List of terms for VS System

This is a list of terms associated with the VS System.

Basic game concepts

*Endurance: Each player starts with 50 endurance. At the beginning of the recovery step (see Phases of gameplay) the player with zero endurance loses the game. If both players have less than zero endurance, the player with the higher endurance is the winner.
*Deck: A player’s chosen set of cards used for playing the game. Constructed decks may have no less than 60 cards.
*Hand: You start the game with four cards and draw two cards each turn. There is no limit to the number of cards a player may have in your hand at one time.
*Front Row: When you recruit a character, you can put it in your front row or support row. Characters in your front row comprise a player's main line of attack and defense. Front row characters protect characters behind them in the support row.
*Support Row: This is the row directly behind the front row where you can place characters. If a support row character is protected (there is a front row character directly in front of it) it can only be attacked by opposing characters with flight. Only characters with range can attack from the support row.
*Resource Row: This is the row closest to you. Each turn, a player may put one card from his/her hand face down into this row as a resource during his or her build phase. Any card can be placed face down into the resource row and will count as a resource. However, plot twists and locations have additional game effects when placed in the resource row. For example, effects of locations and ongoing plot twists are only active when these cards are face up in the resource row. Character and equipment cards put into the resource row may not be turned face up. A player may look at face-down resources he or she has n play at any time, but a player may not change their order within the row.
*Protected: A front row character that is not stunned protects the support row character directly behind him or her. Front row characters are never considered protected.
*KO: Short for knocked out. When a card is KO’d, it is placed into its owner’s KO’d pile.
*KO’d pile: When a card is KO’d, it goes into its owner’s KO’d pile. Cards in this pile are face up, in any order. This is akin to the discard pile on other trading card games.
*Ready/Exhausted: A card in play is either ready (upright) or exhausted (turned on its side, face up). To ready an exhausted card, turn the card upright. To exhaust a ready card, turn it on its side. Cards enter play in the ready state, unless otherwise noted.
*Stunned: When a character is defeated in combat it becomes stunned and is turned face down in the exhausted state. Stunned characters may not be attacked and cannot use their powers listed in rules text.
*Recover: When a stunned character is recovered, it is turned face up in the exhausted state.
*Activate: This is an original game keyword and appears in a card’s rules text. Only ready (upright) cards can activate. To activate a ready card, exhaust it (turn it on its side). This is a payment cost for the character’s power, and is often referred to in game text as “activated ability.”
*Payment Power: A payment power is a card effect that requires the payment of a cost by the player. Cards with payment powers usually have an arrow (→) in the rules text. The text before the arrow is the cost and the text after the arrow is the game effect, or power. All activated abilities are payment powers.
*Crossover: Used in Team-Up effects. All characters you own in play, in your hand, deck, KO'd pile, or resource row that have any of the named team affiliations have all the named team affiliations.
*Reinforcement: Characters can gain this trait. While a character has reinforcement breakthrough damage that would normally be caused by attacks is negated. (Stun damage is applied as normal.)
*Replace: When a card tells you to 'Replace' a resource, you must KO that resource and put the top card of your deck face-down into your resource row.
*Unique: An aspect of all non-army characters, all locations that do not state in their printed text that they are "non-unique", and some equipment. An object with the Unique keyword or trait is one of a kind, and a player can only have one copy of it in play at a time.

Keyword mechanics

*Ally: A character's ally power is activated when a character is powered-up.
*Backup: Backup cards have activated powers that can only be used during the build phase.
*Boost: You may spend the extra amount of resource points listed beside the word 'Boost' when recruiting this character. If you do, the effect printed is triggered. The "Marvel Team-Up" set introduced other kinds of boost costs (for example, KO'ing a resource you control).
*Concealed: This character or equipment comes into play in the hidden area (the hidden area is a field beside your normal 'visible' area. It has a front and support row, and row rules still apply, but characters in the hidden area cannot be attacked by other characters. Equipment cards can not be equipped to characters in the concealed area unless the equipment specifies otherwise or has the keyword "concealed-optional".)
**Concealed-Optional: You may play this character or equipment in either the hidden or visible area.
*Cosmic: When this character comes into play, you may put a cosmic counter on it. As long as it has the cosmic counter, the printed effect is active or can be activated. When the character is stunned, remove all cosmic counters from the character.
**Cosmic-Surge: This character does not come into play with a cosmic counter, but receives a cosmic counter at the start of the recovery phase. All other Cosmic rules still apply.
*Evasion: You may stun this character. At the start of the recovery phase, recover this character. (This does not count as your one recovered character this turn)
*Free: There is no cost for this ability, but there may be future cards that affect Free powers.
*Insanity: In order to use the text after the 'Insanity' keyword, you may not have more than one copy of any card in your deck
*Invulnerability: When this character is stunned, you do not lose endurance equal to their recruit cost. (Breakthrough damage is applied as normal.)
*Leader: Characters adjacent to this character get the bonuses listed.
*Loyalty: You cannot recruit this character unless you control another character that shares at least one team affiliation with this character.
**Loyalty-Reveal: If you don’t control a character that shares an affiliation with this card, then as an additional cost to recruit this character, reveal another character card with the same team affiliation from your hand or resource row.
**Dual-Loyalty: Introduced in the "Marvel Team-Up" set. You must control characters with both this character's printed affiliations in order to recruit this character.
*Mutant Traits: There are three types of mutant traits: Physical, Energy, and Mental. Like willpower, they are used for cards that require you to have cards of a certain mutant trait.
*Press: When you recruit this card, your next character costs 1 less to recruit this turn for each press card you recruited this turn, but no less than 1.
*Rally: You reveal the top card of your deck, and get the following effect if you reveal the specified card type (character, plot twist, location, or equipment).
*Reservist: You may recruit this character from your resource row. You may put a card from your hand face-down in your resource row if you do so.
*Substitute: Reveal this card. You may remove from the game a ready character you control with cost greater than or equal to the cost of this card. If you do, put this card into play. Use this power only if this card is in your hand and only during your recruit step.
*Terraform: Reveal this card. You may return a face-down resource you control to its owner's hand. If you do, put this card face down into your resource row. Use this power only during your recruit step and only if this card is in your hand.
*Transferable: A keyword only found on some equipment. This keyword allows a player to move the equipment to another character they control during the formation step.
*Vengeance: A character's vengeance power is triggered when it becomes stunned.
*Willpower: A character with willpower has the templating "willpower #". This number does nothing by itself but is referenced by other cards to generate a variety of effects. All stunned characters and those without a printed Willpower are considered to have a Willpower of zero.

Card makeup

* Name: All cards have a name. Characters and locations are by default unique, equipment and plot twists are not, exceptions can be applied by card text. Unique means only one of that card of that particular name can be in play at the one time
* Recruit Cost: Appears only on Character and Equipment cards. The amount of resource points required to recruit a card (see Phases of gameplay for further explanation).
* Threshold Cost: Appears only on Plot Twists and Locations. You can flip a location or play a plot twist if you have at least as many resources in play as its threshold cost.
* Version: Originally, this line provided a way to distinguish one version of the character from another, however all card types may now have version text. Some versions apply special rules to the card, such as "Construct" or "Team-up." Rules for deck construction restrict the number of any card version to four, with the exception of any version Army cards which are unlimited.
* Artwork: A frame containing the artwork for the card, attempts to be representative of the card. For example, the plot twist "Fizzle" negates an opponent's non-ongoing plot twist shows Batman pinching out the fuse of a bomb that the Joker is holding. On promotional extended art cards this section has larger than normal proportions.
* Team Affiliation: Most characters belong to a team but some belong to none or two teams.
* Flight and Range: Icons appear only on Character cards, represented by a pair of wings and crosshairs. Show if characters have these characteristics.
* ATK/DEF: The two numbers at the lower left of a Character card. The gold number near the thunderbolt determines attack (how well it deals damage) and the silver number near the shield determines defense (how well it resists damage).
* Card Type: Printed on Plot Twists, Locations, and Equipments and appears where the Team Affiliation appears on Character cards. Simply tells what type of card it is.
* Rules Text: Explains the actions taken when the card is played. This text alters the rules and outcome of the game.
* Ongoing: Appears on Plot Twist cards. Represented by an icon that looks like a clock showing 3 o'clock. Text in the Rules Text area after the word "Ongoing" is a continuous modifier on the game rules.
* Flavor Text: A quote or character information that has no game effect.
* Collector Number: The first three letters describe the set and the last three numbers describe which card in the set it is. A white collector number indicates a common card, silver an uncommon card. When the number is gold, it indicates a rare card. On Extended Art promotional cards, the number is red.

References

* [http://entertainment.upperdeck.com/marvel/en/downloads/marvel_rulebook.pdf Marvel TCG Rulebook]
* [http://entertainment.upperdeck.com/op/vs_rules/vs_rules.aspx VS System Comprehensive rules]