Rule-ing
the Galaxy
By Len
Fowler
After
seven months of development, the Star Wars™ TCG Independent
Development Committee (SWTCG:IDC) is proud to present the SWTCG:IDC
Rulebook, "Scum and Villainy Edition." ." The SWTCG:IDC Rules
Sub-Committee members culled available resources and their collective
memory for rulings and issues to include. Continuous review of
the rulebook drafts brought out other issues to be addressed.
Our
primary task was to update the Revenge of the Sith (ROTS)
Rulebook, applying annotations and a format mirroring that of
Centurion's (a long-time member of Rebelbasers.com) well-composed
Annotated Rulebook. With Centurion's permission and source material,
we used the format and rulings contained within to begin our updates
from the ROTS Rulebook source. Unless the ROTS Rulebook was incorrect,
or contradicted itself, we would only make minor insertions to
the original text deemed absolutely necessary. Known official
rulings, including those from the Consolidated Errata Rulings
and Frequently Asked Questions document (CERFAQ) from Wizards
of the Coast™ (WOTC), were then applied (shown in green
text) and pertinent or required rulings deemed necessary by the
SWTCG:IDC Rules Sub-Committee were applied (shown in blue
text).
This
effort touched nearly every facet of the rulebook. The major inclusions
regard the use of triggered and static abilities and their resolution,
a defined sequence of steps for an attack, all known Play or Pass
(PoP) chances that can occur in the game (read more about this
in the SWTCG:IDC article "Play
or Pass Rules Expanded...Big Time" by Corjay), extensive
updates to the glossary, and an index to guide you through the
rulebook.
Another
modification with significant impact is a revision and expansion
of the rules for Equipment and Unique Cards. During the development
of the Scum and Villainy (SAV) expansion, the rules for
contesting unique Equipment were discussed among the Card Development,
Play-testing and Rules Sub-Committees. The FOTR rules for unique
Equipment stated that unique Equipment that lost in a bidding
contest would detach from its unit, requiring the player to re-equip
the Equipment, and still have to go through the same process again,
squandering their resources. The first solution we thought about
was simply to allow the losing player to re-equip for free the
next turn, but this posed a logistics issue for "tracking this,"
and would require a change to the original rules for equipping
Equipment. Rules brainstormed for a time, and agreed on the idea
that tapped Equipment would grant no effect to a unit it
is attached to. There were no rules for tapping Equipment and
nothing preventing it. Tapped Equipment doesn't tap when a unit
it's attached to taps, but only taps when it loses a unique Equipment
bidding contest or some other effect causes it to tap. Tapped
Equipment untaps during the untap step, or may tap by some other
effect.
The
other missing aspect of unique Equipment was stacking and restacking.
We chose to keep it as close to the rules for stacking unique
units as possible, while incorporating existing rules for Equipment.
A combination of the two was introduced. The build cost difference
is still handled in the same manner as unique units, but a player
must also pay the Equip cost of an attached Equipment card moving
to the top of the Equipment card stack.
The
sequence of attack steps now has the Attack PoP chance, as well
as the Reroll PoP chance, Overkill use, check for remaining health,
and the Discard PoP chance. The updated glossary contains never-before-defined
terms used in the game, and other terms and nearly all effects
have received an update or clarification of some kind. The Pilot
keyword received an update, filling in some gaps in the usage
of the ability, especially as it applies to Hidden Cost and references
to unit cards as "Pilots." Of course, Parry and the new ability
"Stealth" have been defined. The Rules Sub-Committee feels that
defining these will help players, new or old, with the numerous
things that can happen throughout a game.
Other
small, informational changes include the replacement of card-based
images with SWTCG:IDC card-based images. The official images at
the end of the rulebook, and the "Zones of Play" image were retained
from the ROTS Rulebook. Tables for the Turn Sequence, Attack Step
Sequence and expansion set symbols were added, as well as credits
for the SWTCG:IDC Scum and Villainy effort and the Rulebook
as a whole.
It
is the Rules Sub-Committee's desire that the SWTCG:IDC Rulebook
be THE source for answers to questions about the game. We hope
that it is also easy to understand. Considering this and that
the Rules Sub-Committee is "only human," updates to the rulebook
will almost certainly be made in the future. You can expect a
new rulebook to coincide with each SWTCG:IDC expansion set that
includes a new game mechanic or keyword ability.
As
previously mentioned, the Rules Sub-Committee included everything
pertinent from the WOTC CERFAQ. Some cards had rulings, errata
or FAQ that covered more than one card. Rules chose to put anything
that covered more than one card as a rule in the SWTCG:IDC Rulebook.
Therefore, the SWTCG:IDC Select Annotated Rulings/Errata/FAQ
Document (SARD) will include answers to questions, rulings
and errata for specific cards that are not covered by the SWTCG:IDC
Rulebook. This means that the SARD will not contain every card
in the WOTC CERFAQ, since those cards are covered in the SWTCG:IDC
Rulebook.
I
cannot thank Corjay enough for the contributions and effort he
put in to make these documents possible. He applied the ROTS Rulebook
and other official information to Centurion's format to kick us
off, as well as culling the CERFAQ for WOTC cards still needed
in the SARD. His work and diligence throughout the SWTCG:IDC Rulebook's
development are really what made it possible for release with
the Scum and Villainy expansion set. He has since moved
on to another group in the SWTCG:IDC, and he will be missed. I'd
also like to thank Darth Lazway for his input, and again thank
Centurion for his rulebook format and valuable information he
has compiled over the years. Last, but not least, I'd like to
thank the other helpful individuals (who shall remain anonymous)
who helped us iron out some other issues that came about.
Players
can discuss the SWTCG:IDC Rulebook, SARD and SWTCG:IDC expansion
cards on the IDC Rules Discussion forum on Rebelbasers.com. You
may view (click) or download (right-click) the PDF documents using
the following links:
Thoughts
or comments? Visit the message board thread for this article here.
About
the Author
Len Fowler
(RedneckJedi) has been playing the Star Wars TCG since
September 2002, thanks to a subtle introduction by fellow player
Brian Weeks (Skywlkr). He is a moderator on Rebelbasers, and the
Star Wars TCG content manager for TheForce.net
and Trade
Cards On-line. His primary interest and focus has been from
the rules aspect, rather than the gaming aspect.
Len
is married and a father of two. He is a database administrator,
and has been the Webmaster and Historian for JediOKC
(an Oklahoma City-based Star Wars Fan Club) since June
2001. Len is the Rules Chairperson and a Board member for the
IDC since its inception.
SWTCG:IDC Rulebook
SWTCG:IDC SARD
