Aristocrat
What is the ultimate starting hand for the Aristocrat (following the Mayfair version which forbids the Keeper Edict along with Aristocrat's own Flare)?
-Stellar Gas (Stop at least one player from taking cards as consolation)
-Space Junk (Pick up one of your own discards if nothing else)
-Attack 40 (Might as well have the big guns in a "normal" game)
-Cosmic Zap (Great card to have in any game)
At this point, reading the included Flares becomes more important. Depending on what Flares are included (Clone, Schizoid, Parasite, Boomerang, Spiff among others), your strategy should focus on getting external bases. More Flares will come into your hand later.
Other non-Flares to consider:
-Un Zap (In case someone tries the Hand Zap on you)
-Attack 30 (Hard to beat, especially if you already have the 40)
-Finder (Good insurance card- maybe you can get the Keeper from someone else)
-Emotion Control (Another good insurance card, after you've lost Stellar Gas)
Optional house rule regarding Aristocrat:
Aristocrat chooses his hand after Flares are dealt in (thus letting him see what is in the deck), but may not choose any Flares for his initial hand. Or, Aristocrat decides how many Flares he will start the game with, and selects them at random (excluding his own, or not, at your group's discretion).
The reasoning behind this is Flare combos. Certain combinations of Flares (especially Eon Flares) can make Aristocrat invincible (indeed, it is possible for Aristocrat to win the game on his very first turn with the right combination of Flares in his hand). Under any circumstances, choosing what cards to put in your hand is an incredible advantage. This advantage should be tempered slightly at the start of the game. Aristocrat will be guaranteed a Flare on every one of his turns regardless, so limiting them initially is very reasonable.
\n";
} elseif ($timing_type=='mayfair') {
echo "![](graphics/" . $timingicons[) ";
} elseif ($timing_type=="ff") { // get phases to invert
switch ($phase) {
case 0:
case 1:
$ff_phases["Start Turn"]=1;
break;
case 2:
$ff_phases["Destiny"]=1;
break;
case 3:
$ff_phases["Launch"]=1;
break;
case 4:
case 5:
case 6:
$ff_phases["Alliance"]=1;
break;
case 7:
$ff_phases["Planning"]=1;
break;
case 8:
$ff_phases["Reveal"]=1;
break;
case 9:
case 10:
$ff_phases["Resolution"]=1;
break;
} // end of switch
}
} // end of foreach
if ($timing_type=="ff") {
echo " ";
echo "";
foreach ($ff_phases as $phase => $state) {
if ($state==0 AND $phases!="any") {
$phaseclass="ff_phase_off";
} else {
$phaseclass="ff_phase_on";
}
echo "| $phase | ";
}
echo " ";
} //end of ff type
} // end of do_timing()
/* make connection to database */
MYSQL_CONNECT($hostname, $dbusername, $password) OR DIE("Unable
to connect to database");
@mysql_select_db( "$dbName") or die( "Unable to select database");
$totalnum = MYSQL_NUMROWS(mysql_query("select * from powers"));
$on = "powers.powerID=flares.powerID";
switch ($flarestyle) { // set up query for different flare styles
case 1:
break;
case 2:
$on .= " AND (flares.flaretype='Wild1' OR flares.flaretype='Super1')";
break;
case 3:
$on .= " AND (flares.flaretype='Wild' OR flares.flaretype='Super')";
break;
case 4:
$on .= " AND (flares.flaretype='Wild1' OR flares.flaretype='Super' OR flares.flaretype='Con')";
break;
}
$set=stripslashes($set);
if ($set<>"")
$where = $set;
if ($debug) echo "set ekers '$set' ";
$query = "SELECT powers.*, flares.flaretype, flares.cardtext";
if ($showart=="yes")
$query .= ", art.url, art.artist";
$query .= " FROM powers ";
$query .= "LEFT JOIN flares ON $on ";
if ($showart=="yes")
$query .= "LEFT JOIN art ON powers.powerID=art.powerID ";
if ($where<>"")
$query .= "WHERE $where ";
$query .= " ORDER BY $sortorder ";
if ($limit<>"")
$query .= " LIMIT " . $limit;
if ($debug){
echo "This page is currently being worked on. Don't panic if you see strange results ";
echo " $query ";
echo "showart ekers $showart";
echo ", showtype ekers $showtype";
echo ", shownotes ekers $shownotes";
}
$result = mysql_query($query);
while ($row = mysql_fetch_array($result)) {
if ($displaytype=="normal" or $displaytype=="ffgames") { /* normal output */
if ($row["powerID"]<>$lastline) { /* only show power info if first time */
echo "
\n
";
if ($edit=="yes") { /* if in edit mode */
echo "edit power " . $row["powerID"] . "
";
} // end edit
$powerof=eregi_replace($powerblurb . "([^.]*).",
$powerblurb . "\\1.", $row["longdesc"]);
/* embolden the the "power of " string */
if ($row["url"]<>"")
echo "![" . $row["powername"] . " by " . $row["artist"] . "](" . $row["url"] . ") " ;
echo "". $row["powername"] ."";
echo " [".$row["omb"].":".$row["origin"];
if ($row['restricticons']<>"")
echo ":".$row["restricticons"];
echo "] ". $row["shortdesc"];
if ($showauthor=="yes") { // show authors with links
echo " ";
echo $row["author"];
echo "";
}
if (($showtheme=="yes") AND ($row["theme"]<>"")) { // show themes with links
echo " ";
echo "(" . $row["theme"] . ")";
echo "";
}
echo " \n\n";
echo $powerof . " \n\n";
if ($showhistory=="yes")
echo "History: " . $row["history"]. " \n\n";
if ($row["restrictiontext"]<>"")
echo "Restriction: ". $row["restrictiontext"] . " \n\n";
if ($row["timing"]) { // if there is timing data
echo "Timing:
\n";
// foreach (explode(",",$row['timing']) as $phase) {
// echo $timingtext[$phase]."
\n";
// }
do_timing($row['timing'],$timingstyle);
echo "
\n";
}
// check for any kinds of notes
if (($shownotes=="yes" AND $row['notes']) OR ($showexperience=="yes" AND $row['experience'])
OR ($showtype=="yes" AND $row['type'])) {
echo "Notes:";
if ($showexperience=="yes" AND $row["experience"]<>'') { // if there is experience to show
echo " The recommended experience level for this power is ".$row['experience'].".";
}
if ($showtype=="yes" AND $row["type"]<>'') { // if there is a type to show
echo " This is a ".$row['type']." type power.";
}
if ($shownotes=="yes" AND $row["notes"]<>'') { // if there is a type to show
echo " ".$row['notes'];
}
echo " \n\n";
}
$lastline=$row["powerID"]; // mark lastline so we know if this is the start of a new power next time
$powercount++; //increment the number of powers found
} // end first line
if (($row["flaretype"]<>"") AND ($flarestyle<>5))
echo "". $row["flaretype"] . ": " . $row["cardtext"] . " \n\n";
} //end normal
elseif ($displaytype=="raw") { /* ceconvert format */
}
}
echo "Displayed $powercount powers.";
if (!$supresslink) {
echo " ";
}
?>
  
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