Special Abilities

Today I'll be covering what I'm currently calling the standard monster and item card effects. These effects will show up on multiple cards so I've tried to make them fairly easy to read and with some exceptions usually work the same for every card with the effect. As a final note before listing the effects I've split the effects loosely into the 6 disciplines as some effects are much more common or iconic to certain disciplines than others.

Rage Abilities

Fury - Creatures with this ability gain 1 strength for every point of damage they have. So the closer they are to death the more damage they do. 

Haste - Creatures with this ability do not start disoriented and can attack or move on the same turn they are played.

Blast X - This ability varies a bit from user to user so it will usually have explanation text in its card. The most common version of blast X is where you pay the X cost (usually in the same energy type as the card itself is) and do damage to one target equal to that cost and then tap the creature that used this ability. However there are some creatures or items that are not tapped when using blast letting them use it as many times as you can afford it.

Trample - When a creature with this ability defeats a item, or creature any damage it did beyond what it needed to lower the defender below zero is dealt to the item, creature or player that is behind that defender.

Light Abilities

Fearless - Creatures with this ability are not affected by the Fear ability and cannot be prevented from attacking or defending except through tapping or disorientation.

Cover - Creatures with this ability can take damage for cards you control that are adjacent to them. (that is cards below, above or to either side of this card)

Determined X - You can pay the X cost listed in the ability to prevent the creature with this ability from dying when it should either due to combat damage or a card effect and instead set this cards HP to 1.

Aura of Hope X - Creatures or items with this ability increase their own and any adjacent creature cards strength by the X value listed.

Dark Abilities

Fear X - When a creature with this ability is in combat it lowers the opposing card's strength by the value listed in X.

Swarm X - Creatures with this ability can share a space with any other creature or creatures with the same Swarm X ability. The X stands for a creature type usually. When two or more creatures are sharing a space with this ability treat all of the creatures in that space as one creature. This new swarm "creature" has strength equal to all of the creatures making up the swarm added together. Whenever this swarm creature has more damage than one of the creatures making it up has as HP destroy one of the swarms whose HP is equal to or less than the damage and then lower the swarm creatures max HP by that amount, and continue doing this in till the swarm creature's damage is not greater than the HP of any of the creatures making the swarm creature.

Deathless - You can play this creature from your graveyard by paying it's normal energy cost.

Shadow - If a creature with this ability is in the front row it can choose to attack the back row or front row when it attacks.

Lol Abilities

Transform - You can play a creature card from your hand on a creature with this ability to create the creature without creating it from your hand. (This is useful for avoiding counter effects). In addition the creature with the transform ability becomes a equip card for the creature you played from your hand. If the creature equipped with the transform creature is destroyed in battle the transform creature is returned to the field.

Random Strength XdY - During your upkeep phase roll the dice indicated by the abilities description (Examples 1d4, 1d6, 2d4 and so on.) and then add the number you roll to this creatures strength. This strength bonus resets to its original value during your opponents end phase.

Random Ability XdY - During your upkeep phase roll the dice indicated and then look at the ability list shown on the card. The creature loses this ability on your opponents end phase.

Lost - When this creature attacks if there is a creature,player or item on the opposing sides front and back row this ability activates. When this ability activates flip a coin. If it's heads attack the front row, if it's tails attack the back row. When attacking with the lost ability the opposing card you attack can still defend but cannot use any special abilities that require a activation cost. (As they are too surprised)

Tricky

Sidestep X - You can pay the cost listed in X to move the creature with this ability one space as a surprise action. If this would remove it from combat then that combat ends but the attacking creature is still tapped. As a note this do not prevent any creatures that can now reach the sidestepping creature from attacking.

Redirect Damage - Whenever this creature takes damage you can pay 1 tricky energy per point of damage this card would take and have that damage affect another valid target. The valid target being the opposing monster in the combat if it was combat damage or another creature that could be a target for the effect of a special or card effect that did the damage.

Redirect Effect X - If this creature is targeted by a card effect, surprise card or special card you can pay tricky energy equal to X to redirect the effect to another valid target.

Stealth - A creature with this effect can be played face down. When face down the creature can still move but cannot attack. When attacked the card is automatically flipped face up. You can flip the stealthed creature face up early at any time as a surprise effect. The creature is not disoriented when flipped face up but cannot be flipped on the same turn it was placed on the field.

Norm

Note: Unlike the other disciplines Norm's abilities are unique to it's discipline and can be used by any of the others and can use the other's discipline abilities although it doesn't do so with any great regularity.

Flying - Creatures with this ability can ignore creatures without flying or reach for the purposes of attacking. That is if the creature with flying was in the back row and you had a creature in front of it without flying it could attack the enemies front row. Or if the flying creature was in your front row and the enemies front row was not a flyer you could attack their back row.

Reach - Creature with reach can block flyers as if they had flying.

Ranged - Creatures with the ranged ability can attack either row regardless of their current row.

Mindless - Creatures with this ability are not affected by the fear ability and cannot have their controller changed by any effect.

Before I end this post for today there is one last ability that is unique in that it applies to special, surprise and very rarely to alteration cards. This ability is called...ability and goes as follows.

Ability X- The card with this ability can only be used if you have the card mentioned in X on the field. X is normally a player card but creature or item cards may sometimes be used for cards with this ability as well.

My next post will be on Monday and I'll be covering some of the card ideas that belong to the Norm discipline.