Battle for Biternia Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Hero Cards
• Action Cards
• Objective
• Standard Setup
  • Variant Rule: The Catapult
• Draft Your Heroes
• Prepare the Hero Mats
• Learn Your Starting Powers
• Deploy Your Heroes
• Prepare for Battle
• The Game Round
• Phase 1: Orders
• Phase 2: Movement
  • Towers & Movement
• Phase 3: Action
  • Activating a Hero
  • Attacking
  • Defense
  • Damage
  • Hit Effects
• Attack Keywords
  • Ranged
  • Area
  • Channeled
  • Interrupt
• Targeting
• Defeated Heroes
• Universal Actions
  • Farm
  • Rest
  • Hire (Variant Rule)
• Base Defenses
• Destroying a Tower
• Destroying an Elemental Bit
• Tokens
• Mismatched Cards
• Phase 4: Cleanup
  • Respawning
  • Leveling Up
• 3-4 Player Rules
  • Initial Setup
  • The Game Round
  • Cleanup
• Appendix
  • Interrupts
  • Your First Game
  • Commonly Overlooked Rules
• Hero Profiles
  • Agatha Trunch, the Minotaur
  • Baldwin, the Bard
  • Boreas, the Hunter
  • Caligar, the Cleric
  • Ceralin, the Fighter
  • Cynthia, the Fire Mage
  • Dolgolae, the Yomp
  • Felix, the Duelist
  • Cyrus, the Paladin
  • Dazeem, the Ice Mage
  • Ken Obi, the Apprentice
  • Kerrick, the Wizard
  • Kunoichi, the Assassin
  • Longshanks, the Pirate
  • Sedusa, the Gorgon
  • Vladiator, the Barbarian
  • Motley, the Monk
  • Runika, the Artificer
  • Sterling, the Archer
• Keyword Definitions
  • Confuse
  • Heal X
  • Immobilize
  • Pierce X
  • Stun
  • Structures
  • Stealth
  • Shield X
  • +1 Attack Tokens
  • Self/Other

Components

• 1 game board
• 2 bit standees (1 red, 1 blue)
• 6 tower standees (3 red, 3 blue)
• 19 hero standees
• 2 bit HP trackers (1 red, 1 blue)
• 6 tower HP trackers (3 red, 3 blue)
• 4 hero mats
• 1 initiative token
• 1 To the Pain arena
• 19 hero cards
• 24 basic power cards
• 7 large tokens: 2 catapults, 1 bear trap, 1 ice wall, 3 Runika artifacts (Battle Fist, Auto Deflector, Shield Amulet)
• 76 hero power cards
• 19 hero reference cards
• 69 small tokens: 25 gold, 15 shield, 8 stone, 7 attack, 5 chill, 4 death mark, 4 confuse, 1 favored enemy

Hero Cards

Each Hero has a corresponding Hero card that describes their abilities, including:

1. Name: The name of the Hero and their class.
2. Base Hit Points: This number, displayed inside the heart icon, is added to the Hero's level to determine how much damage a Hero can take before being defeated. Heroes can never have more health than the sum of their Base Hit Points and their level.
3. Hero Trait: Each Hero has a unique ability, which is described here. Unless otherwise noted, these traits are always considered to be in effect.
4. Class Icon: Unique image that is matched to the Hero's power cards.

Action Cards

Action cards are played face-down on Heroes during the Orders Phase and revealed during the Action Phase. They come in two types: power cards and basic cards. All action cards include:

1. Name: The name of the action card.
2. Defense Value: Displayed within the shield icon. While this card is face-up, reduce all damage this Hero would otherwise suffer by this amount (to a minimum of 0).
3. Text Box: The action card's effects are described here.
4. Skill Button: This icon serves no in-game purpose, and is used during setup only. We recommend that new players learn Hero powers in Skill Button order (A, B, C, Z).
5. Class Icon: Unique image indicating which Heroes may use the card. Heroes may only use an action card if their class icon matches the icon on the action card. NOTE: Basic cards have no class icon, and may be used by anyone.
6. Flavor Text: Learn more about the lore of Biternia! These lines do not affect gameplay.

Objective

Each player controls a team of Heroes fighting to destroy their opponent's Elemental Bit while defending their own. Each turn, you will secretly assign orders to your Heroes, letting them attack and defend using unique hero powers.

The first player to destroy the opponent's Elemental Bit is the winner!

Standard Setup

Supports 2 players. For 3-4 player games, turn to the Multiplayer section.

1. Lay the board on the table between the players.
2. Place 3 gold tokens in each of the board spaces marked with a gold icon.
3. Place an HP tracker on each of the Tower ruins and Bit base locations, and place the matching Tower and Bit standees on top of them.
4. (Optional) Place a Catapult tile in the Jungle space to each player's Left. (See Variant Rule: Catapult below)
5. Give each player 2 Hero Mats.

Board reference:

• A — Blue Bit standee and HP tracker
• B — Blue Tower standee and HP tracker
• C — Red Bit standee and HP tracker
• D — Red Tower standee and HP tracker
• E — 3 Gold tokens
• X — Catapult tile

Variant Rule: The Catapult

There are four spaces on the board with the jungle icon. During standard gameplay, these spaces are left empty. However, if all players agree, you may set the game up with a catapult tile in each jungle space (shown above with an X).

Under this variant, jungle spaces are now the locations of mercenaries operating powerful catapults, which allow players to take the following action while present there:

Catapult: When you "hire" here, you may spend 1 gold to make a Ranged Attack 4 against an enemy Tower.

Refer to the "Hire" universal action for more information.

Draft Your Heroes

Note: When Heroes are drafted, give the opposing player the corresponding reference card.

1. Randomly select who will go first, and give that player the initiative marker.
2. The player with initiative chooses 1 Hero.
3. The other player chooses 2 Heroes.
4. The player with initiative chooses 2 Heroes.
5. The other player chooses 2 Heroes.
6. The player with initiative chooses 1 Hero.

	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3
Team 1	1 Hero	2 Heroes	1 Hero
Team 2	2 Heroes	2 Heroes

Prepare the Hero Mats

1. Place drafted Hero cards and their Power cards onto the indicated slots on each Hero mat.
2. Place cubes on the level track for each Hero, set at level 1.
3. Place cubes on the maximum hit points track for each Hero, set at the Hero's base hit points (the number inside the heart on their card) plus their current level (which is 1).

Learn Your Starting Powers

1. Each player secretly chooses 1 power card from each of their drafted Heroes and adds it to their hand, creating a preliminary hand size of 4 cards. We recommend that beginners choose the power card marked with the A skill button. (NOTE: You cannot choose the "Ultimate" power card, indicated by a golden border and a Z skill button, until your Hero is level 4.)
2. Give each player an action deck of 12 basic cards — Parry (x4), Strike (x4), Dash (x2), and Defend (x2)
3. Shuffle each action deck, then each player draws 4 cards from their deck, for a total of 8 cards in hand.

Deploy Your Heroes

The player with initiative chooses one of their Heroes and places its standee in any space containing one of their Towers. The second player does the same. Players alternate in this way until all of the Heroes have been deployed.

No player may deploy more than two Heroes to the same space during this phase. After deployment is complete, there is no limit to the number of Heroes that can occupy any given space.

Prepare for Battle

Place all other counters and tokens near the board where they are easy to reach. You are ready to play!

The Game Round

Each round of Battle for Biternia takes place in four phases:

1. Orders: Players simultaneously assign an action card to each of their Heroes from their hand, face-down.
2. Movement: Players alternate moving Heroes around the map.
3. Action: Players alternate revealing the action cards assigned to Heroes and resolving their effects.
4. Cleanup: Players gain gold, level up Heroes, discard and draw new action cards, and pass the initiative marker. Then, move on to the next round!

The Biternian Code — If the game text on a card ever contradicts the rules printed in the rulebook, the text on the card takes precedence.

Shuffle-Free Zone — No player will ever shuffle their deck once the game has begun. Exhausted decks are refreshed by flipping the related discard pile back over (without shuffling it first).

This is very important, as ability cooldowns and respawn timers are balanced around this mechanic.

Phase 1: Orders

During this phase, players will simultaneously select the actions that their Heroes will perform during the turn. Each player places one card from their hand face-down below each of their Hero cards. Each Hero in play must be assigned exactly one face-down action card. Do not assign cards to defeated Heroes.

In most cases, the Hero will already have a face-up card near them from their previous turn. If so, place their new card (face-down) overlapping the old one so that the defense icon on the face-up card remains visible to all players. The face-up card's defense value and any of its ongoing effects remain active until the new face-down card is revealed (during the Action Phase).

Phase 2: Movement

The player with the initiative marker will choose one of their Heroes and either move or pass, after which the other player will do the same. Alternate in this way until all Heroes have either moved or passed. No Hero can move more than once during each Movement Phase.

To pass with a Hero, declare that that Hero will not move this round. Passing with a particular Hero forfeits that Hero's ability to move during the current Movement Phase.

Each Hero must move or pass exactly one time during this phase. To move a Hero, simply move their standee to a space adjacent to their current location. Spaces are adjacent if they are connected by a path AND no enemy Towers are obstructing them.

Pro Tip! Defeated Heroes cannot move, and must therefore pass. Players are encouraged to use these "free" passes as early in the Movement Phase as possible for maximum benefit.

Towers & Movement

Even though each Elemental Bit is adjacent to its friendly Towers, Heroes cannot move past an enemy Tower to the Elemental Bit until the Tower on that path has been destroyed.

Phase 3: Action

The player with the initiative marker chooses and activates one of their Heroes, after which the second player does the same. Players alternate activations until no Hero has a face-down card. In the event that only one player has any face-down cards remaining on their Heroes, that player activates each of them, one at a time, in the order of their choosing until no Heroes have any face-down cards.

When a Hero activates, they perform either the action(s) indicated on the card that was assigned to them during the Orders Phase or one of the universal actions ("farm", "rest", or in variant play, "hire").

Activating a Hero

To activate a Hero, first discard any face-up cards already on the Hero (usually the card you assigned them last round) and place them face-up in your discard pile. Then, flip the face-down action card assigned to the Hero face-up and choose one of two things to do:

• Use the card for its printed abilities (resolved in the order they are printed)
• Discard the card to have the Hero perform a universal action ("farm", "rest", or "hire")

Attacking

An attack on a card will be phrased "Physical Attack X" or "Magic Attack X." X represents the strength of the attack.

To resolve an attack, first choose a target. Unless the card says otherwise, an Attack may target any enemy Hero or Structure in the same space as the attacking Hero.

The Physical Attack icon indicates physical attacks, and the Magic Attack icon indicates magic attacks. Some cards may reference these types, but they have no special impact alone.

Defense

Subtract the defense value on the target's current (face-up) action card from the strength of the attack. (If the target has no face-up action card, the defense value is zero). The target takes damage equal to the result. Although Structures have no cards, their defense value is always 1.

Some action cards may contain multiple attacks. In this case, resolve each attack individually in the order that they are printed, applying defense and all attack modifiers separately to each attack. Unless otherwise stated, each attack may target the same or a different Hero or Structure, so long as all targets are legal.

Damage

When a Hero or Structure takes damage, adjust their HP tracker equal to the amount of damage taken. When the Hero or Structure has 0 hit points, it is defeated.

A Hero's maximum hit points are equal to the base hit points shown on its Hero card plus the Hero's level, as shown by the level marker on their Hero board.

A Structure's hit points are tracked using the HP trackers on the board.

Hit Effects

Some action cards have one or more attacks followed by the word "Hit:" and some effects. These effects only apply if the preceding attack inflicted at least 1 point of damage to an enemy.

If no damage was inflicted (usually because the target's defense was too high or the attack only removed shield tokens), the attack is not considered to have "Hit," and the "Hit" effects are not applied.

If an attack affects multiple enemies (Area attacks for example), only those targets who are dealt at least one point of damage are affected by the "Hit" effects.

Attack Keywords

Ranged

These attacks may target any enemy Hero or Structure in the same or an adjacent space. Spaces are adjacent if they are connected by a path and are not obstructed by an enemy Tower.

Towers & Ranged Attacks — Ranged Attacks may only attack the space behind an enemy tower once that tower has been destroyed. Thus, the enemy Bit is not adjacent to its Towers for the purposes of ranged attacks until the Tower has been destroyed.

Area

These attacks affect all enemies (including enemy Structures, if applicable) in the same space as the attacking Hero. They are not considered to target any particular Hero, nor do they affect friendly Heroes or Structures.

Channeled

These attacks take longer than usual to execute. The old action card (if any) is immediately discarded, and the channeled action card's defense value applies immediately, as usual, but the other effects of the channeled action card do not occur until the end of the Action Phase.

After all Heroes and Structures have activated (see Base Defense, below), the player with the initiative marker chooses one of their Heroes with a channeled action card (if any) and applies its effects. The other player does the same. Alternate in this way until all channeled effects have been resolved.

Pro Tip: If the channeled action card is discarded before resolving for any reason (usually because the Hero was stunned or defeated), its remaining effects will not resolve. This is intentional counterplay, so protect your Heroes while they're channeling!

Interrupt

These actions can ignore the normal flow of the game. While a card with Interrupt is assigned (face-down) to a Hero, its controller may reveal it during an enemy Hero's action. Immediately resolve its effects, and then finish resolving the action that was interrupted. If the targets of the interrupted action are no longer legal, it does not resolve.

Targeting

Most cards require the player to choose one or more targets for their effects. This simply means that the player announces who or what will be affected.

By default, attacks can only target enemies in the same space as the attacker. Some effects restrict the player to a particular type of target (For example, "Target Hero…" which would exclude Structures).

If an effect on an action card requires a target but no eligible targets are present, its effects do not happen. Continue resolving the rest of the effects on the card. This usually occurs when no enemy Heroes are present in the activating Hero's space.

For example, assume the Fighter is alone in a space and reveals the "Parry" action card. Since there is no enemy in the space to target with the attack listed on the card, that part of the card's effect is ignored. The card's listed defense value, however, remains relevant for as long as the card is face-up in front of the Fighter.

Note: Remember, she could also choose to discard the card in order perform a universal action (Farm, Rest, or Hire) instead.

Defeated Heroes

When your Hero is defeated, the following occurs:

1. Remove its standee from the board.
2. Place its Hero card in your discard pile.
3. Discard any action cards assigned to the defeated Hero (in any order).
4. Your opponent collects gold equal to the defeated Hero's current level.
5. Your Elemental Bit suffers 3 damage. (This damage ignores its defense value.)
6. Discard all tokens on the defeated Hero and all tokens associated with them.

Defeated Heroes are not gone for good! Refer to Respawning in the Cleanup Phase section for information on how they can return to the battlefield.

Universal Actions

Sometimes you may not want to use the order you assigned to a Hero. In these cases, you may reveal the action card as if you were going to use it, then discard it (along with any other face-up cards on that Hero, as usual) without resolving its effects. Announce which universal action you are performing in its place, and resolve it.

Remember, although anyone can take these actions, doing so leaves them vulnerable — without any face-up cards. Their defense value will be 0 until their next activation.

Farm

Discard all action cards on this Hero. Gain 1 gold. If the farming Hero is in a space with bonus gold, also take 1 gold from that space.

Rest

Discard all actions cards on this Hero. Heal 3, Self.

Hire (Variant Rule)

Discard all action cards on this Hero. If you are in a space with a jungle icon, you may take the special action associate with that space this game (if applicable).

See "Variant: The Catapult" for more information.

Base Defenses

Towers protect and isolate their Elemental Bit. Heroes cannot move (or be moved by other effects) from a space containing an enemy Tower into the space containing the Bit unless the Tower has been destroyed. Heroes also cannot target or damage the enemy Bit (or anything in its space) until at least one Tower has been destroyed.

After all Heroes have activated (but before resolving channeled effects), Towers and Bits will attack. Tower and Bit attacks are resolved in exactly the same manner as those on action cards. All Towers and Bits attack enemy Heroes with an Area Attack 4. The player with the initiative marker selects one of their Towers or their Bit and resolves its attack. Players alternate activating Towers or Bits until all that are able to attack have done so.

Destroying a Tower

When a Tower is destroyed, remove its standee from the board. The player who destroyed the Tower collects 3 gold. When a player's Tower is destroyed, their Elemental Bit suffers 3 damage. Damage dealt to the Elemental Bit in this way ignores the Elemental Bit's defense value. Destroyed Towers cannot respawn. Once a Tower is destroyed, it can no longer defend or obstruct its path. Enemy Heroes may move or ranged attack from its space to reach the Bit.

Destroying an Elemental Bit

The Elemental Bit cannot be affected by attacks until at least one of the Towers defending it is destroyed, though it always suffers 3 damage from the defeat of friendly Heroes and the destruction of friendly Towers. Damage dealt to the Elemental Bit in this way ignores the Elemental Bit's defense value.

Once at least one friendly Tower has been destroyed, the Elemental Bit can be targeted and damaged by attacks through that lane. However, players may not move or attack through other towers that remain intact.

Pro Tip! If you destroy your opponent's Elemental Bit, you win the game!

The Elemental Bit still takes damage whenever a friendly Hero is defeated or a friendly Tower is destroyed, even if it is otherwise protected against direct attacks.

Tokens

Some traits or card effects will place tokens on enemy Heroes, on the board, or in some other place. While the effects of a few tokens are defined in the rulebook, most have their effects defined on the card that places them.

Tokens are discarded — removed from play — when the Hero associated with them or affected by them is defeated. Whenever a Hero is defeated, discard all tokens (e.g., Ice Wall, Bear Trap, and Death Mark) from that Hero. If a token behaves differently (e.g., the Hunter's Favored Enemy token), such exceptions are defined on the card that causes the token to be placed.

Token types: Attack, Chill, Confuse, Death Mark, Favored Enemy, Shield, Stone, Bear Trap, Ice Wall, Battle Fist, Auto Deflector, Shield Amulet.

Mismatched Cards

In the event that a Hero is assigned a power card belonging to another Hero, they must use a universal action when they activate. They cannot benefit from any aspect of the mismatched card, including its defense value.

Phase 4: Cleanup

Once the Action Phase is concluded (all Hero and Base Defense actions have been resolved), players move into the Cleanup Phase.

1. Each team gains 2 gold.
2. Each player may pay gold to Level Up any number of Heroes.
3. Each player may discard ANY number of action cards from their hand. (Defeated Heroes respawn faster if you discard more cards.)
4. Each player draws action cards until they reach their maximum hand size of 8 cards. If you need to draw cards but your action deck is empty, simply turn the discard pile over to form a new action deck. Do not shuffle it.
5. The player with initiative passes the initiative marker to their opponent.

After this is done, you are ready to move on to the next round.

Don't Touch That Deck — You should never, ever shuffle your deck after the game has begun!

Respawning

The Hero cards of defeated Heroes are placed in the discard pile. They will cycle through the action deck like any action card. When you would draw a Hero card, instead place it on your Hero mat and set its health marker at full health. Then, return that Hero's standee to the board, placing it in any space containing one of your Towers (not destroyed) or your Elemental Bit. The Hero will be ready for battle on the next round!

Leveling Up

The cost to Level Up a Hero is equal to that Hero's current Level, plus one.

For example, increasing a Hero from level 2 to level 3 costs 3 Gold.

Pay the required gold, then increase the number on the level track by one (therefore also increasing that Hero's hit points by one). Finally, secretly choose one of the Hero's power cards and place it in your hand (remember, you can't choose the Ultimate until level 4). That Hero has learned a new skill!

You may level up the same Hero multiple times on the same turn, provided you have enough gold. You must pay for each level individually.

For example, you could pay 2 gold to raise a Hero from level 1 to level 2, and then pay another 3 gold to raise them from level 2 to level 3.

Pro Tip! When a Hero reaches level 4 (the maximum level) they are able to learn their Ultimate power.

Add it to your hand in the same manner as any other power card.

3-4 Player Rules

Battle for Biternia is usually a two-player game, but you can also play with three or four players, divided into two teams of two (or with a team of two and a team of one for three players). The gameplay is nearly the same, except for a few adjustments. Those changes are covered below. If a rule is not mentioned here, then it is the same as in the two-player game.

In a three-player game, the two-player team follows these instructions for setup, while the one-player team follows the instructions for Standard Setup.

Initial Setup

Set up the board in the same way as the two-player game. Instead of the normal 12-card basic action deck, each player receives a 6-card deck containing 2x Strike, 2x Parry, 1x Dash, and 1x Defend card.

Each player will control two heroes, using only one Hero mat each instead of both for their team.

Each player chooses a starting power for both of their Heroes and sets it aside, just like the two-player game. Then, they draw two cards from their Action Deck to form their starting hand, which has four cards total. Initial setup is otherwise completed in exactly the same way as the two-player game.

Initiative is transferred between teams, not individual players, and all gold is shared between players on the same team.

The Game Round

1. All players place their orders simultaneously.
2. Players may show their teammates any cards in their hand or face-down cards assigned to their Heroes at any time.
3. Teammates decide collectively which Hero to move or activate; they need not alternate.
4. Each team may activate any of their Heroes when it is their turn.
5. When a Hero is defeated, place their Hero card into their controller's discard pile.

Cleanup

Each team (not player) receives two gold at the beginning during cleanup.

Teammates level up their Heroes simultaneously.

Each player may discard any number of cards from their hand and draw from their action deck until they have four cards.

Appendix

Interrupts

Most of the time, for each Hero's activation, its controller simply reveals its action card and resolves its effects. However, interrupts can make this process more complicated.

Interrupts can be used immediately after the opponent chooses the target for each ability on a card as it is being resolved. If the ability has no target, the interrupt can be played immediately after the ability is announced.

In some cases, a player will wish to activate an interrupt in response to another player's Interrupt. In these instances, the last Action Card revealed will be first one resolved. Resolve the remaining Action Cards in this manner until the original Action Card is resolved.

Your First Game

We suggest the Heroes and starting powers shown to the right for your first game so that you can get the hang of things.

If you wish to play with other Heroes instead, we recommend starting with their (A) abilities, as well.

Team 1:

• Archer — Snap Shot
• Fighter — Charge
• Cleric — Cure
• Duelist — Lunge

Team 2:

• Wizard — Pulse
• Barbarian — Smash
• Paladin — Guardian
• Hunter — Bolas

Commonly Overlooked Rules

• Never shuffle the deck or discard pile.
• When you activate a Hero, discard any face-up cards on the hero (normally from the previous turn).
• Heroes cannot move to or attack the enemy Bit from a space containing an enemy tower. Once the tower is destroyed, you may attack the bit with ranged attacks or move from the empty space to the Bit.
• If an action cards has multiple effects, they are resolved in the order in which they appear.
• Hit effects only go off if the attack reduced the target's hit points. (This means hit effects can be deflected by sufficiently high defense values or by having enough shield tokens to prevent loss of hit points).
• Defeated Heroes still participate in the Movement Phase. They may only "pass," but doing so buys their player extra time to react to the evolving board position for the round.
• You may discard as many cards as you want during the Cleanup Phase, even cards you just gained from Leveling Up your Heroes. This allows defeated heroes and expended hero powers to respawn faster.

Hero Profiles

Agatha Trunch, the Minotaur

With a heart as black as her coat, Agatha longs for battle. She revels in bloodlust, trampling her enemies beneath her charging hooves and goring them on her horns. The mere sound of her oncoming hoofbeats is enough to send enemies fleeing in terror, but they can rarely run fast enough.

Type: Mobile Tank

Key Points: High HP, mobility, high attack

Summary: Agatha Trunch is a beastly combatant whose attacks get stronger when she moves. Keep her dashing around the battlefield, and she will devastate your enemies.

Baldwin, the Bard

He travels from town to town sharing his gift of music and legend. It is said that his songs resonate with the Bits themselves.

Type: Disruptor Support

Key Points: Crowd control, attack buffs, tempo

Summary: Baldwin doesn't do much damage, but he enhances your other Heroes and throws wrenches into your opponents' plans.

Boreas, the Hunter

Having bested every beast and terror known, Boreas seeks out the greatest prey of all: other Heroes.

Type: Precision Brawler

Key Points: Board control, ranged attacks, entanglement

Summary: Boreas specializes in defeating one specific Hero. He excels when fighting his "Favored Enemy" but is below average against others.

Caligar, the Cleric

The Bits will share their power with those who are willing to surrender their control to be a conduit. Understanding the strengths and weaknesses of each makes her a formidable ally.

Type: Healer Support

Key Points: Healing, buffing allies

Summary: Caligar specializes in healing and boosting her allies. She has no offensive powers, so pair her with a Striker or Brawler to protect them.

Ceralin, the Fighter

As a squire, Ceralin fled from battle, leaving her knight behind. Ever since, she has vowed to defend her allies, never retreating.

Type: Physical Tank

Key Points: High defense, crowd control, offensive engage

Summary: Ceralin is a defensive powerhouse. Pair her with a high-damage Hero or send her off to knock down a tower. Either way, your opponent will be forced to deal with her.

Cynthia, the Fire Mage

The Elemental Bits utterly consume those foolish enough to court their untamed power. Fire Mages learn to live on the very edge of destruction, allowing the power of the Bits to intensify within them until it can be unleashed with devastating fury.

Type: Pure Damage

Key Points: Area damage, high magical attack, low HP

Summary: Cynthia is pure damage, with some of the highest damage potential in the game, but she has low hit points and her biggest strikes are telegraphed.

Dolgolae, the Yomp

No one knows where it came from, or precisely what it is. All anyone can really be sure of is that it's hungry.

Type: Anti-Tank Brawler

Key Points: High HP, average defense, strong attacks

Summary: No one is quite sure what Dolgolae is, but it can dole out serious damage, especially to enemies at full health.

Felix, the Duelist

Only the dashing, the daring, and the deadly can thrive on the Commodore Isles. Felix's impeccable style, daunting skill, and winning smile make him more than a match for anyone — so long as they face him alone.

Type: Solo Brawler

Key Points: Stronger attacks when alone

Summary: Felix is a below-average fighter in a group, but he shines when fighting alone. Put him in a lane to hold off an enemy or send him after a tower while your team keeps the enemy engaged.

Cyrus, the Paladin

His sword glows with holy power. His righteousness and glory are all that stand as a bastion against the horrors of Pixelvania. Don't believe it? Just ask him.

Type: Tanky Support

Key Points: Shield tokens, healing, crowd control

Summary: Cyrus makes good Heroes better. Pair him with a friend to keep them alive and disrupt your enemies.

Dazeem, the Ice Mage

Within her soul lies a raging tempest — a piece of Bit of Water, barely constrained by sheer force of will. She saps the heat from any room, and from any heart. Her blessing is her curse.

Type: Magic Disruptor

Key Points: Board control, ranged attacks, magical damage

Summary: Dazeem reduces her enemies' Attack whenever she hits them. Combining this with the effects of her disruptive powers can throw your opponents' plans into chaos.

Ken Obi, the Apprentice

Ken Obi hails from Nin Tien, and has studied the ancient art of Nin Tien Do at the feet of the renowned Master Waxon. Though still a pupil, Ken Obi is determined to grow quickly — and pass on the lessons to others.

Type: Support Brawler

Key Points: Helps your team level up more quickly

Summary: While Ken Obi's abilities provide an ample blend of offensive and defensive options, the Apprentice's true strength lies in the ability to speed up your entire team's progression, which saves you time and resources over the course of the game.

Kerrick, the Wizard

While some petition the Bits for aid, Kerrick uses precise algorithms and incantations to bend their power to his ends.

Type: Magic Striker

Key Points: Versatility, area attacks, ranged attacks

Summary: While Kerrick lacks in defense, he is extremely adaptable and deals tons of damage. If you like being able to change your plans on the fly, he's the Hero for you.

Kunoichi, the Assassin

There are no assassins in Nin Tien. Their order is a myth. But if there WERE assassins, she'd be the best one ever. The fact that you haven't heard of her is testament to her skill.

Type: Precision Striker

Key Points: Stealth, two-stage powers

Summary: Suda places Death Mark tokens on enemies in her space, which amplify Attacks and power cards she uses against them. Her sub-par HP is offset by evasive abilities, and her boom-or-bust offensive power is unremarkable against targets she's not prepared to fight.

Longshanks, the Pirate

Longshanks has terrorized the merchant fleets of the Commodore Isles for years, always looking for more gold and a greater challenge.

Type: Sustaining Brawler

Key Points: Turns gold into extra damage, limited healing

Summary: Longshanks excels at barging into battle, putting your extra gold to work when a slight edge in combat is all that stands between victory and defeat.

Sedusa, the Gorgon

Making her lair in the deepest, darkest parts of Atar, where even the knights know fear, Sedusa preys on anyone unfortunate enough to cross her path. She twists the power of the Bit of Earth, petrifying her foes with a glance.

Type: Tricky Mage

Key Points: Alternative kill condition, crowd control

Summary: Sedusa has a powerful alternative kill ability that lets her defeat enemies without ever needing to damage them.

Vladiator, the Barbarian

The pinnacle of Saga's warrior caste, as renowned for his recklessness as his courage. Every blow makes him stronger... until the last one.

Type: Physical Brawler

Key Points: High attack, low defense, high health

Summary: If you want a tough character who can hit hard, the Barbarian is your man. It's all he does, but he does it so well.

Motley, the Monk

There are secrets to be gleaned from each of the four kingdoms, if one only knows how to listen. The monk seeks out these truths in order to find the ultimate enlightenment through mastering the art of Nin Tien Do.

Type: Disruption Brawler

Key Points: Interrupts, strong defense, attack disruption

Summary: Motley is the master of Interrupts, so your opponent never quite knows what to expect. He is very sturdy and can deal decent damage.

Runika, the Artificer

Runika is a stranger to the land of Biternia, far from her home in the World of Indines. She is a master artificer, using her powerful creations to augment her fighting ability.

Type: Versatile Striker

Key Points: Passive self-boost from artifact tokens

Summary: Runika is an incredibly powerful Hero thanks to the attack and defense bonuses she gains from her artifacts. Many of her powers are further improved by specific artifacts being active. However, these bonuses fade as she takes damage, so protect her well!

Sterling, the Archer

Calculated and precise, Sterling was an outcast among the fiery people of Saga until he showed he was as dangerous from afar as they were up close.

Type: Ranged Striker

Key Points: Loads of ranged attacks

Summary: For Sterling, nearly any Attack can be ranged. He is most effective when he can camp out of harm's way and snipe enemies, but he crumples under even modest damage.

Keyword Definitions

Confuse

Place a confusion token on the affected Hero. During the next round's Orders Phase, assign the top card of the action deck to each of your confused Heroes, rather than a card from your hand. You may look at the card after assigning it. Then, remove all confusion tokens from your Heroes. Confusion tokens do not affect Hero activation during the round in which they are applied and are not removed if the Hero who placed them is defeated.

Heal X

Target a friendly Hero in your space and increase their HP tracker by the amount healed (X). If a Hero would heal past their maximum HP, the extra healing is lost.

Immobilize

When a Hero becomes immobilized, turn their standee on its side. The next time that Hero would move, for any reason, stand it back up instead of moving it.

Pierce X

An attack with pierce ignores the first X points of defense on the target.

Stun

When a Hero is stunned, immediately discard all action cards from that Hero (both face-up and face-down). Structures can't be stunned.

Structures

Towers and Bits are collectively referred to as Structures. Attacks that cannot target Structures, therefore, cannot target Towers or Bits.

Stealth

Heroes with stealth cannot be targeted by enemy attacks or abilities. Abilities and attacks that do not require a target (i.e., area attacks) can still affect Heroes with stealth.

Shield X

Target a friendly Hero in your space and give them X Shield tokens. When a Hero with one or more shield tokens would take damage (after defense value is applied), remove one shield token for each point of damage that would be dealt, reducing the incoming damage by the number of shield tokens removed. If any damage remains, it is applied normally. Shield tokens are not removed when the Hero who placed them is defeated.

+1 Attack Tokens

Each +1 attack token on a Hero adds 1 to all of that Hero's attacks. +1 attack tokens are removed at the end of a Hero's next activation or when a Hero is stunned, regardless of whether an attack was actually made during that activation. +1 Attack Tokens are not removed when the Hero who placed them is defeated.

Self/Other

When an ability is followed by "Self" or "Other," the range of potential targets is limited. "Self" means the ability can only target the user, while "Other" means the ability cannot target the user.

Example: A power that reads "Heal 4, Self" heals the user for 4 Hit Points. If the power read "Heal 4, Other" instead, the user could target another friendly Hero in their space to heal, but not themselves.