Skirmisher

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Skirmisher
Info
Cost
Type(s)	Action - Attack
Kingdom card?	Yes
Set	Allies
Illustrator(s)	Claus Stephan
Card text
+1 Card +1 Action + This turn, when you gain an Attack card, each other player discards down to 3 cards in hand.

Skirmisher is an Action-Attack card from Allies. It is a source of cantrip money that does a Militia-esque handsize attack if you gain an Attack card during the turn you've played it.

FAQ

Official FAQ

• When played, Skirmisher sets up an ability for the rest of the turn; any time you gain an Attack card, each other player discards down to 3 cards in hand.
• Revealing Moat when Skirmisher is played stops the attack; you can't reveal Moat when an Attack card is gained later.

Other Rules clarifications

• You resolve all your on-gain abilities before the other players get to use their own on-gain abilities (assuming that it's your turn). This means that an attacked player has to discard to your Skirmisher first before they get to use Invest or Falconer.
• If you gain Skirmisher and then play it (with e.g. City-state), the other players will discard down to 3 cards in hand.
• When you gain an Attack, you may play it with City-state before attacking with Skirmisher. This may be useful if playing the Attack would draw them cards (such as Soothsayer).
• If you gain a copy of Skirmisher with either Disciple or Specialist, Skirmisher will attack. But if you gain a copy of Skirmisher with Kiln, you won't attack, because you haven't followed Skirmisher's instructions yet.
• Exchanging or exiling a card doesn't count as gaining it. So if you exchange a Peasant for a Soldier, or exile a Skirmisher with Invest, you won't attack. But if you gain an Attack and exchange it (e.g. for a Changeling), you'll still attack.
• If you play multiple Skirmishers and then gain an Attack card, this means you will attack twice. So if your 1st Skirmisher attack makes them draw cards (e.g. they discard and play a Trail), your 2nd Skirmisher will once again make them discard down to 3 cards.

Versions

English versions

Print	Digital	Text	Release	Date
		+1 Card +1 Action + This turn, when you gain an Attack card, each other player discards down to 3 cards in hand.	Allies	March 2022

Other language versions

Language	Name	Print	Digital	Text	Notes
Dutch	Tirailleur			+1 Kaart +1 Actie + Deze beurt: als je een aanvalskaart pakt, legt iedere andere speler kaarten af totdat hij er niett meer dan 3 op zijn hand heeft.	(2022)
German	Aufwiegler (lit. Agitator)			+1 Karte +1 Aktion + Wenn du in diesem Zug eine Angriffskarte nimmst, legt jeder Mitspieler seine Handkarten bis auf 3 ab.

Trivia

Official card art.

Preview

Skirmisher Militias people, but only when more attacks are coming in. Which of course can just be more Skirmishers, or some other attack.

—Donald X. Vaccarino, Allies Preview 1: Allies

Secret History

Didn't change.

—Donald X. Vaccarino, The Secret History of Dominion: Allies

Further development comments

Constant Skirmisher attacks could continually prevent your opponent from hitting , which would prevent them from attacking you with their own Skirmisher.

It wasn't missed that [Skirmisher and Highwayman] could do that; it didn't get me to make them suck. I'm okay with the worst card in each set being some attack that just didn't want to make the game suck. And that's mostly how it's going these days. But of course attacks like anything else are trying not to suck despite that; they just have a harder time getting to the sweet spot. Those attacks seemed good and still do; not game-breaking and not awful. Hooray!

—Donald X. Vaccarino, Interview with Donald X.