HOW TO PLAY CHAOTIC

CHAOTIC TCG RULE BOOK

You win the game by defeating all of the Creatures controlled by your opponent.

1. Place your Creature cards face up in an inverted pyramid shape as shown. One player will be using Frafdo, Maglax, Rellim (x2 Tartarek and Laarina. The other player will be using Grook (x2), Kughar, Toxis, Magmon and Solvis. This will form your side of the Battleboard.

2. Shuffle your 20 Attack cards and place them face down off to the side as shown, this will form your “Attack Deck.” 3. Shuffle your 10 Location cards and place them face down off to the side as shown, this will form your “Location Deck.”

4. Your opponent should set up their Demo Deck in the same way forming one diamond-shaped Battleboard.

TIP: Do not worry about the other cards in the deck yet! Battlegear and Mugic Cards are covered under the Master Rules.

Now that the Battleboard is set up, you are almost ready to play your first game of Chaotic.

1. Each player draws the top two cards from their Attack Deck into their hand.

2. Decide who will take the first turn. You can flip a coin, roll a die, play Rock/Paper/Scissors; it does not matter as long as both players agree on a random method. The player who is taking a turn is called the Active Player. Once you have figured out who will go first, you can begin the game.

Each turn is made up of three steps: Location Step, Action Step and End of Turn Step.

The first thing the Active Player does on their turn is reveal the top card of their Location Deck by turning it face up. This Location is where all the action will take place this turn and determines which Creature will have Initiative in combat – we will get to that in a minute. The Location also has some other effects that are covered under the Master Rules. When the other player becomes the Active Player, they will use their own Location Deck to provide a Location for their turn. Now that you have revealed the Location, it is time to get down to business!

ACTION STEP: MOVEMENT & COMBAT

1. You must move at least one Creature each turn.

2. Each Creature may move one space per turn in any direction, unless stated otherwise on a card.

3. You may not move a Creature into a space occupied by another Creature you control.

4. If your Creature moves into a space occupied by an opponent’s Creature, you start combat.

5. You may only start one combat per turn. (The first turn of any game must have a combat since all the spaces on the Battleboard are occupied.)

The first thing you do once combat begins is determine which Creature has Initiative. Look at the Initiative line on your Location.

Most Locations favor the Creature with the highest value in one of the four discipline scores; Courage, Power, Wisdom or Speed. If the Initiative line lists one of these Disciplines, then compare which of the two Creatures in combat has the higher value for that Discipline. That Creature gets Initiative and will strike first. If the Initiative line lists a Tribe, then the Creature of that Tribe gets Initiative. If there is a tie (or both Creatures are of the Tribe listed on the Location), then the Creature controlled by the Active Player gets Initiative.

The Creature with Initiative attacks first. In Chaotic, attacks are called strikes. Now that it is clear which Creature will strike first, it is time to make an attack.

1. The player whose Creature is striking (which might not be the Active Player) draws the top card from their Attack Deck. That player should now have three Attack Cards in hand.

2. Choose one of the Attack Cards in hand and play it.

3. Calculate how much damage the Attack Card deals. (See below)

4. Place the Attack Card face up into your Attack Discard Pile.

To figure out how much damage an Attack Card deals to the opponent’s Creature:

1. First look at the Base Damage. All Creatures deal this damage.

2. Next look at the Elemental Damage: Compare the Elemental symbols on the played Attack Card with the Elemental symbols on the Creature playing the Attack Card. For each matching symbol, deal the damage listed next to the symbol on the Attack Card.

3. All damage dealt by an Attack Card is dealt at the same time. Use the Energy trackers on your Playmat to record how much Energy your Creature in combat has left. Some Attack Cards have other game effects. We will teach you how to use these effects in the Master Rules.

Now it is the other player’s chance to strike. Follow the same steps (1-4) explained in “Action Step: Striking.” Both players alternate striking until one of the Creatures in combat is defeated. A Creature is defeated when it has taken damage equal to or greater than its Energy. When that happens, put the defeated Creature into its owner’s Discard Pile. If the winning Creature was trying to move into an occupied space, it will take the place of the losing Creature. If the winning Creature successfully defended a space it already occupied, it stays in the space it started in.

Once combat is finished, the Active Player can continue moving any Creatures they control that have not yet moved this turn. Creatures can only move into open spaces at this point because you may only start one combat per turn. On later turns, remember you can choose to move Creatures before or after combat (there is no room to move before the very first combat of the game).

You must move at least one Creature each turn. Additional movement is not required. After you have moved at least one Creature, you may end your turn. When the turn ends, remove any damage from Creatures which took damage but were not defeated. Effects which last "until end of turn" end during this step. Then put the Location on the bottom of your Location Deck and pass the turn. The other player then begins their turn starting with Step 1.

The Apprentice Rules just scratch the surface of what it takes to fight in the Battledrome. The Master Rules explain how to play like an expert.

A complete game of Chaotic plays just like the basic game with two new card types - Battlegear and Mugic - and a few additional rules:

Battlegear are the weapons, armor and gear that Creatures use to gain an advantage in combat. There are six Battlegear Cards in each Demo Deck. You may equip only one Battlegear Card to each of your Creatures. Battlegear is placed face down under the Creature, equipping it at the start of the game. Battlegear which is turned face down is “turned off” and has no game effect until it is turned face up. Battlegear is turned face up when the Creature the Battlegear is equipped to becomes Engaged (enters combat) or at the beginning of the game if the Battlegear Card has the “Reveal at Beginning of Game” ability. You may look at your own face down Battlegear at any time during the game, but not your opponent’s Battlegear.

The Creatures of Perim are able to cast Mugic spells by channeling the spirits of powerful and ancient Mugicians. There are six Mugic Cards in your Demo Deck.

Include one Mugic Card for each Creature in your deck. All of your Mugic Cards are held in your hand throughout the game. Mugic Cards are played by paying Mugic counters from Creatures you control. There are Mugic Cards for each Tribe, as well as “Generic Mugic” that can be used by any Tribe.

To play a Mugic Card, check if it has a tribal affiliation. If it does, then remove Mugic counters from a Creature you control of the same Tribe equal to the number of Mugic symbols on the card. If the Mugic Card is Generic, you may remove the appropriate number of Mugic counters from a Creature of any Tribe.

When you play Chaotic at the Master level, include these new rules:

Setup: Set up a Master level game as follows:

1. Place all Creature and Battlegear Cards face down.

2. After both players have finished setting up, reveal all your Creature Cards and any Battlegear Cards which have the “Reveal at beginning of game” ability.

3. Leave any other Battlegear Cards face down.

4. Once all Creatures have been revealed, place Mugic counters on your Creatures equal to their Mugic ability. (This can be coins, beads, or any object suitable to track Mugic counters for each creature.)

5. Each player draws the top two cards from their Attack Deck into their hand.

6. Decide who will take the first turn.

Many Creatures have special abilities. These abilities come in three types:

1. Innate: Innate Abilities are always on. You cannot choose whether or not to use them.

2. Activated: Activated Abilities are those which allow you to choose when to play them. These abilities usually have a cost to play the ability. This cost might be to remove one or more Mugic counters or to sacrifice a Creature (sacrifice means to discard it from play). If you can not pay the cost, you can not use the ability.

3. Triggered: Triggered Abilities tell you when they occur. There is a condition or trigger that causes them to happen - if the trigger occurs, the ability occurs.

The Burst allows both players to respond to abilities/effects in the game.

1. A Burst begins when an ability/effect occurs in the game. This happens whenever a player plays an Attack Card, Mugic Card or uses a Creature or Battlegear ability. Innate Abilities do not start a Burst, but Triggered Abilities do start a Burst.

2. After you start a Burst, your opponent may respond to the ability or effect which started the Burst with their own ability or effect.

3. Both players then alternate adding effects and abilities to the Burst. A player may choose not to add additional abilities or effects to a Burst.

4. Once both players choose not to add anything new to the Burst, the entire Burst is complete. No abilities or effects on the Burst resolve until the Burst is complete.

5. Once the Burst is complete, the abilities and effects resolve with the last thing that was added to the Burst resolving first.

6. Abilities and effects on the Burst continue to resolve one at a time in reverse order, with the first thing that was added to the Burst resolving last. Other effects may not be played while a Burst is resolving.

In addition to Base Damage and Elemental Damage, some Attack Cards have other effects. Two common effects on Attack Cards are Checks and Challenges. Checks ask you to see if the Courage, Power, Wisdom or Speed on the Creature playing the Attack Card is at least a certain number.

Challenges ask you to compare the same stat on the two Creatures in combat and see if the stat on the Creature playing the Attack Card is greater than your opponent’s Creature’s stat by at least a certain amount. If your Creature makes the Check or the Challenge, then the Attack Card will deal extra damage or have another effect.

In addition to determining which Creature will win Initiative, Locations have other abilities which affect the game while the Location is the Active Location. Be sure to read each Location Card when it becomes the Active Location.

A: If you cannot draw an Attack Card because your Attack Deck is empty, shuffle your Attack Discard Pile together, place it face down and use this as your Attack Deck.

A: No. Two Creatures (or cards of any card type) are considered to be copies of the same card if they share the same exact name.

A: Both “copies” of Fire 5 work. If this Creature played a Fire Attack Card, it would deal an extra 10 damage. When a Creature has more than one “copy” of an ability which has a number (such as Earth 5, Swift 1 and Intimidate 10), all of those copies will work normally.

A: You will not be able to play those remaining Mugic Cards or any ability which requires you to expend a Mugic counter as part of its cost.

A: Yes, unless that Mugic or ability says that only certain Creatures may be its legal target, such as: “Target an Engaged Creature”, “Target a Creature you control” or “Target an opposing Creature.”

A: If you do not have a Chaotic Playmat handy, use pencil and paper. Remember that you must always show your opponent your Creatures’ statistics if they ask to see them!

A: “Beginning of Turn” is the first thing that occurs on a player’s turn. “End of Turn” is the last thing that happens on a player’s turn. “Beginning of Battle” and “End of Battle” only occur during a player’s Action Step and only if that player has made a move action that starts combat.

A: No – once all players pass after items have been added to a Burst, the Burst will resolve. Neither player will gain priority until all the items on the Burst have resolved. After the Burst has completely resolved, the Active Player will gain priority.

A: “Heal X Energy” removes X damage already dealt to a Creature this turn. “Gain X Energy” adds X Energy to a Creature’s current Energy total.

Activated Ability: Abilities that have some associated cost to activate (such as the removal of a Mugic counter). They are typically written in the format “Pay (cost) to do (effect).”

Air X: See “Element X”

Attack Discard Pile: Area on the Battleboard where Attack cards are placed when they resolve. Only Attack cards may be placed in the Attack discard pile.

Attacking Player: During a combat strike phase, the player whose turn it is to play an Attack Cards is called the “Attacking Player”.

Battleboard: An arrangement of game spaces - made up of two opposing triangles joined at their bases - where a game of Chaotic is played. At the beginning of the game, each space on the Battleboard will be occupied by a Creature.

Burst: A Burst represents one or more unresolved Mugic or card abilities. A Burst is started each time a player uses Mugic or plays a card ability. Bursts may also be started by certain card abilities that occur automatically, such as Triggered Abilities. In addition, playing an Attack Card during the strike phase starts a burst.

Challenge (Discipline) “X”: A comparison of the indicated discipline between two Engaged Creatures. In order to win the challenge the Creature that you control must have a value in the indicated discipline that is greater than or equal to your opponent’s Creature’s statistic by at least the amount “X”. Otherwise you lose the challenge.

Damage: Damage is dealt by Attack cards, Mugic, or other abilities and the total damage dealt is compared to Creature’s energy total. Any amount of damage that is less than 0 is treated as 0. Damage remains on a Creature until the end of each turn. At the end of turn, all Creatures on the Battleboard have all damage removed. When the total damage on a Creature is equal to or greater than its energy, that Creature is defeated and moved to the discard pile

Discard Pile: Area on the Battleboard where Mugic cards are placed when they resolve and where Battlegear and Creatures are placed when they are discarded from play.

Dispel: When an ability or Mugic is dispelled it has no game effect. Mugic cards and abilities that are dispelled are removed from the Burst without resolving.

Discipline: Courage, Power, Wisdom, and Speed are a Creature’s disciplines.

Earth X: See “Element X”

(Element) X: A Creature with (Element) X deals an additional X damage with Attack cards of the indicated elemental type. Multiple instances of this ability on a card are cumulative.

Elemental Attack: Any Attack Card with an elemental type is considered an elemental attack of the associated type (or types).

Elemental Type: Cards may have one or more associated elemental types - Air, Earth, Fire, and Water. Elemental types on a Creature Card allow that Creature to do damage or other effects with Attack Cards that share an elemental type with that Creature. Some cards may be affected by game abilities based on their elemental type (for example, see “Element X”).

Energy: The energy of a Creature is given by its printed energy value modified by any Battlegear, Location effects, Mugic, or card abilities that state they alter a Creature’s energy.

Engaged: A Creature currently involved in a combat is Engaged.

Fire X: See “Element X”

Gain X Energy: This ability adds X energy to a Creature’s current energy total.

Generic Mugic: Mugic cards without a tribal designation that may be played by a Creature of any tribe.

Heal X: This ability removes X damage from a Creature. This effect can not cause the Creature’s current damage total to fall below 0.

Immune (ability): Creatures immune to an ability can not be affected by that ability. That ability is considered to be negated. For example, a Creature Immune to invisibility would negate all invisibility effects in a battle (see Invisibility and Negate).

Innate Ability: Abilities that are 'always on’ - you can’t choose whether or not to use them. Elemental X, Swift X, and Recklessness X are examples of innate abilities.

Intimidate (discipline) X: At the beginning of combat, all opposing Creatures’ (discipline) is reduced by X until end the turn. This is a triggered ability that occurs at the beginning of combat.

Invisibility (effect): A creature with Invisibility gains the indicated effect as long as Invisibility is not negated. The Invisibility ability negates the invisibility of other Creatures. In addition, certain Battlegear or other effects may negate invisibility. Invisibility may only be negated in combat at the beginning of the combat step.

Opposing Creature: An Engaged Creature that is controlled by your opponent. Note that this term does not apply to all Creatures controlled by your opponent, only the one currently involved in Combat.

Negate: An attack, Mugic, or ability that is negated has no effect.

Play: “To play” means a player using Mugic, using an activated ability, or using an Attack Card during their strike phase. Other game effects, such as triggered abilities, are not considered “played”. The action of “playing” a Mugic or ability consists of all steps of the process from the announcement of the Mugic or ability to be used through the paying of costs. The action of “playing” an Attack Card likewise consists of all steps of the Attack Card selection process.

Range: A keyword ability that indicates that a Creature may move through occupied Battleboard spaces during its move. Creatures only initiate combat when they end their movement in a space occupied by an opposing creature.

Recklessness X: Recklessness does X damage to the Creature with Recklessness when it resolves. This ability is a triggered ability that triggers when an Engaged Creature with Recklessness plays an Attack Card.

Sacrifice: A cost or an effect which results in the removal of a card you control. That Creature is immediately placed into the discard pile along with any equipped Battlegear. A sacrifice may not be prevented by other game effects.

Source: The source of a Mugic Card is the Creature who played that Mugic. The source of an ability is the card on which the ability appears. The source of an Attack Card is the Creature who played that card.

Support (discipline) X: A Creature with Support improves its disciplines by being adjacent to other Creatures of its tribe. The indicated discipline is increased by X for every adjacent Creature of the same tribe controlled by the same player. Multiple copies of support are cumulative.

Swift X: A Creature with Swift can move an additional X spaces on the Battleboard.. For example, a Creature with Swift 1 may move a total of 2 spaces on the Battleboard. However, a Creature with Swift still cannot move through occupied spaces. Multiple copies of Swift on a Creature are cumulative

Tribe: All Creatures in the game have an associated tribal designation. Currently there are 4 different tribes. These are OverWorld, UnderWorld, Danian, and Mipedian. In addition, other cards in the game, such as Mugic, may also have a tribal designation. Finally, all Creature abilities are considered to have the tribal designation of the source Creature.

Triggered Abilities: A triggered ability gives a specific time or event which causes the ability to be activated. When that time or event occurs, these abilities are resolved. Triggered abilities create a Burst. If more than one ability is triggered at the same time, the Active Player adds their abilities to the Burst in any order. Then the defending player resolves abilities in a similar manner.

Water X: See “Element X”

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