Placing
Placing a card is taking a card from your Hand and assigning it to a specific Character to be used later in the coming battle, or possibly in a future battle. Beginning with the player going first, both players take turns Placing cards. To Place a card, simply take the desired card from your Hand and Place it face up either on top of, or directly below the Character card. The exact position of the Placed card is up to you, so long as both players understand which Character the card is Placed to. No matter which way you decide to Place a card, both players should be able to see all Placed cards. Under normal circumstances, each Character may have a maximum of one Power card, one Universe Card, one Tactic card, and one Special card Placed on him at any given time. Remember, there are a number of different types of Universe cards. Only one Universe card may be Placed, not one of each type. Cards that are placed to a Character may not be switched for a different card later in the game. Cards Placed to a Character may only be played by that Character; therefore, you may not Place a card to a Character if that Character may not use that card. As long as these rules are followed, and there are spots available, there is no limit to the amount of cards that each player may Place at this time. Players may choose not to Place any cards. If one player does not wish to Place cards or only wishes to Place a few cards, the other player may continue to Place cards alone until he is finished. Once a player passes during the Placing Phase, he may not Place anymore cards, no matter how many his opponent Places.
Unlike cards in your Hand, which are discarded at the end of the battle, the only was to remove a card that has been Placed to a Character is to play it during battle. In other words, at the end of the each battle, Placed cards are not discarded with the remainder of both players' Hands. Placed cards remain Placed until they are used.
It should be noted that Aspect cards are not Placed to Character cards. An Aspect card may only be Placed to a Home Base. A Home Base may only have one Aspect card Placed to it at any given time. Furthermore, a Home Base may never have any type a card other than an Aspect card Placed to it, and may never have an "Any Home Base" Aspect card Placed to it. With the above exceptions in mind, Aspect cards obey all of the above rules and regulations of Placing.
Strategy
Placing cards can be one of the more deciding factors that help determine whether you will dominate or be dominated this hand. How to place cards well is usually difficult to learn. The main hang up beginners experience is that you are revealing your cards to your opponent with no obvious benefit. The bottom line for placing cards is to place cards you draw that you really want to use. There is always a chance you or your opponent will need to concede this battle before you get to use a powerful special card. Things to consider when deciding to place a card:
- Powerful or One Per Deck specials
- Teamwork cards in anticipation of a draw with more Power cards to use for follow up
- High level Power cards are not often placed, unless that character is the only one who can use it
- Placing cards is an important tacting to creating card advantage