Unstoppable Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Sleeving Guide
• Game Setup
  • A – Common Setup
  • B – Player Setup
  • C – Boss Setup
• Card Anatomy
  • Core Cards (126x)
  • Threat Cards (65x)
  • Upgrade Cards (36x)
  • Faction Icons
• Game Objective
• Turn Sequence
  • A. Upkeep Phase
  • B. Draft Phase
  • C. Main Phase
    • Playing Cards
    • Exhausting Allies
    • Buying Upgrades
    • Defeating Threats
  • D. Threat Phase
  • E. Cleanup Phase
• The Danger Track
  • Skipped Spaces
  • Optional Effects
• Leveling Up
• 2-Player Mode
  • Game Setup
  • Game Objective
  • Turn Sequence
  • Clarifications
• Scoring Your Game
  • Achievement Bonuses
• Effect Icons
  • Core Icons
  • Threat Icons
  • Boss Icons
• Faction Keywords
• Threat Keywords
• Credits

Components

• 4x Portrait Cards
• 12x Character Cards
• 14x Starting Core Cards
• 26x Starting Threat Cards
• 39x Threat Cards
• 100x Core Cards
• 36x Upgrade Cards
• 46x Boss Cards
• 2x Player Mats
• 3x Boss Mats
• 16x Credit Tokens
• 30x Damage Tokens
• 2x Armor and 2x Health Markers
• 1x Danger Marker
• 12x Action Point Discs
• 4x Level Discs
• 121x Card Sleeves
• 20x Card Dividers
• 1x Reference Sheet
• 1x Storybook

Sleeving Guide

Before your first play, you'll need to do some initial preparation by putting cards into the provided sleeves. These sleeves streamline the gameplay and enable the game's unique card-crafting system.

The tables in the following sections will guide you. Some cards begin each game in sleeves by themselves, while others are sleeved in pairs. Pairs of cards should always be sleeved back to back, so that their fronts face outward.

The only cards that should not be sleeved during this process are the 100 non-starting core cards and the 36 upgrade cards:

Type	Core Side	Threat Side	Quantity
Starting Cards	Strike	Ceresan Thief	12x
Starting Cards	Spare Credits	Virenian Doe	2x
Character Cards (level 0 in bottom right corner)	[Character Card A]	Backalley Blademaster	4x
Character Cards (level 0 in bottom right corner)	[Character Card B]	Sporeling	4x
Character Cards (level 0 in bottom right corner)	[Character Card C]	Junker Cyclist	4x
Threat Cards*	N/A	Ceres II Threats (CII)	13x
Threat Cards*	N/A	Virenos Threats	13x
Threat Cards*	N/A	Mithras Threats (M)	13x
Boss Cards	N/A	Boss Cards #00—22	23x
Boss Cards	N/A	Order Acolyte	5x
Boss Cards	N/A	Order Archivist	5x
Boss Cards	N/A	Triumvirate Informant	4x
Boss Cards	N/A	Triumvirate Stronghold	3x
Boss Cards	N/A	Triumvirate Enforcer	3x

* These sleeves begin with the threat card only. A core card will be added to the other side of the sleeve during gameplay.

Game Setup

A – Common Setup

1. Core Decks: Divide the 100 unsleeved core cards into 6 decks by level number. Shuffle each deck individually. Place these decks in a face-up row on the table, arranged left to right in ascending order.
2. Upgrade Deck: Shuffle the 36 unsleeved upgrade cards into a single deck. Place this deck face down on the table. Reveal the top 6 cards of the deck and place them in a face-up row next to the deck. Note: These cards have 2 different cutouts, but they should still be shuffled together.
3. Token Supply: Create a supply with the credit tokens and damage tokens, sorted by type and denomination.

B – Player Setup

1. Player Mat: Collect a player mat, health marker, and armor marker. Place the player mat in front of you. Set the markers at "10" on the health track and "0" on the armor track.
2. Character Portrait: Choose a character by finding their portrait card and placing it in the portrait space on your player mat.
3. Character Deck: Construct your 10-card character deck. Each card consists of a sleeve with 2 starting cards, sleeved back to back. Your character cards are listed on the back of your portrait card. Shuffle the constructed deck and place it in the deck space on your player mat, threat side up.
   • 6x Strike / Ceresan Thief
   • 1x Spare Credits / Virenian Doe
   • 1x Character Card A / Backalley Blademaster
   • 1x Character Card B / Sporeling
   • 1x Character Card C / Junker Cyclist
4. Starting Hand: Draw 3 cards from your deck. Hold these cards in your hand so that you are viewing the core side, not the threat side.
5. Battlefield: Take 3 cards from your deck. Place these cards in a row next to your deck, threat side up.
6. Starting Credits: Take credit tokens with a total value of 3 credits from the supply. Place them in the credits space on your player mat.
7. Action Point Discs: Find the 6 action point discs of your chosen player color. Place 3 of them in the action points space on your player mat. Set the other 3 aside for now.
8. Level Discs: Find the 2 level discs of your chosen player color and stack them together above the level-1 core deck.

C – Boss Setup

1. Boss Mat: Choose a boss by placing its boss mat in play, then following all setup steps on the back side of the mat. Note: The recommended boss for your first play is the Harbinger.
   • a. Boss Deck: Find the boss cards that match the chosen boss. Construct the boss deck according to the setup steps listed on the back side of the boss mat.
   • b. Threat Deck: Construct the threat deck according to the setup steps listed on the back side of the boss mat. Place the shuffled threat deck next to the core decks, threat side down.
2. Danger Marker: Find the danger marker and place it on the first "0" space of the danger track on the boss mat.
3. Difficulty Level: Choose a difficulty level: NORMAL, HARD, or EXPERT. This will determine how quickly the danger marker advances during play.

Card Anatomy

There are 4 different card types: cores, threats, upgrades, and boss. Most sleeved "cards" consist of 1 core, 1 threat, and up to 2 upgrades. Boss cards are only one card per sleeve and cannot be upgraded.

Core Cards (126x)

Cores make up the front side of sleeved cards. They represent the powers, resources, and support available to you.

1. Cost: This value indicates the number of action points required to play the card. Remove that many action point discs from your player mat.
2. Faction: This indicates which faction the card belongs to. Many game effects and keywords are linked to these faction types.
3. Type: This label indicates whether the card is a tactic or an ally. Tactics are discarded after use, while allies remain in play.
4. Effects: This is where the card's effects appear. Some cards have a single effect, while some have multiple effects.
5. Level: This value indicates which core deck the card comes from (1–6). Character cards and starting cards are level-0 core cards.

Threat Cards (65x)

Threats make up the back side of sleeved cards. They represent the strange monsters and deadly foes that you will face on the field of battle.

1. Attack: This value indicates how much damage the threat will deal to you each turn when in play.
2. Defense: This value is added to the attack value to determine the total health of the threat. You must deal damage to a threat equal to its health to defeat it.
3. Bonus: This text indicates a bonus that you gain when you defeat the threat. Not all threats have a bonus.
4. Keyword: This text indicates a keyword that applies to the threat. Not all threats have a keyword.

Upgrade Cards (36x)

Upgrades are sleeved between cores and threats. They add modifiers to the core side and the threat side.

1. Cost: This value indicates the amount of credits required to buy the upgrade. Return that many credits to the supply.
2. Modifiers: The modifiers in effect for the card that this upgrade is added to. Each card can have 1 matching upgrade per cutout.
   • 2a. Modifier added to the core side.
   • 2b. Modifier added to the threat side.
3. Requirement: This indicates which type of card this upgrade can be added to. Some upgrades require a tactic or an ally, while others can be added to a card of either type.
4. Discount: This indicates a discount to the upgrade cost that applies when it is added to a card of a specific faction.

Faction Icons

Council, Junker, Silver, Viren.

Game Objective

The goal of Unstoppable is to defeat the boss, a world-ending menace that threatens the very way of life in your star system. Each boss works differently, and will say on its boss mat how to defeat it. Many bosses require you to deal Boss Damage, a special kind of damage that can only be found on certain cards.

• You win the game if… you defeat the boss.
• You lose the game if… your health is reduced to zero.
• You lose the game if… the danger level reaches the maximum danger space.

Turn Sequence

The game takes place over a series of turns. Each turn is broken into 5 phases that are performed in order:

A. Upkeep Phase B. Draft Phase C. Main Phase D. Threat Phase E. Cleanup Phase

This sequence repeats until you win or lose.

A. Upkeep Phase

1. Place 3 action point discs in the action points space on your player mat. Those action points are available to be spent in the Main Phase.
2. Refresh all exhausted ally cards in play by rotating them back upright. Those ally cards are available to be exhausted in the Main Phase.
3. Resolve all active effects that trigger during the Upkeep Phase.

B. Draft Phase

The Draft Phase is when you draft a new card and add it to your hand based on the current position of your level discs:

1. Find the core deck where your small level disc is located.
2. Draw the top 3 cards of that core deck. Keep 1 of those cards and return the other 2 to the bottom of the same deck.
3. Take the top card of the threat deck, without viewing the threat side, and put your chosen core card into the same sleeve.
4. Add the newly drafted card to your hand with the core side facing you.
5. Reset your small level disc back to where your large level disc is located and stack them together again.

Note: Both level discs advance permanently when you level up, and your small level disc advances temporarily when you train.

Note: You can only look at the threat side of a card while it is an active or on-deck threat.

C. Main Phase

The Main Phase is when you can play cards, exhaust allies, and buy upgrades.

You may take these actions any number of times, and in any order, as long as you have the cards, credits, and action points required to do so. The phase ends when you cannot, or choose not to, take any more actions. Each action must be resolved fully before you can take another.

Repeatable Effects

Some interactions allow you to repeat certain card effects. However, if you resolve the same effect of the same card for the 4th time in a single turn, you must then eliminate that card. Return that card to the box.

Playing Cards

To play a card from hand, you must spend action points equal to its cost. Remove that many action point discs from your player mat.

When you play a card, put it in front of you, core side up, and resolve its effects. Some cards have a single effect, while others have multiple.

If the card has any upgrades, those may add further effects that trigger when played.

You may resolve the effects, including those from upgrades, in any order. Effects that you cannot resolve, or choose not to, are forfeited.

Tactic Cards. Tactics are cards with one-time effects. Once played, a tactic card remains in play until the Cleanup Phase of the same turn and is then discarded.

Ally Cards. Allies are cards with repeatable effects. Once played, an ally card remains in play until the next time you level up and is then discarded.

Exhausting Allies

To exhaust an ally in play, rotate the card 90 degrees clockwise. Exhausting an ally is separate from playing it. You may only exhaust allies that are in play.

When you exhaust an ally, resolve the effects that follow the exhaust icon. Most allies have only 1 exhaust icon, but some have multiple. For an ally with multiple exhaust icons, you must choose only 1 to use for its effects.

If the card has any upgrades, those may add further effects that trigger when exhausted.

You may resolve the effects, including those from upgrades, in any order. Effects that you cannot resolve, or choose not to, are forfeited.

Once an ally has been exhausted (rotated sideways), it cannot be exhausted again until it is refreshed (rotated upright) during the next Cleanup Phase, or by another card effect.

Buying Upgrades

To buy an upgrade, you must spend credits equal to its cost. Return that amount of credits from your player mat to the supply. Then add the upgrade to any tactic card or ally card in your hand or in play by sliding it into the center of the sleeve between core and threat. Each card can have up to 2 upgrades: 1 top and 1 bottom. Some upgrades have a requirement of either a tactic card or ally card.

Once you have sleeved the upgrade, refill the empty slot in the market with another upgrade revealed from the upgrade deck.

Defeating Threats

You may deal damage to any active threats or the on-deck threat by playing cards and exhausting allies. Damage dealt to threats persists between turns and can be tracked with damage tokens (see p. 15). When a threat has taken damage equal to or greater than its health, you have defeated it. The health of each threat is the sum of its attack and defense values.

Before resolving any bonus, draw the defeated threat and add it to your hand. Flip the card over and rotate it so that you are viewing the core side. Defeating threats is the primary way to draw cards in Unstoppable!

Many threats have a bonus that triggers when defeated. These bonuses are mandatory and resolve immediately.

On-Deck Threats

The top card of your deck is the on-deck threat. You can deal damage to this threat while it is still on top of your deck. But pay attention, because the threat keywords Fast (see p. 18) and Taunt (see p. 18) apply when the threat is on deck.

D. Threat Phase

The Threat Phase is when you take damage from the active threats.

All threat cards currently on the battlefield in front of you are "active threats." This does not include the top card of your deck, which is the "on-deck threat." It is possible for there to be no active threats.

The amount of damage dealt by each active threat is equal to its attack value. If the card has upgrades on it, any attack value present on the threat side of those upgrades is added to the threat's attack value.

For each damage you are dealt, move the armor marker down 1 space on your armor track. If the armor marker reaches zero, move the health marker down 1 space on your health track for each remaining damage. If the health marker reaches zero, you lose immediately!

Note: Each active threat always deals damage equal to its attack value. The damage it has taken does not affect the damage it deals to you.

Resolving Events

An event is a mandatory game effect. Events are usually triggered by attacking or defeating a threat. When triggered, an event must be resolved immediately, even if it interrupts the resolution of another effect. After resolving the event, continue with the resolution of the effect that triggered it. Events include…

• triggering keywords
• defeating threats
• leveling up

E. Cleanup Phase

1. Discard all tactic cards from play. Put them in your discard pile.
2. Remove all remaining action point discs from your player mat. Unspent action points cannot be saved for later.
3. Reset the armor marker to zero on the armor track on your player mat.
4. Add new threats to the battlefield until it is refilled to 3 active threats.
   • To add a new threat to the battlefield, move the threat from the top of your deck to the battlefield. The threat that is now revealed on top of your deck becomes the new on-deck threat.
   • If adding new threats empties your deck, level up immediately (see p. 12), then resume adding new threats until there are 3 active threats.
5. Advance the danger marker 1 space on the danger track on the boss mat. If the danger marker reaches the maximum danger space, you lose immediately!

The Danger Track

Skipped Spaces

Some spaces must be skipped based on the difficulty level you chose during game setup:

• NORMAL: Skip all spaces with a green border.
• HARD: Skip all spaces with a yellow border.
• EXPERT: Skip all spaces with a red border.

Optional Effects

Some spaces have optional effects that trigger when the danger marker reaches them:

• Credit / Eliminate: Spend 1 credit to eliminate 1 card in your hand, in your discard pile, or in play. Return that card to the box; it will not be used again for the remainder of the game.
• Market Cycle: Move any number of upgrades from the market to the bottom of the deck, then refill the market.

Note: When an effect space on the danger track is skipped due to difficulty level, the effect does not trigger.

Leveling Up

Leveling up is an "event," so the game pauses temporarily while you complete the process. You level up in one of two ways:

Leveling Up in the Main Phase. You level up if your deck is empty and there are no active threats. When this occurs mid-effect, interrupt the effect to level up, then resume the effect even if its card is no longer in play.

Leveling Up in the Cleanup Phase. You level up if your deck is empty and a new threat must be added. Complete the process of leveling up, then resume adding new threats until the battlefield is refilled to 3 active threats.

When you level up, resolve these 5 steps in order:

1. Advance both level discs 1 space to the right above the row of core decks. Each disc advances 1 space even if they are above different decks.
2. Discard all tactic cards and ally cards from play and discard down to 3 cards in hand. Put the discarded cards in your discard pile.
3. Optionally eliminate any 1 card in your hand or in your discard pile. Return that card to the box; it will not be used again for the remainder of the game.
4. Resolve any boss-specific effects that trigger when you level up. These effects, if any, are printed on the boss mat.
5. Reshuffle all cards in your discard pile. Place the shuffled cards in the deck space on your player mat, threat side up.

2-Player Mode

In the 2-player mode, each player controls a separate character, and they must work together to defeat the boss. For the most part, players play as they would in a solo game, however, players share the ability to damage threats in either player's battlefield, meaning players can help each other draw cards. Syncing up with your ally on when to kill threats and how to efficiently allocate your damage will be key.

Game Setup

Common setup and boss setup remain the same, but each player performs player setup individually for their chosen character and color.

Game Objective

The players still must defeat the boss, who is usually twice as difficult. The players lose if either player's health is reduced to zero or if the danger level reaches the maximum danger space.

Turn Sequence

Observe the following changes to the turn sequence:

• Upkeep Phase: The players complete this phase simultaneously.
• Draft Phase: The players complete this phase simultaneously. If they are drafting from the same core deck, they decide together who drafts first. They may discuss which card each player should draft.
• Main Phase: The players may take actions in any order, as long as each action is resolved fully before either player takes another. It might be useful for the players to take alternating actions, but this is not required.
• Threat Phase: The players complete this phase simultaneously. Each player is only dealt damage by the threats on their own battlefield.
• Cleanup Phase: The players complete this phase simultaneously. The danger marker only advances 1 space total.

Clarifications

• The players may target each other's threats with damage and other effects that target threats. This applies to active threats and on-deck threats.
• The Taunt keyword only applies to the battlefield with the Taunt threat. If Player A has a Taunt threat on their battlefield and Player B does not, neither player can target any of Player A's threats except the Taunt threat, but both players can target Player B's threats without restriction.
• A defeated threat is added to the hand of the player whose battlefield it came from. If Player A defeats one of Player B's threats, Player B adds the card to their hand, even though they did not defeat it.
• Any "when defeated" bonus of a threat goes to the player who defeats the threat. Even if Player A takes a threat down to 1 health, Player B gets the bonus if they deal the killing blow.
• Players may still only affect themselves with health, armor, credits, action points, and any other effects that affect players.

Scoring Your Game

If you wish to assess the quality of your victory you can use these rules to determine a "score". Note, you only score if you win. Please consider sharing your scores with what hero vs. which boss on Boardgamegeek.com or on Renegade's social media!

• +100 for WIN on normal level, +200 for hard, +300 for expert.
• +10 per round remaining before loss (e.g. if you win with 0 rounds to spare, you get +0 bonus points).
• • remaining life.

Achievement Bonuses

You can gain additional points for noteworthy accomplishments. Importantly, on the turn in which you win, you may play out the remainder of that turn to the extent possible and desired, in order to try to hit these achievements, but you may not take extra turns.

• +10 Power Within: Any time: You used the same card in an infinite loop 4 times in a single turn, forcing you to eliminate it.
• +10 Transhumanist: End of game: Every non-boss, non-starting card you own has at least 1 upgrade.
• +10 Time to Retire: End of game: Have 15+ credits.
• +10 Coalition Leader: End of game: Own at least 2 cards of each of the 4 factions.
• +50 Become Unstoppable! After achieving the win, you keep playing that same turn and finish your level at time of victory AND another level beyond that all in the same turn (you may go beyond level 6 if necessary).

Effect Icons

Many cards use effect icons as shorthand for important game effects. These effect icons are explained in detail below.

Core Icons

Deal X damage. If this damage does not defeat the target threat, take X damage tokens from the supply and place them on the threat to track it. You may target any active threat or the on-deck threat. All damage from each instance of this icon must be dealt to a single threat. Example: Five Meters Under is a Silver tactic card that deals 2 separate instances of damage when played. You can deal 3 damage to 1 threat and 2 damage to another, or 5 total damage to the same threat.

Gain X credits. Take X credit tokens from the supply and place them in the credits space on your player mat. If the supply runs out, use any suitable substitute. Example: Gadwick Goldenhand is a Junker ally card with an effect that lets you gain 2 credits from the supply when exhausted.

Gain X action points. Place X action point discs on your player mat. You cannot have more than 6 action points. If you gain action points when at the maximum, nothing happens. Example: Viren Solidarity is a Viren tactic card with an effect that lets you gain 2 action points and 1 credit when played.

Gain X health. Move the health marker up X spaces on your health track. You cannot have more than 10 health. If you gain health when at the maximum, nothing happens. Example: Medical Nanites is a Council tactic card with an effect that lets you gain 2 health when played.

Gain X armor. Move the armor marker up X spaces on your armor track. You cannot have more than 10 armor. If you gain armor when at the maximum, nothing happens. Example: Aid From the Resistance is a Viren tactic card with an effect that lets you gain 6 armor when played.

Train 1 level. Advance your small level disc 1 level, from its current level to the next level. If your small level disc is already at the 6th level, nothing happens. Example: Exceed Your Limits is a Silver tactic card with an effect that lets you train 1 level when played.

Eliminate 1 card. Choose 1 card in your hand, in your discard pile, or in play. Return that card to the box; it will not be used again for the remainder of the game. Example: Regional Target is a Council tactic card with an effect that lets you eliminate 1 card when played.

Level X+ — If Level X or higher… This text indicates an effect that only resolves if your large level disc is Level X or higher. Many character cards have effects like this. Example: Guard Squadron is a Silver ally card with an effect that lets you gain 2 health when exhausted if you are Level 2 or higher.

Threat Icons

Attack Value (X). This value is how much damage the threat deals to you during the Threat Phase if active. The health of each threat is its attack value + defense value. Example: Deadwood Stalker is a Bug threat from Virenos that deals you 3 damage during the Threat Phase if active.

Defense Value (X). This value is how much extra damage you must deal to the threat to defeat it. The health of each threat is its attack value + defense value. Example: Fugitive Gunslinger is a Viren threat from Mithras with 2 attack and 1 defense for a total of 3 health.

Danger Level. This icon represents the current danger level. The danger level is the number in the danger marker's space of the danger track on the boss mat. Example: Commhacker is a Human threat from Ceres II with danger-level defense. If the current danger level is 2, then it has 2 defense.

Boss Icons

Boss Damage (X). Some bosses must be dealt a certain amount of boss damage. The ways you can deal boss damage are specified on their boss mat and/or boss cards. Example: The Harbinger can be dealt 1 boss damage when an Order Acolyte or Order Archivist enters your hand upon defeat.

Card Elimination. When the danger marker reaches this space, you may spend 1 credit to eliminate 1 card in your hand, in your discard pile, or in play. Example: The Triumvirate has an optional card elimination effect when the danger marker reaches the first "2" space.

Market Cycle. When the danger marker reaches this space, you may move any number of upgrades from the market to the bottom of the deck, then refill the market. Example: Duomo's Menace has an optional market cycle effect when the danger marker reaches the first "1" space.

Normal Difficulty. If you are playing on Normal difficulty, skip all spaces with a green border when the danger marker advances. Example: The Harbinger has 2 green-bordered spaces that you skip on Normal difficulty.

Hard Difficulty. If you are playing on Hard difficulty, skip all spaces with a yellow border when the danger marker advances. Example: The Triumvirate has 3 yellow-bordered spaces that you skip on Hard difficulty.

Expert Difficulty. If you are playing on Expert difficulty, skip all spaces with a red border when the danger marker advances. Example: Duomo's Menace has 4 red-bordered spaces that you skip on Expert difficulty.

Maximum Danger. If the danger marker reaches this space on the danger track, you lose! Example: All bosses have this icon on the danger track.

Faction Keywords

Many cards have effects that are represented by faction keywords.

These faction keywords have conditions or variables that are linked to the faction types of the cards in your hand and/or in play. Consider all cards in your hand and in your play area when evaluating a faction keyword.

A faction keyword is displayed on a card in bolded text followed by a colon and the remainder of the effect (e.g., "Conspire: Refresh 1 ally").

Bargain. Bargain effects, which are optional, are always followed by a number. This is how many credits you must spend to use it. The cost is reduced by 1 for each card of the same faction as this card in your hand and/or in play (including itself). Costs cannot be reduced below zero. Example: Hired Guns is a Junker tactic card with a "Bargain 3" effect. By default, the cost of this effect is reduced by 1 credit. But if you have at least 2 other Junker cards in your hand and/or in play, the cost is reduced to zero.

Conspire. Conspire effects, which are mandatory, trigger if there is at least 1 other card of the same faction as this card in your hand or in play. These effects do not scale upward with the number of other cards of the same faction. Example: Royal Armorer is a Silver ally card with a Conspire effect to gain 2 health. This effect only triggers if you have at least 1 other Silver card in your hand or in play.

Focus. Focus effects, which are mandatory, refer to an "X" value. The value of X is equal to the number of cards of the same faction as this card in your hand and/or in play (including itself). X is always at least 1 for any card that has a faction type. Example: Viren Strategy is a Viren tactic card with a Focus effect to deal X damage. If you have 4 other Viren cards in your hand and/or in play, this effect deals 5 damage.

Unite. Unite effects, which are mandatory, refer to an "X" value. The value of X is equal to the number of unique factions present among the cards in your hand and/or in play (including itself). X is always at least 1 for any card that has a faction type. There are 4 factions now, but future releases could introduce more. Example: Admiral Worley is a Council ally card with a Unite effect to deal X instances of 2 damage. If you have a mix of Council, Junker, and Silver cards in your hand and/or in play, this effect deals 3 separate instances of 2 damage.

Some factionless cards, like the starting cards, have no faction type. These cards are ignored by faction keywords. If a factionless card receives an upgrade with a faction type, the card does not gain the faction type.

If a factionless card receives an upgrade with a faction keyword, the linked effect of the faction keyword might still resolve.

• Bargain: The effect still resolves but the cost cannot be reduced.
• Conspire: The effect cannot resolve because the card is factionless.
• Focus: The effect cannot resolve because the card is factionless.
• Unite: The effect still resolves based on your other cards.

Threat Keywords

Many cards have effects that are represented by threat keywords. Some threat keywords are passive effects that apply at all times while the threat is active, while others are effects that trigger in specific circumstances.

Crazed X. Crazed threats become reckless when they sense desperation. When a Crazed threat is revealed for any reason, compare your current health value to the Crazed "X" value. If your current health value is equal to or lower than X, the Crazed threat deals itself 2 damage. Example: Virenian Stag has the Crazed 5 keyword. You defeat the current on-deck threat, revealing a Virenian Stag on top of your deck. If you only have 4 health when this occurs, it deals itself 2 damage.

Fast. Fast threats overrun the battlefield with their speed. Fast threats do not count toward the limit of 3 active threats. During the Cleanup Phase, you must continue adding threats until there are 3 non-Fast threats on the battlefield and a non-Fast threat on top of your deck. Example: There are only 2 active threats before you refill. The next threat, Junker Cyclist, has the Fast keyword. After adding it, you must also add the next threat, Ceresan Thief. Neither the Ceresan Thief nor the Commhacker revealed after that are Fast threats, so the refill is complete.

Rage. Rage threats wreak havoc on your allies. During the Threat Phase, for each Rage threat on the battlefield, you must discard 1 ally from play and put it in your discard pile. Both available allies and exhausted allies can be discarded this way by Rage threats. Example: Backalley Blademaster has the Rage keyword. During the Threat Phase, if this threat is on the battlefield, you must discard 1 ally from play. If this threat is on top of your deck, you are unaffected.

Taunt. Taunt threats command your attention. When at least 1 Taunt threat is on the battlefield or on top of your deck, you must target a Taunt threat with any damage effect unless stated otherwise. This restriction does not apply to non-damage effects. Example: Sporeling is a threat with the Taunt keyword. While it is visible, you cannot damage other threats. Scrap Hunter, however, is a Junker ally with a damage effect that tells you to ignore the Taunt keyword.

Terror. Terror threats drain your steely resolve. When you target a Terror threat with an effect that deals damage, you lose 1 action point. If you have no action points left, the effect still resolves but the loss is ignored. This restriction does not apply to non-damage effects. Example: Vinespider is a threat with the Terror keyword. Dealing damage to the Vinespider will lose you 1 action point. You can hit the Vinespider without penalty if you do so when you have no action points left.

Multiple instances of the same keyword can stack on a single threat. For the Crazed, Rage, and Terror keywords, the effect resolves once for each instance when triggered. For the Fast and Taunt keywords, multiple instances have no effect.

Credits

Unstoppable — Game Designer: John D Clair. Developers: John Brieger and Jordan M. A. Johnson. Senior Producer, Board & Card Games: Dan Bojanowski. Art Director: Anita Osburn. Box Cover Illustrator: Jacopo Shiavo. Illustrators: Jacopo Schiavo, Cold Castle Studios, Stephanie Dziezyk, Bryant Grizzle, Giuseppe De Iure, Damien Mammoliti, Fabian Parente with Ana Maza, Darko Stojanovic, & Gunship Revolution: Kriss Sison, Rafael Cal-Ortiz, Arvin Albo, Jenno Diaz, & Luisa Odulio. Graphic Designer: Cold Castle Studios. Narrative and Worldbuilding Author: Banana Chan. Short Story Author: Banana Chan. Additional Writer: John Brieger. Editor: Dustin Schwartz. Production Artist: Noelle Lopez.

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