RUSH x ARC — A collectible card game, a collaboration between the tabletop role-playing game ARC and the analog guide to St. Petersburg, RUSH.
0.1 CONCEPT
Creatures from worlds hidden behind portals have overrun the city! Driven by their instincts, they have begun setting up habitats on bridges and sports fields, while the city streets have turned into a battleground over territory. Staff at the established «Institute for the Study of Aberrations» strive to research the creatures, which have been nicknamed «aberrations.»
1.1 RULES
The game is played between two players. Each player has their own deck of 40 cards. Players must include at least one creature card in their deck. Otherwise, players are free to choose any cards for their deck.
The game begins by determining the first player. The difference is that the first player cannot attack, while the second player does not draw a card from the deck on their first turn.
After the turn order is established, players draw a starting hand of 6 cards from their deck. If a player has no creature cards in their hand, they put those cards back into the deck and draw a new hand. Their opponent draws an extra card. Then, the player’s turn begins. Let’s examine the turn structure.
1.2 STRUCTURE OF THE WALKTHROUGH
Each player’s turn consists of three phases:
- Start of Turn
- Card Play
- Creature Attack
START OF TURN: The turn begins with the player drawing one card from their deck and adding it to their hand. Next, the player checks all status effects and abilities of cards and creatures that begin or end with the start of this turn or the end of the previous turn.
CARD PLAY: In this phase, the player can play cards from their hand onto the game board: deploying creatures, using ability cards, etc. (the number of each card type and how to deploy them is described further down in the card type descriptions section). The player can also use abilities of creatures in reserve if they require using from reserve, as well as swapping the active creature with one from reserve (this requires discarding one type of card).
CREATURE ATTACK: In this phase, the player selects the active creature’s ability and attacks an opponent’s creature. Then, damage is calculated, and the status effects and rules of cards active at the end or between turns are checked.
After the turn, it passes to the next player.
1.3 TYPES OF MAPS
In «RUSH x ARC,» there are five types of cards: Creature cards (CREA), District cards (DIST), Architecture cards (ARCH), Ability cards (ABLE), and Support cards (SUP). Each card type serves a distinct purpose. Creature cards drive the active gameplay, while Support and Ability cards assist them. District cards influence the entire game board, and Architecture cards affect only the creatures. All are vital and create the cohesive game system by interacting with one another. It is important to account for the total number of each card type in the deck.
Creature cards depict objects from the ARC center—these are active game cards that players use as tools to combat the opponent’s creatures. They belong to different districts within the city. Each district provides unique positive and negative effects; consequently, creatures from one district receive bonuses from certain cards, while other cards hinder them from reaching their full potential. Players must carefully consider which cards and how they can assist their creatures. A player places one creature card into the active slot and up to three cards into the reserve. To switch the active creature with one from the reserve, the player must discard either an architecture card or a district card already in play.
HELP CARDS
These grant various bonuses in the game. Often, these cards give the player additional cards from the deck or allow them to remove damage tokens from an active creature, and so on. A player may play up to three help cards per turn.
SKILL CARDS These cards allow you to activate additional creature abilities that synergize with the existing abilities of creatures.
ARCHITECTURE CARDS These cards affect the player’s creatures. They grant buffs, allow for their healing, and enhance their abilities and attacks. These cards do not affect the opponent’s creatures.
DISTRICT MAPS City districts change the game board. They affect both sides of the board, allowing you to either remove or add weaknesses to cards associated with specific districts. Furthermore, these maps can block certain abilities.
2.1 ARTIST ROSTER
TRP_3.1 / AKUMA_UN.12
These two decks represent the introductory stage of the game. TRP_3.1 plays based on the number of creatures of one type on the field, while AKUMA_UN.12 plays based on the resilience of the deck’s title card.
3.1 ADDITIONAL MATERIALS: RULES + BOARD GAME + POSTER
Poster
