Swamp Monsters TCG Rules

Pre-Game Setup:

Introduction:

Swamp Monsters TCG is a turn-based strategy trading card game where players choose a Champion, deploy Heroes, Operatives, and Traps in their swamp, and vie to defeat their adversaries. By strategically clearing enemy front row cards, you expose their Champion for direct attacks. Victory is achieved by reducing an enemy Champion’s political power to zero.

Objective:

Each player (2-6) starts with a 49-card deck and a chosen Champion. Your Champion card is placed face-up at the bottom of your swamp, displaying Political Power (PP) in the lower right corner. The objectives are twofold:

1. Enhance the Attack (ATK) power of your Operatives and Heroes to diminish opponents’ Champion PP.
2. After all actions end, the player with the highest Champion PP emerges victorious.

Layout:

Your swamp consists of:

• 4 front-row spaces
• 3 back-row spaces
• Deck space
• Discard space
• Champion space
• 2 communal spaces for Event and Arena cards

Resource Tracking:

• Determine turn order: If a player selects a Champion holding the US Presidency, they go first. Otherwise, resolve turn order with rock-paper-scissors, then rotate clockwise.
• The Swamp:
  • Front Row: Deploy Hero, Operative, and utility cards (4 open spaces). Note that traps cannot occupy front row spaces.
  • Back Row: Place Trap, Utility, Operative, and Hero cards (3 open spaces, face-down).
  • Champion Space: Home to your formidable Champion.
  • Deck Space: House your deck.
  • Discard/Jail Space: Reserved for discarded and defeated operative and hero cards.
  • Event Space: Dedicated to cards in “Event Style Play.”
  • Capital Space: For Arena cards.

Resources:

Three core resource systems:

• Crumbling Fiat Currency (CFC): The swamp’s financial currency. Use CFC to meet card play costs found in the bottom left corner.
• Morale (MC): Dictates whether deployed Hero/Operative cards fight for your Champion. Low Morale deactivates cards. Deactivation costs are in the lower left corner.
• Influence (INF): Empowers card abilities. Use INF for abilities listed in the lower right corner. Costs vary based on ability strength.

Gameplay:

Setup:

• Players place their Champions and allocate starting resources based on values indicated on Champion cards.
• In the initial turn, no attacks are permitted.

Draw Phase:

• Draw 7 cards on the first turn.
• Subsequent draw phases involve drawing until your hand holds four cards. If exceeding 4 cards, only draw 1. No maximum hand size applies.

Resource Phase:

• Play up to 2 resource cards from your hand to Discard/Jail. Adjust resource trackers accordingly.
• Optionally convert 1 resource to another. This strategic shift aids in meeting deployment costs.

Deployment Phase:

• Play cards in the front and back rows, adhering to respective card costs.

Deploying Cards:

• Hero Cards: Position Heroes, Operatives, and utility cards in the front row if slots are available. CFC covers deployment cost.
• Back Row: Deploy Hero, Operative, and Trap cards in the back row if space permits.

Deploying Operatives and Hero Cards:

• Without a Hero in the front row:
  • Front Row: 1 operative/hero card can be placed in the front row per turn.
  • Back Row: 1 operative/hero card can be placed in the back row per turn.
• With a Hero in the front row:
  • Front Row: Deploy as many Operative cards from the back row to the front as available slots allow, adhering to deployment cost.
  • Back Row: Play multiple hero and operative cards to the back row if slots are open. No deployment cost for the back row.

Deploying Traps and Promotion Cards:

• Traps: Deploy face-down in the back row during your turn’s deployment phase.
• Promotion Cards: Placed atop 1st stage cards. Promotion requires meeting deployment cost and having the initial card in play for a complete turn. After promotion, political power resets to the promoted card’s value.

Action Phase and Attacking:

• The Action Phase allows use of front row, back row, and Champion cards for attacks and swamp influence.
• All Champion, Hero, and Operative cards can attack.
• Opt for standard attack or card ability, if active.
• Some cards permit concurrent use of ability and standard attack in a turn.

Attacking:

• Damage derived from attack power diminishes the targeted card’s political power.
• Damage applied before opponent response; applies even with preemptive ability.
• Choose opponent formations to attack strategically. Opponent front row formations can be attacked in any sequence.
• Multiplayer permits attacking multiple opponents during a turn’s action phase, as long as the phase end is not reached.
• INF rewards for defeating enemies: 1 INF for operatives, 2 INF for heroes. In team play, defeating an enemy Champion yields 5 INF.

Champion Attacks:

• Direct attacks on Champion cards feasible when no front formation cards exist or when available front row cards are deactivated via abilities or morale.

Discard/End Turn Phase:

• End your turn by discarding 1 card if no cards were introduced during Resource or Deployment Phase.
• Discard from swamp or hand requires paying $1B CFC, with a maximum of 1 discard per end turn phase.

Card Types, Categories, and Other Rules:

• Card Iconography integral for understanding card descriptions.
• Card Types: Heroes function as Generals for your Champion.
• Factions: Faction alignment in top left corner. Your Champion’s Faction indicates potential benefits.
• Classes: Cards classified into Civilian, Military, LEO (law enforcement officer), Political, and Media.
• Status Effects: Active, Sleep, Silence, Deactivation, Faction Misalignment, and Confusion.