Grudge
Alert
Control
Support
Destroy
Type
Power of Revenge
Penalizes Rejected Invitations
As a leader, after approach, use this power to gift your mark to each alien you commissioned that did not sponsor your fleet.
If you win the encounter, destroy one ship from each alien with your mark. If you lose the encounter, destroy 4 ships from each alien with your mark. Reclaim your marks at the end of upkeep.
Legacy: Bystanders who were invited to either fleet must destroy 4 ships during arrival.
Haunting the forgotten remnants of a destroyed solar system, the Grudge seek recompense against those who have wronged them. Their lust for revenge breathes life into their long-dead bodies, and those who see fit to ignore them can expect a visit soon.
Leader: Approach
Mandatory
Wild Flare
As a leader, after your opponent wins an encounter, you may discharge this flare to prevent the opposing allies from gaining any rewards.
Leader: Encounter
Super Flare
As a leader, after winning an encounter, you may discharge this flare to destroy 4 ships from marked aliens instead of 1.
Leader: Encounter
Modifications
- The original Grudge uses “grudge tokens”. My version of Cosmic doesn’t refer to tokens for immersion purposes. Using the term “mark” as an alternative.
- Grudge’s legacy punishes any alien who was invited but did not join either fleet, greatly decreasing an alien’s ability to abstain if invited. Leaders are much more likely to get sponsors when inviting them, unless their opponent invites the same aliens. Original Cosmic has no legacies.
Tips
- As Grudge, avoid being too open with your invitations. Though it is tempting to have encounters without any enemy supporters, granting the other aliens free bases and bounties can be harmful in the long run.
- Grudge wants the ship advantage to keep enemies under its thumb. Destroying the warp keys is in Grudge’s best interest.
- If you suspect Grudge is going to lose, it can be worth joining them with one ship just to mitigate loss.
- If Grudge invites you, siding against Grudge offers no inherently greater risk than sitting out. However, sending four ships against Grudge is the riskiest play, as it means either 4 or 5 ships will be lost regardless of the outcome.
- Siding with Grudge is the safest play, but siding with them too often can give Grudge control of the CE via VP. Pay attention to your bases to make sure Grudge can’t wipe one out with a loss.
- Grudge can wipe out an alien’s ships in 5 encounters if it loses every time and they don’t join. Be sure not to ignore Grudge’s invitations.
Development Notes
- I slightly modified the theming of this power to be less like a mafioso that gives you the family business for not respecting the family business, and more like the haunting spirit of a race existing in between life and death. Thematically, I wanted to distinguish this one from Fury and Hate. My change gives it a theme more like Ghoul, but I still need to see if that one makes thematic sense, as that one’s designed to gain bounties rather than punish enemies.
- Grudge’s mandatory nature means it runs the risk of being boring and brainless. However, the choice factor comes into play regarding who Grudge chooses to invite. It also creates an interesting choice for other aliens, as they have to decide if sitting out is worth losing the ships if invited. Since aliens can only choose one side, Grudge can deter someone from going for a base, potentially giving Grudge more time to catch up.
- In the interest of maximizing intrigue, I rule that Grudge’s power activates before the base is gained, meaning that it can potentially prevent an alien from winning the game as a foreward if they don’t have enough ships to protect their other bases.