Game Ruleset

Win Condition

Win by either:

• Destroying 2 anchors across 2 different lanes, OR
• Destroying 1 anchor AND its essence in the same lane (full lane destruction)

Game Setup

• Each player starts with a 40-card deck (minimum)
• Each player has 3 lanes with an anchor objective

Hero Deployment Phase

Heroes are deployed progressively over the first 3 rounds. Each deck has 5 heroes in fixed slots (1-5), and they become available for deployment in order:

Round 1 (Initial Deployment - Three Steps):

• Heroes 1, 2, and 3 (deck slots 1-3) become available for deployment
• Exactly 1 hero per lane is required - player chooses which hero goes to which lane
• Step-by-step deployment with random side assignment:
  1. Step 1 (Mid): Both players choose which hero and position for Mid lane (1) → revealed simultaneously
  2. Step 2 (Random sides): System randomly assigns which player deploys Left (0) vs Right (2) - players choose hero and position for their assigned lane → revealed simultaneously
  3. Step 3 (Remaining): Players deploy remaining hero to their remaining side lane → revealed simultaneously
• After hero deployment, players draw their starting hand of 5 cards

Round 2 (Simultaneous Reveal):

• Hero 4 (deck slot 4) becomes available
• Player chooses any lane/position for this hero
• Both submit → all revealed at once
• Respawning heroes can also be deployed this round

Round 3 (Simultaneous Reveal):

• Hero 5 (deck slot 5) becomes available
• Player chooses any lane/position for this hero
• Both submit → all revealed at once
• Respawning heroes can also be deployed this round

After Round 3:

• All 5 heroes have been deployed
• No further deployment phases except for respawning heroes (player chooses any lane/position)

Heroes occupy normal board positions (0-4) like regular units and count toward the 5-unit lane limit.

Deck Building

• Deck size: 40 cards minimum (main deck)
• Equipment deck: 10 cards minimum (separate from main deck, used in Shop Phase)
• Maximum 3 copies of any non-unique card per deck
• Unique cards can only have 1 copy per deck
  • All Legendary cards are unique
  • Cards can be unique regardless of rarity (Common, Rare, Epic, or Legendary)
  • Unique cards represent named characters, legendary artifacts, or one-of-a-kind entities
  • Generic units (like "Guard" or "Soldier") are not unique and follow the 3-copy limit
• Card rarities: Common, Rare, Epic, Legendary

Heroes

• Each deck must include exactly 5 Hero cards in dedicated deck builder slots (separate from main deck)
• Heroes are Legendary and unique (only 1 copy each)
• Heroes have a faction (Red, Blue, Green, Black)
• Each hero comes with 3 signature cards automatically added to your deck
  • Signature cards are tied to that hero and share their faction
  • The 15 signature cards (5 heroes × 3 each) count toward your 40-card minimum
• Heroes are deployed progressively during the Hero Deployment Phase (Rounds 1-3)
• Heroes occupy normal board positions (0-4) like units and count toward lane limits
• Heroes have powerful passive or triggered abilities

Hero Death & Respawn

When a hero is destroyed:

1. The hero enters a 1-round death timer (cannot act or provide lane faction access)
2. At the start of the following round, the hero becomes available for redeployment
3. During the Hero Deployment Phase, the player can redeploy the hero to any lane
4. Redeployed heroes return with full health

This creates tactical opportunities to reposition heroes based on board state.

Round Structure

Round Start

1. Creep Spawn Phase - Random creeps spawn in all lanes (see Creep System below)
2. Draw Phase - Draw 1 card
3. Resources refresh to current maximum
4. Maximum resources increase by 1 (cap: 10)
5. Round 1 starts with 3 resources

Creep System

Creeps are weak unaligned units that spawn automatically each round, creating dynamic board states and lane pressure.

Creep Spawning

Every round (including Round 1):

• Each player spawns 1 creep per lane (3 total per player)
• Creeps spawn at the leftmost empty position in each lane
• Creep spawns happen before hero deployment and the play phase
• If a lane is full, the creep for that lane is skipped

Creep Stats

Creep Properties

• Creeps have no faction gating
• Creeps do not count as units you "control" for card effects that specify "your units"
• Creeps do count toward the 5-unit lane limit
• Creeps attack and take damage like normal units
• Destroying enemy creeps awards 1 gold

Strategic Implications

• Creeps create natural lane pressure even without playing cards
• Random positioning adds variance and adaptation requirements
• Creeps can block enemy units or absorb damage meant for anchors
• Players must account for creep positions when planning unit placement

Game Phases

Each round proceeds through these phases in order:

Phase 0: Creep Spawn

• Both players' creeps spawn simultaneously
• 1 creep per lane per player (3 total each)
• Creeps spawn at the leftmost empty position in each lane
• Happens every round, including Round 1

Phase 1: Hero Deployment (Rounds 1-3 + Respawns)

Round 1 (Initial Deployment - Three Steps):

• Heroes 1-3 become available; player chooses which hero goes to which lane

1. Step 1 (Mid): Both players choose which hero and position for Mid lane (1) → revealed simultaneously
2. Step 2 (Random sides): System randomly assigns sides - one player deploys Left (0), opponent deploys Right (2) - player chooses hero and position → revealed simultaneously
3. Step 3 (Remaining): Each player deploys remaining hero to their remaining side lane → revealed simultaneously
4. Players draw their starting hand of 5 cards

Round 2 (Simultaneous):

• Hero 4 becomes available
• Player selects any lane/position for this hero
• Respawning heroes can also be deployed
• Both submit → all revealed at once

Round 3 (Simultaneous):

• Hero 5 becomes available
• Player selects any lane/position for this hero
• Respawning heroes can also be deployed
• Both submit → all revealed at once

After Round 3 (Respawn Only):

• Only occurs if heroes are ready to respawn
• Players choose any lane/position for respawning heroes
• Both submit → all revealed at once

Phase 2: Play Phase

Players take turns playing cards until both pass consecutively.

• Players alternate turns (Player 1 → Player 2 → Player 1 → ...)
• On your turn, choose one action:
  • Play Unit - Place a unit card in a lane (ends your turn)
  • Cast Spell - Cast a spell card (may require targeting, ends your turn)
  • Pass - Skip your turn without playing a card
• Cards are played face-up (immediately visible to opponent)
• Playing a card costs resources equal to its cost
• Playing a card automatically ends your turn
• Phase continues until both players pass consecutively
  • If Player A passes, then Player B plays a card, Player A gets another turn

Phase 3: Combat Phase

Units battle it out after both players pass consecutively.

• Combat proceeds lane by lane (Lane 0 → Lane 1 → Lane 2)
• Units only attack the opposing unit at the same position
• If no opposing unit exists, the unit attacks the anchor directly
• After all lanes resolve, check win condition
• Start new round if no winner

Phase 4: Shop Phase

After combat, players visit the shop to purchase equipment.

• Each player is presented with 3 equipment items to choose from
• Players can perform any combination of actions:
  • Buy - Purchase items from the selection (costs gold) - can buy multiple items
  • Upgrade Shop - FREE - Unlock higher tier items and reshuffle offerings (forfeits +5 skip bonus, once per shop phase)
  • Skip - Pass on buying, gain +5 gold (only if no upgrade and no buy)
• Upgrade reshuffles: When you upgrade, your shop offerings are regenerated with the new tier's available items
• Upgrade timing is flexible: You can upgrade before OR after buying (but only once per shop phase)
• Purchased equipment goes to your hand and can be played like cards during Play Phase
• Equipment cards are played onto a unit/hero in the same lane to grant bonuses
• Higher shop tiers unlock more powerful equipment options

Gold System (Artifact-style Bounty)

Gold is earned through combat bounties:

• Skip shop: +5 gold (only if no upgrade and no buy)
• Kill enemy hero: +5 gold (bounty to opponent)
• Kill enemy unit/creep: +1 gold (bounty to opponent)

Gold rules:

• Gold persists between rounds (unspent gold carries over)
• Gold is spent on equipment items
• No gold for anchor damage

Shop Tiers

• Upgrading is FREE but forfeits the +5 skip bonus
• Upgrading reshuffles your shop offerings immediately with items from the new tier pool
• After upgrading, you can still buy items from your new offerings this round
• Can upgrade before or after buying (but only once per shop phase)

Resource System

• Resources fully refill at round start
• Cards cost resources to play
• Unspent resources are lost at round end

Card Stats

• Cost - Resources required to play
• Attack - Damage dealt in combat
• Health - Damage required to destroy
• Faction - Affiliation (Red, Blue, Green, Black)

Card Factions

Each card belongs to one of four factions, representing different playstyles:

• Red - Aggressive, high attack, direct damage
• Blue - Control, spells, card draw
• Green - Healing, buffs, sustain
• Black - Manipulation, debuffs, sacrifice mechanics

Card Tiers

All cards have a tier that determines their power level and shop availability:

• Equipment tiers determine which shop tier is required to purchase them
• Higher tier equipment provides stronger effects

Lane Rules

• Maximum 5 units per lane (heroes count toward this limit)
• Players choose the position (0 through 4) when playing a card or deploying a hero
• Empty positions remain empty until filled - no automatic shifting
• Cards fight the opposing card at the same index (position 0 vs 0, 1 vs 1, etc.)
• Bounce: Playing a unit on a position occupied by your own unit destroys the existing unit and places the new one there

Faction Restrictions

• All cards (units, spells, improvements) require a matching-faction hero in the origin lane
• For lane-targeted cards, the target lane is the origin lane
• Cross-lane and global/no-lane spells use the caster's lane as the origin (caster selection required if multiple valid heroes exist)
• Equipment is not gated by faction/lanes (played onto a hero as normal)
• If all your heroes in a lane are destroyed, you cannot play matching-faction cards there until a matching hero is present again

Combat Resolution

Unit vs Unit (same position)

1. Both units deal their attack as damage to each other (simultaneous)
2. Units with 0 or less health are marked as destroyed

Unopposed Units

• Units with no opposing unit at their position attack the anchor directly

Combat Order

• Combat direction alternates each round
  • Odd rounds (1, 3, 5...): Lane 0 → Lane 1 → Lane 2 (left to right)
  • Even rounds (2, 4, 6...): Lane 2 → Lane 1 → Lane 0 (right to left)
• Within a lane, all fights at each position are simultaneous

Unit Removal

• Destroyed units are only removed after the entire lane resolves
• Empty positions remain empty - units do not shift to fill gaps
• Players may strategically place units in specific positions to avoid certain matchups

Battle Mechanics (Outside Combat Phase)

Some spells and abilities cause units to battle each other during the Play Phase:

• Battle - Two units deal their attack damage to each other simultaneously
• Strike - One unit deals its attack damage to another (one-way damage)

Battle rules:

• Uses current attack values (including buffs/debuffs)
• Respects First Strike - unit with First Strike deals damage first
• Respects Armor and Shield
• Triggers on-damage effects
• Deaths are processed immediately (not delayed like combat phase)
• Does NOT trigger "On Attack" effects (those only fire during combat phase)

Common battle effects:

• battle_blocker - Battle the unit directly opposite this unit
• battle_adjacent - Battle all adjacent enemies
• battle - Battle a targeted enemy
• caster_strike - The caster deals damage to the target (one-way)

Anchor & Essence System

Anchor Phase

• Each anchor starts with 30 HP
• Anchors take damage from unopposed cards

Essence Phase

• When an anchor reaches 0 HP, it transforms into an essence
• Essence has 40 HP
• Essence continues taking damage from unopposed cards

Destruction

• When essence reaches 0 HP, that lane's objective is destroyed

Initiative System

Initiative determines who goes first each turn during the Play Phase.

Initiative Rules

• At the start of the game, initiative is randomly assigned to one player
• Initiative carries over between rounds - whoever has it at round end keeps it for next round
• During the Play Phase:
  • The player with initiative acts first each turn
  • Playing a card passes initiative to the opponent (they act first next turn)
  • Passing does NOT pass initiative (you keep it and act first again)
• Some cards have the "Keep Initiative" keyword, which prevents initiative from passing when that card is played

Strategic Implications

• Initiative creates asymmetric information: the first player reveals their action before the second
• Passing strategically can force your opponent to act first, giving you information advantage
• "Keep Initiative" cards allow aggressive plays while maintaining turn order advantage
• Since initiative carries over, players who pass to end a round maintain their advantage into the next

Turn Order

• Players alternate turns throughout the Play Phase based on initiative
• The player with initiative acts first each turn
• Cards are revealed immediately when played
• Playing any card (unit or spell) automatically ends your turn and passes initiative
• Passing allows the opponent to take another turn but keeps initiative
• Combat begins only when both players pass consecutively

Card Types

Heroes

• Special unit type representing your faction's champions
• Not drawn from deck — deployed during Hero Deployment Phase over Rounds 1-3
• Have Attack, Health, and a Faction (Red, Blue, Green, Black)
• Occupy normal board positions (0-4) like units, count toward lane limit
• When destroyed: 1-round death timer, then redeploy to any lane/position with full health
• Have powerful passive or triggered abilities
• Each hero includes 3 signature cards automatically in your deck
• Gate which faction cards can be played in their lane

Hero Abilities

Heroes can have active abilities that require activation during the Play Phase:

• Cooldown X - After using, cannot be used again for X rounds
• Mana Cost - Requires spending mana from the lane's mana pool
• Targeting - Some abilities require selecting a target

Ability types:

• Passive - Always active, no activation required
• Active - Must be manually activated, uses your turn (unless Quickcast)
• Reactive - Triggers automatically in response to events

Using an active ability:

1. Select the hero with the ability
2. Pay any mana cost
3. Select targets (if required)
4. Ability resolves immediately
5. Cooldown begins
6. Your turn ends (unless ability has Quickcast)

Units

• Have Attack, Health, and a Faction (Red, Blue, Green, Black)
• Placed in lanes to fight (maximum 5 per lane)
• Persist on board until destroyed
• Can only be played in lanes with a matching-faction hero (origin lane rule)

Spells

• Have a Faction (Red, Blue, Green, Black)
• Instant effects, don't stay on board
• May require targeting
• Resolved immediately when played (don't wait for combat phase)
• Require a matching-faction hero in the origin lane (cross-lane/global spells use caster lane)

Equipment

• Purchased from the Shop Phase and added to your hand
• Played like cards during Play Phase - target a unit/hero in the same lane
• Attached to a unit or hero to grant stat bonuses or abilities
• Persists until the equipped unit is destroyed
• Equipment is destroyed when its holder dies (not returned to inventory)
• Each unit/hero can hold 1 equipment item
• Equipment has tiers corresponding to shop level (Basic, Uncommon, Rare, Epic)

Improvements

Improvements are persistent cards that attach to a lane rather than a unit, providing ongoing benefits or abilities.

Basic Properties

• Have a Faction (Red, Blue, Green, Black)
• Played during the Play Phase like other cards
• Attach to a lane, not a specific position or unit
• Can only be played in lanes with a matching-faction hero (origin lane rule)
• Do not count toward the 5-unit lane limit
• Maximum 3 Improvements per lane per player (6 total in a lane)

Duration Types

Timed Improvements

• Display a round counter showing remaining duration
• Counter decreases by 1 at the end of each round
• Effect expires and is removed when counter reaches 0
• Some effects trigger each round; others provide passive bonuses while active

Activated Improvements

• Can be activated during your turn in the Play Phase
• Activating an Improvement costs your action (ends your turn like playing a card)
• May have cooldowns (cannot activate again for X rounds)
• May have charges (limited number of uses before expiring)
• Some activated effects are free actions (do not end your turn) — marked with the Quick keyword

Removal & Interaction

• Some spells and abilities can destroy Improvements
• Improvements persist even if all friendly heroes in that lane die
• If a lane's anchor is destroyed, Improvements in that lane remain active (affect essence phase)
• When an Improvement is destroyed, any ongoing effects immediately end

Strategic Implications

• Improvements provide persistent value without occupying board positions
• Timed effects offer powerful temporary swings
• Activated effects add decision points and resource management
• Stacking multiple Improvements can create powerful synergies
• Improvement removal becomes a valuable counter-strategy

Keywords & Abilities

Combat Keywords

• Taunt - Unopposed enemy units attack the leftmost Taunt unit instead of the anchor
• Stealth - Cannot be targeted, bypasses taunt (lost when attacking)
• First Strike - Deals damage before opponent in combat (Artifact: Quickstrike)
• Cleave X - Deals X damage to all enemy units in the lane when attacking
• Lifesteal - Heal own anchor for damage dealt
• Piercing - Excess damage (overkill) hits enemy anchor; ignores positive Armor
• Retaliate X - When this unit is attacked, it deals X damage back to each attacker. Triggers even if the unit dies from the attack. Retaliate damage respects armor and shields
• Siege X - Deals X additional damage when attacking the anchor directly
• Trample - Excess damage (overkill on units) hits enemy anchor

Defensive Keywords

• Shield - Blocks the next instance of damage completely (then removed). Can stack.
• Armor - Reduces all incoming damage by its value (permanent stat, not consumed)
• Regeneration X - Heals X health at the start of each round
• Damage Immunity - Cannot take damage (temporary status, usually 1 round)

Action Keywords

• Keep Initiative - Playing this card does not pass initiative to the opponent
• Quickcast - Playing this card/ability does not end your turn (free action)
• Rapid Deployment - Hero returns to play immediately when killed (no death timer)

Status Effects

Crowd Control:

• Stunned - Unit cannot attack while stunned. Stun stacks decay by 1 at end of round
• Disarmed - Unit cannot attack. Decays by 1 at end of round
• Silenced - Unit cannot use abilities. Decays by 1 at end of round
• Rooted - Unit cannot move lanes. Decays by 1 at end of round

Damage Over Time:

• Decay (Poison) - Deals 1 damage per stack at the start of each round. Stacks persist until unit dies

Debuffs:

• Locked - Equipment cannot be removed or replaced
• Enfeebled - Attack reduced to 0

Buffs:

• Damage Immune - Cannot take damage (temporary)
• Untargetable - Cannot be targeted by spells or abilities

Armor System

Armor is a permanent stat that reduces all incoming damage by its value:

• Formula: damage_to_health = max(damage - armor, 0)
• Example: 2 armor, 1 damage → 0 health damage (armor unchanged)
• Example: 2 armor, 3 damage → 1 health damage (armor unchanged)
• Example: 5 armor, taking 3 damage three times → 0 health damage each time (armor persists)
• Negative armor amplifies damage: 3 damage to unit with -2 armor = 5 health damage

Key property: Armor is NOT consumed when taking damage. A unit with 3 armor will reduce every incoming hit by 3 for the entire game (unless modified by effects).

Piercing interaction:

• Piercing ignores POSITIVE armor (deals full damage)
• Piercing is still amplified by NEGATIVE armor

Armor vs Shield:

• Shield is checked first and blocks ALL damage completely (consumes 1 shield stack)
• If no shield, armor reduces damage (but armor is not consumed)
• Any remaining damage goes to health

Armor sources:

• Some units have base armor as a stat
• Armor can be granted by spells and effects
• Equipment can provide armor bonuses

Effect Timings (Triggers)

Round-Based:

• Start of Round - Triggers at the beginning of each round (after creep spawn, before play phase)
• End of Round - Triggers at end of round (after shop phase)

Play Phase:

• On Play - Triggers when this card is played/deployed
• On Equip - Triggers when equipment is attached to a unit
• On Activation - Triggers when an activated ability is used (hero/improvement abilities)
• On Ally Deploy - Triggers when an allied unit is deployed
• On Enemy Deploy - Triggers when an enemy unit is deployed
• On Enemy Play - Triggers when enemy plays any card
• On Play Ally - Triggers when you play an allied card

Combat Phase:

• Before Combat - Triggers before combat resolution begins
• On Attack - Triggers when this unit attacks
• On Ally Attack - Triggers when an allied unit attacks
• On Equipped Attack - Triggers when the equipped unit attacks
• On Damage Taken - Triggers when this unit takes damage
• After Combat - Triggers after combat in each lane

Death:

• On Death - Triggers when this unit is destroyed
• On Enemy Death - Triggers when an enemy unit dies

Passive:

• While In Lane - Aura effect active while this card is in the lane

Aura System

Auras are continuous effects that affect units within range:

• Range X - Affects units within X positions of the source
• Lane-wide - Affects all units in the same lane
• Cross Lane - Affects units in all lanes (global effect)
• Adjacent - Affects units in positions directly next to the source (range 1)

Aura effects:

• Apply immediately when a unit enters range
• Remove immediately when a unit leaves range or the source dies
• Do not stack from the same source
• Can be positive (buffs) or negative (debuffs)

Anchor Enchantments

Anchors can receive enchantments that provide lane-wide effects:

• Enchant Anchor - Attaches an effect to the anchor itself
• Anchor enchantments persist even if the source unit dies
• Some spells can Dispel anchor enchantments
• When anchor becomes essence, enchantments remain active

Common anchor enchantment effects:

• Anchor gains Retaliate
• Anchor gains Armor
• Anchor gains Regeneration
• Lane-wide auras tied to the anchor

Purge & Dispel

Purge removes effects from units:

• Removes all temporary buffs/debuffs applied by the opponent
• Removes status effects (stun, silence, disarm, root)
• Does NOT remove permanent stat changes or keywords
• Does NOT remove equipment bonuses

Dispel removes anchor enchantments:

• Targets anchor/tower enchantments specifically
• Can remove enemy or allied enchantments depending on the spell

Movement & Positioning

Units can be moved during the Play Phase via spells and abilities:

Within Lane:

• Push - Move a unit to an adjacent slot (left or right)
• Pull - Move a unit toward the caster/source
• Swap - Exchange positions of two units

Cross Lane:

• Cross Lane Move - Move a unit to a different lane
• Units moved cross-lane go to the first empty slot in the target lane
• Some effects deal damage while moving (e.g., "deal 1 damage to each enemy passed")

Movement restrictions:

• Rooted units cannot move lanes
• Full lanes block incoming cross-lane movement
• Movement does not trigger "On Play" effects

Bounty System

Gold is earned when killing enemy units:

Bounty modifiers:

• Some effects increase bounty ("+1 Bounty")
• Some effects reduce bounty ("-1 Bounty")
• Minimum bounty is 0 gold