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Created page with "none|frame|Illustrated by: REPLACE NAME ======''<s>Purchase the Tricksters Faction on Forgefire!</s> (link coming soon)''====== Stealing things, stopping things, starting things, hiding your keys in the morning, collecting underpants for profit… for years, you've thought of these little people as pests. Now they've turned up as pesticide. Tricksters are from the '''Core (base game) set''' and have a Titan card - '''Big Funny Giant'..."
 
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[[File:00 Temporary CoverPhoto.png|none|frame|Illustrated by: REPLACE NAME]]
[[File:SU1006 CoverPhoto Tricksters.png|none|frame|Illustrated by: Pierre Raveneau]]
======''<s>Purchase the Tricksters Faction on Forgefire!</s> (link coming soon)''======
 
======''[https://connect.forgefire.games/products/smash-up-tricksters Purchase the Tricksters Faction on Forgefire!]''======
Stealing things, stopping things, starting things, hiding your keys in the morning, collecting underpants for profit… for years, you've thought of these little people as pests. Now they've turned up as pesticide.
Stealing things, stopping things, starting things, hiding your keys in the morning, collecting underpants for profit… for years, you've thought of these little people as pests. Now they've turned up as pesticide.


Tricksters are from the '''Core (base game) set''' and have a Titan card - '''Big Funny Giant'''.
Tricksters are from the '''Core set''' and have a Titan card: '''Big Funny Giant'''.
======Complexity Level: Medium-High======
======Complexity Level: Medium======
======Mechanics======
======Mechanics======
*'''Creating Hazards'''
*'''Creating Hazards'''
Line 13: Line 14:


*     What should you do if your opponents ignore you, deciding you aren't worth the effort to deal with?
*     What should you do if your opponents ignore you, deciding you aren't worth the effort to deal with?
*     What should you do if you manage to piss off your opponents and they decide to attack your minions?
*     What should you do if you manage to annoy your opponents and they decide to attack your minions?


Turning the game in your favor requires smart navigation between these two states of affairs. You need to hobble your opponents enough so that you win and they don't.
Turning the game in your favor requires smart navigation between these two states of affairs. You need to hobble your opponents enough so that you win and they don't.
Line 39: Line 40:
===Cards - Minions===
===Cards - Minions===
======1x Leprechaun======
======1x Leprechaun======
[[File:00 Temporary Card Placeholder.png|none|thumb|420x420px]]'''Power 5''' - Ongoing: After another player plays a minion here with less power than this minion's power, destroy it (resolve its ability first).
[[File:SU1006 CoreSet Tricksters12.png|none|thumb|420x420px|Illustrated by: Pierre Raveneau]]
'''Power 5''' - Ongoing: After the first time each turn another player plays a minion here that has less power here than this minion after resolving its ability, destroy it.


Errata? Yes/No
Clarifications:


Clarifications:
* If another player plays a bigger minion first and then plays a smaller minion, the first eligible minion to be destroyed is destroyed. If another player's minion moves to or from this base as part of its resolution (Example: Twister), it is not destroyed. If another player plays an eligible minion for destruction but it removes Leprechaun from the base during its resolution (Example: Dusty Henry), it is not destroyed.


Q: A low-power minion is moved to its base, does Leprechaun destroy it?
======2x Brownie======
[[File:SU1006 CoreSet Tricksters10.png|none|thumb|420x420px|Illustrated by: Pierre Raveneau]]
'''Power 4''' - Ongoing: Once per turn, after another player plays a minion on another base, draw a card.


A: No. Leprechaun only destroys minions after they are played, not after they are moved.
Clarifications:


Q: I play a Weed Eater on a base with an enemy Leprechaun. Weed Eater starts at power 5, so is it destroyed or not?
* None


A: Yes. You resolve the minion's ability first, so its power drops to 3. And unless something can boost your Weed Eater's power or lower the Leprechaun's power, Weed Eater's (modified) power is less the Leprechaun's.
======3x Gnome======
[[File:SU1006 CoreSet Tricksters9.png|none|thumb|420x420px|Illustrated by: Pierre Raveneau]]
'''Power 3''' - Special: Before this base scores, you may destroy a minion here with less power than the number of minions and titans you have here.


Q: I play a War Raptor on a base with two War Raptors and an enemy Leprechaun. Is it destroyed or not?
Clarifications:


A: No. You resolve the minion's ability first, so its power is increased to 5.
* None


Q: I play a power-5 minion on a base where another player has a power-5 Leprechaun and Sleep Spores. Is my minion destroyed?
======4x Gremlin======
[[File:SU1006 CoreSet Tricksters3.png|none|thumb|420x420px|Illustrated by: Pierre Raveneau]]
'''Power 2''' - Ongoing: After this minion goes to the discard pile from play, draw a card. If it was destroyed, each other player discards a random card.


A: Yes. Sleep Spores's ability applies immediately to your minion, so your minion has a power of 4 and is destroyed.
Clarifications:


Q: I play a power-5 minion on a base where another player has a power-5 Leprechaun and Hatchling. Is my minion destroyed?
* None


A: It depends. Unlike Sleep Spores, which is applied immediately, Hatchling's ability is a mandatory ability that's activated after you're done playing your minion and resolving its ability. But, Leprechaun's ability is also a mandatory ability that's activated after you're done playing your minion. According to the rules, it's the current player who decides the order in which these two mandatory abilities are activated. If Hatchling is activated before Leprechaun, your minion's power will be lowered to 4 and it becomes vulnerable to Leprechaun. However, if Leprechaun is activated before Hatchling, the minion survives Leprechaun's destruction and has its power lowered by 1.
=== Cards - Fusions ===


Q: If a player plays a minion (such as a Microbot Guard) to destroy the Leprechaun minion, will the Microbot Guard be destroyed after it destroys the Leprechaun?
====== 2x Pixie ======
[[File:SU1006 CoreSet Tricksters5.png|none|thumb|420x420px|Illustrated by: Pierre Raveneau]]
'''Power 2''' - Minion: If you have more cards in your hand than at least one other player, place a +1 power counter on any number of your minions here.


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.
Action: Destroy an action to place two +1 power counters among your minions.


Q: If a player plays Dusty Henry to shuffle the Leprechaun minion into its owner's deck, will Dusty Henry be destroyed after Leprechaun leaves play?
Clarifications:


A: No, the Leprechaun and the minion must be on the same base after resolving the played minion's ability for the played minion to be destroyed.
* None


Q: If a player plays a minion on Leprechaun's base and moves Leprechaun (e.g. Bear Cavalry) to another base, will the minion be destroyed?
=== Cards - Actions ===


A: No, the Leprechaun and the minion must be on the same base after resolving the played minion's ability for the played minion to be destroyed.
======1x Block the Path======
[[File:SU1006 CoreSet Tricksters16.png|none|thumb|420x420px|Illustrated by: Pierre Raveneau]]
Play on a base. For each other player, name a faction they own. Ongoing: Minions of the named factions cannot be played here.


Q: If a player plays a minion on Leprechaun's base and moves itself (e.g. Twister) to another base, will the minion be destroyed?
Clarifications:
 
A: No, the Leprechaun and the minion must be on the same base after resolving the played minion's ability for the played minion to be destroyed.
 
Q: If a player plays Felicia Day on a different base than Leprechaun's base and therefore moves Leprechaun to its base, will Felicia Day be destroyed?
 
A: No. For Leprechaun's ability to activate (or any "After X, do Y" abilities for that matter), Leprechaun must "witness" the minion being played on its base when it is played even if the destruction would only happen way after that, so it must already be on Felicia Day's base right when it's played and before Felicia Day's ability is resolved. This is clearly not the case here.
 
Q: On my turn, a base with an enemy Leprechaun is 1 power away from breaking. I play a power-1 minion there. Does the base break before my minion is destroyed?
 
A: No. You only check if a base scores during phase 3 of a player's turn.
 
Q: I play a low-power minion with a talent on a base with an enemy Leprechaun. Can I use its talent before it's destroyed?
 
A: Sadly no. While you do have to resolve your minion's immediate abilities before it's destroyed, a talent is not among the things that are resolved when the minion enters play.


Q: Can it destroy monsters?
* None


A: If the monster is played by another player's card, yes because it's a minion and it's played by a player. If the monster is played by The Gauntlet's ability, no because the rulebook says so.
======2x Enshrouding Mist======
 
[[File:SU1006 CoreSet Tricksters17.png|none|thumb|420x420px|Illustrated by: Pierre Raveneau]]
Q: I play a Mimic on an enemy its base. Is my Mimic destroyed?
Play on a base. Talent: Play an extra minion here.
 
A: Supposing Leprechaun is still at power 5, then no. When you play Mimic, its ability is resolved before Leprechaun's ability, so Mimic becomes power 5 (or more, if there's a higher printed power in play!) and so the Leprechaun can't destroy it.
 
Q: If I play an Argonaut instead of an action on Leprechaun's base, is it still destroyed?
 
A: Yes. Playing an Argonaut, whether as a minion or instead of an action, still counts as playing a minion. It IS a minion after all.
======2x Brownie======
[[File:00 Temporary Card Placeholder.png|none|thumb|420x420px]]'''Power 4''' - Ongoing: After another player plays a card that affects this minion, that player discards two random cards.
 
Errata? Yes/No


Clarifications:
Clarifications:


Q: I play a card with a talent that can affect Brownie (e.g. Snow White, Monkey on Your Back). If I use the talent on Brownie, do I discard cards?
* None
 
A: Since a Talent is not activated when you play a card and since Brownie only activates from the card being played, the answer is no, you don't discard any card.
 
Q: I play Assassination on a Brownie. Since Assassination only affects Brownie at the end of the turn and not after it is played, I don't have to discard any cards, right?
 
A: Wrong. Playing an action on a minion already counts as affecting it, so Assassination actually affects the Brownie when it is played.
 
Q: I play We are Family on a Brownie. So from now on, if any other player plays a standard action that directly affects another minion on its base, I can copy it onto Brownie and force that player to discard two random cards, right? Mwahahahahahaha!!!
 
A: Sorry no, despite its wording, the Brownie only triggers from being "directly" affected and We are Family copying an effect onto it only counts as "indirectly" affecting it.
 
Q: What if Brownie is affected by a base's ability that triggers when a player plays a card? (e.g. The Deep)
 
A: The card that affects Brownie is the base, not the card that was played by the player, so Brownie's ability doesn't trigger.


Q: I play a card that destroys or returns Brownie. Because Brownie is not in play anymore, I don't have to discard any cards, right?
======1x Flame Trap======
 
[[File:SU1006 CoreSet Tricksters14.png|none|thumb|420x420px|Illustrated by: Pierre Raveneau]]
A: Yes, you do. Brownie was triggered the moment you destroyed or returned it, and that same effect caused it to be removed from play, so its ability will be resolved even though it's no longer in play at that time.
Play on a base. Ongoing: After another player plays a minion here, destroy this card to destroy that minion. At the start of your turn, you may reduce this base's breakpoint by 4 until the end of the turn.
 
Q: I play a card that takes control of Brownie. I'm no longer "another player to him", so I don't discard cards, right?
 
A: No, you do discard. Brownie was triggered the moment you took control of it (you were in fact another player playing a card to affect it), and that same effect is obviously what caused it to no longer be your minion, so its ability will be resolved.
 
Q: Player B plays a minion to break a base. It affects player A's card because the minion is destroyed (once the base is scored). So player B has to discard cards, right?
 
A: Not at all. You're confusing several things. First of all, if a player plays a minion, we don't check if the base scores until they are done playing their Play Cards phase (phase 2). Secondly, after a base scores, the minions on the base are not destroyed, they are discarded or it is also said that they "go to the discard pile", neither one is synonymous of being affected.
======3x Gnome======
[[File:00 Temporary Card Placeholder.png|none|thumb|420x420px]]'''Power 3''' - You may destroy a minion on this base with power less than the number of minions you have here.
 
Errata? Yes/No


Clarifications:
Clarifications:


Q: Can I destroy one of my own minions with a Gnome?
* None
 
A: Absolutely!
 
Q: I have to count the number of minions "I have there". Do minions there 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. "A minion you have" means "a minion you control (whether or not you own it)". Minions you just own but don't control don't count.
======#x Minion Card Name======
[[File:00 Temporary Card Placeholder.png|none|thumb|420x420px]]'''Power X''' - Game text


Errata? Yes/No
======1x Hideout======
[[File:SU1006 CoreSet Tricksters13.png|none|thumb|420x420px|Illustrated by: Pierre Raveneau]]
Play on a base. Ongoing: Other players cannot move minions to this base. Talent: Swap this action with a play-on-base action from your hand or deck, then you may destroy a minion of power 2 or less here.


Clarifications:
Clarifications:
*A
*B
*Etc.
===Cards - Actions===
======#x Action Card Name======
[[File:00 Temporary Card Placeholder.png|none|thumb|420x420px]]Action card text in a sentence.
Errata? Yes/No


Clarifications:
* None
*A
*B
*Etc.
======#x Action Card Name======
[[File:00 Temporary Card Placeholder.png|none|thumb|420x420px]]Action card text in a sentence.


Errata? Yes/No
======1x Mark of Sleep======
[[File:SU1006 CoreSet Tricksters19.png|none|thumb|420x420px|Illustrated by: Pierre Raveneau]]
Choose one for each other player: until the start of your turn, either they cannot play actions OR they cannot move minions.


Clarifications:
Clarifications:
*A
*B
*Etc.
======#x Action Card Name======
[[File:00 Temporary Card Placeholder.png|none|thumb|420x420px]]Action card text in a sentence.
Errata? Yes/No


Clarifications:
* None
*A
*B
*Etc.
======#x Action Card Name======
[[File:00 Temporary Card Placeholder.png|none|thumb|420x420px]]Action card text in a sentence.


Errata? Yes/No
======1x Pay the Piper======
[[File:SU1006 CoreSet Tricksters20.png|none|thumb|420x420px|Illustrated by: Pierre Raveneau]]
Play on a base. Ongoing: After another player plays a minion here, that player discards a card.


Clarifications:
Clarifications:
*A
*B
*Etc.
======#x Action Card Name======
[[File:00 Temporary Card Placeholder.png|none|thumb|420x420px]]Action card text in a sentence.


Errata? Yes/No
* None


Clarifications:
======1x Take The Shinies======
*A
[[File:SU1006 CoreSet Tricksters15.png|none|thumb|420x420px|Illustrated by: Pierre Raveneau]]
*B
Each other player discards two random cards.
*Etc.
======#x Action Card Name======
[[File:00 Temporary Card Placeholder.png|none|thumb|420x420px]]Action card text in a sentence.
 
Errata? Yes/No


Clarifications:
Clarifications:
*A
*B
*Etc.
======#x Action Card Name======
[[File:00 Temporary Card Placeholder.png|none|thumb|420x420px]]Action card text in a sentence.


Errata? Yes/No
* None


Clarifications:
*A
*B
*Etc.
===Cards - Bases===
===Cards - Bases===
======#x Base Card Name======
======1x Cave of Shinies======
[[File:00 Temporary BASE Placeholder.png|none|thumb|420x420px]]
[[File:SU1006 CoreSet Tricksters22.png|none|thumb|420x420px|Illustrated by: Pierre Raveneau]]
Breakpoint 23 - VPs: 4 2 1 - Once per turn, after a minion here you own is destroyed, gain 1 VP.


Clarifications:


Breakpoint ## - VPs: # # # - Replace with base card text.
* None


Errata? Yes/No
======1x Mushroom Kingdom======
[[File:SU1006 CoreSet Tricksters21.png|none|thumb|420x420px|Illustrated by: Pierre Raveneau]]
Breakpoint 19 - VPs: 4 3 2 - At the start of your turn, if you have more cards in your hand than any other player, you may move a minion to or from this base.


Clarifications:
Clarifications:
*A
*B
*Etc.
======#x Base Card Name======
[[File:00 Temporary BASE Placeholder.png|none|thumb|420x420px]]


* None


​Breakpoint ## - VPs: # # # - Replace with base card text.
===Card - Titan===
 
======1x Big Funny Giant======
Errata? Yes/No
[[File:SU1006 CoreSet Tricksters23.png|none|thumb|420x420px|Illustrated by: Gong Studios]]
Special: Instead of your regular minion play, you may play this titan. Ongoing: After another player plays a minion here, they must discard a card. At the end of each other player's turn, if they do not have a minion here, you may place a +1 power counter on this titan. Special: When this base scores, if you are the winner and at least one other player does not have a minion here, gain 1 VP.


Clarifications:
Clarifications:
*A
*B
*Etc.
===Card - Titan===
======#x Titan Card Name======
[[File:00 Temporary Card Placeholder.png|none|thumb|420x420px]]Stats & Titan card text in a sentence(s).


Errata? Yes/No
* None
 
Clarifications:
*A
*B
*Etc.

Latest revision as of 17:20, 30 October 2025

Illustrated by: Pierre Raveneau
Purchase the Tricksters Faction on Forgefire!

Stealing things, stopping things, starting things, hiding your keys in the morning, collecting underpants for profit… for years, you've thought of these little people as pests. Now they've turned up as pesticide.

Tricksters are from the Core set and have a Titan card: Big Funny Giant.

Complexity Level: Medium
Mechanics
  • Creating Hazards
  • Punishing Opponents

Hopefully you might have guessed that Tricksters are full of tricks. These include punishing opponents for affecting your minions, making bases difficult, deadly, or even impossible to play on, straight up disallowing a player from playing their cards, undoing an action attached to a minion or base, and forcing your opponents to discard cards. It is no mere exaggeration to call these guys full-scale full-time nuisances. Fortunately for their opponents, all the restrictions Tricksters place on them have some condition that makes them temporary or partially ineffective.

Strategy

Tormenting your friends might be fun and all for you, but does that win you the game? Frankly, there's no guarantee that it will. There's a coin here with two sides to it:

  •     What should you do if your opponents ignore you, deciding you aren't worth the effort to deal with?
  •     What should you do if you manage to annoy your opponents and they decide to attack your minions?

Turning the game in your favor requires smart navigation between these two states of affairs. You need to hobble your opponents enough so that you win and they don't.

Punishing Passivity

If your opponent won't or can't resist your incursions, then go on the offensive. Claim any particularly advantageous bases for yourself, then when it appears your opponent won't play there, follow where they went with your Gremlins, Brownies, and Leprechaun. You want to invade bases where your opponent is and try to stop them from playing any more power there than you, so you won't have to play as much there yourself to break the base and win it. Gnomes can be used here to keep the balance of power on the base under control. Once you've got Enshrouding Mist ready, drop two minions and win the base.

Sounds like walking a fine line, right? Well, we are talking about winning the game, after all. Tricksters have no power boosts and their minions average 3 power. Tricksters play dirty and you've got to use everything they've got. This is not a simple or easy faction to win with.

In special cases where you get rewarded for destroying your own minions, such as at Cave of Shinies, put your Gremlins on the chopping block, since your opponent isn't. You still draw a card and they discard one. If you have to play Gnome for this, you need one other minion on the base with the Gremlin to fulfill Gnome's requirement.

Punishing Aggression

First of all, when it's against your Gremlins and Brownies, you might try to act distraught, but of course you're laughing inside. You should put them in the most obnoxious and dangerous places, rather than your Gnomes and Leprechaun.

A much bigger problem for you is if your opponent can get rid of your minions by out-powering you and winning first place on bases. You always have to be on the lookout for this. Tricksters aren't good at destroying cards already in play. You have to anticipate your opponents and carefully control how many of their minions finally end up on the bases and where.

Synergy

Tricksters are good at stalling out games, so factions that benefit from that help. If your goal really is inflicting pain and suffering, there are some other factions good at that, too.

  • Elder Things - Pain, punishment, terror, and madness.
  • Vampires - These guys have an unfortunate habit of lunching on their allies. You might as well feed them your Gremlins. Vampires are good at pulling close leads from up behind their opponents. They have a few ways to add +1 power counters on your Leprechaun, making him much better at his job.
  • Aliens - Send your opponents' minions back to their hand, then block them. Also appreciates a good stall.

Cards - Minions

1x Leprechaun
Illustrated by: Pierre Raveneau

Power 5 - Ongoing: After the first time each turn another player plays a minion here that has less power here than this minion after resolving its ability, destroy it.

Clarifications:

  • If another player plays a bigger minion first and then plays a smaller minion, the first eligible minion to be destroyed is destroyed. If another player's minion moves to or from this base as part of its resolution (Example: Twister), it is not destroyed. If another player plays an eligible minion for destruction but it removes Leprechaun from the base during its resolution (Example: Dusty Henry), it is not destroyed.
2x Brownie
Illustrated by: Pierre Raveneau

Power 4 - Ongoing: Once per turn, after another player plays a minion on another base, draw a card.

Clarifications:

  • None
3x Gnome
Illustrated by: Pierre Raveneau

Power 3 - Special: Before this base scores, you may destroy a minion here with less power than the number of minions and titans you have here.

Clarifications:

  • None
4x Gremlin
Illustrated by: Pierre Raveneau

Power 2 - Ongoing: After this minion goes to the discard pile from play, draw a card. If it was destroyed, each other player discards a random card.

Clarifications:

  • None

Cards - Fusions

2x Pixie
Illustrated by: Pierre Raveneau

Power 2 - Minion: If you have more cards in your hand than at least one other player, place a +1 power counter on any number of your minions here.

Action: Destroy an action to place two +1 power counters among your minions.

Clarifications:

  • None

Cards - Actions

1x Block the Path
Illustrated by: Pierre Raveneau

Play on a base. For each other player, name a faction they own. Ongoing: Minions of the named factions cannot be played here.

Clarifications:

  • None
2x Enshrouding Mist
Illustrated by: Pierre Raveneau

Play on a base. Talent: Play an extra minion here.

Clarifications:

  • None
1x Flame Trap
Illustrated by: Pierre Raveneau

Play on a base. Ongoing: After another player plays a minion here, destroy this card to destroy that minion. At the start of your turn, you may reduce this base's breakpoint by 4 until the end of the turn.

Clarifications:

  • None
1x Hideout
Illustrated by: Pierre Raveneau

Play on a base. Ongoing: Other players cannot move minions to this base. Talent: Swap this action with a play-on-base action from your hand or deck, then you may destroy a minion of power 2 or less here.

Clarifications:

  • None
1x Mark of Sleep
Illustrated by: Pierre Raveneau

Choose one for each other player: until the start of your turn, either they cannot play actions OR they cannot move minions.

Clarifications:

  • None
1x Pay the Piper
Illustrated by: Pierre Raveneau

Play on a base. Ongoing: After another player plays a minion here, that player discards a card.

Clarifications:

  • None
1x Take The Shinies
Illustrated by: Pierre Raveneau

Each other player discards two random cards.

Clarifications:

  • None

Cards - Bases

1x Cave of Shinies
Illustrated by: Pierre Raveneau

Breakpoint 23 - VPs: 4 2 1 - Once per turn, after a minion here you own is destroyed, gain 1 VP.

Clarifications:

  • None
1x Mushroom Kingdom
Illustrated by: Pierre Raveneau

Breakpoint 19 - VPs: 4 3 2 - At the start of your turn, if you have more cards in your hand than any other player, you may move a minion to or from this base.

Clarifications:

  • None

Card - Titan

1x Big Funny Giant
Illustrated by: Gong Studios

Special: Instead of your regular minion play, you may play this titan. Ongoing: After another player plays a minion here, they must discard a card. At the end of each other player's turn, if they do not have a minion here, you may place a +1 power counter on this titan. Special: When this base scores, if you are the winner and at least one other player does not have a minion here, gain 1 VP.

Clarifications:

  • None
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