These are the rules for SPTCG. Read and re-read until they are engraved into your head!
Changelog
8/21/2010: Rules revised to modern standards, and easier to understand.
Notes-- These rules were built with other card game manuals in mind, such as the yugioh handbook and the Magic 'how to play' foldout and such.
Rules
What is SPTCG?
SPTCG (Shattered Planes Trading Card Game) takes the setting we love to roleplay so much and gives it form in a fun and easy to understand card game. Wars (duels) are conducted between two or more players, the first to reduce their opponent's planet's life to 0 wins the war. There are hundreds of ways you can customize your deck with magic, technology, and character cards to increase your chances of coming out on top!
Deck? Afterlife? What is all of this?
The Deck:
In any trading card game, you are tasked to build something known as a deck. Your deck can hold no less than 40 cards, and no more than 80. It is highly encouraged that you keep the card count as low as possible (around 40-50) so you aren't waiting for your best cards all the time while your opponent is getting ever so closer to winning. Also keep in mind that you may not have no more than 4 of the same cards, so it is vital (and almost required!) to have a variety of cards in your deck.
The Afterlife:
Once a card's effect is done and over with, or if their life count hits 0 (We'll get to this later), they are more often than not sent to the discard pile, or The Afterlife. The Afterlife is public knowledge, and both players may look through the opposing player's afterlife. Often, this is the ultimate end for most cards, but there are effects that may bring cards back out from The Afterlife as well.
Nonexistence:
A term used when a card is considered 'out of play' or 'removed from the game.' This goes a grade beyond the Afterlife, as almost all cards that enter this pile never come out until the war is over. Just think of this as a "Oh, THAT pile. They're gone forever? Kay." sort of thing.
How to read SPTCG cards.
Most, if not all cards are relatively the same. Things like attack (things that aren't shown here) are displayed in the effect area. This is different for planet cards though; their tech level is shown in the same location as soul is for characters.
What different kinds of cards are there?
Planets
Your sole purpose of the war is to protect this. You may play a maximum of 3 planets per war. If all of your planets are destroyed ( 0 life ), you lose the game. Make sure this does not happen!
Also, keep in mind the bottom right number. On a character or berserker card, it would normally symbolize Soul. However, this is a planet card, so it rather symbolizes the planet's tech level.
Spells
Your main way of your characters to attack. They will expend soul to cast spells such as these to either deal damage or do other effects.
Characters and Berserkers
The backbone of your magic, characters stay behind the front lines and volley various magical spells. However, if the character is a berserker, the character can move into the battle field and attack! Their battlefield stats are often listed in the effect area, as well as going into battle may change their maximum life and soul count.
Units
The backbone of your offense. Your units are 'built' through the tech level listed on your planets, and they inhabit the battlefield waiting for the orders to strike. This, along with magic, will be the method most often used to inflict damage on your opponent's planets or other cards.
Feats
Like spells, only they instead use the tech level from your planets to perform their effects. Think of them as the technology version of magic spells.
How to play
Go to war!
In case you forgot, a single duel is called a 'war,' while games like 'best two out of three' are known as Campaigns. There are currently two ways to win a war:
1. Destroy your opponent's planets.
2. Your opponent runs out of cards.
If one or both of these conditions are met at the same time for both sides (both of your planets are destroyed at the same time), it is known as a truce. The official way to decide the win is by a coin flip, but are only enforced in campaigns or tournaments.
PREPARING TO GO TO WAR!1. Go through your deck. Choose a planet and a character WITHOUT A KICK COST and lay it down on your side of the field. These are your beginning character and planet cards.
2. Shuffle your deck, make sure your opponent does so as well. Cut the decks if it's relevant to your interests.
3. Decide who goes first. flip a coin, play paper rock scissors, roll a dice, fight to the death- Whatever that works best for you.
4. Draw 7 cards and begin!
Turn mechanicsA turn consists of 5 phases. As you progress through your turn, you go through these phases in order.
Draw Phase-
You take the top card of your deck and add it to your hand. You can't do anything else on this phase unless a card effect says so. Otherwise, after you've drawn, proceed to the next phase.
Effect Phase-
Various effects from cards often take place on this phase. However, if there are no such effects, proceed to the next phase.
Amass Phase-
During this phase, you may play one character from your hand (a maximum of three characters can be out on your side of the field at a time), and you may play one planet from your hand (a maximum of three planets can be out on your side of the field at a time.). You may also pay kick costs to play characters with them, but this costs as your character play for this turn (can only play one character/planet at a time.). You may also build units and perform summons during this phase. Once you've done your business (or nothing at all!), proceed to the next phase.
Keep in mind that any planets or characters you put in play start out with ZERO Soul and tech levels! Every turn, their soul/tech level is replenished by half of their maximum capacity (For example, I play a character with a maximum of 10 soul. He starts out at zero. Once my turn comes around again, his soul increases to 5, half of 10. You replenish this same amount no matter what, like if his soul was at 7, it'd still replenish by 5, half of ten.)
The first character and planet you start out with in the war have half of their soul/tech right off the bat. IMPORTANT: First player cannot attack or launch spells/feats!
Battle Phase: This is where the magic happens.... Literally! During this phase, you send your units and summons to battle! Battles consist of three steps.
1. Declaration
Announce all units and summons that are going to battle, and announce their targets all at the same time. Viable targets are Units, Summons, Characters, and Planets.
2. Vindication
The player on the receiving end of your massive onslaught can then assign blocking units, summons, and characters. This basically means that they can choose other cards to take the damage that was originally intended for whatever you've targeted. However, the defending player CAN NOT choose their planet to take the damage for another unit, summon, or character.
The defending player may also perform any spells or feats this turn that may modify the battle.
3. Calculation
Battle damage is applied through the resulting matchups through the declaration and vindication steps. To apply damages, subtract the attacker's attack number from the receiving card's life number (My unit attacks a summon or something. My unit's attack was 5, so 5 life is taken away from the summon.)
You do not have to conduct the battle phase. If desired, you may skip this phase entirely on your turn. After you've conducted your battle phase or skipped it, proceed to the next phase.
End Phase: Once you reach this phase, your turn is over, and your opponent begins his turn starting at the drawing phase. While your opponent is taking his turn, you remain in the end phase until he/she reaches it as well, and you proceed back to the draw phase. This cycle repeats until a victor is declared.
Pseudo practice duel!
This is basically put together to allow you to understand exactly everything that happens in a duel, and to put together everything.
PRACTICE DUEL SO YOU CAN PULL ALL OF THIS TOGETHER:
Me and my opponent both set a planet down from our deck. We then shuffle our deck. I decide to go first. My planet's life and tech levels are 14 respectively.
--Draw Phase
I draw a card.
--Effect Phase
Nothing happens here. Think of this like a standby phase from Yugioh.
--Amass Phase
I decide I want to play down Faote with a soul level of, I dunno, 23. You can only play one character/planet per turn, so that's it in terms of characters. However, I decide I want to put out some troops and ships, so I waste 7 of my tech level to bring out a battle cruiser and a battalion.
--Battle phase
Can't do anything here. I'm the first person to go, so I'm forbidden to conduct my battle phase.
--End Phase
My opponent takes over. While my opponent is taking his turn, I remain in this phase until he reaches his end phase.
So, my opponent now!
--Draw Phase
He draws a card.
--Effect Phase
I didn't do anything to muck with his effect phase, so he skips it.
--Recruit/build Phase
He decides he... ... ... wants to do almost the exact same as me and play Katherine and the battle cruiser and battalion. The copying bastard. But wait! Let's say Katherine has a special ability that for every effect phase, both players draw a card.
--Battle Phase
Since he's second player, he can send out his units/summons to attack me. Therefore, he declares his Battalion as an attacker towards my planet. The declaration step is now over. For my vindication step, I decide I want my character to take the damage. Then the calculation step comes, and life is subtracted from Faote.
--End Phase.
You know.
My turn!
--Draw Phase
I draw a card. Durr.
--Effect Phase
Since Katherine requires us both to draw a card during effect phase, I actually do something during this phase. GUESS WHAT IT IS?? I draw another card.
--Recruit/build Phase
Eh, I don't think I'll play anything else. Keep in mind though that my tech level that I spent last turn (Which was 7 out of a total of 14.) is replenished by half of it's maximum level. So half of 14 is 7, so I'm back up to full.
--Battle phase
Let's say I cast a fireball spell that does 10 damage to whatever I want to attack. It costs 5, so Faote's soul level drops from 23 to 18. I target my opponent's planet with everything I've got... Which he blocks with his battalion! Dammit! Okay, so his battalion takes so and so damage. No biggie. Whatever. So damage is dealt, lives are lost, and the cries of innocent people are heard. ... Er, yeah.
--End Phase
Fuck all this fighting! I'm done!
--Zai Forfeits.
