In Atlanta, we were told that a boosted Senyaka only got his stat boost for that turn, as if it didn't say for the turn, it was considered only good for the turn.

Is that true?

And if that IS true, is that in some way different than that GL squirrel that boosts?

Thanks in advance :)

Yes, boost text only lasts the turn which the boost was paid for.

You might like to have a look at the 'Summary of FAQ Terms' document found at ude.com/rules. It's a summary of keywords, versions and other terms up used in the game.

A boost dissertation, and a post that I encourage people to pass on to others if it helps them get a handle on why boost powers work, and are worded, the way that they are.

The reason that most boosts include the phrase "this turn" is because most of them are come-into-play triggered powers; the character generates an effect to the chain when he hits play, and that effect then creates a modifier when it resolves. That modifier needs to have an explicit duration. Compare these potential boost texts:

A: "Senyaka gets +1 ATK for each face-down resource you control."
B: "Senyaka gets +1 ATK for each face-down resource you control this turn."
C: "When Senyaka comes into play, he gets +1 ATK for each face-down resource you control."
D: "When Senyaka comes into play, he gets +1 ATK for each face-down resource you control this turn."

No matter what, the definition of boost means that the character only has that text the turn you recruit him and pay for it. A is a continuous power, and so as long as he's face-up he'll get the extra ATK; when the text leaves at the end of the turn, so does the ATK. And as your resource row changes, the ATK bonus that he gets will update.

D is another way that a lot of boosts work. Everything after the comma is part of an effect going on the chain, so when it resolves he'll get the extra ATK; because the effect uses "this turn," that's how long the ATK lasts. Note that the effect's resolution is the only time that it checks how many face-down resources you have.

C is the way that some boost powers, like those which give counters, are worded; it is a one-shot modifier, altering his ATK value at resolution. This power only cares about how many face-down resources you have when it first resolves, but even more importantly, it would never go away. The text on Senyaka would go away, absolutely, but because the resolving effect was simply an ATK bonus, with no duration, there's no reason for the bonus to ever go away.

The Sentinel's counters don't go away when his boost text vanishes at the end of the turn, because why would they? In the same vein, if Tim Drake's power lacked "this turn," then on every turn after you boosted him his boost effect/modifier would still protect your attackers.

Now for B...it's an impossibly worded power. Since both Senyaka and Joanna Cargill have similar-sounding continuous powers, imagine if she had this kind of wording: "Joanna Cargill gets -1 ATK / -1 DEF for each face-up resource you control this turn." She always has that power, so what could it mean; it doesn't actually make sense as a power.

To bring it all home; the extra boost text on a character only lasts for the turn---this does not change for anyone. A lot of the boost powers tell you that they last for the turn because otherwise their effects would make permanent game changes. And characters like Senyaka or Ch'p, who don't work by come-into-play triggered powers, still won't last beyond the end of the turn, simply because of boost's definition.

I know that some people wish Senyaka told you he lasted for the turn, but putting the phrase in would either make his power not work at all (B) or it would make his power work differently (D); either it'd let you flip resources later with no penalty, for Senyaka, or it would make Ch'p a lot more powerful by having the DEF bonus last even after he was stunned.

Fin.