Raw Deal Tag Team Rules Frequently Asked Questions
Last revised 18th May 2005

Q: Why change the Tag Team rules?
A: Raw Deal was primarily designed as a singles game. We included Tag rules and cards because Barron and Mike felt it was a good and fun alternative to the regular format. And it was. Unfortunately Raw Deal has grown and evolved since those simpler times, and the existing Tag rules grew more and more complex with each new set. Eventually we realized that some areas of the tag rules were a mess, and there were always questions about rules that didn’t make sense. For example, under the old rules, only one member of a Tag Team could play a Tag Team Belt card. You could never be Tag Team Champions! All in all, almost no one enjoyed the original rules so we thought it was time to do something about that by re-inventing an aspect of the game that had been ignored for over two years…

So the designers and some of the world’s top players got together at Origins and GenCon 2002 and decided that something must be done. We put together a Tag Rules Team and furiously play tested for months. Our goal was to make Tag Team a fun and unique format again, and we wanted to incorporate all of the complaints, cool suggestions, and ideas from the fans and play testers around the world. We all worked hard on this, and we sincerely hope you enjoy the new Tag Team Rules!

Q: You can’t have Face and Heel team members mix. How about Raw and Smackdown?

A: Raw and Smackdown follows the same rule as Face and Heel. You can’t mix them. The exception for Kurt Angle with Face/Heel applies to Vince McMahon for Raw/Smackdown.

Q: I see that you can have a ‘real’ tag team made up of individuals, like Matt and Jeff Hardy become the Hardy Boys. Exactly how does this work?

A: See the end of the FAQ for a list of examples of who can tag with whom in order to get a bonus.

Q: The rules say that you can play a card that ‘can only be played by XXXX’ during the pre-match. Does that mean that any player may play that card?

A: No. If a card can only be played by a certain superstar, that superstar must play that card.

Q: How does Jump the Bell work?

A: Actually much easier. If you have a copy and your opposition does not, you get to Jump the Bell! Each team just needs one copy of the card for it to work (or be cancelled as the case may be). The maneuvers that you play won’t affect Pump Kick, since they’re played in the Pre-match phase.

Q: What happens with Edge and Edge Enforcer? Does he get the combined Superstar Value of the opposing team?

A: No. Edge (or Edge Enforcer) will get to choose any one member of the opposition and use his individual SSV. It doesn’t matter who’s active or inactive.

Q: How does Jerry the King Lawler and Eugene work in Tag?

A: The King and Eugene can pick any opponent to determine their SSV just like Edge can pick for his starting handsize. If King picks a female opponent, he will get his +3 SHS.

Q: How do you play cards like Premiere WWE Superstar? Backed by Mr. McMahon etc?

A: Premiere WWE Superstar: The team with the highest combined superstar value’s active players individual superstar value is overturned by the opponents active player. Example Team of Evolution and The Rock has The Rock as the active player and the highest combined SSV. The active opponent would overturn cards equal to the active opponents superstar value (no the combined SSV). Backed by Mr. McMahon will force the active opponent to make the decisions on the card, and only the active members of each team are affected by it.

Q: Can the inactive player play reversals? What if he’s targeted by a card from his active opponent?

A: The inactive player may not play any card or effect unless that card or effect specifically says that it can be played by the inactive player. And the inactive player may attempt to reverse any card that is played against him.

Q: If I play a card that allows me to see my opponent’s hand, can I tell my partner what’s in it?

A: Yes, you can tell your partner anything you want – but it must be loud enough for all players to hear. Remember, no whispering!

Q: Can you have a tag superstar in a match? Like the Dudleyz tagging with Angle?

A: Yes. However, see the section under COMBINED SUPERSTARS for rulings on this.

Q: What happens if the inactive player takes ‘lethal’ damage? Does the team lose by pin?

A: Inactive players cannot lose the game for the team. They are immune to pins, count-outs, and alternative win conditions. The exception is the card titled Disqualification! An inactive player may have “Disqualification!” played against him by the active opponent.

Q: Say my team has Trish Stratus on it and we have out big maneuvers that she could not have played. She tags in and plays Simply the Best – would she count those maneuvers as maneuver types?

A: Sure. She gets the Fortitude for them, and they count as maneuvers in the combined Ring area. No, she can’t discard a Garbage Can Lid to use it – but it’s still a Strike in the Ring.

Q: A team Plays Back to Basics – what happens?

A: Each player may search for up to one copy of each card listed on Back to Basics and put them under it in separate piles. Each player may only play the cards he placed under Back to Basics, you cannot share cards.

Q: I have a team of Stephanie McMahon (who reveals 2 enforcers) and Sable (who reveals one Enforcer) can they be targeted by All Alone in the Night?

A: No, one of the enforcer users must have 3 out by themselves (in the above example Stephanie would need to have 3 out by herself) in order for All Alone in the Night to work. And it would only affect the player with 3 or more enforcers revealed.

Q: I play Managed by Torrie Wilson, do my partner and I both get +1 SHS?

A: Yes – unless it is a superstar specific (or non-tag team title belt assigned to a specific individual), all players on a team are affected by cards that modify SHS.

Q: I have a team of Goldberg and Eddie Guerrero – can I pack Eddie’s Superstar specific Backlash deck reversals?

A: No since Goldberg’s ability says ‘cannot pack’ and the deck is shared, a superstar would loose his ability to pack superstar specific reversals. Superstars with an exclusive ability (cannot pack or play) affects their partner (see Test and RTC in rules document) for backlash deck construction – and superstars with inclusive wording (can pack or play see Vince McMahon and Kurt Angle) allow for the Backlash deck to be varied, but restricts who can play the cards.

Just remember – the backlash deck has to be legal for both players. If a card cannot be played or packed by one member of the team, it cannot be in the Backlash deck. In the instance of Goldberg teaming with Eddie – it is NOT Goldberg’s logo on Ultimo Rechazo – it is Eddie’s. The superstar with the ‘pack’ restriction is the superstar logo that must be on the card to break that pack rule – not his partner’s.

Q: I am playing Vince McMahon and I have Remember Who Pays Your Salary in my Backstage area, am I always considered to be behind in Fortitude?

A: Yes, for cards that you play that look for your fortitude rating. If Remember who Pays Your Salary is revealed, you cannot play the card titled Tag Out (because it states you have to be ahead in fortitude) but you can play Blind Tag and it cannot be reversed.

Q: I am playing Eric Bischoff and I reveal 8 Enforcers and play Run the Gauntlet. Which opponent is hit by it?

A: The active opponent. All cards hit the active player of a team, whether the person who reveals the enforcer is active or not for his team.

Q: I am playing APA and my partner plays Redemption, as the game continues, I become the active player and Redemption is in my ring area, am I affected by it since I could not have played it?

A: Yes, Redemption is a tricky card as it does not care who played it, you are affected and restricted by it regardless.

Q: With SS3, Evolution is now just Ric Flair and The Game / HHH. How will this work for tag?

A: Ric Flair can team with HHH / The Game and be considered to be Evolution and they can pack 1 copy in either arsenal of any card with the Evolution logo. Evolution can team with Randy Orton or Batista now. They can only have one copy of a card in either arsenal or backlash of a card with a shared logo (example: Nothing Stays the Same – either Evolution OR Batista can pack it, not both).

Q: I partner with someone playing a Face John Cena deck – can we pack Taunt the Fan?

A: Yes – Cena’s ability takes the heel trait off for deck construction and allows Cena to use it. However, it is still a heel card for his partner – who cannot use the card.

Q: How does Two Man Power Trip determine if they are higher SSV to determine if they get to draw 3 cards at end of prematch?

A: This works just like Eugene, Jerry Lawler, and Edge / Edge Enforcer – they can pick one of the opponents to determine individual superstar value comparison.

Q: If you, as my partner, have Tori Enters the Fray in your deck, I can have Help Is On the Way, right?

A: Right

Q: Vince McMahon tags with a female SmackDown partner – can he put Skirt vs. Skirt on top of Raw Roulette Wheel? What Happens?

A: Yes he can put it into play, but the female partner would have to be the active member of that team in order to resolve its end of prematch effect. Also, the Smackdown female partner could not activate the ‘wheel’ to change stips.

COMBINED SUPERSTARS
In this section, we’ll deal with exactly how you can gain an advantage by combining your superstars to form an established tag team. An ‘established’ team is, for this purpose, a team that has their own Superstar card in Raw Deal. For example, Booker T and Goldust can team up, but since they don’t have a Superstar card for that team (and the superstar-specific cards that come with it) they won’t get any special benefit.

For our examples, we will use the Hardyz.

Matt and Jeff wish to tag together. Because they count as the Hardy Boyz as long as they’re in the same team, they get certain benefits:

-They count as the Hardy Boyz for the purpose of card effects played by them or their opponents. (Note that this may be detrimental as well as beneficial.)

-They may play cards that only the Hardy Boyz can play, such as Poetry in Motion and Spin Cycle. (This is clarified below.)

-They do NOT gain the superstar ability on the Hardy Boyz superstar card.

Which cards can they play? Can Jeff have Matt’s Patented Leg Drop in his Arsenal? Well, no. Jeff can’t play a card that has Matt’s logo and not Jeff’s. The rule reads like this. The team may have ONE copy of each card that has the Team logo but NOT the individual superstar logo. So Jeff can’t have Matt’s Leg drop but he CAN have Whisper in the Wind.

This means that, between them, Matt and Jeff can play one copy of Poetry in Motion, Spin Cycle and TLC Match. They are the only cards that have the Hardy Boyz logo without Matt or Jeff’s logo as well.

THE TAG TEAM LIST

Matt Hardy and Jeff Hardy also count as the Hardy Boyz. You cannot have the Hardy Boyz superstar card in the same team as Matt and/or Jeff Hardy.

Kane/Big Freak’n Machine AND Undertaker/Deadman/Phenom will count as the Brothers of Destruction. You cannot have Brothers of Destruction in the same tag team as Kane/BFM or
Undertaker/Deadman/Phenom.

Triple H/The Game and Stone Cold Steve Austin/The Rattlesnake will count as the Two Man Power Trip. You cannot have Two Man Power Trip in the same tag team as Austin/Rattlesnake or Triple H/Game.

Buh Buh Ray Dudley and D-Von Dudley count as the Dudley Boyz. You cannot have the Dudley Boyz superstar card in the same team as Buh Buh and/or D-Von.

Edge/Leader of the Edge Army and Christian count as Edge & Christian. This follows the same ruling as above.

A team containing the Rock/People’s Champ, Hulk Hogan and Edge/Leader of the Edge Army will count as the People’s Team. You cannot have the People’s Team in the same tag team as Hogan,
Edge/Leader of the Edge Army or Rock/People’s Champ.

A team containing Undertaker/Deadman/Phenom, Kurt Angle/Your Freakin’ Hero and Brock Lesnar will count as the Dangerous Alliance. You cannot have the Dangerous Alliance in the same tag team as Undertaker/Deadman/Phenom, Angle/Your Freakin Hero or Brock Lesnar.

The following teams do not have an individual superstar combination. This may change in the future, and the list will be updated:

Right to Censor
APA
Billy & Chuck
nWo Hall & Nash
3 Minute Warning

QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS SECTION

Q: What if I have Edge/Leader of the Edge Army in a team with Christian, Hogan and the Rock/People’s Champ?

A: He will count as being part of Edge & Christian AND the People’s Team. It’s not much of an advantage really, but if you can do it, go right ahead! Remember, though, that there can be detrimental effects of this as well – if Undertaker/Deadman/Phenom team with Kane/Big Freak’n Machine in any combination – or with any other Superstars – Undertaker/Deadman/Phenom and Kane/Big Freak’n Machine count as Brothers of Destruction and so NEITHER of them can play the card titled Pump Kick. However, Edge/Leader of the dge Army with Christian (plus any other – or no other – Superstars) count as Edge & Christian, so either would get the Stackplex fortitude reduction. Don’t forget that Buh Buh with D-Von count as The Dudley Boyz so if they’re together and Buh Buh plays Brothers from Another Mother, not only can it NOT be reversed (they’re the Dudley Boyz) but he can also shuffle in 3 cards (he’s still Buh Buh, after all).

Q: How does TLC Match work if my team ‘counts’ as, say, the Hardyz?

A: Both players may use the TLC Match. Each of you may put up to 6 of the named cards into the Backlash deck. However, you can only play a card that came from your own Arsenal. For example, Matt could not play Jeff’s Chair Shot. He would have to go get his own.

Q: Is there any way one superstar can have two Unique cards with the same title in their Arsenal?

A: No, unless that superstar is Test.

Q: What about if we have Triple H/The Game with Stone Cold Steve Austin/Rattlesnake. Stone Cold plays And That’s the Bottom Line. He’s Stone Cold, so it’s 18F … but he’s TMPT so it’s 9F. Which is it?

A: You can play it at 9F as he’s TMPT.

Q: What about the Stone Cold and Triple H feud cards that say “cannot be played by TMPT” … does that mean---?

A: Correct. If the two of them team together, you cannot use either of their feuds. Positives and Negatives, remember. If you count as the team so you allow yourself to play certain foils that you couldn’t normally play, you also have to count yourself as the team when constructing your decks and Backlash decks and NOT play certain cards as well.

Q: What if there’s a weird situation in a tournament that’s not covered here?

A: Ask your local judge or manager. This format will probably create a few unique situations. We’d like to hear of any rules questions you have at askzev@yahoo.com so we can keep updating this document, but you can also make a ruling in the spirit of this fun, new format that will cover your situation.