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Deck Construction & Card Rules

Purpose: Complete canonical listing of all cards in the game. Organized by category.

Source of truth: DBZ_PrimeTime_CardCompendium.docx.

Do not add card effects to character profile documents — reference this file instead.

Last updated: 2026-03-22 (Cell Games affiliation cards added)


Deck Construction Summary

Character card eligibility: You may only include character cards for models actually in your roster. You cannot take cards for a character you are not fielding.

Joint Attack Reference Cards

Joint Attack cards are physical reference cards present at the table for the full game — they are not part of the 20-card deck and are never drawn from hand. A Joint Attack is always available as long as both named partners are non-Dazed and meet the stated positioning requirement. Each fires at most once per round. Having a Joint Attack card at the table requires both named partners to be included in your roster.

Joint AttackPartnersCostRange
Back to BackGoku + Krillin1 BKBoth within 4"
Special Beam CoverPiccolo (Z-Fighter) + Gohan (Kid or Adult)1 BKPiccolo within 6" of Gohan
Purple Spiral FlashBurter + Jeice2 BKBoth within 6"

Affiliation ruling: If a roster qualifies for multiple affiliation pools (e.g., a Frieza Force roster including Ginyu members qualifies for both Frieza Force and Ginyu Force), the player declares ONE affiliation at roster construction and uses only that pool. Affiliation cards are locked to the declared affiliation. Character cards follow the character — a character may use their own character cards regardless of which affiliation was declared, as long as no other condition on that card disqualifies them.

Card Types

TypeBehavior
BurstDiscard after use
Burst–Once Per Game (OPG)Remove from game after use
PersistentStays in play until condition met, then discarded
Z-ReactionPlayed in response to opponent action
LegacyPermanent. Placed beside Human model's profile. Never returns to deck.

Card Timing — Priority Windows

Cards are played into specific timing windows. Playing outside a legal window is not permitted.

WindowWhenWho Plays
OpenAny point during a round, either player's turnEither player
Activation StartBefore any actions declared for that activationActive player first, then reactive may respond
Z-Reaction WindowAfter attack declared, before dice rolledDefending player only (unless card states otherwise)
On Hit / On DamageAfter attack roll resolves and hit confirmedEither player per card text
Phase StartAt the stated phase, before that phase's steps resolveEither player per card text

Priority Order: Active Player's cards resolve first, then Reactive Player's. When both players play into the same window simultaneously: last-in-first-out (most recently played resolves first).

Limit: One card per timing window per player. Z-Reaction cards count as the player's Z-Reaction for that attack — they cannot also Clash or Z-Evade in the same window.

Remove From Game: Some cards specify removal from game after use. These cannot be retrieved by any means, including hand cycling.