March 26, 2009

World's Finest FAQ

World’s Finest Frequently Asked Questions
Compiled by Paul Ross, with contributions from Dave DeLaney, David Harris, and Edwin Teh
Last updated July 3, 2007

GENERAL

1. This set is legal for sanctioned Constructed tournaments from July 20, 2007.

2. Insanity: [insanity text]


This set introduces cards with the insanity keyword. You can include such cards in any deck. However, a card’s insanity text is active only if started the game in an insane deck (which is a deck with no more than one copy of each card). The first time an opponent sees one of your insanity cards, you must announce whether your deck is insane if you haven’t already.

An insane deck can include cards both with and without the insanity keyword, as long as there is no more than one copy of each. A card is a copy of another card if both have the same name and version.

Example: Burn Baby Burn reads, "Target Arkham Inmates attacker you control gets +3 ATK this attack. Insanity: You can play this card from your KO'd pile. Whenever you do, remove it from the game." You can include this card in any deck and play it from your hand. If your deck has no more than one copy of each card, you can also play Burn Baby Burn from your KO'd pile. If Burn Baby Burn is the first insanity card from your deck seen by an opponent, you must announce whether or not you're playing with an insane deck if you haven’t already.

3. Is discarded

Some cards have powers that trigger when they are discarded. A card can be discarded only from hand, so these powers trigger only when a card enters a KO'd pile from a player's hand. These powers don't actually allow you to discard a card; they trigger only if there is some other reason for you to discard, such as paying a discard cost (including powering-up) or being told to discard by a modifier.

Example: Harley Quinn reads, "Whenever Harley Quinn is discarded, you may remove her from the game. If you do, target character gets -2 DEF this turn." You have Harley in your hand while you are attacking a character. By itself, Harley's power doesn't allow you to discard her to give the defender -2 DEF this turn. However, if an attacker is also named Harley Quinn, you can discard the Harley Quinn card in your hand to power-up, causing its power to trigger. As the triggered effect resolves, you may remove that card from your KO’d pile. If it’s no longer in your KO’d pile at that time, nothing happens.

Example: The Penguin reads, "Whenever The Penguin is discarded, you may remove him from the game. If you do, return an Arkham Inmates character card from your KO'd pile to your hand." Slaughter Swamp reads, “Activate, discard a card >>> Return target character card from a KO'd pile to its owner's hand.” You discard The Penguin to activate Slaughter Swamp, which triggers The Penguin's power. Slaughter Swamp’s effect is added to the chain, then The Penguin’s. As the latter resolves, you may remove The Penguin from your KO’d pile. If you do, choose an applicable card in your KO’d pile to return to your hand. After successive passes, Slaughter Swamp’s effect resolves, returning the card you targeted as you activated it.


4. First attack and defense

Some card text applies "during your first attack and defense each turn." This means both during the first attack in which you control an attacker each turn and during the first attack in which you control a defender or are defending directly each turn.

Example: John Henry Irons <> Steel reads, "Ally: Whenever a character you control becomes powered-up during your first attack and defense each turn, it gets an additional +1 / +1 this attack." Your opponent has the initiative on the third turn and proposes his first attack into your Steel. You power-up Steel twice, so he gets an additional +2 / +2 (for a total of +4 / +4) this attack because this is your first defense this turn. Steel survives that attack and is still non-stunned as you propose your first attack later that turn. If you power-up your attacker, it gets an additional +1/+1 because this is your first attack this turn.

5. “Each other” cycle

Five cards (Birds of a Feather, Future Friends, Hell Breaks Loose, Iron Will, and Tied Down) modify a target’s stats and do additional modification for “each other” card of the same name in your resource row and KO’d pile.

Example: Future Friends reads, “Target Team Superman attacker or defender you control gets +1 DEF this attack and an additional +1 DEF for each other Future Friends in your resource row and KO'd pile.” As it resolves, it counts the number of other cards named Future Friends in your resource row and KO'd pile. If you have two in hand and play both on the same target, it will get +1 DEF from the first to resolve and +2 DEF from the second (because it gets an additional +1 DEF from the other Future Friends in your KO’d pile) for a total of +3 DEF. However, if you have two face down in your resource row instead, you can play one in response to the other so that each gives the other an additional +1 DEF, for a total of +4 DEF.

6. Clayfaces

Three characters (Basil Karlo, Matt Hagen, and Sondra Fuller) can be recruited from your KO’d pile. They can also be recruited from your hand like any other character. Recruiting them from your KO'd pile is the same as normal recruitment in all other ways.

7. Random

You can choose a random card from a group of one but not a group of zero. For example, you can't discard a card at random to pay a cost if your hand is empty, but you can if you have one card in hand.

Example: Basil Karlo <> Ultimate Clayface reads, “When Basil Karlo enters play, you may randomly select a character card with cost 4 or less in your KO'd pile and put it into play.” As his triggered effect resolves, first choose whether or not to put a card from your KO’d pile into play. If you choose to do so, set aside the character cards with cost 4 or less from your KO’d pile and choose one at random (by rolling a die, shuffling them face down and having an opponent choose one, or any other mutually agreeable method). You must put that card into play. The rest stay in your KO’d pile.

8. Rules Refresher

8.1 Position


A character you control is never in the same column as a character another player controls.

Two characters are adjacent if they are in the same column or side by side in the same row. A character you control is never adjacent to a character another player controls. A hidden character is never adjacent to a visible character.

8.2 Protection

While two characters in the same column are not stunned, the front row character is protecting the support row character and the support row character is protected by the front row character. Stunned characters can neither protect nor be protected.

8.3 Becoming an attacker or defender

Some modifiers cause a character to become an attacker or defender in the middle of an attack. In all such cases, the legality of the attack is not rechecked.

If a character "can't attack," it means only that it can't be proposed as an attacker; it can still become an attacker through such a modifier. Similarly, if a character "can't be attacked," it means only that it can't be proposed as a defender; it can still become a defender through such a modifier. However, a stunned character can’t become an attacker or a defender.

8.4 “Null Time Zone” cards

Some effects ask you to choose a name or number as they resolve. Both players must pass before such an effect resolves, and so responses are possible before the choice is made. Once the effect is allowed to resolve and the choice is made, no responses are possible based on that choice.

Example: Imprisoned in the Source reads, “Choose the name of a non-Team-Up plot twist from an opponent's resource row or KO'd pile.

Ongoing: Players can't play cards with that name while you control a Revenge Squad character.” You choose a name as this effect resolves. Players can respond before that choice is made. Once the choice is made, players can’t play cards with the chosen name (while you control a Revenge Squad character).

SINGLE CARDS

Aerie One
Equipment, 0
Concealed

Characters you control have flight.

Free >>> Move target Birds of Prey character you control with concealed to your hidden or visible area. Use only once per turn.

An equipment with the concealed keyword can be equipped only to a hidden character and can’t be transferred to a visible character. If a hidden character moves to a visible area, any equipment with the concealed keyword attached to it is put into its owner’s KO’d pile.

Aerie One can’t target a stunned character because a stunned character has a blank text box and so can’t have the concealed keyword. You can move the target within the same area if you want to.

Arkham Asylum, Team-Up
Location, 2
Flip only if you control an Arkham Inmates character.

To flip, choose two different affiliations.

Insanity: Crossover Arkham Inmates and those affiliations.

You can choose any two affiliations; they don't need to be among characters in play.

Batman, Cape and Cowl
Character, 6, Gotham Knights, 12/12
Concealed—Optional

Opponents can't use a payment power if it has already been used this turn.

Discard a Gotham Knights character card >>> Negate target payment effect. Use only once per turn.

Payment powers have an arrow (>>>) in their text. Using a payment power puts a payment effect on the chain. Evasion is a payment power. Discarding to power-up or exhausting to reinforce are not payment powers, and so can’t be negated by Batman’s second power or stopped by his first.

A payment power can’t be used again this turn even if the effect from the original use was negated. However, if a substitute or terraform payment effect is negated, the card returns to its owner’s hand and can be used again (because it’s no longer the same card, and thus no longer has the same power).

If opponents control multiple cards with identical payment powers, using one doesn’t stop the others from being used.

Example: Devil's Due reads, “KO a character you control >>> Put a +1 ATK / +1 DEF counter on target Doom character you control.” You control Batman, Cape and Cowl. Your opponent controls two copies of Devil’s Due and KO’s a character to one of them. That opponent can still KO one character to the other Devil’s Due but can’t reuse the payment power on the card that has already been used this turn.

Bat-Mite, #1 Fan
Character, 8, Arkham Inmates / Fifth Dimension, 18/20
Reservist

Insanity: When Bat-Mite enters play, gain the initiative at the start of the next phase.

Your opponents can't gain the initiative.

If you have the initiative and recover Bat-Mite during the wrap-up, his insanity text will apply in time to stop your opponents from gaining the initiative. If the initiative would pass to a player who can’t gain it, it stays where it is.

Batmobile, Burn Rubber
Equipment, 0
While targeting or equipped to Batman, Batmobile has concealed—optional

Free >>> Move target Gotham Knights character you control to your support row. It has reinforcement this turn. Use only once per turn.

Batmobile has concealed—optional while it is attached to a character named Batman or on the chain targeting a character named Batman. It can be attached to a visible character of any name. It can be attached to a hidden character only if it’s named Batman. While attached to Batman, Batmobile isn’t put into its owner’s KO’d pile as Batman moves between areas; while attached to any other character, it is.

If you have a way to transfer Batmobile, the following are true:

• It can be transferred from a visible character to another visible character as usual.
• It can be transferred between hidden characters only if both are named Batman.
• It can be transferred between characters in different areas only if both are named Batman.

Batzarro, World's Worst Detective
Character, 4, Arkham Inmates, 9/8
Reservist

Batzarro can't attack.

Insanity: Batzarro can't not attack instead.

Batzarro’s insanity text is “Batzarro can attack instead.” If your deck is insane, he can attack as usual.

Beside Myself
Plot Twist, 1
Play only if you control an Arkham Inmates character.

Ongoing: Insanity: Whenever you draw one or more cards, flip a coin. If you win the flip, draw an additional card.

This power triggers only once off the "draw two cards" at the start of each turn. If you win the flip, the additional draw triggers this power again, and so on until you lose a flip. This card is ongoing whether or not your deck is insane, but has its ongoing power only if your deck is insane.

Bizarro, Bizarro World's Finest
Character, 6, Revenge Squad, 14/14
At the start of your attack step, target opponent chooses a character. That character must attack if able in your first attack this turn.

Whenever one or more characters you control attack, target opponent chooses a character. That character must attack if able in your next attack this turn.

If a character has been chosen, you can’t pass priority during your attack step if you could legally propose an attack with that character, nor can you propose an attacker with which the chosen character can’t team attack. As usual, the chosen character is unable to attack if it’s exhausted, stunned, or positioned in the support row without range. You’re not prevented from exhausting or otherwise “disabling” the chosen character if you have a way to do so.

The target opponent need not choose a character that’s able to attack or even a character you control. If the chosen character can't attack in your next attack this turn, you're free to propose any attackers you choose (which will trigger Bizarro’s power again,) or pass on further attacks as usual.

Brooklyn HQ
Location, 2
Whenever one or more Outsiders characters you control stun a character with greater cost, its controller loses an additional 2 endurance.


Whenever multiple Outsiders team attackers you control stun a defender, this power triggers if one or more of them cost less than that defender. They don’t all need to be of lesser cost. If more than one is of lesser cost, this power triggers only once.

Burn Baby Burn
Plot Twist, 3
Target Arkham Inmates attacker you control gets +3 ATK this attack.

Insanity: You can play this card from your KO'd pile. When you do, remove it from the game.

Playing this card from your KO'd pile is similar to playing it from your hand, except a triggered effect goes on the chain immediately on top of it. When that effect resolves (before the plot twist effect does), this card is removed from the game, but its effect stays on the chain to resolve normally. If the plot twist effect is negated before the triggered effect resolves, this card goes back into your KO'd pile and can be played again.

Cassandra Cain, Death's Daughter
Character, 5, Birds of Prey / Gotham Knights, 9/9
Concealed—Optional, Substitute

Discard a Gotham Knights or Birds of Prey character card >>> Cassandra Cain gets +1 / +1 this attack.

Discarding a card with both affiliations gives Cassandra only +1 / +1 this attack.

Certifiable
Plot Twist, 0
Insanity: Discard your hand. Draw four cards.


If Certifiable is in your opening hand, you can play it before you draw your first two cards, because its cost is 0. All players must finish resolving any mulligans before any player can play Certifiable.

Crime Doctor, Bradford Thorne
Character, 2, Arkham Inmates / Villains United, 2/3
Reservist

Return Crime Doctor to his owner's hand >>> Exhaust two target characters. Use only during your attack step.

You can choose Crime Doctor as one of the two targets if, for example, your opponent controls only one character. If you do, the other target is exhausted on resolution even though Crime Doctor is no longer in play.

Deathstroke the Terminator, Wolf in Bat's Clothing
Character, 6, Deathstroke, 12/12
Concealed

Vengeance: Whenever Deathstroke the Terminator becomes stunned, you may KO target stunned character.

His triggered effect can target a character that became stunned in the same attack conclusion.

Double Team
Plot Twist, 3
Two target Team Superman characters you control each get +1 / +1 while in the same column this turn.


The targets need not be in the same column as you play this effect or as it resolves, nor stay in the same columns. This modifier continuously checks whether they are in the same column as each other throughout its duration (“this turn”). Affiliation and controller are checked once, only on resolution.

Early Edition
Plot Twist, 3
To play, discard a Team Superman character card.

Negate target effect from a non-ongoing plot twist that doesn't share a name with another card in its controller's resource row or KO'd pile.

A plot twist played from hand stays on the chain until its effect resolves or is negated. The target will be illegal on resolution if another card with the same name enters its controller’s KO’d pile or is turned face up in his resource row in response (meaning that player can negate Early Edition by playing another copy of the same plot twist in response).

[Advanced Note: If the target plot twist effect was played from a resource row, its controller can negate Early Edition by replacing that same plot twist card (if he has some way to do so), because that card becomes “another card” as it changes zones between play and KO’d pile.]

Executive Privilege
Plot Twist, 3
Ongoing: Discard a Revenge Squad character card >>> Reveal the top two cards of your deck. Put a revealed character card and a revealed ongoing plot twist card into your hand and the rest on the bottom of your deck. Use only once per turn.


You do as much as possible as this payment effect resolves. If only one of the revealed cards is a character, put it into your hand. If only one of the revealed cards is an ongoing plot twist, put it into your hand. If both are characters or both are ongoing plot twists, choose one and put it into your hand. Put two cards into your hand only if you reveal one character and one ongoing plot twist.

Faust, Sebastian Faust
Character, 1, Outsiders, 2/1
Free >>> Characters you control can team attack hidden characters this turn. Use only once per turn.


After this effect resolves, you can’t propose a direct team attack against an opponent who controls any non-stunned hidden characters. However, you can propose direct non-team attacks as usual. In other words, this modifier doesn’t force you to team attack hidden characters. It affects all characters you control throughout the turn, including those you recruit or gain control of after resolution.

Home Sweet Home
Plot Twist, 2
To play, exhaust a Team Superman character you control.

Recover target stunned character you control at the start of the recovery phase this turn.

You choose the target stunned character as you play Home Sweet Home. To be recovered, it must be a “stunned character you control” as Home Sweet Home resolves, as the recovery phase starts this turn, and as the triggered effect resolves.

It's a Hard Life
Plot Twist, 2
Play only if you control an Arkham Inmates character.

To play, discard a card at random.

Negate target effect from a non-ongoing plot twist that shares a name with another card in its controller's resource row or KO'd pile.

A plot twist played from hand stays on the chain until its effect resolves or is negated. The target will be illegal on resolution if no card with the same name is in its controller’s KO’d pile or resource row.

In addition, if your opponent plays a non-ongoing plot twist from his resource row and you have some way to replace it, you can target that plot twist effect with It’s a Hard Life after doing so, because that plot twist card becomes “another card” as it changes zones between play and KO’d pile.

Kara Zor-El <> Supergirl, Claire Connors
Character, 8, Team Superman / Legionnaires, 19/19
Cosmic: Whenever Kara Zor-El team attacks or becomes team attacked, you may stun target character that is not in combat.


A character is not in combat if it’s neither an attacker nor a defender. A character becomes team attacked if it becomes a defender during a team attack. Her power triggers only once if she is attacked by multiple team attackers.

A character that becomes an attacker in the middle of a team attack becomes a team attacker (but the defender doesn't become team attacked again). A character that becomes a defender in the middle of a team attack becomes team attacked (but none of the attackers become team attackers again).

Katana, Tatsu Yamashiro
Character, 2, Outsiders, 3/2
Pay 2 endurance >>> KO target character that was stunned by Katana while she was team attacking this turn. Use only during the combat phase.


Any defender stunned by a team attack which Katana concluded as an attacker was stunned by Katana. If Katana becomes stunned in the same attack conclusion, there’s no chance to use her power to target the defender (unless she recovers before the combat phase ends).

Koriand'r <> Starfire, Slumming
Character, 7, Outsiders, 16/14
Substitute

Activate >>> Stun target character attacking an Outsiders defender you control with lesser cost.

The target attacker must have a cost greater than that of the Outsiders defender.

Kryptonite Man, K. Russell Abernathy
Character, 2, Revenge Squad, 3/2
Vengeance: Whenever Kryptonite Man becomes stunned, move target character to a different front row position.


The target need not be in a front row. If it’s not, move it to any front row position in the same area.

Lady Shiva, Jade Canary
Character, 7, Birds of Prey / Gotham Knights, 15/15
Concealed—Optional

Whenever a plot twist is played, Gotham Knights and Birds of Prey characters you control get +1 ATK this attack.

A character with both affiliations gets only +1 ATK as this triggered effect resolves. Whenever a plot twist is played outside of an attack, this triggered effect is never added to the chain, because the trigger event didn’t happen within the duration specified in the effect (“this attack”).

Mr. Freeze, Cold Shoulder
Character, 5, Arkham Inmates, 10/10
Reservist

Characters adjacent to Mr. Freeze can't ready.

If Mr. Freeze is recovered during the wrap-up, adjacent characters can't ready that wrap-up.

Nine Lives
Plot Twist, 2
To play, discard a Gotham Knights character card.

Look at target face-down resource an opponent controls. If it's a non-ongoing plot twist, you may turn it face up.

Turning the plot twist face up does not play it.

SKREEEEEEE!
Plot Twist, 2
Target character gets -2 DEF while defending this turn and can be attacked as though it were visible this turn.


The target need not be hidden. This modifier doesn't make the target visible, but attacks can be proposed against it as though it were this turn

Standoff
Plot Twist, 4
Ongoing: Whenever a player plays a non-ongoing plot twist, he loses 2 endurance.


The ongoing power applies as soon as Standoff is played from a resource row. Plot twists played in response will trigger it.

Stryker's Island
Location, 3
Activate >>> Target attacker you control gets +1 ATK this attack for each different cost among face-up resources you control.


If you control four face-up resources with cost 1, 2, 2, and 3, then there are three different costs among them (1, 2, and 3). Costs other than the number printed in the top left corner are not checked.

Superman, Last Son of Krypton
Character, Team Superman, 7/7
Loyalty—Reveal

To recruit, pay 4 resource points.

• Superman has no cost. His cost is not odd or even, nor is it greater than, less than, or equal to any value. He can’t share a cost with another card, including another copy of himself. A character in combat with him is not in combat with a character with greater or lesser cost.

• You take no stun endurance loss as he becomes stunned. You still take breakthrough if he is stunned by an attacker with ATK greater than his DEF. He doesn’t have invulnerability, and so modifiers that remove invulnerability have no impact on him.

• He is neither a character with cost 4 nor a character with cost 0. He is not a card "with cost" of anything. Thus, he is neither a character with cost 10 or less, nor a character with cost 0 or more. He can’t be included in a group of cards "with combined cost" of anything.

Example: Commissioner Gordon, Gotham Central reads, “Discard a character card with cost X >>> Target attacker or defender you control with cost X gets +X ATK this attack.” Superman can’t be discarded to pay the cost of this effect, nor can he be targeted by it.

• Press can’t reduce his additional cost of 4 resource points because cost reductions are applied before additional costs are added.

• He can’t be substituted from play because his cost isn’t greater than or equal to any other cost.

Tally Man, Tax Time
Character, 2, Arkham Inmates, 2/3
Whenever Tally Man is discarded, you may remove him from the game and exhaust an Arkham Inmates character you control. If you do, KO target stunned character.


If there is no legal target, his effect is immediately removed from the chain. As his effect resolves, you may choose to both remove him from the game and exhaust an applicable character or do neither. If he is no longer in your KO’d pile at that time, you can’t remove him from the game, but may still choose to exhaust an applicable character. Similarly, if you don’t control an applicable character, you may still choose to remove him from the game. The target is KO’d only if both actions actually happen.

The Insiders, Team-Up
Plot Twist, 2
Play only if you control an Outsiders character.

Ongoing: Affiliated character cards you own gain the Outsiders affiliation.

This ongoing power affects character cards you own in all zones, including those in play under the control of your opponents. It doesn’t affect characters you control but don’t own.

Thunder, Anissa Pierce
Character, 1, Outsiders, 2/1
Other characters team attacking with Thunder have invulnerability.


A character is team attacking with Thunder if it’s a team attacker while Thunder is a team attacker.

Usual Suspects
Plot Twist, 2
Search your deck for two different Arkham Inmates character cards with the same cost, reveal them, and put them into your hand. Discard two cards at random.


Two cards are different if they aren’t copies of each other. Copies have the same name and versions.

World's Worstest, Team-Up
Plot Twist, 2
Play only if you control a Revenge Squad character.

Ongoing: Affiliated character cards gain the Revenge Squad affiliation.

All affiliated character cards in all zones gain the Revenge Squad affiliation in addition to any existing affiliations, regardless of who owns or controls them.

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