Welcome to the world of Xiaolin Showdown[]
Follow Omi, a gifted monk-in-training from the Xiaolin Temple to destinations around the world. Omi leads his fellow trainees-rich Japanese hacker girl Kimiko, flashy Brazilian circus star Raimundo, and Texas kung fu cowboy Clay- around the world to find and protect sacred ancient power objects called Shen Gong Wu that hold the keys to mystical superpowers.
Challenging the young monks in their quest are Evil Boy-Genius, Jack Spicer, and his team of ludicrous super villains- all competing for these objects in extreme Xiaolin Showdowns. The outcomes of these showdowns could result either side becoming the ultimate force for good...or evil!
Learning the Advanced Game[]
By now you should have played a few games using the rules on the playmat. All the rules you need to play with the cards in the Xiaolin ShowdownTM trading card game (TCG) Starter Set are there on the playmat. This rulebook has the rulse on the playmat plus the extra rulse you'll need to play with the cards you find in Xiaolin Showdown booster packs. It will be a lot easier to learn the game by plaing with the rules on the playmat first.
In these advanced rules, you'll learn about new types of cards like Masters and Villains. you'll also learn some new things about the cards you've already seen in the basic game. And best of all, you'll learn how to build your very own Xiaolin Showdown trading card game deck!
Object: Win 4 Xiaolin Showdowns that you started.
Setup: Shuffle your deck and put it face down in front of you. Draw a starting hand of 7 cards. Decide which player will go first.
The playmat is included to help you learn where to set up your cards when you're first learning the game, but once you're an experienced Xiaolin Showdown warrior, you won't need it. Just put your cards on the table or floor in the same spots as you would on the playmat. All you really need is your deck of cards!
On Your Turn[]
- Draw a card to start your turn. Important! The person who plays first doesn't draw a card on his or her first turn. This is a rule that wasn't explained on the playmat.
- Untap any tapped Shen Gong Wu you might have in your Vault.
- Play 1 Warrior card from your hand into your Warrior Training Area if you want. Turn it so the name and Training Icon (Warrior head) are upside down. you can't play more than 1 Warrior card into your Training Area each turn.
- Choose one:
- Play a Shen Gong Wu card from your hand into your Vault (and your turn ends).
- Challenge your opponent to a Xiaolin Showdown!
If you don't want to do either of these things, you can choose to do nothing and end your turn.
Important! The person who goes first doesn't get to play a Shen Gong Wu card or start a Showdown on his first turn. He has to end his turn right away.
This is another rule that wasn't explained on the playmat.
If You Don't Like Your Starting Hand[]
If you don't like your starting hand of 7 cards (for example, if your hand has no Warrior cards), you can put those cards on the bottom of your deck and draw a new hand but with one fewer card in it. you can keep doing this as often as you like, but you draw one fewer card each time! Once the first player has decided to keep his hand, then the next player decides.
Tapping[]
In a showdown you'll usually use some Shen Gong Wu in your Vault to help you fight. You must tap (turn sideways) any Shen Gong wu in your Vault that you use. This keeps you from using them if your opponent starts a Showdown next turn.
You'll have to wait until a Shen Gong Wu untaps (straightens out) to use it again. This usually isn't until your next turn.
Shen Gong Wu in your Vault are the only cards that tap. Warrior, Master, and Villain cards (and Shen Gong Wu cards played as Boosts) don't tap.
Skill Needed[]
To use the most powerful Shen Gong Wu and perform the strongest attacks, youneed a lot of skill. Your skill is equal to the number of cards in your Warrior Training Area. The "Skill Needed" number on a card tells you how much skill you need to use the card.
You need to check the Skill Needed on a card when you:
- Play a Shen Gong Wu card from your hand into your Vault.
- Play a Boost card or Villain from your hand or from the top of your deck.
- Play a Master card from your hand into your warrior training Area.
- Use one or more Shen Gong Wu in your Vault to help you in a Showdown. In this case, add up the Skill Neeed numbers of all the Shen Gong Wu you use to find the total Skill Needed.
Skill Needed doesn't matter when you put a Shen Gong Wu into the Showdown Areana to start a Showdown.
To play a Boost card (or use a Shen Gong Wu in your Vault):
- You must have at least as much skill (cards in your Warrior Training Area) as the Skill Needed on the card ( or the total Skill Needed for all the Shen Gong Wu you use).
- At least one of your skill cards must match the color of the card you're playing or the Shen Gong Wu you're using.
The rules for color work a little differently for Villain and Master cards.
Types of Cards[]
Warrior[]
You use Warrior cards in two ways:
- You play them upside down into your Warrior Training Area (where they give you the skill you need to play or use other cards). When your warrior cards are in the Training Area, the text and numbers on them aren't important; all that matters is how many cards you have there and what color they are.
- You play them as Boosts to help you win Showdowns. You can play them from your hand or from the top of your deck.
Shen Gong Wu[]
You fight over Shen Gong Wu in Showdwons. If you win a Showdown that you started, you get to put that Shen Gong Wu card into your Vault untapped. If you win 4 Showdowns that you started, you win the game.
You can also play a Shen Gong Wu card directly into your Vault (but it doesn't count toward winning the game).
You can use one or more Shen Gong Wu in your Vault to help you in a Showdown. You must tap any Shen Gong Wu you use.
You can also play a Shen Gong Wu card as a Boost either from your hand or from the top of your deck. you only get to use the Power number, not any special abilities written on the card.
If a Shen Gong Wu card has any ability text on it, that ability text only works when that Shen Gong Wu is in your Vault and you use it in a Showdown. The ability doesn't work when you play the Shen Gong Wu card from your hand into your Vault, when the Shen Gong Wu is in your Vault, but you aren't using it in a Showdown, or when you play the Shen Gong Wu as a Boost (unless the card says otherwise). Shen Gong Wu cards with special abilities normally have a tap symbol 
to remind you that you need to tap the Shen Gong Wu in a Showdown to use it's special ability.
Master[]
You play Master cards from your hand into your Warrior Training Area right-side up. Play them instead of playing a Warrior card. To play a Master card into your Training Area, follow the instructions written on the Master card.
Master cards count just like Warrior cards toward your skill, so if you had 2 Masters and 5 Warriors in your warrior Training Area, you could play cards with a Skill Needed of 7 or less. While Master cards are in your Training Area, they also give you the special abilities written in their text box, but their Power number doesn't matter.
You can play a Master card as a Boost, just like with a Warrior card or a Shen Gong Wu card. The Skill Needed works just like it does for Warrior or Shen Gong Wu cards (so if the Skill Needed is 3, you need at least 3 cards in your Warrior Training Area, at least one of which is the right color, to play it). You get to use the Master card's Power number, but not its special abilities.
Villain[]
You play Villain cards like you play Boosts, but they work differently after you've played them:
- Villains only work on defense. If you play one from your had or from your deck when you're the attacker, it does nothing.
- Color doesn't matter for the Villain's Skill Needed number. You just need at least as many cards in your Warrior Training Area as the Villain's Skill Needed.
- Villains use the Power number that matches the color of the Shen Gong Wu you're fighting over.
- Villains fight against you and your opponent for the Shen Gong Wu. If the Villain's Power is higehr than your total or your opponent's total, or is tied for the highest, the Villain wins! Discard the Shen Gong Wu.
- Your Shen Gong Wu and Warrior cards add to your total, not the Villain's.
Fighting a Showdown[]
- Put a Shen Gong Wu card into the Showdown Arena to fight over. you can do this by taking one from your hand (Skill Needed doesn't matter) or by flipping over the top card of your deck. If you don't flip over a Shen Gong Wu, discard the card you flipped and your turn is over.
- You may use one or more Shen Gong Wu in your Vault to help you in the SHowdown. you must have at least as many skill cards in your Warrior Training Area (with colors that match) as the total Skill Needed on all the Shen Gong Wu cards you want to use. Do whatever those Shen Gong Wu tell you to do. Then tap them.
- Your opponent may also use one or more untapped Shen gong Wu in his Vault (as long as he meets the skill requirements). He does whatever those Shen Gong Wu tel lhim to do, and then taps them.
- You may play a Boost or Villain card wither from your hand or from your deck to help you fight (as long as you meet the skill requirements). Put the card face down.
- Your oppnonent may also play a Boost of Villain card from his hand or deck (as long as he meets the skill requirements). Put the card face down.
- Both of you reveal your face-down cards.
- Do whatever any Warrior Boost cards or Villain carfds tell you to do.
- Figure out who wins:
- Each player adds up the Power numbers from his Boost and from the Shen Gong Wu he used in his Vault this Showdown.
- Villains the defenter played are part of the battle as well, but they don't get to use the Power numbers of the defender's Shen Gong Wu or Warriors.
- The highest total wins.
- If two players tie, the defenders win. If a player and a Villain tie, the Villain wins.
- 9. Each player discards his Boost and Villain cards. (Don't discard any Shen Gong Wu used in the Vault.)
- 10. If you started the Showdown and you win, put the Shen Gong Wu you were fighting over into your Vault untapped.
- 11. If you started the Showdwon and you lose, put the Shen Gong Wu you were fighting over into the discard pile.
Remember, if you win 4 Showdwons that you started, you win the game! Winning Showdowns your opponent started doesn't count toward winning the game, though.
After a Showdown, the other player gets to go and follows the same steps listed under "On Your Turn." Keep going back and forth until somebody wins 4 Showdowns that they started!
Playing Boost Cards[]
Boost cards (Boosts) are Warrior cards, Master cards, or Shen gong Wu cards that you play during a Showdown to help you win. Shen Gong Wu in your Vault that you use and Villains are not Boost cards. You can play a Boost card from your hand or from your deck. You need to have enough skill (cards in your Warrior Training Area) and at least one of those skill cards has to match the Boost card's color or the Boost has no effect. Some special abilities will allow you to play more than one Boost card.
Pressing[]
When you take the top card of your deck and play it as a Boost or Villain, it's called pressing. Some cards have special ability text that will tell you to press. For example, Circling Eagle says, "You may press an extra card." This means you would play a second Boost card.
To press a card, don't look at it - just take it from the top of your deck and put it face down. When you reveal your cards, if you have enough skill and at least one of those skill cards matches the revealed card's color, the card works - its Power is added to your total and you get to use its special ability if it's a Warrior card. (If it's a Villain card, follow the special rules for Villains.) If you don't have enough skill, or don't have a skill card that matches the color, it has no effect.
Doing What Cards Say[]
Sometimes, cards will tell you to do something you can't do. For example, a card might say, "After this Showdown, put a Shen Gong Wu from your discard pike into your Vault." If you don't have any Shen Gong Wu cards in your discard pile, just skip that instruction. This is different from cards that say you have to do a particular thing to use them. For instance, a card might say, "To play this card, discard another card from your hand." To play the card, you have to discard a card from your hand. If you don't have any other cards in your hand, you can't play the card.
Sometimes, one card will tell you to do something while another card says you can't. Whenever this happens, the "can't" always wins.
Sometimes a few different cards will try to do things at the same time. The order things happen in usually doesn't matter because everybody will get all of their effects. But in case it does matter, here's the order in which things happen. If the player whose turn it is has cards that make other cards have no effect, they go first. Next come any of the defending player's cards that make other cards have no effect. After that, the player whose turn it is does all the rest of his things in any order he wants. And finally, the defending player does things in any order he wants.
Running Out of Cards[]
It's possible to run out of cards in your deck. If your deck ever runs out, you lose as soon as you try to draw or press a card but can't.
Building Your Own Deck[]
One of the most exciting parts of the Xiaolin Showdown trading card game is building your own deck! You can find more cards to play with in booster packs or by trading with your friends. You can build your deck however you like, as lng as you follow these simple rules:
- Your deck must have at least 60 cards.
- You can't put more than 4 cards with the same name in your deck.
It's tricky to build a good deck. Here are some things to think about:
- At least half your deck should be Warrior cards, since you need them to play other cards.
- At least a third of your deck should be Shen Gong Wu, since you need them to win.
- Don't use Master cards with Skill Needed numbers if you're playing two or more colors.
A good place to start in a 60-card deck might be 35 Warriors, 20 Shen Gong Wu, and 5 Villains or Masters.
After you build your deck, play it a lot! Replace cards that don't help you or that you can't play very much. Keep playing your deck and making it better, and soon you'll be able to take down your opponents. Remember, the best part of trading card games is that you can put any card you want into your deck, so start experimenting!
Frequently Asked Questions[]
Q: What are the names of the four colors?
A: Dark blue (Omi - Water), light blue (Raimundo - Wind), red (Kimiko - Fire), and yellow (Clay - Earth).
Q: Can I play a Warrior card into my Training Area and play a Master card on the same turn?
A: No.
Q: If I play a Warrior card into my Training Area, can I still play a Warrior card later as a Boost?
A: Yes.
Q: If I play a Warrior card into my Training Area and it says, "Draw a card," do I get to draw?
A: No. You use the special ability text and numbers on a Warrior card only when you play it as a Boost.
Q: If I play a Shen Gong Wu card into my Vault or I play it as a Boost, and it says, "Draw a card," do I get to draw?
A: No. You use the special ability text on a Shen Gong WU only when it's in your Vault and you tap it to help you in a Showdown. If you put a Shen Gong Wu into your Vault, its ability won't do anything right then. If you play it as a Boost, you just add its Power. If you put it in the Showdown Arena so you can fight for it, its ability and its Power have no effect.
Q: Can I play a Shen Gong Wu directly into my Vault and challenge my opponent to a Showdown?
A: No. You can only do one of those things on your turn.
Q: If I flip a card off the top of my deck to start a Showdown, but it turns out not to be a Shen Gong Wu (so there's no Showdown), can I now decide to play a Shen Gong Wu from my hand to start a Showdown? Or can I decide to play a Shen Gong Wu into my Vault now?
A: No, you can't do either of those things. Your turn is over.
Q: If I use a Shen Gong Wu in my Vault with a Skill Needed of 6, and I have 8 cards in my Warrior Training Area, what's the biggest Boost card I can play? One with a Skill Needed of 2 or of 8?
A: You can play a Boost card with a Skill Needed of 8
Q: If I want to use both a red Shen Gong Wu and a dark blue Shen Gong Wu in my Vault, do I need both a red skill card and a blue skill card in my Warrior Training Area?
A: Yes.
Q: If I use 3 red Shen Gong Wu in my Vault, each with a Skill Needed of 3, do I need to have 9 cards in my Warrior Training Area, one of which is red? Or do I need 9 cards in my Training Area, 3 of which are red?
A: You need 9 cards, 3 of which are red.
Q: If my opponent starts 4 Showdowns, and I win all 4, do I win the game?
A: No, Only Showdowns that you start count toward your winning the game.
Q: Do I get my opponent's Shen Gong Wu if I win a Showdown he started?
A: No, it just gets discarded. You only get Shen Gong Wu if you win a Showdown that you started.
Q: Fist of Tebigong says "If you win this Showdown, choose a tapped Shen Gong Wu with a Skill Needed of 2 or less in your opponent's Vault and discard it." I tapped it to use it in a Showdown and then pressed a Villain. My Villain won. Does the effect from Fist of Tebigong happen?
A: No. You didn't win the Showdown - the Villain did.
Q: I used a Shen Gong Wu that lets me press 2 cards in one Showdwon. They were both Villains. Do the Villains add their Power numbers together?
A: No, Each of them fights seperately.
Q: Do I have to use the playmat?
A: No, it's there to help you learn. Once you know how to play, you can keep using the playmat if you like, or you can just play on any flat surface. You don't have to carry the playmat around with you - all you really need is your deck!
Q: Can I have 4 Omi - Dragon in Training and 4 Omi - Xiaolin Apprentice cards in my deck?
A: Yes. Those cards do have different names.
Q: Can I start a Showdown for a Shen Gong Wu with a Skill Needed of 8 even if I only have 5 cards in my Warrior Training Area? If I win, do I get to put the Shen Gong WU into my Vault?
A: Yes, and yes. But you won't be able to use that Shen Gong Wu in any Showdowns until you have at least 8cards in your Warrior Training Area. Also, any special ability text on the Shen Gong Wu won't have any effect until you have 8 cards in your Training Area.
Q: Can I play a Shen Gong Wu card from my hand into my Vault if it has a Skill Needed of 8 and I only have 5 cards in my Warrior Training Area?
A: No.
Q: If I press a card, and the skill Needed is too high, it has no effect. Can I play a Boost from my hand that has a Skill Needed that's too high, and have it do nothing?
A: Why would you want to do that? You're just trying to make trouble, aren't you? Well, okay, you can if you want. (Maybe you'll trick your opponent!)
Q: Do I ever tap the cards in my Warrior Trainin Area?
A: No, the only cards you ever tap are the Shen Gong Wu in your Vault that you use.
Q: While I'm using a Shen Gong Wu in my Vault to help fight in a Showdown, does it still count as being in my Vault?
A: Yes, It never leaves your Vault during that time.
Q: Why do you play Warrior crds in the Training Area upside-down?
A: It's a way of reminding everyone that the words and numberso on those cards have no effect.
Q: When a card with 1 Power says, "This cards gets +2 Power," does that card add 2 Power or 3 Power to my total.
A: It adds 3 Power to your total (the card's 1 Power, plus 2 more Power), not 2 Power.
Q: Two-Ton Tunic says, "This card gets +6 Power if your opponent plays a Villain." Does that mean +6 Power for the rest of the game?
A: No, card abilities used in a Showdown only last for that Showdown.
Q: Do I have to play a Boost in a Showdown (if, for example, I know I'm going to lose anyway)?
A: No.
Glossary[]
attacker - In a showdwon, the player who started the Showdown.
Boost card (Boost) - A card you play from your hand or from the top of your deck to help you win a Showdown. Shen Gong Wu in your Vault that you use aren't Boost cards. Villains aren't Boost cards either.
card type - The first word on each card's keyword line. The current card types are: Master, Shen Gong Wu, Warrior, and Villain.
collector card number - The numbers at the bottom of the card that makes cards easier to organize.
color - The cards in the game have four colors: dark blue (Omi), light blue (Raimundo), red (Kimiko), and yellow (Clay). Black (the Villain cards) doesn't count as a color. The colors are also linked to the four elements of the main characters: Water 
, Wind 
, Fire 
, and Earth 
.
deck - The pile of cards you haven't played with yet. Each player has his own deck. After shuffling, you can't look at the cards in your deck or in your opponent's deck unless a card tells you to.
defender - In a Showdown, the player who didn't start the Showdown.
discard - Put into a discard pile. To discard a card, you remove it from wherever it was. Then it goes to its owner's discard pile.
discard pile - Where all the discarded cards go. It's always face up, and either player can look at it whenever he likes.
draw - Put the top card of your deck into your hand.
element symbol - (see color)
expansion symbol - This symbol tells you which set the card is from.
flavor text - Italicized text at the bottom of some cards. Flavor text has no effect on game play - it's just there for fun.
hand - The cards you're holding but haven't played yet. There is no limit to the number of cards you can have in your hand. You have a hand even if there are no cards in it.
keyword line - The word or words that appear on the cards below the card name. Other cards and the rules may refer to keywords.
Master - A type of card. You play Master cards into your Warrior Training Areas like Warrior cards, but Masters have special abilities you can use while theyr'e in the Training Area. You can play Master cards as Boosts, but then they don't get their special abilities.
play - Use a card in your hand of from the top of your deck. you play cards when you use a Boost or Villain card in a Showdwon, when you put a Shen Gong Wu card from your hand into your Vault or when ou put a card into your Warrior Training Area. Taking a Shen Gong Wu from your hand to start a Showdown or flipping a card off the top of your deck at the start of a Showdown to see if it's a Shen Gong Wu isn't playing it. Pressing a card as a Boost is playing it whehter or not you meet the requirements for the card to actually work.
Power - The number in the hexagon on the lower left of a card that shows how strong it is. You total up Power numbers to figure out who wins a Showdown.
press/pressing - Playing a Boost Villain card from the top of your deck, instead of your hand in a Showdown.
rarity symbol - There are four levels of rarity for Xiaolin Showdown cards; Premium ✪, Rare ★ , Uncommon ✦, and Common ●.
Shen Gong Wu - A type of card. Shen Gong Wu can be won in Showdwons that you start (win 4 Showdowns you start and you win the game), played into your Vault directly, used in your Vault to help you win Showdwons, and played as Boosts. Special abilities on Shen Gong Wu only work when they're already in your Vault and you use them in a Showdown (unless the card says otherwise).
skill - The number of cards you have in your Warrior Training Area.
Skill Needed - The number in the circle on the upper left corner of a card that shows how many cards you need in your Warrior Training Area to play the card or use it in your Vault.
Showdown - A Xiaolin battle you can start on your turn in an effort to win a Shen Gong Wu. Win 4 Showdowns and you win the game!
special aility text - These are special rules that you get to use in certain situations when you play a Boost or Villain card, use a Shen Gong Wu in your Vault, or have a Master card in your Warrior Training Area. This text is above the flavor text.
Tap - Turn a Shen Gong Wu in your Vault sideways. This shows that you've used it. You'll have to wait until the Shen Gong Wu untaps (straightens) to use it again. That usually isn't until your next turn.
Training Area (same as Warrior Training Area)
Training Icon - The upside - down head on Warrior cards. It will be right side up if the Warrior card is in your Training Area.
untap - Straighten. "Tap" means "turn sideways," so to untap a card, you turn it back.
Vault - The place where you keep your Shen Gong Wu. You can play Shen Gong Wu cards directly into your Vault, or you can win them in Showdowns. SHen Gong WU you play as Boosts don't go into your Vault (they just get discarded).
Villain - A card type. you play Villain cards like Boosts, but Villains don't have color requirements, don't get Power bonuses from Shen Gong Wu or Warriors, and only work on defense (so a Villain can never help you win a Shen Gong Wu).
Warrior - A card type. You play Warrior cards into your Training Area (where you don't get to use their special abilities, but they do help you play other cards) or as Boosts.
Warrior Training Area (same as Training Area) - You play your Warriors and Masters here to help you play other cards later on. Each card here counts as 1 skill.