-- Shiny Chariot TCG -- Pre-release Rulebook, or How Do I Play Those Cards? ** "Four damage to Sucy! So, I win!" -Atsuko Kagari "How can you do something that's not written on the card? I don't get it." -Sucy Manbavaran ** //0.5 - Introduction When I started writing down ideas in a Tumblr post for a Shiny Chariot TCG, I only half-believed I could ever truly pull myself by the bootstraps and make it an actual thing. With that being said, the combined drive of being a card game nerd and the wonderful Little Witch Academia fandom being a wonderful and truly lovely community has made the impossible happen, and little by little, I managed to overcome a lot of hurdles along the way, finally finding myself very close to a first playable version. On a personal level, I see this game being brought into existence as a way to give back to both the series (which I dearly love) and to its online community. As the first release draws near, I ought to make a proper set of rules, so that the plugin can stand on its own and anyone and everyone can try out the game for themselves. As a pre-release rulebook, it's worth mentioning that a lot of different rules are subject to change, and if I come to fine tune the game, then so will the rulebook evolve as well. The game is probably an unbalanced mess for now, that's something I'll have to figure out through playtesting. With that being said, it's also worth noting this version of the rulebook will not care much about being concise, instead including personal thoughts, potential ideas, and various types of notes to make sure nothing important is left out or forgotten along the way. This, too, will be subject to change in future versions of the rulebook should there be any. I have done my best to make a game with a low barrier of entry, something without overwhelming rules or complex setups, so that even people who are relatively new to TCGs can enjoy the game, while still trying to give the rules and cards enough spice that it can retain interest for more experienced players. Though it may also be unbalanced in that way, I sincerely hope I made something that every fan of the show can enjoy, and should I be able to, I will continue to strive for this balance with any change made to the game. As a final word of introduction, I believe I tried my best at making the game playable, and hopefully even somewhat fun. Obviously, the cards are not mine, a lot of ideas are taken from other games as well. If anyone sees potential in this set of rules and mechanics, but wishes to change a few things to make their own variation on this system, then by all means, feel free to take what you feel is done right to base your version off of. It would be hypocritical of me to be protective of this small project when I've taken so much left and right. Playing is most fun when it's freely shared with people whose company you enjoy and cherish. ** // Summary //1 - Zones, spells, turn phases and win condition //1.1 - Game zones -1.1.1 - The Hand -1.1.2 - The Field -1.1.3 - The Discard //1.2 - Spells //1.3 - Turn phases -1.3.1 - Main Phase -1.3.2 - Combat Phase -1.3.3 - End Phase //1.4 - Win condition //1.5 - Tokens //2 - Specific cards rulings //2.1 - Loveshroom //2.2 - Blue Moon & Horologium Chamber //2.3 - Moonlit Witch //2.4 - Shiny Rod //2.5 - Unicorn & Alcor //2.6 - Pegasus //Additional thoughts ** //1 - Zones, spells, turn phases and win condition Shiny Chariot TCG is a deck-building card game, using the Shiny Chariot cards from the Little Witch Academia series. In the game, cards are referred to as 'Spells'. Here, we will discuss some of the basics of the game. //1.1 - Game zones In Shiny Chariot TCG, there are three main zones. The Hand, the Field, and the Discard. -1.1.1 - The Hand The Hand is where your spells all start out. It is only visible to you. In the absence of a deck zone, you start with every one of your spells in your hand. A hand can be between 15 and 20 spells. There can be no more of three spells of the same name in your hand, except in the case a spell is marked as "Premium", in which case no more than one single spell of the same name can be in your hand. A "Premium" spell will be marked as such in its effect text. -1.1.2 - The Field The Field is where your spells are played. It is visible to all players. The field is where combat happens. The specifics of combat will be detailed in the 'Combat' section of the 'Turn phases' sub-chapter. -1.1.3 - The Discard The Discard is where your spells are sent when used to pay for Mana or when they are defeated in combat. It is visible to all players. The specifics of Mana shall be covered in the 'Spells' sub-chapter. When a spell is sent to the discard, whether to pay for Mana or as a result of combat, you put a Discard counter on it (Or more if the spell effect allows/requires it). At the beginning of your turn, all spells currently in the Discard lose one Discard counter. When a spell in the Discard has no Discard counter on it, you add it back to your hand. //1.2 - Spells Spells are your only ressource in Shiny Chariot TCG. Each spell offers multiple informations, visible at a glance. For the sake of example, the spell Loveshroom will be used. At the top of the spell sits the Mana Type, represented by one of three celestial bodies: The Sun, The Moon or The Star. In this case, Loveshroom is a Moon card. Underneath the spell's art lies the name of the spell, here 'Loveshroom', followed by its effect. Loveshroom's effect reads 'Any amount of damage this deals to a spell is enough to destroy it.' In the bottom left corner lies the Mana Value of the spell. Loveshroom's Mana Value is of 1. This means that Loveshroom can either be brought to the field by sending to the Discard a spell with a Mana Value of 1 or more, or that Loveshroom can be sent from the Hand to the Discard to gain 1 Mana Value, which can then be used to summon other spells. (Spells can only be summonned using Mana of their type.) All Mana gained on your turn is retained for that turn. So, as an example, Pappiliodya is a Moon spell with a Mana Value of 2. By sending Pappiliodya to the Discard, I can spend 1 Mana to summon Loveshroom to the Field, and use the remaining Mana for something else this turn. (For example, by sending another Pappiliodya to the Discard, which would gain me 2 Mana, the 3 total Mana would allow me to bring Blue Moon to the Field.) Likewise, I can send multiple spells of lower Mana Value to the Discard in order to bring a Spell with more Mana Value to the Field. So by sending Loveshroom and Pappiliodya from the Hand to the Discard, the 3 total Mana would also allow me to bring Blue Moon to the Field. Mana does not carry over different turns, any Mana that is not used before the end of the turn is lost as the turn ends. In the bottom right corner lies the Attack and Life of a spell. The first number is the Attack, the second is the Life. Loveshroom has an Attack of 0, and a Life of 2. Those numbers are mostly important during combat, and their significance will be further explained in the 'Combat' section of the 'Turn phases' sub-chapter. //1.3 - Turn phases In Shiny Chariot TCG, turns are taken each time a different player starts their own turn. So in a case where there are two players, Player 1 would be taking the first turn. When Player 2 then plays, this would be counted as turn 2. Player 1 then plays again, which would be counted as turn 3. After this, Player 2 plays again, which would be counted as Turn 4, so on and so forth. A turn is divided into three phases. Those are the Main Phase, the Combat Phase, and the End Phase. They are taken in that order. -1.3.1 - Main Phase The Main Phase is where you set up your field. It starts by withdrawing one Discard counter from each spell in your Discard, and add every spell without any Discard counter back to your Hand. You can then send your spells from the Hand to the Discard or to the Field. -1.3.2 - Combat Phase The Combat Phase is skipped during Turn 1. The Combat Phase is when your spells battle with one another. First, the player taking their turn can declare an attack with any of their spells. (Or none if they want.) Then, the opposing player can block the attacking player's spell with any of their own. By blocking, the damage dealt by an opposing spell is dealt to one of your spells instead of to you. Example 1: Player 1 attacks with Loveshroom and Pappiliodya. Player 2 has Shiny Balai and Moonlit Witch on their Field. They can assign Shiny Balai to block Pappiliodya, and Moonlit Witch to block Loveshroom. Defending players are the one deciding how each blocker is assigned. A single spell cannot block multiple spells at once. An attacking spell, however, can be blocked by multiple spells at once. Example 2: Player 1 attacks with Loveshroom and Pappiliodya. Player 2 has Shiny Balai on their Field. Player 2 can assign Shiny Balai to block Pappiliodya or Loveshroom, but not both. Example 3: Player 1 attacks with Loveshroom. Player 2 has Shiny Balai and Moonlit Witch on their Field. Player 2 can assign Shiny Balai or Moonlit Witch, or both Shiny Balai and Moonlit Witch to block Loveshroom, but not both. During Combat, the Attack and Life of spells come into play. Attack represents how much damage a spell can deal. Life represents how much damage a spell can take before being sent to the Discard. Let's go back to example 1. For the sake of demonstration, we will ignore card effects for now. Player 1 attacks with Loveshroom and Pappiliodya. Player 2 assigns Shiny Balai to block Pappiliodya and Moonlit Witch to block Loveshroom. Loveshroom has an Attack of 0 and a Life of 2. Moonlit Witch has an Attack of 4 and a Life of 4. Damage is done simultaneously. In this case, Loveshroom deals 0 damage to Moonlit Witch. At the same time, Moonlit Witch deals 4 damage to Loveshroom. Once damage is dealt, Moonlit Witch has 4 life left. Moonlit Witch is not sent to the Discard. Loveshroom has 0 or less life remaining. Loveshroom is sent to the Discard. Pappiliodya has an Attack of 1 and a Life of 3. Shiny Balai has an Attack of 5 and a Life of 1. Pappiliodya deals 1 damage to Shiny Balai, and Shiny Balai deals 5 damage to Pappilodya. After damage has been dealt, both Pappiliodya and Shiny Balai have 0 or less Life remaining. They are both sent to the Discard. Any damage dealt to an opponent's spell beyond their Life is still considered blocked. A spell can be blocked by more than one spell. In which case, the attacker decides how the damage is dealt between the spells. Player 1 attacks with Shiny Balai. Player 2 blocks with Pappiliodya and Moonlit Witch. Shiny Balai has an Atack of 5. Pappiliodya has a Life of3 and Moonlit Witch has a life of 4. Player 1 can decide to deal 4 damage to Moonlit Witch and 1 to Pappilodya, sending Moonlit Witch to the Discard, or 3 to Pappiliodya and 2 to Moonlit Witch, sending Pappiliodya to the Discard, or 2 to Pappiliodya and 3 to Moonlit Witch, sending neither to the Discard. In this instance, Shiny Balai is dealt 1 damage from Pappiliodya, and 4 from Moonlit Witch, totalling 5 Damage, which is enough to send Shiny Balai to the Discard. In Shiny Chariot TCG, damage is retained for two turns. This means that if, during turn 3, Player 1 attacked with Pappiliodya, and Player 2 blocked with Pappiliodya, bringing both spells to having their life reduced from 3 to 2; then during turn 4, both spells will still be considered as having 2 life. At the start of turn 5, damage will expire, and both spells will be considered as having 3 Life again. -1.3.3 - End Phase End phase occurs once all damage has been dealt and calculated, and once all spells whose life is equal to or lesser than 0 are sent to the Discard. Then, the player currently taking their turn ends their turn, and the game continues with the next player's Main Phase. //1.4 - Win condition Shiny Chariot TCG is a game where there are no life points. Your spells are both defensive and offensive ressources. The aim of the game is to deal damage to your opponent directly, i.e. for one of your own spells to attack your opponent without being blocked. Any amount of damage dealt, as long as it is unblocked, is enough to win. Shiny Chariot TCG is meant for quick matches. If you feel a match is going on for too long due to the opponents being at a stalemate, you can offer to consider the match as a tie or void. If your opponent accepts, you can move on to a new match after switching a few spells in and out of your hand. //1.5 - Tokens Cards may require different types of tokens to be used in game. Those tokens are made different by colour. The following is a list of the tokens used in Shiny Chariot TCG and the colour they are associated with in LackeyCCG. Discard: Dark grey +1/+1: White +0/+1: Blue -1/+1: Green Revive: Red When a Spell is sent to the Discard with tokens attached, those token are removed. (Discard counters excluded.) ** "Fasannciel Shearila." "Connect with other people, and your dreams will grow." -The seventh and final word of Arcturus ** //2 - Specific cards rulings Some cards effects may be unclear or cause confusion in specific situation. This chapter aims to clarify those effects. If during a match, you find yourself unsure of how a card interacts with the current situation, you may find an answer here. //2.1 - Loveshroom Loveshroom has 0 attack. Yet its card effect requires him to deal damage. In this instance, the 0 damage inflicted by Loveshroom during combat is still considered damage dealt to a spell, and thus is enough to destroy the other spell. Though the effect doesn't target players, as Loveshroom is still considered as dealing damage when attacking, it is still considered enough to win the game. //2.2 - Blue Moon & Horologium Chamber In regenerating this spell, you are paying a mana cost to keep it on the field instead of being sent to the Discard. When you do, its life is immediately set back to its original life value. //2.3 - Moonlit Witch When the Revive counter is removed from a spell, the spell is regenerated. (See sub-chapter 2.2 for a more detailed explanation on regeneration.) In this case, the counter being removed replaces the mana cost. //2.4 - Shiny Rod The effect of Shiny Rod can only be activated if, after sending another spell to the Discard, Shiny Rod itself is not sent to the Discard as a result of battle. When attacking again with shiny Rod, the opposing player can assign it another blocker. //2.5 - Unicorn & Alcor Unicorn and Alcor have to be blocked by at least two spells, even if one would be enough to deal them enough damage to send them to the Discard by itself. If there is only one spell able to block when Unicorn or Alcor are attacking, then they deal their damage to the player directly. Spells who can block multiple spells at once still cannot block Unicorn or Alcor by themselves. //2.6 - Pegasus When summoning from the Discard via the effect of Pegasus: the mana paid this way can't be used to summon Premium spells. *** //Additional thoughts Working on bringing the Shiny Chariot TCG to life has been a very personally rewarding project. I love card games, and this small fan project has forced me to get more seriously invested in the theory behind designing such games. While I had seen such material as Rhystic Studies' video 'Magic's Best Worst Card', or Kohdok's Seven Deadly Sins of TCG Design series before, working on the Shiny Chariot TCG forced me to approach all those ideas I had heard of before in a much more practical and hands-on way. Still, the very specific way that the Shiny Chariot cards are designed left me in a strange position, where I was presented with unique problems (the limited number of cards, the lack of any actual rules leading to the need to build rules around the cards themselves) to which I was free to bring original solutions. Obviously, many of the solutions I did bring are not that original, the game, following after the cards design, is more of a homebrew version of Magic the Gathering than anything else. This, in itself, brings a problem I have not yet considered up until now (one that I would absolutely consider should I port the game as a standalone): Mainly, the disconnect between the game and Little Witch Academia. One aspect I have not yet taken fully into consideration is the impact of flavour in game design. Magic being designed the way it is certainly has roots in the idea that you play the role of a spellcaster engaged in a duel against another spellcaster. Likewise, the choice of Pokémon TCG to use prize cards as a win condition was probably influenced by the fact that, in the Pokémon universe, trainers don't just send their 'mons to attack rival trainers, hence why a life point system in that game would feel out of place. The same logic goes for the My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, where the win condition is not framed around direct confrontation between players, but rather solving problems (both yours and your opponent) to earn points. In Wixoss, the importance given to LRIGs is no doubt in great part owed to their importance in the series as protagonists in their own rights. This specific aspect might feel critically overlooked in the Shiny Chariot TCG currently. An ideal version of the game might tie into Chariot and, subsequently, Akko's quest to find the Seven Words of Arcturus, and the personal enlightenment that accompanies each new Word. This might lead to a system similar to CLAMP in Cardland (if memory serves), which uses a specific system where players are trying to tell a story in full before the opposing player does, playing their own cards to advance the story. (Though I have acquired a rulebook for the game, I've yet to make the effort to properly translate it, it is however on my list of things to do.) Admittedly, my own impression of how the game is meant to be played was influenced by the brief glimpse we got of the duel between Sucy and Akko, which makes mention not only of life points, but also has Sucy note the lack of mana cards as one of the reasons the game in unplayable. While this was one of the points I tackled while trying to come up with actual rules for the game, these two elements, beyond the cards themselves, do seem to point towards the Chariot cards being a sort of in-universe Magic The Gathering equivalent. In a way, my current attempt at making the game playable espouses that idea fully, as mentioned earlier when describing it as a homebrew version of MTG. With that being said, this leaves completely open the potential of using the Chariot cards as basis for a Little Witch Academia TCG proper, one which deviates from the canon of the series and is designed around the themes and aesthetic elements of the show themselves rather than the description of the cards in lore. What a proper LWATCG would actually look like, I'm not certain. Certainly, the game would be designed around the idea of an initiatic quest, mirroring Chariot and Akko's own as previously mentioned. But putting that idea in action would mean re-thinking the game entirely. My previous process of observing the current problems making the game unplayable by the standards of the games it is emulating and finding ways to overcome those problems would be direly insufficient. The game would instead require to start from scratch, bar the cards, and make a system from the ground up based on this idea of following the anime's own narrative structure.