Explodoman in Super Munchkin

[Munchkin King]

I am not contesting that Explodoman does not end a fight that is already happening. But the rules of the game, the text on the card, and the ruling of the Munchkin Man all point to the condition that if Explodoman is the principle monster in the fight players cannot interfere by playing wandering monsters, Wimpy Thugs, monster enhancers, or one-shot items.

The rules of the game say that the Wandering Monster card can only be played to join another monster in combat or into a Room card (in Star Munchkin).

The Explodoman card says that he explodes before combat begins. There is no combat, so there is nothing to play a Wandering Monster Card on.

The Munchkin Man says that Explodoman is for all intents and purposes a Trap, and you can't play a Wandering Monster on a Trap, only on a monster or a room.

But it is such a very rare monster that cannot be the beneficiary of wandering monsters, one-shot items, nor enhancers (the Grim Roper comes to mind), that a ruling would be very comforting.

I can imagine, however, that a Well-Meaning Explodoman with a Better Costume than Mine and His Evil Twin Kidnapped my Aunt Marge yet still no wandering monster could be added, but I will be astounded to hear that Explodoman can get Wandering Monsters but no Enhancement.

I think we will hear that for all intents and purposes, Explodoman is like the Grim Roper in that when you face him as the principle monster, no other players can interfere with Wandering Monsters, Monster Enhancers, and one-shot cards, or we will hear that Explodoman-principle-fights can be interfered with by all three.

[MunchkinMan]

I also said, "... in Monster form." Explodoman is still a Monster, and nothing about what I said says other players can't add a Monster with a Wandering Monster card.

So, since you seem to like that phrase, for all intents and purposes, Explodoman is still a Monster, but a Monster that leaves the combat immediately (and therefore can not be enhanced), eliminating access to the Powers of the player(s) in the combat. Combat doesn't end immediately, and someone could wander a Monster into the combat after Explodoman's arrival and immediate departure.

[Clipper]

Originally Posted by Munchkin King

I am not contesting that Explodoman does not end a fight that is already happening. But the rules of the game, the text on the card, and the ruling of the Munchkin Man all point to the condition that if Explodoman is the principle monster in the fight players cannot interfere by playing wandering monsters, Wimpy Thugs, monster enhancers, or one-shot items.

The rules of the game say that the Wandering Monster card can only be played to join another monster in combat or into a Room card (in Star Munchkin).

While the card implies this, the FAQ says otherwise:

Originally Posted by FAQ

Q. Some cards say they automatically defeat a certain type of Monster (like the Potion of Halitosis and the Floating Nose, or the Churninator and Level 1 monsters). Can anyone interfere with this? Can anyone play a Wandering Monster?
A. You may have automatically defeated the monster in question, but your fellow munchkins still have a reasonable time to respond. They probably cannot do anything to help the now-defeated monster, but they can still wander in a new one for you to fight. (But if the monster had special "bring in a friend" rules, such as Undead and Bats, you cannot use those rules, because the original monster is no longer there.)

Thus, provided there is actually a combat, it is perfectly valid to play a Wandering Monster after Explodoman explodes. I was never trying to say that you could play Wandering Monster before he explodes, as that is definitely not the case.

The Explodoman card says that he explodes before combat begins. There is no combat, so there is nothing to play a Wandering Monster Card on.

The card actually says he explodes before you can attack him, which does not mean that combat didn't start. Indeed, the fact that Explodoman attacks you (neutralizing your powers) heavily implies there is a combat. You have no chance to attack and kill him in that combat, though.

The Munchkin Man says that Explodoman is for all intents and purposes a Trap, and you can't play a Wandering Monster on a Trap, only on a monster or a room.

No, he said it was a Trap in monster form. That is not a Trap, it is a monster. It still has all the properties of being a monster, it just behaves a little like a Trap too.

Edit: Ah, I see MM just beat me to it.

[GT Quigley]

Thanks for the helpful replies. I have one more question in this vein. I will use the cheese wiz as an example since explode an is a level 0. If you have the cheese cape, you beat the cheese wiz automatically. If a wandering monster is played during this combat do you treat the cheese wiz as a level 0 monster which you cannot collect the treasures or level from until after succesfully resolving the entire combat?

If an enhancer or duplo-ray was played on the cheese wiz, would it still be an automatic defeat? You would just gain extra levels and treasures for each duplicate monster or enhancer added?


Thanks again.

[MunchkinMan]

Originally Posted by GT Quigley

Thanks for the helpful replies. I have one more question in this vein. I will use the cheese wiz as an example since explode an is a level 0. If you have the cheese cape, you beat the cheese wiz automatically. If a wandering monster is played during this combat do you treat the cheese wiz as a level 0 monster which you cannot collect the treasures or level from until after succesfully resolving the entire combat?

That's not a bad way to look at it, though technically the Monster (Cheese Wiz) should be discarded and not count as one of the Monsters in the combat.

If an enhancer or duplo-ray was played on the cheese wiz, would it still be an automatic defeat? You would just gain extra levels and treasures for each duplicate monster or enhancer added?

Because of the Cheese Cape, Cheese Wiz won't be around long enough to get duplicated or enhanced.

[Clipper]

Yeah, the only way you'd be able to benefit from Duplo-Ray or enhancers on the Cheese Wiz before automatically defeating it would be for somebody else to have the Cheese Cape and you invite them in as a helper after playing Duplo-Ray or the enhancers. In that case, you would get the extra levels and treasure.

[Munchkin King]

> I also said, "... in Monster form." Explodoman is still a Monster, and nothing about what I said says other players can't add a Monster with a Wandering Monster card…. Explodoman is still a Monster… that leaves the combat immediately (and therefore can not be enhanced),

Well, thank you for clarifying that. I was truly confused. And Clipper, thank you, too.

> since you seem to like that phrase, for all intents and purposes

My dear fellow, I never loved the phrase so much before I heard you use it! I hang upon your every word and treat each like Munchkin gospel. I study your words in order to become a better Munchkin player, and I look forward to using the insight gained from this and other rulings in this forum to gain advantage in my next tournament.

[Munchkin King]

> Yeah, the only way you'd be able to benefit from Duplo-Ray or enhancers on the Cheese Wiz before automatically defeating it would be for somebody else to have the Cheese Cape and you invite them in as a helper after playing Duplo-Ray or the enhancers. In that case, you would get the extra levels and treasure.

Clever, Clipper