targets a base with a Brownie and places it in its owner's discard pile. Since Brownie is affected by a card (No-Moon™) played by a player (the current player), that player has to discard cards, right?
A: TBD
Rule: TBD
Q: I play a card that destroys or returns Brownie. Because Brownie is not in play anymore, I don't have to discard any cards, right?
A: Yes, you do. Brownie was triggered the moment you destroyed or returned it, and that same effect caused it to be removed from play, so its ability will be resolved even though it's no longer in play at that time.
Q: I play a card that takes control of Brownie. I'm no longer "another player to him", so I don't discard cards, right?
A: No, you do discard. Brownie was triggered the moment you took control of it (you were in fact another player playing a card to affect it), and that same effect is obviously what caused it to no longer be your minion, so its ability will be resolved.
Q: Player B plays a minion to break a base. It affects player A's card because the minion is destroyed (once the base is scored). So player B has to discard cards, right?
A: Not at all. You're confusing several things. First of all, if a player plays a minion, we don't check if the base scores until they are done playing their Play Cards phase (phase 2). Secondly, after a base scores, the minions on the base are not destroyed, they are discarded or it is also said that they "go to the discard pile", neither one is synonymous of being affected.
Rule: Definition of "affect". Being discarded doesn't count.
Questions on Gnome[]
Q: Can I destroy one of my own minions with a Gnome?
A: Absolutely!
Q: I have to count the number of minions "I have there". Do minions there that I own but don't control also count? I don't control them but I "own" them, so I "have" them, right?
A: No. "A minion you have" means "a minion you control (whether or not you own it)". Minions you just own but don't control don't count.
Questions on Gremlin[]
Q: If I destroy my own Gremlin, do I draw a card and all the other players discards a card?
A: Yes. A Gremlin's ability is triggered after its destruction no matter who destroys it.
Q: Why is this an Ongoing ability if it only activates once?
A: If it wasn't, it would only be resolved once when it's played and that's it. After that, any player can destroy it without triggering its ability because it's no longer active. By giving it the Ongoing qualifier, it ensures that the ability continues being active for as long as the Gremlin is in play.
Q: I have a Gremlin on a base. After it scores, does it trigger its ability?
A: No. After a base scores, cards there are "discarded", not "destroyed", so it doesn't activate Gremlin's ability.
Q: I already have 10 cards in hand. If an opponent destroys my Gremlin, making me draw a card, is the drawn card immediately discarded instead? Do I draw it and immediately choose which card to discard? Do I keep it until the next Draw 2 Cards phase where I will need to 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.
Q: An opponent takes control of my Gremlin (Flower Child, Make Contact). If it is destroyed while they still have control of it, do I draw a card?
A: No. Under the control of another player, the card treats its new controller as if they had played it. So "you" on the minion would designate its current controller, and another player would be any player that is not the controller. So, if Gremlin is destroyed, its new controller draws a card and all other players (you included) discard a random card.
Rule: "You" on a minion, action or titan means the controller of the card.
Q: I have a Gremlin and Escape Hatch on the same base. If the Gremlin is destroyed, what happens?
A: Escape Hatch doesn't prevent the destruction, it just changes where the minion ends after it is destroyed. So, since Gremlin is effectively destroyed, you draw a card and each other player discards a random card.
A: UPDATE. Based on the wording, the Gremlin should count as being destroyed. However, The Bigger Geekier Box clarifies that minions retrieved with Escape Hatch aren't actually destroyed, despite the action's wording. So nothing happens because the Gremlin wasn't triggered.
Q: I have a Gremlin and Medical Officer in play. If my Gremlin is destroyed and I choose to return it to my hand with Medical Officer, what happens.
A: Medical Officer prevents the Gremlin's destruction by replacing it with a "return" effect, so the Gremlin is not considered as having been destroyed and doesn't trigger.
Questions on Block the Path[]
Q: I have minions of the same faction on a base. My opponent plays Block the Path there and names that faction. Do I have to remove the minions that are already there?
A: No, Block the Path doesn't work retroactively. It only prevents you from playing minions of that faction from the moment it is in play, so it will only concern the future minions that you will play.
Q: Can I name one of my factions?
A: Yes, but keep in mind that you will also be forbidden from playing minions of that faction there.
Q: I named an opponent's faction and later somehow ended up with a minion of that faction in my hand. (e.g. Trade) Can I play that minion on the base with Block the Path?
A: No. The card doesn't forbid a specific player from playing minions of that faction. It just states no minions of that faction can be played there, no matter who plays them (even you). So you are not immune to Block the Path.
Rule: "Can't" trumps "can".
Q: I'm prevented from playing Dinosaur minions because of Block the Path. I play Wildlife Preserve there. Can I now play a Dinosaur minion there?
A: No, well actually, you can try to, but your minion will be discarded without effect. Also, Wildlife Preserve only protects minions that are already in play, not in hand. Besides, Block the Path does something that's not listed in the definition of "affect" anyway.
Rule: If conditions prohibit playing a chosen card, discard it instead.
Rule: Definition of "affect".
Q: Can I move minions of the named faction to the base with Block the Path?
A: Yes. Block the Path only prevents minions from being played there, not moved there.
Rule: Specific words are not synonymous no matter how similar they seem.
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 Disenchant[]
Q: Can Disenchant be used to destroy Ornate Dome or Magic Ward?
A: Yes. Ornate Dome and Magic Ward only prevents "Play on base" actions from being played on their base. Disenchant isn't such an action.
Q: Can I use Disenchant on Shielding?
A: Yes. Shielding doesn't protect itself. Also, removing action from a minion doesn't count as affecting the minion.
Rule: Definition of "affect".
Q: A player plays Mass Enchantment and plays one of my actions to do some stuff, can I play Disenchant to cancel whatever they did?
A: No, Mass Enchantment is discarded after play since it's a standard action (i.e. an action doesn't get attached to a minion or a base). Disenchant on the other hand can only be used to destroy an action that's currently attached to a minion or a base, which excludes Mass Enchantment. Also note that destroying a card doesn't necessarily undo whatever the card did, it's just no longer there. And if you're referring to how the card is named "Disenchant" and should therefore work on cards with the word "Enchantment" in their names, those are just the name of the cards and what the cards can actually do is described in their abilities--don't assume anything from the card names alone or how you think cards should work.
Rule: Removing a card from play does not necessarily undo what it did.
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 Enshrouding Mist[]
Q: When using the ability of Enshrouding Mist, do I have to play a minion on the same base with the regular minion play?
A: No. You can play your free minion on any base. The extra minion gained from Enshrouding Mist must be played on the base with Enshrouding Mist though. Also, remember that you can play your extra and free minions in any order.
Q: Do I have to have a minion already on the base to use Enshrouding Mist's ability?
A: No. The card doesn't state that you need to have a minion there to use its ability, so you can play the extra minion even if you don't already have a minion there.
Q: An opponent plays this card on a base, so now I can play an extra minion there on 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 "you" means "they" (i.e. your opponent) and "on your turn" means "on their turn".
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: Can I use this card's ability to play an extra minion multiple times in one turn?
A: No. The Bigger Geekier Box rulebook now restricts all "on your turn" abilities to a single use on each of your turns.
Rule: Each "on your turn" ability can be activated once on each of your turns.
Q: Before the base scores, I play Enshrouding Mist with a Mole. Can I play an extra minion?
A: No. Enshrouding Mist only gives you an extra minion "on your turn", i.e. during the Play Cards phase (phase 2) of your turn.
Rule: "On your turn" means "during the Play Cards (phase 2) of each of your turns".
Q: I play Enshrouding Mist on Ice Castle, can I now play a minion there?
A: No, well you can try, but even though Enshrouding Mist allows you to play a minion there, Ice Castle prevents it, and when cards conflict, "can't" always trumps "can". So if you do try to play it anyway, it will be discarded without effect.
Rule: "Can't" trumps "can".
Rule: If conditions prohibit playing a chosen card, discard it instead.
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 Flame Trap[]
Q: An opponent plays this card on a base and then plays a minion there, since they're another player to me, Flame Trap should trigger and destroy their minion, 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 "another player" means "one of their opponents".
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: I play a Zapbot on a base with Flame Trap. I resolve its ability first, so I play another Zapbot as an extra minion, and another one, and another minion of power 2 or less. After I'm done, does Flame Trap destroy all of them?
A: You've got the timing wrong. When Zapbot is played, you indeed have to resolve its ability first. But when you resolve abilities that give you extra cards, you don't play the card immediately. Instead, it is banked and you can later play the extra card. So, after your first Zapbot, you get an extra minion to play later, then Flame Trap is triggered, and destroys this Zapbot and itself. Because Flame Trap is now gone, you're free to play your extra minions there without them getting destroyed.
A: UPDATE. The Bigger Geekier Box actually clarifies that extra cards can always be played immediately when you get them, so you can indeed chain minions before resolving Flame Trap. So Flame Trap triggers for each of the played minions. Then when it's finally time to resolve Flame Trap, you resolve it in the reverse order of the played minions, so from the most recently-played minion to the first one (the very first Zapbot here), see Shogun’s Palace's and So-So Corral's clarification. So the most-recently played minion is destroyed first as well as Flame Trap, but when you move on to the next minion, Flame Trap isn't in play anymore and its clarification states that the minion and Flame Trap must be on the same base for the minion to be destroyed. In summary, you only destroy the last-played minion along with Flame Trap, but the others remain in play.
Q: What happens if an indestructible minion is played on a base with Flame Trap? Does Flame Trap remain in play?
A: When a minion, indestructible or not, is played on that base, it triggers Flame Trap. So, after resolving the minion's ability, you must resolve Flame Trap's ability. First, you destroy the played minion. If it's indestructible, then its destruction fails. Then, regardless of whether the minion was destroyed or not, you must destroy Flame Trap.
Rule: "Can't" trumps "can".
Q: If I play Mechanic on Flame Trap's base, then use Mechanic's ability to play Ornate Dome from the discard pile onto Flame Trap's base, Flame Trap is now destroyed, but does it also destroy my Mechanic?
A: No. Ornate Dome destroys Flame Trap when it's played and in order for Flame Trap to destroy Mechanic, both Mechanic and Flame Trap must be on the same base, according to Flame Trap's clarification.
Q: Flame Trap is played on Pony Land and I already have a minion there. If I play another minion on Pony Land, does Pony Land protect my minions?
A: Yes. Pony Land is applicable as soon as you have two minions or more there. Flame Trap only triggers after you have finished resolving the new minion's ability, so it's already indestructible.
Q: If I play an Argonaut instead of an action on Flame Trap's base, is it still destroyed?
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 Hideout[]
Q: An opponent plays this card on a base, so if I have a minion there, it's no longer affected by my opponents' actions, 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 minions" means "their minions" and "another player" means "one of their opponents".
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: Does it also protect minions there that I own but don't control? I don't control them but I "own" them, so they are "my" minions, 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: If I play an action that would attach itself to an enemy minion protected by Hideout, what happens?
A: Hideout will prevent the action from being attached to that minion, so Hideout is destroyed and the action in question would go to its owner's discard pile.
Rule: Definition of "affect".
Q: Sleep Spores is currently affecting my minions. I play Hideout there. What happens? Are Hideout and Sleep Spores both destroyed?
A: Hideout is immediately destroyed and Sleep Spores stops affecting your minions for the rest of the turn.
Q: I play a Saucy Wench on a base with Hideout and destroy a minion there. Does Hideout protect against it?
A: No. Saucy Wench is a minion and Hideout only protects against opponents' actions.
Q: How does this interact with the Disco Dancers' mechanic and Funky Town's ability?
A: - If you're asking about when Hideout is played, it doesn't interact with them at all, because it says "Play on a base", which means that it is not a standard action.
- If you're asking about when you copy an effect onto a minion with Hideout protecting it, then Hideout is destroyed and the minion isn't affected. Note that Hideout only protects against other player's actions, so if Hideout's controller plays a standard action, you can copy it with Dancing King and have it affect one of that player's minion, bypassing Hideout's protection because the minion is considered as being affected by its own controller's action.
- If you're asking about when a minion with Hideout protecting it is directly affected by a standard action and you want to copy that, then Hideout is destroyed, the minion isn't affected and because no minion was affected, you can't copy the effect.
- If you're asking about when an opponent's minion with Hideout protecting it is directly affected by that player's standard action and you want to copy that, then you can indeed copy it the same way.
Rule: "Can't" trumps "can".
Questions on Mark of Sleep[]
Q: Does Mark of Sleep stop the player from using the talents or ongoing abilities of actions they already have in play?
A: No. Mark of Sleep only prevents them from playing actions. Actions already in play are not affected in any way.
Rule: Specific words are not synonymous no matter how similar they seem.
Q: On my turn, I play Mark of Sleep against a player and then score a base. Can that player play a "before a base scores" or "after a base scores" action?
A: Yes. You only prevent them from playing actions on their next turn.
Q: I play Mark of Sleep against a player. When it's their turn to play, they manage to score a base. Can they play any Special actions?
A: Yes, they can. Mark of Sleep only prevents them from playing actions "on their turn", that is during the Play Cards phase (phase 2) of their turn.
Rule: "On your turn" means "during the Play Cards (phase 2) of each of your turns".
Q: Does Mark of Sleep prevent Argonaut from being played?
A: It depends. If it's played using a minion play, no. If it's played using an action play, yes because an Argonaut can only be played using its Special "any time you can play an action", which cannot be done because of Mark of Sleep.
Q: I play Mark of Sleep on a player. Later, they play Force of Wil on someone. Could they do that?
A: It depends on when Force of Wil is played. If it's currently the Play Cards phase of the player who is playing Force of Wil, then no, because Mark of Sleep prohibits them from playing any action during that specific phase. At any other time, then it's perfectly legal. For example, if you play a second action after you play Mark of Sleep, then the player you targeted can indeed block you with Force of Wil. As long as it's not their next Play Cards phase, they are free to play Force of Wil on anyone.
Rule: "On your turn" means "during the Play Cards (phase 2) of each of your turns".
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 Pay the Piper[]
Q: An opponent plays this card on a base and then plays a minion there. Since they're "another player" from my point of view, they must discard a card because of Pay the Piper, 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 "another player" means "one of their opponents".
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: Does the player choose which card they discard or does the Trickster player decide?
A: The one who played the minion and triggered the action's ability decides which card they have to discard.
Q: If I play an Enchantress on Pay the Piper's base, do I draw then discard a card ? Or do I discard then draw a card?
A: You first completely resolve the Enchantress's ability, then resolve Pay the Piper's ability. So, you draw then discard a card.
Q: If I play Zombie Lord on Pay the Piper's base and discard a power-2 minion, can I play that minion as one of the extra minions?
A: Sure. You first resolve Zombie Lord's ability and bank extra minions to play from the discard pile, but the extra minions aren't played immediately. Then you discard a card because of Pay the Piper. When you're ready to play your extra minions, the card that you've discarded (if it's a minion of power 2 or less) can be played as one of the extra minions.
A: UPDATE. No. The Bigger Geekier Box rulebook clarifies that Zombie Lord's extra minions must be played immediately and so can't be saved (or "banked") for later. Pay the Piper will force you to discard a card AFTER Zombie Lord's ability is resolved and so you don't have any more extra minion plays from it (all unspent extra minion plays gained from Zombie Lord are lost if they aren't used immediately).
Rule: Extra cards that refer to a specific card must be played immediately or not at all.
Q: All I have in my hand is a bunch of Zapbots. Can I chain-play all of them on Pay the Piper's base, then discard zero cards (because I have none left)?
A: No. You must discard a card after each of your Zapbots. What happens is, you play a Zapbot and bank an extra minion (that is not played immediately), then you must discard a card. If you play another Zapbot on the same base as your extra minion, you again bank an extra minion (that is not played immediately), then you must discard a card.
A: UPDATE. Yes. The Bigger Geekier Box rulebook clarifies that extra card plays can always be played immediately when they are gained, even during phase 2. As such, you can indeed play all your Zapbots at once and then resolve Pay the Piper, which you can't pay because you won't have any cards to discard.
Q: If I play Mechanic on Pay the Piper's base, then use Mechanic's ability to play Ornate Dome from the discard pile onto Pay the Piper's base, Pay the Piper is now destroyed, but do I have to discard a card?
A: Yes, even though Pay the Piper is no longer in play, it was present when Mechanic is played, which is enough to trigger its ability. Then despite what happens to Pay the Piper, its ability is still resolved and you have to discard a card.
A: UPDATE: Smash Up: Marvel now clarifies that an ability that was triggered can only be resolved if it's still in play or if it was removed from play by the triggering event itself. Here, Pay the Piper was triggered by the Mechanic, but what removed it was Ornate Dome, so you don't discard a card.
Q: If I play an Argonaut instead of an action on Pay the Piper's base, do I still have to discard a card?
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 Take the Shinies[]
Q: How do you randomly decide which cards to discard?
A: Choose your preferred method. The player could shuffle their hand face-down and discard the two top cards. The player could fan out their hand and have another player randomly choose two cards. Any random method will do.
Rule: N/A
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 Big Funny Giant[]
- Main article: Titans
Q: The card says "Special" so I can use it outside of my turn, but why does the card also say "instead of your regular minion play"?
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 Big Funny Giant, the condition is "instead of your regular minion play", this means that you can only activate it when you have a regular minion play available, which is only on your turn and more specifically on your Play Cards phase. It cannot be played out of turn, because, outside of your own Play Cards phase, you don't have any regular minion plays to give up.
Q: If there's a restriction on where I can play a minion (e.g. Ice Castle, Overrun), does it also apply to Big Funny Giant if I play it instead of my regular minion play?
A: No, such a restriction only applies when you play a minion. If you convert your regular minion play into a titan play, you're playing a titan, not a minion, so the restriction doesn't apply.
Q: What happens to Big Funny Giant 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 Big Funny Giant 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. Big Funny Giant 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 Big Funny Giant 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: An opponent is playing the Tricksters with their titan. Their Big Funny Giant isn't in play. There is a base where no one has a minion and I haven't played my regular minion yet, I can then invoke Big Funny Giant through its Special ability and play it there, 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 Big Funny Giant'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: Can Big Funny Giant be played on a base with only monsters?
A: It depends. If all the monsters there are uncontrolled, then yes, there are no players' minions there, i.e. no minions there controlled by any player. If at least one monster is controlled there, then no.
Q: At the end of my turn, Big Funny Giant is on a base with only monsters. Can it still get a +1 power counter?
A: It depends. If all the monsters there are uncontrolled, then yes, there are no other players' minions there, i.e. no minions there controlled by any other player. If at least one monster is controlled there by another player, then no.
Q: Another player has Big Funny Giant in play. If I play an Argonaut instead of an action on its base, do I still have to discard a card?
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.
Trivia[]
- The artist is Pierre Raveneau.
- The artist for the titan (which was released after the Core Set) is Gong Studios, who also designed the art of many other factions.
- Their divider (available in The Big Geeky Box and The Bigger Geekier Box) features Gnome.
- Their Hideout action shares the same name as one of the Vigilante bases.
- King Rex and Aliens are fighting in the distance in Pay the Piper.
- This art was the first art submitted to AEG that featured other factions. This started the trend of featuring other factions in the card art.
- The UNLUCKY box on the Flame Trap card is a reference to the Lucky Charms, a brand of cereal. Incidentally, their mascot is a Leprechaun.
In other languages[]
| Language | Name | Translation (if different) |
|---|---|---|
| Chinese | 妖精 | Fairies |
| Czech | Podvodníci | Scammers |
| French | Petit Peuple | Little People |
| German | Gauner | Rogues |
| Greek | Κατεργάρηδες | |
| Hebrew | זדים | Strangers |
| Italian | Folletti | Sprites |
| Japanese | 妖精 | Fairies |
| Polish | Szachraje | |
| Portuguese | Duendes | Goblins |
| Russian | Проказники | |
| Spanish | Duendes | Goblins |
| Turkish | Üçkağıtçılar |
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