Halo TCG - Halo - UNSC (8/27: "She's blue, but she's hot!")

[DáinIronfoot]

Recently, I posted some Halo DCs in response to an off-the-cuff request from lem0nhead. These DCs are just a few of hundreds I made a couple years back and tried to push out to the DC community on the Decipher boards. People didn't seem too in to them, so eventually, I scrapped the idea, and returned to my roots, arriving at CobraCards with DCs from LOTR TCG.

But the Halo DCs I posted yesterday seemed to be pretty popular, and so my long-dead Halo TCG has been given new life. Let's see how it goes THIS time around.

First...introductions.

Halo TCG kicks off with this very set! Including cards inspired from various sources, chiefly the game Halo: Combat Evolved but also including bits and pieces from all three Halo novels: The Fall of Reach, The Flood (lots of material from here, since it covers the same events as the game), and First Strike. Four main cultures are included:

The UNSC is the main Free Peoples culture...the "good guys". Here you will find the greater bulk of your companions that will square off against the other cultures as they try to survive through all the sites. It's a daunting task, but with the Master Chief leading them, it's more than possible. MC is obviously your main companion, though other companions (like your faithful marines) are more than just the cannon fodder they were in the game. You'll more than likely need their help to get through everything the bad guys will be throwing at you. Your favorite weapons, vehicles, and even ships from the game will help you in this task, as well as a slew of conditions and events that can help you push on...not to mention Cortana.

The multi-race alien force known as the Covenant are your main foes. With all the tactics they can deploy, you're very unlikely to make it through the journey without encountering them at SOME point. These aliens can swarm you with weak minions like Grunts or beat you down with tougher opponents like the Elites and Hunters. They also have a virtual arsenal of weapons and ships and events and conditions to keep you hopping the whole journey. They've got a counter for almost anything you can throw at them, and they tend to go down harder than other minions. But they CAN be defeated.

The Flood are like most other adaptive, seize-control-of-their-fallen-foes races seen in sci-fi: they swarm like a disease and absorb anything they can, and what they can't absorb they simply destroy. They can be punishing, but typically can't take a lot of punishment back. Their strength is in numbers rather than individuals, quite unlike typical Covenant tactics. They have many ways to easily get those numbers, and then simply beat you down.

Sentinels are a different sort of culture. They aren't really anyone else's friend, but will work with anyone who will help them in their fight to contain the Flood. (Ironically, Sentinel minions can fight you alongside the Flood, but that's the gameplay's fault, not mine. ) As such, they have decent-strength minions that can either swarm or take you on in small groups, but also have some companions that will fight alongside your humans. Backing either side up is the Monitor, 343 Guilty Spark, who with a rather unique bag of condition, event, and artifact tricks can turn the tide of battle in unexpected and unusual ways.

All of this rolled up makes for what could be one heck of a card game, and this, as I said, is the first set in that game. Several expansions will follow, but here's where it all begins. Enjoy!

Alright, with all that out of the way, let's get to some DCs, shall we?

We'll start, not surprisingly, with the largest culture in the set: the United Nations Space Command, or UNSC for short. As I said above, this is your main Free Peoples culture throughout this set and for much of the entire card game.

Just as in the universe this game is based on, there is one central hero throughout. The one, the only, Master Chief.

•Master Chief, Last of the SPARTANs [UNSC]
Companion • Man
Strength: 8
Vitality: 4
Signet: Master Chief
Hero. Spartan II.
While Master Chief is the only companion you can spot, he is strength +1 for each minion you can spot.
Company: Exert Master Chief to play MJOLNIR Battle Armor from your draw deck.
"‘Uh oh. Something tells me I'm not going to like this....'"
1S?

This is your most common Chief of the lot, the starter. He's your most typical "Ring-bearer", or Hero as Halo TCG calls it. Unlike LOTR TCG's Ring-bearer, there is no Ring, and no equivolent of it in Halo TCG. Your Hero is it. He's ultimately all that matters: get him down the sitepath before your opponent does, alive, and you win. Get him killed, and it's "game over, man! Game over!"

This version of the Chief is pretty nice whether surrounded by help or, interestingly, alone. The alone part is easy to see, as he gets stronger with other minions around if he IS actually alone in the company (fellowship). But his company phase ability is useful all the time, no matter who (if anyone) is around him.

MJOLNIR Battle Armor, Mark V [UNSC]
Artifact • Armor
Bearer must be a Spartan II.
While bearer is Master Chief, this artifact may not be discarded.
When you play this artifact, place 3 [UNSC] tokens on this card.
Company: If you cannot spot 3 tokens on this card, add and a threat to add a [UNSC] token here.
Response: If bearer is about to take any number of wounds, remove 2 [UNSC] tokens from here to prevent that.
1R?

This provides pretty nice protection for the Chief, obviously. It starts out with 3 tokens, so its wound-preventing ability can be used at least once, and then another token can be added in the next company phase, allowing it to work again without too much trouble. Things get trickier after that though, as unlike the first time, you'll then be down to no tokens to start with, meaning you have to pay and 2 threats to get it up and running again. With Master Chief as your only companion (like the guy above), this is obviously impossible. But with others around, you can do it, though it's obviously a little costly.

A Hero Stood Among the Dead [UNSC]
Event • Response
If a Spartan II wins a skirmish, exert a Spartan to exert X minions or remove X threats, where X is the number of Master Chief and Keyes signets you can spot (limit 3).
One could always tell where a Spartan had trod.
1U?

This can make things a little more feasible with the MJOLNIR Armor, removing threats as needed. Too potent, though? This card was made by my former Halo TCG partner, a fellow named Frodo58, who unfortunately vanished in the middle of it, both from the game and from the LOTR TCG community. So how'd HE do?

[AgentDrake]

•Master Chief, Last of the SPARTANs [UNSC]
Companion • Man
Strength: 8
Vitality: 4
Signet: Master Chief
Hero. Spartan II.
While Master Chief is the only companion you can spot, he is strength +1 for each minion you can spot.
Company: Exert Master Chief to play MJOLNIR Battle Armor from your draw deck.
"‘Uh oh. Something tells me I'm not going to like this....'"
1S?

Nice. Basic. Simple. Fun.

MJOLNIR Battle Armor, Mark V [UNSC]
Artifact • Armor
Bearer must be a Spartan II.
While bearer is Master Chief, this artifact may not be discarded.
When you play this artifact, place 3 [UNSC] tokens on this card.
Company: If you cannot spot 3 tokens on this card, add and a threat to add a [UNSC] token here.
Response: If bearer is about to take any number of wounds, remove 2 [UNSC] tokens from here to prevent that.
1R?

Like how it gets harder to use, and there's a limited number of tokens. Theoretically, though, in a physical version of the card, wouldn't it be a bit of a pain to mess with tokens placed on a card borne by a character?

A Hero Stood Among the Dead [UNSC]
Event • Response
If a Spartan II wins a skirmish, exert a minion or remove a threat for each Master Chief or Keyes signet you can spot (limit 4).
One could always tell where a Spartan had trod.
1U?

I'd say make it cost and exert that Spartan, but other than that, looks good.

  for starting the fun again! Hopefully this time through I can keep up with all (most) the DCs in the set.

[DáinIronfoot]

A Hero Stood Among the Dead [UNSC]
Event • Response
If a Spartan II wins a skirmish, exert a minion or remove a threat for each Master Chief or Keyes signet you can spot (limit 4).
One could always tell where a Spartan had trod.
1U?

I'd say make it cost and exert that Spartan, but other than that, looks good.

Done and done!

for starting the fun again! Hopefully this time through I can keep up with all (most) the DCs in the set.

And a right back for reviewing. Good to have you back, man. I miss your reviews in my LOTR TCG threads, and I miss YOUR DCs too!

[AgentDrake]

And a right back for reviewing. Good to have you back, man. I miss your reviews in my LOTR TCG threads, and I miss YOUR DCs too!

Yeah, I wish I hadn't gotten out of the groove. Not that it could be avoided. Hopefully I'll have the time eventually to start Children of Hurin back up, but not for awhile, yet.

Just keep up the Halo DCs, and I might even nab your rendition of the rules to kick up a DC series of my own sci-fi I'm writing.... Should help me get the creativity flowing so I can wirte more, anyway.

[MR. Lurtzy]

Recently, I posted some Halo DCs in response to an off-the-cuff request from lem0nhead. These DCs are just a few of hundreds I made a couple years back and tried to push out to the DC community on the Decipher boards. People didn't seem too in to them, so eventually, I scrapped the idea, and returned to my roots, arriving at CobraCards with DCs from LOTR TCG.

But the Halo DCs I posted yesterday seemed to be pretty popular, and so my long-dead Halo TCG has been given new life. Let's see how it goes THIS time around.

First...introductions.

Halo TCG kicks off with this very set! Including cards inspired from various sources, chiefly the game Halo: Combat Evolved but also including bits and pieces from all three Halo novels: The Fall of Reach, The Flood (lots of material from here, since it covers the same events as the game), and First Strike. Four main cultures are included:

The UNSC is the main Free Peoples culture...the "good guys". Here you will find the greater bulk of your companions that will square off against the other cultures as they try to survive through all the sites. It's a daunting task, but with the Master Chief leading them, it's more than possible. MC is obviously your main companion, though other companions (like your faithful marines) are more than just the cannon fodder they were in the game. You'll more than likely need their help to get through everything the bad guys will be throwing at you. Your favorite weapons, vehicles, and even ships from the game will help you in this task, as well as a slew of conditions and events that can help you push on...not to mention Cortana.

The multi-race alien force known as the Covenant are your main foes. With all the tactics they can deploy, you're very unlikely to make it through the journey without encountering them at SOME point. These aliens can swarm you with weak minions like Grunts or beat you down with tougher opponents like the Elites and Hunters. They also have a virtual arsenal of weapons and ships and events and conditions to keep you hopping the whole journey. They've got a counter for almost anything you can throw at them, and they tend to go down harder than other minions. But they CAN be defeated.

The Flood are like most other adaptive, seize-control-of-their-fallen-foes races seen in sci-fi: they swarm like a disease and absorb anything they can, and what they can't absorb they simply destroy. They can be punishing, but typically can't take a lot of punishment back. Their strength is in numbers rather than individuals, quite unlike typical Covenant tactics. They have many ways to easily get those numbers, and then simply beat you down.

Sentinels are a different sort of culture. They aren't really anyone else's friend, but will work with anyone who will help them in their fight to contain the Flood. (Ironically, Sentinel minions can fight you alongside the Flood, but that's the gameplay's fault, not mine. ) As such, they have decent-strength minions that can either swarm or take you on in small groups, but also have some companions that will fight alongside your humans. Backing either side up is the Monitor, 343 Guilty Spark, who with a rather unique bag of condition, event, and artifact tricks can turn the tide of battle in unexpected and unusual ways.

All of this rolled up makes for what could be one heck of a card game, and this, as I said, is the first set in that game. Several expansions will follow, but here's where it all begins. Enjoy!

Alright, with all that out of the way, let's get to some DCs, shall we?

We'll start, not surprisingly, with the largest culture in the set: the United Nations Space Command, or UNSC for short. As I said above, this is your main Free Peoples culture throughout this set and for much of the entire card game.

Just as in the universe this game is based on, there is one central hero throughout. The one, the only, Master Chief.

•Master Chief, Last of the SPARTANs [UNSC]
Companion • Man
Strength: 8
Vitality: 4
Signet: Master Chief
Hero. Spartan II.
While Master Chief is the only companion you can spot, he is strength +1 for each minion you can spot.
Company: Exert Master Chief to play MJOLNIR Battle Armor from your draw deck.
"‘Uh oh. Something tells me I'm not going to like this....'"
1S?
Lookin good.

This is your most common Chief of the lot, the starter. He's your most typical "Ring-bearer", or Hero as Halo TCG calls it. Unlike LOTR TCG's Ring-bearer, there is no Ring, and no equivolent of it in Halo TCG. Your Hero is it. He's ultimately all that matters: get him down the sitepath before your opponent does, alive, and you win. Get him killed, and it's "game over, man! Game over!"

What about Halo? Couldn't the MC have to go down the site path and activate it or sommat?

This version of the Chief is pretty nice whether surrounded by help or, interestingly, alone. The alone part is easy to see, as he gets stronger with other minions around if he IS actually alone in the company (fellowship). But his company phase ability is useful all the time, no matter who (if anyone) is around him.

MJOLNIR Battle Armor, Mark V [UNSC]
Artifact • Armor
Bearer must be a Spartan II.
While bearer is Master Chief, this artifact may not be discarded.
When you play this artifact, place 3 [UNSC] tokens on this card.
Company: If you cannot spot 3 tokens on this card, add and a threat to add a [UNSC] token here.
Response: If bearer is about to take any number of wounds, remove 2 [UNSC] tokens from here to prevent that.
1R?
Simply elegant.

This provides pretty nice protection for the Chief, obviously. It starts out with 3 tokens, so its wound-preventing ability can be used at least once, and then another token can be added in the next company phase, allowing it to work again without too much trouble. Things get trickier after that though, as unlike the first time, you'll then be down to no tokens to start with, meaning you have to pay and 2 threats to get it up and running again. With Master Chief as your only companion (like the guy above), this is obviously impossible. But with others around, you can do it, though it's obviously a little costly.

A Hero Stood Among the Dead [UNSC]
Event • Response
If a Spartan II wins a skirmish, exert a Spartan to exert a minion or remove a threat for each Master Chief or Keyes signet you can spot (limit 4).
One could always tell where a Spartan had trod.
1U?
Prolly should exert a spartan to wound a minion.

This can make things a little more feasible with the MJOLNIR Armor, removing threats as needed. Too potent, though? This card was made by my former Halo TCG partner, a fellow named Frodo58, who unfortunately vanished in the middle of it, both from the game and from the LOTR TCG community. So how'd HE do?

[DáinIronfoot]

A Hero Stood Among the Dead [UNSC]
Event • Response
If a Spartan II wins a skirmish, exert a Spartan to exert a minion or remove a threat for each Master Chief or Keyes signet you can spot (limit 4).
One could always tell where a Spartan had trod.
1U?

Prolly should exert a spartan to wound a minion.

Gack, I understand the confusion. It's supposed to either exert a minion for each MC/Keyes signet OR remove a threat for each MC/Keyes signet...not just ONE exertion. Changed it so it's much clearer...better now?

[MR. Lurtzy]

Much better now.

[lem0nhead]

First of all i'd like to say thanks bearded one for starting this up again at my behest as i really love halo and am excited at the prospect of seeing my fave chars and scenarios reproduced in TCG format. This set sounds really cool. Kudos short stuff.

•Master Chief, Last of the SPARTANs [UNSC]
Companion • Man
Strength: 8
Vitality: 4
Signet: Master Chief
Hero. Spartan II.
While Master Chief is the only companion you can spot, he is strength +1 for each minion you can spot.
Company: Exert Master Chief to play MJOLNIR Battle Armor from your draw deck.
"‘Uh oh. Something tells me I'm not going to like this....'"
1S?

How often are you really going to run just MC? Shouldnt it be if he's the only spartan?

MJOLNIR Battle Armor, Mark V [UNSC]
Artifact • Armor
Bearer must be a Spartan II.
While bearer is Master Chief, this artifact may not be discarded.
When you play this artifact, place 3 [UNSC] tokens on this card.
Company: If you cannot spot 3 tokens on this card, add and a threat to add a [UNSC] token here.
Response: If bearer is about to take any number of wounds, remove 2 [UNSC] tokens from here to prevent that.
1R?

Id add 1 and a threat. Sounds good.

A Hero Stood Among the Dead [UNSC]
Event • Response
If a Spartan II wins a skirmish, exert a Spartan to choose one: exert a minion for each Master Chief or Keyes signet you can spot (limit 4); or remove a threat for each Master Chief or Keyes signet you can spot (limit 3).
One could always tell where a Spartan had trod.
1U?

I would rephrase it like this:

If a Spartan II wins a skirmish, exert a Spartan to exert a minion or remove a threat, for each Master Chief signet you can spot (limit 4).

Having 2 signet spot doesnt seem right and i see no reason to change the limits so it can be combined. Good card though either way.

[DáinIronfoot]

Alright, now that we have our main star introduced, what do you say we get him armed?

As you might guess by a game series that features primarily guns as your weapon options, Halo TCG features mostly ranged weapons and only a handful (no pun intended ) of hand weapons...quite the opposite of the LOTR TCG we all know and love.

Here are a couple examples. Enjoy!

M6D Pistol [UNSC]
Possession • Ranged Weapon
Strength +1
Dual-wield. Bearer must be a [UNSC] companion.
You may play this weapon any time you could play a skirmish event.
At the start of the sniping phase, if bearer does not bear another weapon, you may exert bearer and discard a [UNSC] card from hand to make the company sniping total +1.
"This pistol is a recoil-operated, magazine-fed handgun. It is issued with a smart linked scope capable of 2x magnification. It fires 12.7mm semi-armor piercing, high-explosive rounds. It can shoot either semi-automatic or automatic fire."
1C?

Anyone who has played Halo: Combat Evolved knows and LOVES this gun...and misses it terribly in the game's sequels. This little puppy was always available in abundance, and not only has great stopping power and large ammo capacity, but has an awesome scope that allowed you to use it as a rudimentary sniping weapon. It was obviously drastically overpowered, but we all loved it for that.

The card version is hopefully NOT overpowered, even though it can boost the sniping (archery) total without too much trouble...usually a big no-no for such a common card. I'd considered raising the cost to , but that just seemed too much, so I tried to add a LITTLE incentive to play it after sniping with the "you may play this during a skirmish phase" text. *shrug* This is why I post these DCs for YOU to review...how is it?

Oh, one more comment. Dual-wield bascially allows you to bear this in addition to another ranged weapon...as long as BOTH are dual-wieldable. Only certain characters CAN dual-wield, which will be denoted by their shield.

You know how LOTR TCG characters have their strength denoted by a white number over a brownish shield with a sword over it? Halo TCG characters will be similiar, only with a shield that is much more Halo-esque. Check out this image:



Halo players will recognize those as being the difficultly options in the game: Easy (upper-left), Normal (upper-right), Heroic (lower-left), and Legendary (lower-right). The "Normal" shield--which you'll note looks like a futuristic version of LOTR TCG's shield/sword combo--is what most characters would have under their strength number. But some characters get the Heroic shield with its two, crossing blades under their strength number instead. THIS is what would denote a character that can dual-wield.

Assume that all Spartan IIs (including Master Chief) can dual-wield, just as they could from Halo 2 on. Most other characters can't, but I will make sure to denote the ones that CAN from here on out.

Anyway, if any of that is too confusing, let me know. Otherwise, moving on....

MA5B Assault Rifle [UNSC]
Possession • Ranged Weapon
Strength +2
Bearer must be a [UNSC] companion.
Maneuver: Add to play this possession from hand.
Each time bearer kills a minion in his or her skirmish, you may exert bearer and add a threat to have bearer replace a companion (except the Hero) in a skirmish.
"This rifle is gas-operated and magazine-fed. It fires 7.62mm armor-piercing rounds. Rate of fire is limited by a soldier's ability to aim, fire and change magazines. Short, controlled bursts are more accurate than fully automatic fire."
1C?

Nothing too fancy here. Maybe is too expensive...?

Anyway, the biggest plus to this weapon is that you can play it during maneuver...meaning potentially after you double move, or just to save on twilight added before the Shadow phase. The replacing ability is awfully nice too...though the fact it can only trigger when bearer kills another minion means its likely not an ability that will work for your suicidal, sacrificial type companions.

M19 SSM Rocket Launcher [UNSC]
Possession • Ranged Weapon
Strength +3
Bearer must be a [UNSC] companion. Bearer is damage +1 and may not bear another weapon.
At the start of each skirmish involving bearer and an opponent's character with a close-range or hand weapon, wound bearer or make him or her strength -2 and damage -1 until the end of that skirmish.
"Commonly called the "Jackhammer, or "Spanker" (due to the SPNKr rockets it fires) by the Marines, the M19 SSM (Surface-to-Surface Missle) is a man-portable and shoulder-fired rocket launcher."
1R?

Ooooooh yeah. Everyone who has ever played ANY Halo game knows and REALLY loves this weapon. Pure beatstick here, folks. The one downside is that its no good at short range. Sure, it still works fine, but it can blow YOU up in the process. This translates into the card version by severely hindering bearer when they're skirmishing someone up close and personal, either taking away nearly all the bonuses of the weapon or wounding bearer.

So, we introduce another new unbound keyword: "close-range". This will appear on weapons that are technically ranged weapons, but have a SHORT range that makes them best-suited for close combat. For example....

M90 Shotgun [UNSC]
Possession • Ranged Weapon
Strength +2
Close-range. To play, add a threat. Bearer must be a Man. Bearer is damage +1.
While skirmishing a [Flood] minion, bearer is strength +1.
"The shotgun is a pump-action magazine-fed weapon. It fires 8-gauge magnum (3.5") rounds. This weapon is very effective against targets at close range and may be used to engage several targets simultaneously at medium and long range."
1U?

Normally, close-range weapons don't have drawbacks; in a normal skirmish, all its benefits apply, as if the skirmish were happening close enough to be within the close-range weapon's effective range. Sometimes, though, there WILL be exceptions, usually in the form of conditions or events.

[CarpeGuitarrem]

Cool stuff. Are you, by any chance, going to include Sergeant Captain Malcolm Reynolds, from Halo 3?

[DáinIronfoot]

Once I get there, certainly. But it might be a while. I have three sets each from Halo, Halo 2, and (eventually) Halo 3.

[MR. Lurtzy]

Alright, now that we have our main star introduced, what do you say we get him armed?

As you might guess by a game series that features primarily guns as your weapon options, Halo TCG features mostly ranged weapons and only a handful (no pun intended ) of hand weapons...quite the opposite of the LOTR TCG we all know and love.

Here are a couple examples. Enjoy!

M6D Pistol [UNSC]
Possession • Ranged Weapon
Strength +1
Dual-wield. Bearer must be a [UNSC] companion.
You may play this weapon any time you could play a skirmish event.
At the start of the sniping phase, if bearer does not bear another weapon, you may exert bearer and discard a [UNSC] card from hand to make the company sniping total +1.
"This pistol is a recoil-operated, magazine-fed handgun. It is issued with a smart linked scope capable of 2x magnification. It fires 12.7mm semi-armor piercing, high-explosive rounds. It can shoot either semi-automatic or automatic fire."
1C?
Good.

Anyone who has played Halo: Combat Evolved knows and LOVES this gun...and misses it terribly in the game's sequels. This little puppy was always available in abundance, and not only has great stopping power and large ammo capacity, but has an awesome scope that allowed you to use it as a rudimentary sniping weapon. It was obviously drastically overpowered, but we all loved it for that.

The card version is hopefully NOT overpowered, even though it can boost the sniping (archery) total without too much trouble...usually a big no-no for such a common card. I'd considered raising the cost to , but that just seemed too much, so I tried to add a LITTLE incentive to play it after sniping with the "you may play this during a skirmish phase" text. *shrug* This is why I post these DCs for YOU to review...how is it?

Oh, one more comment. Dual-wield bascially allows you to bear this in addition to another ranged weapon...as long as BOTH are dual-wieldable. Only certain characters CAN dual-wield, which will be denoted by their shield.

You know how LOTR TCG characters have their strength denoted by a white number over a brownish shield with a sword over it? Halo TCG characters will be similiar, only with a shield that is much more Halo-esque. Check out this image:



Halo players will recognize those as being the difficultly options in the game: Easy (upper-left), Normal (upper-right), Heroic (lower-left), and Legendary (lower-right). The "Normal" shield--which you'll note looks like a futuristic version of LOTR TCG's shield/sword combo--is what most characters would have under their strength number. But some characters get the Heroic shield with its two, crossing blades under their strength number instead. THIS is what would denote a character that can dual-wield.

Assume that all Spartan IIs (including Master Chief) can dual-wield, just as they could from Halo 2 on. Most other characters can't, but I will make sure to denote the ones that CAN from here on out.

Anyway, if any of that is too confusing, let me know. Otherwise, moving on....

MA5B Assault Rifle [UNSC]
Possession • Ranged Weapon
Strength +2
Bearer must be a [UNSC] companion.
Maneuver: Add to play this possession from hand.
Each time bearer kills a minion in his or her skirmish, you may exert bearer and add a threat to have bearer replace a companion (except the Hero) in a skirmish.
"This rifle is gas-operated and magazine-fed. It fires 7.62mm armor-piercing rounds. Rate of fire is limited by a soldier's ability to aim, fire and change magazines. Short, controlled bursts are more accurate than fully automatic fire."
1C?
Should prolly cots .

Nothing too fancy here. Maybe is too expensive...?

Anyway, the biggest plus to this weapon is that you can play it during maneuver...meaning potentially after you double move, or just to save on twilight added before the Shadow phase. The replacing ability is awfully nice too...though the fact it can only trigger when bearer kills another minion means its likely not an ability that will work for your suicidal, sacrificial type companions.

M19 SSM Rocket Launcher [UNSC]
Possession • Ranged Weapon
Strength +3
Bearer must be a [UNSC] companion. Bearer is a sniper and damage +1 and may not bear another weapon.
At the start of each skirmish involving bearer and an opponent's character with a close-range or hand weapon, wound bearer or make him or her strength -2 and damage -1 until the end of that skirmish.
"Commonly called the "Jackhammer, or "Spanker" (due to the SPNKr rockets it fires) by the Marines, the M19 SSM (Surface-to-Surface Missle) is a man-portable and shoulder-fired rocket launcher."
1R?
This shouldn't give the bearer sniper and should cost only .

Ooooooh yeah. Everyone who has ever played ANY Halo game knows and REALLY loves this weapon. Pure beatstick here, folks. The one downside is that its no good at short range. Sure, it still works fine, but it can blow YOU up in the process. This translates into the card version by severely hindering bearer when they're skirmishing someone up close and personal, either taking away nearly all the bonuses of the weapon or wounding bearer.

So, we introduce another new unbound keyword: "close-range". This will appear on weapons that are technically ranged weapons, but have a SHORT range that makes them best-suited for close combat. For example....

M90 Shotgun [UNSC]
Possession • Ranged Weapon
Strength +2
Close-range. To play, add a threat. Bearer must be a Man. Bearer is damage +1.
While skirmishing a [Flood] minion, bearer is strength +1.
"The shotgun is a pump-action magazine-fed weapon. It fires 8-gauge magnum (3.5") rounds. This weapon is very effective against targets at close range and may be used to engage several targets simultaneously at medium and long range."
1U?
Good, no complaints here.

Normally, close-range weapons don't have drawbacks; in a normal skirmish, all its benefits apply, as if the skirmish were happening close enough to be within the close-range weapon's effective range. Sometimes, though, there WILL be exceptions, usually in the form of conditions or events.

[AgentDrake]

M6D Pistol [UNSC]
Possession • Ranged Weapon
Strength +1
Dual-wield. Bearer must be a [UNSC] companion.
You may play this weapon any time you could play a skirmish event.
At the start of the sniping phase, if bearer does not bear another weapon, you may exert bearer and discard a [UNSC] card from hand to make the company sniping total +1.
"This pistol is a recoil-operated, magazine-fed handgun. It is issued with a smart linked scope capable of 2x magnification. It fires 12.7mm semi-armor piercing, high-explosive rounds. It can shoot either semi-automatic or automatic fire."
1C?

Nah, with the discard requirement, it's not OP. Very nice. And fun.

MA5B Assault Rifle [UNSC]
Possession • Ranged Weapon
Strength +2
Bearer must be a [UNSC] companion.
Maneuver: Add to play this possession from hand.
Each time bearer kills a minion in his or her skirmish, you may exert bearer and add a threat to have bearer replace a companion (except the Hero) in a skirmish.
"This rifle is gas-operated and magazine-fed. It fires 7.62mm armor-piercing rounds. Rate of fire is limited by a soldier's ability to aim, fire and change magazines. Short, controlled bursts are more accurate than fully automatic fire."
1C?

Nice. Like Lurtzy said, I think it's be fine at cost , though.

M19 SSM Rocket Launcher [UNSC]
Possession • Ranged Weapon
Strength +3
Bearer must be a [UNSC] companion. Bearer is a sniper and damage +1 and may not bear another weapon.
At the start of each skirmish involving bearer and an opponent's character with a close-range or hand weapon, wound bearer or make him or her strength -2 and damage -1 until the end of that skirmish.
"Commonly called the "Jackhammer, or "Spanker" (due to the SPNKr rockets it fires) by the Marines, the M19 SSM (Surface-to-Surface Missle) is a man-portable and shoulder-fired rocket launcher."
1R?

Heh heh. I hate these things. They were fine is H1, but the moment they got trackign capabilities, they became way too powerful. Ever play Halo 1 multiplayer with no shields, invisibility, and rocket launchers only on that map with all the teleporters everywhere? Funfunfun!!! Absolute chaos!

...oh, good card, BTW.... Lurtzy's idea works, too, but I think it's fine as-is, since tracking missiles were added in H2.

M90 Shotgun [UNSC]
Possession • Ranged Weapon
Strength +2
Close-range. To play, add a threat. Bearer must be a Man. Bearer is damage +1.
While skirmishing a [Flood] minion, bearer is strength +1.
"The shotgun is a pump-action magazine-fed weapon. It fires 8-gauge magnum (3.5") rounds. This weapon is very effective against targets at close range and may be used to engage several targets simultaneously at medium and long range."
1U?

Nice.


BTW, I love your idea of how to represent the ability to dual-wield. Very nice.

[lem0nhead]

M6D Pistol [UNSC]
Possession • Ranged Weapon
Strength +1
Dual-wield. Bearer must be a [UNSC] companion.
You may play this weapon any time you could play a skirmish event.
At the start of the sniping phase, if bearer does not bear another weapon, you may exert bearer and discard a [UNSC] card from hand to make the company sniping total +1.
"This pistol is a recoil-operated, magazine-fed handgun. It is issued with a smart linked scope capable of 2x magnification. It fires 12.7mm semi-armor piercing, high-explosive rounds. It can shoot either semi-automatic or automatic fire."
1C?

Sweet!

MA5B Assault Rifle [UNSC]
Possession • Ranged Weapon
Strength +2
Bearer must be a [UNSC] companion.
Maneuver: Add to play this possession from hand.
Each time bearer kills a minion in his or her skirmish, you may exert bearer and add a threat to have bearer replace a companion (except the Hero) in a skirmish.
"This rifle is gas-operated and magazine-fed. It fires 7.62mm armor-piercing rounds. Rate of fire is limited by a soldier's ability to aim, fire and change magazines. Short, controlled bursts are more accurate than fully automatic fire."
1C?

Not sure it needs to cost 2 its so much the bread and butter of the unsc spartans and marines. I felt it should get a bonus from being close range. Everyone knows and loves the ar spam followed by close range beat down.

M19 SSM Rocket Launcher [UNSC]
Possession • Ranged Weapon
Strength +3
Bearer must be a [UNSC] companion. Bearer is a sniper and damage +1 and may not bear another weapon.
At the start of each skirmish involving bearer and an opponent's character with a close-range or hand weapon, wound bearer or make him or her strength -2 and damage -1 until the end of that skirmish.
"Commonly called the "Jackhammer, or "Spanker" (due to the SPNKr rockets it fires) by the Marines, the M19 SSM (Surface-to-Surface Missle) is a man-portable and shoulder-fired rocket launcher."
1R?

I get the idea of the rocket adding to the archery total but it doesnt feel a "sniper" weapon even WITH its scope lol. Ah well no way round it.

M90 Shotgun [UNSC]
Possession • Ranged Weapon
Strength +2
Close-range. To play, add a threat. Bearer must be a Man. Bearer is damage +1.
While skirmishing a [Flood] minion, bearer is strength +1.
"The shotgun is a pump-action magazine-fed weapon. It fires 8-gauge magnum (3.5") rounds. This weapon is very effective against targets at close range and may be used to engage several targets simultaneously at medium and long range."
1U?

Shotgun FTW. Seriously this is the coolest weapon in the game and youve captured it pretty well. Id make more of it being a cloe range weapon. If you engage an opponent in hand or close combat you should be damage +2 at least.

[DáinIronfoot]

Alright, I dropped the cost of the Assault Rifle to and the Rocket Launcher to , dropping sniper (which I think I'll save for our Halo 2 sets ). Thanks for the many reviews, guys...the will fly!

Alright, as much as you might be able to tank the Chief out, chances are you do NOT want him doing this all on his own. So who you gonna call? No, not the Ecto 1 full of Ghostbusters. How about a Warthog full of marines, instead? Hurrah!

M12 LRV Warthog [UNSC]
Possession • Vehicle • Warthog
Armor: 8
Crew: Driver, Gunner, Passenger.
Bearers must be [UNSC] companions.
Gunner is strength +3 and damage +1.
Skirmish: Exert driver to wound a non-sniper minion.
"The M12 light reconnaissance vehicle, or Warthog, is the standard vehicle of the UEG armed forces."
1C?

Ah, the Warthog...probably the second biggest star of the Halo series. What better way to introduce vehicles in Halo TCG?

Alright, here's how this works. Vehicles replace mounts, though it's not usually QUITE that simple, of course. You see, several vehicles can bear more than one character...the Warthog being probably the most common example. It can bear, just as in the video game, a driver, a passenger, and a gunner.

The driver obviously drives, and is the only person required for the vehicle to be used...hence the reason it's in italics. On vehicle cards in Halo TCG, only characters in italics are required for that vehicle to be used; the rest are optional. The driver gets a nifty little ability in this ctase (which bascially represents running over minions, one of my favorite things about it in the game ), but that is not always (or even usually) the case. In fact, drivers usually get the shaft, in that they cannot attack. They can be assigned to skirmishes, yes, but they bascially only defend. If they "win" a skirmish by having higher strength than minion(S) skirmishing them, the minions take NO wounds, since the driver isn't shooting...he's busy driving! If the minion(S) wins, however, then the driver still takes his lumps. Stinks, but that's obviously not why one would knowingly stuff their characters into vehicles.

See, the REAL benefit of using a multi-character vehicle is usually what it does for your gunner. In this case, of course, the benefits are obvious: strength +3 AND a damage bonus. That's what I'm talking about! Your poor passenger normally doesn't get any real benefits from riding along, though there ARE exceptions (as we'll see below in a minute).

So bascially, a vehicle is a mount that can be borne by more than one companion at once. In the actual card game, I would envision the companions being stacked underneath the vehicle rather than the other way around, looking like the vehicle is bearing them, but I guess that would be up to players.

Anyway, only two more items of note. First off, notice that the card type doesn't end with "Possession • Vehicle", but goes one further to include "Warthog". This is the vehicle's "class"...sort of like its race, if they had such things. The other thing to point out is the armor number. This will appear on nearly every vehicle, and basically respresents the vehicle's vitality. Since a vehicle normally doesn't directly take "wounds", though, this is normally affected by the characters bearing it. For example, if a driver, gunner, or passenger in that vehicle takes a wound, the armor of the vehicle is also reduced by 1. So if all three took a wound on a particular turn, the vehicle's armor would be reduced by a total of 3. This does NOT work in reverse, though...if a character bearing a vehicle heals, that has no affect on the vehicle. There ARE ways to repair vehicles, but not through such methods. Healing ain't repairing.

If you have any questions or complaints, log them here or via PM. Otherwise, let's get to some folks you can jam into our new toy.

•Pvt. Riley, Over-anxious Marine [UNSC]
Companion • Man
Strength: 6
Vitality: 3
Signet: Sarge
Marine.
Each time Riley wins a skirmish, you may remove .
"‘Aren't so tough now, ya #$&*@! monster!'"
1C?

Well, alright, he doesn't really have anything to do with vehicles. But I wanted to toss in more than just the two guys below, so sue me.

•Chips Dubbo, ‘Hog Gunner [UNSC]
Companion • Man
Strength: 5
Vitality: 3
Signet: Master Chief
Star: Silver
Marine.
While bearing a Warthog, Chips Dubbo is strength +2.
While you can spot a Spartan II, Chips Dubbo may not take wounds (except during skirmishes).
"‘Mate, nice ‘n' smooth now. Give me an angle.'"
1U?

Odd name, I know, but blame Bungie--the makers of the Halo games--not me. This is the Aussie marine, by the way, and he IS your gunner at a couple different points throughout Halo CE. Best part about his text: his strength bonus isn't limited to him being a gunner. He is strength +1 even while a passenger, giving you a little more incentive to not leave that extra Warthog seat empty.

•Pfc. Fitzgerald, Brave Gunner [UNSC]
Companion • Man
Strength: 5
Vitality: 3
Signet: Sarge
Marine. To play, spot 2 [UNSC] companions.
While you can spot Master Chief, Fitzgerald gains the Master Chief signet.
Fitzgerald is strength +1 for each [Covenant] minion in his skirmish.
While Fitzgerald is a gunner, he is defender +1.
"‘Sergeant Johnson said you could use a gunner....I'm your man, Chief! Let's roll.'"
1R?

And this guy obviously makes an ideal gunner, especially against [Covenant] minions. As a gunner, he can take on two at a time, and he's strength +1 for each in addition to whatever benefits he gets from being a gunner. Not bad, eh?