Pixel Tactics Deluxe
Pixel Tactics Deluxe Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Credits
Game by D. Brad Talton Jr.
Illustrated by Fábio Fontes
Development Team Chris Smith, Joshua Van Laningham, Samuel Tapper, Michael Robles, JR Honeycutt, Chad Hantak
Playtesters Ty Arnold, Kier Arnold, Matt Fournier, Matt Phelps
Special Thanks The Dice Tower, Watch it Played!, Board Game Geek, Jasco Games, Sirlin Games, Tasty Minstrel Games, Q Games, Gamelyn Games, Dice Hate Me Games, Portal Games, Smirk and Dagger Games, Tuesday Knight Games, Cheapass Games, Lone Shark Games, Alderac Entertainment Group, Plaid Hat Games, Stronghold Games, Black Box Games, Scott Morris, Rich Sommer, Antoine Bauza, Boyan Radkovich, Ranter Works
Skip the rulebook! Use the QR Code on the back cover, or visit www.pixel-tactics.com to watch a tutorial video!
Foreword
Thank you so much for taking the time to play my little game, Pixel Tactics.
Pixel Tactics is a game that has been developed and redeveloped over the course of three years by myself and the team here at Level 99 Games. When we published the first Pixel Tactics in January of 2013 as part of the Minigame Library, we had no idea how the game would catch on and how fans would receive its novel gameplay.
Reception to the game since that initial release has been widespread, and the game has caught on as one of the most-loved games that I've ever had the fun of designing.
In this new edition, Pixel Tactics Deluxe, we present to you a set of brand new Heroes, optimized gameplay, and improved production quality never had before in the series.
My hope is that Pixel Tactics will bring you, your friends, and your rivals countless hours of enjoyment!
-D. Brad Talton Jr.
Pixel Tactics Designer
Overview
The goal of Pixel Tactics is to choose a Leader, build a cohesive Unit of Heroes around that Leader, and then use it to destroy the Rival's Unit. You win as soon as you are able to defeat your Rival's Leader.
The game plays in Rounds, and each Round is broken down into three Waves. Each Wave consists of one turn per player, and each player's turn consists of two actions.
Use actions to recruit, attack, support, and rout your Rival's Unit. May the best tactician win!
Card Layout
First, let's take a look at the cards. Each card has 3 different ways it can be used:
-
A Leader is played at the beginning of the match, and usually provides bonuses to the entire Unit. Leaders are always in the Flank Wave of the Unit. The red sword and blue shield show their Attack Strength and Life.
-
An Order is played from your Hand as a one-time effect. Orders are powerful, but they go away after resolving, so saving them or using them at the right moment is critical. The Order is the fourth (purple) box on a Hero's card.
2a. Some cards have Operations instead. Operations complete over several turns. Operations have a scroll icon next to them, and have a gray background.
2b. Some cards have Traps instead. Traps are placed face-down, and activated when they become relevant, interrupting the Rival's turn. Traps have a trap icon next to them, and have an orange background.
- A Hero is played using the Recruit Action. Heroes have different Abilities based on where they stand in relation to their Leader. The red sword and blue shield show the Attack Strength and Life total of the Hero.
3a. Vanguard Heroes are those in front of the Leader. These often have defensive or offensive abilities. They are able to use their Vanguard Powers (the first/red power).
3b. Flank Heroes are those on either side of the Leader. These usually offer improvements to their allies or tactical abilities. They are able to use their Flank Powers (the second/green power).
3c. Rear Heroes are those behind the Leader. These usually give support abilities or have Ranged Attacks. They are able to use their Rear Powers (the third/blue power).
Important Note: Heroes are not Leaders! Any effect that refers to Leaders or Heroes specifically does not work on the other type.
Setup
To start a match of Pixel Tactics, each player shuffles his or her Deck together and draws a Hand of 5 cards. He turns these upside down so that their Leader sides are visible, and selects one to be the Leader for his Unit. Both players put their Leaders face-down, then reveal them at the same time.
The Leader stands at the center of each Unit, and the eight Slots around them can be filled with Heroes. A Hero's row is determined by its position relative to your leader, so you don't need any kind of mat or board to play Pixel Tactics.
Players select their Leaders, then reveal them at once. The Leader forms the core of the Unit, standing in the center of eight slots which may eventually hold Heroes.
Each player has a Deck of cards, a Hand (with 4 cards), and a discard pile (which begins empty).
Game Flow
The game takes place in rounds, and each round consists of 3 Waves. Each Wave is a turn for each player.
Randomly determine which player will take the first turn. This begins the Vanguard Wave. During a Wave, the first player takes two actions, and then the second player takes two actions. Place the Current Wave Marker beside the first player's Vanguard row.
Once both players have completed two actions, the game moves onto the Flank Wave. Once both players complete two actions during a Flank Wave, they move on to the Rear Wave. Move the Current Wave Marker appropriately whenever the first player begins a wave.
When the Rear Wave is complete, the round ends, and first player changes sides. Then a new round begins with a new Vanguard Wave, and so on, until one leader or the other falls. Pass the Current Wave Marker to the new first player, who sets it beside his Vanguard row.
The game comes with a "Current Wave" marker that you can use to keep tabs on which Wave it is.
Ceasefire
During the First Round, there is a Ceasefire. While in Ceasefire:
- Players cannot declare Attacks or cast Spells.
- Orders and Operations cannot be used.
- Rivals cannot interfere or interact with your Hand or Unit.
- Traps cannot be activated (they can still be placed).
Actions
Use your actions to build up your Unit and destroy your Rivals' Units!
Draw a Card
You draw a card from your Deck. If your Deck is empty or if you have 5 or more cards in Hand, this action is no longer available. You do not have to discard cards for having too many in Hand, but you cannot do this Draw Action while your Hand is too large.
Recruit a Hero*
You may play a Hero down into an empty slot in the current Wave (for example, during the Vanguard Wave, you can only recruit to empty spaces in your Vanguard).
Attack*
You may use a Hero in the current Wave (or the Leader, if this is the Flank Wave) to make an Attack. A Hero recruited during this Wave may not declare an Attack of any kind. A single Hero or Leader can only Attack once per Wave. A Hero cannot Cast a Spell or Move in the same turn they Attack. Attacking is discussed in more detail later.
Cast a Spell*
Some Heroes and Leaders have Spells. Spells are special actions that a Hero performs, which are not Attacks. A Hero cannot Attack or Move in the same turn the Spell was cast. Spell abilities have a Wand Icon next to them.
Note: In previous editions, Spells were called "Attack Powers". These two terms can be used interchangeably.
Leader Actions
Some Leaders will give you new kinds of actions you can use. The effects of these actions are detailed on the Leader card, and they can typically be used in any Wave.
Play an Order
Reveal the Order from your Hand, follow all of its purple 'Order' text, then discard it. For the moment while an Order is activating, it is neither in your Hand nor in your Discard Pile.
Move*
You may move a Hero from anywhere in your Unit into any empty Unit Slot. A Hero cannot Cast a Spell or Attack in the same turn they Move. Leaders cannot be moved.
Note: In previous editions, Move was called "Restructure". These two terms can be used interchangeably.
Clear a Corpse
When Heroes fall in battle, they leave Corpses behind in the Unit. These might be revived later on, but if you have no plans to revive a Hero (or if you fear your Rival may revive it and use it against you) then you can clear the corpse. Simply move the corpse into your Discard Pile. Since Heroes can only be played into empty spaces in the Unit, you will need to clear corpses eventually in longer battles. You can clear corpses in any Wave, regardless of the currently active Wave.
Switch* (Long Action)
Switch allows you to swap the positions of two Heroes or Corpses (or any combination thereof) within your Unit.
Play an Operation
Some cards have Operations instead of Orders. These cards have a Scroll Icon next to them and a gray back. Operations come into play in one of your 3 Reserve Slots with 3 Time Markers on them, and one marker is removed at the end of each of its controller's turns. When a marker cannot be removed, discard the Operation instead. While an Operation is in play, its effects are continuous.
Operations take up one of your Reserve Slots at the back of your Unit, and you will not be able to play these if these are full.
Note: Operations can only come into play through this action or cards which reference Operations specifically. Cards which have Operations on them do not have any Order effect. The Order effect is considered blank if triggered by another card.
Note: In previous editions, Operations were called "Ongoing Orders". These two terms can be used interchangeably.
Place a Trap
Some cards have Traps instead of Orders. These cards have a Trap icon next to them and an orange back. When you place a Trap, put it face-down behind the Rear row of your Unit, in a Reserve Slot. You have 3 Reserve Slots for Traps and Operations, and you cannot place new Traps if these are full.
Note: Traps can only come into play through this action. Traps on them do not have any Order effect. The Order effect is considered blank if triggered by another card.
Activate a Trap* (Free Action)
Whenever the conditions are right, you can activate a Trap that you placed on a previous turn (you cannot activate a Trap the same turn you place it). Your Rival can respond to your Trap with another Trap, and so on, until no player wishes to use a Trap. Unless the Trap says otherwise, activation is always optional.
Clear a Trap or Operation
You can discard a Trap or Operation from your Reserve Slots.
Pass
You may pass your actions. This ends your turn.
* Actions with this mark are carried out by your Heroes. Note that the same Hero cannot do more than one of these things per turn.
Long Actions take up two of your actions to use. You cannot use a Long Action unless you have two remaining actions this turn.
Free Actions do not take up one of your actions to use. You can use Free Actions as often as you want. However, restrictions on the actions of Heroes still apply (so if "Attacking is a Free Action for you.", you still could not Attack more than once with each Hero in your Unit).
Limited Actions can only be used once per turn.
Attacking
When you select the Attack Action, you will choose a Hero in your current Wave to make the Attack, as well as a target in the opposing Unit. When an attack is performed, the attacker deals damage to the target equal to the Attack Strength of the attacker.
Melee Attacks
All Heroes can perform a Melee Attack, but both the attacker and the target must be "in Melee" to do so. Only the foremost Hero or Leader in each column is considered "in Melee".
Ranged Attacks
Only Heroes who have the Ranged Attack ability may perform Ranged Attacks. A Ranged Attack can come from any Hero or Leader, and can target any Hero or Leader.
Intercepting Ranged Attacks
A few Heroes have the ability Intercept, which means that Rival's Ranged Attacks cannot pass over them. This makes them especially useful for protecting your Rear and Flank Heroes, as well as your Leader.
An Intercepting Hero defends the one or two Heroes directly behind it (in the same column), taking the Attack for them instead. A Hero with Intercept can still be targeted by Ranged and Melee Attacks as normal.
Hero Powers
Reactions
Many Hero Effects will tell you to do something whenever another condition is met or another effect happens. These effects always happen after the triggering condition is completely resolved.
Spells
Some Heroes (especially Rear Heroes) have special powers that occur instead of attacking. For example, a Hero may say "Spell: a Rival discards a card". These are optional alternate actions that can be used in place of making the Hero attack. They still count as an action for that Hero, so you can't use them more than once in a Wave, and the same Hero cannot use both their Spell and a Melee/Ranged Attack. Spells do not apply damage or have a target, unless they specifically say otherwise. Spells are not considered to be Attacks.
Note: In older versions of Pixel Tactics, Spells were called "Attack Powers". These two terms can be used interchangeably.
Passive Abilities
Other than Spells (those that say 'Spell: …'), all Hero abilities are constantly active, and work as soon as they become relevant.
Common Terms and Effects
Unit – All Heroes and Leaders on one team, collectively.
Forerunner – The Hero or Leader directly in front of this Hero.
Supporter – The Hero or Leader directly behind this Hero.
Attack Strength – The damage dealt by a Hero's Attack.
Defeat a Hero – The Hero is instantly turned face-down to become a Corpse.
Apply Damage – Place damage markers on the target. This is not an Attack.
A Hero / Any Hero – Unless a Unit is specified, you can choose targets in any Unit controlled by either Player.
Revive a Corpse – Flip a Corpse over, turning it back into a Hero.
A Rival/Any Rival – The Rival or Rivals you are currently battling against.
Remove Damage – Take damage markers off of the target.
Draw a card/cards – Draw a card/cards from the top of your deck. Unless stated, drawing cards with an ability is not considered using the Draw Action.
Hero (Vanguard/Flank/Rear) – A Hero in a specific Wave.
Discard Pile – The pile where many cards go when used. This can include cleared Corpses, resolved Orders, Operations, Traps, and many more things.
Colored outlines on an icon indicate what the type of icon is affecting specifically.
Red indicates a Rival. ex. "a Rival Corpse"
Blue indicates you. ex. "your Hand"
Purple indicates the owner of something (usually a card). ex. "Owner's Deck"
Green indicates all. ex. "all Heroes"
Orange indicates another. ex. "another Leader"
Damage and Casualties
When a Hero or Leader is hit with an Attack, place damage counters on it to show how much damage it has taken. These damage counters remain in place until the Hero is removed from play or until an effect removes the counters.
At the end of each Wave, casualties are checked. Any Hero with damage equal to or exceeding its life is considered defeated.
A Hero with lethal damage (damage equal to or beyond its Life total) can continue to fight, act, and be healed throughout a Wave. Only at the end of a Wave are casualties determined.
When a Hero is defeated, all damage is removed from it, and it is flipped face-down, becoming a Corpse. Corpses cannot attack, they do not block Melee attacks, and new Heroes cannot be played on top of them. Only by clearing a Corpse can you play a new Hero into its Slot.
Some effects can revive Corpses, and some Leaders can even use them to attack, so it's not always necessary to clear every Hero that falls. Sometimes it's advantageous to keep them around.
This Hero will be defeated at the end of the current Wave.
At the end of a Wave, casualties are checked, and Lancer becomes a Corpse.
Hand Size
A Player's maximum Hand Size is five. If the amount of cards in your Hand has reached your maximum Hand Size, you cannot use the Draw Action (you may still draw through the use of other Abilities).
Certain abilities may increase or decrease your maximum Hand Size. If this happens, the above rule regarding the Draw Action applies to your new maximum Hand Size.
Status Effects
Status Effects are continuous effects that alter Heroes stats or Abilities. Some will increase or decrease stats. Some status effects will add or remove Abilities. Status Effects work regardless of what row the Hero is in.
If a Hero's maximum Life is reduced to zero, the Hero is defeated during casualty checks (even with no damage, its damage equals or exceeds its Life).
Status Effects are denoted with [Braces] on cards that create and remove them.
Some effects generate multiple Status Effects, like "[+1 Attack]x2". This means to place two +1 Attack Status Effects on the Hero. Each one of these will have to be removed separately.
If two opposing Status Effects are active on the same hero at the same time, they cancel one another out. For example, if you had [+1 Attack] and [-1 Attack] on the same Hero, then they would both immediately be removed.
[No Special Abilities] - The Status Effect [No Special Abilities] causes a hero's Vanguard, Flank, and Rear Ability text to become blank. It does not interfere with any other Status Effects or granted abilities (such as the card behind it that says "Forerunner takes 2 less damage from Attacks").
Tips & Tricks
While it's usually a good idea to set up Interceptors to protect your Leader, you don't always need to have an army on round one. Draw a few times instead, and you can form a more cohesive and structured Unit with the synergy to beat some cobbled-together shock troops.
Don't underestimate the power of the Move and Switch Actions. If you have extra actions, consider moving your Heroes as an alternative to drawing more cards.
Each card has a certain theme to it. The Summoner is very good at finding cards in your Deck, while the Trapper can disrupt your Rival, and the Healer will revive allies. Once you have played a card a few times, you'll learn how to use its strengths for each situation.
It's often better to go second during a Round, since you can respond to your Rival's attacks and plays. Save healing orders for those Rounds when you can use them most effectively and keep alive Heroes which might otherwise die.
If you're going first during a round, you can utilize instant-kill orders and Spells like the Assassin or Support Drone to make sure Rivals don't retaliate against you. These abilities don't wait for the end of a Wave to cause casualties.
High power Leaders can be lethal in Melee, but opening them up to make Melee Attacks is often as much of a liability as a boon. Gauge your Rival's Unit strength and see what you have to gain before letting your Leader join the fray.
Game's End
Rout
If a Leader has damage exceeding its life total at the end of a Wave, then the entire Unit is in rout (a disorderly retreat), and the match ends. The player who still has a standing Leader is considered the winner of the match.
The player whose Leader remains standing claims the defeated Leader and his own Leader and sets these two cards to the side in a face-down stack to create a trophy. They will not be reshuffled back into
The Next Game
A typical match plays to best of three or five trophies—whichever number players agreed upon. The first player to claim two trophies in a best of three game, or to claim three trophies in a best of five game, is the winner of the game.
If no player has won the game after claiming trophies, proceed to the next match. From here on out, both players' Decks will be one card smaller. In addition, for each trophy your Rival possesses, you draw one additional card at the start of the game, before selecting Leaders. This slight card advantage will give you more control over your Leader selection, and give you a head start on army building.
The player who won the previous match is always the First Player at the start of the next match.
Deckbuilding
Once you're played the standard Pixel Tactics game, you can build your own Decks to experiment with new possibilities. The more cards you own, the more options you have when building your Deck!
There are 2 formats of Deck: Standard and Epic.
There are 6 ways to Deckbuild: Combination, Constructed, and four different ways to draft.
Once you and your friends have built Decks, you can play tournaments, special game modes, and more.
When building your Deck, you will designate specific cards as Leaders or Heroes. Once you've designated a card as a Leader or Hero for your Deck, it will not change types during play. You can only use your designated Leaders as Leaders, and you can only use your designated Heroes as Heroes.
When playing with a built Deck, you will select your Leader from your pool of Leaders before drawing your opening hand, and you will draw 1 fewer card when drawing your opening hand (so you'll begin with 4 Heroes in hand).
Card Pool - A card pool is the collection of cards that you are able to build your Deck with. You can only use cards from within your card pool when constructing a Deck.
Formats
The following two formats describe overarching rules for deck construction.
Standard
A Standard Pixel Tactics Deck has exactly 4 Leaders and no fewer than 25 Heroes. There is a maximum Deck size of 50 Heroes.
You cannot have the same card in your Leader and Hero stack.
Only one copy of each card can be in a Deck.
Epic
An Epic Pixel Tactics Deck has exactly 4 Leaders and no fewer than 60 Heroes. There is a maximum Deck size of 120 Heroes.
There can be up to 3 copies of each card in your Deck. Cards which are Leaders may also appear in your Hero Deck, but you may not have more than 3 copies of the same card among both Decks.
Deckbuilding Methods
The different methods of deckbuilding allow players to play with larger groups and participate in different kinds of modes.
Combination
Combination allows for a custom-Deck experience without the hassle of Deckbuilding.
For a Standard Combined Deck, combine one color of a regular Core Set and one Minipak.
For an Epic Combined Deck, combine one color of two regular Core Sets and two Minipaks, one Core set and five Minipaks, or 8 Minipaks.
After you build your Combination Deck, randomly choose 4 cards from the Deck to be Leaders. The rest of the cards form the Hero Deck.
Constructed
The Card Pool for Constructed Deckbuilding is all the cards that you own (but if you are playing in a League, this may not be the case). You get to freely choose which cards in your pool will become Heroes and Leaders.
When constructing, all of your cards must have the same back design. Alternatively, you are allowed to use different back designs if you own opaque card sleeves.
Promotional Cards are typically not allowed in Constructed Play.
Since there is great possibility for powerful combinations in Constructed Deckbuilding, Banned Leader, Banned Hero, Restricted Leader and Restricted Hero Lists are available online at www.pixel-tactics.com.
Banned Leader - These cards cannot be designated as Leaders in any Deck.
Restricted Leader - You may only designate one of these cards as a Leader in a single Deck.
Banned Hero - These cards cannot be designated as Heroes in any Deck.
Restricted Hero - You may only designate a limited number of these cards as Heroes in a single Deck.
Cube Draft
A Cube is a collection of cards that are used to draft. Usually the Cube is owned by one player, who provides it for all the players at the table to use in Deckbuilding. You can build your own Cube by combining all of one color of Pixel Tactics cards you own, or by using Opaque Sleeves. If you have a large number of cards, you can customize your Cube by removing some cards, in order to create a custom play experience. You can even include Promotional Cards in your Cube, if you feel they are not too powerful or distracting (not all Promotional Cards are appropriate for Cube Drafting, use your discretion when building your Cube!).
Cube Drafting is a casual format, where players will build card pools first, the Construct Decks out of these card pools. There are many methods of drafting a Deck, but the most common is the Pack Draft, and it is recommended that you begin with this draft.
Pack Draft (3-8 Players)
Pack Draft is the simplest and most widely used draft, especially for large groups.
Your Cube will need to contain at least 32 cards per player.
Shuffle the complete cube and deal out 1 "pack" of 8 cards for each player, face down. Each player picks up his pack, and chooses one card from it. This card will be a Leader for his Deck. He then passes the remaining pack to the player sitting on his left. That player takes one card to be a Hero for his Deck, and passes the pack to his left, and so on, until all cards from the pack are taken. After this process, every player should have 1 Leader and 7 Heroes.
Repeat this process, passing right, then left, then right again. At the end of the 4th pack, each player should now have 4 Leaders and 28 Heroes. Players are allowed to remove up to 3 Heroes from their Decks and return them to the Cube, in order to create a Deck of 25 Heroes.
- For an Epic Pack Draft, you'll need 64 cards per player to form 8 packs per player. Only draft a Leader on the first card of the 1st, 3rd, 5th, and 7th packs. Remember that your Epic Cube can contain up to 3 copies of each card!
Winston Draft (2 Players)
A Winston Draft is a more strategic and involved drafting method.
Deal out 80 cards from your Cube to form a draw Deck. The rest of the cards will not be used.
Deal 3 face-down cards into the center of the table, with the Deck on the far end of the line of cards. Each of these cards is called a lot.
Decide who is going first. That player may look at the lot furthest away from the Deck. He must then do one of these things:
- Take all the cards in the lot and add them to his card pool. This ends his turn.
- Take one card from the lot and add it to his Leader pool, then shuffle the others back into the draw Deck. This ends his turn.
- Add one card face-down from the draw Deck to the lot, without looking at it, and then go on to look at the next lot.
If he chooses to look at the next lot, he must make the same choice again. If the player passes on the last lot, he must take the top card from the Deck and add it to either his Hero Deck or Leaders.
When a player's turn ends, the next player's turn begins.
The draft ends after the last card is taken. Players cannot pass on the last lot on the table if the draw Deck is empty.
When the draft ends, if a player does not have at least 4 Leaders, Heroes are randomly taken from his Hero Deck and added to his Leader pile until he has enough Leaders. If he has too many, Leaders are randomly removed from his Leader Pile into his Hero Deck until he has 4.
If a player has more than 25 Heroes in his Hero pile, he may return any number of them to the box to reduce his Deck. If he has fewer than 25 Heroes in his Hero pile, he must play with all of the Heroes he has.
Purchase Draft (2-4 Players)
A Purchase Draft is an intermediate-level draft.
Deal out 29 cards per player from your Cube to form a draw Deck. The rest of the cards will not be used.
Give each player 5 coins or tokens of some kind.
Deal 5 face-up cards into the center of the table, with the Deck on the far end of the line of cards. Each of these cards is called a lot.
Decide who is going first. On a player's turn, they must take one card from lots present. The lot furthest from the Deck is free, but cards closer to the Deck can only be reached by 'passing over' outer cards, starting with the furthest card and moving in. For each card that the player 'passes over' when selecting, he must place one of his tokens on that card. If he does not have enough tokens, he cannot continue to pass over cards. When a player drafts a lot, he gains all tokens on that lot.
When a card is drafted, a player must immediately decide whether it goes into his Leader Pile or his Hero Deck. After a card is drafted, shift all lots away from the Deck to fill empty space, then reveal a card from the top of the Deck to form a new lot. There is always be 5 lots in play, until the draw Deck runs out.
A player cannot add to his Leader Pile once it has 4 Leaders, and he cannot add to his Hero Deck once it contains 25 Heroes.
Game Modes
These modes describe different ways to play Pixel Tactics. Explore them all, starting with the easiest, and moving on to the toughest!
Classic Pixel Tactics
Players: 2
Time: 30-60 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Materials:
Any two Standard Pixel Tactics Decks
Setup
Setup is as described in the Core Game Rules.
Gameplay
Gameplay is as described in the Core Game Rules.
Siege
Players: 2
Time: 45-75m
Difficulty: Easy
Materials
Any two Pixel Tactics Decks
Setup
In this setup, do not choose a Leader. Any effects that target a Leader will not work in this mode.
During this game, because your Unit does not have a Leader, you will need have 3 Flank Slots for Heroes.
Each player should select a Base card, and place it to the side of the play area. Rules for Bases are described in more detail in League Play mode.
Gameplay
Gameplay is as described in the Core Game Rules, with a few changes.
Whenever a player performs a melee attack (not a ranged attack), if his opponent has a column that contains no live Heroes, the player may choose to assign the damage to the Base instead.
The game ends immediately whenever either player's Base has lethal damage.
Each Base provides a useful passive Ability, and a Once-Per-Game Ability. These can be used as described on the Base cards.
Testing Siege
Test with a blank base that has 30 Life.
Alternatively - You do pick a Leader, and you lose when either the Leader or the Base is broken.
Alternatively - You do pick a Leader, but the Leader Ability goes away when the Leader is defeated. Only when the base is broken do you win the game. So it's possible to win without defeating the enemy Leader. The Leader can't be replaced.
Duel Draft
Duel Draft combines the Purchase Draft rules with actual gameplay, letting players draft their Decks during a battle.
Players: 2
Time: 30-60 minutes
Difficulty: Moderate
Materials
Two or more Pixel Tactics Decks, or a 60-card Cube. Some tokens to use as Gold.
Setup
Shuffle the Decks together, so you have one large Deck with any number of cards (at least 50 is recommended though).
Give each player 5 Gold.
Deal the top 5 cards of the Deck out to form a Draft Tableau, with the Deck on the end of the tableau.
Players begin by taking 5 Draft Draw actions, then selecting their Leaders.
Gameplay
Players do not have access to the basic 'Draw' action, and instead have access to 'Draft Draw' and 'Gather Funds' actions below:
Draft Draw
Starting at the far end of the tableau (away from the Deck), the player may either take the card or pass over it. If he passes over a card, he places one gold onto it. If he takes the card, he gains all the gold on it. A player may not pass over a card if he has no gold. A player who passes over the last card in the tableau takes the top card of the Deck.
When a card is taken from the tableau, shift all cards in the tableau towards the far end (away from the Deck) and deal a new card from the top of the Deck to fill the empty place.
A player cannot Draft Draw if he has 5 cards in hand.
Gather Funds
As an action, a player may take all the Gold from one card in the Tableau, without taking that card itself.
Team Cross Duel
Players: 4 (2v2)
Time: 60 minutes
Difficulty: Advanced
Materials
Each player will need a Pixel Tactics Deck. Standard Core Sets work just as well as built Decks.
Setup
Seat yourselves so that each player is sitting beside his teammate, opposite the opposing team. Each player draws and selects a Leader as normal.
Objective
A team wins once they accumulate 3 points from one opponent, or 1 point from each opponent.
You can also play to 5 points (or 2 per opponent) for a longer game.
A point is awarded each time an enemy Leader is defeated.
Turns
Turns alternate across the table, going 1 wave at a time (see the chart). After a round ends, the First Player marker passes around the table in the same direction as the turn order, and a new round begins.
When Attacking, players can target either of the enemy Units. Players can restructure Heroes into and out of an ally's Unit using a Restructure action. They can also Clear Corpse in an ally's Unit. When a card is discarded for any reason, it always goes to its owner's discard pile.
Owner - The player who begins the game with a card in his Deck or his hand is that card's owner. Even if the card changes hands or is stolen, its owner is always the same.
Losing a Leader
When a player is defeated, he sets aside the defeated Leader as a point for the opposing team. He reshuffles his discard pile, hand, Unit, and Deck to form a new Deck, then draws a new hand of 4 cards, plus 1 extra card per point the opposing team has.
If playing a with built Decks, he selects a new Leader from his Leader Pile. Otherwise, he draws 1 extra card and selects a Leader from his hand.
The defeated player then takes a full Ceasefire Round: 2 actions in each of the Vanguard, Flank, and Rear rows, following normal Ceasefire rules. After this, the game resumes right where it left off.
Emperor
Players: 6 (3v3)
Time: 60 minutes
Difficulty: Advanced
Materials
Each player will need a Pixel Tactics Deck. Standard Core Sets work just as well as built Decks.
Setup
Seat yourselves so that teams of three are sitting on the same side of the table. The 'Emperor' is the player in the center of his team, and the 'Generals' are the players sitting to the Emperor's left and right. Play begins with either Emperor, and proceeds in waves, as normal.
Objective
When the Rival Emperor's Leader is defeated, your team wins!
Turns
Turns proceed in clockwise order, going by waves as normal.
Other Rules
Generals may move their Heroes into the Emperor's Unit, or move Heroes out of the Emperor's Unit into their Units. The Emperor may do the same to either of his Generals.
Normally you can only attack a player sitting adjacent to you. This means that Generals can only attack the General directly across from them at the game's start. Once players are eliminated, their seats disappear, making new targets available. In addition, you may use a Long Action to attack a player two seats away. This allows a General to attack the rival Emperor, or the Emperor to attack either of his rival's Generals.
Teammates are not allowed to communicate about strategy and are not allowed to reveal the contents of their hands to one another. If you want to be more lenient on communication, players may ask their Emperors or Generals for help in an attack or a defense, but still may not ask them for specific cards or invite them to perform specific actions.
Epic Duel
Players: 2
Time: 60 minutes
Difficulty: Advanced
Materials
Each player will need a pre-constructed deck of 65 or more cards.
Setup
Each player plays the game with a pre-constructed deck of 65 or more cards. Five of these cards are designated Leaders, and the remainder are Heroes. Each leader should be unique (there may be only one copy of any given leader). There may be up to 4 copies of any given hero in a deck, and it is permitted to have your heroes be copies of your leader. There is no maximum size for a deck in this mode.
Gameplay
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Shuffle you Hero Deck and set it to the side. Set your leaders in a row to the side of the table face-up.
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Each player takes his leaders into hand and secretly chooses one to put into play face-down. That will be his starting leader.
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Each player places the remainder of his leader cards back face-up beside the board draws 7 heroes from the Hero Deck to form his starting hand.
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Begin the game as normal.
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Players exchange First and Second Player Badges after each Flank Wave.
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Whenever a Leader is defeated, its owner discards it immediately and puts another leader of his choice from his leader set into play. He may immediately choose and do one of these actions:
a. Draw until he has 7 cards in hand.
b. Recruit up to 3 times into any slots, regardless of the current Wave.
c. Clear all Corpses in his Unit, then freely rearrange his Unit.
- When a Player's fifth Leader is defeated, he loses the game.
Tournament Play
Tournament Play is best for 4, 8 or 16 players.
A tournament is a series of games carried out by the same group of players. You can run a tournament with any of the Deck-building formats previously discussed, but Cube Draft Formats are most common, and are the recommended format for tournament play.
A tournament organizer will coordinate the events of the tournament. This player should have some experience organizing tournaments, since how to organize and run a tournament is a topic that could fill its own book. There are many good tutorials and videos available to teach this skill. If players wish to have prizes, there are play mats, promotional cards, and more available from www.level99games.com/level99store
Players should build their Decks by whatever method the tournament organizer decides on. If you have a large number of players and you are drafting Decks, you may need to have multiple 'flights', where each flight drafts from a different Cube.
After Deck-building is complete, shuffle around the list of players' names to build a tournament ladder and begin playing rounds. If you are playing with the recommended 4, 8, or 16 players, this is simple enough. If you have an odd number of players, there are many programs and tutorials available to help you build a custom tournament ladder.
The match format is typically best of 3 games, with rounds lasting about 1 hour apiece. Feel free to alter the format of the matches, the length of games, and even the format of Deck construction as you like. Just make sure that everyone knows the rules before you get started.
League Play
A league is an ongoing series of games carried out over a long period of time by the same group of players. Leagues are a nice way to organize a large group of friends and play out the game over several weeks at a time.
League Play introduces a new kind of card, Bases, that you will attempt to collect during the league. When you battle a friend during the league, you'll have a chance to capture their bases and add them to your score.
Commons
Commons are characters with no Leader Sides (they can only be played as Heroes). Some Commons may have no Ability in a certain Zone, these are indicated by "No Ability" text. Commons are usable only in League Play and some Deckbuilding forms.
Base Cards
Base Cards are special cards used in this mode and Siege. Each Base Card has 2 special features.
One is an Ongoing Effect, which works continuously during the game.
The second is a Snap Effect, which can be activated any time during your turn as a free action. Using the Snap Effect causes the base to be flipped upside down, losing both it's Snap Effect and its Ongoing Effect.
The base also has a Point Value, which is only used for League Scoring.
When a game begins, the Base Card sits out of play, and begins providing its Ongoing Effect right away.
As with normal cards, actions on Ongoing and Snap effects can only be utilized on your turn, and require you to spend Actions as usual to use them.
League Format
The league takes a fixed group of players and gives them a set pool of cards to work with. As you play over several weeks, you will accumulate points and add new cards to your pool.
League Card Pool Sizes
The following lists the minimum number of cards needed in your pool. If possible, more cards than the minimum in your pool is better for play.
| Weeks | Leaders | Minimum Heroes |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | 10 + 5 per player | 40 per player |
| 4 | 15 + 5 per player | 45 per player |
| 5 | 20 + 5 per player | 50 per player |
| 6 | 25 + 5 per player | 55 per player |
| 7 | 30 + 5 per player | 60 per player |
| 8 | 30 + 5 per player | 65 per player |
| 9 | 30 + 5 per player | 70 per player |
| 10 | 30 + 5 per player | 75 per player |
League Draft
Drafting in a League works a little differently than you might be used to. Since not everyone will be in the same place at the same time, draft like this instead:
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The League Organizer shuffles the card pool that's being drafted (either Leaders or Heroes) and reveals 3 cards from it.
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The player drafting chooses to take one of the revealed cards, and discard another one to the bottom of the Deck.
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The League Organizer reveals 2 more cards from the top of the Deck, so there are again 3 visible.
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Jump back to step 2, unless the required number of cards have been drafted, in which case the card pool is put away.
Setting Up a League
The League plays out in a series of cycles. Players gather at the beginning of each new cycle to score the league and get new cards. During the cycle, players in the league can meet anywhere and anytime to do battle.
When you first setup the League, each player drafts 5 Leaders, and then give each player 25 random Heroes. This forms their starting card pool and gives them a standard-format Deck to work with. Players can add and remove cards from their Deck at any time, but their Leaders must remain the same, and their Deck must have exactly 25 cards. Also give each player 5 bases (a full set with their color of border). Each player should write their Leaders on their own score pad (at the end of these rules).
For league balance, it is recommended that you check the Ban and Restricted Lists on www.Pixel-Tactics.com and make these available for all of your league members. There are also Suggested League Lists that you can use to build the card pools for your league.
You will be introducing new Heroes and Leaders during the league. If you don't have enough unique cards to cover those required by the league, it is alright to use up to 3 copies of each card, and allow that up to 3 copies of the same card be used in players' Decks. It is recommended that you sleeve your Heroes in one color, and your Leaders in another color, so there is no confusion about which is which. As the League Organizer, you can choose which cards are going into the Hero or Leader pools, to make for an interesting and unique League Experience.
Note: Only cards obtained in the League can go into a players' card pool. You cannot bring in cards from outside the game!
If your league meets at a specific time and place, you may want to leave your Decks with the league organizer, so that there is no risk of accidentally mixing in cards from your personal collection. Make sure to clearly label whose Deck is whose!
Challenges
During a League Cycle, you can challenge any player, any time, anywhere. A League opponent is never under obligation to accept a challenge. In order to accept a challenge, both players must have at least one base card of their color remaining. A player cannot alter his Hero Deck once a Challenge is accepted (but he can decline and say "Wait, let me update my Deck for a moment, then challenge me.").
Each Player chooses which of his Leaders to play, and selects this secretly. Then, each player takes a look at the base cards that his opponent has available, and secretly chooses one of them to attack. Now, play out a game using the Leader you selected, and the base your opponent selected.
Win or lose, both Leaders must retire from the current cycle after a battle, and cannot be used again. The base of the defeated player is also retired, and cannot be used again. Players should record the results of the match on their score sheets and sign off on each others' sheets.
Optional Rule
If playing in a medium sized league (6+ players) you may wish to stipulate that a single pair of players cannot battle more than two times per cycle. If playing in a large league (10+ players) you may stipulate that a single pair of players cannot battle more than once per cycle.
Scoring a Cycle
At the end of the cycle, the players meet again to score. Your score for the cycle is the total point value of bases that you've captured from rivals, plus 2 points for each of your own uncaptured bases (regardless of their normal point total).
Players may discard any unwanted Leaders back to the Leader Card Pool.
Players now draft Leaders until they have a total of 5, and Heroes until they have drafted 5 new Heroes. These cards are added to their card pools. Thus, a player's Hero card pool should increase by 5 each cycle, but his Leader selection should always remain exactly at 5.
After scoring, the drafting of Leaders, and the drafting of new Heroes, the next cycle of the League begins!
After a pre-determined number of cycles, the League ends, and the player with the most points is declared the winner!
Expanding the Game
You can expand Pixel Tactics in several ways. New cards provide access to extra modes, and new ways to play. Collect all of Pixel Tactics for the ultimate duel!
Core Sets
Core Sets like Pixel Tactics, Pixel Tactics 2, and Pixel Tactics 3, and so on can be integrated with your Deck simply by shuffling them in. Many modes, such as Classic, Duel Draft, Epic, Siege, and more can be played with a larger Deck (or starting card pool, in the case of Skirmish).
In addition to mixing base sets, try playing with them on their own, as each has a distinct feel and play style that you won't find in the others!
Minipaks
Minipaks are sets of 8 cards that come in both red and blue. These can be mixed into any base set to introduce some new strategies into these base sets.
Promos
Promotional Cards have Green Backs, and can be integrated with any play mode. Just shuffle the Promotional Card Deck and place it to the side of the play area. All players start the game with one fewer card from their Decks and one extra Promo card drawn from the shared Deck. Players also gain access to the Promo Draw action:
Promo Draw
Discard a card from your hand, then draw a card from the Promo Card Deck.
Promotional Cards are often more casual, and may force you to play in an unorthodox manner. Build your Shared Promotional Deck with the cards you prefer for your style of play, and try to collect them all! Promos can also be a lot of fun in Cube Draft formats, but use your discretion when including certain promos, as not all of them are right for every situation.
Chase Leaders
Chase Leader Promos have Purple Backs. These can be swapped for a Leader anytime when you have that Leader in play, giving you a more distinct central Leader. These are best in Constructed Deck Formats, but they're also lots of fun for League play too! Try to chase down your favorite Leaders and make your Deck unique!
World of Indines
Pixel Tactics is part of the World of Indines—a collection of games featuring recurring characters in a vibrant fantasy world. Many of the characters in Pixel Tactics appear in BattleCON: War of Indines, Argent: the Consortium, Seven Card Slugfest, Disc Duelers, and other games within this series.
Visit www.level99games.com for more information on the World of Indines and its characters.