ORIGINZ: The Superpowered Card Game Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Game Components
• Overview
• Gameplay
• Card Anatomy
• Card-Types
• Hero/Villain Cards
• Setting Up
• Phases of a Turn
• Key Rules
• Deck Construction
• Gameplay Formats - 2-Player
• Gameplay Formats - Multiplayer (1)
• Gameplay Formats - Multiplayer (2)
• Gameplay Formats - Multiplayer (3)
• Gameplay Formats - Multiplayer (4)
• Quick Reference

Game Components

Your ORIGINZ box contains:

• This 20-page Rule Book
• 12 dividers
• 264 cards (252 white-bordered and 12 black-bordered) divided into 12 pre-constructed, ready-to-play, Origin decks.
  • Each Origin is a defined set of 22 cards, dedicated to a particular superpower type, with a unique symbol.
• 8 additional Power Cosmic cards. This unique Origin features cards that benefit from using multiple Origins in a single Deck.

The 12 Origins are: Cyborg Upgrade, Insect Mutation, Super Speed, Dark Magic, Ocean Mastery, Super Strength, Dragon Mutation, Plant Mastery, Vigilante Justice, Fire Control, Power Armor, and Weather Control.

Overview

Find a friend or group of friends, pick a gameplay format, and get ready to face off in battle!

When you first sit down to play, you can choose from one of the 12 ready-to-play 'Origin' Decks, based on iconic superpowers.

Or, you can build a customized Deck by combining cards from different Origins.

Gameplay

At the beginning of a game, you will choose the path of a Hero or Villain by placing the Hero or Villain side of your Hero/Villain card face-up.

Your Deck is both your health and your source of power. When a number of cards are depleted from your deck, you must move that number of cards from the top of your Deck to the top of your Depletion Pile.

If there are no cards left in your deck during an opponent's turn, you are defeated!

Every turn, you'll have 3 Energy available to play cards from your Hand, or to activate cards you have in Combat.

Each card has a printed Energy Cost of 0, 1, 2, or 3:

• 0 Energy
• 1 Energy
• 2 Energy
• 3 Energy

In order to play a card from your Hand:

• Pay that card's Energy Cost (in other words - Reduce your available Energy by that card's Energy Cost).
• Place it face-up in Combat (on the table in front of you).

A card's text doesn't impact the game until it's activated.

In order to activate a card you have in Combat:

• Pay that card's Energy Cost.
• Do everything the card text says to do, in the order it says to do it, if able.
• Put it on top of your Depletion Pile (face-up, next to your deck).

Card Anatomy

• Title: The name of a card.
• Origin: The set that a card belongs to.
• Type: Cards may be targeted by type.
• Energy Cost: The amount of energy you must pay to play this card from your Hand, or to activate it once it's in Combat.
• Text Area: What you must do when this card is activated, if able.

Card-Types

• Assault: Aggressive powers that deplete a player's deck.
• Minion: Versatile allies that provide you with multiple choices.
• Tactic: Utility powers that give you different strategic advantages.
• Weapon: Unique, Origin-specific powers that have a scalable effect.

Hero/Villain Cards

Each Origin has one double-sided, black-bordered card. These cards are powerful "one-shots" that define your character and playstyle.

• At the beginning of the game, if you have a Hero/Villain card in your deck, you must choose the Hero or Villain side of that card and place it, chosen-side up, on the table in front of you.
• These cards can't be targeted, depleted, repelled, stunned, or purged.

On any of your turns, you may activate your Hero/Villain card like any other card, with one exception:

• After you activate it, you don't put it on top of your Depletion Pile. Instead, you must remove it from the game entirely.

Setting Up

Opposing players face one another across the table. Each player places their Hero/Villain card on the table in front of them with their chosen Hero or Villain side face-up. Decks are then shuffled thoroughly and placed face-down on their respective sides of the table. Each Player designates a spot to the left of their Deck for a Depletion Pile. Each player also designates a spot for their Purged Zone. Each player draws a 3-card starting Hand from the top of their Deck. Randomly determine who goes first.

The setup diagram labels the areas as follows:

• Deck: Cards in your Deck remain face-down.
• Combat: Cards enter Combat face-up, facing you. Cards stay in Combat until activated or removed through gameplay.
• Depletion Pile: Activated and depleted cards are put here, face-up. Cards must remain in the order that they entered the Depletion Pile.
• Hero/Villain Card: Starts the game in Combat, chosen-side up. Remains there until activated.
• Purged Zone: Purged cards are put here, face-up. The order of cards here doesn't matter.

Phases of a Turn

Start:

• Your available Energy is reset to 3.
  • On the first turn of the game (and only on that turn) the player going first may only play 1 card from their hand, regardless of available Energy.

Draw:

• You must draw 1 card, if able.

Action: You may do any of the following in any order:

• Play cards from your hand.
  • Choose a card in your Hand, pay its Energy Cost, then place it into Combat (face-up and facing you).
• Activate cards that you have in Combat.
  • Choose a card in Combat, pay its Energy Cost, then do everything that card's text says to do, in the order it is written, if able.
  • After an Assault, Minion, Tactic, or Weapon is activated, it must be placed on top of your Depletion Pile.
  • After a Hero/Villain card is activated, it must be removed from the game entirely.

End: You must do the following in order:

• Announce that you are done with your turn.
• Return all of your stunned (rotated) cards to their upright position.

Key Rules

• You can only play and activate cards during your turn.
• If there are no cards left in your deck during an opponent's turn, you are defeated.
  • You can't be defeated during your turn, even if you draw the last card of your deck.
• Energy doesn't accumulate over multiple turns.
  • Unspent Energy disappears at the end of your turn.
• The text on cards can alter the rules of the game.
  • In other words, the card is always right.
• You can only do what you can do!
  • Targeting Example: if a card's text reads "deplete an Assault from Combat", but no player (including you or a member of your team) has Assaults in Combat, ignore that sentence of the text area.
  • Numerical Example: if a card's text reads "draw 2 cards" but you only have 1 card left in your Deck, then only draw 1 card.

Deck Construction

You can create custom Decks by combining any of the cards from different Origins, according to the following rules:

• A maximum of 21 white-bordered cards, including:
  • No more than 2 copies of the same Assault, Minion, or Tactic.
  • No more than 1 copy of the same Weapon.
• A maximum of 1 black-bordered, Hero/Villain card.

Multi-Origin Deck Construction has restrictions!

• The maximum number of white-bordered cards must be reduced by 1 for each different Origin represented, beyond the first.
  • For example:
    • A deck with cards from 2 different Origins can include a maximum of 20 white-bordered cards.
    • A deck with cards from 3 different Origins can include a maximum of 19 white-bordered cards, and so on...

Gameplay Formats - 2-Player

Pre-Constructed Duel (Beginner): Players each choose one of the 12 Pre-constructed Decks and battle.

Constructed Duel (Intermediate): Players each build a custom Deck in accordance with the Deck Construction rules, or choose one of the pre-constructed Decks, and then battle.

Constructed Match (Advanced): Each player builds a custom Deck and also builds a 'Reserve Pile', consisting of up to 4 cards from any Origin. These Reserve Piles are set aside to be used between games. Between games players may exchange cards from their Reserve Pile and their Deck (in accordance with the Deck construction rules).

• Results: The first player to win two games wins the match.

Gameplay Formats - Multiplayer (1)

Free-For-All (3 to 12 Players - Intermediate): Each player has their own Deck.

• Results: The last player standing wins.

Team Battle (4 to 12 Players - Intermediate): Teams must have an equal number of players (2 VS 2, etc).

Randomly determine which team goes first, and then play proceeds in a clockwise manner.

Each player has their own Deck.

• Teammates may see one another's Hands and discuss strategies, but each player takes their own turn as normal.
• When a player is defeated, he or she is out of the game entirely. However, a team doesn't lose until all players on the team are defeated.

Gameplay Formats - Multiplayer (2)

Super Boss (3 Players - Intermediate): Two players with constructed decks (playing under the rules of a Team Battle) try to defeat one player playing with a Super Boss Deck.

Super Boss Deck Construction & Gameplay: Shuffle 2 Origin decks together to make a Super Boss deck. The player playing with the Super Boss Deck goes first and has special gameplay rules:

• May start the game with 2 Hero/Villain cards in Combat.
• Draws 2 cards per turn.
• Starts with 4 Energy each turn (instead of 3).

Gameplay Formats - Multiplayer (3)

Constructed Tourney (4 to 8 Players - Advanced):

Single Elimination Tourney: Players battle against one another in Competitive Constructed Matches, in a bracket-style draw.

• Results: The last player standing wins.

Round Robin Tourney: Players battle against one another in Competitive Constructed Matches. Each player plays every other player once.

• Results: The player with the best record wins.

Super Sealed (2 to 8 Players - Advanced): First, select a number of Origins equal to the number of players participating in the Super Sealed, plus 2.

4-Player Sealed Example: For a 4-player Super Sealed, you'll need 6 different Origins. Shuffle all the Origins together, keeping the cards face-down. Deal all the cards evenly among players, face-down. Each player then looks at all cards they were dealt, and uses them to construct a Deck and Reserve Pile. Then follow Constructed Tournament, Free-For-All, or Team Battle format rules.

Gameplay Formats - Multiplayer (4)

Cosmic Draft (2 to 8 Players - Advanced): First, select a number of Origins equal to the number of players participating in the draft, plus 1.

4-Player Draft Example: For a 4-player draft, you'll need 5 different Origins. Shuffle all the Origins together, keeping the cards face-down. Create separate face-down piles of 8 random cards called PODS. You will need 3 PODS for each player in the draft.

To start the draft, players put one POD in front of them, and set the 2 others aside. Then, all players simultaneously look at all 8 cards in their first POD. Each player chooses one card (known as 'drafts') from the POD, and then passes the rest of the cards in that POD to the player on their left, keeping those cards face-down. Repeat this process until all cards from the first POD have been drafted. Then, repeat the draft process for the remaining 2 PODS, but alternate the direction that PODS are passed each time a new POD is drafted.

Once all PODS are completely drafted, each player takes the cards he or she drafted and uses them to construct a Deck and Reserve Pile. Then, follow Constructed Tournament, Free-For-All, or Team Battle format rules.

Quick Reference

Activate (a card in Combat): Choose a card you have in Combat, pay its Energy Cost, then do everything that card's text says to do, in the order it is written, if able. Finally, place that card on top of your Depletion Pile (face-up, next to your deck.)

Combat: The area of the flat table between players on which cards are played from your Hand and/or activated.

Deck: Your Deck can have a maximum of 21 white-bordered cards and a maximum of 1 black-bordered card.

• The maximum number of white-bordered cards must be reduced by 1 for each different Origin represented, beyond the first.

Deplete: Move cards to the Depletion Pile.

• When your deck is Depleted by an amount, you must take that number of cards from the top of your deck and put them on top of your Depletion Pile.
• Your cards may also be depleted from Combat, or from your Hand. When one of your cards is depleted, you must put that card on top of your Depletion Pile.

Depletion Pile: A pile to the left of a player's Deck, where that player's cards go after they're activated, or when they've been depleted.

• Cards in this pile must remain face-up, in the order they entered it.

Draw: When you draw a card, you take the top card of your deck and put it into your Hand.

Energy Cost: The amount of Energy that must be spent to play cards from your Hand. This amount must also be spent to activate cards.

Gain Energy: You start every turn with exactly 3 Energy.

• Some cards may cause you to gain additional Energy within a single turn, but unspent Energy disappears at the end of your turn.

Hand: You start the game with 3 cards in your Hand. When you draw a card from the top of your Deck, put it into your Hand.

• Do not show your Hand to other players unless you must.

Play (from your hand): Choose a card in your Hand, pay its Energy Cost, then place it into Combat (face-up and facing you.)

Purge: When a card is purged, it must be put in the Purged Zone.

Purged Zone: An area where cards are put, face-up, when Purged. Unlike the Depletion Pile, the order of the cards here doesn't matter.

Put: Move cards from one game zone to another, without spending Energy.

• When a card effect requires a card to be put into Combat from any game zone i.e. 'put a card from your Hand into Combat', you don't spend Energy to do so.

Repel: When a card is repelled, it must be put into its owner's Hand.

Restore (from your Depletion Pile): When you Restore an amount, you must take that number of cards from the top of your Depletion Pile and put them on the bottom of your deck, face-down.

• Cards are restored in the reverse of the order they were put on top of the Depletion Pile. For example, the top card of the Depletion Pile is the first card that must be restored, and so on…

Reveal: When a card or hand is revealed, it must be shown to all players for the duration of that turn.

Steal: When you steal a card, you become that card's owner for the rest of the game.

Stun: When a card is stunned, it must be rotated (from the upright to the horizontal position) until the end phase of the card owner's turn.

• A stunned card cannot be activated.