Epic Spell Wars of the Battle Wizards: Annihilageddon Deck-Building Game
Epic Spell Wars of the Battle Wizards: Annihilageddon Deck-Building Game Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Contents
230 Game Cards
- 30 Glyph Starter Cards
- 5 Wand Starter Cards
- 15 Fizzle Starter Cards
- 124 Main Deck Cards
- 16 Wild Magic Cards
- 12 Legend Cards
- 16 Limp Wand Cards
- 8 Familiar Cards, plus 4 Promo Familiars!
8 Oversized Wizards (compatible with previous Epic Spell Wars card games!)
- 20 Dead Wizard Tokens
- 5 Hit Point Tokens
- 1 R'lyeh Standee
- 8 Wizard Ability Tiles
- 1 Annihilageddon Trophy Standee
- 1 Rulebook
Types of Cards
Starter Cards: Glyph (+1 Power), Fizzle (No effect.), Wand (+1 Power; Attack: Deal 1 damage to target player. If they die from this damage, draw 2 cards.)
The other card types are Legend, Wizard, Creature, Spell, Treasure, Mayhem, Familiar, and Location.
Each card shows its Card Type, Card Name, Abilities, Cost, Victory Points, and — where applicable — the Set 1 Tag or an Ongoing Ability.
Setup for Your First Game
1. Oversized Wizards and Starting Decks
Each player is dealt 2 random Wizard Ability tiles (1 each in a 5-player game). Choose 1 tile and place it text-side down in front of you. Place the other tile back in the box.
Next, deal each player 2 random Familiar cards. Choose 1 of them and put the other back in the box. Find the oversized Wizard named at the bottom of your Familiar card and put it in front of you. The promo Familiars allow you to play as popular Wizards from the Epic Spell Wars spellcrafting card games previously released by Cryptozoic Entertainment. If you don't have the named Wizard card, you may play that Familiar with any Wizard.
Place the Familiar you chose face up under your Wizard card. It's best to have the text and cost visible so you and your foes can see your card. Your Familiar is a special card that only you may buy during the game. Flip your Wizard Ability tile text-side up and place it on or next to your Wizard card. Your Ability tile gives you a strategic advantage of some sort.
Lastly, grab a small skull Hit Point Token and place it on the 20 on your Wizard card. Each Wizard starts the game at 20 HP.
Each player begins with a starting deck of 6 Glyph cards, 1 Wand card, and 3 Fizzle cards. You will use your Glyph and Wand cards to buy more powerful cards to add to your deck, improving it as the game goes on. Fizzle cards don't do anything for you when drawn or played, so it's best to get rid of them as soon as possible (more on how to do that later).
2. The Main Deck
Most of the cards that you will add to your deck as the game progresses come from the main deck. Shuffle the main deck and place it in the middle of the table. The main deck is made up of 124 cards total. All Wizard, Creature, Spell, Treasure, Location, and Mayhem cards are shuffled into the main deck.
3. The Legend Stack
These are bad-ass Wizards who have won previous Annihilageddon tournaments and have been elevated to demi-god status in the world of Epic Spell Wars. As you can tell from One-Eyed, One-Armed, One-Balled Willy... some of them are a little worse for wear after such a grueling ordeal. Show your worth during the tournament by defeating some of these big names while also killing off your rivals.
The more players in the game, the fewer Legends are used. This chart shows how many to use:
| Players | Legends used |
|---|---|
| 2-player | 8 + Willy |
| 3-player | 7 + Willy |
| 4-player | 6 + Willy |
| 5-player | 5 + Willy |
The first Legend is always Willy. Set him aside, then shuffle the rest. Randomly stack the appropriate number of Legends into a face-down stack, then place Willy face up on top of that stack.
4. The Line-Up
After shuffling the main deck, place the top 5 cards from the main deck into the Line-Up.
Place each Mayhem that appears in this initial Line-Up into a space that will be the destroyed pile for the game. Replace each Mayhem that you remove this way until there are no Mayhems in the Line-Up.
Next, place the Wild Magic, Legend, and Limp Wand stacks at the end of the Line-Up. You may want to turn these stacks perpendicular to the Line-Up so that everyone can reach them. You will use all 16 Wild Magics and all 16 Limp Wands each game. Wild Magics and Legends are always available to be bought or defeated during your turn (while cards remain in their stacks). Limp Wands are never bought; they are gained only through unfriendly card effects. The main deck and the 3 stacks of cards on the end are not part of the Line-Up.
Lastly, mix up the Dead Wizard Tokens. Randomly select 4 per player in the game and place them into a single face-down stack next to the Legends. Remove the remaining tokens from the game without looking at them.
Gameplay
Randomly determine a player to go first. Each player begins by shuffling their deck and drawing 5 cards. Players take turns in clockwise order. You take your turn by playing cards from your hand face up for all players to see. This generates Power (the "currency" of the game) and other effects.
Each turn, you may buy cards from the Line-Up, Wild Magic stack, and/or the top of the Legend stack to improve your deck. Cards you buy or gain are always immediately placed into your discard pile, unless you are instructed otherwise. Discard piles are always face up. Soon they'll be shuffled into your deck, and then you'll be drawing these newer, more powerful cards into your hand so you can play them. Buying powerful cards builds up the effectiveness of your deck. That's why it's called a "deck-building game."
You can buy any number of available cards with combined cost less than or equal to the amount of Power you have for the turn. For example, your Glyph cards each give you +1 Power. If you draw 4 of them and no other cards with any Power bonuses, your total Power for the turn is 4. You can buy a single card with cost 2, 3, or 4, or even 2 cards each with cost 2, assuming these options are available. Wild Magic cards are (usually) available if the cards in the Line-Up are too expensive, and you may buy more than 1 during your turn if you wish. You may simply end your turn if you cannot buy or do not wish to buy any cards.
Order of Playing Your Cards
On your turn, you get to play the cards in your hand in the order of your choice. When you play a card, its game text resolves immediately. When you have played all the cards you wish to play at that time, total up the Power you have accumulated and buy what you wish to buy from the Line-Up or the face-up stacks. You do not have to play all of the cards in your hand before you start making purchases if you don't wish to. You may play additional cards even after making purchases.
Turn Sequence
- Using cards from the top of the main deck, refill the Line-Up to 5 cards. The active player reads each Mayhem as it enters the Line-Up. After each one has been resolved, replace it.
- "Start of turn" effects happen now.
- Play cards from your hand.
- Total up your Power and purchase cards with combined cost less than or equal to that total. You may play additional cards even after making purchases.
- As soon as you buy or gain a card, place it into your discard pile, unless instructed otherwise.
End of Turn
- Announce that you are ending your turn. Your turn is now over.
- Place any cards remaining in your hand into your discard pile.
- Resolve any "at the end of your turn" effects.
- Place all the cards you played into your discard pile. Any unspent Power is lost.
- Draw 5 cards from your deck.
- If the top card of the Legend stack is face down, flip it face up and read aloud the next Legend's Group Attack.
- The next player starts their turn.
Do not shuffle your discard pile and make it your new deck just because you have no cards in your deck. Wait until you must draw, play, discard, or reveal a card from your deck. Then shuffle your discard pile, and it becomes your new deck.
Sample Turn Sequence
After shuffling up your starting cards, you draw a hand of 4 Glyphs and 1 Fizzle for your first turn. You may play the 4 Glyphs for a total of 4 Power, which is enough to buy Furry Fury from the Line-Up. After buying it, you put it into your discard pile. The Fizzle provides you with no additional Power.
End of Game
The game ends during a player's end of turn sequence if any of the following 3 conditions is met:
- You are unable to flip up a new Legend on the stack.
- There are not enough cards in the main deck to refill the Line-Up to 5 cards.
- The Dead Wizard Token stack is empty.
Return all Ongoing cards you have in play, all cards in your hand, and all cards in your discard pile to your deck. Then, players total up the Victory Points (VP stars) on cards in their deck. Dead Wizard Tokens and Limp Wand cards you own will subtract Victory Points (VP) from your total.
Some cards have a puzzle-piece symbol in their VP star. These cards have additional information written at the bottom of their text boxes on how to calculate their VP value at the end of the game.
The player with the highest VP total is the new Annihilageddon Tournament Champion! In case of a tie, the tied player with more Legend cards wins. If there is still a tie, the tied player with the fewest Dead Wizard Tokens wins.
Additional Rules
Oversized Wizards and Familiars
The oversized Wizard you play as comes with a Familiar card. That Familiar card is placed face up under your Wizard card, but leave the text and cost visible, so you can plan for it. Many Familiars will guide you towards a certain strategy. For example, a Familiar might reward you for having a lot of Treasure cards in your deck. Some Familiars feature an Attack, and they all have a Defense ability. More on that below.
If you have 6 Power during your turn, you may choose to buy your Familiar card. It goes to your discard pile as usual. If you don't buy your Familiar at some point during the game, you do not include that card in your Victory Point tally at the end of the game. Note that your oversized Wizard does not count as a "Wizard" you control.
Attacks, Defenses, and Familiars
Attack cards have an Attack icon. Defense cards have a Defense icon. These icons allow you to quickly identify these cards in the Line-Up and in your hand. When you play a card with an Attack ability, each affected player has an opportunity to avoid the Attack with a card that has a Defense ability. A player using a Defense card's ability negates the Attack only for that defending player. A player may only utilize 1 Defense card per Attack. If a player doesn't avoid the Attack, they are immediately affected by the Attack text. However, if the Attack requires interaction among the players (like passing cards), the Attack won't resolve against any players until each player has had a chance to avoid it. Avoiding an Attack does not negate any other abilities (like +2 Power) of the card. A Defense may not be utilized against an "Unavoidable Attack."
Some Attack cards require you to choose a target. This choice is completely up to the person playing the Attack. It is not random. Only the target (the player you choose to Attack) may avoid the Attack. Several Attacks resolve against specific targets, like the weaker, weakest, stronger, or strongest. These are referring to their current Hit Points.
- Your "strongest"/"weakest" foe is the one with the most/fewest HP. If there is a tie for strongest/weakest, you choose which one of them is hit by the Attack.
- A "stronger"/"weaker" foe (or foes) is one who has more/fewer HP than you. If they have the same HP as you, they are not stronger/weaker than you.
- In a 2-player game, an Attack hitting the foes to your "left and right" will only hit your foe once.
Some Mayhem Attacks can hit more than 1 player if they are tied for a criteria (HP, etc.). In that case, you will see the word "player(s)." This indicates that it could hit 1 player or multiple players.
Some Familiars are a combination Attack/Defense card, but you'll only get to use it one way or the other when you find it in your hand. If you are attacked, you may utilize it as a Defense. This Defense is special in that it redirects the effect of the Attack back to the attacker (except for Poof the Gay Cloud). You may redirect an Attack to the attacker no matter how many targets the Attack has. Note that only the effect of the Attack is being redirected. Familiars don't redirect the actual Attack, so the attacker may not utilize a Defense to avoid the redirect.
The attacker will be hit with the effect (damage, discard, etc.) even if they could not have been a legal target of the card. For example, if a foe plays an Attack for 5 damage against the strongest player (you), you may redirect the 5 damage back to them with your Familiar Defense, even though they are not "the strongest."
However much damage the Attack would have done to you is how much damage is redirected to the attacker. For example, if an Attack deals 2 damage for each Defense you have in your discard pile, and you have 2, you will redirect that 4 damage back to the attacker. You do not check to see how many Defenses the attacker has.
If you do not utilize your Familiar as a Defense, you may play it during your turn. The Defense text will not happen in this case. Only the text above the Defense happens. Same goes for any Defense card. You only read the Defense text if you use it to avoid an Attack.
Legends
When you have accumulated enough Power in a turn, you can choose to defeat a Legend. If you do, take the topmost face-up card from the stack and place it into your discard pile, unless instructed otherwise. The next card in the Legend stack remains face down until your turn is over, so a player may defeat only 1 Legend per turn. Legends range in cost from 8 to 12, and their stack is randomized at the start of each game, so check the stack for the current Legend's cost.
When a new Legend appears on the stack, its Group Attack resolves immediately against each player in the game. Each player with a Defense card may defend against the Attack. The Attack will resolve against any players who do not defend themselves. Resolve the Attack in player order, starting with the player who is about to take their turn. These Attacks do not happen during any player's turn.
Legend Cards in Your Deck
Like any other card you acquire, a defeated Legend will aid you in your future turns. When you play a Legend from your hand, the text at the top of the text box is the relevant text. The Group Attack is no longer applicable.
Shuffling Your Deck
You don't shuffle your discard pile and make it your new deck as soon as you run out of cards. However, at any point during the game if there are no cards in your deck and you need to draw, play, discard, or reveal a card from your deck, immediately shuffle your discard pile, and it becomes your new deck.
Ongoing
Several cards in this set have the keyword Ongoing, especially Locations. When you buy or gain a card with Ongoing, it goes to your discard pile just like any other card. However, when you later draw and play an Ongoing card, it will remain in play in front of you for the rest of the game... or until an Attack might make you place it into your discard pile.
An Ongoing card in front of you (that you control) counts as "in play," just like any card you played during your turn. It counts as "played" only on the turn in which it entered play. Cards in the Line-Up or that a foe controls are never "in play" for you to take advantage of. Ongoing cards give you special abilities turn after turn while they remain in play. Some Ongoing cards have "start of turn" abilities, while others have triggered abilities that happen when you play certain cards.
An "Ongoing" card is any card with the bold keyword Ongoing in its text box. You can have any number of Ongoing cards in play at once. Ongoing cards have an Ongoing icon to help remind you to leave them in play.
Discarding Cards
When a card tells you to "discard" a card, it means from your hand as the default. However, a card may tell you to discard a card from another place, such as the top of your deck. Cards that are discarded this way count as being "discarded."
Destroying Cards
Some cards have an ability that allows you to destroy a card from your hand, your deck, or even the Line-Up. When you destroy a card, place it into a face-up pile of destroyed cards anywhere away from the play area, removing it from your deck and the game. You will often get to choose which of your cards to destroy. Destroying Fizzle and Limp Wand cards will improve your deck greatly! If Limp Wand and Wild Magic cards are destroyed, they go back to their respective stacks.
Gaining Cards
When a card tells a player to gain a particular card or a card of your choice, that card is taken and immediately placed in that player's discard pile at no additional cost, unless otherwise directed by the card. If a card tells you to gain a card with a specific name, card type, or cost and there are none available, you simply don't gain the card.
Note that if you gain a Mayhem, it is destroyed instead, and you don't get another card.
Resolving Card Abilities
If a card's ability affects multiple players, and the order matters (for example, an Attack that has each of 3 foes gain a Limp Wand, with only 2 Limp Wands remaining in the stack), resolve that ability for each affected player in clockwise order, starting from the player who played the ability, or whose turn it is in the case of a Group Attack or Mayhem effect.
When you play a card that triggers another effect, like your Wizard's Ability or a Location you control, fully resolve the card you are playing before resolving any secondary effects triggered by your card play.
Own vs. Control
You control cards that you have played and are in play or that are in front of you on an Ongoing basis (including standees and tokens). You do not control cards in your hand, deck, or discard pile. You own cards that you have bought or gained, whether they are in play, being played, in your hand, deck, or discard pile.
Wild Magic
These cards are available to be purchased at a cost of 3 Power each during your turn, and you may buy as many as you can pay for during your turn. Wild Magics have no card type.
When you play a Wild Magic card, you must immediately make a decision: Do you want to use it for +2 Power or would you rather take your chances and play the top card of a foe's deck? The card you play goes to their discard pile after you play it, so this might be a nice way to deny them access to a good card in their deck. Note that if the card you play off their deck has the keyword Ongoing, you become its new owner and it remains in play in front of you as if you have played it from your hand!
When a Wild Magic is destroyed, place it back on the Wild Magic stack.
Limp Wands
Some cards force players to gain a Limp Wand. You may not buy Limp Wands from the stack. When Limp Wands are gained, they are usually placed in the victim's discard pile, effectively adding them to that player's deck. They have no ability when drawn during the game and can be played or kept in your hand and discarded at the end of your turn. At the end of the game, each Limp Wand in your deck subtracts 1 Victory Point from your VP total, so you'll need a plan for destroying them at some point! If the Limp Wand deck runs out, effects that would cause a player to gain a Limp Wand do not do so, but any other effects those cards have still resolve as usual. A player may still play a Defense to avoid an Attack, even when there are no Limp Wands available to be gained. Limp Wands have no card type. If you are instructed to discard certain card types, Limp Wands are unaffected.
When a Limp Wand is destroyed, place it back on the Limp Wand stack.
Mayhem Cards
Mayhem cards are little mini-events that take place during the game. When a Mayhem enters the Line-Up, temporarily suspend refilling the Line-Up until the current Mayhem has been fully resolved.
Most Mayhem cards are Attacks that players may avoid using Defense cards as usual. However, several Mayhem cards are not Attacks, and those cannot be avoided. When a Mayhem Attack occurs, the active player must be the first player to utilize a Defense, or not. Continue clockwise from the active player until each player has had a chance to avoid it or not. Then resolve the Mayhem in clockwise order from the active player. If a player avoids a Mayhem Attack, they do not participate in the Attack text in any way. For example, if a Mayhem requires each player to pass a card to the player on their left, a player who avoids the Attack does not pass or gain a card. Any Defense text that would affect the "attacker" does nothing.
Once the Mayhem has been fully resolved, place it in a face-up stack of Mayhem cards in the destroyed pile area. Some cards will utilize these used Mayhems, so they need to be kept orderly, despite their name. Then replace the Mayhem by adding the top card of the main deck to the Line-Up.
If a player "declines to participate" in a Mayhem (only allowable due to a card effect), that player automatically avoids the Attack (if any), does not perform any actions the Mayhem requires, and will not pass/gain/discard/etc. any cards.
If a player needs to gain a card from the main deck and a Mayhem is revealed, that Mayhem is destroyed. The player does not interact with that Mayhem and does not reveal a replacement card. Players may never buy or gain Mayhem cards.
Dead Wizard Tokens
When your Hit Points go below 1, you die. Excess damage does nothing. But dying isn't the end of the line in the world of Epic Spell Wars! It just starts a new chapter in your march toward another inevitable death. Once you are decidedly dead, you gain a random Dead Wizard Token (DWT). You now control that DWT. Flip it so the text side can be seen by all players and place it next to your oversized Wizard card, then reset your Hit Points to 20, unless your DWT says otherwise.
Some Dead Wizard Tokens have an Ongoing ability. This means the effect will last for the rest of the game, unless you are incredibly lucky and manage to get rid of it. Some card effects might allow this. If a DWT does not have Ongoing text, the effect happens immediately, or at the end of the game in the case of Victory Point modifiers. For example, if a DWT you gain reads, "You respawn from this death with 11 HP," this happens just once, right now. If your DWT deals damage to you, that damage will reduce your HP from the 20 it reset to.
As seen on the skull side, Dead Wizard Tokens will subtract 3 from your Victory Point total at the end of the game. A player may die any number of times during a game. If the DWT stack runs out, the game ends at the end of that turn and players count VPs to see who wins. Reminder: The number of DWTs that start the game in the stack is 4 per player. A player may gain any number of Dead Wizard Tokens during a game, not just 4.
Annihilageddon Trophy Standee
When you kill a foe, you get the Annihilageddon Trophy Standee. Place it in front of yourself. You get to take advantage of the text on it turn after turn until someone wrestles it away from you. While you control the Trophy Standee, at the end of each of your turns, draw 6 cards into your new hand, and then discard 1 of them to make your usual 5-card hand.
Note that you do not gain the Trophy Standee if you kill yourself, and no one gains it if a Legend or Mayhem in the Line-Up kills a player. If a foe plays a Mayhem (through a card effect), that foe is the source of that damage and can earn the Trophy Standee for killing you.
Specific Card Clarifications
Healing: Some card effects allow you to "heal," which means gaining HP. You do not need to be below 20 HP to heal. Your maximum HP is 25. You may still play card effects that would heal you past 25, but the healing portion stops at 25.
Targeting a foe/player: When you see the word "target," you are being asked to choose whom you wish be the recipient of that card's effect. Think of it as, "Who has a bullseye on them right now?" You choose who has that bullseye each time you play a card with the word "target." A "foe" is an opponent. A "player" may be any Wizard, even you.
Bossu Fishmonger and others: If there is a card of the type indicated, you must put it into your hand.
Cthulhu: The R'lyeh Standee does not give you the ability to destroy cards. You will have to find card effects that allow for card destruction to utilize this standee. If a Group Attack or Mayhem effect destroys a card you own, the standee will trigger.
Dragon's Ballz: If you own only 1 of these cards, it is worth 0 VPs.
The Dungeon Master, The Cosmic Glyph: If you have the Dead Wizard Token that does not allow you to avoid Mayhem Attacks, you may still decline to participate in non-Attack Mayhems.
Expando the Brain: If a player has no cards with cost 5 or greater, they do not take 5 damage.
Fatality Fighter: You give your dead foe their Dead Wizard Token for this death. They do not gain 2 tokens. Shuffle the other token back into the stack.
Fingler, Grave Burst, NOT-Live Girls!, etc.: Each Huge Boner you control adds 1 to your Dead Wizard Token count.
Go-Mart: All of your healing doubles, even if the source is a Mayhem.
Golden Girls, The WHAT?!: Note that both standees and some Dead Wizard Tokens are Ongoings you control and will increase your output.
Huge Boner: This card is not a Dead Wizard Token, but it counts as having 1 until VPs are counted. In the event of a Huge Boner lasting longer than 4 hours, consult a Cleric.
Kids!: If this card is played via a Wild Magic, it goes to its owner's discard pile, as the card is not in play to resolve the end of turn effect.
Lickity-Styx, Demon Wizard: If you have fewer than 5 cards in your deck, reveal the rest, but do not discard any cards yet. Then shuffle your discard pile and reveal additional cards until you have revealed all 5. Then discard all cards with cost 1 or greater, and place the remaining cards on top of your deck.
Mayhem (C): If there is only 1 card to pass to 2 different players, the player losing the card chooses which player to give it to.
Mayhem (D): You must have at least 4 HP to use this ability. You cannot spend HP that you don't have. If you die, you cannot continue using this ability.
Mayhem (O): You are the target of your own Attacks, no matter what criteria the Attack may have. You make decisions, if any, as if you were your own foe. You may utilize Defenses to avoid your own Attacks.
Mayhem (R): Huge Boners are not actual Dead Wizard Tokens and will not be placed into the pile.
Mayhem (S, T): Starting with the active player, each player may utilize a Defense. Do not resolve any part of the Mayhem until each player has had a chance to avoid it. "Avoiding it" in this case means denying a foe the good effect of the card.
Necromancing: In order to "swap," you and your target must each have a Dead Wizard Token. You choose which token you pass and steal. Huge Boners cannot be passed or stolen.
Overkill Grill, Genital Harpies: There are 2 ways these Attacks might deal no damage: If each foe avoids it with a Defense or if there are no cards of the appropriate type in discard piles to cause any damage.
Sugarpuss: You may discard any card from your hand, not just 1 of the 2 you drew. This is the only card that can remove a Dead Wizard Token. Shuffle the DWT stack after discarding your token. Discarding a token does not undo the effects of that token. For example, you do not recover a card destroyed by a DWT if you discard that token.
Wand: A "Wizard" is any player in the game, and you may target yourself if you wish. If you kill yourself with this damage, you draw 2 cards just as if you had killed a foe. You will receive a Dead Wizard Token, but you do not gain the Trophy Standee, as that requires the killing of a foe.
Wand of Porkus: You do not choose or show the card to your target until they decline to use a Defense against the Attack. If this is redirected back to you, it has no effect.
Dead Wizard Token Clarifications
"You take 3 extra damage from Wand Attacks": Only the Starter card with the name "Wand" deals this extra damage.
"Resolve the current Legend's Group Attack against yourself": If the Attack requires passing of cards, you will pass the card to yourself.
"Deal 8 damage to the Wizard who killed you": If a Legend or Mayhem kills you, this does nothing. If you kill yourself, you are the Wizard who killed you. If you gain this at a time other than immediately after your death, it has no effect.
Wizard Ability Tile Clarifications
"Pay 4 HP": You must have at least 4 HP to use this ability.
"If you play 2 or more different Wizards/Creatures": Cards that you play via Wild Magics count as cards you played this turn.