Primal: The Awakening – Heart of the Wild Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Expansion Overview
  • Drusk and Zaraya
• Components
• New Rules
  • Pierce (Zaraya)
  • Rhythm (Drusk)
  • Resonate (Drusk)
• New Keywords
• New Triggering Icon
• Hunter Decklists
  • Drusk – The Wardrum
  • Zaraya – The Spear

Expansion Overview

Drusk and Zaraya

The Heart of the Wild expansion introduces two new hunters: Drusk, The Wardrum and Zaraya, The Spear.

These characters can be played as an alternative to any of the base game characters, and in any game mode (you can find the preconstructed decklists for Drusk and Zaraya on pages 7 and 9).

Note: The Primal: The Awakening base game is required to play this expansion.

Important: The Feather, Ice and Venom Expansions are required to use the forge and weapon cards of their respective elements in the Campaign mode.

Components

• Drusk miniature
• Drusk hunter board
• 28x Wardrum Weapon card
• 2x Wardrum (Special set) Weapon card
• 44x Drusk Action card
• 6x Drusk Mastery card
• Zaraya miniature
• Zaraya hunter board
• 28x Spear Weapon card
• 2x Spear (Special set) Weapon card
• 44x Zaraya Action card
• 6x Zaraya Mastery card
• 3x Zaraya Wound card
• 3x Drusk Wound card
• 1x Rhythm marker (Drusk)
• 1x Pierce marker (Zaraya)
• 2x Reference card
• 27x Forge card
• Expansion Rules
• 6x Venom card (Hydar)
• 8x Venom card (Reikal)
• 2x Bleeding card (Xitheros)
• 8x Debility card (Orouxen)
• 8x Paralyzing Spore card (Pazis)
• 2x Bleeding card (The Awakened)

New Rules

This section provides a detailed explanation for any special rules and new keywords specific to the new hunters, Drusk and Zaraya.

Pierce (Zaraya)

Zaraya can unleash devastating piercing attacks, which must be prepared by building up her pierce level over the course of the fight.

The Pierce track (values 0-4) on your hunter board keeps track of your current pierce level. During the setup of the game, place the pierce marker on the space corresponding to an initial pierce level of 0. Then, during the game, increase your pierce level as follows:

When you play two consecutive maneuver cards (i.e., two consecutive maneuver cards), increase your pierce level by 1 (to a maximum of 4). Move the marker accordingly on the Pierce track to reflect your current level.

Pierce Level: Example

1. Alice plays a maneuver card in her sequence. Note: Even if this card weren't the first in her sequence, the example would work the same.
2. Alice plays another maneuver card as the next card in her sequence. Since she has created a sequence of two consecutive maneuver cards, she increases her pierce level by 1.
3. Alice then plays a third consecutive maneuver card, forming a second sequence of two consecutive maneuver cards (made up of the second and third cards played). For this reason, Alice increases her pierce level by 1 again, moving the pierce marker on her hunter board.

While playing Zaraya, you have the following Pierce ability:

"When you play an attack card (i.e., an attack card), if your pierce level is 4, you may choose to deal your piercing damage instead of your base weapon damage. If you do, reset your pierce level to 0 after the attack."

Note: When using your piercing damage, apply any damage bonuses as normal. The piercing damage value simply replaces your base weapon damage for that attack.

Piercing Damage

Zaraya's weapon cards feature a special piercing damage value, displayed near the standard weapon damage (see the example image). This value is used exclusively when resolving attacks through the Pierce ability, as explained above.

Card example (Moltenshard, Level 3): the card text reads, in part: "Start: You may discard up to 4 cards from the top of your deck. Moltenshard gains +1 damage for each [icon] discarded this way until the end of this turn." and "[icon]: Increase the damage the attack deals by 2 for each other in your sequence." The card's icons are too small in the source image to read with certainty and are shown as [icon] placeholders; the surrounding words are as printed in the card's text layer.

Rhythm (Drusk)

Drusk beats a war rhythm on his drum that boosts the damage of his allies' attacks and becomes a powerful source of card draw for himself.

When playing Drusk, the Rhythm track (values 0-3) on your hunter board tracks your rhythm level. During the setup of the game, place the rhythm marker on the space of your track corresponding to an initial rhythm level of 0. The rhythm level builds up as follows:

When you discard a card from your hand matching the color of the topmost card in your discard pile, increase your rhythm level by 1 (to a maximum of 3). If your rhythm level is already at 3, draw 1 instead.

Drusk can expend this built-up rhythm to empower his allies:

When another player plays an attack card in their sequence, you may grant an inspiration bonus based on your current rhythm level. If you do, reset your rhythm level to 0.

Inspiration Bonus

The inspiration bonus is a damage boost you can grant to an ally's attack, based on your rhythm level. Calculate the bonus as follows:

• If your rhythm level is 2, increase the damage the attack deals by 2 class icons (i.e. two times your weapon level).
• If your rhythm level is 3, increase the damage the attack deals by 6 class icons (i.e. six times your weapon level).

Note: If your rhythm level is 0 or 1, no inspiration bonus can be granted.

Note: The "class icons" in these texts are the Drusk class icon shown in the source; per the base rulebook, class icons in card ability texts refer to your weapon level.

Rhythm Combo

There may be situations where you discard multiple cards from your hand (e.g., when generating stamina to pay the cost of a card, when recycling multiple cards, etc.). In those situations, if you discard multiple cards of the same color, treat them as if you were discarding them one at a time. This means you could increase your rhythm level multiple times, as shown in the example below.

Discarding Multiple Cards: Rhythm Example #1

1. Alice discards the first dodge card; nothing happens since the topmost card in her discard pile is a maneuver card.
2. She discards the second dodge card, increasing her rhythm level by 1, since the topmost card in her discard pile is now green.

Discarding Multiple Cards: Rhythm Example #2

1. Bob discards the first dodge card; since the topmost card in his discard pile is green (the color of a dodge card), he increases his rhythm level by 1.
2. Then, he discards the second dodge card, increasing his rhythm level again.

Resonate (Drusk)

When you play a card with the Resonance trait in your sequence, resolve the effect of its text ability twice if the previous card in your sequence also has the Resonance trait.

Special Restriction: You may include a maximum of 8 cards with Resonance in your deck.

New Keywords

Copy

When you are instructed to copy the ability of a card, resolve that card's ability as part of the copy effect.

Guard

When another player in your sector or in an adjacent one plays a defensive card (i.e., a defensive card), you may discard a card with the guard keyword from your hand to reduce the stamina cost of that defensive card to 0. This effect can be used only once per turn.

Reclaim: [Condition]

At any point during the game, when you meet the [Condition], you may search your discard pile for a card with the keyword Reclaim: [Condition] and add it to your hand.

Note: This is a keyword ability that can only be triggered while a card with this keyword is in your discard pile.

Example: During your turn, as a consequence of playing two consecutive attack cards in your sequence, you may search your discard pile for any cards with Reclaim: two consecutive attack cards and add them to your hand.

Recycle [Color]

This is a keyword ability. When you are instructed to Recycle [Color] (e.g., Recycle one maneuver card or Recycle two maneuver cards), you may discard that exact number of cards of the indicated color from your hand to draw an equal number of cards.

• Example 1: Recycle one maneuver card – you may discard 1 maneuver card from your hand to draw 1.
• Example 2: Recycle two maneuver cards – you may discard 2 maneuver cards from your hand to draw 2.

Resonance

This is a card trait with no standalone effect in the game, but it plays a key role in Drusk's Resonate ability, explained on page 5.

New Triggering Icon

[Drusk triggering icon]: [Ability] (Drusk)

Some of Drusk's weapon cards feature the [Drusk triggering icon]: [Ability] symbol. This indicates that the [Ability] triggers when your rhythm level reaches 3.

Hunter Decklists

Drusk – The Wardrum

Drusk is a one-of-a-kind hunter who transforms the battlefield through music in unprecedented ways. While he's certainly not the first choice for players looking for high offensive capabilities, he truly excels as a support character, offering plenty of control, defense, and healing effects.

Drusk boasts the highest draw potential of all hunters—but only when he fully leverages his Rhythm track, discarding cards in such a way to keep the flow, as each discard follows the beat of the previous one. The greater the rhythm he can build, the greater the boost he provides to the attacks of his fellow hunters.

In addition, his Resonance ability cards have a unique feature: when played in sequence, they trigger their effect twice, becoming more powerful as the music continues to resonate.

The preconstructed deck, built around the Thundering Drum mastery, takes advantage of crystal and/or horn equipment to maximize draw power, cycling rapidly through the deck to ensure you always have the right tools at hand.

Starter Deck (Thundering Drum mastery)

• Resounding Strike, Echoing Strength, War Chant, Rhythmic Insight, Thundering Drum
• Sundering Impact, Rhythmic Action, Reverberum, Backbeat
• Call of the Primordials, Ghost Note, Defensive Pulse, Crescendo
• Rhythmic Smash, Driving Rhythm, Sound Shield, Drums of Vengeance
• Hunting Pulse, Accented Blow, Echo of Resilience, Invocation
• Awakened Fury, Resonant Call, Exhausting Beat, Hymn of Refuge

Decklist Level 1

• Resounding Strike, Echoing Strength, War Chant, Backbeat, Thundering Drum
• Sundering Impact, Rhythmic Action, Voice of the Primordials, Crescendo
• Call of the Primordials, Rousing Rhythm, Warbeat, Rhythmic Insight
• Awakened Fury, Driving Rhythm, Sound Shield, Drums of Vengeance
• Rhythmic Smash, Accented Blow, Reverberum
• Resonant Call

Decklist Level 2

• Resounding Strike, Echoing Strength, War Chant, Backbeat, Thundering Drum
• Pulsebreaker, Rhythmic Action, Voice of the Primordials, Rhythmic Strike
• Call of the Primordials, Rousing Rhythm, Warbeat, Rhythmic Insight
• Awakened Fury, Driving Rhythm, Sound Shield, Drums of Vengeance
• Rhythmic Smash, Accented Blow, Reverberum
• Resonant Call

Decklist Level 3

• Resounding Strike, Echoing Strength, War Chant, Backbeat, Thundering Drum
• Pulsebreaker, Rhythmic Action, Voice of the Primordials, Rhythmic Strike
• Call of the Primordials, Rousing Rhythm, Warbeat, Indomitable March
• Awakened Fury, Driving Rhythm, Sound Shield, Drums of Vengeance
• Rhythmic Smash, Accented Blow, Destructive Resonance
• Resonant Call

Zaraya – The Spear

Zaraya is an attack-oriented character with a wide range of abilities and diverse masteries, offering plenty of tactical options. Gifted with exceptional mobility, she can capitalize on her positioning for various effects and frequently retrieve offensive cards through her extensive use of Reclaim.

However, her true specialty lies in delivering devastating attacks by maneuvering around the monster until she finds its weak spots. The spear serves not only as a deadly weapon for piercing attacks, but also as a tool to keep the monster at bay with Guard, giving her fellow hunters time to set up their defenses.

The preconstructed deck is built around the Guardian mastery and strikes a fine balance between Guard and Reclaim abilities, along with tools to quickly advance her Pierce track. It's an ideal deck for learning her unique playstyle, which may take some time to master.

Starter Deck (Guardian mastery)

• Blinding Strike, Guided Charge, Defying Danger, Graceful Stride, Guardian
• Backlash, Flanking Strike, Striking Weakness, Ward
• Flanking Dance, Elusive Maneuver, Agile Step, Escape
• Sentinel's Lunge, Long Reach, Regroup, Dodger's Edge
• Waiting Strike, Side Sweep, Focused Defense, Precise Step
• Guardian's Reach, Dashing Leap, Vigilant Guard, Sudden Dash

Decklist Level 1

• Backlash, Long Reach, Defying Danger, Sudden Dash, Guardian
• Guardian's Reach, Flanking Strike, Vigilant Guard, Ward
• Sentinel's Lunge, Side Sweep, Focused Defense, Dodger's Edge
• Quick Strike, Guided Charge, Regroup, Escape
• Whirling Spear, Guardian's Reclaim, Graceful Stride, Precise Step

Decklist Level 2

• Backlash, Long Reach, Defying Danger, Sudden Dash, Guardian
• Guardian's Reach, Flanking Strike, Vigilant Guard, Ward
• Sentinel's Lunge, Side Sweep, Focused Defense, Dodger's Edge
• Quick Strike, Tactical Dance, Regroup, Piercing Momentum
• Whirling Spear, Guardian's Reclaim, Graceful Stride, Precise Step

Decklist Level 3

• Backlash, Long Reach, Defying Danger, Sudden Dash, Guardian
• Guardian's Reach, Flanking Strike, Vigilant Guard, Ward
• Sentinel's Lunge, Side Sweep, Focused Defense, Dodger's Edge
• Quick Strike, Tactical Dance, Regroup, Piercing Momentum
• Whirling Spear, Guardian's Reclaim, Mastered Steps, Precise Step

Source note: The card names in the decklist grids are transcribed from the rulebook's text layer; the printed grids do not show a per-card count, so the lists are given in printed row order.