Full 18 card sheet
The Gex Trading Cards are a set of playing cards from a German card game called Final Stage. They were included alongside a sheet of 18 cards, and came bundled in the January and February 2000 issues of PlayStation Games magazine. The card game consisted of several PlayStation icons, each with their own unique stats and abilities. Representing the Gex series are the Agent Xtra and Gex cards. The card sheet is divided into two categories: white hero cards and black villain cards.
Final Stage Card Game[]
Final Stage is a 2 player collectible card game. The card game plays out similar to a fighting game, albeit in card form. The goal of the game is simple: To climb your opponent's card pyramid and defeat their boss card. In order to better understand the Gex and Agent Xtra cards, one must understand the rules of the Final Stage card game.
Game Setup[]
At least one standard six-sided die is required in addition to the Final Stage playing cards. Each player has a pyramid of cards face down in front of them. It symbolizes the video game through which the opponent has to fight their way through. The top of the pyramid represents the boss. During the game, the heroes try to complete each row of the pyramid until they reach the final boss.
The size of the pyramid varies depending on the length of the game both players wish to play. However, it should consist of at least 3 rows. Three row pyramids are recommended for newer players, while 4 or 5 row pyramids are recommended for more experienced players. Pyramid sizes are as follows:
- 3 Row Pyramid: 6 Pyramid cards, 6 Hero cards
- 4 Row Pyramid: 10 Pyramid cards, 10 Hero cards
- 5 Row Pyramid: 15 Pyramid cards, 15 Hero cards
- 6 Row Pyramid: 21 Pyramid cards, 21 Hero cards
Theoretically, larger pyramids can be constructed. However, this is limited to the amount of cards both players have (and the total amount of cards released in the series). Once a pyramid size has been decided, both players select the required amount of cards from their decks. No card can appear twice in the game. Both players divide their cards in two equal piles. The pyramid is laid out as one pile, while the others remain shuffled in a Hero card pile next to the pyramid. All cards should remain faced down. The tip of the pyramid must be pointing to its respective owner. Throughout the game, the player can look at the cards in their pyramid if need be.
Once each pyramid has been built, both players draw the top face-down card from their Hero card pool and place it face up on the table. The card with the lowest attack value (the triangle icon) determines which player is allowed to go first. If the attack values on both cards are the same, then another card is drawn from each deck until the tie is broken. Once the player order has been determined, both players will draw an additional 4 cards from their pool and add them to their hand (with the cards hidden from their opponent). The starting player may now attack any card from the first row of the opponent's pyramid using any of the 4 Hero cards in their hand. To play the Hero card, the player must place their card face up and indicate which card they want to attack. The attacking player may also draw the top card from their pool and add it to their hand after placing a Hero card down. This is to ensure that both players always have 4 Hero cards in their hand. The opponent flips the chosen card over and combat begins.
Combat[]
Each card has an attack (triangle icon) and defense value (square icon). Some cards even have a bonus value, represented by the circle icon. The number values in the bonus circle determine how much a character's bonus will increase attack and defense (for example, Gex's bonus will increase Attack by 1 but will not increase Defense). Some cards also have a special ability, detailed in their card description. However, this ability can only be used when the card is in play (either as an attacking or defending card). The attacking player now rolls a die and adds the number to his Hero's attack value. The Pyramid Defender also rolls a die and adds the result to his Pyramid card's defense value. Both results are recorded, and now one of three scenarios can occur:
- The Hero wins - If the Hero card's attack is higher than the Pyramid card's defense, then the card is removed from the opponent's Pyramid and cannot be played for the rest of the game. The winning Hero card returns to the card pool, being placed at the bottom of the stack.
- Draw - If both the Hero card's attack and Pyramid card's defense are the same, the fight ends in a draw. The Pyramid card is placed face down in its original spot, and the Hero card goes to the bottom of the card pool.
- The Hero loses - If the Hero card's attack is lower than the Pyramid card's defense, then the defending card wins the fight. This leads into another scenario called Revenge.
Revenge[]
In Revenge, the roles are reversed between the Hero and Pyramid card. The Pyramid card now becomes the attacker and the Hero card becomes the defender. The attacking player now rolls a die to increase their Pyramid card's attack value, while the defending player rolls to increase their Hero card's defense value. This action leads into yet another two scenarios occurring:
- The Revenge is successful - If the Pyramid card's attack is higher than the Hero's defense, then the Hero card is removed from the game. The Pyramid card returns to the Pyramid and is placed faced down.
- The Revenge is unsuccessful - If the Pyramid card's attack is lesser or equal to the Hero's defense, then the fight ends in a draw. The Pyramid card is placed face down in its original spot, and the Hero card goes to the bottom of the card pool.
Once the first battle is over, the second player now gets to attack their opponent's Pyramid. This rotation continues until one player climbs the other player's Pyramid and defeats their Boss card. Whenever a Pyramid card is removed, that stage (row) is complete. The remaining row cards remain face down, and the opponent has the option to attack the stage (row) above it. However, they can only do so by placing their Hero card in the slot of the removed Pyramid card. The Hero card must ascend the Pyramid in a straight vertical climb from wherever it is placed (for example, if the Hero card is placed in the middle of an opponent's Pyramid, it must defeat the middle card directly above it in the succeeding row). In this way the attacker systematically works their way up the Pyramid to face the final boss, similar to the structure of a fighting game.
Color Theory[]
Each card's value symbols come in a variety of 6 colors. These colors are red, blue, green, yellow, white, and black. Colors of an opposite suit are considered enemies, and colors of the same suit are considered friendly. These opposing suits are as follows:
- White and Black
- Yellow and Blue
- Red and Green
All other color combinations are considered neutral (i.e. red and blue, green and yellow, white and red, etc.). These card suits allow for two gameplay tactics to be initiated:
Support - If a Pyramid card is attacked, the defending player may draw an adjacent friendly card for support before rolling the dice. For example, if a black card is attacked, the defending player may uncover another adjacent black card and add that card's defense bonus to their Pyramid card. If Revenge occurs, the Pyramid card may also get that support card's attack boost. Once the fight is over, the support card is placed back face down in the Pyramid.
Enemy - If a Hero card and Pyramid card are from opposing color suits, then each card gains their own bonus attack and defense values (if applicable). If Enemy and Support cards are drawn in the same fight, then all corresponding bonuses stack (i.e. a card not only gets their support card's bonus, but their own bonus as well).
Espionage[]
Instead of attacking, the offensive player has the chance to "spy" on one of their opponent's cards. The player simply needs to announce "Espionage!" and point to the Pyramid card they want to observe. However they can only spy on cards they are allowed to attack, and cannot spy on the Boss. Once the player is done studying the card, the opponent places it back in the Pyramid face down. This forfeits the player's turn and allows for the opponent to attack.
Continues[]
Each player has 3 Continues they can use at any point during the game. These Continues can be used to either save a Hero card or Boss card. If the player uses a Continue on a defeated Hero card, it is not removed from the game and instead is placed at the bottom of the card pool. If the player uses a Continue on their Boss, then the Boss card is placed face down in the Pyramid and the game continues. Once all 3 of a player's Continues have been used, they cannot save any card from being removed from the game.
Game Completion[]
A game of Final Stage can be completed in one of two of ways. The first and most common way is by defeating the opponent's Boss card. This can easily be achieved once all of the opponent's Continues have been depleted. The second way is if both players have depleted their Hero cards. By default, the game ends in a draw. However if only one player has depleted their Hero cards, the game continues and the player can only defend themselves for the rest of the game.
Cards[]
The following table displays both cards and their stats in German and English. Please note: These are rough English translations, and may or may not be 100% accurate in their translations.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Interestingly, despite being from the same series and partners in-game, Gex and Xtra are not apart of the same color suit . Xtra's value symbols are red, while Gex's are yellow. This means that their card relationship is neutral, rather than friendly. This measure was most likely taken to ensure that both cards remain balanced, as Xtra's special ability already provides Gex with a bonus.
- Xtra's special ability is reminiscent of her role in Gex 3, essentially acting as Gex's "cheerleader" and providing him with the motivation he needs to win.
- According to the card sheet pictured, Gex would be friendly with the following character cards: Cloud, Croc, and Crash Bandicoot. Likewise, Xtra would be friendly with Lara Croft, Solid Snake, and Ethan Hunt.
- Conversely, Gex's enemies in the card sheet pictured are: Hugo, Michelle, Lizzie, Edea, Dante, and Dr. Neo Cortex. Xtra's enemy card is Ninja (better known as Gray Fox) from Metal Gear Solid.
- The Gex and Xtra cards share the same enemies as Solid Snake, Crash Bandicoot, Croc, and (presumably) Cloud.
- Gex and Xtra were the only cards made for the Gex series. Sadly, no enemy cards were made for any of the series' villains such as Rez or Mooshoo Pork.
- If you look at the top row of hero cards, you will notice that Akuji from Akuji the Heartless also makes an appearance in this card game. His description reads: "Rette dein Herz!", which means "Save your heart!" in English. Both Gex and Xtra would have a neutral relationship with this card.
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