Gladiator

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Gladiator
Info
Cost
Type(s)	Action
Kingdom card?	Yes
Set	Empires
Illustrator(s)	Kelli Stakenas
Card text
+ Reveal a card from your hand. The player to your left may reveal a copy from their hand. If they don't, + and trash a Gladiator from the Supply.

Gladiator is an Action card from Empires. It's a terminal silver that becomes a terminal gold if you can choose a card in your hand that your opponent can't match. It is a split pile card, with five copies of Gladiator sitting on top of five copies of Fortune; Gladiator can also trash other copies of Gladiator from the supply to help you get to Fortune faster.

FAQ

Official FAQ

• If there are no Gladiators in the Supply, you cannot trash one, but that does not stop you from getting the +.
• If you have no cards in hand, the player to your left cannot reveal a copy of the card you revealed, so you will get the + and trash a Gladiator.

Other rules clarifications

• You can't trash a Gladiator from the Supply if it's not the top card of the pile (e.g. due to rotating the pile with Battle Plan) or if the pile isn't in the Supply (e.g. it was chosen by Ferryman).

Versions

English versions

Print	Digital	Text	Release	Date
		+ Reveal a card from your hand. The player to your left may reveal a copy from their hand. If they do not, + and trash a Gladiator from the Supply.	Empires	June 2016
		+ Reveal a card from your hand. The player to your left may reveal a copy from their hand. If they don't, + and trash a Gladiator from the Supply.	Empires (2021 printing)

Other language versions

Language	Name	Print	Digital	Text	Notes
Dutch	Gladiator			+ Toon een kaart uit je hand. Je linkerbuurman mag een zelfde exemplaar uit zijn hand tonen. Doet hij dat niet, dan + en vernietig een Gladiator uit de voorraad.	(2016)
Finnish	Gladiaattori
French	Gladiateur			+ Dévoilez une carte de votre main. Le joueur à votre gauche peut en dévoiler un exemplaire de sa main. S'il ne le fait pas, + et écartez un Gladiateur de la réserve.
German	Gladiator			+ Decke eine deiner Handkarten auf. Dein linker Mitspieler darf eine gleiche Karte aus seiner Hand aufdecken. Wenn er das nicht tut, + und entsorge einen Gladiator vom Vorrat.	2. Edition (2021)
Japanese	剣闘士 (pron. ken tōshi)			+ 手札1枚を公開する。左隣のプレイヤーは同じカードを公開してもよい。 公開しなかった場合、あなたは+、サプライの剣闘士1枚を廃棄する。
Polish	Gladiator			+ Odkryj kartę z ręki. Gracz po twojej lewej stronie może odkryć z ręki kopię tej samej karty. Jeśli tego nie zrobi, + i wyrzuć na śmietnisko Gladiatora z Zasobów.	(2017)
Russian	Гладиатор (pron. gladiator)

Trivia

Official card art.

Preview

Gladiator has a cute interaction with the player to your left. If you manage to show a card they don't have, you get +, hooray, but you also eat a Gladiator from the pile. That way you are likely to eventually uncover Fortune.

—Donald X. Vaccarino, Empires Previews #2: Split Piles

Secret History

Some split piles were having trouble getting to the 2nd card often enough. For Fortune I made a card that specifically eats its half-pile. A single Gladiator purchase can do the trick. The card was inspired by Chariot Race, trying to be another way to do that kind of thing, since we liked Chariot Race.

—Donald X. Vaccarino, The Secret History of the Empires Cards

Donald X.'s thoughts on Gladiator being weak

This low placement says something about how much people would like a straight + terminal. Gladiator doesn't just do that, obv. turn 3 there's a good chance it's just +, and that turn matters a lot. But you know, it hits a fair amount. Someone has to get one to dig out the Fortunes, but everyone can get them once they're uncovered, and some games no-one wants to be the one.

—Donald X. Vaccarino, $3 Cost Card Rankings Bottom Half