Command of Nature
Command of Nature Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
What's in the Box
- 4 Sage packs (Gravel the Pebble Sage, Torrent the Droplet Sage, Cedar the Twig Sage, Porella the Leaf Sage)
- 1 Elemental Market deck (56 cards)
- 1 Command Market deck (85 cards)
- 4 level tracker tokens (Pebble, Droplet, Twig, Leaf)
- 4 Sage boards
- 20 double-sided boost tokens
- 20 double-sided shield tokens
- 20 double-sided damage counters
- 20 double-sided gold coins
How to Start
Start by having each player choose a Sage and take the corresponding Sage board and Sage pack.
Your Sage pack contains:
- 1 Elemental Sage card
- 3 Elemental Champion cards
- 4 Basic Elemental cards
- 3 Elemental Warrior cards
- 6 Command cards
Each Sage belongs to an Elemental faction (Pebble, Droplet, Twig, or Leaf). Each card in your Sage pack is marked by a star symbol. Once you and your opponent have chosen your Elemental factions, return any remaining Sage boards and Sage packs back to the game box.
Place your Sage board in front of you, then take your level tracker token and place it on level 1 of the level tracker on your Sage board. Locate the Elemental Champions in your Sage pack. Each of your Elemental Champions is marked with a level that corresponds with a number on your level tracker; place each Elemental Champion face down on your Sage board in the designated area corresponding to its number.
Use the remaining Elementals in your Sage pack to create your formation. A formation consists of 3 rows into which you'll summon Elementals throughout the game.
If you're playing with 2 players
Row I in your formation has space for 1 Elemental, Row II has space for 2 Elementals, and Row III has space for 3 Elementals. You'll set up your formation directly across from your opponent's formation.
Start by separating the Basic Elementals, Elemental Warriors, and the Sage from your Sage pack. Take 3 of your Basic Elementals, add 1 into Row I and 2 into Row II of your formation face up, and then set aside the remaining Basic Elemental. Next, take your Sage and place it in the center of Row III. Finally, choose 2 of your Elemental Warriors and place them face up to the left and right of your Sage in Row III.
If you're playing with 4 players
Row I in your team's formation has space for 2 Elementals, Row II has space for 4 Elementals, and Row III has space for 6 Elementals. You will set up half the formation using the cards in your Sage pack, and your teammate will set up the other half. You'll set up your team's formation directly across from the opposing team's formation.
Start by separating the Basic Elementals, Elemental Warriors, and the Sage from your Sage pack. Take 3 of your Basic Elementals, add 1 into Row I and 2 into Row II of your half of the formation face up, and then set aside the remaining Basic Elemental. Next, take your Sage and place it in the center of your half of Row III. Finally, choose 2 of your Elemental Warriors and place them face up to the left and right of your Sage in Row III.
Take the remaining Elemental Warrior, the Basic Elemental you set aside, and the 6 Commands from your Sage pack and shuffle them. Place the stack face down below your Sage board to form your deck. Leave space next to your deck for your discard pile. Draw 5 cards from your deck to form your hand.
Take all Elementals that don't belong to a Sage pack, shuffle them to form the Elemental Market deck, and place it face down within reach of all players. (Hint: all Elementals that you'll shuffle into the Elemental Market deck have a gold coin symbol in the bottom left corner.)
Next, take all Commands that do not belong to a Sage pack, shuffle them to form the Command Market deck, and place it face down below the Elemental Market deck. (Hint: all Commands that you'll shuffle into the Command Market deck have a gold coin symbol in the bottom left corner.)
Flip the top 3 cards of the Elemental Market deck face up to form the Elemental Market and flip the top 3 cards of the Command Market deck face up to form the Command Market.
As a final step, remove all tokens from the box and create separate piles for each type of token (boost tokens, shield tokens, damage counters, and gold coins), within reach of all players.
If you're playing with 2 players
Once you have completed setup, the play area should look like the diagram above: each player has a Command of Nature deck and discard pile, a Sage board with level tracker and face-down Elemental Champions, and a starting formation, with the Elemental Market deck, Elemental Market, Command Market deck, and Command Market, along with the four token piles, shared between them.
The player with the most house plants goes first and starts with 0 gold. The second player starts the game with 3 gold.
If you're playing with 4 players
Once you have completed setup, the play area should look like the diagram above, with each team's two Sage boards, decks, discard piles, and combined formation set up across from the opposing team, and the Elemental Market deck, Elemental Market, Command Market deck, Command Market, and the four token piles shared between all players.
The team with the most house plants collectively goes first and starts with 0 gold. The second team starts the game with 4 gold.
How to Play
Your turn is divided into four phases:
Phase I
During Phase I, you'll use daybreak effects. If any Elementals in your formation (including your Sage) have daybreak effects (denoted by a sun symbol), you may use those effects in any order during Phase I of your turn. If you continue to Phase II without using a daybreak effect, you may not use it later in your turn.
Note: You may only use a daybreak effect if an Elemental is already in the formation row that corresponds to that effect when your turn starts.
Phase II
If you're playing with 2 players: During Phase II, you'll spend action points (AP) to perform standard actions and faction actions. You can spend up to 4 AP during each of your turns. Unspent AP do not roll over to your next turn.
If you're playing with 4 players: During Phase II, your team will spend action points (AP) to perform standard actions and faction actions. You and your teammate can spend a combined 6 AP during each of your turns. When choosing which actions to perform, you may look at your teammate's hand. Unspent AP do not roll over to your team's next turn.
Standard Actions
Each standard action costs 1 AP. You can perform standard actions in any order, and you can perform the same standard action more than once on your turn if you still have AP to spend.
Standard actions include:
- Summon an Elemental from your hand to your formation. You can only add an Elemental if there is an empty space in your formation.
- Play a Command from your hand. After you use that Command's effect, move it to your discard pile.
- Swap the positions of 2 connected Elementals in your formation. 2 Elementals in your formation are considered connected if there are no other Elementals between them; connected Elementals can be in different rows.
- Draw a card from your deck. If you attempt to draw a card but there are no remaining cards in your deck, shuffle your discard pile and place it face down to form a new deck, then draw a card.
Faction Actions
Each time you defeat an Elemental in your opponent's formation, you'll increase your level by 1. As your level rises, you'll unlock up to 3 faction actions that are unique to your Sage. Each faction action costs 1 AP to perform, and you may only perform 1 faction action per turn. (See page 18 for more details about Sage boards.)
Phase III
During Phase III, you may use your gold to buy cards from the markets, sell cards to collect more gold, and refresh the markets.
Buy: Each card in the Elemental and Command Markets has a gold coin symbol in the bottom left corner indicating its cost. To buy a card from any market, pay its cost by moving that number of gold from your wallet on your Sage board to the gold pile in the center of the table. When you buy a card from a market, add it to your discard pile. If that card is an Elemental, you may spend 2 additional gold to bring it directly into your formation if you have an empty space. You may buy Elementals of any faction from the Elemental Market.
There should be 3 cards available in each market at all times; if you buy a card from either market, immediately fill the empty space with the top card from that market's deck.
Sell: To sell a card, simply move that card from your hand to the game box to remove it from the game. You may sell any number of cards during Phase III of your turn. When you sell a card, collect gold equal to half that card's cost (rounded up). If that card was part of your Sage pack (denoted by a star symbol), you'll collect 1 gold if you sell it.
If you're playing with 2 players: You cannot have more than 12 gold at any time. If you sell a card when you already have 12 gold, do not collect any additional gold.
If you're playing with 4 players: Your team cannot have more than 20 gold at any time. If you sell a card when your team already has 20 gold, do not collect any additional gold. You and your teammate can spend your collective gold interchangeably, but you will maintain separate decks and discard piles.
Refresh: To refresh a market, spend 1 gold to move all available cards in that market to the bottom of that market's deck, then flip the top 3 cards of that deck face up. You may refresh multiple times during your turn if you have enough gold to do so.
Phase IV
During Phase IV, you'll clean up your hand before ending your turn. Do this by discarding any number of cards from your hand, then draw from your deck until you have 5 cards in your hand. If you have more than 5 cards in your hand when you reach Phase IV of your turn, you must discard cards until you have no more than 5.
Note: If there aren't enough cards in your deck to draw until you have 5 cards in your hand, draw any remaining cards in your deck, then shuffle your discard pile and place it face down to form a new deck. Continue to draw until you have 5 cards in your hand.
How to Win
If you're playing with 2 players: When you defeat your opponent's Sage, you win the game and earn the title of Master of the Elements!
If you're playing with 4 players: When your team defeats both of the opposing team's Sages, you earn the title of Masters of the Elements!
Sage Boards
The left side of your Sage board features your wallet, where you will keep gold you have collected throughout the game. It also includes a handy list of your standard actions for quick reference. On the right side of your Sage board, you will find your level tracker. Each time you defeat an Elemental in your opponent's formation, increase your level by 1 by moving your level tracker token up along your level tracker. Each time your level reaches a set threshold (4, 6, and 8), you gain access to a powerful Elemental Champion and a new faction action.
- Elemental Champions: Elemental Champions are powerful Elementals that are unique to each faction. When you reach a threshold on your level tracker, move the corresponding Elemental Champion from your Sage board to the top of your discard pile. Doing so will reveal a faction action on your Sage board.
- Faction actions: Once you unlock a faction action by revealing it on your Sage board, you may perform that action for the remainder of the game during Phase II of your turn by spending 1 AP. As a reminder, you may only perform one faction action per turn.
Once you reach level 8 on your level tracker, you have reached your maximum level and unlocked all available Elemental Champions and faction actions.
Factions
There are 4 Sages in the base game. Each Sage leads an Elemental faction that comes with its own unique gameplay style:
- Pebble — The Pebble faction focuses on defense with shield generation.
- Droplet — The Droplet faction focuses on card advantage and formation manipulation with a balance between offense and defense.
- Twig — The Twig faction focuses on offense with boosted damage.
- Leaf — The Leaf faction focuses on deck and discard pile manipulation with a balance between offense and defense.
Types of Cards
Elementals
Throughout the game, you'll summon Elementals into your formation. When you summon an Elemental, place it in the frontmost row that has an empty space in your formation. For example, if you have an empty space in Row II, you cannot summon an Elemental in Row III.
Each Elemental has two stats: strength (STR) and health (HP). You'll use the STR stat when calculating damage (DMG) during combat, and HP represents the amount of DMG your Elemental can withstand before it is defeated. Each Elemental Warrior, Champion, and Sage also has an effect near the bottom of its card. Elementals in the Elemental Market display their cost on the bottom left corner. Finally, each Elemental has a symbol and border representing its faction. In order to use an Elemental Warrior or Champion's effect, you must position that Elemental in a corresponding row in your formation, as shown above the effect on each Elemental Warrior and Champion.
Elementals Come in Four Types
Elemental Sages: Your Sage is the leader of your formation. If you have no Sage in your formation, you lose the game.
Basic Elementals: These Elementals have no effect, but you can still use them during combat. Your Sage pack comes with 4 Basic Elementals, and you can purchase additional Basic Elementals from the Elemental Market.
Elemental Warriors: These Elementals have effects that you can use when they are positioned in certain rows in your formation. Your Sage pack comes with 3 Elemental Warriors, and you can purchase additional Elemental Warriors from the Elemental Market.
Elemental Champions: These are extremely powerful Elementals. Like Elemental Warriors, Elemental Champions have effects that you can use when they are positioned in certain rows in your formation. You may only access Elemental Champions by defeating Elementals in your opponent's formation to reach the corresponding level threshold on your level tracker.
Elemental Effects Come in Two Types
Daybreak effects can only be used during Phase I of your turn. You can use each daybreak effect once per turn, and you can use them in any order.
Triggered effects can be used in response to specific occurrences throughout the game. Each triggered effect notes when you can use it in its card text.
Commands
Throughout the game, you'll play Commands to gain strategic advantages, protect your Elementals, and deal DMG to cards in your opponent's formation. To play a Command, reveal it and use its effect, then place it in your discard pile.
Commands Come in Four Types
Attack Commands allow you to use an Elemental in your formation to attack an Elemental in your opponent's formation. Each Attack Command specifies the DMG your Elemental will deal as well as the attack subtype (melee or ranged).
Melee Attack Commands allow you to use the Elemental in Row I of your formation to melee attack the Elemental in Row I of your opponent's formation.
Ranged Attack Commands allow you to use an Elemental in your formation to ranged attack an Elemental in your opponent's formation.
Example: If a Ranged Attack Command states you can deal DMG to an opponent's Elemental 2 rows away, you may attack an Elemental in your opponent's Row I using an Elemental in your Row II, OR you may attack an Elemental in your opponent's Row II using an Elemental in your Row I.
Note: Each Elemental may only attack once per turn. If you are playing with 4 players, you may use any Elemental in your team's formation to attack, but you and your teammate cannot use the same Elemental to attack in a single turn.
Utility Commands allow you to gain an advantage in a variety of ways, such as by swapping the positions of Elementals in a formation or by dealing DMG to an Elemental in your opponent's formation.
Note: DMG you deal using Utility Commands cannot be reduced by the effect of an opponent's Instant Command.
Instant Commands are the only type of card that you can play during your opponent's turn. Some Instant Commands reduce DMG from incoming attacks, while others tip the scales in your favor in other ways.
Note: Instant Commands do not cost AP to play.
Ritual Commands allow you to use connected Elementals in your formation to perform rituals with powerful effects. Each Ritual Command requires you to have a minimum number of connected Elementals of the same faction in your formation.
Note: An Elemental used to perform a ritual can still attack in the same turn.
Your Sage pack includes all four types of Commands, and you can buy additional Commands from the Command Market.
Tokens
Tokens come in four types:
Gold coins: Gold coins are tokens you'll use to track the gold you collect throughout the game. Each gold coin is double-sided, with one side representing 1 gold and the other representing 3 gold.
Gold serves as the currency in Command of Nature. You can use the gold you collect throughout the game to buy cards from the markets during Phase III of your turn.
Damage counters: Damage counters are tokens you'll use to track the DMG dealt to Elementals in your formation until they are defeated. Each damage counter is double-sided, with one side representing 1 DMG and the other representing 3 DMG.
Boost tokens: Certain card effects and faction actions allow you to add boosts to an Elemental in your formation. Each boost token is double-sided, with one side representing 1 boost and the other representing 3 boosts.
If you use an Elemental to attack, each boost adds 1 to that Elemental's STR during the attack. After you attack with an Elemental with boosts on it, you must remove all boosts from that Elemental.
Shield tokens: Certain card effects and faction actions allow you to add shields to an Elemental in your formation. Each shield token is double-sided, with one side representing 1 shield and the other representing 3 shields.
Each shield reduces incoming DMG by 1. After an Elemental with shields on it is dealt any DMG, you must remove all shields from that Elemental.
Example 1: If an Elemental in your formation has 3 shields and your opponent would deal 4 DMG with an attack, remove all 3 shields from your Elemental; your Elemental takes 1 DMG.
Example 2: If an Elemental in your formation has 3 shields and your opponent would deal 1 DMG with an attack, remove all 3 shields from your Elemental; your Elemental takes 0 DMG.
Note: An Elemental in your formation can have any number of boosts and shields on it.
Combat
During your turn, you'll initiate combat by playing an Attack Command. Your opponent has a chance to respond by playing any number of Instant Commands to reduce DMG or gain an advantage in some other way.
To calculate DMG from an attack, start with the DMG described in the effect of your Attack Command, then add 1 DMG for each boost on your attacking Elemental. Subtract any DMG reduced by Instant Commands your opponent plays, then subtract 1 DMG for each shield on your opponent's Elemental that your Elemental attacked. If the calculated DMG is greater than 0, add damage counters to your opponent's Elemental equal to the DMG dealt. Remove all boosts from your attacking Elemental and all shields from your opponent's attacked Elemental (if applicable).
If at any time the amount of DMG on an Elemental equals or exceeds that card's HP, that Elemental is defeated. If an Elemental in your formation is defeated, do not add it to your discard pile; instead, return it to the game box to remove it from the game. Return any tokens on that Elemental to the corresponding token pile in the center of the table.
Note: Each time you defeat an Elemental in your opponent's formation, increase your level by 1 on your level tracker. If you're playing with 4 players and you defeat an Elemental in your opponent's formation by attacking with an Elemental in your team's formation, only you increase your level by 1 on your level tracker; your teammate does not increase their level, even if you used an Elemental in their half of your team's formation to attack.
If an Elemental in your formation is defeated, it leaves an empty space, and you might have to shift your formation before gameplay can resume. If an Elemental is defeated in Row I of your formation and you have at least 1 Elemental in Row II, you must move an Elemental from Row II to Row I to fill that space. Likewise, if you have an empty space in Row II and have at least 1 Elemental in Row III, you must move an Elemental from Row III to fill that space if possible. Continue this process until Row I and Row II have no empty spaces (or you have no available Elementals to move into those spaces). In short, you cannot leave spaces in your frontmost rows if you have additional Elementals (including your Sage) in rows farther back in your formation.
If you're playing with 2 players: If your Sage is defeated, you lose the game.
If you're playing with 4 players: If your Sage is defeated but your teammate's Sage is not, you may continue playing; however, you cannot use any faction actions or increase your level on your level tracker for the remainder of the game.
Clean Up
Once you've tasted sweet victory or bitter defeat, it's time to pack up! While the Master(s) of the Elements gloat, the defeated player(s) must follow these clean-up steps to make the next match easier to set up:
- Return any cards in the game box to the center of the table.
- Collect all cards from your Sage pack and place them in a pile.
- Collect all cards from your opponent's Sage pack and place them in a pile.
- Return all Elemental Market cards to the Elemental Market deck, then place it in the left compartment of the game box.
- Return all Command Market cards to the Command Market deck, then place it in the right compartment of the game box.
- Place the Sage packs in the game box on top of the market decks.
- Place all tokens in their respective compartments.
- Finally, place all Sage boards on top, place the rule book on top of the Sage boards, then close the box.
For additional resources, visit unstablegames.com/commandofnature where you can find a video tutorial, the Command of Nature FAQ, and the latest Command of Nature expansions and merch.