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At the SFxT NYCC Panel, Seth and Ono demonstrated the new Gem system.
Catch up on what we know so far, after the break!

Capcom said it's Magic: The Gathering meets Street Fighter.

Gems are equipped prior to a match and add special abilities or buffs to your character. Gems only add abilities when they are activated in a match. Activation requirements vary. You may need to land a certain number of normals or specials, or you may have to take a certain amount of damage.

Certain gems can be equipped in multiples, with activation requirements increasing for each successive gem. The enhancements also stack. For example, the first two Power gems add 10% each to attack power, while the third adds another twenty. When all three are activated, that enables a 40% damage boost.

There are also support abilities such as auto-guard and auto-throw break. Auto guard guards any attack, so long as you are able (i.e. not in recovery frames) but costs 1 bar of meter per blocked attack. If you have no meter while the auto-guard gem is active, it won't do anything.