Rules Corner: Introducing Tokens

Today I’d like to take the opportunity before the rulebook update with the release of the GUILTY GEAR -STRIVE- Blitz Box to discuss the newest card type in UniVersus: Tokens. Tokens are cards that represent resources or abilities that are limited. 

Tokens are their own card type. In the future we may explore tokens that are also foundations, assets, backups, or perhaps even attacks! But with this initial release, tokens are a generic type, not associated with any of the existing card types. This is important because we didn’t want them to count against anything taking into account any thresholds like Deadlock, or other similar effects. Likewise, they can’t be referenced by other cards looking for any particular card type.

Tokens can only exist in the game zone in which they are created. If a token would move to a different zone, it ceases to exist as soon as it finishes the transit. This is to allow certain actions to function cleanly. We have a lot of terms explaining the movement of a card from one zone to another, and we did not want to have to create a new term for mimicking each of those where tokens are concerned. 

For example, let’s look at what happens when Sickle Flash is played and goes through its steps. 

Once it enters the attack sequence, playing the Tension ability will add a Roman Cancel token to your momentum. Then, if you play the other blitz ability on the card, you could add 1 momentum to the top of your deck. If you choose the Roman Cancel token, it will try to go to the top of your deck, the game will see a token in a zone it’s not meant to be, and the token will disappear.

Let’s take a bit of a deeper look at the Roman Cancel token itself, as all of its abilities have a cost of removing the token.

By the rulebook, Remove means to put the card into the removed from game zone. So, the card needs to travel to the removed zone for it to be removed. Then, at that point, it will cease to exist. 

Since the reveal of Tension and Roman Cancel tokens, there’s been speculation about whether or not Roman Cancel tokens can be spent like regular cards in your momentum. Tokens in momentum function as momentum for all purposes, while also being subject to the particular rules for token cards. This means that they can be spent for any and all reasons other momentum can be. For example, if your rival has a Roman Cancel token and you use the enhance ability on Jealous Humonculus, it will be spent as normal, travel to the discard pile, then cease to exist (and be put to the side of the game out of play).

Since tokens can only exist in their specified zone (which is also baked into the rules for each kind of token) we decided that they don’t need to have play restriction tags for the zone that they are in. This is similar to the change to responses being self-referential a few years ago. Because Roman Cancel tokens can only exist in a player’s momentum, it would be overly redundant to have to add [Momentum] to the cost of each of its abilities. So you won’t find location-based play restriction tags on token cards, no matter the zone they are in.

Another question you may have is “what happens when a token gets flipped?” In that case, the token disappears. Tokens cannot change facing. If a game event would cause a token to flip for any reason, it ceases to exist instead. Taking a token out of gameplay in this fashion, or if it changes zones as previously discussed, does not count as any other game action. I.e. flipping a token, resulting in it going away, does not count as removing or destroying it.

And there we have it. The basics of the token card type. I hope this information clears up some of the bigger questions you have about tokens and how they interact with the game at the release of GUILTY GEAR -STRIVE-. As a special treat, let me leave you with a couple of additional card reveals to whet your appetite while we wait for some more reveals from our wonderful content creation partners.

Let me present you with Alone Infection and Invite Hell! Let’s Rock!