recursal/Fanatic-Fandom huggingface dataset:
Neutron Star

## Ability

### Ability

**Star Burst****(Return)** If your deck contains Magnetar, your remaining cards in hand cost -1 Energy this round.

## Did You Know?

When a train arrives at its final station, something happens: all the passengers stand up, cram themselves into the aisle and surge towards the doors before exploding out onto the platform. Similarly, when a massive star reaches the end of its journey, its mass gets crushed to an extreme density so tightly packed that a teaspoon of their contents would weigh more than Mount Everest or the weight of every human that has ever lived.

Known as **Neutron Stars**, these cosmic ghosts are the collapsed cores of supergiant stars that grew to be four to eight times the size of our own sun before exploding into a catastrophic supernova. After the star’s outer layers have been blown into space, it leaves behind a small, dense core that continues to collapse.
Pablo Picasso

## Ability

### Ability

**Cubism****(Draw)** This card gains +44 Power permanently. **(Return)** If you lost the turn, this card costs +2 Energy permanently.

## Did You Know?

So where do you start with **Pablo Picasso**? Arguably the most celebrated artist of the twentieth century, his cultural ubiquity radiates and transcends mere canvasses and sculpture. Everyone knows something about him.

Let's start in the city of Málaga, Spain in 1881 as that’s where he started. Born into a reasonably wealthy family descended from aristocrats, he was influenced by art and creativity from a young age. His father, José, was a painter, professor at the School of Fine Arts of San Telmo and the Curator of the Museum of Fine Arts.

The young Picasso showed a precocious talent from a very early age and it’s claimed his first word was “piz” short for lápiz, the Spanish word for pencil. His father started formally training him from the age of seven and it would seem from this point on that he was destined for greatness.

Picasso's father was an accomplished painter who specialised in painting pigeons (a niche specialism I’ll grant you). When Pablo was just 13 years old his father came across him painting over one of his unfinished doves and was so impressed by his son's efforts, he thought himself surpassed and declared he was giving up painting.

Later in life, Pablo claimed that "by the time I was fourteen, I could draw like Raphael and it took me a lifetime to learn to draw like a child”. This essentially sums up Picasso, so utterly confident in his own genius that throughout his life he made bold artistic leaps, casting aside convention and history in an almost relentless crusade to achieve a child-like sensibility to his works, where imagination knew no bounds and the art itself was a powerful medium for emotions rather than realism.

In many ways, it’s simplistic to suggest that this was just an artistic strategy, as he lived a lifestyle that couldn’t fail to impact his work. With a sexual appetite that would put most rabbits to shame, he was married twice, maintained several mistresses and had hundreds of affairs. He was caught up in the Spanish Civil War, lived in occupied Paris during WWII and was called in for questioning when the Mona Lisa was stolen.

With a vast collection of more than 20,000 paintings, drawings and sculptures, Picasso’s legacy can be seen inspiring many contemporary artists and architects as well providing one of the most fascinating accounts of an individual's creative evolution as their life and experiences progressed.
Olga of Kyiv

## Ability

### Ability

**In His Name****(Play)** Your opponent's cards, wherever they are, lose -11 Power for 2 turns.

## Did You Know?

The story of **Olga of Kyiv** is a murderous medieval tale that took place during a *particularly* chaotic time in Ukrainian and Russian history. It’s the 10th Century, and Olga of Kyiv has just started settling into her life as a queen when her husband Igor, a new ruler in the region that is now Ukraine, is murdered by a neighbouring tribe called the Drevlians.

Did Olga seek revenge? Did she ever! Instead of accepting the head of the tribe’s hand in marriage, Olga had his men killed in really creative ways: buried alive, burned to death in a sauna, attaching burning wood to birds to have them set the city on fire… she really went for it.
Móði and Magni

## Did You Know?

Being Thor, he couldn’t just name his sons something normal like “John” or “Martin”. As a celebration of himself, Thor named his children **Móði and Magni**, which translate to “Wrath” and “Mighty,” respectively.

Although very little is known about Móði, he is named as one of the only survivors of Ragnarök - the end of the world. That’s a pretty impressive accolade to have on your resume. As for Magni, the Prose Edda says that he saved his father from the jötunn (giant) Hrungnir. Technically, it was Thor who killed Hrungnir with his hammer, but in the process, he got trapped under the giant’s foot. Other gods tried to help him, but only Magni was capable of saving Thor. In return, Magni was given the giant’s horse - yassss.
Painite

## Did You Know?

In 1957, two deep red stones donated to the Natural History Museum in London were found to be totally new to science. After analysing a small slice from one crystal, the new mineral was named **Painite** after the original donor – a man called Arthur Pain, who had first thought the gem was ruby since it was red in colour.

The chemical makeup of this new mineral was found to be calcium, zirconium, boron, aluminium and oxygen. To this day, Painite remains one of the rarest minerals on Earth – in fact, until 2001, only three Painite crystals were known to exist. Since then, further discoveries have produced many more – nevertheless, its rarity means this gemstone is usually worth between $50,000 - $60,000 per carat.

'Painite' by Rob Lavinsky, iRocks.com (Source: Wikimedia Commons) is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 (original image resized, cropped and altered)
Niuafoʻou

## Ability

### Ability

**Many New Coconuts****(Draw)** If your deck contains Coconut Crab, gain +2:energy/turn: for 2 turns. Repeat if your deck contains Coconut Octopus and COCONUTS-2b.

## Did You Know?

Peaceful isolation, a self-sufficient community and nothing but the beautiful ocean surrounding you. The island of **Niuafoʻou** is a perfect haven - minus the active volcano, of course. Stretching five kilometres wide and 300 metres deep, Niuafoʻou has erupted numerous times throughout history, with the most recent major eruption occurring in 1985.

Despite this, a small 431-strong population continues to live on “Tin-Can” island - so called because of their unusual method of receiving mail. Since Niuafoʻou has no natural harbor, ships couldn’t land to deliver mail. So, the strongest swimmers of the community would swim out to passing ships to retrieve packages, which the sailors would seal up tightly in biscuit tins and throw overboard.
Odysseus

## Ability

### Ability

**Homecoming King****(Return)** This card gains +12 Power permanently. **(Play)** Your Homer card in hand gains +20 Power this turn.

## Did You Know?

**Odysseus**, in Greek Mythology at least, was the King of Ithaca and star of Homer's epic poem *Odyssey*; the story of the eponymous **Odysseus** and his struggles to get home after fighting for ten years in the Trojan War.

As events and obstacles unfold, **Odysseus** uses his unmatched intelligence, cunning and wit to overcome mystical creatures, the wrath of the gods and even the call of enchanting sirens all while his wife Penelope fends off suitors vying for Ithica's throne.

It's some real *Game of Thrones* stuff, except the ending isn't rushed and it makes sense and characters don't "kind of forget" things and... sorry, it's nearly two years later at the time of writing and that last season still hurts.
Modhera Sun Temple

## Ability

### Ability

**Ramakunda****(Play)** If your deck has 4 or more Raging Rivers cards, your History cards, wherever they are, gain +12 Power until played.

## Did You Know?

It’s almost 1,000 years since the **Modhera Sun Temple** in Gujarat, India, was built, but people still flock by the thousands to marvel upon its intricate design. This temple wasn’t just thrown together randomly - it was carefully executed to make sure that the first sun rays placed a diamond on the Sun God’s head at every equinox.

The 24 pillars in the temple represent the 24 hours of the day, while the 12 statues within the sanctum depict the 12 different facets of the Hindu sun god Surya - one for each month of the year. And if that wasn’t impressive enough, the temple stands on 364 elephants to represent the number of complete days in a year.
Nekomata

## Ability

### Ability

**Cat of Two Tails****(Play)** For every Cute Cat you have played, up to a maximum of 20, give your Japanese Folklore cards in hand +4 Power this turn.

## Did You Know?

**Nekomata** are a type of yokai (a type of supernatural being, often with animal features and human disposition) from Chinese and Japanese folklore. They are often confused with Bakeneko, but their intentions are far darker.

One type of nekomata are the ones who reside in the mountains, and despite their sweet, catlike appearance, was first found in Japanese literature in August 1233, guzzling down several people in a single night. A mountain nekomata has a doglike body and is thought to be rabid, shapeshifting into their human form when they are safe in the recesses of the mountains.

The second type is that of the domestic cat that grows old and becomes a nekomata, with the first tell-tail (boo, hiss) sign being the splitting of the cat’s tail into two. These nekomata are thought to cause terrors similar to a poltergeist haunting, hence a folk belief in Japan formed that cats should not be kept for long periods of time.

The nekomata has skills of necromancy, with their powers becoming stronger due to the age it reached and the amount of abuse it faced. They will return in their new form often as an older woman, bring chaos and terror to all those have wronged it, although we can’t say we think that’s necessarily a bad thing.

'Nekomata (猫また) from Bakemono no e' by Brigham Young University (Source: Wikimedia Commons) is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (original image resized, cropped and altered)
Marching Band

## Ability

### Ability

**We'll Carry On****(Start)** Your Instrumental cards in hand gain +4 Power until played.

## Did You Know?

When I was a young girl, my father took me into the city to see a **Marching Band.** Well, he didn’t. But if he did, I might have seen a troop of musicians in matching uniforms playing their hearts out. (Probably not all in black with emo make-up, being led by Gerard Way, but a goth can dream.)

Marching Bands have a military history and would accompany armies into battle to raise morale. Now though, while some may still have military significance (the Edinburgh Military Tattoo, for example), in the US, they have become a high school and college tradition.

Typical types of instruments you’ll hear while marching along will be brass, such as the trumpet or the trombone, wind like the flute, and percussion like the snare or the bass drum. Traditional songs might include things like “When the Saints Go Marching In” or “The Liberty Bell March”, but we’re particularly fond of <link="https:>this version</link> of Fall Out Boy’s “My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark”.
Namahage

## Ability

### Ability

**Nakuko Wa Inee Ga?****(Draw)** If you are winning the round, your opponent's cards in hand lose -25 Power this turn.

## Did You Know?

New Year’s traditions vary all over the world - the Dutch eat oliebollen, the Scots go “first footing”, and in Japan, the **Namahage** descend upon the locals. People dressed in frightening ogre masks and wearing straw capes run around, brandishing fake knives, searching for naughty children to reprimand and mochi to eat.

In folklore, the Namahage were a group of ogres who would terrify local towns and kidnap young women. One day the villagers agreed that the women would hand themselves over to the Namahage but only if the ogres could build a massive stone staircase by morning. If they didn’t finish it, the Namahage must leave forever. The villagers then tricked the Namahage by mimicking a rooster’s cry and making the ogres believe that they’d failed. Gotcha, ogres!

Now though, the Namahage festival takes place on New Year’s Eve and is a fun affair and the locals dressed as the beasts run around, checking if children have been naughty or nice. The best way to keep a Namahage off your back is to offer it some sake or some mochi!
Numbers Station

## Ability

### Ability

**Just Putting It Out There****(Draw)** Three random cards in your hand gain +9 Power this round.

## Did You Know?

Looking to communicate details of your fiendish plots with other governments but worried about the digital paper trail you’ll leave behind? No problem – just translate it into a code that’s indecipherable by the masses and send it via a **Numbers Station** - a shortwave radio broadcast that consists of a mechanical voice reading out a string of numbers.

The first known use was in World War I, but numbers stations hit peak use in the Cold War Era. None of their output was troubling the Top 10.
Mimosa Pudica

## Ability

### Ability

**Close Up****(Draw)** If you are losing the round, this card loses -40 Power until played.

## Did You Know?

If you’ve ever wanted to hole yourself up in your room and avoid all human contact, you might have an idea of how the **”Mimosa Pudica”** feels.

This unusual plant has the ability to fold its leaves at a rapid rate at both night time, and as a response to stimuli such as touch, a phenomenon known as seismonastic movement. These movements are thought to act as a repellent to predators and insect and has earned it its rather adorable Latin name, (“pudica” meaning “bashful”) and a set of equally sweet nicknames, such as sensitive plant, humble plant, and touch-me-not.

However, despite its sensitive nature, the Mimosa is an incredibly invasive plant that negatively affects the growth of important crops such as corn, soybean, banana and sugar cane - proving that you can’t always judge a book by its cover *(or a plant by its leaves)*.

CRAFTING CLUE BELOW!

- Stay cool, like this clue.
Mysorean Rockets

## Ability

### Ability

**Cheat Code****(Play)** If you are winning the round, your Innovations of War cards, wherever they are, gain +25 Power this round. If it's also Round 1, your Innovations of War cards, wherever they are, gain an additional +20 Power this round.

## Did You Know?

In India in the 1780s, a new form of weaponry was being developed - the **Mysorean Rocket** and it looked badass. Tipu Sultan, the ruler of Mysore, had created a weapon which featured an iron-encased rocket and a blade on its side.

Tipu Sultan’s army had a Rocket Corps and around 5,000 rockets. That’s an explosive power not to be reckoned with! They used these Mysorean Rockets against the British during the Third and Fourth Mysore War and the British described the weapons as a “flying plague.” Unfortunately, Tipu Sultan was killed in the Fourth Mysore War when the Mysorean forces were disrupted due to a British shell hitting a store of rockets. Shortly after this, Tipu was killed.

And, like so often in history, the British took this technology and adapted it for themselves. (Time to roll the "<link="https:>are we the baddies bit</link>" again and the answer is yes.) In 1807, William Congreve developed the Congreve Rocket - which was remarkably similar to the Indian rockets but, you know, just changed enough so as to not look like copying someone’s homework. Typical.
Naples Yellow

## Ability

### Ability

**Spectrum of Color****(Play)** If you have played Dutch Orange this game, your Scheele's Green card, wherever it is, gains +40 Power permanently. **(Return)** If you have played Dutch Orange this game, your Scheele's Green card, wherever it is, costs +2 Energy until played.

## Did You Know?

Picture yourself sipping on a cold beer on a hot summer’s day on the Italian peninsula. What color comes to mind? If it’s a brilliant shade of light yellow, blame Italian beer commercials, as their palette typically centres around **Naples Yellow**.

Also called antimony yellow, this colour was the first synthetic yellow pigment ever created, although it was originally made from a poisonous compound of lead antimonate (hence the name.) We know that Naples Yellow was used by the Egyptians as far back as circa 1500 BC to add yellow color to glass, but it wasn’t until the 18th century that it was identified as a color in the English language.

Since other yellowish minerals occur on Mount Vesuvius, it’s thought that this is how Naples Yellow got its name.
Ocarina

## Ability

### Ability

**Song of Time****(Draw)** Your History cards, wherever they are, gain +8 Power for 3 turns.

## Did You Know?

Affectionately called the ‘Sweet Potato Pipe’ in the USA, the **Ocarina** is an ancient instrument traditionally made from clay or ceramic that makes a noise like a flute when played.

Although the Italian Ocarina was invented by a 17-year-old called Giuseppi Donati who gave it the name (which means ‘little goose’ in Italian), similar instruments appear throughout history. In fact, evidence of the earliest ocarinas can be traced back 12,000 years – not to one place in particular, but in different civilisations. The Mayans, Incans and the Aztecs all created clay ocarina-type instruments in the shape of birds or animals, but there was also a really similar Chinese instrument called Xun, and other bird-shaped ocarinas were found in India dating back to about 5000 BC.
Mountain Chicken

## Ability

### Ability

**Last Ditch****(Play)** If you are losing the round, your cards in hand gain +22 Power this turn.

## Did You Know?

The first thing you should know about the **Mountain Chicken** is that it is not a chicken at all, but a frog – and not just any frog, but one of the largest species of frog in the entire world. Found exclusively on the islands of Montserrat and Dominica in the east Caribbean Sea, the mountain chicken is classed as critically endangered after the population declined by at least 80% between 1995 and 2004.

Also known as the Giant Ditch Frog, the mountain chicken gets its name from its strong hind legs which the locals find appetising. In turn, the frog has become a delicacy in Caribbean cuisine. What does it taste like? You guessed it – chicken. Still, we wouldn’t rush to order frog-nuggets any time soon.
Nāga

## Ability

### Ability

**Sea Snakes****(Play)** Your Selma and Bakunawa cards in hand gain +15 Power this turn.

## Did You Know?

Life as a **Naga** is pretty great: for a start, you’re immortal, so you don’t have to worry about living each day as if it was your last. Secondly, you can take the form of a human, a snake or a human-snake hybrid - whichever takes your fancy. If that wasn’t awesome enough, you’ve also got supernatural wisdom and good looks. What’s the catch?

You might have to serve as guard to a divine leader, and you might get so involved in the role that you’ll be quick to kill foolhardy or ignorant explorers. Of course, that’s more of a problem for mere mortals, but one to watch out for.

When you’re off guard duty, you reside in magnificent jewelled palaces at the bottom of rivers in the underground realm called Patala.
Nativity with St. Francis and St. Lawrence

## Ability

### Ability

**Changing Hands****(Play)** Your opponent's cards in hand lose -4 Power permanently and this card gains +20 Power permanently.

## Did You Know?

When Italian painter Caravaggio laid the final brush stroke for his painting **‘Nativity with St. Francis and St. Lawrence’** in 1609, he couldn’t have known that it would become the subject of thievery and a decades-long mystery considered one of the most significant art crimes in history. But 360 years after Caravaggio painted the nativity scene, two thieves broke into the Oratory of Saint Lawrence and cut the painting from its frame.

Since the robbery, the Italian police, the FBI and Interpol have all worked together to locate the painting, and suspect that it has changed hands among the Sicilian Mafia in this time. Others say it was sold to a collector in eastern Europe or South Africa, while another theory claims it was destroyed in the 1980n Irpinia earthquake.
Number 42

## Did You Know?

In 2019, a team of mathematicians solved the final piece of a 65-year old math puzzle with an answer for the most elusive number of all: 42.

Dubbed “the answer to the Great Question of Life, the Universe and Everything” by Douglas Adams’ novel ‘The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy’, the **Number 42** cropped up as an anomaly in the the sum of three cubes puzzle, also known as the Diophantine Equation x3+y3+z3=k, which challenged mathematicians to find solutions for numbers 1-100.

All but two were solved or considered unsolvable: 33 and 42. After 33 was solved using a supercomputer, a team tapped into the computing power from over 400,000 volunteers’ home PCs to find a solution. Are you ready? 42 = (-80538738812075974)^3 + 80435758145817515^3 + 12602123297335631^3. Mind = blown.

(Although it’s worth mentioning that when questioned, Douglas Adams said he chose the number “as a joke”, so back to the drawing board then.)
Osiris Blue

## Ability

### Ability

**Tribute****(Return)** Your remaining Egyptian Mythology cards in hand gain +36 Power and cost +2 Energy until played.

## Did You Know?

Of all the hues found in nature, blue is surprisingly rare. Even plants that appear blue don’t have true blue pigments. In a way, the **Osiris Blue** butterfly is mother nature’s way of filling in the blanks.

Not to be confused with its cousin the Small Blue, Osiris Blue can be seen warming itself in the sun in forest clearings, grasslands and flowery meadows at elevations of 500m - 2,000m above sea level. The males have blueish purple upperwings, while those of the females are dark brown. Both have blueish grey underwings marked by small black spots

Above all plants, Osiris Blue butterflies and their larvae are drawn to the Sainfoin food plant - a beautiful pink wildflower also known as Holy Hay.
Nikola Tesla

## Ability

### Ability

**Current Affairs****(Draw)** Your Energy cards in hand cost -3 Energy this turn.

## Did You Know?

Okay, this is a tricky one to squeeze on a card, but here goes.

Nikola Tesla was born in 1856, Serbia, which was then part of the Austrian Empire. Without doubt, his biggest achievement was inventing the alternating current (AC) motor and developing innovations in AC generation and transmission which remains standard for power transmission to this day (being played by David Bowie in The Prestige is probably no.2).

Tesla studied maths, physics and philosophy before emigrating to the USA in 1884 where he was hired by the notoriously unscrupulous Thomas Edison who put him to work in his Manhattan headquarters. After a falling out involving a broken promise and a large sum of money, Nikola quit and after a few failed enterprises he found investors to support his research into AC.

Over the next decade, Tesla would patent many inventions including fluorescent lights, electric oscillators (Oscillators convert direct current (DC) to alternating current and vice versa) and in 1891 a high-voltage transformer known as the Tesla Coil. In 1898 he even invented and piloted the first radio-controlled boat around a pool in Madison Square Garden.

He received great adulation in his lifetime from the likes of Mark Twain and Einstein he even made the cover of Time magazine. Before his death at the height of World War II, he claimed that he had invented a "death beam." consequently, upon his passing at the age of 86, the FBI confiscated many of the documents he had in his chambers.
Nemo's Garden

## Ability

### Ability

**Biospheres****(Draw)** If your deck has 2 or more Life on Land cards and 2 or more Oceans cards, your Climate Change cards, wherever they are, gain +25 Power until played.

## Did You Know?

During a summer vacation in Italy in 2012, Sergio Gamberini was struck with an idea: why not try to grow basil underwater? Crazy as it sounds, the diving aficionado was onto something.

Given the right temperature, humidity and illumination, certain plants would thrive in an underwater lab. If it worked, this method could help arid countries grow more crops at a lower cost. So, Gamberini made some calls and started sinking biospheres 20 feet deep in the sea off Noli on the Italian Riviera.

The first five biospheres of **Nemo’s Garden** were arranged in a pentagon around a central hub. Each of them holds about 2,000 litres of air, and as the sunlight warms the air, fresh water condenses on the walls which is then collected to water the plants.

'Tree Of Life' by Team3LIUCGloria (Source: Wikimedia Commons) is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (original image resized, cropped and altered)
Northern Inuit

## Ability

### Ability

**Winter is Coming****(Play)** Your Dire Wolf card in hand gains +48 Power this turn.

## Did You Know?

Did you get pet envy watching Game of Thrones? While you can’t adopt a dragon and set fire to everyone à la Daenerys Targaryen, you can make like the Stark kids and bond with a Dire Wolf.

In the 1980s, breeders set out to create a dog that had the appearance of a wild wolf with the temperament of an easy-going domesticated dog. So, they crossed several imported breeds from North America with breeds like the Malamute, Siberian Husky and German Shepherd. And so, the **Northern Inuit** was born.

Like the dire wolves that they portray in the popular TV series, Northern Inuits bond quickly and enjoy human company. Their good-tempered nature has even led to them being used as therapy dogs.
Moose

## Ability

### Ability

**Moose on the Loose!****(Return)** Your Herbivores cards, wherever they are, cost -1 Energy permanently.

## Did You Know?

The biggest living species in the deer family, the average **Moose** is about 10 feet tall at the antlers, or the height of a basketball hoop. Plus, at only five days old, a moose calf can outrun a human. So if you’re looking for a reliable power forward for your basketball team, check the forests of the northern United States or Canada.

Just make sure you go in there with a good offer, because moose can be aggressive when attacked. In fact, moose attack more people annually than bears and wolves combined. Now, maybe you’re thinking these beasts would make for a great cavalry. Well, in the 1700s, the Swedish tried it out, however, due to their susceptibility to disease and the difficulty feeding them, it didn’t work out.
Mount Fuji

## Ability

### Ability

**Sacred Symbol****(Return)** Your Feudal Japan cards, wherever they are, gain +15 Power until played. If your deck has 7 or fewer Feudal Japan cards, give them an additional +15 Power until played.

## Did You Know?

Who knew Japan’s first ski-slope was an active volcano? That active volcano is none other than **Mount Fuji**, the 3,776 metre-tall mountain that has inspired Japanese artists for centuries. According to tradition, the volcano was formed in 286 BCE by an earthquake, but the truth is more complex.

It seems Fuji formed sometime in the past 2.6 million years on a base dating from up to 65 million years ago with the first eruptions happening 700,000 years ago. The good news is that Mount Fuji hasn't erupted since December 1707, making it safe to climb. In fact, couples can tie the knot at the Okumiya Shrine on its summit! Just remember, the wedding parties are limited to 10 people due to space constraints, which is understandable.
Olive Sea Snake

## Ability

### Ability

**Hold Your Breath****(Play)** This card gains +20 Power and lose -15 Power/Turn this round.

## Did You Know?

Fancy a swim in the deep waters of Australia? Steer clear of the **Olive Sea Snake**. With eel-like swimming capabilities, a venomous bite that could put a shark to shame and a highly aggressive demeanour, this reef-dwelling aquatic snake is not to be messed with.

This is one of the most poisonous snakes in the ocean: with one bite, it delivers a shot of neurotoxins that disrupt nerve signals mixed with myotoxins that destroy muscle tissue. The snake is covered with light-sensitive nerve cells, allowing it to pick up on reflections given off by fish scales. This, coupled with its ability to hold its breath underwater for long periods of time, makes it a most effective hunter.
Murrayglossus

## Ability

### Ability

**Giant Echidna****(Draw)** Your Mammals cards, wherever they are, with 6 or more Base Energy gain +20 Power for 4 turns.

## Did You Know?

You’re looking at the largest monotreme known to have ever lived. What’s a monotreme, you ask? An egg-bearing mammal, of course.

For more than a century, this creature was classified as a long-beaked echidna. However, in the year 2022, it finally received its own distinct genus: **Murrayglossus**. The name pays homage to the renowned palaeontologist Peter Murray, combined with 'glossus,' the Greek term for "tongue."

Measuring about 1 metre long and weighing about 30 kg, Murrayglossus was an ancient resident of Australia during the Pleistocene period when colossal megafauna coexisted with early humans. Despite its adorable appearance, evidence found in fossil remains reveals burn marks and chippings, indicating that these gentle giants likely fell victim to human hunting.
Nuclear Fission

## Ability

### Ability

**Fission and Fusion****(Return)** Your Fusion cards, wherever they are, cost -2 Energy this round.

## Did You Know?

When you split an atom into two or more smaller atoms, a massive amount of energy is released. That’s great, because we on Earth rely on energy for practically everything. This process for extracting energy is known as **Nuclear Fission**.

When the heat is released by fission, it can be used to create steam that spins a turbine to generate electricity without the excess greenhouse gases emitted by fossil fuels. Plus, the fission of just one kilogram of uranium creates as much energy as burning around four billion kilograms of coal.

“What’s the catch?”, I hear you ask. Unfortunately, using nuclear power creates a shedload of nuclear waste, which can remain radioactive and dangerous to humans for thousands of years.
Mulga Snake

## Ability

### Ability

**Caught Napping****(Play)** If you are losing the round, your opponent loses -3 Power/Turn permanently.

## Did You Know?

Also known as King Brown Snake, the **Mulga Snake** is not restricted to the Mulga habitats it takes its name from.

Wait, back up - what’s a Mulga?

Glad you asked. A Mulga habitat is any area of the Australian outback where there is a high population of Mulga Trees - a type of acacia that is often home to Mulga Parrots, and…

I’ve said Mulga too much. It’s starting to sound weird.

The King Brown Snake is rarely fatal, but if you really want a reason to be afraid of it, then know this: unlike most snakes, that bite when attacked - the King Brown Snake has been shown to bite humans **while they sleep.**

**Our work here is done. Good night!**
Pacman Frog

## Ability

### Ability

**WAKA WAKA****(Play)** Your opponent's Science cards in hand lose -15 Power this turn.

## Did You Know?

If your first thoughts looking at the front of this card were "hang, on that doesn't look a thing like Pac-Man and I quite fancy a pizza delivery tonight", you're in the exact mind-space this writer was when he first laid eyes upon the **Pacman Frog**. I sort of get it - it has a body that is mostly mouth, but you'd expect it to be a bit more yellow.

The other Pac-Man-like thing it has going for it is its appetite. In the wild, it's a voracious predator, and it will attempt to eat anything in front of it, even if it's bigger or would cause it to suffocate. It's really not picky - they'll quite happily eat members of their own species!

No one's researched whether it can eat ghosts yet. We hypothesise that it would give it a darn good try.

(I went for a meat feast, by the way, with a side of garlic dough balls. Set the diet back three months.)
Mind-Body Dualism

## Ability

### Ability

**Separate Entities****(Draw)** If you are winning the round, your cards in hand gain +12 Power and your cards, wherever they are, cost -1 Energy this round. If you are losing the round, your cards in hand lose -12 Power and your cards, wherever they are, cost +1 Energy this round.

## Did You Know?

From his many hours pondering existence in his dressing gown by the fireplace, René Descartes reached a conclusion: the mind and the body are distinct, separate entities – a theory now known as **Mind-Body Dualism**.

According to Descartes, matter is essentially spatial i.e., three dimensional. Mental entities, on the other hand, do not have material properties. What characterises the mind is that it is conscious. However, the theory has its own problems – for example, if they’re completely separate, how can the mind cause our limbs to move, and how can the body’s sense organs cause sensations in the mind?

Apparently, Descartes did not see this problem. Clearly, he never experienced a stress-induced stomach-ache. Considering he spent most of his time meditating in his dressing gown, that doesn’t totally surprise us.
Night Attack at Târgoviște

## Ability

### Ability

**Night Ambush****(Draw)** If it's after Round 1, your cards, wherever they are, gain +23 Power this round.

## Did You Know?

Here’s a tip: don’t fight a guy famous for impaling people in the middle of the night. In Sultan Mehmed II’s defence, he didn’t see it coming.

On the night of June 17th, 1462, the Turks were well on their way to Targoviste when Vlad the Impaler launched a surprise night attack with up to 10,000 cavalry. The **Night Attack at Targoviste** caused chaos in the Ottoman ranks (although many of the casualties were inflicted by confused Turkish units attacking each other.)

Disguised as a Turkish soldier, Vlad snuck into the Ottoman camp with the ambition to kill the Sultan himself. Fortunately for the Sultan, he got lost and hit the wrong tent. The next day, Mehmed’s troops continued their march before stumbling upon 23,844 impaled Ottoman corpses.
Moussaka

## Ability

### Ability

**Aubergine Dream****(Return)** A random card in your hand gains +20 Power until played.

## Did You Know?

**Moussaka** is a Greek dish that is traditionally made by roasting layered aubergines and lamb in a big roasting tin. Its name derives from Ottoman Turkish, which in turn is derived from the Arabic word "musaqq'a" (*"that which is fed liquid"*). Etymology's weird, isn't it?

That form of the dish was a staple for centuries until the 1900s when Nikolaos Tselementes came along and decided to zhuzh\* it up by adding bechamel sauce. This proved popular and has remained the most common preparation of the dish since.

But don't take our word for it - give it a try!

4 medium potatoes
3 tbsp olive oil
1 red onion, sliced
450g (1lb) lamb mince
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tsp mixed spaces
1 500g (17.6 oz) carton passata
2 large aubergines, sliced
280ml (10oz) crème fraîche
140g (5oz) cheddar, grated

Boil the potatoes for about 20 minutes, drain and cool. Return the pan to the heat and add 2/3 of the olive oil and the onion. Cook until softened, then add the lamb. Fry for 5 minutes or until cooked through.

Add the garlic and spice, and stir in the passata. Bring to a simmer, season to taste, remove from the heat and set aside.
Heat the oven to 200C / gas 7 (390°F). Warm a griddle pan and brush a little oil over the aubergines. Grill them for 2-3 minutes on each side.

Once cool, cut the boiled potatoes into thick slices. Put the rest of the oil in the base of a deep ovenproof dish and create layers of potato, aubergine and the lamb mixture in that order until used up, with Aubergines on the top. Spread the crème fraîche on top, scatter the cheese over it. Put in the oven for ten minutes or until the cheese is golden.

* which is a real word, apparently? I had always assumed "zhuzh" was a kind of onomatopoeic expression of making something better? Huh, even *we're* learning!
Minkowski's Butterfly

## Ability

### Ability

**Stellar Symmetry****(Play)** If played in the middle slot, your cards adjacent to this gain +13 Power this turn.

## Did You Know?

In the vast darkness of space lives a beautiful and brightly coloured butterfly. No, it isn’t a tiny astronaut – it’s a planetary nebula. First discovered by Rudolph Minkowski in 1947, this “winged” nebula is about 2,100 light-years away from Earth in the direction of the constellation Ophiuchus.

The central star in **Minkowski’s Butterfly** is a binary system composed of a white dwarf and a companion, both of which have roughly the same mass as the sun. Astronomers suspect that this companion star is being engulfed by the white dwarf’s expanding atmosphere, and the interaction between the two is what’s causing and shaping the surrounding nebula. These “wings” of the butterfly are moving at speeds of over 1 million km/h.

'The Twin Jet Nebula' by ESA/Hubble (Source: Wikimedia Commons) is licensed under CC BY 4.0 (original image resized, cropped and altered)
Painted Lady

## Ability

### Ability

**Pretty as a Picture****(Return)** If you are winning the round, gain +20 Power/Turn next turn.

## Did You Know?

The **Painted Lady** is one of the most widespread of all butterflies: it is found on every continent with the exceptions of South America and Antarctica. It is also a long-distance migrant, travelling across Europe from North Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia and across North America, covering up to 100 miles per day.

As a caterpillar, their food of choice is the thistle but the adult butterflies feed on nectar and aphid honeydew, a sugary substance secreted by various aphids and insects via their anus.

'Honeydew'. That's quite a euphemism for poop.
Monte Iberia Eleuth

## Ability

### Ability

**Of Tiny Size****(Draw)** 3 of your random Amphibians cards, wherever they are, with 3 or less Base Energy gain +30 Power until played.

## Did You Know?

To microscopic creatures, the **Monte Iberia Eleuth** is absolutely massive. We’re talking Kaiju size. However, to the human eye, this species of frog is miniscule.

Considered the smallest frog in the Northern Hemisphere and the third smallest frog in the whole world, this 10mm amphibian is easily missed. Fortunately, a team of scientists from Institute of Forest Research in Havana spotted a few in the hardwood forest of Monte Iberia while searching for the ivory-billed woodpecker in 1993.

Because of the extremely small size of this frog species, it has fewer teeth than related species. Nevertheless, it still hunts relatively big game for its size including moths and spiders. It also packs a mighty muscle-paralysing toxin to defend itself against predators.
Lion's Mane Jellyfish

## Ability

### Ability

**Good Hair Day****(Draw)** Your cards with "Hair" in their name, wherever they are, cost -3 Energy until played.

## Did You Know?

It isn’t hard to see where the **Lion’s Mane Jellyfish** gets its name. Long flowing tentacles surround the bell of the jellyfish, giving it an appearance that resembles the king of the jungle. Measuring up to 3m in length, these tentacles do pack a painful sting, but generally not a fatal one.

But make no mistake: this species is one of the largest jellyfish in the world. Although they’re made of 95% water, the Lion’s Mane Jellyfish can weigh up to 90kg. Each cluster of tentacles contains up to 150 tentacles, meaning one lion’s mane jellyfish can have up to 1,200 individual tentacles. Since they can glow in the dark, this species of jellyfish may just be one of the prettiest too.
Montgolfier Balloon

## Ability

### Ability

**Early Flight****(Return)** Your Wright Flyer card, wherever it is, costs -4 Energy until played. **(Play)** Your Wright Flyer card in hand gains +72 Power this turn.

## Did You Know?

On June 4th, 1783, the people of Annonay in France witnessed the first unmanned hot air balloon flight took place. Designed by brothers Étienne and Joseph Montgolfier, the **Montgolfier Balloon** was made from silk and lined with paper. It floated 2,000m above the marketplace for about 10 minutes, travelling just over 2 kilometres in distance.

Word of their success quickly spread, and a demonstration for the king of France was planned. The King proposed a manned flight, using prisoners as a test, but the Montgolfiers went rogue, suspending a basket below the balloon containing a sheep, a duck and a rooster. The balloon and its animal passengers lifted off on September 19th and was witnessed by the French King, Marie Antoinette and a crowd of 130,000.
Mud Snake

## Did You Know?

Although the **Mud Snake** is nicknamed the Hoop Snake, you’re unlikely to catch this reptile sinking threes at your local basketball court. In fact, the nickname comes from their ability to take their tails into their mouths and roll along the ground like a hoop. Hey, that’s still pretty impressive.

These distinctive looking snakes are mostly aquatic and like to chill in swamps, preying on gigantic salamanders and other amphibians.
Mount Tenpo

## Did You Know?

Sure, it only rises 14 feet above sea level - but don’t call **Mount Tenpo** a hill. That’s just rude. Although it’s the lowest in Japan, Mount Tenpo is still a mountain - according to the Geographical Survey Institute of Japan.

However, it isn’t naturally occuring. Mount Tenpo was built around the 1800s as a key landmark to help ships find ports. While experienced hikers may set their sights on climbing Everest or K2, Mount Tenpo is ideal for novice climbers (or anyone who fancies an uphill stroll in Minato, Osaka).

It’s even possible to obtain a certificate of your ascent to the summit from the Mount Tenpo Expedition Society for the price of 100 yen. That way, you can brag to your friends about being a mountain climber (just don’t tell them which one…)
Orbs

## Ability

### Ability

**Sinister Light****(Play)** Your Weird World cards in hand gain +22 Power this turn.

## Did You Know?

Some say **Orbs** are spirits of the deceased, making their presence known through photography. Others say it’s a simple phenomenon called backscatter, caused when dust, water droplets or even insects flying close to the lens cause light to reflect through unfocused images.

While the latter has been proved several times to be true, it hasn’t stopped paranormal investigators from pointing to orbs as evidence that a building is infested with ghosts. Of course, when you’re searching for ghosts in an old dusty house with poor lighting, the chance of catching a few orbs in your photos is high. As P.T. Barnum may or may not have said, a sucker is born every second.
Miniature Donkey

## Ability

### Ability

**Good Neigh-bours****(Play)** Your Little Critters cards, wherever they are, gain +14 Power for 2 turns.

## Did You Know?

Good things come in small packages. Case in point: the **Miniature Donkey**. Originally from the islands of Sardinia and Sicily, these adorable animals will only reach a maximum height of 91 cm at the withers (the ridge between the shoulder blades, the tallest point of their body). Once upon a time, these donkeys were used to carry water from village wells and bring supplies to the mountains for shepherds.

Today, miniature donkeys are nearly extinct in their native lands. However, thanks to their gentle nature, intelligence and trainability, miniature donkeys have become a beloved pet in the USA, particularly in the southern states. Owners say they’re patient and trustworthy with children and can even be trained as therapy animals.
Owl Nebula

## Ability

### Ability

**Heavenly Hoot****(Draw)** For every Space card in your deck, up to a maximum of 6, your cards with "Owl" in the name, wherever they are, gain +6 Power for 4 turns.

## Did You Know?

Perched in the northern constellation of Ursa Major is a cosmic owl emitting intense ultraviolet radiation.

Okay, real talk: it’s not an owl, it’s a planetary nebula. This phenomenon happens when a red giant star has burned through all its fuel and can no longer shine, puffing out a gorgeous cloud of colourful gas and dust as a final hurrah. In the case of the **Owl Nebula**, the cloud has taken the shape of an owl’s face, with two bright “eyes” and a “beak” shape, hence its name. Instead of feathers, the nebula holds 0.13 solar masses of matter including hydrogen, helium, nitrogen and oxygen.

This dying-star spectacle is about 2,000 light-years away from us, but we still get to enjoy the show from the comfort of Earth through a telescope.

'Planetary nebula Messier 97' by NOIRLab / NSF / AURA (Source: Wikimedia Commons) is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (original image resized, cropped and altered)
Oliebollen

## Ability

### Ability

**Sugar Spheroid****(Play)** If your deck has 4 or more Curious Cuisine cards, your Mega Math cards, wherever they are, gain +24 Power for 3 turns.

## Did You Know?

**Oliebollen** go by many names. For example, in Nigeria, they are known as 'puff puff'. Meanwhile, in the south of Benin, they’re known in the Fon language as yovodocon, meaning "white man's dumplings". In Iceland they're known as Ástarpungar, meaning “love balls”.

If you aren’t put off by the thought of a white man’s love balls, these traditional New Years’ doughnuts are actually delicious. Plus, according to Dutch folklore, there are benefits to eating Oliebollen: snacking on these balls was considered a sure-fire way to ward off the curses of a cruel pagan goddess named Perchta.

Nefarious deities aside, the fat in the oliebollen has a practical use, helping to provide insulation for Dutch citizens who take part in the tradition of swimming in icy waters on New Year’s Day.
Orange Peel Doris

## Did You Know?

Up there with the most kawaii creatures on Earth, **Orange Peel Doris** is a species of nudibranch or sea slug. With a name like a school cook and a cute squishy body, this slug doesn’t appear threatening to us. But to would-be predators, the bright colouration signifies a bad taste. This is an example of aposematic colouration, a tactic used by animals of all kinds to alert predators that they aren’t worth eating. It’s a fair warning: these slugs take chemicals from the Bryozoa they eat and turn them into a toxic substance.

You’ll find this nudibranch on the rocky shores of the Pacific coast of North America to northern Baja California, Mexico. When they’re fully grown, these sea slugs measure 30cm in length.

CRAFTING CLUE BELOW!

- Lafayette's Pasta?
Mudslide

## Ability

### Ability

**Let it Slide****(Play)** If you are losing the round, this card gains +20 Power.

## Did You Know?

Yes, there is a cocktail called a mudslide - it's a delightful mixture of cream liqueur, coffee liqueur, chocolate, vodka and ice. But the **Mudslides** we're talking about? Well, the only ingredients of those are moisture and a failure to defy gravity. Tasty.

A **Mudslide** occurs when wet dirt and rock slip down the side of a mountain or hill after heavy rainfall has softened it up enough that it's too weak to cling onto the side any more. They can move as fast as 35 mph, and are incredibly destructive - the force of that material is able to wipe out buildings!

It's worth knowing the difference between a **Mudslide** and a landslide - it's the fact that the material is moist that makes it a **Mudslide**, and if it's dry it's a landslide. Remember that, because that is a subtle enough difference for us to maybe do another card.

And that's before we get to lahars. They're **Mudslides** that occur when snow-capped volcanoes melt quickly during eruptions and cause dirt and rock to slip - they're all the destructive power of a regular **Mudslide**, except the material takes on the consistency of concrete.

So it's kind of like a semi-viscous liquid wall rushing towards you, and that's before you've got to deal with a volcanic eruption. I think I'd need a drink after that, and I know just the thing...