G.I. JOE Mission Critical
G.I. JOE Mission Critical Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
- Components
- Game Setup
- Victory and Defeat
- Round Structure
- Deployment Phase
- Action Phase
- Resolving Battles
- Hero Turns
- Combat Card Anatomy
- Combat Card Types
- Enemy Turns
- Enemy Card Anatomy
- Enemy Keywords
- Dealing Damage to Heroes
- Draining Energy
- Vehicle Cards
- The Pit
- Player Count Changes
- Location Effects
- Cross-Over Rules
- Gameplay Reference
Components
5 Joe Figures, 24 Foot Soldier Figures, 3 Lieutenant Figures, 1 Nemesis Figure, 1 Boss Figure
5 Character Cards, 50 Combat Cards, 6 Vehicle Cards
20 Universal Deployment Cards, 3 Lieutenant Deployment Cards, 1 Nemesis Deployment Card, 1 Boss Deployment Card
20 Foot Soldier Enemy Cards, 24 Lieutenant Enemy Cards, 8 Nemesis Enemy Cards, 8 Boss Enemy Cards
1 Power Board, 1 Battle Board, 5 Location Boards (4 Outer Locations, 1 Command Center), 20 Energy Tokens
2 Bonus Vehicle Tokens, 12 Action Tokens, 1 Lead Hero Token, 30 Hit Tokens
4 Panic Tokens, 6 Combat Dice, 2 Cobra Deployment Tokens, 4 Location Symbol Tokens
Game Setup
Note: These setup instructions are for a 5-player game. For adjustments to the setup and gameplay when playing with fewer players, see Player Count Changes.
Hero Gear
- Each player chooses a Hero to play and takes the corresponding Hero figure, character card, and 10 combat cards. Each player also takes 2 action tokens and 1 energy token.
- Each player shuffles their 10 combat cards to form their combat deck, then places it face-down in their play area, leaving space for a discard pile.
- Each player draws as many cards as they wish from their combat deck, up to the maximum hand size of 5.
Game Board & Supply
- Place the Command Center tile "The Pit" in the center of the playing surface. Take all Hero figures in play and place them on the Command Center tile, along with 3 energy tokens.
- Arrange the other 4 location boards, in random order, around the Command Center board.
- Retrieve the Location tokens and assign one at random to each of the 4 Location boards.
- Next to the game board, form a supply with the combat dice, hit tokens, panic tokens, and the lead Hero token.
- Place the battle board nearby, so that it is within view of all players.
Power Board
- Set the power board nearby, so that it is within view of all players.
- Place the Bonus Vehicle token nearby.
- Shuffle the 6 Vehicle cards and place them face-down on the 1st space on the power board. Draw 3 Vehicle cards and put them face-up into the 3 available spaces.
Adjusting Difficulty: For an easier game, set aside all Nemesis cards prior to setup. The standard game provides a chance, but not a guarantee, that a Nemesis will appear. For a more difficult game, shuffle the Nemesis cards separately from the Lieutenant cards and include 1 Lieutenant and 1 Nemesis card in the Deployment deck.
Deployment Deck
- Shuffle the 20 universal deployment cards, then divide them into 4 face-down piles of 5 cards each.
- Do not add any additional cards to the first pile (pile A).
- Choose 2 lieutenant deployment cards at random, without viewing them, and shuffle 1 each into 2 of the other piles (piles B and C).
- Shuffle the boss deployment card into the last pile (pile D).
- Stack the piles so that their order, from top to bottom, is A > B > C > D.
Enemy Decks and Figures
- Place the enemy figures next to their deck to form a supply.
- Assign 1 Deployment token at random to each set of foot soldiers.
Victory and Defeat
G.I. Joe: Mission Critical is a cooperative game. The Joes win or lose collectively as a team. The game can end in 2 different ways.
- If a Hero is defeated when there are no more energy tokens at the Command Center, the Joes lose!
- At the end of the Deployment Phase, if all 4 outer locations are panicked and there are no energy tokens in the command center to remove, the Joes lose!
- If the Heroes are able to defeat the boss in battle and survive until the end of that battle, the Joes win!
Round Structure
The game is played in a series of rounds until the Heroes win or lose. In each round of the game, there are 2 phases, which occur in order.
- Deployment Phase — In this phase, enemies are deployed to various locations.
- Action Phase — In this phase, each player has 2 Action tokens to spend, but the players may spend them in any order.
Deployment Phase
During the Deployment Phase, there will always be 5 enemy deployments.
Resolving Deployments
To resolve each deployment, reveal the top card of the deployment deck. The revealed card will indicate a number and type of foot soldiers — take the foot soldiers that match the assigned Cobra Deployment token from the supply. Then, look at the back of the next card in the deployment deck, which will indicate a location. Place the foot soldier figures on the location board with the matching symbol token.
After resolving each deployment, place the revealed foot soldier deployment card in a face-up discard pile next to the deployment deck.
If a location ever contains a number of enemy figures equal to its figure limit, it becomes panicked. Place a panic token on that location tile to indicate this.
Example: The top card of the deployment deck shows 2 tokens on its front side. The back of the next card in the deck shows a symbol. Therefore, 2 Cobra Troopers are placed at the Cobra Temple.
Deploying Lieutenants and Bosses
After you reveal the top card of the deployment deck, if the next card in the deployment deck is a lieutenant or boss deployment card, reveal that card too and take the revealed lieutenant or boss figure from the supply.
Place that lieutenant or boss figure, along with the foot soldier figures from the first card revealed, on the location board indicated by the back of the next card in the deployment deck. This still only counts as a single deployment.
Locate the corresponding lieutenant or boss enemy deck, shuffle it, and place it face down near the other enemy decks. Finally, remove the revealed lieutenant or boss deployment card from the game, returning it to the game box.
Whenever a lieutenant or boss figure is deployed to a location, that location becomes panicked. Place a panic token on that location board to indicate this. If you would deploy a lieutenant or boss figure to a location that is already panicked, the new lieutenant or boss figure is instead placed in the next outer location, in a clockwise direction, that is not panicked.
Example: The top card of the deployment deck shows 3 tokens on its front side, and the next card is a Lieutenant deployment card for Copperhead. The back of the next card in the deck shows a symbol. Therefore, 3 Crimson Guards and Copperhead are placed at Space Station Delta, and the location becomes panicked.
Baroness & Nemesis Cards
The Baroness is one of Cobra's top operatives and this is reflected in her elite status as a nemesis. Nemeses are treated as lieutenants for all gameplay purposes, including the rules for deployment and panicked locations. Effects and abilities that apply to lieutenant figures and cards also apply to nemesis figures and cards.
When a nemesis is deployed, keep the nemesis' deployment card nearby, as it will be needed when the Heroes face them in battle. At the start of each battle against a nemesis, attach the nemesis' deployment card to the lead Hero. Place it in front of that player, next to their character card. This occurs during the enemy preparation step.
During each battle against a nemesis, the passive effect of the nemesis' deployment card applies at all times. If the current lead Hero is defeated or otherwise leaves the battle, attach the nemesis' deployment card to the new lead Hero. At the end of each battle against a nemesis, remove the nemesis' deployment card from the attached Hero. Keep it nearby until the next time the Heroes face them in battle.
Figure Limits and Panicked Locations
Each outer location can only contain a number of enemy figures up to its figure limit. If an outer location contains a number of enemy figures equal to its figure limit, that location becomes panicked, and any additional enemy figures that would be deployed to that location are instead placed in the next outer location, in a clockwise direction, that is not at its figure limit. If every location is at its figure limit, ignore any additional enemy deployments during this phase.
Important! When multiple types of enemy figures need to be deployed as part of a single deployment, they are always deployed in this priority order: boss > nemesis > lieutenant > foot soldiers.
All Locations Panicked
At the end of the Deployment Phase, if all 4 outer locations are panicked, immediately remove all energy tokens from the Command Center. If there are no energy tokens in the command center to remove, the Heroes lose!
Example: There are 2 Cobra Troopers that must be deployed to New York City. But there are 4 enemy figures at that location already, and New York City panics at 5 total figures. Therefore, 1 Cobra Trooper is placed at New York City. This location has now reached its figure limit and becomes panicked. The remaining Cobra Trooper is placed at Jungle Laboratory, which is the next outer location, in a clockwise direction, that is not panicked.
When the Deployment Phase is complete, take all foot soldier deployment cards from the discard pile and shuffle them together, then place the shuffled cards on the bottom of the deployment deck, face down.
Action Phase
During the Action Phase, each player will spend their 2 actions to defend the world against the Cobra threat. To spend an action, a Hero must flip 1 of their action tokens face down and perform any 1 of the available actions: MOVE, BATTLE, or RECOVER.
Important! There is no defined turn order. The Heroes may spend their actions in any order they want. Each Hero has their own available actions, but the team collectively decides when each Hero spends each of their actions.
Move
When you perform the MOVE action, you may move your Hero figure from its current location to any other location, regardless of distance.
When you move to the The Pit, you may power up. To power up, shuffle all cards from your hand and discard pile back into your deck, then draw a new hand of up to 5 cards. In addition, take 1 energy token from the supply (if you do not have 1 already). Powering up is a free action and does not count against your available actions.
Example: Cover Girl wants to go help out her fellow Heroes in a battle against Dr. Mindbender and a pair of Crimson Guard over in Jungle Laboratory. She flips one of her actions to move her Hero figure from Space Station Delta to Jungle Laboratory.
Battle
When you perform the BATTLE action, you initiate a battle between the Heroes and enemies in your current location. Take the lead Hero token to indicate that you initiated the battle. See Resolving Battles for a full description of how a battle works.
Example: The Heroes gathered at Jungle Laboratory are now ready to take on Dr. Mindbender and the pair of Crimson Guard. Duke flips one of his action tokens to initiate the battle.
Recover
When you perform the RECOVER action, you may choose cards from your discard pile with a total of up to 6 shields, then shuffle those cards back into your deck. In addition, take 1 energy token from the supply (if you do not have 1 already).
Example: Scarlett is running low on cards, so she flips one of her actions to recover. She looks through her discard pile and takes All Business (2 shields), Yo Joe! (1 shield), and XK-1 Power Crossbow (3 shields). She shuffles those cards back into her deck.
When the Action Phase is complete, the round is over. All Heroes flip their action tokens face up again, and the game proceeds with the next round of play.
Resolving Battles
When any Hero initiates a battle, the Heroes and enemies present in that location will participate in the battle. There are 4 steps to resolving a battle:
1. Hero Preparation
Take 2 energy tokens from the supply and place them on the indicated portion of the power board. All Heroes participating in the battle also add any energy tokens they have on their character to this supply. This is known as the shared energy pool. Then, each Hero adds their stored energy tokens (if any) to the shared energy pool.
Any Hero who has fewer than 5 cards in hand may draw as many cards as they wish from their deck, up to the maximum hand size of 5 cards. These cards may be drawn 1 at a time, and you may decide after each draw whether to keep drawing or to stop.
Example: Duke, Stalker, and Cover Girl are preparing for battle. Duke only has 1 card in hand, so he decides to draw 3 more cards from his deck. Stalker has 4 cards in hand, but his deck is getting dangerously low, so he chooses not to draw a card. Cover Girl cannot draw any cards because she already has 5 cards in hand, which is her maximum hand size.
Important! Many Heroes have special abilities on their character cards that can be used in battle. Heroes can only use these abilities to affect battles that they are participating in.
2. Enemy Preparation
Count the number of foot soldiers in the current location. For each foot soldier figure, draw 1 enemy card from the matching enemy deck. As you draw these cards, place them face-up in the bottom row of the battle board from left to right. This is the combat sequence. When an enemy card with the FAST keyword is drawn, place it at the left end of the row, instead of the right end.
3. Hero and Enemy Turns
The Heroes and the enemies take alternating turns. The Heroes usually take the first turn of any battle. But if at least 1 enemy card in the combat sequence has the FAST keyword, then the enemies take the first turn, instead of the Heroes. The enemies do not take multiple turns in a row, however, no matter how many enemy cards have the FAST keyword.
Note: For details on what happens during Hero turns and enemy turns, see Hero Turns and Enemy Turns.
Once the last enemy card in the combat sequence has been resolved, the Heroes get 1 final turn, then the battle ends. The battle also ends immediately if all enemy cards are defeated.
Example: There are 3 Cobra Troopers participating in this battle. Therefore, the combat sequence has 3 cards in it, drawn from the Cobra Trooper enemy deck. The cards drawn are Cobra Charge, The Viper Strikes, and Rattler Attack. Even though it was the last card drawn, Rattler Attack has the FAST keyword, so it is placed at the left end of the combat sequence.
Important! There can never be more than 4 foot soldiers participating in a battle. If there are more than 4 foot soldier figures in the current location, the lead Hero chooses which 4 foot soldiers they wish to battle, drawing 1 enemy card for each.
If there is a boss figure in the current location, draw 4 cards from their unique enemy deck. As you draw these cards, place them face-up in the top row of the battle board from left to right, just above the previous row in the combat sequence.
Example: There are 3 enemies participating in this battle — 2 Crimson Guard and Baroness. Therefore, the combat sequence has 6 cards in it. The bottom row has 2 cards, drawn from the Crimson Guard enemy deck, and the top row has 4 cards, drawn from Baroness's enemy deck.
4. Battle Cleanup
If there are any energy tokens remaining in the shared energy pool, the Heroes who participated in the battle may split them up amongst themselves. Each Hero can only store 1 energy token at a time. If there are more energy tokens remaining in the shared pool than can be stored by the participating Heroes, the excess energy tokens are discarded to the supply.
All foot soldier enemy cards (defeated or undefeated) and all undefeated lieutenant, nemesis, or boss enemy cards are removed from the combat sequence and shuffled back into their respective enemy decks. Any defeated lieutenant, nemesis, or boss enemy cards are placed in face-up discard piles next to their respective enemy decks.
If the current location was panicked, but there are no enemy figures remaining in that location after the battle, the location is no longer panicked. Remove the panic token.
Hero Turns
During each Hero turn in battle, the team chooses 1 Hero to be the active Hero. The active Hero plays 1 combat card from their hand, spending energy tokens from the shared energy pool equal to that card's energy cost. The effects of the played combat card are then resolved, and the active Hero places the card in their own discard pile, face up.
When you are the active Hero, instead of playing a card, you may discard 1 card from your hand to perform an attack with 1 die.
Combat Card Anatomy
The Heroes will play combat cards from hand as they battle their enemies. Combat cards have the following traits:
- Energy Cost: This is how much energy must be spent from the shared energy pool in order to play the card.
- Card Type: This tells you whether the card is an attack, maneuver, or reaction.
- Effect Text: The text in this section describes effects that occur when the card is played and resolved in battle.
- Hero: The text in the bottom left corner indicates which Hero's deck this card belongs to.
- Special Defense: Some cards have a star icon, which indicates that the card has a unique effect that only resolves when it is revealed for defense.
- Shields: The number of shields on a combat card indicates how much damage is absorbed when that card is revealed for defense.
Combat Card Types
There are 3 different types of combat cards: attacks, maneuvers, and reactions.
Attacks: When you play an attack, choose 1 enemy card as the target of the attack. If the attack requires a die roll, take the indicated number of combat dice and roll them once. You deal hits to the targeted enemy card equal to the number of hits rolled. Some attacks and abilities will also deal a set amount of hits without having to roll any dice.
Maneuvers: When you play a maneuver, resolve the effect text of the card. Maneuvers often provide ways to gain energy or manipulate the cards in your deck, hand, or discard pile.
Reactions: When you play a reaction, resolve the effect text of the card. Reaction cards can be played out of turn, by any Hero. Each reaction card describes in what circumstances it can be played (e.g., in response to a Hero suffering damage).
Dealing Hits to Enemies
When you deal hits to an enemy card, place hit tokens on that enemy card equal to the amount of hits dealt. If this results in the enemy card having hit tokens on it equal to or greater than its health, the enemy card is defeated and flipped face down in the combat sequence.
Example: Duke spends 3 energy to play his Real American Hero card, which is a 5-dice attack. He declares the Ambush! enemy card as the target. Then he rolls 5 combat dice, getting 3 hits. The Ambush! card had 3 health, so the 3 hits are enough to defeat it. The card remains in the combat sequence, but it is flipped face down.
Defeating Foot Soldiers: When a foot soldier card is defeated, remove 1 matching foot soldier figure from the current location and place it on the experience track on the power board. Foot soldier figures are not meant to be limited. In the rare case that you run out of figures to deploy onto the game board, replace figures on the power board with hit tokens. When using a Vehicle, simply return the hit tokens to the supply, rather than figures.
Defeating Lieutenants and Nemeses: In order to defeat a lieutenant or nemesis, the Heroes must defeat 4 of that lieutenant's cards. (Track this by counting the number of cards in that lieutenant's discard pile at the end of a battle.) This may require facing the lieutenant in multiple battles. If there are 4 or more cards in a lieutenant's discard pile at the end of a battle, that lieutenant is defeated. Remove the lieutenant figure and all remaining foot soldier figures from the current location and return them to the supply. (The foot soldiers are not considered defeated.)
Then, retrieve the Free Vehicle token from the supply and place it face-up on the power board (see Vehicle Cards for details).
Defeating the Boss: In order to defeat the boss, the Heroes must defeat 6 of the boss' cards. (Track this by counting the number of cards in the boss's discard pile at the end of a battle.) This will require facing the boss in multiple battles. If there are 6 or more cards in the Boss' discard pile at the end of a battle, the boss is defeated and the G.I. Joes win!
Gaining Energy
Some combat cards allow the Heroes to gain energy. To gain energy, take the indicated number of energy tokens from the supply and add them to the shared energy pool.
Heroes who are participating in the battle must add their own stored energy tokens to the shared energy pool AND in addition, at any time during battle, a Hero may spend unused actions to gain energy, adding 2 energy tokens to the shared pool for each action token flipped this way. This ability can be performed at any time and does not count as a Hero turn.
Enemy Turns
During each enemy turn in battle, resolve the active enemy card, which is the leftmost and topmost card in the combat sequence that has not yet resolved. If there are 2 rows of enemy cards, resolve all of the cards in the top row, from left to right, then resolve all of the cards in the bottom row, from left to right.
To resolve an enemy card, carry out all effects listed in that card's text, which might include dealing damage, draining energy, or other unique effects. Then, rotate that enemy card 90 degrees to indicate that it has been resolved.
Important! If the active enemy card is face down because it has already been defeated by the Heroes, then no effects occur when it is resolved. This still counts as an enemy turn.
Enemy Card Anatomy
Enemy cards in the combat sequence will resolve during enemy turns in battle. Enemy cards have the following traits:
- Health: When an enemy card has hit tokens on it equal to or greater than its health, it is defeated and flipped face down in the combat sequence. A shield icon behind the health value indicates that the enemy card has the GUARD keyword.
- Enemy Name: Indicates which enemy deck the card belongs to.
- Enemy Type: Indicates if this enemy is a foot soldier, lieutenant, nemesis, or boss.
- Keywords: Some enemy cards have special keywords, indicating unique abilities.
- Effect Text: The text in this section describes effects that occur when the enemy card is resolved in battle.
Enemy Keywords
There are 3 different enemy keywords that represent unique abilities: FAST, GUARD, and PASSIVE.
Fast: When an enemy card with the FAST keyword is added to the combat sequence, it is placed at the left end of the row, instead of the right end. If there is at least 1 enemy card with the FAST keyword in the combat sequence, the enemies take the first turn in the battle, instead of the Heroes.
Guard: If an enemy card has the GUARD keyword, any enemy cards that are adjacent to it in the combat sequence — horizontally and vertically, but not diagonally — are guarded and therefore cannot be targeted by Hero attacks. However, enemy cards with the GUARD keyword cannot themselves be guarded by other enemy cards with the GUARD keyword. Guarded enemy cards can still be dealt hits from sources that are not attacks (e.g., Scarlett's Skilled Sniper card).
Example: The Dr. Mindbender card Total Control has the GUARD keyword, so Heroes cannot target the adjacent enemy cards: The Cruelty of Science, Cobra's Secret Research, and Cobra Charge. They can still choose Total Control or The Viper Strikes as targets for their attacks.
Passive: An enemy card with the PASSIVE keyword has an ongoing effect that is active for as long as the card is undefeated. When an enemy card with the PASSIVE keyword is the active enemy card, nothing happens — because the card's effect is passive.
Dealing Damage to Heroes
Many enemy cards deal damage when they resolve. When an enemy card deals damage, the Heroes collectively choose 1 Hero participating in the battle to suffer the damage dealt by that card (unless the enemy card specifies otherwise).
Revealing Cards for Defense
When a Hero suffers damage, they reveal the top card of their deck for defense. Compare the shields on the revealed card against the amount of damage dealt by the enemy card.
- If the number of shields is greater than the amount of damage dealt, the revealed combat card is placed on the bottom of the Hero's deck, face down.
- If the number of shields is equal to the amount of damage dealt, the revealed combat card is discarded.
- If the number of shields is less than the amount of damage dealt, the revealed combat card is discarded. Then, that Hero must reveal the next card from their deck, and compare its shields against the remaining damage that wasn't absorbed by the previous card. Continue this process, revealing 1 combat card at a time, until the number of shields on a revealed combat card is greater than or equal to the remaining damage.
Example: When Copperhead's Python Patrol card resolves, it deals 5 damage to a single Hero with the most cards in their hand. Both Duke and Cover Girl have 4 cards in hand. The team decides that Cover Girl will suffer the damage. She reveals the top card of her deck, Explosive Payload. The number of shields on the card (3) is less than the damage dealt (4), so the card is discarded. Cover Girl then reveals the next card from her deck, Armored Advance. Because the number of shields on the card (3) is greater than the remaining damage (1), she places the card on the bottom of her deck.
Defeated Heroes
If a Hero ever has zero cards left in their combat deck, that Hero is defeated. Remove 1 energy token from the Command Center. If a Hero is defeated when there are no energy tokens remaining in the Command Center, the Heroes lose!
The defeated Hero's figure is immediately removed from the battle and moved to the Command Center. That Hero shuffles together all cards from their hand and discard pile to form a new combat deck, then draws a new hand of up to 5 cards. That Hero also takes 1 energy token from the supply (if they do not have 1 already).
If the lead Hero is defeated, they must pass the lead Hero token to another Hero who is still participating in the battle. If all Heroes in a battle are defeated, proceed immediately to the Battle Cleanup step.
Draining Energy
Some enemy cards drain energy when they resolve. To drain energy, remove the indicated number of energy tokens from the shared energy pool and discard them to the supply.
If the number of energy tokens in the shared energy pool is less than the number drained by the enemy card, for each remaining energy that would be drained, a Hero participating in the battle must discard 1 card from their hand.
Vehicle Cards
Vehicles are powerful tools in the fight against Cobra, and the G.I. Joe team has access to some of the world's most technologically advanced equipment. Each Vehicle has a unique special ability that can be activated during battle.
The power board displays three face-up Vehicle cards which are available to use at any time during battle. To use a Vehicle, spend an amount of defeated enemies from the power board equal to the cost shown in the Vehicle card's upper-left corner, then activate the Vehicle's ability.
Example: During battle, Scarlett plays her Skilled Sniper card to attack an enemy. The Heroes then decide to immediately use the RAM. They spend 2 defeated enemy figures, return them to the supply and activate the RAM's ability. Using RAM's ability, Scarlett returns Skilled Sniper to her hand instead of discarding it.
Once the Vehicle has been used, discard it face-up to the nearby discard pile. Using a Vehicle does not count as a Hero turn.
Vehicles used during battle are not replaced on the power board until the end of a battle. During Battle Cleanup, draw a new Vehicle and place it face-up in each empty spot. If you are ever unable to draw a new Vehicle, shuffle the discarded Vehicle cards into a new draw pile. A purchased Vehicle with a PASSIVE ability will remain in play until the end of the current battle.
Warning: If you ever fill all available spots on the power board and defeat a new enemy, that enemy figure is returned to the supply instead. In other words: spend them before that happens.
Vehicle Token: When a lieutenant or nemesis is defeated, return their figure to the box and immediately gain 1 vehicle token, and place it symbol side up on the power board. The Heroes may decide to spend the Vehicle Token at any time by returning it to the supply during Battle to use a vehicle card for free.
The Pit
Energy tokens placed at the Command Center during setup represent the power of the G.I. Joe homebase "The Pit," with all the latest medical and technological innovations needed to restore a Hero to full strength.
Whenever a Hero is defeated in battle, move that Hero to the Command Center and remove 1 energy token from the Command Center. That Hero shuffles together all cards from their hand and discard pile to form a new combat deck, then draws a new hand up to 5 cards. That Hero also takes 1 energy token from the supply (if they do not have 1 already).
If a Hero is defeated in battle when there are no more energy tokens at the Command Center, the Joes lose the game!
Player Count Changes
Games with 2 Players
During setup, give each player 3 action tokens (instead of 2) and place 2 energy tokens (instead of 3) on the Command Center board. Each player controls 2 Heroes at the same time, using a single combat deck. While controlling 2 Heroes, the following rules apply:
Single Combat Deck: During setup, shuffle together the combat decks for both Heroes that you control, forming a single combat deck of 20 cards. You will have a single combat deck for the entire game.
Maximum Hand Size: The maximum hand size for each player is 7 (instead of 5). When drawing a new hand of cards, each player may draw up to 7 cards.
Hero Movement: The Heroes that you control will always move in tandem. When you move 1 Hero, the other Hero moves along with it (without spending an action).
Hero Effects & Abilities: When you control 2 Heroes, each Hero's abilities and card effects apply to you (the player) instead of only to that specific Hero. For example, if you control both Snake Eyes and Cover Girl, you cannot use Snake Eye's Coordinated Strike in response to your own play of a Cover Girl attack card. Another Hero means "another player" when resolving card effects.
Targeting Multiple Heroes: When an attack targets multiple Heroes, count each Hero separately. For example, if an enemy card would deal 3 damage to each Hero, then each player would suffer 2 separate instances of 3 damage.
Storing Energy: Each Hero can store 1 energy token at a time, which means that a player controlling 2 Heroes can store 2 energy tokens. Whenever a Hero performs the RECOVER action, or powers up at the Command Center, the controlling player takes energy tokens from the supply until they have a total of 2 stored energy.
Shared Energy Pool: When a Hero initiates a battle, there are 3 energy tokens added to the shared energy pool (instead of 2). When you flip an unused action token to gain energy in battle, gain 3 energy (instead of 2), then you may also draw cards from your deck up to your maximum hand size.
Games with 4 Players
During setup, place 3 action tokens and 4 energy tokens (instead of 3) on the Command Center board. During the game, the 3 action tokens on the Command Center board represent additional RECOVER actions that are available to the entire team. Any Hero may flip 1 of these action tokens face down to perform a RECOVER action. Flip these action tokens face up again at the end of each Action Phase.
Games with 3 Players
During setup, give each player 4 action tokens (instead of 2) and place 2 energy tokens (instead of 3) on the Command Center board.
Location Effects
Each location board has 2 sides. The basic "A" sides, which are recommended for players new to the game, do not have any location effects. The advanced "B" sides introduce unique location effects. Certain location effects will help the Heroes in their efforts (e.g., New York City), while others will hinder them (e.g., Cobra Temple).
Command Center Assault Mode: The "B" side of the Command Center board introduces Command Center Assault, which is a challenging, high-threat game mode. In this mode, when an enemy cannot be deployed to a location because it is panicked, they are placed at the Command Center instead. Whenever the boss is deployed, they and all foot soldiers that are part of that deployment are always placed at the Command Center.
If there are any enemy figures remaining at the Command Center at the end of the Action Phase, the Heroes lose!
As long as there are any enemy figures at the Command Center, Heroes cannot power up by moving to the Command Center. However, any Hero that is at the Command Center when the last enemy there is defeated may immediately power up.
Cross-Over Rules
This game is fully compatible with Power Rangers: Heroes of the Grid and all future Guardian System games. By combining this set with others, you'll unlock a myriad of new ways to play.
Terminology
For G.I. Joe: Mission Critical and all future sets, terminology has been standardized, but if you are playing with Heroes of the Grid, certain card effects reference keywords that are specific to that universe. To use these cards with the G.I. Joe set, you will need to note a few wording changes:
- Rangers = Heroes. All card effects that target Rangers target Heroes, and vice versa. "Heroes" is the general term for player characters.
- Monster = Lieutenant. The term Monster is interchangeable with Lieutenant and the cards share the same colored background.
- Enemy Symbols are interchangeable. All enemy card types share the same colored background, but have a different symbol.
- Energy Symbols are interchangeable. In Heroes of the Grid, energy is represented by a crystal. In Mission Critical, energy is represented by a lightning bolt. These symbols are interchangeable when resolving all energy effects.
Deployment
With the new deployment cards used in G.I. Joe: Mission Critical, players can use foot soldiers and Locations from any previous and future game in the Guardian System. Not only can players familiar with Power Rangers: Heroes of the Grid choose any Location available from the entire series and create their own epic cross-over game, the new deployment system allows for any type of foot soldier to be used with ANY Location.
Simply replace any Location from the Mission Critical set with a Location from any game in the Guardian System series. A game should always have a total of 4 Locations plus the Command Center circle tile.
Then, choose 2 foot soldier types and collect all of their associated Combat cards and figures. If you are using foot soldiers from Heroes of the Grid, you do not need to retrieve the deployment deck as this will be replaced by the universal deployment deck used in G.I. Joe: Mission Critical. Follow the setup listed in this rulebook and you are ready to play!
Monster/Boss Deployment
The backs of the boss, lieutenant, and nemesis cards from each set will not match. To work around this you can use sleeves with opaque backs or randomize the cards without looking at their backs. You may also choose to only use enemies from a specific set.
Vehicles & Zords
If you would like to include Zords in your game, you may do this as well. Create the Zord stack as outlined in the Heroes of the Grid rules and place them near the power board. Then, reveal the top card so that the first card is face-up.
When playing this way, your team has access to 3 face-up Vehicles, plus the next face-up Zord in the stack. Zords can be purchased by removing 6 defeated enemies from the power board (or with a Bonus Vehicle token) as normal.
Zords function the same as they do in the Heroes of the Grid game, and a Megazord can even become unlocked during play. Consult the Heroes of the Grid rules for specific rules clarifications.
Zords do not count as Vehicles and do not interact with Vehicle ability text. Vehicles do not count as Zords and do not interact with Zord ability text.
All Locations Panicked (Cross-Over)
In Heroes of the Grid, when all locations are panicked, the game is over and the Heroes lose. When playing a cross-over game, players should choose whether to use this rule or the Last Stand rule.
Gameplay Reference
This quick-reference summary recaps the core rules for easy lookup during play.
Victory and Defeat
- If a Hero is defeated when there are no more energy tokens at the Command Center, the Joes lose!
- If the Heroes are able to defeat the boss in battle and survive until the end of that battle, the Joes win!
All Locations Panicked: During the Deployment Phase, if all 4 outer locations ever become panicked at the same time, immediately remove all energy tokens from the Command Center and ignore any further foot soldier deployment this phase.
Round Structure
- Deployment Phase: Resolve 5 enemy deployments. For each, reveal the top card of the deck, take the enemy figures shown, and place them at the location indicated by the back of the next card in the deck.
- Action Phase: Heroes spend their actions, in any order. To spend an action, flip 1 of your action tokens face down.
Hero Actions
- MOVE: Move from your current location to any other location. If you move to the Command Center, you may power up.
- BATTLE: Initiate a battle between the Heroes and enemies in your current location.
- RECOVER: Choose cards from your discard pile with a total of up to 6 shields, then shuffle those cards back into your deck. Refill your personal energy storage.
Resolving Battles
- Hero Preparation: Add 2 energy tokens to the shared pool. Each Hero may draw any number of cards from their deck, up to the maximum hand size (5 cards).
- Enemy Preparation: For each foot soldier present, draw 1 card from their enemy deck. If a lieutenant or boss is present, draw 4 cards from their enemy deck.
- Hero and Enemy Turns: On each Hero turn, the team chooses a Hero to play 1 combat card. On each enemy turn, the next enemy card in the combat sequence resolves.
- Battle Cleanup: Distribute any energy tokens remaining in the shared energy pool. Shuffle foot soldier enemy cards back into their enemy decks. Discard any defeated lieutenant or boss cards, but shuffle undefeated lieutenant or boss cards back into their enemy decks.
Hero Keywords
- ATTACK: Played by the active Hero to deal hits, targeting an enemy card in the combat sequence.
- MANEUVER: Played by the active Hero to gain energy, manipulate cards, or perform other special effects.
- REACTION: Played by any Hero, even out of turn, in response to something else that has happened.
Enemy Keywords
- FAST: Goes at the left end of the combat sequence. Allows the enemies to take the first turn in the battle.
- GUARD: Protects all adjacent enemy cards in the combat sequence from being targeted by Hero attacks.
- PASSIVE: Has an ongoing effect that lasts until the card is defeated or until the end of the battle.