A Duel for Falling Cherry Blossoms: New Act – Basic Set
A Duel for Falling Cherry Blossoms: New Act – Basic Set Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
- Game Overview
- Your First Duel — Game Guide
- Component Overview
- "Your First Duel" Card Set (28 cards)
- Megami Tarot (4 cards)
- Focus Cards (2 cards)
- Cards (44 cards)
- How to Read a Card
- The Board (2 sheets)
- Sakura Crystals (40 pieces)
- Cowering Token (2 pieces)
- Board Closer (2 pieces)
- Range Token (2 pieces)
- Machine Board (1 piece)
- Strategy Board (1 piece), Strategy Tokens (2 kinds, 2 each)
- Wind-Thunder Board (1 piece), Wind-Thunder Tokens (2 kinds, 2 each)
- Card List (1 sheet)
- Rulebook (1 booklet)
- Game Setup and Face-to-Face Deckbuilding
- How the Sakura Duel Proceeds
- Basic Actions and the Meister's Range
- Card Placement Conventions
- Resolving Attack Cards
- Choosing Damage
- Resolving Damage
- Example of an Attack
- Resolving Action Cards
- Resolving Attachment Cards
- Keyword Effects and Basic Principles
- Sample Decks
- Toward the Meister Set
Game Overview
A Duel for Falling Cherry Blossoms: New Act is a duel board game for 2 players. You duel your opponent through three steps: Twin-Handed Rapture, Face-to-Face Deckbuilding, and Sakura Duel. Reduce your opponent's Life to 0 to win.
Twin-Handed Rapture
You choose the 2 Megami who dwell in your two hands.
Face-to-Face Deckbuilding
After both players have confirmed which Megami their opponent will use, each player builds a deck in front of their opponent. The cards you can use change depending on which Megami dwell within you.
Sakura Duel
Using the deck you built, you duel your opponent. The state of the duel is expressed by the various areas on the board and by the 36 Sakura Crystals (tokens) scattered across them. For example, if there are 5 Sakura Crystals on the Range, then you and your opponent are 5 apart. Take up an advantageous distance, unleash your attacks, and whittle away your opponent's Life.
If This Is Your First Time Playing
Follow the "Your First Duel" guide beginning on the next page to play the game.
Your First Duel — Game Guide
Welcome to the Age of Falling Cherry Blossoms
Honoka: Hello there, nice to meet you! I'm Honoka!
Utsuro: Welcome, to the age of falling cherry blossoms... I am Utsuro.
Honoka: We'll be guiding you, since you've only just arrived in this land.
The Age of Falling Cherry Blossoms and the Sakura Duel
Honoka: This place is "the age of falling cherry blossoms." It's a different world from the one you're in now.
Honoka: The biggest feature is... please, take a look! All these cherry blossoms!
Utsuro: These are Shrine-Seat Sakura. They connect us, the Megami, to this world — a special thing.
Utsuro: Megami. Supernatural beings called Megami exist in this world. I and Honoka are two of them.
Honoka: And you are a special gifted person called a Mikoto. You hold the petals of the Shrine-Seat Sakura — Sakura Crystals — in both hands, and through them you can house our power as Megami.
Utsuro: Normally you are a somewhat strong human. But beneath the Shrine-Seat Sakura, you can fully take in a Megami's power and display superhuman ability.
Honoka: And Mikoto fighting each other... that is the great culture of this land — the Sakura Duel!
Utsuro: The reasons vary. To better yourself, or for something you cannot yield.
Honoka: Now that you've come to this land, you're surely going to fight a Sakura Duel.
Utsuro: But if you don't know how to fight, it won't be much of a contest.
Honoka: So we're going to teach you how the Sakura Duel works!
Utsuro: Want to know more about this world? Then try reading the comic — what we've explained is portrayed with even lovelier art.
(Image Comic — Official Story Series 1: "The Divine Cherry Tree's Myth-Telling"; Official Story Series 2: "The Errant Sakura of the Eight-Leaf Mirror")
Honoka: Want to know even more? We're not so well-versed ourselves, but some of the Megami embody history. Why not visit their shrine and ask?
Utsuro's Shard and Honoka's Shard
Utsuro: A Mikoto can normally house one Megami in each hand — that is, two Megami in total. But suddenly combining two is a bit much; you'll probably get confused.
Honoka: So, ta-da! Please look at the bottom of the page! We've split off a portion of our power and made Shards of ourselves. Please house one of these two children.
Utsuro: Naturally, your opponent will house the other Shard.
Honoka: And now, let's play a practice game using these children! We recommend playing it three times — that should let you fully understand the rules!
Utsuro: If you're short on time, one or two times is fine too. Even once, you'll get a feel for the game.
Honoka: Each one's purpose and how to prepare for it are explained starting on the next page.
About the Game's Rules
Honoka: Sorry. As for the fine details of the rules, all we can really say here is "please read pages 11 to 19"...
Utsuro: There's just not quite enough room given to us here.
Honoka: But it's all right! If you scan this code, we can explain things more clearly than reading the rulebook.
Utsuro: Not just us, but other Megami too — we can call on them to explain things together. It's a convenient world now.
(QR code: "Rules Explained" — Utsuro's Shard / Honoka's Shard)
The First Game
Utsuro: At first, we'll fix a lot of things in place and fight with them.
Honoka: Let's get a feel for the basics of dueling!
One player uses "Utsuro's Shard," and the other uses "Honoka's Shard." Each of you should prepare your own cards, and from among them pull out the 7 Normal cards and 3 Ultimate cards marked with the starting-deck icon on their lower right. These will make up the deck you use for the first match. The specific starting decks are as follows.
| Megami | Utsuro's Shard |
| Normal Cards | Toshageki (Throwing Strike), Wakigiri (Side Slash), Kensei (Restraint), Senaka-giri (Back Slash), Nitou Issen (Two-Sword Flash), Hohou (Footwork), Moguri (Submerge) |
| Ultimate Cards | Amata no Yaiba (Myriad Blades), Yamikaze no Koe (Voice of the Dark Wind), Ku no Gaitou (Cloak of Suffering) |
| Megami | Honoka's Shard |
| Normal Cards | Kaben-jin (Petal Blade), Ouka-tou (Cherry Blade), Shunrei-shiki (Instant Spirit Rite), Kaeshi-giri (Return Slash), Hohou (Footwork), Ouka-yose (Cherry Draw), Kouki-shuusoku (Radiant Convergence) |
| Ultimate Cards | Hikari Michiru Ittou (Blade of Overflowing Light), Hanafubuki no Keshiki (Scene of the Cherry Blossom Flurry), Seirei-tachi no Kaze (Wind of the Spirits) |
Additionally, each of you should prepare a Megami Card.
Honoka: On the back of the Megami Card is advice from us. Please be sure to read it!
Utsuro: It might... lead you to your winning move?
Prepare the game as described on pages 11–12, except that for the First Game the following points are changed:
- Do not perform Twin-Handed Rapture or Face-to-Face Deckbuilding.
- The player housing "Utsuro's Shard" is always the first player.
- Do not shuffle the initial deck. Instead, from the bottom, stack face-down the 2 cards whose starting-deck icon shows "3," then the 2 cards showing "2" on top of those, then the 3 cards showing "1" on top of that.
- Do not perform the hand exchange.
Utsuro: The number on the starting-deck icon means which turn that card is drawn on.
(Diagram: First Game — setup complete)
The Second Game
Utsuro: The Second Game is mostly the same as the First Game.
Honoka: In other words, a review round. Though, this is where you should get used to the hand exchange, which is part of the normal setup.
In the Second Game, you use the same deck as in the First Game, but (aside from not performing Twin-Handed Rapture or Face-to-Face Deckbuilding) the start-of-game procedure is carried out in the usual way. If both players wish, you may also swap decks.
The Third Game
Utsuro: In the Third Game, we finally perform Face-to-Face Deckbuilding.
Honoka: Recall what happened in the earlier games, and try swapping some cards out.
Utsuro: If you're not sure, having more attack cards is probably a safe bet...
In the Third Game, deckbuilding takes place before the Sakura Duel. From the 13 cards that include the 2 Normal cards and 1 Ultimate card without a starting-deck icon, each of you should choose 7 Normal cards and 3 Ultimate cards to build your deck, then play the game. The additional cards you can use are as follows.
- New cards for Utsuro's Shard: "Wazurai" (Affliction), "Kage no Wana" (Shadow Snare), "Ubau Ibara" (Stealing Thorn)
- New cards for Honoka's Shard: "Hikari no Yaiba" (Blade of Light), "Seirei Renkei" (Spirit Link), "Kirameki no Ranbu" (Dance of Glimmering Light)
Finishing "Your First Duel"
Honoka: Well done!! You've got a solid grasp of the rules of the duel now!
Utsuro: From here on, a deeper, more intense fight awaits. I look forward to... meeting you again someday.
Well done! Next, from among Yurina, Saine, Himika, and Tokoyo — included with the Basic Set — choose 2 and try a match using that combination. If you find Face-to-Face Deckbuilding difficult, try using one of the sample decks listed on p.21.
Yurina protects the Sakura Duel of this era alongside Honoka and Utsuro, as a Bujin (war deity). She was once human — Amane Yurinami — but became a hero and ascended to the seat of a Megami after the great upheaval decades ago.
Saine was originally a blind master, Hisame Sasane, and was Yurina's greatest rival. Now a Megami, she is a peerless Bujin alongside Yurina — and in contrast to Yurina, who is fixed on victory, Saine embodies beautiful technique.
Component Overview
"Your First Duel" Card Set (28 cards)
This is the card set used when playing "Your First Duel." It contains 18 Normal cards, 8 Ultimate cards, and 2 Megami Cards.
Megami Tarot (4 cards)
Cards that represent a Megami (character).
Focus Cards (2 cards)
Cards for tracking how much Focus a player has.
Cards (44 cards)
Normal Cards (28 cards): Cards that represent techniques usable through a Megami's blessing. Each Megami has 7 kinds of Normal cards.
Ultimate Cards (16 cards): Cards that represent finishing moves. Each Megami has 4 kinds of Ultimate cards.
How to Read a Card
① Card Name
② Card Number, User — Shows the card's number and which Megami it belongs to.
③ Card Type — Every card has one of the types Attack, Action, or Attachment. See the type-by-type resolution of cards (p.17–19) for details.
④ Subtype — A card may have a subtype such as Response or Full Power. A card with Response can be used to interrupt an opponent's attack. If you use a card with Full Power, you cannot do anything else on your Main Phase that turn.
⑤ Text — The card's effect.
⑥ Range (Attack cards only) — Shows the Range within which this Attack card can be used.
⑦ Damage (Attack cards only) — Shows the damage dealt by the attack. The left number is damage to Aura; the right number is damage to Life.
⑧ Cost (Attachment cards only) — Shows how many Sakura Crystals are placed on top of an Attachment card when it is played.
⑨ Cost (Ultimate cards only) — Shows the cost needed to use an Ultimate card. To use an Ultimate card, you must move Sakura Crystals from your Flare to Dust equal to the cost.
Depending on the effect, notation like the one on the left may appear. This means moving the stated number of Sakura Crystals from the area on the left to the area on the right, along the arrow (blue icons represent your own areas, red icons represent your opponent's areas). If the arrow is purple and points both ways, you may choose which direction to move the crystals. For example, in the left-hand illustration you may move crystals from Range to Dust, or from Dust to Range, whichever you prefer.
The Board (2 sheets)
The board represents the dueling ground on which the players fight. It has several areas for placing Sakura Crystals. The momentum of the duel is expressed by how many Sakura Crystals are placed in each of these areas. The areas are introduced below.
① Life — Represents a player's life force. Reduce your opponent's Life to 0 to win.
② Range — Represents the distance to your opponent. If the Range doesn't match, you cannot use an Attack card. At most 10 Sakura Crystals can be placed here.
There is no significance to which stepping-stone a crystal sits on — only the count matters. For example, you can retreat even if there is no empty stepping-stone on your own side (in other words, there is no edge of the board).
③ Aura — Sakura Crystals worn on the body. Used to guard against an opponent's attack. At most 5 Sakura Crystals can be placed here.
④ Flare — Sakura Crystals housed within the body. Needed in order to use Ultimate cards.
⑤ Dust — Represents Sakura Crystals that have lost their power. Crystals placed in Dust should be turned face down. Crystals go here when Aura takes damage, or when they are paid from Flare for an Ultimate card, among other cases.
Note: Life, Aura, and Flare each exist separately for you and for your opponent. Range and Dust are each single, shared areas between the two players.
Sakura Crystals (40 pieces)
Tokens representing Sakura Crystals — shards of the Megamis' power scattered across the dueling ground. 36 are used in the game, with 4 held in reserve.
Cowering Token (2 pieces)
Represents a player being in a Cowering state. Placed on top of a Focus card to track this.
Board Closer (2 pieces)
Parts used to fill the gap in the board. When not using a special board, join it directly to the board; when using a special board, join it to that board instead.
Range Token (2 pieces)
Used at the appropriate points on the Range to help track things such as the Range at the start of a turn, or a Meister's changed Range, as needed.
Machine Board (1 piece)
Used only when housing Sariya (included in the Meister Set).
Strategy Board (1 piece), Strategy Tokens (2 kinds, 2 each)
Used only when housing Shinra (included in the Meister Set). One each of the Strategy tokens is held in reserve.
Wind-Thunder Board (1 piece), Wind-Thunder Tokens (2 kinds, 2 each)
Used only when housing Laila (included in the Meister Set). One each of the Wind Spirit token and Thunder Spirit token are held in reserve.
Card List (1 sheet)
A simple summary of the contents of each Megami's cards. Feel free to use it as needed during a match; it is convenient to cut it apart by Megami.
Rulebook (1 booklet)
In your hands right now.
Game Setup and Face-to-Face Deckbuilding
If a Player New to This Game Is Joining
We recommend a game using "Your First Duel." Please see that guide (p.02–p.06).
Setting Up the Board
Place the board, then place Sakura Crystals on it. The starting value written in each area is the number of Sakura Crystals placed in that area at the start of the game.
| Each player's Life | 10 each |
| Each player's Aura | 3 each |
| Range | 10 |
| Everything else | 0 |
Twin-Handed Rapture
Each player chooses the 2 Megami they will house. Show the Megami you have chosen so your opponent can see, using the Megami Tarot or similar.
Prepare the 14 Normal cards (7 from each of your two chosen Megami combined) and the 8 Ultimate cards (4 from each combined).
Face-to-Face Deckbuilding
With both players' pairs of Megami known, each player builds their deck.
A deck consists of 7 Normal cards and 3 Ultimate cards. Choose the 7 you will use from your 14 Normal cards, and the 3 you will use from your 8 Ultimate cards. Build your deck secretly, so your opponent cannot see its contents (if deckbuilding feels difficult, feel free to use one of the sample decks listed on p.21).
Place your built deck in front of you on the board. The 7 Normal cards become your draw pile; the 3 Ultimate cards are all arranged face down (unused).
Preparing the Duel
- Decide by some random method which player goes first.
- Shuffle the draw pile well, and each of you draws 3 cards.
- Each player may perform one hand exchange. Choose any number of cards from your hand, and place them at the bottom of your draw pile in whatever order you like. Then draw the same number of cards from the top of your draw pile that you placed at the bottom.
- The first player sets their Focus to 0; the second player sets their Focus to 1.
Once this preparation is complete, the situation will look like the diagram on the facing page.
Setup-Complete Diagram
① Board — The board and Closer are joined, with 10 Sakura Crystals on the Range, 3 on each player's Aura, and 10 on each player's Life.
② Megami Tarot — The tarot of the 2 Megami you house.
③ Draw Pile — The remaining 4 Normal cards make up your draw pile.
④ Ultimate Cards — Your 3 Ultimate cards. All are face down (unused).
⑤ Hand — The 3 cards drawn from your draw pile.
⑥ Focus Card — Your Focus. The first player's is 0, the second player's is 1 (in the diagram above, you are the second player).
How the Sakura Duel Proceeds
Starting with the first player, repeat turns alternately using the procedure below. The moment either player's Life reaches 0, the game ends, and the player with Life remaining wins.
Start Phase
Do the following 4 things, in order.
Gaining Focus — Increase your Focus by 1. Focus never becomes greater than 2.
Removing Sakura Crystals from Attachment Cards — If you have any Attachment cards in play, move 1 Sakura Crystal from each of them to Dust. Note: this applies not only to your own Attachment cards, but also to your opponent's.
Reshuffling the Draw Pile (optional) — You may reshuffle your draw pile. If you do, combine your draw pile, discard pile, and all face-down cards, shuffle them well, and make this your new draw pile. If you reshuffle this way, you take 1 damage to Life.
Drawing Cards — You draw 2 cards from your draw pile.
Main Phase
Choose either a Standard Action or a Full-Power Action.
Standard Action — You may do the following 2 things, any number of times, in any order, in any combination you like.
- Use a card that is not Full Power.
- Perform a Basic Action.
Full-Power Action — You may do the following once only.
- Use a Full Power card.
End Phase
If you have 3 or more cards in hand, place cards from your hand face down until you have 2.
Proceed to the Opponent's Next Start Phase
Skipping the Start Phase
On the very first turn, regardless of which player it is, skip the Start Phase and begin the turn from the Main Phase.
Discarding Attachment Cards
An Attachment card with no Sakura Crystals on it is discarded and becomes a discard-pile card. When this happens, if it has a [When Discarded] effect, resolve it. If multiple [When Discarded] effects would resolve at once, the player whose turn it is chooses the order.
Example: On your Start Phase, your Attachment card "Pressure" (1 Sakura Crystal remaining) and your opponent's Attachment card "Clashing Crystal Sound" (1 Sakura Crystal remaining) are both in play. First, move 1 Sakura Crystal from each Attachment card to Dust. As a result, both Attachment cards are discarded, and their [When Discarded] effects resolve. You resolve "Pressure" first, attacking your opponent for 3/–, and then resolve "Clashing Crystal Sound," receiving a 1/– attack from your opponent and moving 1 Sakura Crystal from Dust to Range.
Running Dry
If your draw pile has no cards in it when you are meant to draw a card, you instead take 1 damage to either your Aura or your Life. If your Aura has no Sakura Crystals on it, you must choose to take the damage to Life instead.
Running Dry occurs regardless of the method by which you draw cards, and happens once for each card you fail to draw.
Example: On your Start Phase you draw 2 cards, but your draw pile only has 1 card in it. In this situation, you have two options. One is to reshuffle your draw pile, creating a new one so that you can draw both cards without issue. The other is to draw only the 1 card and take Running Dry damage once. Choose whether to take it to Aura or to Life — if to Aura, move 1 Sakura Crystal from Aura to Dust; if to Life, move 1 Sakura Crystal from Life to Flare.
How to Use Cards
During the Main Phase you may use a Normal card from your hand, or an unused (face-down) Ultimate card.
Normal cards have no additional cost. You may use as many as you like, as long as you have them in hand.
To use an Ultimate card, as its cost you must move Sakura Crystals from your Flare to Dust equal to its cost. If you don't have enough Sakura Crystals in your Flare, you cannot use it.
To use an Attack card, the Range must match. The Range matching means that the current Range value falls within the range of the card you want to use.
Example: There are 3 Sakura Crystals on the Range, so the current Range is 3. Therefore "Slash," whose range is 3-4, can be used. Meanwhile, "Shoot," whose range is 4-10, cannot be used.
Cards that are used are resolved differently depending on their card type (Attack, Action, or Attachment). See the details of this on p.17–19.
Basic Actions and the Meister's Range
If you had no way to advance, retreat, guard, or otherwise take basic actions in a duel, it wouldn't be much of a fight. Basic Actions refer to just such fundamental actions. For example, "Advance" moves a Sakura Crystal from the Range to your own Aura, and as a result the Range becomes 1 closer.
If you have chosen a Standard Action during the Main Phase, you may perform a Basic Action by paying either of the following costs (you may do this as many times as you can afford the cost).
- Reduce your Focus by 1.
- Place 1 card from your hand face down.
Supplement: Focus is a resource for performing Basic Actions. Your hand can also be used as a resource for Basic Actions, but if you do, you do not get the card's normal effect.
There are 5 kinds of Basic Action, and you choose one of them when paying the cost. In principle, Advance, Retreat, Wrap, and House are the 4 available. Depending on which Basic Action you choose, move 1 Sakura Crystal as follows.
- Advance — Move it from Range to your own Aura.
- Retreat — Move it from your own Aura to Range.
- Wrap — Move it from Dust to your own Aura.
- House — Move it from your own Aura to your own Flare.
While the current Range is at or below the Meister's Range, a player cannot perform Advance, and may instead perform Withdraw. The Meister's Range is normally 2, but can change due to card effects.
- Withdraw — Move it from Dust to Range.
Note: You cannot choose a Basic Action that would require moving a Sakura Crystal that cannot be moved. For example, you cannot choose Advance when Aura is 5, or Retreat when Aura is 0.
Card Placement Conventions
As the game progresses, cards move through various states, such as draw pile or discard pile. There is no fixed rule for where you arrange them, but please strictly observe the following placement (orientation of the card) so that each state can be distinguished.
① Draw Pile — Normal cards are stacked face down, in portrait orientation.
② Discard Pile — Normal cards are placed face up, in portrait orientation. These are mainly cards that were discarded after being used.
③ Face-Down Cards — Normal cards are placed face down, in landscape orientation. For example, a card paid as the cost of a Basic Action becomes a face-down card. This is a state close to the discard pile, but your opponent may look at the face of a face-down card, while you yourself may not (think of it as a card discarded with its identity hidden from your opponent).
④ Attachment Cards — Normal cards are placed face up, in portrait orientation. These are Attachment cards whose effect is currently active. They are placed in the same state as the discard pile, but are distinguished from the discard pile by having Sakura Crystals placed on them.
⑤ Hand — Held in your hand, so as not to be mixed up with the draw pile or face-down cards.
⑥ Ultimate Cards — Ultimate cards are arranged in portrait orientation. At the start of the game all are unused; once used, they become used. Whether a card is face up or face down depends on the Ultimate card's used state. Unused cards are placed face down; used ones are placed face up. Your opponent cannot see the face of an unused Ultimate card — only you may see its face.
Resolving Attack Cards
Resolve an Attack card using the following procedure.
1. The player who was targeted by the Attack card may use one card with Response. This is called a Response. If a Response is made, resolve the Response card first. Note: even if the card used in Response is itself an Attack card, no further Response may be made to it.
2. Check again whether the Range matches (it may have changed as a result of the Response). If the Range no longer matches, the Attack fails, and neither the damage nor any [After Attack] effect occurs. If the Range still matches, the Attack succeeds.
3. The attacked player chooses whether to take the damage to Aura or to Life, and takes the damage.
4. If the Attack card has an [After Attack] effect, resolve it.
5. Regardless of success or failure, the used Attack card becomes a discard-pile card (or, if it is an Ultimate card, becomes used).
Attacks from Card Effects
Even when it isn't from using an Attack card, a card's effect may cause an Attack to occur. In that case, resolve it with the following procedure.
1. Check whether the Range matches for that Attack. If it does not match, nothing happens, and the following steps are skipped as well.
2. The attacked opponent may make a Response.
3. Check again whether the Range matches. If it does not match, the Attack fails, and the following steps are skipped.
4. The attacked player chooses whether to take the damage to Aura or to Life, and takes the damage.
5. If the Attack has an [After Attack] effect, resolve it.
Choosing Damage
When taking damage caused by an Attack, the attacked player may choose whether to take the damage to Aura or to Life. If the number of Sakura Crystals on the attacked player's Aura is fewer than the Aura-damage value, they must choose to take the damage to Life instead (except for the exception directly below).
As an exception, if either damage value is "–", you must choose the other value.
If an Attack's damage to Aura is 6 or more, choose 5 instead and resolve the damage with that value (an Attack with Overkill may ignore this rule).
Resolving Damage
There are two kinds of damage: damage to Aura and damage to Life. Each is resolved as follows.
When taking damage to Aura, move that many Sakura Crystals from Aura to Dust. When taking damage to Life, move that many Sakura Crystals from Life to Flare.
Think of it this way: damage to Aura is an attack you guarded against; damage to Life is an attack you took with your body.
Example of an Attack
A: The current Range is 3, so I attack with "Slash," which is 3/1.
B: My Aura is currently 2, so as things stand I'd have to take the damage to Life. So I'll respond with "Clashing Crystal Sound."
A: Resolving "Clashing Crystal Sound" first — "Slash" gets -1/+0, becoming 2/1.
B: Then I'll guard with Aura — I move 2 Sakura Crystals from my Aura to Dust.
A: That's the end of my turn.
B: Then it's my turn — on my Start Phase, "Clashing Crystal Sound" is discarded, dealing a 1/– attack.
A: The Range is 0-10, so it matches. Since the damage to Life is "-", it must be damage to Aura. So I move 1 Sakura Crystal from my Aura to Dust. And then, by its effect, I also move 1 Sakura Crystal from Dust to Range, right?
Resolving Action Cards
Resolve the effect of the Action card. Afterward, the used Action card becomes a discard-pile card (or, if it is an Ultimate card, becomes used).
Resolving Attachment Cards
Resolve an Attachment card using the following procedure.
1. Move Sakura Crystals from Dust and/or from your own Aura onto the Attachment card, equal to its cost (you may freely choose how many come from each, but you must move up to the full cost value if possible). From now on, this card is an Attachment card in play. If it has an [On Attachment] effect, resolve that as well.
2. While there are Sakura Crystals on top of an Attachment card, its [While Attached] effect is active.
3. If an Attachment card ever has no Sakura Crystals on it, it is immediately discarded (or, if it is an Ultimate card, becomes used). If it has a [When Discarded] effect, resolve it.
Example of an Attachment
A: This is "Silent Wall." I move 3 Sakura Crystals from Dust and 2 from Aura. Now my Aura is 0, so "Soundless Shattered Ice" reactivates too.
B: Impressive! Then I'll use "Pressure," moving 1 Sakura Crystal from Dust and 1 from Aura. That brings my Aura to 4, so I'll advance and end my turn!
Tokoyo is a Megami symbolizing eternity — a stubborn artisan. She has a difficult personality, but will lend her power eagerly to one she has recognized. That said, meeting the standard of her discerning eye is no easy task.
Keyword Effects and Basic Principles
+X/+Y
This modifier changes an Attack's damage. The left value modifies damage to Aura; the right value modifies (adds to or subtracts from) damage to Life. This modifier has no effect on damage that is "–".
Negate
This effect prevents an Attack's damage or [After Attack] effect from resolving. If it negates damage, negate only the damage; if it negates an [After Attack] effect, negate only that effect; if it negates the Attack itself, negate both.
Remove
This effect removes an Ultimate card from the game. That Ultimate card is no longer referenced for the rest of the game.
Cannot Be Responded To
Cannot Be Responded To is a property of Attacks. No Response may be made to an Attack with this property. When it is written as "Cannot Be Responded To (Normal cards)" with a qualifier in parentheses, a Response may only be made with a card meeting the condition in the parentheses.
Gap
Gap is a property of Attachment cards, representing an opening created by the action taken. If, while that Attachment card is in play, you take 1 or more damage to Life by a method other than reshuffling your draw pile, all Sakura Crystals on that Attachment card are sent to Dust and the Attachment card becomes a face-down card. In this case, since it does not become a discard-pile card, its [When Discarded] effect does not trigger.
Note: this is not triggered by damage to Aura.
Reactivate / Instant Reactivate
Reactivate and Instant Reactivate are properties of Ultimate cards, representing that the Ultimate card can be reused. They are always active while the Ultimate card is used, and once a card meets the condition set for it, that card returns to being unused.
Reactivate is checked only during your own End Phase. Instant Reactivate is always checked, and applies immediately once its condition is met.
Cowering
Cowering is a player state. If a Cowering player would gain Focus, they do not gain Focus, and instead stop being Cowering.
Even if a player already Cowering is made to Cower again, they do not become doubly Cowering.
Supplement: even when Focus is at 2, if you would gain Focus, you still stop being Cowering.
Overkill
Overkill is a property held by Attacks. Damage to Aura from an Attack is normally capped at 5. However, a card with Overkill can ignore this and deal 6 or more damage.
Termination
Termination is a property of cards. Once a player finishes resolving a card with Termination, that player cannot use cards or perform Basic Actions for the rest of that turn.
Unavoidable
Unavoidable is a property held by Attacks. For an Attack with this property, do not perform the second Range check after the opponent has made a Response.
Basic Principles
- When moving Sakura Crystals, if the destination area cannot hold any more markers, do not move them (this is why you cannot Advance via a Basic Action when Aura is 5).
- When a card's effect or a damage resolution calls for moving Sakura Crystals but there are not enough available, move as many Sakura Crystals as possible.
- If a card has multiple effects, resolve them in order from top to bottom.
- A card's effect takes precedence over the rules.
- If a card's effect both permits and forbids the same thing, the effect that forbids it takes precedence.
Sample Decks
If you're having trouble building a deck, try referring to the sample decks below. Each contains 9 Normal cards and 4 Ultimate cards, from which you should remove 2 Normal cards and 1 Ultimate card to suit your own taste (if you're unsure, remove the cards shown in red). The QR codes link to the official strategy page, where you can read an explanation of each deck and how to use it.
Yurina / Saine
- Normal: Slash, Ittou (One Flash), Tsukauchi (Hilt Strike), Iai (Iai Draw), Pressure
- Normal: Nagi-giri (Mowing Slash), Ishitsuki (Stone Thrust), Domain, Clashing Crystal Sound
- Ultimate: Moonshadow Fall, Rhythmic Arc-Cutter
- Ultimate: Resonant Echo, Soundless Shattered Ice
Yurina / Himika
- Normal: Slash, Ittou (One Flash), Tsukauchi (Hilt Strike), Kihaku (Spirit Drive), Rapid Fire
- Normal: Magnum Cannon, Full Burst, Backstep, Backdraft
- Ultimate: Moonshadow Fall, Red Bullet
- Ultimate: Crimson Zero, Scarlet Imagine
Yurina / Tokoyo
- Normal: Slash, Ittou (One Flash), Tsukauchi (Hilt Strike), Iai (Iai Draw), Koryunagashi (Lattice Flow)
- Normal: Miyabi-uchi (Elegant Strike), Haneusagi (Leaping Rabbit), Shimai (Dance), Kaeshi (Counter Return)
- Ultimate: Urahazan (Wave-Crest Storm), Kuon no Hana (Flower of Eternity)
- Ultimate: Chitose no Tori (Thousand-Year Bird), Mukyuu no Kaze (Wind Without End)
Saine / Himika
- Normal: Happou-buri (Eight-Direction Swing), Nagi-giri (Mowing Slash), Ishitsuki (Stone Thrust), Domain, Shoot
- Normal: Rapid Fire, Magnum Cannon, Backstep, Backdraft
- Ultimate: Rhythmic Arc-Cutter, Resonant Echo, Red Bullet
- Ultimate: Scarlet Imagine
Saine / Tokoyo
- Normal: Happou-buri (Eight-Direction Swing), Nagi-giri (Mowing Slash), Ishitsuki (Stone Thrust), Domain, Clashing Crystal Sound
- Normal: Koryunagashi (Lattice Flow), Miyabi-uchi (Elegant Strike), Shimai (Dance), Kaeshi (Counter Return)
- Ultimate: Soundless Shattered Ice, Kuon no Hana (Flower of Eternity)
- Ultimate: Mukyuu no Kaze (Wind Without End), Tokoyo no Tsuki (Moon of Eternity)
Himika / Tokoyo
- Normal: Shoot, Rapid Fire, Magnum Cannon, Backstep, Miyabi-uchi (Elegant Strike)
- Normal: Haneusagi (Leaping Rabbit), Shimai (Dance), Kazamidai (Windswept Stage)
- Ultimate: Red Bullet, Crimson Zero
- Ultimate: Kuon no Hana (Flower of Eternity), Mukyuu no Kaze (Wind Without End)
Toward the Meister Set
Thank you for reading this far. Did you get to enjoy a match using the Basic Set to the fullest? If not yet, please enjoy a game using "Your First Duel," and then a game using the 4 Megami — Yurina, Saine, Himika, and Tokoyo.
And once you've played enough and want to go further, please pick up the separately sold "Meister Set." In the Meister Set, 8 new Megami await you — ranging from intermediate to advanced difficulty. Once you master their power, an even deeper and more varied duel awaits you.
Each of them carries additional rules. Here, we explain those rules.
Oboro
Some of Oboro's cards have the ability Deploy.
Deploy — If you reshuffle your draw pile, you may use, once, a card with Deploy that was in your face-down cards immediately before the reshuffle.
Yukihi
If you house Yukihi, prepare the Umbrella card (included in the Meister Set) during setup, in its "Closed" orientation.
Some of Yukihi's cards have an open/closed icon. These cards change their content depending on whether the umbrella is open or closed. What changes can be Range, damage, or text.
You may open or close the umbrella once during your End Phase. If you do, flip the umbrella card over to change its state.
Shinra
If you house Shinra, join the Strategy Board to the board during setup. Also prepare one each of the "Divine Reckoning" and "Fiendish Scheme" Strategy tokens.
Place the "Divine Reckoning" Strategy token in the Strategy Board's In-Use slot (①), and the "Fiendish Scheme" Strategy token in the Not-in-Use slot (②). These become the first Strategies prepared.
Some of Shinra's cards execute a Strategy. When resolving such an effect, turn the Strategy token in the In-Use slot face up. If it is "Divine Reckoning," resolve that card's "Divine Reckoning" effect; if it is "Fiendish Scheme," resolve its "Fiendish Scheme" effect.
Once a Strategy has been executed, prepare the next Strategy. Secretly choose a Strategy token and place one face down in each of the In-Use and Not-in-Use slots again.
Supplement: if, for whatever reason, no Strategy is prepared at the End Phase, prepare the Strategy at that point.
Hagane
Some of Hagane's cards have the ability Distant Heart.
Distant Heart — A card with Distant Heart cannot be used unless both of the following conditions are met.
- The current Range differs from the Range at the start of the turn by 2 or more.
- You have not made an Attack this turn.
Note: the Range "moving away" means the current Range has changed to a larger value; "moving closer" means it has changed to a smaller value. For example, if the Range at the start of the turn was 4, changing the current Range to 6 satisfies a Distant Heart card's condition, but changing it to 2 does not.
Chikage
If you house Chikage, during setup prepare one each of the "Paralysis Poison," "Hallucinogenic Poison," and "Numbing Poison" cards, and 2 "Extinguishing Poison" cards, and place them in an area called the Poison Pouch.
These cards are Poison cards, and by the effect of Chikage's cards they can end up mixed into your opponent's draw pile or hand. When choosing which cards to place face down, Poison cards cannot be chosen.
Supplement: Poison cards do not carry information about which Megami uses them, and are not treated as belonging to any Megami with respect to another Megami's cards.
Kururu
If you house Kururu, during setup place 3 "Duplicatia" cards among the additional cards. These cards are added to the draw pile by the effect of "Industria." Unless this happens, they have no effect on the game.
Some of Kururu's cards have a Gear Slot. To resolve the effect written within it, you need cards among your Normal or Ultimate cards — of the card type or subtype written in the Gear Slot — turned face up. Here, "face up" refers to a card in your discard pile, an Attachment card, or a used Ultimate card.
- Heart symbol = Attack
- Diamond symbol = Action
- Clover symbol = Attachment
- Circle symbol = Response
- Star symbol = Full Power
Example 1: If "Drain Devil" is a used Ultimate card, and "Kururuun" and "Accelerator" are in your discard pile, you can resolve the effect of "Electeru." Example 2: If "Kuon no Hana" is used, you can resolve the effect of "Reflekuta." Example 3: If "Happou-buri" is in the discard pile and "Clashing Crystal Sound" is an Attachment card, you can resolve the effect of "Reflekuta."
Supplement: even if the condition of the Gear Slot is not met, effects written outside the Gear Slot still resolve.
Sariya
If you house Sariya, join the Machine Board to the board during setup. Also prepare 5 Ornamental Crystal tokens (included in the Meister Set) and place them in the Machine Board's Machine area (①).
Place one each of "Form: YAKSHA," "Form: NAGA," and "Form: GARUDA" among the additional cards. These cards become active by the effect of "Julia's Black Box." Unless this happens, they have no effect on the game.
Supplement: if both players house Sariya, each of you should use Ornamental Crystals of a different color.
Supplement: Ornamental Crystals are not Sakura Crystals, and cannot be moved the way Sakura Crystals are.
Sariya's cards may have the following special effects.
Spend / Recover — To Spend an Ornamental Crystal means to place it in the Spent area (②). To Recover it means to return it to the Machine area.
Combustion — To use a card with Combustion, you must, as an additional cost, Spend 1 Ornamental Crystal from the Machine. If the Machine has no Ornamental Crystal, such cards cannot be used.
Perform a Thrust — This is an effect that performs a temporary advance or retreat. To resolve it, follow this procedure.
Choose either "Thrust Advance" or "Thrust Retreat." However, if there is no Sakura Crystal available to choose, you cannot choose "Thrust Advance."
If "Thrust Advance," choose any Sakura Crystal on the Range and place a Range−1 Token on it there. A Sakura Crystal with a Range−1 Token on it is not counted when calculating the current Range, and cannot be chosen.
If "Thrust Retreat," place a Range+1 Token on the Range as if it were a Sakura Crystal. A Range+1 Token is counted as a Sakura Crystal when calculating the current Range, but cannot be chosen when selecting a Sakura Crystal.
On your Start Phase, return all of your Range−1 Tokens and Range+1 Tokens on the Range to Ornamental Crystals, and Combust them.
Supplement: if the Machine has no Ornamental Crystal, do nothing.
Supplement: a Sakura Crystal with a token stacked on it cannot be chosen, so it cannot be moved off the Range, nor can another token be stacked on it.
Supplement: if the total of Sakura Crystals and Range+1 Tokens on the Range is 10, no more Sakura Crystals or Range+1 Tokens can be moved there.
TransForm — If your Machine will TransForm, choose one of "Form: YAKSHA," "Form: NAGA," or "Form: GARUDA" from among the additional cards, add it to your Machine, and make it active. When you do, also resolve its transformation effect.
An active TransForm card has its constant effect active from then on. You may also use the additional Basic Action written on it as a Basic Action.
Laila
If you house Laila, join the Wind-Thunder Board to the board during setup. Also prepare one Wind Spirit token and one Thunder Spirit token, and place each at the "0" position on its gauge, oriented so the tens digit reads "0."
Also place one each of "Wind Whirl," "Wind Coil," and "Wind Heaven's Path" among the additional cards. These cards are added to your Ultimate cards by the effect of "Wind Summoning Hole." Unless this happens, they have no effect on the game.
If you use a card belonging to a Megami other than Laila, it becomes Charged. At any of the following timings, you may discharge it and raise the Wind Spirit Gauge or the Thunder Spirit Gauge by 1 (once a card's charge is discharged, turn that card sideways).
- When you use a card, you may do this only for that specific card that was just used.
- On your Main Phase, you may choose this the same way you would choose to use a card by the rules or perform a Basic Action.
- You may do this when choosing whether to reshuffle your draw pile.
Supplement: essentially, think of it as raising one of the two gauges by 1 each time you use another Megami's card. Because of the Charge rule, even if you forget to raise a gauge when you use a card, you can still raise it later.
Example 1: You used "Koryunagashi." Before resolving it, you discharge "Koryunagashi" itself's Charge and raise the Wind Spirit Gauge by 1. Afterward, "Koryunagashi" returned to the top of your draw pile by its [After Attack] effect. Example 2: The used Ultimate card "Mukyuu no Kaze," which you used on your Main Phase, was Charged, so you discharge it and raise the Thunder Spirit Gauge by 1. Example 3: You were about to reshuffle your draw pile when you noticed you had forgotten to discharge the Charge on "Haneusagi," which was in your discard pile, so you discharged it and raised the Wind Spirit Gauge by 1.
Toward Further Expansions
If you wish for a world beyond the Meister Set, further expansions await you. As of February 2020, four exist — "Expansion 1: Myth-Telling of the Divine," "Expansion 2: Mythic Dawn," "Expansion 3: Zero Breakthrough," and "Expansion 4: Ocean Passage" — each bringing new Megami to await you.
Of these, "Expansion 1: Myth-Telling of the Divine" may be obtained even before the Meister Set. It includes 1 new Megami and alternate versions of the 4 base Megami and Yurina, so it can be fully enjoyed even without the Meister Set.
If you'd like a more casual way to play, we also recommend the Festival Set "Matsuri-fuda 2019." It offers unusual games such as drafting, cooperative play, and TRPG.
If You're Unclear on a Rule
The official site has an FAQ, organized by rule and by card, so first try looking up the FAQ for the card you're unsure about. If you still can't find an answer, questions are also taken via the official Twitter account. Please feel free to ask there.