Fantasy Defense Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Solo Mode
  • I. Set-up
  • II. Gameplay
    • 1. Invasion Phase
    • 2. Strategy Phase
    • 3. Battle Phase
    • 4. Reinforcement Phase
  • III. Game Ends
• Appendix – Icons
  • Invaders (Bosses Only)
  • Human
  • Elves
• Cooperative Mode
  • Setup
  • Invasion Phase
  • Strategy Phase
  • Battle Phase
  • Reinforcement Phase

Components

• Human Defenders (37 cards & 1 Reference card) — back of Human cards, Combat Value, Starting Spell Cards, Starting Character Card, Effect.
• Elf Defenders (37 cards & 1 Reference card) — back of Elf cards, Combat Value, Starting Spell Cards, Starting Character Card, Effect.
• Invaders (27 cards & 1 Reference card) — back of Invader cards, Effect, Bosses, Deployment Direction, Pillage Value.
• Gate tiles — 7 for solo play (5 additional for cooperative play), in a mix of x4, x2, and x1 tiles.
• City morale board and tracker.

Solo Mode

I. Set-up

Remove all 2 Player ("2P") Invaders and Gates; return them to the box.

1. Shuffle the remaining 7 Gates and place them in a horizontal row.
2. Divide the Invaders into 3 piles: Underlings (blue card back), Elites (red card back) and Boss (yellow card back). Shuffle each pile separately and build the Invaders Deck from bottom to top in the following order: 1 Boss, all Elite Invaders, the other Boss, and finally all Underling Invaders.
3. Set City Morale to 20.
4. Choose which Defenders Deck to use (Human or Elven); return the other to the box.
5. Place the 3 Starting Cards (as identified in the previous Components section) face up in front of you; shuffle the remaining cards.
6. Draw 4 cards from the Defenders Deck and Starting Character card to form your initial hand.

II. Gameplay

Every round consists of the following phases in order:

1. Invasion (draw new Invaders and assign them to Gates)
2. Strategy (deploy and move Defenders to protect Gates)
3. Battle (resolve action at each besieged Gate)
4. Reinforcement (draw new Defenders)

1. Invasion Phase

One-by-one, draw and assign 3 cards from the Invaders Deck. Each besieges a single Gate according to the following rules:

• Assign from the far left or right as indicated by the Deployment Arrow.
• If the first Gate is already besieged, check to see if the next Gate is available.
• If all Gates are currently besieged, do not draw any more enemies this round.
• When an "Infiltrator" enemy is drawn, immediately choose and discard a unit from your hand.

2. Strategy Phase

Deploy any number of Defenders from your hand, assigning each to protect a specific Gate.

Immediate effects may only be triggered when the Defender is deployed. Ongoing effects are applied so long as the relevant Defender remains in play.

You may also move any number of deployed Defenders to an immediately adjacent Gate – including those Defenders which were just deployed. Each Defender can only move once per turn (rotate the cards slightly, to indicate which have moved).

• The furthest right and left Gates are not adjacent.
• A maximum of 2 Defenders can be kept in hand after the Strategy Phase. Deploy the excess!

Spell Cards

You begin every game with 2 Spells (which have no Combat Value). The Starting Character Card is deployed as normal, while Spells can be used at any time during the Strategy Phase. Simply carry out the effect and flip the card used – it cannot be used again, unless specified by another effect. Spell Cards are not included in your hand limit.

3. Battle Phase

At each besieged Gate – in the order you choose – combine the Combat Value of all Defenders (including any Gate Defense Bonus). Compare this with the Combat Value of the besieging Invader:

• A. If the Combat Value of the Defenders is greater (or equal), the battle has been won! Discard the Invader.
• B. If the Combat Value of the Defenders is lower, the battle has been lost! Decrease City Morale by ½ the Invader's Pillage Value (rounding up).
• C. If you have not assigned any Defenders to the Gate, the Invader pillages your city without a battle being fought! Decrease City Morale by the Invader's full Pillage Value.

Win or lose, battles always bring casualties: discard 1 Defender from every Gate where a battle was fought. Note: undefended gates do not result in casualties.

4. Reinforcement Phase

Draw 5 new cards from the Defenders Deck into your hand. If the Defenders Deck is empty, play continues but you cannot draw any more. It's time to begin the next round!

III. Game Ends

You win immediately if all Invaders have been discarded.

You lose immediately if City Morale decreases below 1.

Appendix – Icons

Invaders (Bosses Only)

Infiltrator (Immediate) – When this Invader is drawn, immediately choose and discard a Defender from your hand. In cooperative mode, the player whose Gate is besieged by this Invader must discard. When Boss Invaders with this icon are revealed, both players must discard.

Aura of Authority (Ongoing) – Boss Invaders are immune to all Spells and Defender Effects. However, Defenders at this Gate may be modified.

Human

Pack Attack (Ongoing) – X = number of Defenders with Pack Attack currently defending this Gate (including this one).

Arcane Renewal (Immediate) – Refresh 1 used Spell – it can be used again. (Cannot be used to refresh Call of the Spirit.)

Sound the Alarm (Immediate) – Draw 1 card from your Defenders Deck.

Never Yield (Ongoing) – X = number of Invaders currently besieging your Gates.

Airlift (Immediate) – Move any number of Defenders from 1 of your Gates to this Gate.

Psychic Storm (Spell) – Discard 1 besieging Invader with Combat Value 22 or less.

You Shall Not Pass (Immediate) – Return 1 Invader from this Gate to the top of the Invaders Deck.

City Shield (Spell) – Skip this round's Battle Phase at 1 Gate of your choice.

Elves

Fairy Lights (Ongoing) – Round down the Combat Value of the Invader at this gate to the nearest 10. Example: 17 -> 10.

Foresight (Immediate) – Take 1 Defender from your Defenders Deck into your hand (then shuffle the deck).

Sound the Alarm (Immediate) – Draw 1 card from your Defenders Deck.

Skirmish (Ongoing) – Once per round, this unit may move after a battle – potentially participating in a second battle.

Rebirth (Immediate) – Move 1 of your discarded Defenders to the bottom of your Defenders Deck.

Yearning for the Wild (Ongoing) – This Defender must be selected as a casualty.

Shifting Winds (Immediate) – Move 1 of your deployed Defenders to this Gate.

Spirit Fire (Spell) – For this round, reduce 1 Invader's Combat Value by ½ (rounding up). Example: 23 -> 12.

Headshot (Immediate) – Discard the Invader besieging this Gate if their Combat Value is 20 or less.

Call of the Spirit (Spell) – Take 2 deployed Defenders back into hand.

Cooperative Mode

Gameplay changes in the following ways:

Setup

Keep all 2 Player Invaders and Gates. Remove the 1 Player Boss Invaders instead.

1. Shuffle all 12 Gates and split them into 2 parallel rows facing each other.
2. Each player chooses a Defenders Deck.
3. Randomly determine the starting player.
4. Note: City Morale is shared.

Invasion Phase

1. Draw and assign 5 Invaders. Assign the 1st to the starting player's Gates, and the 2nd to the other player's Gates, continuing in this order.
2. Boss Invaders are placed between the players' Gates.

Strategy Phase

1. In this phase, you may each give 1 Defender from your hand to the other player.
2. You may only deploy Defenders from your hand to your Gates.
3. Note: Spells may be used on either player's Gates.

Battle Phase

1. Boss Invaders must be battled simultaneously, combining the Combat Value of Defenders from both players.
2. Note: Boss Invaders reduce morale and generate casualties twice – once at each Gate besieged.
3. Note: The 2-player Boss will have 40 Combat Value for the first appearance and 60 for the second appearance each game.

Reinforcement Phase

1. Swap the starting player in preparation for the next round.