This is the full version of a Frequently Asked Question (FAQ) list about the card game Blue Moon designed by Reiner Knizia and published in Germany by Kosmos and in the USA by Fantasy Flight Games. (The game was also published in the Netherlands by 999 Games, and in France, quite incompletely, by Tilsit.) This list was created by Christopher Dearlove, chris@mnemosyne.demon.co.uk. For complete acknowledgements, and a summary of the status of these answers, see main section 'Final Points'. This issue of the list is dated 14th May 2008. Its home is http://www.mnemosyne.demon.co.uk/bgames/bluemoon, which also includes some other Blue Moon material mentioned in this list, including a shorter version of this list. This list is divided into seven main sections (see the second main section 'Contents'). Main section 'Introductory Questions' is particularly aimed at people who have not played the game, although some questions, particularly the later ones, may be of more interest to those who have. Main section 'Emissaries and Inquisitors' is aimed at players who have not played the Emissaries and Inquisitor decks. Main section 'Buka Invasion' is aimed at players who have not played the Buka Invasion deck. Main section 'Specific Cases' covers matters which may arise during the game, and is the most important part of this list. Main section 'Final Points' gives details on the origins of the questions and answers in this list, its status, and other miscellaneous points. Regular users of this list may wish to consult main section 'Changes'. Changes ======= Changes since the last issue of this list (27th February 2008) - Revised answer on effect of ignoring cards in hand to indicate all affected icons. - Added two questions to section 'Icons: FREE' on the timing of checking a FREE icon. - Expanded on cases when you must retreat other than in your Retreat from Fight? phase. Other recent changes (since 10th February 2008) - Added question on how to read the questions and answers in this list. - Added question on when you can play a leadership card, and alternatives. - Added question on discarding leadership cards. - Added section 'Card Play: Backtracking' with questions taken from section 'Card Play: General Rules'. - Added question with additional example of values and total power calculation. - Added section 'Values and Total Power: Announce Power' with questions taken from section 'Values and Total Power: General Rules'. - Added general question about equalling or exceeding my total power, separated from example question. - Added general question about the effect of a shield, separated from question indicating that your shield does not reduce my total power to zero. - Divided section 'Influence, Achievement and Interference Cards' into section 'Influence and Achievement Cards' and section 'Interference Cards'. Contents ======== Changes Contents Introductory Questions About the Game About Languages About Internet Support About the Decks About the Rules About the Advanced Rules About This List Emissaries and Inquisitors About the Emissaries and Inquisitors Decks About the Emissaries About the Inquisitors About the New Rules in Emissaries and Inquisitors Buka Invasion About the Buka Invasion Deck About Buka Families About the New Rules in the Buka Invasion Specific Cases Card Play: General Rules Card Play: Locations and Status Card Play: Timing Card Play: Backtracking Card Play: Cards in Hand Values and Total Power: General Rules Values and Total Power: Printed Values Values and Total Power: Calculations Values and Total Power: Announce Power Icons: Shields Icons: STOP Icons: RETRIEVE Icons: PROTECTED Icons: FREE Icons: PAIR Icons: GANG Icons: REPLACE Special Power Texts: General Rules Special Power Texts: I Must Special Power Texts: You May Not Special Power Texts: Ignored (General Rules) Special Power Texts: Ignored (Cards) Special Power Texts: Ignored (Special Power Text) Special Power Texts: Ignored (Icons) Special Power Texts: Discard (General Rules) Special Power Texts: Discard (Caterpillar Cards) Special Power Texts: Discard (Holy Dragon Cards) Special Power Texts: Khind Cards Special Power Texts: Aqua Cards Special Power Texts: Buka Cards Special Power Texts: Other Influence and Achievement Cards Interference Cards Inquisitors Ships: General Rules Ships: Playing Ships Ships: Loading Ships Ships: Landing Ships Ships: Playing Cards from Ships Bluffing: General Rules Bluffing: Values and Total Power Bluffing: Calling a Bluff Bluffing: Ignored Cards and Icons Start of Fight End of Fight End of Game Final Points Introductory Questions ====================== About the Game -------------- Q: What sort of game is Blue Moon? A: I can't really do justice to that question here. (I tried in a review in the June 2004 issue of "Counter" magazine; a version of that review is online on the same web page as this FAQ list.) My best short summary is that it is an expandable, but not collectable, two player card game. Each game is a sequence of fights between the players, each of whom has his own deck representing one of the peoples of the world of Blue Moon. Fights are what are sometimes called "climbing" where each player tries to beat what his opponent last did; however there are many special abilities of cards that expand on that simple pattern. Q: What is the background to the game? A: The game is set in the world of Blue Moon, which was created for this game. Parts of the "Blue Moon Legend" are included in the rulebook, and in the background information on the cards. Other parts of the "Blue Moon Legend" can be found in other Blue Moon products (see question "Are there any rules other than those in the basic set?" and question "Are there any other Blue Moon products?") and on the publishers' websites. Q: What is included in the basic game set? A: The basic game set is a complete game, in the Kosmos two player game series. It includes two 30 (plus leader) card decks, each based on one of the peoples of the world of Blue Moon: the Vulca and the Hoax. It also includes the rulebook, the board and three dragons: red, green and blue. (The green dragon is the one which, depending on how you see colours, is bluish green or greenish blue, the blue dragon is the dark blue one. There's a rather greener dragon, of the same design, in the board game "Blue Moon City", see question "Are there any other Blue Moon products?", although not in all copies.) Q: Are there any rules other than those in the basic set? A: There are new rules in the Emissaries and Inquisitors decks, which each contain the same supplementary rulesheet, referred to here as the E&I rulesheet. See main section 'Emissaries and Inquisitors'. There is a new rulesheet in the Buka Invasion deck, referred to here as the Buka Invasion rulesheet. See main section 'Buka Invasion'. Q: What do you mean by "expandable, but not collectable"? A: That's my best attempt to describe how the game is structured. In addition to the basic game set there are six additional decks which represent the other peoples of Blue Moon: the Mimix, the Flit, the Khind, the Terrah, the Pillar and the Aqua. Each of these eight decks can be played against each other. Also available are two "special" decks, Emissaries and Inquisitors: Allies and Emissaries and Inquisitors: Blessings. These are not used in quite the same way, for details see main section 'Emissaries and Inquisitors'. Finally the Buka Invasion is a deck which represents a people, the Buka, and is playable against the other eight people decks, and also has a way to play like one of those in Emissaries and Inquisitors, for details see main section 'Buka Invasion'. Q: Are all the decks with the same name identical? A: Yes, including those in the basic set. For example all Mimix decks contain the same 30 cards (plus the same leader). Thus there are no "rare" cards in the decks. Once you've bought one copy of each of the decks (each if you play with the Advanced Rules and want maximum choice, see section 'About the Advanced Rules', between you if you do not) you'll have everything you'll possibly need. However also see the next question. Q: Are there any cards other than those in the nine people decks and the two Emissaries and Inquisitors decks? A: Yes, there are. Five promotional cards have been released: leadership card Water Spirit [Promo 901] ("Now I may discard up to three cards from my hand and then may draw up to the same number of cards."), leadership card Earth Spirit [Promo 902] ("If I have fewer cards in my hand than you, now I may draw to the same number of cards."), leadership card Fire Spirit [Promo 903] ("Now I may draw one card from your hand and discard it."), leadership card Wind Spirit [Promo 904] ("Now I may discard one of your active support cards.") and ship Sea Moon [Promo/Buka 31] (Capacity 1, "Now I may load one card from my hand onto this ship. On the turn in which I land this ship, I may also play one character/booster/support card from my hand."). The first three of these have been released in English and German, the latter two only in German. Their German names are Wassergeister, Erdgeister, Feuergeister, Windgeister and Seemond. (Note that Sea Moon is actually indicated as "Promo 31", but might have been better identified as "Buka 31". This list uses a combination of the two, as indicated.) Q: Can you translate the promotional cards for me? A: All the functional information is given in the previous answer. The only other text is the background information on these cards, which are (in the same order): "Blue Moon squeezed water from the golden stars. Water binds the elements and propagates life across the world.", "Blue Moon forged earth from the golden stars. Earth is the foundation of the world, from which all are nourished and grow.", "Blue Moon took fire from the golden stars. Fire is the life-breath of the world, from which all are invigorated and renewed.", "Blue Moon breathed out and wind was born. The wind carries the voice of Blue Moon but some are still misguided." and "Choice is Freedom.". Q: Are the promotional cards still available? A: Earth Spirit was included in the Pillar and Emissaries and Inquisitors: Allies decks (two copies in the latter). The others have been made available in various ways, including in "Kartefakt" magazine and at various events, in particular prerelease events for the Buka Invasion and at "Spiel" in Essen. To try to get hold of these cards I suggest contacting the publishers. Q: Doesn't having promotional cards break the basic fairness of everyone having the same card set? A: Everyone is on a level playing field with regard to one of the promotional cards. Otherwise, the promotional cards are clearly labelled, so if you aren't happy, just don't allow them in your game. In addition, the four "Spirit" cards are not particularly strong (all are one moon cost cards). Sea Moon is slightly stronger (two moons) and also is different in belonging to a people rather than none (see question "Although it is a promotional card ... ?" in section 'About the Buka Invasion Deck', under main section 'Buka Invasion'), which makes a difference if using the Advanced Rules to construct a Buka deck. Q: Will there be any more Blue Moon decks? Will there be any promotional cards after Wind Spirit and Sea Moon? A: Kosmos have indicated that no further decks after the Buka Invasion (in particular no Phar deck) are planned by them. If you can read German, see the statement at http://www.blue-moon-fans.com/viewtopic.php?p=94856&highlight=#94856. While that does not explicitly address promotional cards, it must be assumed that it also applies to them. Q: Are there any other Blue Moon products? A: Yes, there are. Kosmos and Fantasy Flight Games have released "Blue Moon City", a boardgame for 2 to 4 players by Reiner Knizia. It is set in the world of Blue Moon, after the fighting represented by the card game. It is an entirely independent game, with only thematic links to the card game (and some common artwork). A novel "Blue Moon" by Frank Rehfeld has been published by Langenmueller-Herbig (a publishing house connected to Kosmos). The novel relates to the events of the Buka Invasion. I do not have any indication of an English translation of the novel. Neither are covered by this FAQ list. About Languages --------------- Q: Should I buy the English language version of the game? A: Unless your German (or Dutch or French, but these versions, especially the latter, are incomplete) and that of all of your intended opponents is very good, yes. Slightly fewer than half of the cards in the original eight people decks, over half the cards in the Buka Invasion deck, and almost all the cards in the Emissaries and Inquisitors decks, have special power text which you need to understand to play. However I have provided some help for using German Blue Moon material on the same web page as this FAQ list. Q: Which language version is original? A: The game was developed in English, and later translated into German, Dutch and French. (This is most clearly shown by that Pillar is clearly a contraction of caterpillar. In German caterpillar is Raupe, but the people are still the Pillar.) Q: What about any other languages? A: Kosmos commented (in December 2004) that they would gladly work with other parties to create new language editions if someone were interested, but at that time no other editions were planned, and it now seems unlikely any other language editions will be produced. Q: Are there any pronunciations I should know? A: I can only tell you what the designer and playtesters do, it's up to you what you say. The Khind are pronounced more like "kinned" than "kiynd" and the Hyla are pronounced more like "huwla" than "hiyla" (in German style). The latter however hides what might be the inspiration for the name. About Internet Support ---------------------- Q: Do the publishers provide online support? A: Kosmos used to supply material in English, German and Dutch at a dedicated "Blue Moon Games" website. The former was at http://www.blue-moon-games.com/us/index.html, the latter two replacing the /us/ by /de/ or /nl/, respectively. However this website was recently (September 2007) removed. You may still be able to access the information using the Wayback Machine at http://www.archive.org. There is still some limited information on the main Kosmos website at http://www.kosmos.de. Fantasy Flight Games support for Blue Moon is at http://www.fantasyflightgames.com/bluemoon.html, which includes a, not much used, discussion forum. Q: Can I read the rules before I play? A: Yes, you can, as supplied with the basic set, at http://www.fantasyflightgames.com/PDF/bluemoonrules.pdf. The Emissaries and Inquisitors and Buka Invasion rules are not, as far as I know, available online in English (although some material about each was available on the Kosmos "Blue Moon Games" website). Q: Can I see the cards online before I buy them? A: The cards images were available on the "Blue Moon Games" website (the Buka Invasion only in German and excluding the promotional cards). See question "Do the publishers provide online support?" for further details. The card images are also included in Keldon Jones's computer program (see question "Can I play Blue Moon against a computer (online or not)?"). Q: Are there any other online resources? A: The best source of material in English is on the BoardGameGeek at http://www.boardgamegeek.com/game/9446. The largest Blue Moon site is the Blue Moon Fans site at http://www.blue-moon-fans.com/. It is mainly in German, but does include some English material at http://www.blue-moon-fans.com/index.php?c=3. Although the latter has been active in the past, it has not been for some time. The home of this FAQ list, and some other Blue Moon material, is at http://www.mnemosyne.demon.co.uk/bgames/bluemoon. See also the next question. Q: Can I play Blue Moon online? A: Yes, you can, at http://www.blue-moon-liga.com ("Liga" is German for "league"). A basic summary is that it's a peer-to-peer service; to find your opponent you may use either the Chat or IP exchange services supported. It uses freely downloadable software called "CardTable", which does the physical card manipulation and display, but doesn't know the rules of the game (you do that, as you would with physical cards). The cards used are images of the German cards, but you can't read them anyway (at least at my screen resolution), you use "pop up" text to do that; this is dual language English/German text, allowing you to also play against a German speaker. There is an alternative called "LackeyCCG", see http://www.lackeyccg.com/bluemoon for details. Q: Is the Blue Moon Fans online site official? A: My understanding is that it is acceptable to Kosmos as an unofficial non-commercial service only. But if it matters to you, ask them, not me. Similarly if there's anything you want to do, commercial or non-commercial, Kosmos should be your point of call (and if in any doubt at all, ask them first). Q: Can I play Blue Moon against a computer (online or not)? A: Yes, you can. An artificial intelligence, based on neural nets, has been created by Keldon Jones, and released at http://keldon.net/bluemoon, see that page for details of supported systems, and also discussion in some threads on the Blue Moon forum at the BoardGameGeek. It currently plays the basic eight decks against each other. It is authorised by Kosmos. Two other projects have been announced, but neither is currently available. For the first, in unknown current state, see http://www.blue-moon-fans.com/viewtopic.php?t=2638. The author of the second has remained unknown, however a game played by it has been published, see http://www.boardgamegeek.com/thread/146884. Q: The Blue Moon Fans site includes material for various "unofficial" peoples; what is their status, and are there any restrictions on what I can do with them? A: They are created by fans, and not part of the Blue Moon world. Because of issues such as my involvement in playtesting, I have not looked at any details of any of them. Note that there are many aspects of Blue Moon which are protected, being owned by the designer, the publisher, the artists and so on. These include not only the name and rules of the game and the card artwork, but aspects such as the Blue Moon logo and various details of the cards. This puts significant restrictions on what you can do. There is an official Kosmos statement on the subject, in German, at http://www.blue-moon-fans.com/viewtopic.php?t=1219&start=15#13757. But in short, don't do anything remotely commercial without checking with Kosmos, who may well tell you that you can't do it. About the Decks --------------- Q: The decks seem to be mixed up slightly, the Vulca deck has only 26 Vulca cards (and a leader card), plus 3 cards from other peoples and 1 mutant. What's happening? A: This is deliberate, and has a number of purposes. It gives you a preview of the other sets (the basic game has one card from each of the other six Blue Moon peoples, as does each other pair of Blue Moon people decks). It also provides you with a touch of how the Advanced Rules work (see section 'About the Advanced Rules'). Q: Do I have to play only with the preassembled decks as sold? A: No, you do not. There are the Advanced Rules which allow deck construction (see section 'About the Advanced Rules'). Note that this is not "free for all" deck construction, but provides rules which allow deck construction while retaining the essential characteristics of each people. The Emissaries and Inquisitors decks and the Buka Invasion deck also provide additional ways to play the game, for further details see main section 'Emissaries and Inquisitors' and main section 'Buka Invasion'. Q: I like to play "consolidating" the peoples, for example putting Heroine of the Great Plains [Mimix 06, Vulca deck] back into the Mimix deck, and in return getting back Titanic Gauntlets [Vulca 22, Flit deck] ("The Earth value of one of my character cards doubles."). Is this reasonable? A: It isn't an option described in the rulebook, but if you and your opponent want to try it, you obviously can. It should be reasonably balanced (it's the starting point for building decks using the Advanced Rules, see section 'About the Advanced Rules'), however the preassembled decks are those that have been balanced against each other. With Emissaries and Inquisitors it is more complicated, you have more cards for each people than you need for a 30 card deck. Also note that the emissaries are intended to be used with the preassembled decks (with added cards), not with "consolidated" decks. Q: The card numbering doesn't seem to add up, there are gaps in the numbering. What's happening? A: The gaps are filled in by cards in other people decks and by the Emissaries and Inquisitors decks, see main section 'Emissaries and Inquisitors'. Q: How many different deck matchups are there? A: With eight people decks there are 28 different pairs of decks, or 56 if you allow for playing each way. Adding the Buka Invasion deck increases this to 36 or 72. See question "How many different matchups are there using emissaries?" in section 'About the Emissaries', under main section 'Emissaries and Inquisitors' for the number of matchups when playing with emissaries. Playing the Advanced Rules the number of possibilities is too large to consider calculating. Q: Have all the matchups of the nine people decks been tested? A: Yes. Q: Are fire and earth completely balanced in the overall game? A: Yes, they are. For every pair of fire and earth values on a card there is another card with the values reversed, for every shield on a fire value there is a matching shield on an earth value, and vice versa, and for every reference to fire in special power text there is a similar reference to earth, and vice versa. (There is a subtle asymmetry in that all of the FIRE BLUFF and EARTH BLUFF icons appear on cards which are stronger in earth than in fire.) Q: How are the individual peoples and decks balanced between fire and earth? A: Four of the peoples (the Mimix, Flit, Khind and Aqua) are fully balanced in fire and earth (except for an extra shield in earth in the Flit), one (the Pillar) has a slight imbalance (in favour of earth), two (the Vulca and Hoax) have a significant imbalance in favour of fire and two (the Terrah and Buka) have a significant imbalance in favour of earth. (The two listed first have the stronger imbalance in each case.) The preassembled decks reduce the imbalances in the Vulca, Hoax and Terrah and introduce slight imbalances in the Mimix, Flit and Aqua (in favour of fire, earth and fire, respectively). The Emissaries and Inquisitors decks together are fully balanced. About the Rules --------------- Q: What's the best way to find out what happens in a complicated situation in the game? A: First, read the rulebook, carefully, and similarly the E&I rulesheet and the Buka Invasion rulesheet when using those decks. In particular although you may skip rulebook page 17 and rulebook page 18, Special Rules, on first reading (as it says) you will need to read them to cover all cases that may turn up. The next thing is to read all special power texts on cards carefully, and apply them straightforwardly. Finally, if you need them (if you read the rules and cards carefully you mostly shouldn't) the questions in main section 'Specific Cases' should help, both directly and as examples of how to reason from the rules. Q: Can I apply these questions and answers more widely? A: Yes, you can, and should. Many answers apply not only to the cards mentioned, but to other cards as well. Sometimes these are obvious, for example any answer applying to booster card Volcanic Gauntlets [Vulca 21] ("The Fire value of one of my character cards doubles.") also applies to booster card Titanic Gauntlets [Vulca 22, Flit deck] ("The Earth value of one of my character cards doubles."), with the obvious change of element. Similarly, answers discussing application of special power text referring to booster cards applies also, with appropriate changes, to special power text referring to support cards. There are also various less obvious examples. Q: Can you give a less obvious example? A: The interaction of support card Wall of Fire [Vulca 26] ("You may not take cards from your draw deck.") and leadership card Muster Reinforcements [Hoax 27] ("Now I may draw five cards.") works in the same way as that of support card Pandemonium [Khind 26, Vulca deck] ("You may not play support cards.") and leadership card Trigger Brainstorm [Hoax 29] ("On this turn, I may play any number of support cards.") in that the former card prevents the latter from working in each case. (The latter case is discussed in question "If you have active support card Pandemonium ... and I play ... ?" in section 'Special Power Texts: You May Not', under main section 'Specific Cases'.) Q: Are there any cases of cards behaving similarly that do not use similar text? A: Despite their different texts, leadership card Bounce Back [Khind 31, Pillar deck] (STOP icon, "My active cards attack again.") and character card KhindKin [Khind 23, E&I:A deck] ("I may play this card into my combat area without pushing the previously active cards under it.") often behave very similarly. However because their texts are different, and because there are some significant differences, when a question in this list uses one, the answer may point out the other one if it is relevant. Q: Where do I look in this list if I have a question about the interaction of features covered in different sections? A: Each question has been put only in the section where I think that it is most appropriate. But in case we disagree, try all relevant sections. Q: Aren't there rather too many rulings here? Does this mean the rules aren't clear? A: What's here isn't rulings (filling in holes in the rules) but explanations, applying the rules as written to more complicated situations. The only definite ruling is in question "Are shields icons? And why does it matter?" in section 'Icons: Shields', under main section 'Specific Cases'; for the reasons why see the answer to that question. In particular, this list covers many cases that should be obvious, but someone has asked them. (Also see question "Are all the questions on this list really frequently asked?" in section 'About This List'.) Q: How many optional rules are there in the game? A: There are essentially three optional rules, but each has some special cases. See the following three questions. Q: What alternative ways of playing the game are there? A: You can play with the preassembled decks, or using the Advanced Rules for deck construction, see section 'About the Advanced Rules'. With Emissaries and Inquisitors you have two additional alternatives: playing with the preassembled decks and emissaries, or playing with the Advanced Rules and inquisitors, see main section 'Emissaries and Inquisitors'. With the Buka Invasion you have one additional alternative: playing with the other preassembled decks and Buka families, see main section 'Buka Invasion'. Q: What alternative ways of playing more than one game are there? A: You can continue with the same deck, the standard case, and always used with the Advanced Rules, or change decks after each game, either swapping decks with your opponent or picking a new deck each at random. When continuing with the same deck, the standard case is to play a sequence of games up to a score of five crystals; you could agree to modify this limit, but this is not an option suggested in the rulebook. Q: What is the final optional rule? A: This is the rule on rulebook page 19, under Optional Rule, which allows players to replace part or all of their initial hands. It should not be used unless both players agree to it in advance. Q: Are there any "banned" cards in Blue Moon? A: No, there are not. At one point the unofficial online Blue Moon League (see section 'About Internet Support') banned leadership card Chosen of Nature [Mimix 32, E&I:A deck] ("Now we both shuffle our discard piles into our draw decks.") from their play. The banning was not accepted officially, and Reiner Knizia said "I am of the opinion that there is no need to ban any cards within Blue Moon. They have all been carefully tested and the further development of the game will certainly assume that all cards are in play.". The ban has since been lifted. About the Advanced Rules ------------------------ Q: What are the Advanced Rules? A: These allow you to construct your own decks. Blue Moon deck construction starts with a selected people, whose cards are free. You can then "buy" cards from other peoples to augment your deck. The cost of a card is expressed in "moons", and is shown on the card. With cards costing from 0 to 4 moons, and only 10 moons to spend (unless using the inquisitors in the Emissaries and Inquisitors decks, see section 'About the Inquisitors' in main section 'Emissaries and Inquisitors'), you still keep the particular "flavour" of your selected people, but you can customise your deck quite significantly, and in a manner of your choice. Q: Do I have to learn the Advanced Rules to play the game? A: No, you do not. Many people probably won't ever play anything other then the preassembled decks. But for those who want more, the Advanced Rules offer this. Q: If we are playing with the Advanced Rules, can each of us have a copy of the same card in our deck? A: Yes, we can. Note that this means that we each need a copy of all of the decks from which we might take cards, ideally a complete set of decks each. Q: If we are playing with the Advanced Rules, can I use all types of cards from other peoples in my deck? A: Yes, you can, including character, booster, support and leadership cards. (And with one or both Emissaries and Inquisitors decks including Tutu, Hyla, crystal and interference cards, and with the Buka Invasion, including ship cards.) Q: If we are playing with the Advanced Rules, can I use as many cards as I want with zero moons from other peoples? A: Yes, you can, subject to the overall card limit, and even in preference to your own zero moon cards. This also means that you can have more than one mutant in your deck. Q: If we are playing with the Advanced Rules, do I have to pay for cards from other peoples which are usually included in the preassembled deck of the people I am playing? A: Yes, you do. For example if you are constructing a Vulca deck and you want to use Heroine of the Great Plains [Mimix 06, Vulca deck] (2 moons) you have to pay the 2 moons. But you can, for example, include Flash the Incendiary [Vulca 02, Terrah deck] (2 moons) for free. (Playing with the Emissaries and Inquisitors decks you can also, for example, include leadership card Inflame Mutant [Vulca 31, E&I:A deck] ("In my Character phase, I may play any mutant.", 1 moon) for free.) Q: I've been playing with the Advanced Rules. How do I reassemble my original decks? A: In the lower left corner of each card, below the name of the people and card number, and to the left of the moons (if any) there's a letter which shows which deck the card belongs to. The two Emissaries and Inquisitors decks use X1 and X2, and the Buka Invasion deck uses Ba to Bf (the second letter relates to Buka families, see main section 'Buka Invasion'). The promotional cards (see section 'About the Game') have no deck indication (except as noted in question "Although it is a promotional card ... ?" in section 'About the Buka Invasion Deck', under main section 'Buka Invasion'). Q: Do I have an advantage playing with the Advanced Rules if I have more decks to choose from? A: As you have a greater choice of cards to select from, yes, at least to some extent, and in some cases to a significant extent. In particular you may get more cards from your people that you do not have to pay for, and you will have a significant advantage if only you can use one or both Emissaries and Inquisitors decks. In a friendly game you and your opponent should agree which decks you can each use to produce a fair game. About This List --------------- Q: Are all the questions on this list really frequently asked? A: No. Many of them I have only seen asked once, and putting them on this list is intended to stop them being frequently asked. Some have been asked to try to cover every corner of the rules, no matter how unlikely to occur in play, and some have required answers on general principles of the game to be added. In a few cases, plus most of the questions not in main section 'Specific Cases', I have provided questions to "round off" the list and to provide an introduction to the game to those who haven't played it, or haven't played it all. In the case of the Buka Invasion I pre-emptively asked and answered questions in the interests of getting up to speed quickly. Q: Wouldn't a shorter version of this list be better then? A: For many purposes, yes. However it attempts to cover the needs of many different people, for example people who haven't played the game, people with beginner's questions, people who only want answers to rules questions they think are less obvious and people who want every case that might turn up in a tournament covered. That tends to produce a lengthy list. However I have created a shorter version of this list, containing only the more difficult and less obvious questions about actual game play situations from the full list. It is available from the same web page as this full version of this list. It is not much more than a tenth of the length of this list. Q: So how do you suggest I use this list? A: That's entirely up to you. Best of all is if you don't need it because everything in the game is clear. Worst is probably trying to continually consult this list during a game. (If it's a friendly game I suggest making a decision during the game and checking the point later for subsequent games, while if it's a tournament game let the organiser handle it. If that's you, feel free to use this list however works for you.) Q: How should I read the questions and answers in this list? A: As if you are asking the question, and I am answering it. Thus "I" in the question becomes "you" in the answer (see, for example, the previous question) and vice versa. This is particularly relevant to questions in main section 'Specific Cases'. Q: Wouldn't it be better if the questions in this list were numbered? A: It might be if the list were stable, but as I continue to add new questions, and reorganise the list from time to time, this would probably cause more problems than it solved. However as part of my XML conversion process (see the following question) I have given each question a meaningful "tag" (for example "numbered questions" for this question) although I do not currently use them in the published text versions of the list. Q: Would this list be better in another file format than this one? A: For much of its life, this list was a "flat" text file, with a 72 character width. However I later converted it so that its source is now in XML. The conversion to flat text currently uses a dedicated program, which allows alternative width text files of the full and short versions of the list to be created, and "narrow" and "wide" text versions of each, currently 72 and 120 characters wide, are now published, plus an unformatted version of the list for import into a word processor. In addition work, currently incomplete, has been done to create an additional HTML version of this list, converted from the XML, which will be able to highlight items such as card names and details, rulebook quotations and so on. Q: Is this FAQ list going to change? A: There are no major changes planned, but questions about the game are still asked may added to this list. Emissaries and Inquisitors ========================== About the Emissaries and Inquisitors Decks ------------------------------------------ Q: What are the Emissaries and Inquisitors decks? A: These are two special decks for Blue Moon. They are quite different in nature to the other decks, as the following questions and answers will explain. Q: Can I play with the Emissaries and Inquisitors decks straight out of the box? A: No, you can't. There is a fast play way to use the decks using the emissaries (see section 'About the Emissaries') and they also provide an extension to the Advanced Rules using the inquisitors (see section 'About the Inquisitors'). You can also use the cards provided, especially those which belong to the Blue Moon peoples, in normal Advanced Rules play. Q: Do I have to have both Emissaries and Inquisitors decks to use them? Do I have to have the first to use the second? A: No, and no. Apart from the use of X1 and X2 as deck designations, they are not officially considered to be "first" and "second". However using both is better than using either alone. (In particular, every Blue Moon people gets a Chosen One, the Mimix don't have a only half of a pair, and all decks have 40 cards when using emissaries.) Q: Are there any new rules using the Emissaries and Inquisitors decks? A: Yes, there are. In addition to the rules for using the emissaries and inquisitors, there are rules for the Hyla, rules for interference cards, rules for crystal cards, rules for leadership phase cards and the new REPLACE icon, rules for the Chosen Ones and a new special rule. See section 'About the New Rules in Emissaries and Inquisitors'. Q: Are there any ordinary cards in the Emissaries and Inquisitors decks? A: Yes, there are. Each deck has a card filling in one of the two formerly missing numbers in each Blue Moon people's card number sequence. Together with the four Chosen Ones (numbered 32) in each Emissaries and Inquisitors deck, each Blue Moon people thus has cards numbered 01 to 32 (plus a leader numbered 00). There is also one mutant in each of the decks, filling in the numbers in that sequence (101 to 110). These cards may be used in standard Advanced Rules play as well as with emissaries or inquisitors. Q: Are there any new peoples in the Emissaries and Inquisitors decks? A: Yes, there are, but they are not Blue Moon peoples. They are represented by Emissaries from far lands. The Emissaries and Inquisitors: Allies deck contains emissaries of the Tutu and the Hyla, and the two decks together include 8 cards each from the Tutu and Hyla. The Emissaries and Inquisitors: Blessings deck contains emissaries of the Buka and the Phar, but no other Buka or Phar cards. About the Emissaries -------------------- Q: How do the emissaries work? A: The emissaries provide a fast play mechanism. With both Emissaries and Inquisitors decks available, you each start with a preassembled Blue Moon people deck, then add the three cards for that people from the Emissaries and Inquisitors decks. You then select an emissary, which lists seven cards from its deck which are not from any of the Blue Moon peoples. This gives you a 40 card deck (the emissary goes with your leader). With only one Emissaries and Inquisitors deck, four peoples produce 39 card decks and four peoples produce 38 card decks, because the eight Chosen Ones are divided four in each Emissaries and Inquisitors deck. Note that when all peoples and emissaries have been played, you will have used all of the cards in the Emissaries and Inquisitors decks other than the inquisitors. (Each Emissaries and Inquisitors deck has 2 emissaries, 2 inquisitors, 12 Blue Moon people cards and 14 cards divided among the two emissaries, making 30 cards in all.) The emissaries are not used with the Advanced Rules. Q: What kinds of cards do I get with the emissaries? A: With GashGash Prince of the Tutu [Emis 500, E&I:A deck] you get 1 interference card, 4 Tutu and 2 Hyla. With Farquhar The One Hyla [Emis 600, E&I:A deck] you get 3 interference cards, 1 Tutu, 2 Hyla and 1 mutant. With Ri Cha Commodore of the Buka [Emis 700, E&I:B deck] you get 1 interference card, 2 Tutu, 3 Hyla and 1 crystal card. With Nekra-Khati Vizier of the Phar [Emis 800, E&I:B deck] you get 2 interference cards, 1 Tutu, 1 Hyla, 2 crystal cards and 1 mutant. Q: How many different matchups are there using emissaries? A: With eight people decks and both Emissaries and Inquisitors decks, 336, or 672 if you allow for playing each way. Q: Are all combinations of a people deck and an emissary equally good? A: We don't know, we haven't tested all the matchups. There probably will be some variation, although they should be comparable. Deciding which emissary goes best with each deck is something to be tried out. Note that any combination of a people deck and an emissary should usually be stronger than a people deck alone. About the Inquisitors --------------------- Q: How do the inquisitors work? A: When playing with inquisitors, each player takes an inquisitor and puts it with his leader. The inquisitor then modifies the Advanced Rules game in up to three ways. First it may add to the number of cards in the player's deck. Second it may add to the number of moons the player can put into his deck. Third it may provide a special power which the player can use in all fights in all games using that inquisitor. So playing, for example, using the Hoax with leader card Xelethotiras Genius of the Hoax [Hoax 00] ("30 cards 10 moons") and inquisitor Razor-Mind Royal Inspector [Inq 412, E&I:A deck] ("+5 cards + 5 moons I may play my cards as if they had the REPLACE icon.") you have a 35 card deck, with up to 15 moons, with Hoax cards not counting towards your moons total as usual, and with the indicated special power. Q: How many inquisitors are there? A: Two in each of the two Emissaries and Inquisitors decks. They are inquisitor Swift-Fist Royal Marshal [Inq 411, E&I:B deck] ("+0 cards + 0 moons At the start of the game, I attract one dragon."), inquisitor Razor-Mind Royal Inspector [Inq 412, E&I:A deck] ("+5 cards + 5 moons I may play my cards as if they had the REPLACE icon."), inquisitor Grease-Palm Royal Minister [Inq 413, E&I:A deck] ("+10 cards +15 moons") and inquisitor Weave-Tongue Royal Councilor [Inq 414, E&I:B deck] ("+15 cards +10 moons At the end of my turn, I may draw one additional card."). Q: Are the inquisitors neutral, is a deck with an inquisitor equally matched with a deck without an inquisitor? A: No, a deck with an inquisitor should be stronger than a deck without an inquisitor. This is obviously true for inquisitor Swift-Fist Royal Marshal [Inq 411, E&I:B deck] ("+0 cards + 0 moons At the start of the game, I attract one dragon."), where the deck is exactly the same as without the inquisitor, except with an attracted dragon. Q: Are the inquisitors evenly matched? A: They are intended to be, although some inquisitors may work better with some peoples than with others. About the New Rules in Emissaries and Inquisitors ------------------------------------------------- Q: What are the Tutu? A: Apart from the emissary of the Tutu, the Tutu consist of seven character cards and one support card. Each has the FREE icon, but also has special power text which either makes the owner pay a cost to play the card, or imposes a disadvantage while the card is active. Text which makes the owner pay a cost uses "I must" which takes the new top place in the precedence of special power texts, so cannot be ignored. Q: What are the Hyla? A: Apart from the emissary of the Hyla, Hyla are a new kind of card, an influence card. They are played in the influence area, which is off the board, beyond the support area. Hyla are not removed at the end of a fight, they carry over to the next fight, remaining active. However there can only be one Hyla. If you play a Hyla, then any active Hyla (mine or yours) is discarded. Hyla are leadership phase cards (see question "What are leadership phase cards?"). Q: What are interference cards? A: These are a new kind of card, each of which is played in response to a specific action of your opponent to prevent it, or to perform a related effect. Thus you play them in my turn, except for interference card I saw that coming! [Inter 407, E&I:A deck] ("I may play this card when you play an interference card. Your card is cancelled and discarded."), which it is possible for you to play in either your turn or my turn. Q: What are crystal cards? A: These are a new kind of card, an achievement card. They are played in the achievement area, which is off the board, beyond your leader. There is one crystal card for each dragon, making the dragons different, for example crystal card Lika's Blessing [Ach 201, E&I:B deck] ("I must have the red dragon on my side to play this card. - If I win the game, I receive one additional crystal. If you win the game, you score one dragon fewer."). Your crystal card can improve your score by one or reduce my score by one, however note that you can't deprive me of my one point for winning the game if I do. Crystal cards cancel one for one during play, so at most one player ever has active crystal cards. Q: What is the REPLACE icon? A: This is a new icon which allows you to discard a card with this icon and draw a replacement. The REPLACE icon appears on interference cards, crystal cards and one Tutu card. REPLACE is used in the Leadership phase, but only if the only action in that phase. (This does not make all cards with the REPLACE icon leadership phase cards.) Q: What are leadership phase cards? A: As well as leadership cards, Hyla and crystal cards are also classified as leadership phase cards (but not as leadership cards). All these three types of cards are played in the Leadership phase, but only one card in each turn. With the Buka Invasion, ship cards are a fourth type of leadership phase card, played using the same rules. Q: What are Chosen Ones? A: These are leadership cards, one per Blue Moon people. They each allow, or force, both players to do the same thing (I go first when you play the card). Note that using leadership card Chosen of Fire [Vulca 32, E&I:A deck] ("Now we both select one leadership card on our leaders, reveal it and shuffle it into our draw decks. Chosen of Fire may not be selected.") is the only way in which a leadership card can be played more than once by a player in a game. Buka Invasion ============= About the Buka Invasion Deck ---------------------------- Q: What is the Buka Invasion deck? A: It is the eleventh deck (ninth expansion deck) for Blue Moon. It contains a deck for the Buka (whose emissary was seen in the Emissaries and Inquisitors: Blessings deck). Q: Can I play with the Buka Invasion deck straight out of the box? A: Yes, you can. The deck contains 30 cards, plus a leader card, as in the eight basic Blue Moon people decks, and it has been balanced against all of them. Q: Are there any non-Buka cards in the Buka Invasion deck? A: No, there are not. All 30 cards (plus leader card) are Buka cards. Q: Can I use the new Buka cards in constructed deck play using the standard Advanced Rules? A: Yes, you can. All the cards in the Buka Invasion deck can be used in other decks, and a Buka deck can be constructed including cards from other peoples, in each case with appropriate moon costs. Q: Can I play with emissaries using the Buka Invasion deck? A: You could, but thematically it is wrong, and there aren't three extra cards for the Buka (as there are for other peoples in the Emissaries and Inquisitors decks) so you wouldn't produce a 40 card deck. Q: Can I play with inquisitors using the Buka Invasion deck? A: Yes, you can. I'm not sure if it is thematically right or wrong, but a Buka deck can be constructed using an inquisitor. Q: Is there any other way to use the Buka Invasion deck? A: Yes, there is, using Buka "families". See section 'About Buka Families'. Q: Are there any new rules using the Buka Invasion deck? A: Yes, there are. In addition to rules for using Buka families, there are rules for the new features of ships and bluffing, plus some minor clarifications. See section 'About the New Rules in the Buka Invasion'. Q: Do I have to have the Emissaries and Inquisitors decks to use the Buka Invasion deck? A: No, you do not, they are quite independent. (There are concepts, influence cards and leadership phase cards, first introduced in the Emissaries and Inquisitors decks that are repeated in the Buka Invasion deck, but they are explained again, to the extent necessary, on the Buka Invasion rulesheet.) Q: Are there any other unusual features of the Buka Invasion deck? A: There are some, such as that it has an earth bias (but which has to be traded off against safe bluffing) and has more characters than any other deck except the Mimix. It has a non-mutant Buka character that can change the contested element of the fight, but no actual mutant card. It also has some features which do not change the rules, but which haven't been seen before, such as characters with non-conditional special power text and values greater than 2, a character with special power text and the PROTECTED icon, and a booster card with values, an icon and special power text. Q: Although it is a promotional card, ship Sea Moon [Promo/Buka 31] (Capacity 1, "Now I may load one card from my hand onto this ship. On the turn in which I land this ship, I may also play one character/booster/support card from my hand.", 2 moons) is indicated as being a Buka card. What does this mean? A: This means that you do not have to pay its 2 moons cost to include it in a Buka deck when playing with the Advanced Rules. However (despite having a deck indication of B) it is not part of the Buka Invasion deck and should not be included when playing with preconstructed decks, and nor is it part of any of the six Buka families when adding these to another deck. Note that it increases the number of Buka cards to 31, which is the same as the other eight peoples if you include the added cards in Emissaries and Inquisitors, but exclude the Chosen Ones (which have a 0 moon cost). About Buka Families ------------------- Q: What are Buka families and how do I use them? A: The 30 cards in the Buka Invasion deck are divided into six families with five cards in each. You can play by taking one of the preassembled people decks (other than the Buka Invasion deck) each, and then adding a Buka family each, giving you a 35 card deck to play. This is similar to playing with the emissaries in the Emissaries and Inquisitors decks, except that there are no cards equivalent to the emissary cards. Q: How can I tell which Buka cards are in each Buka family? A: The Buka cards are labelled Ba to Bf where the deck is designated, in the bottom left corner of each card, and the second letter indicates the family. (Also the character names, other than the "B.P." characters, show the family: Marn, Tan, Ko, Cha and Paal, omitting family Bc which has no such characters.) Q: How many ways does that mean that I can play with an added Buka family? Are they all equally good? A: Assuming you use different Buka families, 840, or 1680 if you allow for playing each way. Obviously not all of these have been tested, and some families may fit better with some decks, as they each have a different mix of card types. But they should be roughly comparable. Q: Can I play with two Buka families? Or a Buka family and an emissary? A: Obviously you could, but these are not options that have been designed for or tested. The number of combinations of play is enormous; in the former case it is 2520, or 5040 if you allow for playing each way, in the latter case it is 10080, or 20160 if you allow for playing each way. About the New Rules in the Buka Invasion ---------------------------------------- Q: What are ships? A: Ships are a new kind of influence card (the Hyla in Emissaries and Inquisitors are also influence cards). They are played into the Influence Area (beyond the Support Area) in your leadership phase, instead of playing a leadership card, but they are not leadership cards. They are leadership phase cards, see question "What are leadership phase cards?" in section 'About the New Rules in Emissaries and Inquisitors', under main section 'Emissaries and Inquisitors'. Q: What is the purpose of ships? A: Ships can be used to store character, booster and support cards from your hand, loaded onto the ship as if playing support cards. Ships can be landed at the beginning of your turn; cards are then played from the landed ship rather than your hand that turn. Buka characters are FREE if played from a ship. Thus ships allow you to "store" cards for later use and also to build up a large attack and play it when you land your ship. Q: What is bluffing? A: Most Buka characters have a BLUFF icon, which allows them to be played as support cards, but face down. They count as having a value of 2 in the contested element. However there are three kinds of BLUFF icons: FIRE BLUFF, EARTH BLUFF and EMPTY BLUFF, and only a card with the right element BLUFF icon is safe. When you declare your total power including bluff cards, your opponent can "call your bluff", and if you are bluffing then your opponent attracts a dragon and you must retreat (usually allowing your opponent to attract at least one more dragon). If you are not bluffing then you attract a dragon, but you also must discard your bluff cards. Q: Isn't it rather risky bluffing without using the right element, if your opponent can attract two or more dragons if your bluff is called successfully, while you only attract one dragon if you were not bluffing but were called? A: Yes, it is, so you probably want to be using the proper element BLUFF icon most of the time. But if you never bluff (in the sense of not using the right element) then your opponent will get wary about calling your bluff and may stop doing it, which will then allow you to get away with it safely, which means he might start calling your bluff again, and so on. In other words bluffing is worth using, but only sometimes, and with care. Specific Cases ============== Card Play: General Rules ------------------------ Q: When can I play a leadership card? A: Whenever it is your Leadership phase. This includes before you retreat, and before you decline to start a fight, as well as before you play a character card and start or continue a fight. You can only play one leadership card; in addition Emissaries and Inquisitors and the Buka Invasion introduce alternatives to playing a leadership card in the Leadership phase: playing a different type of leadership phase card (Hyla, crystal card or ship card) or discarding a card with the REPLACE icon. Q: What happens if I do not have any character cards and it's my Character phase? A: You have to retreat, with the usual consequences, unless you are starting a fight, when you don't retreat but decline to start the fight. You can continue a fight without a character card using leadership card Bounce Back [Khind 31, Pillar deck] (STOP icon, "My active cards attack again."), but you must play it before your Character phase. Q: If a character card I have previously played becomes uncovered, for example by retrieving my only active character, does the uncovered character card have any effect? A: No, it does not. Rulebook page 7, under CHARACTER: 'Only the most recent character cards played into your combat area are active until they are covered by new character cards on your subsequent turn.'. Character cards do not become active again when uncovered, and only active character cards have any effect (other than counting towards attracting two dragons if I retreat). Q: If I play Genathones the Blind [Hoax 14] ("On my turn, I may play one additional support card."), can I play one booster card and one support card this turn? A: Yes, you can. Rulebook page 17, under Special Rule 3: 'if an instruction allows you to play any number of support cards, you may also play one booster card.'. Q: If I start a fight by playing Genathones the Blind [Hoax 14] ("On my turn, I may play one additional support card."), can I play a support card this turn? Can I play more than one? A: Yes, and no. When starting a fight you usually can play zero support cards. With Genathones the Blind active you can play one support card additional to zero, that is you can play one support card (but not a booster card). Q: Can I play a useless card? A: Yes, there's nothing that says you can't. For example, if the contested element is earth, you can still play booster card Volcanic Gauntlets [Vulca 21] ("The Fire value of one of my character cards doubles."). In particular, you can always play any leadership card, for example leadership card Cast Cataclysm [Vulca 30] ("Now I may discard all of your active support cards.") when I have no support cards, or any leadership card whose special power text is ignored. Note however that the card text on a played card is always read out and applied, although if it uses "may" you may choose not to take any action. Q: Can I play a leadership card with no effect? A: Most leadership cards use "may", and so, as noted in the previous answer, you can play them and choose to take no action. However there are exceptions, for example leadership card Sprinkle Water of Tranquility [Aqua 29] ("Now you may not have more than five cards in your hand and you must discard any additional cards."), whose text is not optional and is always applied (unless ignored). Also see question "Are the Chosen Ones ... ?" in section 'Special Power Texts: Other'. Q: Do I have to refresh my hand even if I don't want to? A: Yes, you do. Rulebook page 8, under Refresh Hand: 'Refresh your hand by drawing from your draw deck.'. There is no suggestion of an option there. Note that this also applies at the end of a fight (rulebook page 9, under Winning a Fight: 'At the end of any fight, both players refresh their hands to six cards by drawing from their draw decks.'). Q: Can I discard a card I can't play? A: Only under those circumstances where this is specifically permitted, not just because you can't play the card. Particular circumstances include when you decline to start a fight, when the card has a REPLACE icon (from Emissaries and Inquisitors), when your special power text requires you to discard cards to achieve a result, and in response to my special power text that forces you to discard. Card Play: Locations and Status ------------------------------- Q: Where can my cards be? A: In the basic game, your cards are always in your draw deck, in your hand (note that this includes disclosed cards), in your discard pile (not leadership cards), in a pile on your leader card (leadership cards only), in your combat area (character and booster cards only) or in your support area (support cards only). With Allies and Emissaries, your cards can also be in your influence area (one Hyla card only) or in your achievement area (crystal cards only). With the Buka Invasion your cards can also be in your influence area (ships and cards loaded on ships only), or landed (ships and cards loaded on ships only); in addition face down character cards with the BLUFF icon can be in your support area. A card is never "in limbo" between these places. (Rulebook page 18, Special Rule 10: 'At all times during the game, your cards are either in your hand or on your side of the game board.'.) Q: When I discard a leadership card, where does it go? A: As indicated in the previous answer, on top of your leader. (Rulebook page 9, under Discarding Cards: 'When discarding leadership cards, these are always placed face up in one separate stack partially overlapping the leader card (on top of any previously played leadership cards). Leadership cards are never placed on the discard pile!'.) Q: Does the size of the support area on the game board limit the number of support cards that I can play? A: No, it does not. If you play more support cards than fit then you can overlap them, or use some other arrangement to fit them in. Q: Which information is open and closed in the game? A: All cards in play, including covered character cards and booster cards in both players' Combat Areas, and cards loaded on ships, are open, as is the top card on each discard pile and the top leadership card on each leader (if any). The numbers of cards in each player's hand and each player's draw deck is open. (See rulebook page 18, Special Rule 10.) Each player's hand is known only to the player (unless disclosed) as are cards taken into it (unless revealed by special power text) as are his bluff cards (the number is open). All cards which enter the discard pile, or are played or discarded onto a leader, do so openly. See rulebook page 18, Special Rule 10 and rulebook page 9, Discarding Cards, and also Buka Invasion rulesheet, under Bluffing: 'Whenever any of your bluff cards are discarded, including facedown ones when a fight ends, they are revealed to your opponent when placed onto the discard pile.'. (The discard pile is almost, but not quite, trackable information owing to cards such as leadership card Open Lucky Bag of Life [Khind 30] ("Now I shuffle my discard pile face down and may draw three cards from it into my hand."). The cards on your leader are trackable.) Card Play: Timing ----------------- Q: Does the order in which cards are played matter? A: While the cards are being played, yes, but once they have been successfully played, the order in which cards are played does not matter. In particular the interaction of the special power texts of active cards is not affected by the order in which they were played. Q: Can I play cards, or do anything else, in your turn? A: With the basic people decks: no. Your cards can each only be played in the appropriate phase of your turn, and you can also only take voluntary actions, such as using a RETRIEVE icon or using the ability of TopNotch [Khind 07] ("On my turn, I may discard one of your active booster/support cards."), on your turn. The only things you do in my turn are in response to my actions, such as that of Bashdin [Terrah 15, Flit deck] ("Now I may force you to discard two cards from your hand."). With Emissaries and Inquisitors you can play interference cards in my turn, see section 'About the New Rules in Emissaries and Inquisitors', under main section 'Emissaries and Inquisitors'. With the Buka Invasion you can call my bluff in my turn, see section 'About the New Rules in the Buka Invasion', under main section 'Buka Invasion'. Q: If you have active support card Irresistible Sirens [Aqua 28] ("By the end of your Booster/Support phase, you must discard one character card from your hand, or I attract 1 (additional) dragon - even if you retreat.") can I discard to prevent you attracting a dragon before my turn? A: Based on the previous answer, no, you cannot. Q: When can I discard a card to satisfy the requirement of your booster card Caterpillar Fireeater [Pillar 16] ("By the end of your Booster/Support phase, you must discard cards with a total printed value of at least 3 Fire from your hand, or retreat.")? A: As indicated in the last but one answer, you must do this in your turn. You can do it in your Beginning of Turn phase, Leadership phase, Retreat from Fight? phase, Character phase or Booster/Support phase. You can do it before, between, or after actions in those phases, for example after retrieving a card and before landing a ship (both of which are done in the Beginning of Turn phase). You cannot do it "within" another action (even one divided into separate steps) nor can you use this to prevent me responding to any of your actions with an interference card. Q: If playing more than one card of the same type (character, booster or support) using FREE, PAIR or GANG icons, or as permitted by some special power text, are the cards played all at once, or one by one? A: One by one. The easiest way to see this is that special power text is read and then applied when the card is played, and the rules don't cover trying to read and apply two items of text at the same time. Q: If you have active support card Impenetrable Fog [Terrah 26] ("Your icons are ignored, except STOP and PROTECTED."), can I play TopNotch [Khind 07] ("On my turn, I may discard one of your active booster/support cards."), discard the Impenetrable Fog, and then, having restored TopNotch's GANG icon, add another character card in the "Top" gang? A: Based on the previous answer, yes you can. Q: When I play more than one card of the same type in a turn, does it matter which order I play them in of those which are possible? A: Generally, no. However there is a case where it matters using Emissaries and Inquisitors, where I might play interference card Shame on you! [Inter 402, E&I:A deck] ("I may play this card when you play your first character card on your turn: Your card is cancelled and discarded. You must play a replacement or retreat."). For this reason you might want to consider playing your less important character card first. Q: If I play Shaman of the Deeds to Come [Mimix 19] ("At the end of my turn, I may draw (up to) three additional cards and then shuffle any two cards from my hand into my draw deck."), can I reshuffle any of the cards I drew back into my draw deck? A: Yes, you can. The word "then" means that you finish the part of the text before it before starting the part after it. Drawing the cards, applying the first part of the text, includes putting them into your hand, from where they can be reshuffled into your draw deck, applying the second part of the text. Q: If you play Baku But [Terrah 14] ("On your turn, you must play a booster card, or retreat.") when do I check this condition? What happens if I fail to meet it? A: Baku But's condition can be checked at the last point in the turn after which you cannot satisfy the condition, at the end of your Booster/Support phase. If Baku But's condition is not satisfied then you must backtrack to your Retreat from Fight? phase, similarly to failing to match my total power, with the same constraints, as defined by rulebook page 18, under Special Rule 11. Note that this means that you cannot play, or discard, any cards before retreating. Q: If I play a Chosen One (from Emissaries and Inquisitors) who takes the action first? Can this player win if he has already attracted three dragons and the card played is leadership card Chosen of Discovery [Pillar 32, E&I:B deck] ("Now we both may discard cards with a total printed value at least 2 Fire and 2 Earth (on different cards) from our hands to attract one dragon.")? A: If you play a Chosen One then I take the action first (E&I rulesheet, under Chosen Ones: 'When you play a Chosen One, your opponent always implements the effects first.'). And yes, if I have already attracted three dragons and perform the necessary discard, then I win the game before you get a chance to attract a dragon (rulebook page 10, under Game End: 'A player wins the game instantly if he has all three dragons on his side and then attracts further dragons.'). Card Play: Backtracking ----------------------- Q: The only way I can avoid having to retreat is to play a particular character card, and I suspect that you have interference card Shame on you! [Inter 402, E&I:A deck] ("I may play this card when you play your first character card on your turn: Your card is cancelled and discarded. You must play a replacement or retreat.") in your hand and will play it. So instead I play a different character card, and if you cancel it I will play the character card I need to play and continue the fight. If you don't cancel it then I will continue to my Announce Power phase, be unable to match your total power, backtrack to my Retreat from Fight? phase and play the needed character card. It seems that there is no penalty for doing this since, from the only relevant rule (rulebook page 18, Special Rule 11) 'no cards have been drawn or revealed'. Is this a clever bluff of mine, or am I cheating (I did it deliberately). If I am cheating, how can I be penalised? A: You are cheating. Rulebook page 7, under Retreat from Fight: 'When you cannot or do not want to continue the current fight you announce your retreat.'. While you could argue that you are able to continue the fight, it is only by playing the "right" character card, and the spirit of this rule doesn't allow you to continue in such a way that you will have to retreat. As for a penalty, the only one available is that in Special Rule 11. While the rules don't strictly cover this case, it can be argued that you have "revealed" information about my hand and play, and hence you should be subject to the rule. See also the following question. Q: When should I apply the previous answer? A: This is a very strict interpretation of the rules, completely removing your allowance to make an honest error and backtrack. As such, this penalty should be applied in full only in the strictest of cases, such as a tournament. In a friendly game you should allow backtracking. This case can also only occur when using Emissaries and Inquisitors, and should only be applied then. However for consistency it should then be applied at all times, even when you know for other reasons that I can't have Shame on you! in my hand. See also question "I have attracted three dragons ..." in section 'End of Game'. Card Play: Cards in Hand ------------------------ Q: Are the characteristics of my cards in hand relevant? A: Usually the characteristics of your cards in hand are not relevant, as they have no effect until after they are played. There are however four cases where cards can have an effect before they are played. The first is that of discarding cards to attract a dragon, for example using leadership card Charm Holy Dragon [Vulca 29] ("Now I may discard cards with a total printed value of at least 8 Fire from my hand to attract one dragon."). The second is that of discarding cards to avoid having to retreat, for example if I have active booster card Caterpillar Fireeater [Pillar 16] ("By the end of your Booster/Support phase, you must discard cards with a total printed value of at least 3 Fire from your hand, or retreat."). The third is that a limited number of cards have special power text which is effective while the card is still in your hand, see question "When is special power text first effective?" in section 'Special Power Texts: General Rules'. The fourth is that the FREE, PAIR and GANG icons are checked while in your hand to see whether and how the cards can be played (see question "When is the FREE icon on a character, booster or support card checked?" in section 'Icons: FREE'), the REPLACE icon in the Emissaries and Inquisitors decks is used from your hand (see section 'Icons: REPLACE'), and the BLUFF icons in the Buka Invasion deck (see section 'Bluffing: General Rules' and following) are checked while in your hand to see if cards can be played as bluff cards (as well as being checked when in play when your bluff is called). Q: Can effects be applied to my cards in hand? A: Where your cards in hand have no effect, effects which could apply to them are not relevant. This leaves only the four cases identified in the previous answer. Because in these cases your cards can be effective while they are in your hand, they can also be affected while they are in your hand. In general, characteristics of cards can always be affected by any effects, except where these are qualified by applying only to active cards or cards in particular areas. There is otherwise no distinction between cards in hand, cards in play, and cards which are played to your leader card or to your discard pile. Q: Which effects can be applied to my cards in hand? A: Ignoring special power text, ignoring icons (in particular the FREE, PAIR, GANG and REPLACE icons), ignoring cards (and hence their values, icons and special power texts) and reducing cards' printed values (see section 'Values and Total Power: Printed Values'). Note that as the PROTECTED icon is effective only when active, it does not protect your cards in hand from these effects (rulebook page 15, under PROTECTED: 'When these cards are active in the combat or support areas, they are protected from any opposing effects.'). Finally note that none of these effects causes you to have to reveal any of your cards in hand, they only limit which cards you can play, in the same way that my declared total power limits which cards you can play. Q: If you have active CoolCop [Khind 02] ("The even printed values of your character cards reduce to 0."), can I discard character card Blaze [Vulca 06] (Fire value 4) and character card Spark [Vulca 08] (Fire value 4) to satisfy the requirements of leadership card Charm Holy Dragon [Vulca 29] ("Now I may discard cards with a total printed value of at least 8 Fire from my hand to attract one dragon.")? A: No, you cannot. Blaze's and Spark's printed values are reduced to 0 by CoolCop, so they cannot be used to satisfy the requirements of Charm Holy Dragon. Q: If you have active CoolCat [Khind 01] ("The odd printed values of your character cards reduce to 0.") and booster card Caterpillar Fireeater [Pillar 16] ("By the end of your Booster/Support phase, you must discard cards with a total printed value of at least 3 Fire from your hand, or retreat."), can I discard character card Shimmer [Vulca 12] (Fire value 3) to avoid retreating? A: No, you cannot. Shimmer's printed value is reduced to 0 by CoolCat, leaving it unable to satisfy the discard requirement. Q: If I have active support card Duplicator of Strength [Hoax 25] ("The Earth value of one of my character cards doubles."), can I discard character card Terraton [Terrah 07] (Earth value 4) to satisfy the requirements of leadership card Impress Holy Dragon [Terrah 30] ("Now I may discard cards with a total printed value of at least 8 Earth from my hand to attract one dragon.")? A: No, you cannot. Impress Holy Dragon uses printed values, not values (see section 'Values and Total Power: Printed Values') and Duplicator of Strength does not affect these. (Note that the distinction here between values and printed values is also the point of rulebook page 17, Special Rule 6.) Q: If you have active Mad Mike Magpie [Flit 13, Terrah deck] ("Your cards with icons are ignored, except Flit character cards and PROTECTED cards.") and booster card Caterpillar Eartheroder [Pillar 17, Terrah deck] ("By the end of your Booster/Support phase, you must discard cards with a total printed value of at least 3 Earth from your hand, or retreat."), can I discard Ciklarethas the Bitter [Hoax 05] (Earth value 3, RETRIEVE icon) to avoid retreating? A: No, you cannot. There's no restriction on Mad Mike Magpie applying only to active cards, so Ciklarethas the Bitter is ignored because it has an icon, and hence its printed value is ignored, and discarding it does not satisfy the requirement of Caterpillar Eartheroder. Values and Total Power: General Rules ------------------------------------- Q: What is the difference between value and power? A: A value applies to a single card. All character cards, and many booster cards and support cards (and in the Emissaries and Inquisitors decks, some Hyla) have values in fire and earth. Your power, or more correctly total power, is the sum of the values in the selected element of all of your active cards. Note that some special power texts (a different use of the word power) modify values before they are summed, others modify total power after summation. Q: Does the special power text of mutant Zig-nur-Don [Mutant 106, Vulca deck] ("I may only play this card if I am attacked by at least 5 Earth. The contested element of the fight changes to Fire.") mean "5 total power with contested element earth" when it says "5 Earth"? A: Yes. Q: If I play Demegodas the Odd [Hoax 12] (Earth value 2, "The values of my support cards double.") and support card Duplicator of Strength [Hoax 25] ("The Earth value of one of my character cards doubles."), and each is applied to the other, then do I quadruple Demegodas the Odd's earth value, for a total power of 8? A: No, you do not. Demegodas the Odd doubles the Duplicator of Strength's values, not its effect. Values are numbers (rulebook page 5, The Cards) and the Duplicator of Strength's earth value is 0, and it's that which Demegodas the Odd doubles. Duplicator of Strength's text is unchanged, and it doubles (not quadruples) Demegodas the Odd's earth value, for a total power of 4. Q: What if in the previous question I also have active booster card Potion of Prodigious Passion [Pillar 26, Hoax deck] ("The values of one of my character cards increase to 5.")? A: The same line of reasoning shows that the character card's value is only doubled, but first it is increased to 5, and then doubled, for a total power of 10. (Rulebook page 18, under Special Rule 7: 'If there is more than one instruction influencing the fire or earth values of other cards, first apply all increasing instructions in the order that maximizes the values.'.) Note that even if you want to apply them in another order you cannot. Q: Can I double my values more than once, for example if I have active booster card Titanic Gauntlets [Vulca 22, Flit deck] ("The Earth value of one of my character cards doubles.") and support card Duplicator of Strength [Hoax 25] ("The Earth value of one of my character cards doubles.")? A: Yes, you can. Rulebook page 18, under Special Rule 7: 'If there is more than one instruction influencing the fire or earth values of other cards, first apply all increasing instructions in the order that maximizes the values.'. Values and Total Power: Printed Values -------------------------------------- Q: What is a printed value? A: A printed value is normally the value physically printed on a card (fire or earth). A card's value starts equal to its printed value but may be modified. Effects that apply to values do not usually affect a card's printed value, so for example booster card Volcanic Gauntlets [Vulca 21] ("The Fire value of one of my character cards doubles.") increases the fire value of character card Blaze [Vulca 06] (Fire value 4) to 8, but its printed fire value remains 4. However see the next question. Q: Are there any effects that modify the printed value of a card? A: Yes, there are. CoolCat [Khind 01] ("The odd printed values of your character cards reduce to 0."), CoolCop [Khind 02] ("The even printed values of your character cards reduce to 0."), CoolKid [Khind 03] ("The odd printed values of your booster/support cards reduce to 0.") and CoolCub [Khind 04] ("The even printed values of your booster/support cards reduce to 0.") affect printed values. For example if you have active CoolCop and I have active character card Blaze [Vulca 06] (Fire value 4) then the latter's printed value, and hence also its value, is 0. These four cards are the only ones that alter printed values, however in addition printed values have no effect when the card they are on is ignored. Q: If you have active CoolCat [Khind 01] ("The odd printed values of your character cards reduce to 0.") and support card Cloying Mud [Terrah 25] ("You may not play character cards that have a printed value higher than 4."), can I play Flamebreath the Dazzling [Vulca 01] (Fire value 7)? A: Yes, you can. Flamebreath the Dazzling's printed value is reduced to 0 by CoolCat, and hence it can be played. Values and Total Power: Calculations ------------------------------------ Q: If I have active Glimmer [Vulca 13] (Earth value 3), Earthwater [Aqua 20, Flit deck] ("My total power in Earth increases to 7.") and Tome of Wisdom [Hoax 20] (Earth value 3), what is my total power? What if I replace Glimmer by Heroine of the Great Plains [Mimix 06, Vulca deck] (Earth value 5)? A: 7, and 8. The key point is that Earthwater applies to total power, so it happens last. First you add the cards' values, getting 6 or 8 in the two cases. In the first case Earthwater increases your total power to 7. In the second case Earthwater does not reduce your total power, it stays at 8. (Rulebook page 18, under Special Rule 7: 'If there is more than one instruction influencing the fire or earth values of other cards, first apply all increasing instructions in the order that maximizes the values, then apply the decreasing instructions in the order that minimizes the values.' makes it clear that increasing and reducing are separate effects. Note that because Earthwater refers to total power, this rule doesn't make it happen first.) Q: If you have active CoolCat [Khind 01] ("The odd printed values of your character cards reduce to 0."), the contested element is fire, and I play Speedius Unnecessarius [Pillar 06] (Fire value 3, Earth value 4) and booster card Potion of Prodigious Passion [Pillar 26, Hoax deck] ("The values of one of my character cards increase to 5."), what is my total power? A: 5. Note that although usually cards which increase total power would be applied first (rulebook page 18, under Special Rule 7: 'If there is more than one instruction influencing the fire or earth values of other cards, first apply all increasing instructions in the order that maximizes the values, then apply the decreasing instructions in the order that minimizes the values.'), cards which apply to printed value have to be applied first, as after cards which affect total power are applied, this is no longer printed value. So CoolCat is applied first, then Potion of Prodigious Passion, resulting in a total power of 5. Q: As the previous question, but replace Potion of Prodigious Passion by booster card Potion of Cosmic Power [Pillar 21] ("The values of one of my character cards double.") A: 0. First apply CoolCat, reducing printed fire value, and hence total power, to 0, then apply Potion of Cosmic Power, doubling total power to 0. Q: As the previous two questions, but using booster card Potion of Conjoining [Pillar 22] ("The values of one of my character cards increase to the sum of its printed Fire value + its printed Earth value."). A: 4. First apply CoolCat, reducing printed fire value to 0 and leaving printed earth value at 4, then apply Potion of Conjoining to give 4 total power. Note that if CoolCat is replaced by CoolCop [Khind 02] ("The even printed values of your character cards reduce to 0.") then the result is 3, while if both CoolCat and CoolCop are active then the result is 0. Q: If I have active Gulpus Permanentus [Pillar 11] (Fire value 2, Earth value 2, "On my turn, I may play one additional booster card."), booster card Potion of Sparkling Fire [Pillar 24] ("The Fire value of one of my character cards increases to 6.") and booster card Potion of Conjoining [Pillar 22] ("The values of one of my character cards increase to the sum of its printed Fire value + its printed Earth value."), what is my total power? A: 6 if the contested element is fire, or 4 if the contested element is earth. To determine this, you can consider applying the two booster cards in either order; in this example it produces the same total power. (If one order produced a greater total power in the contested element then that order would be used.) Applying Potion of Conjoining first increases Gulpus Permanentus's values to 4 fire and 4 earth, and then applying Potion of Sparkling Fire increases Gulpus Permanentus's values to 6 fire and 4 earth. Applying Potion of Sparkling Fire first increases Gulpus Permanentus's values to 6 fire and 2 earth, but its printed values remain 2 fire and 2 earth, so that then applying Potion of Conjoining increases Gulpus Permanentus 's values to 4 fire and 4 earth, but an increase never reduces a value, so Gulpus Permanentus's values in this case are again 6 fire and 4 earth. As there are no other active cards, your total power is equal to Gulpus Permanentus's appropriate value. Q: If I have active Electric Eel [Aqua 05] (Fire value 4, Earth value 0, PROTECTED icon), Sun Setting [Mimix 22] (Fire value 2, Earth value 1, FREE icon), Moon Rising [Mimix 23] (Fire value 1, Earth value 2, FREE icon) and support card Water of Conjoining [Aqua 27, E&I:A deck] ("The values of each of my character cards increase to the higher of their printed Fire value or their printed Earth value."), and you have active CoolCop [Khind 02] ("The even printed values of your character cards reduce to 0."), what is my total power? A: 6 (regardless of whether the contested element is fire or earth). First CoolCop has no effect on Electric Eel due to its PROTECTED icon. (Rulebook page 15, under PROTECTED: 'When these cards are active in the combat or support areas, they are protected from any opposing effects. The cards cannot be ignored or discarded by the opponent, and their values cannot be reduced by the opponent.'.) So its printed values (fire/earth) remain 4/0. However this does not apply to Sun Setting or Moon Rising, whose printed values are reduced to 0/1 and 1/0, respectively, by CoolCop. Now Water of Conjoining (which acts on printed values, but produces values) increases these three cards' values to 4/4, 1/1 and 1/1, respectively, and your total power is 6. Values and Total Power: Announce Power -------------------------------------- Q: What total power do I need to achieve in my Announce Power phase? A: You need to achieve (equal or exceed) my current total power at that time (and at no other time). The total power I announced in my Announce Power phase is only relevant if it is still my current total power. Earlier values of your total power are not relevant. (Rulebook page 8, under Announce Power: 'The total power you announce on your turn must at least equal that of your opponent at this time. This is usually the total power announced previously by your opponent, but may have been altered as a consequence of your card play.'.) See also question "What is the effect of a shield?" in section 'Icons: Shields'. Q: If the contested element is fire and you have active Glimmer [Vulca 13] (Fire value 2) and booster card Elemental Enchantment [Vulca 20] ("My total power increases to 6."), and then I play leadership card Enthrall Opposition [Hoax 28] ("On this turn, your special power texts are ignored. (This card has no effect if opposed by Tittertweet or Laughing Gas.)"), what total power do I need to achieve? A: 2. I declared a total power of 6, but you reduced it to 2 by playing Enthrall Opposition, and, based on the previous answer, that is all you need to achieve. Q: If I have active Tittertweet [Flit 07] (Earth value 2, RETRIEVE icon, "Your special power texts are ignored, except on Flit character cards."), and you have active Helkomedes the Rhetorician [Hoax 09] (Earth value 3) and Duplicator of Strength [Hoax 25] ("The Earth value of one of my character cards doubles."), and announce a total power of 3, and then I retrieve Tittertweet to my hand, what total power do I need to achieve? A: 6. As the previous question, you need to achieve my current total power, which increased to 6 when you retrieved Tittertweet, as Duplicator of Strength is no longer ignored, even though this is higher that the total power I announced. (Note that you can reduce this to 3 by playing Tittertweet again.) Q: If I play leadership card Provoke Earthquake [Terrah 29] ("Now I may discard all cards from your combat area, except active PROTECTED cards."), what total power do I have to achieve? A: As the previous two questions, you have to achieve the total power, in the contested element, of my remaining cards. This will usually only be support cards, although with Emissaries and Inquisitors this may also possibly include Hyla cards. (Note that the values of my support cards, and Hyla cards, are used even if I have no active character card.) Q: If the contested element is earth and you have active Penemikanas the Paranoid [Hoax 07] (Value 2) and support card Tome of Wisdom [Hoax 20] (Value 3), with total power 6, and I play leadership card Cast Cataclysm [Vulca 30] ("Now I may discard all of your active support cards."), and discard your Tome of Wisdom, can I now play mutant Zig-nur-Don [Mutant 106, Vulca deck] ("I may only play this card if I am attacked by at least 5 Earth. The contested element of the fight changes to Fire.")? A: No, you cannot. Although you were attacked by a total power of at least 5, you reduced this to 3, and it is the current total power that applies, as for the previous three questions. Q: If you have active Hyla Tronknor [Infl 602, E&I:A deck] (Earth value 2) at the beginning of a fight, can I start the fight with NoRespect [Khind 22] (Earth value 1) with selected element earth? A: No, you cannot. As the previous four questions you have to achieve my current total power, regardless of my previous announcement (or that I have not made an announcement, as here) and I have a total power of 2 which you need to match. Icons: Shields -------------- Q: Are shields icons? And why does it matter? A: Shields are icons. This has been officially confirmed by the designer and the publisher. The answer isn't clear from the English rulebook, but the German rulebook clearly makes shields icons, so in order to keep things consistent the German rule has been adopted. It can matter in a few cases, one being if opposing Mad Mike Magpie [Flit 13, Terrah deck] ("Your cards with icons are ignored, except Flit character cards and PROTECTED cards.") which results in your cards with shields being ignored. Q: What is the effect of a shield? A: The effect of your having an active character card or booster card with a shield in the contested element is that you do not have to match (equal or exceed) my total power in your Announce Power phase, thus leaving you with no condition to check in that phase, and hence no possible need to backtrack. (Rulebook page 14, under SHIELD: 'You do not have to match your opponent's total power when announcing your power.'.) A shield on an inactive card, or in the other element, has no effect. Q: Does my shield reduce your total power to 0? A: No, shields do not reduce total power, they have only the effect described in the previous answer. Q: Rulebook page 13 shows (at the top of the page) the total power going from 5 to 3 after a shield is played. Does this mean my shield has some sort of effect on values played after it? A: No, it does not. What you've missed is that the character card played is Hank Highflyer Hawk [Flit 12, Hoax deck] ("Your character cards are ignored, except Flit character cards.") whose special power text has the effect of ignoring mutant Zig-nur-Don [Mutant 106, Vulca deck] ("I may only play this card if I am attacked by at least 5 Earth. The contested element of the fight changes to Fire."), thus reducing the required power. Shields have no effect on character cards, or any other cards, played after them, or before them. They just allow you to ignore my total power as described in the last but one answer. Q: If I play Wild Unicorn [Mimix 15, Pillar deck] (PAIR icon) and Wild Gazelle [Mimix 13] (Value 3, PAIR icon), do I get the benefit of the shield even though it is only on one of my character cards? A: Yes, you do. Note that this also applies to other combinations, such as when using booster cards or FREE character cards, and regardless of the order in which character cards are played. All that is necessary is for one of your active character cards or booster cards to have a shield in the contested element in your Announce Power phase. Icons: STOP ----------- Q: How do I play Shaman of the Here and Now [Mimix 20] ("Immediately after my Booster/Support phase, I search through my draw deck and may select one card, reveal it to you, and take it into my hand. Then I reshuffle.") or Shaman of the Afterlife [Mimix 21] ("Immediately after my Booster/Support phase, I shuffle my discard pile face down and may draw two cards from it into my hand.") when, since each has a STOP icon, I skip my Booster/Support phase? A: Rulebook page 14, under STOP: 'Playing a card with a STOP icon prevents you from playing any further cards during your turn. Your turn continues with the announcement of your total power that must at least match your opponent's power.'. The first sentence is the rule. The second sentence (in bold italics) is a summary of what usually happens. However the specific cards being discussed here supersede that. (Rulebook page 17, under Special Rules, first point: 'Instructions on the cards supersede these game rules.'.) So in this case you don't skip your Booster/Support phase, and gain the indicated cards before announcing your total power. You still cannot play any cards after the STOP icon. Q: If I play leadership card Trigger Brainstorm [Hoax 29] ("On this turn, I may play any number of support cards.") and then a character card with a STOP icon, does Trigger Brainstorm allow me to play support cards, despite the STOP icon? A: Yes, it does. Rulebook page 17, under Special Rules, first point: 'Instructions on the cards supersede these game rules.'. So because the STOP icon is a game rule (rulebook page 14, under STOP: 'Playing a card with a STOP icon prevents you from playing any further cards during your turn.'), the special power text on Trigger Brainstorm supersedes it. Q: If I play a character card with a STOP icon, and then on my next turn play character card KhindKin [Khind 23, E&I:A deck] ("I may play this card into my combat area without pushing the previously active cards under it.") is the STOP icon effective again? A: No, it is not. Rulebook page 14, under STOP: 'Playing a card with a STOP icon prevents you from playing any further cards during your turn.'. This indicates that the STOP icon applies only when the card is played, it is not effective just because the card remains active. Note that if you used leadership card Bounce Back [Khind 31, Pillar deck] (STOP icon, "My active cards attack again.") rather than KhindKin then the STOP icon of the original character card is no longer effective, but the STOP icon of Bounce Back is effective. Icons: RETRIEVE --------------- Q: Can I retrieve more than one card with the RETRIEVE icon at the start of my turn? A: Yes, you can. Rulebook page 15, under RETRIEVE: 'If you have active cards depicting the RETRIEVE icon at the very beginning of your turn, you may return any of these cards into your undisclosed hand. - You may keep these cards in your hand or replay them this turn.'. Q: If we both have active character cards with the RETRIEVE icon, do they each block the other character card from being retrieved? A: Whether your RETRIEVE icon is blocked matters only when it is the start of your turn and you are due to use it. Thus if you play your character with a RETRIEVE icon first, then I play mine, you will not be able to retrieve your character. But then, unless you retreat, you must play a character card which will cover your character card with the RETRIEVE icon. If this new character card does not have the RETRIEVE icon then I will be able to RETRIEVE my character card in my turn. Q: If I have an active character card with a RETRIEVE icon and an active booster card without a RETRIEVE icon on top of it, can I retrieve the character card? A: Yes, you can. Rulebook page 15, under RETRIEVE: 'If you have active cards depicting the RETRIEVE icon at the very beginning of your turn, you may return any of these cards into your undisclosed hand.' and rulebook page 7, under CHARACTER: 'Only the most recent character cards played into your combat area are active until they are covered by new character cards on your subsequent turn.' and under BOOSTER: 'You may play a booster card from your hand face up into your combat area on top of your character cards, partially overlapping the last character card so that all values, icons and special power texts are visible.'. Q: If I play Wing Commander Razorfeather [Flit 01] (RETRIEVE icon), and you play cards including booster card Battling Boomerang [Hoax 19] (RETRIEVE icon), can I retrieve Wing Commander Razorfeather on my next turn? A: Yes, you can. Rulebook page 15, under RETRIEVE: 'If your opponent's combat area contains active character cards depicting the RETRIEVE icon then you may not apply the RETRIEVE function depicted on your character cards.' indicates that only character cards are effective in blocking RETRIEVE, and only of character cards, so that if you retrieve Wing Commander Razorfeather and re-play it, I can retrieve Battling Boomerang in my turn. Q: If I play Captain Ariosa Paal [Buka 03] (RETRIEVE icon) and Ciklarethas the Bitter [Hoax 05] (RETRIEVE icon) from a ship, and then you play a character card with a RETRIEVE icon, can I retrieve either of my character cards? A: No, you cannot. Rulebook page 15, under RETRIEVE: 'If your opponent’s combat area contains active character cards depicting the RETRIEVE icon then you may not apply the RETRIEVE function depicted on your character cards.' refers to character cards. Q: If you have active Wing Commander Razorfeather [Flit 01] (RETRIEVE icon), and I have active Ciklarethas the Bitter [Hoax 05] (RETRIEVE icon) and support card Impenetrable Fog [Terrah 26] ("Your icons are ignored, except STOP and PROTECTED."), can I retrieve Ciklarethas the Bitter? A: No, you cannot. Rulebook page 15, under RETRIEVE: 'If your opponent's combat area contains active character cards depicting the RETRIEVE icon then you may not apply the RETRIEVE function depicted on your character cards.'. This specifies only that a blocking character card must depict the RETRIEVE icon, which Wing Commander Razorfeather does. Furthermore even though this RETRIEVE icon is ignored and cannot be used (I could not have retrieved Wing Commander Razorfeather in my turn) it is still present (see question "What is the effect of something being ignored?" in section 'Special Power Texts: Ignored (General Rules)') and hence blocks your retrieval. Q: If I have an active card with a RETRIEVE icon when you retreat and the fight ends, do I get to retrieve it? A: No, you do not. You can only retrieve a card at the start of your turn, so you cannot retrieve it. Icons: PROTECTED ---------------- Q: How should the phrase "PROTECTED cards" be interpreted on cards such as Mad Mike Magpie [Flit 13, Terrah deck] ("Your cards with icons are ignored, except Flit character cards and PROTECTED cards.")? A: As "cards with a PROTECTED icon which is not ignored". (Note that the German uses the equivalent of the phrase "cards with a PROTECTED icon" rather than "PROTECTED cards".) Normally this interpretation only matters for active cards, as the PROTECTED icon is usually only effective for such cards (rulebook page 15, under PROTECTED: 'When these cards are active in the combat or support areas, they are protected from any opposing effects.'), but the PROTECTED icon can also be relevant in some cases involving cards discarded using the REPLACE icon (see section 'Icons: REPLACE'). Q: If you have active support card Pandemonium [Khind 26, Vulca deck] ("You may not play support cards."), can I play support card Ravenous Razorjaw [Aqua 23] (PROTECTED icon)? A: No, you cannot. As noted in the previous answer, the PROTECTED icon is not effective until the card with it on is active, and hence Ravenous Razorjaw cannot be played. Q: Some cards explicitly mention the PROTECTED icon, but most don't. Does the PROTECTED icon protect against cards that don't mention it? A: Yes, it does. The rules on PROTECTED (see rulebook page 15) are written in general terms. The specific mentions of PROTECTED on cards are for clarity, and are used in two cases: on cards which affect "all" cards of some description, and cards which mention icons. There are two exceptions to the first of these: leadership card Cast Cataclysm [Vulca 30] ("Now I may discard all of your active support cards.") and, with the Buka Invasion, Lookout Dolora Paal [Buka 22] ("Now I may discard all of your active booster cards or all of your active support cards."). There is one exception to the latter: Mekarthas the Shrewd [Hoax 16, Aqua deck] ("Your icons are ignored, except STOP.") respectively. See the next two questions. Q: If one or more of my active cards have the PROTECTED icon and you play leadership card Cast Cataclysm [Vulca 30] ("Now I may discard all of your active support cards."), are they discarded? A: No, they are not. Cast Cataclysm's special power text does not provide any reason to override the general rule for cards with the PROTECTED icon. (Rulebook page 15, under PROTECTED: 'The cards cannot be ignored or discarded by the opponent, and their values cannot be reduced by the opponent.'.) The same applies to Lookout Dolora Paal [Buka 22] ("Now I may discard all of your active booster cards or all of your active support cards."). Q: If I have active support card Ravenous Razorjaw [Aqua 23] (PROTECTED icon), and you have active Mekarthas the Shrewd [Hoax 16, Aqua deck] ("Your icons are ignored, except STOP."), and then play leadership card Cast Cataclysm [Vulca 30] ("Now I may discard all of your active support cards."), is my Ravenous Razorjaw discarded? Is there any difference if you play leadership card Provoke Earthquake [Terrah 29] ("Now I may discard all cards from your combat area, except active PROTECTED cards.") rather than Cast Cataclysm? A: First, Mekarthas the Shrewd ignores the PROTECTED icon. This is because it explicitly applies to icons (and even explicitly only excludes the STOP icon) and rulebook page 17, under Special Rules, first point: 'Instructions on the cards supersede these game rules.' applies. Thus once the PROTECTED icon is ignored, Cast Cataclysm can discard these cards. The same applies with Provoke Earthquake, owing to the interpretation of the phrase "PROTECTED cards" in question "How should the phrase "PROTECTED cards" be interpreted ... ?". Icons: FREE ----------- Q: How should the phrase "FREE card" be interpreted on cards such as mutant Man-shu-Ran [Mutant 110, E&I:A deck] ("I may only play this card if you have an active FREE card. The contested element of the fight changes between Fire and Earth.") A: As "card with a FREE icon which is not ignored". See question "How should the phrase "PROTECTED cards" be interpreted ... ?" in section 'Icons: PROTECTED'. (Note that in this case it is only active FREE cards that are relevant, but only because that is explicitly said.) Q: What's the point of FREE cards? A: FREE cards played this turn are active, so they add to your total power. Rulebook page 8, under Announce Power: 'When you announce your power, always state your total power in the respective element that results from all your active cards'. FREE cards are also good for getting up to a total of six cards in your combat and support areas more quickly. Q: When is the FREE icon on a character, booster or support card checked? A: When the card is in hand, just before it is played. As noted in question "Where can my cards be?", in section 'Card Play: Locations and Status', a card goes directly from being in hand to in play. You can't check the FREE icon on a card after it is in play, because you may not be able to play the card if it does not have a FREE icon, for example if it is the second card of that type that you have played this turn. Q: If you have active Mekarthas the Shrewd [Hoax 16, Aqua deck] ("Your icons are ignored, except STOP."), and I have active Tittertweet [Flit 07] ("Your special power texts are ignored, except on Flit character cards."), can I play two character cards, one with a FREE icon? A: Yes, you can, as long as you play the card with the FREE icon first. Based on the previous answer, its FREE icon is checked while in hand, while Tittertweet is still uncovered and active, so that the special power text on Mekarthas the Shrewd is ignored, and hence the FREE icon is not ignored. Thus that card does not count towards your one character card this turn, and you can play a second character card. However once you have played your first character card, Tittertweet is covered and no longer active, hence the special power text on Mekarthas the Shrewd means that any FREE icon on your second character card is ignored, and hence if your first character card did not have a FREE icon, you cannot play your second character card. Q: Can I play a FREE character card together with a STOP character card? A: Yes, you can, but you have to play the FREE character card first because the FREE icon only means that the card does not count towards the character card limit, it does not allow the card to be played when prohibited. (Rulebook page 15, under FREE: 'Cards depicting the FREE icon do not count towards your limit of one character card and either one booster or one support card expressed in the rules.'.) Q: Can I play a FREE character card and two matching PAIR character cards? A: Yes, you can. Rulebook page 15, under FREE: 'Cards depicting the FREE icon do not count towards your limit of one character card'. Rulebook page 16, under PAIR: 'If you have two character cards in your hand with identical first words in their names and both depicting the PAIR icon, you may play the pair together instead of a single character card.'. So you can play any number of FREE character cards, plus two matching PAIR character cards, all without breaking the usual one character card limit. Q: How can I play FREE character cards and character cards with the same GANG icon together? A: You can start with one or more FREE character cards. All previously played cards in your combat area are covered. You can then play a single character card with a GANG icon, and then you may add one or more additional FREE character cards. Alternatively you can start with any number of character cards with the same GANG icon. If all active cards in your combat area are character cards with a matching GANG icon then you may keep them active, otherwise you must cover all of them. You may then add one or more FREE character cards. (Rulebook page 16, under GANG: 'If you already played one or more character cards of the same gang on your previous turns, and there are no other active cards in your combat area (character cards not belonging to the gang or booster cards), then at the beginning of the CHARACTER phase of your subsequent turn you can add one or more character cards of the same gang from your hand without pushing the other cards under it.'.) Q: If I have active Mekarthas the Shrewd [Hoax 16, Aqua deck] ("Your icons are ignored, except STOP.") and play leadership card Rout Retainers [Hoax 30, E&I:A deck] ("Now I may discard your active FREE cards.") do I discard any of your cards? A: No, you do not. As noted in question "How should the phrase "FREE card" be interpreted ... ?", the phrase "FREE cards" is interpreted as "cards with a FREE icon which is not ignored" and I do not have any such cards since my FREE icons are ignored. Q: If I play Yang [Aqua 12] ("The next character/booster/support card I play on this turn is treated as if it had the FREE icon."), how long does the added FREE icon last? A: The FREE icon is effective only when the affected card is played, and the added FREE icon only lasts this long. Rulebook page 15, under FREE: 'Cards depicting the FREE icon do not count towards your limit of one character card and either one booster or one support card expressed in the rules.'. Thus for example the card played after Yang is not subject to leadership card Rout Retainers [Hoax 30, E&I:A deck] ("Now I may discard your active FREE cards."), as it has no FREE icon once played (unless it also has a printed FREE icon). With the Buka Invasion, this applies also to Buka character cards landed from a ship and Buka "B.P." character cards, such as B.P. Unity [Buka 13] ("If you have a total of at least six cards in your combat and support areas, I may play this card as if it had the FREE icon."). (See also Buka Invasion rulesheet, under Notes: 'The B.P. (Brotherhood of Pirates) character cards, once they are in play, regardless of how they were played and regardless of whether the condition on them is satisfied or not, do not count as having the FREE icon.'.) Q: You have active Mad Mike Magpie [Flit 13, Terrah deck] ("Your cards with icons are ignored, except Flit character cards and PROTECTED cards."). If I play Yang [Aqua 12] ("The next character/booster/support card I play on this turn is treated as if it had the FREE icon.") and booster card Butterfly Scout [Pillar 27] ("Now you disclose your hand.") then do you disclose your hand? A: Yes, I do. The FREE icon added by Yang lasts only while the card it is added to is played, it does not last until the card's special power text is read and actioned, and hence Butterfly Scout no longer has a FREE icon when its special power text is actioned, and hence Mad Mike Magpie has no effect on it, and I must disclose my hand. Q: If you have active Mekarthas the Shrewd [Hoax 16, Aqua deck] ("Your icons are ignored, except STOP.") and I play Yang [Aqua 12] ("The next character/booster/support card I play on this turn is treated as if it had the FREE icon."), can I play a second character? A: No, you cannot. Although the FREE icon added by Yang lasts only while the second character card would be played, it is still necessary, but would be ignored by Mekarthas the Shrewd. Q: If I play Yang [Aqua 12] ("The next character/booster/support card I play on this turn is treated as if it had the FREE icon."), can I also play Young Bear [Mimix 16] (PAIR icon) and Young Fox [Mimix 17] (PAIR icon) together? A: Yes, you can. Yang allows you to play Young Bear as if it had the FREE icon, and hence not to count it against your limit of one character card. Then the PAIR icon on the two cards allows you to play Young Fox with it, also not counting against the limit. (Rulebook page 16, under PAIR: 'If you have two character cards in your hand with identical first words in their names and both depicting the PAIR icon, you may play the pair together instead of a single character card.'.) Q: If I play Yang [Aqua 12] ("The next character/booster/support card I play on this turn is treated as if it had the FREE icon."), can I also play FunFair [Khind 10] (GANG icon) and FunFlop [Khind 11] (GANG icon) together? A: No, you cannot. Yang allows you to play FunFair, with the FREE icon, but you can't then play FunFlop, because its GANG icon is ineffective because of Yang, which does not have a matching GANG icon. Icons: PAIR ----------- Q: Can I play a PAIR character card one turn, and a matching PAIR character card the next turn? A: Yes, you can, but it's a separate character card and the first character card is covered. The PAIR icon is effective only when the two cards are played together. (Rulebook page 16, under PAIR: 'If you have two character cards in your hand with identical first words in their names and both depicting the PAIR icon, you may play the pair together instead of a single character card.'.) Q: Can I play Wild Gazelle [Mimix 13] (PAIR icon), Wild Antelope [Mimix 14] (PAIR icon) and Wild Unicorn [Mimix 15, Pillar deck] (PAIR icon) all together? A: No, you cannot. The PAIR icon only allows you to play two cards together, not more than two. Q: Do two matched PAIR character cards count as one card or two? In particular can I play two matched PAIR character cards when you have active support card Brain Drain [Hoax 26] ("On your turn, you may not play more than one card.")? A: Rulebook page 16, under PAIR: 'If you have two character cards in your hand with identical first words in their names, and both depicting the PAIR icon, you may play the pair together instead of a single character card.'. This indicates that the PAIR icon allows you to play two cards instead of one card, but no more, so that the two cards still count as such. Thus with my active Brain Drain you can only play one character card, you can't play two character cards, even with the PAIR icon (or FREE or GANG icons). Q: If you have two matched PAIR cards, can I discard both of them if I play Cinder [Vulca 14] ("Now I may discard one of your active booster/support cards.")? A: No, you cannot, by the same reasoning as the previous answer. Icons: GANG ----------- Q: If I play a booster card or a FREE character card on top of a GANG character card, does it "interrupt" the gang, so that I cannot add more character cards with the same GANG icon? A: It prevents you adding to the gang, unless you can retrieve the interrupting card, or it is discarded. You can play more character cards from the same gang, but all your previous cards are covered. (Rulebook page 16, under GANG: 'If you already played one or more character cards of the same gang on your previous turns, and there are no other active cards in your combat area (character cards not belonging to the gang or booster cards), then at the beginning of the CHARACTER phase of your subsequent turn you can add one or more character cards of the same gang from your hand without pushing the other cards under it.'.) Q: If I play a character card with a GANG icon that has special power text, and then on my next turn I play another character card with the same GANG icon, overlapping the first character card, then is the special power text of the first character card still active? A: Yes, it is. Rulebook page 7, under CHARACTER: 'Only the most recent character cards played into your combat area are active until they are covered by new character cards on your subsequent turn.' and rulebook page 16, under GANG: 'If you already played one or more character cards of the same gang on your previous turns, and there are no other active cards in your combat area (character cards not belonging to the gang or booster cards), then at the beginning of the CHARACTER phase of your subsequent turn you can add one or more character cards of the same gang from your hand without pushing the other cards under it.' Thus the first character card remains active, and its text remains usable. Note that this means that you can use all the abilities of the Khind "Top" gang on every turn that you can add another character and keep them all active; see also question "Can I use the ability of TopDog ... or TopNotch ... ?" in section 'Special Power Texts: Khind Cards'. Q: If I have one or more active character cards with the GANG icon, and then on my next turn play KhindKin [Khind 23, E&I:A deck] ("I may play this card into my combat area without pushing the previously active cards under it."), keeping the gang active, can I, on my next following turn, play leadership card Summon Sorcerer [Vulca 28] ("Now I may retrieve one of my active cards into my hand.") to retrieve KhindKin, then play another character card with the same GANG icon, keeping all previously played character cards with the same GANG icon active? A: Yes, you can. Rulebook page 16, under GANG: 'If you already played one or more character cards of the same gang on your previous turns, and there are no other active cards in your combat area (character cards not belonging to the gang or booster cards), then at the beginning of the CHARACTER phase of your subsequent turn you can add one or more character cards of the same gang from your hand without pushing the other cards under it.'. The later sentence 'To keep the gang active, you must add at least one more character card from the gang each turn.' should be interpreted as describing the usual case, to which KhindKin provides an exception (as does leadership card Bounce Back [Khind 31, Pillar deck] (STOP icon, "My active cards attack again."), without the need to play Summon Sorcerer). Q: If I start a fight with NoClass [Khind 21] (Earth value 2, GANG icon), declaring a total power of 2 with contested element earth, then you play Glimmer [Vulca 13] (Earth value 3), declaring a total power of 3, and I know your last card in hand is mutant Zig-nur-Don [Mutant 106, Vulca deck] ("I may only play this card if I am attacked by at least 5 Earth. The contested element of the fight changes to Fire."), can I play NoStopping [Khind 16] (Earth value 3, GANG icon), without using its GANG icon, pushing NoClass under it, thus declaring a total power of 3, and preventing you from playing Zig-nur-Don? A: Yes, you can. Rulebook page 16 under GANG: 'If you already played one or more character cards of the same gang on your previous turns, and there are no other active cards in your combat area (character cards not belonging to the gang or booster cards), then at the beginning of the CHARACTER phase of your subsequent turn you can add one or more character cards of the same gang from your hand without pushing the other cards under it.'. This is an option, it is not compulsory. You can then continue the gang in the usual way if you choose. Icons: REPLACE -------------- Q: Can I discard a card with the REPLACE icon and choose not to draw a replacement? A: Yes, you can. E&I rulesheet, under Leadership Phase Cards and the REPLACE Icon: 'you may play one card depicting the REPLACE icon from your hand into your discard pile without effect, and you may then draw a replacement card from your draw deck.'. There are two separate options indicated by "may", discarding a card, and drawing a card. You can choose to do the first but choose not to do the second. Q: If you have active Bottelus Emptius [Pillar 15] ("You may not take further cards into your hand."), can I use the REPLACE icon on one of my cards? A: You can use the REPLACE icon to discard the card, but you cannot draw a replacement card. Q: Does using the REPLACE icon count as playing a card? In particular, if you have active support card Brain Drain [Hoax 26] ("On your turn, you may not play more than one card."), and I discard a card with a REPLACE icon in my Leadership phase, must I now retreat? A: No, it does not count as playing a card. Although the REPLACE rule uses the word "play", the card does not count as played, as it does not satisfy the rules for playing cards. Rulebook page 17, under Special Rules: 'When a player brings a card with a special power into play, he reads out the text.'; this is not done when using the REPLACE icon. Hence in the given case the discarded card does not count towards Brain Drain's restriction and you do not need to retreat, you can still play a character card. Q: If you discard an interference card using its REPLACE icon, can I prevent this using interference card I saw that coming! [Inter 407, E&I:A deck] ("I may play this card when you play an interference card. Your card is cancelled and discarded.")? A: No, you cannot, because using the REPLACE icon does not count as playing a card. Q: If you have active support card Heat Haze [Vulca 25, Pillar deck] ("You may not play character/booster cards that have special power text."), can I use the REPLACE icon on a card with special power text? A: Yes, you can, because using the REPLACE icon does not count as playing a card. Q: If you have played leadership card Deploy Butterfly [Pillar 30] ("Now you disclose your hand.") and my disclosed cards include one with a REPLACE icon which I use, is the replacement card disclosed? A: No, it is not. Because it uses "now", Deploy Butterfly applies only when it is played. Q: If you have active Mad Mike Magpie [Flit 13, Terrah deck] ("Your cards with icons are ignored, except Flit character cards and PROTECTED cards."), can I discard a card using the REPLACE icon in my Leadership phase? Does it make any difference if the REPLACE icon is due to my using inquisitor Razor-Mind Royal Inspector [Inq 412, E&I:A deck] ("+5 cards + 5 moons I may play my cards as if they had the REPLACE icon.")? In this case can I discard Wing Commander Razorfeather [Flit 01]? What about a card with a PROTECTED icon? A: To the first question, no. Rulebook page 17, under Special Rules, second point: 'When a card is ignored, its values, icons and special power texts have no effect.'. To the second question, no. REPLACE icons "added" by Razor-Mind are treated the same as other REPLACE icons. To the third question, yes. You can replace Wing Commander Razorfeather as, because it is a Flit card, Mad Mike Magpie excludes itself from affecting it. To the fourth question, a card with the PROTECTED and REPLACE icons can be discarded, not because the PROTECTED icon protects it (the PROTECTED icon is not effective unless active) but because Mad Mike Magpie excludes itself from affecting the card since it is "a PROTECTED card" (it has a PROTECTED icon which is not ignored, see question "How should the phrase "PROTECTED cards" be interpreted ... ?" in section 'Icons: PROTECTED'). Q: Are there any differences if I replace Mad Mike Magpie by support card Impenetrable Fog [Terrah 26] ("Your icons are ignored, except STOP and PROTECTED.") in the previous question? A: Yes, there are. In this case the REPLACE icon is ignored in all cases, so cannot be used, as Impenetrable Fog does not have the conditions that Mad Mike Magpie has. Special Power Texts: General Rules ---------------------------------- Q: When is special power text first effective? A: In most cases, special power text is first effective when the card has come into play, is active, and is read out. (Rulebook page 17, under Special Rules, first point: 'When a player brings a card with a special power into play, he reads out the text.'.) However in five cases special power text is also relevant when the card is in hand, before it is played. (Note that only the first of these cases applies if not using Emissaries and Inquisitors or the Buka Invasion.) The first is that the condition "I may only play this card if ..." on mutant cards and Old Goo Laa's Ghost [Buka 23] ("I may only play this card if I have no cards in my influence area. The contested element of the fight changes between Fire and Earth.") is checked to see if the card can be played. The second is that the condition "I may play this card when ..." or "I may play this card immediately after ..." on interference cards is checked to see if the card can be played. The third is that the text "I must ... to play this card" on Tutu cards is applied before it is played. The fourth is that the condition "I must have ..." on crystal cards is checked to see if the card can be played. The fifth is that the condition "If you have ..." on Buka "B.P." characters is checked to see how the card can be played. Finally note that the condition on Coxswain Mora Marn [Buka 19] ("If this card is played from a landed ship, now I may discard all cards from your combat area, except active PROTECTED cards.") is effective while the card is still loaded on a ship; it is checked while it is in hand, but the condition is never satisfied in that case. Q: If we both have six cards in hand, can I play a leadership card and then mutant Sas-van-Son [Mutant 102, Aqua deck] ("I may only play this card if you have at least two more cards in your hand than I. The contested element of the fight changes between Fire and Earth.")? A: No, you cannot. After playing the leadership card, you have five cards in hand and I have six. According to the previous answer, the mutant's condition is tested at this point, while it is still in hand, and six cards is not at least two cards more than five cards. Q: If we both have six cards in hand, and I play leadership card Earth Spirit [Promo 902] ("If I have fewer cards in my hand than you, now I may draw to the same number of cards."), how many cards do I draw? A: One. First you play Earth Spirit, and have five cards in hand. Then you read and apply the card text, allowing you to draw to six cards, thus drawing one card. (Note that this is different to how cards are counted in the previous answer, because that text is a condition on playing a card from hand, and is read and applied while in hand, while this text is normal text which is applied after the card is played.) Q: If you have active support card Flickering Fires [Vulca 24] ("You may not play leadership cards.") can I play leadership card Enthrall Opposition [Hoax 28] ("On this turn, your special power texts are ignored. (This card has no effect if opposed by Tittertweet or Laughing Gas.)")? A: No, you cannot. Flickering Fires prohibits the play of Enthrall Opposition; the fact that if the latter were active its special power text would have precedence over the former's special power text is not relevant. Q: If I keep a card active for longer than one turn, can I use its special power text again? A: Special power texts divide into three groups. The first group is of texts which take effect when their card is played, and thereafter don't have any effect. This group contains texts using the word "now", texts applied while in hand (see question "When is special power text first effective?"), texts changing the contested element, and the texts on KhindKin [Khind 23, E&I:A deck] ("I may play this card into my combat area without pushing the previously active cards under it."), Bounce Back [Khind 31, Pillar deck] ("My active cards attack again."), Yang [Aqua 12] ("The next character/booster/support card I play on this turn is treated as if it had the FREE icon.") and Yin [Aqua 13] ("The next character/booster/support card I play on this turn is treated as if it had the FREE icon."). The second group is of texts which, as long as they remain active, can be used once on each of my turns, or