Zodiac Duel: International Edition Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Card Anatomy
• Fighter Groups
• Setup
  • If this is your first game:
  • If this is not your first game:
• How to Play
• 1. Selection Phase
• 2. Duel Phase
  • 1. Initiative
  • 2. Confrontation
  • 3. Stars
  • 4. Resolution
• End of the Game
• Signs and Skills
  • Basic Cards
  • Advanced Cards
• Types of Stars
• Counters
• Expert Mode
  • Combine the Signs as You Like
• Resolved Doubts

Components

• 48 fighter cards (12 signs; 4 per sign)
• 4 reference cards
• 1 initiative card

Card Anatomy

All fighter cards have the same structure and are divided into two totally different parts: the fighter at the top and the star at the bottom.

Each fighter card shows:

• The name of the sign, in Latin.
• The sign's ability.
• The fighter's power.
• The power range of this sign (the power range indicates the maximum and minimum value of the power that fighters of that sign have).
• First game information (a letter A or B, on some basic cards, used only for the first-game setup).
• The star's type.
• The star's text (printed in 2 languages, upside-down relative to the fighter).

Fighter Groups

The 48 fighter cards are divided into two groups of 24 cards each and 6 zodiac signs in each group.

Basic cards: Aquarius, Libra, Cancer, Capricornus, Aries, Leo

Advanced cards: Taurus, Virgo, Scorpius, Sagittarius, Pisces, Gemini

Setup

If this is your first game:

1. Among the basic cards, look for those marked with the letters A or B (first game information). There are 8 cards of each letter: 5 only show the letter (A or B) and 3 show a hand beside the letter (A or B).
2. Group them by letter into two different decks and give one to each player.
3. Place the fighters (those with the letter only) in front of you, face up, and keep the stars (those with a hand beside the letter) in your hand secretly. The stars are placed in your hand with the fighter upside down, so that you can easily read their text.
4. Shuffle the remaining basic cards and put them face down to one side. Leave the advanced cards in the box (counter deck).
5. Each player takes a basic reference card (one will be Cassandra and the other Sybil) and places the initiative card on one side.
6. Directly start the game with the duelling phase, and ignore the selection phase.

The play area is arranged as follows: each player has a reference card and a base (row of fighters) on their side, with a hand of cards. In the middle sit the counter deck, the duels area, the playing deck, and the initiative card.

If this is not your first game:

1. Shuffle the 24 cards from one of the two groups (we recommend the basic cards for your first few games). This will be the playing deck.
2. Each player takes a reference card and puts the initiative card on one side.
3. Leave the remaining cards in the box. It will be the counter deck and, during the game, you may use its backs as counters (see counters p.15).

How to Play

A Zodiac Duel game is played in two phases:

1. Selection phase (ignore this step if this is your first game): both players select a total of 5 fighters and 3 stars to be used for the duels.
2. Duel phase: players take turns to use their fighters and stars for a maximum of 5 duels.

As soon as one of the players wins their 3rd duel, they become the winner of the game.

1. Selection Phase

At the start of this phase, both players draw 4 cards from the playing deck. Each one selects 2 for themself and passes the other 2 to their rival.

When selecting a card, you must place it face down and make clear if you keep the fighter or the star. To do so, put the card vertically, if you want the fighter, or horizontally and close to your hands, if you want the star. It is mandatory to choose 2 cards, but every player is free to choose 2 fighters, 2 stars or 1 fighter and 1 star.

Once the selection is done, every player must reveal the selected fighters (vertical cards). Then take the 2 cards your opponent has given to you and draw 2 more cards from the playing deck so that you have 4 cards in hand again. Repeat this process until you both have selected 5 fighters and 3 stars. Shuffle the last 2 cards that the players have not selected into the playing deck.

Important! At the end of the selection phase you must have selected exactly 5 fighters and 3 stars, but during the duels you may exceed that limit.

The area in front of the player, where the selected fighters are, is known as the base and is public information; that of the stars, is the hand, and it is secret information.

Example of the selection phase. Cassandra has 4 cards in hand. She chooses an Aquarius as a fighter and turns it upside down vertically. She also chooses a Libra card, but as a star, so she places it face down horizontally on the table. She then hands over the remaining 2 cards to Sybil and takes in hand the 2 cards that Sybil has rejected. Cassandra reveals the Aquarius that she has chosen and Sybil does the same with her fighters, since these are public, but the stars are not. They both then draw 2 cards from the deck, having 4 cards again and they repeat the process. They do so until both get 5 revealed fighters and 3 hidden cards, which will go to their hand as stars.

2. Duel Phase

Each duel is carried out in 4 steps in the following order: initiative, confrontation, stars and resolution.

1. Initiative

Determine who has the initiative:

• If this is the first duel, both players add up the power of their fighters and compare their respective total. The player with the least power gets the initiative. In case of a tie, the one whose birthday is the closest starts.
• For the following duels, in general, the initiative is taken by the player who has won the previous duel, unless some star or sign effect states otherwise.

The initiative is used to start the duels and to resolve conflicts or ties. In case of a tie or if there is a conflict in the resolution of any sign or star effect, it is resolved in favour of whoever has the initiative.

2. Confrontation

The player with the initiative plays one of their base's fighters and places it in the middle of the table, next to other already played duels, if any. The player without the initiative responds by playing one of their base's fighters in front of the fighter the opponent just played. Every fighter has a sign with a unique ability that is applied at the time indicated in its description. Fighters in the middle of the table are no longer in their player's base.

Astral penalty! The fighter who initiates the duel set the sign to be followed. If the opponent does not want to or cannot respond with the same sign, they suffer an astral penalty (see resolution, page 10).

3. Stars

Starting with the one with the initiative, players alternate playing 1 star or passing (see star types, p. 14). The moment both have passed consecutively, this phase ends. A player can pass and subsequently use a star during the same duel.

When playing a star, reveal the card in your hand and read its effect. Slide it under your duelling fighter (so that only the text on the upper part and its icon are visible) and apply its effect. When using other stars, slide the new one below the last one. In this way, the stars of each duel will accumulate on top of both fighters.

Important! The effects of the stars are always applied taking into account the context of the exact time in which they have been played and applying all their effects is mandatory. If the context subsequently changes, the effect of a played star no longer varies.

4. Resolution

Follow these steps in order:

1. If one of the fighters undergoes an astral penalty, they directly lose the duel.
2. If neither undergoes an astral penalty or it is cancelled, the fighter with the most power wins.
3. If neither undergoes an astral penalty and their powers tie, the player with the initiative wins.

Example of a duel. At the beginning of the duel phase, Cassandra and Sybil add the power of the 5 fighters they have chosen. Cassandra's total is 22 and Sybil's 19, so Sybil gets the initiative for the first duel. Sybil decides to play a power-3 Cancer. Cassandra chooses power-9 Leo to face the Cancer. Cassandra's Leo has more power, but it undergoes an astral penalty, so it is currently losing the duel. Next, it is Sybil's turn again, she can use a star or not. She decides to pass. It is Cassandra's turn and she decides to play a star with the effect: "Cancel the astral penalty". She slides the star under Leo's card. She is now winning Cassandra because the astral penalty is no longer active and the Leo has power 9 versus 3 for the Cancer. Sybil plays again, and decides to use another star with the effect: "Cancel the effect of the last star played in this duel by the rival". Therefore, the astral penalty is active again, and Sybil wins anew. On the next turn, Cassandra decides not to use any other star, that is, she passes. It is Sybil's turn again, and she decides to pass as well. As both have passed, the first duel ends with a victory for Sybil. Since the Cancer's ability is: "If it wins the duel, it becomes a star and goes to your hand" (see signs and abilities, p. 12), Sybil adds the Cancer card to her hand as a star.

At the end of the duel, leave the victorious fighter in its original position (checkmark) and tilt the defeated fighter 90° horizontally (cross). Leave the stars you have used in their position. Play the next duel beside the last one. It is necessary to do this in order to remember how many duels each player has won and to quickly identify the victorious and defeated fighters.

When removing fighters from already finished duels (due to some star or sign effect), replace the fighter card with one from the counter deck (the one in the box). Put it face down and keep the victory (vertical) or defeat (horizontal) orientation.

End of the Game

The moment a player wins their third duel, they become the winner and the game ends immediately.

Signs and Skills

Basic Cards

• Aquarius, strategic intelligence: if you start the duel with Aquarius, choose which fighter your opponent responds with.
• Libra, justice and balance: during the duel in which it participates, no one suffers an astral penalty, so the fighter with the most power will win, regardless of its sign.
• Cancer, goes back after winning: if it wins the duel, it becomes a star and goes to your hand.
• Capricornus, does not give up in front of a defeat: if it loses the duel, it becomes a star and goes to your hand.
• Aries, the initiator: if it loses the duel, you gain the initiative.
• Leo, fierce force: if it wins the duel, you lose the initiative.

Advanced Cards

Use this group of cards once you master the basic ones. These cards have two signs with rearguard abilities: Scorpius and Sagittarius. This ability is used from the base and only once per game. That is, when you want to use their ability on your turn, put them horizontally in the base, instead of using a star. Regardless of whether you've used their rearguard ability, you will still be able to use the fighters as usual in a subsequent duel.

• Taurus, the bull's wrath: gain +2 power for each duel you have previously lost.
• Virgo, fertility: at the end of the selection phase, draw 1 additional star from the deck for each Virgo sign in your base.
• Scorpius, paralysing venom [rearguard]: when using its ability, the opponent will only have one more turn in this duel. If the rival passes, they will no longer be able to do anything else in that duel.
• Sagittarius, ranged attack [rearguard]: when using its ability, add 2 power points to your duelling fighter.
• Pisces, as changeable as water: change the sign and the power from the third duel, that is, for duels 3, 4 and 5. Each Pisces card indicates the new sign and power.
• Gemini, an identical copy: it has the power and sign of the fighter you played in the last duel. If Gemini is copied or there is no fighter (either because it is the first duel or because of the effect of a star or sign ability), it has power 0 and its sign is Gemini. A Gemini counts as zero when calculating who gets the first initiative.

Types of Stars

The stars have a bilingual text that informs about their effects, and an icon that quickly shows what kind of power they provide:

• Plus: they add power to your duelling fighter. You can use a card from the counter deck to remember the added power (see counters, p. 15).
• Cancel astral penalty: they allow cancelling the astral penalty in one way or another and limiting the duel to comparing the power of the fighters.
• Immediate: when used, that duel ends immediately and the players have no more turns.
• Others: different types of effects that can include copying other stars, cancelling the opponent's or trying your luck to gain a considerable advantage.

Counters

On the back of the cards, you will find +1 and +2 symbols. If you wish, use these cards from the counter deck to help you count the power points you add to your fighters during a duel; to do so, slide them under the corresponding fighter as if they were a star.

Expert Mode

Combine the Signs as You Like

Play the game in the same way, but with the following changes at the beginning of the setup:

• Create a signs deck by taking 1 card of each sign. It doesn't matter what side it is.
• Shuffle these 12 cards and draw 2 cards at random without looking at them. Put them in the middle of the table, face down.
• Deal each player 4 cards from the signs deck. Each player chooses one in secret, gives the remaining 3 to the opponent and chooses, among the three, a last card.
• Match the 4 chosen cards with the ones in the middle of the table. These are the 6 signs that will be played during this game.
• Find the fighter cards of each of these signs, mix them and form the 24 cards' playing deck with it.
• Remove from the game the sign cards that have not been chosen and form the counter deck with these signs' fighters. Leave the counter deck in the box, as usual.

From here, the game continues normally, with the selection phase.

Resolved Doubts

What happens if the playing deck runs out of cards? In that case, stars that involve drawing or revealing cards cannot be used.

What do you do with the revealed cards? Put them back into the playing deck and shuffle it.

Can I take a card facing down as a star in a duel? Face-down cards are used to mark that a fighter has retired from the duel due to some ability or star effect. Face-down cards cannot be used in any way, nor taken as a star or fighter.

If I have to move or take a fighter, what happens to the stars? The stars stay in the same place and do not move, even if the fighter of that duel changes position.

If a star asks us to reveal a card, what value do Pisces and Gemini have as a revealed card? Pisces has the value according to the duel being played, and Gemini, zero.

What happens to Gemini if the fighter it had previously copied retires? Gemini applies its ability at the moment it enters the duel. Therefore, it keeps the original copy, even if the copied fighter moves or disappears. In this case, players will have to remember the sign and power of Gemini.

What happens to Taurus if it changes owner? Taurus applies its ability at the moment it enters the duel. Therefore, it keeps the original power, even if the fighter changes player. In this case, you can use counters to remember its power.

When does the effect of a star apply? At the exact moment it is used and, therefore, taking into account the situation at that moment. The subsequent evolution of the duel does not modify the effects of stars already used.

How does Gemini copy a Pisces? The copy applies the sign and power of the Pisces corresponding to the duel in which Gemini was used.

If I obtain a Virgo during the game by means of a star, do I draw 1 additional star applying Virgo's ability? No, since Virgo's ability only applies at the end of the selection phase.

Can the effect of a star be applied partially? All possible effects of a star must be applied at the moment it is played. However, if not all of the star's effects can be applied, only the possible ones will be applied.