Raw Deal (card game)
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- For other uses of this word, see Raw Deal (disambiguation).
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| Raw Deal | |
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Raw Deal logo
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| Designer | Michael Foley and Barron Vangor Toth |
| Publisher | Comic Images |
| Players | 2 or 4 |
| Age range | 10+ |
| Playing time | Approx 30 min |
| Random chance | Some |
| Skills required | Card playing Arithmetic Basic Reading Ability |
Introduced in 2000, Raw Deal is a collectible card game published by Comic Images and licensed from World Wrestling Entertainment, designed to replicate the action of a professional wrestling match. The game was designed by Michael Foley and Barron Vangor Toth. On November 14, 2007, Comic Images released a Press Release stating that they had lost the WWE License due to declining sales [1], and that the game would cease production in December 2007.
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[edit] Game play
The game is intended to be played in a one-on-one or two-on-two setting (a tag team match), but multi-player variants are common and popular. Raw Deal uses a 60-card deck, called "Arsenal". On this deck, players may represent their favorite superstars and moves of professional wrestlers. In addition, Raw Deal uses a 20-card mini deck, called "Backlash Deck". Cards for the game are available in starter decks and booster packs. Expansions were released two to three times a year. Update sets called “Survivor Series” have also been released, which contain the most popular cards from the preceding sets.
[edit] Basics of the game
A typical game of Raw Deal can include cards representing everything from the venue in which the match takes place to outside interference in the match. Each player reveals their chosen wrestler (referred to as a Superstar card) before the game commences. Information on the Superstar card is used to determine the number of cards in a player’s opening hand (starting hand size) and who will start the game (superstar value). Every superstar card also has a superstar ability, which reflects the wrestler’s in-ring attributes and often forms the basis of the deck.
Some superstar cards are referred to as “remakes”. This is because they represent the same WWE persona as an existing superstar card, but with a different title, hand size, superstar value and ability. They also do not count as the same superstar as the original superstar card for that WWE performer, as they are conceptually distinct and are often played quite differently.
Almost every card other than Superstar cards has two values on it: Fortitude, and Damage. Fortitude represents the courage or strength of mind of the Superstar, while Damage is the amount of punishment that a Superstar deals to an opponent.[2]
[edit] Winning the game
A player wins the game in one of two ways:
Pinfall: a player inflicts enough Damage that their opponent has to overturn more cards than remain in their Arsenal.
Count-Out: an opponent ends any turn with no cards left in their Arsenal. A player may elect to refuse a count-out and go for a pin, if they want to prevent their opponent from deliberately “counting themselves out”.
[edit] Card types
At a basic level, the cards in any Raw Deal deck will be of the following types:
Maneuvers (yellow): in most decks, maneuvers are the means by which players inflict damage on their opponents and gain Fortitude. There are ten main types of maneuver - strikes, grapples, submissions, high risks, trademark finishers, assaults, holds, throws, trademarks, and extremes. Maneuvers can only be played on a player’s turn.
Reversals (red): these cards are used to stop an opponent’s maneuver or action cards. They typically stop a specific type of card, although some will reverse any card. Unless stated otherwise, Reversals will work when played from a player’s hand, or when overturned while taking damage. Reversals can only be played on the opponent’s turn unless the card states otherwise, and will end an opponent’s turn when played or overturned.
Actions (blue): these cards represent different antics in and out of the squared circle. Their effects can range from allowing a player to draw cards or recovering cards in the Ringside pile, to removing cards from an opponent’s Ring area or even immediately winning the game. Actions can only be played on a player’s turn.
Antics (green): much like actions, these cards represent any side action taken by the wrestler during the match. They serve almost identical functions to actions.
Hybrids: hybrid cards are multicoloured, and can be used for either purpose. Hybrid actions and maneuvers can only be played on a player’s turn, while hybrid reversals can only be played on an opponent’s turn.
Superstar-specifics: these can be any of the other types of cards, and represent the trademark actions of WWE wrestlers. These cards have a logo denoting which superstar(s) may use the card, and are usually the most powerful cards in any player’s deck.
“Remake” superstars are always capable of playing most or all cards with the original superstar’s logo on them, but do not count as that superstar. The only exceptions to this rule are Bradshaw/JBL. due to the fact that the character changed quite drastically storyline-wise (to the point that he doesn't even acknowledge his former gimmick).
[edit] Backlash Deck
The Backlash deck is made up of 20 cards - 10 Pre-Match and 10 Mid-Match cards. These cards have a horizontal orientation. Pre-Match cards are purple-bordered, while Mid-Match cards are actions, maneuvers, reversals or hybrids and have the same colour as a card of the same type in a player’s Arsenal. Normally, a player can only have 5 Pre-Match and 5 Mid-Match cards in the Ring at any time.
When playing with a Backlash deck, there is a Pre-Match phase in the game. Starting with the player with the higher Superstar Value, players alternate in playing these cards. After all players have played all the Pre-Match cards they can or wish to play, the players resolve their effects, starting with the player who had the highest Superstar Value. There are five stages to the Pre-Match phase:
Venue - locations which provide specific benefits and effects, often to all players.
Feud - feud cards represent rivalries between wrestlers. Many feud cards are superstar-specific, or have additional effects against particular opponents.
Stipulation - the conditions for the match, which include No Disqualification, Hell In A Cell, Bra And Panties, First Blood, Buried Alive and TLC (Tables, Ladders and Chairs) Matches.
Manager - valets or other individuals accompanying a wrestler to the ring.
Regular - most Pre-Match cards are played in the Regular phase, including Events, Superstar-Specific Storyline Cards, Pay-Per-View Events that represent specific WWE annual pay-per-views and Objects like WWE title belts.
Mid-Match cards can be played whenever it would be legal to play them, as they are actions, maneuvers and reversals. A Mid-Match card is not considered to have been played from a player’s hand, but from the player’s Backlash deck. Once a player has 5 Mid-Match cards in play, they cannot play any more unless they can increase their legal limit or remove one or more from the Ring.
[edit] Backstage Area
This is where a player’s superstar card and Backstage Area cards are located. Although these cards are on the table, they are not considered to be “in” the Ring area. Most Backstage Area cards are superstar-specific and are not particularly powerful, although they are effectively “free” cards and cannot be reversed or removed from play by an opponent. The Enforcer cards for certain superstars (Eric Bischoff, Stephanie McMahon, Paul Heyman, The Mystery Wrestler, Sable, Stacy Keibler, Theodore Long and Bobby “The Brain” Heenan) are also revealed from the Backstage Area.
[edit] Tournaments
Raw Deal tournaments are typically singles events rather than tag team tournaments. There are three basic formats for tournaments: All Axxess, Afterburn and Revolution. All Axxess tournaments have no restrictions on the cards or superstars that may be used by players. Afterburn tournaments require a player’s deck and superstar to have been from one of the most recent expansions or the latest Survivor Series set. At present, Afterburn-legal cards are limited to card printed or reprinted in Survivor Series 3, as well anything printed after the Vengeance set (Lethal Library, Armageddon, Unforgiven and Royal Rumble sets, as well as some prize support and promotional cards). Revolution Format is restricted to Revolution Format cards only, and follow the rules of the Revolution game by itself.
Regardless of the format, singles tournaments use a random draw in the first round, and the Swiss pairing system in subsequent rounds, so that players will be facing opponents with roughly similar win-loss records in each round. Players who win a match by Pin receive 3 points, while players who win by Count-Out receive 2 points. The number of rounds depends on the size of the tournament, as does the number of finals positions. In most cases, a 2:1 win-loss ration is typically sufficient to secure a finals berth.
In the event of a points tie for finals placing, the performance of a player’s opposition is used to determine who will qualify for the finals. In addition, no more than one player may reach the finals with the same superstar - this is known as the Diversity Rule, and discourages players from all using the same deck. If four players are using the same superstar, only one can make the finals, even if the others would normally qualify. Once the top cut is made at the end of the regular rounds, players play single-elimination rounds until only one player is left as the tournament winner.
Tournament kits and random cards are usually offered as prizes for tournaments. These include title belt cards, guest ringside announcer cards or other unique cards unavailable in starter decks or booster packs. After the tournament, the performance of the players is noted and sent through to update the existing world rankings. The Raw Deal world rankings use the ELO ranking system to determine a player’s position.
[edit] World qualifiers & the World Championship
The Raw Deal World Championships are held every year in the same city as WWE WrestleMania, on the same weekend as the event. To reach the world championships, a player must either win a regional qualifier, finish as the number-one ranked player in the world, or be one of the top 50 ranked players and be randomly chosen to attend. World Championship qualifier tournaments typically attract much larger numbers and considerably greater amounts of prize support than a normal tournament, although they are conducted in exactly the same way. The winner receives a trip to the World Championships in addition to any other prize support.
[edit] Products
A list of products for this game is available at the Raw Deal website.
[edit] References
- ^ Comic Images. Raw Deal Webpage. Retrieved on 2007-11-20.
- ^ Raw Deal rule book v 17.
