INWO Dirty Tricks

The Dirty Tricks site was founded by Dan Myers back in 1996, inspired by Aaron Curtis. Issue 1-3 was compiled by Dan Myers, issue 4 by Ralph Melton, Issue 5 by Aaron Curtis, and issues 6-8 by Darrin Bright, who finally passed on the torch to me, Martin Lærkes.
Honouring tradition, I'll leave the introduction to Scott McNair:

"Dirty INWO Tricks is a compilation of some of the meanest, nastiest, out of left-field card combinations available for the game Illuminati: New World Order.

Dirty INWO Tricks is based on a one-, two-, or sometimes three-card strategy; anything more falls under the category of deck design, which has its own awards site. However, the Dirty Tricks are extremely useful for finding a "seed" idea for a deck you're working on, or an interesting twist for an existing deck."

Dirty trick can be submitted to me directly, the INWO mailing list, or the INWO yahoo group.

Issue 1
0	Miraculously, No One Was Injured... by Aaron Curtis
The first Dirty INWO Trick was devised by Aaron Curtis, and posted as part of a message on a completely different subject. "KillBjorne" and "Moon Party" type decks involve linking multiple personalities to your Moonbase, and then destroying it yourself to reap the benefits for Cthullhu. Aaron suggested using Are We Having Fun Yet? to cancel the Moonbase's "special ability" of linked personalities being destroyed along with the base. Unfortunately, it has long since been rules that the Moonbase blow-up is in fact not a special ability, but an instruction - therefore, the first dirty trick was illegal. Even if it's illegal, it's still inspired. And for you purists, here's a variant that at least will stop Bjorne from trashing the Moobase and committing suicide. Play Are We Having Fun Yet? when Bjorne is linked to the Moonbase, canceling the link.
1	What Did You Say Your Name Was? by Brian Strassman
The Assassins! card Regi$tered Trademark, which requires everyone to refer to a card by its full name, can cause the tongue-tied serious hurt. So what happens when you add a foreign language edition of INWO? That's right, a Dirty INWO Trick. Brian suggests using a German edition card with an near un-pronounceable name (he likes "Zuvieldienstleistende"), but even cards in English can drive players nuts. Is it double-you, eye, tea, sea, aitch or The Women's International Conspiracy from Hell? Or is it double-you, period, eye, period, tea, period, sea, period, aitch, period? Please remove sharp objects and firearms from the premises before trying this one.
2	Missed Exit by Aaron Curtis
A lot of decks draw their critical group in what is supposed to be the last turn. So if you hold Botched Contact or Sabotage in reserve, you can stop that strategy and then pick the flesh from the bones of your rival. "Both prevent your opponent from taking over his key group, after which you should have no problem convincing the other players to bring him down before his next turn," Aaron says.
3	Overruled! by Dan Myers
The Supreme Court can only cancel the actions of Government groups, right? Wrong! You can expand the power of the Court further than even Justice Brennan could by illuminated use of the New World Order Military-Industrial Complex (stop the Nuclear Power Companies, the Liquor Companies, the Tobacco Companies, Multinational Oil Companies, etc.) or, to a lesser extent, by using Nationalization. Show 'em what an activist court can really do!

Issue 2
4	Nothing to see here.
You're not cleared for that. [Fnord].
5	It's a Wonder No One Was Killed! by Matthew Kudzin
Matthew has come up with a legal way to disarm a KillBjorne or Abduction Moon Party deck, and it doesn't involve proximate cause or a Supreme Court Nomination. Near Miss will turn any destruction (whether a disaster or otherwise) into mere devastation. Matthew noticed that you aren't restricted to playing the card only on your own Places, so when the hammer comes down on the Moonbase, "help" your opponent by playing Near Miss on it. Multiple Near Miss cards can also defuse a Fusion Seppuku deck. Safety first!
6	With Friends Like These... by Terry Chilvers
Mean ol' Mr. Cthullhu always pounding your Places with disasters? Do Combined Disasters always seem to land on your doorstep? Terry says if you can't beat 'em, help 'em out with General Disorder (+ 10 to disasters, but the attack can only devastate). If you add the Red Cross, you can tidy up the mess in one turn. "Not so good if the disaster is an attack intended to soften up the group though," Terry notes. Voice of experience, Terry?
7	We All Have to Make Sacrifices by Aaron Curtis
You can't play an Upheaval!, and then argue that the Local Police Departments just refuses to flush so you can't discard the Group you chose. Well, you can argue that, but you'd be wrong. So what's the next best thing? Discard General Disorder. He comes back after one turn to any open control arrow. Unless you do this once too often, and someone's ready with an And Stay Dead! The rules regarding destructions/discards changed quite a few times. However, the final ruling was that discarding is not the same thing as destroying, and since Upheaval! only discards it's victim, and General Disorder can not be destroyed, there is nothing preventing Genreal Disorder from being discarded, and his special ability won't bring him back.
8	Rule Number One is, the House Never Loses by Jeff Boes
Maybe Jeff is just a sore loser. He came up with this evil little trick combining Las Vegas with the Liquor Companies. Use Las Vegas to wager Plots in the usual way. If you lose, block your sucker from drawing her spoils from your Plot deck using the Liquor Companies. Feel free to raise the stakes if you can get extra tokens on the Liquor Companies (see the DotW "Beggar Your Neighbor" by Brian Strassman for hints on how to do this). Remember: gambling is fer suckers! Play INWO instead!
9	I Dismember Mama vy Aaron Curtis
Aaron suggests using Sorry, Wrong Number, which eliminates the bonus for the proximity to the Illuminati card, to dismember an unprepared opponent. In a multi-player game, the victim of this Zap! could have an arm of his secret empire taken by each of his opponents in turn before getting the next Illuminati token. And if you add Resistance is Useless!, you can make his empire your empire very easily. Aaron says: "Ouch. The moral is: always end your turn with an Illuminati token or a Zap! canceler at the ready." Don't you love stories with morals?
10	Samizdat by Dan Myers
If you love those Media plots, but don't have any room for Media Groups in your deck, power up a Media Connections using March on Washington. Hey! Instant press mogul! Look out Rupert Murdoch!

Issue 3
11	Controlled Burn by Steve Hatherley
Some cards can kill a well-thought out deck. Antitrust Legislation can wipe out a Gnomes Corporate deck; World Hunger can cripple a Green deck, Near Miss can defuse a Fusion Seppuku deck. If you're playing a vulnerable deck, Steve suggests building a firewall by playing the offending card yourself early and then use Nevermore! If you are afraid of a New World Order card, remember to pack a replacement or Plot to quickly nullify your nemesis, and play it early when it won't hurt as much.
12	Let Me Get That for You, Master! by Steve Hatherley
One of the biggest disappointments to the Bermudans is the fact that Lyndon Larouche's four juicy Alignments don't count for Goals (and despite the awkward phrasing, they never count for Goals). What to do? Steve slipped us a hint in the UFAQ: "Sounds like a job for the Dittoheads to me!" Not only do those slack-jawed owners of cranial vacuums boost the power of their Master, they also gain the same Alignments, plus Fanatic. Count five alignments, instead.
13	Corporate Reorganization for the Masses! by Doug Ingram
Remember the Sherman Act! Doug notes that the NWO: Antitrust Legislation is worded to allow anyone to reorganize their Power Structure when it's played. So if you're not a greedhead playing a Corporate-heavy deck, put in Antitrust Legislation wherever you were going to put Reorganization. The only thing that will be more fun is if your opponent is playing a Corporate deck. Though not exactly illegal, it is worth noting that Antitrust Legislation now has a discard cost, so it isn't always better than Reorganization.
14	I'm Hypnotized! by Tony Ricardi
I loved it! It was better than Cats! I'm going to see it again and again! Tony suggests that when one of your Media groups is attacked, you first play NWO: Apathy to prevent any other groups from aiding the attack. Then add enough defense to make the attack fail. Finally, play Don't Touch that Dial! on the unfortunate attacker, who by now is wishing he stayed home watching Murder She Wrote. Editors Note: You can make this work on any group by adding just 1 more card. Play Media Connections on whichever card your rivals were attacking. Whooops - suddenly they're attacking a Media group.
15	Tax Return by John Jacobsma
Instead of using the Lawyers to get immunity from the IRS, just put a couple copies of the Plot Go Fish in your deck. Use Go Fish to ask for your card back when you are taxed. Remember that when you looked at the card it was still yours, so that won't protect the Taxman. And John notes you have a great bargaining chip if the IRS taxes someone else!

Issue 5 - april 1998
19	Spears to Plowshares by Don Fnordlioni (17 May 1996)
NWO Australian Rules can be great for non-isolationist decks: it gives you a plot for making or aiding any attack on a rival, as long as the final strength of the attack is 2 or more. The only difficulty is, it usually takes an action token to do so, and a plot for a token isn't all that much better than the standard plot for two tokens. The Don suggests using the Spear of Longinus to aid in EVERY attack to destroy at no cost! The +1 won't really help them much, but you get a free plot draw for each attack!
20	The Voodoo that You Do by Ralph Melton (03 Jun 1996)
There are lots of ways to turn a Personality into a powerhouse, and anyone who does so is bound to try to protect that Personality with cards like Secret Master and Immortality Serum. Ralph would draw your attention to the Voudonistas, whose special ability negates all non-Magic defense against an Assassination aided by them. Since neither card mentions Magic, it becomes very possible to take out such a protected Personality.
21	Double Your Pleasure (or Their Pain) by Ralph Melton (3 Jul 1996)
The alignment Zaps have two potential uses: prevent an opponent from taking over groups from his hand, and prevent an opponent from attacking to control your groups. Ralph notes a way to make this even more effective by using Anarchists Unite! with NWO Military-Industrial Complex to protect both Goverment and Corporate groups at once! He says, "This could be a way of severely disappointing a Gnomes player." Or, as the Gnomes, protecting most or all of your power structure from a greedy rival.
22	Thomas Cook Space Travel by Glen Barnett (19 Jun 1996)
Placing Brazil, China and Hawaii under a Corporate group to give it four action tokens per turn is such a classic ploy (known as the "Travel Agency") it doesn't even get its own Dirty Trick entry. Glen turns this upside-down by playing Privatization on NASA and making it a Travel Agency. Now, those four tokens can be given (one at a time, of course) to ANY Government group in your power structure that has used its token! What makes this so effective is that there's no shortage of Goverment groups with useful special abilities, or high power, or both.
23	The Times, They Aren't A-Changin' by Robert Dubisch (14 Aug 1996)
Mr. Dubisch came up with this trick for keeping your favorite NWO in play. First, you get a rival who is also interested in keeping the same NWO in play. He exposes it, or you give him your copy, then he exposes it. Then you use your Copy Shops to copy the NWO. As the card says, if the copied plot would normally stick around, fake it. If another NWO of the same color gets played later, the NWO that you copied will still be around, exposed in your friend's plot hand, and you can copy it again! Repeat as necessary.

Issue 6 - October 1999
24	Have Your Pawns, and Eat 'Em Too! by Scott McNair
If you have the Recycling Centers in play, you can attach the Dittoheads to a Personality, destroy them, recycle them, and attempt to play them again, gaining an extra "kill" without losing a Group card. Illegal. A destroyed group is not discarded, so it can not be recovered by Recycling Centers. A destroyed group instead goes to the Destroyed Pile of the attacker.
25	Bobbing for Power by Ralph Melton
You can use the Bobbies to increase the Militia's power repeatedly. The Bobbies don't have much power, the Militia has an opposite alignment with the Bobbies, and the owners of the Bobbies usually don't defend them very heavily (particularly if it seems likely that you'll move the Bobbies to another player). So you can use the Militia to make a successful attack to destroy the Bobbies (increasing the Militia's printed Power) and use the nature of the Bobbies to keep them in play in a rival's Power Structure. Another trick: If you have NWO: Australian Rules in play, you can draw Plots for attacking the Bobbies--and the owner of the Bobbies will probably help you.
26	"Does No Longer Breathing Constitute Forfeiture?" by Gary McGath
Play Regi$tered Trademark on Advanced Supersonic Aluminum Nazi Hell Creatures from Beneath the Hollow Earth. Enforce it strictly, and throw in some other "Hate me" deck tricks, such as making Bjorne an Overman. When your opponents destroy you in rage, win with Arise! Be sure you have your fastest running shoes on.
27	Will MWOWM For Plots by Scott McNair
If you have MWOWM in play, you can play Sufficiently Advanced Technology on them to give them the Magic attribute, and have WITCH in play to affect the die-roll by two! And, if you have the Janor Device in play, you'll ALWAYS succeed in getting that discarded Plot! Also, since MWOWM is a Computer group, you can slap Eliza on them to allow two Plot-card scavenges!
28	Dollars for Indencency by Robert Dubisch
As we all know, you can BUY a single point of Slack by sending one dollar to the SubGenius Foundation if you have Jesus B. in your power structure. But it doesn't say one American dollar! You can probably raid your Monopoly set and send one of the dollars in there!
29	Arise! Great Seppu-Cthulhu From Martin Laerkes
It's time to brush up your most disgusting seppuku deck! (yes, I loathe seppuku decks as much as the next guy - but this is not seppuku - this is an illuminated variant.) In theory any version will do, but the more of your own groups that you have to destroy yourself, the better. (personally I'd go for a Cthulhu Moonbase scam). Anyway - set yourself up for a seppuku win, (with or without the appropriate goal), but go for it a little prematurely - just enough to make it fail (convincingly). Knowing full well that you will probably succeed on your next turn (or just seeing 7 personalities linked to the moonbase) - your rivals will have no option but to blow you away... at which point you Arise!
30	Hitler in Springtime From Steve "wonderful dancer" Brinich
As if Shangri-La didn't have it bad enough already, Steve suggests linking Hitler's Brain to the Bobbies, then move them over to Shangri-La's power structure. Keep 'em there, and Shangri-La can't take over any peaceful groups. Editors notes: Even worse, link the Brain to a well protected (Secret Master?) personality, and give it to the Shangri-La player using a Sudden European Vacation.
31	A Moment Too Late, but in the Nick of Time by Scott McNair
Scott suggests linking the Death Mask to St. Janor Hypercleats. Actually, he suggested a lot of things you could do with Death Mask and SubGenius cards, but linking it St. Janor seemed dirtiest. Now you can use St. Janor's power after the roll, making a roll of 11 succeed without worrying about the consequences.
32	Connie Adopts the Bobbies From Ralph Melton's trip to WorldCon '98
Ralph: "I took over the "Bobbies", and moved them to be a puppet of Gary McGath's Connie Dobbs." Connie prevented Gary from destroying the "Bobbies", and since attacking to control your own groups is illegal, Gary was stuck with the "Bobbies".
33	Steal from the Rich, Give to the Pink by Scott McNair
Dagobert (from German INWO) may steal a token from a Corporate group once per turn, if he rolls a 4-6 -- however, he can only use it for his own defense. But the Pinks can take a token from any Straight group you control -- including Dagobert -- and use the token for whatever they want -- even for destroying the Corporate group which initially lost the token!
34	Hook, Line and Sinker by Ralph Melton
Offer a Goal: Arise! to another player. Set them up for a victory through Arise!, along the lines of their letting you control the last big arm of their power structure to share a victory--and then use Go Fish! to take away their Arise! and kill them mercilessly.
35	Slack Arrangers - Tank 13013 by Martin Laerkes
The Kill "Bob" card, will give you 1 illuminati token if you participate in a successful attack to destroy a subgenius group. Assassinate your own subgenius personality - this will keep your rivals out of the attack. Collect your illuminati token - and then reanimate the personality with a Clone Arrangers token. For extra points, hang General Disorder off of the Secret FisTemples or Overman Philo Drommond to make him subgenious, and see how many times you can kill him and bring him back.
36	Losing My Religion by Scott McNair
If you ever happen to have the "Bobbies" and the Church of Violentology in your Power Structure, you can get an extra Plot on each of your turns by getting the Bobbies to attack the CoV. The "Bobbies" can't be destroyed, but you still get the plot from the vengeful minions of the CoV! Of course, this means you'd have to have the "Bobbies" in your power structure, which is detrimental. BUT... you can always nuke them from your power structure when they've served your purpose, sending them off to another Power Structure. Editors note: add the Gun Lobby to your power structure for even more plots.
37	Would This Be Right-Sizing, Then? by Steve Hatherley
This requires a bit of luck, but if you can do it then it's one of the few satisfying ways I can see to win with Arise! First, you need to be attacked (in a non-instant way). Any old attack will do, but an attack to destroy would be best. You'll need to have a vulnerable/annoying group in your power structure. Second, slap down Anti-Trust Legislation. Reorganize your power structure so that everything is hanging off that one group. If it's an attack to control that you're defending, try to arrange it so that you lose some of your groups in the mix up (can't have your attacker winning, eh?). Third, throw everything you can into the attack - it must succeed at all costs. The dice are rolled and, with luck, you lose the group. Fourth: Play Arise! - and win.

Issue 7 - May 2001
38	"Slackaholic" by Martin Laerkes (Nov. 16 1999)
This is a variation on Martin's earlier Dirty Trick #35 "Slack Arrangers - Tank 13013" We already know that Kill Bob can be used with Instant Attacks, like Assassinations, but unless you're assassinating General Disorder, killing your own personalities isn't always what it's slacked up to be. Bring out a SubGenius place instead, and throw No Beer! or another disaster at it that can only devastate. Play Kill Bob and collect your slack.
39	"Mad Manuel" by Martin Laerkes (Nov. 16 1999)
Truck Bomb is potentially one of the most devastating cards in the game, if you can get just a little power to bear. Unfortunately most of the groups that have a +10 (or so) bonus to destroy is not violent (and Truck Bomb requires the group to be violent). Fortunately - Manuel Noriega can help. Make him a puppet, and then borrow his alignment for the purpose of the attack - i.e. the Truck Bomb. Heck - you can even move him around in your power structure, bombing multiple targets on the same turn.
40	"Blind Injustice" by Darrin Bright (Nov. 16 1999)
Want to lock in that Supreme Court Nomination for one of your personalities but don't want to see him get destroyed in the process? Let your rivals spend tokens on the attack, but make sure it fails by playing Read My Lips or Official Divine All-Inclusive Excuse. Or play this combo on a rival and follow it up with the next trick...
41	"Bork the Dork" by Martin Laerkes (Nov. 16 1999)
If you want your rivals personalities to suffer, this little trick will provide you with a win-win situation. Play Supreme Court Nomination, and watch your rival trying to fight it off. If he doesn't, well - the personality is destroyed. If he beats it, follow up with the Secret Service! Now that he's government employee, you have a nice +10 to future assassination attempts against him. Add the CIA to the Secret Service, and the CIA's special assassination ability has a total power of 20.
42	"The Long Arm of the Pope" by Martin Laerkes (Nov. 16 1999)
In a 2 player game it is almost impossible to win with one of the 'destroy x/y' goals, because you don't know what your opponent is playing, and it is very hard to bring groups with opposite alignments into play yourself. But try this approach with Kill for Peace. Take over your average 8 peaceful groups. Use Dictatorship and False Overman to turn your own place/personality violent at no cost - and then blast them with instant attacks. Hey - if the personality is Bjorne, you even get a plot or 2.
43	"Part of this Balanced Breakfast" by Martin Laerkes (Nov. 16 1999)
Trying to win with Bermuda's goal but your rivals have stopped you cold from getting one or two key alignments into play? Look for an opponent with those alignments in play and launch an attack to destroy. Ask your rivals for help and throw everything you can at the target. If the attack succeeds, play You Are What You Eat - and grab that group with all those alignments that you need. Laugh out loud. Editor's note: Hmm... you could use this trick to design a Bermuda sandbag deck that is missing one or two alignments but is strong in the opposite of those alignments, or is designed to kill one particular group you know will come into play, like New York, the IRS, or the NPCs.
44	"Good, Bad... I'm the one with the Squid" by Kevin Kennedy (Oct. 23 1999)
If you have Rain of Prairie Squid or Smite Them All you can play either of them immediately after your opponent has played a card to the uncontrolled area to remove the group that he drew this turn, therefore depriving him of his automatic takeover. Editors Note: That's a trick for OBD/Subgenius games. Not for standard INWO.
45	"Kudzu is a Vegetable" by Darrin Bright (April 19 2001)
Giant Kudzu is the most powerful disaster in the game, but it isn't instant and your rivals can spend tokens to help defend the target. Playing Apathy to keep them out of it is something of a no-brainer, but if it stays in play it can mess up your attacks to control or your ability to defend your groups from attacks. Fortunately there's another way to prevent your rivals from interfering. Most of the juicy targets are government, so play Ketchup is a Vegetable along with the Giant Kudzu to make the attack privileged and get a +5 bonus. Faction Fight and just plain ol' Privileged Attack will also work. The no-brainer doesn't work: Apathy prevents players from aiding an attack, but not the defense. However, the rest of the trick works just fine.
46	"More Fun With Kudzu" by Seth Cohen (May 20 1997)
Okay, nice trick but the player targeted with the privileged attack can still defend, right? Well, slap that Giant Kudzu onto the tail end of an instant attack with Combined Disasters, and get all the power of that Kudzu without any of the limitations.
47	"Full Exposure" by Martin Laerkes and Glen Barnett (Dec. 13 1999)
Try this one on for laughs. Use Cattle Mutilators to expose all of your rival's plots. Take what you want with Arms Dealers, and give him the worst of the worst (Dolphins anyone? pack your deck with 'em). Watch him groan. Then hit him with the League for Obvious Decency - sticking your Dolphins on top of his deck, so that the next plot draw will be wasted. Watch him groan some more. Then when he draws them, Go Fish. Heh heh heh. Wow, you just got your Dolphins back. Lather. Rinse. Repeat.

Issue 8 - May 2002
48	"Black Sea Bounce" by Marc Sherman (Feb. 21 2000)
Have you ever played Russia or Turkey in Diplomacy, and negotiated a bounce in the Black Sea to avoid any worries about one of you attacking the other? Well, it works in INWO too. Just say, "Hey, I'll lead the NPCs if you will too," and both of you can rest assured that the NPCs won't be out in the lead; you get the added bonus of knowing what your other rivals have led before picking your real lead!
49	"The Salt Is Mine" by Martin Laerkes (May 31 2000)
Back to the Salt Mines is a +10 that comes back to your hand if your attack is successful. But your rivals can throw in their own BttSM to foil you, or just add power to make the attack fail. Enter: Black Helicopters. Now your attack is privileged, and the wording on BttSM means that you don't have to use it at the same time as an attacking or aiding token, so don't use the plot until you're sure that attack isn't somehow cancelled. So go ahead and attack your own places from hand, you'll have an easy +10 - and your card back for attack or defense. Hey - do this with England, and you're grabbing 2 groups per turn. Easy.
50	"Give Me Jesus or Give Me Slack!" by Darrin Bright and Marc Sherman (Nov. 16 1999)
This trick came up at the end of a chat game. Ralph Melton and I were desperately trying to shut down a Nuclear Genie deck played by Marc Sherman. I used Jesus B. to get another slack token, then moved Jesus B. to Ralph's power structure with Sudden European Vacation so he could do the same. Or try this scenario involving Shangri-La sharing a victory: Put some peaceful groups on Jesus B.'s arrows. Use JB to get a token. Send JB over to an ally -- the peaceful groups will give the ally enough groups to share victory. The ally uses JB for a token. Both of you spend your newfound slack to power Kinder and Gentler. Gloat mercilessly. Or - even more dirty: Give Jesus B. to a rival, either as part of a trade, Sudden European Vacation, Christmas present, or whatever. Wait until your rival gets into a pinch and uses Jesus B.'s special ability to buy a slack token. Now hit him with ...Or Kill Me! He's got to discard a group (nullifying any advantage he got when you gave him Jesus B.) or you just got another slack token from Jesus B.!
51	"Punk Rossers" by Martin Laerkes (Feb. 1 2000)
Punk Rockers are great if you use them for attacks to destroy against predominantly weird/liberal decks. The problem is that they have no global power and all the wrong alignments. But what if they were puppets of Ross Perot? They get both their alignments reversed - and you are set to kick some weird liberal hippie butt!!
52	"OPECronomicon" by Bjorn Lagerstrom (May 2 2000)
You start with Shangri-La and OPEC. Make OPEC peaceful with Kinder & Gentler so that they'll count towards your Special Goal. Then make them science with Nutrition Nazis and after that magic with Sufficiently Advanced Technology. End it all with linking Necronomicon to them to really make them mighty. Now you've got a Peaceful, Conservative, Magic, Science group with 2x(2d6-2) power. And when you roll OPEC's power you just play a Murphy's Law on them or change the score by two with W.I.T.C.H. or by two with Computer Virus. The original trick involved using all of those cards, raising the power roll to way above 12 - but that is illegal. Still, a single group supplying Shangri-La with 2 thirds of their required power isn't half bad - even if it is only a small step away from Dirty Trick 17, "The Bad Luck of High Oil Prices".
53	"Maskronomicon" by Martin Laerkes (Jun. 28 2000)
Want the extra power from the Necronomicon but don't want to risk destroying your own group? Hook up the Death Mask. Now you can see the die roll before aiding, and avoid getting burned by the Necronomicon.
54	"Steel Crane" by Martin Laerkes (Jun. 28 2000)
For absolute protection: Play Shangri La, lead with Australia, and bring out another Australia with Partition. Add the Sacred Stencil on top. Your organizations will have an astounding +28 bonus against destruction!
55	"Schizm In Black" by Kevin Kennedy (Aug. 21 2000)
Due to the wording on Schizm you can use it in attacks that you're not involved in. So if you're opponent is attacking to control a group belonging to a rival you can play it to ensure that both of them are hurt with very little cost to yourself. This half of the trick is illegal. The INWO gods have informed us that when Schizm states that it can be used with an attack, that signifies an attack made by yourself. Go figure. Furthermore, if it's an attack to destroy and the MIBs are involved then that group cannot be brought be brought back into play again, despite the fact that it wasn't actually destroyed.

Issue 9 - May 2004
56	"Randomly discard all plots" by Martin Lærkes (Feb. 2003)
Use JHVH-1 and Yacatisima against a normal 5 card hand. First JHVH-1 removes 3 of the plot cards. Then Yacatisima "randomly" gets rid of the remaining 2.
57	"Remember the Paperwork" by Martin Lærkes (Feb. 2003)
Whenever you put a resource in Warehouse 23, be sure to write a note and put under the hidden resource. Your rivals will assume that it is either Ark of the Covenant or Holy Grail. Perhaps this will deter them from attacking you. Perhaps this will also stop them from figuring out what you're really hiding in there....
58	"Fishing for Secrets" by Martin Lærkes (Feb. 2003)
Here's a cheap way tp get rid of a canceller or 2 when you're making a victory grab. Use Go Fish! to target a rival with a remaining illuminati token, and remember not to say which card you are fishing for until he has decided whether to cancel or not. Then guess for that ever present SMWNMTK. If he chose to cancel, you got rid of his canceller for almost no cost. If you guessed wrong, big geal. But if you were right, you got rid of one canceller, and now have a canceller on hand to deal with the next one.
59	"Volkswagen Bombe" by Martin Lærkes (Apr. 6 2003)
Truck bomb is extremely powerful, but it can be hard to accumulate enough power using a single violent group and your illuminati. If only more groups could help.... Have Germany accumulate a handful of tokens, and then make it violent (Big Prawn or Dictatorship will do this, and increase the power of each token at the same time). Then throw several Germany tokens into the same Truck Bomb. Who needs 4 groups, when you've got 1 group with 4 tokens?
60	"Arise Again" by Kevin Kennedy (Mar. 28 2003)
If your rivals suspect that you have Arise! then they're unlikely eliminate your last group. Usually they'll be happy to eliminate your second to last group, those fiends. So, wait for them to pounce on the second to last group, and when they're at 10+, discard your remaining group with Upheaval. Remember to innocently let them pick which group to discard before you do, so they don't discard the attacking group. Suddenly it is your last group that is under attack, and you are one roll away from Arising.
61	"Bad Press" by Martin Lærkes (Jul. 18 2003)
Media Connections is one of those improvement cards that doesn't have to be played on your own group. Perhaps you could cut a deal with the owner of a huge group (Clone Arrangers with Cyborg Soldiers?), to give him that global power equal to his regular power. Surely he will pay you well for that. Then put into play anything that cancels media actions - like Big Foot? Now you've got total control of that big nasty token.
62	"Illuminated Squids" by Martin Lærkes (Jul. 29 2003)
Group and group card is not the same thing. This is why the Thule Group can use illuminati agents to power their special ability. This piece of twisted logic also applies to Rain of Praerie Squids: Discard any number of groups from hand, and draw that many new ones. So discard a handful of illuminati, and get a bunch of group draws out of it. After all, plot draws are a lot easier to come by than group draws.
63	"The Small Sell-Out" by Martin Lærkes (Jul. 29 2003)
Another way of getting the most from the distinction between group and group card: The Big Sell-Out. You can get a token for each illuminati group discarded from hand, and unlike Voodoo Economics it can be played more than once per game, and can even give a token to your illuminati.
64	"An Offa Yo Canna Refusa" by Martin Lærkes (Dec. 05 2003)
Want to make An Offer You Can't Refuse even better? Combine it with Shroud of Turin. Now you can see which card(s) you were about to steal from your rival, and if you didn't like what you saw, you can take his bottom card instead.

Issue 10 - February 2005
65	"Surgical Strike" by Martin Lærkes
So, you want to know everything that is in your rivals plot deck, and potentially cripple it at the same time? I bet you do! Use either Soulburner or An Offer You Can't Refuse to get a card draw from your rivals plot deck. Then play a Crop Circles. Nothing on Crop Circles specifies that it has to be played on a draw from your own deck, so happily browse your opponents arsenal, make note of any goals, and key cards, and remove something important. Ouch! The UFAQ hints that this trick is illegal, but no errata was ever issued.
66	"Nasty Addiction" by Martin Lærkes
International Cocaine Smugglers have an open ended +4 bonus to any attempt to control a personality with a drug problem. So why don't you create some with Media Sensation? Control Clone Arrangers (+4), Big Media (+4), Madison Avenue (+2) and International Cocaine Smugglers (+4) for a massive hidden +14 bonus to take over a drug using media personality like, say, the german Top Modell. And once you've got her, that's an additional +4 against male Media Sensations like: Bobby Brown, Robert Downey Jr. and Mick Jagger. See how the affliction spreads?
67	"Jinxed Gambler" by Martin Lærkes
This trick is only useful in a deck with multiple tokens on Las Vegas. Such a deck can really hurt a rival, but it can also cost you a lot of plots. So play Unlucky 13 before you start rolling those dice. That way, your victim won't be able to draw any plots - including plots from your deck.
68	"Time Traveller" by Martin Lærkes
When you're playing the Fasces Romanum illuminati, you really don't want to run into Australia and it's quadroupled resistance. So, when setting a date for the game, make sure that you're not playing an a friday or saturday. Any other day will do. Make sure that it's an evening game, and be late if you have to. That way, if Australia is blocking your win, play slowly until midnight, when Australias resistance will drop to 12. Prepare to be called nasty things.
69	"Stand Off" by Steve Harkleroad
Notice how most of the time a cancelling plot ends up being cancelled. Well, why should both of you pay when there is no gain? Instead, agree to not play the 2 cancellers, and use them against a mutual enemy instead. If you're really clever, I can get away with this without actually having the tokens to power your own canceller.
70	"The Blue Pill or the Red Pill" by Martin Lærkes
Here is a neat way to make a nasty attack at +20 with a single plot card: Drug Companies allows you to make an attack that removes an alignment (at +10) "following the rules for attacks to control". Now throw in a Schizm, which can be used with any attack against a group controlled by a rival. Suddenly your alignment nudge becomes a lethal blow to your rivals power structure.
71	"The Erich Device" by Martin Lærkes
The Janor Device is awesome with any card that only rolls a single die, because it has big impact and no drawback; Cards like Bill Clinton, Lyndon LaRouche or Showmaster. However, the strongest combo for this is possibly Janor Device, MWOWM and Erich Honecker! Honecker can store up to 3 plots, getting each back on a 4+. Thats a 3+ to you. If you fail, then the plot is discarded, and MWOWM can retrieve it on a 3+. Thats pretty close to an 8 card plot hand!
72	"Scandalous Attitude" by Martin Lærkes
Scandal is a devastating card - if only you have the right alignment on a power 2+ media group. Well, play Attitude Mutation on your media group and you've got just what you need.
73	"Hubbards Revenge" by Martin Lærkes
Seppuku is a nasty tactic, and Population Reduction lets you do it with very few cards in play. Unfortunately, it contains a explicit restriction against using World War 3. So - use Church of Violentology instead! Control 5 huge places, ATO the Church, then all you need is Apathy and a +10 to your places destroy themselves on the minions of L. Ron.
74	"Ich Bin Ein SubGenius" by Martin Lærkes
Think that Germanys ability to store tokens is cool? Wouldn't you just love to have that on a group that does something neat with its tokens? Well, you can. Secret FisTemples can move its token to any SubGenius group, and does not stipulate that they have to be devoid of tokens. With Reverend Ivan Stang controllong it and the Local Clenches, you can have 3 tokens per turn moving through the church and onto your favourite SubGenius group. And remember, with the aid of Overman Philo Drummond and Jake Day any group can be subgenius!
75	"Fast Forward" by Martin Lærkes
Sometimes you've won, and all you need is to get to your goal. Usually, that's when it is the bottom card. Fast Forward through your deck by using mass discard abilities like Nevermore, Al-Amarja or Voodoo Economics - and then MWOWM and some dice manipulation to grab the card when it is discarded. If you already know the location of your goal, you don't even need MWOWM. Just throw away half your deck and make a normal draw at the right time.
76	"Trojan Geese-us" by Martin Lærkes (and Glen Barnett)
Ever played a trojan goose deck? Basically, play Shangri-La and give a rival a Shangri-La and an Unmasked plot to create a friend for life. But why stop there? Dokstok is great for teamwork - just give the free illuminati token to your best friend. Then expose a Kinder and Gentler and give him Copy Shops. Now he can churn out one Kinder and Gentler each turn for free.
77	"Crackhouse 23" by Martin Lærkes
an unlinked Immortality Serum will prevent your rivals from playing personalities for the entire game. Quite powerful - but sometimes you just want to steal something. Hide your serum in Warehouse 23, and your rivals won't know to not play personalities until it is too late.
78	"Monster BBQ" by Martin Lærkes
Big Prawn is a powerhouse, but does have a devastating drawback. Luckily, it is one that can be turned to your advantage. When you need that one last token, dismantle your own Big Prawn with Deasil Engine or Suicide Squad - then use a Beach Party to get a free token (and a +5 against future disasters).
79	"Dynamic Duo" by Martin Lærkes
Want to win with just your lead and 1 puppet? It's possible, though it does admittedly require some cards. Have Lyndon LaRouche control OPEC, and break out a Murphys Law to make it power 10. Use Nationalization to make it government, making Lyndon power 10 too. False Overman and Assertiveness Training will make both violent, and viable for 1 Cyborg Soldiers each. That's 40 power, and with the 10 from Bavaria, you've completed Power for Its Own Sake.

Issue 4 - september 1997
16	Velociraptor Kibbles by Scott McNair
Scott pointed out that if the Nutrition Nazis control Dinosaur Park, then all your Science Groups can defend each other: Dinosaur Park allows the Nutrition Nazis to oppose any attack on a Science Groups, and the Nazi's participation allows any Science Group to join the defense.
17	The Bad Luck of High Oil Prices by Mike Chiulli
Mike has pointed out that you can use Murphy's Law to give OPEC an extremely high power. And since this high power is Printed Power, you could use a power- doubler like the Necronomicon or Cyborg Soldiers to double that power.
18	Recycle Those Cards Right Away! by Christian Wedge
With the last revision in the meaning of 'discarded', it became legal to use the special ability of the Trading Card Games to replace them with another group, and then to use the Recycling Centers to recover the discarded Trading Card Games. But it can be difficult to get out the Recycling Centers, particularly in a game without automatic takeovers. Christian Wedge came up with a cunning trick to overcome this liability: If you can take over the Trading Card Games and keep them until they get an action token, you can replace them with the Recycling Centers, and then use the Recycling Centers' action token to recover the Trading Card Games immediately.