Trickster: Why You Should Lie for Fun and Profit
Ooh, a tactics article by the Dogsbody, that’s unusual! Well, Joe and Tom are busy playing with Gnomish Lecturers and the tender babeling that is Book 3 content; so, I thought I’d take the opportunity to sneak in and talk about one of my favourite (and least favourite, based on who is playing Faeries) passive abilities - Trickster.
Can we even trust that these things are called Faeries at this point?
What is ‘Trickster’?
Trickster is an ability currently found on four models: Foxglove and Fraya for the Dominion, Loci for the Commonwealth, and Dranyer for the Leshavult. Essentially Trickster rewards the player for successfully bluffing during an Arcane action (beyond the fact the action succeeds without the requisite cards, which is a reward in itself).
That ‘Once Per Turn’ is the only thing between Foxglove and total world domination.
Why Does Trickster Deserve a Whole Article?
There is an absolute wheelbarrow-load of whimsical and wacky abilities in Moonstone, so why should one found on only four models merit a whole page? Because the key difference between most of those and Trickster, is that Trickster changes how one of the most fundamental parts of the game works: Arcane actions.
An Arcane action usually has one of three standard results:
No bluff is called. The ability works, and no-one has to know the truth…
A bluff is called incorrectly. The ability works and the active player can try again if they have the cards.
A bluff is called correctly. The ability fails and the opponent can play a catastrophe if they have one.
Simple. Grasping this is central to playing the game, and you’ll do it many, many times whilst trying to grab those pesky stones and thwart your opponent. Simple that is, until a Trickster comes along and messes the whole thing up. Once Trickster gets involved you have a whole new result available:
No bluff is called, but the player was bluffing. The ability works but because the player successfully bluffed they reveal their card and gain 3 energy instantly.
This is often the worst result available for the opposing player. Few abilities cost 4 energy, so it usually has an equal or bigger payback than an incorrect bluff for the Trickster, and unless the ability was ‘Once Per Turn’ they can now cast it again, this time with a full Arcane hand rather than the remaining cards from the first cast.
Hoff prepares his special ‘I call shenanigans!’ horn in anticipation of Fraya’s turn…
When Should I, a Lowdown Filthy Liar, use Trickster?
As often as you think you can get away with it! There are (obviously) times when your opponent is always going to call bluff, so be aware of those situations, but in almost any other situation you should consider a bluff, even if you do have the cards in hand (especially if you have the 3 you are claiming to have). This will enable you to control the narrative every time you come to cast an arcane ability leaving your opponent a shambles of indecision and stress across the table.
A sidenote on bluffing after your opponent has just incorrectly called bluff: If you can get a Trickster off as the second (or third!) part of an action that you have already cast you will experience true Trickster nirvana as you gobble up the best of both worlds, two abilities off and +3 energy as well. But be warned! The smaller your remaining arcane hand gets, the more likely your opponent is to call bluff, and some people (me) can get stuck in a sunk cost fallacy where they just keep calling bluff regardless of logic, so trying Trickster on the second cast is very risky!
“I wield this hammer because I am a truthful soul. Mostly.”
You should also of course never use it at all. One of Trickster’s strongest points is that you can effectively force your opponent into calling bluffs and if that happens when you have multiple cards in hand, even a weak fizzle-pop can become deadly. Setting up positions where you have lot to gain from bluffing and then telling the truth is a solid tactic that adds a weird level of reliability to Tricksters casting. Dominion players can use Faerie Mischief (see later) to make it even more tempting, because no one wants to risk a +5 energy swing from a single spell!
Finally you should use it when the consequences of a catastrophe are not going to change the outcome of a game, but +3 energy might. If you can gain even +1 energy after an arcane ability you can grab a stone, step into engagement or make a melee attack you couldn’t make before. If you aren’t carrying a stone, or blocking a harvest, then taking a few catastrophe wounds is a small price to pay for the chance at that sweet sweet extra energy.
When Should I, a Noble and Honest Citizen, Call Bluff on Tricksters?
Starting with the obvious answer: always call bluff on a Trickster when there is no downside to being wrong. For example, if Fraya is healing the only wounded Faerie in range, and the heal will return them to full health, then call bluff. Even if you are wrong, Fraya can’t use the Heal ability on anyone else, but if you don’t call bluff and they are lying then 3 energy is a big boost to the Fae for stepping, stone harvesting or just not dying in melee.
“I’m just an innocent woman out for a stroll in the moonlight.”
Secondly: call bluff when the character gaining 3 energy is more effective than the actual ability cast. This can happen a lot with Dranyer, ‘Mimic’ costs 0, and if successful either causes a target to gain 1 energy, or some keyword shenanigans happen instead. (Watch out for those, you might think it’s funny until some horrible combo you never thought of pops up and bites you in the Jerry Heir.) If you call bluff and are wrong you have still only given the opponent an extra energy at worst, whereas if you let a Bluff through the ability works for +1 energy somewhere, and Dranyer gains +3 herself. With +4 energy being more than the Dranyer player could gain from casting the ability, calling bluff is clearly the better decision here, in fact even if you call it twice she is still gaining less.
Finally: call bluff if the energy is more important to the Trickster player than the action. A Faerie with 1 energy can’t usually harvest a moonstone as they are either Weak or Feeble. But with 3 extra energy? That’s a level 1 stone picked up to win the game. If a Trickster is doing something outright weird, silly, strange or unexpected, then think about what they could do with 3 energy instead. There’s a good chance they are only using the ability to get Trickster off for energy gain.
Why is it Much Worse With Faeries?
Bloody ‘Faerie Mischief’, that’s why…
So far available only on Dentia and Silvertongue, Faerie Mischief adds another level of Faerie shenanigans to the Arcane. This time it doesn’t even need to be the Faerie bluffing that gains an advantage!
Trickster is bad, but Trickster and Faerie Mischief together is real Faun excrement.
“I’m not after that toof, wink wink!”
If you’re a Fae player then stacking Tricksters and Faerie Mischief together is a Diana-tier move. One well timed bluff can now swing a whole game, and it’s not even Once Per Turn! For example, think about healing with Fraya - heal a model that has Faerie Mischief, place your card down and watch as your opponent tries to calculate all the different scenarios that end up with healing, energy gain or both!
Now for you unfortunate non-Fae, if you remember the ‘when to call bluff’ rules above, you’ll see that there are now situations where bluffing can gain as much as 7 energy and heal two models back to full. I don’t care what my opponent calls at that point, I’d call bluff. I’d probably call bluff even if they had the card face up and a written affidavit from The Goblin King Himself - frankly, you just can’t trust the little gits with that much on the line.
Any Other Nasty Tricks up Your Sleeve for Non-Dominion Players?
“I see confusion in your future…”
As a matter of fact yes!
Both Leshavult and Commonwealth have access to Arcane deck manipulation, which allows you to do more with less when it comes to Tricksters. Using Danica to ‘Meddle with Fate’ and take out the Pink or Blue 3 - now Dranyer can bluff on those every time she casts as only you KNOW the opponent can’t have them in their resist hand, and who has the minerals to bluff on a 3? It’s a little bit trickier in Commonwealth, but using Liv before an enemy beater to set up the deck will either force them to use an arcane action to shuffle the deck, or play serious mind games when Loci has exactly the card he needs... or does he?
Thanks Mick, But Why Should we Take Your Advice - Aren’t you Notoriously Bad at Moonstone?
Am I though.. or is it all one big bluff….? You’ll have to catch me to find out!
Bwa hah haha haaa!
Mick
