Welcome to Arms Race! Of Men and Machine's tutorial for learning the basics of gameplay. Arms Race takes the bulk of the rulebook, and cuts it down into a canvas of rule nodes. You'll play a standard match of Of Men and Machines, except you will not be given any win conditions or Commander Cards. It is your job to progress through the tree and find a Commander that best suits your playstyle. Once you do so, you'll be able to unlock a win condition to beat your opponent with! The first player to obtain a Commander Card and complete a Win Condition will win the Arms Race.
All of the actions, cards, and other abilities are available to you and your opponent immediately. Completing their corresponding node however, will require that the previous it is connected to is completed as well.
If a player reaches a win condition prior to it being unlocked, the game ends in a Stalemate. Make sure to keep a close eye on each Win Condition's progress, and only advance the ones you have available.
Arms Race setup is similar to that of a standard match. However, the playfield and corresponding starting layout will be Soldiers & Structures on the Arena Playfield. Players will also not choose a Commander Card.
The setup guide suggests looking into how to read the cards before starting, but the Arms Race canvas will teach you how to read them as you go, so you can skip that section as well.