recursal/Fanatic-Fandom huggingface dataset:
Diyu

## Ability

### Ability

**The Wait of a Mountain****(Draw)** Your cards in hand **Burn** (5) until this is returned to your deck and cost -1 Energy until played.

## Did You Know?

Nothing good happens in a maze. See: Maze Runner, Labyrinth, The Shining. **Diyu** is another great example. The realm of the dead in Chinese mythology, Diyu is effectively a hellscape featuring a subterranean maze with various levels and chambers.

If you’ve been naughty, your soul will be taken to Diyu after death to atone for the sins you committed in your life. In some versions of the myth, Diyu comprises “Eighteen Levels of Hell”, each of which deals out a different type of punishment for a different type of crime.

That’s oddly specific, but most legends say that in Diyu, sinners are subjected to gruesome torture until they “die” - after which they are restored to their original state and tortured again, the cycle repeating over and over forever.
Fomalhaut

## Ability

### Ability

**Young Star****(Draw)** Your Space cards, wherever they are, gain +30 Power until played. **(Play)** For every round completed this game, your Space cards, wherever they are, lose -10 Power permanently.

## Did You Know?

A piece of advice: you don’t have to be the brightest star in the sky to shine. You just have to be brighter than all the stars in your local area. That’s what **Fomalhaut** is doing, and honestly? We respect her hustle.

Located in the southern constellation of Piscis Austrinus, Fomalhaut is used in navigation because of its conspicuous place in an otherwise sparse region. If you want to get a good look at Fomalhaut, we recommend a trip to New Orleans, where it can be seen in the sky at least once a day. The exact time is determined by the relationship between Fomalhaut's location in the sky, the Earth's location in its orbit around the Sun, and the time of day on Earth.

## Playing Notes

This card has a substantial power penalty when played in later rounds. The most effective way to play it is:

* if drawn in round 1 turn 1, play immediately in the left box (assuming you are able to play 3 cards per turn, it will return in round 2), with no penalty;
* if drawn later in round 1, play in the right box on turn 3 for no penalty and hold when it returns at the end of round 3 - you will have the +30 buff for almost the rest of the game.
* if drawn in round 2, play in the right box on turn 2 or left/middle in turn 3 for 10 penalty and hold when it returns in round 4 turn 2 - you will have the +30 buff for the rest of the game.
Fermat's Last Theorem

## Did You Know?

Prior to its proof in 1994 after 358 years of effort, **Fermat's Last Theorem** was listed as the "Most Difficult Mathematical Problem" in the Guinness Book of World Records. Pierre de Fermat articulated the theorem in 1637, in the margin of a copy of *Arithmetica* - and teasingly wrote that he had a proof but it was too long to write in the margin.

If you'd like to have a go at proving it yourself (erm... good luck), the Theorem states that no three positive integers can satisfy the equation a^n + b^n = c^n for any integer value of n that is greater than 2.

(For anyone still reading... where n=2 there are an *infinite* number of solutions. These are known as Pythagorean Triples.)
Dryad

## Ability

### Ability

**Enchanting****(Play)** If your deck contains Angel Oak, your Tremendous Trees and Mythical Creatures cards, wherever they are, gain +12 Power until played. Repeat if your deck contains Will-o'-the-Wisp.

## Did You Know?

Sometimes you just need to escape into nature and become one with the forest. For the **Dryads** of Greek mythology, they took that a little literally. A Dryad is a tree spirit who was often found in the gardens of the Greek gods. While Dryad is the sort of catch-all term for these tree spirits, those who inhabit different trees go by different names. So let’s go for a Dryad roll call!

Hamadryad! These ladies are where the word “dryad” comes from and you’ll find them hanging out in an old oak tree.

Meliae! These girls come from ash trees and they were the first women created by Gaia.

Oreads! These mountain-women lived in conifers and you bet they’re good at hiking!

Epimelides! These were the lassies of the fruit trees and also, for some reason, the protectors of sheep.

The captain of the Dryad squad and the OG tree girl is Daphne, who our final group of Dryads are named after - the Daphnaie - and these beauties were nymphs of the laurel trees.
European Hare

## Ability

### Ability

**Boing Boing Boing****(Play)** If it's Round 1, 3 or 5, this card gains +20 Power this turn, and if it's Round 2 or 4, this card loses -20 Power this turn.

## Did You Know?

If anyone has ever described you as “Mad as a March Hare” then it’s the **European Hare’s** fault. For most of the year, these little guys are pretty quiet, shy and skittish but when Spring comes around and it’s mating season, they lose their minds.

During this time, they go into frenzy mode and can be seen chasing each other around in the open but, most famously, they are known for boxing. The female lightweight champions have been seen standing on their back legs and “punching” their front paws at males to let them know that they’re not in a very sexy mood yet so just stop bothering me already.

During the rest of the year, they’re a lot less feverish and tend to stick to more typical rabbit-like behaviour - evading predators through their amazing speed and eating an insane amount of grass, twigs and the occasional piece of fruit or veg. They’ve been a symbol of fertility and sexuality for many different cultures, mostly because European Hares are frisky all year round, apart from October and November, when they take a bit of a break.
Fallingwater

## Ability

### Ability

**Grand Design****(Return)** Your opponent's Oceans and Seas cards, wherever they are, cost +2 Energy this round.

## Did You Know?

Despite considerable success in his early career, by the 1930s Frank Lloyd Wright was struggling to find work: as well as a string of personal scandals, the Great Depression had put a stop to most building projects. It was during this time, at the age of 67, that he received the commission for **Fallingwater** from Edgar J Kaufmann. It would go on to become one of the most celebrated pieces of architecture in the world.

The 'weekend house' (now a museum) was designed to blend in with the landscape, and is in harmony with the waterfall below it - even though the Kaufmanns had expected a property with a view of the waterfall, rather than being part of it. Fallingwater's muted colour palette is in keeping with his philosophy of organic architecture, where art and nature combine.
Fly Geyser

## Ability

### Ability

**Pretty Fly for a Geyser****(Play)** Your cards adjacent and opposite to this card gain +25 Power this turn.

## Did You Know?

It stands just over five feet tall and shoots boiling water 12 feet in the air: The **Fly Geyser** is a rainbow-colored geologic wonder located in Nevada’s Hualapai Geothermal Flats that came about through a combination of natural pressure and human error.

In 1964, an energy company drilled a test well at the site to extract geothermal water. The water they struck was boiling, but not hot enough for their purposes. So, they sealed up the well, but the cap didn’t hold. In turn, a geyser emerged and formed multiple cone-shaped openings that sit on a tall mound. The Fly Geyser contains thermophilic algae, which flourish in moist, hot environments. The result is colourful rocks of red and green, which gives the landscape an alien feel.
Flintlock

## Did You Know?

Does a **Flintlock** pistol do a lot of damage? Yes - just ask Abraham Lincoln (or, rather, his ghost.) See, Honest Abe was killed by a man with a single-shot flintlock pistol, and even that particular model was one of the weakest flintlocks of its time.

As its name implies, the Flintlock uses a flint-striking ignition mechanism. Invented in France, probably by Marin le Bourgeoys for King Louis XIII, the true Flintlock was effective, but had a short range. For that reason, it was frequently used alongside a sword or a cutlass.

Introduced about 1630, the flintlock rapidly replaced earlier firearm-ignition technologies, such as the matchlock and wheellock mechanisms. Even though they have long been considered obsolete, flintlock weapons continue to be produced today for black-powder shooting enthusiasts.
Eudimorphodon

## Ability

### Ability

**Piscavorious****(Play)** All Oceans and Seas cards in both player's hands lose -15 Power this turn.

## Did You Know?

Eudimorphodon was a pterosaur, a type of flying reptile. It lived during the Late Triassic period and resided in Europe. The first fossil was discovered in 1973 in what is now Northern Italy.

Its name has real bite as it means "true two-formed tooth" because... well, the clue is in the name really - it had two different shapes of teeth. Sharp fangs at the front of its jaws and smaller teeth, each with three or five points, at the back.

Eudimorphodon was also known to be a complete pro at its own kind of fishing method which was known as, "the diving theory". The diving theory suggested that Eudimorphodon caught its food (fish) by plunging like an streamlined sharp arrow into the water. Much like gannets do today.

To nail this fishing method, Eudimorphodon would have had extremely good eyesight to see under the surface of the ocean, and incredibly strong flight muscles to propel themselves out of the water and back into the air! 10/10 for acrobatics....
Enenra

## Ability

### Ability

**Pure of Heart****(Play)** If your deck contains Heart, your Japanese Folklore cards, wherever they are, gain +12 Power until played. Repeat if your deck contains Fire.

## Did You Know?

Not all Yokai are bad. Some of them are simply harmless spirits associated with the elements who spend most of their time just ~\*vibing\*~. Case in point: **Enenra**.

Invented by Toriyama Sekien for his book Konjaku hyakki shūi, Enenra are elusive spirits of ash and smoke that dance around in natural fires to clear brush, germinate seeds and fend off mosquitos. They mostly reside in bonfires, but if they do emerge, they’ll take the form of a human.

If you’ve ever seen an Enernra, we’ve got good news: it’s said that these Yokai can only be seen by the pure of heart. Alternatively, you might want to make an appointment with a doctor, or lay off the hallucinogens.
Five Eyes

## Ability

### Ability

**Espionage Alliance****(Play)** 5 of your random Espionage cards, wherever they are, gain +25 Power permanently.

## Did You Know?

It’s the largest alliance you’ve never heard of: the **Five Eyes** was originally formed to lay out the Allied goals for the post-war world and share intelligence in the interest of national security. In 1946, the UK and US made it official, signing a treaty to exchange intelligence.

As the Cold War ramped up, British and U.S. intelligence agencies banded together, and eventually, other nations like Canada, Australia, and New Zealand joined what would become known as the Five Eyes.

There are two ways in which the Five Eyes alliance collects information: the PRISM program and the Upstream collection system. PRISM acquires user data from major technology companies such as Google, Apple, and Microsoft, while Upstream gathers information by intercepting civilian communications passing through fibre cables and infrastructure.
Endurance

## Ability

### Ability

**Reclaimed****(Return)** If you lost the turn, this card costs -10 Energy until played.

## Did You Know?

Unbelievably, after 107 years of lying on the bottom of the Weddell Sea, Ernest Shackleton’s long-lost ship, the Endurance, has been found at a depth of 3000 meters in shockingly good condition.

The ship was trapped and crushed by ice packs in 1915, although thankfully all 28 men aboard her on her final voyage survived. However, thanks to the harsh and freezing environments, locating the sunken ship has been an almost impossible task for decades.

<link="https:>The Falklands Maritime Heritage Trust’s project</link>
to the find the ship utilised underwater robots and helicopters to scour the area. Unsurprisingly, the moment the cameras landed on the world-famous ship’s name was described as “jaw-dropping”.

The ship was caught on camera before though - during the original expedition. The footage was released in 1919, as 'South'. It is widely recognised as the world's first documentary film.

It’s another incredible chapter to an already incredible story - setting out from Plymouth in 1914, Shackleton and his crew intended to make the first land crossing of Antartica - an ambition that was replaced with a story of survival, which saw the men transferred to camps on the ice.

After months of hoping fruitlessly for the ice floe to drift towards Paulet Island, the crew took to three small lifeboats to head for land. After five torturous days at sea, the men reached Elephant Island - 557km away from the wreckage, and 497 days after the ship set sail.
Fairy Circle

## Ability

### Ability

**Airy-Fairy****(Return)** Your other cards with "Fairy" in their name, wherever they are, gain +15 Power until played.

## Did You Know?

**Fairy circles** is the whimsical name given to the fairly large circles of barren land (measuring 2 to 15 metres) that appear only in the Namib desert in Southern Africa and Pilbara in Western Australia. Their time on earth spans 30-60 years, with the shapes eventually disappearing.

The appearance of the circles is totally puzzling, with scientists unable to agree what causes them. A popular theory is that the plants organise themselves to maximise their access to scarce water, which is captured by the circular patches and flows towards the outside of the ring.

Other theories blame termites, residual plant toxins from the Euphorbia damarana plant or simply plant competition!
Our preferred theory is the one told by the Himba people - who blame their original ancestor, Mukuru, for creating them, hence the magical powers ascribed to the circles.
Edestus

## Ability

### Ability

**Scissortoothed****(Draw)** If you are winning the round, this card loses -35 Power this round.

## Did You Know?

Let's assume you already know all there is to know about eugeneodontid holocephalids - I mean, who doesn't? But this particular eugeneodontid holocephalid (oh I appear to have worn out my keyboard), the **Edestus**, takes its name from the Greek for '*to devour*' - and lives up to its moniker.

All we know about **Edestus**, we know from its teeth. Its many, many teeth. Instead of 'shedding' teeth like modern sharks, the **Edestus** just grew new ones (along with new jaws!) from the back, that pushed the old ones forward. As such they ended up with a mouth like a massive tooth sandwich - and of course, you wouldn't want to be the filling.

Like the Helicoprion, the **Edestus** is one of those prehistoric creatures you read about and think... *surely not*?!
Eastern Hognose Snake

## Ability

### Ability

**A Cunning Plan...****(Return)** If you lost the turn, your Reptiles cards, wherever they are, gain +22 Power until played.

## Did You Know?

You won’t catch the **Eastern Hognose Snake** clad in historical costumes, but this species is the literal black adder. So-called for its slightly upturned snout, this thick-bodied snake is mildly venomous, but not harmful to humans.

When a predator approaches, the adder hatches a cunning plan. Laying motionless on its back with its mouth wide open, it plays dead, releasing a bad smell to put any predators off. Later, when the snake needs a snack, it will dig around the soil for an unsuspecting toad. The toad’s defence plan is not so cunning: by inflating itself, it hopes to appear too big for the snake to swallow. But the adder simply pops the toad with its pointy fangs and gulps it down.
Eight of Swords

## Ability

### Ability

**Self-Victimization****(Start)** This card loses -10 Power until played and your cards in hand gain +2 Power until played.

## Did You Know?

Having one sword pointed at you is bad enough, let alone eight. Hence, mystics say the **Eight of Swords** Tarot card means you’re feeling trapped in a situation and powerless to change it. Unfortunately, that feeling of helplessness is making matters worse.

Fortunately, it’s just a matter of dislodging the swords, metaphorically speaking. Solutions may not come easily, but they do exist. Mystics say that the swords that trap the woman depicted on the card are also the key to her freedom. Maybe you could use the blades to cut yourself free from this trap? If not, perhaps you can look to rock-paper-scissors logic - after all, a big rock can definitely smash eight swords. Just be wary of paper in the future.
Burrito

## Ability

### Ability

**Wrap Up****(Return)** Your cards, wherever they are, gain +15 Power next turn and if you won the turn, they cost -1 Energy next turn.

## Did You Know?

A traditional Mexican food, now adopted the world over. The **Burrito** originally comes from the city of Juarez in Northern Mexico. The name means "Little Donkey" - it's not entirely clear why, but my favourite story says that a street vendor referred to his clientele as "burritos," meaning they were dimwitted, and the name stuck.

There is no better way to start the day than with a delicious breakfast burrito\*, for that reason we recommend you find a different recipe to the one below.

450g (1 pound) of smoked or unsmoked streaky bacon
10 hen eggs
415g (16 ounce) can of refried or drained baked beans (not rinsed)
230g (8 ounces) coarsely grated/shredded cheddar cheese
10 large flour tortillas

Fry the bacon to preference (recommend 'crispy') and set aside. Warm the tortillas in the oven while frying the eggs until the yolks are medium-firm. Heat the beans in a separate pan.

Place 2 bacon rashers, 1 egg, 2 dollops of beans and cheese onto a tortilla and roll into it into a burrito and serve.

* The staff at Avid Games have refused to try this dish. Read into that what you will.
Five of Cups

## Ability

### Ability

**Dwell on the Past****(Draw)** If you have lost 1 or more rounds this game, this card costs +5 Energy until played.

## Did You Know?

It was supposed to be so easy. You had it all figured out - but somehow, things didn’t turn out as you thought they would. Alas, that’s life. Getting the **5 of Cups** in a Tarot reading is a symbol of this disappointment.

Whether you asked your boss for a promotion to no avail, sent that text to your crush only to get ghosted or made a bad trade in a card battle game, it’s going to be okay. In fact, when this card is faced upright, it suggests that you’re dwelling in the past and indulging in a bit too much self-pity. If the card is reversed, hooray! You’ve recovered from regret and are ready to move on to better things.
Ferdinand Magellan

## Ability

### Ability

**Circumnavigation****(Play)** This card loses -30 Power this turn. **(Return)** This card gains +110 Power until played.

## Did You Know?

**Ferdinand Magellan**, a skilled seaman and officer, had a grand plan to open up a new western shipping route to the Spice Islands and, in doing so, circumnavigating the globe. He couldn't convince King Manuel I of Portugal to stump up the cash, so he did what any other self-respecting adventurer would do; renounced his Portuguese citizenship and pop over the border to see the young and impressionable King of Spain and asking him for the dough, which said King promptly did. Gotta respect that hustle.

In 1519, he set sail for the Spice Islands. How hard could it be? According to the history books, very hard. Magellan thought it would only take days to cross the Pacific Ocean. He was wrong. It took four months for the ships to make it to the Mariana Islands.

Tensions from the Spanish crew towards their Portuguese captain grew, which is understandable given they were starving. When they reached the Philippines, the crew were surprised to see that Enrique, one of Magellan’s slaves, could speak the language – it turned out he was raised there before his enslavement, making him and not Magellan (and probably many others) the first person to circumnavigate the globe.

Magellan himself didn't even complete the journey, meeting his demise on one of the islands around Cebu after being struck by a bamboo spear after a skirmish with the Christianity resistant locals.
Frances Hodgson Burnett

## Ability

### Ability

**The Secret Garden****(Draw)** Your Life on Land cards, wherever they are, gain +9 Power until this is returned to your deck.

## Did You Know?

Through her literary works, **Frances Hodgson Burnett** invited young readers to discover the power of imagination, kindness and hope - and yet, her own life was far from serene. After her father died, Frances had no choice but to use her writing talent to escape poverty and support her family.

While she is best known for works such as The Secret Garden and The Little Princess, Frances was also instrumental in instituting a major anti-piracy law when her book ‘The Little Lord Fauntleroy’ was illegally adapted for a stage play. Frances took the playwright to court and had his production closed down.

Although copyright laws wouldn’t change until 1911, the Society of British Authors gave Frances a banquet and a diamond bracelet for her efforts.
European Badger

## Ability

### Ability

**Black and White****(Draw)** If you are losing the round, this card loses -40 Power this round and if you are winning the round, this card gains +60 Power this round.

## Did You Know?

A lover of café culture, Latin-based languages and having ancient quarrels with a neighbouring nation that eventually becomes a respected partner, this badger is quintessentially European.

Okay, so none of that is technically true. Instead of a café terrace, the **European Badger** spends its time in complex underground burrow systems called ‘setts’ that they dig themselves. Some can be centuries old! Every night, the badger dines on several hundred earthworms or opts for the à la carte menu of insects, bluebells and elderberries.

They may not have bidets, but badgers are incredibly clean and will not defecate in their sett. Instead, they use communal toilets comprising of shallow pits on the edge of their territory. They won’t bring food into the sett either!
Doppler Effect

## Ability

### Ability

**Pitch Up****(Draw)** Your Science cards in hand gain +30 Power and cost -1 Energy for 2 turns. **(Return)** Your remaining Science cards in hand lose -15 Power permanently.

## Did You Know?

Have you ever noticed that the noise of sirens from an emergency vehicle changes in pitch as it passes you? This is the **Doppler Effect** in action. Named after the Austrian mathematician Christian Johann Doppler who first proposed the idea of the phenomenon, the Doppler effect describes a change in frequency and wavelength of any waves, such as light or sound waves.

The Doppler Effect is used as a tool to study the motion or speed of objects such as the speed of a car on a highway, the motion of blood flowing through an artery, the rotation of a galaxy and even the expansion of the Universe. In fact, it was Edwin Hubble (who the big telescope is named after) who discovered that the universe expands as a consequence of the Doppler Effect.
Erlking

## Ability

### Ability

**Fairy King Lingering****(Play)** If your deck has 2 or more Unruly Rulers cards, your cards with "Fairy" in the name, wherever they are, gain +21 Power for 4 turns.

## Did You Know?

Creepy crawlies, nocturnal animals and spooky sounds are enough to put this writer off wandering too far into the woods. But in case your children aren’t phased by the above, tell them about the **Erlking**. According to myth, this sinister elf dwells in the forest and stalks children who linger too long. Apparently, he has the power to kill with just a single touch.

The first mention of the Erlking can be traced back to the ballad titled the “Erlkönigs Tochter” (the Elf-king’s Daughter), which was written by Johann Gottfried Herder in 1778. But the child-snatching dark elf rose to fame through Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s poem “Erlkönig”, which tells the story of a child who is haunted and eventually killed by a supernatural villain.
Fairy Glen

## Ability

### Ability

**Riding Through the Glen****(Play)** For every [[:Category:The Legend of Robin Hood|The Legend of Robin Hood]] card in your deck, up to a maximum of 5, your cards with "Fairy" in the name, wherever they are, gain +4 Power for 3 turns.

## Did You Know?

Just outside of the town of Uig on the Isle of Skye in Scotland, you’ll find a scene that looks like it’s straight out of a fantasy movie. Welcome to the **Fairy Glen.**

With its strange stone circles, little ponds and even a craggy castle, the Fairy Glen doesn’t look real. It was featured in the movie adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s *Stardust,* highlighting just how magical and otherworldly the place feels.

Funnily enough, unlike almost everywhere else in Scotland, there is no mythical story behind why the land looks like this or what kind of little creatures might inhabit it. However, after a boom in tourism meant that visitors kept moving stones, leaving pennies for luck and abandoning their litter, the locals had to start insisting that people touch none of the stones and pick up their mess or the fairies might get them. Because people might not follow human rules but they sure will obey superstition!
Dome of the Rock

## Did You Know?

Located in the Old City of Jerusalem, The Dome of the Rock is the oldest Islamic structure still standing.

It's believed to be the site where the Prophet Muhammad, the founder of Islam, ascended into heaven, but it carries significance for Judaism and Christianity too; Abraham, the first patriarch of the Hebrew people, is said to have prepared to sacrifice his son Isaac there.

Its original purpose is lost to the mists of time, but one school of thought says that it was intended as an alternative Kaaba that Muslims could go on Hajj to while Mecca was under rebel control. Another interpretation is that it has eschatological meaning - the placement, architecture and decor invoke imagery relating to Judgement Day (the actual end of the world, not Terminator 2).
Elysia marginata

## Ability

### Ability

**Self Decapitate****(Return)** This card loses -29 Power and costs -3 Energy until played.

## Did You Know?

If we had the capabilities of certain species of sea slug, who knows what we could achieve. Take the **Elysia marginate**, for example. This marine gastropod mollusc can regrow its body after cutting off its own head, an evolutionary advantage that researchers suspect might be for the purpose of removing parasites.

In a recent study, marine biologists discovered that the Elysia marginata had begun chomping on algae just hours after losing their organs. After 20 days, the slug was back to its full-bodied self. This is a young slug’s game, though, as older slugs can die in the process. If they’re going to die anyway though, the risk might be worth the reward of a parasite-free retirement.
Earthquakes

## Did You Know?

Earthquakes are caused by tectonic movement - when the massive plates that are our landmasses shift around, they grind against each other, which causes tremors that reach the surface and cause destruction. This is particularly prominent around the Pacific Ocean, an area called the RING OF FIRE (which is named because of the volcanic activity and has nothing to do with the earthquakes, come to think of it).

They're not a terrestrial phenomenon - did you know you can get moonquakes? Because the core of the moon is shrinking, the rock around it compresses and causes tremors.
Europasaurus

## Ability

### Ability

**Stout Defence****(Play)** Your cards in hand with 30 or less Base Power gain +30 Power this turn.

## Did You Know?

If the **Europasaurus** (name meaning “Europe Lizard”) had to take a group photo with its dinosaur brethren, it would have to sit right at the front: measuring only 6m high and weighing around the same as a present-day cow, these sauropods were fairly small as far as dinosaurs go.

Apparently, the reason for its stunted growth is a strategic evolutionary tactic called “insular dwarfism”, whereby animals grow smaller so as to not exhaust the little amount of food available in isolated ecosystems. Although it’s unlikely to have been under threat from predators on the islands it inhabited, we can only hope the Europasaurus used its long, thick tail to bat off competitors eyeing the best leaves on its favourite tree branch.
Fiji Mermaid

## Ability

### Ability

**Doctored Specimen****(Play)** If your deck has 3 or more Fabulous Fish cards, your Primates cards, wherever they are, gain +25 Power this round.

## Did You Know?

What do you get when you cross a monkey’s decrepit head and torso with the mangy tail of a large fish? A hoax that tricked audiences into believing the existence of a creature known as the “**Fiji Mermaid**”.

It all started when American captain Samuel Eades and his crew rescued sailors from a sinking Dutch merchant ship. Within the cargo, they found the stuffed body of a dead “mermaid” the Dutch had bought from a Japanese fisherman. This “mermaid” soon found its way into the hands of legendary showman P.T. Barnum (you know, the guy from The Greatest Showman). He put the fake mermaid (which was just a disturbing amalgamation of baboon and fish) on display in a New York museum - a cunning plan that sparked mermaid fever across the world.
Don Quixote

## Ability

### Ability

**This May Be Madness****(Play)** Your Rare cards in hand gain +18 Power this turn.

## Did You Know?

It’s often considered the first modern novel - but getting your hands on a first edition of **Don Quixote** by Miguel de Cervantes is nigh on impossible. Not long after its publication in 1605, a literal boatload of copies were lost in a shipwreck near Havana. And if you thought finding a surviving copy was tough, buying one is even harder, with the last sale in 1989 for a whopping $1.5 million. To read this classic tale, you’ll have to settle for a later edition - or start scouring the ocean floor near Cuba.

Rarity aside, it's interesting to note that Cervantes actually wrote this masterpiece from a jail cell, where he was locked up for committing "mathematical irregularities" as a tax collector. Who knew tax evasion could lead to literary genius?
Elizabethan Butterfly

## Ability

### Ability

**Pining****(Play)** If you are losing the round, gain +10 Power/Turn this round.

## Did You Know?

Named after its discoverer, Mariano de la Paz Graells, in honour of Queen Elizabeth II of Spain, the **Elizabethan Butterfly** is a member of the Saturniidae family and has been dubbed one of the most beautiful Lepidoptera (the order of insects including butterflies and moths) in Europe.

Large wings with greenish hues that measure 9cm and long tails also make this one of the largest butterflies in Europe, but you’re unlikely to catch sight of one unless you venture into the forests that house its favourite plants: black pine and white pine. These types of forests are usually located above 1,000 m. altitude, such as the ones in the Mediterranean mountains of the Iberian Peninsula where this butterfly is thought to have originated.
Fort Knox

## Ability

### Ability

**Grand Slam****(Draw)** Your Gold card, wherever it is, costs -2 Energy until played. **(Return)** Your Gold card, wherever it is, costs -2 Energy until played.

## Did You Know?

Deep inside a 109,000-acre base in Kentucky, sits the U.S. Government federal gold reserve. Known as **Fort Knox**, this max-security base is famous worldwide for how impenetrable it is.

Named after Henry T. Knox, a general at the revolutionary war, Fort Knox took 16,000 cubic feet of granite, 750 tons of reinforcing steel, 670 tons of structural steel and 4,200 cubic yards of concrete to construct. So, if you were thinking about breaking and entering… good luck.

Fort Knox is so secure, in fact, that no single person knows the combination to access the gold vault. Instead, the code is divided up among several people, and even the information about who knows a piece of the combination is classified.

'Fort Knox tank' by 48states (Source: Wikimedia Commons) is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 (original image resized, cropped and altered)
Florentine Diamond

## Ability

### Ability

**Missing Duke****(Draw)** For every Lost Treasures card in your hand, your Hidden Gems cards, wherever they are, gain +4 Power for 3 turns.

## Did You Know?

From being sold for a mere two francs in the past to now potentially worth over twenty million dollars, the **Florentine Diamond** is one of the most mysterious gemstones in the world. The earliest record of this nine-sided, 126-facet diamond dates back to 1467 when it was supposedly worn by Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, in battle. It changed hands many times until it was seen by French traveller Jean Baptiste Tavernier in 1657. It eventually became part of the Hapsburg Crown Jewels and was valued at $750,000.

During World War I, it was taken into exile by the Imperial Family and later rumoured to have been stolen and taken to South America. It hasn’t been seen since 1919, and the fate of the Florentine will likely remain a mystery.
Eastern Barred Bandicoot

## Ability

### Ability

**Crash Course****(Draw)** A random card in your hand gains +19 Power until played. **(Return)** A random card in your hand gains +19 Power until played.

## Did You Know?

If you’re wondering why the **Eastern Barred Bandicoot** looks nothing like the much-loved video game character, Crash Bandicoot, it’s because normal bandicoots haven’t been genetically modified to be larger and bipedal. Yet.

Still, the eastern barred bandicoot is a fast-mover, capable of galloping as well as making long leaps of up to one metre using its powerful hind legs. Like kangaroos, the second and the third toes on each foot are webbed to help the creature bounce around.

Sadly, the destruction of over 99% of its native grassland habitat, as well as the introduction of predators like cats and dogs, has caused numbers of the species to drop drastically. Today, the eastern barred bandicoot is one of Australia’s most endangered species.
Enoptromancy

## Ability

### Ability

**Mirror, Mirror, on the Wall****(Return)** If you are trailing by 100 Power or more, your opponent loses -100 Power/Turn next turn and if you are leading by 100 Power or more, your opponent gains +100 Power/Turn next turn.

## Did You Know?

Mirror, Mirror, on the wall…what are next week’s lottery numbers? If that doesn’t work, blame **Enoptromancy**, the art of using mirrors for divination. It’s sometimes called “Catoptromancy” and a certain evil queen from a certain animated classic loved this stuff. Well, until the mirror told her something she didn’t like, that is.

Enoptromancy can be found in both Ancient Roman and Greek texts and one particular Greek example describes the temple at Ceres where sick people would visit. The sick person would lower a mirror to the surface of the water of a fountain and supposedly they’d see if they would get better or not.

An old wives’ tale also has a great example of Enoptromancy at work, where a young woman would look into a mirror and wait until a bird or cloud would pass over the reflection. The number of minutes would equate to the number of years until she got married. Sounds like solid reasoning to us and a great way to spend an afternoon. Let’s go girls, it’s mirror-gazing time.
European Hamster

## Ability

### Ability

**Little Grabbies****(Play)** The card opposite this loses -22 Power this turn and your cards adjacent to this gain +11 Power this turn.

## Did You Know?

According to a recent study, it takes 18 days for a person to form a habit. It also takes 18 days for a new **European Hamster** to enter the world after conception. So, in theory, it’ll only take 18 days for you to get into the habit of breeding hamsters – and by that point, you should see some results.

Considering that European hamster numbers have dropped to the point that they’re now considered critically endangered, it’s a good habit to start. However, it’s worth noting that this species is not considered pet material, as they’re relatively large and aggressive compared to their Syrian or dwarf cousins. It’s also illegal in several European countries to keep these hamsters as pets.
Einherjar

## Ability

### Ability

**Lone Wolf****(Play)** Your Ragnarök card in hand gains +20 Power this turn. **(Return)** If your deck contains Valkyrie and if you lost the turn, this card gains +5 Power permanently.

## Did You Know?

After dying valiantly in battle, Viking warriors finally get to enjoy a little slice of luxury. Once they arrive in the magnificent hall of Valhalla, they become known as the **Einherjar** - an elite “army of one” who are waited upon by the beautiful valkyries.

While they do still have to perform daily prep for the immense battle at the field of Vígríðr as part of the events of the Ragnarok, the perks makes the work of the Einherjar all worthwhile. Every night, their wounds are healed and they are restored to full health. Having worked up an appetite, they get to feast on the nightly-resurrecting boar Sæhrímnir and drink all the mead they need from the udder of the goat Heidrun.
Flaming Katy

## Ability

### Ability

**Widow's Thrill****(Play)** Your History of Heartbreak cards, wherever they are, gain +12 Power until played.

## Did You Know?

For animals, they’re a sign of danger. But for humans, the **Flaming Katy** is a symbol of prosperity and wealth - after all, very few succulents are grown just for their flowers. But when it comes to blooms, this low-growing succulent delivers, bringing bright clusters of red, orange, yellow, white, purple and pink flowers.

Also known by its equally unique names ‘the Madagascar widow’s-thrill’ or ‘Christmas kalanchoe’, the Flaming Katy can reach a maximum height of 18 inches. Not the tallest succulent, for sure - but as a houseplant, it’s super easy and versatile, making it the perfect gift around the festive period. Just make sure the person you’re giving it to isn’t a cat owner, as the Flaming Katy can be fatal to felines if ingested.
Flash Packs

Flash Packs are small packs of goodies that are only available for a very short time, usually just 1 hour.

They can appear at any time of day to give people in every time zone a chance to catch a few.

Sometimes they are free, sometimes they cost you some of your hard-earned ingame currencies, but the reward should be greater than the price. So you get to keep both arms, and both legs...
Edmund Hillary

## Ability

### Ability

**Reach the Summit****(Play)** Your Tenzing Norgay card in hand gains +15 Power this turn and if you are winning the round, it gains an extra +10 Power this turn.

## Did You Know?

You know the saying “this is my Everest”? For **Edmund Hillary**, Everest was his Everest. On May 28, 1953, he and his friend and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay became the first men to make it to the top of Earth’s tallest mountain (above sea level.)

But it wasn’t without difficulty - on the way, they encountered a 40-foot rock wall that is today called ‘Hillary’s Step’. For his efforts, he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II who had just recently been crowned queen. He also had his picture appear on the New Zealand five-dollar note. He appeared on it in 1992, which made him the first New Zealander to appear on money during his own lifetime.
Forbidden City

## Ability

### Ability

**Moat Point****(Return)** Two opponent's random History cards in hand **Lock** this turn.

## Did You Know?

The **Forbidden City** was completed in 1420 and is truly enormous at 720,000 meters square, with more than 8000 rooms and 980 buildings. Construction lasted 14 years, which you might think is pretty quick for such a massive site, however, it did take more than a million workers to get the job done. By my calculation, assuming your average builder has three tea breaks a day that's more than 15 billion cups of tea.

Of course, I kiddeth thee - slaves aren't allowed tea breaks and in this case, estimates suggest they made up a fifth or more of the workforce.

The buildings are packed full of symbolism. For example, all the buildings faced south away from the enemies of China. The buildings are all adorned with yellow tiles, the exclusive colour of the emperor, symbolizing his power. That is except for the library which had a black roof to symbolize water, symbolically protecting its precious contents from fire.
Flamingos

## Ability

### Ability

**Tickled Pink****(Return)** Your Birds cards, wherever they are, cost -1 Energy this round.

## Did You Know?

We all know that Flamingoes are those brilliant pink birds that stand on one leg, but do you know what makes their feathers that bright pink colour? It's in their diet - they primarily eat algae and crustaceans that contain carotenoid pigments. Those pigments not only tint their skin and feathers but their insides too - if you crack open a Flamingo egg, you'll find it has a... normal coloured yolk, actually. It's a common misconception that Flamingo egg yolks are pink, but wouldn't that be something?

The reason they stand on one leg, meanwhile, is because it's physiologically easier for them to do so. They've adapted a "lock" position in their joints which means they can comfortably rest upon one leg without any kind of muscle tension. A 2017 study confirmed this by putting dead Flamingos into that position and observing that they stood up perfectly still.
Fairy

## Ability

### Ability

**Spirit of Nature****(Play)** If it matches the Arena, your Life on Land cards in hand gain +30 Power this turn.

## Did You Know?

In the story of Peter Pan, we learn that when anyone says fairies don’t exist, a **Fairy** falls down dead. So, to spare us the guilt, fairies are 100% real.

However, the term ‘fairy’ can be used to describe any magical creature, including goblins and gnomes. Although fairies in children’s stories are tiny, pixie-like creatures who wave magic wands, fairies of ancient folklore were feared as dangerous and powerful beings who could be cruel or mischievous.

The oldest fairies on record in England were first described in the 13th century, and over the years, there have been many eye-witness accounts. In 1962, a Somerset farmer’s wife who was lost in the Berkshire Downs claims to have been helped by a small man in green who appeared on her elbow.
Flavius Stilicho

## Ability

### Ability

**Passing Prestige****(Draw)** Gain +30 Power/Turn this turn. **(Return)** Lose -10 Power/Turn for 3 turns.

## Did You Know?

On August 22nd, 408, **Flavius Stilicho** was beheaded after being held in captivity by his political rivals.

*\*Record scratch\* *Yup, that’s me. You’re probably wondering how I got here. It all started when I became a military commander. You can’t have that role without making a few enemies along the way, and I wasn’t just any commander - I was the best.**

**I rose from the Roman legions to serve on the Emperor’s bodyguard; I married the Emperor’s daughter (yass), defended the Eternal city from barbarian invaders not once but TWICE despite being outnumbered and underfunded.**

**Yet, the one time I failed to defeat a rival (damn you Alaric!), it caused the downfall of the Western Roman Empire. Long story short: the people wanted blood, so I was killed.**
Heh

## Ability

### Ability

**Infinite Chaos****(Start)** An opponent's random Arts & Culture card in hand loses -15 Power until played and two of your random Arts & Culture cards in hand gain +15 Power this turn.

## Did You Know?

The personification of infinity in Egyptian mythology, **Heh** was one of the original eight gods of the Ogdoad of Khmunu (Hermopolis). To us, his name may sound like a soft chuckle, but the primary meaning of ‘Heh’ in Egyptian was “million”, which makes a lot more sense. Although, if you’re going to live forever, it’s good to have a sense of humor.

In common depictions, Heh is portrayed as a squatting, frog-headed man with his arms outspread, bearing two palm ribs, each of which end with a tadpole and a shen ring. The palm ribs represented the passage of time, while the shen ring was the traditional symbol for infinity. As for the tadpoles, this symbol was a hieroglyph that represented the number ‘100,000’.
Flying Cloud

## Did You Know?

**Flying Cloud** is a legendary clipper ship that has more than a few claims to fame. For a start, this ship held the record for sailing the fastest passage between New York and San Francisco. Under the command of Captain Josiah Perkins Cressey, Flying Cloud took only 89 days and 8 hours – a remarkable feat in itself, and even more so when the ship beat her own record three years later by 13 hours.

Flying Cloud came to be known as the fastest clipper ship that ever launched, holding onto her record for over 130 years. In the 1850s, women did not have the rights they have today – but Josiah’s wife, Eleanor Cressey, made history when she became the official navigator of America’s fastest clipper ship.
Fireworks

## Ability

### Ability

**Pyrotechnics****(Play)** Your Ingenious Inventions cards in hand gain +25 Power this turn. **(Return)** If you won the turn, this card gains +25 Power permanently.

## Did You Know?

Way back in the 9th century, a couple of Taoist alchemists were trying to find a compound to make people live forever. They mixed honey, charcoal, sulphur and potassium nitrate. While the mix had no obvious life-extending properties, it did explode with a flash when exposed to a flame. It’s thanks to this happy little accident that we have **Fireworks**!

Ever since this time, the pyrotechnic wonder has been astounding audiences across the world - especially those at DisneyLand, the largest consumer of fireworks in the world. In case you wondered, the Walt Disney Company spends $50 million a year on their dazzling displays. Still, they don’t hold the award for the biggest display ever - that would be Iglesia Ni Cristo in the Philippines, who welcomed 2016 in with a record-breaking bang.
Flame Nebula

## Ability

### Ability

**Young Star****(Play)** Your Horsehead Nebula card, wherever it is, gains +30 Power until played.

## Did You Know?

If you’re ever out for a stroll in the Orion constellation, we highly recommend stopping by the **Flame Nebula** (NGC 2024) for a gander. It’s about 1,000 years away from Earth, so an ideal destination if you’re really looking for an escape from daily life.

A swirl of gas and dust, it’s the remains of a dead star and that brightness shining from inside it is several other stars, tucked away from view. The youngest stars at the centre of the nebula are tiny babies at around 200,000 years old while the oldies on the outskirts around about 1.5 million years old.

The Flame Nebula is part of the Orion Molecular Cloud Complex so, while you’re here, why not take an excursion to the Horsehead Nebula or the Orion Nebula which are only a few hundred lightyears away?

If you’re not sure if you want to take such a lengthy trip yet, why not take in the sights from Earth? If you have a 12 inch telescope (although 16 inch is best), you can take a peek for yourself and see what you think. We do hope you’ll choose the Flame Nebula for your next intergalactic vacation!
Helios Cattle

## Ability

### Ability

**Got Beef****(Return)** This card gains +40 Power until played and lose -3:energy/turn: next turn.

## Did You Know?

What to do when you’re at sea, you’re starving and you have the option to eat steak, but you’ve been warned that you will face punishment from the Gods if you so much as touch **Helios’ Cattle?**  If you said “eat the cow”, sorry – you’ll suffer the same fate as the crew who ate the cattle as Odysseus slept. If you said, “don’t have a cow”, congratulations – you, like Odysseus, have survived Zeus’ thunderbolt.