Contract Card

A Contract card (カード；keiyaku kādo) is a new card type introduced in BS60, the Contract Saga (契約編). While cards in this card type are considered Contract cards, they are also simultaneously considered as one of the other five card types that they are applied to. For example, a Contract Spirit is also considered a normal Spirit, and can be targeted by effects that only specify "Spirit". (To be elaborated further below.)
Contract card is also unique in that it is the first mechanic in the game to be able to add a specific card to the starting hand before a game begins. For decks with Contract cards, the player has the choice to add one copy of Contract card to the starting hand, then draw the remaining three cards.
Each deck can only contain one type of Contract card (max. 3 copies). For example, a deck can contain three copies of "Contract Card Name A", but it cannot contain two copies of "Contract Card Name A" and one copy of "Contract Card Name B".
With this series of cards introducing more effects related to the number of counters, there are effects which, for example, state the condition "C1 or more", which means "1 counter or more", instead of "Cost 1 or more".
== Soul State ==
The card type also introduces a new state called the soul state. When a Contract card would be removed from the field due to the opponent, instead of being sent to the designated areas, the owner of the Contract card can choose to have it remain on the field as a card in soul state.
* The timing of choosing to remain in soul state is the same timing as when deciding to remain a braved Brave on the field, after all "when leave field" effects are resolved.
* Even when a Contract Spirit is affected by a "cannot activate effects" effect, it can still remain on the field in soul state.
* Cores on the card are sent to the Reserve when a card enters soul state.
* Cores cannot be put onto cards in soul state.
* The symbols of cards in soul state cannot be used for cost reduction.
* Besides its own effects, a card in soul state is unaffected by other effects unless those effects target "cards in soul state" specifically.
* When an Advent Spirit leaves the field, its Contract card among the pre-advent cards can enter soul state.
== Contract Spirit Card ==
As mentioned above, a Contract Spirit card is also treated as normal Spirit card/Spirit when it is not in soul state. A Contract Spirit card can also have "Soul State" effects and "Contract Pre-Advent" effects.
* "Soul State" effects are effects that activate when a card is in soul state, regardless of the level requirement in the effect.
** For example, if an effect has the timing "[Soul State]/[Spirit] Lv2", it means the effect can be activated when the Spirit is at Lv2, or when it is in soul state (ignoring the "Lv2" requirement).
* "Contract Pre-Advent" effects activate when the card becomes a pre-advent card under a Spirit with Contract Advent. Same as "During Brave" effects from the Braves, the Advent Spirit takes in the "Contract Pre-Advent" effects as its own, regardless of the level requirements on the "Contract Pre-Advent" effects. These effects are not treated as effects from the pre-advent card.
** For example, if an effect has the timing "[Contract Pre-Advent]/[Spirit] Lv2", it means the effect can be activated when the Spirit is at Lv2. The same effect can be activated when it becomes a pre-advent card. Even if the Advent Spirit is Lv1, it can activate this effect that is given by the pre-advent card.
=== Additional Notes ===
* When a Spirit enters soul state, any effects that are affecting it as a Spirit are negated. After it enters soul state, then becomes a pre-advent card for an Advent Spirit, the effects that have been affecting it before it entered soul state do not carry on.
* If a Spirit enters soul state, as it does not enter the trash, Burst with conditions such as "After your Spirit is destroyed by the opponent" cannot activate.
* If a [Soul Sate][Contract Pre-Advent]/[Spirit] effect has a "once per turn" limitation, that effect can only be activated once per turn, no matter if the Spirit becomes a card in soul state or a contract pre-advent card in the same turn.
** Example 1: A Spirit activated a [Contract Pre-Advent]/[Spirit] effect with the "once per turn" limitation, then it became a contract pre-advent card in the same turn. The effect with the "once per turn" limitation cannot be activated again in that turn.
** Example 2: The "once per turn" effect was activated while the card was in soul state or a contract pre-advent card, then it was summoned in the same turn. As it is treated as a different Spirit, it can activate the "once per turn" effect again in that turn.
== Contract Ultimate Card ==
* Introduced to the game with SD65. 
* Most of the rules applied on Contract Spirit cards also apply to Contract Ultimate cards (read section above). The only extra rule to take note is that if a Spirit were to Contract Advent onto a Contract Ultimate, even if the effect condition from the Contract Ultimate contains [Contract Pre-Advent], as long the timing specifies Ultimates only, for example, "[Contract Pre-Advent]/[Ultimate] (When this Ultimate attacks)", then the Spirit on top wouldn't be able to activate the effect. Same case applies when an Ultimate Contract Advents onto a Contract Spirit.
== Contract Nexus Card ==
* Contract Grandwalker Nexuses, Contract Nexus cards with the Grandwalker family, are introduced to the game with SD68. 
* Most of the rules applied on Contract Spirit/Ultimates cards also apply to Contract Nexus cards (read section above). You can't have both a Contract Spirit and a Contract Nexus card in deck, for example. 
* When Contract Grandwalker Nexuses are removed from the Field (e.g. via destroy like God Break), you send every core on the Grandwalker Nexus to the Void, but not Reserve like Contract Spirits/Ultimates. 
* As its unique feature, Contract Grandwalker Nexuses come with multiple keywords: Neo-Core Charge, Revive, Contract Skill and Contract Field, instead of effects that works when they are in Soul State/pre-advent condition. Among them, Revive is the most iconic feature that allows players to re-deploy the removed Contract Grandwalker Nexuses from Soul State, instead of bringing them back to Field via like Contract Spirits and Contract Ultimates.
* Unlike previous Grandwalker Nexuses which are primarily possessing God symbol and treating the God symbol as other colors via an effect on the card, the symbols of Contract Grandwalker Nexuses are God symbols with colors on their own, meaning that they are both a God symbol and a symbol of the color they are in. (e.g. For The FlameWheelContractor Apollon, its symbol is both a Red symbol and a God symbol.) In this case, even if the Contract Grandwalker Nexuses can't activate their effects due to other effects like Holy Sign, the symbol would remain to be a two-way symbol.
* The Contract Nexus cards are also the first batch of cards to introduce level maintenance cost that doesn't rely on the number of cores on the cards. Normally, each level on a card is maintained via a required number of cores on the card stated beside the level. However, Contract Grandwalker Nexus cards have LV2 that can be reached by having a certain number of counters instead.
=== Additional Notes ===
* While not a unique thing to Contract Grandwalker Nexuses, the rule text of Grandwalkers has been omitted since the introduction of Contract Grandwalker Nexuses. This applies to all Grandwalkers that are reprinted inside/after SD68 as well. Despite being omitted from the card, the rule text of cores can't be removed from Grandwalker Nexuses and Grandwalker Nexuses unaffected by effects that do not target Grandwalker Nexuses still apply. 
== Contract Advent ==
If a card in soul state has a "can Contract Advent onto it" effect, a card with the Contract Advent keyword can directly advent onto it. Besides that, a card with the Contract Advent keyword is still treated as a card with Advent in general. If the Advent condition is fulfilled, the card can also advent to other Spirits on the field.
== Over Count ==
The appearance of Contract cards also introduced the concept of "Over Count", a term for states and effects which only occur when the player reaches a certain number of counters (usually requested on the card itself or within the effect). Along with this, Contract Spirit/Ultimate cards and Spirit/Ultimate cards with Contract Advent may have an "Over Count condition" (or "OC condition"), a condition which, when fulfilled, unlocks more BP and effects for the Spirits/Ultimates. The OC BP+ is a BP state which can be added to the base BP of the Contract Spirit/Ultimate when the player fulfills the OC condition, as well as "During OC" effects, effects which only activate when the OC condition is fulfilled. The "During OC" timing functions the same way as "During Brave" and "During Advent".
Category:Card Type