Genshin Tarot
Genshin Tarot Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Game Components List
- 60 Mora Tokens (Worth 1 and 5)
- 24 Shield Tokens (Reversible 1 and 2)
- 40 Damage Tokens (Reversible 1 and 2)
- 108 Element Tokens (18 of each element)
- 20 Action Point (AP) Trackers
- 12 Player Resource Trackers (HP, Energy, and Guard)
- 7 Large Damage Tokens (Reversible 5 and 10)
- 4 Player Aid Cards
- 46 Ley Line Disorder Cards
- 1 Turn Tracker
- 2 Six Sided Dice
- 28 Card Dividers
- 40 Positive Status Cards (Dash and Overheat)
- 40 Negative Status Cards (Burn and Freeze)
- 138 Action Cards (6 per character)
- 92 Upgraded Action Cards (4 per character)
- 4 Player Boards
- 23 Elemental Burst Cards
- 3 Boss Boards, 7 Boss Cards, and 14 boss life tokens
- 22 Character Tarot Cards
- 40 Basic Enemy Cards and 16 Royal Enemy Cards
Player Set Up
Step 1
- Shuffle the deck of Character Tarot cards, then deal 6 cards to each player.
- Each player discards 2 and keeps the other 4 to form their party. (Try to build a party with at least 3 different elements!)
- When you are dealt "The World" card, you can pick any element's version of the Traveler, but not more than 1.
Tip: Try to build a party with 3 or 4 elements! Having more elements makes it easier to trigger reactions, which is crucial to success.
Example: You are dealt 6 Tarot Cards, Amber, The Traveler, Jean, Kaeya, Xingqiu, and Qiqi. You discard Xingqiu and Qiqi, then keep the other 4 to form your team. For "The World" card, you pick the Geo version of the Traveler.
Step 2
- Collect your 4 characters' Elemental Burst Cards and place them above your player board.
Step 3
- Take each character's 6 basic Action cards (the ones without a "+" in the name and gold border) and shuffle them to create a 24 card starting deck.
Step 4
- Put the upgraded "+" versions of each character's Action Cards (4 per character) to the left and right side of your player board.
- Separate each character's upgraded cards into their own stack.
Don't worry about reading these cards right now. You won't be able to purchase them until you earn some Mora.
Every card in your deck can be upgraded by spending Mora, and you'll earn Mora by defeating enemies. Knowing which cards to upgrade based on the synergies of your unique party composition is key to success!
Step 5
- Place the Freeze, Burn, Dash, and Overheat Status Cards in their own piles within easy reach of all players.
- Also set up the Entangled and Sprout Status Cards if you own the expansions.
- Status Cards are added to your deck throughout the game by various sources, like elemental reactions or enemy effects.
Step 6
- Place your HP resource tracker on 12, then place your Energy and Guard resource trackers on 0.
- Place 5 Action Point (AP) trackers in front of you to track your AP usage. Set it to 3 available AP and 2 spent AP.
You start every turn with 3 Action Points (AP), and AP does not carry over between turns.
Table Set Up
Step 7
- Select a Boss to challenge for your game. If this is your first game, we recommend starting with Dvalin.
- Place the Boss Board facedown in the center of the table so that the turn counter clock is showing.
Step 8
- Deal each player 3 random facedown Royal Enemy Cards.
- Arrange them with 2 on the bottom and 1 on top like a small pyramid.
- Royal enemies are those with gold borders.
Step 9
- Deal each player 8 random facedown Basic Enemy Cards.
- These are stacked in a brick pattern (see example on right). First a row of 2, then 3, then 2, and finally 1. Again, imagine you are building a pyramid!
- Boss summons are separate and not used during setup.
Step 10
- Take the leyline deck associated with your selected boss, shuffle it, and place it in the center of the Boss Board.
- If the leyline deck is ordered by turn, arrange it in turn order.
Step 11
- Place the turn counter on XII (the 12 o'clock position).
The turn counter will move to "I" at the start of the first turn.
Step 12
- Place the various element, Mora, Damage, and enemy Shield tokens within reach of all players.
Tip: In 3-4 player games, create 2 piles of each token and place them in opposite corners of the table for easy access to all players.
Step 13
- Give each player a Player Aid card.
The front lists out the gameplay phases and the back has a chart of all Elemental Reactions.
Step 14
- Each player draws 5 cards from their shuffled deck of 24 Action Cards.
Step 15
- Reveal the first Enemy Card for each player.
- Resolve "On Reveal" effects of enemies if there are any.
You are now ready to start the first Player Phase! Move the turn tracker to "I" and begin playing cards.
Genshin Tarot can be challenging for those unfamiliar with deck builders. See the "Difficulty Options" section for handicaps and difficulty modifiers!
How To Play
Genshin Tarot is played over the course of multiple turns. Each turn is divided into 2 parts: The Player Phase and The Enemy Phase.
Player Phase Overview
START of each Player Phase:
- Players reset Guard to 0.
- Players reset Action Points (AP) to 3.
- Progress the turn counter by 1. On the first turn, you'll progress from XII to I.
- Reveal Ley Line cards.
- Resolve start of turn effects (in any order).
DURING each Player Phase, you may freely perform the following:
- Spend Action Points (AP) to play Action Cards.
- Spend 5 Mora to Upgrade an Action Card.
- Spend 3 Mora to buy a basic Action Card.
- Spend Energy to activate an Elemental Burst.
All players act simultaneously during the Player Phase, and there is no limit to how many times you can perform each of the above options as long as you have the resources to pay.
If you have no enemies remaining in front of you but still have playable cards, you may choose to flip over an unobstructed enemy.
Once ALL players have declared that they are finished playing, the Player Phase ends.
END of each Player Phase:
- Players move the cards they've played this turn and all cards remaining in their hands into their discard pile.
- Players draw a new hand of 5 cards.
If your deck is empty at any time and you need to draw cards, shuffle your discard pile into a new deck. Note that cards you've played are not discarded until the end of the phase!
Enemy Phase Overview
START of each Enemy Phase:
- All faceup enemies in your zone, from left to right, attack you. You take damage equal to that enemy's attack.
- If you have any Guard, the damage reduces your Guard until you have no Guard left, then reduces your HP.
END of each Enemy Phase:
- Reveal all unobstructed facedown enemies, even if they are in different rows.
- If an enemy has an "On Reveal" effect, it is resolved immediately.
If Boss Has Been Revealed
START of each Enemy Phase:
- Before enemies attack, the Boss will roll 1d6 and perform a corresponding attack against the players.
- Some Bosses may have different rules. Follow the instructions on the Boss Board!
The Boss is revealed IMMEDIATELY when a player defeats all enemies in their Zone. If another player still has enemies in their Zone, they will be attacked by both the Boss AND the enemies in their Zone on the Enemy Phase.
Tip: Players who are progressing too fast should help their allies! Try to face the Boss as a united front.
Victory Conditions
- Once the Boss is defeated, all players win together!
Loss Conditions
- If any player's HP falls to 0 at any time, all players lose.
- If the turn counter reaches XII before the Boss is revealed, all players lose.
Action Cards
Playing Action Cards
Action Cards are the core of Genshin Tarot. Playing them is the primary way players will defeat the enemies.
Once an Action Card is played, its effects are resolved from top to bottom, and cannot be interrupted by playing other cards.
You always start the Player Phase with 3 Action Points. Unspent Action Points DO NOT carry over to the next round.
Played cards are sent to the discard pile at the end of the Player Phase.
Action Card Breakdown
Each Action Card shows:
- Card Name — Upgraded Action Cards end with a "+" symbol. Effects that say "Card Name(+)" means either the basic or upgraded version.
- AP Cost — The number of Action Points (AP) it costs to play this card. Most cards cost 1 AP, but some can cost 0 or 2. The AP Cost can change when a card is upgraded.
- Effect — The effects of the card when played. Always resolved top down.
- Card Type — There are 2 types of Action Cards: Normal Attacks and Elemental Skills. Certain effects will reference the type of Action Cards.
Example card — Ancient Sword Art (Normal Attack): "Deal 2 Damage to 1 enemy in your Zone. Gain 2 Energy if that enemy has Cryo applied."
Upgrading Action Cards
During the Player Phase, you can spend 5 Mora to upgrade a basic Action Card in your hand.
You cannot upgrade a card you have already played or upgrade a card in your discard pile.
You cannot upgrade a card if there are no more upgraded versions of that card available.
The upgraded version is added directly into your hand and can be played immediately. The basic version is placed to the side of your player board and can be purchased later.
Buying Basic Action Cards
During the Player Phase, you can spend 3 Mora to purchase a basic action card, adding it directly into your hand. You can play the newly purchased card on your turn immediately.
Both upgrading and buying cards DO NOT spend any Action Points (AP).
Elemental Burst Cards
Burst Card Breakdown
During the Player Phase, you can spend Energy equal to an Elemental Burst's cost to activate it.
This DOES NOT spend any Action Points (AP).
There is no limit to how many Elemental Bursts you can use as long as you can pay the Energy costs.
Elemental Bursts have a max cost of 10 Energy.
Tip: Hydro reactions generate Energy the fastest!
Example burst — Dandelion Breeze: "Restore 2 HP to yourself and one other player, Apply Anemo to all enemies in your Zone."
Key Words Glossary
- Apply X element: You cannot apply the same element to an enemy twice. Applying a second element triggers an Elemental Reaction.
- Damage: Enemies with Shield tokens do not take any damage. Shield tokens are primarily removed via Elemental Reactions.
- Discard: Your discard pile contains the cards you have played or discarded. When your deck is empty, shuffle your entire discard and form a new deck with it.
- Energy: Energy cannot be increased beyond the maximum of 12. Energy is spent to activate Elemental Bursts. You can activate as many bursts as you can afford energy to spend.
- Guard: Guard cannot be increased beyond the maximum of 12. When you take damage, decrease your Guard instead of HP first. You lose any remaining Guard at the start of each Player Phase.
- HP: HP cannot be increased beyond the maximum of 12. When an enemy attacks you, reduce your HP by their attack. When a player's HP reaches zero, the game is over for everyone.
- Piercing Damage: Piercing damage is dealt even if the enemy has Shield tokens.
- Roll 1d6: Notation stands for
d . 1d6 means roll one six-sided die. 2d6 means rolling two six-sided dice. - Shield: Enemies have a Shield value. Shield tokens are placed on the enemy when they are revealed. Enemies with Shield tokens do not take any damage (unless it is Piercing).
- Summon: Summoning an enemy into a zone reveals that enemy into your zone. Boss summons are unique enemy cards that are only summoned by bosses.
- Trash: Trashed Action Cards are placed to the side of your player board instead of the discard pile. Trashed Status Cards are returned to their corresponding Status Card supply pile.
- Zone: A Zone is the group of enemies in front of each player. Each player has their own Zone of enemies.
Enemy Cards
Enemy Card Breakdown
Each Enemy Card shows:
- HP — How much HP the enemy has. Once an Enemy has damage equal to their HP, it is defeated.
- Mora — How much Mora this enemy gives you when defeated. The Zone determines who gets the Mora, so even if you defeat an enemy in another player's Zone, you do not steal the Mora.
- Attack — How much damage the enemy deals to you when it attacks. If you have Guard, it is reduced first by the attack before damaging you.
- Shields — How many Shield tokens the enemy begins with when revealed. Enemies with Shield Tokens TAKE NO DAMAGE (unless it is piercing). 1 Shield Token is removed each time an Elemental Reaction triggers.
- Abilities — Enemies can have 3 types of Abilities: On Reveal, On Death, and Passive.
Royal Enemy Cards have a gold border but no functional difference.
Tip: Enemy passive effects that check "If I damage you" like Cryo Whopperflower's can be prevented if you have enough Guard to absorb all the damage!
Enemy Abilities & Effects
Revealing Enemy Cards
- At the end of the Enemy Phase, unobstructed Enemy Cards are revealed.
- Unobstructed means the facedown Enemy Card has no cards on top of it.
- If the enemy has Shields, immediately place that many Shield tokens on the enemy.
- If the enemy has an "On Reveal" effect, it resolves immediately.
Enemy Effect Types
- On Reveal: Trigger this ability when this enemy is revealed.
- On Death: Trigger this ability when this enemy is defeated.
- Passive: This ability is always in effect, but it may describe a specific condition for its activation.
Negative Status Cards
- Burn, Freeze, Entangled, Overheat, Dash, and Sprout cards are Status Cards.
- Status Cards behave the same as an Action Card, but are not considered Action Cards.
- Negative Status Cards (Burn, Freeze, and Entangled) cannot be played and have passive effects that become active immediately when they are drawn into your hand.
Turn Counter
Game Board Turn Counter
At the center of the game table is the Boss Board. It starts the game on its dormant domain side. This side has a 12-turn clock. If the turn counter hits 12, the game is lost.
Tip: This means you only have 11 Player Phases, not 12, to reach the Boss, as you do not get to take the 12th turn!
The turn numbers have small card icons indicating how many random Ley Line cards should be revealed (marked at turns III, VI, and IX).
Some Boss Boards do not have these and instead have a deck of Ley Line cards that tell you exactly which card to reveal each turn.
Ley Line Disorders
- When a Ley Line Disorder card is revealed, resolve its effects immediately before revealing the next card.
- Once all Ley Line Disorder cards are revealed for the turn, shuffle them back into the deck.
- Some bosses have a Ley Line card deck with the reveal turn labeled on the back. In this case, reveal that Ley Line card at the start of the turn indicated.
Boss Fight
You've Revealed the Boss! Now What?
After the Boss is revealed, the turn counter & Ley Line Disorder cards are removed from the game. Ley Line Disorder cards are no longer revealed at the start of future Player Phases.
The Boss's Lives, HP, and Shield values are listed in the top right corner. These are determined by the number of players. The more players, the stronger the Boss.
Each boss has their own setup card that describes the unique mechanics and setup rules of that boss! Be sure to read it before setting up the game.
Battling the Boss
At the start of the Enemy Phase, roll 1d6, then resolve the corresponding attack on the Boss Board.
The boss's attack affects ALL players, even those who still have enemies remaining in their Zone. Players with enemies remaining in their Zone do not consider the Boss to be in their Zone.
Bosses have multiple passives. These effects are permanently in play for all players once the Boss has been revealed.
Bosses have multiple lives. When a boss's HP is depleted, they lose a life, then reset back to full HP and regain all of their lost shields.
Players win once the boss loses its last life!
Elemental Reaction Chart
Triggering Elemental Reactions
- To apply X element, simply take that element's token and place it on the enemy's card.
- If the enemy already has a different element applied, an Elemental Reaction is triggered. The reaction type is determined by the SECOND element that was applied. The chart below tells you what the reaction does.
- ALL REACTIONS remove 1 Shield token from the enemy.
- An enemy cannot be applied with the same element twice. If an enemy already has the element you are trying to apply, the application fails and does nothing.
- Elemental Reaction effects resolve immediately, interrupting the effect that applied the element.
- Remove both element tokens from the enemy after resolving the reaction.
- If you're able to apply multiple elements at the same time due to stacking effects, the player(s) choose the order in which the elements are applied.
- The player who triggered the reaction is the one who gains the reaction's effects.
Tip: Help your allies by applying elements to their enemies to set them up for reactions!
The chart below lists the effect that occurs based on which element was applied SECOND to the enemy (any other element already on the enemy can trigger it):
| Element applied second | Effect |
|---|---|
| Anemo | Add 1 Dash Card to your discard |
| Geo | Gain 2 Guard & 2 Energy |
| Electro | Deal 2 Piercing Damage & gain 1 Energy |
| Pyro | Add 1 Overheat Card to your discard |
| Hydro | Gain 3 Energy |
| Cryo | Destroy 1 extra Shield and gain 2 Energy |
| Dendro | Add 1 Sprout Card to the top of any deck |
Positive Status Cards
- Burn, Freeze, Entangled, Overheat, Dash, and Sprout cards are Status Cards.
- Status Cards behave the same as an Action Card, but are not considered Action Cards.
- Positive Status Cards (Overheat, Dash, and Sprout) can be played from your hand and do not cost any Action Points (AP) to play.
Difficulty Options
Advanced Gameplay Mode
For players who are familiar with the game and want a more customized and challenging experience, perform the following changes.
- When setting up your starting deck, instead of using all 24 Basic Action Cards, remove any 4 cards from the deck, setting them to the sides of the player board. These 4 Basic Action Cards can be purchased like normal and you'll start with a deck of 20 cards instead of 24.
- When dealing enemies, add 1 additional Royal Enemy Card underneath the final row of enemies, forming a diamond pattern with the 4 Royal enemies.
- Upgrading cards in your hand costs 7 Mora instead of 5 Mora. You can now also upgrade a card in your discard pile for 5 Mora, but the upgraded card stays in the discard pile.
New Player Handicaps
For players still new to the deck building genre of games, Genshin Tarot can be very challenging. For your first few games, consider the following setup changes.
- At the start of the game, give each player who wants a handicap 3 Mora, 3 Energy, and 1 Revive token.
- When a player loses all of their HP, they may spend their Revive token to immediately restore 7 HP.
- Revive tokens cannot be transferred between players.
Boss Difficulty Levels
The 7 different bosses in the game are each of different difficulties. The following list is the recommended order in which to fight the bosses in rising difficulty levels.
- Dvalin
- Andrius
- Azhdaha
- Shouki no Kami (Volume 2)
- La Signora (Volume 2)
- Childe (Volume 2)
- The Shogun (Volume 2)
Character List
Base Game Set
| Tarot | Name | Character | Element |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | The Fool | Venti | Anemo |
| I | The Magician | Sucrose | Anemo |
| II | The High Priestess | Ning Guang | Geo |
| III | The Empress | Lisa | Electro |
| IV | The Emperor | Diluc | Pyro |
| V | The Hierophant | Zhong Li | Geo |
| VI | The Lovers | Xiang Ling | Pyro |
| VII | The Chariot | Noelle | Geo |
| VIII | Strength | Qi Qi | Cryo |
| IX | The Hermit | Chong Yun | Cryo |
| X | Wheel of Fortune | Amber | Pyro |
| XI | Justice | Xing Qiu | Hydro |
| XII | The Hanged Man | Kaeya | Cryo |
| XIII | Death | Ke Qing | Electro |
| XIV | Temperance | Mona | Hydro |
| XV | The Devil | Tartaglia | Hydro |
| XVI | The Tower | Fischl | Electro |
| XVII | The Star | Barbara | Hydro |
| XVIII | The Moon | Beidou | Electro |
| XIX | The Sun | Klee | Pyro |
| XX | Judgement | Jean | Anemo |
| XXI | The World | Aether | Geo |
| XXI | The World | Lumine | Anemo |
Volume 2 Set
| Tarot | Name | Character | Element |
|---|---|---|---|
| XXI | The World | Aether | Dendro |
| XXI | The World | Lumine | Electro |
| P I | Ace of Pentacles | Nahida | Dendro |
| P II | Two of Pentacles | Thoma | Pyro |
| P III | Three of Pentacles | Kaveh | Dendro |
| P IV | Four of Pentacles | Yelan | Hydro |
| P V | Five of Pentacles | Collei | Dendro |
| P VI | Six of Pentacles | Cyno | Electro |
| P VII | Seven of Pentacles | Kuki Shinobu | Electro |
| P VIII | Eight of Pentacles | Lyney | Pyro |
| P IX | Nine of Pentacles | Freminet | Cryo |
| P X | Ten of Pentacles | Dori | Electro |
| P XI | Page of Pentacles | Tighnari | Dendro |
| P XII | Knight of Pentacles | Gorou | Geo |
| P XIII | Queen of Pentacles | Arlecchino | Pyro |
| P XIV | King of Pentacles | Baizhu | Dendro |
| W I | Ace of Wands | Chiori | Geo |
| W II | Two of Wands | Faruzan | Anemo |
| W III | Three of Wands | Charlotte | Cryo |
| W IV | Four of Wands | Chevreuse | Pyro |
| W V | Five of Wands | Arataki Itto | Geo |
| W VI | Six of Wands | Kujou Sara | Electro |
| W VII | Seven of Wands | Kokomi | Hydro |
| W VIII | Eight of Wands |
Cups Extension Set
| Tarot | Name | Character | Element |
|---|---|---|---|
| C I | Ace of Cups | Shenhe | Cryo |
| C II | Two of Cups | Nilou | Hydro |
| C III | Three of Cups | Navia | Geo |
| C IV | Four of Cups | Lynette | Anemo |
| C V | Five of Cups | Wanderer | Anemo |
| C VI | Six of Cups | Furina | Hydro |
| C VII | Seven of Cups | Layla | Cryo |
| C VIII | Eight of Cups | Xianyun | Anemo |
| C IX | Nine of Cups | Sayu | Anemo |
| C X | Ten of Cups | Kirara | Dendro |
| C XI | Page of Cups | Heizou | Anemo |
| C XII | Knight of Cups | Gaming | Pyro |
| C XIII | Queen of Cups | Ayaka | Cryo |
| C XIV | King of Cups | Wriothesley | Cryo |
Swords Expansion Set
| Tarot | Name | Character | Element |
|---|---|---|---|
| S I | Ace of Swords | Yoimiya | Pyro |
| S II | Two of Swords | Diona | Cryo |
| S III | Three of Swords | Rosaria | Cryo |
| S IV | Four of Swords | Hu Tao | Pyro |
| S V | Five of Swords | Kazuha | Anemo |
| S VI | Six of Swords | Ganyu | Cryo |
| S VII | Seven of Swords | Yanfei | Pyro |
| S VIII | Eight of Swords | Xiao | Anemo |
| S IX | Nine of Swords | Xinyan | Pyro |
| S X | Ten of Swords | Eula | Cryo |
| S XI | Page of Swords | Razor | Electro |
| S XII | Knight of Swords | Bennett | Pyro |
| S XIII | Queen of Swords | Raiden Shogun | Cryo |
| S XIV | King of Swords | Albedo | Geo |
Expansions
The Volume 2 expansion adds 28 more playable characters and 2 more Traveler elements, 60 more enemies, and 4 more bosses.
Each minor arcana expansion (Cups, Swords) adds 14 more playable characters.