Butler is an alien with the power to Serve.
Butler performs all manual tasks for the offense according to his or her directions, such as drawing destiny, aiming the hyperspace gate, and launching ships. In exchange, the offense may give Butler a tip of one card at random from his or her hand (or 1 or 2 Lucre in the Eon or Mayfair version, respectively) every encounter for its services. If the offense doesn't tip Butler, then Butler may aim the hyperspace gate at any planet of Butler's choice where a legal encounter can occur, or take the offense's ships from colonies of Butler's choice to place in the hyperspace gate (although the exact number must still be specified by the offense).
Butler must perform tasks mandated by the rules free of charge, such as dealing cards a player is entitled to. In addition, Butler must be courteous, and may only request one tip per encounter.
Text[]
| Edition | Power Text | History |
|---|---|---|
| CA | You have the power to Serve. You flip the destiny card, launch ships, position the hyperspace gate, and perform all other manually demeaning chores for the offense after he or she signals the start of his or her encounter. Unless the offense gives you a tip of one card at random from his or her hand, you may use this power to perform your choice of either of the following: aim the hyperspace gate at any planet in the defense's system where a legal encounter can be had or launch the offense's ships from any of his or her colonies (but only as many ships as the offense specifies). If the offense does tip you, you must obey his or her wishes with regard to your chores for the rest of the encounter. You must perform certain functions without reward, such as dealing out cards that a player is entitled to. You must be courteous, and a tip of one card is all that you may collect per encounter. |
"To serve is to live." The motto of the house of Butt guides its family as they build for their true inner hope: to turn the Cosmic tables and rule forever. |
Flare[]
Wild: As offense, say "After you, I insist" to cause another player to be offense for you. That player must invite you to ally. If he or she wins or makes a deal, the encounter counts as successful for you, otherwise it counts as unsuccessful.
Super: You may ask for a tip of two cards instead of one.
Strategy[]
| Strengths | Weaknesses |
|---|---|
| Weakens opponents constantly | Annoys other players |
As Butler[]
Butler is powerful in that it will continuously gain cards while other players will continuously lose them. Early-on tips mean little as most players will have well-stocked foreign colonies, but over time other players will be spread more thinly and not tipping Butler becomes a huge risk. Butler can effectively stagnate players from getting too many colonies by pulling their foreign colonies into the encounter or by aiming the gate where a legal encounter can occur where the offense already posses a colony. Once players start tipping Butler, its hand will improve while opponents begin to lose strength.
Against Butler[]
Playing against Butler is a balance between giving Butler cards or giving up control of an encounter. As a general rule, the early game is the best time to refuse to tip, as Butler cannot inflict severe damage early on, but as the game progresses, the best strategy is weighing the usefulness of your hand against the loss of foreign colonies. Stocking colonies with more than one ship and sending only one into the encounter is an effective way to keep Butler from harming you if you fail to give a tip.