The Primitive Species variant allows players to start a game of March of the Ants with unique abilities and drawbacks. Each primitive species encourages certain styles of play and rewards players for utilizing their powers.

Primitive Colonies: Each primitive species has a reduced Royal Decree of two food or four larvae.

Randomly assign a Nest Mat to each player. Each player may then choose to play as the Common Meadow Ant or as the Primitive Species found on the backside of the Nest Mat.

The Primitive Species advanced variant is not recommended for solo, two player or five player games.

Crazy Ant

• Dance Of Chaos

  Cost: 1 Food .

  Discard cards from the deck until you discard an event card. You must play that card for free. Then, you may take steps equal to the of the played event card.

• Reaction

  Each other player may gain one larva.

Drawbacks:

• Frenzy

  You cannot rest if you have food or cards in hand.

• Distracted Ranks

  No Thorax evolution Bonus

Nomadic Ant

• Journey Of 6000 Steps

  Cost: 1 Food .

  Explore two hexes. They must both be placed adjacent to the hex you are exploring from with connected tunnels. You must move all ants from the hex you are exploring from into the newly explored hexes.

• Reaction

  Each other player may place one larva into a site they inhabit and then move one ant one step.

Drawbacks

• Infertile Queen

  During Harvest, you only collect one larva from each double larvae site you inhabit.

• Path Of Peace

  No Head evolution Bonus

Mutant Ant

• Double Spliced Genes

  Cost: 1 Food .

  Play one evolution. You may then play an evolution with equal or lower cost for free.

  You must pay the cost of the first evolution that you play. You may play these evolutions either on top of or beneath previously played evolutions on your ant body.

• Reaction

  Each other player may play an evolution by paying its cost. The Mutant Ant gains larvae equal to the cost of any evolutions that are played as a Reaction.

Drawbacks

• Enlightened Colony

  Lose one colony point each time you are involved in a battle.

• Mutation

  At the start of the Soldier Phase, discard your hand. Draw cards equal to the number of cards discarded.

Raiding Ant

• Raiding Party

  Cost: 1 Food .

  Take 3 steps (+1 for each thorax). Immediately start an ant battle with one player who has ants in a contested hex where you have an ant. You are always the Invader during the Raiding Party action.

  Any larvae you wish to move must be moved before ants are moved.

• Reaction

  The player that you battled gains one card.

Drawbacks

• One Track Mind

  Start the game with only one card in hand.

• War Rations

  No Abdomen evolution Bonus

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