by Emanuel Class

Hello, everyone,

As the summer temps rise, everyone will be headed indoors too cool off. We decided this would be the perfect time to launch our latest FAQ and Errata document to offer better clarity and ease-of-play to the game. Some changes will be as small as adding or taking away a word or two while others will offer a more concise understanding of how a model functions. At the end of the document we also have a list of known misprints and card errors. This will be the one stop shop for answers, clarity, and functionality.

We don’t expect these changes to move the needle much on the power level or performance of a model, but we are aiming to ensure the timing of everything happens in the correct order and the bookkeeping that surrounds some rules is minimal to none.

Below is the FAQ and Errata Document, which will be updated on the official Privateer Press Wiki soon.

Monsterpocalypse 2022 FAQ and Errata Document

Frequently Asked Questions

• What is the difference between hitting a model and destroying it?

When a power attack effect or special rule refers to ‘hitting’ a model, this specifically refers to the model targeted by the attack. Other models involved are considered to be ‘destroyed as a result of the attack.’ Thus, because they do not target a model, Stomp and Rampage power attacks never hit any models, only destroy them.

• If I want to perform a rampage, when do I declare that attack? 

Unlike other attacks, rampages have a special timing window in which they must be declared. During the advance phase, instead of full advancing a monster, you may declare your intent to rampage with that monster. Then, during the attack phase, that monster performs the rampage power attack if able. If that monster is unable to perform the rampage (you have 0 Power Dice, for example), you may perform a different attack with that monster.

• How does the action Smokescreen interact with rampages?

Smokescreen and rampage both have restrictions that are tied to your full advance. Because a monster cannot perform a full advance if it has been placed with Smokescreen, and you must declare a rampage at the time a monster would perform a full advance, a monster that has been placed with Smokescreen cannot declare a rampage. However, once a monster is declared as having the intent to rampage, or after it performs a rampage, it may still be placed with a Smokescreen action, as it fulfills the condition of having not full advanced this turn.

In other words, a monster may be placed with Smokescreen before or after performing a rampage, so long as the player announces their intent to rampage before activating the Smokescreen action.

• If a model with an ability that triggers when it is destroyed is destroyed by a rampage, when does that ability resolve?

Resolving the effects of power attacks and comparing defenses of models during an attack happen in Step 1 of the attack timing chart. Abilities that trigger upon a model being destroyed resolve in Steps 7–9. In other words, the rampaging monster fully completes its movement and compares all defenses before players resolve any triggers using the attack timing chart.

Example: Taharka rampages and rolls 6 strikes. After moving 3 spaces, he encounters a Meat Slave. 6 strikes is greater than 2 defense, so the Meat Slave is destroyed as a result of the attack, and Taharka continues moving until the effect of his rampage is fully resolved. Then, when it comes to resolve the destroyed models’ triggers, the Meat Slave’s controller resolves Incubate and places a Task Master from their reserves in the space the Meat Slave occupied.

• If my opponent and I both have abilities that reroll dice in play, whose effect has priority?

Scenarios can arise in which both players have effects that can reroll dice in play. When this happens, the active player first resolves any reroll effects, then the defending player does the same. Repeat this process until neither player has any additional reroll effects or wishes to use them.

Example: Defender X rolls an attack against Sgt. Titanica and fails to hit. Defender X’s controller decides to use his Troubleshoot action, rerolling the attack roll and turning it into a hit. At this point, the Sgt. Titanica player has an opportunity to use her Defensive Stance rule to reroll two of Defender X’s super strikes, turning the attack back into a miss. Defender X cannot use Troubleshoot again, because he has already performed the action, but that player does have a secured World Clock, so he uses the reroll granted by Omen.

• If I have an ability that says I “can” do something once per turn and choose not to, do I lose the opportunity to use that ability later in the turn? 

Ordinarily, if an ability triggers once per turn, that ability’s controller must resolve that effect the first time the triggering event occurs. However, if the ability says they ‘can’ resolve the trigger, they may choose not to, and the ability remains active for future triggering events.

Example: The ability Righteous Fury triggers once per turn when an enemy attack destroys a building. Because this ability does not say you ‘can’ resolve it, you must resolve it the first time this happens. On the other hand, Dark Ritual says you ‘can’ return an allied Faction unit to play when it is destroyed once per turn; if a Faction unit is destroyed, and you opt not to trigger Dark Ritual, that does not prevent you from triggering Dark Ritual if another Faction unit is destroyed later in the turn.

• What happens if I have multiple models with the same effect that triggers once per turn?

Regardless of the number of models with the rule, rules with the specific phrase “Once per Turn” can only happen once.

Example: Inspiration is a rule that allows its controller to reroll an attack once per turn. A player may only reroll an attack once with Inspiration per turn, regardless of how many Propo Walkers they have spawned on the board.

• Why do some rules with the same name stack while others are only applied once?

There are three specific instances in which multiple effects with the same name can only apply once: on a single attack, on a single model, or on a single power up. If a rule triggers off of or modifies a game event that is not one of these three things, multiple effects with the same name will all apply to that event.

Example: Power Sink triggers when an opponent spends a Power Die. Because “the opponent spending a Power Die” is not a model, an attack, or a power up, all instances of Power Sink will trigger. Compare to Amplify, which triggers when you power up, and therefore will only ever trigger once per power up, regardless of the number of models with Amplify you control.

• When can a monster with an action that says it can be performed during a monster or unit activation actually perform that action?

According to the rulebook, monsters can only perform actions during the monster activation and units can only perform actions during the unit activation. However, certain actions have special timing restrictions that conflict with this rule. When this happens, the card text takes priority.

Examples: Outfit, Hop, Objection, etc., all give special timing as to when the action can be performed.

• What happens if an event triggers an ability, but the model with that ability leaves play before the trigger resolves?

Sometimes, a model will be removed from the board after triggering one of its abilities but before resolving that ability. Once an ability triggers, that trigger exists independently of the model that has it and will still resolve even if the model leaves play.

Example: Xixorax is at 1 health when he rampages, destroying a Toxxo and ending his movement when he would move into a space occupied by an enemy monster. When the Toxxo is destroyed, Hazardous triggers, causing Xixorax to suffer 1 damage and also be destroyed. However, the opposing monster will still take the 2 damage from Juggernaut, because the conditions of Juggernaut’s trigger were met before Xixorax left the board.

• How do rules that use “dice in play” work?

When a player makes an attack, first they allocate dice, spending Action and Power Dice from their dice pools and adding in any Boost Dice added to the attack by the model’s stat card, plus any additional special rules affecting the model or the attack. After this total is allocated, it is locked in as “dice in play.” Certain rules will have a model make additional attacks using dice in play; these dice are only calculated once, during allocation, so abilities that change the number of Boost Dice are not recalculated for subsequent attacks. Certain special rules will cause Boost Dice to not be rolled on individual attacks, but this does not cause those dice to be removed from the dice in play total.

Example: A player decides to use their Draken Berserker to brawl a Squix. They set aside 2 Action Dice for the attack, add in the Berserker’s base Boost Die, then check how many enemy models are within 2 spaces of the Berserker for Thick of It. There are 3, so the player adds an additional 3 Boost Die to the attack roll, making Dice in Play 2 Action Dice and 4 Boost Dice. Then, the Squix’s Disruption rule is applied, setting aside 1 of the Boost Dice and causing the Berserker to only roll 3 of them. After the attack hits, the Berserker’s Berserk rule triggers, allowing it to advance 2 spaces and attack again using dice in play. Dice in play have already been calculated, so Thick of It is not checked again, but the Squix’s Disruption no longer applies, making the second attack roll the full 2 Action Dice and 4 Boost Dice.

• If multiple abilities modify a model’s stats, but one imposes a maximum or minimum to that stat, which ability takes priority?

Some abilities will limit a stat to not go above or below a certain number. If an ability imposes a maximum or minimum on a modified stat, apply that limit after all other stat modifiers have been calculated. All numbered stats except defense implicitly have a minimum of 0 unless otherwise stated. Defense has an implicit minimum of 1.

Example: Robo Kondo’s controller has a secured UCI Industries. Robo Kondo’s Subsidize and the building’s Ubercorp International Base both reduce the cost of a spawned Ubercorp unit by 1, but Subsidize imposes a minimum limit of 1 to the discount; you cannot apply both to reduce a 2 cost unit’s spawn cost to 0. 

• If a bump spawn causes a building with a Faction Base ability to be secured, can I immediately benefit from that discount?

No. A bump and the resulting spawn are a single, simultaneous game action.

• When performing an action or trigger that places a monster, can I measure from the front of the monster at the start of the placement and the back at the end to cheat an extra space of movement?

No. Placement effects are considered movement, so count squares the same way you would an advance.

• Monsters are placed by power attacks in Timing Step 1 and suffer collision damage in Timing Step 4, but destroyed models aren’t removed from the board until Step 10. How does that work?

The timing chart only applies to the resolution of rules and game effects. Yes, as written, it implies that a monster and a building temporarily share the same space(s), but use your best judgment and physically remove models from the board as appropriate.

Card Errata

• Action: Objection

Old: When your opponent declares an action, this model can spend one Power Die to perform an Objection action. Your opponent’s action has no effect, and your opponent regains any dice spent on the action. The affected action cannot be performed again this turn.

New: When your opponent declares an action, this model can spend one Power Die to perform an Objection action. Your opponent does not perform that action, and regains any dice spent on the action. The affected action cannot be performed again this turn.

This clears up ambiguity for models with multiple actions or Redline.

• Action: Patrol Base

Old: During your unit Activation, this model can spend one Action Die to perform a Patrol Base action. Choose one unit from your unit reserves and place it in play adjacent to this model. The placed model cannot advance this turn.

New: During your unit Activation, this model can spend one Action Die to perform a Patrol Base action. Choose one unit from your unit reserves and place it in play adjacent to this model. The placed model cannot make a full advance this turn.

The lack of ‘full advance’ doesn’t match the formatting change all other movement rules of this type received when full advances were introduced in the 2021 rulebook. Because of the counterintuitive interaction this has with other abilities like Hit and Run, the assumption here is that that was an accidental oversight and not a conscious choice.

• Action: Repair 

Old: During this model’s Activation, this model can spend one Action Die while adjacent to a debris tile to perform a Repair action. If the tile is a hazard, flip it to the rubble side. If the tile is rubble and unoccupied, remove it and return a destroyed building to play on that foundation.

New: During this model’s Activation, this model can spend one Action Die while adjacent to a debris tile to perform a Repair action. If the tile is a hazard, flip it to the rubble side. If the tile is rubble and unoccupied, replace it with a building brought to the game that is not currently in play.

• Action: Retrofit

Old: During your Unit Activation, this model can spend one Action Die and one Power Die to perform a Retrofit action. Replace any building you are securing with any building you brought to the game that is not currently in play.

New: During your Unit Activation, this model can spend one Action Die and one Power Die to perform a Retrofit action. Replace any building you are securing with a building you brought to the game that is not currently in play.

Standardizing the effect of Repair and Retrofit. The differences between these two actions are small enough that matching their formatting should reduce a large amount of ruling confusion, such as their interaction with Annex, Raze, and tracking the status of buildings outside the game in general.

• Action: Sigil of Blood 

Old: During your Monster Activation, this model can spend one Action Die to perform a Sigil of Blood Action. You can return an allied unit within five spaces of this building to its unit reserves. If you do, you can advance an allied model up to two spaces. For each space the model does not advance this way, gain one Power Die.

New: During your Monster Activation, this model can spend one Action Die to perform a Sigil of Blood Action. You can return an allied unit within five spaces of this model to its unit reserves. If you do, you can advance an allied model up to two spaces. For each space the model does not advance this way, gain one Power Die.

An error in formatting made Sigil incompatible with Integrate. This corrects that interaction.

• Action: Tow 

Old: During this model’s activation, this model can spend one Action Die to perform a Tow action. Choose one allied unit within five spaces of this model and place it adjacent to this model. The placed model cannot advance after being placed.

New: During this model’s activation, this model can spend one Action Die to perform a Tow action. Choose one allied unit within five spaces of this model and place it adjacent to this model. The placed model cannot make a full advance this turn after being placed.

See the explanation for Action: Patrol Base above for more information.

• Appropriate

Old: This model must be on or adjacent to a debris tile to make this attack. When this model makes this attack, after determining the number of dice in the attack roll, remove the debris tile this model is on or adjacent to. If the removed debris tile was a hazard, this attack does super damage. After the attack is resolved, this model suffers 1 damage point.

New: This model must be on or adjacent to a debris tile to make this attack. When this model makes this attack, after determining the number of dice in the attack roll, remove the debris tile this model is on or adjacent to. If the removed debris tile was a hazard, this attack does super damage, and immediately after the attack is resolved, this model suffers 1 damage point.

The intention of Appropriate is that the monster only takes damage when removing a hazard tile, which is very unclear with the current wording.

• Beat Back 

Old: If this model hits an enemy monster with this attack, after the attack is resolved you can move the monster hit up to two spaces in a straight line in any direction. During this movement, the target monster moves through and collides with buildings, units, and hazards in its path. The target monster stops moving if it collides with another monster.

New: Immediately after this model damages an enemy monster with this attack, you can move the monster hit up to two spaces in a straight line in any direction. During this movement, the target monster moves through and collides with buildings, units, and hazards in its path. The target monster stops moving if it collides with another monster.

Beat Back doesn’t properly function using the 2021 timing chart. This wording moves the resolution of the effect up from Step 11 to Step 5, because resolving it in Step 11 as currently written means it happens after you would collect Power Dice for resolving the attack.

• Expend

Old: When this unit participates in a blast attack, return it to your unit reserves.

New: When this unit participates in a blast attack, after the attack is resolved, return it to your unit reserves.

Currently, SPARs leave play immediately when they’re declared as participants. This definitely isn’t intended, because it means that they’re no longer in play by the time Artillery Barrage would trigger.

• Hazardous

Old: If an enemy monster collides with this model or hits it with a rampage power attack, that monster suffers 1 damage.

New: If an enemy monster collides with this model or destroys it with a rampage power attack, that monster suffers 1 damage.

Hazardous never got the fixed wording Barbed/Spike Shield has. Rampages don’t hit.

• Opportunity

Old: If you are securing this building, you can use each Action twice during each of your turns. However, each of your models can still perform only one Action each activation.

New: If you are securing one or more buildings with Opportunity, you can use each Action an additional time during each of your turns. However, each of your models can still perform only one Action each activation.

Opportunity doesn’t work properly when combined with the new Signal Matrix rule, so this errata restores its intended functionality. 

• Rampant Destruction

Old: This model can advance up to three spaces before performing a rampage power attack. 

New: Immediately before this model performs a rampage power attack, you may advance it up to 3 spaces.

Makes the timing of the effect explicit.

• Steamroller

Old: After this attack is resolved, you can advance this monster up to three spaces and make a ram power attack.

New: After this attack is resolved, you can advance this monster up to three spaces and also make a ram power attack this turn.

• Sweeping Attack

Old: After this attack is resolved, you can advance this monster up to three spaces and make a Swat power attack.

New: After this attack is resolved, you can advance this monster up to three spaces and also make a Swat power attack this turn.

The intention for these abilities is that they create banked additional game actions that can be performed later in the turn, but that isn’t explicit based on the current wording. This formatting is based on the precedent set by Onslaught, a rule with similar timing restrictions.

• Unstable

Old: If this unit is hit by an attack, return all enemy units adjacent to it to their unit reserves, then this unit is destroyed.

New: If this unit is destroyed by an attack, return all enemy units adjacent to it to their unit reserves.

The introduction of the timing chart has caused some extremely strange unintended interactions for Unstable; this new wording returns it to its original functionality.

Misprints and Errors

• The printed card for Grizzi has his alpha Power stat listed as Brawl.
• The printed card for Zorog has two 6s on his health track; each health point on the Alpha side of his card should be increased by 1. Additionally, his hyper Power stat is listed as Brawl.
• Some early printed cards for Master of Xolotl are missing the number 7 from his health track, but this has been fixed in subsequent reprints.
• The printed card for Zor Magna has her name listed as ‘Zor Manga’ in hyper.
• The original printed card Blastikutter has his name as Hammerklak in hyper. As of the 2021 Dynamic Update, this has been fixed.
• Grunt Scorchers erroneously have a printed range of 5 instead of 3. Reprints have fixed this. Additionally, both Grunt and Elite Scorchers have an older pre-errata version of Ignite listed on their card.
• Warden of Teocali features two rules that erroneously feature obsolete, non-final rules text. Steamroller (both forms) should read, “After this attack is resolved, you can advance this monster up to three spaces and also make a ram power attack this turn.” And Megaton (hyper form) should read, “When an enemy monster would suffer damage as a result of this monster’s ram power attacks, they suffer Super Damage instead.”
• Hyper God of Vemana’s Wood Wraiths rule is not properly bolded or capitalized.
• The Shambler has an incorrect version of the Fodder rule. It should read, “When an allied model adjacent to this unit makes an attack and that attack misses, you can return this unit to your unit reserves. If you do, reroll that attack roll.”

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