Star Wars: An Epic Guide to Understanding Key Terms in Star Wars: Destiny

Hi there! Have you ever found yourself encountering unfamiliar terms while exploring the exciting realm of Star Wars: Destiny? Don’t worry, my friend! I’m here to shed some light on the subject and help you navigate this intergalactic lexicon. So, buckle up and let’s dive in!

First up, we have Affiliation. In Star Wars: Destiny, an affiliation refers to a faction or group that a character belongs to. Examples include the Jedi, Sith, or Rebel Alliance. Think of it as your character’s team or alliance in the game.

Ambush is another term you’ll come across. When a card has the ambush keyword, it means that you can take an additional action using that card during the same turn it was played. It’s like catching your opponent off guard with a surprise move!

Next, we have Activate. When you activate a card, you’re basically using its abilities or powers to your advantage. It’s like tapping into the Force and unleashing your character’s full potential.

Upgrade refers to a type of card that can be played on your characters or supports to give them extra abilities or enhancements. It’s like equipping your character with a powerful weapon or armor to give them an edge in battle.

Now, let’s talk about the Shield keyword. Shields are a form of protection that can be placed on your characters. They absorb damage and help keep your characters in the fight for longer. Think of it as a force field that shields your character from harm.

Resource is an essential term to understand in Star Wars: Destiny. Resources are a type of card that provide you with the credits you need to pay for other cards. It’s like a currency in the game that allows you to unleash your strategies and bring your plans to life.

Action is a term that refers to an effect or ability that you can use during your turn. It’s like taking a specific action that can alter the course of the game or give you an advantage over your opponent.

Lastly, let’s explore the Dice keyword. Dice play a crucial role in Star Wars: Destiny. They are used to determine the outcome of various actions and abilities. Think of them as the cosmic dice that decide your fate in the game.

So, now that you have a grasp of these key terms, you’ll be able to navigate the Star Wars: Destiny universe with confidence. May the Force be with you!

So, here’s what you need to know: a comprehensive compilation of important terminology for players like us. We’ll go through each term, one by one, in alphabetical order.

A Character Die: What You Need to Know

Do you know what a character die is? It’s a die that matches a character. But here’s the thing – upgrade dice are not character dice, even though characters also use them when they activate.

Finding the Cheapest Option

Have you ever wondered what “cheapest” means? It simply refers to something that has the lowest cost. But be careful – any effect that modifies the cost should be taken into account.

Choosing Either Option

When an ability gives you the option to “choose” and “either,” you have the power to pick either option, even if one of them won’t have any effect. Once you’ve made your choice, you must resolve as much of it as possible.

Keep in mind, some cards can force your opponent to make a choice as well. And just like you, they can choose either option.

Understanding Targeting

Now, let’s talk about targets. A target can be a card or a die to which an effect will happen. It’s like the bullseye. Whatever you choose as the target will be the one affected by the effect.

When you see the word “choose,” it means you have to pick something for the ability to work. The person who’s using the ability has to pick something that fits the rules for choosing.

Here are a few things to remember when you’re making a choice:

– You can’t choose something that doesn’t make sense. For example, you can’t hurt a character that’s already been defeated. And if there’s nothing you can choose, then the card won’t do anything.

– If you have to choose more than one thing, you pick them all at the same time.

– If an ability says you can choose “any number” of things, you can still use the ability even if you don’t choose any. But it might not have any effect if you don’t choose anything.

Now let’s talk about the “combined value”:

This is just the total of all the numbers showing on the dice.

Example: When two dice show values of 2 and 1, the combined value is 3, which represents the ranged damage.

Who Controls the Card?

I’m the one in control of a card or die when it’s in my play area. By default, I control all the cards and dice that I own. When an ability refers to “my” card or die, it means that it’s talking about a card or die that I’m in control of.

Creating a Copy of a Card

A copy of a card is a card with the same title. It doesn’t matter if the card is of a different type or has different text, artwork, or any other characteristic. As long as it shares the same title, it’s considered a copy.

Effects That Reduce Something

Effects that decrease something only last for as long as the effect is active. Some effects can have a lasting impact or duration.

Example: The card “It Binds All Things” (r150) has a special ability that allows you to decrease the cost of a Blue upgrade before you play it. However, this cost reduction only applies during the payment phase. Once the upgrade is played, its cost returns to the normal value.

Free

When something is played or resolved for free, you don’t have to pay any cost for it. It’s like getting a card or die without spending anything.

Heal

When a character is healed, you remove a certain amount of damage from it. Think of healing as a way to help a character recover.

• Heal as much damage as you can. If there is any excess healing, it doesn’t have any effect.
• But if the healing doesn’t remove any damage, then it doesn’t count as healing at all.

Increases

Effects that increase something only last for a limited time. Some effects, however, can last for a longer duration.

Example: We have a card called Emperor’s Favor ( 88). This card does something cool – it increases your hand size by 1. The effect of this increase is constantly active since it doesn’t have a time limit.

I want to talk to you about two important actions that can happen in a game: looking at and moving cards. These actions can have a big impact on the game and how you play. Let’s take a closer look!

Looking at cards is when you get to see what cards someone has in their hand or deck. It’s like peeking at their strategy! But remember, when you look at a card, you can’t change its position. After you’ve seen it, you have to put it back where it was before.

Moving cards is another action that can happen in a game. Sometimes, the game lets you move cards or tokens around. But there are a few rules to keep in mind:

1. You can’t move something to the same place it’s already in. That wouldn’t make any sense!

2. When an upgrade moves to a new character, its special die goes back to the card it came from.

3. The upgrade also keeps its state, which means it stays ready or exhausted.

4. If an upgrade has a restriction on when it can be played, you can still move it to any character. Since you’re not playing it, the restriction doesn’t apply.

So, these are two important actions to remember in the game. Looking at cards can give you valuable information, while moving cards can change the course of the game. Keep these actions in mind next time you play!

• When a character takes damage, shields are ignored and the damage is not considered to have been taken.

I’m the Owner

I’m the player who brought a card or die to the game. I can own a card or die but lose control over it, like losing control of the battlefield.

Play Rule

Play rules sometimes show up on a card with the word “only”. I can’t play the card unless I meet the play requirement.

Upgrade cards might say “(Color) character only”. If I don’t have a character of that color to attach the upgrade to, I can’t play the upgrade.

If the requirement isn’t met anymore, upgrades don’t get removed from a character. The character only needs to meet the requirement when the card is first played.

What is Remaining Health?

Remaining health is simply the amount of health a character has after deducting the damage it has taken.

How to Remove Dice?

Removing dice involves taking them from your dice pool and returning them to their respective cards.

• You can only remove a die if it is in your dice pool.
• If you need to remove dice with a specific symbol to activate an effect, it doesn’t matter if those dice can currently be used. Symbols that modify or require a resource match still count as that symbol.

What is Replace?

When you discard an upgrade to reduce the cost of another upgrade, the new upgrade takes the place of the old one. Keep in mind that each player can only replace an upgrade once per round.

What does Rolling Mean?

When a card instructs you to roll a die, it means you should either add it to your dice pool or reroll it if it’s already in your pool.

Search:

When you search for a card, you can look at all the cards in that area, but you don’t have to show them to other players. You don’t have to find the card you’re looking for if it’s not there.

Showing:

A side of a die is considered “showing” when it’s facing up after being rolled into the dice pool.

• You can only use sides of dice that are showing when a card requires a specific symbol to be visible. If a side is not faceup, you can’t use it.
• If a card refers to a symbol showing on a die, it’s valid as long as any side with that symbol is facing up, even if it’s a modified side. Damage is considered “showing” when it’s ranged, melee, or indirect.
• Dice on cards don’t have any sides showing. A die can only show a side once it’s in your dice pool.

Spotting:

So, here’s the deal: some of these cards are pretty tricky. They have this ability that you can only use if you spot a specific game element. Now, spotting an element is not as easy as it sounds. You see, in order to spot it, you need to have that element in play. It’s like a little challenge within the game.

Now, most of these cards aren’t too picky about which element you spot. They just want you to find a character of a certain color. So, if you’ve got a blue character, for example, you’re good to go! But some cards might require you to spot something else, like a special item or a particular kind of character.

It’s kind of like a game of hide-and-seek, really. You have to search through your cards and find the right one to spot. Once you’ve found it, you can unleash its special ability and really shake things up in the game.

So, if you’re up for a challenge and you like the idea of searching for hidden game elements, then you’ll love these cards. They add a whole new level of strategy and excitement to the game. Just remember, you’ll need to have the right elements in play if you want to make the most of these cards.

Remember: You’ve got the power! “Spot a Blue character to turn a die to any side” This means that you need to have an unbeatable Blue character on your team. If you don’t, the card won’t have any effect.

Here are a couple of important things to keep in mind:

• You can only spot your own characters and cards, unless a card specifically says otherwise.
• If you can’t spot the required element, the card won’t do anything.

Taking Damage

Damage happens when one or more damage tokens are put on a character. If all the damage is blocked by shields or other abilities, then no actual damage is taken. However, the damage is still considered to have been dealt.

Example: Hunker Down ( 164) tells me, “After someone hits you in a fight, throw away this upgrade.” So if someone tries to hurt you with their fists, but you block the attack with a shield, then the upgrade doesn’t get thrown away.

Turning a Die

When you turn a die, you spin it around so you can see a different side.

But you can’t turn the die to the same side it was on before-no repeating! (If the die has the same picture and number on two or more sides, then it’s okay to turn it to one of those).

Damage You Can’t Block

Damage that you can’t block is, well, damage you can’t block! Shields or special cards don’t do anything to stop it. Any shields you have on you when you get hit still stay with you, though.

Also, anything extra you put on a die that’s dealing unblockable damage is also unblockable. No way around it!

X as a Variable

When we see the letter X in a card, it’s like a secret code. X can be any number, and it changes depending on the card. It’s like a wild card that can take on any value.