Heroic Hustle: Hero and Villain card abilities
As you've noticed in the sample game posts, many cards in Heroic Hustle have special abilities that show up when the card is in play. These abilities are core aspects of developing a strategy for successfully completing each stage. The abilities are generally broken down as such:
Heroes
Shield- When played, these heroes generate the shield tokens players can use as temporary health to protect the city.
Courier- When played, these heroes generate courier tokens used to transfer cards freely between players.
Heal- When played, these heroes directly heal damage done to the city.
Rescue- When played, these heroes allow the player to draw one Civilian card.
Recharge- When played, these heroes restore one spent Superhero power.
There are additional unique powers on some Hero cards that are described on the cards themselves, but by and large, these will be the most common abilities you'll see on Hero cards.
Villains
Rally- As long as the Villain card is active, all Villain cards do 1 additional point of damage. These effects can stack with one another.
Bolster- As long as the Villain card is active, all Villain cards require 1 additional Hero to arrest them. These effects can stack with one another, but this does not apply to Reckless Heroes.
Sneaky- This Villain ignores shield tokens and always attacks the city directly.
Shutdown- This Villain disables the listed game mechanic. For example, "Shutdown: Superpowers" prevents Superheroes from using their powers while the Villain is in play. "Shutdown: Shields" prevents shields from blocking damage, and prevents players from generating new shields.
Stack- This Villain summons another Villain from the deck to act as their bodyguard. The original Villain cannot be attacked until the new Villain is arrested, but they also cannot attack the city until they are exposed.
Distraction- This Villain draws the attention of the Heroes, preventing the Heroes from attacking other Villains until the Distraction is arrested first.
As you can see, Villains have the potential to pair up and provide each other some fairly nasty buffs that can make this difficult for the Heroes. Deciding the order in which you arrest Villains is a key aspect of successfully defending the city.
Even if the situation is grim, and a nefarious bunch of ne'er-do-wells is mounting a vicious offense, working together with your allies can solve the most dire of dilemmas. Share your cards, pool your powers, and coordinate your counterattacks!