Zombies: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 20:38, 27 June 2025

Purchase the Zombies Faction on Forgefire! (link coming soon)

“They’re coming to get you, Player 2.” It's hard to keep a good walker down. Zombies just keep coming back, and sometimes they come in waves. Sending zombies to the discard pile isn't “so long,” it's just “see you later!”

Zombies are from the Core (base game) set and do not have a Titan card.

Complexity Level: LOW

Mechanics

bRAIns... (Resurrecting Minions)
BraAAINNS! (Filling Your Discard Pile)

Zombies specialize in reviving minions from the discard pile. They make such heavy use of their discard pile that it acts like a secondary hand, and are greatly hindered if it is empty. This is always true at the start of the game. They overwhelmingly favor minion replays, but a few management actions allow you to select minions or actions. Some of their abilities help you play minions on bases where you have none.

Strategy

Since they are so good at reviving their minions, Zombies largely negate the impact of minion destruction. Opponents will seek other ways to neutralize your minions, including just out-powering you. Remember that after a base breaks, you can quickly play the minions you had there back on the field, especially your Tenacious Zs. This is primarily what makes Zombies competitive, even though their overall power is lower than usual.

Zombies have a predictable overall strategy: keep minions out of their deck and hand as much as possible, particularly Tenacious Zs. All players are allowed to look through each other's discard piles at any time, so it is difficult for Zombie players to mask their intentions. They will play their Mall Crawl and Walkers as early as possible. When decks start to empty out, they will play Lend a Hand to refill their deck with actions and other non-essentials, making sure to include Grave Robbing. Eventually they will draw Grave Robbing, and play it to put Lend a Hand back in their hand so they can sweep their discard pile again. A Zombie player aims to control which cards stay in their discard pile and which go back into the deck. Disrupting this pattern is the most effective way to slow down Zombies.

Synergy

Zombies are good at keeping a large number of minions on the field, so their best partners will help them get even more on the field or do special things with them once they are there. Factions that help you discard cards are also good partners.

Robots - The swarms of minions will never stay down! Once they massively over-break a base, they will explode back onto the field. Easily one of the strongest combinations in the game.
Pirates - Typically opponents will hunt down First Mates the moment they see them, but with Zombies backing them up, your opponents will have a frustrating time. Pirates' ease of moving around their minions fits nicely with Zombie Lord's ability. The more players in the game, the better.
Ghosts - They help you in your quest to fill and manage your discard pile. Zombies can help put cards back in your hand, in case you need to fuel a Spirit. Zombies are capable of getting by on an empty hand.
Killer Plants - Plants and Zombies memes, anyone? But actually, this is a strong combination. Sprouts help you get Tenacious Z's into the action ASAP, and Zombies help cover the Plants' big weakness to minion destruction.

Cards - Minions

1x Zombie Lord

Power 5 - You may play an extra minion of power 2 or less from your discard pile on each base where you have no minions.

Errata? Yes/No

Clarifications:

Q: I can play the extra minions on bases where I have no minions. Do bases where there are only minions I own but don't control also count? I don't control them but I "own" them, so I "have" them, right?

A: No. "Where you have no minions" means "where you don't control any minions (whether or not you own them)". Minions you just own but don't control don't count.

Q: I play Zombie Lord. I have no minion on a base with Leprechaun, so I play a power-2 minion there that is destroyed. Can I keep playing it again and again on the same base because I still have no minion there?

A: No. Zombie Lord's extra minions must be played immediately or not at all when you resolve its ability. As such, when you resolve Leprechaun's ability, Zombie Lord will have no more extra minion plays you can use (any unspent extra minion plays gained from its ability will be lost).

Q: Do I have to play all the extra minions at the same time?

A: No. Minions are never played at the same time. You play them one at a time.

Q: If I play Zombie Lord and swarm every other base with Minions with immediate abilities, do I get to choose in which order they trigger?

A: Actually, the minions aren't played at the same time, but one after another. Each time you play one, resolve its ability, that's the order they activate.

Q: Can an extra power-2 minion be played on a base where it would get +1 power and therefore actually be a power-3 minion? (e.g. The Central Brain)

A: Yes. Playing a minion of power 2 or less means playing a minion while its printed power is 2 or less.

Q: If I play Zombie Lord on Pay the Piper's base and discard a power-2 minion, can I play that minion as one of the extra minions?

A: The extra minions granted by Zombie Lord must all be played immediately or not at all. Pay the Piper is an "After X, do Y" ability, which is only resolved after all the played cards and cards in the middle of resolution are resolved, so by the time you can resolve Pay the Piper, Zombie Lord's ability has already been resolved.

Q: I play Zombie Lord. I use one of my extra minion plays to play Captain Ahab. I use its talent to move it to a base where I have an action attached to it, but no minions. Can I play another extra minion on Captain Ahab's previous base? Before moving Captain Ahab to its new base, there was no minion there, so I had the right to play an extra minion there. Now that Captain Ahab is there, can I still play the extra minion?

A: The extra minions granted by Zombie Lord must all be played immediately or not at all. This means that you can't use Captain Ahab's talent because Talent aren't resolved when their card is played and can only be invoked when you're not in the middle of a resolution.

Q: I play Zombie Lord. I use one of my extra minion plays to play Captain Ahab. I use its talent to move it to a base where I have a Zeppelin but no minions. I then use the Zeppelin's talent to move Captain Ahab to a third base (for example, Zombie Lord's). Can I play an extra minion on Zeppelin's base even though Captain Ahab moved to and then from it?

A: Actually, the extra minions granted by Zombie Lord must all be played immediately or not at all. This means that you can't use Captain Ahab's talent because Talent aren't resolved when their card is played and can only be invoked when you're not in the middle of a resolution.

A: I have Cyclone in play as my only minion on its base. I play Zombie Lord on another base. I use Cyclone's talent to move itself to another base. Can I play an extra minion on Cyclone's former base?

A: Actually, the extra minions granted by Zombie Lord must all be played immediately or not at all. This means that you can't use Cyclone's talent because Talent aren't resolved when their card is played and can only be invoked when you're not in the middle of a resolution.

Q: An opponent has a Zombie Lord in play and I have no minions on any base. I play a Copycat and copy Zombie Lord's ability and bank the extra minion plays. I use one of the extra minion plays to play a Copycat from my discard pile and copy Zombie Lord's ability again. Am I now able to play two extra minions on each of the remaining bases where I still don't have minions?

A: The extra minions granted by Zombie Lord must all be played immediately or not at all; they cannot be banked for later. For your scenario, this means that you can indeed copy Zombie Lord's ability, that's also when you determine on which base you can play the extra minions. That restriction is then set for the rest of that Copycat's resolution. Next, you can indeed immediately spend your first extra minion play to play a Copycat from the discard pile and copy Zombie Lord's ability. Similarly to the first Copycat, you now determine on which bases you can play the extra minion plays granted by the second Copycat. Continue resolving that second Copycat's ability by immediately playing its extra minions (or not, in which case those are lost). Once you're done, according to the Card Resolution Order, you must finish resolving cards in the middle of resolution. In that case, you haven't finished resolving your first Copycat's ability. You can now continue to play the extra minions granted by your first Copycat, even though the bases now have minions you control on them; that's because the bases where you can play the extra minions are determined when Zombie Lord's ability starts resolving, not while it is resolving.

2x Grave Digger

Power 4 - You may place a minion from your discard pile into your hand.

Errata? Yes/No

Clarifications:

Q: Do I get to use the minion's ability, the one I brought back from Grave Digger's ability, when I eventually play it?

A: Yes.

Q: It doesn't say to reveal the card you place in your hand, so I don't have to reveal it if I don't want to, right?

A: No, you must reveal it. Discard piles are "public knowledge", so you can check which cards are in any player's discard pile at any time. If you take a card out of the discard pile, players are supposed to know what card was taken out. So, you should reveal it. Otherwise, how are you supposed to prove that you didn't put an action instead of a minion?

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.

3x Tenacious Z

Power 2 - Special: During your turn you may play this card from your discard pile as an extra minion. You may only use the ability of one Tenacious Z each turn.

Errata? Yes/No

Clarifications:

Q: The card says "Special" so I can play it outside of my turn, right?

A: "Special" does not mean the card can be played out of turn. "Special" simply means that it's an ability that can be used when its condition is met. Whether it can be used out of turn, activated straight from your hand/discard pile, or if it can only be used when it's already in play (essentially being a synonym of Ongoing), it entirely depends on the wording. In the case of Tenacious Z, the clarification in The Bigger Geekier Box rulebook already restricts its usage to during your Play Cards phase, not at any other times. Furthermore, reading the rest of its ability indicates that it allows you to play it from the discard pile and only one Tenacious Z per turn. So Tenacious Z's Special ability can only be used during your Play Cards, if Tenacious Z is in your discard pile and only if you haven't used any Tenacious Z's Special ability already on this turn.

Q: Is this card only playable from the discard pile?

A: No, it has no such restriction. If it's in your hand, you can play it normally, ignoring its special ability.

Q: How do you play the special ability of the Tenacious Z minion, exactly?

A: On your Play Cards phase, you may use the special ability of one Tenacious Z to play it from your discard pile as if it were an extra minion play. You do not need to use up a normal or extra minion play to play Tenacious Z in this manner. Also, if you've already use a Tenacious Z's ability, you can no longer you any Tenacious Z's abilities.

Q: Do I need to have a minion play available to use Tenacious Z's ability?

A: No. Tenacious Z's ability can be used without spending one of your extra or free minion play.

Q: If I play a Tenacious Z "normally", can I still play another Tenacious Z from my discard pile?

A: Yes. Since the first Tenacious Z was played without using its special ability, you can activate the other Tenacious Z's ability to play it from your discard pile.

Q: I haven't used a Tenacious Z's ability yet. On my turn, during the scoring of a base, can I use a Tenacious Z's ability to play it on the scoring base? It is a special after all.

A: No. Tenacious Z's ability says "during your turn", which should actually be worded as "on your turn". That is to say that a Tenacious Z's ability can only be used during the Play Cards phase (phase 2) of your turn. If you're resolving the scoring of a base, you're actually in phase 3.

Q: I haven't used a Tenacious Z's ability yet. At the end of my turn, I have nine cards in hand and draw two cards so I have to discard one card. Can I discard a Tenacious Z and immediately play it from the discard pile?

A: No. Tenacious Z's ability says "during your turn", which should actually be worded as "on your turn". That is to say that a Tenacious Z's ability can only be used during the Play Cards phase (phase 2) of your turn. If you're drawing your two cards, you're actually in phase 4. Note that drawing your two cards is not the end of your turn, which would be phase 5.

Q: Can I use a Tenacious Z's ability twice on the same turn, as long as it's the same Tenacious Z?

A: No. The limit is on the number of times a Tenacious Z's ability is used. Even if it's the same Tenacious Z, you've already used a Tenacious Z's ability so you can't use it anymore.

Q: So the rulebook says Copycat can copy any type of abilities, including Special. So on their turn, if another plays a Tenacious Z as a Special, I can copy the Tenacious Z's ability and play Copycat (from hand or discard pile), right? Same question about Wil Wheaton, Snuggly Bear, Argonaut, Fan, Deputy, etc.

A: No, Copycat's ability is an on-play ability, which means you only resolve it if you play Copycat first. In your scenario, you invoke Copycat's ability while it's out of play and then use it to play Copycat, which isn't possible because you can only copy an ability by first playing Copycat. A Copycat's ability cannot be used to play the Copycat itself because playing it is required to invoke its copy ability in the first place.

4x Walker

Power X - Look at the top card of your deck. Discard it or return it to the top of your deck.

Errata? Yes/No

Clarifications:

Q: Do I have to reveal the card to other players if I choose to return it?

A: No. You only "look" at a card, so show it to no one else.

Cards - Actions

2x Grave Robbing

Action card text in a sentence.

Errata? Yes/No

Clarifications:

Q: It doesn't say to reveal the card you place in your hand, so I don't have to reveal it if I don't want to, right?

A: No. Discard piles are "public knowledge", so you can check which cards are in any player's discard pile at any time. If you take a card out of the discard pile, players are supposed to know what card was taken out. So, you should reveal it. Otherwise, how are you supposed to prove that you didn't put an action instead of a minion?

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: I use this card to retrieve a minion from my discard pile. Am I allowed to play that minion if I haven't played any minion yet? I figured you shouldn't because you are only allowed to play a minion you get from your deck or discard pile when a card says so (e.g. Hoverbot, They Keep Coming), and this card doesn't say anything of the sort.

A: Of course you can. Playing a minion is simply playing a minion from your hand and the minion you got from Grave Robbing IS in your hand.

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

A: It doesn't interact with them at all, because it doesn't affect any minions in play and so its effect can't be copied.

1x Lend a Hand

Action card text in a sentence.

Errata? Yes/No

Clarifications:

Q: When I play Lend a Hand to shuffle cards from my discard pile, can I choose the Lend a Hand I just played as one of them?

A: No. Action cards go to the discard pile after their ability resolves and after cards in play and in hand react to it. If you choose to reshuffle your entire discard pile, then Lend a Hand would be the only card left there.

Q: Do I choose which cards to shuffle or are they picked randomly?

A: You choose which cards to shuffle.

Q: It doesn't say to reveal the cards you shuffle into your deck, so I don't have to reveal them if I don't want to, right?

A: No. Discard piles are "public knowledge", so you can check which cards are in any player's discard pile at any time. If you take a card out of the discard pile, players are supposed to know what card was taken out. So, you should reveal them.

Rule: If you take a card out of the discard pile, show it to everyone.

Q: If I play this card, do I have to shuffle my deck, even if I choose zero cards from my discard pile? Or, to be more positive: Can I play this card just to shuffle my deck (e.g. because there´s a card at it´s bottom I would like to draw sooner)?

A: Yes, you have to shuffle your deck, even if you don't want to shuffle any discarded card into it.

Rule: When shuffling any number of cards into a deck, if you choose zero or if you are unable to choose any cards, you still shuffle that deck.

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

A: It doesn't interact with them at all, because it doesn't affect any minions in play and so its effect can't be copied.