General Changes
The following rules were added to the game (source):
- Hand limit: 12 cards. At the end of the turn (after the powerup phase), discard down to 12 cards if you have more. There's no limit to hand size during the rest of the turn.
- Normal draw rule: If your normal attack is blocked or wins combat, draw a card. (this helps to encourage some early attacking)
- Double knockdown: if you're both knocked down, cancel the knockdown effect next combat.
- Time Out: when a player draws the last card from deck, time is over. The winner is the player with the highest hit points. (If tied, it's a draw.)
- Life Total: Cannot go above starting values.
Character Changes
Some characters were tweaked for balance and to work with new characters. The changed items are mentioned here. New stats can be found here. I looked at my physical copy for the old stats.
Argagarg
- 10: The "counter" ability now puts the cancelled card on the bottom of the opponent's deck (if it was played from hand) instead of discarding it.
DeGrey
- DeGrey's character ability now applies to supers (aces) as well as specials (face cards).
Geiger
- Geiger's character ability prevents the opponent from activating innate character abilities from blocking if they took block damage from a Time Spiral.
Grave
- Grave's character ability now only searches for the queen if you win the combat with the revealed card. If you lose, you draw a card instead.
- 10: The "counter" ability now also requires you to discard a face card.
Jaina
- Jaina's character ability now costs 3 damage for each card, but can't return queens or aces. While on 35 life or less Jaina can return queens and aces for 4 damage each.
- 2-6 attack: normal attacks in red suits only now deal X-1 block damage (where X is the card rank) instead of 3 block damage.
- 7: Unstable Power no longer rotates a card at the cost of 10 damage. It is now played after drawing, causing knocked down opponents to stand and preventing you from playing aces, but allowing you to rotate your combat card. If you hit this combat, you search for 2 aces, otherwise you take 7 damage.
- 10: If the opponent dodges and this is in your discard pile, the opponent still takes 2 damage but you no longer return the 10 to your hand. You can't power up with 10s.
- J: Charged Shot is now a 4.6 speed starter, not an 8.6 speed can't combo. Flame Arrow is unchanged.
Lum
- Lum's Roll the Dice, 2-3: You gain 4 hit points -OR- draw the bottom card of your deck.
- Lum's Roll the Dice, A: Draw 3 cards then peek at the bottom card of your deck.
- 10, throw: extra cards discarded to the throw add 4 damage each, rather than 3.
- Q: No longer deals any block damage.
- A, Blackjack: Now you can't choose to put the cards into hand (unless you hit exactly 21).
- A, Great Pandamonium: Requires 2 aces for 21 damage, instead of 1 ace for 10.
Midori
- Midori's dragon attacks can't be blocked by normal dodges only (previously could not be dodged at all).
- When you block an attack or joker while in dragon form, you may return a non-joker from your discard instead of drawing a card.
- K: Talon Swoop is now 1.8 speed, not 2.2.
Rook
- Gained the additional character ability "Defense Mastery" (opponents don't draw when you block their normal attacks).
- 3 block: instead of getting to discard a card for 8 damage, this card now knocks down the opponent, deals 5 damage, and makes your attacks/throws 3 speed faster in the next turn. Neither version of this block draw you a card or return to your hand.
- K: this throw now beats normal attacks with speed 5 or faster, but you still take the damage from it.
Setsuki
- 10: Can no longer counter character abilities.
Valerie
- 10: "Burst of Speed" pushes moves to a minimum of 1 speed, not 0.
- K: Can now only be blocked by a block of the same colour suit (red/black).
Style Changes
Characters now have ability cards which summarise their different abilities and stats, and which abilities they have on their normals.
The template for abilities on cards has been cleaned up slightly, making it clearer which phase to use them in by using a heading separate to the ability text.
