This is the FAQ page for each individual base in Smash Up: Marvel.
Questions on Avengers Tower[]
Q: Another players has an action on Avengers Tower that gives other players' characters -1 power (e.g. Incite Panic). I play a power-5 character there. Does it become a power-4 character and therefore isn't protected by Avengers Tower? Or is it protected by Avengers Tower and therefore doesn't get -1 power from the action?
A: It gets the protection from Avengers Tower. When two abilities conflict, the one that says you can't do something beats the one that says you can.
Rule: "Can't" trumps "can".
Q: I have a character of power 5 or more with another player's character modifier on it. If I move it to Avengers Tower, what happens?
A: Any character modifiers on your character and that you don't control are immediately destroyed because those affect your character by simply being attached to it (regardless of their actual abilities) and since Avengers Tower proctect them from being affected by opponents' actions, your opponents' modifiers cannot remain attached to your characters and are destroyed.
Q: An opponent has a character of power 5 on Avengers Tower. Can I play Webbed Up on it? It will reduce its power to 3, so out of range of the base's protection.
A: No, the target character is immune to your actions, so you cannot play character modifiers on it. If you still try to, you then have to discard Webbed Up without effect.
Rule: If conditions prohibit playing a chosen card, discard it instead.
With AEG's Smash Up sets[]
Q: An opponent plays Bear Hug (or Unfathomable Goals, Griefer, Out of Sight), forcing me to affect one of my minions. Can I choose one of my minions of power 5 or more on Avengers Tower? If so, does Avengers Tower protect it?
A: First of all, you can indeed choose any of your minions, but you must choose one if you have any in play. Secondly, since the cause of the affect is "another player's action", then yes, Avengers Tower protects your minions of power 5 or more.
Q: I have a power-4 minion on Avengers Tower. An opponent plays Enchantment there and chooses the +1 power to all minions option. What happens? If my minion gains the +1 power, it becomes power-5 and is protected by Avengers Tower, and so goes back to power-4 and becomes affectable again,...
A: The Bigger Geekier Box rulebook settled it: Because Enchantment is what allows your minion to be protected by Avengers Tower, Avengers Tower "accepts" it.
Q: I have Infiltrate on this base. What happens if I choose to ignore this base's ability?
A: Your minions of power 5 or more there (and only your minions , not all minions) won't be protected by Avengers Tower's ability anymore.
Rule: Definition of "ignore".
Questions on Castle Zemo[]
Q: This base is tricky. If I score it but another player chooses to move their character elsewhere, bringing the total power below its breakpoint, it stops the scoring. So I have to score it taking into account that even if my opponents move one of their characters the remaining power can remain above the breakpoint. That's too complicated!
A: You're mistaken here. Once a base has been chosen to score, you keep scoring it even if the total power on it drops below its breakpoint because of before-scoring abilities. (Only a couple of things can really prevent a base from scoring, but this isn't one of them.) So if Castle Zemo is chosen to score, resolve before-scoring abilities, including Castle Zemo's own ability, and continue with its scoring even if the total power drops below the breakpoint. It's as simple as that.
Q: I'm second on that base with just one character. Using this base's ability, if I move my character elsewhere to gain 1 VP, I still get VPs for the scoring base, right? I had a character there at the start of scoring.
A: No, the amount of VPs each player gets is determined by the power each player currently has when you are handing out VPs, so any before-scoring abilities (including this one) that affect how much power you have on the base will affect the amount of VPs you'll eventually get.
Rule: VPs are awarded according to the current power totals.
Q: In which order are the characters moved? It may have some importance.
A: Each player in clockwise order from the current player decides if they want to move a character and immediately do it if they choose to do so. This is even clarified in the rule book.
With AEG's Smash Up sets[]
Q: What comes first: Castle Zemo or Shinobi?
A: You cannot play a Shinobi before the base's ability triggers, because Castle Zemo is in play and has a mandatory ability, which means it must be resolved first.
Q: I have a Special "before a base scores" card to play. Can I play it before Castle Zemo is activated?
A: No. Before a base scores, you must first resolve all cards in play with mandatory abilities that are triggered by the before-scoring step before anyone can activate their Special before-scoring cards in hand (and invoke optional abilities of triggered cards in play).
Q: I have Infiltrate on this base. What happens if I choose to ignore this base's ability?
A: You (and only you, not all players) won't be able to move one of your minions from there and you won't be able to gain 1 VP either. You cannot even choose to ignore one effect and not the other; if you choose to ignore this base's ability, you ignore all of it.
Rule: Definition of "ignore".
Questions on Downtown[]
Q: I manage to play several base modifiers that base in the same turn, does it trigger only once or once for each modifier?
A: Once per base modifier you play there.
Q: I move a base modifier to that base. Does it trigger?
A: No, moving a card is not playing it.
Rule: Specific words are not synonymous no matter how similar they seem.
Q: After playing an base modifier on this base, I (somehow) have more than 10 cards in hand, do I immediately discard down to 10?
A: You don't discard any card until your next Draw 2 Cards phase (so not any Draw 2 Cards phase!). At that point, you will indeed need to draw two cards and discard down to 10 if you have more than 10. That's the only moment where you must discard down to 10. At any other time, you keep your hand of cards.
With AEG's Smash Up sets[]
Q: If I play an Argonaut instead of an action on Downtown, do I still draw a card?
A: Yes. When you play an Argonaut, whether it's normally or instead of an action play, it counts as if you played an action as well, but the Argonaut is also played on the base, so you also treat it as if you played on action on its base.
Q: I have Infiltrate on this base. What happens if I choose to ignore this base's ability?
A: You (and only you, not all players) won't draw a card after you play an action on it.
Rule: Definition of "ignore".
Questions on Exo-Space[]
Q: On the same turn, I manage to move a character to Exo-Space, then move it away from Exo-Space, then back to it again, does Exo-Space trigger for that character the second time?
A: Yes, it triggers again since you again moved a character to there.
Q: It doesn't say "each time", so I suppose I can only give +2 power to the first character I move there, right?
A: No, you give +2 power after each time you move a character to there. For it to only work once, it has to explicitly state it for example by saying "once per turn", "the first time" or "the first character". Exo-Space's ability is a triggerable one, and unless otherwise stated it must be resolved each time it is triggered. If it said "each time", it would just be redundant.
With AEG's Smash Up sets[]
Q: I move a power-2 minion on Exo-Space where another player has a Cub Scout. Is the minion destroyed?
A: It depends. Both Exo-Space's and Cub Scout's abilities are mandatory and activated after you're done moving the minion. According to the rules, it's the current player who decides the order in which these two mandatory abilities are activated. If Exo-Space is activated before Cub Scout, the minion gets +2 power and therefore is power 4 and survives to Cub Scout. However, if Cub Scout is activated before Exo-Space, the minion is destroyed by Cub Scout and when you want to resolve Exo-Space's ability, the minion can't receive the +2 power as it is no longer in play.
Rule: The current player decides the order of events that are supposed to happen simultaneously.
Q: I have Infiltrate on this base. What happens if I choose to ignore this base's ability?
A: There are three possible situations:
- If you move any minion to there, you don't give +2 power to it because you will be ignoring the base's instruction.
- If another player moves one of your minions to there, they won't give +2 power to it because your minion will be immune to being affected by the base's ability.
- If another player moves any minion but those you control, they will give +2 power to it, because the base's ability wouldn't affect any of your minions and wouldn't instruct you to do something.
Rule: Definition of "ignore".
Questions on Hala[]
Q: I don't get the ability. If I have several characters there, can I play multiple extra actions?
A: No, you can only play one extra action with this ability. When an ability allows you to do something "on your turn", you can only do it once on your turns.
Rule: Each "on your turn" ability can be activated once on each of your turns.
With AEG's Smash Up sets[]
Q: I have Infiltrate on this base. What happens if I choose to ignore this base's ability?
A: You (and only you, not all players) won't be able to play the extra action it grants you.
Rule: Definition of "ignore".
Questions on Helicarrier[]
Q: It doesn't say "once per turn", so if I have one character there, can I move one of my characters to there multiple times with the base's ability?
A: No, you can only move one of your characters with this ability. When an ability allows you to do something "on your turn", you can only do it once on your turns.
Rule: Each "on your turn" ability can be activated once on each of your turns.
With AEG's Smash Up sets[]
Q: It tells me to move "one of my characters". Can I move a minion I own that I don't control? I don't control it but I "own" it, so it's "my" minion, right?
A: No. "Your characters" are minions you control, whether or not you own them. A minion you own but don't control isn't yours.
Q: I have Infiltrate on this base. What happens if I choose to ignore this base's ability?
A: You (and only you, not all players) won't be able to move your minions to there.
Rule: Definition of "ignore".
Questions on Hydra Lab[]
Q: I don't get this ability. If a character is destroyed by someone other than the character controller, who draws the card?
A: The player who controls the destroyed character.
Q: If a character is not actually destroyed, does it still cause a card draw?
A: No. If the character in question is not destroyed, the base ability doesn't even trigger for said character in the first place.
Q: If a single card is responsible for destroying many characters at once (e.g. Absorbing Man), how many cards does the characters' controller draw?
A: Only one card, because the trigger is "After one or more of your characters here is destroyed" so it doesn't matter how many characters are destroyed at once as long as at least one is destroyed.
Rule: When an ability is triggered, it's resolved once per trigger.
Q: On the same turn, if a card destroys one of my characters on Hydra Lab, and then a second card destroys another of my characters on Hydra Lab, how many cards do I draw?
A: Two cards. You get one card per destruction ability. A single destruction ability can destroy one or more character, but it still counts as one destruction. Here, two destructions happened, hence two cards.
Rule: When an ability is triggered, it's resolved once per trigger.
Q: Do players draw a card for their characters that get destroyed when they score Hydra Lab?
A: No. After a base scores, the characters there are discarded, not destroyed.
Q: I have 10 cards in hand. One of my characters there gets destroyed so I draw a card. 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.
With AEG's Smash Up sets[]
Q: If a minion I own but don't control is destroyed, do I draw a card? I don't control it but I "own" it, so it's "my" minion, right?
A: No. "Your characters" are minions you control, whether or not you own them. A minion you own but don't control isn't yours.
Q: I play a Sprout on Hydra Lab. When it destroys itself at the start of my next turn, do I draw a card?
A: Yes.
Q: If the base gets destroyed (No-Moon™, Burn it Down, There Goes Tokyo), do all minions around it still grant a card draw?
A: It depends. If the base alone gets destroyed (e.g. with Burn it Down), no minion is destroyed, so no cards are drawn. If the base and the minions are destroyed (e.g. There Goes Tokyo), each player with any characters there draw a card. If the base and the minions are simply discarded (e.g. No-Moon™), that's not a destruction, so no card draws are granted.
Rule: Specific words are not synonymous no matter how similar they seem.
Q: But it doesn't say "each time" like Cave of Shinies or The Homeworld, so shouldn't you only get the card draw once per turn?
A: No, you get the card draw after each time one or more of your minions there are destroyed. For it to only work once, it has to explicitly state it for example by saying "once per turn" or "the first time". Hydra Lab's ability is a triggerable one, and unless otherwise stated it must be resolved each time it is triggered. If it said "each time", it would just be redundant.
Q: I have Infiltrate on this base. If I destroy another player's minion there, can I deny them the card draw because of Infiltrate?
A: No. Infiltrate allows you to avoid following Hydra Lab's instructions, but it doesn't prevent the other player from following it. You also cannot ignore triggering the base's ability because that's not what Infiltrate allows you to do.
Rule: Definition of "ignore".
Questions on Ichor Base[]
Q: If I play a character of power 2 or less on another base and then a second character on Ichor Base, do I get to use its ability or does it have to be the very first character of the turn that must be played there?
A: You do get to use this base's ability because the trigger is "After the first time each turn you play a character of power 2 or less here", which happened: your second character of the turn IS the first character you played on that base on that turn.
Q: If I play a character of power 2 or less on Ichor Base, can I play an extra character of power 2 or less now or do I have to wait for my next turn to play it?
A: When an ability grants you an extra card to play, the extra card can only be played during the same phase that you obtained it. For example, if you obtain an extra character during your Play Cards phase, you can only play it during that Play Cards phase, you cannot save it for the Score Bases phase or another turn.
Rule: During your Play Cards phase, you can play extra minions and actions at any time or not at all.
Q: I play a character of power 2 or less on Ichor Base, so I can play an extra character of power 2 or less there. If I play that extra character there, can I play a third character of power 2 or less there as another extra character because of the base's ability?
A: No. Ichor Base only triggers on the first time that you play a character of power 2 or less on that base. If you play a second character of power 2 or less there, it's not the first time this turn that you have played a character of power 2 or less on Ichor Base, so Ichor Base doesn't trigger.
With AEG's Smash Up sets[]
Q: If I play an Argonaut instead of an action on Ichor Base, do I still get the extra minion play?
A: Yes. Playing an Argonaut, whether as a minion or instead of an action, still counts as playing a minion. It IS a minion after all.
Q: I have Infiltrate on this base. What happens if I choose to ignore this base's ability?
A: You (and only you, not all players) won't get an extra minion play when you play a minion there.
Rule: Definition of "ignore".
Questions on Kree-Lar[]
Q: If I play a character on another base and then a second character on Kree-Lar, do I get to use its ability or does it have to be the very first character of the turn that must be played there?
A: You do get to use this base's ability because the trigger is "After the first time you play a character here each turn", which happened: your second character of the turn IS the first character you played on that base on that turn.
Q: I play a character there and (somehow) get 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.
With AEG's Smash Up sets[]
Q: I have Infiltrate on this base. What happens if I choose to ignore this base's ability?
A: You (and only you, not all players) won't draw a card after playing a minion there.
Rule: Definition of "ignore".
Questions on Manhattan[]
Q: Can I use Manhattan's ability to recover a Special card that I had on Manhattan when it scored? For example, Miles Morales.
A: No, Manhattan's ability is triggered during the after-scoring phase. At that point, your cards on Manhattan aren't discarded yet.
Rule: Check phase 3.
Q: I already have 10 cards in hand. After this base scored, I place one of my discarded Special cards in my hand and end up with 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. So if this scored on another player's turn, you keep your cards and can play your next turn with more than ten cards.
With AEG's Smash Up sets[]
Q: I have Infiltrate on this base. What happens if I choose to ignore this base's ability?
A: You (and only you) won't retrieve one of your Special cards from your discard pile. You can't prevent the other players from doing it.
Rule: Definition of "ignore".
Questions on New York Landmark[]
Q:
A:
Rule:
With AEG's Smash Up sets[]
Q: I play an Argonaut on New York Landmark. Does it decrease its breakpoint by 1 for that Argonaut?
A: No. New York Landmark's breakpoint only decreases by 1 for actions attached to it at any moment and Argonaut only triggers abilities that trigger from you "playing" an action, not from the presence of an action.
Q: I have Infiltrate on this base. What happens if I choose to ignore this base's ability?
A: Nothing. You won't be able to ignore the decrease in breakpoint because that's not an instruction for you and it doesn't affect any of your cards. TBD
Rule: Definition of "ignore".
Questions on S.H.I.E.L.D. Base[]
Q: Do I have to have a character on S.H.I.E.L.D. Base to use its ability?
A: There's no such restriction, so no.
Q: Can I use this base's ability to play a character of power 2 or less multiple times in one turn?
A: No. Each "on your turn" abilities are restricted to a single use on each of your turns.
Rule: Each "on your turn" ability can be activated once on each of your turns.
With AEG's Smash Up sets[]
Q: I have Infiltrate on this base. Can I stop other players from getting an extra minion from this base's ability?
A: No, if you choose to ignore this base's ability, only you won't be able to get the extra minion play.
Rule: Definition of "ignore".
Questions on Stark’s Lab[]
Q: I manage to play several characters on Stark’s Lab on the same turn, does it trigger only once or once for each character?
A: Once per character you played there.
With AEG's Smash Up sets[]
Q: If I play an Argonaut instead of an action on Stark’s Lab, can I still place a minion from my discard pile into my deck?
A: Yes. Playing an Argonaut, whether as a minion or instead of an action, still counts as playing a minion. It IS a minion after all.
Q: I have Infiltrate on this base. What happens if I choose to ignore this base's ability?
A: You (and only you, not all players) will be unable to use this base's ability.
Rule: Definition of "ignore".
Questions on Symkaria[]
Q: Does Symkaria give VPs equal to the number of characters he or she controls on that base, or does it give VPs equal to the total number of characters on that base?
A: It gives VPs equal to the number of characters a player (except the winner, of course) controls on that base.
Q: If four players have characters on the Symkaria when it scores, does the player in "fourth place" still get VPs from the base's ability?
A: Yes. Actually, when the base is scored you grant the VPs written on the base to the top three players. In the case of Symkaria, the winner gets 4 VP, and the runner-up and third-player each get 0 VP (that's what the three big numbers are after all). Then, you resolve the when-scoring abilities of cards in play and in hand, including Symkaria's ability. In the case of Symkaria, each player other than the winner (so including the fourth player!) gets 1 VP for each character they control there.
Q: What happens if Witness Our Superiority is played on Symkaria?
A: The base still scores at 21, but only the winner gets 4 VP and none of the other players will get any VP from its ability.
With AEG's Smash Up sets[]
Q: I have Infiltrate on this base. What happens if I choose to ignore its ability?
A: Unless you are not the winner, you will only score 0 VP. Note that only you will ignore the base's ability; Infiltrate doesn't allow you to make other players ignore it.
Rule: Definition of "ignore".
Questions on The Daily Bugle[]
Q: It doesn't say "each time", so I suppose I can only check the top card of my deck once per turn, right?
A: No, you may look at the top card of your deck after each time you play a character there. For it to only work once, it has to explicitly state it for example by saying "once per turn", "the first time" or "the first character". The Daily Bugle's ability is a triggerable one, and unless otherwise stated it must be resolved each time it is triggered. If it said "each time", it would just be redundant.
With AEG's Smash Up sets[]
Q: If I play an Argonaut instead of an action on The Daily Bugle, can I still look at the top card of my deck?
A: Yes. Playing an Argonaut, whether as a minion or instead of an action, still counts as playing a minion. It IS a minion after all.
Q: I have Infiltrate on this base. What happens if I choose to ignore this base's ability?
A: When you (and only you, not all players) play a minion there, you won't look at the top card of your deck.
Rule: Definition of "ignore".
Questions on The Triskelion[]
Q: It doesn't say "each time", so I suppose I only get to move a character after playing my first character there, right?
A: No, you may move a character after each time you play a character there. For it to only work once, it has to explicitly state it for example by saying "once per turn", "the first time" or "the first character". The Triskelion's ability is a triggerable one, and unless otherwise stated it must be resolved each time it is triggered. If it said "each time", it would just be redundant.
With AEG's Smash Up sets[]
Q: It tells me to move "one of my characters". Can I move a minion I own that I don't control? I don't control it but I "own" it, so it's "my" minion, right?
A: No. "Your characters" are minions you control, whether or not you own them. A minion you own but don't control isn't yours.
Q: If I play an Argonaut instead of an action on The Triskelion, can I still move one of my minions to there?
A: Yes. Playing an Argonaut, whether as a minion or instead of an action, still counts as playing a minion. It IS a minion after all.
Q: I have Infiltrate on this base. What happens if I choose to ignore this base's ability?
A: You (and only you, not all players) won't be able to move one of your minions to there when you play a minion there.
Rule: Definition of "ignore".