FAQ

General rulings

Common questions about the core rules that apply to every game.

Updated about 1 month ago · 9 min

Common questions about the core rules that apply to every game.

Each answer links to the full, sourced ruling in the Disputes tool.

Q: An effect tells you to BLIND BOOST Boost Playing a card face down to add its boost number (top-left) to an attack or to power a BOOST effect. while your draw Draw Take the top card of your action deck into your hand. pile situation matters for exhaustion. Does a BLIND BOOST count as drawing a card?

No.

Q: A fighter Fighter Any miniature or token you control on the battlefield — your hero plus any sidekicks. plays a combat Combat The exchange after an attack is declared: both players play a card face down, reveal, resolve effects by timing, then compare values. card on a space Space A single position on the battlefield. Fighters occupy one space and move between connected spaces along printed lines. with a combat-item token, gaining +value Value The combat number on a card or fighter. In combat the attack value is compared against the defense value.. Can that bonus be canceled like a card effect?

Yes.

Q: Can I attack Attack An action that pits an attack value against a defense value to deal damage. Can be melee or ranged. my sidekicks Sidekick A secondary fighter represented by a token. A sidekick can be defeated without ending the game. with my heroes Hero Your primary fighter, with a character card, special ability and unique deck. If your hero is defeated, you lose., attack my heroes with my sidekicks, or attack friendly fighters Fighter Any miniature or token you control on the battlefield — your hero plus any sidekicks.?

No, you can not.

Q: Can I attack Attack An action that pits an attack value against a defense value to deal damage. Can be melee or ranged. with a defence card? Defend with an attack card Card type Each card is an attack, a defense, a versatile (either), or a scheme (non-combat) card.?

No. Not unless otherwise stated.

Q: Can I choose something that has no effect?

Yes. You may pick a choice on a card or play a scheme Scheme A scheme action: play a scheme (purple) card from your hand to resolve its non-combat effect. that has no effect as long as it’s a valid option. (e.g. choosing the health Health A fighter's life total, tracked on a health dial. At zero health the fighter is defeated. option on Alice hero Alice’s Looking Glass Looking Glass Alice when you’re at max health, or playing Baptism of Blood when you don’t have a defeated Defeated A fighter at zero health is removed from play. Defeat your opponent's hero to win. Sister to place Placed A fighter set directly into a space by an effect. Placing is not a maneuver, so it ignores normal movement rules. or health to recover).

Q: Can I discard to Boost Boost Playing a card face down to add its boost number (top-left) to an attack or to power a BOOST effect. with cards that have no printed Boost value Value The combat number on a card or fighter. In combat the attack value is compared against the defense value.?

No.

Q: Can I end my movement in a space Space A single position on the battlefield. Fighters occupy one space and move between connected spaces along printed lines. with a small fighter Fighter Any miniature or token you control on the battlefield — your hero plus any sidekicks.?

Yes

Q: Can I heal a defeated Defeated A fighter at zero health is removed from play. Defeat your opponent's hero to win. fighter Fighter Any miniature or token you control on the battlefield — your hero plus any sidekicks. in order to resurrect them?

No, effects that recover health Health A fighter's life total, tracked on a health dial. At zero health the fighter is defeated. cannot be used to resurrect a defeated fighter as they are no longer a valid target for healing.

Q: Can I place Placed A fighter set directly into a space by an effect. Placing is not a maneuver, so it ignores normal movement rules./summon/return a fighter Fighter Any miniature or token you control on the battlefield — your hero plus any sidekicks. into a space Space A single position on the battlefield. Fighters occupy one space and move between connected spaces along printed lines. with a small fighter?

No because a space with a small fighter is not empty.

Q: Can I use a combat Combat The exchange after an attack is declared: both players play a card face down, reveal, resolve effects by timing, then compare values. item to increase the value Value The combat number on a card or fighter. In combat the attack value is compared against the defense value. of a bonus attack Attack An action that pits an attack value against a defense value to deal damage. Can be melee or ranged.? What about using it whilst defending against a bonus attack?

Yes, but if you played it with the first attack, it will only apply to the first one. You may choose to add it to the second attack if it was not used in the first. The same applies on defence.

Q: Can you put two different types of tokens in the same space Space A single position on the battlefield. Fighters occupy one space and move between connected spaces along printed lines.? (e.g. Muldoon’s traps, Invisible Man hero Invisible Man’s Fog, Spike hero Spike’s shadows)

Invisible Man’s Fog: May share spaces with other fighters Fighter Any miniature or token you control on the battlefield — your hero plus any sidekicks. and different tokens, but not another Fog. Spike’s Shadows: May share spaces with other fighters and different tokens (unclear whether you can stack Shadows, but it never benefits Spike). Muldoon’s Traps: Must be placed Placed A fighter set directly into a space by an effect. Placing is not a maneuver, so it ignores normal movement rules. in unoccupied spaces (no fighters or tokens of any kind.) Sattler’s Insight: May share spaces with other fighters and different tokens. Insight tokens can stack.

Q: Do adjacency Adjacent Two spaces connected by a single line. Melee attacks require the attacker and target to be adjacent. effects trigger if one of the fighters Fighter Any miniature or token you control on the battlefield — your hero plus any sidekicks. is defeated Defeated A fighter at zero health is removed from play. Defeat your opponent's hero to win. During Combat During combat A DURING COMBAT effect resolves after immediate effects and before attack and defense values are compared.?

The fighter is defeated During Combat Combat The exchange after an attack is declared: both players play a card face down, reveal, resolve effects by timing, then compare values.. If the effect is After Combat After combat An AFTER COMBAT effect resolves once damage from the combat has been dealt., then the fighter is no longer adjacent. (i.e. Robin Hood hero Robin Hood’s Wily Fighting Wily Fighting Robin Hood, Raptors hero Raptors’ Clever Girl Clever Girl Raptors)

Q: Do you win combat Combat The exchange after an attack is declared: both players play a card face down, reveal, resolve effects by timing, then compare values. against attack Attack An action that pits an attack value against a defense value to deal damage. Can be melee or ranged. cards with value Value The combat number on a card or fighter. In combat the attack value is compared against the defense value. 0?

Yes. You win combat if you don’t take damage Damage A successful attack deals damage equal to its value, reducing the target's health..

Q: Does a Bonus Attack Attack An action that pits an attack value against a defense value to deal damage. Can be melee or ranged. trigger if the attacker is defeated Defeated A fighter at zero health is removed from play. Defeat your opponent's hero to win. before making the second attack?

No, if either fighter Fighter Any miniature or token you control on the battlefield — your hero plus any sidekicks. in the combat Combat The exchange after an attack is declared: both players play a card face down, reveal, resolve effects by timing, then compare values. is defeated, a bonus attack does not trigger.

Q: Does a Bonus Attack Attack An action that pits an attack value against a defense value to deal damage. Can be melee or ranged. trigger if the defender is defeated Defeated A fighter at zero health is removed from play. Defeat your opponent's hero to win. by the first attack?

No, there is no target, so the attack does not trigger.

Q: Does a Bonus Attack Attack An action that pits an attack value against a defense value to deal damage. Can be melee or ranged. trigger if the fighter Fighter Any miniature or token you control on the battlefield — your hero plus any sidekicks. is out of range after After combat An AFTER COMBAT effect resolves once damage from the combat has been dealt. the first attack?

Yes. Targeting is only checked during During combat A DURING COMBAT effect resolves after immediate effects and before attack and defense values are compared. the initial attack.

Q: Does adjacent Adjacent Two spaces connected by a single line. Melee attacks require the attacker and target to be adjacent. include ‘on’ (i.e. the target space Space A single position on the battlefield. Fighters occupy one space and move between connected spaces along printed lines.)?

No.

Q: Does up to x spaces Space A single position on the battlefield. Fighters occupy one space and move between connected spaces along printed lines. include 0 spaces?

Yes.

Q: How and when are inherent / static / floating bonuses to combat Combat The exchange after an attack is declared: both players play a card face down, reveal, resolve effects by timing, then compare values. resolved?

They are continuously applied (and re-applied as needed, e.g. Momentous Shift) for as long as their triggering condition is met.

Q: If I draw Draw Take the top card of your action deck into your hand. extra cards during During combat A DURING COMBAT effect resolves after immediate effects and before attack and defense values are compared. other people’s turns, but have over 7 cards after After combat An AFTER COMBAT effect resolves once damage from the combat has been dealt. drawing, do I have to discard down to 7?

No. The hand Hand The cards a player holds. You start with five and may hold up to seven, discarding down at the end of your turn. limit only applies at the end of your turn. You do not have to discard for hand-size at any point before that.

Q: If I gain an action, can I choose not to use it?

No. Actions cannot be skipped.

Q: If a card effect allows me to pick a card from the discard pile, is it public information?

Yes. The discard pile in general is always public information.

Q: If a defeated Defeated A fighter at zero health is removed from play. Defeat your opponent's hero to win. fighter Fighter Any miniature or token you control on the battlefield — your hero plus any sidekicks. is returned to the board, what health Health A fighter's life total, tracked on a health dial. At zero health the fighter is defeated. do you set them at?

Full health unless otherwise specified.

Q: If an end of turn ability Special ability The unique rule printed on a hero's character card. It is always in effect unless the card says otherwise. contradicts an effect that lasts all turn, what takes precedence?

End of turn is still during During combat A DURING COMBAT effect resolves after immediate effects and before attack and defense values are compared. the turn, so the during turn effect takes precedence.

Q: If the attack Attack An action that pits an attack value against a defense value to deal damage. Can be melee or ranged. and defence card both enable one player to Boost Boost Playing a card face down to add its boost number (top-left) to an attack or to power a BOOST effect., does that player get to Boost multiple times?

Yes. The result is additive.

Q: In a 2v2 or Free For All, if other sidekicks Sidekick A secondary fighter represented by a token. A sidekick can be defeated without ending the game. are placed Placed A fighter set directly into a space by an effect. Placing is not a maneuver, so it ignores normal movement rules. in zones Space A single position on the battlefield. Fighters occupy one space and move between connected spaces along printed lines. in such a way that there isn’t enough space in my zone Zone A coloured region of the battlefield. Ranged attacks and many effects care about which zone a fighter is in. for my sidekicks, what do I do?

You always place all of your sidekicks at the start of a game. If there is no space in your zone, place the remaining ones in any remaining empty spaces.

Q: In combat Combat The exchange after an attack is declared: both players play a card face down, reveal, resolve effects by timing, then compare values., if an effect refers to an attack Attack An action that pits an attack value against a defense value to deal damage. Can be melee or ranged. or defence card, does it apply to a versatile Versatile A card that may be played as either an attack or a defense. card?

Versatile denotes what the card can be used as, but in combat all cards are fulfilling the role of attack or defence.

Q: Must card effects be followed in order printed?

In general yes, but when there are multiple options to choose (i.e. Looking Glass, Golden Drinking Horn), the player may choose the order.

Q: An ongoing Ongoing effect A static effect that stays in play and applies continuously until it leaves. scheme Scheme A scheme action: play a scheme (purple) card from your hand to resolve its non-combat effect.’s discard condition becomes true during During combat A DURING COMBAT effect resolves after immediate effects and before attack and defense values are compared. my opponent’s turn, but is false again at the end of my next turn. Do I discard it?

No.

Q: The 3- and 4-player Free For All rules say I can’t attack Attack An action that pits an attack value against a defense value to deal damage. Can be melee or ranged. certain players on turn 1, does that mean I can’t target them with damaging schemes Scheme A scheme action: play a scheme (purple) card from your hand to resolve its non-combat effect.?

No, you may target any player with scheme cards during During combat A DURING COMBAT effect resolves after immediate effects and before attack and defense values are compared. Free For All games.

Q: What counts as moving through a space Space A single position on the battlefield. Fighters occupy one space and move between connected spaces along printed lines.?

Moving through is entering and leaving a space (typically an opponent’s).

Q: What does "Cannot leave their space Space A single position on the battlefield. Fighters occupy one space and move between connected spaces along printed lines." mean exactly? (e.g. T. Rex hero T. Rex’s Terrifying Roar Terrifying Roar T. Rex)

"Cannot leave their space" stops maneuver Maneuver A maneuver action: draw a card and move one of your fighters up to its move value (you may do either or both)., move effects, and placement effects that would move the restricted fighter Fighter Any miniature or token you control on the battlefield — your hero plus any sidekicks.. It does not stop the mini from being removed from having 0 health Health A fighter's life total, tracked on a health dial. At zero health the fighter is defeated., or you would not be able to kill sidekicks Sidekick A secondary fighter represented by a token. A sidekick can be defeated without ending the game. with that card.

Q: What does ignore value Value The combat number on a card or fighter. In combat the attack value is compared against the defense value. do in context of the printed value?

Ignore value only ignores for combat Combat The exchange after an attack is declared: both players play a card face down, reveal, resolve effects by timing, then compare values., it doesn’t change the printed value.

Q: What fighters Fighter Any miniature or token you control on the battlefield — your hero plus any sidekicks. do scheme Scheme A scheme action: play a scheme (purple) card from your hand to resolve its non-combat effect. tokens apply to?

If it matters what fighter, the fighter that used the scheme token gets the effect (i.e. Healing, making an attack Attack An action that pits an attack value against a defense value to deal damage. Can be melee or ranged.).

Q: What happens if I use a combat Combat The exchange after an attack is declared: both players play a card face down, reveal, resolve effects by timing, then compare values. item and my attack Attack An action that pits an attack value against a defense value to deal damage. Can be melee or ranged. card gets swapped out (for example effects like Dracula hero Dracula’s “Do My Bidding Do My Bidding Dracula” or Houdini’s “Sleight of Hand Hand The cards a player holds. You start with five and may hold up to seven, discarding down at the end of your turn.”)?

The combat item is kept after After combat An AFTER COMBAT effect resolves once damage from the combat has been dealt. they are declared, even if the combat card changes.

Q: What happens if an effect requires me to place Placed A fighter set directly into a space by an effect. Placing is not a maneuver, so it ignores normal movement rules. or move a fighter Fighter Any miniature or token you control on the battlefield — your hero plus any sidekicks. to a space Space A single position on the battlefield. Fighters occupy one space and move between connected spaces along printed lines., but there are no valid spaces? (mid-game, not at the start)

You skip that part. You do not get to move that fighter or revive that sidekick Sidekick A secondary fighter represented by a token. A sidekick can be defeated without ending the game..

Q: What happens if my fighter Fighter Any miniature or token you control on the battlefield — your hero plus any sidekicks. swaps spaces Space A single position on the battlefield. Fighters occupy one space and move between connected spaces along printed lines. with a large fighter?

You choose which of the large fighter’s spaces to place Placed A fighter set directly into a space by an effect. Placing is not a maneuver, so it ignores normal movement rules. your fighter in, if they were in 2 spaces prior to the swap. The Large Fighter player chooses which direction to point the back of their base. The active player First player The player who takes the first turn, chosen during setup. The active player breaks ties on simultaneous effects. chooses the order of these decisions.

Q: What happens to fighters Fighter Any miniature or token you control on the battlefield — your hero plus any sidekicks. who are off the board but not defeated Defeated A fighter at zero health is removed from play. Defeat your opponent's hero to win.; can they take actions? (i.e Elektra hero Elektra after After combat An AFTER COMBAT effect resolves once damage from the combat has been dealt. her first life, Invisible Man hero Invisible Man using Vanish Vanish Vanish Invisible Man)

No, fighters who are off the board and undefeated do not take actions.

Q: What happens when a Boost Boost Playing a card face down to add its boost number (top-left) to an attack or to power a BOOST effect. effect happens before a fix value Value The combat number on a card or fighter. In combat the attack value is compared against the defense value. effect (i.e. Tortoise Form before Momentous Shift)?

The fix value overwrites whatever the value was previously. Any text amounting to the effect ‘This card’s value is X’ will overwrite the old value.

Q: What happens when a card allows me to check my deck Action deck A hero's unique deck of action cards, played to maneuver, scheme and fight.?

You shuffle it afterwards.

Q: What happens when a card effect lets me modify my card’s value Value The combat number on a card or fighter. In combat the attack value is compared against the defense value., but it is substituted by the opposing fighter Fighter Any miniature or token you control on the battlefield — your hero plus any sidekicks.’s card effects?

Modifiers from card effects don’t carry over to substituted values.

Q: What is a Starting Space Space A single position on the battlefield. Fighters occupy one space and move between connected spaces along printed lines.?

Any space with a diamond number.

Q: What is combat Combat The exchange after an attack is declared: both players play a card face down, reveal, resolve effects by timing, then compare values. damage Damage A successful attack deals damage equal to its value, reducing the target's health.? What is effect damage?

Combat damage is damage dealt by comparing the attack Attack An action that pits an attack value against a defense value to deal damage. Can be melee or ranged. card value Value The combat number on a card or fighter. In combat the attack value is compared against the defense value. against the defense card Card type Each card is an attack, a defense, a versatile (either), or a scheme (non-combat) card. value. Effects that modify the attack value still contribute to the combat damage. Effect damage includes all other sources of damage.

Q: What is the difference between ‘Move’ and ‘Place Placed A fighter set directly into a space by an effect. Placing is not a maneuver, so it ignores normal movement rules.’?

With ‘Move’, you must respect the rules of movement. ‘Place’ does not need to respect the rules of movement.

Q: What specifically happens when I use a combat Combat The exchange after an attack is declared: both players play a card face down, reveal, resolve effects by timing, then compare values. item?

The card you play gains additional effects. If the card’s effects can’t be cancelled, the item effects will be un-cancellable too (i.e. Ancient Heirloom, Sherlock and Watson cards).

Q: When a card effect discards the top card from the opponent’s deck Action deck A hero's unique deck of action cards, played to maneuver, scheme and fight. (e.g. Blind Boost Boost Playing a card face down to add its boost number (top-left) to an attack or to power a BOOST effect.), but the opponent’s deck is empty, does the opposing fighter Fighter Any miniature or token you control on the battlefield — your hero plus any sidekicks. take 2 damage Damage A successful attack deals damage equal to its value, reducing the target's health. from fatigue?

No. The 2 damage from fatigue is only when you need to draw Draw Take the top card of your action deck into your hand. a card. Even if you had no deck and an effect forced you to discard the top card of your deck you wouldn't take damage.

Q: When a card effect would defeat Defeated A fighter at zero health is removed from play. Defeat your opponent's hero to win. all heroes Hero Your primary fighter, with a character card, special ability and unique deck. If your hero is defeated, you lose. simultaneously (e.g. Remnant of Valor Remnant of Valor Beowulf in Beowulf hero Beowulf’s deck Action deck A hero's unique deck of action cards, played to maneuver, scheme and fight., Dracula hero Dracula’s ability Special ability The unique rule printed on a hero's character card. It is always in effect unless the card says otherwise. and exhaustion damage Damage A successful attack deals damage equal to its value, reducing the target's health.), who wins?

The player whose turn it is wins.

Q: When a card gives multiple decisions to choose from (i.e. Muldoon’s Call for Backup, Beowulf hero Beowulf’s Golden Drinking Horn Golden Drinking Horn Beowulf) do you choose first before executing them?

Yes. You make all the decisions before executing them.

Q: When do After Combat After combat An AFTER COMBAT effect resolves once damage from the combat has been dealt. abilities resolve?

After card effects are resolved, resolve any other game effects that occur After Combat Combat The exchange after an attack is declared: both players play a card face down, reveal, resolve effects by timing, then compare values., such as a hero Hero Your primary fighter, with a character card, special ability and unique deck. If your hero is defeated, you lose.'s special ability Special ability The unique rule printed on a hero's character card. It is always in effect unless the card says otherwise..

Q: When does exhaustion damage Damage A successful attack deals damage equal to its value, reducing the target's health. happen?

It happens the moment you would draw Draw Take the top card of your action deck into your hand. the card and is a replacement for not drawing.