World of Warcraft Trading Card Game: Battle of the Aspects Raid Deck Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Raid Rules
• Special Raid Rules and Card Interactions
• Raid Difficulty Modes
• Limb Tentacle Mode
• Cataclysm Mode
• Gift of the Aspects
• Chaos: A New Multiplayer Format
• Taking Your Game to the Next Level
• Glossary

Raid Rules

The Battle of the Aspects Raid Deck is an automated deck designed to be played against three players (the Raiders) using Class Starter Decks, Champion Decks, or Constructed Decks. All the Raiders need to do is follow the instructions on the Raid cards and overcome the challenges that Deathwing throws at them.

To begin the Raid, place the Deathwing hero on the board with its Stage 1 version face up. Shuffle Deathwing's deck and place it face down near the Deathwing hero. During each of Deathwing's turns, you will flip over and play some number of cards from the top of Deathwing's deck to represent the abilities, allies, and equipment that Deathwing will use to try to defeat the Raiders. Each of the Raiders puts out his starting hero, shuffles his deck, and draws a starting hand of seven cards, just like in a normal one-on-one game. Each Raider may choose to take one mulligan by shuffling his hand into his deck, then drawing seven new cards. Then, begin the game, with Deathwing taking the first turn of the game and play proceeding clockwise.

Deathwing's turn sequence is played as follows, much like a normal turn for a player, but with a few exceptions:

• First, ready all exhausted Deathwing cards, including the Deathwing hero card, his equipment, and his allies.

• Check to see if Deathwing should advance, as detailed on the card (based on the amount of damage on Raiding heroes). For example, in Stage 1, he has Advance: 10. This means he will advance to Stage 2 if at least one Raiding hero has 10 or more damage on it at the start of Deathwing's turn. Note that there are two oversized Deathwing hero cards, representing the four stages of the fight.

• Roll a die to randomly determine which of the Raiding heroes will be the MARKED hero for the turn. In general, Deathwing's attacks and abilities will be directed at the MARKED hero, its party, and its controller, unless otherwise noted.

• If you are playing either of the alternate modes (Cataclysm or Limb Tentacles), you resolve their start of turn effects now. Limb Tentacles resolve in the following order: Emerald, Ruby, Azure, Bronze. Cataclysm resolves before any Limb Tentacles, if you're daring enough to attempt both challenges at once.

• Flip cards from the top of Deathwing's deck equal to the Flip value on the Deathwing hero card (even on the very first Deathwing turn). For example, if Deathwing has Flip 2, you flip and play the top two cards of his deck. The flipped cards are played and resolved one at a time.

• When an ally is flipped, it enters play as part of Deathwing's party. When an ability or event is flipped, resolve its effect as directed by the card. When an equipment is flipped, it enters play as part of Deathwing's party and can be used by Deathwing as directed by the equipment. Raiders may interact with these cards just as though they were any other card of the appropriate type, including attacking, targeting, destroying, and interrupting them.

• After Deathwing has flipped and played his cards for the turn, Deathwing and his allies attack the MARKED hero. Characters in Deathwing's party attack in the order they entered play, starting with Deathwing himself. As in standard play, Deathwing's allies can't attack the turn they enter play unless they have .

When all the characters in Deathwing's party that can attack have done so, Deathwing ends his turn, and the Raiders take their turns in clockwise order. If Deathwing has fatal damage (equal to or greater than his printed health), he is destroyed, and the Raiders have defeated the Raid. If a Raiding hero is dealt fatal damage, all of that Raider's cards leave play. If fatal damage is dealt to all of the Raiding heroes, Deathwing has defeated the Raiders.

Special Raid Rules and Card Interactions

Cards that refer to a player's hand function differently when used against the Raid. If a card or effect would put a Deathwing card into its owner's hand, it is put on top of Deathwing's deck instead. If a card or effect would have Deathwing discard cards, put that many cards from the top of Deathwing's deck into Deathwing's graveyard instead.

Some of Deathwing's allies have the Boss keyword. While a Boss ally is in play, Deathwing himself can't be attacked. Players may still use abilities targeting Deathwing even if a Boss ally is in play. Additionally, when a Boss ally is destroyed by fatal damage, each Raiding player may draw a card.

All of Deathwing's cards are considered to have a cost of 0 for purposes of referencing the cost of cards.

Raid Difficulty Modes

Depending on your relative level of experience with the World of Warcraft TCG, you may choose an appropriate mode of difficulty when you challenge the Raid. If you find a particular mode too easy or difficult, adjust the starting difficulty as appropriate. It is recommended that you start your first Deathwing Raid with the difficulty level at Novice, but ultimately, it is up to you how much of a challenge to are willing to undertake.

• Novice: The Raiders take the first turn, instead of Deathwing. (Brand new to Raiding)
• Experienced: Deathwing takes the first turn. (Experienced Raiders)
• Heroic: Include two to four of the Limb Tentacles for Limb Tentacle Mode (detailed below), or begin with the Cataclysm card in play for Cataclysm Mode (also detailed below, just a little farther down). (Constructed Decks or very experienced Raiders)
• Legendary: Start with the Cataclysm card and all four Limb Tentacle cards in Deathwing's party. (Glutton for punishment)

WARNING: Legendary difficulty may be hazardous to your hero's health. Symptoms include but are not limited to: despair, hopelessness, denial, anger, fear, doubt, sadness, sorrow, rage, or possibly even death (of your hero). If you experience a Raid that lasts more than four hours, consult a local judge immediately.

Limb Tentacle Mode

Four Deathwing Limb Tentacle cards are included for this mode. For more moderate Raiders, we recommend randomly selecting two Limb Tentacles to use. More advanced players looking for a bigger challenge should start with all four. Limb Tentacles begin play in Deathwing's party and can't be removed from play except by fatal damage. Each Limb Tentacle provides an effect at the beginning of Deathwing's turn. Resolve these effects after Deathwing advances, but before he flips any cards. The order in which the Limb Tentacles resolve is Emerald, Ruby, Azure, and then Bronze. Limb Tentacles also provide a bonus to the Raiders when they are destroyed, so try to time their deaths for maximum benefit to the party!

Example: the Ruby Limb Tentacle (Deathwing Ally — Tentacle, cost 0, health 10). "This ally can't leave play except by fatal damage. At the start of Deathwing's turn, he deals 2 shadow damage to the MARKED hero for each card in that hero's controller's graveyard. When this ally is destroyed, the Raiders choose a Raider, and he puts a card from his graveyard into his hand."

Cataclysm Mode

One of Deathwing's signature spells is Cataclysm, the channeled spell that he uses in an attempt to annihilate Azeroth. If you are playing Cataclysm mode, Deathwing also begins with the Cataclysm card in play. This card can't leave play. At the end of each of Deathwing's turns, Deathwing will randomly add between zero and three madness counters to it. As Cataclysm gains more counters, the threat to the heroes increases, culminating in simply destroying heroes at twenty or higher counters. To combat this, the Raiders must attempt to disrupt Deathwing with concentrated bursts of damage, which allows them to remove counters and set back his casting. Note that this card does not have a standard card type (ability, ally, equipment, or similar) and as such will be unaffected by cards that affect those card types.

Cataclysm card (Deathwing Mode 1/5), card text:

• At the end of Deathwing's turn, if Cataclysm has twenty or fewer madness counters, add zero to three madness counters to it, determined at random.
• If Deathwing is dealt 4 or more damage in one turn, remove a madness counter from Cataclysm.
• At the start of Deathwing's turn, if Cataclysm has:
  • 1-6 madness counters: Put a Corrupted Blood ally token into play for each madness counter.
  • 7-12 madness counters: The MARKED hero's controller destroys two non-hero cards he controls.
  • 13-19 madness counters: The MARKED hero's controller destroys four non-hero cards he controls.
  • 20+ madness counters: Destroy the MARKED hero.

Gift of the Aspects

Having a little trouble beating Deathwing and his cronies? Just as in the MMO Raid, the Dragon Aspects can help your party get the boost you need to vanquish the Aspect of Death. At the end of a raid in which Deathwing was not defeated, the players may peruse the eight included Gifts of the Aspects and gain any cards for which they qualified. The next time you start a Raid, place all the Gifts that have been granted into play. These cards may be used by any member of the Raiding party any time he could play a standard ability, and are returned to the original pile of Gift cards once used. Just like the Cataclysm card, Gifts of the Aspects are not considered to be a standard card type, and as such they can't be affected by cards that reference a card type.

Chaos: A New Multiplayer Format

This product also includes five oversized heroes, the Dragon Aspects. These heroes are not legal for tournament play but are intended for use in the new Chaos format. They are all functionally dual-class heroes, and can play with their choice of [Alliance] or [Horde] allies alongside Monster and neutral allies. However, since they do not have class icons, nor classes listed on their typelines, they do not count as part of that class. As an example, Kalecgos the Spell-Weaver's deckbuilding rules state that he can include [orange class icon] and [purple class icon] cards. However, if you play Anastina, Herald of the Fel with no other allies in your party, her Empower will not trigger, since Kalecgos is not actually a Warlock. The same applies to cards that count the number of [Horde] or [Alliance] cards you control.

The Chaos format also includes a new game rule: all allies may protect your hero. There is reminder text on each card's front side about this rule, and it also applies to any deck in the Chaos format. As if those weren't enough powers, each Aspect has both a standard flip on the front and a static power on the back. Some of these heroes have effects on the back that relate to the effect generated by the front flip. With these heroes, it is important to note that since flipping the hero is a part of the cost, the static effect on the back will be active by the time the flip effect resolves. For example, Ysera the Awakened's flip allows her to heal 5 damage from all heroes and allies in her party, and the static power on her back side allows you to draw a card whenever damage is healed from a character in your party. The second effect will be active by the time the heal 5 effect resolves, allowing you to draw a card for each hero and ally in your party right away! The only thing that tempers these Dragons' vast power is their deckbuilding restriction. Rather than the usual four of a single card restriction, these Dragon Aspects are limited to merely one copy of any specific card.

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Glossary

ABERRATION: When a character with Aberration is dealt non-combat damage, prevent that damage.

ACTIVATE: Some payment powers have an activate symbol as part of their cost. To activate a card, you exhaust it (turn it sideways). An exhausted card can't be activated. An ally's activated powers can be used only if that card has been in its current party since the start of its controller's most recent turn. Only allies have this restriction. Protecting with a character is not the same as using an activated power.

ASSAULT: A card with Assault X has +X ATK on your turn.

ATK: This is the attack value of a card. A card's ATK is the number in its lower-left corner. A hero or ally's ATK is how much combat damage it deals, and the symbol around the ATK tells you its damage type. If you strike with a weapon, its ATK and damage type are added to your hero that combat.

ATTACH: If an ability tells you to attach it to a card, you put the ability underneath such a card as the ability enters play. As a card leaves play, each of its attachments is destroyed. More than one attachment can be attached to the same card—even attachments with the same name. For example, several copies of Mark of the Wild could be attached to the same ally.

ATTACKER: An attacker is a hero or ally that's attacking. A hero or ally becomes an attacker as it exhausts to attack.

CARD TYPE: There are six different card types: ability, ally, equipment, hero, location, and quest. (The printed list names five of these; the sixth is not named in the source text.)

CHAIN: The chain is the zone where cards and effects go before they resolve. The chain keeps track of the order in which things happen in the game. The order that things resolve off the chain is "last on, first off." The chain is empty while there are no cards or effects waiting to resolve.

CHARACTER: A character is a hero or ally.

COMBAT: During your action phase, you can propose combats with ready heroes and allies in your party. Combat damage is damage that's dealt by an attacker or defender during the conclusion of a combat. Any other damage is not combat damage, even if it's dealt during a combat step.

CONTROL: You control your hero and all cards you put into play, including any abilities that you attach to a card in play, even if that card is controlled by another player. You also control cards and effects that you add to the chain.

COST: Cards and effects have costs that you must pay to play them. You can't pay only part of a cost, and you can't pay more of something than you have. The number in the upper-left corner of each card is its cost, which is how many resources you must exhaust to play that card.

COUNTER: A card may tell you to put one or more counters on a card in play. It will also tell you what those counters do. You can track counters on a card with beads, dice, or other small objects.

DAMAGE: Damage on a character stays on it until the damage is healed or the character leaves play. Damage greater than or equal to a character's health is called fatal damage. If an ally has fatal damage, it's destroyed. If a hero has fatal damage, its controller loses the game. A character is damaged if it has any amount of damage; otherwise, it's undamaged.

DEF: This is the defense value of an armor card. An armor's DEF (shield icon) is the number in its lower-right corner. The DEF is how much damage the armor prevents as you exhaust it.

DEFENDER: A defender is a character that's defending. A character defends as it enters combat with an attacker.

DELVE: When you play a card with Delve, you look at the top two cards of your deck, then choose to put them back on top or on the bottom in any order, or one on top and one on the bottom.

DESTROY: To destroy a card is to put it into its owner's graveyard from play. If a character has fatal damage or 0 health it's destroyed.

DISCARD: To discard a card is to put it from a player's hand into his graveyard. Cards can be discarded only from a player's hand.

EFFECT: An effect is a placeholder on the chain. Using a power, completing a quest, proposing a combat, and striking with a weapon all add effects to the chain. Triggering also creates an effect that is added to the chain. An effect waits on the chain until it resolves or is interrupted.

ELUSIVE: Characters with Elusive can't be attacked. However, they can still attack, and they can still be targeted as usual.

EQUIPMENT: An equipment card is an armor, item, or weapon.

EXHAUST: To exhaust a card in play, turn it sideways; once that's been done, the card is referred to as "exhausted." You can't exhaust a card that's already exhausted to pay a cost. The opposite of exhausted is "ready."

FACE DOWN: Heroes and quests have powers that cause them to flip face down. When either flips face down it remains in play. Heroes still have the characteristic of being a hero. When a quest turns face down, it is no longer a quest, but it is still a resource that can be exhausted to pay costs.

FATAL DAMAGE: Fatal damage is damage on a character that's greater than or equal to its health.

FEROCITY: An ally with Ferocity can attack on the same turn that it enters play.

FLIP: To flip a face-up hero, you turn it face down, and vice versa. Heroes can be flipped whether they're ready or exhausted.

FRIENDLY: All the characters controlled by you and the players on your team are friendly.

HEAL: To heal an amount of damage from a character, remove that much damage from it. You can only heal damage that's already been dealt. Healing can't raise a character's health.

HEALTH: The number in the lower-right corner of a character card is its health. If a character accumulates damage equal to or greater than its health (fatal damage), it's destroyed. If a hero is destroyed, its controller loses the game.

IN COMBAT: An attacker or defender is in combat while there's an opposing attacker or defender.

INSTANT: Some cards have this word on their type line. You can play an instant any time you have priority—even during your opponent's turn.

INTERRUPT: An interrupted card or effect is removed from the chain and does nothing. If a card is interrupted, it's put into its owner's graveyard. A card can be interrupted only while it's on the chain.

LOCATION: Instead of placing a quest or face-down resource, you may place a Location card. Locations have a map instead of a cost in their upper-left corner and a tower icon in the bottom-right corner.

LONG-RANGE: Defenders deal no combat damage to an attacking character with Long-Range. This is different from the ranged damage type.

LOOT: A Loot card is a card with a special foil treatment and scratch-off section. The revealed code beneath the scratch-off section can be input and redeemed for special accessories for your online World of Warcraft characters.

MASTER HERO: A master hero is a special kind of card that a player may include in his deck. When played the player's hero transforms into the master hero, in essence becoming the new character. When a player's hero becomes a master hero, it retains the original hero's attachments, counters, damage, and orientation (ready or exhausted).

MEND: At the start of your turn, a character with Mend X may heal X damage from target hero or ally.

MULLIGAN: Once per game, before starting the first turn, you may decide to mulligan your starting hand of cards by shuffling those cards into your deck and then drawing a new hand of seven cards.

NEUTRAL: A neutral card has no class or faction icon, so it can go into any deck.

ONGOING: Ongoing abilities enter play as they resolve; non-Ongoing abilities enter your graveyard. The text after the word "Ongoing" tells you an ability's powers while it's in play.

OPPOSING: Opponents are opposing players. Opposing zones are owned by opponents. Opposing cards are cards in play or on the chain that are controlled by opponents, cards in opposing zones, or any attachments that were played by an opponent (including ones on your cards).

OWNER: You are the owner of your hero and any card that started the game in your deck. If a card would enter a deck, hand, or graveyard, it enters its owner's deck, hand, or graveyard.

PASS: A player with priority may add a card or effect to the chain or pass priority clockwise to the next player.

PAYMENT POWER: A payment power can be identified by the arrow symbol in its text. The text before the arrow is the cost that you must pay to use the power, and the text after the arrow is what happens as that effect resolves. Unless a card says otherwise, you can use payment powers during any phase of any player's turn.

PLACE: Once on each of your turns, you may place a resource. To place a resource, choose a card from your hand and put it into your resource row. Quests and locations may be placed face up; other cards can only be placed face down.

PLAY: To play a card, put it on the chain, choose any targets it describes, and pay its costs. A player can play an instant card any time he or she has priority. Quests and locations can't be played; they can only be placed.

POWER: When a card has text in its text box that has an impact on the game, that text is a power. Powers function only on cards in play unless otherwise specified.

PREVENT: Prevented damage is never dealt. Exhausting an armor to prevent damage that would be dealt to your hero is an example of preventing damage.

PRIORITY: A player's option to add a card or effect to the chain is called priority. Priority is handed from player to player; only one player can have it at a time. The turn player is always the first to get priority at the start of a phase or step. If the player with priority adds to the chain, that player keeps priority. Otherwise, priority passes clockwise. After a card or effect resolves, priority returns to the turn player.

PROPOSE: To propose a combat, choose a proposed defender and a ready hero or ally in your party to be the proposed attacker.

PROTECT: Just before a proposed defender enters combat, any player opposed to the attacker may exhaust a character in his or her party that can protect (for example, a character with the Protector keyword). If that happens, the proposed defender stops being the proposed defender, and that exhausted character becomes the proposed defender and starts protecting. Only one character can protect each combat. A proposed defender can't protect itself.

RARITY: The color of a card's collector number tells you its rarity: white for common, green for uncommon, blue for rare, purple for epic, and orange for legendary.

READY: A card in play is ready while it isn't exhausted (turned sideways). All cards enter play ready. Only ready cards can be exhausted to attack or pay costs. As your ready step starts, ready all exhausted cards in play that you control. As you ready a card, you change it from the exhausted position to the ready (upright) position.

RESOLVE: If there are no responses to the last card or effect on the chain, it resolves and has its impact on the game. An ability card goes to its owner's graveyard after it resolves, unless it's Ongoing. An Ongoing ability, ally, or equipment card that resolves enters play.

RESOURCE: You may place one resource on each of your turns. Any type of card can be placed face down as a resource, but only quests and locations can be placed face up. You exhaust resources to pay the resource costs to play cards, use payment powers, complete quests, and strike with weapons. Resources can be exhausted whether they're face up or face down.