Today’s article is brought to you by co-founders of Super Awesome Games and co-designers of Vs. System® 2PCG®, Ben Cichoski and Danny Mandel.
As a game grows and the card pool expands, unforeseen effects can occur. Below are some updates to current Vs. System® 2PCG® cards and rules.
CARD ERRATA
Arnim Zola (Level 1)
CV1-001, Main Character, Hydra
Arnim Zola is perhaps the weirdest card in the game. And although players have been playing his ESP Box as intended (that it is a game-long modifier regardless of whether it is turned off or deconstructed later in the game), we need to make him a bit clearer that he works that way.
He will receive the following errata (change is underlined):
ESP Box
At the start of the game, for the rest of the game you can play equipment as supporting characters instead. Equipment played this way have ATK and DEF equal to their cost, 1 
, Swarm, and they count as the ‘equipped character’.
As you can see, we replaced ‘this game’ which was always meant to mean both ‘at the start of the game’ and ‘for the rest of the game’. Now it is simply more explicit.
Cable (Level 1 and 2)
NEW-001, NEW-002, Main Character, X-Men
Although players play it as intended, Cable’s Advanced Cybernetics power as written doesn’t function correctly. So, he will be receiving errata to ensure he technically works correctly (change is underlined):
Equipment on your side, and in your hand, deck and KO pile lose their team affiliations, then gain 
this turn.
Death (Both Cards)
BLK-001, BLK-002, Main Character, Neutral
Being a universal entity, Death was bound to be a bit slippery. She has two slight changes to her Amortal power.
First, Amortal was meant to affect the entire game (just like the Arnim Zola main character – see above), regardless of whether it gets turned off or deconstructed during the game.
Second, Death was designed and developed with 8 health (not 9 as she technically plays now). She will be receiving the following rules errata (changes are underlined):
Death is Amortal which means, at the start of the game, for the rest of the game:
AND
- She starts with her card that has infinite health. (Her other card has 8 health. Also known as sideways infinity. The infinite health side represents that she can never really be killed. But as her other side has 8 health, if she ever has 8 or more wounds on either side, KO her.)
Gambit (Level 1)
RES-003, Main Character, Resistance
Gambit was designed and developed with the intent that he could only gain one XP regardless of how many cards he discarded at one time. This wording didn’t make it on the card. So, the errata to his ‘Dis Card Level Up power is as follows (change is underlined):
Level Up (4) – When you discard one or more cards, Gambit gains an XP.
‘Dese guys are sorry.
Hulk
DFX-018, Supporting Character, Defenders
Hulk was designed with the intent that he would be immune to KO’ing combat powers, like Lethal or Finger on Throat Means Death. To address this, he will receive the following errata to his Puny Weapons Can’t Hurt Hulk power (change is underlined):
Hulk can’t be KO’d in combat by an enemy character unless Hulk has fatal wounds. This power remains on while he is stunned.
Rogue (Level 3)
RES-007, Main Character, Resistance
To clarify that her God-Strength power only lasts for the combat:
When Rogue enters melee combat, each enemy character in the combat gets -2/-2, and she gets +2/+2 for each of them this combat.
Shadowcat
LEG-014, Supporting Character, X-Men
When we designed this supporting character, we didn’t yet have a main character with the same name. With the introduction of the *Star-Lord* main character (who has AKA Shadowcat), there was an unintended interaction between the two: the Uniqueness rules would allow her to use her Intangible Escape power, but not allow her to appear on your side, so she would stay in your hand.
(She is also one of the cards caught up in the change to the Power Symbol Payment Rules – see below. That accounts for her second change below.)
Shadowcat’s errata will be:
Intangible Escape
Combat 
: If an attacker or defender is on your side, put Shadowcat next to it. If you do, cancel the combat. Shadowcat can only use this power while she is in your hand.
Future cards with similar effects will be worded in a similar way.
The Space Gem
BLK-022, Equipment, Marvel
The second choice on I Can Be Everywhere or Nowhere on The Space Gem was intended to work like similar cards in its vein (like the Singularity or Doorman supporting characters). It will be receiving errata (change is underlined):
Main 
: Choose one – Move a character to a different row on its side; or remove a character from the game with its counters on it and at the start of its owner’s next turn put it on their side.
RULES UPDATES
Equipment
Equipment was always meant to only be equipped to face-up characters (excepting a card effect). And equipment can currently only be played on a face-up character. However, equipment can get equipped with other methods (like the Grid supporting character). The following sentence will be added to the rules on Equipment:
Equipment can never be on a face-down character. If an effect would attempt to do this, ignore that part of the effect.
Inset Infinity Gems
The Infinity Gems are very special equipment. They can be ‘inset’ (turned face up) in your resource row once a character on your side has equipped the Infinity Gauntlet. Although this is unusual behavior for equipment:
While the Infinity Gems are ‘inset’, they function like other equipment on your side: they have costs, they can be KO’d, etc.
Infinity
Infinity is a keyword on the six Infinity Gems and the Infinity Gauntlet in the Black Order Issue. The rules for it are sort of hidden away in the Black Order rules sheet in the Infinity Gauntlet section. We wanted to take this opportunity to make it more front and center here, as well as clarify situations that can occur with it.
First, the wording needs a slight tweak (changes underlined):
If a card with Infinity would get put into a KO pile from anywhere, you may shuffle it into its owner’s deck instead.
To be clear, this power will work however it gets to the KO pile, even it was turned off with something like the Cosmo supporting character, or if it was face down because of The Reality Gem, or if it’s in a resource row.
Dark Phoenix can remove the Infinity power with her Deconstructing the Universe, however! Infinity sometimes has an expiration date!
Cards That “Can’t Appear”
Some cards (like Zzutak) can’t appear normally, and some cards (like The Soul Gem) make it so other cards can’t appear. Sometimes this leads to a situation where a card tries to appear but can’t, and it hasn’t been clear where that card should end up. So we’re adding the rule:
If a card tries to appear but can’t, remove it from the game.
Uniqueness and Main Characters
Currently when an effect would cause a character with the same name as your main character to appear on your side, the rules say to “ignore that part of the effect.” We are tightening this language up to be more explicit and absolute and this sort of interaction.
We are updating that section of the rules as follows (changes are underlined):
Normally you may not control a character with the same name as your main character.
You can’t recruit a supporting character with the same name as your main character. A character can’t appear on your side if it has the same name as your main character. A character can’t be moved to your side if it has the same name as your main character.
Loyalty
Currently, some cards have the Loyalty or [TEAM AFFILIATION] Loyalty keywords. They are written as follows:
Loyalty
You may put this in your deck only if all cards in your deck with a team affiliation share a team affiliation.
[TEAM AFFILIATION] Loyalty (For example: 
Loyalty)
Put this in your deck only if each card in your deck with a team affiliation has .
With more supporting characters without team affiliations and the introduction of Main Characters without a team affiliation like Death and Simon Trask, these wordings are no longer functioning as intended.
The errata will be as follows:
Loyalty
Put this in your deck only if each card with a team affiliation and each character in your deck share a team affiliation.
Note this also has a slight change at the start of the wording (‘Put’ instead of ‘You may put’) to sync it up with TEAM Loyalty.
[TEAM AFFILIATION] Loyalty (For example: Loyalty)
Put this in your deck only if each card with a team affiliation and each character in your deck has .
With the new wording, the only change is that a Loyalty deck can only include characters that have a team affiliation.
Power Symbol Payment Rules
As you may have noticed, recently we have updated how we word effects that refer to super powers or other ways of paying power symbols. A great example is the Stand Together plot twist from the Crossover Issue, which reads (update is underlined):
Reaction: When an enemy character uses a super power…
Previously this would have been worded more like She-Hulk main character’s Rules Lawyer:
Reaction 
: When an enemy player uses a super power…
Not only will this be our template moving forward (and has been for a few sets), this change is going to be made as errata to every previous card that uses language like this.
With these updated wordings, we have shifted the agency from the player to the characters. We did this for two good reasons: theme and clarity. The theme reason is clear – you don’t Websling –Spider-Man does. And the change helps some of our more unique cards function more clearly.
Here are some examples:
Example 1: Baron Mordo main character’s Mesmerize power currently reads:
Main : Choose a player to discard a random card. You may use this power any number of times on your turn.
After this update it will read (change is underlined):
Main : Choose a player to discard a random card. Baron Mordo may use this power any number of times on your turn.
The updated wording does not functionally change how the card works, but it brings it in line with how we will be handling super powers from now on. In fact, most of the changes won’t change the functionality – but some will adjust it. Like Juggernaut:
Example 2: Juggernaut main character’s It’s Gonna Take Something More to Stop Me! power currently reads:
Main : Put two -1/-1 counters on Juggernaut. Only enemy players can use this power (during their Main Phase).
This wording was confusing. Can the player use a ‘wild’ Special Location? This will receive errata to (change is underlined):
Main : Put two -1/-1 counters on Juggernaut. Only enemy characters can use this power (during their Main Phase).
Some cards require paying power symbols but don’t deal with super powers, per se. These will receive errata as well, like the first Rhino supporting character’s Stupid:
When Rhino attacks, an enemy player may pay an to stun Rhino.
His errata (change is underlined):
When Rhino attacks, an enemy character may pay an to stun Rhino.
For cards like Rhino and Juggernaut, these changes are functional. For cards like She-Hulk and Baron Mordo, they are not.
Then we have Smart Disc, which currently reads:
Build 
: If Smart Disc is in your KO pile, play it for free.
This one needs more than just a simple replacement. It will receive errata to:
Build : If Smart Disc is in your KO pile, play it for free. Any character on your side can use this super power.
Most of these changes are cosmetic – they do not change the card’s functionality. Here are some broad categories of this type of cosmetic wording change that do not change the card’s functionality:
|
Current Wording |
New (Errata) Wording |
Example Card |
|
You may use this power any number of times… |
[CHARACTER NAME] may use this power any number of times… |
Baron Mordo Main Character Level 1 and 2 |
|
Use this power only… |
[CHARACTER NAME] can only use this power… |
Jessica Jones Main Character Level 1 and 2 |
|
…you’ve used… |
…a character on your side has used… |
Morgan le Fay Supporting Character |
|
When an enemy player uses a super power… |
When an enemy character uses a super power… |
She-Hulk Main Character Level 2 |
However, there are six cards whose functionality is slightly changed due to this update. They are as follows (changes are underlined):
Bishop
ALN-016, Supporting Character, The Company
Artificial Person
A character on your side may pay an and 
instead of you paying Bishop’s recruit cost to recruit him.
Daredevil (Level 2)
DEF-002, Main Character, Defenders
Radar Sense
Main : Enemy players must play with their hands revealed. An enemy character may pay a during their Main Phase to end this effect.
Juggernaut (Level 1 and 2)
BOM-001, BOM-002, Main Character, Brotherhood
It’s Gonna Take Something More to Stop Me!
Main : Put two -1/-1 counters on Juggernaut. Only enemy characters can use this power (during their Main Phase).
Oz
TBB-019, Supporting Character, Scoobies
Lose Control
Main 
: Choose a supporting character other than Oz. Oz strikes that character. Only enemy characters can use this power (during their Main Phase).
Rhino
DEF-039, Supporting Character, Underworld
Stupid
When Rhino attacks, an enemy character may pay an to stun Rhino.
Smart Disc
PRD-002, Main Character, Predators
Smart Weapon
Build : If Smart Disc is in your KO pile, play it for free. Any character on your side can use this power.
These six cards, as well as the other entries above, will be updated soon in the Official Card Wording document. The Compiled Rules will be updated as soon as possible.
