Combining Adversaries

Frequently Asked Questions

Adversaries

• For Sweden Lvl 4 (Royal Backing), what is the timing of the Invader Card discard? How does it combine with other Adversaries which stack the Invader Deck?
  Royal Backing rephrased for less ambiguity: "At the end of Setup (after resolving the initial Explore Card), Accelerate the Invader Deck. (Discard the topmost card of the lowest Invader Stage remaining in the deck.) On each board, add 1 Town to the land with fewest Invaders that matches the discarded card."

  The fact that it's Accelerating the deck instead of discarding off the top is only relevant when combining Adversaries and the top Invader Card (post-Explore) is a later Invader Stage moved upwards by Adversary instructions. (Eg: Brandenburg-Prussia 5, where it will be a Stage III card, but there are still Stage II cards left in the deck.)
  Tags: Accelerate, Combining Adversaries, Timing, Kingdom of Sweden, 0 more...
• For Habsburg Level 1 (Migratory Herders), does it check all Build Cards, or just those in the normal Build Space?
  The intent is that it only checks cards in the Build Space printed on the Invader Board, but that isn't explicitly spelled out for space reasons (and because it doesn't matter 99% of the time). If you play it as written (also checking Build Cards in other places), that's totally fine.

  Situations where it makes a difference include are playing double-Adversary with England Lvl 3+ (the High Immigration step has Build Cards) and the Event Card "Farmers Seek the Dahan for Aid" (which can turn a Ravage Card into a Build Card).
  Tags: Build Step, Build Cards, Combining Adversaries, Habsburg Monarchy (Livestock Colony), 2 more...
• When does Brandenburg-Prussia Level 2's early Stage III card count as Stage III and when does it count as Stage II?
  It only counts as Stage II for "What Invader Stage is the game in?" (E.g., for the Second Wave Scenario, the Ward the Shores Scenario, Events, or the rules for playing with Beasts tokens but no Events.) It's still a Stage III card for anything that cares about the Stage of a specific card (e.g., the Escalation rules for Combining Two Adversaries, or Fractured Days' unique power "The Past Returns Again").

  It ceases to be special once it leaves the Invader Deck (even if it returns to the deck, e.g., via "The Past Returns Again") or gets shuffled with other Stage III cards (e.g., by the Fractured Days innate power "Visions of a Shifting Future").

  This is the only specially-placed Invader card that acts differently; all other cards act like their printed Stage in all circumstances.
  Tags: Combining Adversaries, Events, Playing Without Events, Kingdom of Brandenburg-Prussia, 6 more...
• When the Kingdom of Sweden reveals an Escalation symbol, does the Escalation apply to all subsequent Explore Cards that turn?
  No, Swayed by the Invaders only applies to the card with the Escalation symbol, and not to any other Explore Cards.

  This also means that if the Escalation would happen when the card isn't an Explore Card (e.g., when combining with the Tsardom of Russia's Entrench in the Face of Fear), then the Escalation does nothing.
  Tags: Stage II escalation, Combining Adversaries, Kingdom of Sweden, Explorers are Reluctant, 2 more...
• Does the cascade replacement from Habsburg Mining Expedition Level 1 apply to cascades caused by something other than adding Blight to a land with Blight *(e.g., the Sands effect of Varied Terrains)*? How about adding Blight to another land in a way that isn't called a “cascade” *(e.g., Scotland Level 5)*?
  Yes and no, respectively.

  If it's from a Ravage and called a “cascade,” Avarice Rewarded turns it into an upgrade. If it's either not called a cascade or not from a Ravage, resolve the effect normally and don't apply Avarice Rewarded.
  Tags: Combining Adversaries, Blight, Kingdom of Scotland, Varied Terrains, 1 more...
• Does Ceaseless Mining (Habsburg Mining Expedition Level 1) cause Ravages in Mining lands from extra Build Steps (e.g., from High Immigration when combining with the Kingdom of England)?
  No, Ceaseless Mining only affects the ordinary Build Step corresponding to the Build Space printed on the Invader Board, since it refers to the Build Step. Build Cards in extra Build Steps will Build normally.

  Similarly, Mining Boom (Levels 3 & 5) won't trigger after extra Build Steps, and The Empire Ascendant (Level 6) won't affect Explore Cards resolved during extra Explore Steps.
  Tags: Combining Adversaries, Build Step, Fortification, Kingdom of England, 1 more...

Play Options

• Is it possible for "Untapped Salt Deposits" (Habsburg Mining Expedition Level 4) to combine with "Seize Opportunity" (The Kingdom of Scotland Level 2), since they both alter what happens to the “Coastal Lands” card?
  Yes, just set up the “Coastal Lands” card according to "Seize Opportunity" (as the third Stage II card).

  Both Adversary effects remove the "Coastal Lands” card before randomizing the Stage II Invader Cards – "Untapped Salt Deposits" just doesn’t do anything special with it afterwards, while "Seize Opportunity" puts it back in a specific spot.

  The resulting deck order will be 11-2S-1-C2-33333, regardless of which Adversary is leading.
  Tags: Combining Adversaries, Kingdom of Scotland, Coastal Lands invader card, Habsburg Mining Expedition, 0 more...
• When combining Adversaries, how do you handle Escalation on Stage 3 Invader Cards when the Escalation cares about terrain? (France, Sweden)
  Choose one of the two land types randomly. (JE p. 19) Don't use "top terrain" or "bottom terrain"; they not equally distributed. If there's no other convenient way, spin the card and use the terrain that's closest to pointing at the Adversary panel.

  If you just apply the Escalation to both Explored terrains, Sweden's Escalation becomes much nastier and France's becomes much more lenient.
  (Discussion elsewhere)  Tags: Combining Adversaries, Stage II escalation, Kingdom of France, Kingdom of Sweden, 0 more...
• When combining the two Habsburg Adversaries, when does Migratory Herders (Livestock Colony Level 1) Gather check which lands match the Salt Deposits card (Mining Expedition Level 4)?
  Migratory Herders checks which lands match (i.e., non-Mining lands) after the Build Step is over. Builds in the non-Mining Lands might turn them into Mining Lands before Towns are Gathered, reducing the number of lands where Migratory Herders does anything. The list of lands that will be Gathered into is fixed at this point, before any Gathers happen.

  However, which lands can be gathered from, the lands that don't match (i.e., Mining lands) is checked when actually Gathering the Town, so it's possible to Gather a Town into a non-Mining land to turn that land into a Mining land, and then Gather that Town into the next non-Mining land.

  Tags: Combining Adversaries, Matches, Timing, Habsburg Monarchy (Livestock Colony), 1 more...