RAW DEAL Tag Team Rules
Updated 05/16/05 by Matthew Hatcher, Kevin Fish, Jordan Beane, Matt Hogg, Jason Griffey, and Tom Smith.

Deck Construction:

There is one shared Backlash deck for the team, however, each member has their own Arsenal.
1. Teams cannot consist of more than one incarnation of the same Superstar. The Tag Format FAQ will have a full list of current incarnations in Raw Deal.

a) Kane, Big Freak'n Machine, and Brothers of Destruction cannot team in any combination
b) The Rock, People's Champion, and People's Team cannot team in any combination
c) Undertaker, Deadman Inc, Phenom, Brothers of Destruction, and Dangerous Alliance cannot team in any combination
d) Edge, The Leader of the Edge Army, Edge & Christian, and People's Team cannot team in any combination

2. Each member of a team has their own legal Arsenal based on members allowed deck size (e.g. HHH 60 cards, Stacy Keibler 50).

a) Standard construction rules apply - plus, Tag Team Symbol cards.
b) Special Arsenal / Backlash deck rule - single members of team together become full team. If the individual superstars in your team make up a team with their own unique cards, your Arsenals can contain one copy of those cards. The Tag Format FAQ has a full list of teams and the cards they can use.

Example: Player A is playing Buh Buh Ray Dudley and Player B is playing D-Von Dudley. As they are 'The Dudley Boyz' they can have one copy of '3D' and one copy of 'Whasssuuup!'' included between their Arsenals. They cannot both have each card in their Arsenal. Player A's Arsenal may contain cards with the Buh Buh Ray Dudley and Dudley Boyz logos on them, Player B's Arsenal may contain cards with the D-Von Dudley and Dudley Boyz logos on them. If there are cards with both the Buh Buh Ray Dudley and D-Von Dudley logo on them, either of the players may have them in their ArRAW DEAL Tag Team Rules
Updated 05/16/05 by Matthew Hatcher, Kevin Fish, Jordan Beane, Matt Hogg, Jason Griffey, and Tom Smith.

Deck Construction:

There is one shared Backlash deck for the team, however, each member has their own Arsenal.
1. Teams cannot consist of more than one incarnation of the same Superstar. The Tag Format FAQ will have a full list of current incarnations in Raw Deal.

a) Kane, Big Freak'n Machine, and Brothers of Destruction cannot team in any combination
b) The Rock, People's Champion, and People's Team cannot team in any combination
c) Undertaker, Deadman Inc, Phenom, Brothers of Destruction, and Dangerous Alliance cannot team in any combination
d) Edge, The Leader of the Edge Army, Edge & Christian, and People's Team cannot team in any combination

2. Each member of a team has their own legal Arsenal based on members allowed deck size (e.g. HHH 60 cards, Stacy Keibler 50).

a) Standard construction rules apply - plus, Tag Team Symbol cards.
b) Special Arsenal / Backlash deck rule - single members of team together become full team. If the individual superstars in your team make up a team with their own unique cards, your Arsenals can contain one copy of those cards. The Tag Format FAQ has a full list of teams and the cards they can use.

Example: Player A is playing Buh Buh Ray Dudley and Player B is playing D-Von Dudley. As they are 'The Dudley Boyz' they can have one copy of '3D' and one copy of 'Whasssuuup!'' included between their Arsenals. They cannot both have each card in their Arsenal. Player A's Arsenal may contain cards with the Buh Buh Ray Dudley and Dudley Boyz logos on them, Player B's Arsenal may contain cards with the D-Von Dudley and Dudley Boyz logos on them. If there are cards with both the Buh Buh Ray Dudley and D-Von Dudley logo on them, either of the players may have them in their Arsenal.

Example: If your three man tag team contains Hollywood Hulk Hogan, Edge (or Leader of the Edge Army) and The Rock (Or the People's Champion) they have one copy of any specific People's Team card within their Arsenals.

Example: A tag team consisting of Undertaker, Deadman Inc, or Phenom and Kane, Big Freak'n Machine may have one copy of Chokeslam from Hell in their Arsenals. They cannot both have Chokeslam from Hell in their Arsenals.

3. The team has one shared Backlash deck.

a) Add +2 Pre- and +2 Mid-match cards per additional player on the team.

Example: A team with two members will have 12 pre-match and 12 mid-match cards in their Backlash
deck

Example: A team with three members will have 14 pre-match and 14 mid-match cards in their Backlash deck.

b) If a card 'cannot be played' by one member of the team, it cannot be played by the team. If a card 'can only be played' by certain superstars, it can be played by a team that contains that superstar. Any team that has Eric Bischoff or Stephanie McMahon as a member, their opponents cannot play a stipulation. Paul Heyman’s partner also cannot pack stipulations.

Example: It doesn't matter who tags with the Stephanie McMahon, the team cannot play I’ve Had More Championships than you Have Had Women.

Example: Trish Stratus can tag with any Male superstar and they can play Bra and Panties match. Bra and Panties match would only blank the opponent’s stip when Trish was in the ring area.

Example: A team with Spike Dudley could not pack Atomic Bear Hug, since her ability restricts her from playing it.

Example: RTC tags with HHH – they could not pack Sledge Hammer Shot since it is a Heel card.

Example: Goldberg tags with Highlight of the Night – they could not pack Superior Acrobatics in the Backlash deck since it is a non-hybrid reversal.

c) All of the members of your team must be Heel OR Face, (or neutral), but NOT both.

e) Kurt Angle + any other superstar except RTC can have Face AND Heel in their Backlash deck. Kurt Angle's partner may be either Face OR Heel. Kurt Angle’s partner may only play (or benefit from) cards in play that is their alignment. EXAMPLE: Kurt plays Givin’ ‘em High Fives (Face) and Taunt the Fans (Heel) in the prematch. His partner can only do one or the other, not both. Also, the partner could only play Face midmatch cards if he was face.

f) Right to Censor + any other superstar can have NO Face or Heel cards in their backlash deck, and RTC’s partner CAN pack Heel or Face cards in their Arsenal. This is a change of a previous ruling.

Example: Kurt Angle tagging with RTC cannot have any FACE or HEEL cards in their Backlash deck, and Kurt Angle can have Face or Heel cards in his deck.

Example: RTC partner’s with The Rock. The Rock cannot pack his feud since it is Heel.

g) Unique cards in Backlash Deck are still Unique, regardless of number of members of the team. A team with Test as one of the members can pack 2 copies of a Unique card (non-Test logo) in the deck, but only Test can PLAY the 2nd copy of the unique card once one is in the ring area.

Example: Buh Buh Ray Dudley and D-Von Dudley are joined in a three-man tag by Spike Dudley. Despite the fact that they can all play Brothers from Another Mother, they can only have one copy in their Backlash deck.

h.) Raw and Smackdown: Both Backlash and Arsenal decks (including enforcers) for each team must follow the same alignment. A tag team that consists of Vince McMahon may have Smackdown and Raw cards in their backlash deck. Vince’s partner cannot use cards that go against his alignment. EXAMPLE: Vince plays Premiere Smackdown SuperStar and his partner is Spike Dudley and Spike is packing Raw Cards. Spike cannot draw off Premiere Smackdown for Smackdown cards played in prematch by Vince, nor can Spike play the Smackdown cards in the backlash deck (unless he has smackdown cards in his arsenal and none of his specifics in the Backlash deck with the Raw brand).

4. Test: Test’s ability would restrict his partner from packing or playing other Pre-Match cards.

5. There is a shared discard pile for the Backlash deck. If an effect forces you to discard a backlash deck card – the discarded cards go to this separate ringside pile (shared).

Example: Team A plays a Lariat Takedown – the cards discarded for this effect go into the shared ringside pile.

Example: If a team has a heat card in this shared ringside pile, and either player recovers a card, the heat card will be removed from the game.

Example: If a volley card is played against a player, and that player decides to use the Volley reversal effect, this ringside pile is then combined with that player’s ringside pile to randomly remove cards for the volley trait (or for the effect of Volley This). Put the Backlash cards back into their own ringside pile after resolution of such effects.

Pre-match
1. Determine the team with the largest combined Superstar Value. If tied, decide randomly who goes first.
2. Starting with largest SV, each team announces the starting member of their team.
3. Follow Pre-match phase as with standard Smackdown Raw Deal
4. Each team may play +1 Pre-match (and Mid-match) per additional per member of the team

Example: A team with two members can play 6 pre-match and 6 mid-match cards.

Example: A team with three members will have 7 pre-match and 7 mid-match cards

Example: RVD is tagging with Spike Dudley. RVD is in the ring first and plays a Dirty Low Blow x3 and a Fortitude Surge. Spike tags in. As there are already four mid-match cards in play, he cannot play another one (his Mid-match is reduced by 2, and two man Tag Teams get six total Mid-match slots to play). He discards the Fortitude Surge and plays Brothers from Another Mother. He cannot play anymore mid-match cards at the moment. RVD tags back into the match. He is not restricted by Spike's ability - indeed, his ability allows him to play 4 more mid-match cards. He plays a Atomic Bear Hug, Fully Loaded, and Human Highlight Reel. Spike tags back in. There are now six mid-match cards in play. Spike cannot play anymore, but there is no penalty due to Spike's ability for the cards that are already in play.

5. Pre-match cards played can only be used or have an effect by members of the team that could play it.

Example: Only a team with a combined Superstar Value of 2 or less would have all members draw from Underrated Superstar. If Billy Gunn teams with Jeff Hardy, neither is affected by Underrated Superstar. If Billy teams with Al Snow, both are affected by Underrated Superstar.

Example: If the team has a combined superstar value greater than 3, they can play Premiere Smackdown Superstar and both team members can draw off of Smackdown cards played during the prematch EXCEPT for non-tag team title belts (only the person granted the belt can draw for the Cruiserweight belt and search for it via its text) and superstar specifics played by a member of that team can only activate a premiere show card. .

Example: Los Guerrero’s is teaming with Hall and Nash. They play Premiere Smackdown Superstar. If they play the Smackdown Tag Team Belts, both can draw 1 card from Premiere Smackdown Superstar. If they play We Lie, We Cheat, We Steal – then only Los Guererros can draw from Premiere Smackdown.

Example: The team with the highest SSV over 3 AND greater than their opponents combined SSV can play Vince McMahon Interferes. Team A of Evolution and Spike Dudley (SSV 10) against Team B of The Rock and Undertaker (SSV 9). Team A can play Vince McMahon Interferes and Spike Dudley could activate it.

Example: Only if the team's combined Superstar Value is less than their opponent's can they keep out Fans Love an Underdog

Example: Only Rob Van Dam would be affected by R-V-D, not his partners. This applies to all superstar specifics.

Example: If your team plays Givin' 'em High Fives, all players on the team overturn 5 cards and get back 1 into their hand.

Example: Team plays Taunt the Fans or Awesome Pyro – only 1 member of the team has to activate it, both members of the team are not forced to use them.

Example: Trish Stratus is tagging with The Rock - Bra & Panties is only considered in the Ring Area when Trish is, and Brahma Bull is only considered in the Ring Area when the Rock is. When The Rock tags in, the stipulation that Bra and Panties is blanking is no longer blanked.

Example: Christian is tagging with The Rock - only Christian can discard Christian's Shades as only he can use it. Only The Rock can discard Shades of the Great One as only he can use it.

Example: Censorship Match - the card censored is censored only when RTC is in the Ring. When they are not active, the censored card can be played by their opponents.

Example: Handicap Match - the Active member of team (as defined before the Pre-match phase begins) playing it must be able to play it and the Active member of opposing team cannot have ability to play Tag Team belts on Superstar card.

Example: Jump the Bell - If your team has one in your Ring area and your opponents do not, the text is triggered

Example: Feuds - You can play any Feud that any member of your team could play, as long as you can play it against one person on the opposing team.

Example: Eddie Guerrero is tagging with Big Show against a team of Edge and John Cena. Eddie Guerrero would gain the bonus to his feud when he is in the ring against Edge, but not against John Cena.

6. Title Belts are considered to be in the Ring of one player. When played to the ring area, announce whose belt it is.

Example: The Rock is tagging with Trish Stratus. The Rock is the Undisputed Champion and has the belt in play. Their joint Arsenal contains Don't Mess with the Champ. This card can only be played when The Rock is active. Trish Stratus does not have a belt in play and therefore cannot play the card.
If the same team had played the Women’s Belt, and gave it to Trish Stratus of course, the team could not play any further belts. The reason is, you have to play the belt, then announce who gets it. The Women’s Belt will not allow another belt in play, so therefore, you do not get a chance to get it to someone else.

7. There are two exceptions to the rule about Title Belts.

Exception: Tag Team Title Belts - when played, it is considered played by all members of team. All team members get the additional +2 SV and +1 hand size.

Exception: Hardcore Belt - even when holder isn't in the Ring, the +1D is in effect for all participants in the match.

The Match:

1. Unless Edge (or Edge Enforcer) is the starting member of a team, the starting member of the team with the highest combined Superstar Value starts

2. Each team has one combined Fortitude Rating against their opponent

Example: The Rock has laid the smackdown on D-Von Dudley with a Punch (3f) and a Kick (5f). He tags in Trish, who Chops (2f) D-Von. She tags The Rock back in. He now has 10f. D-Von tags out and Buh Buh Ray Dudley comes in against the raging Brahma Bull. Buh Buh Ray plays Turn the Tide into a Fisherman's Suplex, using the combined fortitude available to the Rock of 10f against him.

3. All cards played after the Pre-match are considered in your team's Ring combined Ring area. However, cards in the Ring area can only be used by a Superstar that could play it. This does not affect a team's combined fortitude.

Example: Only Christian can discard Christian's Shades.

Example: Earlier in the game, the Rock has played a Garbage Can Lid. Later in the game, Trish Stratus could not use the Garbage Can Lid as a reversal from her Ring area as she couldn't have played it in the first place.

Example: One member of the team plays Fortitude Surge - the other can discard it later if he wants

Example: A card removed from your combined Ring area goes to the owner's appropriate location. A card removed from the Ring area to the Ringside pile would go to the owner of the card's Ringside pile. A card put back into the player's hand would go back to the owner's hand, etc., etc.

Example :Trish Stratus could play Beating the Odds with APA as her partner, but APA could not use the Beating the Odds as they could not legally play it.

Example :If a team member plays All Talk no Action, neither member of the team can play actions from their hand. Unless that team has Goldberg – he will not be restricted by All Talk No Action, since he could not have played it.

Exception: Cards which hide other cards under them (e.g. That’s Broken, Torrie Wilson, On It and Keibler's Cookies) can only be used by the superstar that played them.

4. Many cards refer to "your opponent." This refers to your active opponent in the Ring with you. Prematch cards that refer to opponent targets the active player of a team, not both team members.

EXAMPLE: A team plays I’m Going to Break You – the active player of the team who played the ‘Break You’ can target the active player of the opponent’s team, not both members.

5. Your Superstar Value during the match is not considered your team's combined Superstar Value, rather your Superstar Value plus any applicable modifiers. This will be what you reference when deciding if you can play Drawing Extra Heat, Well Deserved Push, or how many cards you must overturn for Backed by Stephanie McMahon.

6. Only the players in the Ring have active Superstar abilities
Example: Christian continues to tag with RTC. When RTC are active, their opponents can draw cards from Offer Handshake

Example: If your opponent's inactive partner is Big Show, your grapples are not affected by Big Show's ability. When Big Show tags in, his ability becomes active as well, and your grapples are affected.

Example: The Rock is in the ring. Despite his partner being Trish Stratus, you can play “Puppies! Puppies!” against him.

7. Any time the active member of your team reverses a card from his hand, a tag can occur

Note: As it doesn't reverse anything, a tag does NOT occur when you play the card Over Sell Maneuver. Also, reversing a card with a superstar ability (e.g. Chyna) cannot cause a tag to occur since this is considered reversing from backstage area.

If an active player reverses a card from his hand, he may draw 1 card and the inactive player is now the active player and may begin his turn.

Effects that would carry over for one member of the team carry over even if a tag occurs

Example: Player A reverses from hand with Eye Rake and tag outs. If Player B's first maneuver is a grapple, it is affected by Eye Rake and cannot be reversed.

Example: Player A reverses an action with Volley This – and tags in his partner. His partner would still be under the restriction of the Volley This and can only play a maneuver from his hand as his first card played.

Example: Player A plays a Quick Snap Body Slam (chain) against Player B. Player B’s partner can reverse the Quick Snap Body Slam with Partner Interferes and would have to discard 2 cards to do so.

Example: Player A reverses a Chump Punch (volley) with an Elbow to the Face. He can tag out to his partner, though his partner will be restricted by the volley trait to only play set up actions and maneuvers from hand.

Some effects may continue a turn, even after a reversal - the 'tag' still occurred & the turn continues

Example: The Rock and Trish Stratus continue their match against Buh Buh Ray and D-Von. Trish has played Lita to the X-Treme and tags in The Rock. The Rock plays a Spinebuster but D-Von reverses from his hand and tags out to Buh Buh Rey. The Rock discards Lita to the X-treme and continuing his turn, hits Buh Buh Ray with a Knee Smash.

Example: If your opponent is Rey Mysterio (or Crippler / Chris Benoit with Rabid Wolverine in play) you can reverse a maneuver played by Rey Mysterio from your hand and tag in your partner – Rey Mysterio can still continue his current turn, but against the tagged in opponent.

8. Inactive members of teams at the start of their partner's turn may do one of two things:
a) Draw 1 card and then discard 1 card
a) Put 1 card from their Ringside pile at the bottom of their Arsenal
b) This will cause you to lose Heat if you recover a card and there are Heat cards in your ringside pile or shared Backlash ringside pile.
c) You can use this effect against the Rattlesnake or if the card Hell in a Cell is in any ring area.
9. No players can show their hands to their partners, but all players can talk about whatever - no whispering
10. Non-unique non-Set-up cards are limited to no more than 3 in combined Ring area; unique cards are limited to 1 in the Ring area. If one of the Tag Team partners is Test, then test can only play a 2nd copy into his ring area, not a 3rd. And Phenom could play a 4th copy of a card to the ring area.

Example: You may have no more than 3 Superkicks in a team's Ring area.

Example: No more than 1 Tori Enters the Fray can be in a team's Ring area

Example: Judo Takedown, put into play by the cards text and not played as a maneuver, is not restricted. You can only PLAY it as a maneuver if less than 3 copies are in play, but a team can put out as many as they can per the cards triggered text. Only the active player can put these cards out.

11. Your team wins when one member of the opposing team is Counted Out or Pinned.
12. Tag Team Time Limit is 45 minutes for 2-on-2, 50 for 3-on-3, 55 for 4-on-4, and 1 hour MAX for 5-on-5 and above.

This should get everyone jump-started in the exciting world that is Raw Deal: Tag Teams. Send any questions about this new format to askzev@yahoo.com - while we hope there won't be any need for it, we realize that most likely there will be questions as people discover (and rediscover) this format, so there might be a future Tag Team FAQ.