Mercurial Heart Release Notes, Grand Archive TCG

With the launch of Mercurial Heart today, this article will cover specific interactions and rulings for cards within the set as well as any errata to cards within MRC!

All of the content in this article will be found on the Index.

Check out the updated Index here:

Errata

Errata are used very sparingly in Grand Archive TCG, and should only be used to improve consistency in wording or correct errors made in templating. That said, a few cards in MRC slipped through our quality assurance process that require syntax errata (non-functional changes). We are always improving our processes so that errata are less frequently necessary in the future.

Formerly: "...if there are three or more age counters..."

Errata: "...if there were three or more age counters..."

Formerly: "This card costs 1 less to activate for each token you control."

Errata: "This card costs 1 less to activate for each token object you control."

Formerly: "...for each wind ally you control."

Errata: "...for each wind elementally you control."

Formerly: "Prevent the next X damage that would be dealt to target unit you control where X is..."

Errata: "Prevent the next X damage that would be dealt to target unit you control this turn where X is..."

Formerly: "Prevent the next 3 non-combat damage that would be dealt to target unit you control."

Errata: "Prevent the next 3 non-combat damage that would be dealt to target unit you control this turn.

Formerly: "Fissues skate across Flagma's mantle. Gouts of flame torch the Oasis. Uncontrollable manga spills forth as the fragmented leyline burns itself to a cinder."

Errata: "Fissures skate across Flagma's mantle. Gouts of flame torch the Oasis. Uncontrollable magma spills forth as the fragmented leyline burns itself to a cinder."

Formerly: "...cards in your graveyard, Kustallan Longsword gets..."

Errata: "...cards in your graveyard, Krustallan Longsword gets..."

Formerly: "...For every three age counters on Liquid Amnesia..."

Errata: "...For every three age counters that were on Liquid Amnesia..."

Formerly: The name and effect of the card state Spirit Fragment.

Errata: The name and effect reference Spirit Shard to match the subtype.

Ruling Notes

Mercurial Heart is our first product to support all 7 classes and offers several new and exciting mechanics to explore! Here are some of the interesting interactions that players might expect to come up during their experience in playing Mercurial Heart! The rulebook has been updated to include all of the new terms and keywords and has also received an exciting overhaul via migration to Gitbook, in addition to the Tournament Rules & Guidelines document. Try out the Search function in the top right!"

Imbue is a keyword that functions much like Prepare: If you fulfill the condition to imbue, your imbued cards get extra abilities and effects! To imbue cards, you must reserve all of the cards you wish to use to pay for the reserve cost revealed in the memory zone. Those cards are not revealed from your memory (Sorry Zander). After the cards is fully activated, the revealed cards go back to being facedown in your memory like normal. Note that all cards used to pay for the reserve cost must be revealed, not just the ones with a matching element!

1.) If a card has multiple instances of Imbue, only the smallest number among the instances needs to be fulfilled so that the card becomes imbued.
2.) Again, you reserve the cards face up. You do not place them face down and then "reveal" them.

One of our designs from FTC, Lurking Assailant, has been fairly popular among players. This effect is quite flavorful and we have decided to keyword this as Ambush. A unit with ambush can retaliate against attackers while it is not the defending unit. With Cloaked Executioner, a player might be able to activate this at the beginning of the Retaliation Step of combat and Ambush an attacking unit!

Agility is another exciting mechanic we are introducing with Mercurial Heart to showcase the flexibility and speed at which Assassin decks can paly. This ability will create a trigger at the beginning of the end step that lets you return cards from your memory back to your hand. Pair this ability with Fast cards to add extra chances to interact during your opponent's turn!

1.) Multiple instances of Agility will each separately generate a trigger at the beginning of the end phase. You will be able to return cards and will have an Opportunity to play more cards before the next Agility trigger resolves.

The last new keyworded ability we are adding for Assassin is Unblockable. As the name implies, units or attacks with Unblockable cannot be redirected by allies with Intercept and can ignore units with Taunt, allowing you to hit the exact target you want to attack! Be careful, though; Unblockable attacks can still have their attack target changed in other ways!

We'd also like to introduce the counterpart to Buff Counters: Debuff Counters! As you might expect, each of these counters will give the object it's on -1 to its life and to its power.

1.) If a debuff counter is placed onto a unit with a buff counter, the counters will cancel each other out; you will remove equal numbers of debuff and buff counters from the unit until only one type of counter remains.

The clever alchemists and inventors of Azoth have been busy at work and have manufactured plenty of Powercells for you to use! Powercells are tokens that are summoned by various cards in Mercurial Heart. While each Powercell might be used to boost your Automaton's power, other cards require you to use the Powercells as a cost to activate them, or simply get stronger by having them laying around!
1.) Cards that refer to Powercells in rules text references the Powercell subtype.

A new concept to abilities and effects in Grand Archive is "as a Spell." This modifier to effect text allows effects to be act as if its source has the "Spell" subtype which does not let it target anything that has Spellshroud.

1.) Cards revealed off of Bertha's effect check the printed cost on the card and do not consider any cost changing or setting.

1.) Playing a card is activating or materializing a card.

1.) The summoned Convoking Slimes do not copy any additional attributes such as buff counters or modified stats.

1.) The summoned token follows only the printed values of the card and ignores any other attributes or properties, such as fostered, distant, or any counters on the copied ally.
2.) The summoned token will enter the field under your control, regardless of who controls the targeted ally.
3.) If the ally does not have a reserve cost you can't summon a copy.

1.) Cards discarded from lineages go to the graveyard.

1.) Your champion must be water element to activate this card, regardless of Frost Shard's element in the graveyard.

1.) The +5 power would be granted on resolution of the On Attack trigger, before the Damage Step of combat. If there are less than 5 water cards in graveyard after the effect fully resolves, Icebound Slam will retain the power increase.

1.) The value of X can be any number regardless of number of cards with floating memory you select to banish during resolution.

1.) If you lose class bonus after resolving the effect, you may still activate the banished spell.

1.) An ominous shadow token with cleave cannot declare an attack.

1.) An astra element source includes any object or card that is astra element.

1.) If a debuff counter were to put a unit's life at or below 0, the unit will die.
2.) Placing debuff counters on a unit with buff counters will cause equal amounts of debuff and buff counters to be removed.

1.) If Sadi is unable to return to your hand, you will not get the preparation counter.

1.) A phantasia ally's attacks using Shadow's Claw are declared the same way for a champion attacking with a weapon.

1.) If you have the attacker declare an additional attack, the effect will end the current combat and start a new combat. Any effects that were pending resolution will be banished and a new combat will immediately begin.
2.) The copy of Slice and Dice is added to the intent after declaration of the attack. This is not a trigger and cannot be responded to.
3.) You may choose a new attack target for the additional attack.
4.) The new attack does not require your champion to be awake since only playing attack cards has the additional cost of resting your champion.

1.) The additional 3 damage is dealt as a separate instance from the initial 3 damage.

1.) You are allowed to look at the facedown banished cards but your opponents are not.
2.) Tristan, Shadowreaver leveling up into other champions of the same base level will act as if your champion has leveled up normally.