Theomachy: The Ancients Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Quick Description of the Game
• Box Contents
  • Essence Cards (24 in total)
  • Prayer Cards (120 in total)
  • Mythology Cards (20 in total, 5 for each Pantheon)
  • Deity Sheets (12 in total, 3 for each Pantheon)
  • Follower Tokens (95 in total)
  • Other Components
• Glossary
• How to Play
  • Setting Up the Game
  • Setup
  • Choosing a Pantheon (Advanced and Epic Game only)
  • Creating Your Starting Deck
    • First Method - Pre-built Starting Decks (Basic Game only)
    • Second Method - Drafted Starting Decks (any game mode, unless you use the First Method)
  • Final Selection of the God (Advanced and Epic Game ONLY)
  • End of Setup
• Overview of the Game
  • First Player & Order of Play
• The Start Phase
  • Losing and Winning
• The Betting Phase
  • Effect Cards
  • Place Cards
  • Actions
  • Ending a Betting Round
  • How to Play Power Cards
  • How to Play Action Cards
    • Essence Symbols
    • Order or Chaos Orbs
  • Last Stand
• The Battle Phase
  • Allowed Battle Actions
  • End of the Battle Step
• The Closing Phase
  • Heads-Up (Basic and Advanced game modes only)
  • Folding
• The Prayer Phase
  • The Prayer Track
  • Cleanup Step
• The Myth Phase (Advanced and Epic game modes only)
• Exchanging Tokens
• Pantheons, Their Gods and Mythology Cards (Advanced and Epic game modes)
  • Divine Abilities
  • Demands of the Gods
  • Mythology Cards and Their Abilities
  • Heroes (Mythology cards)
• Special Rules
  • Playing a Card in Reaction to an Action
  • Drawing Cards and Shuffling Your Deck
  • Leaving a Hand in Progress
  • The Discard Pile
• Epic Game Mode
• Rules Clarifications

Quick Description of the Game

The game starts with a draft sequence in which players choose the Prayer cards that will form their initial draw deck. Each then chooses a pantheon and the deity they will represent.

The main game consists of a series of rounds called Hands. During each Hand:

• All players draw five cards, creating their starting hand.
• The Constellation is drawn from the Essence deck and placed in the middle of the table: 3 cards face up (the "flop") and 2 cards face down. Do not look at the face-down cards!
• All players place an "Ante" in front of them in the form of Disciple(s), creating their initial Stake.
• During three consecutive Betting Phases (rounds), players can increase their Stake, trying to gauge the value of the cards in their hand and calculating what opponents hold. If the situation is too unfavorable, they can drop out.
• When betting, players can play Effect, Place and Power cards, which give them information about opponents' hands, let them draw cards, kill their opponents' followers and much more.
• If at least two players remain in the game at the end of the betting phase, a Battle begins.
• In a Battle, players can play Attack and Power cards, trying to make their Stake of followers stronger than that of their opponent(s).
• The winner keeps their followers and gains new ones, while the losers lose their Stakes.
• When a Hand ends, players buy new Prayer and Mythology cards, preparing for a new Hand by strengthening their game.

The game ends when followers remain in only one player's Cult, or when all the other players have been eliminated through Last Stands.

Box Contents

Essence Cards (24 in total)

These cards give the deities the power needed to play other cards. Each of these cards has two characteristics:

• A background showing the elemental sphere the card belongs to (Fire, Water, etc.)
• Orbs of Order and/or Chaos (between one and three orbs per card)

Prayer Cards (120 in total)

Players build their decks from Prayer cards. These cards are divided into two kinds: Action cards (Attacks, Effects and Places) and Power cards (similar to Essence cards).

Each Action card has:

• A type
• Prerequisites needed to play it
• A frame showing which sphere it belongs to
• A text explaining its effects in play

Mythology Cards (20 in total, 5 for each Pantheon)

Players buy these powerful cards during the game, paying for them with Miracle tokens.

Each Mythology card has:

• A pantheon it is attached to
• A cost in Miracle tokens
• A text explaining its effects in play

Deity Sheets (12 in total, 3 for each Pantheon)

The gods played by the players. Each deity sheet has:

• A pantheon it is attached to
• An Ability: the deity's special skill
• A Demand: the way to gain Miracle tokens

Follower Tokens (95 in total)

Tokens representing the players' loyal followers. They are divided into three categories:

• Prophets, worth 10 points of Power
• Priests, worth 5 points of Power
• Disciples, worth 2 points of Power

Other Components

• Last Stand cards (4 in total)
• Tip cards (4 in total)
• Ante marker (1 in total): used to indicate the current Ante if higher than 1. The token has a 2 on one side and a 3 on the other. Simply use the appropriate side.
• Prayer Track (1 in total): the upcoming cards (those that will be added to players' decks at the end of a Hand) are placed here. Some markings on it help with play.
• Victory markers (16 in total): these markers have various values (they are used only in the Epic game mode): 1 point (4 in total), 2 points (4 in total), 4 points (4 in total), 7 points (4 in total).
• Hero tokens (4 in total, one for each Hero): used to add a Hero to your Stake! Heroes are special Mythology cards.
• Miracle tokens (13 in total): used to buy Mythology cards.

Glossary

• ACTION CARD - all Effect, Place and Attack cards.
• ATTACK - a card used during a Battle. It usually increases the value of your Stake, or decreases the value of your opponents'.
• BATTLE - if at least two players remain in the Hand at the end of the betting rounds, they fight using Attack cards to achieve victory.
• CULT - the assembly of followers you use to take part in the betting rounds. Your ante and your bets come from it. Followers come in three types which are NOT interchangeable: disciples, priests and prophets.
• CONSTELLATION - a set of 5 cards in the middle of the table that is used to power all players' Effect, Place and Attack cards. It is divided into three stages: the Flop (the first three cards, always face up), the Turn (the first face-down card, turned face up after the first betting round) and the River (the last face-down card, turned face up after the second betting round).
• EFFECT - a card that is favorable to you during the betting rounds and (rarely) during a Battle. Most must be discarded immediately, although some can stay in play until the end of the current Hand.
• ESSENCE DECK - a deck made up of Essence cards. Each card represents an Essence plus 1 to 3 Chaos or Order orbs. The Constellation is drawn from the Essence deck each turn.
• DISCIPLE - the white tokens or poker chips worth 2 points each. The lowest level of followers in your Cult.
• HEADS-UP (Face à Face) - the moment, in an elimination game, when only two players remain in play. Some rules are changed to speed up the game.

How to Play

Setting Up the Game

There are three ways to play: the Basic Game, the Advanced Game and the Epic Game. Choose which style you and your friends want to play before starting. Some phases of play differ or are modified, depending on the style chosen.

The Advanced game mode adds the Pantheons (the Deities and their powers); the Epic mode turns the game into a race for victory points (players can no longer be eliminated and games are longer).

Thor's Tip: there is no shame in playing the basic game, even as an experienced player. Some veteran players sometimes prefer the basic game when they do not want to deal with the mental stress of managing a Deity and its mythology! The "basic" game is in no way inferior in terms of enjoyment!

Setup

• Give each player 3 Prophets, 5 Priests and 8 Disciples. They form each player's starting Cult.
• Set the remaining tokens aside to form the bank.
• Shuffle the Prayer deck and put it in the middle of the table.
• The Miracle tokens, Victory markers, Deity Sheets and Mythology cards are not used in the Basic game; leave them in the box.

Choosing a Pantheon (Advanced and Epic Game only)

Before building their starting deck, each player chooses one of the available Pantheons (Greek, Egyptian, etc.). In case of dispute, we recommend that the owner of the game decide the order in which players choose their pantheon.

After choosing a pantheon, each player takes the 5 Mythology cards associated with it, shuffles them to make a draw pile and places it in front of them, with the top card face up.

Creating Your Starting Deck

First Method - Pre-built Starting Decks (Basic Game only)

Look through the Prayer deck. 32 of these cards are marked with the numerals I, II, III or IV. There are eight cards with each numeral. These are the pre-built starting decks. Simply set these cards aside from the deck and give one packet to each player. In a 2 or 3 player game, shuffle the unused starting decks into the main Prayer deck.

And that's it: now everyone has a balanced starting deck and can start playing.

Thor's Tip: for your first game of Theomachy, use the pre-built decks. Once you have played at least once, you will have a better idea of the game's mechanics and can use the Draft method described below.

Second Method - Drafted Starting Decks (any game mode, unless you use the First Method)

This takes place over several rounds. On each round:

1. Players take an appropriate number of cards into their hand. This number depends on the number of players as follows:
   • 2 players: 6 rounds, drawing 3 cards per round
   • 3 players: 4 rounds, drawing 4 cards per round
   • 4 to 8 players: 3 rounds, drawing 5 cards per round
2. Each player chooses one card from their hand and places it face down in front of them. You can always look freely at your cards during the draft phase.
3. Give the remaining cards to the player on your left. Give them face down, and do not try to pass them before ALL players have selected their card.
4. Repeat this sequence; choose and pass cards until each player has one card in hand. Do NOT pass this last card; discard it face down.

Carry out these steps for the number of rounds indicated above. At the end, all players should have 12 cards in front of them. There should also be a pile of discarded face-down cards.

Each player takes their 12 cards and chooses 8 of them to form their starting deck. The 4 remaining cards are added to the Discard pile.

IMPORTANT - if you play with the Gods and Pantheons (Advanced and Epic modes), you MUST draft your decks; do NOT use the pre-built starting decks! This is why you choose your Gods after building your starting deck, as otherwise the game would be unbalanced. So far we have organized many Theomachy tournaments, and no god has been seen to dominate the others.

That said, this restriction does not work both ways: you are free to use the Draft system (Second Method) even if you do not use the God or Mythology cards (Basic game mode).

Final Selection of the God (Advanced and Epic Game ONLY)

Once the starting decks are built, each player secretly chooses one of the three Gods of their Pantheon and places it face down in front of them on the table, next to their Mythology cards. Put the rest of the Deity Sheets back in the box, face down so that the other players cannot see them.

Once all players have made their choice, they simultaneously turn their chosen Deity Sheet face up. Place the Miracle tokens next to the bank, within reach of all players.

Thor's Tip: remember, if you choose ME, look through your Mythology deck and take Mjollnir (because that is my Ability). Then shuffle the rest of your Mythology deck and put it back on the table.

End of Setup

• Shuffle all the cards discarded during the Draft phase into the Prayer deck.
• All players shuffle their decks of 8 cards (without looking) and place them in front of them to form their draw pile.

Overview of the Game

The game is made of several consecutive rounds, called Hands. It lasts until only one player has Followers left in their Cult.

The sequence of a Hand is:

1. Start Phase
2. Betting Phase (made of 3 consecutive Betting Rounds)
3. Battle Phase
4. Closing Phase
5. Prayer Phase
6. Myth Phase (Advanced and Epic game modes)

First Player & Order of Play

• In the first Hand of the game, the First Player is determined randomly. We recommend letting the owner of the game choose (or whoever has the longest beard!) but you can use any method that suits you.
• In subsequent Hands, the First Player is always the winner of the previous Hand.
• The First Player starts play in each betting round and during the Battle. Play then continues clockwise from them (to their left). If players are eliminated from the game (or have folded), skip their turn and continue with the next player.

The Start Phase

Draw cards from the Prayer deck to set up the Prayer Track in the center of the table (this step only takes place during the very first Start Phase of the game).

If you play without the play mat:

• put a Priest token on the two leftmost cards (to remind you that they will cost a Priest to buy)
• then put a Disciple token on the next 2 (to remind you of their price too)
• the cards in the last two spaces are free.

Each player draws 5 cards from their draw pile to form their hand. If you already have cards in hand (perhaps because you played a special card during the previous Hand that let you keep some), draw until you have five cards in hand. If you do not have enough cards in your draw deck, draw the ones you can, then shuffle your discard pile to form a new draw deck. Draw the remaining number of cards until you have five in hand. (You will need to do this every Hand in the first rounds, because you will not yet have enough cards.)

In the middle of the table, place 3 cards face up and 2 cards face down drawn from the Essence deck. These cards form the Constellation. If fewer than 5 Essence cards remain in the deck, take all the Essence cards (those available and the discarded ones) and shuffle them together before creating a new Constellation and a new Essence draw pile.

IMPORTANT: when you shuffle the Essence deck, place the Ante marker next to it, with the "2" side face up. The next time you shuffle it, flip the Ante marker to the "3" side.

Each player bets Disciples from their Cult to form their starting Stake. Each puts in a number of Disciples equal to the current Ante level. If no Ante marker is present, players need only put in one Disciple.

The Ante level never goes beyond 3.

Losing and Winning

If you have too few disciples to provide the Ante, you are eliminated from the game. If only one player remains in play, they have won!

The Betting Phase

This Phase consists of Three consecutive Betting Rounds. After each of the first two Rounds, the next face-down card of the Constellation is revealed (Texas Hold'em poker players will recognize a mechanism similar to the "flop", the "turn" and the "river").

During each Betting Round, players may play any number of Action cards (Effect or Place) or Power cards on their turn (and occasionally in reaction to another player's action; refer to the cards themselves for details). See further in this document how to play Action or Power cards.

Effect Cards

These cards are usually discarded immediately after being played. Effect cards with the keyword "continuous" are an exception: they stay active on the table until the end of the Hand (after which they are discarded; "continuous" refers to the current Hand).

Place Cards

These cards are played on the table in front of you and are never discarded until they are destroyed. When you play a Place card, you always put a specific Token from your Cult on it (never from your Stake). If you do not have the required Token, you cannot play that Place.

Actions

Whether or not you have played a card, at the end of your turn you must perform an action. The available actions depend on what happened previously:

If nobody has yet increased their Stake, you can:

• Pass - Do not add tokens to your Stake.
• Raise - Add a Token of your choice from your Cult to your Stake.

If the Stake has been increased since your last turn, you can:

• Call - Add Tokens from your Cult to your Stake to match the maximum Stake on the table (you must put in the same types of Tokens; it is not possible, for example, to play a Priest token in place of two Disciple tokens).
• Raise - Call (as described above) then add one more token from your Cult to your Stake.

You can always:

• Fold - Discard all the cards in your hand. You are no longer part of this Hand until the final phase. You no longer make bets and you do not take part in the Battle.

The next player acts only when you have completely finished your action and any cards you want to play. Remember that you can play Effect, Place and Power cards before or after performing your action.

Ending a Betting Round

A Betting Round ends when one of the following conditions is met:

• All players have taken their action and nobody has raised. In other words, everyone has passed.
• It is the turn of the player who was the last to raise and nobody has raised in the meantime. All the other players have called or folded.
• Only one player is still active in the Hand. All the other players have folded. In this case, go immediately to the Closing Phase without performing the remaining Betting Rounds or the Battle.

After a Betting Round has ended, turn over a face-down card of the Constellation, and begin the next Round. If all the cards of the Constellation have already been turned over (which happens at the end of the third Round), begin the Battle instead.

Remember: each Round begins with the First Player, whichever player ended the previous Round.

How to Play Power Cards

Power cards are similar to Essence cards (so they serve to power your Action cards so you can play them). Each has an Essence (Air, Fire, etc.) as well as 2 black (Chaos) or white (Order) orbs. On your turn, you may freely play Power cards from your hand to your play area. However, there is no obligation to do so (and thus to reveal your intentions) unless you need the Power card to use an Action card, or you fear another player will force you to discard from your hand, and so risk losing the card.

Power cards can be played at any time, including during a Battle. At the end of the Hand, all Power cards in your play area are discarded.

How to Play Action Cards

Before playing an Action card (Effect, Place or Attack), you must meet the prerequisites shown at the top left of the card:

Essence Symbols

Counting all revealed cards of the Constellation and all Power cards you have played, you must have at least as many cards of a given Essence as the number of symbols shown on your Action card.

If you do not meet this prerequisite, you must play Power cards from your hand until you reach it. A Power card played previously can be used indefinitely until the end of the Hand (when it will be discarded).

Example: Pierre wants to play the card Interruption, which requires two Earth symbols. Only one Earth Essence card is visible in the Constellation. Fortunately, Pierre has an Earth Power card in his hand, which he first plays so he can then play his Interruption card. The Earth Power card (and the orbs on it) remain available in front of him until the end of the Hand so that other cards can be used later.

Order or Chaos Orbs

In addition to Essence symbols, most Action cards require a certain number of Chaos or Order orbs. Count all the Order and Chaos orbs present on all revealed cards in the Constellation and on all Power cards you have played. You must have at least the same number of orbs (of the right type) as shown on the card.

Example: Pierre's Interruption card also requires 4 Chaos orbs (in addition to the two Earth symbols). Luckily, the Constellation has 3 Chaos orbs on an Air card, and the Earth Power card Pierre played in the previous example also has 2 Chaos orbs, which is more than enough to play his Interruption card.

A few cards do not need Chaos or Order orbs (Hatred, for example). However, ALL cards need at least one Essence to be used.

Last Stand

If you want to Call a bet but do not have the right Tokens, you can take a Last Stand card and put it in your Stake. On it, you can place enough tokens from the bank to call the current level of the bet. From then on, in this Hand, whenever you need a token to call, you can use those from the bank, placing them on the Last Stand card.

You can NOT Raise or Fold if you have played a Last Stand. You can only Call or Pass. This guarantees that you will take part in the Battle.

If you win the Hand (after the Battle), discard all the tokens on your Last Stand card to the Bank. If a card should in theory let you recover one or more of these tokens to your Cult, discard them anyway; this rule overrides the card's descriptive text.

If you lose the Hand with a Last Stand card in play, then you are expelled from the game. You have lost.

The Battle Phase

If at the end of the third Betting Round at least two players remain in the Hand (have not folded), then they take part in the Battle. Starting with the First Player, play clockwise and perform Actions. You cannot Raise, Call or Fold during the Battle. See below.

If only one player remains in the Hand at the start of the Battle phase, do not play it and go directly to the Closing Phase.

Allowed Battle Actions

When it is your turn, you can:

• Pass - simply pass the turn to the next player. If all players pass during this round, go to the End of the Battle segment (see below).
• Play as many Attack and/or Power cards as you wish. All Attacks must be of the same type of Essence! You can play Attacks of another Essence ONLY if a card allows it (like Mjollnir).

THOR'S TIP: Do not confuse yourself. You can play Effect, Power and Place cards of various Essence types during the Betting Rounds. It is only during the Battle Phase, and only for Attacks, that you are restricted to a single Essence during one action.

Attacks that manipulate your Stake or your opponents' Stake are resolved immediately. Attacks that give you extra Power only take effect during the End of the Battle segment. Also, the game moves to the End of the Battle step once all players taking part in the Battle have passed consecutively.

End of the Battle Step

Each player's Power is determined by the sum of the Power of all Attack cards played PLUS the face value of all their followers remaining in their Stake (Prophets are worth 10, Priests 5 and Disciples 2).

Example: two players, Frank and Angela, take part in the Battle phase. They each have 1 prophet, 1 priest and 4 disciples in their respective Stake. Angela is the first player; she plays Chain Lightning (Power +7) and Unity (Power +1 per token in the Stake). Frank then plays Plague (which removes all disciples from Angela's Stake) and Quicksand (Power +6).

Angela's Stake is now worth 15 (because she lost 4 disciples to the Plague, and only has a prophet and a priest left). Her Unity adds +2 to her total (because she has 2 tokens left), and her Chain Lightning also adds 7, for a total Power of 24.

Frank's Stake has a value of 23 points. To this he adds 6 thanks to Quicksand, for a total Power of 29. He ends up with more Power than Angela, and wins the Battle.

The Closing Phase

Determine the winners and losers. If only one player remains in the Hand, they win automatically. Otherwise, the player with the highest Power total at the End of the Battle segment wins. If two (or more) players are tied for the highest total, they all win.

Some Effects can be played during the Closing Phase. In addition, some Mythology cards, God Abilities and God Demands take effect at this time. These cards are used or played clockwise, starting with the First Player.

1. The losers then discard their Stakes to the Bank.
2. The losers suffer damage to their Place cards in play. To mark a card taking damage, turn it 90 degrees from its "normal" position. If a card is already damaged, it is discarded, and any Token on that card is also discarded to the Bank.
3. If there is only one winner (i.e. no tie), they may take a Priest token from the bank and add it to their Cult. Exception: see the Heads-Up rules.
4. If there is only one winner (i.e. no tie) and they have no Prophet in their Cult, in addition to their free Priest, they may then take a Prophet token from the bank and add it to their Cult. IMPORTANT: only your Cult counts; if you have no Prophet in it, you take a new Prophet even if you have one or more Prophet(s) in your Stake. Exception: see the Heads-Up rules.
5. All winners must put their Stakes back into their Cults.
6. The winner becomes the new First Player. In case of a tie, the current First Player passes the role to the nearest winner to them, clockwise.
7. All players discard all cards remaining in their hand or on the table (except Places still in play). This includes your hand, the Power cards used and the continuous Effects you played during this Hand.
8. Discard the Constellation into a discard pile near the Essence pile. If any face-down cards remain, reveal them before discarding.

Heads-Up (Basic and Advanced game modes only)

If only two players remain in the game (all the others have been eliminated) then winning a Battle no longer earns the winner a Priest or Prophet token (if eligible). Victory just gives you the right not to lose your Stake. This special rule is there to speed up the game as it nears its end. This rule does not apply to the Epic mode since players cannot be eliminated there.

Folding

Players can only fold during the Betting Phase (during the three Rounds). A player who folds can no longer play any card or take any action until the end of the Betting Phase and the Battle Phase. In addition, they can no longer be targeted by opponents via an Ability, an Action card or a Mythology card unless the text of that card specifies that it can target a player who has folded.

The Prayer Phase

The Prayer Track

It has six spaces for Prayer cards, which players can acquire during this Phase.

• Each player, starting with the First Player, takes one of the cards from the Prayer Track and places it in their Discard pile.
• If a player takes a card from one of the first 4 spaces (those marked with a Priest or Disciple Token) then they must pay for the card by discarding to the Bank a Token of the same kind. The last two spaces are free and require no payment.
• If you do not like the available cards or do not want to pay, you can instead take the top card of the Prayer deck.
• It is MANDATORY for each player to take a card, either from the Prayer Track or from the Prayer deck.

Cleanup Step

• If cards remain in the free spaces of the Prayer Track, discard these cards and put them back in the game box.
• Shift the remaining cards (those on the paid spaces) to the right, filling the empty spaces (the remaining cards thus become cheaper for the next Prayer Phase).
• Fill the free spaces at the left of the Prayer Track by drawing cards from the Prayer deck.

Once the Prayer Phase is finished, start a new Hand if you are playing the Basic mode, otherwise go on to the Myth Phase.

The Myth Phase (Advanced and Epic game modes only)

This Phase ends the current Hand. It allows each player, starting with the First Player, to perform one (and only one) of the following three actions:

• Buy the visible Mythology card from the deck of their Pantheon, by discarding a number of Miracle Tokens equal to its cost (for example the Tower of Babel costs one Miracle). Once the cost is paid the card becomes active. Some cards (such as Pandora's Box) have an immediate effect and are then discarded while the others are placed in front of your Deity Sheet.
• Move the visible Mythology card to the bottom of the pile (and thus reveal a new Mythology card). It is not possible to buy it on the same turn but it lets you avoid a card that does not interest you.
• Leave the Mythology deck as it is. This lets you keep a Mythology card that interests you but that you cannot afford right now.

Exchanging Tokens

If at any time in the game you have no more Priest or Disciple Tokens in your Cult, but you have Tokens of higher value (Prophets for Priests and Priests for Disciples) then you MUST exchange them immediately; this is not optional.

• If you have no more Disciples but you still have a Priest, then discard the latter to the Bank and add two Disciples to your Cult.
• If you have no more Priests but you still have a Prophet, then discard the latter to the Bank and add two Priests to your Cult.

Your Stake is not affected by this rule; it concerns only your Cult. If you move your last Disciple into your Stake, you will then have to exchange your Priest if it is in your Cult. Beware of the effects of certain Attack cards that can force you to make exchanges you would not want.

Pantheons, Their Gods and Mythology Cards (Advanced and Epic game modes)

Each Theomachy box contains four different Pantheons; for each of them there is a pack of five Mythology cards and three gods or goddesses.

Each divine being has an Ability and a Demand, reflecting their domain of predilection but also what is needed to earn their favors. The Ability is shown on the left part of the card, the Demand on the right.

Divine Abilities

There are two different types:

• Passive Abilities work permanently and modify a rule point applying to the player who embodies that god. For example Danu's Ability takes effect for the whole duration of a Hand whereas Poseidon's works for all Battles in which the player takes part. These are Passive Abilities since the player has nothing to do or say to benefit from these bonuses.
• Active Abilities must be triggered by their player. Their text usually begins with the phrase "You may...". Before you can use one of these Abilities you must announce to the other players that you are doing so and meet any condition (often you will have to discard a card or a token). For example Marduk's Ability lets him sacrifice a Priest to get a bonus, but he cannot do so during the final Betting Round.

If the text does not specify otherwise, a god's Ability can only be used once per Hand, and only when it is your turn to play. For example Morrigan's Passive Ability specifies that her power can be used several times; whereas Ares can only do so once, even though he can discard several cards.

Demands of the Gods

Your god's Demand lets you gain Miracle Tokens. When you fulfill the condition of your god's demand, you gain a token. It is not possible to gain more than one Miracle token per Hand even if you manage to fulfill the condition of the Demand several times.

Mythology Cards and Their Abilities

When you have an available Mythology card, its text explains its Ability and how it is triggered. If the conditions are met then the player controlling it can use it. Most Mythology cards are used just before the start of a Phase or at the end of it (for example Gae Bolga is played at the start of a Battle, before any Attack).

Each player, starting with the First Player, decides at the start and end of the Phase whether they want to use a Mythology card.

Be careful: once the Phase has really begun (via an action), it is no longer possible to play Mythology cards for that Phase (you will have to wait for the next Hand).

Thor's Tip: it is very important to check which Mythology cards you could play before the first Bet, at the start of a Battle and at the end of it. Don't forget it!

There is no limit to the number of Mythology cards you may have active at a given time.

Heroes (Mythology cards)

Each set of Mythology cards contains a Hero, which works a little differently from other Mythology cards. When you buy a Hero, place its card in front of you, take the token representing it from the bank, and place it on the Hero's card. Your Hero is for now inactive; its ability is not yet in play.

To use a Hero, place its token in your Stake just before the start of a Battle (when many other Mythology cards also activate). When the token joins your Stake, the Hero's ability activates (some abilities have a power as soon as they join the Stake, others at the end of the Battle, so read your Hero's ability carefully).

Beware: if you lose the Battle, your Hero dies: put its card and token back in the box; it will never return.

Special Rules

Playing a Card in Reaction to an Action

The texts of some Effect cards begin with the words "Play when an opponent does ". These Effects can only be played in response to one of your opponents having just done the described action, no matter who is currently playing. You are allowed to play Power cards before using your Effect. If more than one player wants to use an Effect card in reaction, do so clockwise, starting with the First Player.

Drawing Cards and Shuffling Your Deck

If for any reason (drawing cards at the start of a Hand, a card Effect, etc.) you must draw a card and your draw pile is empty, then immediately shuffle the cards of your Discard pile. These then become your new draw pile. This rule also applies to Effects forcing you to reveal cards from your draw pile.

Leaving a Hand in Progress

A player who has folded no longer takes part in any remaining Betting Rounds for this Hand, nor in the Battle Phase. They can no longer be affected by most actions their opponents still in the game take during the rest of the Hand (a card that asks to target an opponent, without specifying a folded opponent, can only affect a player still in the game).

Nevertheless, a player who has folded STILL TAKES PART in the Closing Phase and the Prayer Phase. They take back their cards placed in the Stake, put them back in their hand, can play them and can be the target of Effects from cards played by others.

The Discard Pile

Each player's Discard pile is always face up, but only the player concerned can look at which cards are under the first one (the others can only see the top card). If you discard more than one card at once, you can do so one after the other or place a block (leaving only the top one visible).

Thor's Tip: make sure the top card of your Discard pile reveals as little information as possible about your game and strategy.

Epic Game Mode

This variant is for players who want longer games to make the fun last. It really lengthens the playing time, so it is not for everyone.

In Epic mode each player fights to be the first to reach 10 Victory Points; moreover there is no player elimination: everyone stays in the game until the end!

Thor's Tip: I like to use money to represent Victory Points; that's my thing.

Apply the normal rules, but during the Closing Phase, do the following:

• Each winner of a Hand receives one Victory Point (use the markers provided in the box to represent them; you can make change at any time).
• If a player is eliminated (because of a failed Last Stand or because they cannot pay the next ante), each winner of the Hand receives three Victory Points.
• Each eliminated player recreates a Cult made of one Prophet, two Priests and 4 Disciples.
• As soon as a player reaches at least 10 Victory Points the game stops immediately and they triumph (in case of a tie, the two players share the victory fraternally).

Thor's Tip: you might get the impression that there are not enough Victory Point markers in the box for every player, but there are! If you have two Victory Points, use a two-point marker, at three Points use a Two marker and a One marker, and so on. By doing this you will never need more than 2 Markers per player to show their score (at ten Points it would take three Markers but the game stops immediately so it is not a problem).

Rules Clarifications

Question: If you have no Prophet and you have Lia Fail in play, what happens if you win a Hand? Do you receive two Prophets (one for Lia Fail and one for the victory), or just one (the one for Lia Fail, which cancels the one from the victory)?

Answer: Lia Fail does not block the normal Prophet since the exchange goes from the bank to your Stake (so you indeed have no prophet in your Cult when the card triggers). You get both Prophets!

Question: Feint is an Attack that makes one of your opponents discard a card at random from their hand. If you are not the first player this card is weakened because your opponent will probably have already played all their Attacks before yours. Is this on purpose?

Answer: Yes, totally. This card works better if you have the initiative but you will often see opponents keeping Attack cards in reserve (because the mere knowledge that this card exists affects the decisions of the others).

Question: Isn't pre-built deck number four weaker than the others? It only contains mediocre Attack cards.

Answer: this deck is actually quite powerful! It has several Attacks, including two cards that let you launch Attacks of multiple Essences. It is unpredictable and quite hard to counter even when strengthening its deck. Also, the Temple of War lends itself well to several mediocre Attack cards. It is, however, not a simple deck for a beginner to pick up, but it is one of those that has won the most in the various playtesting phases of our game.