Clash of Decks: Breaching In Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Standalone Expansions
• Object of the Game
• Setup
• Formats
  • Preconstructed (beginner level)
  • Draft (intermediate level)
  • Constructed (expert level)
• Cards
  • Creature Cards
  • Incantation Cards
  • Stronghold Card
  • Special Abilities
• Duel Mode
  • Phase 1 - Mana Regeneration
  • Phase 2 - Summoning
  • Phase 3 - Assault
• Attacking a Creature
• Attacking the Stronghold
• Game End
• Solo Mode
  • Solo Mode - Quick Play
  • Solo Mode - Custom Play
• Champion Module
  • Champion Setup
  • Champion Summoning Conditions
  • Champion Re-Summoning Conditions
• Special Abilities

Standalone Expansions

A standalone expansion is a pack of 36 cards that can complete and renew your gaming experience. Each standalone expansion can be played on its own, but they can also all combine with one another for a considerably deeper gameplay and infinite replayability.

The Initiation Pack (formerly Starter Kit) is a 36-card deck that lets players discover Clash of Decks easily.

6 standalone expansions will be published in 2022: Treachery, Submersion, Breaching In, Deliquescence, Elusive, and Resistance.

Object of the Game

Build a deck of 8 Creature or Incantation cards and fight other Lord-Sorcerers in order to destroy their Forts! To do so, try to reduce your opponent's Health Points (HP) to 0. This HP total is represented by the 8 cards that begin the game in your hand and the way your Stronghold card moves in your hand. You always see the position and orientation of your opponent's Stronghold in their hand, depicting how many HP they have left.

Setup

Before starting a game of Clash of Decks, the players agree on a Format and a game Mode.

1. Choose a game Mode depending on the number of players:

   • 1 player: Solo
   • 2 players: Duel

   More game Modes for 3 or 4 players will soon be available (Teams, Free For All).

2. Choose a game Format: Preconstructed, Draft or Constructed; then prepare your Deck accordingly.

   Exception: For a Solo game, you cannot choose the Constructed format.

Then, follow the 5 setup steps:

1. Place the 2 Bridge cards in the play area.
2. Each player receives 1 Stronghold card.
3. Each player shuffles the cards in their Deck and takes them all in hand.
4. Each player places their Stronghold card at the leftmost position in their hand, Bastion side up.
5. Toss a coin to determine the 1st player.

The play area consists of 2 lines, each line expanding both sides of a Bridge card. There is no limit to the number of cards that can be placed on a line.

Player A's Kingdom is located on the left of the Bridge cards. Player B's Kingdom is located on the right of the Bridge cards. It is therefore recommended for the players to sit side by side.

Golden Rule: In the event of a contradiction, the text of a Special Ability always prevails over the rules.

Formats

Preconstructed (beginner level)

You only need one copy of the Initiation Pack. This format is recommended for your first games. Each player chooses 1 of the 4 preconstructed Decks listed on the right.

Solo Play: The cards from the 3 other Decks will constitute the AI's Deck (page 7).

Draft (intermediate level)

You will need a copy of the Initiation Pack and of at least one standalone expansion. This format is recommended once you have tried each of the preconstructed Decks. Players choose cards from a shared deck pile to build themselves a hand of 8 unique cards (along with the Stronghold).

1. Form the deck pile by shuffling all the cards.

2. The players select cards by following these steps: a. Reveal the first 4 cards from the deck pile. b. Player A chooses 1 of the 4 available cards. c. Player B chooses 2 of the 3 remaining cards. d. Player A takes the last card.

   If the players have less than 8 cards in hand each, return to step a., interverting Players A and B.

Constructed (expert level)

Each player must own a copy of the Initiation Pack. To best optimize deck construction, we recommend you own each standalone expansion. This format is destined to experts who perfectly master the game's mechanisms, as well as the synergies between Special Abilities.

Before starting the game, each player builds their own Deck by choosing 8 cards among all the cards in the game.

Clarification: Duplicates are forbidden in all Formats. Each Deck must include 8 different cards.

Cards

Each Creature and Incantation card has a Mana cost indicated in their upper left corner.

Creature Cards

Creatures have a Health Points (HP) value in the "shield" icon and an Attack value (AV) in the "axe" icon. Creatures enter play and stay in play until destroyed.

Incantation Cards

Incantations can be played by the Active Player at any moment during Phase 2: Summoning. An Incantation can target any Creature (including the player's own Creatures) but can never target the enemy's Stronghold. When an Incantation is played, its effect is immediately resolved. The card is then returned to the rightmost position in their owner's hand.

Stronghold Card

Each Stronghold card has a Bastion side and a Fort side. When "Stronghold" is mentioned, it refers to the card, regardless of the side that is up in their owner's hand.

The Stronghold card represents their owner's HP, according to its position in the hand. Destroyed cards returning in hand naturally shift the Stronghold card to the left, therefore replenishing the player's HP and Mana. This mechanisms compensates a player for losing a Creature, rebalancing the power balance between the players as the game progresses. The more Creatures you have in play, the less cards you automatically have in hand, increasing the risk that your Stronghold reaches the rightmost position in your hand.

Note: A player whose only card in hand is their Stronghold card loses the game.

Note: Clash of Decks cards are compatible with 56x87mm sleeves.

Special Abilities

The icons below depict the Special Abilities borne by some Creature or Incantation cards. Each Special Ability on a card in play is active at all times and automatically triggers: if it can apply, then it must apply. A Creature cannot stack multiple instances of the same Special Ability.

The Special Abilities are named and explained in the Special Abilities section below.

Note: When several Creatures must trigger Special Abilities effects, resolve them in this order: first, Creatures on the upper line, from furthest from the Bridge to closest to the Bridge; then Creatures on the lower line, from furthest from the Bridge to closest to the Bridge.

Duel Mode

A game is played over a succession of turns, starting with the 1st player's turn. The player whose turn it is is called the Active Player. A turn is broken down in 3 Phases:

Phase 1 - Mana Regeneration

The Active Player gains as much Mana as they have cards in their hand (Stronghold card included).

Exception: The first player only gains 6 Mana at the start of their first turn (instead of 9).

During their turn, the Active Player can use their Mana in Phases 2 and 3 to play cards from their hand. Unspent Mana is lost at the end of a turn.

Note: When a player plays a card from their hand, a new card in their hand becomes immediately available and can be played during the current turn if the player has enough Mana.

Note: Depending on the number of cards in hand, playing the same Incantation multiple times in a row is possible.

Phase 2 - Summoning

The Active Player can spend their Mana to play cards from their hand (Creatures and Incantations). They can choose not to play any card. They can only play the 4 leftmost cards in their hand at this time (not accounting for the Stronghold card), if they can pay the Mana cost.

A player cannot spend more Mana than they have at this point. When a player plays a Creature, they place it face up in the play area, on the line of their choosing, always on their Kingdom's side and behind any Creature already in play on that line. A Creature remains in play until destroyed.

Phase 3 - Assault

Each Creature controlled by the Active Player attacks, with the exception of Creatures played during the current turn. Creatures activate in the following order: first, Creatures from the upper line, from furthest away from the Bridge to closest to the Bridge; then Creatures from the lower line, from furthest away from the Bridge to closest to the Bridge. A Creature deals its AV to the enemy Creature which is the closest from the Bridge on its line. If no enemy Creature can be attacked, the attacking Creature deals damage directly to the enemy Stronghold.

Attacking a Creature

When a Creature suffers at least as much Damage combined as its HP value, it is destroyed: excess Damage is lost and the card returns to the rightmost position in their owner's hand. If necessary, the owner immediately moves all their Creatures on that line toward the Bridge, filling the space that was thus freed.

A Creature that was not destroyed replenishes all its HP at the end of a turn. An attacked Creature does not strike back.

Note: If several Creatures are destroyed at the same time, the cards return to the right of their owner's hand in this order: first, Creatures from the upper line, from furthest away from the Bridge to closest to the Bridge; then Creatures from the lower line, from furthest away from the Bridge to closest to the Bridge.

Note: Excess Damage being lost, it is possible to absorb a high-value attack with a Creature with low HP.

Attacking the Stronghold

When a Stronghold card takes Damage, shift that card that many positions to the right in the player's hand.

If the Bastion reaches the rightmost position in a player's hand, it is destroyed: rotate the Stronghold card so that the Fort is side up (and the Bastion side down) and put the Stronghold card back to the leftmost position in their owner's hand. Excess Damage dealt to the Bastion does not carry over to the Fort.

If the Fort reaches the rightmost position in a player's hand, that player immediately loses the game. Once the Active Player has resolved their Phase 3, their turn ends and their opponent becomes the Active Player.

Game End

The game ends as soon as a player's Fort reaches the rightmost position in their hand. Their opponent wins the game.

Solo Mode

The Solo Mode lets you play Clash of Decks alone, in Quick or Custom play. All the base game rules apply. If a Solo Mode rule contradicts the rules, the Solo Mode rule prevails. AI refers to the Artificial Intelligence the Player faces in the Solo Mode.

Solo Mode - Quick Play

Setup of the Preconstructed Format: The player chooses 1 of the 4 preconstructed Decks listed on page 4. The cards from the 3 other Decks will form the AI's Deck.

Setup of the Draft format:

1. The Player receives 1 Stronghold card.
2. Place the 2 Bridge cards in the play area.
3. Form a deck pile by shuffling 32 cards.
4. The Player selects cards by following these steps: a. Reveal the first 4 cards from the Deck. b. The Player chooses 1 of the 4 available cards, giving the remaining 3 cards to the AI. c. If the Player doesn't have 8 cards in hand, return to step a.
5. The Player shuffles the cards in their Deck and takes them in their hand.
6. The Player puts their Stronghold card to the leftmost position of their hand, Bastion side up.
7. Shuffle the AI's 24 cards and stack them face down to form the AI's deck pile.
8. Place 1 Stronghold card, Bastion side up, under the AI's deck pile.
9. The Player is the 1st Player.

Gameplay: Your turn plays strictly the same as with the Duel Mode rule.

Reminder: You only have 6 Mana on the 1st turn.

The AI's turn plays as follows:

Phase 1 - Mana Regeneration: During Quick Play, the AI gains a fixed amount of 6 Mana and a variable amount of 1 Mana per Creature the Player currently has in play.

Phase 2 - Summoning: Reveal the top card of the AI's deck pile and place it on the upper line in the AI's Kingdom, behind any Creature already in play. If the total Mana value of the cards summoned in the AI's Kingdom this turn is lower than the AI's available Mana, reveal the top card of the AI's deck pile and place it on the lower line of the AI's Kingdom, behind any Creature already in play. Continue summoning cards, alternating between upper and lower line, until the value of the cards summoned by the AI this turn reaches or exceeds its available Mana.

If the AI reveals an Incantation card, the latter always targets the enemy Creature closest to the Bridge on that line. If there is no such target, the AI doesn't spend Mana, the Incantation card has no effect and it is discarded to the AI's discard pile.

The AI's discard pile is located next to its deck pile and consists of its destroyed Creatures and used Incantation cards.

Phase 3 - Assault: When the AI suffers a direct attack from the Player's Creatures, put as many cards from the top of the AI's deck pile face up in the AI's discard pile as it was dealt Damage. When the AI's deck pile is empty and its Bastion revealed, rotate its Stronghold card so that the Fort is now side up, and form the AI's deck pile again by shuffling the AI's discard pile face down and stacking it on top of its Fort.

Game end and win conditions: The game ends in 2 cases:

• If the Player's Fort shifts to the rightmost position in their hand, the AI immediately wins the game.
• If the AI's deck pile is empty and its Fort is revealed, the Player immediately wins the game.

Solo Mode - Custom Play

Customize the AI's difficulty level and try progressing to level 10!

We recommend that you practice with a few Quick plays before trying Custom Play, to ensure you master the rules and specifics of Clash of Decks' Solo Mode.

1. After the Draft, choose a difficulty level between 1 (very easy) and 10 (very hard).
2. Customize the AI by allocating as many difficulty points as the chosen level among the chosen parameters: a. Determine the variable amount of Mana during the AI's Mana Regeneration phase:
   • +2 Mana for each Creature you have in play (2 difficulty points) b. Determine the fixed amount of Mana during the AI's Mana Regeneration phase:
   • 7 (1 difficulty point)
   • 8 (2 difficulty points)
   • 9 (3 difficulty points)
   • 10 (4 difficulty points) c. Determine the 1st Player:
   • The AI (1 difficulty point) d. Determine the AI's resistance:
   • Attacks against the AI's deck pile only inflict 1 Damage each (2 difficulty points) e. Choose Special Abilities gained by all of the AI's Creatures (difficulty points in parentheses):
   • Sharpening (1), Aquatic (1), Berserk (1), Catalyst (1), Vanish (1), Instinct (1), Perforation (1), Protection (2), Rage (2), Splash (1), Sprint (1)

Champion Module (page 9): You can choose to play with a custom Champion card. In this case, subtract 2 difficulty points from your Difficulty Level.

3. Play!

Champion Module

Champion cards are not featured in the Initiation Pack or the standalone expansions: these cards can only be created via the online card generator. Champion cards can be printed for free as Print and Play or ordered as Print on Demand on PVC cards via the publisher's online store.

Champions are an optional module which adds new rules to the game. A Champion is a Creature with specific elements; all rules applying to Creatures therefore apply to them. If a Champion Module rule contradicts the base rules, the Champion Module rule prevails. The Champion Module can be played in the Draft and Constructed formats, as well as in the Duel and Solo - Custom Play modes.

Advice: If you are not in a capacity to print or have Champion cards printed, you can simply designate any Creature card which is not part of your Deck as your Champion.

Champion Setup

After building their Decks, the players choose and reveal their Champion card. Each player chooses a single Champion card for the whole duration of the game. A Champion is not held in hand with the other Creatures or Incantations that belong to a player's Deck. It is instead placed face up on the table, near the play area, outside of the players' Kingdoms.

Champion Summoning Conditions

A Champion can be summoned like any other Creature, by paying its Mana cost. A Champion can be summoned during any Invocation phase, it is always considered as being among the 4 leftmost cards in their owner's hand. When you summon a Champion, pay 1 less Mana for each Creature, from both Kingdoms, that shares its exact Mana cost. An exhausted Champion cannot be summoned: it must be readied first.

Champion Re-Summoning Conditions

When a Champion is destroyed, it is not returned to their owner's hand. It is instead exhausted (turned horizontally) and placed near the play area again. As long as a Champion is exhausted, it cannot be summoned. As soon as any player (or AI for the Solo Mode) plays a card with the same exact Mana cost as a Champion, ready (straighten vertically) that Champion card.

Special Abilities

Important: "owner" refers to the card bearing the Special Ability.

Aerial: If the owner is on the upper line, it cannot attack enemy Creatures. It directly attacks the enemy Stronghold, ignoring enemy Creatures. Additionally granting the Rage Special Ability to the owner on the upper line has no effect. Additionally granting the Defender Special Ability to the owner on the upper line would prevent it from attacking Creatures as well as the enemy Stronghold.

Aquatic: As long as the owner is adjacent to a Bridge, it deals double Damage. If the owner has the Sprint Special Ability, the attack bonus granted by Sprint will also be doubled.

Aura: Aura is always paired with another Special Ability. As long as the owner is in play, adjacent Creatures on the same line benefit from its paired Special Ability. The owner itself doesn't benefit from that Special Ability. As soon as the owner is moved or leaves play (returning back to their owner's hand), the two potential adjacent Creatures lose the effect granted by the Aura.

Berserk: Each time the owner attacks and destroys at least one enemy Creature, it attacks again. Resolve all the attacks of the owner before resolving the attacks and effects of the next Creatures. After destroying the last enemy Creature on its line, because it must attack again, it attacks the enemy Stronghold (unless it attacks during the turn it entered play thanks to the Rage Special Ability).

Catalyst: If the owner is in play during your Phase 1, gain +2 Mana this turn. There is no limit to the amount of Mana a player can gain during Phase 1: Mana Regeneration.

Defender: The owner can attack enemy Creatures but cannot attack the enemy Stronghold. This Special Ability is a malus. The owner is inherently stronger than other cards with the same Mana cost to compensate.

Indestructible: The owner does not suffer Damage or effects from Incantations (it can still be targeted).

Instinct: After the owner has suffered at least 1 Damage from a Creature without being destroyed, it attacks the Creature closest to the Bridge on its line, after each of the attacks of the Creature attacking it are resolved. If there is no enemy Creature, the owner attacks the enemy Stronghold. The Instinct Special Ability activates after the Vanish Special Ability.

Mercenary: When the owner should return to their owner's hand, it returns to the rightmost position in the enemy's hand instead (or on top of the AI's deck pile in Solo play). This Special Ability is a malus. The owner is inherently more powerful than other cards with the same mana cost to compensate.

Perforation: The owner deals its Damage to the target Creature AND to the Creature located behind it on the same line. This effect only applies to Creatures, never to the enemy Stronghold. Damage from an attack with more than one target is resolved in a single instance.

Price of Blood: If you do not have enough Mana to pay for the owner's full cost, spend all your remaining Mana, then for each missing Mana, suffer one Damage by shifting your Stronghold one position to the right in your hand. Damage suffered this way is dealt in instances of 1.

Protection: During your turn, Protection reduces the first source of Damage targeting the owner to 0. Sources of Damage include any Creature or Incantation dealing at least 1 Damage. Effects from these sources of Damage are still triggered (Splash, Perforation, etc.) and dealt to other Creatures as normal.

Rage: The owner can attack enemy Creatures during the turn it enters play. This effect does not allow the owner to attack the enemy Stronghold the turn it enters play. If no enemy Creature can be attacked the turn the owner enters play, the Rage Special Ability has no effect.

Regeneration: Each time the owner deals Damage to a target, shift the card owner's Stronghold one position to the left in their hand. If the Fort should shift left while it is already in the leftmost position in its owner's hand, the Fort is then rotated so the Bastion is side up, then moved to the second rightmost position in its owner's hand.

Sharpening: When the owner deals enough Damage to destroy a Creature, any excess Damage is dealt to the enemy Stronghold. If more than one Creature is destroyed by a single attack (i.e. with Splash or Perforation), excess Damage is dealt to the enemy Stronghold in a single instance. The owner has no effect on a Creature with the Protection Special Ability, as reducing the Damage source to 0 generates no excess Damage.

Splash: The owner deals its Damage to the target Creature AND to the Creature in the same position on the neighbouring line. This effect only applies to Creatures, never to the enemy Stronghold. Damage dealt to more than one target is resolved in a single instance.

Sprint: Each time the owner attacks, move it until it is adjacent to the Bridge card on the same line. This turn, the owner deals +X Damage, where X = the number of Creatures it moved over. It only attacks once, but its AV is modified until the end of Phase 3: Assault.

Symbiote: When the owner enters play, it can be placed above another Creature already in play in its Kingdom. The AV, HP and Special Abilities of both Creatures stack as long as they remain in play. When destroyed, both cards are returned to their owner's hand, starting with the owner. The owner can also enter play as an independent Creature. The owner cannot be placed above another Creature that already has the Symbiote Special Ability. Symbiote doesn't stack Vulnerability with the other Creature's AV. Ignore the indicated AV, only applying Vulnerability.

Vanish: After the owner has suffered at least 1 Damage without being destroyed, move it to the furthest position away from the Bridge on its line. If the owner was attacked by a Creature, Vanish triggers after the attacking Creature has finished and resolved each one of its attacks. Vanish triggers before the Instinct Special Ability.

Vulnerability: The owner's AV deals X Damage to an enemy Creature or Stronghold, where X = the target's HP -1. If the owner attacks more than one target (i.e. with Splash or Perforation), the effects apply to each target. This Special Ability weakens the target rather than destroying it. Paired with Special Abilities such as Sprint or Aquatic, the owner can destroy any target in a single attack. If the owner attacks the enemy Stronghold, it is shifted to the second rightmost position in the enemy's hand, without changing its side (i.e. the Bastion would remain side up).

Not transcribed: the closing "An Incredible Story" page (publisher history) and the Team and publisher credits block.