Misdirect Card (and related)

By azazel1, in Fury of Dracula

Could anyone explain how the misdirect card works please? We had a query whether or not Dracula is obliged to pick a new location next to his current location for his new hideout, or whether it actually acts as a 'teleport' (for want of a better term) that lets him re-deploy to anywhere on the board. Is this correct? If so, it makes the card very powerful, as Dracula can effectively re-set his location every 6 movements.

(The other way we had of reading the card is that misdirect is quite weak, and just acts to take a location out of the trail, to be replaced with the 'misdirect' card instead.)

Otherwise, once the hunters are on Dracula's trail, what options does he have to lose them? Is it just Wolf Form, and the 'Escape as Bat' card in combat, that gives him the opportunity to move more than 1 space a turn?

Say you have Paris-Brussels-Le Havre on the 1st-2nd-3rd trail spaces, respectively. Hunters are upon you.

It's Drac turn, at night. Movement: the trail shifts, so now you have: (empty)-Paris-Brussels-Le Havre on the 1st-2nd-3rd-4th spaces respectively.

Drac wants to play Misdirect: according to the rules, you must:

1) clear a hideout space (not your current location, nor Castle Dracula, nor with a power card or associated with Hide)

2) put Misdirect in that space (so you replace the cleared hideout with Misdirect)

3) place a card (location or power) on the first space of the trail as normal

So for example, a possible play of Misdirect:

- clear Le Havre on the 4th space

- put Misdirect on the 4th space (replacing Le Havre)

- place a location that is connected with Paris (your actual location) on the 1st trail space: you can play Le Havre itself (bluff!), or Nantes or whatever else is adjacent;

- note that you could also play Wolf Form and place Milan (2 roads from Paris), or Amsterdam (again 2 roads from Paris) or whatever else is up to 2 roads away from Paris; or you could play Hide and stay in Paris!

I'm quite fresh to the system, but personally I find that using Wolf Form from a sea zone * is a quite powerful way to trick the hunters. Look at the Mediterranean Sea: you could have reached more than 10 cities with just one move ;)

* Remember that

While Dracula’s current location is a sea zone, he may use
“Wolf Form” to move to either an adjacent port or a city one

road away from an adjacent port

Ah ok, many thanks! So, not quite as powerful as we thought, but has a number of uses in conjunction with other cards to slip the net - but ideally before the hunters are knocking at the (crypt) door!