recursal/Fanatic-Fandom huggingface dataset:
Bullet Ant

## Ability

### Ability

**Clamp Down****(Return)** If you lost the turn, your opponent loses -30 Power/Turn next turn.

## Did You Know?

The tiny Bullet Ant has a bite that is often compared to being shot - known as the world's most painful insect sting, the pain can last for up to 8 hours.

So you have to respect the Amazon Rainforest's Sateré-Mawé tribe, who use it in their initiation ritual. For a boy to become a warrior, he must wear a glove made of Bullet Ants, stingers facing in, for five minutes. He only has to do that 20 times to become a man - YIKES.
Brazilian Ruby

## Ability

### Ability

**Glorious Throat****(Play)** Your Larynx card in hand gains +70 Power this turn.

## Did You Know?

A small bird with a distinctive call, the beautiful **Brazilian Ruby** is a species of hummingbird found in gardens and parks of eastern Brazil. So-named for the "ruby" coloured chin that can be seen on males at certain angles, the Brazilian Ruby is a common and easily observed hummingbird that measures about 12cm in length.

Although sometimes placed in the genus ‘Heliodoxa’, this hummingbird is actually the only member of the genus ‘Clytolaema’. This genus name combines the Ancient Greek klutos meaning "glorious" and laimos meaning "throat". If you ever get a chance to hear its song, it really is iconic – but probably not to everyone’s tastes.

Like all hummingbirds, the Brazilian Ruby can go into a state of torpor to conserve energy when food is scarce.
Cap of Hades

## Ability

### Ability

**Invisible Influence****(Play)** A random card in your hand gains +30 Power this turn.

## Did You Know?

Sure, your beer-drinking helmet is pretty cool, but it’s got nothing on the **Cap of Hades**. This hat is no mere fashion accessory: it’s a cap of invisibility, designed for Hades by the Cyclops (you know, those one-eyed giants in Greek mythology).

After Zeus liberated the Cyclops from the prison of Tartarus, they wanted to return the favour. For Zeus, they made lightning and thunderbolts of his wrath. For Poseidon, they made a huge trident. And for Hades, Lord of the Underworld, they made the Helm of Darkness. All of these gifts would aid the Olympians fight against the Titans in a ten-year war.

During these battles, the Cap of Hades was worn by numerous figures aside from Hades, including the goddess of wisdom, Athena, the messenger god, Hermes, and the hero, Perseus.
Bull Shark

## Did You Know?

Do you want the bad news or the, er, bad news?

Bull Sharks are the most likely sharks to attack humans and swim in shallow coastal waters, bays and estuaries, which is exactly where us humans like to have a dip. Bull Sharks get their name from their short blunt snouts and tend to headbutt their prey before attacking.

Pop trivia: The most famous Bull Shark incident occurred in 1916 when four people were killed in attacks over two weeks in a tidal river called The Matawan Creek…
Blau Monuments

## Ability

### Ability

**The Write Stuff****(Play)** Your Rosetta Stone card in hand gains +55 Power this turn.

## Did You Know?

Dating back to at least 3100 BC, there’s a bit of dispute around the iconography on the **Blau Monuments**, a pair of inscribed stone objects from Mesopotamia. Throughout their history, it was thought that the monuments depicted a gift being given by a temple to its craftsmen. But recently, scholars started to look at it differently, believing it could represent a ceremonial feast. With no definitive answer, historians are left playing a game of Pictionary with the past.

'Blau Monument British Museum 86260' by King, L. W. (Leonard William) (Source: Wikimedia Commons) is licensed under Public Domain (original image resized, cropped and altered)
Burkhan Khaldun

## Ability

### Ability

**Buried In Secret****(Play)** An opponent's random card in hand loses -100 Power this turn.

## Did You Know?

Located in the Khentii Province of northeastern Mongolia, the **Burkhan Khaldun** is considered the most sacred mountain in Mongolia. It’s also rumoured to be the birthplace and burial site of Genghis Khan.

Apparently, he chose the area as his resting place during a hunt near the mountain. Captivated by the scenery, he sat under a tree and supposedly said “What a beautiful view! Bury me here when I pass away.” Genghis had a point - the landscape here is exquisite and rich with flora and fauna.

But don’t get any ideas - both the mountain and the surrounding landscape are part of the UNESCO designated World Heritage Site and Khan Khentii Strictly Protected Area, so reserving a future burial spot for you and your friends is absolutely not gonna happen.
Calico Jack

## Ability

### Ability

**Rackham Up****(Return)** Your cards, wherever they are, gain +3 Power, and your History cards gain an extra +3 Power, until played.

## Did You Know?

John Rackham, also known as **Calico Jack**, was not just any pirate. He was an equal opportunities employer and was responsible for the creation of one of the worlds most famous pieces of art.

Born 1682 he was an English seaman and pirate operating out of the Bahamas. He managed to acquire his nickname because he used to wear clothing made out of calico (a crudely processed cotton). His mates must have laughed when they came up with that one; as far as pirate names go it's doesn't instil much menace. That's like someone today being called Polyester Gary.

The first record of Jack was in 1718 where he was quartermaster on the brigantine 'Ranger' captained by the notorious pirate Charles Vane. Vane was eventually deposed by Jack after refusing to attack a much bigger French ship, which was probably a wise decision considering his ship had sustained damage on recent raids. However, Jack saw it as his opportunity to sow discord among the men and a vote was called (that's right - despite being pirates they used a democratic system). Vane lost the vote and so he and his fifteen supporters left on a small boat with supplies and ammunition.

Jack was now captain and set about some piratey adventures, plundering the coastal ships around Nassau. After a run-in with some bounty hunters he and his crew managed to lose their ships and most of their possessions, so he astutely took advantage of an amnesty being offered by the English government.

Rackham sailed to Nassau where he and his crew received a full pardon after blaming their crimes on coercion by Vane. It was in Nassau that he began an affair with Anne Bonny, the wife of small-time pirate James Bonny, the result of which involved Jack and Anne fleeing on a stolen sloop and nullifying his pardon. Thinking about it, in many ways it's the perfect interview for a prospective pirate. "Fancy nicking a ship love?" "Yeah, why not".

(Of course, I'm being incredibly sexist here, it could well have been Bonny's plan, but either way, the conversation would probably have been similar.)

Anyway, he went off on yet more piratey adventures where he also picked up Mary Read. Both Anne and Mary would both become notorious pirates in their own right, but those are stories for another card.

Aside from the aforementioned piratey adventures, Calico Jack is also credited with designing the Jolly Roger, the skull and crossed swords or crossed bones flag that would send shivers down seamen's timbers everywhere.

'A General History of the Robberies and Murders of the Most Notorious Pyrates' by Charles Johnson (Source: Wikimedia Commons) is licensed under Public Domain (original image resized, cropped and altered)
Brain Surgery

## Ability

### Ability

**Delicate Procedure****(Return)** If you lost the turn, your Marvellous Medicine cards, wherever they are, lose -5 Power until played and if you won the turn, they gain +10 Power until played.

## Did You Know?

It is both awesome and disturbing that **Brain Surgery** dates back at least as far as Ancient Greece. It’s awesome that they were so advanced and capable of carrying out such operations in a way that patients were able to live for years after. However, it’s disturbing when you remember how basic anaesthetics were at the time. Ouch.

Things didn’t move on considerably until the 1870s - a big decade for neurosurgery, in which the first tumour was removed and electrical signals in the brain were first discovered. Many of the advancements since then have related to the precision manufacture of the tools involved rather than the procedure itself.

Now, a lot of patients can even undergo the procedure without general anaesthetic, meaning that they can read a book (or play CUE… why not!) while the surgery takes place. This is actually better for the surgeon, as they can monitor patient reactions in real-time.

Last little ‘did you know’: A neurosurgeon can tell if you’re a heavy drinker by looking at your brain during surgery, as it will have literally shrivelled and shrunk. An incentive to cut down if ever you need one.
Carbon

## Ability

### Ability

**Diamond in the Rough****(Play)** Your Excellent Elements cards in hand gain +15 Power this turn.

## Did You Know?

**Carbon** (C) can be found in all living organisms. Humans are around 18.5% Carbon, making it the second-highest component after Oxygen. Within the universe, **Carbon** is the fourth most abundant element after Hydrogen, Helium and Oxygen.

But I know what you're thinking - if humans are made up of around a fifth **Carbon**, how come we don't look like the rocky stuff on the front of this card?

What you see on the front is a depiction of Graphite, an 'allotrope' of **Carbon** which basically means that it's a structurally different form of the same element. The carbon in your body is mixed in with all the other elements that make up you.

Diamond is another allotrope, and it's also the prettiest which it's prominently featured in this card's design.
Big Dipper Firefly

## Ability

### Ability

**Illuminating****(Play)** Your Ursa Minor and Ursa Major cards in hand gain +30 Power this turn.

## Did You Know?

Like Tinder for bugs, the light produced by a **Big Dipper Firefly** acts like a mating call: when a female sees a male she likes, she’ll respond with the same light pattern, like kisses at the end of a text.

When they’re still in larvae form, fireflies use their light to signal to potential predators that they don’t taste good, since the steroids they produce are, apparently, revolting. It’s a win-win: the firefly gets to live, and the predator avoids a bad tummy.
Burg Eltz

## Ability

### Ability

**Keep in the Family****(Play)** If your deck has 9 or more Wonders of Construction cards, gain +20 Power/Turn permanently.

## Did You Know?

Tucked away in the hills above the Moselle between Koblenz and Trier in Germany is a medieval castle that remains standing over 800 years since it was built.

Astonishingly, it hasn’t changed hands either: today, the **Burg Eltz** is still owned by a branch of the family that lived there in the 12th century. Back in the 16th century, the castle was inhabited by an Earl and his daughter Agnes Eltz. When a knight by the name of Braunsberg tried to have his way with Agnes, she fought back. Embarrassed by the rejection, her suitor sought revenge, storming the castle and killing Agnes in the process.

Rumour has it that the ghosts of Agnes and Braunsberg still roam the grounds of the Burg Eltz at night…
Bruce McCandless II

## Ability

### Ability

**Spacewalker****(Play)** If played adjacent to no other Space cards, your Space cards, wherever they are, gain +5 Power until played.

## Did You Know?

On Feb. 7, 1984, NASA Astronaut **Bruce McCandless II** became the first astronaut to fly untethered from his spacecraft. Back at Mission Control, where McCandless’ wife was waiting, the tension was palpable. So, while floating in space, Bruce broke the ice with a memorable quip: *“It may have been a small step for Neil, but it’s a heck of a big leap for me.”*

The line harked back to the Apollo 11 mission, for which McCandless himself had served at Mission Control, communicating with Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin as they took their first steps on the moon. During his career, McCandless logged more than 312 hours in space and played a leading role in the development of hardware for the Hubble Space Telescope and the Space Station Program.
Bessie Coleman

## Ability

### Ability

**Plane Perseverance****(Return)** If you lost the turn, your Awesome Aviation cards, wherever they are, gain +20 Power until played.

## Did You Know?

*“Black women ain’t never goin’ to fly, not like those women I saw in France,”* said **Bessie Coleman**’s brother, taunting her about her job as a manicurist. But that jibe inspired Bessie, who went straight to Paris to earn an international aviation licence from the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale. On that day, she made history as the first African-American woman to hold a pilot licence.

Upon her return to New York City in 1921, The Associated Press heralded her as “a full-fledged aviatrix, said to be the first of her race.” As was the trend for pilots at the time, Coleman began barnstorming in 1922, performing death-defying stunts on the wings and parachuting from planes. Coleman tragically died in 1926, but her pioneering role inspired generations of pilots to come.
Black Rhinoceros

## Did You Know?

The **Black Rhinoceros** is the smaller of the two African rhino species. Want to know the difference between white and black rhinos? Spoiler alert, it's not the color - they're both dark grey, so the name is just there to mess with you.

The difference is actually all in the lips... so, if you're ever close enough to a white and black rhino, and they're feeling particularly willing for you to do a lip examination, the black rhino has a hooked upper lip and the white rhino has a square lip. (DISCLAIMER: we DO NOT recommend you get close enough to a rhino to conduct this examination).

Black rhinos are much like the hoards of people you may see at your local mall at the weekend; they're browsers rather than grazers but when it comes to finding food, their pointed lip helps them feed on leaves from bushes and trees.

Populations of black rhinoceroses declined dramatically in the 20th century at the hands of European hunters and settlers, but the good news is that since then the species has made a tremendous comeback from the brink of extinction.

Thanks to persistent conservation efforts across Africa, black rhino numbers have doubled from their huge low 20 years ago. They are still considered critically endangered though, and a lot of work remains to bring the numbers up once again.
Boomslang

## Ability

### Ability

**Treehugger****(Draw)** Your Tremendous Trees cards, wherever they are, cost -1 Energy until played. **(Play)** Your Tremendous Trees cards in hand gain +15 Power this turn.

## Did You Know?

Taking its name from the African word for “tree snake” the **Boomslang** looks similar to its non-venomous tree-dwelling cousins – but make no mistake: this is no innocent tree snake. This creature is one of the most venomous snakes in the world, and its bite can be fatal to humans. If you see a Boomslang’s neck inflating and its body curling up into an S shape, find the nearest escape route, run and don’t stop running.
Benjamin Banneker

## Ability

### Ability

**Eclipse the Competition****(Draw)** If you are winning the round, 3 random cards in your hand gain +15 Power until played.

## Did You Know?

A self-taught philosopher, astronomer and mathematician, **Benjamin Banneker** is one of the most influential African Americans in early U.S. history. In 1752, Banneker attracted attention for the clock he built entirely out of wood. A world first, the wooden clock kept precise time for decades.

Twenty years later, Banneker made history again when he successfully predicted the 1789 solar eclipse – a prediction that contradicted those of better-known mathematicians of the day. Banneker is best known for his annual farmers’ almanacs, in which he wrote about medicines and treatments, listed tides, astronomical information and eclipses.

In 1791, he sent a copy of his almanac to Thomas Jefferson. In an accompanying letter, Banneker challenged Jefferson on the issue of racism and slavery, using his influence to seek freedom for slaves.
Binturong

## Ability

### Ability

**Bearcat****(Play)** If you have played Andean Bear this game, your Cool Cats and Cute Cats cards, wherever they are, gain +10 Power for 4 turns.

## Did You Know?

You know that unmistakable smell of hot popcorn when you walk into the cinema? The **Binturong** knows it well. Not because it’s an avid film buff who likes to catch all the latest releases, but because the smell of popcorn happens to be this mammal’s natural fragrance.

When scientists assessed their scent, they found a compound called 2-Acetyl-1-pyrroline, or 2AP for short. 2AP is the dominant compound produced when corn pops under heat. When it isn’t spreading their scent in search for a mate, the Binturong – also known as the ‘bearcat’ – likes to laze in the canopy of the rainforests in South-eastern Asia. On the rare occasion that they descend to the forest floor, Binturongs walk flat-footed, like bears and people.
Bunyip

## Ability

### Ability

**Swamp Thing****(Return)** Your Paleontology cards, wherever they are, cost -2 Energy (and if you lost the turn, an extra -1 Energy) this round.

## Did You Know?

In Aboriginal mythology, there are multiple versions of the **Bunyip** legend, including broad variations in what the creature looked like. The name comes from the Wemba Wemba or Wergaia language, and means something akin to ‘devil’ or ‘evil spirit’. This… *thing*… dwelt in swamps and billabongs and - as evil swamp things tend to do - it would eat children and cattle and pretty much anything that strayed too close to the water’s edge.

While no-one is certain of the myth’s origins, it has been suggested that it may have come from “an acquaintance with prehistoric bones or even living prehistoric animals themselves,” according to palaeontologist Pat Vickers-Rich.\
CUE Promotional Codes

Promotional codes are (typically) associated with a card as an Easter Egg. You can only use each promotional code once.

You can follow the link on the back of the card (flip to the back of the card, scroll down then click the link) to claim the reward. If you don't own the card, go to any card you do own in the list, then edit the link by replacing the code part of the link with the code you want to use. Android users can also enter a code directly by going to the options menu (three dots, top right) and entering it into the code box.

## Discontinued Codes

 GEEKINSIDER01
 ESCAPISM
 REALMUM
 D3RXV8IBZUPEJQ
 WELCOMEGIFT
 FREEGEMS
 ISBKLWDBHNF3RQX
 IFOUNDTHEEASTEREGG

## Referral Codes

You can enter a referral code within the first 72 hours of gameplay, after which you will no longer be able to enter it. All referral codes have the same reward of 100 Gems and 3 Cards and you even help another player get rewards for themselves. You can only enter a referral code once.

You can leave your referral code by posting it as a new comment on this page (see the input box at the TOP of the comments) but don't spam the comments, no more than once every 24 hours. Since you can't delete your own comments (frustrating fandom setup, I can't do anything about it), I will delete any comments more than two weeks old every so often. You are also welcome to put your referral code in your Fandom profile page. Leaving it anywhere else on this Fandom will not be tolerated and you will lose the right to edit.

If you are new to Fandom, there are a couple of important points that will affect leaving referral codes here. You can only leave comments on pages in Fandom if:

* Your account is registered and autoconfirmed (this will happen automatically at 96 hours for new accounts); and
* You are signed in to your account, no anonymous comments.
Big Bertha

## Did You Know?

With a nickname like **Big Bertha**, you just know the Minenwerfer-Gerät’s explosive capacity was second to none. Fielded by the Imperial German Army between 1914-1918, Big Bertha had a 17-inch calibre barrel, making her one of the largest artillery pieces ever fielded.

Being so big, Bertha took days to set up and was ludicrously expensive to make. Although her kind devastated French fortifications early on, Bertha took a back seat when WWI moved to the trenches.

'Photograph of model of the road-mobile "M-Gerät" version of the German 42-cm Howitzer of World War I' by Rama (Source: Wikimedia Commons) is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 (original image resized, cropped and altered)
Blue Poison Dart Frog

## Ability

### Ability

**Why so Blue?****(Play)** Your Oceans and Seas cards in hand gain +30 Power this turn.

## Did You Know?

According to scientists, the vivid blue of the Blue Poison Dart Frog is a 'warning' to predators. So why do other frogs bother with their green camouflage? Might as well get the blue face paint out, right?

Well, kind of.

In studies of aposematism (the ability of animals to warn predators away), scientists found that some predators can recall poisonous prey. If those prey are brightly colored, it makes sense for predators to subsequently avoid them, and over time the whole species learns to avoid blue frogs. (Other studies have suggested that some predators innately avoid certain colors.)

The idea of using blue face paint isn't entirely facetious - in fact the mimic poison frog effectively does just that, copying the coloring of poison frogs for defence, while remaining toxin-free!
Black Knight Satellite

## Ability

### Ability

**Celestial Conspiracy****(Draw)** Your Espionage cards in hand cost -3 Energy until played. **(Play)** If played next to any Hoaxes and Cons card, your Space Oddities cards, wherever they are, gain +24 Power until played.

## Did You Know?

Is there a 13,000 year-old alien spacecraft spying on Earth from near-polar orbit? Probably not. But the **Black Knight Satellite** sure makes for an exciting conspiracy theory.

It dates back to the ‘50s at the height of UFO fever, with people claiming that radio signals from the Black Knight had been picked up during experiments by Nikola Tesla. Ask NASA and they’ll tell you it’s just space junk - specifically, a thermal blanket dropped by astronaut Jerry Ross during a space walk. After all, the loss of the blanket was captured on film.

And anyway, how exactly does an object stay in orbit for 13,000 years? Unless aliens have a probe that mimics space junk and has forcefield technology to stop it getting hit, it’s probably just a blanket.
Brunhild

## Ability

### Ability

**Shieldmaiden****(Draw)** Your opponent's cards in hand **Burn** (20) until this is returned to your deck. **(Return)** Your remaining Norse Mythology cards in hand gain +10 Power permanently and cost -1 Energy until played.

## Did You Know?

A word of advice: if you don’t want to be put into an everlasting sleep surrounded by a wall of flames, side with Odin - no matter what the argument. That was **Brunhild’s** mistake, and it didn’t end well.

According to prose and poetic texts from 13th-century Iceland, Brunhild is a valkyrie who’s love can be won only by a man capable of passing through this wall of fire – or, in another version, enchanted shields. That man was Sigurd the Dragonslayer, but things didn’t go so well between them. In fact, their love story becomes seriously tangled in treachery, and by the end of the narrative, Brunhild has Sigurd murdered.

Some historians believe her character was inspired by Queen Brunhilde of Austrasia, a Visigothic princess born around AD 543.
Cave of the Crystals

## Ability

### Ability

**Fortress of Solitude****(Play)** All other cards in both player's hands lose -20 Power this turn and gain +10 Power/Turn this round.

## Did You Know?

Located deep in the Sierra de Naica mountain in Chihuahua, Mexico, the **Cave of the Crystals** is host to some truly enormous gypsum crystals. (And for those into their comics - Superman wouldn't look out of place here.)

The horseshoe-shaped cave, buried 300 meters beneath the mountain, was discovered in April 2000, and houses some of the largest natural crystals ever discovered. Some of these behemoths have been growing uninterrupted for up to a million years, and really have to be seen to be believed (good job there’s a picture on the front of this card). The largest crystal found to date is 12m long, 4m in diameter, and weighs 55 tons, which is about as heavy as 8 elephants.

26 million years ago, magma pushed its way to the earth’s surface, creating the Sierra de Naica mountain and in the process filling it with high-temperature anhydrite.

Anhydrite is stable above 58 °C, and so as the magma under the mountain began to cool and the temperature started to drop below this level, the anhydrite started to dissolve into the surrounding waters. It is these molecules that have been slowly depositing in the cave over millennia to form the crystals seen today.

The conditions in the cave are perfect for growing really big crystals, but as it turns out, the cave’s not quite so hospitable for humans, with air temperatures reaching up to 58 °C with almost 100% humidity.

In 2017, the mining company which discovered the cave stopped their pumping, allowing groundwater to refill the cave after the crystals had been exposed to air for almost two decades. Experiments indicated that this exposure had compromised the crystals’ structural integrity, though it is hoped that the crystals may begin to grow again now that the water has returned.
Benz Patent-Motorwagen

## Ability

### Ability

**Start Your Engines****(Play)** If it's the first turn of a round, your cards in hand gain +20 Power until played.

## Did You Know?

You’re looking at the height of technology in 1885: the **Benz Patent Motorwagen**, built by Karl Benz (of Mercedes Benz fame). It may not look particularly ‘swag’ to us, but this vehicle is widely regarded as the world’s first production automobile.

It was ground-breaking at the time, but the Benz Patent-Motorwagen was still a rather fragile alternative to the horse-drawn carriages that Benz sought to compete with. The Patent-Motorwagen was constructed of steel tubing with woodwork panels and had steel-spoked wheels with solid rubber tires of Benz’ design. A three-wheeled carriage was powered by a 0.95-litre engine, which gave the “car” a top speed of just under 10mph.

Hey, we didn’t say it was race-ready, but if it’s the first step on the ladder towards a car that Lewis Hamilton can soar around Imola in 1:14.411 for pole position in 2021, it’s a good start!

'Carl Benz' Patent-Motorwagen Nummer 1' by DaimlerChrysler AG - Mediaseite der DaimlerChrysler (Source: Wikimedia Commons) is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 (original image resized, cropped and altered)
Brinicle

## Ability

### Ability

**Icy Finger of Death****(Play)** Your opponent's Oceans and Seas cards, wherever they are, lose -20 Power for 3 turns.

## Did You Know?

**Brinicles**, also known as ice stalactites, are like Elsa's ice powers gone wrong. This unusual underwater phenomenon occurs in polar regions when sea ice cracks and leaks out saline water into the open oceans. Since brine is heavier than the water around it, it sinks to the sea floor while freezing the fresh water it comes into contact with. The result? A deadly finger of ice slowly descending from above, freezing everything it touches.

On its way down, the brinicle leaves a trail of destruction, growing several metres per day. When it reaches the sea floor, it spreads out into a sheet of ice, trapping various bottom-dwelling creatures like urchins and starfish in a frozen tomb of brine. For that reason, the phenomenon has earned the nickname “ice fingers of death”.
Catnip

## Ability

### Ability

**Cat Party****(Return)** Your Cute Cats cards, wherever they are, gain +19 Power this round and if your deck has 14 or more Cute Cats cards, your Cute Cats cards, wherever they are, gain +19 Power this round.

## Did You Know?

**Catnip** (Nepeta cataria) is a plant from the mint family that is famous for causing euphoria in cats. When they eat it, they mellow out, become more affectionate and sometimes drool excessively. However, one whiff of the stuff and your cat promptly goes beserk.

Cat researchers (dream job alert) believe that catnip targets feline "happy" receptors in the brain. And, oddly, catnip can have an effect on humans, too. No, it won’t give you the power to speak cat, nor will it cause hallucinations of being a cat (gutted.)

Like chamomile, brewing catnip into a tea can make you feel calmer. Unlike human drugs, catnip is not generally harmful to cats – they cannot overdose on it, nor is it a gateway drug to narcatics. Yup, we went there.
Butter Lamb

## Ability

### Ability

**Side Dish****(Play)** If played next to a Curious Cuisine card, give that card +60 Power this turn.

## Did You Know?

Nothing says Happy Easter like butter sculpted into the shape of a lamb with peppercorns for eyes. That’s according to Russian, Polish and Slovenian Catholics, who add this butter sculpture to the table for the Easter meal to represent Jesus and his sacrifice as the Lamb of God.

This tradition isn’t new - in fact, Baranek wielkanocny (the Polish name for this delicacy) dates back to the year 1200. The butter lamb would be carried in a basket along with rye bread, ham, coloured eggs, chocolate and other food items to be eaten during the Easter feast.

Today, the **Butter Lamb** is dressed with a ribbon around its buttery neck and a cross or banner with a blessing such as “Alleluia” on its back.
Bettong

## Ability

### Ability

**Ecological Engineer****(Play)** Your Super Structures and Life on Land cards in hand gain +10 Power for 2 turns.

## Did You Know?

Although they’re a species in their own right, the **Bettong** is better known as the kangaroo rat because... well, they’re the perfect hybrid between both animals. Roughly the size of a rabbit, the Bettong has the distinctive hind-legs of a kangaroo, ideal for hopping around quickly.

Once widespread in Australia, the number of Bettongs has sadly dropped to just a few small colonies and captive populations. When asked about their decline, an expert in rewilding likened the species to a “furry Mars bar” to foxes and feral cats, which explains a lot. Still, there’s hope for the kangaroo rat: in 2021, 40 Bettongs were released in different parts of South Australia. With any luck, the result will be a furry selection box.
Brothers Grimm

## Ability

### Ability

**Fairy Tale Ending****(Play)** If it's Round 5 Turn 3, this card gains +200 Power.

## Did You Know?

Once upon a time, there were two brothers from Hanau who had a less than fortunate childhood. After their father passed away, the family was reduced to eating one meal a day.

After graduating high school, the brothers studied law at the University of Marburg. It was here that they met the poet Clemens Brentano, who awakened in both a love of folktales. During this time, the German kingdom of Westphalia became part of the French Empire under Napoleon Bonaparte.

Taking refuge in the library, the brothers began a quest to unearth folktales from earlier times and save them from extinction. In 1812, Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm (aka the **Brothers Grimm**) published the stories as part of a genre-defining collection known today as Grimm’s Fairy Tales.
Beluga Whale

## Ability

### Ability

**Whalesong****(Play)** All Oceans and Seas cards in both player's hands gain +10 Power this turn.

## Did You Know?

The Beluga Whale is also known as the Melonhead Whale, which seems a bit offensive, albeit accurate.

Beluga Caviar - a very posh and now mostly banned delicacy - is nothing to do with the Beluga Whale, but instead comes from the Beluga Sturgeon. (This makes sense, because Caviar is made of fish eggs, and the Beluga Whale is a mammal. Mammals don't lay eggs.)

CRAFTING CLUE BELOW!

- Here's a clue to break the ice.
Brussels Sprouts

## Ability

### Ability

**Divisive****(Draw)** Two random cards in either player's hand lose -40 Power this turn. **(Draw)** Two random cards in either player's hand gain +40 Power this turn.

## Did You Know?

Love ‘em or hate ‘em, **Brussels Sprouts** are a staple of Christmas dinner and one of the healthiest foods going. Just an 80g serving of Brussels sprouts contains four times the amount of Vitamin C than an orange, and one cup of cooked sprouts is only 60 calories.

No prizes for guessing where they’re from, but records trace their existence back to Belgium in the 13th Century. They don’t grow in the wild, but are the cultivation of humans. In fact, in the UK alone, 82,000 tons of Brussels sprouts are produced each year – enough to cover the entire City of London.

If that fact didn’t blow your mind, how about this: the area covered by Brussels sprout fields in the UK is the equivalent of 3,240 football pitches!
Caravaggio

## Ability

### Ability

**No Hope, No Fear****(Return)** If you lost the turn, your opponent's remaining cards in hand **Burn** (9) until played.

## Did You Know?

For some subjects, a card isn’t nearly enough - certainly the case with **Caravaggio**. He was an incredible artist with an even more incredible lifestyle, as you might expect from someone whose motto was ‘*nec spe, nec metu*’ (without hope, without fear).

For example:

- He was a violent man - sentenced to death for murder (a sentence he fled from), and later left disfigured from a fight.
- He evaded a law forbidding models from sitting for painters by hiring a prostitute.
- He smeared excrement over the door of his landlady following a dispute.
- In return for a painting, he gained membership of the Knights of Malta - and was later expelled for attacking another knight.
- He was imprisoned for libel after writing satiric verses named Giovanni Coglione (‘Johnny Bollocks’) about a rival painter.
- When he finally obtained a pardon from the Pope, he had his belongings loaded onto a ship - but was then arrested again, and his belongings sailed away without him.

…and that’s not even close to an exhaustive list.

Many of his paintings would put Mortal Kombat to shame - as you might imagine with names like ‘Boy bitten by a lizard’, ‘Salome receives the Head of John the Baptist’, and ‘Judith beheading Holofernes’. But with his command of the medium and his skills in *chiaroscuro*, there is no disputing his genius.
Carbon Capture

## Ability

### Ability

**A Design for Life****(Return)** If you are losing the round, your Life on Land cards, wherever they are, gain +15 Power this round.

## Did You Know?

**Carbon Capture** is the name given to a variety of methods used to capture the carbon dioxide produced by factories and power plants before it reaches the atmosphere, by attaching solvent filters to factory chimneys to redirect the carbon dioxide in liquid form deep underground (using pipes) to avoid its negative impact on global warming.

(Ok, *you* try and cover this topic without sounding like you're in a university lecture.)

As of 2020 there are only 20 projects in operation, while 30 new projects have been given the green light since 2017,. However, many more would be needed to make a significant enough change to the climate crisis. Fortunately, North America alone has enough storage capacity for almost a millennium’s worth of carbon dioxide at current rates.

This is an exciting new technology not only because heavy industry would be expensive and difficult to adapt to green energy sources, but also because the CO2 can be utilised in practical purposes, such as injecting it into oil and gas reservoirs to increase their extraction, or converting it into biomass to be processed into biofuel! Additionally, carbon capture technology can trap up to 90% of carbon dioxide released, and when combined with biomass, it is possible for it to even result in net *negative* emissions.

(Sounding a bit more interesting now, isn't it...?)

Using pre-combustion methods and by burning fossil fuels with almost pure oxygen, therefore creating steam when it is produced, the hydrogen produced can also be harnessed to grow greenhouse plants and carbonate fizzy drinks. Like, *really* fizzy.
Bonacynodon

## Ability

### Ability

**Insectivorous****(Return)** If your deck has 6 or more Bugs cards, your Paleontology cards, wherever they are, gain +16 Power until played.

## Did You Know?

Reptiles to the left of me, mammals to the right - here I am, **Bonacynodon**. If I lived in modern times, you can guarantee I would be kept as an exotic pet by <link="https:>someone with more eccentric taste.</link> Instead, I was born in the Triassic period in what you now call southern Brazil. And boy, that was a time to be alive!

I saw everything from the world’s first flying vertebrates to the dawn of fearsome marine reptiles. Okay, I didn’t actually see any of those. I was too busy scavenging for my next meal or guarding my eggs. Yup, despite being furry, I laid eggs like my reptilian ancestors. When scientists discovered my fossilised remains, I was chilling out on the decomposing body of a <link="https:>giant Dicynodont</link>. Not a bad way to go, really.
Burj Al Arab

## Ability

### Ability

**Pride of Dubai****(Play)** Your Burj Khalifa card in hand gains +30 Power this turn.

## Did You Know?

Perhaps the most impressive feature of Dubai’s most iconic luxury hotel Burj Al Arab is hidden below ground level - it is actually built on an artificial island, on top of 230 40m deep concrete piles covered with a special surface layer to defend against erosion. It took longer to reclaim the island from the sea than it did to build the hotel itself!

The building itself is designed to resemble a sail, whereas the room costs are designed to resemble a lot of money (£800 per night!).
Brown Bear

## Did You Know?

Here, we catch The People That Name Animals on what must have been a low-energy day at the office. "Brown Bear". Come on guys, you're better than this. They're not even fully brown, most of the time - a lot of them have yellowish or even cream colouring.

You'd think an animal so huge would be slow, but they're actually pretty fast - some of them have been clocked at 30 miles per hour.
Beaver

## Ability

### Ability

**Give a Dam!****(Draw)** If you are losing the round, your cards in hand gain +35 Power this turn.

## Did You Know?

They’re still the largest rodents in North America, but once upon a time, **Beavers** were actual giants. We’re not kidding: back in the Ice Age, the ancestor of the beaver was eight foot long and weighed 200 pounds.

That doesn’t mean their modern descendants aren’t impressive - on the contrary, beavers are one of the few animals who modify their habitat. For the record, the world’s largest beaver dam stretches for 850 metres in the wilderness of northern Alberta.

As well as a leathery tail that it slaps against the water to alert the pack of impending danger, this industrious mammal has nose and ear valves to keep out water, third eyelids that act as goggles and lips that close behind their teeth, allowing them to carry building materials without drowning.
Carrington Event

## Ability

### Ability

**A Temporary Disturbance****(Draw)** Your Forces of the Universe cards, wherever they are, gain +27 Power for 2 turns and your other cards, wherever they are, lose -5 Power for 2 turns.

## Did You Know?

Sparks showering from telegraph machines, operators receiving electric shocks and papers set ablaze by the rogue sparks. The **Carrington Event** of 1859 was no joke - even the northern lights were witnessed as far south as Honolulu, Hawaii.

Observed by UK astronomer Richard Carrington, this global geomagnetic disturbance was caused by a massive solar flare, believed to be the first ever and the largest solar storm ever recorded. Up until that point, no one knew or considered the consequences of a solar flare on the Earth and man-made technology.

As if we hadn’t had it hard enough lately, scientists say there’s a 0.7% chance of a Carrington class storm per year, so we can add that to the growing list of potential apocalyptic events to come.
Buffing Collections: Science

An important element of deck building is to include cards that buff other cards in your deck, either decreasing their energy cost or increasing their power. The strongest buffs apply to all the eligible cards wherever they are in your deck. If there are several cards buffing the same collection (or album) then the cards in that collection can be very powerful.

This table does not include cards that just buff for a turn where the buff card is played or drawn. Instead, they must apply either to all the cards in the deck (wherever they are) or at least to the five cards in hand for multiple turns or until they are played. See the separate page of album buff cards and buffs for collections in other albums.
Captain Kidd

## Ability

### Ability

**You're Kidding!****(Return)** If you lost the turn, your opponent loses -40 Power/Turn next turn and if you won the turn, gain +30 Power/Turn next turn.

## Did You Know?

Being a man of common birth, not much is known about the early life **Captain Kidd** until he sailed the Caribbean as part of an Anglo-French pirate crew at the age of 44, where he and other members of the crew usurped the Captain, sailed to Nevis, and aptly renamed the ship the *Blessed William*, of which he became Captain. There, alongside a small fleet, they defended the Island from the French with whom the English were at war.
As employee rights weren’t all that well established for a privateer in 1689, the governor of the island of Nevis refused to pay the sailors for their services, telling them to take their pay from the French. Which they did, but in the more anarchic form of destroying and looting the island of Mariegalante, rather than just picking up a pay-check.
Kidd’s devotion to the British would soon become his downfall, however - and his crew turned against him for refusing to loot the Royal Navy, stealing his ship and fortune.
He was given another ship to avenge the *Blessed William,* but decided instead to travel to New York, a state openly revolting against the British to help regain control. It was there he met his future wife, Sarah Bradley Cox Oort, who’s current husband suffered a timely and mysterious death two days before she wed Kidd. Inheriting his predecessors fortune, he became extremely rich but still yearned for the sea.
He and his friend Robert Livingstone came up with a plan, to sail into dangerous waters to capture pirates and pillage foreign ships for their booty, which was to be shared between their investors - a group which included King William himself - who purchased the *Adventure Galley* for the privateer to execute his plan.
It wasn’t long before his loyalty to the crown became a point of contention again. His crew became angry at his reluctance to pillage British ships, which culminated in an argument with a crew member named Robert Moore, which led to Kidd smashing a wooden bucket over his head, accidentally killing him instantly.
With the intention of keeping his crew onside, Kidd engaged in his first and only act of real piracy, leading his crew to pillage ships without discrimination.
Kidd was captured, sent to prison, and was convicted in trial of piracy and murder, with the King never admitting his role in Kidd’s plundering efforts. He was executed in 1701, although he protested that he was not a true pirate until the day he died, regretting only that he was leaving his wife and children without him.

'Captain Kidd burying his family Bible as depicted in The Pirates Own Book by Charles Ellms.' by Unknown Author (Source: Wikimedia Commons) is licensed under Public Domain (original image resized, cropped and altered)
Cape Buffalo

## Ability

### Ability

**Buffalo buffalo Buffalo...****(Play)** If you have played **Cape Buffalo** this game, your Mammals cards, wherever they are, gain +10 Power permanently.

## Did You Know?

The estimated population of **Cape Buffalo** in the wild is just under a million, and they’re thought to be responsible for 200 deaths a year, making them easily one of the most dangerous animals in Africa.

The savanna-dwelling buffalo nicknamed ‘Black Death’ or ‘Widowmaker’ is said to have killed more big game hunters than any other animal in Africa. The largest and most common of savanna buffaloes, males can reach heights of nearly two metres and weigh 800 kilograms.
Blunderbuss

## Ability

### Ability

**Scattershot****(Draw)** Three opponent's random cards in hand cost +1 Energy this turn.

## Did You Know?

If you really wanted to remove someone’s face in the 17th century, your weapon of choice would probably be a **Blunderbuss**. Boasting unbelievable stopping power, this retro shotgun takes its name from the Dutch word ‘Donderbus’, meaning ‘thunder gun’, which is also what Thor calls his bicep.

The muzzle of the gun was flared, a design choice intended to increase the spread of the shot and make it easier to reload on horseback or on a moving carriage.
Black Mamba

## Ability

### Ability

**Mamba Number 5****(Play)** If you are losing the round, gain +5:energy/turn: next turn.

## Did You Know?

I won't sugar coat it for you - **Black Mambas** are TERRIFYING. not only are they the longest venomous snake in all of Africa (usually measuring between 12-13 feet in length), they're also one of the fastest snakes in the world - they've been clocked at nearly 12.5 miles per hour!

That's before you even get to the venom that qualifies it to join the Venomous Creatures collection - a single bite can inject about 100 mg of venom, which is enough to cause a human to collapse in 45 minutes and die in about 7 hours unless treated with effective anti-venom.

It's this speed and power than inspired the late Kobe Bryant to take on **Black Mamba** as his nickname. During a particularly low point in his basketball career, he created a secondary persona called The **Black Mamba** to dominate the court with.
Buddhism

## Did You Know?

An ancient religion, Buddhism was introduced in Japan in the 6th century by five monks from Gandhara (in modern-day Pakistan) who grew the religion alongside Shintoism. Buddhism teaches that balancing your karma is vital to achieving Nirvana; good karma brings you closer to Nirvana and bad karma leads you down the endless cycle of life and death. In Feudal Japan the religion was led by priests employed to pray for the prosperity of the state and the imperial house. This led to the emergence of "people's priests" who offered to pray for the populace. These priests were neither ordained nor even trained, but why let that stop an entrepreneurial spirit?
Bellerophon

## Ability

### Ability

**Hubris****(Play)** If you are winning the round, your Pegasus card in hand gains +60 Power this turn. **(Return)** If you lost the turn, your Pegasus card in hand loses -60 Power permanently.

## Did You Know?

After slaying the fire-breathing Chimera monster, **Bellerophon** was feeling like a baller. Instead of resting and watching the sun rise on a grateful universe, he rode his winged horse Pegasus up to Mount Olympus, the home of the Gods. Bellerophon’s act of hubris enraged Zeus - and so, to teach the hero a lesson, Zeus sent a gadfly to sting Pegasus, causing Bellerophon to fall back to Earth.

In some versions of the story, Bellerophon lands safely to the ground in Cilicia (southern Turkey) and founds the city of Tarsus. In another version, the hero is crippled and wanders the earth in solitude until his death. The moral of the story? If you kill a Chimera, take the W and don’t get cocky.
Carrion Crow

## Ability

### Ability

**A Good Omen****(Draw)** If it's the first turn of a round, gain +3:energy/turn: this round.

## Did You Know?

♫ CARRION MY WAYWARD BIRD ♫ You’re looking at one of the most intelligent and adaptable of all bird species: the **Carrion Crow**. Since living alongside humans, this crow has learned to tactically place nuts on the road and wait for cars to crack them open.

They’ve also been spotted using sticks to access food out of reach. And that’s not all - Carrion Crows, like others of the species, quickly learn which gardens are safe and will return repeatedly to feast on worms, seeds and fruit. Even when they hide their food to save it for later, they always remember the exact spot it was hidden. We’re not saying they’re superior to humans, but how many times have you “lost” something that was in your hand the whole time?