Rules Reprise #16: Round the Table

Rules and Policy manager Joshua Scott is back to run us through the basics of Ultimate Pit Fight, and the common rulings, mechanics, and interactions that pop up during a game of Round the Table: LSS x TCC. We also touch base on some new cards and frequent questions that may come up, so that you and your mates can have smooth games and great times!

How do I play Ultimate Pit Fight with Round the Table?

Ultimate Pit Fight is a multiplayer format for Flesh and Blood. Round the Table has four preconstructed Blitz decks for up to four players to enjoy in any setting.

Like a normal game of Blitz, each player starts the game as one of the four heroes with their respective weapons, equipment, and 40 card decks. Pick a random player to start, then players take their turns in clockwise order. At the end of the very first turn, everyone draws up to their hero’s intellect, and at the end of every other turn, they only draw up if it’s the end of their own turn (as per a standard game).

There are only two exceptions:

• You can only target (or attack) players directly to your left and right.
• When switching from attacking one player to attacking another, you must first close the combat chain.

To win, you have to be the last one standing! If you’re knocked out (you have 0 life), your hero and all of your cards are removed from the game.

How do Base/Evo cards work?

Base and Evo are two brand new equipment subtypes in Flesh and Blood. The Base cards in the Teklovossen deck are your starting equipment - you equip them to your head, chest, arms, and legs zones at the start of the game. The Evo cards included in this deck are “action equipment” cards - they start in your deck and act like normal cards until they’re played.

When you play an Evo card, you put the corresponding Base card underneath it and then put the whole stack into the respective equipment zone. This effectively upgrades your equipment into more powerful. Alternatively, you can simply pitch the Evo card (to gain resources) or defend with it (against an attack), just like you would for any other card with a pitch or defense value in your hand.

Tyler is playing as Professor Teklovossen and has the Proto Base Head equipped. On Tyler’s turn, they play Evo Tekloscope. Proto Base Head goes underneath the Evo Tekloscope, and the Evo Tekloscope goes into their head zone. From now on, Tyler’s Teklo Blaster can target ANY opponent, not just the players to their left or right.

How do I protect other heroes?

The Brevant deck comes with a brand new keyword:

Protect (You may defend any hero attacked by an opponent with this.)

When another hero is being attacked, they have the chance to declare defending cards. Once they’ve locked in their choice, the Brevant player can then add any cards with protect to the group of cards that will defend against the attack. This means you can choose what you’ll be adding after seeing how the attack will be dealt with. And because this isn’t a targeted effect or an attack, you can also protect players who aren't to your left or right.

Using a card (with protect) to defend a hero against an attack is considered protecting another hero, and will trigger Brevant’s ability. Defending yourself with one of these cards is not considering protecting.

Tyler is playing Brevant. Nic is being attacked by an attack with 6 power, and they declare no defending cards. As an act of good faith, Tyler then declares a Chivalry from hand and their Bastion of Duty as defending cards for Nic. Tyler creates two Might tokens. When damage is calculated, Nic takes 1 damage.

How do I use Final Act?

Final Act’s power is increased by the number of cards in every pitch zone. Cards in the pitch zone get put to the bottom of their respective owner’s decks at the end of each turn, so the primary idea is to put as many cards into your own pitch zone, and on the same turn play Final Act.

Melody generates Copper tokens equal to the number of other heroes in the game when you play Song cards. With those Copper tokens, you may pitch to activate their ability, destroying them, putting cards into your pitch zone, and drawing more cards from your deck. By repeating this process until you’ve run out of cards to pitch, or run out of Copper to activate, you should have plenty of cards in your own pitch zone, and you can play Final Act for maximum damage. Don’t forget to count any pitched cards in other players’ pitch zones as well, and to make sure you still have pitch left to pay for the Final Act itself!

Tyler is playing as Melody, Sing-along and has 5 Copper tokens, 4 blue cards in hand, and Final Act in arsenal. Assuming the rest of the cards in Tyler’s deck are blue, here’s what they do:

• Tyler activates Copper #1, pitching 2 blue cards, drawing 1 card (2 resources remaining, 3 cards in hand, 2 cards in pitch)
• Tyler activates Copper #2, pitching 1 blue card, drawing 1 card (1 resource remaining, 3 cards in hand, 3 cards in pitch)
• Tyler activates Copper #3, pitching 1 blue card, drawing 1 (0 resources remaining, 3 cards in hand, 4 cards in pitch)
• Tyler activates Copper #4, pitching 2 blue cards, drawing 1 (2 resources remaining, 2 cards in hand, 6 cards in pitch)
• Tyler activates Copper #5, pitching 1 blue card, drawing 1 (1 resource remaining, 2 cards in hand, 7 cards in pitch)
• Tyler plays Final Act for 15 damage (7 x 2 + 1)

What happens to Crouching Tigers if they’re left in the banished zone?

They stay in the banished zone, and you can’t play them anymore.

The banished zone acts like a second graveyard. There’s nothing special about it that lets you play cards from it unless specified by an effect. The cards that create Crouching Tigers in your banished zone only allow you to play those created cards until the end of the turn. Once your turn is over, those cards are effectively dead in your banished zone, and there’s no other way to interact with them further.

For a typical game, if you find that you’re running out of Crouching Tiger tokens to be created, you can take the dead ones out of your banished zone, and use them as the newly created tokens for your effects.

Tyler is playing as Ira, Crimson Haze. Tyler plays Predatory Streak, and creates 2 Crouching Tigers in their banished zone. Tyler attacks Nic with Edge of Autumn, then attacks again with a Crouching Tiger, using Ira's ability to give it +1 power, then attacks again with Pouncing Qi. Tyler decides not to attack with the last Crouching Tiger because it wouldn’t do any damage. Tyler ends their turn, and the Crouching Tiger remains in the banished zone and can’t be played for the rest of the game.

What’s the deal with Qi Unbound?

The card Qi Unleashed was originally printed in the set Dynasty.

Due to a proofing error, the red (pitch 1) version of this card was reprinted in Round the Table: TCC x LSS with an old internal development name Qi Unbound, instead of its correct and final name Qi Unleashed.

The card Qi Unbound from Round the Table: TCC x LSS is to be treated as though it has the correct name Qi Unleashed. This means that you can only run three of this card in a Classic Constructed deck (or two in Blitz, Commoner, or Ultimate Pit Fight). In addition, no future card will be created with the name Qi Unbound, to ensure that this error does not have a greater impact on the logistics of the game.