Gameplay

Beginning The Game

Players begin by placing their chosen Totem Pokemon face-up in the "Totem Zone" (away from Deck, near Prizes), then do the following...

Place a die next to your Totem as a Tribute Cost counter, and set it to show the starting Totem Tribute Cost (explained below).
Place any other relevant Markers on the field (ie: GX, Vstar Markers, etc)
Flip the coin to see who goes first before cards are drawn or shown
Now, shuffle your deck and draw 17 cards from your deck. You will then choose 7 cards to keep in your hand and the rest will be shuffled and put as your 10 prize cards face down.
- A player must have at least one Basic Pokemon in their opening hand, or else they must shuffle and redraw (Mulligan).
- If a player is unhappy with their hand, even if they drew a Basic Pokemon, they may elect to “Optional Mulligan”, shuffling their hand into their deck and drawing a new hand. However, each Optional Mulligan you do, you draw your last starting hand size, minus one (example: 1st Mulligan draws 16 cards, keeps 6. 2nd draws 15 cards, keeps 5, etc).
- Your opponent will get to draw an additional card for each of your Mulligans, regardless of Mulligan type.
From your hand, choose an Active Pokemon and put it face down, as well as any optional Basic Pokemon on the Bench
Both players then will flip their Active and Benched Pokemon face up and the first player takes their turn.

Actions During A Turn

Players perform the same actions per turn as they would in a normal game of Pokemon.

Additionally, players can also bring their Totem Pokemon into play after their first turn. Paying this “Tribute Cost” means the player discards a number of cards from their hand for that Totem Pokemon to enter the field in an open bench spot.

Totem Zone - Tribute Cost

Here are the legal card types that can be a Totem and their Tribute Costs:

Discard 1 - all Basics Pokemon
Discard 2 - all Stage 1, Mega EX, Lv.X, LEGEND, VMAX Pokemon
Discard 3 - all Stage 2 Pokemon
Discard 1: Evolution Tribute - all Evolution Pokemon
- Discard one (1) card to evolve your Totem on an eligible Pokemon on the field. You must still follow the appropriate evolution rules of the game and cannot be combined with in-game effects, such as Trainers, Abilities, etc.
- Evolution Tributes get to ignore Extra Tribute Costs, only costing 1 discard

Totem Zone - Returning to the Totem Zone

If an effect in the game would change the Totem Pokemon to a new location (hand, discard, lost zone, etc.), you may choose to redirect it back to the Totem Zone instead. Only the Totem card may return, discard attached cards and any Pokemon underneath and/or above it.

If your Totem Pokemon is sent back to the Totem Zone for any reason, the Tribute cost to bring your Totem back out into play increases by one (1).

Make sure your Tribute Cost die reflects this.

Winning the Game

There are many ways to win a game of Totem, such as...

Taking all of your Prize Cards
Your Opponent running out of Pokemon in play
Your Opponent unable to draw a card at the start of their turn
Being the last player standing without six (6) Totem Points from a single Player

What Are Totem Points?

If your Pokemon gets knocked out by damage from another Player’s Totem Pokemon, a Totem KO counter will be placed in your Totem Zone from that Player. If you receive six (6) counters from that player, you immediately lose the game. Using a die or counters to keep track is very useful.