With the introduction of the new box set in the coming weeks, Inhumans get access to a brand new Team Tactics Card called the The Great Refuge, and I really want to talk about some brand new strategic options this brings to the Inhumans.

Eyes On YOUR Prize

One thing that made Inhumans so good in the past was the ability to turn any medium base or long mover into a safe extract with Eyes on the Prize. You could safely plunder the midline whilst punishing your opponent for trying to do the same.

The first thing Great Refuge does is let you replicate those good old days. Under Black Bolt (BB1), you can start the game by placing a character within 3, grabbing the midline extract and walking back to safety.

But that’s not an amazing prospect sometimes: 2 power and 1 TTC to get a safe extract. How about turning that power and card into a potentially massive VP lead T1?

Inhuman Code: Steal Everything

On the F-Shape scenarios (Struggle for the Cube, Spider-Infected, and similarly Unexpected Guests), this Great Refuge place can move a medium base, or long moving character, close enough to grab the opponent’s rear point. This allows for some sneaky steals that can shift the entire game in your favour.

1. If there is a centre extract, the player with priority will usually grab this to allow them to go ahead. If you have prio, Toad can grab this with relative safety. If your opponent has prio, they will likely grab this.
   
2. Once the centre extract is gone (or on Unexpected Guests) your next activation should be the steal. Your opponent will have 1-2 extracts on their back line.
   Play Great Refuge and place Beast or Quicksilver (or similar models) just past your own back extract. You can then activate them and walk to within Range 1 of the extract, pick it up, and then walk back to a safer position.
   

Once the above is done, the rest of your team should grab your own rear extracts, and move into any secures. Ideally you will now be 1-3 extracts up, generating a solid lead.

The Weakness In All Things

The above strategy has some possible issue. First of all you are committing a lot of power into the steal (3 power). This means you will spend 5-6 power to steal and grab your own extracts. You will now only have 1 power left in your team. This stops you from turning on any other abilities and doing other Turn 1 hijinks Inhumans are known for. It also creates a lot of pressure on Pay-to-Flips.

To help alleviate this power strain, you can use characters like Karnak and Lockjaw, who can generate a lot more power Turn 1 and feed other characters. This can help trigger vital powers, flip points and keep your team ready for Turn 2.

Your opponent can also try to counter steal to even the points. X-Men and Inhumans can do this safely, so be wary of how they line up medium bases and long movers.

Other teams can try to double move a long mover to steal from you. This leaves them on your side of the board and you need to decide whether you can punish them AND capture the necessary secures.

Reflecting on the Great Refuge

I really enjoy the above ideas as part of a more scenario orientated team that wants to score out in 3-4 turns. Getting 5+ VPs Turn 1 goes a long way to achieving that.

This plan does eat a lot of resources on the very first turn, and if something goes wrong and you lose the advantage, you may struggle to come back.

I would probably finish on two points:

1. Quicksilver can already do the above on a single flank by being passed 2 power. This can allow you to save a TTC, or steal both sides if your opponent is very complacent.
   
2. The Great Refuge is also a very powerful and unique mobility tool late in the game. If your opponent has a lot of displacement, or you are facing very wide secures, it can be invaluable for repositioning several characters. If you want to do some heavy attrition, perhaps use it after BB flips to set up the perfect Whisper without walking.

This card is a great tool and will often be part of my 5 card picks. What are your thoughts? Get in the comments and share your ideas.