Battle for Biternia: Pixelvania
Battle for Biternia: Pixelvania Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
10 Hero cards, 40 Power cards, 10 Reference cards, 10 Hero standees, and 42 small tokens (14 Shield, 14 Attack, 14 Chill).
New Terms and Concepts
This Hero Pack introduces a new term to the world of Biternia: Drain.
Drain X: An attack with Drain directly removes X HP from the targeted enemy Hero, ignoring their defense value and Shield tokens. If no target is otherwise specified, you may choose a target Hero in the same space to apply the Drain to.
Advanced Variant: Draft Bans
While we do not recommend this variant for beginning players, Draft Bans can help make your games more strategic once you've really gotten a feel for the game.
To play this variant, simply add this step between Step 1 and Step 2 of the "Draft Your Heroes" rules on page 6 of the original rulebook for Battle for Biternia:
The player with initiative chooses 1 Hero to ban, then the other player chooses 2 Heroes to ban, then the player with initiative chooses 1 Hero to ban. Banned Heroes cannot be selected by any players for the upcoming game. Then, the draft proceeds normally.
New Heroes
Pixelvania comes with 10 new Heroes. These can be incorporated into any game of Battle for Biternia without any additional rules changes, or played on their own.
The gameplay notes below are as printed in this rulebook. The Hero flavour text is omitted.
Ahananski, the Spider Queen
Gameplay notes: This mobile assassin-type Hero excels at catching her enemies out of position and locking them in place long enough for your team to exploit that advantage.
Blake, the Black Knight
Gameplay notes: The Black Knight relies upon her armor to protect her as she slowly saps the life from her foes. She can use her Shield tokens to bypass enemy defenses and drain their health directly if they are allowed to stick.
Daphne Bleik, the Banshee
Gameplay notes: The Banshee is all about timing. Set up enticing targets near her location and allow your enemy to whittle them down; every hit they land makes Daphne's eventual turn more effective.
Gavriil, the Seraph
Gameplay notes: Gavriil wields a suite of interrupt-timed powers that do very little to harm your enemies and an awful lot to defend your allies, as well as open up fresh avenues of ingress into your opponent's territory.
JaFox, the Werewolf
Gameplay notes: The disruption-supporting Werewolf provides players with an oscillating style of combat that rewards the perfect timing with devastating attacks and demoralizing amounts of healing.
Kristof, the Slayer
Gameplay notes: Use Kristof's deep and diverse toolbox to dole out lethal damage to your enemies and much-needed healing to your allies.
Lord Emba Fye, the Vampire
Gameplay notes: Take advantage of the HP-gaining abilities to top off without having to Rest, while your opponents are forced to fall back from the attrition you dole out.
Phil Anges, the Bone Mage
Gameplay notes: Chill your enemies to the bone with a series of attacks that blunt the edge of their assault, and rest easy knowing that even in death your Heroes' abilities will pay off.
Rabocse Samoht, the Demon
Gameplay notes: Rabocse Samoht has a rather selfish playstyle that makes him perfect for a solo lane. Your enemies will have a hard time recovering while fighting against him.
Whisper, the Fury
Gameplay notes: A ranged assassin who provides devastating support to your team from afar for as long as you can keep her out of harm's way.
Errata and Rules Clarifications
We've updated some rules and clarified some interactions from the base set of Battle for Biternia. These rules and adjustments should apply to all games, both with and without the Pixelvania Hero Pack.
Do I discard cards before or after I level up my Heroes?
- Level up first.
- The Cleanup Phase is timed as follows:
- Each side gains 2 gold.
- The side with initiative levels up their Heroes, if desired, adding new Hero Power cards to their hand as they do so.
- The side without initiative levels up their Heroes, if desired, adding new Hero Power cards to their hand as they do so.
- The side with initiative then discards any number of cards from their hand and draws up to maximum hand size.
- The side without initiative does the same.
- Flip the initiative token over.
My Hero/Structure was defeated. When is damage dealt to my Bit?
Damage is dealt immediately.
How do "Hit" effects interact with Structures?
Cards will attempt to resolve their "Hit" effects whenever they deal damage. However, as Structures cannot gain tokens, become stunned, be moved, or be repositioned, they will still ignore the ramifications of most, but not all, "Hit" effects out there.
- Example 1: The Avast! card, which reads: "Attack 2. Hit: Stun and immobilize". This "Hit" effect would do nothing when used against a Structure, as Structures cannot be stunned or immobilized. The damage would still be dealt.
- Example 2: The Plunder card, which reads: "Area Attack 3. Hit: For each affected enemy, gain 1 gold." This "Hit" effect does not specify it must be an enemy Hero, just an enemy, so damaging a Structure with it would produce a gold.
How does "targeting" work?
Most attacks and abilities "target" one or more Heroes. The exception is the Area keyword, which does not "target" anything. Abilities that affect "all" Heroes don't "target" anything, either. This is relevant for many game effects, particularly Stealth.
When do special Hero tokens go away?
Tokens associated with Heroes vanish when that Hero dies (Ice Wall, Bear Trap, Stone Tokens, etc.). The exception is the Hunter's Favored Enemy token, which is never removed.
When do non-Hero tokens go away?
- Shield tokens persist until they are removed by taking damage.
- +1 Attack tokens and Chill tokens persist until after the affected character's next activation, at which point they are removed from the Hero regardless of whether they attacked.
- Confusion tokens persist until the affected Hero is assigned a card, which is assigned from the top of the owner's deck rather than their hand. Remove all Confusion tokens on a given Hero after they assign a card in this way.
How do Chill tokens work?
The original rules for Chill tokens were laid out in Dazeem, the Ice Mage's kit. Now that they are more widely available, we have made some changes to these tokens. They should now be considered non-Hero tokens with the following ruleset:
- Each Chill token on a Hero subtracts 1 from all of that Hero's attacks.
- All Chill tokens on a Hero are removed at the end of that Hero's next activation or when that Hero is stunned, regardless of whether an attack was actually made during that activation.
- Chill tokens are not removed when the Hero who placed them is defeated.
Are Chill tokens Hero tokens?
Not anymore! Because Chill tokens are now applied by more than one Hero, they are no longer removed upon the death of the Hero who inflicted them. This is a change from the base game.
Initiative and Timing Clarifications
- Structures are resolved before channeled abilities.
- The player with initiative's Structures resolve prior to their opponent's Structures, if applicable.
- If multiple channeled abilities must be resolved at the end of the Action Phase, players alternate resolving channeled abilities, starting with the side that has initiative.
- The player with initiative must choose how to spend their gold first during cleanup.
Key Terms
Adjacent
Spaces are adjacent if they are connected by a path and are not obstructed by an enemy Tower.
Area
These attacks affect all enemies (including applicable enemy Structures) in the same space as the attacking Hero. Area attacks do not target any particular Hero, nor do they affect friendly Heroes or Structures.
Attack Token
Each +1 Attack token on a Hero adds 1 to all of that Hero's attacks. All +1 Attack tokens on a Hero are removed at the end of that Hero's next activation or when that Hero is stunned, regardless of whether an attack was actually made during that activation. +1 Attack tokens are not removed when the Hero who placed them is defeated.
Channeled
Effects written after the word Channeled only take place at the end of the Action Phase, after all Heroes and Structures have activated. If there are multiple Channeled effects to resolve, the player with initiative resolves one, followed by the other player, and alternating until all Channeled effects have been applied.
Chill Token
Each Chill token on a Hero subtracts 1 from all of that Hero's attacks. All Chill tokens on a Hero are removed at the end of that Hero's next activation or when that Hero is stunned, regardless of whether an attack was actually made during that activation. Chill tokens are not removed when the Hero who placed them is defeated.
Confuse
Place a Confusion token on the affected Hero. During the next round's Orders Phase, assign the top card of the action deck to each of your confused Heroes rather than a card from your hand. You may look at the card after assigning. Then, remove all Confusion tokens from your Heroes. Confusion tokens cannot be applied to a Hero who already has one, and are not removed if the Hero who placed them is defeated.
Drain X
An attack with Drain directly removes X HP from the targeted enemy Hero, ignoring their defense value and Shield tokens. If no target is otherwise specified, you may choose a target Hero in the same space to apply the Drain to.
Enemy
Any Hero on the opposing team.
Friendly
Any Hero on your team, including yourself unless otherwise indicated.
Heal X
Target a friendly Hero in your space and increase their HP tracker by the amount healed (X). If a Hero would heal past their maximum HP, the extra healing is lost.
Hit
Effects written after the word "Hit" only take place if the preceding attack inflicted at least 1 point of damage to an enemy. If no damage was inflicted (usually because the enemy's defense was too high or because the attack only removed Shield tokens), the attack is not considered to have "Hit" and any dependent effects are not applied. It is possible for some attacks (such as Area attacks) to affect some enemies with Hit effects and not others.
Immobilize
When a Hero becomes immobilized, turn their standee on its side. The next time that Hero would move (for any reason), stand it back up instead of moving it.
Interrupt
Interrupts can be used at any time to interrupt the normal flow of play and immediately activate the interrupting Hero instead. While a card with Interrupt is assigned (face-down) to a Hero, its controller may reveal it during another Hero's action. Immediately resolve its effects and then finish resolving the action that was interrupted. If the targets of the interrupted action are no longer legal, the interrupted action does not resolve.
Jungle
This icon depicts special spaces on the map that are used during variant play.
Physical/Magical
Attacks can be either Physical or Magical. There is no inherent difference between the two, but certain effects care about one or the other.
Pierce X
An attack with Pierce ignores the first X points of defense on the target.
Purge
When a Hero is Purged, remove all +1 Attack tokens and Shield tokens from them.
Ranged
These attacks may target any enemy Hero or Structure in the same or an adjacent space.
Self/Other
When an ability is followed by "Self" or "Other," the range of potential targets is limited. "Self" means the ability can only target the user, while "Other" means the ability cannot target the user.
Shield X
Target a friendly Hero in your space and give them X Shield tokens. When a Hero with one or more Shield tokens would take damage (after defense value is applied), remove one Shield token for each point of damage that would be dealt, reducing the incoming damage by the number of Shield tokens removed. If any damage remains, it is applied normally. Shield tokens are not removed when the Hero who placed them is defeated.
Stealth
Heroes with Stealth cannot be targeted by enemy attacks or abilities. Abilities and attacks that do not require a target, such as Area attacks, can still affect Heroes with Stealth.
Structure
All Towers and Bits are considered to be Structures.
Stun
When a Hero is stunned, immediately discard all action cards on that Hero (both face-up and face-down).