recursal/Fanatic-Fandom huggingface dataset:
Supernova

## Did You Know?

One type of **Supernova** is caused basically by the “last hurrah” of a dying massive star. This happens when a star at least five times the mass of our sun goes out with a fantastic bang - it's the best and only way to leave a party.

**Supernovae** can briefly outshine ENTIRE galaxies and radiate more energy than our sun will in its entire lifetime. They're also the primary source of heavy elements in the universe. According to NASA, **Supernovae** are "the largest explosions that take place in space." Impressive.

So why does it happen? Well, massive stars burn huge amounts of nuclear fuel at their cores. This produces a heck of a lot of energy, so the centre gets extremely hot. Heat generates pressure, and the pressure created by a star’s nuclear burning also keeps that star from collapsing.

A star is in the balance between two opposite forces (very much like Oasis, come to think of it). The star’s gravity tries to squeeze the star into the smallest, tightest ball possible (Noel). But the nuclear fuel burning in the star’s core creates strong outward pressure (Liam), then BOOM - the star collapses, expelling heat, light, elements and disappointing solo careers.
Rockhopper Penguin

## Did You Know?

The **Rockhopper Penguin** - whose style is very much 'early 80s punk' - is primarily found in Antarctica, although colonies of them exist in Chile and New Zealand.

Where other penguins waddle, the Rockhopper is an accomplished bounder - as its name suggests, it leaps from rock to rock to get where it needs to go.

Many species leave the incubation of their young to one gender, but not the Rockhopper - after an egg has been laid, both mum and dad take turns to sit on it and aggressively strike anything that comes close.
Spirit Photography

## Ability

### Ability

**Photographic Medium****(Play)** If your deck contains Daguerreotype, your Hoaxes and Cons and The Occult cards, wherever they are, gain +22 Power until played.

## Did You Know?

You’ve got to hand it to William Mumler. In the 1860s, when the art of photography was still relatively new and shrouded in mystery, Mumler built a reputation for capturing ghosts with his camera lens.

Perhaps one of the most famous examples of **Spirit Photography** is his portrait of Mary Todd Lincoln, the former First Lady of the United States, which featured the ghost of her deceased husband, Abraham Lincoln. Was the dead president really floating in the background? Of course not - but even when Mumler was charged with fraud and larceny, the ensuing trial couldn’t prove “beyond all doubt” that he was fabricating the photographs.

So, Mumler was exonerated. Still, it did cast a shadow over his credibility, and his career as a spirit photographer was essentially over.
Striped Hyena

## Ability

### Ability

**Having a Laugh****(Draw)** If your deck contains Laff Box, your Life on Land cards, wherever they are, gain +10 Power for 3 turns.

## Did You Know?

Found in the open savannahs, grasslands and mountains of west, north and east Africa as well as west to south Asia, the **Striped Hyena** is so-called for the dark lines that run along its light-coloured fur. Unlike their spotted cousins, striped hyenas don’t make a giggling sound. If they make a noise at all, it’s either a quiet chattering or a howl – but these creatures tend to communicate primarily through movements of the body.

Although monogamy is quite rare in the animal kingdom, the striped hyena isn’t afraid of commitment, with both males and females assisting each other in raising their young. Sadly, their numbers are no laughing matter, and it’s estimated that only between 5,000-14,000 striped hyenas still exist in the wild.
Spending Gems and Coins

You can see the pull rates of different types of cards with the information button where you buy the pack. This information is about the packs, not the chance per card. For example, it may say limited epic 10%, which means that each pack has a 1 in 10 chance of containing a limited epic. Note that this does not mean that buying 10 packs will guarantee you a limepic, each pack opening is independent. Continuing the example, a 10% pull rate means you have a 27.1% chance of pulling at least one limepic in 3 packs, 65.1% chance in 10 packs, and a 12.2% chance of 0 limepics even in 20 packs (success probabilities from a binomial probability distribution).

Some of the best packs are listed here, or see full schedule.

### Coin packs

The best use of coins is the 4000 coin packs with a chance of limited cards. Basic cards are fillers in the pack and you will accumulate those automatically. Pick packs with a focus collection that has good playable limited cards. These 4000 coin packs have two schedules:

* Collections with both basics and limiteds: New collection each 2 days and the pack lasts for 6 days, 3 in the shop at a time rotated
* Collections with only limiteds: New collection twice per week and the pack lasts for 3 days

Other coin packs might be worthwhile if you have a specific need, even though they don't contain limited cards:

* Fusion pack: Only has fusion ingredients
* Podium pack: 5000 coins, has a basic legendary, epic and rare to boost the higher rarity basics

### Gem packs

The best use of gems is packs with a guaranteed limited legendary (or at least very good odds). These come in two types:

* Tuesday: Grab Bag (230 gems) - from any album, also includes other limited cards
* Sunday: Legendary Album Pack (120 gems) - from the featured album, and additional chance of a featured new limited legendary

Gem packs that have featured cards can be good value if the featured cards are good:

* Thursday: Quarter Pounder (40 gems), released with a different theme and name each week - includes a guaranteed limited and a 1 in 4 chance of one of the feature cards
* Sunday: League pack (15 gems) - includes 2 cards from any of three collections buffed in the league arenas and those cards may be limited
* Monday: Spotlight (20 gems, or 3 for 50 gems) - six different limited legendaries are featured and the pack has a 1 in 10 chance of including one of those cards

Other popular packs:

* Tuesday: Jewel in the Crown (30 gems) - guaranteed limited rare or higher
* Thursday: Spectrum - a card from each of the 7 albums, could be limited
Sea Sparkle

## Ability

### Ability

**Light the Tide****(Play)** If it's the first turn of a round, your Oceans and Seas cards in hand gain +15 Power this round.

## Did You Know?

Who needs bath bombs when mother nature has given us **Sea Sparkle**? That is, as long as you’re not put off by the fact that it’s a living organism, or that it’s responsible for environmental hazards like toxic red tides. Otherwise, Noctiluca scintillans is a night-snorkeler’s best friend, illuminating the sea with a magical blue twinkle.

While we do know more about this bioluminescent plankton today, you can imagine sailors of yore taking Sea Sparkle as proof of God. In their defence, scientists still have some unanswered questions. For instance, although Noctiluca scintillans has certain characteristics of a plant, it must eat other organisms to stay alive. So, it’s not a real microalgae, but it isn’t an animal either.
Strength (VIII)

## Ability

### Ability

**Inner Strength, Low Energy****(Draw)** This card gains +10 Power permanently. **(Return)** This card costs -1 Energy permanently.

## Did You Know?

You may see yourself as a spiritual being, but you’re ultimately still experiencing life as a sack of meat held together by a collection of flimsy calcium sticks. So, from time to time, it’s normal that we’re driven by our animalistic urges as opposed to our rational, intelligent minds.

Getting the **Strength (VIII)** card in a Tarot reading symbolises your ability to gain control over these intrinsic urges. It’s a gentle reminder that you are the master of your own destiny, and you have the power to overcome obstacles with grace, patience and persistence.

If the card is reversed in your reading, it’s a sign that you’re about to feel intense anger or fear in your life. Maybe stay away from your toxic boss, just to be safe.
The Gustav Gun

## Ability

### Ability

**Trained Sights****(Return)** Your opponent's Super Structures cards, wherever they are, cost +2 Energy next turn and if you lost the turn, your opponent's History cards, wherever they are, cost +2 Energy next turn.

## Did You Know?

Developed in the late 1930s by Krupp in Rügenwalde, the **Gustav Gun** had one purpose: to destroy the main forts of the French Maginot Line, the strongest fortifications in existence. Measuring about 12 metres high and weighing 1350 tonnes, the Gustav Gun was capable of firing 10-tonne shells through a 30-metre-long pipe.

But for all the hype, Hitler’s giant gun turned out to be a disaster. For a start, it was so big that it was an easy target to spot by Allied aircraft pilots. The calibration of the equipment needed to shoot one shell took several hours, so the gun could only shoot 14 rounds per day. Just over a year after its first use, the Nazis gave up on using the Gustav Gun.
The Gävle Goat

## Ability

### Ability

**Arson Got Your Goat?****(Draw)** Your cards in hand cost -1 Energy until played. **(Return)** Steal 2 Energy from your opponent.

## Did You Know?

The city of Gävle in Sweden has, since 1966, erected a giant straw goat every year to celebrate Christmas and it stands as a majestic sight in the middle of Slottstorget (Castle Square).

Until it is, almost inevitably, the target of arson.

The goat was burned down in its first year and has been destroyed 36 times since (at the time of writing) by vandals. Security measures have been put in place year on year to protect the goat - CCTV, guards, fencing etc. - but vandals seem to find ways around it most years.

To be clear, burning the goat is illegal and carries a 3-month prison sentence so DON'T BE THAT GUY.

'I´M BACK - Gävle Bocken - Gävle Christmas Ram 2018' by crusaderstgeorge (Source: Flickr) is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 (original image resized, cropped and altered)

## Trivia

* The quote "Arson Got Your Goat" is a nod to the fact that the Gävle Goat has been subjected to repeated arson attacks since its first appearance in 1966 and the act of burning it is now illegal.
Stone Forest

## Ability

### Ability

**Tough Trees****(Return)** Your Tremendous Trees cards, wherever they are, gain +6 Power until played.

## Did You Know?

Known since the Ming Dynasty as the ‘First Wonder of the World’, the 270-million-year-old  **Stone Forest**  is a spectacular set of gigantic limestone formations – some which have shapes that resemble lions, turtles and elephants.

The giant stalagmite-like pillars create huge labyrinths that are easy to get lost in. So far, no sightings of David Bowie in tights have been reported.
Tharsis Montes

## Ability

### Ability

**Ca-Tharsis****(Draw)** This card **Lock**s this round. **(Play)** Your Planetside cards in hand gain +30 Power this turn. **(Return)** Your Planetside cards, wherever they are, gain +3 Power permanently.

## Did You Know?

When it comes to property hunting on Mars, the same Earthly concepts apply: it’s all about location, location, location. So, if you’re eyeing up the red planet as a place to start a-fresh, don’t buy land near **Tharsis Montes**.

Being the largest volcanic region on Mars, this is literally the worst area to raise a family. It stretches approximately 4,000km and contains 12 large volcanoes - and we’re not talking normal volcanoes, either. Volcanoes in the Tharsis region of Mars are up to 100 times larger than those anywhere on Earth. Although it isn’t the biggest of the volcanoes in the region, Arsia Mons has a caldera with a diameter of 120km - for context, that’s around the size of Hadrian's Wall.
Sticky Note

## Ability

### Ability

**Permitted Bootlegging****(Play)** Your Ingenious Inventions cards, wherever they are, gain +10 Power for 3 turns. For every time you have played **Sticky Note** this game, give your Ingenious Inventions cards in-hand an additional +10 Power until played.

## Did You Know?

“Need milk.” “Nibble’s vet appointment - 12.45pm.” “Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A.” We’ve all scribbled ourselves a little message or two on a **Sticky Note. Shopping lists, bookmarks, messages for that person you like in chemistry class - the Sticky Note can do it all!**

**But it didn’t start out that way! In fact, it started out entirely by accident. American scientist Spencer Silver was trying to create a super strong adhesive at the company 3M in the 1960s when he discovered he’d actually made a low-tack adhesive instead. One that would stick briefly but wouldn’t bond to the surface. But he had no idea what to do with it! It wasn’t until one of his colleagues, Art Fry attended one of his seminars that real inspiration struck (or stuck, we should say). Fry needed a bookmark he could stick in his hymn book that would last between choir practices and thus the original sticky note was born. And what was it called? The “Post-It.”**

**…Well, it was actually called “Press and Peel” first but that wasn’t as cool an ending, was it?**
Styracosaurus

## Did You Know?

It’s not hard to see the common ancestry between the Styracosaurus and the Triceratops. The main difference is that Styracosaurus got a bit carried away with the ‘spiky horn’ theme - with horns on its nose, cheeks and neck frill. Professional Person-who-names-things, Lawrence Lambe, played it straight here: Styracosaurus means ‘Spiked Lizard’.
The Calves' Head Club

## Ability

### Ability

**No Sacred Cows****(Play)** All Legendary and Fusion cards in both player's hands lose -40 Power this turn.

## Did You Know?

After his defeat by Parliament in the Civil Wars, Charles I was executed on January 30th, 1649. Although Charles II was restored to the throne 11 years later, this date had a certain resonance with republicans. They sought to keep the republican spirit alive and ridicule Charles I long after his death – and what better way to do this than form a shady, exclusive club?

**The Calves' Head Club** held a ceremonial dinner every year on January 30th, where an axe was placed on the table to represent the instrument that delivered England from tyranny. The menu wasn’t exactly the most appetising – heads of calves, cod, pike and boar were served for symbolic reasons, and members drank from cups made of the skulls of calves. Edgy.
The Eden Project

## Ability

### Ability

**Biome Trick****(Draw)** If your deck has 9 or more Science cards, your Life on Land cards, wherever they are, gain +18 Power this round.

## Did You Know?

Built into an old china clay pit in south Cornwall are the world’s largest geodesic domes. Known as **The Eden Project**, these giant greenhouse-like structures are made from inflatable plastic cells supported by steel frames.

If you can’t get away for a summer holiday, The Eden Project might just be the next best thing: one of the domes is a humid tropical biome featuring a rainforest environment and the other is a warm temperate biome, featuring plant species from the Mediterranean, South Africa and California.

Obviously, the point of these domes is for conservation rather than satisfying the holiday needs of the British public. However, the Eden Project was also used as a filming location for the James Bond film ‘Die Another Day.’
The North Pole

## Did You Know?

Ah, the **North Pole** - the one place on earth where you can point in any direction and you will be pointing South!

Many men lost their lives trying to reach the **North Pole** in the late 19th century. (Which does beg the question - why? What were they expecting to find?)

Robert Peary famously claimed to have reached the **North Pole** in 1909, though evidence was lacking. Most now believe he was close, but no cigar, and that he came within around 90km of the Pole. Having lost 8 of his toes to frostbite however, who would blame him for 'rounding up' a little?

His loyal friend Matthew Henson had helped him for 22 years over 7 expeditions and together they faced the harshest of conditions. Peary was obsessed with being the first man to reach the Pole - but he had trouble walking and often had to be pulled in a sled. While Peary took all the credit (hardly a first for a white man...), Henson eventually received rewards from Presidents Truman and Eisenhower, in belated acknowledgement of his Arctic achievements.

So far, all those who have traveled to the North Pole have kept to a vow of silence regarding the status of Santa's operations, and we can only hope that future explorers continue this tradition.
Sunrise Equation

## Ability

### Ability

**Solar Declination****(Draw)** If it's before Round 3 Turn 1, your cards in hand gain +12 Power for 3 turns. If it's Round 3 Turn 1, both players cards, wherever they are, cost -1 Energy permanently, and if it's after Round 3 Turn 1, your opponent's cards in hand gain +12 Power for 3 turns.

## Did You Know?

Can you pinpoint the exact time of sunrise or sunset for any given location and day of the year? Unless you have the power to teleport across the globe and repeatedly check your wristwatch when the sun rises and sets, you’re going to need a reliable equation.

Thankfully, there is such an equation that you can use to get a rough estimate. The **Sunrise Equation** defines an hour angle ω measured in terms of something called the sun’s declination angle δ (the apparent angle of the sun to the vertical at noon) and the latitude φ.

So, cos(ω) = − tan(φ) tan(δ) w. The equation works for latitudes between the Arctic Circle and Antarctic Circle, because outside of this boundary, there is at least one day of the year with no sunrise or sunset.
Tapir

## Ability

### Ability

**Sixth Sense (Sorta...)****(Draw)** Your cards in hand gain +10 Power this turn.

## Did You Know?

Did you know that Tapirs have a sixth sense?

Okay, they kinda have a sixth sense.

The Tapir, like many other animals, has something called a vomeronasal organ which allows them to sense smells and converts them into a sensation somewhere between taste and smell. Most animals are pretty subtle about the way they use that sense, but not the Tapir - it curls it's snout and lower lip right back so it looks like it's baring its teeth at you, when it's actually trying to figure out what smells taste like.
Spartacus

## Ability

### Ability

**I AM SPARTACUS!****(Play)** Your The Colosseum and Circus Maximus cards in hand gain +38 Power this turn.

## Did You Know?

**Spartacus** was a Thracian gladiator who led the slaves in the Third Servile War, a major uprising against the Roman republic. With the Roman legions too busy fighting a revolt in Spain and the Third Mithridatic War, Spartacus’ uprising was a bit of an after-thought. Still, they sent militia to surround Spartacus’ crew on Mount Vesuvius in the hope that starvation would force him to surrender.

How wrong they were: with ropes made from vines, Spartacus & co abseiled down the volcano and attacked the unfortified Roman camp, killing most of them. Sadly, Spartacus and his army were defeated during a final battle in 71 BC. 6,000 slaves were crucified as a deterrent to anyone who thought to defy Rome, but Spartacus’ body was never found.

'Spartacus, marble sculpture of Denis Foyatier (1830), Louvre Museum' by Carole Raddato (Source: Wikimedia Commons) is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 (original image resized, cropped and altered)
The Catacombs of Paris

## Ability

### Ability

**Skullduggery****(Return)** A random card in your hand loses -23 Power until played and an opponent's random card in hand loses -23 Power until played.

## Did You Know?

If you love being surrounded by skulls, you’ll love **The Catacombs of Paris**. Twenty metres underground, visitors will be met with an ossuary displaying the remains of over 6 million Parisians. Stretching out for hundreds of miles, this terrifying tunnel network is not somewhere you want to get lost.

The catacombs weren’t originally designed to be used as a mass grave – in fact, they were created by old quarry miners. But, by the 18th century, the cemeteries of Paris had become extremely overcrowded. Something needed to be done. So, the city of Paris decided to bring the bodies out of the city and into an abandoned quarry. This solution was adopted once more by Napoleon III, and in 1860, the site was officially named the Paris Municipal Ossuary.
Table Tennis

## Ability

### Ability

**Rallying Cry****(Return)** If you lost the turn, an opponent's random card in hand loses -40 Power next turn. **(Draw)** Your Tennis card, wherever it is, gains +19 Power until played.

## Did You Know?

Also known as Ping Pong, Whiff Whaff or Gossima, **Table Tennis** has its origins in Victorian England, where it was played among the upper-class as an after-dinner parlour game. Some believe that early versions of the game were thought up by British military officers in India around the 1860s or 1870s, who brought it back home with them.

Similar to regular tennis, two or four players hit a lightweight ball back and forth across the table using small rackets. The game takes place on a hard table divided by a net. Today, the sport is played across the world. But between 1930 and 1950, table tennis was banned in the Soviet Union as it was believed that the back-and-forth nature of the sport was harmful to the eyes.
Sanctuary of Delphi

## Did You Know?

The Sanctuary of Delphi is the place where the Pythia (or the Oracle of Delphi) is said to have received messages from the gods. People would come to Pythia looking for prophecies from the gods. She would inhale the fumes from a fissure in the ground, and speak in unintelligible tones which her priests would interpret. Unorthodox, but preferable to dealing with most customer service hotlines.
The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn

## Ability

### Ability

**Occult Following****(Play)** Your Horrible Halloween cards, wherever they are, gain +20 Power until played.

## Did You Know?

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Bram Stoker, and the poet W.B. Yeats were all members of the Victorian era’s answer to Scientology: **The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn** or, more commonly, the Golden Dawn. Founded by three Freemasons, William Woodman, William Wynn Westcott and Samuel Mathers, the Golden Dawn is thought to have influenced Western occultism of the 20th century.

This secret society practised magic rituals, studied the occult and metaphysics – unlike the Freemasons, the Golden Dawn allowed active female members into the group. If you wanted to climb the ranks in the order, you had to pass grades – of which there were ten. After passing five, some members were invited to join a second order – the Order of the Red Rose and Cross of Gold.
Takuan Sōhō

## Ability

### Ability

**Calligraphy****(Play)** If your deck has at least 1 The Write Stuff card, your Feudal Japan cards, wherever they are, gain +15 Power for 3 turns.

## Did You Know?

A Zen Priest with a rebellious spirit, **Takuan Sōhō’s** work had a far-reaching influence on Japanese culture. From writing and poetry to calligraphy, tea ceremony and even the invention of a pickled yellow radish, this guy certainly made the most of his time on Earth. His best known treatise, ‘The Unfettered Mind,’ fused the art of Japanese swordsmanship with Zen ritual, inspiring many swordsmen of the Tokugawa period.

Before he died in 1645, Takuan wrote the kanji 夢 for ("dream"), and laid down his brush. Although he asked to be buried in an unmarked grave, that didn’t happen. Instead, his disciples erected gravestones at the temple he founded, Tōkai-ji, which was proclaimed a National Historic Site in 1926.
Superglue

## Did You Know?

Contrary to popular belief, **Superglue** wasn’t designed for the military to seal wounds during a war, although the glue was used in the Vietnam war for this reason. In fact, Superglue was first discovered in 1942 by American scientist Harry Coover and his co-workers, in an attempt to create a particularly clear plastic for firearm scopes. Although the product was soon disregarded, the team agreed it had been a true *bonding* experience.
Starfish

## Ability

### Ability

**ARGH YA READY, KIDS?****(Play)** Your Sea Sponge and Constellations cards in hand gain +29 Power this turn.

## Did You Know?

What has no brains, no blood and no central nervous system but has eyes at the end of its arms? Equally as strange as they are beautiful, **Starfish** are the most commonly seen marine animal in rock pools – however, their extraordinary anatomy is anything but common.

Starfish appendages are among the most versatile in the animal kingdom, so to call them arms actually does these fascinating creatures a disservice. If severed, their appendages can be regenerated: this is essential to the starfish since they need all five limbs to hold their prey (usually mussels and clams) against their underside, where the stomach emerges to engulf it. The stomach then returns to the starfish’s body, clutching the hapless prey to digest it, which is both disgusting and incredible.
Sufganiyah

## Ability

### Ability

**Fried****(Draw)** This card **Lock**s and **Burn**s (10) for 3 turns. **(Play)** This card gains +50 Power permanently.

## Did You Know?

The Jewish community sure knows how to party. On the eight nights and days of Hanukkah, they observe the tradition of eating fried pastries in commemoration of the miracle associated with the Temple oil. One of the mouth-watering creations to come from this custom is **Sufganiyah** or Sufganiyot - doughnuts filled with jelly.

According to experts, the perfect Sufganiyah is fried in fresh oil, yielding a puffed, yeasted dough that is both light and airy but slightly chewy. The origins of the fried pastry date back to the 12th century, But today, sufganiyot is big business. Every year, the Ministry of Defence buys upwards of 400,000 sufganiyot for its soldiers at Hanukkah. Meanwhile in Israel, their biggest bakery chain produced 25,000 sufganiyot a day during the 2018 holiday season.
Sunda Colugo

## Ability

### Ability

**Forest Dependent****(Draw)** If your deck has 4 or more Tremendous Trees cards, this card gains +40 Power until played.

## Did You Know?

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it’s the **Sunda Colugo**, better known as the Sunda flying lemur. However, it isn’t a lemur at all – nor can it fly. But don’t write this mammal off just yet, for this species is one of the best gliding colugos in the world.

Native to the forests of South East Asia, the Sunda Colugo can use the fur-covered membrane that connects from its face to the tips of its tail and claws to glide for a remarkable distance of up to 100m. At dusk, they are at their most active, gliding from trunk to trunk like sheets of paper floating on the breeze.
Striped Skunk

## Ability

### Ability

**Bit of a Stink****(Start)** All cards in both player's hands lose -5 Power until played. **(Play)** Your opponent's cards in hand lose -20 Power this turn.

## Did You Know?

It’s bad enough that the **Striped Skunk** is born blind and never develops good vision. On top of visual impairment, it has to deal with being known for bad smells - even its scientific name “Mephitis mephitis” means “stinky stinky” in Latin.

Simply put, everyone knows that a threatened skunk sprays the most awful smelling sulphur-alcohol compound from anal glands under its tail. Everyone, that is, except dogs. Dogs get sprayed by skunks so often because, to a dog, a skunk lifting up its tail is an invite to come smell its butt. Of course, that’s literally the opposite of what the skunk is saying.

But there’s more to the skunk than being stinky: in fact, this species is immune to snake venom and regularly dines on the corpses of poisonous snakes.
St Nicholas

## Ability

### Ability

**The Inspiration****(Draw)** Your Festive Traditions cards, wherever they are, cost -1 Energy until played. **(Play)** Your Santa Claus card in hand gains +100 Power this turn.

## Did You Know?

Father Christmas, Kris Kringle, Santa Claus, the big fat man with a long white beard: he goes by many names, but the legend of Santa can be traced back hundreds of years to a monk named **St Nicholas**.

Born in the late third century, St Nicholas became bishop of Myra, a small town in modern Turkey. He made a name for himself by helping the needy and defending Christianity during the Great Persecution in the Roman Empire. Hundreds of years later, stories of his miracles and work for the poor spread, and St Nick became known as the protector of children and magical gift-bringer. The name Santa Claus evolved from Nick's Dutch nickname, Sinter Klaas, a shortened form of Sint Nikolaas.
The Golden Fleece

## Ability

### Ability

**Woolly Thinking****(Draw)** If your deck contains Bighorn Sheep and if your deck contains Aries, your Greek Mythology cards, wherever they are, gain +10 Power until played.

## Did You Know?

If you’re familiar with the story of Jason and the Argonauts, you’ll know how coveted the **Golden Fleece** is in Greek mythology. A symbol of authority and kingship, this fleece didn’t come from your average run-of-the-mill sheep (no offence, sheep) - it came from the golden-woolled, winged ram, Chrysomallos.

The ram in question rescued Phrixius, and carried him to Colchis. Here, Phrixius sacrificed the ram and gave its golden fleece to King Aeëtes, who hung it in the temple of Mars, where it was guarded by a never-sleeping dragon with teeth that could transform into soldiers when planted in the ground. Intense.

Eager to reclaim his rightful place on the throne Iolcus in Thessaly, Jason stole the fleece with the help of Aeëtes' daughter.
Rose Quartz

## Ability

### Ability

**Pure Placebo?****(Play)** If played next to any Hidden Gems card, your Science cards, wherever they are, gain +18 Power this round.

## Did You Know?

It’s the stone of unconditional love, thought to open the heart, increase self-love, promote inner peace and bring harmony in a relationship. **Rose Quartz**, named for its delicate pink colour, was first discovered near Custer, South Dakota, in the 1880s and has been mined across the land ever since.

Unlike true love, it’s not that rare - in fact, it’s one of the most common minerals on Earth. It’s no real struggle to find if you know where to look. As well as North America, you can find Rose Quartz in abundance in Madagascar, India and Brazil. And hey, who knows - you might even find true love in your travels. And if you don’t, at least you’ll have a pretty gemstone.
Stymphalian Birds

## Ability

### Ability

**Man-Eating Birds****(Return)** For every Brilliant Human Body card in your deck, your Birds cards, wherever they are, gain +4 Power until played. Your Brilliant Human Body cards, wherever they are, lose -20 Power until played.

## Did You Know?

The **Stymphalian Birds** aren’t the kind you’d throw some bread to on a peaceful summer’s day. A group of monstrous birds in Greek Mythology, these feathered creatures loved nothing more than devouring human flesh with their beaks made of bronze. Their sharpened metal feathers were weapons of war, and even their dung was poisonous. Basically every inch of these birds were deadly. In a way, that’s not surprising, given that they were created by the Greek god of war and bloodlust, Ares.

Fortunately, the Stymphalian birds were defeated by Heracles (Hercules) in his sixth labour for Eurystheus. Well, kind of. Heracles shot and killed most of the murderous birds, but some survived and flew away to an unknown island.
Ten of Wands

## Ability

### Ability

**Accomplishment****(Play)** If you have won 2 rounds this game and if you are winning the round, this card gains +100 Power.

## Did You Know?

You made it! It might have been a bit of a slog but if the **Ten of Wands** teaches us anything it’s that you can make it through the struggles. Well done you.

If you draw the Ten of Wands in a tarot reading, you’ll be met with the image of a man carrying a heavy bunch of wooden sticks. He’s exhausted but the end is in sight. He’s got this and so do you. You might have bitten off more than you can chew by taking on a lot of responsibility or extra work but you’re almost there. It marks the end of a struggle.

However, you might want to keep in mind that this card also represents feelings of being taken for granted and that you have been the sole bearer of this burden so maybe take heed next time. Ask for help or speak up. Let people know when you’re struggling or you might get stuck in a situation like this again.
Stainless Steel

## Ability

### Ability

**Friends and Alloys****(Play)** If your deck has 2 or more Innovations of War cards, your Innovations of War cards in hand gain +26 Power this turn. Repeat for Machines of War, Excellent Elements and Space Technology

## Did You Know?

Ever zoned out of dinner-table chat long enough to notice the words ‘**Stainless Steel**’ engraved on your cutlery? Well, if you’re starved for good conversation, here are a few freebies: stainless steel is rust-resistant, but its name is a bit of a misnomer. Over the years, corrosion can cause stainless steel to… stain.

Okay, so this titbit may not blow any minds, but when Harry Brearley discovered ‘rustless’ steel in 1913, it was ground-breaking. Containing a 12.8% chromium content, stainless steel was discovered by Brearley while he was trying to solve the problem of erosion of gun barrels for the British army during the onset of the First World War. Since then, it’s been used to make skyscrapers, memorials, and even kitchen utensils.
Sphinx

## Ability

### Ability

**Answer Correctly****(Play)** For every Ancient Egypt and/or Egyptian Mythology card in your deck, this card gains +7 Power. **(Return)** If you won the turn, keep the power permanently.

## Did You Know?

What is it that has one voice and yet becomes four-footed and two-footed and three-footed? If you’re stumped at this riddle, we’ve got some bad news. In Greek mythology, the winged **Sphinx** of Boeotian Thebes (the most famous sphinx in legend) was said to have demanded an answer to this riddle and devoured a man for each incorrect answer.

Finally, Oedipus sussed it: the answer is man, crawling as a baby, rising to two feet and using a cane in old age. The Sphinx killed itself when it got the right answer, and from this tale grew the legend that the creature was omniscient. In ancient Egypt, the sphinx was a spiritual guardian, depicted as a lion with a human head and a royal headdress.
St. Bernard

## Did You Know?

During the late 1600s, the Great St. Bernard Hospice in southwest Switzerland acquired several **St. Bernards**. They were known as Alpine Mastiffs back then, in case you were thinking how convenient it was that they had dogs with the same name as their establishment - as time went by, the species would come to be named after it.

The hospice was built on the Mont-Joux pass, which was the only way to get from Switzerland to Italy, as a refuge from the treacherous journey. Not only did travellers have to contend with deep snow and temperatures as low as 22 degrees Fahrenheit, but robbers littered the path ready to ambush them.

The hospice originally acquired the dogs so they could offer companionship to travellers, but they quickly realised that **St. Bernards** were fantastically suited to being a rescue dog.

First of all, they're huge and strong, which means they can part the snow and move quickly through it. Their senses are also heightened - they're able to detect avalanches, and can smell bodies buried beneath up to 20 feet of snow AND use that strength to dig them out.

(They also grow remarkably quickly - most of their growth happens in their first year, which proved to be a nightmare for the producers of the movie *Beethoven’s 2nd* - that film featured four puppies, but more than 100 canine actors were used because they kept getting too big between shooting days!)

The monks set them to work looking out for travellers on the pass. They would carry packs with them that contained food and water, and it's a common misconception that these were barrels that contained brandy (though, if I were being rescued by a dog in a dangerous alpine pass, I wouldn't say no).

The rise of transport systems means that the pass is no longer well-travelled, and the **St. Bernard** is not used as a rescue dog any more. The Hospice remains, and still raises them for sentimental and ceremonial purposes, and what a worthy legacy they're maintaining - it's estimated that **St. Bernards** rescued over 4000 people in the three centuries they were active. GOOD PUPS.
Robonaut

## Ability

### Ability

**I Won't Enjoy It****(Return)** If you won the turn, a random card in your hand gains +20 Power and this card loses -20 Power permanently.

## Did You Know?

What you see on the front of this card is **Robonaut** 2, a humanoid robot which could be controlled by astronauts and scientists on Earth. It's so sophisticated that it can manipulate tools and handle objects with near-human dexterity - although, it may well have been *too* sophisticated...

It was initially sent to the International Space Station in February of 2011. At that time it was just a torso and a head, and it was used to perform repetitive tasks (such as flipping practice switches and cleaning handrails) that freed up time for the humans aboard to focus of science and discovery.

In 2014, NASA sent an upgrade - LEGS! - that would give them more control over the machine. These legs weren't made for walkin' though; they were more like third and fourth arms, designed to clasp onto handrails for manoeuvrability. This would be phase 2 of a plan that would eventually see **Robonaut** heading out into space and performing tasks on the exterior of the ISS.

Unfortunately, the upgrade didn't go so well. The mind-boggling complexity of installing the legs - it wasn't simply a bolt-them-on-job-done task - meant that the 20-hour estimate for the upgrade took nearly 40. Technical issues that hampered its operations thereafter meant that it fell into disuse, and was eventually returned to Earth in 2018 for a redesign.

Now, don't get me wrong - **Robonaut** is a magnificent piece of engineering. But could they have designed something just a little bit cooler looking? I know that design shouldn't get in the way of innovation, but if robots in space are going to be A Thing, maybe we should be aiming for less of a C-3PO-meets-the-Michelin-Man aesthetic.
The Picture of Dorian Gray

## Ability

### Ability

**Hidden Horror****(Start)** A random Arts & Culture card in your hand gains +20 Power until played and this card loses -15 Power until played.

## Did You Know?

You know that moment when you look at a picture of yourself on a night out, or maybe at a wedding or a party, and think “damn, I look so good that I wish I could stay that way forever!” Well, that’s exactly what Victorian stunner Dorian Gray did and it DID NOT turn out well for him.

Oscar Wilde’s iconic novel **The Picture of Dorian Gray** introduces us to Dorian, a total babe who, after seeing his portrait, wished he’d stay a hottie forever. While Dorian did stay absolutely gorgeous on the outside, he became more awful and ugly on the inside while his portrait aged and deformed instead. Instead of facing his demons, or becoming a decent human being, Dorian hides it away and refuses to look upon its horrible visage.

The novel was used against Wilde in his gross indecency trial when he was basically arrested for being gay and it was called a “perverted novel”. The book began life in serialised form in a magazine but, due to complaints and the refusal of some booksellers to stock it, when Wilde eventually had the full novel published, he toned some sections down.

It’s a landmark work of the Victorian Gothic genre and of LGBT fiction. Plus it gave us the positively delicious expression “there is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about.”
The Chromatic Scale

## Did You Know?

Put simply, **The Chromatic Scale** is all 12 notes found in Western music arranged in ascending or descending order of pitch. Its name comes from the Greek word chroma, meaning colour – in this sense, chromatic scale means ‘notes of all colours.’ The traditional minor and major scales have 8 notes. And that 8-note distance between the bottom and the top note is an octave.

The Chromatic Scale, by comparison, plays every single note starting from the first one including every ½ step. If you’re looking for examples of The Chromatic Scale, listen to Bruce Springsteen’s ‘Born to Run’, which has a descending chromatic scale coming out of the bridge. And if you want an example of an ascending scale, ‘Uptown Funk’ gon’ give it to ya - Bruno Mars’ radio staple has one at the end of each chorus.
St. Nicholas's Day

## Ability

### Ability

**Best Behaviour****(Return)** If you won the turn, your remaining cards in hand gain +15 Power until played and if you lost the turn, your remaining cards in hand lose -15 Power until played.

## Did You Know?

St. Nicholas Day falls on December 6th every year and is celebrated in many European countries including Germany, Austria and Ukraine. Different countries celebrate it in different ways;

In Germany, The Netherlands, Luxembourg and Belgium, Children leave out shoes in front of their chimneys on the eve of December 5th and return in the morning to find a present in them, if they've been good.

St. Nicholas is the patron saint of the Italian city of Bari, where they believe he is buried. He's also the patron saint of children and virgins, and on December 6th there is the "Rito delle nubili", where unmarried women can attend early morning mass and turn around a column seven times to increase their chances of finding a husband.

Greece doesn't associate St. Nicholas with gift-giving - instead, he is the patron saint of the navy and celebrations of him take place aboard ships and boats.
The Flying Dutchman

## Ability

### Ability

**Do You Fear Death?****(Play)** If you are losing the round, your cards in hand gain +48 Power this turn and if you are winning the round, your Plundering Pirates cards, wherever they are, gain +36 Power for 2 turns.

## Did You Know?

If you see **The Flying Dutchman** while at sea, we’ve got some bad news. A sighting of this legendary ghost ship is said to signal imminent disaster. The good news? It’s probably not real.

According to maritime legend, the captain of the ship struggled to make it round the Cape of Good Hope during a terrible storm in the 1600s. He swore that he would succeed, even if he had to sail until Judgement Day. The Devil heard that oath, and the captain was doomed to sail the seas for eternity. Most sightings of the ship happened throughout the 19th and 20th Centuries, but the ghost ship has made appearances in novels, movies and TV shows and was the inspiration for Richard Wagner’s opera, ‘Der fliegende Holländer’.
Tessellation

## Ability

### Ability

**Perfect Fit****(Play)** If played in the middle slot, your Mega Math cards in hand gain +24 Power this turn.

## Did You Know?

One of the most oddly satisfying mathematical concepts, **Tessellation** is what happens when repeated shapes fit together to form a perfect pattern with no overlaps or gaps. Mathematicians use the term ‘edge’ to describe the intersection between two bordering shapes, which is usually a straight line. Where three or more bordering tiles meet, this is called a ‘vertex’.

But tessellation isn’t reserved to 2D geometry – it can be extended to three dimensions. The rhombic dodecahedron, a 12-faced convex polyhedron, is one of the 3D objects that can be stacked to fill space exactly.

Math whizz, legendary graphic artist and notoriously OP CUE Card subject M.C Escher often used tessellation in his work for artistic effect, but this phenomenon can also be found in nature, like the hexagonal tessellation found in honeycombs.
Strawberry Moon

## Ability

### Ability

**Moon of June****(Play)** Your Curious Cuisine cards in hand gain +20 Power this turn and next.

## Did You Know?

It lights up our skies around the 14th June, signalling the start of the summer. However, as appetising as it sounds, the **Strawberry Moon **is simply too far away for any of us to grab a slice for dessert. Plus, we’re all out of whipped cream.****

****Used by the Algonquin, Ojibwe, Dakota and Lakota peoples among others, the name “Strawberry Moon” signals the ripening of “June-bearing” berries. According to some sources, other European names for June’s full moon were the Rose Moon or the Hot Moon, to mark the start of the summer heat.****

****Like the Blood Moon, astrology buffs say the Strawberry Moon can throw a spanner into the works of our emotions, leaving us feeling drained and in dire need of a large bowl of strawberries.****
Sultan Ibrahim

## Ability

### Ability

**More Than One Way to Skin a Cat****(Draw)** Your opponent's Cool Cats and Cute Cats cards in hand lose -15 Power until played, and yours cost -2 Energy until played.

## Did You Know?

History is full of unhinged monarchs, but **Sultan Ibrahim** (Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1640 until 1648) takes unstable character to another level.

According to some sources, he shaved his own cats and insisted that capes were a much better use for their fur – and that’s one of the more “normal” things about this guy. In all fairness, anyone would go mad if they spent their early life in a cage – something which was common practice for sultan’s heirs.
Squirrel Glider

## Ability

### Ability

**Fearless Flyer****(Play)** Your Fearsome Flyers cards, wherever they are, gain +25 Power until played.

## Did You Know?

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Then, after creating the sun, moon, stars, the land and plants, God thought: what if we had this funny looking flying possum? God chuckled, and proceeded to create the **Squirrel Glider**, or “Petaurus norfolcensis” - a tree dwelling marsupial with a bushy tail and a membrane of skin between its limbs that it uses to glide through the air.

These nocturnal possums can glide up to 100 metres with the assistance of a downhill slope and up to 50 metres over flat terrain. In a group, squirrel gliders will talk to each other through a soft guttural call interspersed with gurgling chatter. When danger is nearby, they will raise the alarm with a loud “yip!”
Starshade

## Ability

### Ability

**Astral Glare****(Play)** Five random opponent's Space cards, wherever they are, lose -20 Power for 2 turns. **(Return)** If your deck has 5 or more Space cards, five of your random non- Space cards, wherever they are, gain +15 Power until played.

## Did You Know?

Astronomers have been detecting exoplanets for more than 15 years, but actually snapping a picture of one has proved a little more challenging than astronomers would like. Why? Because the light from stars is billions of times brighter than that of a dim, far off exoplanet.

Getting a clear picture of a small, rocky exoplanet that orbits a bright star is like trying to find a black cat in a coal cellar. Enter **Starshade**, a large, disc-shaped object that is placed in front of a telescope in space. Using this technology, we can theoretically block out light from the stars, allowing the telescope to take high-resolution images of exoplanets that orbit those stars.

We aren’t quite there yet, and the technology needs more refining, but NASA’s starshade engineers are optimistic for the future.
The Moon

## Ability

### Ability

**Ruler of Tides****(Draw)** Your Oceans and Seas cards in hand gain +4 Power permanently.

## Did You Know?

**The Moon** was late to the planetary party, forming around 50 million years after the Solar System.

Only twelve people have walked on its surface: all American men, and all between 1969 and 1972. (Not exactly a giant leap for diversity.)

The Latin word for the Moon is 'Luna', and the word 'Lunatic' came from the belief that Moon could cause madness.