The Penguins were to be the single faction in the cancelled World Tour Event Kit. They are now available in the Smash Up Penguins set.
This faction has no official flavor text because the World Tour Event Kit would not have a rulebook.
They focus on playing random extra minions straight out of the deck and gaining benefits from doing so.
Other factions from the same set: (none).
Cards[]
The Penguins have the usual 10 minions and 10 actions. They are also one of the rare factions to have a titan. The total minion base power (not counting any abilities) is unusually low at only 27 or an average of 2.7 per minion compared to the usual 30 and 3.
Among their actions, there are:
- 0 play-on-minion actions,
- 3 play-on-base actions: Ice Slide, Leaping Aboard, Pebble Gift,
- 7 standard actions (3 that affect one or more minions, in bold): A Wish for Wings That Work (2x), I Can’t Tell Them Apart, Secret Mission, The Hatching (2x), Under the Ice,
- 2 actions that directly increase a minion's power: A Wish for Wings That Work (2x).
Minions[]
1x Command Penguin - power 4 - Play a minion off the top of your deck as an extra minion. FAQ
1x Dancing Penguin - power 4 - Special: When you play another minion, you may play this minion to the same base instead. Place the other minion on the bottom of its owner’s deck; it has no effect. FAQ
1x Disguise Penguin - power 3 - Talent: Place this minion on the bottom of your deck to play a minion off the top of your deck here as an extra minion. The Disguise Penguin ability can only be used once per turn. FAQ
1x Snazzy Penguin - power 3 - If this minion was played off the top of a deck, draw two cards. FAQ
1x Surfing Penguin - power 3 - You may move a minion from here to another base. FAQ
1x Regurgitating Penguin - power 2 - Reveal the top three cards of your deck. You may place an action revealed into your hand. Return the rest in any order. FAQ
4x Baby Penguin - power 2 - If this minion was played off the top of a deck, you may play an extra minion here of power 3 or less. FAQ
Actions[]
2x A Wish for Wings That Work - Choose a base. Play Emperor Penguin there OR all of your minions there gain +1 power until the end of the turn. FAQ
1x I Can’t Tell Them Apart - Shuffle any number of your minions on a base into your deck. Play an equal number of minions there off the top of your deck as extra minions. FAQ
1x Ice Slide - Play on a base. Special: After this base scores, draw one card for each of your minions that goes to the discard pile from here. FAQ
1x Leaping Aboard - Play on a base. Special: After this base scores, play a minion off the top of your deck as an extra minion on the base that replaces it. FAQ
1x Pebble Gift - Play on a base. Ongoing: After you play a minion here off the top of a deck, draw a card. FAQ
1x Secret Mission - Place any number of cards from your hand on the bottom of your deck. Draw that many cards, then shuffle your deck. FAQ
2x The Hatching - Play a minion off the top of your deck as an extra minion. FAQ
1x Under the Ice - Reveal the top five cards of your deck. Play a random minion of them as an extra minion. Place the rest on the bottom of their owner’s deck in any order. FAQ
Titan[]
1x Emperor Penguin - Special: At the start of your turn you may play this titan at a base where you have three or more minions. Ongoing: Instead of your regular minion play, you may play a minion off the top of your deck here. Talent: Reveal a minion of power 3 or less from your hand or discard pile and shuffle it into your deck to place a +1 power counter on this card. FAQ
Bases[]
Clarifications[]
Here are the official clarifications as they appear in the World Tour Event Kit insert:
Dancing Penguin: You must reveal the minion you are about to play, and show it is a legal play at a particular base, before playing Dancing Penguin instead. If replaced, the other minion does not count as being played, so abilities that depend on it being played don’t trigger. Dancing Penguin is not limited by constraints on the minion it replaces, and it is not affected by the ability that plays the other minion (e.g. neither part of “Play an extra minion of power 2 or less and place a +1 power counter on it” would apply).
Disguise Penguin: If this cards ends up replaying itself, you cannot re-use its ability the same turn.
Surfing Penguin: The minion moved may belong to you or to another player, and can be Surfing Penguin itself.
Under the Ice: If you reveal no minion, you play nothing and just place the cards on the bottom of your deck.
Mechanics[]
Penguins make use of the new "Play off the top of the deck" to play a lot of extra minions, although with very little control over which minion you'll get.
To play a minion off the top of the deck, you reveal cards from the top of your deck until you find a minion, which you'll play. Revealed actions (if any) get shuffled into your deck after that. More details here.
Penguins have very little way to set up the top of your deck to control which minion you'll get, and most of their abilities can end with you shuffling your deck, therefore undoing any setup you may have done. ("Play off the top of a deck" abilities only end with you shuffling your deck if you revealed any actions.)
A few of their abilities (Baby Penguins, Snazzy Penguin and Pebble Gift) give you benefits for playing a minion off the top of the deck, but please note that for a minion to be considered as "played off the top of a deck", it does not have to be played with a "Play off the top of a deck" ability. If an ability or rule makes you reveal one or more cards from the top of a deck and have you play a minion from among those cards, then the played minion is considered as having been played off the top of that deck. So cards, such as Hoverbot, Moon Dumpster, or even the Penguins' very own Under the Ice card all trigger Baby Penguins, Snazzy Penguin and Pebble Gift. More details here.
External Strategy Guides[]
FAQ[]
Questions on Command Penguin[]
Q: What does playing "off the top of your deck" mean? Do I just reveal the top card of my deck and play it it's a minion? Sounds lame...
A: No, you reveal cards from your deck until you find a minion, which you'll have to play. Then you shuffle all the revealed actions into your deck.
Q: What do I do with the revealed actions? Do I discard them?
A: You shuffle them into your deck.
Q: When do I play the revealed minion? Before or after I shuffle the revealed actions into my deck?
A: Before.
Q: What if the minion's ability allows me to draw a card, search my deck, place or shuffle a card into my deck, etc.? Can I draw one of the revealed actions or put back the revealed actions into my deck before doing that?
A: You only do it to what remains of your deck. The revealed actions aren't considered as in play or in your deck or discard pile. So:
- if you need to draw a card, you draw the next unrevealed card,
- if you need to search your deck, you only search among the unrevealed cards of your deck,
- if you need to place a card on the bottom or top of your deck, you only place on the bottom or top of what remains of your deck,
- if you need to shuffle a card into your deck, you only shuffle it into what remains of it.
Q: What do I do if I reveal an action I don't own?
A: You shuffle it into its owner's deck when you have to shuffle all revealed actions into your deck.
Q: What if there are no minions in my deck and I reveal all of it and it's just actions? Do I shuffle my discard pile to make a new deck and continue revealing from there? Rules say that if I need to reveal a card and my deck is empty, I have to make a new deck and continue from there until I do find a minion.
A: Actually, no, you don't shuffle your discard pile in that case. If your deck runs out, you stop revealing and end the process of playing a minion off the top of your deck by shuffling all revealed cards to make a deck.
Q: What if I reveal a Shoggoth and don't have any eligible base to play it on?
A: You discard it and don't play any replacement for it.
Rule: If conditions prohibit playing a chosen card, discard it instead.
Q: I suppose I have to play the extra minion on Command Penguin's base, right?
A: No, there's no such restriction, so you can play it on any base.
Questions on Dancing Penguin[]
Q: The card says "Special" so I can use it outside of my turn, but why does the card also say "at the start of 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 Dancing Penguin, the condition is "when you play another minion". So you can only play it when you're playing another minion.
Q: I don't get its ability. What does it do?
A: Basically, Dancing Penguin can replace any minion you're about to play regardless of prerequisites. For example, when you want to play a minion "of power 2 or less" (e.g. an the extra minion after playing a Zapbot), normally you're supposed to reveal the minion, choose a base to play it on and then play it there. You can use Dancing Penguin to interrupt the process right after choosing the destination base but before you play the minion there. If you do, play Dancing Penguin on that base instead even if it doesn't match the original minion's prerequisite (here a power 2 or less) and place the minion you were supposed to play on the bottom of its owner's deck and don't resolve the abilities you would have resolved if it was successfully played.
Q: Can I play it from stasis when I play another minion?
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: If I'm about to play a minion on an enemy Imperial Dragon's base and replace it with Dancing Penguin, how many cards does the Imperial Dragon player draw? Also applies to Fun Bear
A: One. Since you replaced the original minion with Dancing Penguin, it doesn't count as having been played, so the player only draw a card for Dancing Penguin.
Q: If I play Crack of Dusk and replace the extra minion of power 2 or less from my discard pile by Dancing Penguin from my hand. Does Dancing Penguin get the +1 power counter from Crack of Dusk?
A: No, Dancing Penguin doesn't really substitute for the other minion, it simply denies the other minion's play and gets played itself. When Crack of Dusk refers to "it" in "Place a +1 power counter on it", it refers to the original minion you were supposed to play, not Dancing Penguin. Since the original minion is not in play, placing a +1 power counter on it won't work.
Q: If I get an extra minion play of power 2 or less, can I replace it with Dancing Penguin and play it on Tsar’s Palace?
A: No, because the base is chosen before Dancing Penguin is played, so the base must be a legal play with the original minion.
Q: If I replace a minion of power 2 or less with Dancing Penguin, can I play it on any base I want ignoring an enemy Bear Picnic?
A: No, because the base is chosen before Dancing Penguin is played, so the base must be a legal play with the original minion.
Questions on Disguise Penguin[]
Q: What does playing "off the top of your deck" mean? Do I just reveal the top card of my deck and play it it's a minion? Sounds lame...
A: No, you reveal cards from your deck until you find a minion, which you'll have to play. Then you shuffle all the revealed actions into your deck.
Q: What do I do with the revealed actions? Do I discard them?
A: You shuffle them into your deck.
Q: When do I play the revealed minion? Before or after I shuffle the revealed actions into my deck?
A: Before.
Q: What if the minion's ability allows me to draw a card, search my deck, place or shuffle a card into my deck, etc.? Can I draw one of the revealed actions or put back the revealed actions into my deck before doing that?
A: You only do it to what remains of your deck. The revealed actions aren't considered as in play or in your deck or discard pile. So:
- if you need to draw a card, you draw the next unrevealed card,
- if you need to search your deck, you only search among the unrevealed cards of your deck,
- if you need to place a card on the bottom or top of your deck, you only place on the bottom or top of what remains of your deck,
- if you need to shuffle a card into your deck, you only shuffle it into what remains of it.
Q: What do I do if I reveal an action I don't own?
A: You shuffle it into its owner's deck when you have to shuffle all revealed actions into your deck.
Q: What if there are no minions in my deck and I reveal all of it and it's just actions? Do I shuffle my discard pile to make a new deck and continue revealing from there? Rules say that if I need to reveal a card and my deck is empty, I have to make a new deck and continue from there until I do find a minion.
A: Actually, no, you don't shuffle your discard pile in that case. If your deck runs out, you stop revealing and end the process of playing a minion off the top of your deck by shuffling all revealed cards to make a deck.
Q: What if I reveal a Shoggoth and don't have any eligible base to play it on?
A: You discard it and don't play any replacement for it.
Rule: If conditions prohibit playing a chosen card, discard it instead.
Q: If I don't own Disguise Penguin, do I get an extra minion play off the top of my deck if I use its talent?
A: No. If you use its talent, since you don't own it, Disguise Penguin will go on the bottom of its owner's deck. Then, you won't get the extra minion play because you needed to successfully do the first part of its talent, i.e. "[placing] this minion on the bottom of your deck"; it wasn't placed on the bottom of your deck.
Q: Since the Disguise Penguin is essentially replaced by another minion, do I transfer counters and actions on Disguise Penguin onto the new minion?
A: No, as soon as the former minion leaves play, the counters and actions on it are discarded.
Questions on Snazzy Penguin[]
Q: what does "if this minion was played off the top of a deck" mean? I suppose it's only when it's played as the minion of a "Play a minion off the top of your deck" ability. Sounds very limited...
A: No, it means if the minion is first revealed among the top cards of a deck and then played. This of course includes "Play a minion off the top of your deck" abilities, but several other cards as well, such as Under the Ice, Secret Volcano Headquarters, Plan For More!, etc.
Q: I play a "Play a minion off the top of your deck" ability and reveal Snazzy Penguin, do I draw the cards before or after the revealed actions are shuffled back into my deck?
A: Before.
Q: I play a "Play a minion off the top of your deck" ability, reveal and play Snazzy Penguin, do I draw the two cards among the revealed actions?
A: No, you draw them from what remains of your deck.
Q: After playing this card off the top of a deck, 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.
Questions on Surfing Penguin[]
Q: Can I move another player's minion?
A: Yes.
Q: If I move another player's minion, do I take control of it?
A: No. Moving is just relocating a minion, it doesn't mean that you take control of it.
Q: If I play Surfing Penguin on an enemy Leprechaun's base and move Surfing Penguin or Leprechaun to another base, will Surfing Penguin be destroyed?
A: Based on the wording, yes, but it's actually no: The Bigger Geekier Box ruled that Leprechaun and the minion must be on the same base after resolving the played minion's ability for the played minion to be destroyed.
Questions on Regurgitating Penguin[]
Q: If I reveal a card I don't own, what happens?
A: There are two different paths for the revealed card:
- If it's an action and you choose to place it into your hand, it goes to its owner's hand, that's because the other players can see who owns the card and the card changes location.
- If it's not an action or you didn't choose to place it in your hand, it goes on the top of your deck, that's because, while the other players can see who owns the card, the card is merely revealed and doesn't change location.
Rule: Cards you don’t own that are merely revealed in your hand or deck stay there.
Q: If I play this minion off the top of my deck, what's the order of events? Do I return the remaining cards after shuffling or before?
A: While "searching" for a minion to play off the top of your deck and finding Regurgitating Penguin, you have to play it immediately and resolve its ability as well. So you reveal the top next three cards (not the cards that were revealed prior to finding Regurgitating Penguin), optionally draw an action from among the three revealed cards, and place the rest of the three cards on the top of your deck. Then, you continue with the process of playing a minion off the top of your deck, so if you revealed any actions before Regurgitating Penguin, you shuffle them into your deck, therefore messing with your setup.
Rule: Cards you don’t own that are merely revealed in your hand or deck stay there.
Q: After playing this card, 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.
Questions on Baby Penguin[]
Q: what does "if this minion was played off the top of a deck" mean? I suppose it's only when it's played as the minion of a "Play a minion off the top of your deck" ability. Sounds very limited...
A: No, it means if the minion is first revealed among the top cards of a deck and then played. This of course includes "Play a minion off the top of your deck" abilities, but several other cards as well, such as Under the Ice, Secret Volcano Headquarters, Plan For More!, etc.
Q: I play a "Play a minion off the top of your deck" ability, reveal and play a Baby Penguin and choose to play the extra minion immediately. If the extra minion allows me to do anything to my deck, what happens?
A: Treat what remains of your deck as your current deck. The revealed actions aren't considered part of it until they are shuffled back in.
Q: I play a "Play a minion off the top of your deck" ability, reveal and play a Baby Penguin and choose to play the extra minion of power 3 or less immediately, do I play the extra minion before or after the revealed actions are shuffled back into my deck?
A: Before.
Q: If this is played off the top of a deck, does the extra minion of power 3 or less also come off the top of the same deck?
A: No, it doesn't specify it's played off the top of any deck, so it must come from your hand by default.
Questions on A Wish for Wings That Work[]
Q: An opponent is playing with the Penguins. I manage to get their A Wish for Wings That Work card (e.g. Trade, Mass Enchantment, Min-Maxing, Word of Recall) What happens if I choose the "play Emperor Penguin" option?
A: It depends. First, if you already control a titan, you won't be able to play another titan anyway. Second, if there's no Emperor Penguin out of play, you can't play it because it's already in play and you won't gain control of one that's already in play either as that's not what A Wish for Wings That Work does. Other than that, if you are able to play a titan and if there's an Emperor Penguin that's currently out of play, you can play it and you have control of it, even if you're not that Emperor Penguin's owner.
Rule: If you play a titan you don't own, you get control of it.
Q: If I choose to play Emperor Penguin, do I have to match its Special playing condition, i.e. having at least three minions on its base?
A: No, because you play it with A Wish for Wings That Work, which doesn't have such restrictions. That restriction only matters if you play Emperor Penguin using its own Special ability.
Rule: Titans may be played on a base when a card — including the titan itself, says you can play them.
Q: It gives +1 power to "my minions". Does it also give +1 power to a minion I own that 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.
Q: If I play A Wish for Wings That Work and then play another minion there afterward, does the new minion get +1 power from A Wish for Wings That Work?
A: No, it only increases the power of minions currently on the chosen base at the time the card is played, and not the power of minions played afterwards.
Q: If I play A Wish for Wings That Work and then move one of my minions to the targeted base. Does the minion get +1 power from A Wish for Wings That Work?
A: The Bigger Geekier Box now rules that the power boost is granted as a definitive effect. The restriction to the base is only for when the card is played, so minions that didn't get the boost won't get it by later moving on the base.
Q: If I play A Wish for Wings That Work and then move one of my minions from the targeted base to another base. Does the minion lose the +1 power from A Wish for Wings That Work?
A: The Bigger Geekier Box now rules that the power boost is granted as a definitive effect. The restriction to the base is only for when the card is played, so minions that got the boost still keep it if they are moved to a different base.
Q: I play A Wish for Wings That Work and boost my minions. If an opponent manages to take control of one of my minions there before A Wish for Wings That Work expires (e.g. The Base Is Not Enough, Can Has Cheeseburger?), does the minion keep its boost?
A: Yes, A Wish for Wings That Work gives the +1 power to all your minions there as a definitive effect, so the restriction that only your minions are affected only matters when A Wish for Wings That Work is played. Afterwards, if the minion's controller changes the +1 power still remains applied to it until the end of the turn.
Q: An opponent's Magic Ward is on a base where I have minions, can I play A Wish for Wings That Work and boost them?
A: Sure. Magic Ward only prevents "play on a base" actions from being played there, but A Wish for Wings That Work isn't played on a base, so Magic Ward does nothing to it.
Q: How does this interact with the Disco Dancers' mechanic and Funky Town's ability?
A: - Diva can't copy it because it would already be directly affected by it.
- If Dancing King copies it onto a minion (it can be itself), that minion is considered as indirectly affected by the action and gets +1 power.
- If We are Family copies it, the minion it is on is considered as indirectly affected by the action and gets +1 power.
- Funky Town can't copy it because you need to be the one who played the action and so all your minions are already directly affected by it.
Questions on I Can’t Tell Them Apart[]
Q: It tells me to shuffle any number of "my minions". Can I shuffle 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.
Q: If I choose to shuffle a minion I control but don't own, does it go into my deck?
A: No. It's shuffled into its owner's deck, or in the case of a treasure minion, it's discarded in the treasure discard pile.
Q: What does playing "off the top of your deck" mean? Do I just reveal the top card of my deck and play it it's a minion? Sounds lame...
A: No, you reveal cards from your deck until you find a minion, which you'll have to play. If you've shuffled more than one minion into your deck, you repeat revealing cards until you find a minion and playing it. Only after you've repeated this process as many times as allowed, you then shuffle all the revealed actions into your deck.
Q: What do I do with the revealed actions? Do I discard them?
A: You shuffle them into your deck.
Q: When do I play the revealed minions? Before or after I shuffle the revealed actions into my deck?
A: Before.
Q: What if a minion's ability allows me to draw a card, search my deck, place or shuffle a card into my deck, etc.? Can I draw one of the revealed actions or put back the revealed actions into my deck before doing that?
A: You only do it to what remains of your deck. The revealed actions aren't considered as in play or in your deck or discard pile. So:
- if you need to draw a card, you draw the next unrevealed card,
- if you need to search your deck, you only search among the unrevealed cards of your deck,
- if you need to place a card on the bottom or top of your deck, you only place on the bottom or top of what remains of your deck,
- if you need to shuffle a card into your deck, you only shuffle it into what remains of it.
Q: What do I do if I reveal an action I don't own?
A: You shuffle it into its owner's deck when you have to shuffle all revealed actions into your deck.
Q: What if there are (somehow) not enough minions in my deck and I reveal all of it? Do I shuffle my discard pile to make a new deck and continue revealing from there? Rules say that if I need to reveal a card and my deck is empty, I have to make a new deck and continue from there until I do find a minion.
A: Actually, no, you don't shuffle your discard pile in that case. If your deck runs out, you stop revealing and end the process of playing a minion off the top of your deck by shuffling all revealed cards to make a deck.
Q: What if I reveal a Shoggoth and don't have any eligible base to play it on?
A: You discard it and don't play any replacement for it.
Rule: If conditions prohibit playing a chosen card, discard it instead.
Q: Among the minions I chose to shuffle, there are minions that I don't own and therefore that got shuffled into other players' decks. How many extra minions do I get to play off the top of my deck?
A: The same number of minions you chose. The card says "the same number" so what matters is how many minions you tried to shuffle into your deck, whether or not they were effectively shuffled into your deck.
Questions on Ice Slide[]
Q: An opponent plays this card on a base, so after the base scores, I also draw a card for each of my discarded minions, 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 "(you) draw" means "they draw".
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 card says "Special: After this base scores", does it mean I can play it from my hand during the after-scoring step?
A: No. It says "Special: After this base scores", not "Special: After a base scores", so its ability refers to the base it's on, or to the base the minion it's attached to is on. Therefore, the action must already be in play for its ability to be relevant.
Q: After using this card's ability, I 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 is used on another player's turn, you keep all your cards and can therefore play your next turn with more than ten cards in hand.
Q: What does it mean for a minion to go to the discard pile from a base?
A: It means first being on a base, and then going to the discard pile for whatever reason. Possible reasons include:
- being destroyed (if the minion does end in the discard pile as a result, as such, being destroyed on Tar Pits will result in the minion going to bottom of a deck, not to the discard pile and so won't trigger Ice Slide),
- being discarded after its base scores,
- and being discarded after the base leaves play outside of scoring (this would happen for indestructible minions after a base is destroyed by There Goes Tokyo).
Note that in the case of Ice Slide, there's a further restriction; it's only relevant after its base scores.
Q: After the base with my Ice Slide scores, my minions there and Ice Slide all go to the discard pile at the same time. Do I really draw cards for my discarded minions? Ice Slide would already be discarded when I have to draw the cards and so its ability doesn't apply anymore, or does it? I guess Ice Slide's ability has to make sense somehow...
A: Yes, you draw a card for each of your discarded minions. Ice Slide's ability is triggered during the after-scoring step and once triggered will apply for the rest of the turn, so even though it's discarded, you'll still draw a card for each of your minions that goes to the discard pile from that base
Q: It allows me to draw a card after "each of my minions" there is discarded. Does it also work with 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.
Q: If the base my Ice Slide is on is Ninja Dojo and the winner chooses to destroy one of my minions, do I also draw a card for that minion? It goes to the discard pile after.
A: Short answer: yes. Long answer: During the after-scoring step you describe, at least two abilities are triggered, i.e. Ice Slide and Ninja Dojo. Ice Slide is mandatory while Ninja Dojo is optional, so Ice Slide must be resolved first, then when Ninja Dojo is resolved, Ice Slide would already be active and so you'll indeed draw a card for the destroyed minion.
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 "Play on a base", which means that it is not a standard action.
Questions on Leaping Aboard[]
Q: An opponent plays this card on a base, so after the base scores, I also play an extra minion off the top of my deck, 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 deck" means "their deck" and "(you) play" means "they play".
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 card says "Special: After this base scores", does it mean I can play it from my hand during the after-scoring step?
A: No. It says "Special: After this base scores", not "Special: After a base scores", so its ability refers to the base it's on, or to the base the minion it's attached to is on. Therefore, the action must already be in play for its ability to be relevant.
Q: What does playing "off the top of your deck" mean? Do I just reveal the top card of my deck and play it it's a minion? Sounds lame...
A: No, you reveal cards from your deck until you find a minion, which you'll have to play. Then you shuffle all the revealed actions into your deck.
Q: What do I do with the revealed actions? Do I discard them?
A: You shuffle them into your deck.
Q: When do I play the revealed minion? Before or after I shuffle the revealed actions into my deck?
A: Before.
Q: What if the minion's ability allows me to draw a card, search my deck, place or shuffle a card into my deck, etc.? Can I draw one of the revealed actions or put back the revealed actions into my deck before doing that?
A: You only do it to what remains of your deck. The revealed actions aren't considered as in play or in your deck or discard pile. So:
- if you need to draw a card, you draw the next unrevealed card,
- if you need to search your deck, you only search among the unrevealed cards of your deck,
- if you need to place a card on the bottom or top of your deck, you only place on the bottom or top of what remains of your deck,
- if you need to shuffle a card into your deck, you only shuffle it into what remains of it.
Q: What do I do if I reveal an action I don't own?
A: You shuffle it into its owner's deck when you have to shuffle all revealed actions into your deck.
Q: What if there are no minions in my deck and I reveal all of it and it's just actions? Do I shuffle my discard pile to make a new deck and continue revealing from there? Rules say that if I need to reveal a card and my deck is empty, I have to make a new deck and continue from there until I do find a minion.
A: Actually, no, you don't shuffle your discard pile in that case. If your deck runs out, you stop revealing and end the process of playing a minion off the top of your deck by shuffling all revealed cards to make a deck.
Q: What if I reveal a Shoggoth and don't have any eligible base to play it on?
A: You discard it and don't play any replacement for it.
Rule: If conditions prohibit playing a chosen card, discard it instead.
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 "Play on a base", which means that it is not a standard action.
Questions on Pebble Gift[]
Q: An opponent plays this card on a base, so after I play a minion there off the top of a deck, I draw a card, 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 "you play" means "they play" and "(you) draw" means "they draw".
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: What does playing "after you play a minion here off the top of a deck" mean? I suppose it's only when I play a minion as the minion of a "Play a minion off the top of your deck" ability. Sounds very limited...
A: No, it means after you play a minion there and if that minion was first revealed among the top cards of a deck and then played. This of course includes "Play a minion off the top of your deck" abilities, but several other cards as well, such as Under the Ice, Secret Volcano Headquarters, Plan For More!, etc.
Q: After using this card's ability, I 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 is used on another player's turn, you keep all your cards and can therefore play your next turn with more than ten cards in hand.
Q: I have both Leaping Aboard and Pebble Gift on the same base. After it scores, do I draw a card from Pebble Gift because of the extra minion I play with Leaping Aboard?
A: No. Leaping Aboard does trigger during the after-scoring step, but it will fully resolve when the new base comes into play because you must wait until the base is replaced to play the extra minion. At this point, all the cards on the scored base, including both Leaping Aboard and Pebble Gift, are already discarded, so Pebble Gift is no longer around when you play the extra minion off the top of your deck.
Rule: Check phase 3.
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 "Play on a base", which means that it is not a standard action.
Questions on Secret Mission[]
Q: If I have cards in my hand that I don't own (e.g. treasure cards, a card obtained by Trade), what happens if I use Secret Mission to put these cards into my deck?
A: The other players can't know which cards you're placing under your deck so do exactly what Secret Mission says. So, if there are treasures, they won't go in the treasure discard pile, and if there are cards owned by other players, they won't go under their deck.
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 The Hatching[]
Q: What does playing "off the top of your deck" mean? Do I just reveal the top card of my deck and play it it's a minion? Sounds lame...
A: No, you reveal cards from your deck until you find a minion, which you'll have to play. Then you shuffle all the revealed actions into your deck.
Q: What do I do with the revealed actions? Do I discard them?
A: You shuffle them into your deck.
Q: When do I play the revealed minion? Before or after I shuffle the revealed actions into my deck?
A: Before.
Q: What if the minion's ability allows me to draw a card, search my deck, place or shuffle a card into my deck, etc.? Can I draw one of the revealed actions or put back the revealed actions into my deck before doing that?
A: You only do it to what remains of your deck. The revealed actions aren't considered as in play or in your deck or discard pile. So:
- if you need to draw a card, you draw the next unrevealed card,
- if you need to search your deck, you only search among the unrevealed cards of your deck,
- if you need to place a card on the bottom or top of your deck, you only place on the bottom or top of what remains of your deck,
- if you need to shuffle a card into your deck, you only shuffle it into what remains of it.
Q: What do I do if I reveal an action I don't own?
A: You shuffle it into its owner's deck when you have to shuffle all revealed actions into your deck.
Q: What if there are no minions in my deck and I reveal all of it and it's just actions? Do I shuffle my discard pile to make a new deck and continue revealing from there? Rules say that if I need to reveal a card and my deck is empty, I have to make a new deck and continue from there until I do find a minion.
A: Actually, no, you don't shuffle your discard pile in that case. If your deck runs out, you stop revealing and end the process of playing a minion off the top of your deck by shuffling all revealed cards to make a deck.
Q: What if I reveal a Shoggoth and don't have any eligible base to play it on?
A: You discard it and don't play any replacement for it.
Rule: If conditions prohibit playing a chosen card, discard it instead.
Questions on Under the Ice[]
Q: That's stupid. Apart from Baby Penguin, this is the only Penguin card that allows me to play a minion that's not played off the top of my deck, so if the extra minion is Snazzy Penguin or Baby Penguin, or if it's played on Pebble Gift's base, they don't trigger. Why is that?
A: Actually the minion played with Under the Ice is considered as being played off the top of your deck. A minion is considered as being played off the top of a deck if that minion is first revealed among the top cards of a deck and then played. This of course includes "Play a minion off the top of your deck" abilities, but several other cards as well, such as Raiding Party, Secret Volcano Headquarters, Plan For More!, etc. and Under the Ice as well! Indeed, you're revealing cards from the top of your deck and the minion is played from among them, which definitely counts toward the definition of a card played off the top of a deck, even though it was a random minion.
Questions on Emperor Penguin[]
- Main article: Titans
Q: The card says "Special" so I can use it outside of my turn, but why does the card also say "at the start of 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 Emperor Penguin, the condition is "at the start of your turn", which already restricts its usage during your Start Turn phase, not at any other times. Note that it's restricted to your Start Turn phase only, not any other phases of your turn either.
Rule: "At the start of your turn" means "during the Start Turn (phase 1) of each of your turns".
Q: A base is chosen to score. I have no minions there, but I have Emperor Penguin 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. Emperor Penguin 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 Emperor Penguin 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.
Q: I need to "have three or more minions". Do minions that I own but don't control also count? I don't control them but I "own" them, so I "have" them, right?
A: No. "Where you have a minion" means "where you control at least one minion (whether or not you own it)". Minions you just own but don't control don't count.
Q: Regarding its Ongoing ability, what does playing "off the top of your deck" mean? Do I just reveal the top card of my deck and play it it's a minion? Sounds lame...
A: No, you reveal cards from your deck until you find a minion, which you'll have to play. Then you shuffle all the revealed actions into your deck.
Q: Regarding its Ongoing ability, what do I do with the revealed actions? Do I discard them?
A: You shuffle them into your deck.
Q: Regarding its Ongoing ability, when do I play the revealed minion? Before or after I shuffle the revealed actions into my deck?
A: Before.
Q: Regarding its Ongoing ability, what if the minion's ability allows me to draw a card, search my deck, place or shuffle a card into my deck, etc.? Can I draw one of the revealed actions or put back the revealed actions into my deck before doing that?
A: You only do it to what remains of your deck. The revealed actions aren't considered as in play or in your deck or discard pile. So:
- if you need to draw a card, you draw the next unrevealed card,
- if you need to search your deck, you only search among the unrevealed cards of your deck,
- if you need to place a card on the bottom or top of your deck, you only place on the bottom or top of what remains of your deck,
- if you need to shuffle a card into your deck, you only shuffle it into what remains of it.
Q: Regarding its Ongoing and Special abilities, what do I do if I reveal a card I don't own?
A: You shuffle it into its owner's deck instead of yours.
Q: Regarding its Ongoing ability, what if there are no minions in my deck and I reveal all of it and it's just actions? Do I shuffle my discard pile to make a new deck and continue revealing from there? Rules say that if I need to reveal a card and my deck is empty, I have to make a new deck and continue from there until I do find a minion.
A: Actually, no, you don't shuffle your discard pile in that case. If your deck runs out, you stop revealing and end the process of playing a minion off the top of your deck by shuffling all revealed cards to make a deck.
Q: Regarding its Ongoing ability, what if I reveal a Shoggoth and don't have any eligible base to play it on?
A: You discard it and don't play any replacement for it.
Rule: If conditions prohibit playing a chosen card, discard it instead.
Q: Regarding its Ongoing ability, does it count as playing an extra minion for Eliza?
A: No, instead of playing your regular minion from your hand, you instead play it off the top of your deck.
Q: An opponent is playing with the Penguins. Their Emperor Penguin isn't in play. I have three minions on the same base and it is the start of my turn, I can then invoke Emperor Penguin 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.
Trivia[]
- The artist is Francisco Rico Torres, who also designed the art of many other factions.
- Within the World Tour series, this faction represents Antarctica.
- This faction was supposed to be released in the retailer-exclusive World Tour Event Kit before the latter's cancellation.
- Their divider features I Can’t Tell Them Apart.
- A Roller and Dancing King are dancing with Dancing Penguin.
- Two Geeks (namely the banned geek in Banned List and the one in Mulligan) are suspicious about Disguise Penguin.
- A poster of Dagon can be seen in Disguise Penguin.
- The poster's title is Father Dagon Met Mother Hidra (sic), a reference to Mother Hydra, Dagon's consort.
- A Hammerhead is pursuing Surfing Penguin.
- The Regurgitating Penguin is regurgitating a bunch of items, including:
- Pirate King's shrunken head pendant,
- a Tinx,
- A cassette tape from metälhäir, the band in the concert that Groupie is attending
- the d20 from Min-Maxing.
- Command Penguin has Supreme Overlord on one of its control screen and a file with a photograph of an Operative.
- A polar bear drinking what appears to be coke can be seen in the background behind Baby Penguin. This is both a reference to Q Point and to a Coca-cola commercial involving polar bears drinking Coca-cola.
- Secret Agent and one of the women who were with him on his card can be seen behind Snazzy Penguin.
- A Zeppelin can be seen in A Wish for Wings That Work.
- A Tiger Assassin can be seen in Secret Mission.
- The Burst is sliding down in Ice Slide.
- A Hatchling just hatched out among Baby Penguins in The Hatching.
- A Gremlin and a Gnome are attracted to the Pebble Gift.
- A Shapeshifter is hiding among the Penguins in I Can’t Tell Them Apart.
- Pirate King is being overwhelmed by the sudden appearance of Penguins in Leaping Aboard while a Saucy Wench is watching in the background.
- Cthulhu can be seen in the depths Under the Ice.
- The Darth Vader look-alike from Yield to Rage can be seen in the background of Emperor Penguin, itself a reference to Emperor Palpatine.
- Penguins were one of the top 32 nominated factions for "The Smash Up: Oops, You Did It Again contest". They lost to Cowboys.
- A Wish for Wings that Work is a reference to the 1991 children's book and animated television special "A Wish for Wings that Work: An Opus Christmas" by Berkeley Breathed, featuring Opus the Penguin character from his comic strips Bloom County and Outland.
In other languages[]
| Language | Name |
|---|---|
| French | Pingouins |
| German | Pinguine |
| ||||||