Architect

Architect
Power to Build Towers
Stacks planets
FFG
Wild As a main player, after encounter cards are revealed, you may discard one attack card from your hand and then add 1 for each card below it in its discard pile to your total. Give this flare to the Architect after use (or discard it, if the Architect isn't playing).
Super When using your power, you may create or expand a tower in your own system instead of your opponent's system.

The Architect is an alien that constructs "towers" from the opponent's home planets by stacking them atop one another. Each time the Architect wins an encounter (either as offense or defense), another planet may be subsumed into the tower. With a tall enough tower, the Architect gains a tremendous power boost in combat. These busy laborers work to steal away enemy footspace and dismantle their powers brick-by-brick.

Strategy

As Architect

Stacked planets cannot be separated by any means, so with steady progress, your power can only grow. Try to press repeated encounters with a single opponent: the first victory in their system will be on even terms, the second sees you with a heavy advantage, and the third extends that advantage over the entire table (and disables that alien's power, as they now have too few planets to maintain it). Thus unless they are confident in a win, enemies may be hesitant to target you with Wild Destiny cards or other opponent-choosing powers - if they lose, their chances of beating you next time are slim.

Against Architect

Architects are extremely dangerous in small games, as even two victories over the same opponent can extend their "power zone" to affect everyone else. Try to stymie the Architect early on by teaming up, gathering powerful encounter cards, or decimating their hand by inflicting Plague or forcing compensation. Aliens that can affect the Destiny deck or hyperspace gate, such as the Coordinator or Worm, should force the Architect into encounters where it does not yet have a tower.

Text

Edition	Power Text	History
CE	You have the power to Build Towers. When you win as a main player, at the end of the encounter, use this power to create or expand a tower in your opponent's system. If you do not already have a tower in that system, choose two of that system's planets (if the targeted planet is in that system, it must be one of your choices). Merge those two planets together, placing all ships from both on the top of the two-level tower. If you already have a tower in the opponent's system, then instead select another planet in that system and merge it into the tower as a new level, placing its ships on top. Only normal player-color planets can be merged. Do not create a merged planet using planets with unused player colors or that would exceed any limits, such as more than one entanglement token, etc. As a main player, after encounter cards are revealed, use this power to double your total if you have a tower of two or more levels in the opponent's system, a tower of three or more levels in a system adjacent to the opponent's system, or a tower of four or more levels in any system. Each tower counts as a single planet. Towers are permanent, even if you lose the use of them. If any player cannot gain enough foreign colonies to win the game due to insufficient foreign planets, you win the game.	Skilled builders, the Architects now seek to drag the works of others into their constructions.