Types of cards

There are four types of cards in the Vs. System, with color-coded frames: Character (usually red, but black for "concealed" characters), Equipment (gray), Location (green), and Plot Twist (blue). All four types of cards share a common layout.

Phases of gameplay

• Draw Phase: Each player simultaneously draws two cards from their deck.
• Build Phase: Starting with the player holding the initiative, and going clockwise, each player completes the following steps:
  • Resource Step: You may place one card face down into the resource row.
  • Recruit Step: Spend resource points to recruit characters and/or equipment. Resource points are determined at the beginning of the Recruit step by how many cards a player has in his or her resource row.
  • Formation Step: Rearrange your characters between your front and support rows. You may also transfer "Transferable" equipment during this step.

After the player with the initiative completes their steps within the Build Phase, each other player completes theirs in turn. Once each player finishes, the Build Phase ends and the Combat Phase begins.

• Combat Phase: Starting with the player holding the initiative, each player has an "Attack Step" where they may declare attacks with the characters they control against their opponent's characters, or directly against an opposing player if they don't control any non-stunned visible characters. The player with the initiative attacks with all legal attackers, or until they wish to pass. Repeat this Attack Step for each player, going clockwise, from the player with the initiative. Once each person has completed their Attack Step, the Combat Phase ends and the Recovery Phase begins
• Recovery Phase: At the end of the recovery phase, during the "wrap-up" portion, each player compares endurance totals, and all players with 0 or less endurance lose the game. If this would leave no players still in the game, the player with the highest endurance total wins the game. Then all players may simultaneously recover one stunned character, KO all remaining stunned characters, and ready all objects (characters, locations, equipment) they control. Once these steps are performed, the initiative passes clockwise to the next player, the Recovery Phase ends, and the next turn commences with the Draw Phase.

Variant rules

• Grand Melee: A regular game of Vs. System for any number of players. Last man standing wins.
• Team Alliance: A 2-on-2 game of Vs. System. Teammates sit across from each other. Plays just like grand melee, but teammates share an endurance total of 100 and cannot attack each other. Play until only one team is left.
• Two-Headed Mutant: A 2-on-2 game of Vs. System. Teammates sit next to each other across from their opponents. Each team begins the game with 100 endurance. This game variant can be played with any number of people on either team, as long as the teams are even numbered. 50 endurance is added onto the total endurance score for each person on a team. Therefore, a Three-Headed Mutant would see a game with 150 endurance.

Notable players in UDE Organized Play

The following is a listing of players who have won more than one 10K event or have won a Pro Circuit event.

• William Hodack, 2004 Origins $10K Champion, June 26, 2004
• Marshall James, 2004 Philadelphia $10k Champion, July 10, 2004
• Jeremy Tucker, 2004 $10K Champion, Wizard World Chicago
• Brian Kibler, first-ever Pro Circuit Champion, Gen Con Indy, August 22, 2004^[7]
• Robert Leander, $10K Wizard World Texas Champion, November 6, 2004, $10K New Jersey Champion, January 15, 2005; first Vs. System player to win multiple $10K events
• Ryan Jones, Pro Circuit Los Angeles Champion, December 3, 2004
• Hans Joachim Höh (Hans served a 3-year ban for cheating in the top 8 of a Pro Circuit), $10K Hannover Champion, February 5, 2005, $10K Bologna Champion, February 20, 2005, $10K Bremen Champion, December 3, 2005
• Dean Sohlne, $10K London Champion, March 21, 2005, $10K Amsterdam Champion, April 9, 2005.
• Michael Jacob, $10K Chicago Champion, April 2, 2005, $10K Toronto Champion, August 27, 2005, $10K Orlando Champion, October 15, 2005
• Ian Vincent, Pro Circuit San Francisco Champion
• Trey Kelly, Pro Circuit New York Champion
• Anthony Calabrese, Pro Circuit Indianapolis 2006 Champion
• Adam Horvath, Pro Circuit Amsterdam Champion, April 7, 2005
• Adam Bernstein, Pro Circuit New York Champion, May 26, 2005
• Adam Prosak, $10K San Diego Champion, July 15, 2005, $10K Atlanta Champion, September 4, 2005 Pro Circuit Los Angeles November 17, 2006
• Kakarot Turker, $10K Sydney Champion, December 1, 2006, 6 consecutive 10K top 8s
• Darryn Ying, $10K Melbourne Champion, October 20, 2006,
• Vidianto Wijaya, Pro Circuit Atlanta Champion, March 24, 2006; as of August 13, 2006, has a record five Pro Circuit top eight finishes and has won over $100,000
• Kyle Dembinski, Pro Circuit Sydney 2007 winner
• John Hammond, $10K Indy 2007 Champion - Bring Your Own Set format ^[8]
• Brian Eugenio, 1st Vs. Worlds Champion 2008
• Robert Rietze, Gen Con Indy 2008 1st Place
• Alexander Antonias, Brisbane and Adelaide 10k champion

Banned list

As with most TCGs, the ever-increasing card pool leads to more and more combinations and possibilities. While this is generally considered to be a positive factor, sometimes these combinations bring a degeneracy that is unhealthy for tournament play and the long term health of the game. When this occurs, organized play intervenes and the offending cards are usually banned. The first card to be banned was "Overload" banned because of its synergy with various attackpumps. Used in tandem, players were able to stun their opponent's board at minimal cost. UDE later released a fixed—playable but unremarkable—version of the card called System Failure, released in MAV.^[9]

Unlike most CCGs which have banned lists unique to various formats, UDE has chosen to have one universal all-encompassing banned list.