Three types of Veto, three uses
Before talking timing, let's recall the three variants (15 cards in total in the deck, and only one Veto playable per turn, across all players):
- Standard Veto (×7): cancels a Proposition, Plot or Resources card played by another player. Versatile, it's the default tool.
- Political Veto (×3): lets you modify a parameter of a law already recorded in the Book of Laws (target, quantity, token type...). Can be played during your own turn.
- Targeted Veto (×5): redirects the effect of an opposing Plot back against its author. The most spectacular: a Hostile Takeover Gold targeted-vetoed can trigger the elimination of the attacker if they have no more Gold!
Each has its ideal context. The Targeted Veto is a weapon dedicated to plots targeting you (Hostile Takeover, Bankruptcy). The Political Veto is strategic for turning a penalising law to your advantage without removing it. The Standard Veto is the default versatile tool, the only one that can block an opposing Proposition.
The 8 IP rule
Our golden rule: never play a Veto against a card that costs you less than 8 IP. Why 8? Because a Veto in hand is worth, on average, 8 IP of future protection (probability of suffering a major attack before the end of the game multiplied by the average damage).
Concretely:
- Hostile Takeover Silver (-4 IP): don't veto, it's not worth the cost.
- Bankruptcy (Gold → Silver: -11 IP): veto if you're the target and it's your only Gold.
- Hostile Takeover Gold (-15 IP): always veto, unless you have more than 3 Gold (you can absorb).
- Executive Decree on a law yielding you 5+ IP/turn: veto.
- Executive Decree on a law penalising you: let it pass, it's a gift from the opponent.
Defensive bluff
Crucial detail: other players don't know whether you have a Veto in hand. If you've already vetoed an attack this turn, they'll assume you don't have any more. That's when they'll attack you again.
Conversely, if you've never vetoed, they may assume you're keeping a Veto in hand and hesitate to attack. This implicit bluff is the main value of the Veto: even unused, it influences opponent decisions.
The best Veto is the one you never need to play.
When to block a Proposition
To prevent a new law from being recorded in the Book, you need a Standard Veto: it's the only Veto capable of neutralising a Proposition card played by an opponent. This use is under-exploited by beginners, even though it has a huge structural effect: preserving the current balance of the game.
Vetoing a Proposition is profitable when:
- The Book is already full (six slots occupied): the opposing Proposition can't be recorded anyway, but preventing the attacker from playing it later remains useful.
- The new law is a sanction law targeting your playstyle (e.g. "the player with the most Gold loses 1 token/turn").
- The new law is an unfavourable conversion law (e.g. raises the rate to 4 Bronze for 1 Silver instead of 3).
Note: if an opposing law already recorded bothers you, a Political Veto can modify a parameter (target, quantity, token type) to make it harmless or even turn it back against its author. It's more flexible than an Executive Decree which removes the law entirely.
The Targeted Veto: the spectacular card
The Targeted Veto reverses the effect against the attacker. It's the only card that can cause an immediate elimination. Typical example:
Player A has 1 Silver, plays Hostile Takeover Silver against Player B. Player B reveals Targeted Veto. Result: the takeover is reversed, A must steal 1 Silver... from themselves. Since A just paid 1 Silver as cost, they now have 0. If A has no other token (IP = 0), they are eliminated on the spot.
Save the Targeted Veto for moments when the opponent is already short on tokens: that's when, and only when, it deploys its full potential.
Counting remaining Vetoes
The deck contains 15 Veto cards in total (7 Standard, 3 Political, 5 Targeted). When you see a Veto in the discard pile, count it mentally. After 8 to 10 Vetoes discarded, the probability that an opponent is keeping one in hand becomes low: that's the moment to chain your Hostile Takeovers.
This information is public, but few players track it. You gain a huge informational advantage just by paying attention.
Conclusion
The Veto is not an emergency card: it's a card of tempo and information. Its value depends as much on its use as on its mere presence in hand. Always keep at least one Veto, play it on high-impact attacks (8+ IP), and use the bluff to your advantage.