Every captain carries one distinct passive tied to their identity. Stats stay power-balanced — the ability only changes how a seat plays. Here's exactly what each one does and how to pilot it.
Convert to snowball; neg and you cool off.
On a convert, his whole fielded four gets +2 speed and +1 skill for the next 3 questions — and a fresh convert refreshes the window. On a neg, the field takes −1 speed for 2 questions (speed only — no skill or accuracy hit). The drag is deliberately smaller than the boost.
Play confident and keep the streak alive — the skill bump helps you convert the next one too. A neg only costs a little tempo, so don't play scared, but don't hand away free negs either.
A different edge in each third of the game.
His field shifts every 8 questions: Act I (Q1–8) +5 speed — buzz first, grab the lead. Act II (Q9–16) tires 30% slower — outlast the field. Act III (Q17–24) +0.08 conversion — close it out. All pure tempo/stat, never points.
Pilot the arc: race out early while you're fastest, rotate a deep bench through the grind, and lean on the conversion edge to win the endgame. Your optimal aggression shifts each act.
Learns from every miss — the whole team.
Any question his team misses — a neg OR the other team buzzing first — his ENTIRE fielded team permanently gains +1.8 effective knowledge in that subject, stacking up to +8 per subject.
A comeback engine: the subjects that hurt you early become your best by the endgame. Survive the early rounds and let the team teach itself the room.
Gets faster and sharper the further behind you fall.
While behind, his whole field gets a speed & skill bonus scaling with the deficit: 0.12 × (points behind the leader), capped at +4. Even (or ahead) → no bonus.
A natural rubber band — you're most dangerous when you're losing. Don't panic in a deficit; that's when Kian's field is at its sharpest.
Elevates your second option in the sciences.
Each round, the seat's 2nd-best fielded card by overall (not akhil himself) gets +15 effective knowledge on physics and math tossups.
Field a strong #2 alongside akhil and you've got two threats on quant rounds instead of one. Rewards a deep, science-leaning board.
Science converts refuel the whole field.
When any of the seat's cards converts a chem / physics / math tossup, every fielded card is refunded +2 stamina (capped at each card's max).
Stack the sciences and your field barely tires — you can goon and rotate freely because every quant convert tops everyone back up. The strongest sustain in the game.
A free, clutch goon on a timer.
Every 2 rounds the seat banks one discounted AGGRESSIVE buzz: it waives the stamina premium AND cancels the goon accuracy penalty (so it converts like a normal buzz, not at the usual -0.03). A charge you spend, not a passive.
Time it. Bank the charge for the tossup you most want to steal — a category you know, a close game, a round you need. A free clutch goon every other round is a real tempo weapon if you don't waste it.
His goons hit harder, but he burns out.
Only affects VulcanForge's OWN card, only on Aggressive: his buzz jumps 1.5× earlier and converts +0.08 better — but he fatigues 1.1× as fast.
An elite math/physics sniper (both 95). Pick your spots and goon the quant rounds you know — but pace it, because every aggressive buzz burns him down faster.
Rattles an opposing captain each round.
Each question there's a 30% roll to debuff an opposing captain by −8 effective knowledge for that tossup.
Free, passive pressure — over 24 questions it chips away at the enemy's best cards. You don't do anything; it just tilts the buzz races your way now and then.
Turns won tossups into points.
When his team wins a tossup and takes the bonus, the answering card converts it +12 effective knowledge better than normal.
Value multiplier — every tossup you win is worth more. Field strong all-round cards so you're actually winning the buzzes that trigger the bonus.
Two abilities are currently unassigned: Mentor (teammates fatigue slower) and Analyst (see live odds + expected value while setting the board) — both live in the game, just not on a captain right now. Every value above is pulled straight from the game's constants, so this page always matches what's actually running.