Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What happens when the active gruff dies?
A: If an active gruff dies, your turn immediately ends. For example if I activate Zumberg and use Necro Dance, I cannot play Rise. As soon as Zumberg dies, my turn immediately ends. (Because Zumberg is the one that is taking the turn)
Q: In a 4 player team game, you have to activate a gruff to determine who takes the turn, but you draw a card before activating a gruff. Who draws the card? Do you have to switch the draw card and activate gruff step?
A: Yes, in a team game choose your active gruff before drawing your cards. Note that this just puts the draw phase after the activation phase. It does not put the draw in the"Play Cards" phase (Sorry Twiddle)
Q: Does the term "Ally gruff" mean a gruff with the same faction as another gruff?
A: No, the term "Ally" means any gruff on your team or any gruff on an allied team (as in the case of 2v2 rules)
Q: What happens if someone plays Wound on a gruff with 3 fat. Does it go down to its minimum of 1 or does it die?
A: Gruffs cannot gain stats above their maximum or lose stats below their minimum. Having 0 Fat does not kill a gruff.
Q: What does a card mean when it says it does damage to a gruff like Blaze says it deals 1 damage to an enemy gruff. When does that damage take affect and for how long?
A: Damage from cards behaves the same way as damage from an attack. It does not cause stat loss. If you use "Blaze" to do 1 Damage to a gruff with 1 Fat, that gruff will die. If you use "Blaze" against an enemy that has 2 Fat, the gruff will take 1 Damage, but since that damage does not equal or exceed his Fat score, nothing will happen. However, Damage persists until the end of each turn. So if at the beginning of your turn you resolved an attack for 1 Damage against an enemy with 2 total Defense, you could use Blaze on that same turn to do that last point of damage and kill the gruff.
Q: What happens if I attack with a gruff that is across from a dead gruff. Does it go directly through to the Shepherd or am I just not allowed.
A: Damage would go directly through to the enemy Shepherd.
Q: If I use a card like "Lick" to move a card onto Licky will it trigger Pestilence or Licky's Glee?
A: It will trigger Licky's Glee but not Pestilence
Q: Would it be a safe call to say that all cards only effect allies unless specifically stated otherwise?
A: No, it is not safe to say that all cards only target allies unless stated otherwise, the opposite is true. If a card says “all gruffs” it always applies to both sides.
Q: What happens if I run out of cards in my deck? Can I reshuffle my discard pile into my deck.
A: You do not automatically reshuffle your discard pile when you run out of cards. You continue to play but are unable to draw cards.
Q: Do "when moved" effects trigger on any motion, or only on choosing the move action? Similarly, does "Intimidate" prevent my opponent from the effects of Rip Space?
A: "When Moved" effects trigger on any motion, and "Cannot be moved" also refers to any motion. Therefore Rip Space cannot be played when Intimidate is in play.
Q: When a card mutates a “position”, does that mean the shared position between you or does it refer to a single space on either your or their side?
A: When a card mutates a position it only impacts a single side of the board. So if you play “Oil SlicK” on an enemy gruff's position it will only ever effect enemy gruffs in that position.
Q: If you gain defense via a card, and that card is subsequently destroyed after you take damage, does the gruff die. Example - you play a protection card bringing your fat + defense to 6. You receive five damage at the beginning of the other player's turn. They then play a card to destroy your protection condition - does your gruff die?
A: Destroying a block after damage has been dealt cannot kill a defending gruff. If you imagine a viking that just blocked a massive attack with his shield. If he drops his shield he does not die from that damage. Cards that give +Defense deflect damage first.
Q: What is the max Crazy a Shepherd can have?
A: 30! with one slider on +10 and another on +20
Q: If Bubbles uses her ability to gain +1 Weird when activated, will you immediately gain additional Crazy?
A: Yes. Resolve all "On Activation" triggers prior to gaining Crazy equal to the active gruff's weird score.
Q: Does Fluttermind's (all praise be unto his glorious tentacles) cards Annoy and Irritate affect opponent gruff adjacent to him as well or only your own?
A: Enemy gruffs are never considered adjacent to a gruff, so those cards will only effect your team.
Q: Should the Memory Ultimate actually be a mutation, is it a misprint as a condition?
A: Memory is printed properly. Recursion effects can be extremely strong in Gruff.
Q: When does Ol'Darby gain stats?
A: Ol'Darby gains mean and weird whenever any card or ability causes him to swap positions with a gruff on his team. Fluttermind triggers the same way.
Q: Does “Gobble” cause me to give a “Fat” to the gruff whose mutation I destroyed
A: Nope, Gobble is stating 2 unrelated things. Destroy any condition or mutation. Then give 1 Fat to any gruff (Usually one of your own.)
Q: What happens if I attack a Gruff that is attacking me?
A: Combat resolves normally. Each gruff will deal damage during it's owner's clean-up phase. Dead gruffs cannot attack or deal damage, so if your opponent's attack would knock out your gruff, that gruff is no longer considered attacking (And does not deal damage).
Q: Does Bubbles' “Stasis Sphere” block damage from spilling over to my shepherd?
A: No it does not. Stasis Sphere will prevent damage from going to the gruff, but excess damage (above that gruff's defense score) will spill over to the enemy shepherd.
Q: What happens if my active gruff dies during my turn?
A: Your turn immediately ends if the active gruff dies.
Q: Do gruffs deal damage to their attacker when they are attacked?
A: Nope, attacks in gruff simulate a single strike rather than a complete conflict.
Q: All my gruffs are dead, but I want to play a card that refers to “The Active Gruff” what do I do?
A: If all your gruffs are dead you immediately lose the game.
Q: I have a card that says “The active gruff”, but I have 3 active gruffs what do I do?
A: There is only ever 1 active gruff in the game at a time, but many gruffs can be exhausted. Exhausted gruffs are not necessarily active.
Q: Can I block with an exhausted Gruff?
A: Yes, exhausted gruffs behave in the same way as non-exhausted gruffs except that they cannot be activated.
Q: One of Bubble's “Block” cards is an “Immediate Action” how does that work?
A: That card is mistakenly using the immediate action icon. It must be played as if it was a condition. (This issue will be resolved in the next print run)
Q: Blastov's Flame Jets state “Mutate any Gruff” but this card is not a mutation, what does this mean?
A: This is another editing error, please ignore the phrase “mutate any gruff” on this card.
If you have any other gameplay questions, please add them to the comment section below. I will answer them in the comments, and include them in updates to the FAQ
Q: If Grinder deals damage to his attacker with Grinder's Glory and this damage exceeds the Fat score of the attacking Gruff, will this damage the shepherd as well?
A: Grinder's Glory can kill a gruff and overflow damage will hit it's shepherd
Q: Can Flay Mind target a Gruff that is already dead in order to deal the damage to the shepherd directly? (Can Spin attack Damage dead gruffs)
A: Dead Gruffs cannot be targeted by anything thing that does not say that it revives a dead gruff. Dead gruffs cannot be affected by abilities like spin attack.
Q: Does Bonefire's effect trigger before the clean up phase or after?
A: Bonefire happens prior to resolving the attack, at the very begging of the turn
Q: Does Flying Leap redirect an enemy gruff's attack to its shepherd.
A: The chosen gruff will ignore defending gruffs. (And will therefore deal all of it's damage to the shepherd it is attacking)
Q: Question about Skearcher's ravenous.
It says "if any gruff attacks while this card is in play,it loses2 fat. If it loses both points of fat, it get +2 mean... so the question is should it be up to 2 points of fat? Exp... i want to attack with Skwat could I choose to only take one point of fat away? Or would a card that grants a +2 defense take priority?
A: It should not be "Up to 2 points of Fat". You have to move your Fat slider down 2 spaces when you attack when that card is in play. Some gruffs are not Fat enough to do that, which means those gruffs would not get the +2 Mean. +Defense abilities do not interact with this card at all, it is specifically referring to Fat (Which is tracked on the card and is permanant) not +Defense. Another way to think about this card is that you cannot attack with a gruff with a low Fat score and still get the +2 Mean.
A: If an active gruff dies, your turn immediately ends. For example if I activate Zumberg and use Necro Dance, I cannot play Rise. As soon as Zumberg dies, my turn immediately ends. (Because Zumberg is the one that is taking the turn)
Q: In a 4 player team game, you have to activate a gruff to determine who takes the turn, but you draw a card before activating a gruff. Who draws the card? Do you have to switch the draw card and activate gruff step?
A: Yes, in a team game choose your active gruff before drawing your cards. Note that this just puts the draw phase after the activation phase. It does not put the draw in the"Play Cards" phase (Sorry Twiddle)
Q: Does the term "Ally gruff" mean a gruff with the same faction as another gruff?
A: No, the term "Ally" means any gruff on your team or any gruff on an allied team (as in the case of 2v2 rules)
Q: What happens if someone plays Wound on a gruff with 3 fat. Does it go down to its minimum of 1 or does it die?
A: Gruffs cannot gain stats above their maximum or lose stats below their minimum. Having 0 Fat does not kill a gruff.
Q: What does a card mean when it says it does damage to a gruff like Blaze says it deals 1 damage to an enemy gruff. When does that damage take affect and for how long?
A: Damage from cards behaves the same way as damage from an attack. It does not cause stat loss. If you use "Blaze" to do 1 Damage to a gruff with 1 Fat, that gruff will die. If you use "Blaze" against an enemy that has 2 Fat, the gruff will take 1 Damage, but since that damage does not equal or exceed his Fat score, nothing will happen. However, Damage persists until the end of each turn. So if at the beginning of your turn you resolved an attack for 1 Damage against an enemy with 2 total Defense, you could use Blaze on that same turn to do that last point of damage and kill the gruff.
Q: What happens if I attack with a gruff that is across from a dead gruff. Does it go directly through to the Shepherd or am I just not allowed.
A: Damage would go directly through to the enemy Shepherd.
Q: If I use a card like "Lick" to move a card onto Licky will it trigger Pestilence or Licky's Glee?
A: It will trigger Licky's Glee but not Pestilence
Q: Would it be a safe call to say that all cards only effect allies unless specifically stated otherwise?
A: No, it is not safe to say that all cards only target allies unless stated otherwise, the opposite is true. If a card says “all gruffs” it always applies to both sides.
Q: What happens if I run out of cards in my deck? Can I reshuffle my discard pile into my deck.
A: You do not automatically reshuffle your discard pile when you run out of cards. You continue to play but are unable to draw cards.
Q: Do "when moved" effects trigger on any motion, or only on choosing the move action? Similarly, does "Intimidate" prevent my opponent from the effects of Rip Space?
A: "When Moved" effects trigger on any motion, and "Cannot be moved" also refers to any motion. Therefore Rip Space cannot be played when Intimidate is in play.
Q: When a card mutates a “position”, does that mean the shared position between you or does it refer to a single space on either your or their side?
A: When a card mutates a position it only impacts a single side of the board. So if you play “Oil SlicK” on an enemy gruff's position it will only ever effect enemy gruffs in that position.
Q: If you gain defense via a card, and that card is subsequently destroyed after you take damage, does the gruff die. Example - you play a protection card bringing your fat + defense to 6. You receive five damage at the beginning of the other player's turn. They then play a card to destroy your protection condition - does your gruff die?
A: Destroying a block after damage has been dealt cannot kill a defending gruff. If you imagine a viking that just blocked a massive attack with his shield. If he drops his shield he does not die from that damage. Cards that give +Defense deflect damage first.
Q: What is the max Crazy a Shepherd can have?
A: 30! with one slider on +10 and another on +20
Q: If Bubbles uses her ability to gain +1 Weird when activated, will you immediately gain additional Crazy?
A: Yes. Resolve all "On Activation" triggers prior to gaining Crazy equal to the active gruff's weird score.
Q: Does Fluttermind's (all praise be unto his glorious tentacles) cards Annoy and Irritate affect opponent gruff adjacent to him as well or only your own?
A: Enemy gruffs are never considered adjacent to a gruff, so those cards will only effect your team.
Q: Should the Memory Ultimate actually be a mutation, is it a misprint as a condition?
A: Memory is printed properly. Recursion effects can be extremely strong in Gruff.
Q: When does Ol'Darby gain stats?
A: Ol'Darby gains mean and weird whenever any card or ability causes him to swap positions with a gruff on his team. Fluttermind triggers the same way.
Q: Does “Gobble” cause me to give a “Fat” to the gruff whose mutation I destroyed
A: Nope, Gobble is stating 2 unrelated things. Destroy any condition or mutation. Then give 1 Fat to any gruff (Usually one of your own.)
Q: What happens if I attack a Gruff that is attacking me?
A: Combat resolves normally. Each gruff will deal damage during it's owner's clean-up phase. Dead gruffs cannot attack or deal damage, so if your opponent's attack would knock out your gruff, that gruff is no longer considered attacking (And does not deal damage).
Q: Does Bubbles' “Stasis Sphere” block damage from spilling over to my shepherd?
A: No it does not. Stasis Sphere will prevent damage from going to the gruff, but excess damage (above that gruff's defense score) will spill over to the enemy shepherd.
Q: What happens if my active gruff dies during my turn?
A: Your turn immediately ends if the active gruff dies.
Q: Do gruffs deal damage to their attacker when they are attacked?
A: Nope, attacks in gruff simulate a single strike rather than a complete conflict.
Q: All my gruffs are dead, but I want to play a card that refers to “The Active Gruff” what do I do?
A: If all your gruffs are dead you immediately lose the game.
Q: I have a card that says “The active gruff”, but I have 3 active gruffs what do I do?
A: There is only ever 1 active gruff in the game at a time, but many gruffs can be exhausted. Exhausted gruffs are not necessarily active.
Q: Can I block with an exhausted Gruff?
A: Yes, exhausted gruffs behave in the same way as non-exhausted gruffs except that they cannot be activated.
Q: One of Bubble's “Block” cards is an “Immediate Action” how does that work?
A: That card is mistakenly using the immediate action icon. It must be played as if it was a condition. (This issue will be resolved in the next print run)
Q: Blastov's Flame Jets state “Mutate any Gruff” but this card is not a mutation, what does this mean?
A: This is another editing error, please ignore the phrase “mutate any gruff” on this card.
If you have any other gameplay questions, please add them to the comment section below. I will answer them in the comments, and include them in updates to the FAQ
Q: If Grinder deals damage to his attacker with Grinder's Glory and this damage exceeds the Fat score of the attacking Gruff, will this damage the shepherd as well?
A: Grinder's Glory can kill a gruff and overflow damage will hit it's shepherd
Q: Can Flay Mind target a Gruff that is already dead in order to deal the damage to the shepherd directly? (Can Spin attack Damage dead gruffs)
A: Dead Gruffs cannot be targeted by anything thing that does not say that it revives a dead gruff. Dead gruffs cannot be affected by abilities like spin attack.
Q: Does Bonefire's effect trigger before the clean up phase or after?
A: Bonefire happens prior to resolving the attack, at the very begging of the turn
Q: Does Flying Leap redirect an enemy gruff's attack to its shepherd.
A: The chosen gruff will ignore defending gruffs. (And will therefore deal all of it's damage to the shepherd it is attacking)
Q: Question about Skearcher's ravenous.
It says "if any gruff attacks while this card is in play,it loses2 fat. If it loses both points of fat, it get +2 mean... so the question is should it be up to 2 points of fat? Exp... i want to attack with Skwat could I choose to only take one point of fat away? Or would a card that grants a +2 defense take priority?
A: It should not be "Up to 2 points of Fat". You have to move your Fat slider down 2 spaces when you attack when that card is in play. Some gruffs are not Fat enough to do that, which means those gruffs would not get the +2 Mean. +Defense abilities do not interact with this card at all, it is specifically referring to Fat (Which is tracked on the card and is permanant) not +Defense. Another way to think about this card is that you cannot attack with a gruff with a low Fat score and still get the +2 Mean.