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| She can find a rulebook for EVERYTHING |
Enterplay has released the Comprehensive Rules Document for the My Little Pony CCG. Unlike the starter rulebook, which is an overview of the rules so players can learn to play the game, the comprehensive rules are intended as a public reference which serves as the last word on any rules issue or card interaction. It’s not meant to teach you how to play, nor is it something most players will read start to finish. The comp rules are primarily for judges during tournament play and advanced players wishing to gain a more thorough understanding of the game's mechanics.
The comprehensive rules cover complex topics, such as priority and how to handle seemingly contradicting game text, some of which were only lightly touched on in the rulebook. If there's a conflict between the comp rules and another source (such as a Twitter or Facebook post, or even the starter rules), the comp rules take precedence. Also, the comp rules are a “living document” that will be updated as necessary, most often to account for the release of new sets. The most recent version of the comprehensive rules will always be available at Enter-play.com.
The comp rules include a couple relatively small updates intended to improve the flow of the game:
1) Players are now able to play Troublemakers to Problems at which they already have a Troublemaker in play. Players may still, however, only have ONE face-up Troublemaker at a Problem. When a player's second Troublemaker is uncovered at a Problem, that player must choose and dismiss one of the two face-up Troublemakers; if one is a Villain and the other isn’t then the Villain cannot be picked to be dismissed. This change came because, from a design perspective, we prefer not to have cards in a player's hand which they can’t play even if they can pay the costs.
2) When a Problem is replaced, face-up Troublemakers at that Problem are now dismissed. The starter rules did not fully clarify this, and we decided the comp rules was the best place to make this final determination. The only cards that should remain at a Problem when it is replaced are face-down Troublemakers and any card with game text that specifically allows it to do so.
The other notable ruling update is how to handle the frightened condition. Our initial rulings indicated that frightened Friends were “frightened cards” with no other identifying information, but in the comprehensive rules we clarify that frightened cards DO keep their card type and name but no other attributes. Specifically, frightened Friends are considered to be Friends that have no game text (the keywords and other text in a card’s text box), no color, no power, and no traits.
This means that frightened Friends count against your home limit, and can get pushed around by card effects just like any other Friend. However, a frightened Blue Jay at the same Problem as your Fluttershy doesn’t give her a “Caretaker” bonus for being at a Problem with a Critter because the Blue Jay doesn’t have the Critter trait while frightened. Also note that “no power” doesn’t mean zero power, it’s NO power; a card like Downright Dangerous that would dismiss a card with 0 or less power has no effect on a frightened Friend.
There is a very good Q&A over on the Enterplay website that covers rules that may have been updated or clarified in the comp rules document. I would strongly recommend ALL players of the My Little Pony CCG to go here and read it!
We are excited to get the comp rules out to you, not just so your games will play more smoothly now and in the future, but also because releasing this reference is a major step on the path to expanding our organized play program beyond the local level! If you have any questions, you can reach volunteers and Enterplay staff for rules questions at our My Little Pony CCG Rules group over here!
LINKS:
Rules Update Summary
Comprehensive Rules
My Little Pony CCG Rules group
Basic Starter Rulebook
