Smash Up: Penguins Rules
Smash Up: Penguins Rules
Penguins is a one-faction Smash Up set. It uses the normal rules and focuses heavily on playing minions off the top of your deck. The faction includes the Emperor Penguin Titan.
Playing cards off the top of the deck
When an ability says to “play a minion off the top of your deck,” reveal cards from the top until you reveal a minion, then play that minion. If an ability says to play more than one card of the requested type, repeat the procedure. After the requested cards have been played and resolved, shuffle unused revealed cards back into your deck unless the specific card says otherwise.
If the deck is empty before revealing, shuffle your discard pile to make a new deck. If the deck becomes empty while you are already revealing cards, stop; do not shuffle mid-reveal unless the effect specifically says to. If the revealed minion has a prerequisite that cannot be met, discard it instead of playing it.
A card counts as being played “off the top” when it was among cards revealed from the top of the deck and then played, even if it was not literally the first physical card.
Penguin card clarifications
Command Penguin: After the minion is revealed, you choose the base where it will be played. You do not have to decide the destination before knowing which minion was found.
Dancing Penguin: The first minion's on-play ability still resolves. If that first minion moved during its own resolution, play Dancing Penguin at the first minion's current base, then put the first minion on the bottom of the deck as instructed.
Disguise Penguin: The replacement minion played off the top can be placed on any legal base chosen after the minion is known.
Snazzy Penguin: “Not your regular minion played from your hand” includes a regular minion play that came from somewhere other than your hand, such as Emperor Penguin's replacement play.
Surfing Penguin: It may move itself.
Regurgitating Penguin: The same “not your regular minion played from your hand” interpretation applies. The revealed Action may therefore become playable even when the Penguin itself used your regular minion play, provided it was not played from your hand.
Baby Penguin: “Played from anywhere other than your hand” includes the top of the deck, discard pile, being uncovered, stasis, storage, and other non-hand zones allowed by an effect.
A Wish for Wings That Work: Its Special can trigger whenever the Action is revealed from the top of your deck, including during a search/reveal sequence for another off-the-top effect.
Ice Slide: Its triggered movement may move the minion that was just played.
Under the Ice: When checking the just-played minion's power for the discard-pile card limit, use the minion's power after its on-play resolution and immediately applicable effects, including a temporary increase from A Wish for Wings That Work.
Emperor Penguin Titan
At the start of your turn, Emperor Penguin may enter at a base where you have at least three cards. Those cards can include minions, Actions played on bases or minions, buried cards, stored cards, and other cards that count at that base under the current rules.
Once on your turn during the Play Cards phase, Emperor Penguin can replace a minion play from your hand with a minion played off the top of the deck. It can replace a generic minion play or a qualified play such as “play a minion of power 2 or less,” in which case the card found off the top must satisfy that same qualification. It cannot replace an instruction to play one specific named card.
Its Talent shuffles an eligible small minion from your hand or discard pile into your deck and adds a +1 power counter to Emperor Penguin.
Accessibility play notes
During every off-the-top reveal, read the revealed card names in order. Clearly distinguish cards that are being temporarily revealed from cards that have actually been played. After resolving the played card, announce that the remaining revealed cards are being shuffled back into the deck.
When Emperor Penguin replaces a normal minion play, state the original qualification first—for example “extra minion of power 2 or less”—and then verify aloud that the revealed minion meets it. Keep Titan counters separate from minion counters and announce Emperor Penguin's current counter total after every change.