Plaid Hat Games – faq@plaidhatgames.com - Summoner Wars Frequently Asked Questions 1

Summoner Wars Frequently Asked

Questions

Version 2.2

Table of Contents

1.0.0.0 General Rulings

2.0.0.0 Unit Questions and Answers

2.1.0.0 Benders

2.1.7.0 Tacullu

2.2.0.0 Cave Goblins

2.2.1.0 Berserker

2.2.2.0 Blarf

2.2.3.0 Fighter

2.2.4.0 Goblin Invincibility

2.2.5.0 The Eater

2.3.0.0 Cloaks

2.3.1.0 Scam

2.3.2.0 Sin-Sin

2.3.9.0 Gunner

2.4.0.0 Deep Dwarves

2.4.1.0 Crossbowman

2.4.2.0 Gem Mage

2.4.3.0 Gren

2.4.4.0 Kynder

2.4.5.0 Magic Stasis

2.4.6.0 Magic Torrent

2.4.7.0 Miner

2.4.8.0 Tundle

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2.5.5.0 Reaper

2.5.6.0 Ret-Talus

2.5.7.0 Skhull

2.6.0.0 Filth

2.6.1.0 Mutations

2.6.2.0 Abomination

2.6.3.0 Claw Mutant

2.6.4.0 Heretic’s Rebuke

2.6.5.0 Horror Mutant

2.6.6.0 Possessed Wall

2.7.5.0 Oldin

2.7.6.0 Thorkur

2.8.0.0 Jungle Elves

2.8.1.0 General

2.8.2.0 Abua Shi

2.8.3.0 Deception

2.8.4.0 Haste

2.8.5.0 Negation

2.8.6.0 Lioness

2.8.7.0 Makeinda Ru

2.9.6.0 Malevolence

2.9.7.0 Rallul

2.9.8.0 Rune Mage

2.9.9.0 Sairook

2.9.10.0 Stonecloaks

2.10.0.0 Mountain Vargath

2.10.1.0 Muster

2.10.2.0 Superior Planning

2.10.3.0 Torodin

2.11.0.0 Phoenix Elves

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2.11.7.0 Maelena

2.12.0.0 Sand Goblins

2.12.1.0 Krusk

2.12.2.0 Javelineers

2.13.0.0 Shadow Elves

2.13.1.0 Malidala

2.13.2.0 Scout

2.13.3.0 Shadows

2.13.4.0 Summon the Night

2.13.5.0 Xaserbane

2.15.1.0 Bragg

2.15.2.0 Charger

2.15.3.0 Fighter

2.15.4.0 Freeze

2.15.5.0 Ice Wall

2.15.6.0 Ragnor

2.15.7.0 Shaman

2.15.8.0 Smasher / Ugg

2.16.00 Vanguard

2.16.1.0 General

3.1.0.0 Cave Filth

3.1.1.0 Barbed Mutant

3.1.2.0 Bone Mutant

3.1.3.0 Grotesque Mutant

3.1.4.0 Legion Mutant

3.2.0.0 Deep Benders

3.2.1.0 Gorgon

3.2.2.0 Kendre

3.2.3.0 Owl Gryphon

3.2.4.0 Unlock

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3.3.6.0 Helkar

3.4.0.0 Jungle Shadows

3.4.1.0 Shaman

3.4.2.0 Track

3.5.0.0 Sand Cloaks

3.5.1.0 Blitz

3.5.2.0 Camouflage

3.6.0.0 Swamp Mercenaries

3.6.1.0 Turt

3.7.0.0 Tundra Guild

3.8.4.0 Divine Intervention

1.0.0.0 General Rulings

1.0.0.2: Is there a hand limit?

No. Normally during your draw phase, you draw up to 5 cards. If you somehow have 5 or more cards in

your hand, you simply don't draw

any.

1.0.0.3: Which cards can a player look at?

A: Players may look at and count their own hands, and any face-up cards on the Battlefield and Discard

piles. Players may also look at their own Magic Pile. Players cannot change the order of the cards in any

pile.

When a Champion or Summoner card refers to itself by using its name, that ability only affects that card.

1.0.0.6: I just got my new Reinforcements cards! How does this custom deck-building thing work? Is it

like Dominion?

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1.0.0.7: Some cards do something “at the start of your turn.” Or “at the beginning of your turn”.

When is that exactly?

The start / beginning of your turn happens immediately before your Draw Phase (or your Movement

Phase on the first turn of the starting player).

1.0.0.8: What about “at the end of your turn?”

After your Build Magic Phase.

1.0.0.9: Can I summon more than 1 Unit at a time?

A: Event Cards that do not confer a Special Ability can stack unto a single Unit. For example, you could

play 2 Heroic Feat Events on 1 Unit, giving that Unit a +4 Attack Value for the turn (+2 for each of the 2

Heroic Feats), or play 2 Burns or Freezes on the same target. There are some more current examples

given in the Master Set's revised rulebook.

1.0.0.11: But how do I know which Event Cards confer Abilities and which do not?

A: Whenever an Event Card* confers a Special Ability to a Unit, it will say so very explicitly, and will be

followed by an ability name (all in caps) and a description of that ability. The only other way for a Unit to

have a Special Ability is for it to be written on the left side of its card. An example of this is Duck and

Cover from Krusk’s deck.

1.0.0.13: What happens if 2 powers trigger at the same time?

The player whose turn it is determines in which order the Special Abilities will be resolved. The only

exception to this rule is if one power says “immediately”, and the other does not. In that instance, the

power with “immediately” takes place first.

1.0.0.14: Can a player choose to attack an empty space or roll fewer dice than their Unit's Attack

Value indicates?

No.

1.0.0.15: Some Special Abilities or Events say that you can choose to trigger them “at any time”. Can I

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1.0.0.16: Does a Wall go into my Magic Pile when I destroy it in the same way as a Unit?

Yes.

1.0.0.17: Some Special Abilities say they affect Units; does this include Walls?

No, Walls are not Units. Special Abilities that affect both Units and Walls use the generic term “cards”.

1.0.0.18: Does a player have to roll to hit Walls when his Units attack one?

Yes. Roll dice as you normally would for any attack.

1.0.0.19: If a player has a Wall adjacent to his opponent’s half of the Battlefield, can he summon Units

Abilities that use the term “may”, as in, “you may move up to two additional spaces.”

1.0.0.21: When a Special Ability says “instead of attacking” and it is used, does that count towards the

limit of 3 Unit attacks per player turn?

Yes. During your Attack Phase, you choose 3 Units to attack with. They can choose to use their attack as

normal or to use an “instead of attacking” ability if they have one.

1.0.0.22: When using a Special Ability that affects cards “within X spaces” can I count diagonally to

determine which cards are affected?

No, in the Terminology Clarifications section of the rulebook it explains that when counting spaces for

1.0.0.24: After my opponent moves one of my Units, may I trigger one of their “after moving this

Unit” abilities? For instance, if your opponent moved a Kalal that you controlled, could you trigger her

ability to look at the top of a draw pile? If I can’t, can my opponent trigger the ability?

No. You may only trigger an “after moving” ability if you were the Unit to move Kalal. If your own Unit—

for instance a Controller—were to move Kalal outside the normal move phase, you could trigger her

ability, as you were the player doing the movement. Furthermore, you may only trigger abilities of a

Unit you control. Since your opponent does not control Kalal, they may not trigger her ability.

1.0.0.25: Can you create a Vine Wall if you are faction other than the Swamp Orcs?

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1.0.0.26: When multiple cards go to the Magic Pile at the same time (e.g. Blarf with cards under him),

can I get to choose the order they go in, or is there a set procedure?

Cards should go into your Magic Pile in the order that they are arranged in the stack of Units. For

instance, Blarf will be the first Unit to go into your Magic Pile, then the first card under him, and so on

until there are no more cards that are meant to go into your Magic Pile.

1.0.0.27: When an attack affects multiple cards, are they resolved simultaneously or sequentially?

The wounds are placed sequentially, but no cards are removed from play until all cards have received

their wounds. For instance, if Gror attacks a Swamp Orc Shaman on a Vine Wall, he may deal first two

wounds to the Vine Wall and then a wound to the Shaman, or the other way around, but neither card

1.0.0.29: Can you play an event card for no effect?

You can only play an event card if you can meet its conditions. For instance, you can play Summoning

Surge if you have fewer Units on the board than an opponent, but no cards in your discard pile. Having

fewer Units in play is the condition and must be met, but the effect does not have to be completely

resolved.

1.0.0.30: Is an instead of attacking ability an attack?

No, it is an instead of attacking ability.

1.0.0.31: Is being affected by an attack the same thing as being attacked, and is attacking a Unit the

For example, lets assume Violet is in a Sand Cloaks deck and has the BLITZ Event Ability, and is adjacent

to a Fallen Kingdom Cultist and Reaper. If Violet uses WHIRLING BLADE to attack a Wall that is 3 spaces

away through the Cultist, the Cultist is “affected by the attack”. If the Cultist is destroyed by that attack,

its DEATH CURSE ability will trigger. However, as Violet did not attack an adjacent card (the Cultist was

only affected by the attack), she may not use her BLITZ ability to also attack the Reaper.

1.0.0.32: What happens to cards under a Unit if that Unit changes controllers?

Nothing – they remain under the Unit. If these were cards that confer a benefit, such as ICE ARMOR or

an Event Ability, then that Unit’s new controller may use them. It is also acceptable for the new

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Any unit that you control for any part of the turn is given the benefit from the Event card. For example,

if Mad Sirian plays Forbidden Ritual, and then subsequently plays Reanimate to place a Vampire onto

the Battlefield, that Vampire will gain both the attack boost and the ability granted by Forbidden Ritual.

Other similar cards include Holy Judgment, Passion of the Phoenix, Channeled Summon, Throw Rocks,

and any other event that grants a benefit or detriment to units you control until the end of the turn.

1.0.0.34: Is there a difference between moving a unit, and moving WITH a unit?

Yes. Moving a Unit can be done with a normal movement activation, or some special movement from

an Event card or special ability from other cards. Moving WITH a unit can only be done with a normal

movement activation or that Unit’s own ability. See the movement section of the rulebook for more

unit with a normal Wall on it is not clear, empty or unoccupied because a Unit cannot share a space with

a normal Wall.

1.0.0.36: When is an attack considered to be resolved?

An attack is not completely resolved until Hits have been counted, Wounds have been applied,

destroyed Units have been removed, and any abilities that happen during any of those things have

happened. So if an ability occurs when Wounds are received, or when a Unit is destroyed by an attack,

the attack is not completely resolved until those abilities have taken place.

2.1.0.0 Benders

2.1.1.0 Breakers

2.1.1.1: In which Discard pile does the card targeted by Memory Break go?

Cards discarded by a Breaker will go to the Discard Pile of the Breaker’s controller. This is because the

Discard is a specific action being made by the Breaker. Whenever a player discards a card, like a Freeze,

it goes to that player’s discard pile.

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of it later in that same turn, can I move or attack with it this turn?

No. The Deceiver's STUN ability is checked at the start of every turn and lasts for that whole turn. Even if

the affected Unit is no longer an enemy later in the turn, it was still stunned at the start of the turn and

will be unable to move or attack for the remainder of that turn.

2.1.3.2: What about if an allied Phoenix Elf player starts a turn where Kaeseeall is adjacent to an

A: In that case, the PE player could elect to trigger her power first (since both BLAZING CONSCRIPTION

and STUN occur at the same time

and it is the PE' player's turn). The Blazing Conscripted common would no longer be an enemy and thus

No. The Unit adjacent to the Deceiver was affected by Stun at the beginning of their turn. Even if the

Deceiver was removed (via, for instance, a Burn event card) the Unit has still been affected by Stun and

will not be able to move or attack until the next turn. If the controller of the Unit affected by Stun

changes, the Unit still cannot attack or move. If the controller of the Deceiver changes, the Unit affected

by Stun still cannot attack or move.

2.1.3.4: Does Stun prevent a Unit from being placed (e.g. Muster) or exchanging places (e.g.

Cunning)? If not, can the previously Stunned Unit then move after that?

Stun does not prevent a Unit from being placed or exchanging places. Stun only prevents a Unit from

moving or attacking. If a Unit exchanges places or is placed in a space not adjacent to the Deceiver, the

Unit cannot attack or move until your next turn.

2.1.4.0 Gulldune

2.1.4.1: Can an opposing Cloak player's Admiral use COVER to prevent Gulldune's MIND CAPTURE?

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attack Tark?

Yes. If a Unit is mutated, it is no longer stunned. If a Unit is mutated, it can attack Tark, etc.

2.6.1.2: Can you summon a Mutation on a frozen mutant? If so, does it go over or under the Freeze

card? Or does the Freeze card get discarded, or go to the Filth player’s hand?

Yes. A Frozen Unit does not lose its name or faction, meaning it is still a valid target for the Mutation.

2.6.1.3: Are Mutated Units considered Common Units off the battlefield? E.g. can Illusionary Warrior

be used to fetch a Mutation card from the Magic Pile?

Yes.

2.6.3.0 Claw Mutant

2.6.3.1: What is the Claw's AV vs. a Mutation?

The value of the top Mutation's life points.

2.6.4.0 Heretic’s Rebuke

2.6.4.1: Can I use Channel Corruption to play a Mutation with Heretic's Rebuke?

No. You cannot play another event card until one event has completely resolved. In this instance,

Heretic's Rebuke will not have fully resolved because you will not have played a Mutation, so Channel

Corruption may not be used.

2.6.4.2: What happens if you use Heretic’s Rebuke to take control of a Mutated Unit controlled by the

opponent? Are we still required to summon a new Mutation onto it? If so, do we still reduce the cost

2.6.5.2: If a Unit moves twice--for instance with Chant of Haste or Goblin Rush--can it ended its first

move adjacent to the Horror, but then moved again after, may it attack that turn?

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2.7.1.0 Baldar

2.7.1.1: If Baldar is attacked by Maelena, does he receive a wound from Burning Blade?

Yes. Baldar blocks wounds dealt by an attack; Maelena’s wouns are in addition to any wounds dealt by

the attack. Baldar will take a wound.

2.7.2.0 Defender

2.7.2.1: Can an enemy Unit move past a Unit with the Engage ability?

No. As soon as a Unit moves next to a Unit with Engage, the moving Unit is stuck there.

2.7.2.2: Does the Dwarven Defenders' Engage ability negate the Phoenix Elf Warriors’ Blaze Step or

Sneeks’s Sly? In other words can these Special Abilities be used if the Warrior or Sneeks is adjacent to

Engage only prevents a Unit from moving away. So powers like Sly, where 2 Units are being swapped,

there in the first place.

2.7.3.0 Gror

2.7.3.1: Does Gror have to be attacking an adjacent card to trigger his Hammer Quake Ability, or can

he choose to target an empty space or his own space to trigger a Hammer Quake all around him?

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do all of the Units affected by the Hammer Quake take the same Damage as the Wall took, or do

Goblin Units that are also affected by the attack only take damage from die results of 6 or higher?

When Goblin Invincibility is in play Goblin Units only take damage from die results of 6 or higher when

they are attacked. So even if Gror isnʼt targeting a Goblin Unit when he attacks, any Goblin Unit in the

attackʼs area of effect only receive damage from die results of 6 or higher during that attack.

2.7.4.0 Halvor

2.7.5.0 Oldin

2.7.5.1: Does Oldin’s Stone Melding Special Ability work only with his own Walls?

Stone Melding works with all Walls on the Battlefield, including Ice Walls and Vine Walls.

2.7.6.0 Thorkur

2.7.6.1: What happened to Thorkur?

After launch, some new play testers were added onto the team at Plaid Hat Games. While testing

reinforcements, it became apparent that Thorkur was just too good and game-altering to leave as he

was. For the long term health and balance of the game, the designer decided to fix the card and issue a

new, more balanced version of Thorkur. It is available for free with any purchase made at the Plaid Hat

Games website. If that is not a convenient option, the new official version of Thorkur has the same

Attack, Range, Magic Cost, and Life as before, but his Special Ability has been changed to the following:

Magic Point to prevent 1 of those Wound Markers from being placed on this card.

We appreciate your support and patience and are working to prevent events like this from occurring in

the future.

2.8.0.0 Jungle Elves

2.8.1.0 General

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Yes. Lionesses may all move 2 spaces outside the normal move limitations, regardless of turn.

2.8.7.0 Makeinda Ru

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2.8.7.2: What if Makeinda Ru is moved by Chant of Haste?

A: No.

2.8.7.3: Is Power Shot optional?

A: No. If Makeinda Ru does not move, her attack value is 4.

2.9.0.0 Mercenaries

2.9.1.0 General

2.9.1.1: Do mercenaries count as a part of your faction? For example, when using Gang Up, does Khan

Queso add a die to a Goblin Fighter's attack if he is adjacent to the target?

A: No, mercenaries do not become part of your Summonerʼs faction, unless your faction IS the

Mercenaries, like when your Summoner is Rallul.

2.9.2.0 Channeled Summon

2.9.2.1: While Channeled Summon is in effect, are Stone Golems considered both Units and Walls, or

Hulgorad must move three, clear straight line spaces to activate his Gore ability. If Hulgorad moves

2.9.4.3: If Urick uses Knock Around to hit Hulgorad three spaces, does Hulgorad's Gore trigger?

No. GORE will not trigger unless Hulgorad moves himself.

2.9.5.0 Kogar

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2.9.8.0 Rune Mage

2.9.9.0 Sairook

2.9.10.0 Stonecloaks

2.9.10.1: If I use Reinforcements to summon a Stonecloak, do I still put wounds on my wall?

Yes. You are still summoning the unit when you play Reinforcements. Its cost is just 0.

2.10.0.0 Mountain Vargath

2.10.1.0 Muster

2.10.1.1: How does Muster work?

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wound.

2.11.0.0 Phoenix Elves

2.11.2.1: Can a Fire Beast destroy itself with HELLFIRE if it already has 2 wound markers on its card?

Will the Phoenix Elf player gain the magic?

No. Precise only affects Units. A Precise Unit attacking a Wall must roll attack dice normally.

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on the Smasher. Next, trigger the Smasherʼs ability. Since there are no dice being rolled, Sluggish does

nothing!

2.11.5.0 Holleas

player move the Eater away from all Common Units on his/her turn and discard the Eater in that turn,

causing him to be discarded.

2.11.7.1: Does Maelena have to do damage to a Card in order to inflict the automatic wound caused

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2.13.0.0 Shadow Elves

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2.13.4.2: Can Units outside the normal Movement Phase, like Krag and Lionesses, move more than 1

space?

Yes. Summon the Night only limits movement during the Movement Phase.

2.13.4.3: Can Units whose abilities allow them to attack non-adjacent Units (such as Her, Spear

Grounders or Jungle Guards) still attack those non-adjacent Units with Summon the Night in play?

No – Summon the Night will prevent any non-adjacent attacks, even those granted by special abilities or

Event cards.

2.14.3.1: Can a Unit on a Vine Wall move zero spaces to trigger an "after moving" Special Ability such

as GLIMPSE THE FUTURE or PLAGUE, and still not roll to move off the Vine Wall?

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considered to be on the Battlefield and counts for things like Swamp Rat's HIDE, Beseige the Walls,

3.7.1.2: Can a Unit under Avalanche still attack or use its abilities?

No – since it is not on the Battlefield, it cannot move, attack, use an ability, or be attacked or affected by

any card that could normally affect it when its on the Battlefield. You’re gonna have to break him out of

the Ice Wall.

3.7.2.0 Ice Golem

3.7.2.1: Can Ice Golems move?

Yes – Ice Golems are only considered to have the Built Special Ability – they don’t actually have it.

Yes – Super Moyra FTW!

3.8.2.0 Crusader

3.8.2.1: Does SHINING AURA work with the words FLIGHT or LIGHTNING?

No – only the actual word LIGHT. Sorry – no Super Quen FTW.

3.8.3.0 Defender

3.8.3.1: Does HOLD THE LINE stack with Blinding Light or SHIELD OF LIGHT?

No – HOLD THE LINE increases the die result necessary to get a “Hit” – Blinding Light and SHIELD OF

LIGHT increase the die result needed to inflict a Wound. The two are different things. When an attack is

rolled, you first check to see if any of the dice rolled result in a “Hit”. If they do, you then check to see if

any Wounds are placed. So assume a Unit is adjacent to a Defender and within 2 spaces of Moyra

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abilities that trigger upon wounding a Unit?

See Divine Protection at 2.16.6.1.

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