Sylvans: Duel of the Mistwings Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Contents
• Set-Up
• Victory
• Gameplay
  • Moving a Mistwing
  • Capturing a Mistwing
• Almanac of Mistwings
  • Strength 8 — Nightwing
  • Strength 7 — Shadowstalker
  • Strength 6 — Stormwing
  • Strength 5 — Misttrickster
  • Strength 4 — Scurryclaw
  • Strength 3 — Purrfeather
  • Strength 2 — Thornhopper
  • Strength 1 — Velvetflutter
• Getting Started
• The Law of the Lands
  • Grove
  • Undergrowth
  • Turbulences
• A Duel in the Mist
  • Shadows in the Mist
  • Swoop

Contents

• 16 Mistwings (2 x 8 standees)
• 1 game board
• 2 Almanacs of Mistwings

Set-Up

1. Place the game board between you and, ideally, sit opposite each other.
2. Take the Almanacs of the Mistwings and place them in the designated sections of the game board.
3. Take the 8 corresponding Mistwings with strengths 1 to 8 and place them on the starting intersections of the game board that are closest to you, as shown in the setup illustration. Position the pieces so that the light side faces you and the dark side faces your opponent; also ensure that the bases are attached to the pieces so that the colours match.
4. Agree who wants to go first.

Victory

A player wins the game if they have either managed to move one of their Mistwings into the opponent's grove or have defeated all of the opponent's Mistwings.

Gameplay

A game is played turn by turn.

On their turn, each player always moves one of their Mistwings, either to move it or to capture an opponent's Mistwing. The other player then takes their turn, and this continues until one of the players has defeated the other.

Moving a Mistwing

When you move a Mistwing, you may move its figure to an unoccupied, adjacent intersection on the game board (up, down, right, left or diagonally), provided that the Mistwing is allowed to move onto that intersection.

Note:

• Undergrowth may only be entered by Velvetflutters, and you may not move any of your own Mistwings onto your own grove (see The Law of the Lands).
• As a general rule, you must not move onto or over another Mistwing, unless the ability of the Mistwing you are moving allows you to do so (see Almanac of Mistwings).
• You must not use the loops to move a Mistwing. You may only use them to capture an opponent's Mistwing.

Capturing a Mistwing

In principle, you capture another Mistwing by moving your Mistwing onto the intersection where the other Mistwing is standing. However, you must meet the following two conditions:

1. In principle, you can only capture Mistwings of equal or lesser strength with your own Mistwings (see Almanac of Mistwings). Exceptions to this are the Velvetflutter, which can strike a Nightwing, or if the opponent's Mistwing is on a turbulence (see The Law of the Lands).
2. You must have moved your Mistwing through at least 1 of the 8 loops before capturing your opponent's Mistwing. Once you have chosen a loop path, you must follow that direction of movement when capturing; changing paths diagonally is not permitted. However, the distance of the capture can be any length and does not have to start at an intersection located on a loop. You may also use several loops to reach another Mistwing, provided that your Mistwing is permitted to enter or leap over the intersections along the path of the movement.

If both conditions are met, you may move your Mistwing along its path to the intersection with your opponent's Mistwing and remove it from the board. This Mistwing has now been captured.

Almanac of Mistwings

In the table below, you'll find all your Mistwings listed in hierarchical order, from the strongest to the weakest. As well as their names and illustrations, you can also look up their abilities there.

Strength 8 — Nightwing

Must not enter the undergrowth. During its turn, it can enter an intersection occupied by one of its own or an opponent's Mistwing. The Mistwing in that intersection is displaced to an adjacent, unoccupied intersection of your choice (it must either move or capture).

Strength 7 — Shadowstalker

Must not enter the undergrowth. It may leap over an undergrowth in a straight line if there is no Velvetflutter on it.

Strength 6 — Stormwing

Must not enter the undergrowth. It may capture immediately if an opponent's Mistwing moves onto, or is pushed onto, an accessible intersection. This does not count as your turn.

Strength 5 — Misttrickster

Must not enter the undergrowth. Instead of capturing another Mistwing, after making the capture move, remove your Misttrickster from the board and rotate the captured Mistwing so that the light side is facing you. This Mistwing now belongs to you.

Strength 4 — Scurryclaw

Must not enter the undergrowth. During its turn, it may leap over 1 of your own Mistwings in a straight line, even when capturing.

Strength 3 — Purrfeather

Must not enter the undergrowth. It must move immediately (either by moving or capturing) if it is displaced. This does not count as your turn.

Strength 2 — Thornhopper

Must not enter the undergrowth. It may capture a Velvetflutter on an undergrowth, but must then immediately move to the next intersection in the direction of the capturing move. During its turn, even whilst capturing, it may leap over one of the opponent's Mistwings in a straight line.

Strength 1 — Velvetflutter

May enter the undergrowth. It may capture the Nightwing. It may capture directly (including diagonally) from within the undergrowth, without having to move through a loop.

Getting Started

For your first few matches, we recommend that you ignore and do not use any of the Mistwing abilities apart from Velvetflutter. Once you're familiar with moving and capturing with the Mistwings, you can start using the other Mistwing abilities as well.

The Law of the Lands

The Duel of the Mistwings is a battle of wits, not brute force. Both sides must make use of the contested terrain in order to truly defeat their opponents. You should therefore pay close attention to the game board and its specially marked intersections, as these can determine victory or defeat.

Grove

The grove is a refuge for your Mistwings. If you lose it because an enemy Mistwing enters it, you've lost the duel! So you must defend it well, without moving any of your own Mistwings onto this intersection. This is because your own Mistwings must not enter the grove during the duel, so as not to compromise it.

Undergrowth

Dense, thorny bushes are scattered across the entire country; they are as hostile as they are impenetrable, and thus pose an obstacle to all larger Mistwings. Only Velvetflutters are permitted to enter the undergrowth. All other Mistwings are forbidden to do so, even if other Mistwings are able to leap over the undergrowth.

Turbulences

No one leaves their vulnerable home defenceless. The same applies to the groves. The Mistwings have established their groves in hard-to-reach places to keep them safe from potential intruders. Whenever a Mistwing is moved onto a turbulence, it can be captured by any other Mistwing, regardless of its strength!

A Duel in the Mist

If, after a few games, you're looking for a bit more of a challenge, the following two rules are intended as additions that you can introduce into the game either individually or together, provided both sides agree:

Shadows in the Mist

When you set up the Mistwings, you're only restricted to the starting intersections, but no longer to which Mistwing is placed there. This allows you to start a duel with asymmetrical starting placements.

Swoop

With this additional rule, when capturing a Mistwing, you can temporarily increase the strength of your Mistwing to capture stronger figures. For every loop that a Mistwing makes in addition to the loop required for the capture, before it reaches the opponent's Mistwing, its strength for that capture increases by 1.