Are you ready to feel the power of love? Then get ready to doubleback in time with the Backtimers! A teenager, his scientist friend, and their new time machine can prepare for the future by delaying things so they appear at just the right time. This faction is heavy...
- - Excellent Movies, Dudes! rulebook
The Backtimers are one of the 4 factions from the Excellent Movies, Dudes! set.
They focus on putting cards in stasis to play them on future turns.
Other factions from the same set: Action Heroes, Extramorphs, Wraithrustlers.
Cards[]
The Backtimers have the usual 10 minions and 10 actions. The total minion base power (not counting any abilities) is the usual 30 or an average of 3 per minion.
Among their actions, there are:
- 0 play-on-minion actions,
- 0 play-on-base actions,
- 6 standard actions (1 that affects one or more minions, in bold): 99 MPH (2x), Back From the Future (2x), Disrupt the Space-Time Continuum, Will Have to Do,
- 4 actions that go into stasis when played and therefore aren't standard: Future Almanac?, Help From the Past, Letter From Another Time, Lightning Strike.
- 1 actions that directly increase a minion's power: Will Have to Do.
Minions[]
1x Alex P. McGlide - power 5 - You may place two stasis counters on a card from your hand. Talent: If a card had its last stasis counter removed this turn, you may place a +1 power counter one of your minions. FAQ
2x Zany Prof - power 4 - Ongoing: At the start of your turn, you may remove a stasis counter from, or add one to, one of your cards in stasis. FAQ
3x Lifelong Bully - power 3 - Add a stasis counter to one of your cards in stasis, OR look at the top two cards of your deck, you may place two stasis counters on one of them, and return the rest in any order. FAQ
4x Sidelined Girlfriend - power 2 - You may place a stasis counter on this card. Special: After a stasis counter is removed from this card, you may place a +1 power counter on one of your minions on a base. When you play this card from stasis, play it as an extra minion and place a +1 power counter on it. FAQ
Actions[]
2x 99 MPH - Place two stasis counters on a card from your hand. Draw a card. FAQ
2x Back From the Future - Reveal the top three cards of your deck. You may place two stasis counters on one of them. Return the rest in any order. FAQ
1x Disrupt the Space-Time Continuum - Choose up to two cards from your hand. Place a number of stasis counters on each of them equal to the number of cards you chose. FAQ
1x Future Almanac? - Place three stasis counters on this card. Special: After you remove a stasis counter from this card, draw a card. When you play this card from stasis, discard it. FAQ
1x Help From the Past - Place three stasis counters on this card. Special: When this card enters stasis, store a card from your discard pile under it. When you play this card from stasis, discard it, and you may play a card stored under it as an extra card. FAQ
1x Letter From Another Time - Place three stasis counters on this card. Special: When this card enters stasis, search your deck for a card and store it under this card. When you play this card from stasis, discard it, and you may play a card stored under it as an extra card. FAQ
1x Lightning Strike - Place two stasis counters on this card. Special: When you remove stasis counters from other cards you may place them on this card. On your turn you may use an action play to reduce the breakpoint of a base by one for each stasis counter on this card (up to 5) until the end of the turn and discard this card. When you play this card from stasis, discard it. FAQ
1x Will Have to Do - Place up to two +1 power counters total on your minions, OR remove up to two stasis counters total from your cards in stasis. FAQ
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Bases[]
Clarifications[]
Here are the official clarifications as they appear in the Excellent Movies, Dudes! rulebook:
Lightning Strike: Abilities that have an effect “until Y” only affect cards currently in play, but their effect lasts until Y even if the card that caused it leaves play or moves away, or even if any precondition stops being true.
Future Almanac?, Sidelined Girlfriend: For cards with a trigger for their effect – e.g. “After X happens” – the effect is done each time X happens, even if multiple Xs happen at the same time.
Letter from Another Time: Whenever you search for a card, you must reveal it, even if there are no restrictions on the card you search for.
Mechanics[]
Strategy[]
Stasis sets up future extra plays in a manner not unlike burying. However, where you can only uncover one buried card at the start of your turn by default, you can play any number of cards from stasis provided they have no stasis counters left on them. An additional benefit of stasis is that the cards are not present on any base and thus do not contribute power (thereby avoiding power creep), nor are they in danger of a premature base score sending them to the discard pile. The biggest danger with stasis is that, once the last counter is removed, you must either play the card that turn, find a way to get more counters on it, or put it in the discard pile. This is less of a concern for minions as most bases allow minions to be played on them (looking at you, Ice Palace), but some actions are highly situational in their use and may fizzle if they run out of stasis counters at the wrong time. Furthermore, other players can see which cards are in stasis and prepare for them ahead of time, such as by setting up traps on bases where you would most want to play your minions.
Internally, Backtimers have few cards to put into stasis that don't just put more cards into stasis. Sidelined Girlfriends are the most obvious target, as placing more stasis counters on them means they can produce more +1 power counters, and Future Almanac? can yield more card draw. Ultimately though, the Backtimers faction itself is just playing some extra power with a bit of timing manipulation. Where they really shine is how they help other factions. Factions with high power but few extra plays, like Dinosaurs, will appreciate the ability to swarm bases and set up combos without leaving much power on a base beforehand. Factions that love action combos such as Musketeers and Mythic Greeks will likewise enjoy setting up bursts. Even swarm factions (Robots, Innsmouth, Magical Girls, Mythic Horses) can appreciate the opportunity to set up multiple minion plays on a future turn, beyond what their usual suite of extra minion plays offer. Factions that focus on playing lots of play-on-base actions (Steampunks, Ancient Incas, and Kaiju) benefit in a manner similar to swarm factions.
The factions that work the least well with Backtimers are those that like surprise plays (Mega Troopers, Ninjas), traps (Dragons, Tricksters), return to hand combos (Aliens, Star Roamers), burying (Ancient Egyptians, Skeletons), or playing from discard (Zombies) as their playstyles don't gel as well with delayed extra plays. Other support factions such as Time Travelers and Wizards also tend to not fare well due to the lack of base-breaking power plays between them. Killer Plants and Superheroes already have to wait a turn for their key minions, the Sprouts and Mild-Mannered Citizens, to trigger, defeating the point of setting them up with Stasis. Dueling factions (Cowboys, Samurai) won't much care for delayed extra plays, as a power boost you get to play in two turns does precious little when you're in a duel now. Factions that care about minions being destroyed (Samurai, Sharks, Vampires) won't get as much value here either as Backtimers offer neither destruction nor ideal minions to destroy.
Synergy[]
- Dinosaurs: Dinosaurs appreciate the value of extra plays to augment their formidable power. It's easy to set up a King Rex + Rampage combo, or a War Raptor swarm, without comitting to one base.
- Mad Scientists: Backtimers produce +1 power counters with Alex P. McGlide, Sidelined Girlfriend, and Will Have to Do, which Mad Scientists can use as a resource for The Monster and Blitzed.
- Giant Ants: GIant Ants love having lots of +1 power counters to move around and spend.
- Mythic Greeks: Mythic Greeks love them some extra actions, and Backtimers help them set up bursts on future turns.
- Big Hero 6: Baymax, Fred Fredrickson IV, Go Go Tomago, Hiro, Hamada, Honey Lemon, and Wasabi all gain benefits from having +1 power counters on them, and Version 2.0 can be a powerful burst with just a handful of characters.
- Mulan: Mulan's talent can be used if you placed a +1 power counter on her during the same turn, and Chien Po, Ling, and Yao all have a card draw ability that triggers off of you placing +1 power counters on them.
FAQ[]
Questions on Alex P. McGlide[]
Q: If I place stasis counters on Sidelined Girlfriend, Future Almanac?, etc. from my hand, do I still solve their on-play ability and place more stasis counters on them? Stasis rules say their abilities don't work "unless they refer to stasis", which their on-play abilities do.
A: No, on-play abilities are only resolved when their cards are played. You're only placing those cards into stasis, which is not playing them despite those cards actually ending up being in play. The rule about abilities in stasis not working unless they refer to stasis only apply to Special abilities.
Q: If I use an action play to use Lightning Strike and discard it, since Lightning Strike is discarded and therefore its stasis counters are removed, can I use Alex P. McGlide's talent to gain a +1 power counter?
A: No, when Lightning Strike is discarded, its stasis counters are discarded, not removed.
Rule: Specific words are not synonymous no matter how similar they seem.
Questions on Zany Prof[]
Q: Can I add a stasis counter on a card whose last stasis counter was removed?
A: Yes, until you choose to play it, it is still in stasis and is therefore eligible.
Questions on Lifelong Bully[]
Q: If I place stasis counters on Sidelined Girlfriend, Future Almanac?, etc. from my deck, do I still solve their on-play ability and place more stasis counters on them? Stasis rules say their abilities don't work "unless they refer to stasis", which their on-play abilities do.
A: No, on-play abilities are only resolved when their cards are played. You're only placing those cards into stasis, which is not playing them despite those cards actually ending up being in play. The rule about abilities in stasis not working unless they refer to stasis only apply to Special abilities.
Q: Can I add a stasis counter on a card whose last stasis counter was removed?
A: Yes, until you choose to play it, it is still in stasis and is therefore eligible.
Questions on Sidelined Girlfriend[]
Q: So I play this card from stasis, do I place stasis counters on it again?
A: No, when you play a card from stasis, you ignore instructions that would immediately put it back in stasis.
Rule: Cards leaving stasis may not immediately re-enter stasis.
Q: Why does it tell you to play it as an extra minion when it leaves stasis? Aren't cards played as extra cards when they leave stasis anyway?
A: Yes, but it also does something else, and if it only said "When you play this card from stasis, place a +1 power counter on it", you wouldn't be sure it's played as an extra card or not, so it was added for clarity.
Rule: N/A
Q: If I place this card into stasis through the use of another card (e.g. Alex P. McGlide, 99 MPH, etc.), how many stasis counters do I place? Only the number stated on the other card that placed stasis counters on it? Or do I add up both the number stated on the other card and this card itself?
A: You only place the number stated on the other card. You ignore the on-play ability of this card because on-play abilities are only resolved when their cards are played.
Q: If I copy this minion's ability with Copycat and place it in stasis. What happens on later turns while Copycat is in stasis?
A: Nothing much, you just remove a stasis counter from Copycat at the start of each of your turns until you're able to play it again, like any cards in stasis. Remember that Copycat loses all its copied abilities at the end of the turn it is played.
Rule: Rules about Stasis.
Questions on 99 MPH[]
Q: If I place stasis counters on Sidelined Girlfriend, Future Almanac?, etc. from my hand, do I still solve their on-play ability and place more stasis counters on them? Stasis rules say their abilities don't work "unless they refer to stasis", which their on-play abilities do.
A: No, on-play abilities are only resolved when their cards are played. You're only placing those cards into stasis, which is not playing them despite those cards actually ending up being in play. The rule about abilities in stasis not working unless they refer to stasis only apply to Special abilities.
Q: How does this interact with the Disco Dancers' mechanic and Funky Town's ability?
A: It doesn't interact with them at all, because it doesn't affect any minions in play and so its effect can't be copied.
Questions on Back From the Future[]
Q: If I reveal a card I don't own, what happens?
A: If the card is to be returned, the card goes to the top of your deck, that's because, while the other players can see who owns the card, the card is merely revealed and doesn't change location. If you choose to place stasis counters on it, then it goes in front of its owner.
Rule: Cards you don’t own that are merely revealed in your hand or deck stay there.
Rule: Cards in stasis are placed face up in front of their owner.
Q: If I place stasis counters on Sidelined Girlfriend, Future Almanac?, etc. from my deck, do I still solve their on-play ability and place more stasis counters on them? Stasis rules say their abilities don't work "unless they refer to stasis", which their on-play abilities do.
A: No, on-play abilities are only resolved when their cards are played. You're only placing those cards into stasis, which is not playing them despite those cards actually ending up being in play. The rule about abilities in stasis not working unless they refer to stasis only apply to Special abilities.
Q: How does this interact with the Disco Dancers' mechanic and Funky Town's ability?
A: It doesn't interact with them at all, because it doesn't affect any minions in play and so its effect can't be copied.
Questions on Disrupt the Space-Time Continuum[]
Q: If I place stasis counters on Sidelined Girlfriend, Future Almanac?, etc. from my hand, do I still solve their on-play ability and place more stasis counters on them? Stasis rules say their abilities don't work "unless they refer to stasis", which their on-play abilities do.
A: No, on-play abilities are only resolved when their cards are played. You're only placing those cards into stasis, which is not playing them despite those cards actually ending up being in play. The rule about abilities in stasis not working unless they refer to stasis only apply to Special abilities.
Q: I don't get it. How many stasis counters do I place?
A: You place as many stasis counters as the number of chose cards, on each card. So if you choose one card, you place one stasis counter on it. If you choose two cards, you place two stasis counters on each of them. And if you choose zero card, you don't place any stasis counters.
Q: How does this interact with the Disco Dancers' mechanic and Funky Town's ability?
A: It doesn't interact with them at all, because it doesn't affect any minions in play and so its effect can't be copied.
Questions on Future Almanac?[]
Q: So I play this card from stasis, do I place stasis counters on it again?
A: No, when you play a card from stasis, you ignore instructions that would immediately put it back in stasis.
Rule: Cards leaving stasis may not immediately re-enter stasis.
Q: After resolving this card's Special ability, I have more than 10 cards in hand, do I immediately discard down to 10?
A: You don't discard any card until your next Draw 2 Cards phase (so not any Draw 2 Cards phase!). At that point, you will indeed need to draw two cards and discard down to 10 if you have more than 10. That's the only moment where you must discard down to 10. At any other time, you keep your hand of cards.
Q: If I place this card into stasis through the use of another card (e.g. Alex P. McGlide, 99 MPH, etc.), how many stasis counters do I place? Only the number stated on the other card that placed stasis counters on it? Or do I add up both the number stated on the other card and this card itself?
A: You only place the number stated on the other card. You ignore the on-play ability of this card because on-play abilities are only resolved when their cards are played.
Q: How does this interact with the Disco Dancers' mechanic and Funky Town's ability?
A: It doesn't interact with them at all, because it doesn't affect any minions in play and so its effect can't be copied.
Questions on Help From the Past[]
Q: So I play this card from stasis, do I place stasis counters on it again?
A: No, when you play a card from stasis, you ignore instructions that would immediately put it back in stasis.
Rule: Cards leaving stasis may not immediately re-enter stasis.
Q: If I place this card into stasis through the use of another card (e.g. Alex P. McGlide, 99 MPH, etc.), how many stasis counters do I place? Only the number stated on the other card that placed stasis counters on it? Or do I add up both the number stated on the other card and this card itself?
A: You only place the number stated on the other card. You ignore the on-play ability of this card because on-play abilities are only resolved when their cards are played.
Q: Why does this card go through all the trouble of storing a card under it and not directly place stasis counters on the retrieved card without storing it? E.g. "Place three stasis counters on a card from your discard pile."
A: Because if you put Help From the Past into stasis with another card, you would extend the delay before you're able to play the card you want, i.e. you would first need to wait for Help From the Past to leave stasis, at which point you'd place three stasis counters on the card you want to retrieve and wait again. With the current wording, if you put Help From the Past into stasis with another card, you would immediately store the card you want to retrieve and just need to wait until Help From the Past itself leaves stasis. No further delays.
Rule: Abilities of cards in stasis do not work unless they refer to stasis.
Q: Do I have to reveal the card I store under Help From the Past?
A: Yes, since you took it from the discard pile, you must reveal it to other players.
Rule: If you take a card out of the discard pile, show it to everyone.
Q: How does this interact with the Disco Dancers' mechanic and Funky Town's ability?
A: It doesn't interact with them at all, because it doesn't affect any minions in play and so its effect can't be copied.
Questions on Letter From Another Time[]
Q: It doesn't say to shuffle my deck, so I can just memorize the next cards I'm going to draw to adapt my strategy. Is that correct?
A: No, when you search your deck, it is now part of the rules that you have to shuffle it afterwards, even when the card doesn't remind you to.
Q: So I play this card from stasis, do I place stasis counters on it again?
A: No, when you play a card from stasis, you ignore instructions that would immediately put it back in stasis.
Rule: Cards leaving stasis may not immediately re-enter stasis.
Q: If I place this card into stasis through the use of another card (e.g. Alex P. McGlide, 99 MPH, etc.), how many stasis counters do I place? Only the number stated on the other card that placed stasis counters on it? Or do I add up both the number stated on the other card and this card itself?
A: You only place the number stated on the other card. You ignore the on-play ability of this card because on-play abilities are only resolved when their cards are played.
Q: Why does this card go through all the trouble of storing a card under it and not directly place stasis counters on the retrieved card without storing it? E.g. "Search your deck for a card and place three stasis counters on it."
A: Because if you put Letter From Another Time into stasis with another card, you would extend the delay before you're able to play the card you want, i.e. you would first need to wait for Letter From Another Time to leave stasis, at which point you'd place three stasis counters on the card you want from your deck and wait again. With the current wording, if you put Letter From Another Time into stasis with another card, you would immediately store the card you want from your deck and just need to wait until Letter From Another Time itself leaves stasis. No further delays.
Rule: Abilities of cards in stasis do not work unless they refer to stasis.
Q: Do I have to reveal the card I store under Letter From Another Time?
A: Yes, since you searched for it from your deck, you must reveal it to other players.
Rule: If you “search” a deck or discard pile for a card you must reveal the card chosen.
Q: How does this interact with the Disco Dancers' mechanic and Funky Town's ability?
A: It doesn't interact with them at all, because it doesn't affect any minions in play and so its effect can't be copied.
Questions on Lightning Strike[]
Q: So I play this card from stasis, do I place stasis counters on it again?
A: No, when you play a card from stasis, you ignore instructions that would immediately put it back in stasis.
Rule: Cards leaving stasis may not immediately re-enter stasis.
Q: If I place this card into stasis through the use of another card (e.g. Alex P. McGlide, 99 MPH, etc.), how many stasis counters do I place? Only the number stated on the other card that placed stasis counters on it? Or do I add up both the number stated on the other card and this card itself?
A: You only place the number stated on the other card. You ignore the on-play ability of this card because on-play abilities are only resolved when their cards are played.
Q: How does this interact with the Disco Dancers' mechanic and Funky Town's ability?
A: It doesn't interact with them at all, because it doesn't affect any minions in play and so its effect can't be copied.
Questions on Will Have to Do[]
Q: How does this interact with the Disco Dancers' mechanic and Funky Town's ability?
A: - If Diva copies it, Diva is considered as indirectly affected by the action and gets the same amount of +1 power counters placed on a minion on its base that was directly affected by Will Have to Do from the pool, even if you've already placed two +1 power counters. Note that if there are several minions on the same base that are directly affected, Diva can only copy the boost received by one of them (of your choice), not each one.
- If Dancing King copies it onto a minion (it can be itself), that minion is considered as indirectly affected by the action and gets the same amount of +1 power counters placed on a minion on its base that was directly affected by Will Have to Do from the pool, even if you've already placed two +1 power counters. Note that if there are several minions on the same base that are directly affected, Dancing King can only copy the boost received by one of them (of your choice), not each one.
- If We are Family copies it, the minion it is on is considered as indirectly affected by the action and gets the same amount of +1 power counters placed on a minion on its base that was directly affected by Will Have to Do from the pool, even if you've already placed two +1 power counters. Note that if there are several minions on the same base that are directly affected, We are Family can only copy the boost received by one of them (of your choice), not each one.
- With Funky Town, you can only copy it if you're the one who played the action and if it affects one of your minions, but if Funky Town does copy it, the minion is considered as indirectly affected by the action and gets the same amount of +1 power counters placed on a minion on its base that was directly affected by Will Have to Do from the pool, even if you've already placed two +1 power counters. Note that if there are several minions on the same base that are directly affected, Funky Town can only copy the boost received by one of them (of your choice), not each one.
Trivia[]
- The artist is Mad Boogie Creations, who also designed the art of the Mermaids and the Rulers of the Cosmos.
- Their divider features Alex P. McGlide.
- This faction is based on the Back to the Future franchise.
- Sidelined Girlfriend is a reference to Jennifer Parker.
- Lifelong Bully is a refence to Biff Tannen.
- Zany Prof is a reference to Doc Brown.
- Alex P. McGlide is a reference to Marty McFly.
- The faction's 99MPH symbol is a reference to the 88MPH time travel speed from Back to the Future.
- The Time-Traveling Car is a reference to the DeLorean.
- The TARDIS and Bill and Ted's Phone Booth can be seen in Disrupt the Space-Time Continuum.
- The Flintstones' Fred and Barney look-alikes can be seen in Help From the Past.
In other languages[]
| Language | Name | Translation (if different) |
|---|---|---|
| French | Retourneurs du Futur | Returners from the Future |
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