Custom Card Ideas: Rubbish

So many cards are so useful, you want them. There are no cards that are infamous for being bad or worthless unless it's accidental. Every card be used functionally for something. And in my opinion, this isn't very Munchkin-ly. So, supplement your game with one or two of this card, Rubbish.

Two guesses on what this card does? Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

This card concept started out when I realized there was a good number of ways Munchkin players can enlarge their hands (Dwarves, Shopping Carts, Black Holes, etc.) but next to nothing (as in, I've never encountered anyway) in reducing a player's hand. The thought was originally a Curse card, but I had way too many Treasure Cards and too few Door cards to do this. Thus, the Rubbish card was created.

Description as follows: "This card cannot be played or equipped. This card cannot go into the Discard Pile." So...it cannot be seen in play. Also, you can't discard it to power up abilities or as a loss to a Curse. Basically, it stays in your hand, taking up one of your precious slots, and remains stagnant.

How do you get such a card? Drawing it from the Treasure Deck is the first way. From there, Charity. Yes, Charity will now become a bit more negative. While you can't force a player to take this card freely, you do have to give away Charity, forcing a player to accept this card. It will motivate them to no longer be the last place player. Plus, it's freaking hilarious when you have too many cards and another player becomes hopeful for Charity and you deliver a dud. Also, depending on how you play, if a Munchkin chooses to help you and allows you to decide what cards you draw as a reward, you can also give them Rubbish, although you will almost certainly damage your relationship with that player for the duration of the game.

Obviously, there are some Divide By Zero events with this card. What if a player dies with Rubbish? Does it stay with them? What if Bad Stuff or a Curse forces them to discard all of their Hand? Well, this is largely up to the player, but my friends and I play it this way. "If you're forced to discard cards, Rubbish will be put into the Discard pile. If you can choose to give up cards, you can't give up Rubbish. If you die, Rubbish goes into the Discard pile."

After a while when the card's novelty wore off, I added a second Rubbish (with so many custom cards, many games would go by without the Rubbish card). While this did little to change the pace of the game, I decided to add to the description. "If you possess all three Rubbish cards, you can play them and immediately when the game!" Of course, if I only make two Rubbish cards....

Any deck whatsoever benefits from this card? Granted, I use the word 'benefits' lightly. The effect of this card is somewhat mitigated by other cards and effects that increase one's hand so it's better when you have two of these. Also, having only two Rubbish cards may encourage players to comb through the deck more quickly, so you can force the flow of the game faster with two of these cards in a person's hand.

I've got plenty more Munchkin Custom Card Ideas! Also, as I've spent far too money on numerous Munchkin decks and expansions, I can tell you which ones are worth it, which aren't, and why.