Below is a listing of the Meta rules used for tournament play.
They have been broken up into different categories.
Follow-ups
Specials which state “may” make additional follow-ups do not require that the follow-up be made. Follow-ups can be made even if the initial attack is defended (unless it is negated).
Specials which allow follow-ups do not require the person making the attack to declare if the follow-up will be made or not UNLESS the Special grants a bonus depending on the number of follow-ups. In that case, the number of follow-ups to be made must be declared, but only after the initial attack is resolved.
Unless a Special says otherwise, follow-up attacks must be made from the same Character playing the Special.
Follow-up attacks may not be made with a Teamwork card, Ally card, Tactic card, Activator card, Aspect card, or an ‘Any Hero/Character’ Special.
Follow-up attacks that require they be made against a different Character (or opponent) are lost when there is only one Character left on the opposing team.
Follow-up attacks that require they be made against a different Character may not be made against a Battlesite.
Specials that allow a follow up can be played after another Special that allows a follow up. If a Special allows for teammates to make follow-up attacks, then any follow-up actions allowed by Specials played as a result of that are all lost. If the Special granting a follow up has been played following a non-Special card (like an Ally card) then the follow up attacks are not lost.
Specials which allow a Character to follow-up a teamwork card only allow that Character to make either one of the follow-ups that are specified on the teamwork card. The follow-up cannot be in a skill that is not listed as a follow-up on the Teamwork card.
If a Special allows for a card to be drawn “blind” and it qualifies as something that can be used to attack, then it can only be used to attack if any required follow-ups can be made.
Attack/Defend
Specials which use the phrase “numeric” refer to cards which have an attack or defense value, as indicated by a number/icon in the upper left hand corner of the card.
An attack is something which directly affects either the opponent or one of the opponent’s Characters. It does not include offensive actions that do not affect the opposing side.
An avoid can only be used in the case that (a) there is a Character targeted and (b) the attack being defended qualifies as the type of attack possibly indicated by the Special.
If the text of a Special begins with “Avoid 1 attack” or a similar phrase, then it may only be played defensively and only against the specified type of attack.
A Special which alters how a Character may be attacked can be played offensively or defensively. Other text on the Special may force the card to be played one way or the other.
Only attacks which target a specific Character may be shifted or otherwise defended by a Character specific defensive action. Attacks made on the “opponent” may not be shifted or avoided. Attacks made on a Battlesite cannot be shifted.
Unless a Special specifically states otherwise, no Special can be played in response to an opponent’s defensive action.
When a card specifies what cards may (or may not) be used to defend it, this includes ALL cards used in the defense.
Specials which alter how a Character (or the opponent) may attack cannot be played defensively unless there is a secondary effect from the Special which is being used defensively.
Negates are considered a card being played defensively. If a Special indicates that it cannot be defended by a Special card, then a Negate cannot be used to defend the attack (although it may be used afterwards offensively to negate the effect). If a Special card indicates that it can only be defended by a specific type of card, then this excludes all other cards (including negates).
An ‘avoid’ Special can only be played when the target of the attack is the player of the Special.
A ‘teammate avoid’ can only be played when the target of the attack is a teammate of the Character playing the Special, and not the Character itself. The targeted Character may be on either the front line or in reserve. The Battlesite is not considered a teammate.
To defend “in parts” – the player being attacked may select any of the cards being used in the attack and separate out which will be defended and which will not. The player being attacked then plays one defensive action that will block whatever the ‘to be defended’ set of cards was made up of.
Specials which indicate that they act as Power cards only act as Power cards in that they can sometimes be used to attack or defend (as specified on the Special). They do NOT take on any other properties of Power cards i.e., they count towards X-Babies KO, they do NOT fuse with other MultiPower Power cards, they cannot be removed with an EE Special.
A Special that indicates what can and cannot be played once it hits can still be defended by the type of card it restricts, provided no other restrictions are in play.
Specials which are already in play prior to an attack being launched can be utilized in the defense of that attack without being considered “being played defensively.”
If a card is in hand and can possibly be used to attack (but could also be used for defense, like an Activator), then a player cannot pass with that card in their hand – it must be used to attack.
When a Special refers to what cannot affect it, it is referring to any cards which are in play already or cards which are playable by the defending player.
Specials which block a teamwork attack (a) must be played against the initial attack – not against any of the follow up attacks and (b) can be played regardless of who the targetted character is (i.e., the Character playing the Special does not need to be the Character being attacked).
If a card “cannot be defended” by a specific type of card then the opponent may not play any cards of that type during the defensive action of that attack (but cards which are already in play can be used). If a card “is not affected” by a specific type of card, then cards of that type may be used during the defensive action, but any cards already in play before the attack was made are considered not in play until the defensive action is resolved.
Aspect cards which modify an attack or a defensive action cannot be played with the attack/defense unless the card specifically says so.
“Blocking an attack using a {type} card” means that the defending character must use the specified type of card as a part of the defense in order to get the benefit listed on the card.
Battlesite
Follow-up attacks that require they be made against a different Character may not be made against a Battlesite.
Only attacks which target a specific Character may be shifted or otherwise defended by a Character specific defensive action. Attacks made on the “opponent” may not be shifted or avoided. Attacks made on a Battlesite cannot be shifted.
When a Special refers to a teammate, it means another Character on your team (unless the text of the Special indicates otherwise) that is not the Character who played the Special. If the Special is referring to all of the Character’s teammates, then it does include the Reserve Character. If it is referring to what can be done with a specific teammate, then it applies only to the Front Line Characters. It never means the Battlesite or the Home Base.
A ‘teammate avoid’ can only be played when the target of the attack is a teammate of the Character playing the Special, and not the Character itself. The targeted Character may be on either the front line or in reserve. The Battlesite is not considered a teammate.
Specials that alter which Character can be targeted do not alter the players choice to attack the Battlesite or the opponent – only the decision of which Character can be targeted.
Specials which target a Character must be played against a character – they may not be played against a Special or a Battlesite.
When a Special calls for an Activator card attack, it means that the attack is made with an Activator card itself. The Activator does not then retrieve a Special from the battlesite to be used as an attack.
When an Activator card lands as a hit, it should be placed tucked under the card it hits to indicate the hit. When the card with the Activator hit is discarded, then the activators are discarded as well to the appropriate pile.
Icon/Type/Grid
If a Special indicates a specific type of “attack” (such as “Fighting attack”) then any attack can be made by the Character provided it falls into the legal types of attacks that can be made by the Character and that the attack is made as the specific type.
If a Special indicates a specific type of “card” (such as “Fighting card”) then the only card which can be used with this is a “pure” Power card (such as a Fighting Power card). MultiPower and Any-Power Power cards cannot be used.
When a Special indicates a card with a specific icon then it includes cards with the specific icon OR cards that are being played along with a card with the specific icon.
When a Special bestows on one Character the Power Grid (or Skill Levels) of a target Character, the effect takes place immediately after the playing of the Special. The skill ratings are transferred for good or for ill.
When a Character’s Skill Rating changes for whatever reason, any cards (such as Artifacts) which were in play prior to the Special being played continue to remain in play. Any cards which are Placed to the Character remain Placed but can only be played if the new skill ratings allow them to be played.
When a Special affects the skills that a person can use, it affects their ability to use any cards that have a skill requirement. It does not affect their ability to play cards that do not have a skill requirement (such as Specials).
When a choice of icon is given, any single icon can be chosen (including the Any-Power icon). MultiPower is not an icon. When a choice of skills is given, only the four skills on a Character’s grid may be selected. Any-Power and MultiPower are not skills.
All icons which appear on a card count as an icon, even if that aspect of the card is not being used.
Specials which allow for Universe cards to modify the grid cause an alteration in the actual grid number – quite different from the standard bonus that a universe normally provides. Any of the specified Universe type can be played with this Special, not necessarily those which the Character could normally play.
Specials which refer to cards that have “more than 1 icon” indicate cards which have more than one type of icon on the card. That is, a teamwork card would qualify as more than one icon but a Fighting Power card would not (even though the Fighting Power card has a Fighting icon in the upper left and one in the upper right corner).
Shifting
An attack which is shifted from one Character to another cannot be defended by a card which was already in play at the time of the attack.
Once an attack has been shifted, it cannot be shifted again.
Only attacks which target a specific Character may be shifted or otherwise defended by a Character specific defensive action. Attacks made on the “opponent” may not be shifted or avoided. Attacks made on a Battlesite cannot be shifted.
Specials which alter how a Character may be attacked (that can normally be played defensively) can be played defensively against an attack that has been shifted onto them. However, once the Special is in play, it is ineffective against subsequent attacks which are shifted onto the Character.
A defending player cannot shift an attack to a Character if it would result in the shifted attack having no effect.
Reserve
A Front Line Character can play a “teammate avoid” Special for someone in Reserve. A Reserve Character cannot play a “teammate avoid” Special for someone on the Front Line unless specifically stated on the Special.
A card that is playable from Reserve may be kept in hand without having to place it to the Reseve Character.
Attacks made on the Reserve Character can be defended as if the Character were on the Front Line (attacks may be shifted, “teammate may avoid” Specials may be played, etc.).
Whenever a Special targets the opponent, the Reserve Character may be affected by the Special.
Specials which affect a Character’s ability to come up from reserve cannot be played to force the Character into reserve.
Multiple Card Play
If part of an attack is defended, then the entire attack that targeted the Character is avoided. If the attack is made in conjunction with a Special which modifies the Character making the attack, then avoiding the attack (in any way) prevents the attacking Character’s modification from occurring.
If 2 cards are combined for a single attack, then their values are added together to determine the total attack value that needs to be defended.
If a Special calls for another card to be played with or after it, then the card must be playable by the Character who contributes the card – even if the Special indicates otherwise.
If a Special indicates that it should be played with an action, then the Character who played the Special must play the card as an action.
If 2 cards are combined when used in an attack, then once it hits, the 2 cards are separate and distinct hits on the Character’s record. Removing or negating one would have no effect on the other.
If a Special that indicates it should be “played with” another card is negated, both the Special and the card it was played with are discarded. If a negate is played against a Special indicating that a card should be discarded or exchanged, then the negation takes place prior to the discarding.
Bonus/Penalty
Bonuses only affect the attack/defend value of a Special – never any numbers that are included within the text of a Special (e.g., “Draw 3 cards”).
If an avoid indicates that it avoids a numeric amount (e.g., “9 or less”) then it can only be used to avoid a numerical attack that is of the value indicated or less. Bonuses/penalties that the team or character have do not affect the level of the avoid.
Bonuses/penalties granted by Special cards are never counted towards damage or Venture Total unless specifically stated otherwise on the Special.
Specials which grant bonuses/abilities to the playing Character (or the playing Character’s team) that can be played offensively can be played along with an attack. The attack may not be made with a Universe card of any kind (although the Special and attack may be made as a follow-up to an Ally attack). In the event that the attack is defended, the bonus/ability would be defended as well and would not take place. The attack may be defended by defendeding the numeric attack or the Special granting the bonus/ability.
Specials which penalize a Character for any actions may be played on their own as an attack or as a part of a numeric attack (not with a Universe card). In this case, the attack is considered one attack.
Bonuses granted by Special cards do not affect any Character’s power grids, but the value at which one determines the attack value/defense value of an action. The bonus/penalty only affects the value of cards with a number/icon in the upper left hand corner.
Bonuses/abilities granted by Special cards affect Universe cards played on subsequent turns. A Universe card may not be played in conjunction with a Special card unless the Special card or Universe card explicitly say so.
Specials which grant bonuses/abilities/grid changes may only be played defensively if it is necessary to do so in order to defend.
Specials which grant a teammate a bonus for one attack must be played with that teammate’s attack.
Cards that allow Basic Universe cards to count towards damage only allow the points of the bonus to be applied towards the Cumulative KO of a character. It does not add anything to the Spectrum KO.
Avoid
An avoid can only be used in the case that (a) there is a Character targeted and (b) the attack being defended qualifies as the type of attack possibly indicated by the Special.
If the text of a Special begins with “Avoid 1 attack” or a similar phrase, then it may only be played defensively and only against the specified type of attack.
Only attacks which target a specific Character may be shifted or otherwise defended by a Character specific defensive action. Attacks made on the “opponent” may not be shifted or avoided. Attacks made on a Battlesite cannot be shifted.
An ‘avoid’ Special can only be played when the target of the attack is the player of the Special.
A ‘teammate avoid’ can only be played when the target of the attack is a teammate of the Character playing the Special, and not the Character itself. The targeted Character may be on either the front line or in reserve. The Battlesite is not considered a teammate.
To defend “in parts” – the player being attacked may select any of the cards being used in the attack and separate out which will be defended and which will not. The player being attacked then plays one defensive action that will block whatever the ‘to be defended’ set of cards was made up of.
Specials which block a teamwork attack (a) must be played against the initial attack – not against any of the follow up attacks and (b) can be played regardless of who the targetted character is (i.e., the Character playing the Special does not need to be the Character being attacked).
Select/Search
When a Special allows one to look through a specific set of cards, it is for not more than one minute.
When a Special allows a Character to select a card from the Dead Pile and the Special is Character specific (i.e., not an Any Hero/Character) and the Special does not indicate whether or not the card must be usable, then the card drawn from the Dead Pile must be usable by the Character playing the Special.
If a Special allows you to search through a pile for a particular type of card and upon searching, no cards that meet the criteria can be found, then the Special is discarded and the turn is over.
A random card is determined by taking all qualified cards, shuffling them briefly, and laying them face down on the table. The opponent then selects the number of cards required for the action.
When a Special allows for the selection of a card from ones own Dead Pile, one may not draw an Any Hero or an Activator out of the Dead Pile.
Universe
Specials which affect Universe card bonuses only affect Basic Universe cards, Training cards and Teamwork cards, not Ally cards.
When a Special indicates that it may “combine” with a universe card, it is referring only to Basic Universe cards and Training card (unless it states otherwise).
When a Special indicates specifically that it may not be combined with a Universe card, this includes Universe cards such as Captain Universe (which normally can be used with Special cards).
When a Special allows a Character to use a Universe card that is placed to another Character, the Character playing the Special must meet the requirements of that Universe card in order to play it.
Power cards that are played as part of a Teamwork attack are still considered to be played as a part of the Teamwork attack (and all icons from the Teamwork card are considered to be a part of the attack). Special cards that are played after playing an Ally card are not considered as part of a Universe card attack. The icons do not join with the Special played.
Specials which allow for Universe cards to modify the grid cause an alteration in the actual grid number – quite different from the standard bonus that a universe normally provides. Any of the specified Universe type can be played with this Special, not necessarily those which the Character could normally play.
When a Special affects the usability/effectiveness of Universe cards, it can only be played with a Universe card if the Special specifically says so.
Secondary Effects
If a Special has the phrase “if successful”, then the second aspect of the Special only takes place in the event that the initial attack is not defended. If the hit lands and is later negated, then the subsequent action is not negated if the result is no longer “on the table.”
If a Special has the phrase “if successful”, then the second aspect of the Special does not necessarily need to occur. It may not be possible to perform the secondary action. The secondary action may be specified as optional. However, if it is required and possible to perform the second action, it must be done.
If a Special calls for some type of discard to occur (and no secondary effect), then the targeted Character must fulfill at least one of the conditions specified by the Special (e.g., “Remove 1 Hit” can only be played on a Character who has a hit; “Discard a placed card and remove 1 hit” can be played on someone who has a hit, or someone who has a placed card, or someone who has both). If the specification is not known or the Special has a secondary effect which would come into play (e.g., “Discard one {type} card from hand”) then the Special may be played regardless.
If a Special has the phrase “if successful”, and the secondary condition targets a Character, then the secondary condition only comes into effect if it is a Character which is targeted. If a Special or a Battlesite were targeted, then the secondary effect would not take place. If the secondary condition does not target a Character but affects the playing Character or the opponent, then the effect still comes into play.
Secondary effects to Specials which come into play if a hit is successful remain in play throughout the battle that the hit was scored, even if the hit was later moved on to permanent Record (mid-battle). Similarly, if a hit is brought up from Permanent Record to Current Battle, the secondary effect does not come into play since the hit was not scored this battle.
If a Special indicates what to do if it is defended or otherwise not successful, then the second aspect of the Special only takes place in the event that the initial attack is defended. If the hit lands and is later negated, then the subsequent action does not come into effect.
Miscellaneous Targeting
When a Special refers to a teammate, it means another Character on your team (unless the text of the Special indicates otherwise) that is not the Character who played the Special. If the Special is referring to all of the Character’s teammates, then it does include the Reserve Character. If it is referring to what can be done with a specific teammate, then it applies only to the Front Line Characters. It never means the Battlesite or the Home Base.
If a Special calls for some type of discard to occur (and no secondary effect), then the targeted Character must fulfill at least one of the conditions specified by the Special (e.g., “Remove 1 Hit” can only be played on a Character who has a hit; “Discard a placed card and remove 1 hit” can be played on someone who has a hit, or someone who has a placed card, or someone who has both). If the specification is not known or the Special has a secondary effect which would come into play (e.g., “Discard one {type} card from hand”) then the Special may be played regardless.
If the target of a Special does not exist on the players team and there is no way in which the target can be brought into existence by a player, then the Special must be discarded as unusable.
If a Special can be attacked, then the card that hits that Special is discarded after the hit lands. The hit causes the Specials in play to be discarded as well. The Points of the attacker’s card do not count towards Venture.
Specials which read “Target” (with no qualifier) or “Target Opponent” should read “Target Character”. Specials which say “Opponent” without the word “Target” refer to the opponent (not a specific character).
Draw/Discard
If conditions are such that the card cannot be played this battle unless the opponent performs some action, then the card must be placed or discarded as unusable. If the player holds cards that can create the situation by which the card would be playable, then it can be kept in hand.
Whenever a Special allows you to draw during the course of the battle, you must discard all drawn cards which are unusable (you may continue to hold any unusables which were unusable prior to the draw).
Whenever a Special allows you to draw during the course of a battle, if it does not indicate whether or not you can keep duplicates, then duplicates must be discarded.
When a Special calls for cards to be discarded to a particular pile (e.g., Dead Pile, Power Pack, etc.) then the cards are discarded to that pile regardless as to whether or not they are normally discarded to that pile. For example, it would be possible to discard a Teamwork card into the Power Pack if the Special so indicated.
If a Draw Pile runs out of cards during a battle in which more cards from the top of the Draw Pile are needed to perform an action, then the Power Pack is immediately shuffled and becomes the new Draw Pile. If there are no more Power cards remaining in the Power Pack, then the player must continue with as many cards as he/she has.
A card from the Draw Pile is drawn to replace a played event even if the effect of the event does not take place.
Specials which allow a player to draw in response to their opponent drawing cards does not allow the player to draw cards when the opponent is drawing cards in response to the player drawing cards.
The phrase “cards discarded this battle” includes – cards discarded during the discard phase, cards discarded because of events, and cards discarded because of a Special that was played. It does not include cards that were discarded prior to events being played, cards that were discarded from the draw pile, or cards that were discarded because a Character was KO’d.
Specials which can make other cards (Specials, Power cards, etc.) usable allow you to keep those unusable cards in hand during the discard phase. The Special to make them usable must be available (e.g., Placed, in Hand, available through a specific draw – not through a random draw).
When a Special calls for a player to sort through a pile and select the first card(s) of a particulat type, then the player must take the top most card of the pile and turn it face up (if it isn’t already) to see if it qualified as the type of card indicated by the Special. Repeat process as many times as necessary to fulfill conditions of the Special.
When a card says that a card “may” be drawn, it is an option for the player to take the card. If the card stipulates that the draw “must” take place, then no option is allowed.
KO
Cards on the Permanent Record are returned to the opponent once the Character is KO’d. Cards in the Current Battle remain. Other Special cards may be played to remove these hits after the Character is KO’d (provided that they are still legally playable) but this does not alter the KO’d Character’s status.
Specials with lasting effects remain in play even if the Character who played the Special is KO’d.
Specials which affect a Character’s ability to be KO’d or how they can perform after they have been KO’d cannot be played defensively unless another part of the Special grants a defensive bonus/ability.
Specials which define someone’s Hits to KO to be a certain amount (e.g., ‘Increase to 30’) actually give a bonus of the number of points that are granted to the Hits to KO (in the above example, an extra 10 points). Therefore if one had both an ‘Increase to 30’ Special in play and a ‘Hits to KO are +2’ in play, the hits to KO would be 32.
When a Special affects what cards are counted towards Venture, this causes no change to how those same cards are counted towards KO.
Specials which alter how a Character can be KO’d are not in effect if the Character has been KO’d by all possible means (spectrum and cumulative). Note that Inherent abilities are always in effect, no matter what conditions have been met.
Specials which alter a Character’s abilities/skills that have a lasting duration are discarded when the Character is KO’d. Should the Character be resurrected or brought back into play later in the game, the discarded Special would not be in effect. Specials with a lasting duration that do not alter a Character (but affect the opponent or a teammate(s), etc.) remain in play after the Character playing the Special has been KO’d.
Characters resurrected via a Special are automatically KO’d after the end of the battle. Therefore, if such a resurrected Character is the last Character standing and that Character manages to KO the opposing team or complete the team’s Mission then that player is the winner.
Characters which are KO’d through the actions of their teammates (rather than an attack by the opponent) still grant the player any bonuses/penalties that are normally awarded due to Inherent Abilities, Specials cards, etc.
If a Character is KO’d but through a Special or an Event is permitted to continue to play during the battle, then the Character does not discard placed cards, or return hits from permanent record, etc. until after the battle is over (and the KO takes effect).
When a Special indicates a KO’d Character, it refers to any Character on the player’s team which is KO’d at that moment. It does not include any Characters which are currently on the Front Line or in Reserve (even if that Character will definitely be KO’d at the end of the battle).
Characters which are brought back from a KO’d state come back without any of the cards that were Placed or in Play to them at the time that they were KO’d.
Once a Character is KO’d, removing hits afterwards (either with negates, Master Mold (EE), or other legal methods) will not bring the Character back.
No matter what a Special says (or neglects to say) an Any-Power icon does not count towards spectrum (unless a second Special comes along and changes it). In addition, Any-Power attacks do not need to be declared as MultiPower attacks do.
Negate
Played defensively, negates cause Specials played by the opponent to be defended. Any actions described by the Special that should not be performed upon its success (discarding cards, being unable to attack, follow-up attacks, etc.) should not be performed.
Played offensively, negates remove any effects still being produced by a Special played by the opponent.
If a Special grants a Character an ability, then the negation of that Special will remove that ability from the Character. However, any cards which were already positioned or put into play because of the negated Special remain as they are until they are removed through natural progression of the game.
Played defensively, negates defend any cards which are being used as an offensive action (and therefore defend against the rest of any attack being made).
Specials which prevent other Specials from being negated do not prevent themselves from being negated. A second Special may come along to make the first Special un-negatable.
In Play
Cards which are “in play” are those cards which are: (a) on a Character’s Permanent Record, (b) on a Character’s Hits from Current Battle, (c) played by a Character to create some effect and has not yet been discarded.
Specials with lasting effects remain in play even if the Character who played the Special is KO’d.
Specials which have a lasting duration remain in play and on the table. The Special card should be positioned next to the Character in a manner in which it is obvious that it is not Placed.
The phrase “on the table” refers to any card which is (a) in play (b) placed to any Character (c) in a Character’s Permanent Record or (d) in a Character’s Hits From Current Battle.
Specials which affect how things occur in the next battle prior to the Battle phase (e.g., before placing begins in the next battle) can be negated in the battle in which they are played. Once the next battle begins (and the effect has already taken place) the Special is no longer in play (it is discarded to the Dead Pile) and cannot be negated. Specials which last longer than the placing phase can still be negated.
Specials which target cards which are “in play” target all cards which are in play that meet the requirements of the card. This includes cards which are in play next to the Character or team, cards which are in play on other Characters, and cards which have landed as hits either on the current battle or in permanent record.
If one Special sets up a condition and then a second Special comes along with text that directly contradicts the first Special, then the Special played later takes precedence. On the other hand, Events always override the text of Specials.
Specials which have followup conditions that affect the playing Character (or playing Character’s team) that are not negated still have their conditions come into play, even if avoided some other way.
Hits
Special cards never fuse with MultiPower Power cards – even if the Special says that it “acts as a MultiPower Power card.”
When a Special refers to a “Hit” (be it on Permanent Record or Hits from Current Battle) it is referring to a single card, not the sum total of the points of Cumulative damage.
Specials that indicate that Hits on Permanent Record may be exchanged do not require either Character to actually have any hits on their record at the time. The exception being when the Special specifically mentions that two cards of a particular type may be exchanged, in which case, the Character(s) must have the appropriate type hit.
Specials which indicate that they act as Power cards only act as Power cards in that they can sometimes be used to attack or defend (as specified on the Special). They do NOT take on any other properties of Power cards i.e., they count towards X-Babies KO, they do NOT fuse with other MultiPower Power cards, they cannot be removed with an EE Special.
If a Special refers to a hit but does not specify Permanent Record or Hits From Current Battle then either type of hit would apply.
Secondary effects to Specials which come into play if a hit is successful remain in play throughout the battle that the hit was scored, even if the hit was later moved on to permanent Record (mid-battle). Similarly, if a hit is brought up from Permanent Record to Current Battle, the secondary effect does not come into play since the hit was not scored this battle.
When a Special has a requirement to use it based on the amount of hits on a Characters record, “Hits” refers to those hits which count towards the KO of the Character – cards which do not affect their KO status (due to Inherent Abilities or other Special cards) are not counted.
The phrase “wounded” refers to whenever a Character has a hit on either Permanent Record or hits to Current Battle. It does not refer to an attack which is being made.
Choice
Whenever a Special gives an option depending on the number of cards held by the opponent, the choice is made by the player who played the Special, unless the Special specifies otherwise.
Specials which require a selection to be made for the next battle require that the selection be made immediately – at the time the Special is played. One may not hold off on a decision until the next battle.
If a Special requires that the playing Character make a choice of some kind, then that choice must be made prior to the opponent’s defensive action.
Concede
Attacks that take place after an opponent concedes are limited to 1 attack to 1 Character. If a Special is played that grants follow-up attacks, the follow-up attacks are forfeited. Cards that requires a teammate’s contribution (e.g., DoubleShot cards) can be used. Cards that require a teammates follow-up (teamworks, ally cards) cannot be used. Activator cards can be used.
Attacks that take place after an opponent concedes may not be made with a card that requires a teammate’s follow-up (e.g., Teamwork card, Ally card).
Specials which affect what happens after an opponent has conceded the battle cannot be played in response to a player conceding before the battle begins (an option both players have).
Specials which prevent an opponent from conceding are played defensively in response to the player conceding. After the Special has been played, it is that players turn (just as it is after any other defensive actions). In other words, the sequence of events is (1) Player X concedes, (2) Player Y plays a Special preventing him from conceding, (3) Player Y then takes their normal turn (4) play proceeds as normal, except that Player X cannot concede as long as the Special preventing it is in play.
When an opponent concedes, only one Special may be played in response to that concession – even if multiple cards are playable after an opponent concedes.
Missions/Venture
If a Special acts as one type of attack but does damage as another type of attack, then for purposes of determining the Value added to the Venture Total, the amount applying to damage is used.
If a Special acts as one type of attack but does damage as another type of attack, then for purposes of determining the Value added to the Venture Total, the amount applying to damage is used.
When a Special affects what cards are counted towards Venture, this causes no change to how those same cards are counted towards KO.
Missions that can be ventured during the course of a battle do not grant either player the ability to draw additional cards because of a venture going above 2 Mission cards.
When a Special indicates that a Venture can be increased, it is still within the limits of what can be legally ventured. One cannot venture a card from the Completed Mission Pile unless there are cards in the Defeated Missions Pile.
Specials which affect damage done to a Character do not affect Venture Total unless they specifically say so.
The definition of a card in a particular Mission card pile does not include any cards which have been ventured. In other words, if someone has 6 cards in the Completed Missions Pile and has ventured his last Mission from the Reserve Missions pile, then they do not have any cards left in the Reserve Missions Pile.
If a Special can be attacked, then the card that hits that Special is discarded after the hit lands. The hit causes the Specials in play to be discarded as well. The Points of the attacker’s card do not count towards Venture.
When a card has a condition that depends on the specific Mission Set being played, then the use of any Mission Card from that set would qualify the set as being played.
If, by playing a Special card, a player removes their own last front line Character from play (e.g., by moving them into reserve) then the battle is immediately over and that player loses the Venture.
Cards which affect the number of Mission cards that are Ventured take effect regardless as to who wins/loses Venture.
Cards that affect Venture Total affect the number of points that are calculated at the end of the battle to determine the winner of the battle. They do not affect the number of Mission cards Ventured.
Missions which are ventured from the Completed Missions Pile may only cause cards from the Defeated missions Pile to be moved. If a Special causes the final card in the Defeated Missions Pile to be moved to the Reserve Missions Pile any Mission cards ventured from the Completed Missions Pile do not cause any cards to be moved up at the end of the battle (if the player wins the Venture that battle).
A card has an attack value when it has an icon in the upper left hand corner of the card and the card has the ability to act as an attack. The value to be used is the amount of damage the card would cause on a target character.
Ownership
“All (Character) Special cards” refers only to Specials which belong to that Character. Any Hero/Character Specials and Specials played via Activators are not counted as belonging to the Character.
Specials which grant the ability to play with certain Special cards do not alter which Special cards can be placed in your deck. The only Character-specific Special cards which can be placed in your deck are for the 4 Characters on your team. You may not put in Specials for non-team members in anticipation of making them playable via another Special.
Cards which are placed to one Character cannot be used by another unless a Special explicitly says so. Being able to “use” any teammate’s Special does not allow the Character to use a Special Placed to that teammate.
Other
A Character card which represents a group of Characters (Brood, Sentinels, Starjammers, etc.) are considered neuter gender (not male or female).
If the player who attacks has a hit land on one of his Characters as a result of the attack, it is still the other player’s turn after the turn has been resolved.
Any Hero/Character Specials may not be Placed unless the text of the Special or a played Event specifically allows it. Once Placed, only the Character to whom the Special is Placed may play the Special.
When a Special affects how one can use a Tactic card it restricts a Characters ability to play an Artifact on to another Character, to use the ability granted to the Character by an Artifact, or to launch a DoubleShot card. It does not affect their ability to contribute a power card to another Character which is using the DoubleShot.
Specials which refer to a specific number of Characters refer to the number of Characters which are in the specified state at this moment. If the number was different at an early part of the game, either because of Specials or Events which came into play, that has no bearing on the number of Characters currently being counted.
When a Special requires you to count a specific number of cards, the Special having you do the counting is in play and would not count towards the number of cards being counted.
When a Special refers to “all Characters” it is referring to all Characters on both teams unless it says otherwise.
If a specific Character is required to make an attack because the opponent forces the Character to do so, then the attack made cannot be an attack which require a teammate’s participation (e.g…, Ally cards, Teamwork cards, Tactic Cards, etc.).
The phrase “during battle” refers to the time after the Venture Phase has been completed and before the time when the Venture winner is determined.
Specials that do not indicate their duration by their game text should be considered Game lasting duration if they are One Per Deck and Battle lasting duration if they are non-OPD. Specials with instant effects are instant duration regardless.