"And it's little friends" card question

[Topsub]

Hey

When this card is played it says "..original one!" Does this mean the monster played from your hand or the monster on the table it was played with?

[Pleh]

It's functioning like a monster enhancer. The "original one" it's referring to would pretty much have to be whatever monster it is being played on.

... though I'm not sure why it would matter?

[Clipper]

Originally Posted by Pleh

... though I'm not sure why it would matter?

It matters greatly as all the extra monsters that are played by the other players have to have a lower Level than the "original monster".

Given the fact that there might not be a monster in the battle when the card is played, or that there might be more than one, I'm inclined to believe the "original" one is the one that must be played with . . . And Its Little Friends. I think this question has been asked before, so I might change this response after a search, though...

Edit: And yes, I am changing the above response. MunchkinMan said it is the original monster that started the combat. I guess that counts even if it were already defeated or others had been added since then. It does add a little bit of memory to remember which monster started everything, but it doesn't seem like something you would forget.

It's also a tad weird that the monster played with . . . And Its Little Friends can be any Level, but the monsters afterwards are restricted to the Level of the monster that began the combat instead.

[Enzzo]

Originally Posted by Clipper

It's also a tad weird that the monster played with . . . And Its Little Friends can be any Level, but the monsters afterwards are restricted to the Level of the monster that began the combat instead.

That is weird. We had always played it the other way (i.e., the level was capped by the level of the monster that was wandered in, not the original monster). Good to know!

[Mister Ed]

Originally Posted by Clipper

It's also a tad weird that the monster played with . . . And Its Little Friends can be any Level, but the monsters afterwards are restricted to the Level of the monster that began the combat instead.

More than a tad weird, IMHO. If the monster being compared to is the original monster, I would think it only makes sense that ALL monsters played with this card must be lower level than that one. Is the card language explicit in that the first may be any level, or is it just a case of the wording technically supporting that interpretation without making it explicit? Do we have an official statement on whether the first monster added has to be lower level than the original monster as well?

I guess what I'm saying is that having no limit on the first monster added seems SO odd that, even if the card language supports that, I'd still be wondering about design intent.

[Enzzo]

MunchkinMan gives a statement on the card here:

Originally Posted by MunchkinMan

Okay, the wording's a little confusing, but the premise was that every Monster played with . . .And Its Little Friends is supposed to be of a lower Level than the original Monster, meaning the Monster in the combat before this card was played. So, you couldn't play it on the Potted Plant, since there are no 1/2 Level Monsters. Now, an Ancient Enraged Undead Potted Plant can have a few friends. . .

"What if there's more than one Monster?" you're about to ask? Pick a Monster and all the little friends are his. That Monster's departure from the combat (from, say, a Pollymoph Potion), however, won't affect his friends' presence. They'll want to stick around to eat you. . .

Further clarification here:

Originally Posted by MunchkinMan

Quote:
Originally Posted by Mister Ed
1.)You play this card in reference to a monster already facing the player(s). The monster YOU play with it, AND the monsters any other players add, must all be lower level than that original monster. (This way seems more reasonable to me, and was what I first assumed, but is less like what a strict interpretation of the text would indicate.)
This is the correct interpretation.

[Clipper]

Thanks for finding those, Enzzo. The card is one of those ones that is a tad hard to search for as the forum tool ignores "little". I suppose that intent is now clear, even though the actual card text does not state any restrictions with regards to the monster it is played with, only adding that clause to the monsters played by the other players.

The clarification on there being multiple monsters also means my assumption on what happens when there are no monster in the combat was flawed. Even though the wording about when to play the card matches Wandering Monster exactly, MunchkinMan's posts about the intent of the card mean that the card cannot be played if there are no monsters, as there is no original monster for the other monsters to have a lower Level than.

The text would make perfect sense as it is now if we were to consider the Little Friends to be attached to the monster we wander in, but the stated intent is different, in a way that is impossible to assume from the text. I'm sending in an errata entry for the card as the rulings do not match the text.


Edit: I just noticed the thing about the Ancient Enraged Potted Plant in the quoted post. That is clearly not the case any more due to the change of effective Level to combat strength (at the time the post was made, it was true, though). Enhancers don't change the Level of the Potted Plant any more, so it can virtually never have Little Friends. You could have a Two-Headed Potted Plant And Its Little Friends (all of the friends would be Level 1 here), or a Potted Plant's Mommy And Its Little Friends (friends would be Level 10 or lower here), but I think those are the only combinations for the Fantasy cards. I thought it was worth adding that information for anybody finding this thread in future.

[Enzzo]

Originally Posted by Munchkin 2010 Change Log

All Monster Enhancers have had "Level of" deleted from their modifier description. Negative Monster Enhancers no longer say "Minimum Level 1," either.

Good catch, Clipper :)