Bakugan Wiki:Rulebook

The content on this page comes from the official Bakugan Rulebook news post. The reason for the creation of this page is to add a linkable Table of Contents. All text on this page below the following line, comes from bakugan.com.

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Hey Brawlers! The rules in this document are intended for advanced players seeking to further understand the details of how the Bakugan Battle Planet Trading Card Game (TCG) works. It's great to reference for any questions you may have, but it's not a quick and easy read. Please see the rulebook included in the Starter Pack to get brawling right away! BAKUGAN BRAWL!

Game Concepts (Section 1)

General

• The following rules apply to the full version of the Bakugan game consisting of two players.

• For multiplayer rules, see section 8.

• For cardless rules, see section 9.

• Before playing, each player is required to have three Bakugan toys along with their Character cards, six BakuCores, and a deck consisting of exactly 40 cards.

• • A player’s BakuCores must match the six BakuCore indicators on their Bakugan Character cards.

Deck Construction

• Decks may contain no more than three copies of each card, identified by the card name and card set.

• Players may not include cards in their deck that do not share a Faction with at least one Bakugan on their team.

• Players must use BakuCores that match the symbols indicated on the BakuCore indicator.

The Ultimate Rules

• Cards can contradict the basic rules of the game. In the case that this happens, follow the text on the card.

• The word “can’t” overrides any cards or effects that would otherwise happen.

• Cards complete in the order that their text reads, from top to bottom.

• If a card has an effect that can’t be completed, that part of the card is ignored. Continue completing any additional text on the card.

• In the case that a player has multiple effects that occur at the same time, that player chooses the order for those effects to happen.

Starting the Game

• Each player puts their three Character cards face down in front of them and places the corresponding, rolled up, Bakugan on top of the appropriate character card.

• Randomly determine a player to be the starting player (see rule 7.5).

• Beginning with the starting player, each player takes turns placing their six BakuCores in the center of the play area, starting equidistant from each player, one at a time.

• • Each BakuCore, after the first, must be placed with at least one side completely touching another BakuCore.

• Each player shuffles their own deck and then gives it to their opponent who may also choose to shuffle or cut, then each player draws five cards from their own deck.

Ending the Game

• When a player would be dealt any damage and there are no cards remaining in their deck, they lose the game.

Factions

• There are six Factions in Bakugan: Aquos, Aurelus, Darkus, Haos, Pyrus, and Ventus.

Energy

• Energy is the fundamental resource used to play cards and generate effects.

• • The primary way to create Energy is by uncharging Energy cards (see rule 7.2.2.).
    • Players may not uncharge an Energy card to produce Energy unless they need it to play a card.

• • Players may spend any Energy they produce throughout the turn, but any unspent Energy disappears at the end of the turn.

Numbers

• Additive (+) numbers add to the total of whatever the player is counting.

• • Negative (-) numbers subtract from the total of whatever it is the player is counting.
    • If a Bakugan Damage Rating becomes negative, it is treated as 0 when counting damage and does not subtract from a Team Attack (see rule 5.12).

• • The letter X will appear on some cards. This is a variable and can have different values throughout the game.
    • While a card with an X in the cost is in your hand, deck, discard pile, or in play, the X counts as zero.
    • While a card with an X in the cost is in the batch (see rule 4.4), the X counts as whatever amount of energy was spent to pay X.

Symbols

• Symbols are used to represent some of the basic elements of the game.

• • Faction (see rule 1.5) icons are symbols that represent the different Factions of Bakugan there are. These symbols are Haos, Ventus, Aquos, Pyrus, Darkus, and Aurelus.

• • Keyword icons are symbols that indicate a particular Keyword. These symbols are FrostStrike, DoubleStrike, and ShadowStrike.

Cards

• Before a game starts, there are two places cards may appear: In a player’s deck and in a player’s Bakugan Character card zone. Only Bakugan Character cards can be found in the Bakugan Character card zone at the start of the game and are not to be shuffled into a player’s deck.

Bakugan

• During a game, the Bakugan toy and the Character card that it comes with both represent the same Bakugan. The toy is the object used for rolling and playing the game, while the Character Card contains all the attributes and abilities of the Bakugan toy.

BakuCores

• BakuCores are hexagon shaped discs that have two sides: a top side and a bottom side. On the top side there is only an icon identifier, while the bottom side will have modifying abilities that will interact with the Bakugan that pick the BakuCores up.

Making Selections

• There are cards and abilities that will require their controller to make a selection. If a card or ability needs a selection, that selection must be made before the card can be played. If there are no selections available for that card or ability, the card cannot be played.

• • In the instance that a selection is no longer valid after a card or ability has been played, the card attempts to complete as much of its text as possible.

• • Cards that affect Bakugan, but do not explicitly call out for a selection, can apply to any face-up Bakugan.

Priority and Timing

• 1.14.1. At the start of each turn, the player who won the most recent Brawl becomes the starting player.

• • 1.14.1.1. The player who placed the final BakuCore during the game’s initial setup is the starting player on the first turn of the game.

• 1.14.2. When a player has priority, they may choose to play cards and use abilities. If they choose not to add to the batch (see rule 4.4), the most recent card or ability added to the batch completes.

• • 1.14.2.1. Once a card or ability completes, priority is returned to the starting player.

• 1.14.3. After the starting player makes any gameplay decisions, the non-starting player gets an opportunity to make theirs. This continues until each player decides to make no further game actions in sequential order.

• 1.14.4. Once a card or ability is played, that player retains priority. That player may continue to play additional cards or abilities before the opponent has a chance to act. Once the player with priority decides that they don’t have more to add to the batch (see rule 4.4), the other player is given priority.

• 1.14.5. While a card is completing and some parts of the card have taken effect, no players have priority. The card being played must finish its effects before the starting player gets priority again.

• 1.14.6. When there are no cards or abilities played and neither player adds to the batch (see rule 4.4), play continues to the next step.

Costs

• 1.15.1. A cost is any payment associated with using an ability or playing a card. Most costs are made in the form of Energy at the top right of a card, but there are also other costs that can modify a card. If there is an additional cost to pay when playing a card, it must be paid at the time the card or ability is being used, or else it is decided that the additional cost was not paid.

Damage

• 1.16.1. Dealing damage primarily comes from the Damage Rating of Bakugan Character Cards, but there are additional effects that can deal damage as well. When damage is being dealt, whatever initiated the damage is called the damage origin.

• 1.16.2. When taking damage, the player being dealt damage flips that many cards from the top of their deck, one at a time, and places them into their discard pile.

Drawing a Card

1.17.1. Players draw cards by taking the top card of their deck and putting it into their hand. Once per turn, this is a game action that takes place during the Start Phase (see rule 5.2), but there are also other effects that can cause a player to draw a card.

1.17.2. If there are no cards remaining in a player’s deck when they are directed to draw a card, the player skips that draw.