Sorcery: Contested Realm
Sorcery: Contested Realm Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Gameplay
In a game of Sorcery: Contested Realm, you interact with the realm as a powerful Avatar. You will have a spellbook, a deck of cards that will allow you to cast spells that summon minions, conjure artifacts, and more. You will also have access to your atlas, a deck of cards that allow you to add wondrous sites to the play area that both expand your domain and empower you to cast even more devastating spells.
How to Win
Avatars are summoned to a contested realm with one goal: to vanquish their opponents and claim sole dominion. In order to win, you must defeat any opposing Avatar by first reducing their life total to zero, placing them at death's door, and then delivering a final death blow to the weakened Avatar. This severs the enemy's connection to the realm and grants you victory!
Decks
For your first few games, you might want to use preconstructed decks, which will get you straight into the action. Or you can craft your own decks, balancing and tuning their powers to fit your play style (see "Building Your Own Decks"). The world of Sorcery grants you endless possibilities!
The Four Elements
Sorcery: Contested Realm is built around the four classical elements: Air, Earth, Fire, and Water. Most spells in a spellbook are tied to these elements, giving Avatars the power to manipulate the magic of the realms. Each element has strengths and weaknesses. Certain abilities can be common in one element yet very rare in another. The four elements and their characteristics are:
Air - Air is the element of Knowledge and Power, dabbling in forces beyond mortal control to acquire the magical means to respond to any battlefield situation. An attunement with air grants you both mobility and tactical options thanks to its ability to teleport units around the realm and to increase its available spells.
Earth - Earth is the element of Enduring Strength, defined by its focus on fielding and enhancing martial forces throughout the realm. An attunement with earth grants you the ability to affect your atlas and minions that can dominate the battle through teamwork and sheer fighting power.
Fire - Fire is the element of Desire and Destruction, willing to do whatever it takes to secure victory in the realm. An attunement with fire grants you an array of explosive spells and abilities that can create bursts of speed or burn friend and foe alike in great gouts of flame.
Water - Water is the element of Charm and Trickery, ready to adapt and disrupt the strategies of the enemy as it manipulates all. An attunement with water grants you a powerful homefield advantage that will slowly engulf the realm and the ability to position the enemy right where you want them.
Cards
In Sorcery: Contested Realm, your cards are what allow you to influence the realm and do battle with your opponent. Some cards will bend or even break the rules in this rulebook, in these cases the card's text takes precedence. Before we dig into how cards function in detail, it is important to keep one key rule in mind at all times:
The Golden Rule
Some text is intentionally informal or necessarily compact. Use common sense and be cool.
Card Types
There are three main categories of cards: Avatars, sites, and spells. Spells further break down into four card types: minion, artifact, aura, and magic. The following sections describe each type.
Avatars
Your Avatar represents you and your connection to the realm. Though but a pale echo of your true might, everything you do within the realm is done through your Avatar. Avatars have some key characteristics:
- Each Avatar has a name.
- Avatars have a starting life, which will rise and fall during the game and tells you how much the Avatar can endure before being placed at death's door. This is also the Avatar's maximum life, which cannot be exceeded.
- Avatars also have an attack power rating that tells you how hard they hit in combat.
- Avatars have a game text box that describes their special abilities.
All Avatars are Spellcasters, which means they can cast spells, most often from your hand.
Finally, Avatars can never enter a region other than the surface and ignore many negative effects.
Units - A unit is a collective term that includes both Avatars and minions. Some cards might specify one of these types of units, but most affect units in general.
Sites
A site is a locus of power within the realm that you may explore and exploit. Sites are usually played by activating your Avatar's ability, though they may enter the realm in other ways.
You and your opponent can also attack each other's sites to cause your Avatars to lose life, so make sure to defend yours.
Sites have some key characteristics:
- Sites have a name.
- Sites have a typeline that describes key things about that card, such as rarity.
- Most sites have elemental symbols that increase your elemental affinity, which you will harness to use spells and abilities (see "Elemental Threshold").
- Sites have a game text box that describes their special abilities.
- Sites will provide you with mana, an important resource that you will need to play cards and use abilities during your turn (see "Mana").
- Sites have two levels: surface and subsurface (see "Surface & Subsurface of Sites").
Rubble - When a site is destroyed it is placed in its owner's cemetery as normal, but rather than creating a new void, the site is instead replaced with rubble. Rubble is a neutral land site that no player controls, and provides no mana or threshold.
Note: You can use tokens or a face down site to represent rubble on a square.
Spells
Spells represent all of the magical might you are able to bring to bear on this realm. These include minions to help you defend your lands and attack the enemy, powerful artifacts that will help you tip the balance of power, magics of channeled energy that will overpower foes, and auras of lasting elemental magic to impose your will on areas of the realm.
Minions
Minions are your greatest allies, assisting you with myriad unique abilities in offense and defense. Minions have a few key characteristics on their card:
- Each minion has a name.
- Each minion has a mana cost that you must pay in order to play it.
- Minions have an elemental threshold that your elemental affinity must meet in order to be played.
- Minions have a power rating that reflects how hard they hit in combat. It also describes how much damage they can take before dying. If the minion receives damage equal to or greater than that value, it dies.
- Minions have a type line that describes key things about that card, such as subtypes and rarity.
- Minions have a game text box that describes their special abilities.
Token Minions - Tokens are small-sized cards that work more or less the same as regular cards while in the realm. The major difference between cards and tokens is that tokens are never part of a player's deck, and they can never formally exist in any zone except within the realm. If a token would be placed anywhere else, it is instead removed from the game entirely.
Note: You are free to use anything you want to represent tokens.
Artifacts
Artifacts are various relics, edifices, tools, gear, gadgets, devices, and baubles, often charged with lasting enchantments by wizards of old. Artifacts have some key characteristics on their card:
- Each artifact has a name.
- Each artifact has a mana cost that you must pay to play it.
- Artifacts have a type line that describes key things about that card, such as subtypes and rarity.
- Artifacts have a game text box that describes their special abilities.
Note: Unlike other spells, artifacts do not typically require an elemental threshold to play.
Artifact Subtypes - Artifacts have a variety of subtypes, including armor, weapons, relics, devices, documents, automatons, or monuments. While most artifacts are standard objects that can be carried into battle, others such as automatons and monuments have some further characteristics and restrictions.
Automatons - Automatons are artifacts that are minions. As such, they have a power rating, have the same basic abilities as regular minions, and cannot be carried like regular artifacts.
Monuments - Monuments are an artifact subtype that cannot be carried.
Auras
Auras are mostly incorporeal, but lasting, manifestations of elemental power. They usually impact a large area within the realm, conferring boons or conditions within their reach.
Auras have some key characteristics on their card:
- Each aura has a name.
- Each aura has a mana cost that you must pay in order to play it.
- Auras also have an elemental threshold that your elemental affinity must meet in order to be played.
- Auras have a type line that describes key things about that card, such as rarity.
- Auras have a game text box that describes their special abilities.
Magics
Magics are transient spells that have immediate impact and then dissipate as soon as they resolve. Magics have some key characteristics on their card:
- Each magic has a name.
- Each magic has a mana cost that you must pay in order to play it.
- Magics also have an elemental threshold that your elemental affinity must meet in order to be played.
- Magics have a type line that describes key things about that card, such as rarity.
- Magics have a game text box that describes their special abilities.
Game Zones
In Sorcery: Contested Realm, players share the main and biggest part of the play area—the realm. However, each player has their own decks, cemetery, and hand. These are the game's main zones.
The Realm
The realm is a 5x4 square grid where most cards are played. These twenty squares begin as pieces of the void that you and your opponent may fill in with sites as you expand your domains.
Atlas and Spellbook Decks
Each player has two decks of cards—an atlas of at least 30 site cards, containing maps to domains waiting to be explored, and a spellbook of at least 60 spell cards, filled with all of a player's accumulated magical knowledge. Players will draw cards from these decks over the course of a game.
When it comes to these decks, keep a few things in mind:
- The exact order of the cards in these decks is unpredictable, thus whenever you search your atlas or spellbook for a card, you must shuffle it afterward.
- Some effects allow you to place or reorder known cards on the bottoms or tops of decks. After doing so, you do not shuffle it.
Cemetery
Each player has a cemetery which represents a record of spent magic, dead minions, and broken artifacts. Whenever any of your cards are discarded, destroyed, resolved, or otherwise expired, place them face-up in your cemetery.
Players may freely examine the contents of any cemetery at any time and the order of the cards in a cemetery is irrelevant.
Hand
Cards drawn from your spellbook or atlas decks are kept in your hand. Your hand should remain hidden from your opponents, however the number of atlas and spellbook cards you hold may be observed and asked, due to the card backs being distinguishable.
There is no maximum hand size and the order of the cards in your hand is irrelevant.
Setup
Now that you're familiar with the components, follow these steps to set up a two-player game of Sorcery.
Step 1: Set Up the Realm - Clear some space in the middle of the table for the realm.
Step 2: Place Avatars - Players place their Avatars on the square in the middle of their bottom row.
Step 3: Prepare Decks - Players shuffle and place their atlas and spellbook decks nearby, leaving some space for their cemeteries.
Step 4: Determine First Player - Players may either decide who has the first turn, or otherwise randomly choose who goes first.
Step 5: Draw Starting Hand - Each player draws three cards from their atlas and three cards from their spellbook. If you're not satisfied with your initial hand, you may take one mulligan.
To take a mulligan, return up to three cards from your hand to the bottom of their respective decks in any order. Then redraw the same number of cards you returned from each deck.
Winning the Game
The game ends when a player has vanquished all opposing Avatars, securing their hold on the realm! In order to do this, you'll need to get them to death's door, then follow up with a death blow.
Alternatively, if either player attempts to draw a card from an empty deck, they immediately lose.
Death's Door & Death Blow
As an Avatar loses life, from either taking damage directly or their sites being attacked, its connection with the realm weakens. When an Avatar's life is reduced to 0, they are now at death's door and can no longer gain life. At that moment, the wounded Avatar becomes immune to damage for the rest of that turn.
After that brief and desperate window, any damage dealt to the Avatar is a death blow, finally severing their connection to the realm and signaling their defeat.
Navigating the Realm
In Sorcery: Contested Realm battles are often won or lost in the way you position and maneuver your units. The following sections cover how to navigate both the square grid and the layers of the realm.
Areas of the Realm
The realm is split into twenty squares. These squares begin as pieces of the void that you and your opponent may fill in with sites as you expand your domains.
The Void - The void is a region of incorporeal nothingness on top of which you will build your physical domain. Any minion that somehow finds its way into the void (whether in whole or in part) is immediately banished (removed from the game) unless it has an ability that specifically allows it to exist there (such as Voidwalk).
Sites - As you and your opponent expand your domains, you will replace void squares by playing site cards on them. These sites will form up to create bodies of water and land for your units to traverse and conquer.
Water and Land Sites - Sites can be separated into two main types. Water sites are identified by the water threshold icon. All other sites are considered land sites, including sites with no threshold icons and rubble.
Groups of Water & Land - As sites are played, they will begin to form bodies of water and spans of land. A contiguous cluster of adjacent water sites is known as a body of water. Similarly, a contiguous cluster of adjacent land sites forms a span of land. It is possible to have more than one of each, or for the realm to be completely land or water.
For example: two Spring Rivers and an Aqueduct can form a body of water, since the Aqueduct has both a land icon and a water icon, making it a water site. A separate, single-site body of water can be formed by an Autumn River, since only adjacent sites are considered and not those placed diagonally. Similarly, a Steppe and a Dark Tower can form a span of land, while an Arid Desert next to them forms its own single-site span of land.
Surface & Subsurface of Sites
Each site is made up of two levels, above and below the card. A site's upper level is generally referred to as the surface and its lower one is the subsurface.
The Surface - The upper level of all sites form a region known as the surface. This is where units will typically move and wage war on the enemy. All units above a site are considered to be on the surface.
The Subsurface - The subsurface is divided into two regions, depending on what type of site it is. The lower level of a land site is part of the underground region. Similarly, the lower level of a water site, is part of the underwater region. Existing in the subsurface is extremely hazardous and minions that somehow find their way there immediately die, unless otherwise allowed to do so with special abilities.
Atop and Under - When cards enter a site's surface level, place it atop the site to show that it is on the surface, or slide it under the site to show that it occupies the subsurface.
If a card refers to something atop a site, it applies to something on the surface of the site, but not anything below it. Similarly, if a card refers to something under a site, it applies to something in the subsurface of the site, but not anything above it.
Regions
Altogether, there are four regions in the game:
- void
- surface
- underground
- underwater
Note: Most abilities from cards in the realm affect things within the region where the card is located. Similarly, in the case of spells, their affects typically apply to the same region as its Spellcaster. However, some cards can effect specific areas, regions, or even the whole realm, regardless of the card's own region.
For example: a Porcupine Pufferfish occupies the Underwater region under the site in its square. A Headless Haunt occupies a square in the Void region. Cave Trolls occupy the Underground region under the site in their square. A Sea Serpent and Diluvian Kraken occupy the Surface region atop the sites in their squares, as does the King of the Realm atop the site in his square.
Locating Areas of the Realm
Perhaps the single most important key concept to understand is how to identify areas in the realm relative to your card's position.
Location - A location is defined as one region in one square.
Here and There - "Here" and "There" are used to contextually refer to the location(s) that a card occupies. For most cards, such as avatars, minions, and artifacts, that means one location. For most auras, it means the 2x2 area they occupy. For sites, it means two locations, their surface and subsurface.
Targeting - Sometimes you will need to target things in the realm. Spells and abilities can only target things within the Spellcaster's or referencing card's same region.
Adjacent and Nearby - Sometimes a card will need to identify something in an adjacent or nearby square.
- Adjacent: Refers to the card's own square, and the squares that it shares a border with (the five squares that share a border with the card's square).
- Nearby: Refers to the card's own square, and all squares that surround it, including those diagonally (the nine squares surrounding the card's square).
Adjacent and Nearby Locations
Only locations that are in the same region as the referencing card (or its Spellcaster) are considered adjacent or nearby locations.
For example: consider a King of the Realm beset by enemies on nearly all sides. Some pose a greater threat than others:
- The King is adjacent to a Sea Serpent because it is next to him on the surface of the site and therefore in the same region. Similarly, a Diluvian Kraken is nearby the King.
- The King is not adjacent to a Headless Haunt because the Haunt is in the Void region.
- Cave Trolls are not adjacent to the King because they are burrowed and are therefore in a different region. Similarly, a Porcupine Pufferfish is not nearby the King because it is submerged.
- The Pufferfish and Cave Trolls are not adjacent to each other as they are in different regions, underwater and underground, respectively. Similarly, the Pufferfish is not adjacent to the Headless Haunt, nor are the Cave Trolls nearby the Headless Haunt.
Steps
A step is the minimum unit of distance between two adjacent locations. Some card abilities will have an effect that will happen a step away or even several steps away from where the card is or its origin point. In these cases, it will say that it happens X steps away.
Turn Summary
Sorcery: Contested Realm is played over a series of turns. Players take their turns, one at a time, following this sequence of phases:
Start Phase
The start phase is the first phase you complete during your turn. All abilities that last "Until next turn" now end. Then:
- All of your cards that are tapped now untap.
- All of your sites now provide their mana for this turn.
- Trigger abilities that happen at the start of the turn.
- Finally, draw a card from either your spellbook or atlas.
Main Phase
The main phase is where most of Sorcery's actions and events take place. During this phase, your units can be ordered to do two types of actions. They can:
- Cast a spell from your hand if they are a spellcaster (see "Casting Spells"), or
- Activate one of their abilities (see "Activating Abilities")
You may have your units do these as many times as you have resources to do so, and in any order you like. For example, you might move a minion, then cast a spell with your Avatar, and then move another minion.
End Phase
The end phase is the last phase you complete during your turn.
- Trigger abilities that happen at the end of the turn.
- Players remove all damage from their minions in the realm.
- Effects that last for your turn now end.
- Your turn ends.
Note: Avatars do not heal automatically at the end of the turn in the same way as damage is removed from minions, however they can heal using spells and other card effects.
Your First Turn
No Card Draw (First Player) - If you are the first player to take a turn in the game, skip Step 4 of the Start Phase.
Establishing Your Domain - During your first Main Phase, your Avatar needs to establish their domain within the realm. To do this, you must use your Avatar's ability to play a site to your Avatar's square.
Casting Spells
Spells are the main way Avatars and other Spellcasters influence the realm. Any card in your hand that is not a site is a spell. You cast these spells to summon minions, conjure artifacts or auras, and invoke magics.
To cast a spell from your hand, you need to identify a Spellcaster under your control to cast it. The Spellcaster and its location are by whom and where the spell is being cast. Once you have identified the Spellcaster, spells often have two requirements to play: a mana cost and an elemental threshold.
Mana
All of your Spellcasters use mana to cast their spells and some abilities may also draw from this power. You can only gain mana during your turn and lose any unspent mana at the end of your turn.
Gaining Mana - At the start of your turn, all of your sites provide one mana each, forming a mana pool for you to draw from. When one of your sites enters the realm, it immediately provides one mana. If you lose a site, the mana it provided this turn is not removed from your mana pool. If you gain control of an enemy's site during your turn, it does not provide you with mana until your next turn.
Other card types might also provide mana turn-after-turn in a manner similar to sites, or simply increase your pool for the current turn.
Using Mana - Spells cost mana to cast. This is identified by the card's mana cost in the upper left hand corner. To cast that spell, you must be able to pay the cost from your available mana. You cannot pay a mana cost if the amount required exceeds the mana available.
For example: your sites each provide one mana that you can spend this turn, giving you three mana total. Your opponent's Aqueduct does not provide you mana. In your hand you have some minions and a site. You could play both a Sedge Crabs and a Polar Explorers as their total mana cost is three. You don't currently have enough mana to play a Captain Baldassare with his mana cost of four. However, you do have a site, Maelström, that you can play using your Avatar's ability. Playing Maelström would bring your total available mana up to four, allowing you to play Captain Baldassare, saving the Crabs and Explorers for a later turn.
Elemental Threshold
In addition to mana, you will often need to meet an elemental threshold to cast most spells or use some abilities. Spells and some abilities will have one or more elemental symbols (fire, air, water, and earth) next to the mana cost on spells, or to the left of abilities in text boxes.
To play that card or use that ability, you must have at least as many matching symbols on the sites you control, plus any others granted by spells or abilities.
Elemental threshold is not spent like mana. It is simply a minimum affinity you must have for the specified elements to use some cards. All artifacts and most abilities have no threshold at all, so you need only to ensure that you can pay any associated costs to make use of them.
For example: your Floodplain, Autumn River, and Maelström sites each grant you one affinity, however Boneyard does not, so your affinity is currently three. Note that your opponent's Aqueduct does not grant you affinity. In your hand, you have some minions, including Adept Illusionist and Polar Explorers, both of which you want to play this turn. Because elemental affinity is not spent or lost when playing cards, you just need to check each card's elemental threshold and see if your affinity is equal to or greater than the threshold. This means that you can play both the Illusionist and Explorers this turn since they each only require a threshold of two, compared to your affinity of three.
Multiple Element Threshold - Some spells might require affinity with different elements. Like with other spells, you must be able to meet all of a spell's required threshold in order to cast it. So for example, to cast Sir Pelleas, you'll need to control sites with at least one Air and two Water threshold symbols.
Cards that have different element symbols count as a spell of each of those affinities. So Sir Pelleas is both an Air spell and a Water spell at the same time.
Casting Minions
When a minion spell has been cast, it summons the minion under your control atop any of your sites, and they remain in the realm until something causes them to leave play.
Note: There is no limit to the number of minions that may occupy the same site, though it's rarely a good idea to concentrate your forces in just one spot!
Summoning Sickness - A minion that entered the realm this turn, whether from being cast or from another card's effect, suffers from summoning sickness until the end of turn as it prepares for battle. A minion suffering from summoning sickness cannot tap, or be tapped, to pay for costs associated with any ability. This includes any additional abilities that may have been granted by spells and artifacts.
Note: When you summon a minion on your turn, it enters play untapped, so you may use it to defend on your opponent's turn.
Casting Artifacts
When an artifact spell is cast, it is conjured into the realm atop any site you control or directly into the waiting hands of one of your units. A unit can carry any number of artifacts.
Casting Auras
When an aura spell is cast, it conjures the aura at the intersection of four squares, though some specify the border between two, or even just a single square. Auras are said to occupy the surface of any sites at those squares, as well as any void, affecting them (or other things located at those sites) in some way.
Casting Magics
Magics are the only cards in the game that do not enter play when they are cast, and do not have a lasting presence in the realm. A magic spell simply does what it says it does, and then goes to its owner's cemetery.
Activating Abilities
Avatars, minions, artifacts, and auras may all have abilities that can be activated simply by stating your intention to do so, making any relevant choices (like picking targets), and paying any associated costs. Unlike spells, which use mana costs most often, abilities will use a variety of costs including things like tapping, paying life, sacrificing a minion, or discarding cards, among other things. Only the controller of a card can use its activated abilities, and only during the main phase of their own turn when nothing else is already happening.
Tapping a Card
Cards in the realm can be tapped as a resource, spending their energy as a cost to activate various abilities. Tap abilities are usually written as, "Tap → Ability text."
A player may also need to tap a card as a cost related to other spells or abilities on other cards.
To tap a card, turn it 90° to the right from its upright position. A card that has been turned 90° in this way is "tapped," while an upright card is "untapped." Cards can also untap at certain points in the game. To do that, simply turn it 90° to the left back into its upright position.
Note: Players can only tap untapped cards and untap tapped cards.
Reminder: Minions that you have summoned this turn have Summoning Sickness and cannot be tapped to pay for the costs of abilities.
Playing Sites
Sites come into play through your Avatar's activated ability: "Tap → Play or draw a site". However, there are some other cards that can bring them into play as well.
When you play a site, it must be placed:
- on void or rubble, and
- adjacent to another site that you control, or as close as possible to your Avatar if you control no sites.
There can only be one site per grid square, which means sites are generally placed on an adjacent void, permanently extending the physical boundaries of your domain within the realm. Sites can also be played on rubble, replacing it entirely.
Basic Abilities
All units (Avatars and minions) have access to five basic abilities that are not printed on their card. Three are activated abilities that allow them to interact with the realm. These are: Move and Attack, which is the ability you'll use most often; Pick Up, and Drop, which both relate to carrying artifacts.
The remaining two are triggered abilities that units can perform during the opponent's turn. These abilities are called Defend and Intercept, and are described below alongside their triggers.
Move & Attack
Every unit can tap to activate the Move and Attack ability, which allows it to optionally move, then optionally attack something at its location. When using this ability, declare the intended movement path and resolve it. After resolving all the movement, then decide if you attack at that location (see "Attacking the Enemy").
Moving your Units - When moving a unit, its journey is broken down into individual steps. By default, units can move one step. However, some abilities allow units to take additional steps (such as Movement +X) and other abilities allow units to take steps diagonally or even into different regions (see "Surface & Subsurface of Sites").
To move a unit using the Move and Attack ability, you first declare each step the unit will take, and then you resolve the steps in order. When you declare movement, the only restriction is that you may not repeat specific steps.
Normally, this means that you will simply declare a single step, from the surface of one site to the surface of an adjacent site.
For example: your Amazon Warriors have tapped to use their Move and Attack ability and you declare a step from the surface of the Rustic Village to the surface of the Holy Ground.
If your units have movement-enhancing abilities, or there are movement modifying effects in play, you might choose to declare a more complex path. As you resolve each step, you confirm that it is a legal step at that moment. If it is not legal, you do not take that step, and continue resolving anything remaining.
If your unit takes at least one step, it has moved; if it takes zero steps, it has not moved.
"Take a Step" versus "X Steps Away" - If an effect instructs a unit to take a step or move one step, the unit may modify its step via abilities like Airborne, Voidwalk, Burrowing, and Submerge.
If a card instructs you to pick a target up to X steps away, you cannot apply movement abilities; you simply count one adjacent square per step, without changing regions.
Attacking the Enemy
You may only attack enemy units or the surface of enemy sites that are at your location. When using the Move and Attack basic ability, you must resolve any movement before declaring and resolving your attack.
As you resolve the attack, you confirm it is a legal target at that moment, and if so, your unit has attacked.
For example: the Amazon Warriors tap to declare a Move and Attack. The Amazon Warriors first declare and resolve their movement. Once they're done moving, they have the option to attack.
Attacking Enemy Units - If you attack an enemy unit, either as your original intent, or because your opponent defended (see "Defend"), the units involved will fight. To fight, units strike each other simultaneously. When a unit strikes, it deals damage equal to its power.
For example, continuing the Move and Attack example above: the Amazon Warriors and Rimland Nomads now fight, striking each other simultaneously. The Amazon Warriors deal five damage to the Rimland Nomads who deal two damage in return.
Striking First - Some units may be able to land their blows before their enemy can respond. Units that strike first resolve their strikes before their target can resolve theirs. If multiple units in the same fight are able to strike first, they all strike at the same time. Then any surviving units without that ability make their strikes.
Multiple Combatants - If more than two units are involved in a fight (usually as a result of intercepting or defending), the controller of each side may allocate their units' damage among the enemy as they wish.
Minions with Split Power - Some minions have their Power split into an offensive value, or Attack Power and a defensive value, known as Defense Power. When it strikes, use the first one, and when damage is being allocated to them, use the second. Attack Power is noted on the left over the sword, and Defense Power is on the right over the shield.
Cards that modify a unit's Power do so to both Attack and Defense Power, so for example Overpower will increase both Attack and Defense Power by two.
Damage to Minions - Damage dealt to minions persists until the end of the turn. A minion that accumulates damage greater than or equal to its power immediately dies and is placed in its owner's cemetery.
Note: Zero damage is not any damage at all, so units with 0 power must take at least 1 damage to die.
Continuing the attack example: the Amazon Warriors suffer two damage from the Rimland Nomads. While this does not kill them, if they take three more damage this turn, they will die. On the other hand, the Nomads suffer five damage, well exceeding its power of two and so it immediately dies.
Damage to Avatars - Throughout the game, you track your Avatar's life. Damage dealt to an Avatar with one or more life reduces their life by that amount. Damage dealt to an Avatar on death's door causes a death blow (see "Death's Door & Death Blow") and ends the game.
Attacking the Surface of an Enemy Site - If you attack the surface of an enemy site and your opponent doesn't defend, simply strike the site, damaging it and causing the controlling Avatar to lose that much life. Importantly, attacking a site cannot deliver a death blow because it causes the controlling Avatar to lose life, not take damage directly. You can still attack the sites of an Avatar at death's door, but it will not usually affect them.
For example: the Amazon Warriors attack your opponent's undefended Red Desert, striking it for 5 damage. Your opponent's Avatar of Fire then loses five life. Remember: Losing life like this is not damage.
Defend
Defend is one of two basic abilities that you can use on your opponent's turn, because it is a triggered ability (the other is Intercept, described below).
When an enemy attacks another unit or site in your unit's range of motion, your unit may tap to defend, moving to the attack's location and joining the fight. Any number of units may defend against an attacker.
During this movement a defending unit may use any of its movement abilities, such as Airborne, Burrowing, Movement +X, Submerge, or Voidwalk.
If the original target of the attack was a unit, the defender's controller may decide if that unit remains in the fight, or is removed. If the original target was a site, it is automatically removed.
Remember: Only "attacks" can be defended; attacks are only caused by the Move and Attack basic ability, or very specific card text that uses the word "attack."
For example: let's say that your Rimland Nomads are attacked by the Amazon Warriors again. But this time you have an untapped Sand Worm at an adjacent site. You can then tap your Sand Worm and move it to the location of the Rimland Nomads to defend them.
You can then decide to remove the Nomads from the ensuing fight. If they remain, they will be involved in the battle and your opponent will be able to allocate damage to them. However this may be a good idea since together the Sand Worm and Nomads can take down the Amazon Warriors. If you choose to remove the Nomads, they cannot be allocated damage, but will leave the Sand Worm to take on the Warriors alone.
Intercept
Intercept is one of two basic abilities that you can use on your opponent's turn, because it is a triggered ability (the other ability is Defend, described above).
When an enemy using the Move and Attack ability finishes its movement and then chooses not to attack, any of your units there may tap to intercept and fight that enemy.
Units can not move when they intercept. They must already be at the enemy's location.
For example: your opponent's Seasoned Sellsword minion has tapped to use its Move and Attack ability, moving to the Rustic Village and then choosing not to attack. Now the untapped Amazon Warriors can intercept, forcing the Seasoned Sellsword into a fight.
Pick Up or Drop Artifacts
Each unit can activate their Pick Up basic ability once per turn, which allows it to pick up any number of target artifacts at its location that are not currently being carried.
The Drop basic ability allows a unit to drop any number of artifacts it's carrying. Each unit can activate the Drop basic ability once per turn, as long as it hasn't interacted with the realm this turn. See the Glossary for "interact."
Carrying Artifacts - A unit can carry any number of artifacts, which will move with the unit throughout the realm. If a unit is carrying any artifacts when it leaves the realm, the artifacts are dropped. If a unit and an artifact it is carrying stop sharing a location due to some effect, the artifact ceases to be carried.
Controlling Artifacts - Artifacts carried by a unit are controlled by the player who controls that unit. Artifacts that could be carried but are not currently being carried are uncontrolled. Artifacts that cannot be carried normally (e.g. Automatons and Monuments) are controlled by the player who conjured them.
Building Your Own Decks
Sorcery: Contested Realm is a customizable trading card game, which means that you can choose what cards go into your deck. When you're ready to construct your own deck, there are a few rules you must follow to build decks fit for play:
- You need to choose and include exactly one Avatar card.
- Your Atlas must contain at least 30 site cards.
- Your Spellbook must contain at least 60 spell cards.
You may have larger decks as long as you can reasonably shuffle them.
Rarity
The type line of a spell or site describes the card's rarity. This tells you how many copies of that card you can have in your deck. Each player may include:
- up to four copies of any ordinary cards
- up to three copies of any exceptional cards
- up to two copies of any elite cards
- only one copy of any unique cards in a deck
Your Avatar does not count toward any of those totals, and is not in that sense a part of either of your decks.
Advanced Concepts
Special Abilities
Most cards in Sorcery have one or more special abilities printed in their game text box that change the default rules of the game or grant new interactions outside of the basic abilities.
Passive Ability - A passive ability has an ongoing effect that is always active, as long as the card is in the relevant game zone. Typically, this zone will be the realm, but some cards have abilities that specify things they do, or enable you to do, while in your hand, or while in the cemetery, etc.
Keyword Ability - A keyword is a word or phrase that functions as shorthand for a longer piece of rules text. They are used to communicate concepts that require more text than what will fit on a card. You can find these longer explanations in the glossary.
Activated Ability - An activated ability takes effect simply by stating your intention to do so and paying any related costs, such as tapping or spending mana. By default, only the controller of a card can use its activated abilities, and only during the main phase of their own turn, when nothing else is already happening.
Triggered Ability - A triggered ability requires that a specified condition is met, or a specified event occurs, to automatically take effect. These abilities can be recognized by their use of words such as "when," "whenever," and "at [a specified moment]," though a few cards have nonstandard wording due to space constraints.
Advanced Movement Concepts
Entering a Location, Site, or Void - A unit is said to have entered a location, site, or a void if it was not occupying that particular spot, and now it is (even if just for a moment as a result of Movement +X, for example), or when it was summoned or conjured there.
Teleporting - Teleportation effects move a unit directly to a specified location without taking any steps in between.
Moving Freely - Some cards can move freely within the realm or in a defined area. When a unit uses the Move and Attack or Defend abilities they spend no steps when moving, as long as the starting and ending locations of the step satisfy the moves freely condition.
Special Movement Effects - Some effects will push, pull, or drag things, or simply cause them to be moved. This is forced movement, and is not modified by a unit's abilities, such as Airborne, Burrowing, Submerge, or Voidwalk. Units that cannot move by activating their own abilities, can still be moved by other cards and effects.
If an effect causes a unit to 'take a step' or 'take up to X steps' this is not forced movement, and the unit can modify these steps with their abilities. Units that cannot move by activating their own abilities, also cannot carry out any steps granted by these effects.
Note: A unit that is made to move, either by a spell's effect or is otherwise forcibly moved does not tap and cannot be intercepted, as it is not moving as part of the Move and Attack basic ability.
When Sites Move - If a site moves to another square, everything atop and under it moves with it (however, those cards are not considered to have moved). Generally, a site can only move or be moved to a square without another site – a void. Any cards in that void are now placed atop the site that was moved in.
Carrying Units - Some units can carry other units. A unit with this ability, picks them up or drops them in the same manner and time as it would artifacts (see "Pick Up or Drop Artifacts"). Units that have Airborne, Burrowing, Submerge, or Voidwalk confer those abilities to units they are carrying while they are carried.
A unit being carried may still cast spells or activate abilities as normal. If the carried unit moves to a location that the carrying unit doesn't occupy, the unit ceases to be carried.
Damage Grids
Some cards have abilities that deal damage or otherwise affect units or multiple sites over a wide area. To simplify rules text and illustrate the extent of these spells, some cards contain a damage grid in their rules box.
Damage grids may use a bold square to indicate the center of the card's effect, or a dot to show the Spellcaster's location on the grid. By default, a damage grid indicates that the ability deals damage to each unit at locations within the area of effect and within the same region, though cards may specify otherwise.
Occupying Multiple Sites
Units normally occupy only one location while in the realm, however some units may occupy multiple locations at once due to their enormous size. Such oversized units follow the regular rules for summoning, so you choose a single site you control when you cast the minion spell. As they enter the realm, you choose a 2x2 area that it can legally occupy, which must include the summoning location. To represent the minion's locations, place the card at the intersection of those sites.
An oversized unit is at each of the sites (or void squares) that it occupies, so it can be standing on both land and water sites (or void squares) at the same time. Therefore, if grid damage is dealt to multiple such locations, oversized units take damage equal to the sum of the damage dealt on all of the locations they occupy.
The same applies in general for any effect that checks whether something is true about an oversized unit's site.
When an oversized unit moves, you choose a direction and all parts of it move in that direction. If any part of it can't move in the chosen direction, then it can't move in that direction at all.
When attacking, oversized units still target only a single enemy or site.
Teleporting Oversized Units - When an oversized unit is teleported, it must be to a location or set of locations that conforms to its size restrictions and is otherwise legal for that unit to occupy.
Ownership and Control
You have ownership of all of the cards you bring to a game of Sorcery. You are, therefore, the owner of those cards. The owner of a card does not change during the game. A card is always returned to its owner's hand, shuffled into its owner's deck, or sent to its owner's cemetery regardless of who controls the card when it leaves play.
While the owner of a card is most often its controller, control of cards in play may change over the course of a game. When rules text uses phrases like "your minions" or "your sites," that refers to those things that you control, and not to those things that you own.
Projectiles
A projectile's flight begins at the shooting unit's location and travels within the same region in a cardinal direction. Its flight continues until it either reaches the edge of its region or it reaches the first unit (enemy or ally) along its path, ignoring any allies at the projectile's starting location. Different projectiles will have different effects, but will most often deal damage to the impacted unit.
In the event of multiple valid units, the player that fired the projectile chooses which unit the projectile hits.
For example: your Lava Salamander casts a Firebolts spell to the right towards the opponent's House Arn Bannerman. Each of the three projectiles travel in the chosen cardinal direction, starting at the Salamander's location and travelling over the Arid Desert, avoiding burrowed Cave Trolls, which are not in the same region. When they arrive at the Rustic Village, you can have the first two projectiles hit the Bannerman, which suffers two damage and dies. Unfortunately, the third projectile then hits your own Seasoned Sellsword, since projectiles hit friend and foe alike!
Static/Ongoing Effects
Auras and minions with passive abilities will have an ongoing impact on the realm. These static effects should be applied at all times, even while resolving other effects or actions, and take precedence over triggered abilities.
The Storyline
When the story being told during a game of Sorcery starts to get complicated, particularly when multiple abilities trigger at the same time, you can use the Storyline to help resolve them.
A Storyline begins each time a unit casts a spell or activates an ability at which point one or more events are placed at the relevant points on the Storyline and are then resolved in order, one at a time. Sometimes, the resolution of a spell, effect, or event will cause it to split into several smaller events (e.g. the individual steps within a unit's movement), which are each placed on the Storyline at their relevant points before the Storyline continues to play out.
Target units or locations must be chosen as an event is being added to the Storyline, otherwise an event only needs more detail when it comes time to resolve it.
For example: your Ghost Ship taps to use the Move and Attack ability, adding it to the Storyline. As the ability resolves, you declare and resolve their movement. After movement, you decide to attack the Autumn River. The Storyline now has two events in order: "Ghost Ship moves: void to surface" and "Ghost Ship attacks: Autumn River."
Triggered Abilities - If the resolution of one event triggers an ability, a new event will be inserted into the storyline. The new event is added at the current moment, temporarily interrupting any remaining events on the Storyline. Once this new event has been resolved, the story will continue.
If multiple events are competing to be added at the same point on the Storyline, the non-active player places their events first, then the active player places their events on the Storyline after them. If either player has multiple events of their own, they can place them in whatever order they wish.
For example: your Ghost Ship's movement has resolved, triggering both its summon ability and the hunting instincts of the opponent's Giant Shark. As the non-active player, your opponent places their ability on the storyline first. The Storyline now reads, in order: "Ghost Ship moves: void to surface," "Giant Shark moves: surface to surface," "Giant Shark fights: Ghost Ship," "Ghost Ship summons a spirit," "Ghost Ship attacks."
If a card leaves the realm, any of its events stay on the Storyline but are unable to resolve. If any event is unable to resolve when it comes up, simply ignore it and continue to the next event.
Glossary of Terms and Keywords
Adjacent - Refers to the card's own square, and the squares that it shares a border with.
Airborne - This unit may fly while on the surface, gaining the following benefits: When taking a step this unit may move diagonally and can only be intercepted by other units if they have Airborne or Ranged. This unit cannot be targeted by attacks, unless the attacking unit has the Airborne ability.
Ally/Allied - A unit that you control (including your Avatar).
Banish - Remove from the game.
Body of Water - A contiguous cluster of adjacent water sites.
Broken - Broken cards are artifacts that can be found in any cemetery.
[X]bound - This minion is disabled while not occupying a certain type of location. For example, a minion with Waterbound is disabled while not occupying a water location, etc.
Burrowing - This unit can be safely summoned to, exist in, and operate normally underground. When taking a step, it can instead move from the surface of a land site to the underground level there, or vice versa.
Can't Be Modified - This card can't be disabled, silenced, immobilized, or transformed, can't gain or lose abilities, and its characteristics (like power) can't be changed.
Cardinal Directions - When a card talks about a cardinal direction, it includes all of the squares in the direction indicated on the card to the front, rear, left and right.
Carrying Units - Some units can carry other units. A unit with this ability, picks them up or drops them in the same manner and time as it would artifacts (see "Pick Up or Drop Artifacts"). Units that have Airborne, Burrowing, Submerge, or Voidwalk confer those abilities to units they are carrying while they are carried. A unit being carried may still cast spells or activate abilities as normal. If the carried unit moves to a location that the carrying unit doesn't occupy, the unit ceases to be carried.
Charge - This unit can tap, or be tapped, to pay for costs associated with any ability on the turn it is summoned.
Collection - Your collection consists of cards you own that didn't start the game in your decks. When a card is added from your collection, it persists across all game zones. In tournaments, it is recommended to play with a 10-card collection that adheres to rarity rules in combination with your Spellbook and Atlas.
Conjure - When a card is conjured, put it directly into play.
Damage and Life Loss - Generally, units take damage from fighting and from the effects of spells and abilities. Damage dealt to minions accumulates until the end of turn when it is healed, while damage dealt to an Avatar causes them to lose life instead. Sometimes an Avatar will suffer life loss directly from things like a site being damaged. When a minion has damage on it equal to or greater than its power, it dies. Note: When an Avatar is at death's door, only damage will deliver a death blow.
Dead - Dead cards are minions that can be found in any cemetery.
Death Blow - When an Avatar is at death's door, any damage dealt to them is a death blow, signaling their defeat.
Death's Door - When an Avatar's life is reduced to 0, they are now at death's door and can no longer gain life. At that moment, the Avatar becomes immune to damage for the rest of the current turn. After that brief and desperate window, any damage dealt to the Avatar is a death blow, ending the game.
Deathrite - When this unit dies, do what is stated before placing it in the cemetery.
Dies, Destroyed, & Killed - When a card dies, is destroyed, or is killed place it in the cemetery.
Disable - While disabled, a minion loses all abilities (including basic abilities like Move and Attack), doesn't strike when fighting, can't cast spells, and can't take any action granted by another card or effect (ie. strike, shoot a projectile, take a step, etc.). A disabled minion can still be forcibly moved or tapped by effects.
Elemental Affinity and Threshold - Sites and other cards provide elemental affinity. Elemental threshold is the minimum affinity required to cast a given spell, or to trigger or activate some abilities.
Elite - You may include two copies of a card that has the keyword "Elite" in its type line.
Enemy - A unit (including Avatars) that is controlled by an opponent.
Evil - A minion is considered evil if it is a demon, undead, or monster. Evil minions can't be warded.
Exceptional - You may include three copies of a card that has the keyword "Exceptional" in its type line.
Fight - When two units fight, they strike each other simultaneously. If more than two units are involved in a fight, the controller of each side may allocate their units' damage among the enemy as they wish.
Flooded - A flooded site has a minimum of one water affinity, in addition to any other affinities it provides. Therefore, it's a water site.
Genesis - When this card enters the realm, do what is stated.
Ground Movement - Ground movement is any step that a unit takes between the surface of two sites (except Airborne and teleportation).
Here & There - "Here" and "There" refer to the location(s) that a card occupies. For most cards, such as avatars, minions, and artifacts, that means one location. For most auras, it means the 2x2 area they occupy. For sites, it means two locations, their surface and subsurface.
Immobile - This unit can't take steps.
Interact - A unit interacts with the realm if it strikes, deals damage, casts a spell, or activates a special ability.
Lance - A minion with the Lance keyword enters play carrying a lance artifact token. They could use it for themselves or give it to another minion. The first time a unit strikes while carrying a lance, it deals an extra damage and strikes first if in a fight. Then the lance breaks. Lance tokens are artifacts for all intents and purposes. They can be picked up and dropped (and stolen), just like other artifacts. When they are broken, they are removed from the realm like other tokens.
Land Sites - All sites that are not water sites are considered land sites, including sites with no element icons and Rubble.
Lethal - Any strictly positive amount of damage this card deals to a minion is enough to kill.
Life - Life represents the amount of damage that your Avatar can endure before it is placed on death's door. As your Avatar incurs damage, its overall life will decrease accordingly.
Location - The exact location of a card is determined by its square and by the region that it occupies.
Mana - Mana can come from several sources, but sites are the most common. When they first come into play as well as at the start of your turn, sites provide one mana each. Other cards might add to this total. You use this mana to cast spells or activate abilities. At the end of your turn, any remaining mana is lost, whether or not you used it that turn.
Movement +X - This unit may move up to X additional steps when using the Move and Attack or Defend basic abilities. To move multiple steps at once, choose a destination and a path to it then traverse that path one step at a time. You may need to resolve automatic triggers (or apply "always on" passive abilities), some of which may prematurely stop the motion of the unit.
Moves Freely - When this unit uses the Move and Attack or Defend abilities they spend no steps when moving, as long as the starting and ending locations of the step satisfy the moves freely condition.
Nearby - Refers to the card's own square, and all squares that surround it, including those diagonally.
Ordinary - You may include four copies of a card that has the keyword "Ordinary" in its type line.
Projectiles - A projectile's flight begins at the shooting unit's location and travels within the same region in a cardinal direction. Its flight continues until it either reaches the edge of its region or it reaches the first unit (enemy or ally) along its path, ignoring any allies at the projectile's starting location. Different projectiles will have different effects, but will most often deal damage to the impacted unit. In the event of multiple valid units, the player that fired the projectile chooses which unit the projectile hits.
Ranged X - This unit has "Tap → Shoot a projectile that stops after 1 (or X) steps. Strike the impacted unit". This unit may also intercept Airborne units.
Range of Motion - Every location a unit can reach if it used the Move and Attack basic ability.
Realm - The realm includes all the squares in the game zone.
Region - There are four distinct regions in the realm: surface, underground, underwater, or in the void.
Rubble - A site that has been destroyed is placed in its owner's cemetery as normal, but rather than reverting back to the void, the site is instead replaced with rubble. Rubble is a neutral land site that no player controls, and provides no mana or threshold. Note: Use Rubble tokens or a face down site to represent rubble on a square.
Sacrifice - Sacrificing is removing something you control from the realm and placing it directly in its owner's cemetery. A player may be forced to sacrifice something if an effect instructs them to do so. When a minion is sacrificed, it does indeed die, and its Deathrites trigger, if applicable. If something is sacrificed to pay the cost of an ability, it is not placed in the cemetery until after that ability has resolved. A dying unit cannot be sacrificed. When a site is sacrificed, it is replaced by rubble. Even indestructible things can be sacrificed, if a cost or effect otherwise informs you of the need to sacrifice something.
Silence - A card that is silenced loses all printed and granted abilities. Avatars cannot be silenced.
Span of Land - A contiguous cluster of adjacent land sites.
Spellcaster - This card may cast spells. Some spellcasters may only cast spells that match a specific element. For example, Fire Spellcasters may only cast spells that have a Fire threshold icon.
Square - One grid square in the realm, that includes all cards present there.
Stealth - Minions with Stealth cannot be targeted by spells or abilities from your opponents (including attacks), they can't be intercepted, their attacks can't be defended, and projectiles cannot hit them. Stealth is tracked with a stealth token, and it's lost after the minion interacts with the realm. Non-minions cannot have Stealth, but an Artifact carried by a minion with Stealth gains the same benefits.
Step - A step is the minimum unit of distance between two adjacent locations.
Storyline (see "The Storyline") - A sequence of events that is currently resolving. A unit that casts a spell, or activates an ability will start a storyline and add events to it. Triggered abilities can insert events into a storyline during its resolution, interrupting future events.
Strike - A unit deals damage equal to its power.
Strike First - Units that strike first resolve their strikes before their target can resolve theirs. If multiple units in the same fight are able to strike first, they all strike at the same time. Then any surviving units without that ability make their strikes.
Stronger, Strongest, Weaker, and Weakest - Some effects compare the power of two units:
- Stronger: Strictly more power than.
- Strongest: Strictly highest power.
- Weaker: Strictly less power than.
- Weakest: Strictly lowest power.
In the case of ties, the active player chooses. When comparing a minion with split power, use the average of the two power values, rounding down if needed.
Submerge - This unit can be safely summoned to, exist in, and operate normally underwater. When taking a step, it can instead move from the surface of a water site to the underwater level there or vice versa.
Summon - When a card is summoned, put it directly into play.
Tapping a Card (see "Tapping a Card") - Cards in the realm can be tapped as a cost to activate various abilities. A player may also need to tap a card as a cost related to other spells or abilities on other cards. To tap a card, turn it 90° to the right, from an upright position. Only untapped cards and tokens in play can be tapped. All of your cards in play automatically (and necessarily) untap at the start of your turn.
Target - Sometimes you will need to target things in the realm. Spells and abilities can only target things within the Spellcaster's or referencing card's same region.
Transform - When a card is transformed it is considered the same game object as its previous version. It is controlled by the same player and does not suffer a new turn of summoning sickness. If one card transforms into another card, the original card is removed from the game after the transformation.
Underground - The lower level of a land site is part of the underground region.
Underwater - The lower level of a water site is part of the underwater region.
Unique - You may include one copy of a card that has the keyword "Unique" in its type line.
Units - Units are a collective term that includes Avatars and minions.
Void - A square without a site is a part of the void region. Avatars can never enter void locations. Minions there are banished unless they have Voidwalk.
Voidwalk - This unit can be summoned to any void location and safely exist and operate there. When taking a step it can move into an adjacent void, or out of the void and onto the surface of an adjacent site (or directly to the subsurface if they can operate there).
Water Sites - Water sites are identified by the water icon. All other sites are considered land sites, including sites with no threshold icons and rubble.
Ward - If a warded site or unit would be damaged, destroyed, or targeted by an opponent's spell or special ability, the Ward breaks instead. A unit or site can't have multiple Wards, and Evil minions can't be warded.
Quick Reference Guide
The Golden Rule
Some text is intentionally informal or necessarily compact. Use common sense and be cool.
The Four Elements
Sorcery: Contested Realm is built around the four classical elements: Air, Earth, Fire, and Water.
Turn Sequence
Start Phase
- Step 1: Untap all of your cards in the realm.
- Step 2: All of your sites provide their mana.
- Step 3: Trigger abilities that happen at the start of the turn.
- Step 4: End the Start Phase by drawing a card from either your spellbook or atlas.
Main Phase - Your units can cast spells and activate their abilities. You may take these actions as many times as you have resources to do so, and in any order you like.
End Phase
- Step 1: Trigger abilities that happen at the end of the turn.
- Step 2: Players remove all damage from their minions in the realm.
- Step 3: Effects that last for your turn now end.
- Step 4: Your turn ends.
Navigation Terms
Regions - Surface, Underground, Underwater, and the Void are all separate regions in the game.
Location - The exact location of a card is determined by its square and by the region that it occupies.
Here & There - "Here" and "There" refer to the location(s) that a card occupies. For most cards, such as avatars, minions, and artifacts, that means one location. For most auras, it means the 2x2 area they occupy. For sites, it means two locations, their surface and subsurface.
Target - Spells and abilities can only target things within the Spellcaster's or referencing card's same region.
Adjacent - Refers to the card's own square and the squares that it shares a border with.
Nearby - Refers to the card's own square and all squares that surround it, including those diagonally.
Adjacent & Nearby Locations - Only locations that are in the same region as the referencing card (or its spellcaster) are considered adjacent or nearby locations.
Steps - A step is the minimum unit of distance between two adjacent locations.
Remember
- If the text of a card contradicts the rulebook, the card text takes precedence (see "Cards").
- If you are the first player, you do not draw a card on your first turn (see "Turn Summary").
- Cards and abilities add events to the Storyline (see "The Storyline"). If multiple events compete to be added at the same moment, the non-active player's events are added and resolved first, and then the active player's.
Common Keyword Abilities
Many units have keyword abilities printed in their game text which have rules associated with them. The most common of these keywords are listed below as well as in the glossary.
Airborne - This unit may fly while on the surface, gaining the following benefits: When taking a step this unit may move diagonally and can only be intercepted by other units if they have Airborne or Ranged. This unit cannot be targeted by attacks, unless the attacking unit has the Airborne ability.
Burrowing - This unit can be safely summoned to, exist in, and operate normally underground. When taking a step, it can move from the surface of a land site to the underground level there, or vice versa.
Charge - This unit can tap, or be tapped, to pay for costs associated with any ability on the turn it is summoned.
Deathrite - When this unit dies, do what is stated before placing it in the cemetery.
Disable - While disabled, a minion loses all abilities (including basic abilities like Move and Attack), doesn't strike when fighting, can't cast spells, and can't take any action granted by another card or effect (ie. strike, shoot a projectile, take a step, etc.). A disabled minion can still be forcibly moved or tapped by effects.
Genesis - When this card enters the realm, do what is stated.
Immobile - This unit can't take steps.
Lethal - Any strictly positive amount of damage this card deals to a minion is enough to kill.
Movement +X - This unit may move up to X additional steps when using the Move and Attack or Defend abilities. To move multiple steps at once, choose a destination and a path to it then traverse that path one step at a time. You may need to resolve automatic triggers (or apply "always on" passive abilities), some of which may prematurely stop the motion of the unit.
Ranged X - This unit has "Tap → Shoot a projectile that stops after 1 (or X) steps. Strike the impacted unit". This unit may also intercept Airborne units.
Spellcaster - This card may cast spells.
Stealth - Minions with Stealth cannot be targeted by spells or abilities from your opponents (including attacks), they can't be intercepted, their attacks can't be defended, and projectiles cannot hit them. Stealth is tracked with a stealth token, and it's lost after the minion interacts with the realm. Non-minions cannot have Stealth, but an Artifact carried by a minion with Stealth gains the same benefits.
Submerge - This unit can be safely summoned to, exist in, and operate normally underwater. When taking a step, it can move from the surface of a water site to the underwater level there, or vice versa.
Voidwalk - This unit can be summoned to any void location and safely exist and operate there. When taking a step it can move into an adjacent void, or out of the void and onto the surface of an adjacent site (or directly to the subsurface if they can operate there).