Wizards & Relics
Wizards & Relics Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Quest
Wizards & Relics is a magical dueling card game for 2-4 players.
Defeat your rival(s) by secretly laying down a wizard and a relic. Each round a combination of your Wizard, your Relic, the Shrine, and your opponents will result in a power score for each player. The highest total power wins the round. Each round has a unique shrine that impacts the game differently.
When your wizard wins the round, it goes to the Hall of Immortality.
The number of players determines the amount of wizards needed in your Hall of Immortality to win the game.
- For 2 players, 5 wizards.
- For 3 players, 4 wizards.
- For 4 players, 3 wizards.
Components
144 playable cards: 60 Wizards, 60 Relics, 24 Shrines 4 Friends (cheat sheets), 1 Map, 12 +1/+3 Tokens
Wizards
Wizards determine your base power and may have special abilities that aid you in battle.
The printed card diagram labels a wizard's parts: Name, Subtype, Power, Rarity (bottom left), Ability, and Advantage (the color that this wizard has advantage over).
Types of Wizards
Red wizards, being fiery mages and magicians, look for raw power. Blue wizards peer into the mystical realm and use illusion and foresight to plan ahead. Green wizards draw their powers from nature and the relics around them.
Advantage
Some wizards have natural strength and advantage over other wizards.
- Green wizards have advantage facing Blue wizards.
- Blue wizards have advantage facing Red wizards.
- Red wizards have advantage facing Green wizards.
If your wizard has advantage over another wizard you gain +1 power. Advantage does not stack if your wizard has advantage over multiple rivals. Place a +1 token next to wizards with advantage.
The printed example is for illustration only; in a real game there will be a relic played next to each wizard.
Devotion & Enlightenment
Devoted wizards are the standard wizard. They are devoted to their craft and very fundamental in their magical beliefs. Devoted wizards do not have abilities that trigger when played normally. In this base set, Devoted wizards have only a raw power and no extra abilities. Certain relics have synergies with Devoted wizards, and some highlight Devoted 2 (devoted wizards with base power 2) wizards only.
Enlightened wizards, are the outliers. They are the wacky few who delve deep into magical mysteries. Enlightened wizards have a base power and a unique ability.
Relics
Your wizards equip relics to aid them in battle. Relics provide additional power and sometimes unique abilities known as enchantments.
Basic & Enchanted
Basic relics are simply relics that only have a power, while Enchanted relics provide an extra ability known as an enchantment along with a power. Depending on the scenario and the wizard or relics you have in play, either type of relic can shine!
Subtypes
You'll see subtypes of relics such a staff, hat, ancient etc. Subtypes are not relevant in the base-set, but you will see them be of use in expansions to come!
Rarity
There are 3 tiers of rarity for wizards and relics. Common, which is the lowest, Superb, which is uncommon, and Glorious, which is the rarest and generally most powerful. Rarity is mainly used during setup to ensure a balanced game.
Rarity icon is located on bottom left of wizard and relic cards.
Shrines
Shrines give a magical boost to certain wizards. At the beginning of each round reveal the top card from the shrine deck. For the rest of the round, that shrine's ability affects any wizard that meets the criteria of the indicated color or attribute. Shrine abilities happen before wizard abilities. Some shrine cards affect multiple colors or a color and an attribute.
Setup
Sort the wizards and relics into 6 piles according to their rarity. (Wizards separate from relics.)
Shuffle each rarity pile and distribute into 4 separate 30 card decks facedown. Each deck will have a 30 card deck consisting of 15 wizards (3 Glorious, 6 Superb and 6 Common) and 15 relics (3 Glorious, 6 Superb and 6 Common).
Each player chooses a deck and may look at their cards. Shuffle your deck and place it face down in front of you. For 2-3 player games, you may simply set aside the extra decks.
Beside your deck will be your discard pile. All cards in your discard pile should be kept face up and considered revealed and available information to all players. Any interaction with cards in your discard pile is also revealed to all players.
Draw 7 cards from the top of your deck - This is your hand. To help ensure everyone has a fun start to the game, you may set aside any number of those cards and draw the difference back up to 7 cards. Then shuffle the set aside cards back into your deck. (This partial mulligan only happens once in the beginning of the game.)
Shuffle the Shrines into a pile and lay them in the center of table face down.
Starting the Game
Who goes first? The player who seems the most wizardly starts the first round as the Master Wizard. This means that player performs their abilities first (and it goes clockwise from there). After the first round, the Master Wizard is determined by who won the last round.
Play Overview
The game is played in a series of rounds. Each round has 5 main phases.
- Shrine - Flip over the top card of the shrine deck.
- Play - Lay a wizard and a relic facedown in front of you.
- Reveal - Players reveal wizards first, then relics.
- Victory - Winning wizard goes into the Hall of Immortality.
- Spoils - Winner draws one card or takes a loser's relic, losers draw two cards.
Phase 1: Shrine
Reveal the top shrine card from the shrine deck and set it down face up.
Phase 2: Play
Each player chooses a wizard & relic from hand and plays them face down.
Phase 3: Reveal
- Wizard reveal: First, each player reveals their wizard.
- Advantage: All players check for advantage. Players can place a +1 token next to their wizard if they have advantage over another wizard in play.
- Shrine Abilities: Apply shrine ability(s) to corresponding wizards, if able, starting with the Master Wizard and proceeding clockwise.
- Wizard Abilities: Master Wizard applies abilities to their wizard first, then proceed clockwise.
- Relic reveal: Each player reveals their relic. The Master Wizard performs the enchantment (ability) of their relic first (if there is one) then proceed clockwise. If you have more than one relic, apply enchantment of those relics in any order.
Phase 4: Victory
The Winner is determined by adding up the total power of your wizard and relic including any additional power from abilities, shrines or advantage. Highest number wins! (If one or more players have the same total power see In the event of a tie in the FAQ portion of the rules).
- The Winner places the winning wizard in the Hall of Immortality (set off to the side) and puts their relic(s) into their discard pile. All cards in discard piles should be face up.
Phase 5: Spoils
The spoils phase begins with a maximum hand size check of 7. If a player has more than 7 cards in hand they must discard down to 7 before drawing. Then the winner chooses to do one of the following:
- Winner may choose to draw 1 card from their deck or
- Take any relic in play from among losing players this round and add it to their hand.
After the winner gains their spoils, each loser draws 2 cards from their deck.
Losers place their wizards & relics into their discard piles.
(This is the only time when players aren't able to have more than 7 cards. Players always discard down to 7 before gaining spoils.)
For example: If you have 8 cards at the start of Phase 5 and lost the round, you must discard 1 to go down to 7. Then draw 2 for losing. You will start the next round with 9 cards.
This completes the round! Continue on to the next round starting back with Phase 1.
Play until the appropriate number of wizards are reached in one player's Hall of Immortality.
For 2 players, 5 wizards. For 3 players, 4 wizards. For 4 players, 3 wizards.
Important Things! FAQ
In the event of a tie
If any players have the same total power at the end of the battle, they battle again by repeating phases 2 & 3.
The winner of the tie places their last played wizard in their Hall of Immortality.
Low on cards?
As soon as you go down to having zero or one card in hand Replenish. Replenish means to draw up to 7 cards, minus the number of wizards in your Hall of Immortality. When you Replenish during the 2nd and 3rd phases of a round, those cards count towards any abilities that grant you a bonus from drawing cards that round. You may do this at any time in any phase, immediately when going down to zero or one card in hand.
Eek! No wizard/relic in hand?
In phase 2, If you do not have a wizard or relic in hand, discard your hand and Replenish (draw up to 7 cards, minus the number of wizards in your Hall of Immortality).
If a card you discard has a discard trigger, resolve those after you have drawn from replenish. (For example: Dusty Tome.)
Multiple relics
There are cases where you may end up with more than one relic. Players reveal all of their relics during the Relic Reveal phase and choose the order in which to resolve each of their relics. Typically if you would play an additional relic, play it face down next to your other relic(s).
In general, you can resolve triggers or abilities in the order of your choosing.
No more cards in deck?
If you would draw cards from your deck but can't because there are no more cards, simply shuffle your discard pile back into your deck.
Glossary: Keywords & Terms
Replenish: If you have 0-1 cards in hand, draw up to 7 cards, minus the number of wizards in your Hall of Immortality.
Ignored: Ignored relics are completely nullified and useless. Their power is no longer applied and the enchantment does not trigger. They are still considered 'in play' therefore the winner of the round can still choose to take an ignored relic during the Spoils phase.
Discard: A card is discarded when it goes from your hand or deck into the discard pile. Cards in play that are put into the discard pile does not count as discarding and do not trigger discard abilities.
Reveal: Cards from hand that are revealed to all players. Each card should specify the condition of reveal AND the effects from reveal. If you would reveal cards from your deck, put them back on top in the same order unless otherwise specified.
Devoted Wizard: Devoted wizards do not have abilities that trigger when played normally. In this base-set, a wizard without abilities.
Devoted 2: Devoted wizards with base power 2.
Enlightened Wizard: A wizard that has an ability (effect). These are performed at wizard reveal OR if wizard would enter play from hand or discard pile.
Master Wizard: Player who applies abilities first. This can be wizard, relic or shrine abilities/enchantments. Always apply abilities clockwise starting from Master Wizard. The player that wins the round becomes the Master Wizard.
Basic Relic: A relic that has no enchantments (abilities).
Enchanted Relic: A relic with abilities (referred to as enchantments).
Wizard Battle: Phase 2 & 3 - can be multiple wizard battles in a round.
Round: Phases 1 - 5. A round is the time from the shrine reveal to the Spoils phase. During a tie, it remains the same round.
+1/+3 Token: Can use to represent modifiers from shrines, abilities and advantage.
'Take' a card or 'Put': Does not count as drawing a card. In general, when you draw or take a card, it always goes into your hand, unless specified otherwise.
Variants
Drafting
- 1v1 Drafting Variants
- Winchester Draft
- All cards are shuffled randomly into two decks. Each player has a deck in front of them face down, then places two cards into separate piles in front of them. Four piles are created. These piles are face up and the cards are known to both players. The first player must choose a pile. Then one card from each deck is added to each pile, meaning the chosen pile is now one card while all other piles are two cards. Players take turns taking piles in this manner until the decks are gone.
- Each player uses their cards to build a 30 card deck that consists of 15 relics and 15 wizards.
- Grid Draft
- All cards are shuffled randomly into one deck. Lay cards out in a 3×3 grid face up (don't look at the cards and choose where each one goes, lay them out in order). The first player takes a row or column. Replace the gaps in the grid with more cards from the deck. The second player takes a row or column. Continue alternating until all cards are gone.
- Each player uses their cards to build a 30 card deck that consists of 15 relics and 15 wizards.
- Winchester Draft
- 3-4 Player Drafting
- Seperate cards out into 12 piles of 10. Each player takes 3 piles in a 4 player game, or 4 piles in a 3 player game. Start with one pile or "pack"; Look at the cards in that pack, take a card and then pass to their left (alternate right and left between each "pack"). After drafting those packs each player builds a 30 card deck consisting of 15 wizards (8 common, 8 superb and 3 Glorious), and 15 relics (8 common, 8 superb and 3 Glorious).
Go Big or Go Back to your Wizard Tower
Play a higher stakes game by allowing the winner of ties to bring all of their wizards in play to the Hall of Immortality.
Lightning Fast
For a quicker (but less balanced) setup you can simply shuffle all of the relics and wizards into separate piles and deal out 15 wizards and 15 relics at random to each player. Each player then shuffles their wizards and relics together into their 30 card deck.
Infamous Wizards, Relics & Shrines
Dwarven Minimalist
Every single relic in play is rendered useless including your own! Relics remain on the table and can be taken by the winning player during the Spoils phase.
Artifact Snob
All relics are rendered useless except yours!
Jeff, the Mage
Jeff's first ability takes into effect immediately, before other wizard abilities (after Shrine abilities). Players can choose to play another wizard from hand, do so face down (in order starting from master wizard) then reveal at same time; This will re-trigger shrine abilities for those wizards.
Mischievous Merchant
Exchange relics facedown. You cannot look at the Rival's relics before you swap.
Daniel, the Dancing Druid
Exchange relics facedown. You cannot look at the Rival's relics before you swap.
Gwynndalyn Moore
If a rival does not have a relic in hand, then they can ignore this ability. If a rival has more than one relic the must still exchange all of those relics if possible. If they have three relics in play but only two in hand, exchange just two of the relics in play, their choice.
Floaty Floaty Float
Ability is fluid, not static. If you draw more cards after Wizard Reveal then your power will go up! Example: You have 5 cards in your hand during Wizard Reveal, therefore have +5 Power. During Relic Reveal you have a standard scroll and end up with 6 cards in hand. Floaty now has + 6 power, in addition to another +1 from the scroll.
Milton, the Magical, Adam, the Arcane Adept, The Gatherer and Magician of Misfortune
Remember to keep track of how many cards you have drawn or discarded as this may count for the second wizard and relic you play after the tie!
Master of the Flames
Your main relic goes to your discard pile, therefore you no longer have your primary relic. However, you can still gain additional relics that could be used from other sources such as shrines or an opponents' Wizard. (Example: Gary, God of Gifts.) Master of the Flames' ability only applies to one relic. If you have more than one relic then choose only one to discard.
Lars
If after using Lars' ability, it brings your hand size down to 0 or 1, it triggers Replenish (draw up to 7 cards minus wizards in your Hall of Immortality).
Pondering Mystic, Mediocre Mage and Forest Friend
These wizards are Devoted 2.
Voice of the Forest
This ability is fluid, not static. If your hand size changes then Voice of the Forest's ability changes with it. Example: If your relic forces you to discard two cards so that your hand size goes from 4 to 2, Voice of the Forest's power would go from 4 to 6.
Chief Enchanter
Chief Enchanter's ability hinges on controlling a relic with an enchantment. Therefore, the ability triggers when the relic is revealed, which can be triggered among other revealed abilities in the order of your choosing.
Relics: Card Abilities
The source's card-ability section repeats the printed headings "Relics" and "Shrines"; they are renamed here only to separate them from the general rules sections above.
Standard Scroll
The card you discard does not have to be just from the two cards drawn with Standard Scroll. You may discard any card from your hand.
Dusty Tome
Does not trigger during Beginning of the game Mulligan. When triggered from discarding your hand + Replenishing, complete the Replenish first then draw two cards from Dusty Tome. If you discard during Phase 5: Spoils before you draw, you still get to keep the additional 2 cards, allowing you to start the next round with up to 11 cards.
Greatsword of the Weak
Wizard gets +4 only if it paired with a devoted wizard that has power 2. Enlightened wizards or devoted power 3 wizards do not get +4.
Cloak of Courage
First, you draw a card. Then you get an additional +2 only if your wizard is devoted. Can be any devoted wizard; power 2, 3 or even 4.
Kroanlor, Scorge of the Elements; Rhotkra, Extinguisher of the Flame; Grenlor, Balance of the Ether
You get +4 if any one rival is green/blue/red. If there are no green/blue/red rivals, you do not get the +4.
If relics become Ignored, from Dwarven Minimalist and Artifact Snob, this relic disregards that effect and is still counts during play.
Ward of Nature/Elements/Fire
These relics count all wizards in play that are face up, even ones from previous ties and ones that are controlled by you and rivals.
Shrines: Card Abilities
Obelisk of Blessings
Play additional relic face down next to your other relic(s) in play. When you reveal relics you may enact abilities in any order you wish.
Janoara's Fountain
The blue ability counts all blue wizards played this round, including those played in previous ties.
Yogan's Archway
For the blue ability, put the card taken into your hand. This does not count as a card drawn.
Dalhi's Throne
Counts as drawing cards for cards like Adam, the Arcane Adept and The Gatherer.
Obelisk of Blessings (second card)
Editor's note: the printed rulebook lists "Obelisk of Blessings" twice, as two separate shrine entries with different text. Both are transcribed as printed; the card name for this second entry may be a printing error in the source.
If you play a green wizard this round, you may play another relic from your hand face down in addition to your main relic. Those relics will be revealed at the same time, you may trigger their enchantments in any order you choose.
Spire of Revelry
Counts all red wizards played this round, including those played in previous ties.
Pillar of Knowledge
Counts all blue wizards played this round, including those played in previous ties.
Gol Æther, Spire of Rin-dûil, Darkwood Beacon, The Menagerie, The Academy, The Lyceum
These shrines can impact both a color of wizard and Devoted wizards. For example, with The Academy, if you play a red Devoted wizard you get to do both the abilities; if you play a red enlightened wizard, you only do the bottom ability.