Berserk: War of the Realms Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• Components
  • Damage and effect tokens
  • Card anatomy
• Card Types
  • Realms
  • Creatures
  • Areas
  • Artifacts
  • Equipment
• Setting Up the Game
  • Game components
  • Set up phase
  • Your first game
  • Placing your army on the battlefield
    • Game zones
    • Card placement
    • Beginning the battle
• Important Game Concepts
  • Adjacency
  • Alert/Exhausted
  • Standard combat roll
• Turn Sequence
  • The alert phase
  • The action phase
• Performing Attacks
  • Resolving melee attacks
  • Defense roll
  • Declaring a Protector
  • Resolving ranged attacks
  • Resolving spells and abilities
  • Damage
  • Blocked effects
  • Play continues
• Golden Rules
• Glossary
  • Action Types
• Deck Building
• Multi-player Games
  • 4-Player Team Game
  • 4-Player Alternating Action Team Game
  • 4-Player Draft Game

Introduction

Berserk is tactical card game for two players who take the role of Ungars striving for magical power against their rivals. There is no place for peaceful negotiations in the tormented world of Laar, so the only way to achieve victory is to defeat all of your opponents in battle. In order to be victorious, players recruit an army of soldiers and abominations from different realms and use them to obliterate their enemies' forces to prove themselves worthy.

Components

Damage and effect tokens

Press the tokens out of the punchboard — you will need them during the game.

• Damage Tokens
• Extra life point
• Positive modifier
• Negative modifier
• Poison
• +1 movement point
• Receives 1 more damage from attacks
• Armor 2
• Incarnation token
• Negative condition

Card anatomy

The card anatomy diagram is not reproduced in this copy of the PDF. The callouts it labels are: Dark realm, Mountains, Neutral, Cost, Basic strike, Movement, Life points, Class, Abilities, Card number, Forests, Plains, Swamps, Fire, Expansion symbol.

Card Types

There are two general types of cards in Berserk: Elite and Regular. Elite cards are denoted by a gold color in their cost symbol on the upper left of each card, while Regular cards are colored silver (see page x). Beyond being Elite or Regular, cards are also broken down into one of four category types: creatures, artifacts, areas and equipment.

Realms

Realms are factions, races or affiliations in the world of Laar, such as Mountain, Forest, or Swamp. Every card belongs to one or more of these realms, which is denoted by a realm symbol(s) in its upper right corner of the card (see card anatomy on page x). Cards with multiple realm symbols are considered to belong to each realm shown. For example, if a card were to have both a Mountain Realm symbol and a Plains Realm symbol, then that card would be considered to be both a Mountain card and a Plains card. The realm(s) a card belongs to is important when recruiting armies at the beginning of the game and when interacting with certain card effects.

Creatures

Creatures are the most common type of card in Berserk. Each player will recruit one or more creatures to form an army at the beginning of the game and use these creatures to battle against his opponent's forces.

Areas

Areas represent special locations in the world of Laar which bring additional abilities and tactical options to those who control them. Players can only have one area card in play at a time.

Artifacts

Artifacts represent powerful relics or shrines that empower the armies that control them with enhanced effects and abilities.

Equipment

Equipment cards represent items that are attached to creature cards at the beginning of the game and provide various enhancements or abilities to the creature that they are attached to.

Setting Up the Game

Before each game of Berserk can begin, each player must have a deck from which to build their armies and then follow several steps in order to prepare the battlefield for combat.

Game components

The Deck. In Berserk, each player must have a deck consisting of between 30 and 50 cards, containing no more than three copies of any single card (see deck construction rules on page x for more details).

The game board. Players take the two halves of the game board and place them next to each other in the center of the play area (see diagram). This will form the battlefield where the majority of the action in Berserk takes place. Note that the game board is not necessary for play; players can simply place their cards on the table in an imaginary 5x6 grid. While this kind of play requires some thought as to where the squares on the battlefield are, it isn't difficult to do with practice.

Tokens and dice. Place the various tokens and dice to the side of the play area within easy reach of all players. They will be used often throughout the game.

Set up phase

Once the game components are in place, players are ready to build the armies they will use to battle their opponents. The following steps outline how to determine who will act first in the battle (called Player 1), how to determine starting resources, how to spend those resources on cards from your deck, and how to place those cards on the battlefield to prepare for battle.

Determine first player. Randomly determine who will be Player 1. Alternatively, players can decide amongst themselves who will be Player 1.

Determine starting resources. In Berserk you purchase cards using "gold" and "silver" (called resources). Each player calculates their resources based on if they are the first or second player and the number of realms that will be in their starting army (see chart). Note that the number of realms that a player has in their deck or in their starting hand has no effect on the amount of resources a player may spend, only the number of realms a player will have in their starting army.

The "Your resources" chart (rows: Number of realms; columns: Player 1 and Player 2, giving the gold and silver amounts) is not reproduced in this copy of the PDF; only its labels survive. The two worked examples below are printed in the text.

Important note: neutral realm cards are not counted as a realm for calculating starting resources.

Resources Example 1: If player 1 were to recruit a starting army consisting of Plains cards, Neutral cards, and Swamp cards, they would have 23 Gold and 22 Silver to spend.

Resources Example 2: If player 2 were to recruit a starting army consisting of only a single Realm + Neutral cards, they would have 25 Gold and 23 Silver to spend.

Draw starting hand. Each player shuffles his deck and draws 15 cards. Cards that remain in the deck are set aside.

If a player does not like their starting hand, they can shuffle the cards back into their deck and draw 14 cards to form a new starting hand (this is called a mulligan). Players may continue to mulligan their starting hand as many times as they wish, drawing one less card each time, until they are only able to draw one card. In such a case a player may not mulligan further but must keep the single card they have drawn.

Recruiting. From their hand a player recruits cards for their army according to the amount of resources at their disposal (see above). Elite cards (gold cost icon) can only be purchased for gold pieces. Regular cards (silver cost icon) can be purchased with either gold or silver pieces. The cost of a particular card is shown on the upper left corner of the card (see card anatomy on page x). Note that Elite cards are unique, so there can be no more than one copy of each in your army, but you can recruit as many different Elite cards in your army as your gold resources allow.

When choosing your army it makes sense to pick Elite cards first because they play a key role in battles and often form the core of your strategy. If there are any gold resources remaining after you have recruited your Elite cards, you may use those resources to purchase Regular cards. Unspent resources have no further effect on the game. Any remaining cards in your starting hand that you did not recruit are shuffled back into your deck and set aside.

Your first game

In order to get acquainted with Berserk we recommend you play your first game using only 10 gold and 10 silver pieces to recruit units for your army. This makes it easier to get to know the different units and abilities and how to manage your army. Once you are familiar with the basic rules and abilities of the cards, try playing with the full amount of resources.

Placing your army on the battlefield

Game zones

Battlefield. In Berserk, battles are fought on a battlefield consisting of squares. Each player's half of the battlefield is made up of a zone measuring 5 squares wide and 3 squares deep. It is in this zone that each player will place his starting army.

Additional Zone. The additional zone is a space to the side of the board where flyers and Area cards are placed after being revealed. It is an area to the side of the battlefield and does not consist of any squares. Any number of cards can be placed in this zone.

Deck. A player's deck contains cards that the player did not draw during the recruiting step of the battle, and those he did not purchase for his army. Place your deck to the side of the battlefield after the recruiting phase.

Graveyard. The graveyard is an area to the side of the board where cards are placed after dying or being destroyed (or through some other card effect).

Card placement

After recruiting their starting armies, each player places his cards on the board, one at a time, starting with the first player. All cards are initially placed face down, including flyers, equipment cards, symbiotic creatures and area cards. Only one card may be placed in each square.

When placing cards on the battlefield, Player 1 uses a 3x3 section on his half of the battlefield. Player 2 places his cards on his side of the board in the same way but can use all 5 squares of his Row 1 instead of just the center three (see the diagram on this page).

The placement diagram (Player 1 and Player 2, Rows 1 to 3) is not reproduced in this copy of the PDF.

If a player has used all of their available squares shown in the diagram, they can use the remaining squares of his Row 2 and/or Row 3. If these squares are used as well, a player can use the remaining squares in his Row 1. If all of these squares are used but a player still has cards in his starting hand, those cards may not be placed and are shuffled back into the deck.

Beginning the battle

After both armies have been placed on the battlefield, Player 1 turns all of his cards face up. Player 2 then turns all of his cards face up except for any cards in his Row 3 — they remain hidden until the beginning of his first turn. If a player targets a hidden card with an attack or card effect then it is immediately revealed before resolving the attack or effect. Any time a flyer or area card is revealed it is immediately placed into the additional zone (see above).

Note that if a player has any Equipment or Symbiotic cards in their army, they must be revealed and attached at the beginning of the game. If a player reveals Equipment or Symbiotic cards at any other time (such as when Player 2 reveals their Row 3 on their first turn) they are immediately placed into the Graveyard without effect.

Important Game Concepts

There are several key concepts and definitions that players should be familiar with when playing Berserk.

Adjacency

An important concept in Berserk is adjacency. Throughout the game there are many times when a card will need to identify a square or card that is adjacent to itself or to another card. In Berserk, a card or square is considered adjacent to any other neighboring card or square (horizontal, vertical or diagonal). Cards in the additional area are not considered adjacent to any other card or square on the battlefield. Cards that occupy the same square (such as a creature with an Equipment or Symbiotic card attached) are considered adjacent to each other.

Alert/Exhausted

In Berserk an alert card is defined as being orientated in an upright position in front of its controller to indicate that it may act or defend itself from basic strikes. When a card becomes exhausted (through acting or other card effect), it is turned 90° clockwise.

Illustration of Alert and Exhausted cards should be moved here (the illustration is not present in this copy). Labels: Alert card; Exhausted card.

An exhausted card cannot spend movement points or perform actions that require exhausting as a cost (see action phase below). Whenever an exhausted card becomes alert, it regains all of its movement points.

Standard combat roll

A standard combat roll is made whenever an attack is declared, or any time an ability is used that lists the "x-y-z" format (such as Heal 2-3-4). The combat roll determines what type of attack or effect was produced:

• Light result (the "fist" face in the printed examples): A creature deals a light attack or effect. (1, 2 or 3 for ordinary D6)
• Medium result (the "sword" face in the printed examples): It deals a medium attack or effect. (4 or 5 for ordinary D6)
• Strong result (the "axe" face in the printed examples): It deals a strong attack or effect. (6 for ordinary D6)

The attacker's die faces are icons that are not reproduced in this copy of the PDF; the face names and the printed D6 equivalents are given above.

Example of a Standard Combat Roll: An attacker declares a Shot 2-3-5 and rolls the white attacker's die and gets a "sword" result indicating a medium attack.

Note that if an ability or attack would affect multiple targets at once (such as the Redeemer's ability to heal multiple creatures in one action), you only make a single standard combat roll and apply the effects to all targets.

Turn Sequence

Starting with the first player, each player takes a turn following two distinct phases of play: the alert phase and the action phase. During a player's turn, that player is considered the "active" player. Only the active player may perform actions with their cards during a turn unless an ability specifically triggers off of an opponent's action (e.g. the Elf Spellsinger).

The alert phase

At the beginning of a player's turn, that player alerts all of his exhausted cards (unless a card is prevented from becoming alert due to an effect).

During the alert phase different abilities or effects may trigger such as poison and incarnation, but it is important to note that alerting cards comes before any other effects including effects that trigger "at the beginning of the turn" or "when a card becomes alert". If multiple abilities or effects are to resolve simultaneously, then the active player decides the order in which the effects are applied.

The action phase

During the action phase, the active player may move and act with each of his alert cards. An exhausted card may not move, defend itself against basic strikes, or perform actions that list exhausting as a cost (see exhausting in the Glossary).

Each turn an alert card can perform one or more of the following in any order the controlling player wishes:

Move (movement icon). Movement points represent how many squares a creature can move during its turn. When moving, creatures can move to any unoccupied adjacent square forward, backward, left or right. Creatures cannot move diagonally, move through an occupied square, or swap places with another card. If a creature moves 1 square, it spends 1 movement point. A creature can move until it has spent all its movement points or until its controller chooses not to move it further. A creature that has multiple movement points does not have to spend all of them at once, a player may choose to move a creature one square, then act or move with another creature, and then return to a previous creature that still has remaining movement points and move it again. A creature regains all of its movement points whenever it becomes alert (even if it becomes alert in the middle of the current turn due to a card effect).

Example of movement: The illustration below shows some common moves made during the first turn of Player 1. (The illustration is not present in this copy of the PDF.)

Perform an action. A creature may perform an action printed in its ability box (see page x for card anatomy). If the action has the exhaust symbol before it (exhaust icon) then the creature is turned 90° clockwise and is considered exhausted after using the ability (this is called a cost). Some actions may generate attacks (see below for further details on how to resolve attacks).

Abilities that do not list exhausting as a cost may be used by a creature that is either alert or exhausted when the appropriate conditions are met (e.g an Elf Spellsinger may use his ability whether he is alert or exhausted). If such an ability lists may in its text then it is an optional ability that the player can choose to use when the listed conditions are met. However, if an ability does not list may in its text, then the ability must be used when the listed conditions are met (e.g. White Chimera must use its ability when your first creature dies, even if it is himself).

Unless an ability states that it can only be used a limited number of times (e.g. "once per turn", "once per game", etc) then it can be used as many times per turn as the conditions for using it are met.

Perform a basic strike (basic strike icon). A basic strike is a melee, non-magical attack that all creatures in Berserk possess (see page x for card anatomy). Performing a basic strike causes a creature to become exhausted immediately after the attack resolves. Note that when an alert creature is targeted by a basic strike it makes a defense roll (see below). See resolving melee attacks below for more details on how to resolve a basic strike.

Note: A player can act with their cards in any way and in any order they wish. For example, a player could move all of their creatures first and then act with each of them in any order. Or a player could move a creature first and then use another creature to declare an attack, then return to the previous creature and perform an action with it. The order in which a player moves and acts with their cards is only limited by their strategic decisions.

Performing Attacks

There are two types of attacks in Berserk: melee attacks and ranged attacks. Each attack will list what type of attack it is, followed by one or more numbers which indicates how much damage the attack deals. Most attacks are presented in an "x-y-z" format (e.g. Shot 2-3-5) indicating that the attack deals a variable amount of damage based on a standard combat roll (see below). The "x-y-z" format is arranged as "light-medium-strong", which tells what type of attack or effect was produced.

Attacks that just have a single number listed after its type (e.g. Shot 1) deals the listed damage regardless of the die roll (although the die is still rolled to determine if a light, medium, or strong effect was produced). When a creature performs an attack, it is considered to be the "attacker" and its target is considered to be the "defender".

Resolving melee attacks

Melee attacks come in three types: basic strike, magical strike, or special strike (see Glossary for more details on each type). To perform a melee attack a creature targets an adjacent creature and makes a standard combat roll (see above). The attacker then deals damage to the defender equal to the type of attack performed.

Example of a melee attack: An attacker performs a basic strike 2-3-4 and rolls an "axe" result (indicating a strong attack). The attacker inflicts 4 damage to its target.

Defense roll

When a creature performs a basic strike against an alert creature, the defending creature rolls the black defender's die at the same time that the attacker rolls the white attacker's die. Whether or not the attack succeeds is based off the result of the defender's die:

Result of the defender's black die (you may also use an ordinary D6):

• Attack hits (1, 2, 3 or 4 for ordinary D6): The attacking creature's attack hits and does damage as indicated by the attacker's combat roll.
• Both miss (5 for ordinary D6): Both the attacking and defending creatures miss.
• Defender strikes back (6 for ordinary D6): The attacking creature misses and the defending creature deals a light basic strike.

The defender's die faces are icons that are not reproduced in this copy of the PDF; the printed D6 equivalents are given above, and the result names are descriptive only.

Note that only alert creatures can roll the black defender's die and they can only do so against basic strikes not special strikes, magical strikes, ranged attacks, abilities or spells. Rolling the defense die does not cause a creature to become exhausted afterward unless that creature was declared as a protector (see below). An alert creature may make any number of defense rolls in a turn against any number of basic strikes as long as it remains alert.

An attack or ability that misses deals no damage and any associated abilities that trigger afterward do not resolve (e.g. if the Archdemon performs a basic strike and it misses, its Fire Wave ability does not resolve).

Example of a defense roll: An alert creature with a basic strike of 1-2-2 is the target of an opponent's basic strike. The player rolls the defender's black die at the same time as his opponent rolls the white attacker's die and rolls an "axe" result indicating that the attacker's strike misses and the defender deals a light basic strike to the attacker, which deals 1 damage.

Note: as you can see, an attack against an exhausted card is always successful since the defender cannot roll the defense die.

Declaring a Protector

Any alert creature adjacent to both the attacker and to the target of the attack can be declared as a protector against a basic strike. The attack is redirected to the protector, who rolls the black defense die as normal. After the attack resolves, the protector becomes exhausted. A player can only declare a protector against basic strikes not magical strikes, special strikes, ranged attacks, abilities or spells.

Resolving ranged attacks

Ranged attacks come in three types: shots, throws, and blasts (see Glossary for more details on each type). Many ranged attacks have a range listed which indicates the maximum number of squares away that the target can be from the attack. A player can count range however he wishes, including counting diagonally, as long as the target is no further away than the maximum range of the attack. For example, an attack listed as "Shot 2-3-5 Range 3" would mean that the target of the attack would need to be within three squares of the attacker. If a ranged attack does not have a range listed, then it is considered to have an unlimited range.

To perform a ranged attack, the attacker chooses a non-adjacent target within range and makes a standard combat roll (see above). The attack deals damage equal to the result of the combat roll.

Example of a ranged attack: An attacker declares a Shot 2-3-5, picks a target within range, and makes a standard combat roll getting a "fist" result (indicating a light attack). The attack deals 2 damage to the target.

Resolving spells and abilities

Some spells and abilities are treated like attacks requiring a standard combat roll, having a range, dealing damage, etc, but they are not considered attacks. Resolve these types of abilities using the steps listed above where appropriate.

Damage

When a successful attack, spell or effect deals damage to an opponent's card, place damage tokens on that card equal to the damage dealt. A card dies immediately, when the number of damage tokens on its card equals or exceeds the number of life points the card has. A card that dies is immediately placed into its owner's graveyard.

Blocked effects

Some abilities may block an attack or effect, such as a creature with Protection from Magic being targeted by a spell. If an effect is blocked, it deals no damage and any associated abilities do not resolve (e.g. if the Elf Sage uses his blast ability and it is blocked, he may not heal any damage afterward). Any cost paid for an ability or attack that is blocked (such as exhausting) remain paid.

Play continues

Ending the turn. After a player has moved and/or acted with all cards they intend to use, their turn ends and play passes to their opponent. A player does not have to move and/or act with all of their cards if they choose not to.

Second player's turn. When Player 1 has finished his turn, Player 2 begins his first turn by turning the cards in his Row 3 face up if they are still hidden. Player 2 then follows the same turn sequence listed above. After player 2 has finished their turn, game play passes to their opponent.

Winning the game. The battle continues as above, until all of one player's creatures have been eliminated (or all of one team's creatures in a multiplayer game). The player (or team) that has creatures in play at the end of the game is declared the winner.

Golden Rules

Rule of the Axe. If the text on the card contradicts the text of the Rulebook, the text on the card has priority.

Rule of Legality. If an action cannot be performed according to the Rulebook or the text on the card, it is considered illegal. This action is cancelled without payment of its cost (for example, a card does not become exhausted).

Rule of Cycles. There may be situations, when according to the rules, certain sequences must be repeated an infinite number of times. In such cases these sequences must be interrupted after the first repetition.

Rule of Duration. Unless otherwise stated on a card, abilities and effects last until the end of the game.

Rule of Legal Effects. In Berserk, an ability may not target a card if the target does not fulfill all requirements of the ability. For example, an ability that reads "exhaust target creature and deal 2 damage to it" cannot be used on a creature that is already exhausted, since not all of the effects can be produced.

Rule of Stacking. If an ability has a flat number listed with it (e.g. Poison 2), then it does not stack with similar abilities, only the stronger of the two values apply. For example, if a creature with Armor 1 gains Armor 2, it only has Armor 2, not Armor 3. Additive or subtractive abilities do stack however. For example, if a creature has +1 to basic strikes and gains +2 to basic strikes, it would have +3 to basic strikes.

Rule of Memory. In Berserk, cards that leave play and go to the graveyard "remember" things that occurred while they were in play. For instance, if a card uses an ability that is "once per game" and it is later placed into the graveyard, that ability may not be used again even if the card is returned to play through some card effect (the card "remembers" that it has used the ability once already). However, this rule of memory does not apply if a card is returned to the deck. For instance, if a card has used an ability that is "once per game" and is later placed back into the deck, it may use that ability again if it is returned to play through some card effect.

Glossary

Ability. Any text that appears in a creature's ability box just above any flavor text on the card (see page x for card anatomy), is called an ability. An ability which is proceeded by the exhaust symbol (exhaust icon) means that the creature becomes exhausted immediately after performing the ability (this is called a cost). Any ability that requires exhausting as a cost may not be performed by a creature that is already exhausted.

An ability that does not have exhausting listed as a cost may be performed by a creature while it is exhausted. If such an ability lists may in the text then it is an optional ability, otherwise the ability must be performed.

Act/Action. Acting with a card means attacking with it, casting a spell, using an effect, or using one of the card's abilities. The chart to the right contains all of the types of actions in Berserk that a card may perform. Any text in quotes before the description of an abilities effect (e.g. "Bonds of Pain" or "Aether Wave") is there for flavor text only; it has no actual effect on gameplay.

Action Types

• Melee attacks: basic strike, special strike (non-magical); magical strike (magical).
• Ranged attacks: shot, throw (non-magical); blast (magical).
• Not attacks: effect (non-magical); spell (magical).

Additional zone. The additional zone is a space to the side of the board where flyers and area cards are placed after being revealed. There are no squares in the additional zone and cards placed here are not considered to be adjacent to any other cards in play. There is no limit to the number of cards that can be in the additional zone.

Adjacent. A card or square is considered adjacent to any other neighboring card or square (horizontal, vertical or diagonal). Cards that occupy the same square (such as a creature with an Equipment or Symbiotic card attached) are considered adjacent to each other.

Aimed strike (aimed strike icon). When a creature with this ability declares a basic strike, the opposing player may not declare a protector for the target of the strike.

Alert card. An alert card is turned upright in front of its controller. A player's cards become alert during the alert phase (see turn sequence on page x). Whenever a card becomes alert, it regains all of its movement points.

Areas. Area cards are placed on the battlefield face down just like other cards at the beginning of the game. When area cards are revealed they are moved to the additional area just like flyers. Unlike creatures, areas cannot attack, be attacked, or receive damage. Each player may only have one area card in play at a time.

Armor X. A creature with armor ignores the first X non-magical damage dealt to it each turn.

Artifacts. These cards are placed on the battlefield like creatures but cannot attack with basic strikes, roll the defense die, be declared as protectors, be healed, or gain extra life points. Artifacts are immune to poison and vampirism and cannot have equipment cards.

Attack. An attack is defined as a basic strike, special strike, magical strike, blast, shot or throw. Spells and abilities are not attacks.

Attacker/Attacking creature. A creature that declares or performs an attack.

Attacked creature. A card that was chosen as a target of an attack or ability. Also called a defender.

Attack skill. Each time a creature with this ability attacks, it may reroll the attack die once. An attack skill X allows a creature to make up to X rerolls for each attack it makes. If you choose to reroll, you must apply the result of your latest die roll, you cannot go back to a previous result.

Basic Strike (basic strike icon). A melee, non-magical attack. Every creature in Berserk has a basic strike.

Basic attributes of a card. These are the card's cost (gold or silver), life points (life points icon), movement points (movement icon) and basic strike (basic strike icon). See card anatomy on page x.

Before the die roll. If an ability states that it is used "before the die roll" (e.g. Elven Ranger) then the ability must be used before any dice are rolled during an attack or resolution of an ability.

Behind. Some abilities may refer to creatures "behind" itself. This means the adjacent creature directly behind the creature only, not creatures that may be diagonally behind the creature.

Blast. A ranged, magical attack.

Blessing. Whenever a creature with this ability rolls a die, it may reroll that die once. If you choose to reroll, you must apply the result of your latest die roll, you cannot use a previous result. Blessings stack with other types of rerolls such as the attack skill or defense skill. A creature can only have one blessing at a time.

Block. Certain effects can cause an attack or effect to be blocked. If an ability or attack is blocked it deals no damage and any additional effects that trigger afterward are not resolved (e.g. if the Elf Sage uses his blast ability and it is blocked, he may not heal any damage afterward). Any cost paid for an ability or attack that is blocked (such as exhausting) remain paid.

Class. Some cards have italicized text at the top of their card such as Draconid, Demon, Elf, or Hero which identifies the card's class (if there is no such text then the card does not have a class). A card's class may affect how that card interacts with other cards.

Deck. A deck is where players will draw their cards from to form their starting hand (see page x). After the game begins, a player's deck is set to the side of the battlefield where certain effects may interact with it (e.g. an Astralmancer). Any time a card is returned to, or interacts with, a player's deck, that player shuffles their deck. For rules on deck building, see page x.

Defense skill. When an alert creature with this ability rolls the defense die against a basic strike, it may reroll that die once. A defense skill X allows a creature to make up to X rerolls each time it is targeted with a basic strike. If you choose to reroll, you must apply the result of your latest die roll, you cannot use previous results. Note that a player may not use the defense skill with abilities that roll the defense die as part of its effect (e.g. Stout Hirdman).

Destroy. If a card is destroyed, it is moved to the graveyard without dealing any damage. A card that is destroyed has all tokens and ongoing effects removed and is placed into the graveyard.

Dies. A card dies when it has an amount of damage on it equal to or greater than its maximum life points, or when it is destroyed. After a card dies, any tokens or ongoing effects are removed and the card is placed into the graveyard.

Elite. An Elite card is denoted by a gold color in their cost symbol on the upper left corner of the card. A player can only have one copy of each Elite card in play at a time, but may have any number of different Elite cards in play that they can afford to recruit.

Equipment. There are five types of equipment cards: armor, shields, weapons, boots and potions. At the beginning of the battle, equipment cards are placed face down on the battlefield like other cards. When they are revealed they are placed on other creature cards that their controller chooses — these creatures become the owners of that equipment. You cannot place equipment on flying creatures or creatures without a class (see Glossary). If a creature gains flying during the battle or leaves the battlefield or any reason, its equipment is destroyed — place the equipment in the graveyard. If the owner of the equipment loses its class during the battle, the creature retains its equipment. You can place any number of equipment cards on a creature but each piece of equipment must be of a different type. Equipment moves with its owner. Equipment cards cannot attack, be attacked, or be dealt damage.

Equipment type icons: Armor; Shield; Weapon; Boots; Potion (icons not reproduced in this copy of the PDF).

Exhaust/Exhausted (exhaust icon). An exhausted card is turned 90° clockwise, indicating that it can no longer spend movement points or perform actions that require exhausting as a cost.

Flying creatures. Flying creatures are placed in the additional zone when revealed at the beginning of the game. If a non-flying creature gains flying during a game, it moves to the additional area immediately. A creature in the additional area that loses flying is immediately placed on the battlefield by its controller in any empty square.

Flyers are not considered to be adjacent to any other creature in play, including other flyers. Flying creatures can attack or use an ability on any creature in play regardless of range. Declaring a Protector against the basic strike of a flying creature can be done by another flying creature or by a non-flying creature adjacent to the attacked creature. A flying creature cannot become a protector for a non-flying creature that is attacked by another non-flying creature. However, any flying creature can be a protector for any other flying creature. Any creature may perform a ranged attack (shot, blast etc.) against any flying creature regardless of the attack's range. Non-flying creatures on the battlefield cannot attack flying creatures with basic strikes as long as there are non-flying creatures on the battlefield that their opponent controls. If there are only flying creatures left in an opponent's army, your non-flying creatures can attack them with basic strikes as if those opponent's creatures were adjacent to your creatures. Flying creatures cannot be attacked by special strikes or magical strikes at all.

Graveyard. A game zone located next to the battlefield. Creatures that die or are destroyed are placed there.

Heal X. An effect which removes X damage from a target creature.

Incarnation X. At the beginning of your turn put an incarnation token on each card in your graveyard that has the incarnation trait, as long as it was in your graveyard at the beginning of your turn (cards that die during the alert phase, such as from poison, do not gain an incarnation token). As soon as there are X incarnation tokens on the card, return it to the battlefield immediately in your Row 3, exhausted. If there is no room in your Row 3, it may not return until a square is available. This ability can be used once per card, per game. Note that even with incarnation, you may not have more than one of each Elite creature in play at a time.

In front. Some abilities may refer to creatures "in front" of itself. This means the adjacent creature directly in front of the creature only, not creatures that may be diagonally in front of the creature.

Jump, range X. This ability is used instead of movement. To use the jump ability, the creature spends all of its movement points and moves to any empty square in range X (see range below for details on how to count range). A creature using jump may move over occupied squares while moving.

Magical attack. A magical attack is either a magical strike or blast. Damage from magical attacks are not reduced by the armor ability.

Magical strike. A melee, magical attack. Protectors cannot be declared against magical strikes.

Melee attack. A melee attack is either a magical strike, basic strike, or special strike. Melee attacks may only be made against adjacent targets.

Miss. If an attack misses it deals no damage and any additional effects that trigger after the attack are not resolved (e.g. if the Archdemon performs a basic strike and it misses, its Fire Wave ability does not resolve).

Non-magical attacks. A non-magical attack is either a basic strike, special strike, shot, or throw. Damage from non-magical attacks is affected by armor.

Poison X. A creature that is affected by a poison ability gains poison counters equal to X. When a creature becomes alert during its alert phase, it takes a number of damage equal to the number of poison counters on it. If the creature is already alert at the beginning of its turn, it still takes the damage. If the creature could not become alert (due to some effect or spell) it doesn't take any damage from poison. Note that multiple poison conditions do not stack, only the strongest value applies (see stacking rules on page x).

Protector. Any alert creature adjacent to both the attacker and to the target of the attack can be declared a protector against a basic strike. The attack is redirected to the protector, who rolls the defense die as normal. A player can only declare a protector against basic strikes, not magical strikes, special strikes, ranged attacks, or spells. Immediately after the strike resolves, the protector becomes exhausted.

Protection from... If the target of an attack, spell, or effect has protection against that action, then the action is blocked no damage is dealt to the target and any associated abilities of the action are not resolved (see blocked above).

Protection from blasts (icon). Blocks blasts.

Protection from shots (icon). Blocks shots.

Protection from magic (icon). Blocks blasts, magical strikes and spells (even your own).

Protection from poison (icon). A creature with this ability cannot be poisoned.

Protection from spells (icon). Blocks spells (even your own).

Protection from throws (icon). Blocks throws.

Ranged attack. A ranged attack is either a shot, blast, or throw. Some ranged attacks may have "Range X" listed with them (see range below). Ranged attacks may not target adjacent creatures.

Range X. This is an important parameter for shots, throws, blasts, spells and effects. It determines the maximum number of squares on the battlefield that the target can be away from the origin of the attack or ability. If a range is not specified in the text of the ability, then the range is unlimited. When counting range, players may count squares any way they wish, including diagonally, as long as the target is X squares or less away from the origin of the attack or ability.

Rank. Some abilities have the keyword "Rank" listed before them. If a Creature with a Rank ability is adjacent to one or more friendly creatures that also have a Rank ability (vertically or horizontally only, not diagonally), then all of their Rank associated abilities function. If a creature isn't adjacent (vertically or horizontally) to another friendly creature with a Rank ability, then its Rank associated abilities do not work.

Regeneration X (icon X). A creature with the regeneration ability heals X damage to itself when it becomes alert during its alert phase. If the creature is already alert, regeneration still heals the creature. If a creature is prevented from becoming alert (due to a card effect), regeneration does not work.

Regular. Regular cards are denoted by a silver color in their cost symbol on the upper left of each card.

Scale. While a creature with scale has 5 or more damage on it, it can only receive further damage from basic strikes. Damage from any other source (ranged attacks, magical strikes, spells, abilities, etc) is ignored. Note that when scale is active it does not block any abilities or non-basic strike attacks that target the creature, it just reduces any damage from them to zero.

Shot. A ranged, non-magical attack.

Standard combat roll. This is a roll made any time a creature performs an attack, spell, or ability that deals damage to an opponent (see page x).

Special strike. A melee, non-magical attack. Protectors cannot be declared against special strikes.

Spell. Some abilities are preceded by the keyword "Spell". These are magical abilities but are not considered attacks. Some spells may have a range listed similar to a ranged attack, but unlike ranged attacks spells may target adjacent creatures. If no range is listed with a spell, its range is considered to be unlimited.

Strike. A strike is either a basic strike, special strike, or magical strike. Ranged attacks, spells and abilities are not considered strikes.

Symbiotic creatures. At the beginning of the battle, when a symbiotic creature is revealed, place it on another creature, which becomes a "host" to the symbiotic creature. Symbiotic creatures can move only with their hosts and may not move on their own. Each host can only have one symbiotic creature. If the host leaves the battlefield, its symbiotic creature dies. Flying creatures and other symbiotic creatures cannot become hosts. If a creature can be a protector for the host, it can be a protector for that host's symbiotic creature as well. The host can be a protector for its own symbiotic creature and the symbiotic creature can be a protector of its host. The symbiotic creature can also be a protector for any creature that its host can be a protector of.

Teleportation. This ability is used instead of movement. Move the creature to any empty square on the battlefield. Teleportation spends all of a creature's movement points. A creature with zero movement points may still use teleportation, but an exhausted creature may not.

Throw. A ranged, non-magical attack.

To the right/left. Some abilities may refer to creatures "to the right" and/or "to the left" of itself. This means the adjacent creature(s) directly to the right or left of the creature only, not creatures that may be diagonally to the right or left of the creature.

Vampirism. Whenever a creature with the vampirism ability deals damage to any creature with a basic strike, it heals an amount of damage equal to the damage dealt. If the attacked creature had less life points then the total damage dealt, vampirism heals wounds equal to the life points that the attacked creature had remaining. If the attacking creature heals to its maximum life points through vampirism, or was already at its maximum life points, and there is still unused healing remaining, it gains one extra life point for each point of unused healing, permanently.

Some creatures with vampirism may have text that says "up to X life points" which indicates the maximum life point total a creature may reach by using vampirism. If no such value is listed, a creature may gain an unlimited amount of life points through vampirism.

Deck Building

The Berserk base set comes with six starter decks designed to teach the basics of playing the game. After playing a few games with one or more of the starter decks, players may wish to begin customizing their decks to suit their own individual styles of play.

When customizing decks there are a few rules that apply. A deck must contain between 30 and 50 cards, and a player cannot include more than three copies of a single card in their deck. Other than those two rules, players are free to customize their decks in any way they wish, using any ratio of gold and silver creatures and any mix of different realms they choose.

Multi-player Games

Berserk can support play for up to four players at once. When playing with more than two players, there are three variants that players can choose from: 4-player team game, 4-player alternating action team game, and the draft format.

4-Player Team Game

Set up. Four players arrange themselves into teams of two. For this game the battlefield is twice as wide (i.e. 10 squares wide). Teams sit on the same side of the table, one player in front of each 5x6 section of the battlefield. The 1st Player places all of his cards on the battlefield, placing them on any square on his section of the battlefield, or on his teammate's side. After the 1st player places all of his cards, his opponent directly across from him places his cards in the same way (but on his side of the battlefield). Afterward the 1st player's teammate places his cards in the same way, and then finally the last player places theirs.

Gameplay. The game starts with the 1st player as normal. That player moves and acts with his cards following the normal rules of play until he announces "end of turn". At that point his opponent directly across from him moves and acts with all of his cards, followed by the 1st Players teammate, and then finally the last player.

Average game time for this format is between 60-180 minutes.

4-Player Alternating Action Team Game

Set up. Four players arrange themselves into teams of two. For this game the battlefield is twice as wide (i.e. 10 squares wide). Teams sit on the same side of the table, one player in front of each 5x6 section of the battlefield. The 1st Player places all of his cards on the battlefield, placing them on any square on his section of the battlefield, or his teammates. After he places all of his cards, his opponent directly across from him places his cards in the same way (but on his side of the battlefield). Afterward the 1st player's teammate places his cards in the same way, and then finally the last player places theirs.

Gameplay. The game plays as normal, with the following exception. Each player, on his or her action, may only move and/or act with one card. After the 1st player moves and/or acts with one of his cards, his opponent across from him does the same, then the 1st player's teammate, then finally the last player. Play then proceeds back to the 1st player who then moves and/or acts with his second card, followed by the opponent across from him, and so on. A player may "pass" during his action and not act or move any of their cards, but may still take an action when their action comes around again. This continues until all players have passed consecutively. Once all players have passed, the turn ends and a new one begins (triggering all beginning of turn effects, such as cards becoming alert, taking Poison damage, etc).

Average game time for this format is 60-120 minutes.

4-Player Draft Game

Set-up. Shuffle one complete set of cards from a Berserk base set and any cards from any expansions that players wish to use into one deck. From that deck deal 3 stacks of 12 random cards to each player, so that each player will have 36 cards total in 3 different stacks. To keep the game interesting don't reveal any cards to anyone.

Draft procedure. Each player takes one of his stacks, chooses 1 of 12 cards, and then passes the rest to the player to his left and takes 11 cards from the player to his right. Players continue to choose one card at a time, while passing and taking diminishing stacks. After the first set of stacks is completely depleted players repeat the draft with their second and third stacks. When passing stacks, alternate which direction the cards are passed so the first stack is passed clockwise between players, the second stack — counterclockwise and the third stack — clockwise again.

Deck construction. Once each player gets a pool of 36 cards, they then have to construct a deck. A game deck must consist of a minimum of 30 cards, so a player is allowed to remove up to 6 cards from their pool. Draft games aren't played differently from regular games, and players pick one of the above multi-player formats to resolve the game.