Duel Decks Starcraft: Remastered: Mechanics

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Mechanics | FAQ

Spawn: Create PARAM1ASWORDS 1/1 green Zerg creature token/s with haste that attack each turn if able. Used on 7 cards: Swarm Host, Brood Lord, Unburrow, Spawn Broodling, Zerg Spawning Pool, Sarah Kerrigan, Zergling
Switch: You may cast this face down as a 2/2 creature for {2}. Turn this card face down or face up anytime for PARAM1. Used on 8 cards: Siege Tank, Viking, Hellbat, Auto Turret, Ghost, Spider Mine, Terran Banshee, Wraith

The Terran race Switch allows Terran units to both cloak their identities (Ghosts, Banshees, Wraiths, Spider Mines), and to flip between two different strategic modes (Siege Tanks, Vikings, Hellbats). Switch is very similar to the MTG Ability “Morph”, and most of morph’s rules apply. Switch has two differences from morph:

  • It costs {2} to play a switch creature face down, not {3} This would usually be easy to abuse in normal MTG, but there are no morph creatures here, only switch. Everything that is played face down costs {2}.
  • If a creature with switch is face up, you may pay the Switch cost again to turn it face down. The creature need not have been face-down earlier for you to do this.
Implement: {3}: Reveal this card from your sideboard and put it into your library second from the top. Implement only as a sorcery. Used on 0 cards:

Each deck has three optional sideboard cards that can be used to limit mana screw or mana flood, creating better gameplay.

Shield: This enters with PARAM1ASWORDS +1/+1 counters. It's dealt damage by first removing that many +1/+1 counters, with excess damage dealt as normal. Used on 8 cards: Dragoon, Immortal, Zealot, Stalker, Archon, Warp Prism, Dark Archon, Reaver

Shield allows Protoss creatures to come into play with higher stats, but damage ‘chips away’ at their shields. Here’s how Shield works in practice:

  • Example 1: An Immortal (2/2, shield 2 = 4/4) is targeted by a Spider Mine explosion (3 damage). The first 2 damage removes the 2 +1/+1 counters, and the last damage is marked normally. You’re left with a 2/2 Immortal with 1 damage marked on it.
  • Example 2: A Dragoon (2/2, shield 1 = 3/3) gets into combat with a Marauder (2/2). The dragoon deals 3 damage to the Marauder, killing it. Simultaneously, the Marauder deals 2 damage to the Dragoon – the first damage removes the shield, and the Dragoon is now a 2/2 creature with 1 damage marked on it.
  • Example 3: An Archon (1/1, shield 6 = 7/7) gets into combat with a Guardian (3/3, first strike). The Guardian deals 3 damage to the Archon, shrinking it to a 4/4. The Archon then deals 4 damage to the Guardian, killing it.

Shield is not an damage prevention ability as defined by MTG rules. Rather, it’s an alternate way of receiving damage, like poisonous or wither (Damage is dealt in the form of…) Cards like Corruptor work against Protoss that have their shields chipped away.

"Shield" with no parameter is equivalent to "Shield 0". This is used on one creature - Void Ray.



In card text or details pages, write the mechanic's code name (playtest name) between square brackets, like "[Crittercast]", "[Bushido 1]" or "[Delay 4 {2}{R}{R}]". It will be expanded to the mechanic's name plus reminder text, such as "Suspend 4 – {2}{r}{r}. (Rather than cast this spell from your hand,...)"
To expand a mechanic's name but not its reminder text, include parentheses at the end of the square brackets: "[Crittercast()]", "[Delay 9 {R}()]".