Dust Collectorz: Champions Unleashed
- Rules - English - V202310.09

Pre-release Ruleset

Note: When in doubt, follow the text on the cards.

Deck Composition:

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1. Each player should have a compiled Deck of 32 cards: 6 cards of each of the 5 tribes (30 cards total), and 2 Counter Type cards.

2. Each tribe consists of the following cards: 2 Bronze, 2 Silver, 1 Gold, and 1 Platinum OR 1 Epic. 
   Note: Epic cards are interchangeable with Platinum rank cards for a maximum of 5 Epic cards allowed in a player's Deck.

3. The Deck should consist of no more than two Silver or Bronze cards with the same ability. All Epic cards should be unique in the Deck.

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Mode: Two Player Versus

The goal is to score as many points as possible. The game ends when all cards of any player in the game have been exhausted. The player with the highest score, calculated based on the captured cards' point values, wins the game.

Setup:

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1. Flip a coin, the winner gets to choose if they want to attack or defend in the first Round.

2. Each player shuffles their Deck and places it face-down in front of them. To start, each player draws six (6) cards from their Deck.

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Gameplay:

1. To begin a Clash, the player that goes first (Attacker) chooses a card or multiple cards (Stacking) from the same tribe from their Playable cards. They place their card(s) face up in the center and declare which Stat Value is being used.

2. The next player is the Defender and must now answer by playing a card or cards (Stacking) to answer the attack. They must answer the Attacker with a Stronger Tribe card or a Weaker Tribe card.

3. If a player cannot play Stronger or Weaker Tribe card(s), they may use the other two playable Tribes. If other two tribes are used; Stat Values for those cards are not modified.

4. As a Defender, you cannot answer the Attacker with the same tribe as he is using to attack. If all the cards in your Hand and Overflow are from the attacking tribe or you are prevented from playing a different tribe, pick one card from your Hand which gets immediately captured, regardless of its Stat Value.

5. Players can only Stack cards of the same Tribe when attacking or defending unless the Activated card Ability states otherwise.  

6. The player who plays a card or cards with the highest Stat Value (after all reductions -1 for Weaker Tribe or additions +1 for Stronger Tribe) wins the Round and takes all the cards used in the clash, placing them in their Capture Pile ending the Turn. 
   Note: In the case of a tie in Stat Value, the Defender always wins.

7. At the end of the Round, players draw cards from their Deck until they have 6 cards in their Hand.

8. The winner of the Round starts the next Round as the Attacker.

End of the Game:

The game ends when the first player runs out of cards to play and his Deck is exhausted. If other players have cards remaining in their Deck, Hand, and Overflow, they place them in their respective Capture Piles. 

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Scoring:

• Bronze & Silver cards: 1 point

• Gold cards: 0 points

• Platinum & Epic cards: 3 points

• Counter Type cards: 0 points

• Last Round Won: 3 points 

• Discard Piles do not count towards the score

• Players calculate their score based on the total number of cards in their Capture Pile and who won the last Round

Tie Game: 

If players have an equal score at the end of the game, the player who won the last round wins the tie.

Glossary:

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• Abilities: Special actions or effects that some cards possess, which can be activated under certain conditions.

• Activate: To declare that a card ability is being used in the clash.

• Active Attack: In a versus mode game with more than two players, the active attack is the current attack that players must defend against.

• Ally: In team play, the other member of a player's team.

• Attacker: The player who initiates a round by choosing a card from their Hand and declaring a Stat for the attack.

• Attacking Team: The team who is starting the round in 4 Player Team mode.

• Beats: A card or chain of cards "beats" another card or chain if the selected stat's value is higher than that of the opponents. This includes the impact of the tribe wheel, weaker card penalty, and special abilities.

• Capture Pile: The set of cards that a player has successfully captured through winning rounds.

• Clash: A face-off between the Attacker's and Defender's cards or stacks, where the higher stat value wins.

• Deck: The stack of cards each player draws from.

• Defender: The player who must respond to the Attacker's card and Stat declaration by playing a card from their Hand to defend.

• Defending Team: In Four Player Team mode, the team who is defending from the Attacking Team.

• Discard Pile: Destroyed/discarded cards go there, and points are not counted for scoring.

• Excess Power: The amount by which a card's chosen stat exceeds the opponent's during a clash. Some abilities trigger based on this excess.

• Hand: The cards currently held by a player.

• Last Player: The last player to have played cards in a round.

• Last Round Bonus: Extra points awarded to the player or team who wins the final round of the game.

• Leading Player: In versus mode with more than two players, this player is the player who is currently winning a Clash.

• Nullify: To deactivate or prevent the effect of an ability or card for a set period or condition.

• Overflow: Cards in the player’s Hand that go over the normal limit of 6. They can be used or kept in the Overflow pool. Overflow cards are always visible to opponents. Overflow cards do not count as a part of Hand but are playable cards. 

• Playable Cards: Cards in Hand and Overflow.

• Primary Card: Main card used when Stacking cards to attack or defend. The entire stack is considered a tribe of the Primary card.

• Rank: The classification of a card's quality or effectiveness, denoted as Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, or Epic.

• Round: One complete cycle of turns, beginning with the first player and ending with the last player.

• Scoring: The process of calculating each player's total points at the end of the game.

• Stacking: The action of playing multiple cards together during an attack or defense. When stacking cards choose a primary card. When adding up Stat Value for the entire stack, use the entire Stat Value for the primary card and half Stat Value for all the other cards in the stack (rounded down). No matter how many cards are stacked, the player can use only 2 abilities from the stacked cards, one of which must be from the Primary card and second from any of the other cards in the stack.

• Stat Boost & Penalty: The increase or decrease in stat value when playing a stronger or weaker card according to the tribe wheel.

• Stat Value: The numerical representation of a card's effectiveness in a particular category, e.g., power, speed, health or cunning.

• Stronger Tribe: A Tribe that, according to the tribe wheel, beats another tribe. When playing a Stronger Tribe card, all stats on the card are increased by one.

• Trap Card: A special type of counter type card that can be used to stop another player's move, effectively winning the cards for capture.

• Tribal Chain: In the Young Champions Mode, this is a sequence of two or more cards in a player's Hand where the first card beats the center card, and the second card beats the first card. The third card would beat the second card etc until the player has no more playable cards. The player can play all these cards at once. Multiple card play can be done as early as the first player’s turn. This does not include multiple cards of the same tribe.

• Tribe Wheel: A guide that shows which tribes are stronger or weaker compared to other tribes.

• Turn: One player's opportunity to either attack or defend, usually followed by drawing cards to refill their Hand to 6 cards.

• Weaker Tribe: A Tribe that, according to the tribe wheel, loses to another tribe. When playing a Weaker Tribe card, all stats on the card are decreased by one.

• Winning Team: In four player team mode, the team who successfully won two of three clashes in a Round.

Mode: Four Player Team

The four-player team game is played by two teams of two players. The game is played as a series of individual clashes where players need to both attack and defend against the opposing team using the same set of cards. The individual clashes are played using the same rules as in two-player versus. Players 2 and 3 in each round use the same cards to both attack and defend.

Setup:

1. Flip a coin, the winner gets to choose if they want to attack or defend in the first round.

2. The team that attacks decides which player goes first.

3. Each player shuffles their Deck and places it face-down in front of them. To start, each player draws six (6) cards from their Deck.

Gameplay:

1. Attacker chooses which player from Defending Team they will attack and initiates the Clash.

2. Defending Team player who was attacked has to answer and also use the same cards which he used to defend to attack the other member of the Attacking Team. (Clash 1)
   Note: If a Counter type card is played in defense, a Defender can play an additional card or cards to attack the next remaining player. A new Stat Value can be declared.

3. The second member of the Attacking Team has to defend against the new attack and also use the same cards which he used to defend for attacking the other member of the Defending Team. (Clash 2)

4. The second member of the Defending Team defends the attack from the second member of the Attacking Team. (Clash 3)

5. Winner of the Round is the team that won at least two out of three clashes and they take all the cards used in that Round and put them in their Capture Pile.

6. At the end of the round, players draw cards from their Deck until they have 6 cards in their Hand.

7. The Winning Team of the round is the Attacking Team in the next round, and the Winning Team’s Last Player starts the next Round by attacking a player on the other team. 

End of the Game:

The game ends when the first player runs out of cards to play and his Deck is exhausted. If other players have cards remaining in their Deck, Hand, and Overflow, they place them in their respective Capture Piles. 

Scoring:

• Bronze & Silver cards: 1 point

• Gold cards: 0 points

• Platinum & Epic cards: 3 points

• Counter Type cards: 0 points

• Last Round Won: 6 points

• Discard Piles do not count towards the score

• Players calculate their score based on the total number of cards in their team Capture Pile and who won the last Round

Mode: Three and Four Player Free-for-All

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This is for versus mode games played by more than two players. The game is played as a series of clashes where players need to beat the leading player. The attacking player is the leading player until beaten in a clash, the player who beats the leading player becomes the leading player. At the end of the round, the player who wins the last clash takes all. The clashes are played using the same rules as in two-player versus.

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Setup:

1. Flip a coin, the winner gets to choose if they want to attack or defend in the first round.

2. Each player shuffles their Deck and places it face-down in front of them. To start, each player draws six (6) cards from their Deck.

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Gameplay:

1. The player turn-order is clockwise from the attacker. 

2. The Attacker (Leading Player) initiates the Clash.

3. If the Defender wins the Clash, he becomes the Leading Player. The Leading Player’s cards become the Active Attack and are what subsequent players are now trying to answer. If the Defender loses the Clash, the next player clashes with the initial Attacker’s cards. 
   Note: If a Counter type card is played in defense, a Defender can play an additional card or cards to attack the next player. A new Stat Value can be declared.

4. Step 3 is repeated for all players until all players have played in the Round.

5. Winner of the Round is the player who wins the last Clash. He takes all the cards in the Clash and puts them in his Capture Pile and starts the next Round as the Leading Player.

6. At the end of the Round, players draw cards from their Deck until they have 6 cards in their Hand. 

End of the Game:

The game ends when the first player runs out of cards to play and his Deck is exhausted. If other players have cards remaining in their Deck, Hand, and Overflow, they place them in their respective Capture Piles. 

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Scoring:

• Bronze & Silver cards: 1 point

• Gold cards: 0 points

• Platinum & Epic cards: 3 points

• Counter Type cards: 0 points

• Last Round Won: 3 points 

• Discard Piles do not count towards the score

• Players calculate their score based on the total number of cards in their Capture Pile and who won the last Round

Game Mode: Young Champions; Age 4+
 

The goal is to be the first player to exhaust all cards from your Deck and Hand. If this is not possible, the player with the fewest cards in their Hand when no more moves can be made wins the game.
 

Setup: 

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1. Each player should have a minimum of 29 cards, discarding all Counter Type cards and one card of their choice.

2. These cards should be distributed evenly among players, forming their Decks.

3. The first player is the one who owns the most collectible figures in their house. If this cannot be determined, the youngest player goes first. If two players were born on the same day at the same time, then the reader (you) goes first.

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Gameplay:

1. Each player has their Deck in front of them. To start, each player draws three cards from their Deck.

2. The first player can play one or more cards from their Hand, placing them in the center of the play area. These cards are determined by the Tribal Wheel, which dictates which type of Dust Collector trumps another.

3. Play then proceeds clockwise. The next player must play one or more cards from their Hand that beats the card or chain previously played according to the element wheel.

4. If a player cannot play a card or a Tribal Chain that beats the one in the center, they must draw a card from their Deck. If they can play this new card or form a Tribal Chain, they place the card in the center. If not, they skip their turn.

5. Steps 2 and 3 are repeated until a player exhausts all their cards (Deck and Hand) or no further moves can be made.

End of the Game and Scoring:

The game ends when a player has no more cards left in their Deck and Hand, and this player is declared the winner. If no more moves can be made by any player, the game ends, and the player with the fewest cards in their Hand is declared the winner.

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Tie Game:

If players have an equal number of cards in their Hand at the end of the game, the player who made the last successful play (i.e., played the last card or chain that could beat the card in the center) wins the tie