Universal Fighting System consists of five different types of cards. Each card is meant to mimic a specific aspect of the head to head fighting system genre.
The card types are:
Attacks[]
The heart and soul of the fighting game comes in the form of attacks. Whether it's a quick jab, a deadly roundhouse or the trademark moves of characters, you almost always have to attack to win. The attack category of cards also contains the largest number of additional keywords, including but not limited to Multiple, Stun, Powerful and Throw. Attacks are denoted by a red background.
Actions[]
Any fighter knows that simple hack and slash isn't enough to do the job. Sometimes a cleverly timed dodge, a taunt or other unexpected moves can be the margin between victory and being face down on the mat. Actions in UFS are commonly used to set up for combos, enhance other cards or negate them. Actions are denoted by a blue background.
Assets[]
What's a fighter without their favorite possessions and places? Assets include anything from a character's weapon to training environments, clothing and other little trinkets that make the character who they are. Assets are denoted by a green background.
Characters[]
Who are you without your character card? Character cards are the face of your deck and are integral to the strategy with which it's played. Characters vary greatly in hand sizes, vitality totals and abilities. Other minor biographical data such as height, weight and even blood type can have an effect on play. Character cards are very distinct, bearing the character's name at the top and art. As such, they have no uniform background colour.
Foundations[]
Foundations symbolize the training that a fighter goes through before stepping into the ring. Certain re-usable tricks are available as a result through these cards, varying greatly in effect. Foundations also act as additional control to enable difficult cards to be played. Foundations are denoted by a grey background.
Split Cards[]
There are cards in UFS printed with a split background and effects, one of which will appear upside down. These are known as split cards. While held in the player's hand, these split cards are considered to of both types printed on it. However when placed into the card pool, which side of the card is being used must be declared. At that time, the card becomes that singular type, with the effect which is right side up. The other side of the card is ignored while the card remains in play.