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“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:
- You determine which bases you have no minions on when you play Zombie Lord. You may play only one extra minion on each of those bases even if those minions move away. You must play those extra minions immediately.
2x Grave Digger
Power 4 - You may place a minion from your discard pile into your hand.
Errata? Yes/No
Clarifications:
3x Tenacious Z
Power 2 - Special: On 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
Clarifications:
- You can only use its ability during the Play Cards phase of your turn. You can only use one Tenacious Z ability per turn, even from the same card.
4x Walker
Power 2 - Look at the top card of your deck. Discard it or return it to the top of your deck.
Errata? Yes/No
Clarifications:
Cards - Actions
2x Grave Robbing
Place a card from your discard pile into your hand
Errata? Yes/No
Clarifications:
1x Lend a Hand
Shuffle any number of cards from your discard pile into your deck.
Errata? Yes/No
Clarifications:
- This does not get shuffled into the deck with the other cards.
1x Mall Crawl
Search your deck for any number of cards with the same name and place them into your discard pile. Shuffle your deck
Errata? Yes/No
Clarifications:
1x Not Enough Bullets
Place any number of minions with the same name from your discard pile into your hand.
Errata? Yes/No
Clarifications:
1x Outbreak
Play an extra minion on a base where you have no minions
Errata? Yes/No
Clarifications:
1x Overrun
Play on a base. Ongoing: Other players cannot play minions on this base. Destroy this action at the start of your turn.
Errata? Yes/No
Clarifications:
2x They Keep Coming
Play an extra minion from your discard pile.
Errata? Yes/No
Clarifications:
1x They're Coming To Get You
Play on a base. Ongoing: On your turn, you may play a minion here from your discard pile instead of from your hand.
Errata? Yes/No
Clarifications:
- You can use the minion play from the discard pile instead of either a regular minion or a generic extra minion play (e.g. Abduction), as long as it happens during your Play Cards phase. You cannot use it instead of a specific extra minion play (e.g. Hoverbot).
Cards - Bases
1x Evans City Cemetery
Breakpoint 20 - VPs: 5 3 2 - After this base scores, the winner discards his or her hand and draws five cards.
Errata? Yes/No
Clarifications:
1x Rhodes Plaza Mall
Breakpoint 24 - VPs: 0 0 0 - When this base scores, each player gains 1 VP for each minion that player has here.
Errata? Yes/No
Clarifications:
- All players get VPs from this ability, even if there are more than three players there.
