recursal/Fanatic-Fandom huggingface dataset:
Diving Beetle

## Ability

### Ability

**Take a Dive****(Return)** If you lost the turn, this card gains +60 Power permanently.

## Did You Know?

The **Diving Beetle** isn’t fussy. As predatory water bugs and one of the largest species of beetle, they eat just about anything they can tackle. Tadpoles and even very small fish have fallen victim to this titan – and even its larvae are fearsome looking, growing up to 2 and half inches and boasting big clasp-like jaws. The adults have no table manners; they hold their prey with their legs and tear pieces off with their mouth.

Before it dives, the great diving beetle stores air beneath its wing cases to allow it to stay underwater for longer to hunt. They’re also able fliers, using the cover of darkness to leave the water and fly for long distances to colonise new ponds.
Boston Tea Party

## Ability

### Ability

**Tea Tax****(Draw)** All cards in both player's hands lose -16 Power permanently. **(Return)** Whoever won the turn gains +80 Power/Turn next turn.

## Did You Know?

How did 342 chests of tea end up in Boston Harbour on the night of December 16th, 1773? It all began in 1765, when a debt-riddled British parliament began imposing hefty taxes on the American colonists. In protest, the colonists boycotted tea sold by the British East India Company, smuggling in Dutch tea instead.

So, the British went further, lowering taxes for the company and granting it a monopoly on the American tea trade. It didn’t end well for them. One night, a group of Massachusetts colonists called the **Boston Tea Party** boarded three British tea ships and dumped 342 chests of tea into the harbour, inspiring patriots across the 13 colonies to fight for independence. No scones were harmed in the process.
Caspar

## Ability

### Ability

**We Three Kings****(Draw)** A random card in your hand gains +50 Power until played. **(Return)** Your Melchior and Balthasar cards, wherever they are, cost -1 Energy permanently.

## Did You Know?

Besides the baby Jesus himself, God, the Virgin Mary and Joseph, the Three Wise Men are probably the most memorable characters from the Nativity story (sorry, Donkey.) But who exactly were these guys? Well, although the Bible doesn’t specify who the wise men or “Biblical Magi” were, they’ve been identified in Western Christianity as **Caspar**, Melchior and Balthasar.

Caspar is usually depicted as the one in the middle, waiting in line behind Melchior to give his gift of frankincense to the baby. Some speculate that Caspar was King Gondophares, mentioned in the Acts of Thomas. Others suggest he came from India. In any case, tradition holds that Caspar became a martyr - but still, he is said to have lived to the age of 109, which is a pretty good innings.
Blizzard

## Did You Know?

A Blizzard is a severe snowstorm, with winds greater than 35 miles per hour and visibility of less than a quarter of a mile. Blizzard is also the company behind the popular MMORPG World of Warcraft. (why am I telling you that? Just because it made researching this topic a little bit harder!)

We tend to think of blizzards occurring in colder climates, but two of the three deadliest blizzards in recorded history happened in the Middle East - 4,000 lives were lost in the 1972 blizzard in Iran, and 926 people died in the 2008 blizzard in Afghanistan.
Bonnethead Shark

## Ability

### Ability

**Omnivorous****(Play)** Your Omnivores cards, wherever they are, gain +15 Power until played.

## Did You Know?

Also known as ‘shovelhead’ for its flat, spade-like head, the **Bonnethead Shark** is the smallest of all the hammerhead sharks, with adult females measuring around 0.7-1m in length - males are typically smaller. Scientists have observed at least 18 different behaviours that bonnetheads exhibit with each other. For one, males adopt a hunched posture and snap their jaws to act threatening and establish dominance in their friend group.

If you find yourself in bonnethead territory, don’t worry – this species isn’t dangerous unless you’re a crustacean, a clam or a small octopus. Otherwise, you can relax: the bonnethead shark is shy in nature and there has only ever been one recorded unprovoked attack attributed to this species.
Carpenter Shark

## Did You Know?

Carpenter sharks, also known as Sawfish, originated some 100 million years ago and have now been listed as critically endangered. They are characterised by their distinct toothed saw, which they use to detect electrical signals from potential prey.

Two varieties of Carpenter Sharks can be found in South Africa. Watch your toes though as they often swim up to rivers or shallow estuaries...

Despite their name, they have zero wood-work skills.
Bonobo

## Ability

### Ability

**Closest Cousins?****(Return)** Your Primates cards, wherever they are, cost -1 Energy until played.

## Did You Know?

So. The **Bonobo**. Not the most family-friendly of animals - but seeing as we’ve already broached topics like in utero cannibalism and genocide elsewhere, we can’t get all prudish about a bit of genital rubbing.

Well, I say a *bit*… It’s quite a lot, really. And it serves a very serious purpose: Peacekeeping.

Bonobo communities are led by females and tend to be more peaceful than their otherwise similar cousins, chimpanzees. When conflicts arise between groups, sometimes things turn to violence - but more often than not, any mutual apprehension is… *eased*… through genital rubbing between the females. Read into that what you will - but those ‘Make love, not war’ posters from the sixties were onto something.
Battering Ram

## Did You Know?

Need to knock down the wooden gates of a castle you’re attacking? The **Battering Ram** could come in really handy. Designed to break down the walls or gates of a besieged city or castle, this medieval weapon consisted of a heavy timber log that typically had a metal point at the front.

The Battering Ram is among the oldest used siege weapons, long before they were used in medieval times, the ancient Assyrians had designed similar war machines from about 9th century BC. You could generate a lot of power with the Battering Ram, and later designs consisted of fire-resistant, arrow-proof canopies that provided extra protection to the crew operating them. Still, you could probably get a nasty splinter operating this thing.

While traditional siege warfare has become less fashionable in the modern world, the battering ram survives in handheld form - police still use personal rams to breach buildings, proving that there really isn’t a substitute for just *hitting the thing real hard*.
Borobudur Temple

## Ability

### Ability

**Steps to Nirvana****(Return)** This card costs -9 Energy and loses -20 Power permanently.

## Did You Know?

**Borobudur Temple** won a Traveller’s Choice Award for 2020 - a year when the choice of most travellers was limited to ‘not travelling’.

But this is certainly a destination to consider when the opportunity arises. Constructed on the island of Java over the 8th and 9th Centuries it was a key destination for Buddhist pilgrims for over five hundred years, before most Javanese converted to Islam. It sits between two volcanoes and two rivers, and is unsurprisingly the most visited site in Indonesia.

Borobudur contains 500 statues of Buddha and around 3000 bas-relief sculptures about the Buddha’s life and teachings. As a result, the building - which is the largest Buddhist temple in the world, no less - is remarkably ornate at close quarters. Whereas from a distance, it looks more like something from Minecraft.
Caviar

## Ability

### Ability

**Expensive Taste****(Draw)** For every card you have played this game, this card costs -2 Energy until played. If it's Round 1 Turn 1, this card loses -100 Power and costs -22 Energy until played.

## Did You Know?

Back in the early 1900s, catching sturgeon fish in the Hudson River was like taking candy from a baby. Given the abundance of the fish, it was dirt-cheap, and so its eggs were served free at blue-collar bars with a nickel glass of beer. In fact, Russian fishermen learned to farm caviar as early as the 12th century, and for hundreds of years, it was served to peasants with porridge and eaten by the bowlful.

Yet, today, **Caviar** is considered a treat for the elite, and certainly not something you’d get for free in a dive bar. What happened? Sadly, it was just a simple case of supply and demand. Over the years, overfishing and polluting killed off the sturgeon, and with it, the craft of making caviar.
Caishen

## Ability

### Ability

**Fortune Favours The Bold****(Return)** Lose -4 Energy. **(Draw)** If you are winning the round, gain +7 Energy.

## Did You Know?

Looking to boost your finances? It can’t hurt to pray to **Caishen**, the God of Wealth in Chinese folk religion and Taoism. Caishen is believed to bestow upon his devoted followers the riches carried about by his entourage. Some people prepare a feast to share with Caishen on the eve of the Chinese New Year, placing a set for him at the head of the table.

If you’re going to invite Caishen for dinner, it’s important to prepare for the occasion by deep cleaning your house top to bottom, dressing in your finest garments and lighting three sticks of your favourite incense. Next, open your doors/windows and bow three times. With any luck, Caishen will grace your home.

(T&Cs: Caishen is not a get-rich-quick scheme.)
Capricorn

## Ability

### Ability

**Sign of the Goat****(Play)** Your Pygmy Goat and Tanngrisnir and Tanngnjóstr cards in hand gain +39 Power this turn.

## Did You Know?

Stereotypes say **Capricorn**’s only soulmate is money. Hey, at least cold hard cash can’t let you down, right? Motivated by success, Capricorns set their sights on a goal and work tirelessly to get there. To them, Van McCoy’s ‘The Hustle’ isn’t a song about dancing - it’s an order to work harder.

If you were born between December 21 to January 20th, there’s a good chance you’ve been told you can’t switch off. But don’t worry – astrology isn’t an accurate science. Even if it is, that competitive streak, responsibility and determination are also traits that will see you working hard to keep strong relationships alive.

Plus, sharing a star sign with Elvis Presley, Dolly Parton, Stephen Hawking and Isaac Newton isn’t half bad, either.
Burseraceae

## Ability

### Ability

**Tribal****(Play)** If your deck has 3 or more Tremendous Trees cards, this card gains +33 Power this turn.

## Did You Know?

Also known as Torchwoods, the **Burseraceae** are a family of flowering plants of the in the order Sapindales that occur in the dry desert climate of western Sonora and almost all of Baja California. Given that it’s technically a shrub or small tree, the fact that the Burseraceae can grow to a height of eight metres is impressive.

Even if you haven’t heard of this type of tree, you’ve definitely heard of the resins that come from its sap. Frankincense and Myrrh are extracted from the trees in the Burseraceae family – hence its nickname, “the incense tree.” Although these scents may be pleasant to humans, the sap of this shrub tastes pretty grim and serve as a deterrent to hungry herbivores.
Bulgogi

## Ability

### Ability

**We've Got Beef****(Return)** If you lost the turn, this card gains +30 Power until played.

## Did You Know?

**Bulgogi** is the national dish of South Korea - it literally means 'fire meat'! It can be made with pork or chicken, but here's the more traditional beef version\*. You'll need:

450g (1 pound) of good quality steak, thinly sliced
5 tablespoons of dark soy sauce
2 tablespoons of refined sugar
1 medium chopped onion
3 cloves of garlic
2 tablespoons of sesame seeds
2 tablespoons of sesame oil
½ teaspoon of ground black pepper

Pop everything into a large bowl mix and cover. Leave it to refrigerate for at least an hour, but ideally overnight.

Spark up the BBQ or oil your griddle and cook it 1-2 minutes per side at a high temperature until it's slightly charred.
Bon appétit!

* Avid games accepts no responsibility for the poisoning, reflux or wrecked dates as a result of using our recipe.
Blue Jay

## Ability

### Ability

**True Blue****(Play)** Your Oceans and Seas cards, wherever they are, gain +10 Power until played.

## Did You Know?

The **Blue Jay** is one of the most recognizable birds in North America and is also credited for helping spread oak trees after the last glacial period because of their penchant for acorns. Now for a little fact that will blow your mind... ready?

Blue jays aren't blue...

"THAT CAN'T BE TRUE!" we hear you cry. How can this be? Let us tell you...

Blue jays (and all bluebirds) use a clever little trick called 'light scattering', so when visible light strikes the feathers, all of the colours pass through the feather EXCEPT blue. The blue colour is reflected, so your eyes will see blue!

If you still don't believe us, we suggest you find the nearest blue jay, get one of its feathers wet, and it will turn brown. Why? Because you’re interfering with the mechanism that reflects light, so you will no longer see blue.

We know, we know, it's all too much... have a little lie-down and come back to us when you've wrapped your head around that one...
Caber Toss

## Ability

### Ability

**Highland Hurl****(Play)** Both players lose -20 Power/Turn this turn. **(Return)** The player who lost the turn loses -20 Power/Turn next turn.

## Did You Know?

You haven’t experienced Scotland until you’ve watched a big burly man throwing a massive log in the air. A traditional Scottish athletic event, **Caber Toss** is normally practised at the Scottish Highland Games.

The objective is not to throw the caber far, it's all about the landing - the caber must land on the opposite end that the tosser (quiet at the back) tossed it from, must fall away from them and land straight away from them.

Awkwardly, the record for most caber tosses in three minutes is held by the Canadian Danny Frame, who performed 16 successful caber tosses at the Valley Festival in Novia Scotia, a feat which awarded him the dubious title of the World’s Greatest Tosser.

 *by Rennett Stowe (Source: Wikimedia Commons) is licensed under CC BY 2.0 (original image resized, cropped and altered)*
Cashew Nut Tree

## Ability

### Ability

**Nutcracker****(Draw)** Your Primates cards in hand cost -1 Energy permanently. **(Play)** Your Panamanian White-faced Capuchin card in hand gains +33 Power this turn and, if your deck contains Stone Tools, it gains an additional+20 Power this turn.

## Did You Know?

If you love plants but can’t be trusted to keep one alive, try growing a **Cashew Nut Tree** – these trees grow like weeds and will give you a healthy snack in return. A tropical evergreen plant, the traditional cashew tree can grow up to 14 metres in height – just keep in mind that it takes three years from planting before it starts producing fruit.

But the cashew nut is not the only fruit of the cashew tree. In fact, the nut itself is only a part of the cashew apple, a juicy but acidic fruit that leaves a furry feeling in your mouth. Native to north-eastern Brazil, the cashew tree can be found in tropical climates in many parts of the world.
Black Hole

## Ability

### Ability

**Rend Galaxies****(Play)** Your Ophiuchus Galaxy Explosion card in hand gains +30 Power this turn.

## Did You Know?

A **Black Hole** is a place in space where the pull of gravity is so great that not even light can escape. The gravity of a Black Hole is so strong because matter has been squeezed into a tiny space.

It's unlikely that you'll fall into a black hole, as the nearest one to Earth is over 20,000 light-years away, but if you did you'd experience the flow of time differently. Einstein's Theory of General Relativity states that time flow is affected if you're moving at speeds close to light speed.
Binary

## Ability

### Ability

**All Your Base-2...****(Draw)** Your cards, wherever they are, with 2 or less Base Energy gain +22 Power for 4 turns.

## Did You Know?

It’s been called the most impactful numerical system in the history of technological development – but the **Binary** number system isn’t ‘new’. In fact, even way back in ancient Egypt, a form of binary code was used in the “Horus Eye” fractions used to measure and count grains and liquids in 2400 BCE.

However, for the official invention of the binary number system, we have Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz to thank - a 17th-century German mathematician and philosopher with a wild haircut and an appetite for arithmetic operations.

In his article Explication de l’Arithmétique Binaire, he proposed a system that only used the digits 1 and 0 to represent all the numbers in the decimal system. Several hundred years later that, his invention gave way to computer programming.
Catherine of Aragon

## Ability

### Ability

**Ambassadorial****(Return)** Your Wives of Henry VIII cards, wherever they are, gain +15 Power until played and your Documented cards, wherever they are, gain +20 Power until played.

## Did You Know?

**Catherine of Aragon** was the daughter of King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella I of Castile, two of Europe’s most powerful figures. After the death of her husband Arthur, the Prince of Wales, Catherine was promised to Arthur’s brother – Henry VIII. Of course, marrying your brother’s widow was a bit of a faux pas, but Pope Julius II granted them an exemption from the law.

Catherine became pregnant six times, but only her daughter Mary survived. When Henry got bored of waiting for a son (and fell for another woman), he sought a divorce. To do this, he split ties from the Church of Rome, appointed his friend as the Archbishop of Canterbury and set him on a mission to Make Henry Single Again.
Bunny Succulent

## Did You Know?

The "**Bunny succulent**" is named as such because of its unique ability to grow more than one type of leaf of the same plant (heterophyllous) which is visually 'copycatting' another form which you've probably seen in nature, or in a hutch, the two long leaves that shoot from the top of the trunk, and when matured measure about 20cm long and are covered in tiny crystalline cells that make them look like the floofy friend we all know and love, the bunny rabbit.

```
If grown correctly, this deciduous species could produce propagatable calluses at the rate of a bunny. (not factual, more fun, can grow lots of calluses, but definitely not 72, which is the bunnies max per year if constantly pregnant)

```
Caladrius

## Ability

### Ability

**Sickness Unto Oneself****(Draw)** A random The Roman Empire card in your hand gains +20 Power for 2 turns and this card loses -10 Power permanently.

## Did You Know?

If you’re lying in a hospital bed and a white bird appears, it’s one of two things. 1. A pesky seagull breaking in to steal food from the hospital cafeteria, or 2. The legendary **Caladrius**, a mythical healing bird.

It first appeared in early Indian writings as the haridruva, a yellow bird that cured jaundice. In Greek texts like the Physiologus, the bird is described as pure white and is said to predict the outcome of a patient’s sickness.

If someone is terminally ill, the bird will “turn his face away from the man whose illness will bring death”. If it’s not fatal, the bird will “stare the sick man in the face and the sick man will stare back”. If it’s a seagull, the bird will “nab a chip and gtfo.”
Bernard A. Harris Jr.

## Ability

### Ability

**Spacewalk****(Play)** If you have played 8 or more Space cards this game, your The Solar System cards, wherever they are, gain +24 Power until played.

## Did You Know?

When he was just five years old, **Bernard A. Harris Jr** accompanied his parents to the Johnson Space Center. Clearly, the visit left an impression on the young Bernard. After receiving his Bachelor of Science degree in biology and a doctorate in medicine, he trained as a flight surgeon at the Aerospace School of Medicine.

Finally, in 1991, Bernard A. Harris Jr was selected by NASA as a mission specialist aboard the Space Shuttle flight crews. In total, Dr. Harris logged more than 438 hours in space. Impressive enough, but in 1995, he became the first African-American to perform a spacewalk - specifically a 4-hour and 39-minute spacewalk. After leaving NASA, he went on to found the Harris Foundation, an organisation that supports math and science education for America’s youth.
Carl Sagan

## Ability

### Ability

**Carl of All Trades****(Draw)** If your deck has exactly 9 Science cards and exactly 9 Space cards, your Science cards, wherever they are, gain +16 Power until played and your Space cards, wherever they are, cost -1 Energy until played.

## Did You Know?

Besides having the strongest eyebrow game of the 20th century, **Carl Sagan** was one of America’s most well-loved scientists and a pioneer in the search for extraterrestrial life. Throughout his impressive career, he served as an astronomy professor at Cornell, worked on NASA robotic missions and edited the scientific journal Icarus.

His spellbinding yet humble way of explaining space also earned him a regular spot on Johnny Carson’s “Tonight Show,” and yet, he still found time to publish over 600 scientific papers and write or edit more than 20 books. If you’re interested in deep-diving into Carl Sagan’s work, you’ll find over a thousand boxes of material kept by the late scientist in an archive in the U.S. Library of Congress, funded by Family Guy creator Seth McFarlane.
Black Widow

## Ability

### Ability

**Female of the Species****(Return)** If you won the turn, gain +12 Power/Turn next turn.

## Did You Know?

You know that song by Space that goes "the female of the species is more deadly than the male?” Yeah… that.

Female **Black Widows** often kill their male counterparts during violent mating rituals in an act of sexual cannibalism. These comb-footed spiders are highly venomous but fortunately will only bite humans when disturbed.

So, in a nutshell - if the bed’s a-rockin' don’t come knockin'.
Cape Ground Squirrel

## Ability

### Ability

**Fan Out****(Draw)** An opponent's random card in hand loses -20 Power this turn and your cards in hand gain +12 Power this turn.

## Did You Know?

Not all superheroes wear a cape – and neither do squirrels. When threatened by predators, **Cape Ground Squirrels** assemble and carry out a cooperative attack on the animal, fanning their bushy tails to block it. After driving a predator away, you might think these squirrels could use a drink. However, this species gets sufficient moisture from its food, so usually doesn’t need to drink at all.

Unlike its name suggests, the Cape Ground Squirrel isn’t even strictly from Cape Town – it’s thought that the name was given to distinguish the creature from tree squirrels, as this species can be found in most of the drier parts of southern Africa from South Africa, through to Botswana, and into Namibia.
Budai

## Ability

### Ability

**Fortunes and Blessings****(Start)** Your Chinese Folklore cards in hand gain +7 Power for 4 turns.

## Did You Know?

When you see statues of a happy, smiling Buddha with a round belly and a cheerful expression, chances are you’re actually looking at a statue of **Budai.** In China, he’s referred to as the “laughing Buddha” while in the West, he’s rather rudely called the “Fat Buddha” but either way, he looks like he’s having a good time and his smile is infectious!

The real Budai was a Chinese monk in the 10th Century who was considered to be a reincarnation of Maitreya Buddha - the Future Buddha - who would help common folk. His name literally means “cloth sack” as he was often seen carrying his few possessions in a cloth sack, under his arm. He was fond of food and wine (who isn’t?) and would entertain the local children, who would often pat his belly for luck (I hope they asked first).

Budai was known for telling people’s fortunes and predicting the weather. It’s also said that he would sleep wherever he felt a bit sleepy - including outside, because he didn’t feel the cold. He represented both abundance (his round tummy) and contentment (his sack of few belongings) and was generally considered to be a well-liked and jovial figure.
Battle of Leipzig (1813)

## Ability

### Ability

**The Sixth Coalition****(Play)** If it's after Turn 6, your opponent's cards, wherever they are, with 4 or less Base Energy lose -18 Power for 3 turns.

## Did You Know?

Next time you fail dramatically at something, call it your “**Battle of Leipzig**” moment. Even if you’re ashamed of whatever it is, people around you will think you’re super cultured. In case they ask, here’s the background:

In 1813, Napoleon seized the Leipzig position with the intention to divide his opponents and attack them one by one. However, in a cruel twist for the French military leader, coordinated armies of Russians, Prussians, Swedes and Austrians brought a combined force of 370,000 troops and 1,384 guns to the battlefield.

Napoleon’s forces stood at 198,000 men with 717 guns. In what was the biggest battle of the Napoleonic Wars, the leader was served a crushing blow that ultimately destroyed what was left of French power in Germany and Poland.
Bothrops Atrox

## Ability

### Ability

**High Speed Strike****(Draw)** Three opponent's random cards in hand lose -30 Power for 3 turns and if it's Round 1, your cards in hand cost -1 Energy this turn.

## Did You Know?

If you find yourself in South America’s tropical lowlands, beware the snakes that reside there, from the common lancehead to the barba amarilla and the mapepire balsain… all common names for the **Bothrops Atrox**.

First described by Carl Linnaeus in 1758, the highly venomous creature has terrorised the local area ever since (and probably before that, to be honest).

The snake searches for rodents, often in coffee and banana plantations, where it is not rare for a worker to be bitten. Their venom causes something called “venom-induced consumption coagulopathy”, which basically means the poor soul’s blood stops clotting properly, which can cause uncontrolled bleeding. The long line of additional symptoms include (but are not limited to) headaches, vomiting, hypertension, kidney failure, stroke and neurosis.

As they measure in at up to 8 feet long, you’d think you had a fair chance to at least run away from a distance, but their camouflage means they can hide undetected for hours. And it can be hard to differentiate this species as their patterns and colors are highly variable - so our official recommendation is to avoid all massive snakes you don’t know.
Battle of the Catalaunian Plains

## Ability

### Ability

**Strategically Inconclusive****(Draw)** If it's Round 1, 3 or 5, your The Roman Empire cards, wherever they are, gain +12 Power until played. If it's Round 2 or 4, your Attila the Hun card, wherever it is, gains +25 Power permanently.

## Did You Know?

According to some sources, approximately 50,000 people died in the **Battle of the Catalaunian Plains**. But this wasn’t some random bloody battle: it was the first time European forces were able to defeat the Hun army. But it was also this battle that weakened Roman military power over Gaul (old France) and united most of the Franks under one king.

They say know thy enemy: well, Roman general Aetius practically wrote the book on #HunLife. He had lived among the Huns as a hostage in his youth; he understood their culture and even had an amicable relationship with Attila himself. In 451 CE, the two commanders met in the field of Châlons. After a ferocious battle, Rome emerged victorious - however, just two decades later, the Western Roman Empire was no more.
Battle de Puebla

## Ability

### Ability

**Stand Ground****(Draw)** Your opponent loses -8 Power/Turn until this is returned to your deck.

## Did You Know?

The year is 1861. 40 years have passed since Mexico gained independence from Spain. After a rough couple of decades, the last thing they needed was the threat of Napoleon III, who sought to turn Mexico into a puppet regime as part of his plans to regain the glory of the first Empire. Spoiler alert: it didn’t really go to plan.

On 5 May 1862, near Puebla City, the **Battle de Puebla** took place, ending in a victory for the Mexican army over the French. The defeat helped to restore confidence to the Mexicans and slowed the French advance towards Mexico City. Today, that victory is still celebrated through a festival held on the same date as the battle – Cinco de Mayo, meaning ‘5th of May’.

'Charge of the Mexican Cavalry at the Battle of Puebla' by Mike Manning (Source: Wikimedia Commons) is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 (original image resized, cropped and altered) (Colour adjusted)
Camouflage

## Ability

### Ability

**Hidden from Danger****(Play)** If played between two Tremendous Trees cards, this card gains +80 Power.

## Did You Know?

It’s no fashion statement, but that’s kind of the whole point of **Camouflage** clothing. Although it was officially developed first in France by artists experimenting with patterns to disguise military equipment, the animal world was doing camo for millennia before humans finally got the idea.

When they did, it was a unit of only thirty painters who came to apply the pattern to nets and cloths that became tarps and uniforms, but by the end of the first world war, three thousand artists were part of the “camoufleur team”. It certainly made more sense than bright red uniforms like those the British army once sported.

By the time WWII rolled around, industrial fabric printing became possible, removing the need for painters. Camouflage designs expanded quickly, moving from brushstrokes to puzzle, rain and woodland camouflage.
Boötes

## Did You Know?

Boötes is the 13th largest constellation in the night sky. It contains Arcturus, an Orange Giant that is the fourth brightest object that we can see from Earth.

I know what you're thinking - how do I pronounce that? It's "Boo-OH-Tees". it comes from the Greek for "plowman"; the spelling of both of which means we can't quite do a joke about either baby shoes or pub lunches.
Bobtail Squid

## Ability

### Ability

**Obscured Silhouette****(Draw)** If you have played The Moon this game, your Oceans and Seas cards, wherever they are, gain +3 Power permanently.

## Did You Know?

Measuring 3cm in length, the **Bobtail Squid** is a teeny-tiny cephalopod found in the shallow coastal waters of the Pacific, Indian and Atlantic Oceans. Unlike other cephalopods, the Bobtail squid has no cuttlebone – but they do have a special superpower that helps them to camouflage.

Through their symbiotic relationship with bioluminescent bacteria, the squid possesses a special light organ within its mantle. While the bacteria receive a sugar and amino acid cocktail from the squid, the squid benefits from the luminescent properties of the bacteria that hide the squid’s silhouette when viewed from below. This magic trick is an example of counter-illumination and is a win-win situation for both the bacteria and the bobtail squid.
Cleobulus

## Ability

### Ability

**Upon the Tomb of Midas****(Play)** Your other Seven Sages of Ancient Greece cards in hand gain +10 Power this turn. **(Return)** Your King Midas card, wherever it is, costs -3 Energy until played.

## Did You Know?

Also known as “The Wise”, **Cleobulus** ruled the Greek city of Lindos for over 40 years and is named as one of the Seven Sages of Greece.

When he wasn’t governing Lindos, Cleobulus was a poet, composing poems and riddles that amount to 3,000 verses in total. His epigram, “metron ariston”, is one of the most famous ancient Greek quotes. If you visit Lindos today, you’ll see a large stone opposite the Acropolis of Lindos – this is known as the Tomb of Cleobulus, although the Greek sage is not buried there at all. It’s more of a homage to the man who brought prosperity to the city during his rule in the 6th Century BC. In 1989, an asteroid was also named in his memory.
Braneworld

## Ability

### Ability

**Hyperspace****(Start)** Both player's Space cards, wherever they are, gain +2 Power permanently.

## Did You Know?

What if the visible universe is embedded in a larger universe that we can’t see? What if other universes exist just a microscopic distance away from us, but we can’t experience them, because the distance is measured in a fourth dimension of which we are not aware? It’s a big concept to wrap your head around, but cosmologists have been studying what’s called ‘**Braneworld**’ theory as a way to explain how everything came to be.

The idea is that our three-dimensional universe is located on a “brane” (short for “membrane”) inside a hyper-dimensional space called the “bulk.” Think of humans like two-dimensional stick men trying to understand a three-dimensional cube: essentially, since we’re imprisoned in our three dimensions, we can’t detect other universes - even if they did exist.

(I'm off for a lie down while I piece my brain back together.)
Bat Flies

## Ability

### Ability

**The Vampire's Vampire****(Draw)** If you have played Vampire Bat this game, your Vampire Bat card, wherever it is, loses -10 Power permanently and this card gains +15 Power permanently.

## Did You Know?

Being a bat can be fun: echolocating your prey, hanging with the homies in the cave, taking to the night to pollinate some flowers. But there are some downsides - namely, **Bat Flies**.

Upon first glance, these pesky insects look like spiders. In reality, they are parasitic hitchhikers who thrive on the blood of bats. But despite their name, many species of bat fly don’t have wings at all. Given they spend most of their lives nestled into their host, wings are a feature they’ve evolved not to need.

Unfortunately for bats, there are hundreds of species of bat fly. Most of them aren’t fussy about the species of bat, whereas others are much more host-specific.

'Nycteribiidae (parasite fly living on bats)' by Gilles San Martin (Source: Wikimedia Commons) is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 (original image resized, cropped and altered)
Belcher's Sea Snake

## Ability

### Ability

**Know That You're Toxic****(Return)** Your opponent loses -20 Power/Turn this round.

## Did You Know?

Say hello to *Hydrophis belcheri*, or **Belcher’s Sea Snake** - but say it quietly, as this is a timid reptile… and a lethal one too. According to LD50 figures\* its venom is one of the most deadly of all sea snakes.

However, while can kill a human within minutes, the snake will only attack when badly treated, and because of their small fangs it is difficult for the snake to bite humans through diving gear or scuba suits.

Belcher’s Sea Snake can grow up to 1m, and is capable of speeds of twelve miles per hour.

* Oh, in case you’re wondering what LD50 is, it’s a contraction of Lethal Dosage 50% - meaning the amount of a toxin required to kill 50% of a dosed population. It’s one of the key measures in toxicology, and likely to make any laboratory mouse shudder.
Chimera

## Ability

### Ability

**Hybridise****(Play)** If you have played a Hybrid Animals card this game, your Hybrid Animals cards, wherever they are, gain +17 Power permanently.

## Did You Know?

In Greek mythology, the **Chimera** was a near-invincible creature with uncontrollable and violent tendencies. She ransacked villages, leaving a trail of death and destruction in her wake. When you look at her parents, it all adds up: her father was Typhon, an ancient giant considered to be the most dangerous creature in all of Greece, and her mother was a half-woman, half-serpent named Echidna.

The apple never falls far from the tree, as Chimera was a three-headed, fire-breathing monster with the body and head of a lion, a goat’s head rising from her back, the udders of a goat and a serpent for a tail. In the Iliad, Chimera devastated the regions of Caria and Lycia until she was slain by Bellerophon.
Beaver Moon

## Ability

### Ability

**Moon of November****(Play)** Your Going Underground cards in hand gain +20 Power for 2 turns.

## Did You Know?

Ditched modern society to live in the wild like that rich kid in that indie movie? Respect. But you might want to get clued up on Beaver season. This is the time of year when beavers take shelter in their lodges, having eaten enough stores of food to last them for the long winter ahead.

That means it’s the perfect time to make beaver traps to catch them and take their thick, winter-ready pelts. That’s what the Native American tribes and European settlers did to ensure a supply of warm coats for the cold months - and that’s why November’s full Moon is commonly known as the **Beaver Moon**.

Others say the name comes from the heavy activity of beavers building their winter dams, but the point still stands.
Bluefin Tuna

## Did You Know?

You’ve probably never given much thought to tuna apart from when you're devouring it with sweetcorn in your lunch break sandwich, but think again; these guys secretly totally badass.

**Bluefin Tuna**, which are found throughout the Atlantic Ocean as well as in the Mediterranean and Black Seas, are large (we’re talking 4 metres in length and 600 kg in weight).

Made for speed, they’re built like torpedoes and have retractable fins. They can also live for over 40 years, can dive deeper than 3,000ft and are mean predators, seeking out other fish like mackerel and even eels. Think about that next time you're getting your lunchtime meal deal.
Blue Crayfish

## Ability

### Ability

**Brilliant Blue****(Play)** If you have played Sapphire this game, your Crustaceans cards, wherever they are, gain +26 Power until played.

## Did You Know?

Yo, listen up, here's a story
About a little cray
That lives, in a blue... sea...
And all day and all night
And everything he sees is just blue
Like him, inside and outside.

Blue his shell
With the blue little... pincers...
And a blue... cephalothorax ...
And everything is blue for him
And himself and everybody around
Cause he ain't got nobody to listen to...

Eiffel 65 may not have been musing upon the life of the **Blue Crayfish** when they wrote *Blue (Da Ba Dee Da Ba Di)*, but if they were they clearly didn't stop to think that, maybe, the Blue Crayfish ain't got nobody to listen to because they're kind of antisocial jerks.

They're cannibals, for one thing, and they won't think twice about eating their own species. They also urinate as a way to attract mates (presumably the ones they haven't eaten yet), and if they do mate, there's no guarantee they won't eat their babies. More like *Rude (Da Ba Dee Da Ba Di)*.
Caribena Versicolor

## Ability

### Ability

**Unique Coloration****(Play)** If your deck contains no other Life on Land cards, your cards in hand gain +15 Power this turn.

## Did You Know?

Somehow, a splash of colour can make a terrifying tarantula a little bit more likeable. Just take a look at the **Caribena Versicolor**, one of the most coveted tarantulas in the tarantula-collecting hobby.

Every big spider enthusiast wants one of these - not solely because of their vibrant colours, but because of their docile nature. A member of the Avicularia genus, the Caribena Versicolor starts developing the bright turquoise colour as a spiderling. As they grow up, their carapace turns to a vivid emerald green, their fuzzy legs go purple and their abdomen becomes bright red.

Spider experts think their colouring might serve as a method of communication between potential mates, as well as camouflaging them within the tropical foliage of their Caribbean habitat.

Thank you so much to KutjaHUN for letting us use this beautiful photo of your very own Caribena Versicolor!
Consciousness

## Ability

### Ability

**Undefined****(Draw)** If your deck has exactly 9 Arts & Culture cards, your Science cards, wherever they are, gain +18 Power until played. If your deck has exactly 9 Science cards, your Arts & Culture cards, wherever they are, gain +18 Power until played.

## Did You Know?

When renowned philosopher René Descartes came up with the notion of “cogito ergo sum” (“I think, therefore, I am”), he did the 1600s equivalent of breaking the internet. According to this idea, the very fact of being able to think about **Consciousness** proves the existence of consciousness.

Although still defined as an awareness of yourself and the world around you, the debate about what consciousness actually is and where it comes from rages on. Scientists have even utilised brain-scanning technology to identify specific neurons that might be linked to different conscious events.

Some say the measure of <link="https:>integrated information</link> in an individual’s brain forms consciousness, while others suggest we have a <link="https:>memory bank</link> from which the brain draws information to form the experience of conscious awareness.
Da Vinci's Fighting Vehicle

## Ability

### Ability

**Looked Good on Paper****(Draw)** Your Paper card, wherever it is, gains +20 Power permanently.

## Did You Know?

Often called a prototype of modern tanks, **Da Vinci’s Fighting Machine** was designed to roll into battle ahead of foot soldiers. The armoured vehicle had a wooden cover that was reinforced with metal plates – apparently inspired by a turtle’s shell.

It was powered by two large cranks that operated internally by four men and was equipped with a host of light cannons. Leonardo da Vinci designed the concept while working for Ludovico Sforza, an Italian Renaissance nobleman. But the Fighting Vehicle had one major flaw.

According to Da Vinci’s sketches, the wheels would have turned in opposite directions, making the tank undrivable. Perhaps Leonardo was a pacifist and didn’t want his ideas to be put to use – that, or he just didn’t think about it. Even genius polymaths have down days.
BigDog

## Ability

### Ability

**Lighten the Load****(Draw)** Your Innovations of War cards in hand cost -1 Energy until played.

## Did You Know?

If you’ve ever seen <link="https:>the ‘Metalhead’ episode of Black Mirror</link>, the idea of **BigDog** probably sends a shiver down your spine. But don’t worry - this quadruped robot isn’t a killer pooch, it’s a heavy-lifting machine designed to assist soldiers in carrying their gear.

Created in 2005 by Boston Dynamics and Foster-Miller, BigDog was funded by DARPA in the hope that it would serve as a robotic pack mule. And yet, BigDog loves frolicing outdoors as much as the next playful pup. It can climb slopes as steep as 35 degrees, trek across rubble, trudge through muddy hiking trails, plough through snow and water and carry loads weighing up to a whopping 150kg. Now that’s Epic Walkies.
Sadly, the project was shelved as BigDog was deemed too loud for combat.
CEC Palace

## Ability

### Ability

**Eclectic Banking****(Start)** Your non-Limited Super Structures cards in hand gain +5 Power until played.

## Did You Know?

Bucharest was once known as “Little Paris” and it only takes one look at the **CEC Palace** to understand why. Admired for its amazing architecture, the CEC Palace has an amazing origins story. On top of that, don’t expect to see royalty roaming these halls - it’s actually a bank! On its location once stood the monastery, the church of Saint John the Great. In 1896, it was in ruins and was rebuilt as the Deposit House - Romania’s first banking institution.

It operated as a bank for 106 years before eventually closing to the public. While you can’t go inside, you can admire the work of French architect Paul Gottereau from outside, including its 5 beautiful domes. The CEC Palace has stood the test of time and remained intact in spite of 2 earthquakes and 2 bombings.
Chilon

## Ability

### Ability

**Mobilise Sparta****(Play)** Your other Seven Sages of Ancient Greece cards in hand gain +10 Power this turn and your King Leonidas and Spartan Helmet cards, wherever they are, gain +34 Power until played.

## Did You Know?

When you’re one of the Seven Sages of Greece, you’ve got a big reputation to uphold – and **Chilon** of Sparta didn’t disappoint. He is said to have helped overthrow the tyranny at Sicyon and is credited with the change in Spartan law that led to the creation of the Peloponnesian League, an alliance in the Peloponnesus from the 6th to the 4th centuries BC.

Chilon also said the famous proverb: "less is more", and the saying "Do not speak evil of the dead." Talking of which, one legend claims that Chilon died of joy when his son won the prize for boxing at the Olympic Games, and that his funeral was attended by all the Greeks assembled at the festival.
CoRot-7 b

## Did You Know?

Have you ever seen that movie Sliding Doors, where Gwyneth Paltrow does or doesn't get on a London Underground train and her life plays out completely differently (but her accent is still rubbish in both)? CoRoT-7 b, an exoplanet orbiting the CoRot-7 star in the Monoceros constellation, is basically the bad-timeline version of Earth.

It's about the same size as our planet, orbiting a slightly-bigger star, and it's made of roughly the same stuff (mostly rock and metals). But there's a crucial difference - it's so close to its star (roughly 1/23rd of the distance between Mercury and our Sun) that it takes a mere 20 hours to complete a full orbit.

This means that it surface is completely scorched all the time, with temperatures on the illuminated (star-facing) side reaching up to 1800 degrees kelvin. It's also going around at an incredible speed - talk about burning rubber!
Bobbit Worm

## Ability

### Ability

**Cut-Off****(Return)** All cards, wherever they are, with 50 or more Base Power lose -25 Power until played .

## Did You Know?

Some of our older players may remember John Wayne Bobbitt who rose to fame after his then-wife Lorena Bobbitt sliced off a part of him with a kitchen knife while he slept\*.

Anyway, some hilllaaarrrious scientist thought it would be fun to give this worm the common name **Bobbit Worm** (Eunice aphroditois) as a result of this assault.

After painstaking research, it's not obvious why. Sure, it's long and thin and it occasionally bites things in half, but so do a lot of things. Anyway, let's move on.

The **Bobbit Worm** is a pretty scary critter (and nightmarish to look at) which has an interesting way of hunting. It buries itself in the sand and sediment so only its mouth and antennae are showing. If an unfortunate fish touches one of the sensing antennae the bobbit strikes with lightning reflexes, grabbing the fish and devouring it with its mouthparts.

* This incident was not as one-sided as that makes it sound.
Count of St. Germain

## Ability

### Ability

**Bewildering Braggadocio****(Play)** Your Marvellous Medicine, Excellent Elements and The Occult cards, wherever they are, gain +12 Power until played.

## Did You Know?

If time travel isn’t real and we’re yet to crack the secret to immortality, how has the **Count of St. Germain** appeared several times throughout history - ranging from the 1700s to the 1970s - but always the same age?

Although records suggest he was born in 1690, some believe that this mysterious alchemist was born in the time of Christ. Those who met him were impressed by his many talents: this man could paint like da Vinci, play violin like a virtuoso and seemed to have a bottomless bank account. To make matters weirder, he rarely ate food (publicly, anyway) and had recipes for hair dye and anti-wrinkle products long before they were a thing.

Time-lord, vampire or just a really enigmatic con-man? Probably the latter.
Dedun

## Ability

### Ability

**Lion Deity****(Play)** Your Legendary Cool Cats cards, wherever they are, gain +14 Power until played.

## Did You Know?

If there’s one thing the ancient Egyptians loved, it was incense. Births, deaths, marriages: all just excuses to crack open the incense and light it up. That in mind, it’s hardly surprising that they had a deity to represent it.

That deity was known as **Dedun**, a Nubian god worshipped since at least 2400 BC. Not too much is known about Dedun, other than he was a protector of the deceased and associated with funerary rites. However, he is said to have been associated with a fire that threatened to destroy the other gods, leading many scholars to consider that there may have been a great fire at the time. Given the amount of incense they were burning, it’s more than likely there was an incense-related mishap.