All factions
Cease and Desist
STAR ROAMERS
Medium-High
Return your minions to hand for benefits, and manipulate how your minions are affected, like moving them instead of returning them or having your power-2 minions be affected instead of others.
Description
Meet the Star Roamers, a faction from the Cease and Desist expansion, bringing a unique playstyle to the table. By leveraging the ability to return minions to their owner's hand, the Star Roamers achieve a high degree of mobility and protection. This faction is suited for players who enjoy strategic maneuvering, with a complexity rating of Medium-High. The Star Roamers join the Astroknights, Changerbots, and Ignobles as part of the Cease and Desist set, offering an exciting new dimension to the game.
Cards Overview
The Star Roamers faction is composed of 10 minions and 10 actions, offering a balanced mix of gameplay options. Their minions boast a total base power of 30, averaging 3 power per minion.
In terms of actions, the Star Roamers have a range of options at their disposal. They feature three play-on-base actions: Protector Fields, Weird New Worlds, and Whiplash Maneuver. The remaining seven actions are standard, with all of them impacting one or more minions in various ways. These include Hyperspeed 10, two instances of Mass Teleport, two instances of Port Me Up, Teleport Error, and Teleport Overflow. Notably, none of the actions in this faction directly enhance a minion's power, and there are no play-on-minion actions to be found.
1x Hyperspeed 10 - Choose a base. Move all minions from there to a single other base.
2x Mass Teleport - Each player returns one of their minions to its owner’s hand.
2x Port Me Up - Return one of your minions to its owner’s hand. Special: You may play this after a base scores; the minion must be on the scoring base.
1x Protector Fields - Play on a base where you have a minion. Ongoing: Your minions here are not affected by other players’ cards.
1x Teleport Error - Choose a minion. Move it to another random base.
1x Teleport Overflow - Return one of your minions to its owner’s hand. Reveal any number of minions with the same name from your hand, and play them as extra minions.
1x Weird New Worlds - Play a new base. You may play an extra minion there.
1x Whiplash Maneuver - Play on a base. Ongoing: If any of your minions on other bases would be returned to your hand, you may move them here instead.
Actions
1x Hyperspeed 10 - Choose a base. Move all minions from there to a single other base.
2x Mass Teleport - Each player returns one of their minions to its owner’s hand.
2x Port Me Up - Return one of your minions to its owner’s hand. Special: You may play this after a base scores; the minion must be on the scoring base.
1x Protector Fields - Play on a base where you have a minion. Ongoing: Your minions here are not affected by other players’ cards.
1x Teleport Error - Choose a minion. Move it to another random base.
1x Teleport Overflow - Return one of your minions to its owner’s hand. Reveal any number of minions with the same name from your hand, and play them as extra minions.
1x Weird New Worlds - Play a new base. You may play an extra minion there.
1x Whiplash Maneuver - Play on a base. Ongoing: If any of your minions on other bases would be returned to your hand, you may move them here instead.
Characters
1x Ship’s Captain - power 5 - Search your deck for a minion, reveal it, add it to your hand and shuffle your deck. If it has power 3 or less, play it here as an extra minion.
1x Medical Officer - power 4 - Ongoing: When one or more of your other minions would be returned to your hand, you may draw a card instead of returning one of them.
1x Science Officer - power 4 - Talent: Return one of your minions of power 4 or less to its owner’s hand. Play an extra minion with a different name.
3x Ship’s Engineer - power 3 - Ongoing: If another one of your minions would be returned to your hand, you may move it to another base instead.
4x Ensign - power 2 - Ongoing: When an opponent plays a card that directly affects one of your other minions here, you may have it affect this minion instead.
Strategy
The Star Roamers shine brightest when paired with factions that specialize in pulling minions back to their owner's hand, often combining this ability with impressive on-play effects.
Synergies
To unlock the full potential of the Star Roamers, pair them with factions that excel at returning minions to their owner's hand, often accompanied by powerful on-play effects. The Medical Officer is particularly useful in mitigating the drawbacks of self-destruction, although she doesn't provide benefits for abilities that rely on minion destruction.
Combining Star Roamers with Aliens proves to be a potent mix, as the Invader's exceptional on-play ability complements the Star Roamers' capabilities. Aliens also bring additional on-play effects to the table, which work seamlessly with Ship's Captain, and their ability to send enemy minions back to their owner's hand can be a game-changer. Furthermore, the Scout makes an ideal target for Teleport Overflow.
Shapeshifters also make a great match for Star Roamers, as they can more easily find and utilize Ship's Captain and the Officers. Moreover, the Medical Officer helps alleviate the destruction penalties associated with Shapeshifter actions, creating a more stable foundation for the Star Roamers.
Ninjas offer another intriguing combination, as their Acolyte's ability can be used to effectively "return" the minion and generate an extra play every turn. The Ninjas' on-play abilities also help offset the Star Roamers' lack of destructive power, and Infiltrate can even be used to destroy Weird New Worlds.
Lastly, Fairies can be a promising partner for the Star Roamers, as the Science Officer can return powerful minions like Titania and Ship's Captain when their power is reduced. This can be achieved using Glymmer or Enchantment, allowing for rapid deployment of top-tier minions. Alternatively, Puck can be used to gain extra cards or actions, further enhancing the Star Roamers' capabilities.
Tips
Mastering the Star Roamers requires navigating a complex web of synergies and trade-offs. Since you'll rarely have all your minions on the table simultaneously, you must constantly adapt to the evolving game state. As opponents remove your key minions, you'll need to make tough decisions about which combinations to prioritize with your limited minion plays. Keeping track of your options can be overwhelming, especially amidst the chaos of a multiplayer game.
The Ship's Captain is a crucial asset in assembling a cohesive team. Don't underestimate the value of discovering your strongest minions, even if you can't play them immediately. You'll often face difficult choices between leveraging your minions' abilities or utilizing their power to break bases. Ideally, you want to balance both. Port Me Up is particularly useful in achieving this balance. By combining Big Drops and Bait and Switches, the Star Roamers can unleash coordinated attacks from multiple angles, but integrating these elements is a challenging and dynamic puzzle to solve.
Mechanics
Return your minions to hand for benefits, and manipulate how your minions are affected, like moving them instead of returning them or having your power-2 minions be affected instead of others.