1. Fundamentals

The core rules of engagement and the physical space of the game.

Lead Player / Attacking Player

The player with initiative for the current turn. The Lead Player is the only one who can declare the turn's end.

Passive Player / Defending Player

Any player who is not the Lead Player during a turn.

Alliance

A team of two or more players operating as a single unit in Alliance Battles, sharing win conditions and territory.

Round

A complete cycle of gameplay in which all players or Alliances have acted as both the Attacker and the Defender.

Turn

A single sequence within a round where one player acts as the Attacker and at least one other player acts as the Defender.

Status Effect

A condition applied to a card or Cell that modifies its stats or behavior for a set duration or until a condition is met.

Discard

The act of moving a card to the discard pile. Discarded cards are reshuffled back into their respective decks when they are empty.

Destroy

The act of moving a card to the "Removed from Game" zone. Destroyed cards cannot be recovered.

Playfield

The entire grid layout comprised of Cells where all Units and Structures are placed and where movement and combat occur.

Cell

A single square space on the Playfield coordinate grid.

• Standard Cell: A cell with no inherent special properties.
• Objective Cell: A point used for Victory by Control; it cannot be affected by statuses or hold Structures.
• Star Cell: The designated starting cell for a player's Captain card.
• Frontspawn Cell: A specialized cell used to deploy Units from the hand to the Playfield.

Territory

A property of a cell representing faction ownership.

• Unoccupied Territory: Cells that have not yet been claimed by a faction token.
• Occupied Territory: Cells marked by a specific Faction or Alliance token.
• Friendly Territory: Occupied territory controlled by your own Faction or Alliance.
• Opponent Territory: Occupied territory controlled by other Factions or Alliances.

2. Cards & Decks

The different types of assets at a Commander’s disposal.

Unit Card

The collective term for Soldier and Specialist cards. Units are the primary mobile fighting force on the Playfield.

• Grounded: Any Unit card that does not bear the Winged Beast Sigil.
• Airborne: Any Unit card that bears the Winged Beast Sigil.

Soldier Card

Standard frontline combatants drawn from the Soldier Deck.

Specialist Card

Advanced combatants drawn from the Specialist Deck. These typically have higher stats or more complex abilities.

Captain Card

The most valuable asset on the field. Captains are required to capture Objective Cells and their destruction results in player eliminations.

Structure Card

Cards representing static objects or fortifications. They provide passive or active effects and remain stationary once constructed.

Utility Card

Non-placeable cards that provide instant-use abilities or persistent effects before being discarded.

Power Deck

A neutral deck containing a variety of cards shared by all players during standard play.

Added Deck

Faction-specific auxiliary decks required by certain Faction Archetypes.

3. Card Stats & Damage

The numerical values and mechanics used to determine card interactions.

Level

The strength tier of a card. This value also dictates the Turn Point cost required to activate the card.

Health

A card’s life points. When Health reaches 0, the card is destroyed and removed from the Playfield.

Damage

The face value power of a card used to reduce the Health of a target during an attack.

• Direct Damage: Standard damage dealt to a card's Health through a basic attack action.
• AoE (Area of Effect) Damage: Damage dealt to all cards occupying cells adjacent to the primary target of an attack.
• Sigil Damage: Damage specifically triggered by a Sigil ability printed on a Unit card.
• Effect Damage: Indirect damage caused by persistent status effects rather than a direct attack.

Trade

The value used for resource exchange. This determines the Turn Points gained by Scrapping or the cost required for Retreating.

Speed

The maximum number of cells a card can move during a single Move action.

Range

The maximum distance (in cells) from which a card can initiate an attack on a target cell.

4. Economy & Deployment

Terms related to managing resources and entering the field during the Build Phase.

Turn Points

The umbrella term for Attacking and Defending Turn Points.

ATP (Attacking Turn Points)

The resource generated and spent during an Attacking turn to move, attack, or activate cards.

DTP (Defending Turn Points)

The resource generated and spent during a Defending turn to fortify or activate defensive abilities.

Reserve

A persistent storage zone for up to 6 cards, allowing players to carry assets over from previous turns.

Deployment

The act of playing a Unit card from the hand onto an eligible Frontspawn Cell.

Construction

The act of playing a Structure Card onto the Playfield.

Deployment Delay

A Rule Source that occurs anytime a card is Deployed or Constructed. The activated card is inflicted with the Vulnerable Status for 1 round.

Scrapping

An action where a player discards a Unit from their hand to gain Turn Points equal to its Trade value.

Retreat

The act of paying a card's Trade value in Turn Points to return a Unit from the Playfield back to the player's hand.

Restore

A Build Phase action used to heal damage or reset the status of a Unit or Structure.

Fortify

A defender-specific action that grants a Unit +2 HP for the remainder of the turn.

5. Combat & Timing

Mechanics governing movement, the Battle Phase, and defensive reactions.

Adjacency

Refers to the 8 cells immediately surrounding a target cell (including diagonals).

Single Combat

An attack initiated by a single Unit or Captain against one target cell.

Skirmish

A specialized attack where multiple Units combine their Damage values to strike a target as a single party.

Counterattack

A defender's specific reaction to being targeted by a Skirmish, allowing them to deal damage back to the attacking party.

Act Phase

A temporary timing window triggered by a defender to resolve Utility cards or Structure abilities in response to an event.

Challenge Step

A stack-based sequence within the Act Phase where players play Arguments to negate or modify effects.

Argument

A specific card or ability activated during a Challenge. Arguments are resolved in reverse order (Last In, First Out).

6. Victory & Resolution

States used to determine the conclusion of a match.

Neutralize

The act of removing an opponent's ownership of an Objective Cell without yet capturing it for your own faction.

Capture

The process of claiming an Objective Cell, requiring a Captain to occupy the cell for one full round.

Last Stand

A final Attacking turn granted to a player if their Captain is destroyed while they are in a Defending stance.

Victory By Control

A win condition achieved by occupying all objective cells on the Playfield.

Victory By Elimination

A win condition achieved by destroying the opponent's Captain.

Victory By Attrition

A win condition achieved when an opponent is unable to draw any more Unit cards.

Victory By Domination

A win condition achieved by occupying all enemy spawn cells while the opponent has no Units left on the field.