COMBAT

MANUAL

WWW.TOPPS.COM # 3361114
 Contents

Welcome ..................................... pg. 3

Set-up ......................................... pg. 3, 4
Monsuno Card ............................. pg. 5
Strike Card .................................. pg. 6
Playing a Turn .............................. pg. 7
Launching a Monsuno .................. pg. 7
Declaring Strikes.......................... pg. 8
Recovering .................................. pg. 8
Combat ....................................... pg. 9
Domination .................................. pg. 10
Damage ...................................... pg. 11
Tired ........................................... pg. 12
Powered-Up Strikes ..................... pg. 13
Card Abilities ............................... pg. 15
Ability Timing ............................... pg. 16
Additional Rules ........................... pg. 17
Strategies .................................... pg. 18
Collector’s Guide .......................... pg. 19-21
FAQ............................................. pg. 22
1 TM & © 2012 Pacific Animation Partners LLC
“Monsuno” TM & © 2012 JAKKS Pacific, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 2
TOPPS IS A REGISTERED TRADEMARK OF THE TOPPS COMPANY, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
 Welcome
Welcome to the Monsuno Trading Card Game (TCG).
Shuffle up and get ready for Combat!
Object
The first person to defeat their foe’s Monsunos wins!
Set-up Player 1 Player 2
Each player will need 3 different Monsunos
with a total “Launch” of no more than 15. In
DISCARD
addition, each player will need a deck of at
least 40 Strike cards. This deck may contain
up to 3 copies of any card, but only 1 copy of
cards with the Unique keyword. Players will
DECK
use tokens or coins to mark damage.

CLIP
Both players shuffle their decks (keeping
their Monsuno cards set aside) and set up
the play area like in Diagram A.
To start the game, both players draw 5
Battlefield
cards from the top of their decks to make
their starting hands. Then, randomly
decide who will take the first turn.
That’s it, you’re ready for Combat!!!
CLIP

DECK
This starter game contains
3 Monsuno cards and 30 Strike cards
to get you started towards tournament DISCARD
play, and enough for casual games. Diagram A
3 4
 The Cards

Parts of a MONSUNO Card Parts of a STRIKE Card

These cards are not put into your deck. These cards make up your deck.

Hit Basic Strike

Points Strike Damage
Damage
Domination
Icons

Monsuno Strike Card

Name Name
Launch Speed Launch Speed
Cost
Keywords
Text
Box Timing
Icons
Strike
Type

Powered-Up Powered-Up Combat Text Box Rarity

Strike Damage Strike Icons

Rarity Upgrade
5 Text Area 6
 How to Play
Players alternate taking turns until
one player wins!
Turns
During your turn, you are the “Attacker” (the other player
is the “Defender”) and you may do one of three things.
You may (1) Launch a Ready Monsuno from your Clip onto
Attack
Choose one of your Monsunos on the Battlefield that
you want to use in the attack. You may attack any one of
your foe’s Monsunos on the Battlefield. If your foe has no
Monsunos on the Battlefield, you may attack one of the
Monsunos on their Clip. Once you’ve chosen which
Monsuno to attack, Combat begins! (See: Combat!)

Battlefield
the Battlefield, you may (2) Attack with one of your Monsuno
that’s already on the Battlefield, or you may (3) Recover your
Monsunos, which makes them Ready for future launching
and Combat. Let’s take a look at each of those options...

Launch
To launch a Ready Monsuno
from your Clip, discard cards
Battlefield

from your hand with at least as Recover

much “Launch” as the Launch After each Combat,
cost of your Monsuno. Monsunos become
In the example to Discard Pile Tired. Recovering takes
the right, we see the a whole turn, but gets
Launch of each Strike
card is 3. These are them Ready for future
discarded, giving a launching and
total Launch of 6, the
amount needed to
Combat. It also lets
launch Lock, whose you draw cards from
Launch Cost is 6. the top of your deck
until you have 5 cards
7 in your hand. 8
Launch Launch Cost
 Combat!
Domination
Combat is quick and easy, just follow the steps below! A Monsuno dominates when its Strike card’s Domination icon matches
the Strike type of the other Monsuno’s Strike card.

Domination Icons Strike Type

Step Each player draws a card from their Strike deck
1 and adds it to their hand.

Dominated
Dominator
Step Each player chooses a card from their hand
2 and plays it facedown on the battlefield.

Step Both cards are revealed at the same time and

players check to see which card Dominates.
3 (See: Domination)

If neither Monsuno dominates from domination icons, then

domination is determined by speed, with the fastest Monsuno
being the Dominator. A Monsuno’s speed in Combat is listed on
the Strike card plus any other bonuses a Monsuno might have.
In addition, the Attacking Monsuno (ONLY) gets to add the
Speed from their Monsuno card.

Strike Types

9 10
Intelligent Aggressive Reckless Stealth Counter
 Strike Damage! After Combat
Step
Deal Strike Damage. Starting with the player who After damage is done, you
4 dominated the other, each Monsuno deals Strike may attach the Strike card you
damage to the other. The Dominating player deals played to your Monsuno if the
damage equal their Monsuno’s Basic Strike PLUS card’s Strike type matches one
the Strike damage of their Strike card. The Dominated of your Monsuno’s Powered-Up
player deals damage equal to his Monsuno’s Basic Strike Icons and that Strike type
Strike only. Mark the damage by putting tokens on the isn’t already attached.
damaged Monsuno. If the total damage on a Monsuno
is equal to or greater than the Monsuno’s Hit Points, the
Monsuno is defeated and removed from the game, and
the controller gets a “Free Recover.” (See: Page 14)

Battlefield
Strike

Dominated
Dominator

Damage

Since Lock dominated, he deals damage first, and gets

to add his Strike card’s damage for a total of 50 damage.
Since Spikelash was dominated, he only deals 10 damage After cards are attached,
from his Basic Strike. the battling Monsunos
go back to their owner’s
10
10
Clips and are marked as
10 10 10 Tired. Players can use
10 a small bead or a coin
to mark them as Tired.
Tired Monsunos cannot
be launched until they
Recover.

11 12
 Powered-Up Strikes
When damage is dealt, if a Monsuno has Strike cards
attached that match both of its Powered-Up Strike Icons,
then it may use its Powered-Up Strike damage instead
of its Basic Strike damage. After damage is dealt from a
Powered-Up Strike, the controlling player must discard one
of the Strike cards attached to the Monsuno.
Basic Strike
Damage
Powered-Up
Strike Damage
13
Attacking a Monsuno on the Clip
When attacking a Monsuno on a Clip, a few things
are different.
First, the Defender must reveal their Strike card before the
Attacker, allowing the Attacker to choose their Strike card
after seeing what the Defender picks.
Second, the attacking Monsuno doesn’t go back to its
controller’s Clip Tired after Combat. Instead, it stays out
on the Battlefield
Third, the controller of the Monsuno on the Clip gets a
“Free Recover” at the end of the Combat.
Free Recover:
Whenever you are attacked on your Clip,
or you have a Monsuno defeated, you
get a Free Recover. This is just like a
normal Recover - fill your hand back to
5 and make all your Monsunos Ready!
14
 Card Abilities Ability Timing
Text boxes hold special abilities and flavor text. Flavor text Most abilities have a timing icon next to them. These icons
is italicized and has no effect on the game. Abilities are show when an ability happens during Combat. If abilities
special powers that do effect the game. have the same Timing Icon, then the Attacker’s abilities
go first in whatever order the Attacker chooses, then the
Regular Abilities Defender’s abilities happen. This chart shows exactly when
Do what the text says you are abilities happen during Combat.
supposed to do when you are
supposed to do it!
Combat Steps
Limited Abilities
P Abilities Happen
These abilities only happen in Strike Cards are revealed
certain situations. The situation
is defined before the colon and 1 Abilities Happen
is bolded. These abilities might
require a certain Monsuno, a Domination Determined
certain Keyword, or a certain
situation like dominating or 2 Abilities Happen
being dominated. Example:
Inner Shine’s ability only
Damage is Done
happens in Combats when it
is played for Lock.
3 Abilities Happen
Upgrade Abilities
These abilities are printed in Strike Cards are Attached
the Upgrade area at the bottom to Monsunos
of the text box. These abilities 4 Abilities Happen
only happen if the Strike card
15 is attached to a Monsuno. Combat Ends 16
 Additional Rules
Recovering when Ready
If you choose to Recover when you have 5 cards in your
hand and no Tired Monsunos, then you discard your entire
hand and redraw 5 cards. Each of your Monsunos then
take 10 damage.
Manufacturer Launch
Some Strike cards have the Keyword “Manufacturer
Launch.” These cards may only be used to launch
Monsunos of the same Manufacturer.
Using cards of different Manufacturers
When a Monsuno uses a Strike card that is not of its
own Manufacturer type or Generic, your foe can choose
to have your Strike card’s speed changed to zero and its
text box considered empty. Additionally, the card cannot be
attached to the Monsuno after the Combat.
Manufacturers
CORE-TECH EKLIPSE S.T.O.R.M.
Strategies
When picking your Monsunos, try
sticking to Monsunos of just one
Manufacturer. This will make it
easier to choose Strike Cards.
A good place to start when building
a deck is to build it around Keywords
like Heroic, Dark, and Disciplined,
depending on what Manufacturer
you are playing.
Your Strike cards should have a variety
of Launch. The higher Launch Strike cards
are needed for launching your Monsuno,
while the lower Launch Strike cards tend
to be more powerful in Combat.
Try to balance out your Strike types with the Strike types
needed by your Monsunos to use their Powered-Up
Strikes. If half of your Monsunos’ Powered-Up Strike
requirements are Stealth, try to have half of your Strike
cards be Stealth.

All cards have colored borders. These colors define

which Manufacturer the card belongs to. Core-Tech Combat Tip:
cards are blue, Eklipse are red, and S.T.O.R.M. are
yellow. Gray and green cards are Generic and don’t Use Strike cards in your deck
belong to any of the three main Manufacturers. that match the Manufacturer
type of your Monsunos and/or
17 are Generic. 18
Collector’s Guide
q 1 LOCK R q 30 LEG LOCK U q 59 BOOST R q 88 TUSKARANG R

q 2 CHARGER R q 31 FAULTLESS SIEGE U q 60 AIRSWITCH R q 89 CANNON SHOCK R

q 3 QUICKFORCE R q 32 RESTRAINING SIEGE U q 61 SHADOWHORNET R q 90 FANG BARRAGE U

q 4 GLOWBLADE R q 33 TURBO STRIKE U q 62 FIREWALKER R q 91 SONIC BLAST U

q 5 EVO R q 34 FLIGHT BLAST C q 63 SKYSITE R q 92 PLASMA BOLT U

q 6 BACKSLASH R q 35 ENERGY WAVE U q 64 CROSSBOLT R q 93 BLAZING BULLETS U

q 7 MOONFIRE R q 36 PARALYSIS DART U q 65 LONGFANG R q 94 STASIS STING U

q 8 SNAPCLAW R q 37 POWER FORTRESS U q 66 WHIPPER R q 95 PYRO SIEGE U

q 9 SPIDERWOLF R q 38 INNER SHINE R q 67 HYDRO R q 96 AIR SHRIEK C

q 10 SPIKELASH R q 39 POWER BASH R q 68 LIBRAX R q 97 MALEVOLENT HOAX C

q 11 DRIFTBLADE R q 40 BLIND WING R q 69 POISONWING R q 98 BODY BLADES C

q 12 RICCOSHOT R q 41 ROLL SHIELD R q 70 ELEMENTAL CLAW C q 99 OMNI BLADES C

q 13 BLACK BULLET R q 42 THUNDER BARRAGE R q 71 ELECTRONADE CANNON U q 100 LIGHTNING CLAW C

q 14 GRAPPLING BLAST C q 43 CURSED SPIRAL R q 72 POWER CHARGE U q 101 ELECTRIC BARRAGE C

q 15 SPINNING WALL C q 44 WEB SNARE R q 73 HADES HOWL C q 102 VOCAL ASSAULT C

q 16 TRADE STRIKES C q 45 ROARING RAGE R q 74 DRAGON FIRE C q 103 BEAM BARRAGE C

q 17 BEAM FORCE U q 46 SCREAMING MAELSTROM R q 75 SONIC C q 104 MACHETE MELEE C

q 18 COLLAPSING DRILL ATTACK C q 47 UNDERGROUND AMBUSH R q 76 REFLECTION BOLT C q 105 SIN DEFLECT C

q 19 CHAOTIC CLAWS C q 48 BURST BARRAGE R q 77 TRANCE WAVE U q 106 MOLECULE DISRUPTOR C

q 20 MANTLE SHIELD U q 49 SEISMIC CHARGE R q 78 FLAME FORTRESS C q 107 BALLISTIC REPEATER C

q 21 MEGA RAM C q 50 BODY WALL R q 79 SONIC MIND SCREAM C q 108 COLLAPSING DEFENSE C

q 22 LIGHTNING BASH C q 51 SONIC RAIN C q 80 FRONTAL WARD U q 109 PLASMA RAIN C

q 23 HURRICLAW C q 52 ELEMENTAL BUNKER U q 81 AIR CAGE C q 110 ELEMENTAL SHIELD C

q 24 CLAWED MAELSTROM U q 53 SINISTER SHIELD C q 82 WEATHER WHIPPER C q 111 INFERNAL SPEAR C

q 25 STUNNING SNARE U q 54 BASHING SIEGE C q 83 DEADLY DUST U q 112 REAPERS CLAW C

q 26 TASER BLADES U q 55 CRASHING TERROR U q 84 TRACER ASSAULT R q 113 NEGATION FIELD C

q 27 HADES STING C q 56 WILD LAVA SLASH UR q 85 FEATHER FURY R q 114 SPEED BLADE C

q 28 FEARSOME FLEX C q 57 WILD STORM RUSH UR q 86 EVIL EXTENSION R q 115 PHONIC SHIELD U

q 29 TERROR TAIL C q 58 WILD DUST SURGE UR q 87 MOLTEN MAYHEM R q 116 WING SLASH U

19 20
 FAQ
q 117 ACIDIC ARROWS UR q 137 SHOOTING BATTERY U
Can I have more than 1 Monsuno on the battlefield?
q 118 DISPERSION BLAST UR q 138 IMAGE DAZE U
Sure, but you may only launch one Monsuno per turn, so it’ll take a couple
q 119 LIGHT SHIELD C q 139 ELEMENTAL ARMOR U
of turns to get 2 of your Monsunos onto the battlefield.
q 120 SHOCKWING C q 140 OMEGA BLAST UR

q 121 JINJA’S COMBAT C q 141 BREN’S COMBAT U

Do I have to take a Free Recover when I have a Monsuno
q 122 JAW OF LIGHT U q 142 BOLT BOMBARDMENT C
defeated or I’m attacked on the Clip?
q 123 AURORA BARRAGE U q 143 TAIL STRIKE U

q 124 ENERGY SPIKE C q 144 HELLFIRE BLAST C No, those are optional.
q 125 LAVA SKIN U q 145 SHOCK FLAME C

q 126 CRASHING SHOCK C q 146 MEDEA’S COMBAT R What’s the difference between your “Monsuno’s Speed” and your
q 127 HELLISH HURRICANE C q 147 DR. KLIPSE’S STRIKE UR “Monsuno’s printed Speed.”
q 128 NEGATION PLASMA U q 148 CONSTRICTION RESTRICTION UR Printed speed refers to the number actually printed on the Monsuno card.
q 129 LASER TASER U q 149 PHONIC FORCE U The “Monsuno’s Speed” is the total speed of a Monsuno. In Combat, this
q 130 WING BLADE U q 150 BODY BULLET U is a combination of your Strike card speed, any bonuses, and if you’re
q 131 ORBITAL LIGHTNING C q 151 SHIELD CANNON UR the attacker, your Monsuno’s printed speed.
q 132 FLYING FURY C q 152 WING SHIELD U

q 133 INFERNO CANNON U q 153 CHARLEMAGNE UR I have a Wild Core card and it says “Discard, Hit” in the
q 134 BEAM BLASTER U q 154 PLASMA BARRAGE UR text box. What does that mean?
q 135 CHASE’S STRIKE UR q 155 FORTIFIED BRACE U Wild Cores are special cards that can turn the tide in your favor. You can
q 136 WING WALL U q 156 HAMMER STRIKE C play them before you choose your Strike card in Combat by discarding
them from your hand. You then flip a coin. If heads, the Wild Core’s effect
activates. If tails, the card does nothing.
RARITY KEY
What do you do when your deck runs out?
= C (COMMON) = UR (ULTRA-RARE) Shuffle your discard pile then place it face down as your new deck.

Can I use these cards with JAKKS Monsuno toys?

= U (UNCOMMON) = R (RARE)
Absolutely! All Monsuno cards are designed to work with the toys as well
as on their own for the Advanced level of the game.
21 22