Pixel Tactics 3
Pixel Tactics 3 Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Overview
Your goal in Pixel Tactics is to choose a Leader, build a cohesive Unit of Heroes around it, and then use that Unit to destroy your Rival's Unit. As soon as your Rival's Leader is defeated, you win.
A game of Pixel Tactics usually consists of 3 or 5 matches (that is, played to 2 or 3 wins).
A match consists of rounds, which are in turn divided into three waves.
A wave is one turn for each player. A turn consists of two actions. Use actions to recruit, attack, and support in order to rout your Rival's Unit.
May the best tactician win!
Cards
Each card can be used in three different ways:
- The Leader is played at the very start of the game. Its ability works for the whole match and applies to the entire Unit. The Leader always stands at the center of the Unit, in the Flank row. The red sword and blue shield show the Leader's Attack Power and Life total, respectively.
For example, the Leader card Minyard Milketost has Attack Power 4 and Life 17, with the ability "Heroes and Leaders in this Unit may make melee attacks even if they are not in melee combat."
- A Hero is played during combat with the Recruit a Hero action.
Heroes have various abilities, based on which row of the Unit they occupy. The red sword and blue shield show the Hero's Attack Power and Life total.
- Vanguard Heroes are Heroes standing in the row in front of the Leader. They usually have offensive or defensive abilities. Such Heroes can use their Vanguard abilities (the first/red line of text).
- Flank Heroes are Heroes standing in the same row as the Leader (to its right and left). They are often gifted with tactical abilities, or improve their allies. Such Heroes can use their Flank abilities (the second/green line of text).
- Rear Heroes are Heroes standing in the row behind the Leader. As a rule, they have supporting abilities or a ranged attack. Such Heroes can use their Rear abilities (the third/blue line of text).
For example, the Hero card Fighter has Attack Power 3 and Life 5. Its Vanguard ability reads "Your Heroes' melee attacks gain +1 Attack Power." Its Flank ability reads "The Hero In Front gains +4 Life." Its Rear ability simply reads "+4 Attack Power." Its Order reads "The Rival's Flank and Rear Heroes lose all abilities."
Important! Heroes are not Leaders! Any effect that refers only to Leaders does not affect Heroes, and vice versa.
- An Order is played from a player's hand as a one-time effect. Orders are powerful, but are discarded immediately after use. Deciding to use an Order at the right moment — or saving it for later — can be critical in battle. Orders on a card are marked with a hand icon and appear on the purple line of text.
Some cards have Operations in place of Orders. These are played into a special reserve row behind the Unit and remain in play for several turns.
Operations are marked with a special symbol and appear on the gray line of text.
Operations appear in Pixel Tactics 2 and later expansions.
Setup
Each player takes a 25-card deck with a blue or red card back. They then draw 5 cards from their deck and turn them face down so that the Leader side is up. Players secretly choose one card from their hand to be their Leader for the Unit, then reveal it at the same time. The remaining 4 cards become the player's starting hand.
The Leader becomes the center of the Unit, around which are eight empty spaces where Heroes will eventually be placed.
Each player will have their own deck, a hand (starting with 4 cards), and a discard pile (currently empty).
The diagram in the rulebook shows two opposing Units, laid out (from the outside in) as Reserve, Rear, Flank, Vanguard, Flank, Rear, Reserve — the Leader occupying the center of the Flank row, with the Vanguard row in front of it and the Rear row behind it. The three Reserve spaces on the outside of each Unit are used only for Operations (see below), never for Heroes.
Objective
Your objective is to defeat the Rival's Leader by reducing its Life to 0.
Game Turn
A match consists of rounds, each of which includes three waves: the Vanguard Wave, the Flank Wave, and the Rear Wave. Players can each take one turn during a wave.
Randomly determine which player will go first. Place the First and Second Player cards next to the row corresponding to each player. The Vanguard Wave begins. The first player goes first (taking two actions), then the second player (taking two actions).
Once both players have completed their turns, the Flank Wave begins. Once each player has completed a turn during the Flank Wave, the Rear Wave begins.
Move the current-wave marker to the row corresponding to the wave that is beginning, whenever the first player starts a wave.
When the Rear Wave is complete, the round ends. Players swap the First and Second Player cards. A new round then begins, starting again with the Vanguard Wave, and so on, until one of the Leaders is defeated.
Ceasefire
During the first round, a Ceasefire is declared. While it is in effect:
- You cannot make attacks or cast spells against the other player.
- Orders and Operations cannot be used against the other player.
- Rivals cannot interact with your hand or Unit in any way.
Actions
During your turn, you may take two actions. The same action can be taken twice.
Draw a Card
Draw a card from your deck. Your hand limit is 5 cards. If your deck has run out of cards, or if you have reached your hand limit, this action is unavailable. If your hand size exceeds the limit for any other reason, you are not required to discard.
Important! You can still gain cards through other actions or abilities.
Recruit a Hero*
Play a Hero from your hand into an empty space in the current wave's row (for example, during the Vanguard Wave, you can only recruit Heroes into empty spaces in the Vanguard row).
Important! A Hero cannot attack, cast a spell, or move during the same wave in which it was recruited.
Attack with a Hero/Leader*
See the Attack section of these rules for more detail.
Important! A Hero that has attacked cannot cast a spell or move during that same wave.
Cast a Spell with a Hero/Leader*
Some Heroes and Leaders have spells. This is a special action that is not an attack. Spells are marked with a wand icon.
Important! A Hero that has cast a spell cannot attack or move during that same wave.
Leader's Special Actions
Some Leaders have special actions. The effect of these actions is described in detail on the corresponding Leader's card. Such actions can usually be used during any wave.
Play an Order
Show the card with the Order from your hand, follow its text, then discard it. Such cards have a hand icon and a purple line of text.
Important! For the purposes of resolving it, the Order is treated as being in neither your hand nor your discard pile.
Play an Operation
Place the Operation card into one of your 3 reserve spaces. Then place 4 time tokens on top of it. At the end of each of your turns, remove one time token from each of your active Operations.
If a time token cannot be removed, discard the Operation card itself instead. While an Operation remains in play, its effect is active.
If you have no free reserve spaces, you cannot play Operations.
Important! Operations only come into play through the Play an Operation action, or through cards that specifically instruct this. Cards that gain the effect of an Operation without playing it do not gain the effect of an Order. If such a card is affected by something that affects an Order, that effect is simply treated as not applying.
Remove an Operation
You may remove an Operation from your reserve space to free up the space.
Remove a Body
You may remove a Body from any part of your Unit, regardless of the current wave.
When a Hero dies in battle, its Body still occupies a space in the Unit. It may later be revived, but if you have no plans to revive it or otherwise use it, you may remove the Body. Simply place the defeated Hero into the discard pile.
Movement*
Move a Hero from any part of your Unit to any empty space in your Unit.
Important! Leaders cannot move.
Swap (Long Action)*
Swap the positions of two Heroes, two Bodies, or a Hero and a Body within your Unit.
Pass
You may end your turn.
*Actions with this mark are performed by your Heroes or Leader. Remember that the same Hero or Leader may only perform one such action per turn.
Long Actions. Performing a Long Action costs 2 of your normal actions.
Free Actions do not cost any of your actions when used. You may perform them as often as you like. However, restrictions on Hero actions still apply, so even if "Attack is a free action for you...", you still cannot attack more than once with the same Hero in your Unit.
Limited Actions may be used only once per turn.
Attack
Choose your Hero or Leader in the row corresponding to the current wave, as well as a target in the Rival's Unit. When an attack is made, the attacker deals damage to the target equal to its Attack Power.
Melee Attack
All Heroes and Leaders can make melee attacks, but to do so, both the attacker and its target must be in melee combat. Only the first Hero or Leader in each column is available for melee combat.
Ranged Attack
Only Heroes and Leaders with the Ranged Attack ability may perform it. This type of attack may target any Hero or Leader.
Intercept
Some Heroes have the Intercept ability, meaning the Rival's ranged attacks cannot be made through them. A Hero with Intercept protects one or two Heroes standing behind it in the same column, becoming the target of the attack instead of them.
A Hero with Intercept can be the target of ranged and melee attacks as normal.
Hero Abilities
Spells
Some Heroes (especially Rear Heroes) have special abilities that can replace an attack. For example, a Hero may have "Spell: the Rival discards a card." This is an optional alternate action instead of making an attack. It still counts as an action for the Hero, so you cannot use it more than once per wave. A single Hero cannot perform both the Cast a Spell and Attack actions in the same wave. Spells do not deal damage and require no target, unless otherwise stated. They are not attacks.
Passive Abilities
Unlike Spells (which are marked "Spell: …"), these Hero abilities are always active, and begin working as soon as they become available.
Reactions
Many Hero abilities tell you to do something after a specific event has occurred or an effect has resolved. Reactions always trigger after the conditions for their activation have been met.
Status Effects
Status Effects are ongoing effects that change a Hero's stats and abilities. Some increase or decrease stats. Others may add or remove abilities.
Status Effects work regardless of which row the Hero is in.
Status Effects are marked with square brackets: [ ].
If a Hero's Life is reduced to zero, it must be defeated when casualties are checked (even if the Hero has 0 damage on it, that damage is treated as equal to or greater than its Life).
Some effects cause Status Effects to stack. For example, "[+1 Attack] x2" means two separate [+1 Attack] Status Effects must be placed on the Hero, each of which must be removed separately.
If two opposite Status Effects affect the same Hero at the same time, they cancel each other out. For example, if your Hero has [+1 Attack] and [-1 Attack], both effects are immediately removed.
Damage and Casualties
When a Hero or Leader is attacked, place damage tokens on its card to mark the amount of damage dealt. These tokens remain until the Hero or Leader leaves play, or until they are removed by a special effect.
Casualties are counted at the end of each wave. Any Hero whose card holds damage equal to or greater than its Life is considered defeated.
Casualties are only counted at the end of a wave. When a Hero is defeated, remove all damage tokens from it and flip its card face down. It is now a Body. It cannot attack, does not block melee attacks, and new Heroes cannot be played over it. Only by removing the Body can you play a new Hero into that space.
Some effects can revive Bodies, and some Leaders can even use them to attack, so it is not always necessary to remove every defeated Hero's Body. Sometimes it is advantageous to leave them in play.
End of the Game
Retreat (Leader Defeated)
If, at the end of a wave, the damage on the Leader's card is equal to or greater than its Life, the entire Unit retreats, and the match ends. The player whose Leader remains undefeated is declared the winner. They take both their own Leader and the defeated Leader, stack them face down, and set them aside. This is now their trophy. Trophies are not shuffled back into the deck and do not take part in future matches.
Draw
If both Units retreat at the same time, the Unit with the most living Heroes is declared the winner. If both Units have an equal number of living Heroes, the match is a draw. Each player takes the Rival's Leader as a trophy. The last match of the game cannot end in a draw.
If a player would win the game as a result of a draw, they do not take the Rival's Leader as a trophy.
Next Match
A standard game is usually played to two or three trophies — the number depends on what the players agree to beforehand (note that only the Rival's Leaders count as trophies for this purpose).
The first player to collect the needed number of trophies is declared the winner.
If neither player has collected the needed number of trophies, begin the next match. From this point on, both players' decks will contain one fewer card. In addition, for each trophy your Rival holds, you draw one extra card at the start of the match (before choosing Leaders). This small advantage increases your choice among Leaders, or gives you a head start in building your Unit. The player who won the previous match always goes first in the next one.
Tips and Tricks
Using Heroes with Intercept to protect your Leader is usually a good idea. You don't have to recruit every Hero in the first round. Instead, you can spend several actions drawing cards, in order to form a more cohesive and structured Unit whose abilities work closely together, rather than a hastily thrown-together band that underestimates the effectiveness of the Movement and Swap actions.
If you have a spare action, rearrange your Unit instead of drawing new cards. Each card has its own particular theme. For example, the Dreamer is very good at drawing cards, the Herald of Fate can disrupt the Rival's plans, and the Dryad heals allies. You can strengthen these abilities by choosing the corresponding card as your Leader. But remember that regardless of whether you win or lose, the Leader card will be unavailable until the end of the match.
It is usually more advantageous to go second. This lets you respond adequately to the Rival's attacks and actions. Save healing Orders for rounds when you can use them most effectively, and rescue Heroes who would otherwise have died.
If you go first, you can use abilities and Orders aimed at immediately eliminating Heroes (for example, the Spy). Such Orders and abilities trigger right away, without waiting for the end of the wave to count casualties.
Terms and Effects
Hero (Vanguard/Flank/Rear) — a Hero in a given wave.
Unit — all of one player's Heroes and Leader, collectively.
Hero In Front — the Hero or Leader standing directly in front of this Hero.
Hero Behind — the Hero or Leader standing directly behind this Hero.
Attack Power — the number of damage points dealt by a Hero's or Leader's attack.
Defeat a Hero — the Hero is immediately flipped face down and becomes a Body.
Deal Damage — place damage tokens on the target card. This is not considered an attack.
Discard Pile — a separate pile where used cards go: removed Bodies, played Orders, Operations, Traps, and so on. Cards in the discard pile lie face up unless stated otherwise.
Revive a Body — flip the Body over. It becomes a Hero again. A revived Hero may act this same turn.
Rival/Any Rival — the player or players you are fighting against.
Heal Damage — remove the specified number of damage points. If this is not fully possible, remove as many as you can.
Hero/Any Hero — if no specific Unit is stated, you may choose a Hero in either your own Unit or your Rival's.
Components
- 25 Red team cards
- 25 Blue team cards
- First Player card
- Second Player card
- 14 small damage tokens
- 3 large damage tokens
- 8 time tokens
- 8 turn markers