Gudnak Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Cards
  • Fighters
  • Traits
  • Ability Types
  • Constructs
  • Attachments
• The Battlefield
• Setting Up a Game
• How a Turn Works
  • Phase 1 -- Start Phase
  • Phase 2 -- Action Phase
  • Phase 3 -- End Phase
  • Fatigue
• Actions
• Stacks
• Winning & Draws
• Other Rules
• Building Your Deck
  • 5 Heroes
  • 5 Tactics
  • 10 Basic Fighters
  • Tokens & Locations
• Multiplayer Rules
  • 3 Players -- Free-for-All
  • 4 Players
• Glossary

Cards

Gudnak decks contain two types of cards -- Fighters and Tactics. Fighters stay on the Battlefield, move around, and generally cause mayhem. Tactics are one-time effects.

Fighters

Fighters in Gudnak are either Hero Fighters or Basic Fighters. Heroes have fancier banners than their Basic counterparts.

Power: how strong a fighter is: I, II, or III.

Traits

• Brute -- Brutes are large and are pretty good at breaking up formations of Soldiers.
• Soldier -- Soldiers have high discipline, making them ideal for rooting out Hunters.
• Hunter -- Hunters specialize in finding the weak spots on hulking Brutes.
• Hero -- Heroes have unique abilities that can define your strategy.
• Demon -- Demons are famously not very kind.
• Shadow -- Shadows are projections from a nether realm called the Void.
• Token -- Tokens cannot start in your deck and you remove them from the game after they are placed in your graveyard.

Ability Types

• Action -- In order to resolve these abilities' effects, you must spend an action on your turn.
• Deploy -- While taking the Deploy action, you may resolve this ability.
• Passive -- Fighters always have these abilities' effects while they are on the Battlefield or being deployed.

Constructs

Constructs are a type of Tactic that you can play onto empty squares on the Battlefield and remain there.

To play a Construct, choose an empty square on the Battlefield that is either in your Back Row or adjacent to a Fighter or Construct you control. Place the Construct in that square -- it remains in that square until it is destroyed.

A Construct's ability is considered active as long as it is the top card in the square it occupies.

When a friendly Fighter enters a square containing a friendly Construct, place the Fighter on top of the Construct. Constructs cannot be in stacks and do not relocate when a Fighter leaves their square.

When an enemy Fighter enters a square containing a Construct you own, destroy that Construct.

Attachments

Attachments are a type of Tactic that you can play onto fighters on the Battlefield.

When you play an attachment, choose a fighter in its owner's Back Row and put the attachment directly underneath it. If you control that fighter, it becomes fatigued.

The Tactic is now attached to that fighter and stays in play as long as the fighter does. When you Move or relocate a fighter, move any attached cards with them.

When a fighter is destroyed any attachments attached to it are also destroyed and are placed in their owners' Graveyards. When a fighter leaves the Battlefield for any other reason, any attachments attached to it are returned to their owners' hands.

A fighter can only have one attachment on it that is controlled by each player in the game.

The Battlefield

A game of Gudnak takes place on a 3x3 grid of squares between two Strongholds. The Battlefield consists of 9 squares across which fighters will move and attack.

• Stronghold -- Your objective is to protect your Stronghold and Siege your opponent's.
• Back Row -- The row of squares closest to your Stronghold is your Back Row.
• Gates -- The middle square of your Back Row is called your Gates. Your Gates are always considered in your Back Row (even if an effect causes them to move or for you to have multiple Gates).
• Graveyard -- Where you place cards that are destroyed, sacrificed, or discarded.

Setting Up a Game

1. Build and shuffle your deck of 20 cards. Place it on top of your Stronghold in the Stronghold space.
2. Draw 5 cards from your deck. You may choose to keep these cards or shuffle your hand into your deck and redraw 5 cards one time.
3. Randomly determine the active player by your method of choice.
4. The active player starts their turn.

How a Turn Works

Each turn consists of 3 phases:

Phase 1 -- Start Phase

If an enemy fighter occupies your Gates during this phase, you are Sieged.

If you are Sieged -- put the top card of your deck into your Graveyard. If you cannot (because your Stronghold is empty), you lose the game.

If you aren't Sieged -- draw a card.

Phase 2 -- Action Phase

You gain 2 actions (1 action instead if this is the first turn of the game) and must use them if possible. You may take Actions in any order. You may take the same type of Action more than once on a turn. When you can no longer take an Action, you may begin your End Phase.

Phase 3 -- End Phase

Check for any effects that happen "at the end of your turn" and resolve them. Each fighter (even within stacks!) is no longer fatigued. Your turn ends and your opponent becomes the active player.

Fatigue

Some actions cause Fighters to become Fatigued. You cannot take Actions using fatigued fighters unless otherwise specified.

Actions

Draw (1 action) -- Put the top card of your deck into your hand. If your deck is empty, you cannot take this Action. There is no hand size limit.

Deploy (1 action) -- Put a fighter from your hand onto either an unoccupied square in your Back Row, or a square in your Back Row containing a fighter you control that shares one or more Traits with it. This forms a Stack. The deployed fighter becomes fatigued.

Move (1 action) -- Put a fighter you control into an orthogonally (non-diagonally) adjacent unoccupied square. That fighter becomes Fatigued.

Attack (1 action) -- Choose an enemy fighter that is orthogonally adjacent to one of your fighters.

• Calculate power: determine the power of each fighter by adding its base power and any modifiers.
• Determine winner: if the attacking fighter has greater power, the enemy fighter is destroyed by it. If both fighters have equal power, both fighters are destroyed by each other. If the enemy fighter has greater power, the attacking fighter is destroyed by it.
• Resolve: relocate the attacking fighter and/or any fighters remaining in its stack into the enemy fighter's square if it is now unoccupied. The attacking fighter becomes fatigued (if it survived).

Defend (1 action) -- You can only Defend if there is an enemy fighter occupying your Gates. Choose and discard a number of cards from your hand equal to the power of that fighter and then destroy it.

Use Ability (1 action) -- Choose an Action ability on a card you control and resolve its effects. If that card chosen was a fighter, it becomes fatigued.

Play Tactic (0, 1, or 2 actions) -- Choose a tactic in your hand, resolve its ability, and then put it in your Graveyard. All tactics have an action cost -- usually 0, 1, or 2. In order to play a tactic, you must use the indicated number of actions.

Stacks

When more than one fighter is on the same square, it is called a stack. There is no limit to the number of cards you may have in a stack.

Only the topmost fighter in a stack counts as being in play, can take actions, be sacrificed, be destroyed, or be targeted unless otherwise specified.

If you move or relocate a fighter, also put all fighters underneath it into the new square, keeping their same order.

Only the topmost fighter in a stack becomes fatigued after taking an Action.

Do not add up the power of fighters in a stack when determining power.

Winning & Draws

Victory Condition -- You win the game when you successfully Siege your opponent's empty Stronghold.

Draws -- Draws are silly, so do your best to avoid them altogether. In the unavoidable case that no player can win (e.g. nobody has any fighters left on the battlefield or in their hand), the game ends in a Draw.

Stalemate -- If no player makes progress and they spend their turn taking the same Actions over and over again (4 times), then the game ends in a Stalemate.

Other Rules

Resolving Effects -- An ability or Tactic is resolved after you complete its entire effect, including any Nested Actions.

Simultaneous Effects -- If any two effects would be resolved at the same time (e.g. both effects say "At the start of your turn") the active player decides the order they are resolved in.

Nested Actions -- Some abilities and Tactics allow you to perform an Action as part of its effect (e.g. Move or Deploy). We call this a Nested Action. When performing a Nested Action, follow the rules as if you took that Action except: Nested Actions do not cost you any additional actions to resolve. Nested Actions can be resolved by fatigued fighters. Nested Actions still fatigue the fighter that took them.

Printed Power vs. Power -- Card effects that use I II III symbols refer to the Printed Power of a Fighter which is the power that is printed on the card. Effects that reference "power" take into account any modifiers when resolving.

Mixed Stacks -- Some effects allow for a stack to contain fighters with different owners. The owner of the topmost fighter controls the stack and is the only player who can take Actions with that stack.

Traits -- Some cards have multiple traits. In order to Deploy them onto another fighter, they only need to match one trait. Having a trait does not give a fighter an ability. For example, Heroes with the Soldier trait do not get +I when attacking Hunters.

Building Your Deck

Every deck in Gudnak has exactly 20 cards. First, choose a faction, then:

5 Heroes

Your Heroes can belong to your chosen faction or be Neutral. You must have:

• 1x Power III
• 2x Power II
• 2x Power I

Note: you cannot include more than 1 copy of a Tactic or Hero, even if you bought 2 or more copies of Gudnak.

5 Tactics

These can only belong to your chosen faction or be Neutral. They can be of any action cost. Note: you cannot include more than 1 copy of a Tactic or Hero, even if you bought 2 or more copies of Gudnak.

10 Basic Fighters

Your Basic Fighters can only belong to your chosen faction or be Neutral. You must have:

• 2x Power III (max 1 of each trait)
• 4x Power II (max 2 of each trait)
• 4x Power I (max 2 of each trait)

Basic fighters without traits do not count towards the trait maximums.

Tokens & Locations

Your deck may require tokens or Locations. Set these aside the board so they are readily available to you. You do not have to reveal which token(s) and/or Location(s) you brought to the game to your opponents.

Multiplayer Rules

3 Players -- Free-for-All

You can play Gudnak with three players in a Free-for-all format. The following changes apply:

• The game is played on a larger Battlefield.
• After any player's Stronghold is successfully Sieged, they are eliminated from the game.
• When a player is eliminated, remove all of their cards from the game.
• During the first two turns of the game, players get 1 action during their Action Phase.
• After your turn ends, the player clockwise to your left becomes the active player.
• You have two opponents and all of your opponents' cards are considered enemy cards. No alliances can change that.
• You win the game when you successfully Siege the final remaining opponent's empty Stronghold.

4 Players

You can play Gudnak with 4 players in two modes -- Teams and Free-for-all. The following changes apply:

• The game is played on a larger Battlefield.
• After any player's Stronghold is successfully Sieged, they are eliminated from the game.
• When a player is eliminated, remove all of their cards from the Battlefield.
• The squares adjacent to your Stronghold are your Back Row.
• The space diagonal to your Stronghold is your Gates.

Glossary

Siege -- When an enemy fighter occupies your Gates during your Start Phase. Put the top card of your deck into your Graveyard. If your Stronghold is empty, you lose the game.

Fatigued -- Fighters become Fatigued after taking most Actions. You cannot take Actions using Fatigued fighters (unless otherwise specified). Fatigue is removed at the end of your turn.

Stack -- When more than one fighter occupies the same square. Only the topmost fighter counts as being in play, can take Actions, be targeted, or be destroyed. Moving a stack moves all fighters in it.

Back Row -- The row of squares closest to your Stronghold. Fighters are Deployed here.

Gates -- The middle square of your Back Row. If an enemy fighter occupies your Gates during your Start Phase, you are Sieged.

Stronghold -- What you are defending. Sits under your deck. If your Stronghold is empty when you would put a card into your Graveyard during a Siege, you lose.

Graveyard -- Where destroyed, sacrificed, and discarded cards are placed.

Relocate -- Move a fighter without using the Move action. Fatigued fighters can be Relocated and do not become Fatigued from it. May only go to unoccupied squares unless otherwise stated.

Destroy -- Place the destroyed card in its owner's Graveyard.

Discard -- Place the discarded card in its owner's Graveyard. Discarded cards do not count as being Destroyed.

Sacrifice -- Only fighters in play may be Sacrificed. Put it in its owner's Graveyard. Sacrificed cards do not count as being Destroyed.

Nested Action -- An action performed as part of an ability or Tactic's effect. Nested Actions don't cost additional actions but still Fatigue the fighter that takes them. Fatigued fighters can take Nested Actions.

Topmost -- The fighter on top of all others in a Stack. Only the Topmost fighter is in play, can take Actions, and can be targeted.

Revealed -- A fighter in a stack becomes Revealed when it becomes the Topmost fighter -- usually because the fighter above it was destroyed or relocated.

Printed Power -- The power value printed on the card. Game effects cannot modify Printed Power. Used when a card refers to I/II/III symbols.

Friendly -- A card controlled by you or a teammate.

Enemy -- A card controlled by an opponent.

In Play -- The Topmost fighter in a stack, fighters occupying squares alone, Attachments on those fighters, and Constructs. Only In Play cards can be targeted unless otherwise specified.

Replace -- Put the target card into its owner's Graveyard without its stack, then put the new card in its place. You may not resolve Deploy abilities when replacing cards.

Put -- Place a card somewhere without following normal rules or restrictions -- no action cost, no Fatigue, no Deploy abilities.

Swap -- Exchange two cards wherever they are. If swapping from the Battlefield, only the topmost fighter moves without its stack. Fighters don't become Fatigued when swapped.

Deploy -- Put a fighter from your hand onto an unoccupied square in your Back Row, or onto a fighter sharing a Trait. The deployed fighter becomes Fatigued.

Move -- Put a fighter you control into an orthogonally adjacent unoccupied square. That fighter becomes Fatigued.

Attack -- Choose an adjacent enemy fighter. Compare power (including modifiers). Higher power wins; equal power destroys both. The attacker relocates into the square if it's now empty.

Defend -- Discard cards from your hand equal to the power of an enemy fighter at your Gates, then destroy it.

Adjacent -- A square and anything occupying it is considered adjacent to another if it is orthogonally (non-diagonally) touching.

Unoccupied -- A square is considered unoccupied when there is no fighter or stack in it.

Empty -- A square is considered empty when there is no fighter or construct occupying it.

Token -- Tokens cannot start in your deck. Remove them from the game when placed in your Graveyard.

Construct -- A type of Tactic played onto empty squares on the Battlefield. Remains until destroyed. Enemies entering the square destroy it.

Attachment -- A type of Tactic played onto a fighter in its owner's Back Row. Moves with the fighter. Destroyed when the fighter is destroyed.