Valiant Wars Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Vitals
• Objective
• Game Overview
• Components
• Components Description
• Setup
• Game Play Overview
• Game Play
• Gameplay Rules
• Champion List

Vitals

• Players: 2-5
• Time: 30 Minutes
• Ages: 12+

Objective

Each turn you will have the chance to battle for a piece of the kingdom. While winning a farmland grants a small victory, gaining a castle is a quite larger prize. With each location won, you gain Victory Points (VP).

The player who gains the required VP wins. Each player tracks their VP with Victory Point Tokens. Feel free to change the number of VP needed to win to make the game longer or shorter.

Players	Victory Points
2	10
3	9
4	8
5	8

Game Overview

With each turn, the players expose cards in their custom deck, one by one. Some cards have abilities that can help or hurt you. If you draw more than 1 Dark Omen, you are out for the rest of the turn. If you have drawn cards that give you Gold, you can purchase Champions to help your cause. If you have the most Swords you win a coveted Location which awards you with Victory Points.

Components

• 28 Victory Point Tokens - 4 Punch Boards:
  • 16 1VP
  • 8 3VP
  • 4 5VP
• 202 Valiant Wars Cards
  • 36 Soldiers
  • 54 Gold
  • 25 Dark Omens
  • 27 Locations
  • 60 Champions

The card types are: Soldier, Gold, Dark Omen, Location, Champion (and the Card Back).

Components Description

VP Tokens: When you take a Location, grab the proper number of VP Tokens to track your total.

Soldiers: Soldiers are free to purchase but they are weak. Each Soldier adds +1 Sword total to each fight and counts as a Warrior type Champion.

Gold: Gold allows you to purchase Champions. The more Gold you have, the better chance you can purchase the perfect Champion for your deck. Each Gold has a value of 1 for purchasing.

Swords: Swords determine how strong your Battle line can vie for a Location. Soldiers and Champions typically add Swords to your line. Some Locations reduce your Sword total.

Locations: These are the cards the players are fighting over. Locations are marked with a stronghold symbol in the upper right corner. At the end of each turn, all players add their Sword total. The player with the highest Sword total, wins the Location and gains VP Tokens.

Champions: Champions are powerful agents that you hire to fight. You may purchase Champions each turn with Gold. There are 3 types of Champions: Warriors, Mystics, and Rogues. See the Champion List for instructions on each card. A Champion card shows its Type, Name, and Cost.

Card Effects: There are 2 types of effects:

• Down Effect: Down effects are resolved as soon as the card is revealed.
• Ongoing Effect: Ongoing effects operate throughout the round and when adding Battle lines for Gold and Swords.

Dark Omens: Dark Omens are bad to draw. If you get 2 of them, you are out of the round and you lose all Gold and Swords you have received. However, Dark Omens also provide you with 1 Gold, which you can use to purchase Champions or Gold, assuming you don't Dark Omen OUT.

For every 3 VP you achieve, you must add an additional Dark Omen card to your deck (every 3 VP = +1 Dark Omen).

Setup

Separate the Valiant Wars card deck into the following 5 piles, and place the piles in the center of the play area:

• Soldier Deck: Place these face-up.
• Gold Deck: Place these face-up.
• Dark Omen Deck: Place these face-up.
• Location Deck: Shuffle and place these face-up. Move the deck slightly away from the Soldiers, Gold, and Champions decks.
• Champion Deck: Shuffle and place these face-down, then take the top 5 cards and place them face up, in a row, near the deck. Make sure everyone can see them.

Each player gets a mini-starting deck of the following cards:

• 5 Gold
• 3 Dark Omens
• 2 Soldiers

Each player should shuffle their mini-starting decks and place the deck face-down in front of them. You are now ready to start playing.

Game Play Overview

• The game is played in rounds.
• Each round players will attempt to win the face-up Location card to gain VP.
• During the round, players expose their deck, one card at a time, from left to right.
• You may STOP drawing cards at any time.
• If you get 2 Dark Omens, your turn ends immediately.
• Purchase Gold, Soldiers, and/or Champions.
• Add your Sword total to determine who wins the Location and gains VP.

Game Play

Follow the procedure below:

1. First Player: Determine the first player by choosing the last player who has held a sword or spear, and give them the First Player Token. After each round, the First Player Token will pass left - clockwise - the player with the lowest VP. At the beginning of the game, VP totals will be similar, so likely the Token will pass to the next player to the left.

2. Shuffle: All players shuffle all cards into their decks before play begins for each round - this includes Gold, Soldiers, Dark Omens, Locations, and Champions. We suggest using the "Poker Shuffle" or "Card Wash" method to shuffle quickly.

3. Location: Review the next Location card you are battling over. This card should be face-up for all to see.

4. Play a Round:

   Reveal Cards:

   • The Round begins by players all revealing their first card by drawing it placing it in front of them. This is done at the same time by all players.
   • Once the first card has been drawn, repeat the process for a second card. Make sure everyone draws and reveals the cards at the same time. It may help, especially in the later rounds to count "1-2-3", to ensure everyone is playing a card together.
   • As you reveal your deck, place the cards in a line, ordered from left to right. If you happen to run out of room, place them underneath the cards you have already placed, in order from left to right.

   Dark Omens:

   • If you have revealed 2 Dark Omens, your turn is immediately over. Flip your revealed cards face-down, and shuffle them in with your remaining deck - so there's only 1 deck. This is known as Dark Omen OUT. If this occurs, declare it clearly, "OUT" to the rest of the players.

Gameplay Rules

Champions: Champions are only ever tallied in your Battle line or count as in play if they are face-up. Face-down cards never count toward anything for any reason.

Gold: Gold is only ever calculated at the end of your turn when you have declared STOP.

Flipping: Flipping changes a card's position from face-up to face-down, and vice versa.

Targeting: Cards that let you Target, allow you to choose a player or a card to affect. It may be your own card or another player's. After you go out, you cannot be Targeted. Targeting is optional unless a card dictates that targeting must happen.

Champion List

Cards marked with a * have rules you should review here.

Apprentice: When the Apprentice is revealed, a player you select must draw 1 card.

Assassin: When the Assassin comes into play, you may flip any 1 opposing Champion in play. You cannot target your own Champion.

Archer: When the Archer if you have a face-up location, you gain +3 Swords when calculating Battle lines.

Barbarian: No effect.

Brigand: When the Brigand is revealed, an enemy player of your choosing must draw 1 card. Also, when Battle lines are added, the Brigand provides +1 Sword if you have another face-up Rogue. The Brigand doesn't count for his own ability.

Dancer: When revealed, the Dancer copies all the effects of another Champion you have face-up. Tap that Champion to indicate it is being duplicated. This may copy ongoing or when played abilities, and lasts the same duration. This includes all of the text of the chosen hero she is copying.

Fighter: No effect.

Firebrand: When the Firebrand comes into play, you must draw 1 card.

General: While the General is face-up, you cannot be targeted by other players' effects such as flipping, drawing cards, etc.

Guard: When adding Battle lines, the Guard gives you +2 Swords if you have a Rogue in play.

Hero: The Hero cannot be flipped by any means, nor may it be selected as a target by you or an opponent.

Lunar Witch: When the Lunar Witch comes into play, choose a player. They must flip any 1 Champion they own of their choice. If a Champion is not available, Flip a Soldier. You may not choose yourself.

Mercenary: When you add your Battle line, gain +1 Sword for each Gold you have in play, maximum of 7.

Monk: When calculating Gold, the Monk gives you +2.

Oracle: When the Oracle is revealed, look at the top 4 cards of your deck, they must be returned in the same order.

Paladin: When calculating Battle lines, the Paladin gives you +2 Swords for each other face-up Rogue you have in play.

Priestess: When the Priestess comes into play, you force a player to draw a number of cards equal to the number of Mystics you have face-up.

Pyromancer: When revealed, you my choose a player to draw 2 cards. You cannot choose players who have already stopped drawing.

Retainer: When you add your Battle line, gain 2 Swords for each Mystic you have in play.

Saboteur: When this card is revealed, an opposing player must draw 2 cards. Also, when this card is revealed, if you have another Rogue in play, an opposing player must draw 1 card This may mean a single player draws three, or one player draws 2 cards the other draws 1.

Saint: If you have a Dark Omen played, the Saint allows you to ignore it. This means you don't get Gold from it either. Flip it facedown to indicate this.

Sellsword: When calculating Gold, your Sellsword gives you +1.

Sentinel: For each Location you have face-up, the Sentinel gives you +2 Swords when adding Battle lines.

Shaman: When the Shaman is revealed, you must flip a Champion or Soldier you control. If you have no other face-up Champions (or only the Hero), you must flip the Shaman.

Warlord: When the Warlord comes into play, you must draw 1 card.

Wing Knight: Gain +1 Sword for each Mystic you have face-up when calculating Battle lines.

Wyrm Lord: When the Wyrm Lord comes into play, you must draw 2 cards.