The Star Roamers move about space, teleporting your minions from one quadrant to another. They are on a multi-year mission to seek out new fun, explore strange new combos and put ridiculous numbers of redshirts in mortal danger. - AEG
These are the travels of the spaceship Undertaking. Its several-year mission: to find new worlds, seek out new life and new attractive green ladies, to bravely go where no person has gone before! The Star Roamers travel about the
boardtabletop, using their incredible teleporting technology to send countless ensigns to their deaths, all in the name of base smashing!
- - Cease and Desist rulebook (updated in The Bigger Geekier Box rulebook)
The Star Roamers are one of the 4 factions from the Cease and Desist set.
The Star Roamers focus on returning minions to their owner's hand to gain mobility and protection.
Other factions from the same set: Astroknights, Changerbots, Ignobles.
Cards[]
The Star Roamers have the usual 10 minions and 10 actions. The total minion base power (not counting any abilities) is the usual 30, or an average of 3 per minion.
Among their actions, there are:
- 0 play-on-minion actions,
- 3 play-on-base actions: Protector Fields, Weird New Worlds, Whiplash Maneuver,
- 7 standard actions (all of them affect one or more minions): Hyperspeed 10, Mass Teleport (2x), Port Me Up (2x), Teleport Error, Teleport Overflow,
- 0 actions that directly increase a minion's power.
Minions[]
1x Ship’s Captain - power 5 - Search your deck for a minion, reveal it, add it to your hand and shuffle your deck. If it has power 3 or less, play it here as an extra minion. FAQ
1x Medical Officer - power 4 - Ongoing: If another one of your minions would be destroyed, you may return it to its owner’s hand instead. FAQ
1x Science Officer - power 4 - Talent: Return one of your minions of power 4 or less to its owner’s hand. Play an extra minion with a different name. FAQ
3x Ship’s Engineer - power 3 - Ongoing: If another one of your minions would be returned to your hand, you may move it to another base instead. FAQ
4x Ensign - power 2 - Ongoing: When an opponent plays a card that directly affects one of your other minions here, you may have it affect this minion instead. FAQ
Actions[]
1x Hyperspeed 10 - Choose a base. Move all minions from there to a single other base. FAQ
2x Mass Teleport - Each player returns one of their minions to its owner’s hand. FAQ
2x Port Me Up - Return one of your minions to its owner’s hand. Special: You may play this after a base scores; the minion must be on the scoring base. FAQ
1x Protector Fields - Play on a base where you have a minion. Ongoing: Your minions here are not affected by other players’ cards. FAQ
1x Teleport Error - Choose a minion. Move it to another random base. FAQ
1x Teleport Overflow - Return one of your minions to its owner’s hand. Reveal any number of minions with the same name from your hand, and play them as extra minions. FAQ
1x Weird New Worlds - Play the top base from the base deck. Play this card and an extra minion on it. Ongoing: When the next base scores, do not replace it; destroy this card. FAQ
1x Whiplash Maneuver - Play on a base. Ongoing: If any of your minions on other bases would be returned to your hand, you may move them here instead. FAQ
Bases[]
Clarifications[]
Here are the official clarifications as they appear in the Cease and Desist rulebook:
Ensign: It can take on ongoing or special effects, but not from cards already in play. It can take on multiple effects if it makes sense (e.g. multiple -1 power, but not multiple destroys unless it’s immune). It can have an action played on a different minion played on itself instead. It can substitute for a different minion being taken control of. It cannot take an effect already taken by a different Ensign from a third minion. It can take an effect even if it does not fit the original target’s prerequisites (e.g. “power 3 or higher”).
Science Officer, Teleport Overflow: You can return a minion you control but don’t own, and still do the rest of the ability.
Ship’s Engineer, Whiplash Maneuver: These don’t trigger if you return a minion you don’t own, since it doesn’t go to your hand.
Teleport Overflow: The minions don’t have to have the same name as the returned minion, but have the same name as each other. A single minion counts as a group with the same name.
Weird New Worlds: If this card leaves play before the next base scores, the number of bases is increased for the rest of the game.
Mechanics[]
The Star Roamers emulate teleportation by triggering and altering the return of minions to your hand. All of their minions work together to create chain reactions that grant you more control of your minions the more are in play, eventually leading to overwhelming protection and mobility. Star Roamers are not so good at affecting other players, though.
The chains can be triggered in multiple ways and can end on any other base or your hand. Science Officer and 5 standard actions initiate returns to your hand, as well as Medical Officer if another one of your minions would be destroyed. Ship's Engineer and Whiplash Maneuver allow you to change return to hand into movement to a different base, saving precious minion plays, as well as gaining extras from Science Officer.
Ensigns protect your valuable Officers and Engineers by redirecting effects toward them instead. The Officers and Engineers in turn - especially Medical Officer - send sacrificial Ensigns right back into the action.
Ship's Captain is the only Star Roamer minion with an on-play ability, but what an absurdly amazing ability it is! This is the minion you will be returning to your hand instead of moving to a different base.
A unique card to the deck is Weird New Worlds, which is one of only two cards in the game capable of expanding the number of bases in play beyond "number of players+1". Teleport Overflow is another interesting action. At the least, it acts like the Aliens' Abduction on yourself, but if you have any minions with the same name you can play all of them on any bases. You can even include the minion you just returned. Very versatile.
Strategy[]
You are unlikely to have all of these minions in play at the same time, especially since you need to break and win bases to win the game. This is really where the complexity of this faction gets difficult to handle. You may know what to do when you have all these minions in play, but what if your opponents are keeping up with removing your synergizing minions, and you have to decide which 2 or 3 minion combination to spend your precious minion plays on? What do you even have in play right now!? It can be easy to lose track of the options available to you when you have so many other things happening in the game.
Ship's Captain helps you get a team online. Do not dismiss the value of finding your other best minions even though you can't immediately play them. Sometimes you have to choose between keeping your minions for their abilities or breaking bases with their power, but ideally you want both. Port Me Up is especially valuable for this purpose. Star Roamers combine Big Drops and Bait and Switches into coordinated plays coming from multiple angles. Putting them together is a daunting, ever-changing task.
Synergy[]
Star Roamers perform best with other factions that return minions to hands, which generally also feature great on-play abilities. Medical Officer helps relieve self-destruction penalties, but she doesn't help abilities that require that minions get destroyed (see Escape Hatch's clarification).
- Aliens: Gain the minion with the pinnacle of on-play abilities: Invader. Aliens have other on-play abilities to add to Ship's Captain and they can always send enemy minions back to their hands. Scout is an ideal target for Teleport Overflow.
- Shapeshifters: Find Ship's Captain and the Officers more easily, and mitigate the destruction penalties of Shapeshifter actions with Medical Officer.
- Ninjas: "Return" your Ninja Acolyte with his ability, but actually just move him, generating an extra minion play every turn. Ninja's on-play abilities shore up Star Roamers' lack of destruction, and Infiltrate can destroy Weird New Worlds.
- Fairies: Science Officer can return Titania and Ship's Captain when you reduce their power. This can be done with Glymmer or Enchantment to rapidly field your best minions. You can already do this with Puck for extra cards or actions.
External Strategy Guides[]
- Star Roamers: The Best Smash Ups in Smash Up
- KOTH #17: Ship's Captain
- Smash Up Action Awareness #52: Teleport Overflow
FAQ[]
Questions on Ship’s Captain[]
Q: Am I only limited to searching a minion of power 3 or less?
A: No, you can search for any minion. Only if it's a power 3 or less, you can play it as an extra minion. Otherwise, it stays in your hand and you have to spend one of your minion plays to play it.
Q: If I reveal a card I don't own, what happens?
A: 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 a minion of power 3 or less, you won't be able to play it because it's not in your hand.[1]
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.
Questions on Medical Officer[]
Q: What happens if the minion cannot or won't be returned? (e.g. Entangled, Ship's Engineer) Is it still destroyed?
A: The minion is neither returned, nor destroyed. So, it remains in play (on the same base with Entangled, or moved to another base with Ship's Engineer). That is because you changed "destroying it" into "returning it", but the fact that it can't be returned doesn't make you rollback and cancel the change.
Rule: "Can't" trumps "can".
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 have Medical Officer save it? If so, does it stop the rest of the ability if there were more to it?
A: Short answer: Yes 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 it is targeted for destruction, Medical Officer's ability is triggered, offering you the option to change the destruction into a return. If you choose to do so, your minion will not be destroyed and will be returned instead. 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, simply because in the end your minion isn't destroyed. 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.
Q: It works when "one of my minions" is destroyed. Does it also work when a minion I own that I don't control is destroyed? 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: What if the minion is returned to a player who already has ten cards in hand?
A: Nothing in particular. They don't discard any card until their next Draw 2 Cards phase (so not any Draw 2 Cards phase!). At that point, they will indeed need to draw two cards and discard down to 10 if they have more than 10. That's the only moment where they must discard down to 10. At any other time, they keep their hand of cards.
Q: I have a Gremlin and Medical Officer in play. If the Gremlin is destroyed, can I choose to save Gremlin with Medical Officer and still have Gremlin allow me to draw a card and make other players discard a random card?
A: No, Medical Officer changes how Gremlin is affected: it prevents the destruction and returns it instead. So Gremlin isn't actually destroyed and so its ability isn't triggered.
Questions on Science Officer[]
Q: Can I use its talent on a minion that cannot or won't be returned? (e.g. Entangled, Ship's Engineer) If so, can I still play an extra minion?
A: You can always target a minion, even if it's immune to it, so yes. Also, successfully returning the minion is independent from the extra minion play, so even if no minion is returned, you still get the extra minion play, and the extra minion must have a different name than the minion you targeted, whether or not it was actually returned.
Q: What does "with a different name" mean? A different name than the returned minion's or than "Science Officer"?
A: It means a different name than the name of the minion you targeted in the first part of the ability, whether or not it was actually returned.
Q: Can I return a minion from my discard pile with Science Officer?
A: No, it must be a minion in play that you control. Cards that allow you to target something in the discard pile, like the cards from the Zombie faction, will explicitly say so. In fact, "your minion" refers to a minion that you control, and only minions in play are controlled.
Q: It tells me to return "one of my minions". Can I return 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: I already have ten cards in hand. What happens if I decide to use this talent? Do I immediately discard a card after I return a minion to my hand?
A: You return your minion to your hand and don't discard any card until your upcoming 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 Ship’s Engineer[]
Q: What happens if the minion cannot be moved? (e.g. Entangled) Is it still returned?
A: The minion is neither returned, nor moved. So, it remains in play, on the same base. That is because you changed "returning it" into "moving it", but the fact that it can't be moved doesn't make you rollback and cancel the change.
Rule: "Can't" trumps "can".
Q: If I take control of another player's minion, it's now treated as one of my minions. So if an ability returns the minion, I can move it instead with Ship's Engineer, right?
A: No. Ship's Engineer only allows you to move your minions instead of being returned to your hand, but minions you control but don't own are not returned to your hand, so Ship's Engineer has no effect on that. Even cards that use the wording "return one of your minions to your hand" (e.g. Doctor When, Do Over!) won't work because the rules has priority on this issue and would make the card return to its owner's hand, not yours, so again a Ship's Engineer can't affect that.
Q: One of my cards tells me to return one of my minions (e.g. Science Officer), or an opponent's card forces me to return one of my minions (e.g. Out of Sight), or a base's ability allows me to return one of my minions (e.g. The Mothership), can I target one of my minions and have Ship's Engineer move it instead? If so, does it stop the rest of the ability if there were more to it?
A: Short answer: Yes 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 The Mothership, you can target it with The Mothership'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 it is targeted for being returned, Ship' Engineer's ability is triggered, giving you the option to change the return into a movement. If you choose to do so, your minion will not be returned and will be moved instead. Lastly, you must finish resolving the card that was originally invoked. If the card was the kind of card that says "Return a minion to do Y" or "Return a minion. If you do, do Y", then the effect stated as "Y" can't be done at all, simply because in the end your minion isn't returned. If the card says something else, such as "Return a minion. Do Y", "Return a minion and do Y", etc., the return isn't a pre-requisite so you resolve the rest of the card's ability.
Q: It works when "one of my minions" is returned. Does it also work when a minion I own that I don't control is returned? 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: Does Ship's Engineer work with Scout or Return to the Sea?
A: No. These cards "put" or "place" cards in play into their owner's hand. Ship's Engineer only works with cards that "return" cards in play into their owner's hand.
Rule: Specific words are not synonymous no matter how similar they seem.
Q: I play Crop Circles and target a base. In what order do I return the minions there? For example, if someone has a Ship's Engineer there, can I return it before their other minions?
A: The minions are all returned at the same time, so there's no order to decide. A Ship's Engineer there would trigger for each of that player's other minions that are returned.
Rule: When a single effect makes one player affect multiple cards, they are all affected at the same time.
Q: Ship’s Engineer says "you may move it to another base instead". Does "it" refer to the Ship’s Engineer or the minion that could be returned?
A: The minion that's supposed to be returned.
Questions on Ensign[]
Q: Another player plays a card with a talent (e.g. Snow White, Monkey on Your Back). If they use the talent to directly affect one of my minions, can an Ensign intercept it?
A: From the What Were We Thinking? rulebook, it seems that playing a card with a talent and using the talent on the same turn does trigger cards that react to a card being played. Indeed, the rulebook clarifies that if you play a card with a talent, and use the talent on the same turn to move one of your minions to Forgotten Horrors' base, it does trigger Forgotten Horrors (Reminder: "Forgotten Horrors - "Ongoing: After you play a minion here or play a card that moves your minions to here,..." So you could generalize this by saying that if Ensign triggers from another player playing a card that directly affect one of your minions, then Ensign also triggers from another player playing a card with a talent and using this talent on the same turn to directly affect one of your minions. So, the answer would be yes, Ensign can intercept a talent, but only if the talent is used on the same turn as the card with talent is played.
A: UPDATE. No. A talent is not activated when you play a card and Ensign only activates from the card being played.
Rule: When you play a card, an ability that starts with "Talent:" is never resolved immediately.
Q: Another player plays a Nightstalker and targets one of my minions for destruction. If an Ensign intercepts the destruction, does that player still get the benefit?
A: It depends. For "Do X to do Y" effects, you need for X to actually happen for you to do Y. In your scenario, if Ensign is a minion of power 2 or less, then the other player did destroy a minion of power 2 or less and so Nightstalker does get a +1 power counter. On the other hand, if Ensign has a power of 3 or more, then it's equivalent to preventing you from doing X with an indestructible minion: You did not actually destroy a minion of power 2 or less, even if a minion did end up being destroyed. So you can't place a +1 power counter because X didn't actually happen.
Q: This can protect "one of my other minions". Can it get the effect that targets 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 another player plays an action on one of my minions that directly affects it (e.g. Dunwich Horror, Leaf Armor, Webbed Up), can an Ensign intercept the effect of the action while the action still remains attached to the original target? If so, doesn't the action still affect the minion it is on since it's Ongoing?
A: No. Since attaching an action to a minion already counts as affecting it, if an Ensign intercepts it, it gets all of it. So the action is actually attached to the Ensign. That's what happens.
Rule: Definition of "affect".
Q: Another player plays an action on a base that affects several of my minion (e.g. Sleep Spores), so my Ensign can intercept it. What happens if Ensign is returned/destroyed/moved/etc.?
A: Supposedly, Ensign's protection would stop and your minions would be affected normally as if Ensign was never there. TBD
Rule: TBD
Q: Another player plays a card that destroys/moves/returns several of my minions (e.g. Broadside, Crop Circles), including an Ensign. Can that Ensign intercept all of it, or even protect just one of my other minions?
A: If Ensign isn't immune to the effect, then Ensign is affected just like the other minions and cannot save any of your minions. On the other hand, if it is immune, then Ensign can redirect all the effects onto itself and protect all your minions.
Rule: When a single effect makes one player affect multiple cards, they are all affected at the same time.
Questions on Hyperspeed 10[]
Q: Do the moved minions all go to the same base?
A: Yes. The card text says to move all minions from the chosen base to a single other base.
Q: How does this interact with the Disco Dancers' mechanic and Funky Town's ability?
A: While being a standard action and one that affects minions, Hyperspeed 10 won't interact with the Disco Dancers, nor with Funky Town, because Hyperspeed 10 already directly affect all minions on the base, and copying the effect can only be applied to minions that aren't already directly affected by the action.
Questions on Mass Teleport[]
Q: In which order are the minions returned? I suppose it's the current player who chooses.
A: Nope, there's already a defined order so the current player doesn't decide the order. The order is: each player in clockwise order and starting with the current player returns one of their minions.
Q: Can a player return a minion from their discard pile with Mass Teleport?
A: No, it must be a minion in play that they control. Cards that allow you to target something in the discard pile, like the cards from the Zombie faction, will explicitly say so.
Q: It tells me to return "one of my minions". Can I return 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: What if playing this card makes it so a player (myself included) have more than ten cards in hand? Do those players have to immediately discard down to 10?
A: You don't discard any card until your next Draw 2 Cards phase (so not any Draw 2 Cards phase!). At that point, you will indeed need to draw two cards and discard down to 10 if you have more than 10. That's the only moment where you must discard down to 10. At any other time, you keep your hand of cards.
Q: Can you return 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.
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 is returned to its owner's hand, regardless of whoever owns the minion that was directly affected by the action.
- If Dancing King copies it onto a minion (it can be itself), that minion is considered as indirectly affected by the action and is returned to its owner's hand, regardless of whoever owns the minion that was directly affected by the action. Note that if several minions on the same base are directly returned, Dancing King only triggers once and allows you to return only one additional minion, not one per affected minion. Also, note that if the minion is a monster or a treasure, it remains in play because monsters and treasures can't be affected by cards that refer to a card's owner.
- If We are Family copies it, the minion it is on is considered as indirectly affected by the action and is returned to its owner's hand, regardless of whoever owns the minion that was directly affected by the action. Note that if the minion is a monster or a treasure, it remains in play because monsters and treasures can't be affected by cards that refer to a card's owner.
- 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 is returned to its owner's hand, regardless of whoever owns the minion that was directly affected by the action. Note that if several minions on the same base are directly returned, Funky Town only triggers once and allows you to return only one additional minion, not one per affected minion. Also, note that if the minion is a monster or a treasure, it remains in play because monsters and treasures can't be affected by cards that refer to a card's owner.
Rule: Cards that refer to a card’s owner do not apply to monsters or treasures.
Questions on Port Me Up[]
Q: I don't get this card, how does it work?
A: When you play it, you choose one of your minions, which is one of the minions that you control. That minion is then returned into its owner's hand. Usually, it will be returned to your hand, but certain cards could have given you control of a minion you don't own. In that case, the minion is returned into its rightful owner's hand. You can also play Port Me Up as a Special card after a base scores. In that case, the chosen minion must be on the scoring base and the minion is immediately returned to its owner's hand.
Q: Can I return a minion from my discard pile with Port Me Up?
A: No, it must be a minion in play that you control. Cards that allow you to target something in the discard pile, like the cards from the Zombie faction, will explicitly say so. In fact, "your minion" refers to a minion that you control, and only minions in play are controlled.
Q: It tells me to return "one of my minions". Can I return 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: 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.
Q: Is this still a standard action if I play it through its Special ability for the Disco Dancers and Funky Town?
A: Yes. A standard action is an action that doesn't remain in play after being played. Port Me Up doesn't remain in play when played, whether it's played normally or as a Special, so it IS a standard action no matter what.
Q: Can you return 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.
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 is returned to its owner's hand, regardless of whoever owns the minion that was directly affected by the action.
- If Dancing King copies it onto a minion (it can be itself), that minion is considered as indirectly affected by the action and is returned to its owner's hand, regardless of whoever owns the minion that was directly affected by the action. Note that while the effect is limited to a minion controlled by the action player, the effect can be copied on any minion. Also, note that if the minion is a monster or a treasure, it remains in play because monsters and treasures can't be affected by cards that refer to a card's owner.
- If We are Family copies it, the minion it is on is considered as indirectly affected by the action and is returned to its owner's hand, regardless of whoever owns the minion that was directly affected by the action. Note that while the effect is limited to a minion controlled by the action player, the effect can be copied on any minion. Also, note that if the minion is a monster or a treasure, it remains in play because monsters and treasures can't be affected by cards that refer to a card's owner.
- 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 is returned to its owner's hand, regardless of whoever owns the minion that was directly affected by the action. Note that if the minion is a monster or a treasure, it remains in play because monsters and treasures can't be affected by cards that refer to a card's owner.
Rule: Cards that refer to a card’s owner do not apply to monsters or treasures.
Questions on Protector Fields[]
Q: An opponent plays this card on a base, so if I have a minion 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: It can only be played on a base "where I have a minion". Can I play it on a base where there are only minions I own that I don't control? 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: An opponent plays Bear Hug (or Unfathomable Goals, Griefer, Out of Sight), forcing me to affect one of my minions. Can I choose one of my minions on the same base as Protector Fields? If so, does Protector Fields 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, Protector Fields protects your minion.
Q: How does this interact with the Disco Dancers' mechanic and Funky Town's ability?
A: - If you're asking about when Protector Fields is played, it doesn't interact with them at all, because it says "Play on a base where you have a minion", 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 Protector Fields protecting it, then the minion isn't affected. Note that Protector Fields only protects against other player's cards, so if Protector Fields's controller plays a standard action, you can copy it with Dancing King and have it affect the minion with Protector Fields, bypassing its 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 Protector Fields 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 Protector Fields 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".
Questions on Teleport Error[]
Q: That's so annoying to use. We have to pick up all the bases, memorize where each base was, shuffle them without looking, choose a random one, then set all the bases in their right place.
A: You do know that you can just assign a number to each base and roll a die, right?
Rule: N/A
Q: Can I choose a minion in stasis?
A: No, cards in stasis cannot be chosen by cards that do not explicitly state cards in stasis can be chosen.
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 is moved to the same base as the minion that was directly affected by the action. Note that you only determine a random base for the minion that was directly affected, not a new random one for each affected minion.
- 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 by the action. Note that you only determine a random base for the minion that was directly affected, not a new random one for each affected minion.
- 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 by the action. Note that you only determine a random base for the minion that was directly affected, not a new random one for each affected minion.
- 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 by the action. Note that you only determine a random base for the minion that was directly affected, not a new random one for each affected minion.
Questions on Teleport Overflow[]
Q: What does "with the same name" mean? The same name as what? The returned minion?
A: It means you can reveal any number of minions from your hand, but they must all have the same name as each other. Their name doesn't depend on the returned minion, though you can choose to reveal any number of copies of the returned minion, but you don't have to.
Q: Can I return a minion from my discard pile with Teleport Overflow?
A: No, it must be a minion in play that you control. Cards that allow you to target something in the discard pile, like the cards from the Zombie faction, will explicitly say so. In fact, "your minion" refers to a minion that you control, and only minions in play are controlled.
Q: It tells me to return "one of my minions". Can I return 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: 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.
Q: Can I reveal the minion I just returned and therefore replay it?
A: Absolutely! The two parts are resolved one after the other, so when the card has you reveal minions from your hand, the returned minion is in your hand, so it is possible to reveal it and play it.
Rule: Multiple parts of a card’s ability must be done in their stated order.
Q: Can I return one of your minions in stasis?
A: No, cards in stasis cannot be chosen by cards that do not explicitly state cards in stasis can be chosen.
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 is returned to its owner's hand, regardless of whoever owns the minion that was directly affected by the action. Note that you don't get a second set of extra minions for affecting a second minion, because Diva only copies the part that returns a minion and the extra minion part isn't changed by the number of affected minions.
- If Dancing King copies it onto a minion (it can be itself), that minion is considered as indirectly affected by the action and is returned to its owner's hand, regardless of whoever owns the minion that was directly affected by the action. Note that if the minion is a monster or a treasure, it remains in play because monsters and treasures can't be affected by cards that refer to a card's owner. Also, note that you don't get a second set of extra minions for affecting a second minion, because Dancing King only copies the part that returns a minion and the extra minion part isn't changed by the number of affected minions.
- If We are Family copies it, the minion it is on is considered as indirectly affected by the action and is returned to its owner's hand, regardless of whoever owns the minion that was directly affected by the action. Note that if the minion is a monster or a treasure, it remains in play because monsters and treasures can't be affected by cards that refer to a card's owner. Also, note that you don't get a second set of extra minions for affecting a second minion, because We are Family only copies the part that returns a minion and the extra minion part isn't changed by the number of affected minions.
- 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 is returned to its owner's hand, regardless of whoever owns the minion that was directly affected by the action. Note that if the minion is a monster or a treasure, it remains in play because monsters and treasures can't be affected by cards that refer to a card's owner. Also, note that you don't get a second set of extra minions for affecting a second minion, because Funky Town only copies the part that returns a minion and the extra minion part isn't changed by the number of affected minions.
Rule: Cards that refer to a card’s owner do not apply to monsters or treasures.
Questions on Weird New Worlds[]
Q: So, if this action is removed/destroyed before the next base scores, then you permanently have an extra base in play for the remainder of the game. Right? If you're able to repeatedly play this card from your hand, then you can continually increase the number of bases in play. Am I missing something? Because this seems like an oversight.
A: That's exactly what would happen. Though honestly, it's not that easy to perform and there's no strategic advantage to do that.
Q: What happens if the revealed base is The Dread Gazebo?
A: You cannot play Weird New Worlds on it, so it is discarded instead. You'll still be able to play the extra minion because both playing Weird New Worlds and the extra minion are granted at the same time. As for the rest of Weird New Worlds's abilities, those won't be resolved, which means the next time a base is scored, it is replaced as normal. The number of bases is therefore forever increased by one for the rest of the game.
Rule: "Can't" trumps "can".
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 this card (...) on it", which means that it is not a standard action.
Questions on Whiplash Maneuver[]
Q: An opponent plays this card on a base, so if one of my minions is about to be returned to my hand, I can move it to there, 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" means "their" (i.e. your opponent's) and "you" means "they" (i.e. your opponent).
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 happens if the minion cannot be moved? (e.g. Entangled) Is it still returned?
A: The minion is neither returned, nor moved. So, it remains in play, on the same base. That is because you changed "returning it" into "moving it", but the fact that it can't be moved doesn't make you rollback and cancel the change.
Rule: "Can't" trumps "can".
Q: One of my cards tells me to return one of my minions (e.g. Science Officer), or an opponent's card forces me to return one of my minions (e.g. Out of Sight), or a base's ability allows me to return one of my minions (e.g. The Mothership), can I target one of my minions and have Whiplash Maneuver move it instead? If so, does it stop the rest of the ability if there were more to it?
A: Short answer: Yes 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 The Mothership, you can target it with The Mothership'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 it is targeted for being returned, Whiplash Maneuver's ability is triggered, giving you the option to change the return into a movement. If you choose to do so, your minion will not be returned and will be moved instead. Lastly, you must finish resolving the card that was originally invoked. If the card was the kind of card that says "Return a minion to do Y" or "Return a minion. If you do, do Y", then the effect stated as "Y" can't be done at all, simply because in the end your minion isn't returned. If the card says something else, such as "Return a minion. Do Y", "Return a minion and do Y", etc., the return isn't a pre-requisite so you resolve the rest of the card's ability.
Q: It works when "one of my minions" is returned. Does it also work when a minion I own that I don't control is returned? 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: Does Whiplash Maneuver work with Scout or Return to the Sea?
A: No. These cards "put" or "place" cards in play into their owner's hand. Whiplash Maneuver only works with cards that "return" cards in play into their owner's hand.
Rule: Specific words are not synonymous no matter how similar they seem.
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.
Trivia[]
- The artist is Francisco Rico Torres, who also designed the art of many other factions.
- Their divider (updated in The Bigger Geekier Box) features Ship’s Captain.
- This faction is based on Star Trek.
- Ship’s Captain is a reference to James T. Kirk.
- Science Officer is a reference to Spock.
- Medical Officer closely resembles Nurse Christine Chapel.
- The Ensigns are references to Red Shirts and closely resemble Ensign Wesley Crusher, played by Wil Wheaton.
- Port Me Up is a reference to "Beam me up".
- Whiplash Maneuver is a reference to the Picard Maneuver.
- The USS Undertaking is a reference to the USS Enterprise.
- Other factions appear in the art.
- In Weird New Worlds, an Ensign and the Science Officer discovered the Cave of Shinies. The Leprechaun can also be seen.
- King Rex is chasing after an Ensign in Whiplash Maneuver.
- A dragon can be seen in Neutral Space.
- Weird New Worlds is the first card that can increase the number of bases in play.
In other languages[]
| Language | Name | Translation (if different) |
|---|---|---|
| Chinese | 宇宙漫遊者 | Space Wanderers |
| French | Voyageurs de l'espace | Space Travelers |
| German | Sternenwanderer |
| ||||||