The Sinister Six love to prey on weakness. They have many ways to make bases weak, and get many benefits from weaker bases. They have several base modifiers and ways to reuse them and their characters. Since they make base breaking easier, they need to be careful to have the most power there when it happens.
- - Smash Up: Marvel rulebook
The Sinister Six are one of the 8 factions from the Smash Up: Marvel set.
They focus on playing base modifiers, reducing the breakpoint of bases and getting advantages on bases with low breakpoints of 19 or less.
Their complexity rating is: Medium-High.
Other factions from the same set: Avengers, Hydra, Kree, Masters of Evil, S.H.I.E.L.D., Spider-Verse, Ultimates.
Cards[]
The Sinister Six have the usual 10 characters and 10 actions. The total character base power (not counting any abilities) is slightly lower than usual at only 28 or an average of 2.8 per character compared to the usual 30 and 3.
Among their actions, there are:
- 0 character modifiers,
- 7 base modifiers: Cover the Exits, Incite Panic, My Master Plan, Pressure from All Sides, Reroute the Power (2x), Witness Our Superiority,
- 3 standard actions (0 that affects one or more characters, in bold): Ambush (2x), Move the Goods,
- 1 action that directly increases a character's power: Cover the Exits.
Characters[]
1x Doctor Octopus - power 4 - Ongoing: At the start of your turn, you may reduce this base’s breakpoint by 4 until the end of the turn. FAQ
1x Mysterio - power 4 - Talent: Play a base modifier here as an extra action OR draw a card. FAQ
2x Green Goblin - power 3 - Talent: Reduce this base’s breakpoint by 3 until the end of the turn. FAQ
2x Vulture - power 3 - You may place a base modifier from your discard pile on top of your deck. FAQ
2x Electro - power 2 - Ongoing: This base’s breakpoint is reduced by 2. FAQ
2x Sandman - power 2 - Ongoing: This character has +2 power if the breakpoint here is 19 or less. FAQ
Actions[]
2x Ambush - Reduce a base’s breakpoint by 4 until the end of the turn. FAQ
1x Cover the Exits - Base modifier. Ongoing: Your characters here have +1 power. After this base scores, if its breakpoint was 19 or less, shuffle up to two of your characters here into their owners’ deck. FAQ
1x Incite Panic - Base modifier. Ongoing: Other players’ characters here have -1 power. If the breakpoint here is 19 or less, other players cannot use Special abilities while this base is scoring. FAQ
1x Move the Goods - Move a base modifier from one base to another. Special: You may play this after a base scores. FAQ
1x My Master Plan - Base modifier. Talent: If the breakpoint here is 19 or less, draw a card. FAQ
1x Pressure from All Sides - Base modifier. Talent: Reduce this base’s breakpoint by 1 for each character on it until the end of the turn. FAQ
2x Reroute the Power - Base modifier. Talent: If the breakpoint here is 19 or less, give one of your characters here +3 power until the start of your next turn. FAQ
1x Witness Our Superiority - Base modifier. Ongoing: This base’s abilities are cancelled. FAQ
Bases[]
Clarifications[]
Here are the official clarifications as they appear in the Smash Up: Marvel rulebook:
Cover the Exits: Several other Smash Up sets have cards that take or give control of characters, which is why these cards say “its owner’s deck” instead of “your deck”, in case you control characters you don’t own.
Doctor Octopus: If its ability makes the breakpoint less than or equal to the total power there, the base doesn't score yet; it’s still the Start of Turn phase, and you don't score until the Score Bases phase later in the turn.
Doctor Octopus, Reroute the Power: The effect remains in force until its expiration time, even if the card causing the effect is moved or destroyed.
Mysterio: Though there are constraints on the extra card played, you can choose to play them later in the same Play Cards phase; they do not refer to specific cards (as Hawkeye’s Arrows does, for instance).
Pressure from All Sides: All characters there count, not just yours. If the number of characters on the base changes after the talent is used, the reduction is unchanged.
Mechanics[]
Their main mechanics revolve around reducing the breakpoint of bases and gaining various advantages when their cards, both characters and base modifiers, are on bases with breakpoints of 19 or less.
External Strategy Guides[]
FAQ[]
Questions on Doctor Octopus[]
Q: It doesn't say that the minimum breakpoint of a base is 0, so can it go negative?
A: No. The minimum is stated in the rules and it is zero.
Q: If I play Doctor Octopus on a base as my very first card of my turn, does that base's breakpoint decrease?
A: Unless you manage to play Doctor Octopus during your Start Turn phase, which is pretty uncommon, you must have played it during your Play Cards phase (phase 2), in which case Doctor Octopus's ability isn't triggered because it is not the start of your turn anymore. You'll have to wait for your next Start Turn phase to trigger it.
Rule: "At the start of your turn" means "during the Start Turn (phase 1) of each of your turns".
Q: I already have Doctor Octopus in play and it's the start of my turn, I choose to activate it and the base's breakpoint is low enough that the base can score, so do we score the base immediately or am I allowed to play cards there before it happens?
A: The base doesn't score until it's the Score Bases phase (phase 3). So you still have to go through phase 1 and 2 before scoring the base.
Q: Doctor Octopus was activated at the start of my turn. If Doctor Octopus is destroyed or returned before we score the base, is its breakpoint still reduced by 4?
A: Yes. Doctor Octopus was triggered, so even if it's no longer in play, the base's breakpoint is still reduced by 4.
Q: Doctor Octopus was activated at the start of my turn. If Doctor Octopus is moved to another base, is its former base's breakpoint still reduced by 4? Is its new base's breakpoint now reduced by 4?
A: Yes and no. Doctor Octopus was triggered, so even if it's no longer on it, the former base's breakpoint is still reduced by 4. As for the base where you moved it to, Doctor Octopus wasn't on it when Doctor Octopus was activated, so its breakpoint is unaffected.
With AEG's Smash Up sets[]
Q: At the start of my turn, I have a minion on Ice Floe, choose to use the base's ability and end up playing Doctor Octopus. Does it mean that I can immediately activate its ability and reduce the base breakpoint by 4 since it is still the start of my turn?
A: Yes.
Rule: Extra cards gained outside of your Play Cards phase must be played immediately or not at all.
Rule: If you do something during your Start Turn phase, it is still the start of your turn.
Questions on Mysterio[]
Q:
A:
Rule:
With AEG's Smash Up sets[]
Q: This can only play a "base modifier" so I cannot use it and play an action that says "Play on a base", correct?
A: Wrong, "Base modifier" and "Play on a base" are two synonymous phrases.
Questions on Green Goblin[]
Q: It doesn't say that the minimum breakpoint of a base is 0, so can it go negative?
A: No. The minimum is stated in the rules and it is zero.
With AEG's Smash Up sets[]
Q:
A:
Rule:
Questions on Vulture[]
Q:
A:
Rule:
With AEG's Smash Up sets[]
Q: This can only target a "base modifier" so I cannot use it and target an action that says "Play on a base", correct?
A: Wrong, "Base modifier" and "Play on a base" are two synonymous phrases.
Questions on Electro[]
Q: It doesn't say that the minimum breakpoint of a base is 0, so can it go negative?
A: No. The minimum is stated in the rules and it is zero.
With AEG's Smash Up sets[]
Q:
A:
Rule:
Questions on Sandman[]
Q:
A:
Rule:
With AEG's Smash Up sets[]
Q:
A:
Rule:
Questions on Ambush[]
Q: It doesn't say that the minimum breakpoint of a base is 0, so can it go negative?
A: No. The minimum is stated in the rules and it is zero.
With AEG's Smash Up sets[]
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 Cover the Exits[]
Q: Does every player benefit from this card or only the one who played it?
A: Only the characters controlled by the player who played Cover the Exits get the bonus and can be shuffled back in deck.
Rule: A play-on-base action doesn't give an ability to the base that any player can use.
Rule: "You" on a minion, action or titan means the controller of the card.
Q: My Cover the Exits's base scores and has a breakpoint 19 or less but it scores on another player's turn, I suppose I can't use its after-scoring ability because it's not my turn, right?
A: Wrong, it doesn't matter whose turn it is (nor which phase it is), after its base scores, if the breakpoint is 19 or less, it triggers its ability and you must resolve it.
Q: On a base of breakpoint 19 or less, can't I use Cover the Exits to shuffle Baron Zemo into my deck instead of placing it on the bottom and still gain 1 VP?
A: No, in order to gain 1 VP, you have to fully resolve Baron Zemo's ability which includes both the VP and placing Baron Zemo on the bottom of your deck, so unless you find a way to prevent Baron Zemo from placing itself under your deck (which is possible outside the Marvel set), gaining the VP causes Baron Zemo to no longer be in play to be targeted by Cover the Exits.
With AEG's Smash Up sets[]
Q: It affects "characters". So it only works on "character" cards and not at all on "minion" cards, correct?
A: Wrong, it works on both "character" and "minion" cards. "Character" and "minion" are two synonymous terms.
Rule: The word “character” is an exact synonym for “minion” in the other sets.
Q: If a card refers to an action "that can be played on a base" (e.g. Mechanic, Flank Attack), this one doesn't say "play on a base" so it cannot be targeted, correct?
A: Wrong, "Base modifier" and "Play on a base" are two synonymous phrases.
Q: It tells me to place "up to two of my characters" into my deck. Can I place a minion I own that I don't control? I don't control them but I "own" them, so they are "my" minions, 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: How does this interact with the Disco Dancers' mechanic and Funky Town's ability?
A: It doesn't interact with them at all, because it says "Base modifier", which means that it is not a standard action.
Questions on Incite Panic[]
Q: An opponent plays this card on a base, so if they have a character there, since they're "another player" from my point of view, their character also gets -1 power and they cannot use Special abilities either, right?
A: No. Your opponent played the action, so they control it, and therefore the action only addresses them and the ability must be interpreted from their point of view. So "other players" means "their opponents".
Rule: A play-on-base action doesn't give an ability to the base that any player can use.
Rule: "Other players" on a minion, action or titan means everyone except the controller of the card.
Q: My Incite Panic's base scores and has a breakpoint 19 or less but it scores on another player's turn, I suppose I can't use its ability because it's not my turn, right?
A: Wrong, it doesn't matter whose turn it is (nor which phase it is), while its base scores, if the breakpoint is 19 or less, it triggers its ability and you must resolve it.
Q: Does Incite Panic prevent special abilities from being used after its base scores as well?
A: Yes. It prevents the use of special abilities from being played or used from the moment the base is chosen to score until Incite Panic is discarded at the end of the scoring.
Q: When a base scores, if a player has characters there but a total of 0 power (e.g. because of Incite Panic), can they still get VP?
A: If 0 is among the top three total power there, then as long as a player has a character there, they can get VP.
With AEG's Smash Up sets[]
Q: It affects "characters". So it only works on "character" cards and not at all on "minion" cards, correct?
A: Wrong, it works on both "character" and "minion" cards. "Character" and "minion" are two synonymous terms.
Rule: The word “character” is an exact synonym for “minion” in the other sets.
Q: If a card refers to an action "that can be played on a base" (e.g. Mechanic, Flank Attack), this one doesn't say "play on a base" so it cannot be targeted, correct?
A: Wrong, "Base modifier" and "Play on a base" are two synonymous phrases.
Q: How does this interact with the Disco Dancers' mechanic and Funky Town's ability?
A: It doesn't interact with them at all, because it says "Base modifier", which means that it is not a standard action.
- If you're asking about when an opponent wants to copy the effect of your Special standard action while your Incite Panic's base scores, then they are perfectly allowed to copy the effect of your Special action; they aren't playing a Special after all, you are.
Questions on Move the Goods[]
Q: When can I play Move the Goods as a Special?
A: On any player's turn, when a base has been chosen to score and after its victory points are awarded. To be more precise, it can only be played during phase 3 and only during the "after scoring" step.
Q: I use Move the Goods to move an opponent's base modifier. Do I now control that action?
A: No. You moved it, but it doesn't give you control over it. So that action is still under the control of whoever played it.
Rule: When you transfer an action, it doesn't change controller.
With AEG's Smash Up sets[]
Q: This can only target a "base modifier" so I cannot use it and target an action that says "Play on a base", correct?
A: Wrong, "Base modifier" and "Play on a base" are two synonymous phrases.
Q: Can I play it from stasis after a base scores?
A: No, while in stasis, the only abilities that can do anything are the ones that explicitly state that they do something there.
Rule: Abilities of cards in stasis do not work unless they refer to stasis.
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 My Master Plan[]
Q: An opponent plays this card on a base, so on my turn, I can now use its talent, right?
A: No. Your opponent played the action, so they control it, and therefore only they can use its talent.
Rule: A play-on-base action doesn't give an ability to the base that any player can use.
Rule: A card's talent can only be used by that card's controller.
Q: After using its talent, 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.
With AEG's Smash Up sets[]
Q: If a card refers to an action "that can be played on a base" (e.g. Mechanic, Flank Attack), this one doesn't say "play on a base" so it cannot be targeted, correct?
A: Wrong, "Base modifier" and "Play on a base" are two synonymous phrases.
Q: How does this interact with the Disco Dancers' mechanic and Funky Town's ability?
A: It doesn't interact with them at all, because it says "Base modifier", which means that it is not a standard action.
Questions on Pressure from All Sides[]
Q: An opponent plays this card on a base, so on my turn, I can now use its talent, right?
A: No. Your opponent played the action, so they control it, and therefore only they can use its talent.
Rule: A play-on-base action doesn't give an ability to the base that any player can use.
Rule: A card's talent can only be used by that card's controller.
Q: I suppose only my own characters count toward the breakpoint reduction, right? It doesn't say "your characters" but I guess it's just a typo.
A: Wrong, since it doesn't say "your" then it really means all characters there count, even other players'. It's not a typo.
Q: It doesn't say that the minimum breakpoint of a base is 0, so can it go negative?
A: No. The minimum is stated in the rules and it is zero.
With AEG's Smash Up sets[]
Q: It counts "characters" on its base. So it only counts "character" cards and not at all "minion" cards, correct?
A: Wrong, it counts both "character" and "minion" cards. "Character" and "minion" are two synonymous terms.
Rule: The word “character” is an exact synonym for “minion” in the other sets.
Q: If a card refers to an action "that can be played on a base" (e.g. Mechanic, Flank Attack), this one doesn't say "play on a base" so it cannot be targeted, correct?
A: Wrong, "Base modifier" and "Play on a base" are two synonymous phrases.
Q: How does this interact with the Disco Dancers' mechanic and Funky Town's ability?
A: It doesn't interact with them at all, because it says "Base modifier", which means that it is not a standard action.
Questions on Reroute the Power[]
Q: An opponent plays this card on a base, so on my turn, I can now use its talent, right?
A: No. Your opponent played the action, so they control it, and therefore only they can use its talent.
Rule: A play-on-base action doesn't give an ability to the base that any player can use.
Rule: A card's talent can only be used by that card's controller.
Q: If Reroute the Power is removed from play before its ability expires, does the character lose the +3 power?
A: No, once you've used the talent, the +3 power will persist until the start of your next turn no matter what happens.
Q: After using Reroute the Power's talent, if the base's breakpoint is increased to more than 19 before its ability expires, does the character lose the +3 power?
A: No, all that matters is for the breakpoint to be 19 or less when you use the talent and once you've used the talent, the +3 power will persist until the start of your next turn no matter what happens.
Q: I use Reroute the Power's talent. If Reroute the Power is moved to another base, can I activate it again?
A: No. A talent can only be activated once on each of your turns, even if you move the card to another base, it's still the same card that was activated and therefore, you can't activate it again for now.
Rule: Each talent can be activated once on each of your turns.
Q: There are 2 Reroute the Power cards in the deck. Can both of them be on the same base?
A: Sure, there are no restrictions toward the number of base modifiers on a base.
With AEG's Smash Up sets[]
Q: It affects "one of my characters". So it only works on "character" cards and not at all on "minion" cards, correct?
A: Wrong, it works on both "character" and "minion" cards. "Character" and "minion" are two synonymous terms.
Rule: The word “character” is an exact synonym for “minion” in the other sets.
Q: If a card refers to an action "that can be played on a base" (e.g. Mechanic, Flank Attack), this one doesn't say "play on a base" so it cannot be targeted, correct?
A: Wrong, "Base modifier" and "Play on a base" are two synonymous phrases.
Q: How does this interact with the Disco Dancers' mechanic and Funky Town's ability?
A: It doesn't interact with them at all, because it says "Base modifier", which means that it is not a standard action.
Questions on Witness Our Superiority[]
Q: Does it also cancel the abilities of base modifiers on the base?
A: No, a base's abilities are the ones printed on the card and those given to it by certain abilities (e.g. Signs in the Stars). The abilities of base modifiers on it are separate from the base's abilities. Besides, if that was the case, Witness Our Superiority would also have its abilities cancelled, which would make it useless.
Rule: A play-on-base action doesn't give an ability to the base that any player can use.
With AEG's Smash Up sets[]
Q: If a card refers to an action "that can be played on a base" (e.g. Mechanic, Flank Attack), this one doesn't say "play on a base" so it cannot be targeted, correct?
A: Wrong, "Base modifier" and "Play on a base" are two synonymous phrases.
Q: How does this interact with the Disco Dancers' mechanic and Funky Town's ability?
A: It doesn't interact with them at all, because it says "Base modifier", which means that it is not a standard action.
Trivia[]
- The font used for the Sinister Six cards is TOXIA.
- Downtown has the same ability as Machu Picchu, but with a different breakpoint and VP spread.
In other languages[]
| Language | Name |
|---|---|
| Chinese | 邪惡六人組 |
| French | Sinister Six |
| ||||