Life Card

Biodata

Classification

Soul Cards

A Soul Card is the initial world-linked card drawn through a Duel Instrument. It allows its master to observe the linked follower’s actions in the Soul Card World and, if the master has an appropriate identity and the follower agrees, offer guidance. 2

• A Soul Card Master normally draws only one Soul Card through the Duel Instrument, though additional Soul Cards may be acquired through exceptional opportunities in the Soul Card World. 65
• Soul Card followers are distinct from ordinary Followers because they can gain multiple forms and freely transform between those forms during a duel by paying the appropriate cost. 8 25
• A Soul Card follower’s forms are created by changes in profession, state, growth, or other developments in its world. More forms provide more tactical options. 8 25
• Soul Card followers cannot be placed on the Forbidden Card list, unlike ordinary cards reviewed and restricted by the Soul Card Association. 118
• A Soul Card’s death can sever its master’s connection to the Soul Card World if no direct bloodline descendant can be rebound as a replacement Soul Card. Ordinary Follower Cards already obtained remain usable in duels. 65

Follower Autonomy

Soul Card Worlds are real worlds rather than simulations. A master’s instructions are guidance rather than absolute commands; a follower may refuse them. 36

Powerful Soul Card followers can sense the unusual fluctuation created when their Soul Card is obtained. Kishara, Fremeia, Martina, and Vivian all displayed this awareness upon becoming Soul Cards. 471

Acquisition

Progress and Decisions

A follower’s actions, development, and choices can generate Life Cards. Weaker initial followers may produce more behavior-based Spell Cards as they gradually grow, though their survival is less secure. 2 3

• Learning a native skill or receiving equipment can produce an origin-type Spell Card. A Soul Card Master using skills or equipment on their follower may also create similar cards. 10
• Participating in a major event can produce powerful event-type Spell Cards, often Permanent Spell Cards. 10
• Recruiting followers or building sufficient affinity with another individual can create Follower Cards. 10
• A new card acquisition is displayed through the Duel Instrument’s notification system. 16

Trading

Soul Card Shops, operated by the Soul Card Association, allow Life Cards to be traded through card-reading terminals. 6

• Selling a card uploads its data to the marketplace and turns the seller’s physical card into a Blank Card. 6
• Buying a card requires inserting a Blank Card, onto which the purchased card data is printed. 6
• Transactions are anonymous to buyers and sellers; the Soul Card Association retains both parties’ identities. 6
• Professional decks must contain exactly 40 cards to be eligible for Association-recognized competitions. 21
• Follower Cards are limited to one copy per deck, making individual Followers’ quality and utility especially important. 243

Duel Rules

Effect Modification and Restrictions

The Dawn Continent’s world consciousness allowed Shen Sui to modify the effects of cards linked to that world. Modified effects must remain within the card’s star-level strength; overly powerful changes fail. 2

• Lower-star cards impose stricter limits on effect design. Shen Sui could not alter the 3-star [Lightning Strike] into a full field wipe. 5
• Modifying effects related to an existing card’s original mechanics is easier than creating an unrelated effect, though it can still fail repeatedly. 172
• Compensating restrictions may be necessary to support a stronger effect, such as allowing both players’ multi-form followers to benefit from [Dual Identity]. 172
• Non-@@REF_ENTITY_1482573@@s can be reviewed for prohibition after being reported by more than ten people; a Forbidden Card cannot be used in Association-recognized professional matches. 2

Later Real-World Role

As extraordinary power begins entering the real world, Life Cards become a primary means of combat and defense. Forced Duels can be initiated as a last-resort defense when a Soul Card Master faces a fatal attack. 463

• Special equipment can summon Followers from Follower Cards outside formal duels, though such summoned Followers lack independent consciousness and cannot fully express their card data. 534
• In the modified Buffer Zone, an invading extraordinary being’s abilities and servants are converted into Soul Cards, forming that invader’s deck for a Soul Card Duel. 668
• This prevents invaders from directly ambushing Soul Card Masters with extraordinary power inside the Buffer Zone; they must instead rely on duel-based methods. 692