The Play DeckThe play deck is composed of 60 cards of the player’s choice. The combination of cards represents the player’s “fencing style.” Each prepackaged deck has a Cheater Rating from 0 to 6, measuring exactly how dirty a fencer you are. A Cheater Rating of 0 means that there are no Dirty Tricks in the play deck, and most likely very few Actions whereas a Cheater Rating of 6 means that you’re playing a downright dirty rotten cheat! Which is fine. Both fencing styles are successful and have their benefits as well as drawbacks. The play decks are drawn from the four categories: Basic Moves, Actions, Dirty Tricks, and Relics. Basic Moves: Basic Moves are the bread and butter of normal fencing. These cards include simple moves like Lunge, Parry, and Riposte. These cards are the primary method of scoring touches. They are unlimited in a play deck unless otherwise noted. (Meaning that a player can have as many Basic Moves of any type—provided it is not restricted—in their play deck.) It is recommended that a play deck contain at least 30 Basic Moves. Actions: Actions offer a slightly dirtier way of fencing. For the most part, these are cards that you play against your opponent to mess up their game and earn them carding offenses. Unless otherwise specified on the card each play deck may have up to 4 of any particular Action card. Dirty Tricks: These are the cards that give the game its name and make the game fun. Much like the Actions were played on your opponent to mess up their game, Dirty Tricks are played on yourself to mess up your opponent’s game. Using these cards, you can argue, bribe, and sabotage your way to victory. However, whereas Actions give your opponent a carding offense if they cannot prevent the Action from happening, Dirty Tricks give YOU a carding offense if you are caught committing the crime (using the Caught card). Also like Actions, unless otherwise specified on the card each play deck may have up to 4 of any particular Dirty Trick card. Relics: Relics are special items or abilities a player can use to improve their fencing style. Most Relics are one-time use cards, meaning that once played, they are discarded. They are also unique in that you can use a turn to play a Relic on the table and it will sit and wait for you to use it at any point in the game. Appropriately, these cards have more restrictions. A play deck may have only 3 Relic cards, and all of them must be different. Playing a Relic will take an entire turn; a player laying a Relic down may not play any other cards during this turn, nor may the opponent. Relics can also only be played on your turn. Return to top Back |
 
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