Arena: The Contest – Dragon Collection Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• 1. Boss Versus Boss Game Mode
  • 1.1. This Booklet. Rules and Conflict. Card Language
  • 1.2. Victory Condition. Number of Players. Duration of a Match.
  • 1.3. The Teams
• 2. Starting a Match
  • 2.1. BvB Table — Overview of Components and Board Zones
  • 2.2. Prematch Procedures
  • 2.3. Rules for the Battlefield
    • 2.3.1. Lair
    • 2.3.2. Central Zone
    • 2.3.3. Portals
• 3. Turn Order
  • 3.1. Hero Phase
    • 3.1.1. Death and Respawn
    • 3.1.2. Team Benefit
  • 3.2. Upkeep Phase
    • 3.2.1. Talisman Upgrade
    • 3.2.2. Breaking Ties
  • 3.3. Boss Phase
    • 3.3.1. Boss's Turn, Part One: Lair Action
    • 3.3.2. Boss's Turn, Part Two: Refresh
    • 3.3.3. Boss's Turn, Part Three: Move Action and Prime Action
    • 3.3.4. Minions' Turns (Move Action and Prime Action)
• 4. Killing a Boss
  • 4.1. Ultimate Blast
  • 4.2. Blast Charge
  • 4.3. Silver Lining
• Reading a Bosspad

1. Boss Versus Boss Game Mode

In the depths of the most dangerous dungeons of Tanares, one may find the lair of a gigantic, powerful being called the Boss. And there can be only one Boss. Assemble a party of Heroes, choose a Boss to join you, and engage in a battle of wits with your opponent to determine who will rule supreme.

Boss Versus Boss (BvB) is one of the competitive ways to play Arena: The Contest, a board game that also features other Player Versus Player (PvP) and Cooperative game modes. It is distinguished by the presence of one huge miniature for each team — the Boss — which you must kill to win the match. This is considered an advanced game mode; therefore, we recommend playing a few Team Deathmatches beforehand to get you acquainted with the game.

1.1. This Booklet. Rules and Conflict. Card Language

• For anything not covered in this booklet, apply the Team Deathmatch rules from the Arena: The Contest Rulebook.
  • These rules are found in the General Rules & Competitive Mode chapter of the Arena rulebook, and concern basic knowledge required to play Boss Versus Boss, such as reading a Heropad, making an Attack, using Tiles, and more.
• The text of any card supersedes the rules in this booklet.
• The text in this booklet supersedes the rules in the Arena rulebook.
• "Move toward" is the same as "pull" and "move away" is the same as "push." Their movement must reduce or increase the distance, in squares, from the point of reference, otherwise you cannot do it. (E.g., the text says "move the target 1 square toward its nearest Living Wall." If the target is already adjacent to a Living Wall, you cannot move it.)
• The number that follows targets and forced movement is always "up to," unless the text reads "exactly." (E.g., the text says "move two enemies 3 squares." You may target just one enemy — or none — and you may move it just one or two squares.)

Interpreting an Effect Description. Most effects are pretty intuitive. Let's see how to interpret a complicated one and learn a few KEYWORDS.

"MOVE 2 an enemy. It takes 5 R-DMG. Then, HEAL 5 an ally in [3] of it."

• MOVE 2 = it leaves its square once or twice. (You control this movement.) Also, you may choose not to move it at all, as you're not required to apply effects you own, unless they say "must."
• DMG = Damage. R-DMG = Residual Damage.
• The position or distance of the target of an effect must always come referenced. Whenever this is missing, "IN [8] OF YOU" is implied.
  • This means the enemy taking R-DMG must be in your vision and at most 8 squares away from you. After the effect begins to apply, this is no longer important (e.g., it may move behind a wall and end 10 squares away).
• "Then" = This part of the effect must happen after the first but is independent from it (i.e., you don't need to have moved the enemy — unless this second part began with "If you do").
• HEAL 5 = Regain 5 HP (move the HP Token up).
• in [3] of it = in 1, 2, or 3 squares of the enemy mentioned in the first part. The second part of the description mentions another distance (and reference): therefore, your ally can be more than 8 squares away and off your vision, as long as it is in vision and at most 3 squares away from the enemy that took R-DMG.

1.2. Victory Condition. Number of Players. Duration of a Match.

• Victory condition: Kill the opposing Boss.
• Minimum number of players: 2 (each controlling an entire team).
• Maximum number of players: 8 (four in each team).
• Single match duration: ~60 to 120 minutes.

1.3. The Teams

• Each team is composed of 1x Boss, 3x Heroes, 3x Minions (2 Regular and 1 Prisoner).
• Prisoners start the game in the opposing Lair and may be controlled only after released (p. 11).
• If there are four players on your team, we recommend that one of them controls the Boss and Minions (including the Prisoner), and the other three each control one Hero.

2. Starting a Match

2.1. BvB Table — Overview of Components and Board Zones

Note: In Dragori Games' "Four Game Board Scenarios – Pack 2 (Tanares Adventures)," one of the scenarios is a painted board assembled specifically for Boss Versus Boss game mode, speeding up your prematch procedures.

Dragon Collection's List of Components

• 1x Boss Versus Boss Rulebook
• 5x Dragon Figures (huge)
• 1x Queen of Dragons Figure (medium)
• 9x Character Sheets
• 12x Talisman Cards
• 36x Attack Cards
• 2x Prisoner Cards
• 4x Player Aid Cards
• 1x Sidequest Card

Components from the Core Box you need. Note: Some Bosses may require additional components (e.g., Azymor requires Lava Tiles, and Thyra requires an Orb figure).

• Heroes: At least six Hero figures and their respective Heropads, Tokens, and Attack Cards; 2x twenty-sided dice; 2x Team Tokens.
• Minions: At least 2x Sentinel and Soldier Figures, and 4x Tokens and Colored Rings. Battlegrid (see p. 4-5): 1x Game Board; Wall Tiles: 2x Walls (5x1), 8x Walls (4x1), 4x Walls (3x1), 2x Walls (2x1).
• Bosses: 2x Boss Tokens; 6x Life Tokens; 2x Aid Tokens.
• Spike Tiles: 2x Spikes (3x1), 1x Spikes (2x2).
• Other Tiles: 2x Ruins (4x2), 3x Altar, 3x Portal.
• Figures: 2x Chest Figures, 2x Prisoner Figures.
• Rulebook: Arena: The Contest.

Battlegrid and board zones. The numbers below match the printed overview.

1. Battlegrid: Where the fight happens. Size: 24x16 squares.
2. Lair: The base of operations of a Boss. Heroes and Minions start the match here. Besides their miniatures, you might have to place additional tiles here, according to your Bosspad's instructions. Size: 16x6 squares.
3. Chest Figure (Advanced feature): Located at the corner of each Lair. An adjacent Hero inside the enemy Lair may spend a movement point to open the Chest, gain two Blast Charges and recover a hero's spent Special Attack.
4. Prisoner Figure (Advanced feature): Located at the corner of each Lair, opposite the Chest. An adjacent Hero inside the enemy Lair may spend a movement point to release the Prisoner and gain a Blast Charge. (See p. 11.)
5. Midfield: The combat area between both Lairs, where Heroes and Minions most often collide. Size: 16x10 squares.
6. Central Zone: The very center of the board, between the Lairs and side corridors. All combatants are Exposed in this area. Size: 10x6 squares.
7. HP Track: Place and move tokens around the board to keep track of the current Hit Points (HP) of Heroes, Minions, and Bosses.
8. Team Token: One for each team, used to track the next combatant to take a turn and the availability of Special Attacks.
9. Heropad: The main card with all essential information about a hero — name, Combat Role, Passive Power, Attacks, and Stats (HP, Basic Attack, Defense, and Movement).
10. Hero Attack Cards (4 per Hero): Each describes, in detail, one of the Hero's attacks. If one of the attacks produces a lasting effect, place the corresponding card over the Heropad of the affected Hero, over the Bosspad of the affected Boss, or over the card of the affected Minion to track the effect while it's active.

Advanced Features

The sections related to these features (Prisoner, Chest, Silver Lining, Talismans) are marked with the Advanced Features symbol and a purple background in the printed booklet. If you're just starting out, you may ignore them.

Boss versus Boss is as entertaining to play as it is difficult to master. We recommend it only after you become acquainted with Arena: The Contest's Team Deathmatch rules.

If you're just starting out, you may ignore the following game features:

• Prisoner
• Chest
• Silver Lining
• Talismans

Also, DO NOT choose Isendden, the Gold Dragon and Vradok, the Undead Dragon, as they are Bosses that use these rules as their core mechanics.

2.2. Prematch Procedures

A) Standard Grid Assembly

• Put the board on the table with its empty side facing up and assemble the components according to the Boss Versus Boss map in the previous section.
  • The map is divided into three areas: two Lairs and the Midfield between them.

B) Boss Selection. Determining the First Team

• Both teams roll a die (if the result is a tie, roll again).
• If your team rolls the higher number, choose whether you will go first (pick the first Boss and take the first turn) or defer and let the opposing team go first.
  • The first team to select a Boss is called the First Team. Several rules refer to this concept.
• When you select a Boss, grab its miniature, Bosspad, Boss Token, Attack Cards, Minion figures, three +70 Life Tokens, one Team Token, and one First Aid token to track your Blast Charges.
  • Heroic Actions and First Aids are not used in this game mode. Ignore everything that mentions them.
• Check your Boss Feature on the Bosspad and follow its instructions now, if possible (e.g., put two 2x2 and two 2x1 Lava Tiles anywhere in your Lair).
• Bosses usually start the fight with 280 Hit Points. To track them, put the Boss Token on slot 70 of the HP Track and put three Life Tokens on slot 0 before the match begins.
• Some Minions can be represented by miniatures found in expansions. If you don't own a specific figure, one of the teams can use Sentinels and the other can use Soldiers or Snipers, all of which are found in the Core Box.
• Place the Minion figures opposite their Lair's wall, in any square alongside the border of the board (coordinates 1 or 24). The Boss may start on any valid square inside the Lair.
• Then the opposing team follows the points above in Step B, beginning with selecting a Boss.

Boss selection diagram (printed). 1. Roll a die. Winner chooses first team. Bosses chosen. (The printed example shows Team A rolling 5 and Team B rolling 16; Team B wins and defers, so Team A is the First Team and chooses Azymor first, and Team B, the Second Team, then chooses Thyra.)

C) Hero Selection

• The second team to choose the Boss is the first team to choose a Hero. With each selection, grab the corresponding Heropad, Attack Cards, figure, and Token.
• Teams alternate selecting Heroes until each team has selected three.
• Your team cannot select two Heroes with the same Combat Role.
• The total power level of each team must equal 10 or less. As you build your team, you must choose three Heroes without going over the maximum (e.g., if your Boss is power level 4 and the first Hero you select is power level 3, your total is 7. Your second Hero choice must have a power level lower than 3 to keep you under the maximum of 10, because otherwise any Hero you choose in the third round would exceed 10).

Hero selection order (printed diagram). 2. Choose 3 Heroes from the pool, starting with the Second Team. Order: the Second Team (Thyra) makes the 1st pick, the First Team (Azymor) the 2nd pick, then the Second Team the 3rd pick, the First Team the 4th pick, the Second Team the 5th pick, and the First Team the 6th pick.

D) Talisman Selection (this step is optional)

Talismans are unique items that a Hero equips. A Boss may never equip one. A Talisman grants a Passive Bonus to its user that may become progressively better as you upgrade its level.

• Each team grabs their Boss's Talisman and four other random Talisman cards;
• From this 4-card pile, each team picks two. These will remain unknown to the other Team until they are equipped.

Power Level Table (printed, p. 7). Check the latest version of this table at DragoriGames.com/BvB. Set names are as printed under each group.

Power Level	Heroes / Bosses
4	Dragon Collection: Azymor, Zarumag, Thyra, Kelorth, Vradok. Core Box: Vyrak. Tanares RPG: Penumbral Dragon, Isendden, Dread. Tanares Adventures – Madness Box: Bellara, The Augur, Ardilog. Legendary Box: Hanirac, Baleroth.
3	Core Box: Katar, Garion, Rokaru, Rurik, Avelum. Tanares Adventures: Lordwrath, Lizz, Nero, Oguemir. Legendary Box: Morlogh, Vanarus, Myr, Elarine, Old Harun. Dragon Collection: Talessa. Tanares RPG: Tsuyoko, Harun.
2	Legendary Box: Jade, Old Emperor, Count Blake, Uster, Nakral, Sir Erick, Ohris, Liana, Zund. Tanares Adventures: Orthus, Anariel, Gullog, Grigory, Nyx, Magenta, Herodotus, Yemi. Tanares RPG: Emperor. Core Box: Jorana, Niary, Sedrik. Tanares RPG: Vilani, Ravel, Gaknak, M'Bollo, Sedura, Baolmu.
1	Core Box: Thalia, Catharina, Zafara, Taram. Legendary Box: Ascaran, Renkyr, Juliet, Zanac. Tanares RPG: Vaeraunt. Tanares Adventures: Lana, Khloet, Scara. Tanares RPG: Kor'dal, Cheiron, Gazini, Kelanyah, Azriel, Jessa.

E) Hero and Boss Deployment. Turn Order Definition. Equipping Talismans.

• If you are the First Team (see Step B), declare the first Hero to act in the match and deploy its figure opposite your Lair's wall, in any square alongside the border of the board (coordinates 1 or 24).
• Teams alternate, following the rule above. The order of deployment is the turn order for the entire match.
• Position Heropads on the table in the same order that your Heroes will take turns so that all players can observe the order.
• Deploy heroes, starting with the First Team. Equip Talismans when you deploy. (Printed diagram: Team Azymor, First Team, deploys on turns 1, 3 and 5; Team Thyra, Second Team, deploys on turns 2, 4 and 6.)

Equipping Talismans

• If you are the First Team (to pick a Boss), equip ONE of your Heroes (when you deploy it) with a Talisman on Lv 1.
• If you are the Second Team, equip TWO of your Heroes (when each is deployed) with a Talisman on Lv 1.
• Under no circumstances may a Hero equip two Talismans at the same time.
• Bosses cannot equip talismans.
• Finally, teams deploy their Bosses on any valid set of squares inside their respective Lairs.
• Place the Bosspad next to the last Heropad, indicating that the Boss Phase will begin after the third Hero of each team has taken its turn.
• With a "Special Ready" Team Token on top of the Heropad of the first Hero deployed, that Hero now takes its turn, starting the match.

2.3. Rules for the Battlefield

2.3.1. Lair

• The Boss may never leave its Lair or pass through any walls, not even if forced by an Effect.
• You can release the Prisoner (p. 11) and open the Chest found in the enemy Lair, not the ones in your own Lair.

2.3.1.1. Chest

• To open a Chest in an enemy Lair, a Hero must spend a movement point while adjacent to the Chest and then remove its figure from the board. Each does not incite reactions.
• Opening a Chest rewards you with the recovery of one spent Special Attack from a hero on your team, and two Blast Charges (p. 13).

2.3.1.2. Prisoner

• A Hero must spend a movement point while adjacent to the Prisoner inside the enemy Lair to release it, taking the Prisoner token from underneath its figure and putting it on the HP Track. Each does not incite reactions.

2.3.2. Central Zone

• Combatants in the Midfield's Central Zone are Exposed.
• You gain one Blast Charge for each Hero ally that starts the upkeep phase inside the Central Zone.

2.3.3. Portals

• Each portal can teleport only to the other two portals on their Lair's half of the grid.
• Place three blue Portal Tiles on one half of the grid and three red Portals on the other to differentiate between the two halves. If you don't have red Portals, use Altars to represent them (they do not have the properties of an Altar Tile).
• A combatant may teleport only in its Move Action (and you may spend your Prime Action taking another Move Action).
• Declaring a teleport incites the Reaction Attacks of adjacent enemies.
  • After a successful Reaction Attack, if you no longer have movement points, you cannot teleport.
• If all squares of your teleport destination are occupied, place your figure on any of the nearest possible squares.
• You may move through squares occupied by allies. If such ally is on a Portal, you may teleport while moving through it, as long as you have enough movement points.
  • If your movement ends in an invalid square (e.g., you lose your last movement point while passing through an ally), return the figure to the last valid square.

Earlier versions of the game do not contain red Portals. If this is your case, use Altar Tiles instead of them.

3. Turn Order

• Action cycles in the following order:
  • Hero Phase
  • Upkeep Phase
  • Boss Phase

3.1. Hero Phase

When Heroes alternate turns, trying to earn Blast Charges, attack the enemy Boss, or prevent the other team from doing the same.

• Teams alternate taking turns, one Hero at a time, in the order determined in Step F of the prematch procedures.
  • Dead heroes do not change this order. Nothing ever changes this order.
• This phase ends when the last Hero (the sixth Hero) finishes taking its turn.

Editor's note: the printed booklet refers to "Step F" of the prematch procedures for turn order. The procedures are lettered A to E, and turn order is defined in Step E (Hero and Boss Deployment. Turn Order Definition.). The text is transcribed as printed.

3.1.1. Death and Respawn

Hero deaths are not permanent in Boss Versus Boss mode. Dead Heroes respawn when their turn comes, but that gets the enemy team closer to victory.

• When a Hero or Minion dies, place its token on the square of death. It may be the target of revival effects (e.g., Thalia's Breath of Life).
• When a dead Hero's turn comes, follow this procedure:
  • Respawn it with full HP, all its previously unspent Special Attacks, and its previous Talisman level, ignoring any effect that would prevent it from reviving.
  • Place its figure in any square adjacent to the Portal inside its team's Lair.
  • Its turn officially starts. The opposing team gains a Blast Charge.
  • The revived Hero may act as usual.

3.1.2. Team Benefit

Team Benefit is a particular way that Heroes from the same team act. It is described on the Bosspad and often performed in the "Benefit" step of the Attack Timeline. It enhances your team's style of play and powers, often getting you closer to an Ultimate Blast.

• Unless stated otherwise on the Bosspad, the Team Benefit must be applied on the "Benefit" step of the Attack Timeline (Arena Rulebook, p. 17).
  • If your attack has another Benefit that applies at the same moment of the Attack Timeline, choose in which order to apply them.
  • Since they are happening before the Strike, apply them even if the attack misses.
  • If you do not attack (e.g., you choose to move again on your Prime Action), you cannot apply the Team Benefit (unless the Bosspad notes another time when it can be applied).
• Team Benefits can be applied only once per turn.

3.2. Upkeep Phase

When Teams gain a Talisman Upgrade and Blast Charges for Heroes in the Central Zone.

• Gain one Blast Charge for each Hero figure from your team that is in the Central Zone (p. 8).
• Each Team gains a Talisman Upgrade.

3.2.1. Talisman Upgrade

Equipping a previously unassigned Talisman, or upgrading one that is already equipped.

• Each Talisman Upgrade consists of choosing one of these two options:
  • Upgrade the level of a currently equipped Talisman.
  • Equip a currently unequipped Talisman (level 1 on a Hero with no Talismans).
• Heroes may never exchange Talismans, give them away, or equip two Talismans at the same time.
• You may upgrade Talismans on Heroes that are currently dead.

3.2.2. Breaking Ties

• In the Upkeep Phase, both teams simultaneously acquire Blast Charges. If both Bosses have 70 HP or fewer, this may result in two simultaneous Ultimate Blasts.
  • In this case, if both Blasts hit, the winner is the team whose Boss had the higher HP at the beginning of the Upkeep Phase.
    • If both Bosses had the same HP at the start of the Upkeep Phase, the winner is the team that has the most Blast Charges remaining. If both Teams have the same number of Blast Charges, the game ends in a draw.

3.3. Boss Phase

When Bosses and then Minions take their turns.

• Starting with the First Team (see Step B of prematch procedures), each Boss takes its turn.
• The Boss's turn necessarily begins with a Lair Action, followed by a Refresh, and then a Move Action and a Prime Action may happen in any order.
• Then Minions — including live and released Prisoners (p. 11) — take their turns.
  • First, all Minions on the First Team take turns, in any order the team chooses.
  • Then, all Minions on the opposing team take turns, in any order chosen by that team.

Printed sequence: Boss's Turn (First Team, then Second Team): Lair Action, Refresh, Move Action / Prime Action. Minion's Turn (First Team, then Second Team): All Minions in any order.

3.3.1. Boss's Turn, Part One: Lair Action

• The first stage of the Boss Phase is the Lair Action, which is the first part of the Boss's turn. You may perform the actions as described on your Bosspad.

3.3.2. Boss's Turn, Part Two: Refresh

• End all Temporary Effects the Boss applied in its last turn, returning the corresponding Attack Card to your hand.
• Remove from the Boss all effects applied by Heroes (temporary and permanent).

3.3.3. Boss's Turn, Part Three: Move Action and Prime Action

• You may take a Move Action and a Prime Action, in any order.
• Your Prime Action consists of:
  • Taking another Move Action; OR
  • Making an attack as described on one of your Attack Cards; OR
  • Making a Midfield Attack.
    • You may make a Midfield Attack only if there are no enemy Heroes inside your Lair (ignore Minions).
    • As indicated by the name of the attack, you may target only enemies that are outside both Lairs.
    • Overlord Perks also apply to the Midfield Attack.
• You may make a Special Attack (gold border) only once per match, and only if your Team Token is "Special Ready."
• The Boss cannot move outside the Lair, not even if forced by an Effect.

3.3.4. Minions' Turns (Move Action and Prime Action)

Bosses do not depend only on the power of Heroes. They have their own horde of super powerful albeit fragile Minions, which can deal great damage to the enemy Boss but are susceptible to attacks from Heroes.

• The First Team's dead Minions — except the Prisoner — respawn in any square adjacent to the Portal inside their Boss's Lair.
• Then each Minion that belongs to the First Team — including the Prisoner — takes a turn, consisting of a Move Action and a Prime Action. The Minions can take turns in any order the First Team chooses (e.g., you may have a standard Minion take its turn, then the Prisoner, and then the second standard Minion).
• Then all Minions on the opposing team take turns, following the rules above.

What minions may do:

• Suffer Instantaneous Effects (they are considered allies or enemies for the effects descriptions).
• Mob, Focus, and make Reaction Attacks.

What minions cannot do:

• Suffer Temporary or Permanent Effects.
• Be considered in any text that specifically reads "Hero."
• Equip Talismans.
• Apply Team Benefits, unless specifically stated otherwise.
• Give Blast Charges when respawned.
• Release a Prisoner or open a Chest.
• Make Bossbane Attacks against combatants other than the enemy Boss.
• Prevent the enemy Boss from making a Midfield Attack, if inside the enemy Lair.

3.3.4.1. Prisoner

• A Hero must spend a movement point while adjacent to the Prisoner inside the enemy Lair to release it, taking the Prisoner token from underneath its figure and putting it on the HP Track.
• When you release the Prisoner, you gain 1 Blast Charge and flip its card.
• A released Prisoner behaves like a Minion, with the following differences:
  • Against the Boss:
    • Its Bossbane Attack's Range is 8 squares instead of 2.
    • It does not have damage reduction when attacked by the Boss.
  • Compared to other Minions:
    • It may not respawn (but you may revive it through an Effect).
    • Regardless of the Minion Stats on your Bosspad, it follows the rules below.

Released Prisoner card (printed): 50 Hit Points, 12 Basic Attack, 5 Defense, 5 Movement. Bossbane Attack: range 8 squares, target Enemy Boss, 35 damage; Miss: 15 R-DMG.

Editor's note: the printed sentence "it follows the rules below" is followed on page 12 by the Minion rule "Home-field advantage", which is transcribed in Section 4 below where it is printed. The Prisoner card itself is printed on page 11.

4. Killing a Boss

You win the game by killing the opposing Boss. You kill it by reducing its HP to 0. You can reduce its HP by attacking with Heroes and/or Minions, or by blasting it with an Ultimate Blast, which requires earning Blast Charges.

• In BvB mode, there is only one way to kill a Boss and thus achieve victory for your team:
  • Make the Boss lose Hit Points (HP) until it is reduced to 0 HP.
• There are two ways to make the opposing Boss lose HP:
  • Attacking and/or applying effects from Heroes and/or Minions.
  • Blasting it with an Ultimate Blast, which may make it lose up to 70 HP at once.
• When targeting or forcing movement on a Boss, declare which of its nine squares you are aiming at, provided it is within the range or description of your attack (e.g., if your attack targets "all enemies in a straight line" and this straight line meets only one square of the 3x3 area occupied by the enemy Boss, you may not count it as two targets when making this attack).

Home-field advantage: They ignore the effects of Terrain Tiles (e.g., Lava, Portal).

High HP: Bosses usually start the fight with 280 Hit Points. To track them, put the Boss Token on slot 70 of the HP Track and put three Life Tokens on slot 0 before the match begins. When the Boss loses its 70th Hit Point, jump the Boss Token from slot 1 back to slot 70, remove one Life Token from the track, and continue to track the rest of the damage as usual (e.g., if the Boss Token is on slot 5 and it takes 15 damage, remove one Life Token and place the Boss Token on slot 60). Repeat this whenever the Boss Token completes a full lap around the HP Track. When there are no more Life Tokens on the HP Track and the Boss Token moves below 1 HP, it means the Boss has lost 280 HP (70 x 4).

Overlord Perks: Bosses and other unique Villains have this Special Feature. Apply the following rules whenever you fight Overlord foes:

• When the Overlord attacks, ignore all effects applied by Heroes or Scrolls (on itself and its targets). Bosses cannot ignore Talismans.
• If any power or effect would control them or copy, negate, or remove one of their attacks, they take 12 damage instead (damage reduction applies).
• They are immune to Mob and Focus.
• Reroll a die the first time they miss a strike on their turn. If the strike now hits, it deals -3 damage.

Boss Perks. Bosses have Boss Perks:

• Size: They occupy nine squares in a 3x3 area. They can be adjacent to 16 squares at once. They cannot teleport or leave their Lair in any way.
• Multiple targets: Due to their increased size, when an attack can target more than one enemy (or when it applies Effects to another enemy), you may count Bosses as two targets adjacent to each other. Roll strikes separately; if they both hit, apply damage twice.
• Range 2 on Reaction Attacks: You can incite their Reaction Attacks if you are directly adjacent to them or two squares away. They can make only one Reaction Attack per turn.
• Fast and furious: They are Hastened and immune to Slowed (this is not an Effect). When moving, they may pass through all occupied squares except the walls that take outside their Lair; however, their movement cannot end on squares occupied by Combatants, Barriers, or Obstacles.

4.1. Ultimate Blast

Ultimate Blast is the most special action your team can perform. It is free and you must use it once your team earns four Blast Charges. It can immediately remove a "+70 HP" token from the board, or end the game altogether if the Boss has 70 HP or fewer.

Ultimate Blast (printed table)

• Reach: Anywhere on the grid. Target: Enemy Boss.
• Cost: Spend four Blast Charges. You don't need to roll a die.
• Drawback: The target may roll a die. If the result is 16 or more, the blast misses.
• Hit: The target takes 70 damage.
• Miss: The target takes 50 nonlethal damage, and you gain a Blast Charge.

There is no limit to how many times you may repeat this action, as long as you have enough Blast Charges to pay its cost.

• This happens automatically when you have 4 Blast Charges or more.
• This is not considered an attack. Thus, it is immune to anything that could modify its result or damage for better or for worse (e.g., Overlord Perks, Effects, and Interrupt Attacks).
  • Only Effects that specifically mention the Ultimate Blast may affect it in any way.

4.2. Blast Charge

Reaching the enemy Lair to attack the opposing Boss is a difficult endeavor. Fortunately, there is another way to get closer to victory: earning Blast Charges to perform an Ultimate Blast. This is a major feature of BvB mode. Plan your moves while predicting those of your opponents to outperform them in collecting charges. Weigh your decisions carefully because sometimes earning a charge is better than attacking the opposing Boss.

• You start the game with zero charges.
• Once you earn four charges, you immediately and automatically spend them to perform an Ultimate Blast.
• There is no limit to the number of charges you may own, although you will exceed three only briefly (e.g., if you have three charges and earn another three at the same time, you will briefly have six; however, four of them will be spent immediately on an Ultimate Blast, leaving you with two charges).
• Charges are tracked in the Charge Bar on your team's Bosspad, using Aid Tokens.

You earn one Blast Charge:

1. Every time you meet your Boss's unique Blast Charge Trigger.
2. For each Hero ally that starts an Upkeep Phase in the Central Zone (p. 8).
3. Every time a Hero you control spends its Prime Action to attack the enemy Boss (once per turn, even on a miss).
4. Every time you miss your Ultimate Blast (p. 12).
5. Every time an enemy Hero respawns as a result of its turn starting.
6. When you release the Prisoner in the enemy Lair (p. 11).
7. You earn two Blast Charges when opening the Chest (p. 8).

4.3. Silver Lining

Bosses could never reach the pinnacle of power in Tanares without good survival instincts. It is troublesome to complete a lap around the HP Track with your Boss Token, but it comes with a silver lining: once you lose a Life Token, grab it from slot 0 and put it on one of the Silver Lining slots on your Bosspad, giving you a permanent advantage.

• Whenever your Boss Token completes a lap around the HP Track, grab a "+70" Life Token from slot 0 and put it on one of the Silver Lining boxes at the bottom of your Bosspad, thus gaining its effect.
• If you heal your Boss, its Token cannot go beyond slot 70 on the HP Track (e.g., your Boss has 65 HP and an attack's effect makes it regain 25 HP. It regains only 5 HP because the Token stops on slot 70).
• You may put a Life Token in the last box (far right) only if it is your Boss's last Life Token.
• Once you place a Life Token in a box, you may never change its placement.
• You may not put two tokens in the same box.
• The box that gives +8 Max HP to Minions applies to the Prisoner, even if you have not yet released it.

Note: In Dragori Games' "Four Game Board Scenarios – Pack 2 (Tanares Adventures)," one of the scenarios is a painted board assembled specifically for Boss Versus Boss game mode, speeding up your prematch procedures. You can also play a Player versus Player Team Deathmatch on this board, ignoring special Boss versus Boss rules about the grid.

Reading a Bosspad

A) Boss's name, type, and Boss Perks (p. 12) B) Stats (HP, Basic Attack, Defense, Movement) C) Charge Bar (Ultimate Blast, p. 12) D) Blast Charge Trigger (Blast Charge, p. 13) E) Boss Feature (Prematch procedures, Boss Selection, p. 6) F) Team Benefit (Hero Phase, p. 9) G) Lair Action (Boss Phase, Part 1, p. 10) H) Boss Action (Boss Phase, Parts 2-3, p. 10) I) Midfield Attack (Boss Phase, Part 3, p. 10) J) Minions (Boss Phase, Part 4, p. 11) K) Silver Lining (p. 14)