Learn to Play

The Massive-Verse Fighting Card Game is a tense, two player dueling game that plays in 10 minutes. The core box contains 8 characters from Image Comics like Radiant Black, Rogue Sun, and more.

Our hope: you’ll play it, you’ll love it, and you’ll want to try more characters. To get started, you can read the rulebook or use the Quick Start rules on this page!

Quick Start Rules • Core Box

Overview

Players simultaneously play cards from their hands to deal damage to their opponents. As you take damage, your health points ❤️ (HP) decrease. Reach 0 HP ❤️ and you lose!

As you play, your cards become exhausted and go to a personal discard pile. To get them back, you’ll need to Rest (☀️) — but watch out, if your opponent plays their weapon () when you rest (☀️), they’ll instantly win the game with an Execute!

Setup

Each character comes with 9 cards: a portrait card with a character name and description, and one card of each of the 8 card types, identified by the symbols shown in their upper left corner.

Each player chooses a character.
For your first game, we recommend playing with Inferno Girl Red and Cataclysm.

Find your character’s 9 cards now. Your character’s cards all share a letter code in their bottom right corner: IGR for Inferno Girl Red, CA for Cataclysm. Each character also comes with an oversize divider to help with storage between games. Leave it in the box for now.

Each player: 

• Place your character’s portrait card (A), ultimate (B), and passive ♾️ (C) on the table, taking their 6 ability cards to form your starting hand (D). Inferno Girl Red’s passive ♾️ has a starting side, make sure it is face up. Cataclysm’s passive ♾️ is the same on both sides.

• Take a dial to track your HP ❤️ and Energy ⚡ (E). You begin with all 10 HP ❤️ and 0 of your Energy ⚡.

If this is your first game, you’ll need to punch out and assemble the dials. It takes a good amount of force to snap the dials closed the first time – if they feel loose, they likely haven’t been locked all the way in.

Gameplay

In the Massive-Verse Fighting Card Game, there are no individual turns. Both players play at the same time. You’ll play a series of rounds where you both play a card simultaneously, repeating steps 1-4 below until one player wins.

1. Selection

Both players choose a card in their hand and place it face-down. After both players have selected their ability, turn the cards face up.

2. Reveal and Resolve

BOTTOM BAR AND COUNTERING

First, check the bottom black bar of each played card.

• If your card counters the symbol in the top left of your opponent’s card, you gain 1 energy ⚡, they return their card to hand and it has no effect.

• If you played your block , you take no damage this round (except for unblockable damage).

• If you played your weapon and your opponent played their rest ☀️, they are executed, and you win the game!

EXAMPLE - COUNTERING

DEAL DAMAGE

Then, all abilities still in play deal damage equal to the attack number in their upper left corner to the opposing player. Often, both players deal damage during the same round. When you take damage, you lose that amount of HP ❤️, which you track with your dial.

CARD EFFECTS

Cards often have additional effects in their white text boxes. Apply these now. Common effects include:

• Hit: lists an effect which happens only if you deal 1 or more damage to your opponent.

• Heal 1: if you have less than 10 HP ❤️, gain 1 HP ❤️ back.

• Exhaust: move a card from hand to discard pile

• Ready: move a card from discard pile to hand

• Grab: Deals damage if opponent didn’t deal you damage or play a card that says “Grab”

• Store: put a card face up on the table near your portrait.

• Banish: take the banished card and return it to the game box. You can’t use it again in this game.

EXAMPLE - HIT EFFECT

3. Exhaust

4. End of Round

Repeat steps 1-4 until one player is at 0 HP ❤️ or Executed.

Game End

If a player is at 0 HP ❤️ or Executed, they lose.
Ties: If both players have 0 or less HP at the end of a round, count HP into the negatives. Whoever has the most damage loses. If HP is tied, continue to play until HP is no longer tied at the end of a round.

Other Key Rules

Energy ⚡

You gain Energy ⚡ by playing Rest (☀️) and by countering your opponent's cards. Gain enough energy and you can ready your ultimate ability. Track energy on your dial; you can have a maximum of 5 energy.

Ultimate Ability

Ultimates are powerful abilities you’ll need to earn mid-game.

These cards begin stored face-up on the table. Once you have the energy ⚡ listed in the bottom bar of your ultimate, ready it and add it to your hand. You can play it in future rounds.

After you play your ultimate, store it back on the table next to your character card and lose all your energy ⚡. The ultimate can be unlocked again later with more energy.

Passives ♾️

Passives are incremental advantages that help you situationally. Be sure to read your passive to know when it applies, and check them every round.

Your passive card begins face-up on the table on its starting side.

While Inferno Girl Red and Cataclysm’s passives have effects from the beginning of the game, many other characters have passive abilities that you’ll need energy ⚡ to unlock. Check the full rulebook once you’re ready to move on to other characters.