Rulebook
This is the official rulebook for the IOTABOTS TRADING CARD GAME
Cardtypes
- Bot
- Buzz
All cards have :
- Cost
Bot cards also have :
- Attack
- Defense
Rules:
Objective of the Game
The object of the IOTABOTS TRADING CARD GAME is to win a Match against your opponent.
A single Match consists of 3 Duels. Each card battle against an opponent in which a win, loss, or draw is determined is referred to as a Duel.
WIN The player who:
- Is the first to win 2 Duels in a Match OR
- Has 1 win and 2 draws is declared the WINNER.
DRAW If the Duel results are:
- 1 win, 1 loss and 1 draw OR
- 3 draws the match is considered a DRAW.
How to win a Duel
The outcome of a Duel is decided according to the following Official Rules:
• Each player begins a Duel with 20 Life Points. Life Points decrease as a result of damage calculation after battle (see Damage Step). You win a Duel if you reduce your opponent’s Life Points to 0. If your opponent reduces your Life Points to 0, you lose! If you and your opponent both reach 0 Life Points at the same time, the Duel is declared a DRAW.
• If either player’s Deck runs out of cards during a Duel, the first player unable to draw a card is declared the LOSER. Bearing this in mind, a good Duelist should make every card count.
A card’s special effect allows you to win after you fulfill the conditions written on the card.
Getting started
1. Preparing your Deck
Following you'll find basic rules for preparing your Deck :
The Deck used for Dueling must contain exactly 33 cards.
The Deck cannot contain more than 3 copies of the same card. According to the Official Rules, certain cards have specific quantity restrictions that limit the number that can be included in a Deck. To view the current list of Forbidden Limited cards, go to the official website: iotabots.io
2. Gameplay
In accordance with the Official Rules, a Duel is conducted in the following manner:
- Both players shuffle their respective Decks and place them face-down in their respective Deck Zones on the Game Mat.
- To decide who starts first, toss a coin.
- Whoever wins the coin toss can decide to go first or second. For subsequent Duels in the Match, the loser of the previous Duel decides who starts first. If the previous Duel ended in a tie, re-toss a coin to determine who starts first in the next Duel.
- Finally, each player draws 3 cards from the top of their respective Decks. Once both players have 3 cards in their hand, both can decide if they want to keep their respective hands or put them back in the Deck, shuffle and draw again. A player can choose to do so two times, after that he must keep his hand. Then the Duel begins, following the rules in Phases of Gameplay.
Before you lean how a IOTABOTS TRADING CARD GAME turn proceeds, it is important to fully understand the Game Mat and game cards. Understanding how each type of cards works will help you plan strategies to ensure that you will emerge from the Match victorious!
3. The Game Mat
The Game Mat is made of 4 zones :
- A. Bot Zone
- B. Buzz Zone
- C. Junk Zone
- D. Deck Zone
Every card you play or discard will be placed on the Game Mat. The example above shows where to place IOTABOTS TRADING CARD GAME Decks and the cards that are brought into play during a Match.
A. Bot Zone Bots can be placed on the 5 spaces of the Bot Card Zone following the rules in Main Phase 1. The Bot Card Zone has a 5-CARD LIMIT. Once all 5 spaces in the Bot Zone are occupied, no further Bot Cards can be Summoned until there is an open Bot Card space in the Bot Card Zone.
B. Buzz Zone Buzz Cards can be activated in Buzz Zone following the rules in Main Phase 1.
C. Junk Zone When cards are destroyed, they are sent face-up to this space. The contents of the Junk Zone are public knowledge, and your opponent can look through it at any time. Be sure to get your opponent's permission before going through their Junk Zone.
D. Deck Zone Place your Deck face-down in this space. You can also play IOTABOTS TRADING CARD GAME without a Game Mat. Just be sure to place the cards and Decks in the indicated positions.
4. GAME CARDS
Two main card types are used in IOTABOTS TRADING CARD GAME: Bot Cards and Buzz Cards. After familiarizing yourself with the Phases of Gameplay, you will understand the special role of each of the cards.
In all cases where the rules in the rulebook conflict with the rules on a IOTABOTS TRADING CARD GAME game card, the rules on the card have priority.
BOT CARDS
A Bot Card is the basic card used to attack your opponent. Bot Cards are identified by the GREEN light effects on the edges and borders of the card. To Summon a Bot you have to pay Mana except if a Bot has a Mana Cost of 0. The Mana Cost for each Bot Card is declared by the number in the blue colored gem in the top right corner. For details on introducing the Bot Cards into play see Main Phase 1 .
BOT EFFECTS
Some Bot Cards have effects. The broad range of Effects are devided into the types listed on the following page. For details regarding the effects, refer to the instructions printed on each individual card.
- Continuous Effect : As long as this Bot Card is on the field, its effect remains active.
- Ignition Effect : You can use this effect by declaring its activation. You can normally activate this effect during your Main Phase. There are some cards which need a cost to activate, such as discarding cards from your hand or tributing a bot on your side of the field. Because you can choose when to activate this effect, it is easy to make a combo with it.
- Trigger Effect : These cards are activated when you have fulfilled a specific requirement.
TOKEN
Token are used IN PLACE of Bot Cards. The Token represent Bots that appear on the field as a result of a card being activated. These Token are not included in a Deck.
When put into play, Token are placed on the Bot Zone of the Game Mat. When destroyed, Token are returned to a player's hand by card effects, they are also removed from the field. Token count toward the 5-card Bot Card Zone limit.
BUZZ CARDS
Buzz Cards can only be activated during Main Phases. Buzz Cards are identified by the YELLOW light effects on the edges and borders of the card. To activate a Buzz Card you have to pay Mana except if a Buzz Card has a Mana Cost of 0. The Mana Cost for each Buzz Card is declared by the number in the blue colored gem in the top right corner. Once the effect of a Buzz Card is resolved you must put it face-up on the Junk Zone.
MANA
MANA COSTS
The Mana Costs are declared by the number in the blue colored gem in the top right corner. For every card you want to summon or activate you have to pay the according Mana Costs.
MANA POOL
Your Mana Pool is the place where the amount of your current Mana is displayed. You can represent the amount of Mana in your Mana pool with a dice. You start your first turn with 1 Mana in your Mana Pool. Every turn after that you get 1 additional Mana added to your Mana Pool when you enter your Standby Phase. The maximum amount of Mana in your Mana Pool is 6. When you've reached 6 Mana in your Mana pool you won't get additional Mana after that. Your Mana Pool is refilled every time during the Standby Phase. Your Mana Pool made empty every time you end your turn.
5. PHASES OF GAMEPLAY
GAME PLAY TERMINOLOGY
Turn Gameplay progresses in a series of alternating turns. Each players' turn consists of six phases in which a number of actions can be undertaken.
Phase Phases define the order in which actions can be undertaken by a player during their turn. Each phase is limited to a specific set of actions.
Step A sub-category of a phase. This is only used in the Battle Phase.
DRAW PHASE During this phase, you are required to draw 1 card from the top of your Deck. A player who is out of cards and unable to draw during this phase is declared the loser.
STANDBY PHASE If there are any cards in play on the field that specifically state that certain actions must be taken during this phase, these must be dealt with prior to entering the Main Phase. Refer to the cards for specific details regarding the actions to be taken. If there are no such cards in play, proceed to Main Phase 1.
MAIN PHASE 1 During this phase, you may: (1) Summon Bot Cards, (2) activate Buzz Cards. Keep in mind that you have to pay the Mana Cost for each card you play. You can not attack with a Bot in the turn it has been summoned. Once a Buzz Card is placed on the field it is activated immediately and is then destroyed.
Controlling an opponents Bot
Certain Buzz Cards and Bot Effects have the effect of giving you control over an opponents Bot. When this occurs, use the following rules: When you take control of an opponents Bot, move the Bot Card to your own Bot Card Zone. Treat it as if it's your own card for the duration of the effect. If this Bot Card has an effect you can activate it if requirements are met. A Bot you control counts towards your 5 card Bot Card Zone limit. Therefore, you cannot take control of an opponents Bot if your Bot Card Zone is filled. Bot Cards under your control can be used in the same way as your own Bot Cards: to attack, defend, or to use as a Tribute. Controlled Bot Cards destroyed or tributed are sent to your opponent's Junk Zone.
BATTLE PHASE
Once attack preparations have been made in Main Phase 1, you enter the Battle Phase. If you don't wish to conduct a Battle Phase, your turn proceeds to the End Phase.
Keep in mind that the starting player cannot conduct a Battle Phase in their first turn, even if they have placed a Bot Card on the field.
BATTLE PHASE IN SHORT
START STEP Declare that you are entering the Battle Phase.
BATTLE STEP Select and announce 1 Bot to attack with, and declare 1 of your opponents Bots or your opponent Life points as the target.
DAMAGE STEP Calculate the damage points of the designated Bot. If a Bot has an Effect triggered by the conditions apply it immediately after damage calculation.
Resolve all battles by repeating the Battle and Damage Steps as many times as necessary, then declare an end to your Battle Phase.
BATTLE PHASE IN DETAIL
Start Step Announce that you are going into Battle Phase.
Battle Step
During their respective turns, players are allowed 1 attack for every Bot on the field. However, a single Bot can only attack once per turn. The attacking player chooses 1 of their Bots and designates 1 of the opponents Bots or the opponents Life points as a target. Play then proceeds immediately to the Damage Step, returning to the Battle Step if the attacking player wishes to attack again with another Bot.
- Damage Step In this step, the players calculate the damage from the Bots attack. A Bot destroyed as a result of battle is sent to the owning players Junk Zone.
The Damage Step is conducted in the manner described in the following pages.
Upon completion of the Damage Step, return to the Battle Step if the Attacking player wishes to attack again with another Bot.
DETERMINING DAMAGE
When attacking a Bot the defense points of the defending Bot are subtracted by the attack points of the attacking Bot. If the difference is <=0 the defending Bot is destroyed. The difference is also deducted from the Life Points of the defending player. If the difference is >0 nothing happens, effects may get triggered.
1 - 3 = -2 = Tri Bot gets destroyed & Tri Bot Player looses 2 Lifepoints (-2 <= 0).
At the same time the defend points of the attacking Bot are subtracted by the attack points of the defending bot. If the difference is <=0 the attacking Bot is destroyed. The difference is also deducted from the Life Points of the attacking player. If the difference is >0 nothing happens, effects may get triggered.
3 - 2 = 1 = nothing happens to the Chroma Bot & Chroma Bot Player (1 > 0).
When attacking the Life points of a player the Life points are subtracted by the attack points of the attacking Bot. If the remaining Life Points are <=0 the duel ends and the player with Life points >0 wins the duel.
END STEP
Once all battles have been resolved the player enters the End Step and announces the end of their Battle Phase.
MAIN PHASE 2
When the Battle Phase is over, the turn proceeds to Main Phase 2. As in Main Phase 1, You may activate a Buzz Card or Summon a Bot.
END PHASE
Announce the end of your turn. If your hand contains more than 5 Cards, discard to the Junk Zone until only 5 Cards remain in your hand. Your Mana Pool is set to 0. The opposing player then begins their turn with the Draw Phase.
END OF THE DUEL
Repeat Phases 1 through 6 in alternating turns until a winner is decided.