Combat Guide

[+] A Witch in your party can use her basic ATK so long as it is your turn and she possesses an ATK stat. Even if her AP rolled is 0 (or below 0), the basic ATK is always an option. [+] If a Witch is able to use her ATK twice, she must target two different witches with each attack. However, she is not required to use both attacks, or any at all if you so choose.

[+] Even if an attack or ability inflicts zero damage (whether it was blocked, reflected, or its damage was simply reduced that far), its effects will still be inflicted. Only stopping the attack/ability from being used at all prevents its effects from taking place.

[+] You may only have 1 Defender in your party at any given time. Defenders can only block once per turn (unless indicated otherwise), and cannot block for themselves. If a defender can block more than once per turn, she can only block for each Witch in your party one time that turn. Like with basic ATKs, you may choose not to use your defender’s block(s). Remember that Defenders are unable to attack. This means if your other three Witches are taken out of the game, you lose automatically. Make sure to put your defender to good use, so she isn’t the last one standing.

[+] Your order of action is up to you, and has no correlation to the placement of your Witches. In addition, you may use a Witch’s abilities and basic ATK in whichever order you like, with whichever Witch you like. [+] You may choose not to use a Witch’s ability/abilities, even if you roll high enough to do so. However, this does not save the abilities for later use, you must roll high enough to use them again on your next turn. [+] Counter abilities are activated on your command, and will not activate on their own. This means you can save them for a specific situation, however you do need to remember to activate them! [+] Ultimate abilities cannot be used Turn 1 by the player who goes first. This does not apply to ultimate abilities that can only be used on an opponent’s turn. [+] Only one Witch with a Charm or Summon ability may be in your party at any given time. This is to prevent parties that are capable of having more than 5+ Witches on the battlefield. *(This however, is possible in Free/Waifu mode)*

*[Turns, Rolling Part II, the Day/Night Cycle, keeping track of your Witches Stats, Ability Effects, Combat Phases and Team Attacks]*

**[Drawing your party]:**

[+] You and your opponent each draw 4 cards. If you draw a Witch you don't desire to play, you may discard her into your *"Knocked Out"* pile. You can draw up to 3 more times, discarding another witch before you draw, so that you only have 4 Witches in your hand at one time. This is known as a *"Mulligan"*. Your “Knocked Out” pile acts as your "graveyard" and Witches who reach 0HP are "Knocked Out" of combat and are placed there. [+] In the Standard mode of Cardfight!, duplicates of Witches are not allowed to be played for both you and your opponent, nor are you both allowed to use the same Witch in either of your parties. To avoid playing duplicates of Witches you both control, both you and your opponent must roll a die to see who gets to place their Witches down first. Whoever rolls the higher amount, gets to place down first, with each player taking turns placing one Witch at a time. [+] If you're forced to discard a Witch your opponent has already placed on the battlefield, you may draw another one from your deck without any penalties.

**[Party Order]**

[+] You may place your Witches in any order you desire in the designated card slots *(labeled 1-4)* on the game board. The order in which you place them will not affect the outcome of their AP rolls.

**[Party Limits]**

[+] In Standard mode, each player's party may only have one Defender, but as many melee or ranged Witches as you're able to draw. If you draw two Defenders in your starting hand, you must choose between the two. Discarding a defender in this way, or via a Mulligan, allows you to draw another card without penalty. [+] You may only control one Witch with an ability that allows you to temporarily control another Witch from your opponent's party *(Such as with the “Charmed” status effect)*. If you draw two in your starting hand, you must decide which one to keep. Discarding in this way, similar to discarding a second Defender, allows you to draw another card without penalty.

**[Turns]**

[+] On the game board is a counter for turns. Both you and your opponent will each take their turn before you can change this counter over. Example: Both you and your opponent finish your first turn. At the start of your second turn (Turn 2), you roll the counter over, and that is the start of both you and your opponent's second turn. \**Note: Be sure to enable the setting for Turns in TTS if it isn't already enabled as a handy reminder of whose turn it is.*

[+] At the beginning of your turn, if Witches in your party have no negative status effects placed on them that need attention, you roll using the special scripted roller. Click the [ROLL] button and it will display 4 numbers. These numbers are known as Ability Points or "AP" *(See the-basics for reference)*. The AP rolled is color coded and these numbers correspond to the slot in which your Witch is sitting in on the battlefield. The slots are read from left to right, 1-4. [+] When your party gains or loses AP bonuses, you can adjust this by left or right clicking on the [+/-AP] counters above where your Witches roll. Hitting [CLEAR] will reset the AP your Witches have rolled but it will not reset the [+/-AP] counters.

[+] When your party has active AP bonuses, they will automatically be added whenever they roll each turn. The example below shows the party rolled [5] [9] [5] [5]. This is counting the AP bonuses and losses. In reality, what the party really rolled was [3] [10] [2] [8]. The amount of AP a witch can roll for every turn is between 2-12 *(unless she’s under the effects of AP bonuses)* [+] When Witches in your party are knocked out, whatever slot they were previously in on the battlefield becomes inactive, and all +/-AP bonuses connected to it are lost. The order in which you decide to use your AP for each Witch in your party is up to you. There is no restriction.

[+] Every 4 turns, the time of day will change over to Night. During this time, any Night Witches in your party and/or your opponent's party will receive a temporary boost of +1 AP. Non-Night Witches will suffer a temporary loss of -1 to their AP. This returns to normal again at the beginning of the next Day cycle. A special token on the gameboard is used to indicate the time of day, and must be flipped by a player when Turn 4 begins. [+] The Night cycle lasts for 3 turns *(ending at the end of your or your opponent's 6th turn)* At the beginning of Turn 7, all Witches in both you and your opponent's party regain half of their starting MSHLD, up to but not exceeding their starting MSHLD (Not including any additional starting MSHLD obtained from other witches in your party). This will occur at the end of every Night cycle, depending on how long the game lasts. *(As an example of how long each cycle lasts, It’s day for turns 1-3, night for turns 4-6, day for 7-9, night for 10-12, etc.)*

[+] Cardfight! uses a custom tracker specifically designed from the ground up for this game. With it, you can manage Charges/Recharges for all of your Witches abilities, as well as their ATK, DEF, MSHLD, OAD. The "CF Tracker'' also allows you to easily add values of [+1] [+5] [+10] and subtract those same values with ease. This applies to a Witch’s HP, MSHLD, and ATK / DEF. [+] When adding [+1] [+5] [+10] to your Witches ATK or DEF, the +ATK /+DEF box will automatically add and subtract whatever value you give her by either right clicking or left clicking.

[+] Ability Effects are effects attached to a Witch's Abilities. These effects help determine what type of card she is *(see The Basics, Card & Ability Types reference)*. These effects are color-coded to match the Type your Witch is and can do all sorts of different things. They can be chained together with other Witches in your party to form a combo, or multiple combos.

[+] Let's take Shirley's second Special Ability (SA 2) for example. It's called "Wrench Toss" and it has the effect called "Stun". Stun is a Power Effect that causes AP loss when it successfully hits an opponent's Witch. However, Wrench Toss also causes a Control Effect called "Bleed 1" that inflicts minor HP loss. This is an example of an ability that has 2 effects. These are moderately common on most Witches in the game.

[+] Let's say you wanted to attack with Shirley's "Wrench Toss" and then directly after that, attack with another Witch's Special Ability in your party, for example, Lynette. Lynette has a Special Ability called "Focus Shot" that inflicts a Power Effect called "Stagger". Stagger temporarily breaks a Witch’s MSHLD for 1-2 turns. By using both Shirley and Lynette's Special Abilities to target a single Witch your opponent has, you have successfully created an effect-combo that has not only inflicted AP and HP loss to the Witch you targeted, but also temporarily broken her MSHLD for the rest of your turn, allowing you to lower her HP directly.

Within Operation Cardfight!, there are two combat phases. The Offensive Phase (known as “your turn” on cards), and the Defensive Phase (known as “your opponent’s turn” on cards). These two phases happen in tandem with one another, with one player attacking and one defending. This section will explain the phases, and what actions you can take during them: The Offensive Phase begins after rolling for AP, and lasts until the end of your turn. During combat, your Witches can attack or use any abilities they’re able to.

[+] **Basic Attack:** The basic attack is an offensive ability every non-Defender Witch can use. This attack requires no AP to use, and corresponds to a Witch’s starting ATK value plus any ATK bonuses they’ve received. Overall Damage (OAD) also increases the ATK value, alongside the damage of any other abilities.

[+] **Abilities:** Witches in your party can use any abilities they’ve rolled high enough for, provided those abilities are not on recharge. Abilities marked with a can only be played during the Defensive Phase, however. You can use any number of abilities you want, provided you have the AP necessary to use them both. For example, rolling a 10 would allow you to use both a -4 ability and a -6 ability in the same turn. [+] Ability Effects: Upon using a Special Ability, you work backwards to determine the order its effects take place. Thus, if an ability lists 20 damage, Pierce, and Stun, you would inflict Stun, then Pierce, and finally inflict the ability’s damage.

[+] **Recharge:** After using an ability, you apply its recharge (,,). This recharge does not begin ticking down until the end of your next equivalent phase. For example, an ability with a 1-turn recharge used on your Offensive Phase onTurn 1, would not be available until the start of your Offensive Phase on Turn 3. The Defensive Phase begins after your opponent rolls for AP, and lasts until the end of their turn. During this phase, your witches can use any abilities they possess, and any Defender you control can use their Block.

[+] **Blocking:** Defenders can Block during the Defensive Phase. Blocking allows a Defender to decrease the amount of damage another Witch in their party takes from an attack by subtracting their Defense stat from the attack’s damage. Most Defenders can only block once per turn, however you are in full control of what attack you choose to block, if any.

[+] **Instant Abilities:** Some Defensive Abilities are marked with a , and can only be used during the Defensive Phase (with the exception of Counter Abilities). These abilities can be used whenever you want, including in response to an opponent’s abilities. If you use an ability in response to an opponent’s, your ability will take place first.

[+] **Counter Abilities:** Counter Abilities are most often used during your Defensive Phase, as almost all are in response to some type of attack. Counter abilities activate only if the ability that triggers them connects, however damage does not need to be inflicted.

[+] **Desperation States [DS]:** A Desperation State is an HP-based bonus that some Witches possess. These states are triggered once HP drops below a certain value, and will cease if HP rises above that value. All Desperation States specify “when below [x] HP”, meaning a Desperation State that activates below 60 would only activate at an HP of 59 or lower. In the case of Desperation States that cause damage to be halved, only the damage taken below the HP threshold will be halved, not the full damage of the attack.

[+] **Damage Calculation:** Damage calculation refers to the act of subtracting HP or MSHLD from a witch taking damage. While many witches have Desperation States, and certain Barracks Cards can enable you to stop damage below a certain amount, these effects only come into play after the damage calculation is finished. For example, a Witch who gains “Mitigation” below 50HP, meaning she takes half damage at that point, would only gain Mitigation after the damage calculation from whatever attack brings her below 50, not during it.

### **| Team Attacks |**

[+] When two or more witches use their ATKs at once, this is referred to as a Team Attack. Team Attacks generally have no immediate benefits, however the damage inflicted is considered to be from a single source. This means that countering damage will counter every witch involved in the Team Attack, and blocking will block the entire damage, rather than just for a single one of the attackers. *(Example, if you have two witches that attack for 10 damage, and you can block 20, a team attack would mean that the total damage is 20, and you block all of it. Without the Team Attack mechanic, you could only block 10.)* [+] A Team Attack can be separated into individual attacks only by the use of other abilities. For example, using an ATK, then a Special Ability, and then another Witch’s ATK, would not result in a Team Attack. Make sure to act carefully, as sometimes using multiple ATKs at once is necessary for a strategy. It’s not always wise to split your attacks up.

[+] Team Attack damage, while calculated as one source, still treats each ATK separately in terms of counter and reflect damage. While reflecting damage will reflect the damage, it will only damage each Witch according to their ATK, rather than dealing the full Team Attack damage back to each Witch.

*[Ability & Party Comboing, Unit & Nation Passives, Barracks Cards, and Flip Cards]*

**| Ability and Party Comboing |**

During a game of Cardfight!, you will often have instances where you roll high enough to use several abilities in the same turn. In any good party, synergy is important, and this section is dedicated to explaining how combos work.

[+] **Ability Combos:** Ability Combos are any combo in which two or more abilities work together to achieve the same goal. For our purposes, we’ll be looking at Lynette Bishop. Lynette’s “Ammo Swap” allows her to inflict Stun with her Basic Attack if she rolls a 7 or higher.

[+] Stun is a useful effect, however there are some witches who can counter Basic Attacks. In this case, rolling a 10 or higher would allow you to use *“Ballistic Stabilization”*, which causes Snare, thus negating a Witch’s counter. This roll also triggers *“Ammo Swap”*, and now that the counter has been Snared, Lynette can safely attack to inflict Stun.

[+] Party Combos: Having good party synergy is one of the keys to victory. Sometimes a single Witch’s abilities, while useful, might not be enough to give you the edge in battle. In these cases, it’s possible to perform combos utilizing multiple Witches in your party. For this example, we’ll be using Fernandia Malvezzi and Luciana Mazzei:

[+] Fernandia has the ability *“Sudden Strike"*, which she can further power up by spending 10 MSHLD in order to change its targets from 2 to an entire party. However, this obviously cannot be done if Fernandia has no MSHLD to spend. Luckily, we have Luciana in our party. Luciana has an ability titled *“Peace of Mind”*, which allows her to heal a Witch in her party for 20 HP and 10 MSHLD. This is exactly enough to let Fernandia spend it for *“Sudden Strike”*, and thus increase its damage and range of attack.

These are just a few examples of how abilities from different Witches, or even her own abilities can synergize and combo well with each other. Part of the fun of Cardfight! is exploring each Witch's arsenal of abilities and seeing what works best!