Astro Knights: Eternity Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Object of the Game
• Contents
• Component Anatomy
  • Homeworld Cards
  • Player Cards
  • Player Mats
  • Boss Cards
  • Boss Mat
  • Boss Level Tokens
  • Difficulty Tokens
• Setup
  • Player Setup
  • Homeworld Setup
  • Supply Setup
  • Turn Order Deck
  • Boss Setup
  • Setup - Example
• Player Turn
  • Turn Order
  • Player Turn Overview
  • Player Turn: 1 – Attack Phase
  • Player Turn: 2 – Main Phase
  • Player Turn: 3 – Draw Phase
• Boss Turn
  • Boss Turn Overview
  • Boss Turn: 1 – Main Phase
  • Boss Turn: 2 – Draw Phase
  • Boss Turn - Leveling Up
• Exhausted
• Game End
• Expeditions
  • Expedition Rules
  • Expedition Setup
  • Game Setup
  • Upgrades
• Solo Play
• Variable Difficulty
• Game Terms
• Credits

Object of the Game

Astro Knights is a cooperative deck-building game where your deck is never shuffled. Your goal is to defeat the Boss before it destroys your team or the Homeworld you're defending.

Each round, the players and the Boss take turns in a random order. During a player's turn, they can acquire Fuel, Tech, and Weapons from the supply, equip and attack with those Weapons based on the number of slots they have, gain new slots, power up, and use their special ability. All four of the Bosses in this game have their own decks and abilities, and a different strategy will be required to defeat each one.

Players must work as a team to conquer this threat. Communicating about the game and formulating plans to defeat the Boss is not just allowed, it's encouraged!

In addition to the expedition rules on pages 28–31, there have been a few minor additions to the original Astro Knights rules. These changes are identified in pink boxes for your convenience.

Contents

• 4 player number tokens: Placed on player mats and used in conjunction with the turn order cards to determine play order.
• Wild turn order token: This is used in a 3-player game to determine who is going to take the next wild turn.
• 1/2 and 3/4 tokens: These tokens are used when playing a 4-player game. They are used to track who has already taken a turn this round.
• 12 turn order cards: Used to determine the order of play during the game.
• 13 card dividers: Used to organize the cards.
• 4 reference cards: Used to assist players during gameplay.
• Narrative booklet: Contains the story and the rules for playing the Astro Knights: Eternity expedition. When you're ready to start your expedition, begin reading this booklet on page 1.
• 6 Stop decks: Contain all the starter cards, player cards, and Boss cards needed for the expedition. These will be opened when the narrative booklet instructs you to.
• 3 envelopes: Contain new challenges you will unlock throughout the campaign. These will be opened when the narrative booklet instructs you to.
• 2 health dials: Used to track the health of the Boss and the Homeworld.
• 1 Homeworld card: Used to track the important information for the Homeworld.
• 20 discs: 4 each of red and yellow to track players' health and slots. 5 blue to track players' and the Homeworld's power. 4 black discs to be used as the Boss disc for certain Bosses. Plus, an additional red, yellow, and blue disc will be used for Team Attacks, which you will earn during your expedition.
• 18 scope tokens: Used when playing as Z.A.K.
• 1 Boss mat: Used to display the specific rules and track important information for the Boss.
• 4 player mats: Used to track the important information for each player.
• Health tokens: 24 health tokens with a value of 1, 10 health tokens with a value of 5: used to track the health of the Minions.
• 1 Boss difficulty token: Used when playing Expert and Nightmare difficulties.
• 6 Boss level tokens: Used to display the specific rules for the Boss level.

Component Anatomy

Homeworld Cards

In Astro Knights, players must defend a Homeworld from a Boss invasion. There are several Homeworlds where players can choose to stage their battle. Homeworld cards represent those locations.

1. Homeworld name
2. Starting health: This is the amount of health the Homeworld starts the game with. This is also the Homeworld's maximum health. If the Homeworld's health ever reaches 0, the players lose.
3. Homeworld ability: The ability can be used during any player's turn as long as the Homeworld is fully powered up. After the ability is used, the Homeworld powers down completely.
4. Card number
5. Homeworld power track: Use a blue disc to track how much power the Homeworld has. The starburst indicates the Homeworld's starting amount of power.

Player Cards

Player cards are the various cards the players can use to build their decks in order to defeat the Boss. Each player starts with a unique hand and deck of cards. Players can gain more cards for their deck from the supply decks by spending energy (Energy).

1. Afterburn: Some cards have Afterburn effects, shown in their top left corner. The Afterburn effect of a card can only be used when it is in your discard pile. Afterburn means "Once per turn, during your main phase, if this is in your discard pile, you may resolve this effect." You can use this effect when you gain this card on your turn since it will be in your discard pile during your main phase. They are formatted so that you can splay your discard pile sideways to easily see what Afterburn effects you have access to.
2. Card name
3. Cost: The amount of energy (Energy) you must spend to gain this card.
4. Type: There are three types of player cards: Fuel, Tech, and Weapons. a. Fuel cards are played to gain energy (Energy). Energy can be spent to gain more cards, power up your Knight, and gain slots. (Slots determine how many Weapons you can have equipped during your turn.) b. Tech cards have a variety of useful instantaneous effects. The Tech supply deck also has a special ability called Overcharge. See page 20 for more information on Overcharging Tech cards. c. Weapon cards are the main way of dealing damage to the Boss and its Minions. Weapons must be equipped before you can attack with them. In most cases, you will only be able to attack with your equipped Weapon the turn after you equip it.
5. Effect: The effect you resolve when you play the card. Fuel and Tech have effects that are resolved immediately. Weapons have "ATTACK:" effects that resolve later. They must be equipped first. If any card contradicts this rulebook, follow the card's effect.

Some cards have the keyword "BOLSTER:". The BOLSTER: effect of a card can only be triggered during an ally's turn, not your own main phase. During an ally's turn, if that ally plays a card or activates an effect that causes you to discard a card, and if the card you choose to discard has a BOLSTER: effect, you immediately gain the listed BOLSTER: effect. The discarded card is placed into your discard pile before its BOLSTER: effect activates. You cannot choose to discard a card on an ally's turn without a trigger.

BOLSTER EXAMPLE: Abby plays Quantum Sphere which says "Gain 2 Energy. Any ally may discard a card. If they do, gain an additional 1 Energy." Bob volunteers to be the ally who discards for Abby, and discards Quasar Cell from his hand. Abby gains a total of 3 Energy from her Quantum Sphere. Additionally, Quasar Cell says "BOLSTER: Power up." so Bob immediately powers up.

6. Supply deck: This icon denotes which supply deck the card starts in. They will be returned to that deck at the end of the game. See setup on page 12 for more information.
7. Card number

Player Mats

1. Health track: Each player tracks their health with a red disc. The starburst indicates the Knight's starting health. Players have a maximum health of 10. When a player's life is reduced to 0, that player becomes exhausted. See page 27 for more information about becoming exhausted.
2. Slot track: Each player tracks their slots with a yellow disc. The starburst indicates the Knight's starting number of slots. The highest number on the track is the maximum number of slots this Knight can have. The number of slots you have determines how many Weapons you can have equipped at the same time during your turn.
3. Knight name
4. Power track: Each player tracks their power with a blue disc. The starburst indicates the Knight's starting amount of power.
5. Ability: Each Knight has a unique ability, which can only be activated when you are fully powered up. Once you activate your ability, you power down completely, which means you move the blue disc to the 0 space on the power track.
6. Player number: Place your player number token here. Player number is used in conjunction with the turn order deck to determine turn order.
7. Knight info: Background information on the character.
8. Specialties: This is a brief synopsis of what this character does best: Early Damage (dealing damage in the early game), Late Damage (dealing large damage late in the game), Energy (generating large amounts of energy), Healing (restoring health), Support (helping allies or the Homeworld), and Flexibility (having a good starting point for several strategies).
9. Knight lore: Has no effect on play. Provides further lore into the world of Astro Knights.
10. Additional Rules: Some Knights have additional rules regarding unique tokens, cards, or effects. These rules may impact setup and/or gameplay.
11. Starting hand: The five cards which you will have in your hand at the start of the game.
12. Starting deck: The five cards, and the order in which they are placed in your starting deck. Place the leftmost cards at the top of your starting deck. See page 10 for more info.

Boss Cards

Boss cards are the Minions and Strikes the Boss uses against the players and the Homeworld. Each Boss has its own unique deck of cards which is shuffled at the beginning of the game and a few times throughout the game. You may fight the same Boss many times, but it will never attack you in exactly the same way twice.

1. Card name
2. Type: There are two types of Boss cards: Minions and Strikes.
   • Minions enter play with health tokens and stay in play until defeated. They usually have "ACTIVATE:" effects which are resolved during the Boss main phase.
   • Strikes are resolved immediately and then discarded.
3. Health: Minion cards have health which can be depleted by dealing them damage. If the health of a Minion reaches 0, it is defeated and placed in the Boss discard pile. Minions have no maximum health.
4. Effect: The effect of the card. Strike cards are resolved immediately. Minion cards typically have "ACTIVATE:" effects that are resolved starting on the next Boss turn.
5. Player count: This number denotes at which player counts this card starts the game in the Boss deck. Any card that does not correspond to the current player count will start in the Boss discard pile. For example, in a two-player game, you will start with the cards labeled "All" in the Boss deck. The cards labeled "2+" and "4" will start in the Boss discard pile.

Cards with no player count number: Some Bosses have cards that are not used in their Boss deck, and are instead used in a Boss side deck. These cards have nothing in the player count section of the card. The setup section on the back of the Boss mat will have instructions for how to set these cards up, and the rules section of the Boss mat will explain how they are used in the game.

6. Card number

DEFEATED: Some Minions have the keyword "DEFEATED:". When a Minion with a "DEFEATED:" effect is discarded from play, the player who discarded that Minion resolves the "DEFEATED:" effect as completely as possible.

Boss Mat

1. Scouting report: This includes lore for the Boss as well as helpful tips for fighting it.
2. Health: Starting health of the Boss. The Boss's health is tracked on its health dial. If the health of the Boss reaches 0, the players win. Bosses have no maximum health.
3. Setup: Additional instructions for setup when fighting this Boss.
4. Challenge Rating: How challenging this Boss is compared to other Bosses. The challenge rating ranges from 1 (easiest) to 10 (most challenging).
5. Max level: This value is the highest level the Boss can level up to.
6. Boss track: Some Bosses have a Boss track. The setup describes how to set up this track, and the rules will describe how the track works. Note: Some Bosses have special tracks that appear on the front of the Boss mats.
7. Boss name
8. Rules: Any rules that pertain to this specific Boss.
9. Exhaust effect: Each Boss has an effect that resolves immediately when a player becomes exhausted (drops to 0 health).
10. Difficulty rating: To play on Normal difficulty, just use the rules on the Boss mat. If you want to play Expert or Nightmare difficulty, use the corresponding side of the difficulty token for the Boss you are playing against.
11. Level: Each Boss starts at level 1. When a Boss levels up, the token for the next level is placed here and the Boss and its Minions gain new abilities. See page 26 for more on leveling up.

Boss Level Tokens

The Boss starts the game at level 1 with no additional abilities. When the Boss runs out of cards to draw from its deck, it levels up. Each time the Boss levels up, its discard pile is shuffled facedown to re-form its deck, and it gains a level token (replacing the former level token if one is already in place). See page 26 for more information about leveling up.

1. Level number: This determines the order in which the level tokens will come into play. The Boss starts at level 1 with no token. When the level 2 token comes into play, it adds additional effects to what is shown on the Boss mat. When level 3 comes into play, it replaces the level 2 token and its effects, and so on with further levels.
2. Effect: These are the effects that the level token has on the game. Level tokens have "INSTANT:" effects that are resolved when the level token is placed into play. Some level tokens have "ACTIVATE:" effects which are resolved at the start of every Boss main phase.
3. Boss name: This is the name of the Boss this token belongs to.
4. Minion bonus: When a Boss levels up, its Minions become stronger. This number shows how much additional health all Minions will come into play with for the rest of that level. This bonus affects Minions from the Boss deck as well as Minions from any other deck the Boss may have.

Difficulty Tokens

Each Boss can be played on three different difficulties: Normal, Expert, or Nightmare. To play on Normal, just follow all the rules written on the Boss mat. To play at either of the harder difficulties, follow the instructions on the difficulty token that corresponds to the Boss and difficulty you would like to play. Difficulty tokens may change setup, the Boss rules, or even which side of the level tokens to use.

1. Difficulty: Expert or Nightmare.
2. Effect: This section describes what changes are in effect for this difficulty. This section can affect the Boss's level tokens, setup, or rules.
3. Boss: Which Boss this token belongs to.

Setup

Player Setup

1. Each player chooses a player mat and a player number token. If this is your first game, follow the instructions in the purple boxes! We recommend using Z.A.K. and Caleb for a two-player game. Add in Tsana for a three-player game.
2. Each player builds their starting hand and deck as shown on the back of their player mat. The cards should be in the order shown with the leftmost card being the top card of their deck and the rightmost card being the bottom card of their deck.
3. Each player places a blue disc on their power track, a red disc on their health track, and a yellow disc on their slot track. Each of these three discs starts on the space of the track highlighted by the starburst and black number. Players can never have more power, health, or slots than the highest number of those tracks.

Homeworld Setup

4. Choose a Homeworld to defend. Place a blue disc on the starburst space of the Homeworld's power track. Set the Homeworld health dial to the starting health shown on the Homeworld card. The Homeworld can never have more than its starting health.

Supply Setup

5. The supply decks hold the cards that the players can gain during the game to make their decks stronger. The supply is composed of six supply decks. Each deck contains copies of several different cards. At the start of the game, shuffle each supply deck separately and place it facedown in the middle of the table. Then, turn the top card of each deck faceup.

Whenever the top card of a supply deck is gained or destroyed, reveal the next card in that deck.

Each supply deck has a different theme:

• The first deck is Fuel cards that cost 3 energy (Energy) or less. There are 10 cards in this deck in this game; more can be added with expansions.
• The second deck is Fuel cards that cost 4 energy (Energy) or more. There are 10 cards in this deck in this game; more can be added with expansions.
• The third deck is Tech cards of various costs. There are 8 cards in this deck in this game; more can be added with expansions.
• The fourth deck is Weapon cards that cost 4 energy (Energy) or less. There are 10 cards in this deck in this game; more can be added with expansions.
• The fifth deck is Weapon cards that cost 5–6 energy (Energy). There are 8 cards in this deck in this game; more can be added with expansions.
• The sixth deck is Weapon cards that cost 7 energy (Energy) or more. There are 7 cards in this deck in this game; more can be added with expansions.

Setup-Clarification

Mixing Supply Decks - If you have multiple waves of content, here are some ways you can create the supply, along with some of the positives and negatives associated with them:

• One Wave: Use supply cards from only one wave of content. A wave of content is the big box and small expansions that came out at the same time.
  • ✓ Positive: Waves typically have themes/mechanics that are spread throughout the different supply decks. This method grants the most access to those synergies.
  • ✗ Negative: Less diversity of options.
• Mixed Supply: For each supply deck, choose a wave and play with that deck. Example: Play with all of the Fuel decks and Tech deck from Astro Knights/The Orion System, but use all of the Weapon decks from Astro Knights: Eternity and its expansions.
  • ✓ Positive: Easy setup with greater card diversity.
  • ✗ Negative: Less overall market balance.
• All Content: Mix all of your supply cards together, keeping the cards in their appropriate decks.
  • ✓ Positive: Lots of diversity and easy setup.
  • ✗ Negative: Less likely to see the cards with mechanics that are better in multiples, i.e. BOLSTER: cards.
• Preconstructed: Using all of the supply cards you own, you can build supply decks tailored around the cards and mechanics you like best before the game starts. See Size of Supply Decks below for information on how big the decks should be.
  • ✓ Positive: Play with all your favorite cards.
  • ✗ Negative: Time-consuming setup.

Size of Supply Decks - Some Bosses interact with the supply decks. These Bosses can be easier or harder depending on how many cards are included in the supply decks. When playing these Bosses, use the following chart to determine how many cards should be in each deck:

Deck	Minimum	Maximum
Fuel 3 Energy or less	10	14
Fuel 4 Energy or less	10	14
Tech	8	12
Weapons 4 Energy or less	10	15
Weapons 5–6 Energy	8	12
Weapons 7 Energy +	7	10

Note: We recommend using these deck-size specifications for Fission Parasite from The Orion System. In this and future expansions, Bosses that interact with supply piles will specify on their mat to check this chart.

At the end of the game, you can sort the cards by their card numbers. The original Astro Knights has a three-digit card number. All of the other sets have a letter prefix that indicates which expansion the cards belong to. Cards with a card number starting with "P" are promos. These cards can be mixed with any wave.

Turn Order Deck

6. The turn order deck is composed of four player turn order cards and two Boss turn order cards. The player turn order cards correspond to the player number tokens.

• For two players, place two turn order cards for each player in the deck.
• For three players, place one turn order card for each player plus the wild turn order card in the deck. Give the wild token to any player at the start of the game. Each round, the player with the wild token will take two turns and pass the token to the player on their left. The other players will take one turn that round. See page 18 for more information.
• For four players, place the two 1/2 and two 3/4 turn order cards in the deck. Set the corresponding tokens on the table. When a player card is drawn, the two players will choose which will take the turn and which will wait until the second card is drawn. The token is used to track which of the two players have taken their turn that round. See page 18 for more information.
• For solo players, if you are using only one Knight, place the two player 1 turn order cards, the player 1/2 turn order card, and two Boss turn order cards in the deck. When any player turn order card is drawn, the solo player takes a turn. If you are using more than one Knight, use the setup above based on how many Knights you are using.

NOTE: In all player counts, there will be two Boss turn order cards in the deck.

When a turn order card must be drawn or revealed and the turn order deck is empty, shuffle all of the turn order cards together and place them facedown to make the turn order deck again. Before the game begins, make sure to shuffle your turn order cards.

Boss Setup

7. Choose a Boss to fight, and set its Boss mat near the players. Carefully read all of the rules for the chosen Boss.
8. Choose a difficulty to play on: Normal, Expert, or Nightmare. If you want to play on Expert or Nightmare, find the corresponding difficulty token, set it into play, and follow any setup rules on it. See page 31 for more on difficulty. When you are playing expedition, your difficulty will be determined by the expedition rank you chose. See page 28 for more information about expeditions. Start on Normal! Then, if you want a challenge, try out a higher difficulty in later games.
9. Set the Boss health dial equal to the number shown on the back of the Boss mat.
10. Find the deck that corresponds to the Boss you are fighting. Search those cards for all of the cards that have a player count number that corresponds to the number of players in your game. Shuffle those cards and place them facedown to form the Boss deck. Some Bosses may start with little to no cards in their deck at lower player counts. Place all of the other Boss cards in the Boss discard pile. DO NOT remove these cards from the game. They will be used when the Boss levels up. See the "Player Count" section on page 7 for an example.

BOSS CARDS WITHOUT A PLAYER COUNT: Depending on which Boss you're playing against, there may be Boss cards without a player count number. These are not used in the Boss deck, and are instead used in a Boss side deck. Refer to the Boss mat for specific setup instructions for these cards.

11. Follow all setup instructions on the back of the Boss mat.
12. Set the Boss level tokens near the Boss mat. The effects on these tokens are known to the players from the start of the game, but they do not take effect until they are placed into play.

Setup - Example

Supply cards, turn order deck, starting hand, player mat, starting deck, Boss level tokens, Boss deck, Boss discard (in lower player count games some Boss cards start in the discard pile), Boss mat, Boss side deck (explained in setup and rules; some Bosses have a side deck that would appear here), Boss health dial, Homeworld card, and Homeworld health dial are all set out on the table as described above.

Special Setup (Dirathian Behemoth's setup section says to put the Level 1 token into play. Make sure to pay attention to any special setup instructions from the Boss you're fighting!)

Player Turn

Turn Order

Astro Knights has a variable turn order which is determined by the turn order deck. At the start of the game and after each turn ends, draw a card from the turn order deck to determine who takes the next turn, and place it on top of the turn order discard pile. When a Boss card is drawn, immediately resolve the Boss turn. If a player card is drawn, a player will take that turn.

Once the player or Boss turn is resolved, draw the next turn order card. If you need to draw or reveal a card from the turn order deck and that deck is empty, shuffle the discarded turn order cards together facedown to replenish the turn order deck.

Repeat this process until the game ends. See page 27 for more on game end.

In a one- or two-player game, the player whose number matches the drawn card will take the turn.

In a three-player game, the player whose number matches the drawn card will take the turn. When the wild player card is drawn, the player with the wild token will take the turn and then pass the token to the player on their left.

The wild turn order card is a player turn order card. When an effect refers to the wild turn order card, the player with the wild token is affected.

In a four-player game, one of the two players whose number corresponds to the card will take the turn. The players may choose between them which of the two will take the turn and which will wait until the second copy of that turn order card is drawn. The player taking the turn places the corresponding player token (1/2 or 3/4) on their player mat to indicate they have taken their turn this round. When the same card is drawn later, the other player whose number corresponds to the card takes a turn and the token is returned to the middle of the table.

Player Turn Overview

1. Attack Phase
   • You may attack with any of your equipped Weapons.
   • After you finish resolving the attack effect of a Weapon, place it on top of your discard pile.
2. Main Phase You may resolve the following actions in any order and as many times as you want: a. Play a Fuel or Tech b. Gain a card c. Overcharge a Tech d. Gain a slot e. Equip a Weapon f. Power up g. Activate your ability h. Activate the Homeworld's ability i. Activate an Afterburn effect (Once per card) j. Fulfill/Activate your Team Attack (Once per card)
3. Draw Phase Place all the Fuel and Tech cards that you have played this turn on top of your discard pile in any order. Then, you may discard any of the cards still in your hand to your discard pile in any order. Draw cards from the top of your deck until you have five cards in hand.

Player Turn: 1 – Attack Phase

Attack with equipped Weapons:

• You may attack with any Weapons that you have equipped, in any order. Weapons you do not attack with remain equipped.
• You can only attack with your equipped Weapons. Weapons you have in your hand will need to be equipped during your main phase, so that you can attack with them on a later turn.

When you attack with a Weapon:

• Resolve the effects listed after "ATTACK:" on that card in the order that they are written.
• That Weapon can only deal damage to a single Minion or the Boss unless otherwise specified.
• After you resolve the "ATTACK:" effect, place that Weapon on top of your discard pile.

When you deal damage:

• To a Minion, remove health tokens from that Minion card equal to the damage you dealt. When a Minion has no health tokens remaining, it is defeated and immediately discarded to the discard pile for the deck it originated from.
• To the Boss, reduce its health total on the Boss health dial by the amount of damage you dealt. When the Boss has 0 health, the players immediately win.

There are some effects in Astro Knights that will allow you to attack with another player's Weapon. When attacking with a Weapon other than your own, you are the "you" referred to on the Weapon card. You make all decisions pertaining to that Weapon and spend any associated costs. When that Weapon is discarded, it is placed on top of the discard pile of the player who had it equipped.

Player Turn: 2 – Main Phase

The following ten actions can be done in any order, any number of times during a player's main phase.

For example, you could play a Fuel, gain a card, equip a Weapon, play another Fuel card, and gain another card.

a. Play a Fuel or Tech card:

• When you play a card, you resolve all of the text on that card. If you can't resolve all of the text, resolve as much as possible.
• If there is an "OR," choose exactly one of the options listed.
• You may gain energy (Energy) even if you choose not to spend it.
• Any unspent energy (Energy) gained on a turn is lost at the end of the turn. Energy does not accumulate over turns, nor can it be given to other players.
• At the end of your turn, any Fuel or Tech cards you played are placed on top of your discard pile in any order.

b. Gain a card:

• You may gain a card from the top of any supply deck by spending energy (Energy) equal to the cost shown in the middle right-hand section of the card.
• When you gain a card, it is immediately placed on top of your discard pile.
• After you gain a card from a supply deck, immediately reveal the next card in that supply deck.
• Some cards have "BUY:" effects. When you gain this card, you immediately resolve its "BUY:" effect whether you paid energy (Energy) for it or gained it for free using an ability.

DISCARD ORDER: When you attack with a Weapon, place it on top of your discard pile after you have resolved its effect. When you gain a card, place it on top of your discard pile.

Any Fuel or Tech cards that you play are placed in your play area. At the end of your turn, during the draw phase, played Fuel and Tech cards will be placed in your discard pile in any order you choose.

c. Overcharge a Tech:

• The Tech supply deck has a special ability called Overcharge. To Overcharge a Tech, spend energy (Energy) equal to its cost, resolve its effect, and place it on the bottom of its supply deck. Overcharge offers you the opportunity for an immediate boost at the cost of not adding the card to your deck to use later.

Inventions cannot be Overcharged. For more information on Inventions, see page 29.

d. Gain a slot:

• You can spend 3 energy (Energy) to gain a slot. When you do this, move the yellow disc one space up on the slot track of your player mat.
• Slots determine how many Weapons you can have equipped during your turn.
• When the yellow disc is at the top of the slot track on your mat, you can't gain slots.

NOTE: Some Boss cards may result in you losing slots. This does not affect the number of Weapons you currently have equipped, only how many you may have equipped on your next turn. If you start the turn with more equipped Weapons than you have slots, you must attack with your Weapons until that is not the case.

e. Equip a Weapon:

• To equip a Weapon, place that card on the table above your player mat. You must have more slots than you have equipped Weapons in order to equip it.
• Some Weapons have an "EQUIP:" effect. This effect resolves immediately when you equip that Weapon.
• You can attack with your equipped Weapons during the attack phase of your next turn.

f. Power up:

• You may spend 2 energy (Energy) to power up.
• When you power up, move your blue disc up one space on your power track.
• You may not spend energy (Energy) to power up your allies or the Homeworld.
• You may not power up if you are at Full Power.

NOTE: Some Boss cards may result in you powering down. If an effect says to "power down once," you move your blue disc down one space on the power track.

g. Activate your ability:

• When you are at Full Power (i.e. the blue disc on your power track is on the top space), you can activate your ability. First, power all the way down (move the disc back to the 0 space). Then, resolve the text of your ability.
• You are allowed to activate your ability more than once a turn as long as you have enough power to do so.

h. Activate the Homeworld's ability:

• Some player cards and abilities allow you to power up the Homeworld. The Homeworld has a power track similar to the one on your player mat. You will move the blue disc up one space on the Homeworld's power track when the Homeworld powers up.
• During your main phase, anytime the Homeworld is at Full Power, you may activate the Homeworld's ability. First, power the Homeworld all the way down. Then, resolve the ability printed on the Homeworld card.
• You are allowed to activate the Homeworld's ability more than once a turn as long as it has enough power to do so.

i. Activate an Afterburn effect:

• Some player cards have Afterburn effects, which can be found on the left hand side of the card.
• An Afterburn effect can only be activated while in your discard pile. Keeping your discard pile splayed out can help you see what Afterburn effects are available to you.
• When you activate an Afterburn effect, resolve the text in the red box fully, and then leave the card in the same place in your discard pile.
• Once you have activated a card's Afterburn effect, you cannot activate it again until your next main phase. If you have multiple cards in your discard pile with Afterburn effects, you can activate them each once per main phase.

j. Fulfill/Activate your Team Attack:

• You will not gain access to your Team Attack until fight four of your expedition. When they are unlocked, find more information about Team Attacks on page 30.

Player Turn: 3 – Draw Phase

Once you have finished your main phase, place all of the Fuel and Tech cards you played this turn on top of your discard pile in any order. Then, you may discard any of the cards still in your hand to your discard pile in any order. Finally, draw cards from the top of your deck until you have five cards in hand.

If at any time there are not enough cards in your deck to draw or reveal a card, draw/reveal as many as you can and then flip over your discard pile to form a new deck and draw/reveal. At no point in the game do you shuffle your deck.

Notes:

• You are allowed to keep cards in your hand next turn instead of playing them. However, you are not forced to keep any cards you can't play or equip.
• You may look through your discard pile at any time, although you may not rearrange it.
• You may not look through your deck.

NO DECK SHUFFLING: Unlike many other deck-building games, you do not shuffle your discard pile when your deck is empty. You simply flip your discard pile over to form your deck. This allows you to plan out your coming turns based on what cards you know you are going to draw.

Boss Turn

Boss Turn Overview

Boss turns are divided into two phases: main phase and draw phase.

1. Main phase Resolve the "ACTIVATE:" effect on any level tokens in play, and then any Minions in play, from oldest to newest.
2. Draw phase Draw a card from the Boss deck.
   • If it is a Strike card, resolve its effect immediately and then place it in the Boss discard pile.
   • If it is a Minion card, place it into play, add health tokens to its health equal to its health plus any bonus health from the current level token, and resolve any "INSTANT:" effects. The Minion's "ACTIVATE:" effects will not be resolved this turn.

If the Boss deck is empty when you enter the draw phase, the Boss immediately levels up. See page 26 for more on leveling up.

If at any time a player's health is reduced to zero, that player is exhausted. See page 27 for more details.

AMBIGUITY: Boss cards may have ambiguous situations where it's not clear what or whom should be affected. In these cases, the players make that determination.

For example, if you are resolving a Boss card that causes the player with the lowest health to suffer damage and two players are tied for having the lowest health, the players decide who suffers the damage.

Another card may have the player with the most power suffer damage when no players have any power. In this case also, the players choose who will suffer the damage.

If a Boss card forces you to resolve an effect that cannot be fully resolved, resolve as much of that effect as possible.

For example, if a Boss card says "Any player destroys five cards in hand," and no player has five or more cards in hand, then the player with the most cards in hand must destroy all of their cards in hand.

Boss Turn: 1 – Main Phase

If the Boss has a level token, resolve any "ACTIVATE:" effects on it.

Then, starting with the Minion card that has been in play the longest, the players will resolve the "ACTIVATE:" effects of each Minion card in play.

Boss Turn: 2 – Draw Phase

Draw a Boss card:

If the drawn card type is:

• Strike card Resolve the card's effect immediately in the order that it appears on the card. Then, place the card in the Boss discard pile.

• Minion card Place the Minion card into play to the right of any other Minion cards in play, or if there are none, place it below the Boss mat.

  Then, add the number of health tokens indicated on the middle right of the card. When a Minion comes into play, it also gains bonus health equal to the number shown on the lower right corner of the Boss level token, if it has one.

  Finally, resolve any effect that follows the word "INSTANT:".

When resolving card effects:

• If an effect cannot be fully completed, resolve as much as possible. If you are given an option between two or more effects, you must choose an option you can fully resolve.

EXAMPLE: Solar Shockwave is drawn. It is a Strike, so its effect is resolved immediately. Its effect is "Any player suffers 4 damage. OR Activate a minion in play." If there is no minion in play, a player must suffer 4 damage.

• "ACTIVATE:" effects only occur during the Boss main phase. A Minion's "ACTIVATE:" effect will never trigger on the turn that it came into play.

EXAMPLE: Frostbite Bylak is drawn. Frostbite Bylak is a Minion, so it is placed into play with life tokens. Its only effect is an "ACTIVATE:" effect which does not trigger the turn it comes into play.

Boss Turn - Leveling Up

Empty Boss Deck - Level Tokens:

When the Boss would draw a card and the Boss deck is empty, one of two things can happen:

1. If the Boss has no more level tokens, the players lose.
2. If the Boss has any remaining level tokens, the Boss levels up and you resolve the following steps: a. Find the next level token and place it into play to the left of all of the Minions in play. The number at the top of the level token indicates in what order it should be put into play. The Boss starts the game on level 1, which is shown on the bottom of the Boss mat. Therefore, the first level token you place into play will be level 2. When this token is placed into play, set it so that the top overlaps the "LEVEL 1" shown at the bottom of the Boss mat. Subsequent level tokens will replace the previous level token. b. Resolve any "INSTANT:" effects on the token. c. Shuffle all of the cards in the Boss discard pile (including those that were placed there during setup) facedown to form a new Boss deck. d. Draw a card from the new Boss deck and resolve it. This ends the Boss draw phase for this turn.

EXAMPLE: After several rounds of play, Dirathian's Boss deck is empty. On Dirathian's next draw phase, it levels up. Dirathian is currently at level 1, so Bob finds the level 2 token and places it in the level section below Dirathian's mat. This level token has the "INSTANT: Minions in play gain 1 health." effect. Therefore, Bob increases the health of all of the Minions in play by 1 regardless of how much life they had because Minions do not have maximum life. This level token does not have an "ACTIVATE:" effect, but if it did, it wouldn't resolve this turn because "ACTIVATE:" effects only resolve during the Boss main phase. There is a +1 in the Minion bonus health section of the token, so any Minions that come into play for the rest of this level will come into play with an additional 1 health. Finally, Bob shuffles the Boss discard pile facedown to make a new Boss deck and draws a card from it.

NOTE: The number in the lower right is the Minion bonus health number. Whenever a Minion comes into play from now on, they will gain that much health. Both Minions from the main Boss deck and any additional Boss deck gain this bonus.

Exhausted

If a player's health is reduced to 0, that player is exhausted. Each Boss has a special effect that resolves when a player becomes exhausted. See the "When a player is exhausted" section of the Boss mat for this effect.

The exhausted player continues to participate in the game as usual with the following exceptions:

• Exhausted players cannot gain health.
• When a card deals damage to the player with the lowest health, it deals damage to the non-exhausted player with the lowest health. Players with 0 health are never considered "the player with the lowest health."
• When an exhausted player suffers damage, instead deal twice that amount of damage to the Homeworld. This includes excess damage when a player initially becomes exhausted.

If all players become exhausted, the game ends immediately and the players lose.

EXHAUSTED EXAMPLE: Later in the game during the Boss main phase, Abby and Bob draw Stomp from Dirathian's Boss deck. Its effect is "Any player suffers 2 damage."

1. Abby has 1 health, and Bob has 2 health. They decide to have Abby suffer the damage. The first 1 damage causes Abby to become exhausted. As a result of being exhausted, she resolves the following steps.
2. Dirathian's Boss mat says "When a player is exhausted, discard two cards from the Boss deck." Therefore, Abby discards two cards from the Boss deck.
3. The remaining 1 damage from the initial 2 damage is doubled and dealt to the Homeworld. Therefore, the Homeworld suffers 2 damage. Abby adjusts the Homeworld health dial from 16 to 14.

Game End

The game ends when any of the following conditions are met.

The players are victorious when the Boss has 0 health.

The players lose if any of the following conditions are true:

• All the players are exhausted (have 0 health).
• The Homeworld has 0 health.
• The Boss needs to draw a card when the Boss deck is empty and all of the Boss level tokens have already been played.

In addition, a Boss may have a specific victory condition listed on the Boss mat or on Boss cards that causes the players to lose in other ways.

Expeditions

Expedition Rules

Expeditions are a four-fight mini-campaign, where you will face randomized Bosses that get harder with each fight. Additionally, you'll unlock Upgrades after each fight to augment your Knights and make you stronger each fight. If you lose a fight, feel free to reset, swap around your Knights or Upgrade cards, and try again! Once you win your fourth Battle, you've defeated the expedition.

In this box, we've made a pre-written expedition for you to enjoy! To play our expedition, skip reading this rules section for now and begin reading the narrative book. You'll receive instructions there about how to set everything up, and when to come back here and read the rules.

After playing our expedition, you can use the rules below to create your own expedition out of any Astro Knights content you own!

[Note: In this product, we have included additional Battle cards and Knight Randomizers to cover the content of the original Astro Knights box and its expansion. If you do not own the original Astro Knights game, remove both Battle cards for Furion, Continnua, Architect-0815, and Lunaris, and the Knight Randomizers for Christina, Gavriil, Z.A.K.: Sharpshooter, Nasma, Silas, and Toli. If you do not own The Orion System expansion, remove both Battle cards for Fission Parasite, and the Knight Randomizers for Deleth and Alexios.]

Expedition Setup

1. Divide the Battle cards by the number on the cardback (1, 2, 3, or 4). Shuffle each set facedown to form the four Battle decks.
2. Shuffle your Invention cards facedown to form the Invention deck. Repeat this process for the Combo cards and the Team Attack cards.
3. Shuffle your Knight Randomizer cards facedown to form the Knight deck.
4. Decide what expedition rank you want to play: Standard, Advanced, or Legendary.

The Roster: Your Roster is the Knights that are currently available to be played in your expedition. Between fights, you can swap the Knight you are currently playing with a character on your Roster whenever you want. At the beginning of your expedition, reveal four cards from the Knight deck. Add these four Knights to your Roster. You can play as any of these characters for the first battle of the expedition. If you lose the fight, you can choose to change to another Knight on your Roster before trying again. After each battle, reveal another card from the Knight deck, and add that Knight to your available Roster.

The Cargo Bay: You can't bring every piece of equipment to each battle. The Cargo Bay is a space to the side of your game where you will put Upgrade cards when you earn them. Before each game, you will be able to choose which Upgrades to bring. The unchosen cards will remain in the Cargo Bay. At the end of each game, return your current Upgrades to the Cargo Bay. They can be chosen again for the next battle, or you may select from among the other cards still there.

Game Setup

Draw a card from the Battle 1 deck and set up the corresponding Boss at the difficulty indicated next to the expedition rank you have chosen. (For Battles 2–4, you will draw a card from that battle's corresponding deck.)

• For Battle 1, set up the rest of the game as normal. For Battles 2–4, you will gain access to Upgrades. See the rules for Upgrades below.
• Before choosing Knights in Battle 2, draw five cards from the Invention deck and add them to your Cargo Bay.
• Before choosing Knights in Battle 3, draw five cards from the Combo deck and add them to your Cargo Bay.
• Before choosing Knights in Battle 4, draw three cards from the Team Attack deck and add them to your Cargo Bay.

Each Boss has two Battle cards, in two different Battle tiers. If you draw the same Boss twice in one expedition, you can either redraw or choose to fight the Boss again at its new difficulty.

Apocalypse Difficulty: When you are playing a Legendary rank expedition, you will have to face some Bosses on Apocalypse difficulty. Apocalypse difficulty follows the same rules as Nightmare difficulty, but with these adjustments to setup:

• The Homeworld suffers 5 damage.
• Before drawing the first card from the turn order deck, resolve a Boss turn.

TOO HARD? If you lose to the same fight twice in a row during your expedition, you can always take the Boss down to the difficulty below the one you are currently fighting them at. (Apocalypse → Nightmare → Expert → Normal.) If you're fighting a Boss on Normal and still struggling, try putting the Shield-Bo card into play with 3 health, and starting the Homeworld with 3 additional health.

Upgrades

At the beginning of each battle starting with Battle 2, you will gain new Upgrade cards. Specific setup is required for the Upgrades:

Inventions:

For Battles 2–4, each player chooses an Invention from the Cargo Bay to use for this game. This card is tucked slightly under your player mat. During your main phase, you may gain your Invention by paying its energy cost, as if it was a card at the top of a supply deck. Inventions are not considered a part of the supply, or a supply pile. At the end of the game, return all Inventions to the Cargo Bay.

INVENTIONS: Invention cards have a special border around their text box, a unique card type, and belong to no supply pile. Inventions cannot be Overcharged. When another card or effect refers to Fuel, Tech, or Weapons, Inventions of the matching type are considered cards of that type. For example, an effect that says return a Weapon from your discard pile to your hand would allow you to pick up an Invention-Weapon.

Combo Cards:

For Battles 3–4, each player chooses a Combo card. Combo cards trigger when an ally does something specific. The Combo gives you the listed benefit. Once you choose your Combo, you then need to choose which ally will trigger the effect. Place a player number token for that player on your Combo card. Each player must choose a different ally. Your Combo will only trigger when your chosen ally performs the described action, and you will be the only player who gains the described benefit. At the end of the game, return all Combos to the Cargo Bay.

COMBOS: When you choose a Combo, place the player number token of the chosen ally in the blank spot on the bottom of the card. There is an additional set of player number tokens included in this game for this purpose. Each player must choose a different ally. Between games, you may change which ally's token is on your Combo, just like you can change any other Upgrades.

NOTE: Make sure you're paying attention to your allies! When choosing your Combo, ask your teammates what strategies their Knights use so that you can partner up with an ally who will trigger your Combo often. If your Combo activates when an ally gains a slot, for example, make sure to pick an ally who will be focused on gaining lots of Weapons and slots!

NOTE: Combos almost always activate during your chosen ally's turn, but they can be triggered at any time. For example, if you play a card on your turn that powers up an ally and you have the Breaking Wave Combo which triggers when that ally powers up, you would immediately get the benefit of your Combo when you finish resolving the card that triggered it entirely.

Team Attacks:

For Battle 4, the players must work together to choose one Team Attack card for their whole team. This card is placed next to the supply. Set one disc of each color (red, blue, and yellow) next to this card. Team Attack cards have requirements that need to be met before the reward is gained. During each player's turn, that player may complete a requirement. When they do, they place the corresponding color disc on that requirement. A player cannot complete more than one requirement per turn. During any player's turn, if the Team Attack card has all three discs on it, that player may activate the reward. If they do, remove all the discs from the Team Attack card. That Team Attack may be used again later once all of the discs have been put on it again.

The discs will remain on the Team Attack until it is activated. Players cannot choose to fulfill a requirement that is covered by a disc.

TEAM ATTACKS: On any player's turn, they can complete the text in a box to fulfill that requirement, marking the completed section with a disc. All three sections must be completed before the reward can be resolved, and the reward must be gained before any section can be completed again.

EXAMPLE: Abby is taking her turn and decides she wants to contribute towards her team's Team Attack: No Knight Left Behind. On a previous turn, her teammate Madison destroyed a card in her hand that cost 4 Energy, and placed the red disc over the red requirement on the Team Attack card.

Abby has a Weapon in her hand that costs 5 Energy, and is at three power. She has the resources to fulfill both the blue and yellow requirements on the Team Attack, but she's only allowed to complete one per turn. She decides to discard her 5 Energy cost Weapon because she knows Madison will be able to power down. She takes the blue disc and places it over the blue requirement, marking that it's done. She then takes the rest of her turn.

On Madison's next turn, she plays her Fuel cards and then spends 4 Energy to power up twice. After powering up, she chooses to power back down twice in order to fulfill the yellow requirement. She takes the yellow disc and places it over the yellow requirement to show that it's been completed.

Now the Team Attack is fully charged, so Madison could choose to immediately resolve it and remove all three discs to set her or Abby's health to 10. However, she chooses to wait until they suffer more damage, so the discs remain on the Team Attack card.

Solo Play

You can play solo as multiple separate Knights where you control all of those Knights. If you choose to play like this, just follow the rules as normal for the player count related to the number of Knights you chose to play. It is recommended that you don't play with more than two Knights.

When playing with only one Knight, you are your own ally. For example, if a card powers up an ally, you power up yourself. You don't lose the game when you are exhausted. Additionally, there are only three player turn order cards in the turn order deck. Otherwise, play the game as normal.

Variable Difficulty

Astro Knights has adjustable difficulty. Follow the Boss mat as written to play in Normal mode. There are two additional difficulties: Expert and Nightmare. To play either of these increased difficulty modes, find the Boss token that is marked with that mode and follow the rules on it. These tokens can affect setup, Boss rules, and which level tokens you use during the game. More info on these tokens can be found on page 9.

Game Terms

Activate These effects are resolved during the Boss main phase. See page 24 for more information.

Afterburn The Afterburn effect of a card can only be used when it is in your discard pile. Afterburn means "Once per turn, during your main phase, if this is in your discard pile, you may resolve this effect." You can use this effect when you gain this card on your turn since it will be in your discard pile during your main phase. These effects are found in the upper left side of the card. They are formatted so that you can splay your discard pile sideways to easily see what Afterburn effects you have access to.

Ally An ally is any player other than you.

Any Ally/Player When an effect refers to "any player," it affects exactly one player. The same is true for "any ally." It affects exactly one ally.

Attack These effects are resolved during a player's attack phase. See page 19 for more information.

Bolster Some cards have the keyword "BOLSTER:". When a card with a "BOLSTER:" effect is discarded during an ally's turn, the player who discarded the card receives the benefit of the "BOLSTER:" effect. A discarded card is placed into your discard pile before any "BOLSTER:" effect triggers.

Buy Some cards have "BUY:" effects. When you gain this card, you immediately resolve its "BUY:" effect whether you paid energy (Energy) for it or gained it for free using an ability.

Defeated Some Minions have the keyword "DEFEATED:". When a Minion with a "DEFEATED:" effect is discarded from play, the player who discarded that Minion resolves the "DEFEATED:" effect as completely as possible.

Destroy Cards that are destroyed are permanently removed from the game and are not used or interacted with in any way once they are destroyed. Boss cards that are destroyed are not placed into the Boss's discard pile, and they are not shuffled back into the Boss deck when the Boss levels up.

Equip These effects are resolved when a player equips that Weapon.

Exhausted When a player's health is reduced to 0, they become exhausted. See page 27 for more information.

Instant Level tokens and some Minions have "INSTANT:" effects. These effects resolve as soon as the card or token is placed into play.

"OR" effects When a card gives two options separated by an "OR," you may choose either option. If a Boss card has an "OR" and you can fully resolve only one of the options, you must choose the effect that you can fully resolve.

Overcharge The Tech supply deck has a special ability called Overcharge. To Overcharge a Tech, spend energy (Energy) equal to its cost, resolve its effect, and place it on the bottom of its supply deck. Overcharge offers you the opportunity for an immediate boost at the cost of not adding the card to your deck to use later.

Powers Down Powering down once means to move your blue disc down one space on the power track. Powering all the way down means to move your disc to the 0 on that track.

Credits

Game Design: Nick Little, Sydney Engelstein, and Will Sobel

Game Inspired by Aeon's End by Kevin Riley, Jenny Iglesias, and Nick Little

Art Direction: Bill Bricker and Sydney Engelstein

Illustrations: Gong Studios

Graphic Design: Bill Bricker

Editing: Anilyka Barry and Rachael Mortimer

Playtesters: Ella Burke, Anna Hobson, Lisa Walston, Anilyka Barry, Wesley Dasher, Scott Kapraun, Cayden Kapraun, Jon Dunn, James Peterson, Steven Richardson, Will Pflug, Patrick Jost, Chris Rees, Aaron Molnar, Sean Hagans, Amy Falk, Derrick Vo, Rui Jin, and Abel Kim

Missing any components? Email [email protected].

© 2023 Indie Game Studios. Oakland, CA 94610. All rights reserved.