Burn Card (Titanfall: Assault)

The Amp Field, a support Burn Card.

Cards, alternately known as Burn Cards, were a mechanic present in Titanfall: Assault, specifically the representation of units in the game. "Burn Card" was a catchall name for all the cards available for commanders to build their squads with. Each card representing a specific unit, they allowed the player to deploy Pilots, Titans and other support assets (Burn Cards) to assist in capturing Hardpoints or attack the enemy base. A commander's squad could only ever contain ten cards at a time: three Pilots, three Titans, and four Burn Cards.

Card Types

Pilots

The Sim Ninja.

Pilots were the primary infantry of the game, responsible for capturing Hardpoints and pushing objectives. With the Sim Ninja the lone exception, Pilots would always deploy via dropship within their own base and either proceed to the nearest valid objective or follow the rally point set for it during deployment (ignoring any and all enemies in their path until the rally point is reached). After reaching their rally point, they would move to capture any neutral/enemy Hardpoint or defend any threatened Hardpoint, stopping to engage any enemies in their direct path (even Titans). If all Hardpoints were under the player's control, Pilots would begin to attack the enemy base's turrets. Every Pilot had its own unique mechanics, behavior and armaments. All Pilots, just like in the mainline games, could freely traverse over obstacles with their Jump Kits.

While Titans and Burn Cards could cycle through the player's hand as a match progresses, the player's three Pilots would always be present in your hand, regardless of whether they are waiting to deploy or already on the field.

Titans

The Thermal Scorch.

Titans were heavily armoured robotic weapons platorms, designed to take a beating. Most would stop to fight anything they come across (the Nuke Atlas was one such exception: it would ignore enemy infantry), and then converge on enemy Heavy Turret in the absence of nearby hostiles. These cards were incapable of capturing or contesting Hardpoints. Titanfalls may only begin after one minute passed in the battle, at which point they could occur anywhere from the user's base to Hardpoint Bravo (the centre of the map). Upon the destruction of the enemy Medium Turret, this deployment zone expanded to the location of the former, essentially allowing a commander to deploy Titans anywhere on the map except within the enemy base itself. Landing on top of enemy infantry or Titans with a Titanfall would deal significant damage to said enemy units.

Titans were unique with regards to squad formation, as the order of cards in your deck dictated the order in which they will appear to you in battle. For example, if a squad's Titans were listed as a Stryder, an Atlas and an Ogre in that order, then the first Titan card available in-match would be the Stryder, followed by the Atlas, followed by the Ogre, in that order.

Burn Cards

The Grunt Blitz Burn Card.

Alongside Pilots and Titans, there were additional Burn Cards that served to support the player's ground forces, offering all sorts of instant additional utility to a commander's squad. These could be squads of infantry (Human or robotic) to capture Hardpoints, orbital bombardment, or even logistical support and structures like turrets, mines, depots and drones. Burn Cards randomly cycled through a player's hand as they progressed through a match; even the Burn Cards available in the opening hand varied from game to game.