Level One - Lesson 11

Comprehensive Rules Section 8: Additional Rules

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Hello there and welcome back to the Judge Program for Star Wars™: Unlimited - Level One certification track lessons.

As always, I’m your host Jonah, and today we’ll be finishing up comprehensive rules, section eight - Additional Rules. This list is a grab bag of rules that aren’t necessarily covered in detail elsewhere, but some of them we’ve discussed. For those that haven’t come up before, we’re going to go over them in detail, but for those that have, here’s a list of lessons where the material comes up.

That’s almost half of section eight, but that still leaves plenty for us to dig into, so let’s go! We’re going to mostly go in the sequence of the Comprehensive Rules, but some sections fit better together, so we jump around a little bit!

8.5 - Choose

When a player is instructed to “choose” they must choose an object matching a criteria. If it’s a unit, unless otherwise specified, the unit must be in play. When choosing a player, it can be either player - including the player resolving the ability.

When choosing from a number of options on a bulleted list while resolving an ability, each choice can only be made once.

When damage is divided “as you choose”, the player chooses how much damage is placed on each eligible card, up to the number specified. All damage must be assigned, and the ability can deal damage in excess of a card’s HP.

When a player chooses a number, they can choose any number, including zero. This means that if damage is to be divided among any number of units, a player can choose to deal damage zero units.

8.9 - First

This indicates that you’re the first person to comment on this lesson and still have elements of internet culture from two decades ago still ingrained in your muscle memory.

However, in the game, if an ability is looking for the first occurrence of an event in a phase or round, it’s looking for the first instance of that occurrence, not the first instance after the ability comes active.

For example, if you play Omega - Part of the Squad, then you play Wrecker, another Clone you won’t ignore his aspect penalty, because Omega was the first clone you played, even though Wrecker is the first one you played since Omega’s ability became active.

8.10, 8.17 & 8.33 - If You Do, Must & You May

These three sets of rules cover permissions that can affect player actions. Some abilities have the phrase “If you do...” in order to resolve the text following it, the controlling player must resolve the preceding text. With Enforced Loyalty, if you don’t defeat a friendly unit, you don’t draw the cards. With Mining Guild TIE Fighter, if you don’t pay the resources, you also don’t draw.

However, if the condition is met - you do defeat a friendly unit or you pay the two resources, you must complete the “if you do” effect. Effects that say “you may”, as seen on Mining Guild TIE Fighter are optional. You can choose not to complete the conditional effect, and consequently not have to resolve the “if you do.”

If a replacement effect replaces a condition, but the player attempts to resolve that effect, the “if you do” effect still resolves.

For example, if you control a Toro Calican, and play a Hunter of the Haxion Brood, and resolve the Shielded trigger first, you can choose to deal the one damage to the Hunter, which is prevented by the shield. However, the ability condition was met, and you then resolve the “if you do” effect.

Sometimes an ability will say “must”. These dictate additional costs or actions that a player has to take. If a “must” ability contradicts a can, the must ability takes precedence. If a must ability contradicts a can’t ability, the can’t ability takes precedence.

8.11 - Ignore

If a player is instructed to ignore a keyword, they treat that ability as inactive, but the ability is not lost.

If a player is instructed to ignore the aspect penalty, the cost is not modified by the aspect penalty. However, the card still has those aspects, which may trigger some abilities. All other additional costs and cost modifiers are still paid for.

8.12 - Last Known Information

This rule covers “When defeated” abilities. In particular, it makes sure to look at how the unit existed while it was still in play, otherwise a lot of abilities wouldn’t work.

For example, General Krell checks to see if the unit was friendly - but you don’t control units when they’re in your discard pile, so this ability looks to see how the unit existed while it was in the arena.

Similarly, if they printed a card that says “When a Mandalorian is defeated:...” if you put Foundling on a Wild Rancor, the Wild Rancor being defeated would trigger the ability, even though the Rancor only has the “Creature” trait while in your discard pile.

8.14, 8.26 & 8.27 - Look At, Reveal & Search

This collection of rules involves how players can view cards from zones they normally do not have access to.

If a player is instructed to look at cards, only that player is entitled to see them. They cannot change the order of the cards and must place them back in the same order and orientation unless otherwise specified.

If a player is instructed to reveal cards, the attributes of that card become temporary open information, available to all players. Any revealed cards must be placed back in the same order and orientation unless otherwise specified.

If a player is instructed to search their deck, the player looks at the specified number of cards or their entire deck, as appropriate, finds cards that meet the requirements, and moves them to the appropriate zone. While resolving a search, if multiple cards have the specified attribute, the player may choose any of those cards, or choose no cards, as their attributes are hidden information.

After a player searches ra portion of their deck, they take any cards not chosen and put them on the bottom of their deck in a random order. If they searched the whole deck, they simply shuffle their whole deck.

For each of these - looking, revealing, and searching, cards have not left the zone they were in unless otherwise specified.

8.15 - Lose, Loses

If a card loses a keyword, it no longer has that keyword or any abilities that keyword granted. If an effect checks to see if that card has that keyword, it does not.

If a card loses all abilities, it ceases to have any abilities, including those printed on it or given to it by other cards or effects for the duration of the “lose” effect. However, unless otherwise specified, it can gain abilities through new effects.

8.19, 8.23 & 8.25 - Other/Another, Random & Return

These three sections all are close to the English dictionary definition of these words. Other or Another indicates that a card can’t be selected multiple times or that it can’t select itself.

To randomly select something, players agree on a method that has equal odds of selecting each option, and then using that method.

To return a card, it is moved to the named zone. It does not have to have ever been in that zone for it to return there. For example, if you discard a Scanning Officer to Cobb Vanth, you play it, and then your opponent plays Waylay on the Scanning Officer, it will still go to your hand, despite never having been in that zone this game.

8.24 - Referential Abilities

Some abilities refer to a card by name, such as the Emperor’s Royal Guard. These abilities only check to see if you control a card with that name. This ability isn’t checking for card type or subtitle, so the Leader Emperor Palpatine, Leader Unit Emperor Palpatine - Galactic Ruler, and Unit Emperor Palpatine - Master of the Dark Side will all qualify for this ability.

Some upgrades have additional effects if they are attached to a unit with a particular name. These upgrades can be attached to other units and still apply their power and HP modifiers, but any ability or effect that specifies a particular unit won’t resolve.

8.28 - Take Control

When a player takes control of a card, they, unsurprisingly become that card's controller and remain so until the card leaves play or another effect changes the controller of the card.

A card that changes control maintains its ready and exhausted status, all damage remains on it, and all cards attached to it remain, but do not change control. That means taking control of a unit means it will still have all of its upgrades attached to it, but you won’t gain control of those upgrades.

If a unit changes control during an attack, it is no longer part of the attack, and no longer an attacker or a defender.

8.31 & 8.35 - Up To & For Each

When resolving an ability with “up to x”, the player selects a whole number between zero and X, inclusive of both of those values.

If a player selects zero, they have resolved the ability, but they are not considered to have defeated any cards, dealt or healed any damage, or made any attacks, as appropriate.

Abilities that resolve multiple effects with “for each” are handled by determining how each effect of the ability will be resolved, and then resolving all effects simultaneously.

8.32 - You

The word “you” in an ability or effect refers to the controller of that ability or effect. If an ability or effect refers to when “you” do something, such as deal damage or attack, it refers to any cards you control or abilities you resolve.

8.34 - Capture

Capture comes with a whole lot of rules baggage. When you capture a card, remove all damage from it and defeat all upgrades on it, then place it face down under the capturing unit. It is considered out-of-play, but it’s attributes are still public information.

A unit that has captured one or more cards is “guarding” those units.

When a player is instructed to “rescue” a captured card, that card is flipped faceup and returned to play exhausted under it’s owner’s control. It does enter play, but is not played, and consequently does not trigger any When Played abilities.

If a unit that is guarding one or more cards leaves play - either by being defeated, being captured itself or otherwise, immediately rescue all units it was guarding.

Okay! That’s the rules! We do have one more lesson with the Comprehensive Rules, where we’ll cover the various formats players can play, but this is it - we’ve covered the key rules for premier play! As always, if you have any questions, comments, or insights, be sure to join the Judge Community Discord and make your voice heard. Until next time, good luck and have fun!

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