Babylon 5 Collectible Card Game rules

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The Babylon 5 Collectible Card Game (B5 CCG) is a collectible card game based on the Babylon 5 universe. The game has fairly complex rules as it is designed for multiplayer use and has a great deal of errata. Each player chooses a different Race and controls its Ambassador. A player will then build a Faction, set an Agenda, and accumulate Power.

Collectible card game Game played using specialized playing cards

A collectible card game (CCG), also called a trading card game (TCG), among other names, is a strategy card game created in 1993 and consists of specially designed sets of playing cards. These cards use proprietary artwork or images to embellish the card. CCGs may depict anything from fantasy or science fiction genres, horror themes, cartoons, or even sports. Game text is also on the card and is used to interact with the other cards in a strategic fashion. Games are commonly played between two players, though multiplayer formats are also common. Players may also use dice, counters, card sleeves, or play mats to complement their gameplay. CCGs can be played with or collected, and often both. Generally, a CCG is initially played using a starter deck. This deck may be modified by adding cards from booster packs, which contain around 8 to 15 random cards. As a player obtains more cards, they may create new decks from scratch. When enough players have been established, tournaments are formed to compete for prizes.

Cards and tokens

Each player is required to have their own deck of cards (each from a different race unless using Home Factions in order to play. Players may use standard decks from one of the 5 races or Psi Corps, or they may customize their own deck using a minimum of 45 cards (there is no maximum).

In addition to owning a deck, players must have small tokes to keep track of things like influence, damage to character and fleets, marks etc.

Anatomy of a card

Cards in the B5 CCG can be into a number of general Card Types. Each type of card has a different background, making it easier to distinguish them from one another as necessary.

All cards have the following information on them when possible or needed:

1. Name (top)
Identifies who or what the cards represents.
2. Cost (bottom right corner)
The influence cost to bring the card into play.
3. Type ( center below image)
The type of card is listed here, (character, fleet location, etc.( as well as any other restrictions (race, etc.)
4. Abilities (left side of image)
Characters, fleets and locations may possess abilities (if an ability is not listed it is considered zero).
5. Effects (bottom area)
This area covers ant special rules a card may have when being played and what its effects will be when played. Also, any special title will be marked in bold type. The special titles will be used during game play at certain times when called upon by other cards or at specific times during the game.
6. Marks (bottom left corner)
Some cards are marked, causing them to have special abilities or receive negative effects.

Shadow and Vorlon marks cannot be found in the same playing field. Thus a player having Shadow marks cannot gain any Vorlon marks and the opposite for a player who has Vorlon marks cannot gain Shadow marks. Marks of Strife increase the damage inflicted during an attack. Other marks (Conspiracy. Destiny, Doom) have effects related to other cards played.

7. Caption (bottom of card)
Quote from the Babylon 5 Universe. Has no effect on game play.

Influence

Influence represents a player's raw strength. They begin the game with four influence and may build (by spending three influence per turn to gain one) up t ten where afterwards they must gain it from various other sources like conflicts and agendas. Influence also counts as Power which is needed to win the game. Any influence used during a turn is return and available in the next turn of game play. Other types of influence are found with Babylon 5, the Shadows and Vorlons. These three areas cause game play to have a certain direction. Babylon 5 is dedicated to peace where as the Shadows and Vorlons look for war.

Victory

The base influence that a player has represents his Power total. Other cards can increase this total if certain conditions are met. At the start of the turn, players can check for Victory requirements.

To score a Standard Victory, you must have either of the following:

1. Have 20 Power and more than any other player; or

2. If Babylon 5 has an Influence rating of 20 or more at the end of a turn - any player in a position to win a Standard Victory and is ahead of all other players wins.

If either the Shadows or the Vorlons have 20 Influence then the Shadow War begins, at which point Standard Victory rules no longer apply and players must win by Major Victory.

To score a Major Victory, you must have one of the following

1. Have at least 20 Power and 10 more than any other player (plus 3 more than your opposing race in Home Faction rules)

2. Fulfill any requirements that are on a Major Agenda that they brought into play; or

3. Special rules for a limited exceptions where less the 20 Power is needed. These are listed on the cards effect text.

Preparing to play

Deck construction

Building B5 CCG decks have the following restrictions: - Each must have a Starting Ambassador - Each must have a minimum of 45 cards - They may only have 3 of any specific card (unless marked Unique which would be one only)

Choosing a race

Depending on which format you play (see various tournament formats) only one of each race is normally allowed during game play at one time. Below are the various factions available for each race.

Starting hand

Each player chooses their starting hand. Your starting hand must have four cards with one being your Starting Ambassador. The remaining cards may not be of the same type. You may not have more than one additional character, fleet, agenda, etc.

Playing field

A part of you playing area should be kept for tracking tensions, unrest, and influence for Babylon 5 the Shadows and Vorlons. Cards are played at specific areas as shown in the diagram below. The row with your Ambassador is known as your Inner Circle, this is where you promote characters. Aftermath cards that remain into play should be placed under the cards that they affect. Agendas should be placed to the left of your Ambassador. New characters, groups and locations are put in a row below your Inner Circle, this is known as your Supporting Row.

Accessories

Some of the items that seasoned players may use that are not included with the B5 CCG are:

Set tension tokens

Certain Races have predetermined Tension ratings prior to the game starting and must be set. As the game progresses certain cards may alter these settings.

Set influence tokens

Influence tokens should be set above the Ambassador. Spent influence should be moved below the Ambassador. This allows other players to see how much influence remains in each players pool. Spent influence is returned to the top of the Ambassador at the end of the turn.

Influence changes

Gaining and losing influence from cards such as Conflicts is different then spending influence, this permanently changes your influence count and either adds or removes an influence counter from play. Gaining additional influence as a one time event from an action does not let you keep that influence permanently.

Play structure

The game is played in turns, each turn is sub-divided into rounds. Beginning in Initiative order (the player with the lowest influence) players take turn performing actions during each rounds. Players with the same amount of influence have their Ambassadors abilities used as a tie breaker, beginning with Diplomacy followed by Intrigue, Psy and Leadership. Each turn play progresses through the following rounds:

Ready Round

Step 1

Ready cards: Any cards which were rotated (turned horizontally to show they were put in use since the last turn) are now return to their normal positions (vertically). Any card that can sustain an action does so at this time.

Step 2

Influence restoration: Return all influence that was used back to the top of Ambassadors to show that it is once again available.

Step 3

Initiative determination: Imitative order is now decided. Players with the lowest act first, the second lowest and so on.

Sustained Actions

Players may choose to keep some cards rotated to show they are continuing to apply their effects. This is known as sustaining an action. Most players will move these cards onto other cards they are affecting. The ability to sustain an action must have no additional requirements then rotating a card. Any costs will cause you to have to ready the card during the ready round. The same applies to cards that state marks need to be purged.

Ready and rotated cards

Most cards are used only once in a turn. During each turn and mostly in the Action round, cards may perform various things that require them to rotate (horizontally from the vertical position). A Neutralized card is considered Ready for healing purposes and cannot be used for any other purposes unless specified by n individual card.

Conflict round

Step 1

Declaring Conflicts: Players who wish to declare Conflicts now do so in Initiative order by placing their Conflict cards face down in front of them. If they are declaring a conflict from an Agenda they declare it at that time and apply any requirements as well.

Step 2

Reveal and Initiate Conflicts: At this time players reveal and if necessary target to other players in Initiative order. Should the Conflict target a specific item (race, character, fleet, tension, Babylon 5, etc.) the initiator of the conflict declares the target at that time.

Action round

During the Action round, players may perform only one action at a time. Play goes in Imitative order as with previous rounds starting from lowest. Once every player has had a chance to perform one action, the process is repeated again. This continues until all players Pass in a row (take no action). A player who has chosen to pass during the action round at one point may take action during a later time if the action round is still in progress. Actions that may be taken include:

- Note: When instructed to draw a card from your Crusade or Corporate Pile, you actually go through your side deck and choose a card.

Resolution round

After all players have passed the Resolution Round begins with the following steps.

Step 1

Conflict Resolution: Each player, in Initiative order, resolves their conflict. abilities are totaled (including modifiers, damage and effects currently in operation) and applied in support and compared to the total opposition (with the same modifiers). Once resolved, apply the effect of the conflict determined by the success or failure of the conflict as stated by the text on the Conflict card. If a player had multiple conflicts at once (can be achieved through use of special cards) that player chooses the order of the resolution.

Step 2

Aftermaths: Once the Conflict round is complete, Aftermaths may be played only on the initiators Conflict unless it states "participant". Beginning with the first conflict and in imitative order, players take turns playing Aftermaths until all have passed then proceed to the second conflict and take turns playing Aftermaths on that conflict until all have passed then move to the following conflict and so on. Aftermath cards that give cards an effect are placed under the affected card in question until the end of the game or if removed by another card.

Step 3

Discard: All Conflict and Aftermath cards which are not attached to other cards at the end of the round are now discarded and play proceeds to the Draw round.

Draw round

Step 1

Discard from playing area: All Neutralized (face down) Supporting cards are discarded at this time.

Step 2

Discard from hand: All players may discard as many cards as they wish from their hands. These cards must be placed face up in the discard pile next to the draw deck. Any player may look at another player's discard pile.

Step 3

Draw Free card: All players draw one free card. Should a player run through their entire deck and have no more cards to draw from, they must discard an Inne Circle character instead. If the only character they have left is their Ambassador, they are considered out of options and must forfeit the game.

Step 4

Buy More Crads: For each three influence a player applies they may purchase one extra card.

Step 5

Check Victory Conditions: Victory conditions are now checked by all players to see if any of them have been fulfilled.

Step 6

End of Turn: For cards that provide a bonus until end of turn, this applies until after victory check.

Card details

Character cards

Unless otherwise noted, all characters are Limited, which means only one copy of that card can be in play at any time. They may be loyal to a specific race; Centauri, Human, Minbari, Narn, Neutral (which are not loyal to any specific race) or Non-Aligned (which is a combination of independent races joined together).

Bringing characters into play

Characters are first brought into play as Supporting Characters, though usually they will be promoted there are exceptions where some cannot enter your Inner Circle. You bring a new character into your supporting row by sponsoring him by applying its influence cost. If the character is not loyal to your race that cost is double. Any requirements such as marks needed must also be observed. Promoting a character to the Inner Circle requires the same amount of influence used t sponsor the character plus one influence for each character in your Inner Circle.

Starting Ambassador

Because the Ambassador is the leader of a faction it is considered a member of the Inner Faction, it can never be discarded or demoted to the supporting row. However an Ambassador can be replaced with an updated Ambassador card. For the League of Non-Aligned Worlds, players can have a second ambassador card (in addition to the 3 card total starting hand) due to their diversity.

Ambassador's Assistant

The Ambassador's Assistant has the ability of providing a +1 bonus to his Ambassador's Diplomacy, Intrigue and Leadership if the Assistant rotates for that purpose. or you may rotate him to apply 1 less influence to sponsor a card.

Other card types

Action detail

All of the following are valid Actions:

Additional rules

Triggered effects

Some cards have triggered effects. These effects take place at the time stated on the card.

Votes

Each of the four main races and the Vorlons can participate in the voting process when called upon by certain cards. The player using the League of Non-Aligned Worlds holds any tie breaker vote. There must be more "Yes" then :No" votes for the vote to pass. Home Factions do not get a vote.

Tension and unrest

Tension between races are not linked. If Narn tension with the Minbari is at 4, it is possible for Minbari tension with the Narn to be at 2. If a race is not in play its tension still exists. You may play cards that raises or lowers your unrest. Included in the Great War starter decks was a Status Tracker. This two sided item was used to track on one side Babylon5, Shadow and Vorlon influence, and on the other tension and unrest with other races. Many players used their own versions of status trackers.

States

Relationships between races are define by their tensions. Through the course of the game races may enter into additional relationships with each other. These are called States. The most common alliances are trade pacts. When home Factions are in use, any benefits to one race benefit the other.

War

Unless otherwise specified, when two races enter a state of war, all other states are cancelled (trade pacts etc.). There are a number of ways to enter into a state of War. While in a state of War, players may initiate a War conflict (without a conflict card). This conflict acts as a Military conflict. It may target a race as a whole or a location. If it targets a location and is successful, the location is captured and all attachments are removed and its text is suppressed. Should the original owner of the location recapture it, attachments would be discarded but its text ability would be returned. Should a War conflict be uncontested, the target loses one influence and the initiator gains one influence. Whenever a War conflict is resolved, tensions between the two races increase by one. When two of the same race are at war this is called a Civil War. If Another race causes one of the two sides to lose influence in a War conflict, both sides involved in the Civil War lose one influence.

Unconditional surrender

During the discard round, a player may unconditionally surrender to another player they are at war with. That player immediately gains 3 influence. Following the surrender, your Ambassador will request asylum to another faction. The player who offers you sanctuary may add a copy of your ambassador in his supporting row from outside the game. If a Home Faction surrenders, their Ambassador is removed from the game and no sanctuary is awarded. If all players surrender, the winner scores a Major Victory.

Some cards require you to target a specific thing, it could be a character, fleet, faction or race. Unless the card states otherwise, you must select a target or you cannot play the card.

Marks

Many cards provide marks to characters, fleets, groups r locations. Marks are always considered to be attached to a card. If a card states that a faction gains a mark, then the mark is given to the Ambassador. If a card refers to a player's or faction's marks, then it includes all marks in play for that player. Marks on neutralized characters count towards totals and they may be manipulated and purged. A faction cannot have both Shadow and Voron marks. If it already has one of those marks, any effect giving it one of the other mark is ignored. Any card that gives a mark while it is in play and then is removed, forces the player to purge a mark of that type.

There are six types of marks;

Discards

Sometime a player must discard a card to do an effect or event, or may do so voluntarily. Other times cards have effects that expire and then must be placed in the discard pile. Also, neutralized supporting characters get discarded. Any time a player discards more than one card at a time, he may choose the order in which he places them in the discard pile.

Bonuses

Some cards such as Agendas will offer bonuses while they are in play such as increased abilities to characters.

Blanking

When a card states that it its text is now blanked, it no longer has any effect. It is as it no longer has any effect text on the card. Boldface text can never be blanked.

Cumulative effects

Some cards have a cumulative effect. Caution is advised when reading the text on these cards so not to misinterpret them with regular round proceedings (like drawing cards).

Dual Race

A Dual Race is any race represented by more than one Faction.

Home Faction Leaders

- Centauri, Lord Refa - Human, William Morgan Clark - Minbari. Neroon - Narn. Na'Far - Non-Aligned Worlds, Any Species Ambassador

Alternate faction

There is only one official alternate faction in the B5 CCG, the Psi Corps led by Bester.

A secondary alternate race can be found in the Dream Set The Vorlons, the Corporate Faction.

Negative Power

Any card that refers to only counting influence as power cannot affect any player whose power is lower than his influence,

Cards with no printed costs

Any card with no cost bubble in the bottom lower right corner may have other costs associated with it, like purging marks or rotating characters.

Specialty Texts

There are many cards with Specialty text. Some of these cards have defined special abilities.

Boldface text

Some cards contain Boldface text. These cards have a special ability. Aside from the usual race specific Starting Ambassador, Ambassador's Assistant, Home Faction Ambassador and Babylon Project Ambassador, text that comes up, here are some of the more frequent cards are:

Furthermore, each race has Boldface text: Abbai (1), Brakiri (7), Centauri (58) Dilgar (1), Drakh (11), Drazi (4), Gaim (4), Gnome (3), Golian (1), Human (100), Hyach (5), Ipsha (1), Llort (4), Markeb (2), Minbari (58), Narn (45), Pak'ma'ra (6), Shadow (3), Sh'lassan (1), Vorlon (12), Vree (1), Yolu (1)

The Interstellar Alliance

An Interstellar Alliance (ISA) member, along with all other ISA members of that race, will be expelled from the ISA should he enter a state of war by any means against another ISA member. Once per turn, as an action, an ISA player may discard the top card of his deck plus forfeit his draw round to go and get a card from outside the game with the ISA text on it. If the ISA exists, whenever a Babylon 5 vote is called, hold an ISA vote instead. ISA members can vote. The founder of the ISA dictates the order. Cards that refer to Babylon 5 votes do not affect ISA votes. ISA cards cannot be played unless the ISA is in existence.

Errata

Errata prior to the Great War can be found on corrected Deluxe edition cards. The following is errata for Great War and Psi Corps cards.

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References

"Vorlon Space", The Babylon 5 Collectible Card Game, Mahasamatman, retrieved April 6, 2016

"New Sets", Virtual Sets, b5quest.pbworks.com, retrieved April 6, 2016

"Anla'shok", Resources, b5quest.pbworks.com, retrieved April 6, 2016

"Vorlons", History, b5quest.pbworks.com, retrieved April 6, 2016

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