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Worker

The future of atomic energy was never supposed to have this disastrous effect! Mutant ants spill out from giant hills, intent on destroying our homes and all else bringing death on six legs to all that stands in their colony’s way! The ants work as a great hive mind, spreading their power around as necessary to ensure their atomic-age victory!

- Monster Smash rulebook (updated in The Bigger Geekier Box rulebook)

The Giant Ants are one of the 4 factions from the Monster Smash set.

The Giant Ants focus on getting a lot of +1 power counters and transferring them among your minions.

Other factions from the same set: Mad Scientists, Vampires, Werewolves.

Cards[]

Giant ants

The Giant Ants have the usual 10 minions and 10 actions. The total minion base power (not counting any abilities) is extremely low at only 13 or an average of 1.3 per minion compared to the usual 30 and 3. However, all minions have the ability to boost their power with +1 power counters. The on-play abilities alone of the minions return them to a total power of 29 and an average power of 2.9, much closer to the average. They are also one of the rare factions to have received a titan from the TITANS Event Kit.

Among their actions, there are:

  • 0 play-on-minion actions,
  • 1 play-on-base action: The Show Must Go On,
  • 9 standard actions (all of them affect one or more minions): A Kind of Magic, Gimme the Prize (2x), Headlong, Under Pressure, We Are the Champions, We Will Rock You (2x), Who Wants to Live Forever?,
  • 8 actions that directly increase a minion's power: A Kind of Magic, Gimme the Prize (2x), Headlong, Under Pressure, We Are the Champions, We Will Rock You (2x).

Minions[]

1x Killer Queen - power 4 - Talent: If you played another minion here this turn, place a +1 power counter on this minion and that minion. FAQ

2x Drone - power 3 - Place a +1 power counter on this minion. Ongoing: Before one of your minions is destroyed, you may remove a +1 power counter from this minion to prevent the destruction. FAQ

3x Soldier - power 1 - Place two +1 power counters on this minion. Talent: Transfer a +1 power counter from this minion to another minion. FAQ

4x Worker - power 0 - Place two +1 power counters on this minion. FAQ

Actions[]

1x A Kind of Magic - Transfer any or all of your +1 power counters among your minions. FAQ

2x Gimme the Prize - Place a +1 power counter on up to 3 of your minions. FAQ

1x Headlong - Move one of your minions to another base. Place two +1 power counters on that minion. FAQ

1x The Show Must Go On - Play on a base. Ongoing: Your minions here with +1 power counters are not affected by other players’ cards. FAQ

1x Under Pressure - Special: Before a base scores, you may transfer any number of +1 power counters from one of your minions to another. FAQ

1x We Are the Champions - Special: After this a base scores, transfer any or all +1 power counters from one of your minions here there to another minion. (errata'd by The Bigger Geekier Box) FAQ

2x We Will Rock You - Each of your minions gains +1 power for each +1 power counter on it until the end of the turn. FAQ

1x Who Wants to Live Forever? - Remove any number of +1 power counters from your minions. Draw a card for each counter removed. FAQ

Titan[]

GiantAntTitan
(available in each Smash Up TITANS pack released with the TITANS Event Kit)

1x Death on Six Legs - Special: On your turn, you may play this titan if there are seven or more +1 power counters on your minions. Ongoing: When a minion goes to the discard pile, transfer one of its +1 power counters to this titan. Talent: Play an extra action. FAQ

Giant Ants-0

Bases[]

Clarifications[]

Here are the official clarifications as they appear in The Bigger Geekier Box rulebook:

Death on Six Legs: You may transfer power counters from other players’ minions.

We Will Rock You: The power gain is calculated when this card is played, and does not change even if power counters on a card increase or decrease.

Mechanics[]

The Giant Ants deck attempts to mimic a well coordinated hive through power counters. Ant minions are all at a below power average with on play counters to make up the deficit. These counters are very mobile and allow you to distribute and transfer exactly as much power as you want, wherever you want it to go. As the counters are the true place of power in this deck, there are lots of ways to aggregate the counters, as well as to salvage them from a base as it score. The mobile nature of your counters also lets you position them on a single minion for some benefits (removing them to draw cards or protect minions) and to divide them amongst all you minions( allowing any minion with a power counter to be unaffected by other players). Ants also have a decent degree of protection on their minions to prevent destruction (possibly to make up for having many low power minions that are vulnerable). Many ant minions allow for moving a lot of power quickly to a base, making them decent at breaking bases once ready.

External Strategy Guides[]

FAQ[]

Questions on Killer Queen[]

Q: Does "this turn" refer to the turn Killer Queen is played?

A: "This turn" means the turn you are using this talent.

Rule: Do exactly what the card says.

Q: If I play a minion on the Killer Queen's base, but that minion is destroyed. (e.g. Leprechaun) When I use Killer Queen's talent, do I still get +1 power counters?

A: Yes. When you activate this talent, it asks whether you have played a minion here this turn or not. It doesn't matter if it's still in play. If you did, place a +1 power counter on Killer Queen. Of course, you can't put one on the destroyed minion.

Rule: Do exactly what the card says.

Rule: If there are no limits, there are no limits.

Q: I play a minion on the Killer Queen's base, but that minion is moved to another base. When I use Killer Queen's talent, do I still get +1 power counters?

A: Yes. When you activate this talent, it asks whether you have played a minion here this turn or not. It doesn't matter if it's still on the base. If you did, place a +1 power counter on Killer Queen and on that minion.

Rule: Do exactly what the card says.

Rule: If there are no limits, there are no limits.

Q: I play a minion on the Killer Queen's base, but Killer Queen is moved to another base where I haven't played any minion on this turn. When I use Killer Queen's talent, do I still get +1 power counters?

A: No. When you activate this talent, it asks whether or not you have played a minion on Killer Queen's current base this turn.

Rule: Do exactly what the card says.

Q: I managed to play two minions on Killer Queen's base on the same turn. When I use Killer Queen's talent, do all three minions get +1 power counters?

A: No. When you use Killer Queen's talent, it asks whether you have played a minion here this turn or not. You did, so designate one of them and that minion and Killer Queen get a +1 power counter each.

Rule: Do exactly what the card says.

Q: Killer Queen is on Standing Stones. I managed to play two minions there on this turn. Both times I use Killer Queen's talent, do I have to the +1 power counters on the same minion (other than Killer Queen)?

A: You can place the +1 power counters on two different minions or the same minion twice, as long as those minions were played there this turn.

Rule: Do exactly what the card says.

Q: If I play a minion on a base, and then Killer Queen on that base. Can I give both of them +1 power counters using Killer Queen's talent?

A: Yes. When you use Killer Queen's talent, it asks whether you have played a minion here this turn or not. Whether the minion was played before or after Killer Queen, it doesn't matter.

Rule: Do exactly what the card says.

Rule: If there are no limits, there are no limits.

Q: If Killer Queen's ability is cancelled, are the +1 power counters placed by its ability (both those placed on Killer Queen and those placed on my other minions) removed?

A: No. When you place a +1 power counter, it's a definitive effect (like drawing cards, if you play Enchantress, you're not going to discard the card you drew if Enchantress's ability is cancelled), so the +1 power counters remain even if the card that placed them has its ability cancelled. Besides, how are you going to keep track of which +1 power counters were added by Killer Queen's ability and which ones were not (e.g. transferred by Soldier or We Are the Champions, or placed by Headlong or Gimme the Prize)? That would be very cumbersome.

Rule: Cancelling (or losing) an effect does not necessarily undo what it did.

Q: If Killer Queen is removed from play (e.g. destroyed, returned, etc.), are the +1 power counters placed by its ability on my other minions removed?

A: No. When you place a +1 power counter, it's a definitive effect, so the +1 power counters remain even if the card that placed them is removed from play (like drawing cards, if you play Enchantress, you're not going to discard the card you drew if Enchantress is destroyed). On the other hand, if a card is removed while it had +1 power counters, only the +1 power counters on it are removed, but that's because a card that leaves play loses all its attachments. Besides, how are you going to keep track of which +1 power counters were added by Killer Queen's ability and which ones were not (e.g. transferred by Soldier or We Are the Champions, or placed by Headlong or Gimme the Prize)? That would be very cumbersome.

Rule: Removing a card from play does not necessarily undo what it did.


Questions on Drone[]

Q: It allows me to protect "one of my minions". Can I protect 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 minions" are minions you control, whether or not you own them. A minion you own but don't control isn't yours.

Rule: "Your minion" means "a minion that you control".

Q: One of my cards tells me to destroy one of my minions (e.g. Sacrifice), or an opponent's card forces me to destroy one of my minions (e.g. Bear Hug), or a base's ability allows me to destroy one of my minions (e.g. R’lyeh), can I target one of my minions and use Drone's ability? If so, is it destroyed? If not, does it stop the rest of the ability if there were more to it?

A: Short answer: Yes, no and it depends. Firstly, you can indeed choose any of your minions as long as it fits the card's requirement (e.g. if your minion is on R’lyeh, you can target it with R’lyeh's ability, but you can't if it was on another base, obviously), but you must choose one if you have any in play and if it's a mandatory ability (i.e. there's no "you may"). Secondly, because one of your minions is targeted for destruction, Drone's ability kicks in, and allows you to protect it. If you choose to do so, it won't be destroyed. Lastly, you must finish resolving the card that was originally invoked. If the card was the kind of card that says "Destroy a minion to do Y" or "Destroy a minion. If you do, do Y", then the effect stated as "Y" can't be done at all, that is, if no minion is destroyed in the end. If the card says something else, such as "Destroy a minion. Do Y", "Destroy a minion and do Y", etc., the destruction isn't a pre-requisite so you resolve the rest of the card's ability.

Rule: The card you target may be immune to the effects of the ability you are performing, but it is still a valid target.

Rule: Effects are resolved entirely.

Rule: When a card says "Do X to do Y" or "You may do X to do Y", you need to completely do the effect stated as "X" before you do the effect stated as "Y".

Q: I have a Drone in play. I play a minion on a base with a Leprechaun. Leprechaun normally destroys it, but Drone prevents it. However, Leprechaun's ability is Ongoing, so that player can continue to destroy my minion until I run out of counters, right?

A: No. Leprechaun only tries to destroy your minion once, it does not repeatedly try to destroy it.

Rule: When an ability is triggered, it's resolved once per trigger.

Q: A player plays a Nightstalker and tries to destroy one of my minions. I use Drone to stop it, do they still get Nightstalker's bonus?

A: No. Nightstalker's ability is a "Do X to do Y" type or ability. Since they failed to destroy the targeted minion, they don't get a +1 power counter.

Rule: When a card says "Do X to do Y" or "You may do X to do Y", you need to completely do the effect stated as "X" before you do the effect stated as "Y".

Q: If I play Sacrifice and use Drone to prevent the destruction, does Sacrifice still let me draw cards?

A: Yes. Drawing the cards and destroying your minion are independent. So even if the minion is not destroyed, you still draw your cards.

Rule: Effects are resolved entirely.

Q: If I play Sacrifice, choose Drone and use its ability to prevent its own destruction, how many cards do I draw?

A: As many cards as Drone's power before removing the counter. That's because when you resolve Sacrifice, you draw the cards before destroying the minion, so when you draw the cards, the +1 power counter hasn't been removed from Drone yet.

Rule: Multiple parts of a card’s ability must be done in their stated order.

Q: A player plays Powderkeg. I use Drone's ability to protect one of my minions there, but removing a +1 power counter from the Drone brings it within the range of destruction of Powderkeg. Is my Drone destroyed?

A: No. When playing Powderkeg, you first determine which minions are destroyed before the destruction happens. If Drone is not among them, it won't be destroyed, even if you remove +1 power counters to prevent some destructions.

Rule: When a single effect makes one player affect multiple cards, they are all affected at the same time.

Q: If Drone's ability is cancelled, are the +1 power counters placed on it by its own ability removed?

A: No. When you place a +1 power counter, it's a definitive effect, so the +1 power counters remain even if the card that placed them has its ability cancelled (like drawing cards, if you play Enchantress, you're not going to discard the card you drew if Enchantress's ability is cancelled). Besides, how are you going to keep track of which +1 power counters were added by Drone's ability and which ones were not (e.g. transferred by Soldier or We Are the Champions, or placed by Headlong or Gimme the Prize)? That would be very cumbersome.

Rule: Cancelling (or losing) an effect does not necessarily undo what it did.


Questions on Soldier[]

Q: If Soldier's ability is cancelled, are the +1 power counters placed on it by its own ability and the ones transferred to other minions by its own ability removed?

A: No. When you place or transfer a +1 power counter, it's a definitive effect, so the +1 power counters remain even if the card that placed or transferred them has its ability cancelled (like drawing cards, if you play Enchantress, you're not going to discard the card you drew if Enchantress's ability is cancelled). Besides, how are you going to keep track of which +1 power counters were added or transferred by that one Soldier's ability and which ones were not (e.g. transferred by another Soldier or We Are the Champions, or placed by Headlong or Gimme the Prize)? That would be very cumbersome.

Rule: Cancelling (or losing) an effect does not necessarily undo what it did.

Q: If Soldier is removed from play (e.g. destroyed, returned, etc.), are the +1 power counters transferred to other minions by its own ability removed?

A: No. When you transfer a +1 power counter, it's a definitive effect, so the +1 power counters remain even if the card that transferred them has its ability cancelled (like drawing cards, if you play Enchantress, you're not going to discard the card you drew if Enchantress is destroyed). Besides, how are you going to keep track of which +1 power counters were transferred by that one Soldier's ability and which ones were not (e.g. transferred by another Soldier or We Are the Champions, or placed by Headlong or Gimme the Prize)? That would be very cumbersome.

Rule: Removing a card from play does not necessarily undo what it did.

Q: Can you transfer a +1 power counter to a minion in stasis?

A: No, cards in stasis cannot be affected by cards that do not explicitly state they work on cards in stasis.

Rule: Cards in stasis may not be affected by, or chosen as the target of, any ability that does not refer to stasis.


Questions on Worker[]

Q: Shouldn't it have power 2 with no description?

A: No. It is power 0, with an ability that places two +1 power counters on it. This is intentional, as there are other cards in this faction (as well as in other factions) that interact with +1 power counters. For example, playing We Will Rock You will give this minion +2 power, as opposed to +0 power for your other minions without +1 power counters.

Rule: Do exactly what the card says.

Q: If Worker's ability is cancelled, are the +1 power counters placed on it by its own ability removed?

A: No. When you place a +1 power counter, it's a definitive effect, so the +1 power counters remain even if the card that placed them has its ability cancelled (like drawing cards, if you play Enchantress, you're not going to discard the card you drew if Enchantress's ability is cancelled). Besides, how are you going to keep track of which +1 power counters were added by Worker's ability and which ones were not (e.g. transferred by Soldier or We Are the Champions, or placed by Headlong or Gimme the Prize)? That would be very cumbersome.

Rule: Cancelling (or losing) an effect does not necessarily undo what it did.


Questions on A Kind of Magic[]

Q: It allows me to transfer +1 power counters among "my minions". Can I transfer +1 power counters to or away from 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 minions" are minions you control, whether or not you own them. A minion you own but don't control isn't yours.

Rule: "Your minion" means "a minion that you control".

Q: I have +1 power counters on Summon Wolves, can I use A Kind of Magic to transfer them to my minions, or to transfer +1 power counters from my minions to Summon Wolves?

A: No. When you play A Kind of Magic, the transfers can only be done from minions to minions. Summon Wolves, being an action, is out.

Rule: Specific words are not synonymous no matter how similar they seem.

Q: I have +1 power counters on my titan, can I use A Kind of Magic to transfer them to my minions, or to transfer +1 power counters from my minions to my titan?

A: No. When you play A Kind of Magic, the transfers can only be done from minions to minions. A titan, being, well, a titan, is out.

Rule: Specific words are not synonymous no matter how similar they seem.

Rule: Titans are an additional type of card, distinct from minions, actions and bases.

Q: I have +1 power counters on one of my buried cards, can I use A Kind of Magic to transfer them to my minions, or to transfer +1 power counters from my minions to my buried card?

A: No. When you play A Kind of Magic, the transfers can only be done from minions to minions. A buried card, not being a minion, is out.

Rule: Specific words are not synonymous no matter how similar they seem.

Rule: A buried card is not affected by abilities that specifically target minions, actions, or any other card type.

Q: Can you transfer a +1 power counter to a minion in stasis?

A: No, cards in stasis cannot be affected by cards that do not explicitly state they work on cards in stasis.

Rule: Cards in stasis may not be affected by, or chosen as the target of, any ability that does not refer to stasis.

Q: How does this interact with the Disco Dancers' mechanic and Funky Town's ability?

A: - There's no point for Diva to copy the effect because Diva can have +1 power counters transferred from or to it directly by A Kind of Magic anyway.
- If Dancing King copies it onto a minion (it can be itself), that minion is considered as indirectly affected by the action and has the same amount of +1 power counters either transferred to it from the same source minion (if there aren't enough counters, transfer all that remains and that's it -- don't compensate by placing counters from the pool or transferring them from other minions), or transferred from it to the same recipient minion. If several minions on Dancing King's base directly have their +1 power counters transferred from or to them, choose one of them to imitate and transfer the same amount of counters from the same source card or transfer the same amount of counters to the same recipient card, whichever the case may be. Note that Dancing King only triggers once and allows you to have only one minion's +1 power counters transferred from or to it, not one per affected minion. Also, note that while the action is restricted to a minion controlled by the action player, the effect's copy still works if applied to a minion not controlled by that player and it would still have +1 power counters transferred from it to the same minion, or transferred to it from the same minion.
- If We are Family copies it, the minion it is on is considered as indirectly affected by the action and has the same amount of +1 power counters either transferred to it from the same source minion (if there aren't enough counters, transfer all that remains and that's it -- don't compensate by placing counters from the pool or transferring them from other minions), or transferred from it to the same recipient minion. If several minions on We are Family's base directly have their +1 power counters transferred from or to them, choose one of them to imitate and transfer the same amount of counters from the same source card or transfer the same amount of counters to the same recipient card, whichever the case may be. Note that We are Family only triggers once and allows you to have only one minion's +1 power counters transferred from or to it, not one per affected minion. Also, note that while the action is restricted to a minion controlled by the action player, the effect's copy still works if applied to a minion not controlled by that player and it would still have +1 power counters transferred from it to the same minion, or transferred to it from the same minion.
- There's no point for Funky Town to copy the effect because all your minions can have +1 power counters transferred from or to it directly by A Kind of Magic anyway.

Rule: Do exactly what the card says.


Questions on Gimme the Prize[]

Q: It allows me to place +1 power counters on up to three of "my minions". Can I place one on 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 minions" are minions you control, whether or not you own them. A minion you own but don't control isn't yours.

Rule: "Your minion" means "a minion that you control".

Q: I can place a maximum of three +1 power counters with this card. Can all three +1 power counters be placed on the same minion?

A: No, you choose up to three of your minions and these minions receive only one +1 power counter each.

Rule: Do exactly what the card says.

Q: Can you place a +1 power counter on one of your minions in stasis?

A: No, cards in stasis cannot be affected by cards that do not explicitly state they work on cards in stasis.

Rule: Cards in stasis may not be affected by, or chosen as the target of, any ability that does not refer to stasis.

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 a +1 power counter, even if there were already three minions that were directly affected by Gimme the Prize.
- If Dancing King copies it onto a minion (it can be itself), that minion is considered as indirectly affected by the action and gets a +1 power counter, even if there were already three minions that were directly affected by Gimme the Prize. Note that if several of the minions that were directly affected are on the same base, Dancing King only triggers once, not once per affected minions.
- If We are Family copies it, the minion it is on is considered as indirectly affected by the action and gets a +1 power counter, even if there were already three minions that were directly affected by Gimme the Prize.
- 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 a +1 power counter, even if there were already three minions that were directly affected by Gimme the Prize. Note that if several of the minions that were directly affected are on the same base, Funky Town only triggers once, not once per affected minions.

Rule: Do exactly what the card says.


Questions on Headlong[]

Q: It tells me to move "one of my minions". 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 minions" are minions you control, whether or not you own them. A minion you own but don't control isn't yours.

Rule: "Your minion" means "a minion that you control".

Q: With Headlong, I move a power-2 minion to a base with a Cub Scout. Is it destroyed before getting its +1 power counter?

A: No. Because Cub Scout triggers after the move, you must finish resolving Headlong's ability first before resolving any reactions.

Rule: When you play a card, resolve the played card's ability immediately and completely.

Rule: When a card says "After X, do Y", you need "X" to happen and be resolved completely before you do the effect stated as "Y".

Q: Can you move one of your minions from stasis to a base?

A: No, cards in stasis cannot be affected by cards that do not explicitly state they work on cards in stasis.

Rule: Cards in stasis may not be affected by, or chosen as the target of, any ability that does not refer to stasis.

Q: How does this interact with the Disco Dancers' mechanic and Funky Town's ability?

A: First of all, Headlong affects a minion twice, first by moving it and then by placing +1 power counters on it. When you use any of the effect-copying cards, each one may only copy one of the two effects, either the move or the counters, not both. Of course, if you have several effect-copying cards that are triggered, you may have each one copy a different effect.
If you choose to copy the move:
- If Diva copies it, Diva is considered as indirectly affected by the action and is moved to the same base as the minion that was directly affected. Note that if Diva copies the move, it won't copy the placing of +1 power counters, so that part is resolved as written, in that case "Place two +1 power counters on that minion" should be understood as "Place two +1 power counters on the minion that was directly affected."
- If Dancing King copies it onto a minion (it can be itself), that minion is considered as indirectly affected by the action and is moved to the same base as the minion that was directly affected. Note that if Dancing King copies the move, it won't copy the placing of +1 power counters, so that part is resolved as written, in that case "Place two +1 power counters on that minion" should be understood as "Place two +1 power counters on the minion that was directly affected."
- If We are Family copies it, the minion it is on is considered as indirectly affected by the action and is moved to the same base as the minion that was directly affected. Note that if We are Family copies the move, it won't copy the placing of +1 power counters, so that part is resolved as written, in that case "Place two +1 power counters on that minion" should be understood as "Place two +1 power counters on the minion that was directly affected."
- With Funky Town, you can only copy it if you're the one who played the action and if it moves one of your minions away from Funky Town, but if Funky Town does copy it, the minion is considered as indirectly affected by the action and is moved to the same base as the minion that was directly affected. Note that if Funky Town copies the move, it won't copy the placing of +1 power counters, both because that part is resolved as written, in that case "Place two +1 power counters on that minion" should be understood as "Place two +1 power counters on the minion that was directly affected" and because both the minion that was directly affected and the one that was indirectly affected are no longer on Funky Town.
If you choose to copy the placing of +1 power counters, the directly affected minion must end its move on a base with an effect-copying card for the effect to be copied:
- If Diva copies it, Diva is considered as indirectly affected by the action and gets two +1 power counters.
- If Dancing King copies it onto a minion (it can be itself), that minion is considered as indirectly affected by the action and gets two +1 power counters.
- If We are Family copies it, the minion it is on is considered as indirectly affected by the action and gets two +1 power counters.
- With Funky Town, you can only copy it if you're the one who played the action, but if Funky Town does copy it, the minion is considered as indirectly affected by the action and gets two +1 power counters.

Rule: Do exactly what the card says.


Questions on The Show Must Go On[]

Q: An opponent plays this card on a base, so if I have a minion with +1 power counters there, it's no longer affected by my opponents' cards, right?

A: No. Your opponent played the action, so they control it, and therefore the action only addresses them and the ability must be interpreted from their point of view. So "your minions" means "their minions" and "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: "You" on a minion, action or titan means the controller of the card.

Q: This protects "my minions" there with +1 power counters. Does it also protect minions there that I own but don't control? I don't control them but I "own" them, so they are "my" minions, right?

A: No. "Your minions" are minions you control, whether or not you own them. A minion you own but don't control isn't yours.

Rule: "Your minion" means "a minion that you control".

Q: An opponent plays Bear Hug (or Unfathomable Goals, Griefer, Out of Sight), forcing me to affect one of my minions. Can I choose my minion with +1 power counters on the same base as The Show Must Go On? If so, does The Show Must Go On 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 card", then yes, The Show Must Go On protects your minion.

Rule: The card you target may be immune to the effects of the ability you are performing, but it is still a valid target.

Q: An opponent has a minion with +1 power counters on the same base as The Show Must Go On. Can I use Dragon Warrior to transfer its counters away? It affects the counters after all, not the minion.

A: No, transferring +1 power counters from or to a minion counts as affecting it.

Rule: Definition of "affect".

Q: How does this interact with the Disco Dancers' mechanic and Funky Town's ability?

A: - If you're asking about when The Show Must Go On is played, it doesn't interact with them at all, because it says "Play on a base", which means that it is not a standard action.
- If you're asking about when you copy an effect onto an opponent's minion with The Show Must Go On protecting it, then the minion isn't affected. Note that The Show Must Go On only protects against other player's cards, so if The Show Must Go On's controller plays a standard action, you can copy it with Dancing King and have it affect one of that player's minion, bypassing The Show Must Go On's protection because the minion is considered as being affected by its own controller's action and what Dancing King does is copy the effect onto it, which itself doesn't count as affecting the minion.
- If you're asking about when an opponent's minion with The Show Must Go On protecting it is directly affected by your standard action and you want to copy that, then it's not possible because the minion isn't affected by your action and because no minion was affected, you can't copy the effect.
- If you're asking about when an opponent's minion with The Show Must Go On protecting it is directly affected by that player's standard action and you want to copy that, then you can indeed copy it the same way.

Rule: "Can't" trumps "can".

Rule: Definition of "standard".


Questions on Under Pressure[]

Q: Does changing the power of a minion on a scoring base change anything at all? Don't we only get VPs based on the power we had at the start of scoring?

A: Actually, 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: If I transfer counters away from a minion on the scoring base, reducing the total power there below the breakpoint, does that stop the scoring?

A: No. 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.)

Rule: The chosen base is scored regardless of how much power is still left on it after the before-scoring step.

Q: Do the transferred counters all go to the same minion?

A: Yes. The card text says to transfer the counters from the chosen minion to "another", i.e. one other minion.

Rule: Do exactly what the card says.

Q: Which minion is "another"? Does it mean "another one of my minions" or "another minion" (i.e. any other minion, including other players')?

A: TBD

Rule: TBD

Q: It allows me to transfer +1 power counters away from "one of my minions". Can I transfer counters from 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 minions" are minions you control, whether or not you own them. A minion you own but don't control isn't yours.

Rule: "Your minion" means "a minion that you control".

Q: Can you transfer a +1 power counter to a minion in stasis?

A: No, cards in stasis cannot be affected by cards that do not explicitly state they work on cards in stasis.

Rule: Cards in stasis may not be affected by, or chosen as the target of, any ability that does not refer to stasis.

Q: Can I play it from stasis before 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: - If Diva copies it, Diva is considered as indirectly affected by the action and has the same amount of +1 power counters either transferred to it from the same source minion (if there aren't enough counters, transfer all that remains and that's it -- don't compensate by placing counters from the pool or transferring them from other minions), or transferred from it to the same recipient minion.
- If Dancing King copies it onto a minion (it can be itself), that minion is considered as indirectly affected by the action and has the same amount of +1 power counters either transferred to it from the same source minion (if there aren't enough counters, transfer all that remains and that's it -- don't compensate by placing counters from the pool or transferring them from other minions), or transferred from it to the same recipient minion.
- If We are Family copies it, the minion it is on is considered as indirectly affected by the action and has the same amount of +1 power counters either transferred to it from the same source minion (if there aren't enough counters, transfer all that remains and that's it -- don't compensate by placing counters from the pool or transferring them from other minions), or transferred from it to the same recipient minion.
- 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 has the same amount of +1 power counters either transferred to it from the same source minion (if there aren't enough counters, transfer all that remains and that's it -- don't compensate by placing counters from the pool or transferring them from other minions), or transferred from it to the same recipient minion.

Rule: Do exactly what the card says.


Questions on We Are the Champions[]

Q: Do the transferred counters all go to the same minion?

A: Yes. The card text says to transfer the counters from the chosen minion to "another minion", i.e. one other minion.

Rule: Do exactly what the card says.

Q: Is this a play-on-a-base card? It doesn't say "play on a base", but it says "this base".

A: The Bigger Geekier Box rulebook now corrects it.

Rule: Check We Are The Champions's erratum.

Q: It says "to another minion", so can I transfer the power counter to an opponent's minion?

A: Based on the wording, yes, but since Under Pressure also has an ambiguous wording, it may also be a mistake here too. TBD

Rule: TBD

Q: It allows me to transfer +1 power counters away from "one of my minions". Can I transfer counters from 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 minions" are minions you control, whether or not you own them. A minion you own but don't control isn't yours.

Rule: "Your minion" means "a minion that you control".

Q: Can you transfer a +1 power counter to a minion in stasis?

A: No, cards in stasis cannot be affected by cards that do not explicitly state they work on cards in stasis.

Rule: Cards in stasis may not be affected by, or chosen as the target of, any ability that does not refer to stasis.

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: - If Diva copies it, Diva is considered as indirectly affected by the action and has the same amount of +1 power counters either transferred to it from the same source minion (if there aren't enough counters, transfer all that remains and that's it -- don't compensate by placing counters from the pool or transferring them from other minions), or transferred from it to the same recipient minion.
- If Dancing King copies it onto a minion (it can be itself), that minion is considered as indirectly affected by the action and has the same amount of +1 power counters either transferred to it from the same source minion (if there aren't enough counters, transfer all that remains and that's it -- don't compensate by placing counters from the pool or transferring them from other minions), or transferred from it to the same recipient minion.
- If We are Family copies it, the minion it is on is considered as indirectly affected by the action and has the same amount of +1 power counters either transferred to it from the same source minion (if there aren't enough counters, transfer all that remains and that's it -- don't compensate by placing counters from the pool or transferring them from other minions), or transferred from it to the same recipient minion.
- 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 has the same amount of +1 power counters either transferred to it from the same source minion (if there aren't enough counters, transfer all that remains and that's it -- don't compensate by placing counters from the pool or transferring them from other minions), or transferred from it to the same recipient minion.

Rule: Do exactly what the card says.


Questions on We Will Rock You[]

Q: After playing We Will Rock You, if the amount of power counters on a minion is changed (one is added or removed), how is its power adjusted?

A: After playing We Will Rock You, the amount of power is determined and won't change until the end of the turn, so if a minion gains a +1 power counter, it won't get +1 power from We Will Rock You. If the minion loses a +1 power counter, it won't lose a +1 power from We Will Rock You. If the minion loses all its counters, it still keeps the power boost it originally got.

Rule: On-play abilities are resolved only once and have no further effect.

Rule: An effect “until Y” lasts until Y even if the card that caused it leaves play or moves away, or even if any precondition stops being true.

Q: After playing We Will Rock You, what happens if a +1 power counter is transferred?

A: Nothing, the amount of power boost granted by We Will Rock You doesn't change.

Rule: On-play abilities are resolved only once and have no further effect.

Rule: An effect “until Y” lasts until Y even if the card that caused it leaves play or moves away, or even if any precondition stops being true.

Q: It gives power to "each of my minions". Does it also give power to minions 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 minions" are minions you control, whether or not you own them. A minion you own but don't control isn't yours.

Rule: "Your minion" means "a minion that you control".

Q: How does this interact with the Disco Dancers' mechanic and Funky Town's ability?

A: First of all, We Will Rock You directly affects all your minions that has +1 power counters on it, so those minions can't have We Will Rock You's effect copied on them. Then, if the minion that gets the copied effect has no +1 power counters on it:
- If Diva copies it, Diva is considered as indirectly affected by the action and gets the same amount of power as a minion on its base that was directly affected by We Will Rock You, despite Diva not having +1 power counters. For example, if you copy it from a minion that has three +1 power counters, the minion gets +3 power from We Will Rock You, so Diva also gets +3 power. 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 power as a minion on its base that was directly affected by We Will Rock You, despite the minion not having +1 power counters. For example, if you copy it from a minion that has three +1 power counters, the minion gets +3 power from We Will Rock You, so the minion that gets the copy also gets +3 power. 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 power as a minion on its base that was directly affected by We Will Rock You, despite the minion not having +1 power counters. For example, if you copy it from a minion that has three +1 power counters, the minion gets +3 power from We Will Rock You, so the minion with We are Family also gets +3 power. 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, but if Funky Town does copy it, the minion is considered as indirectly affected by the action and gets the same amount of power as a minion on its base that was directly affected by We Will Rock You, despite the minion not having +1 power counters. For example, if you copy it from a minion that has three +1 power counters, the minion gets +3 power from We Will Rock You, so the minion that gets the copy also gets +3 power. 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.

Rule: Do exactly what the card says.


Questions on Who Wants to Live Forever?[]

Q: It allows me to remove +1 power counters from "my minions". Can I also remove them from minions 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 minions" are minions you control, whether or not you own them. A minion you own but don't control isn't yours.

Rule: "Your minion" means "a minion that you control".

Q: After playing this card, 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.

Rule: You wait until your Draw 2 Cards phase to discard down to 10; if your hand is bigger than 10 at other times of the game, that’s okay.

Q: Using this card, if I remove +1 power counters from The Monster, do I get extra minions from The Monster's ability?

A: No. You can only get the extra minion from The Monster if a +1 power counter is removed from it using The Monster's own ability.

Rule: When one card makes you do X and you happen to have another card that says "Do X to do Y" or "You may do X to do Y", you cannot have that same X count for that other card.

Q: How does this interact with the Disco Dancers' mechanic and Funky Town's ability?

A: - There's no point for Diva to copy the removal of counters because Diva can have its +1 power counters removed directly by Who Wants to Live Forever? anyway.
- If Dancing King copies it onto a minion (it can be itself), that minion is considered as indirectly affected by the action and has the same amount of +1 power counters removed from it (if there aren't enough on it, remove all of them). If several minions had their +1 power counters removed on Dancing King's base, choose one of them to imitate. Note that if several minions had their +1 power counters removed on that base, Dancing King only triggers once and allows you to remove the +1 power counters from only one additional minion, not one per affected minion. Also, note that while the action is restricted to a minion controlled by the action player, the effect's copy still works if applied to a minion not controlled by that player. Next, regardless of whoever controls the minion that got its +1 power counters indirectly removed by Who Wants to Live Forever?, you still resolve the rest of the ability as written, and so you (and only you) draw a card for each counter removed, and yes, even the counters that were indirectly removed from that other minion!
- If We are Family copies it, the minion it is on is considered as indirectly affected by the action and has the same amount of +1 power counters removed from it (if there aren't enough on it, remove all of them). If several minions had their +1 power counters removed on We are Family's base, choose one of them to imitate. Note that if several minions had their +1 power counters removed on that base, We are Family only triggers once and allows you to remove the +1 power counters from only one additional minion, not one per affected minion. Also, note that while the action is restricted to a minion controlled by the action player, the effect's copy still works if applied to a minion not controlled by that player. Next, regardless of whoever controls the minion that got its +1 power counters indirectly removed by Who Wants to Live Forever?, you still resolve the rest of the ability as written, and so you (and only you) draw a card for each counter removed, and yes, even the counters that were indirectly removed from that other minion!
- There's no point for Funky Town to copy the removal of counters because the minion can have its +1 power counters removed directly by Who Wants to Live Forever? anyway.

Rule: Do exactly what the card says.


Questions on Death on Six Legs[]

Main article: Titans

Q: The card says "Special" so I can use it outside of my turn, but why does the card also say "on your turn"? Aren't Special playable at any time?

A: "Special" does not mean the card can be played out of turn. "Special" simply means that it's an ability that can be used when its condition is met. Whether it can be used out of turn, activated straight from your hand/discard pile, or if it can only be used when it's already in play (essentially being a synonym of Ongoing), it entirely depends on the wording. In the case of Death on Six Legs, the condition is "on your turn", which already restricts its usage during your Play Cards phase, not at any other times. Note that it's restricted to your Play Cards phase only, not any other phases of your turn either.

Rule: A Special ability will describe how it can be used.

Rule: "On your turn" means "during the Play Cards (phase 2) of each of your turns".

Q: Its Special ability applies to the +1 power counter on "my minions". Does it also apply to +1 power counters on minions 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 minions" are minions you control, whether or not you own them. A minion you own but don't control isn't yours.

Rule: "Your minion" means "a minion that you control".

Q: I have seven or more +1 power counters on Summon Wolves, so I can summon Death on Six Legs thanks to them, right?

A: No. Summon Wolves is an action, not a minion, so you don't count the +1 power counters on it.

Rule: Specific words are not synonymous no matter how similar they seem.

Q: Isn't there a typo? I think it's supposed to transfer +1 power counters from one of my minions to the titan. Otherwise, it seems unfair to steal power counters from other players.

A: It's not a typo. Death on Six Legs does allow you to steal +1 power counters from other players when their minions go to the discard pile.

Rule: If there are no limits, there are no limits.

Q: What happens if a minion is discarded from play while it has more than one +1 power counter? Are all the +1 power counters transferred to Death on Six Legs?

A: No, if you read the ability carefully, it says "transfer one of its +1 power counters", so if the minion has several +1 power counters, only one is transferred to Death on Six Legs.

Rule: When an ability is triggered, it's resolved once per trigger.

Q: What happens to Death on Six Legs when the base that it's on scores?

A: It remains on that base until the step where you discard all the cards on the base. At which point it leaves play and is set aside. Any +1 power counter on it is removed.

Rule: During the Score Bases step where the cards are discarded, all the cards on the scored base are discarded simultaneously.

Rule: If, for whatever reasons, a titan must leave play, it's actually set aside near its owner's deck and any +1 power counters on it are removed.

Q: A base is chosen to score. I have no minions there, but I have Death on Six Legs there. It is similar to a minion, right? So I can still get VPs from the base if 0 is among the top three total power, right?

A: No and no. Death on Six Legs is a titan, not a minion. To be eligible to receive VPs, you must have at least one minion or at least 1 total power on the base. If you have no minions and your total power there is 0, then you can't receive any VPs from the base. Now, if Death on Six Legs had any +1 power counters on it or gave you any total power (e.g. on Kaiju Island), then you would have at least 1 total power and be eligible. Otherwise, no.

Rule: A player must have at least one minion or 1 total power on a base to be eligible to receive its VP reward.

Q: An opponent is playing the Giant Ants with their titan. Their Death on Six Legs isn't in play. It's my Play Cards phase and I have seven or more +1 power counters on my minions, I can then invoke Death on Six Legs through its Special ability and play it there, right?

A: No, only the player who has it next to their deck can play it.

Rule: Playable Special cards can only be played by their current possessor.

Q: If Death on Six Legs's ability is cancelled, are the +1 power counters transferred to it by its own ability removed?

A: No. When you transfer a +1 power counter, it's a definitive effect, so the +1 power counters remain even if the card that transferred them has its ability cancelled (like drawing cards, if you play Enchantress, you're not going to discard the card you drew if Enchantress's ability is cancelled).

Rule: Cancelling (or losing) an effect does not necessarily undo what it did.

Trivia[]

  • The artist is Marcel Stobinski, who also designed the art of a few other factions.
  • The artist for the titan (which was released after Monster Smash) is Gong Studios, who also designed the art of many other factions.
  • Their divider (available in The Big Geeky Box and The Bigger Geekier Box) features Soldier.
  • Killer Queen and every action in this faction are named after songs by British rock band Queen.
  • Death on Six Legs is yet another reference to Queen, being a pun on their song "Death on Two Legs".
  • The faction and its design mostly refers to the US-american science fiction horror movie "Them!" from 1954

In other languages[]

Language Name Translation (if different)
Chinese 巨蟻
French Fourmis géantes
German Riesenameisen
Italian Insetti Giganti Giant Insects
Spanish Hormigas gigantes


Monster Smash
Factions: Giant Ants  •  Mad Scientists  •  Vampires  •  Werewolves
Mechanics: +1 Power Counters  •  Titans (optional, since the TITANS Event Kit)
TITANS Event Kit
Mechanics: +1 Power Counters  •  Madness  •  Titans
Sets
Main: Core Set  •  Awesome Level 9000  •  The Obligatory Cthulhu Set  •  Science Fiction Double Feature  •  Monster Smash  •  Pretty Pretty Smash Up  •  Smash Up: Munchkin  •  It’s Your Fault!  •  Cease and Desist  •  What Were We Thinking?  •  Big in Japan  •  That ’70s Expansion  •  Oops, You Did It Again  •  World Tour: International Incident  •  World Tour: Culture Shock  •  Smash Up: Marvel  •  Smash Up: Disney Edition  •  10th Anniversary  •  Excellent Movies, Dudes!
Big Boxes: The Big Geeky Box  •  The Bigger Geekier Box
Event Kits: All Stars Event Kit  •  TITANS Event Kit
Booster Packs: Smash Up All Stars  •  Smash Up Sheep Promo  •  Smash Up Penguins  •  Smash Up TITANS  •  Dead Reckoning Promo  •  Smash Up Goblins  •  Smash Up Knights of the Round Table  •  Smash Up Teens
Cancelled: World Tour Event Kit

References[]

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