Doctor Who: Worlds Apart Basics — Moments, Flashes & Upgrades
In this article we will go through the differences between:
- Moment cards
- Flash cards
- Upgrade cards
We have covered The Board and Basic Combat in previous articles — be sure to read those first if you haven’t already.
Moments
Moments are single-use cards that can only be played on your own turn. By “single-use” we simply mean that the card goes to the past immediately after it is played.
Before its effect triggers and the card goes to the past, though, the other player is able to counter it with a Flash or an Ability from a card that’s already under their control in the present.
As seen on the image above, Moments can be simple like Geronimooo! which allows a Creature you just played to attack immediately.
Other Moments, like Truth or Consequences, have more complex mechanics that allow you to completely disrupt your opponent’s plans… if you choose wisely!
Flashes
Like Moments, Flashes are also single-use cards that go to the past after you play them, but the key difference here is that you can play Flash cards on your opponent’s turn — as long as you have enough Artron Energy leftover.
Boost the Engines is a great card to play on your opponent’s turn if they are going first. Playing this for 5 Artron as a response to their actions allows you to begin your first turn with 6 Artron instead of the usual 5!
Some Flashes like the Reverse the Polarity also have the subtype “Sonic.” This means that they can be placed on and used multiple times with the Sonic Screwdriver — an Object card which we will cover in a later article.
Upgrades
Like Moments and Flashes, Upgrades are also single-use cards, but instead of immediately going to the past when played. This means that if you play an Upgrade on a Creature and the Creature dies, then and only then does the Upgrade go to the past.
Upgrades also stick to their target through time, so if you ever summon a Creature from the past, then all of its Upgrades come with it. This is not the case for Moments or Flashes that apply helpful effects to friendly Creatures.
DNA Bomb Implants are nasty business as shown by The Thirteenth Doctor when she defeated Tzim-Sha in The Woman Who Fell To Earth with a handful of these devices.
And just like in the show, the DNA Bomb Implant (and other Upgrades) can be moved to another Creature before detonation, or simply disarmed altogether.
