Draconis Invasion Rulebook

Table of Contents

Chapter 2: Components
Chapter 3: Table Setup
Chapter 4: Player Setup
- Starting Threat Level
Chapter 5: Turn Overview
Chapter 6: Terror and Events
Chapter 7: Winning
Chapter 8: Terminology & Icons
- Icons
Chapter 9: Card Types
Chapter 10: List Of Cards Effects
Chapter 11: Battle Stages
Chapter 12: Special Rules
Chapter 13: FAQ

Chapter 2: Components

108 Gold cards:

48 Wealth, 36 Treasure, 24 Fortune

90 Actions cards:

12 Casualty of War, 6 Obsidian Tower, 6 Cursed Fury, 6 Buried Gold, 6 Shapeshifting, 6 City Siege, 6 Betrayal, 6 Rush To Battle, 6 Reinforcements, 6 Ruler Of The Ruins, 6 Enchantment, 6 Dawn Of Hope, 6 Growing Darkness, 6 Courage

114 Defender cards:

36 Imperial Guard, 6 Dread Knight, 6 Gladiator Elite, 6 Warlord, 6 Valkyrie, 6 Arcanist, 6 Golem, 6 Werebear, 6 Shaman, 6 Fire Mage, 6 Dragon Slayer, 6 Sorceress, 6 Beast Rider, 6 Stone Titan

26 Randomizers:

13 Action Randomizers, 13 Defender Randomizers

16 Blue Invader cards:

4 Skeletal Soldier, 4 Succubus, 4 Reaper, 4 Hellhound

17 Gold Invader cards:

4 Necromancer, 4 Wyvern, 4 Balar, 1 Orc Chief, 1 Skull Lord, 1 Lich King, 1 Ice Dragon, 1 Fire Dragon

24 Event cards:

6 Horror, 6 Demon Spell, 6 Dark Rising, 6 Chaos

1 Retreat card

36 Terror cards

1 Terror Die

28 Campaign cards

48 Separator cards

6 Turn Overview cards

Chapter 3: Table Setup

For an online gameplay tutorial, go to www.DraconisInvasion.com/Tutorial

Playing the basic game with 3-6 players is described below. For Solo Mode, 2-Player Mode, or Team Versus Mode, refer to Chapter 12: Special Rules.

The example table layout has the cards in separate piles, arranged by type, increasing in cost from left to right.

i. Place all Gold cards and Terror cards on the table.

ii. For every basic game, these are the Default Defender and Default Action cards on the table:

Action: Casualty Of War
Defender: Imperial Guard

iii. The Battle Stage determines the other 6 Action and 6 Defender cards available for players to buy during the game. Play with these Battle Stage 1 cards for your first game:

Actions	Defenders
Cursed Fury	Dread Knight
City Siege	Warlord
Shapeshifting	Valkyrie
Rush To Battle	Golem
Ruler Of The Ruins	Werebear
Dawn Of Hope	Dragon Slayer

Move to the next Battle Stage with each new game you play. For other Battle Stages, refer to Chapter 11: Battle Stages.

iv. Shuffle the Blue Invader deck and reveal the top 3 cards.

v. Shuffle the Gold Invader deck and reveal the top 3 cards.

vi. Shuffle the Campaign deck and reveal the top 3 cards.

vii. Shuffle all the Event cards. Create the Event Deck by drawing the specified number of random Event cards.

9 Events for a 3-player game
12 Events for a 4-player game
15 Events for a 5-player game
18 Events for a 6-player game

viii. Place the Retreat card under the Event Deck.

ix. Return all unused Action, Defender, and Event cards to the box; they will not be used during this game.

Chapter 4: Player Setup

i. Each player begins the game with the same 12-card deck, consisting of:

7 Wealth (Gold cards)
5 Imperial Guard (Defender cards)

Shuffle your 12 cards and draw 6 cards. This will be your starting hand.

ii. Each player is dealt 2 Campaign cards from the Campaign deck.

iii. Determine the starting player by having everyone take turns rolling the Terror Die. The player with the highest roll is the starting player. In the case of ties for the highest roll, reroll the Terror Die between those players.

iv. To determine the Starting Threat Level, the starting player rolls the Terror Die again. This roll sets the starting Terror Count (see Chapter 6: Terror and Events). Additionally, this roll determines the cards gained into your starting discard pile. This step only occurs once, before the game begins.

Starting Threat Level

Roll	Effect
1	Starting player gains one Terror card.
2	Starting player chooses another player. Both players gain one Terror card.
3	All players gain one Terror card and one Fortune card.
4	All players gain one Terror card and two Treasure cards.
5	All players gain one Terror card and one Treasure card.
Dragon symbol	All players gain one Terror card.

Chapter 5: Turn Overview

Each turn, play the cards in your hand according to Draconis Invasion's A-BCDE-F system:

ACTION – You may play an Action card.

Then you may perform exactly ONE of the following choices:

BUY – Buy a card from the table.
CAMPAIGN – Draw two new Campaign cards.
DEFEAT – Attempt to defeat an Invader card.
ELIMINATE – Trash a Non-Terror card from your hand.

Then FORWARD – You may place an unused Gold card from your hand to the top of your deck.

To end your turn, discard both played and unplayed cards face-up onto your discard pile. Draw a new hand of 6 cards from your deck. The next player, clockwise, starts their turn.

During the game, whenever your deck runs out of cards, shuffle the cards from your discard pile, place them face-down as your new deck, and continue drawing if necessary.

ACTION: How To Play An Action Card

You may play one Action card on your turn. To play an Action card, take an Action card from your hand and play it face-up in your play area. Announce the Action card being played and follow the card's instructions. Fully resolve the instructions on the Action card before playing another card.

Some Action cards allow you to play additional Action cards during the same turn.

At the beginning of the game, players will have no Action cards in their decks. As the game progresses, you may buy Action cards from the table. All Action cards played remain in the play area until your turn is over.

Generally, Action cards can only be played during your own turn, but some Action cards can be played during another player's turn.

BUY: How To Buy A Card

You may buy one card from the table on your turn. To buy a card, you may play any or all Gold cards in your hand and place them face-up in your play area. Announce which card you are purchasing. The purchased card must be of equal or lesser value than the Gold played.

Place the purchased card face-up onto your discard pile. Some Action cards may increase the number of cards that you can buy on your turn.

Only the Gold, Action, and Defender cards on the table are available for purchase. The Gold cards played during this turn remain in your play area until your turn is over.

CAMPAIGN: How To Draw Campaign Cards

You may draw two Campaign cards on your turn. These are special bounties from the King that players can complete to earn Bonus Glory Points, scored at the end of the game. These cards can be selected from the top of the Campaign deck and/or from the face-up Campaign cards. If drawing a face-up Campaign card, immediately replace it with a new card taken from the top of the Campaign deck. Keep your drawn Campaign cards with your other Campaign cards, hidden from other players.

DEFEAT: How To Defeat An Invader Card

You may defeat one Invader card on your turn. To defeat an Invader card, you may take any number of Defender cards from your hand, along with the Gold cards required to pay the total Attack Costs, and play them face-up in your play area. Announce which Invader card from the table is being attacked.

To successfully defeat an Invader card, the Health Points of that Invader must be less or equal to the total Attack Damage being inflicted.

If the played Defender cards have Defender Effects, read them aloud and resolve them.

Collect the defeated Invader card face-down in your play area. Replace the defeated Invader card with a card from the respective Invader deck. The attacking player must read and resolve the new Invader's Revealed Effects.

If another player has an Action card effect that is triggered by your attack, (e.g., Betrayal) they must reveal it immediately after you announce the Invader card you are attacking.

ELIMINATE: How To Trash A Non-Terror Card

You may trash a Non-Terror card from your hand, returning it to the corresponding pile on the table.

FORWARD: How To Move Gold To Your Next Hand

After you have performed A-BCDE, you may forward one unused Gold card from your hand and place it on the top of your deck. This Gold card must not have been used on this turn to buy a card or to pay the Attack Cost of a Defender card.

Chapter 6: Terror and Events

Terror cards: Each time you discard a Terror card from your hand, either during your turn or during another player's turn, announce "Terror". This will trigger the Terror Die.

Terror Die: The number on the Terror Die is known as the Terror Count. This number increases by 1 with each Terror card that you discard from your hand. When the Terror Die reaches 6, an Event card is drawn. The Terror Die remains at 6 and rolls over to 1 the next time it is triggered.

Event cards: When the Terror Count reaches 6, the top Event card of the Event deck is drawn and given to the upcoming player. At the start of their turn, they must reveal, read, and resolve the Event.

Chapter 7: Winning

If ONE of the following occurs, the game ends immediately after that player's turn:

A player collects a total of six defeated Invaders.
The final Event card is drawn, revealing the Retreat card.

Each player reveals and counts the Glory Points from all their defeated Invaders and completed Campaigns. The player with the most Glory Points wins and is acknowledged as the King's Greatest Hero.

If there is a tie for the highest score, the tied player with the most defeated Gold Invaders wins. If the tie remains unresolved, the tied player with the most completed Campaign cards wins. If there is still a tie, the tied players share the win.

Chapter 8: Terminology & Icons

Hand – Your hand is the collection of cards that you are currently holding.

Deck – Your deck is the pile of face-down cards that you draw from, into your hand, throughout the game.

Discard Pile – The discard pile is the pile of face-up cards where you place your discarded cards.

Gain – Gaining a card adds that card to the top of your discard pile, unless otherwise specified.

Table – The table is the shared pool of available cards in the current game.

Trash – Trashing a card returns that card to the table, on top of its respective pile.

Terror Count – The Terror Count in represented by the current number on the Terror Die.

Discard – Discarding a card places that card face-up onto your discard pile.

Icons

Icon	Meaning
Cards +X	Draw X additional cards into your hand.
Gold +X	Add X Gold to the total Gold you can use this turn.
A +X	You may play X additional Action cards this turn.
B +X	You may buy X additional cards from the table this turn.
Coin X	The Cost to buy this card is X Gold.
Claw marks X	This Defender inflicts X Attack Damage.
Gold with claw marks X	To use this Defender, an Attack Cost of X Gold is required.
Heart X	This Invader has X Health Points.
Shield X	Defeating this Invader awards X Glory Points.
Shield +X	Completing this Campaign awards X Bonus Glory Points.

Chapter 9: Card Types

Gold cards: These are used to either buy available cards from the Table or to pay Defenders to attack Invaders.

Card Name
Card Type: Gold
Gold Value: The Gold available when playing this card.
Cost: The cost to buy this card.

Terror cards: These may be gained throughout the game. As Terror cards accumulate in your deck, they may weaken the effectiveness of your hand. Each time you discard a Terror card from your hand, the number on the Terror Die is increased by 1.

Event cards: Event cards are drawn each time the Terror Die reaches 6. Event cards generally have negative effects on the player with the most defeated Invader cards. If multiple players have the same number of kills, the most Gold Invader cards will break ties. If there is still a tie, all tied players are affected by the Event. It is possible for multiple Event cards to be drawn on a single turn.

Card Name
Card Type: Event
Event Effect: The effect that occurs when revealing this card.

Retreat card: This is placed below the Event deck. If the Event deck runs out, the Retreat card signifies the end of the game.

Action cards: These trigger special abilities in the game. The Action cards available for purchase in each game are determined by the Battle Stage.

Card Name
Card Type: Action
Action Effect: The effect that occurs when playing this card.
Cost: The cost to buy this card.

Defender cards: These are necessary to attack and defeat Invaders and may also carry additional effects. Defender cards require a payment in Gold before they can be played. The Defender cards available for purchase in each game are determined by the Battle Stage.

Card Name
Card Type: Defender
Attack Damage: The amount of damage this card can inflict on an Invader card.
Attack Cost: The Gold required to play this card and attack an Invader card.
Cost: The cost to buy this card.
Defender Effect: The effects that occur when this card is played.

Invader cards: These represent the invading creatures of the Draconis army. They are split into two power levels, distinguished by the color of the card backs. Blue Invader cards represent weaker monsters. Gold Invader cards represent stronger monsters.

Card Name
Card Type: Invader
Health Points: The health value of this Invader.
Glory Points: The Glory Points awarded at the end of the game for defeating this Invader.
Rare Class: Indicates if an Invader falls under a special class, relevant for certain effects.
Revealed Effect: These effects must be resolved immediately by the player that defeated the previous Invader. These effects create an element of risk for defeating Invaders.

Campaign Cards: These missions may be completed to earn Bonus Glory Points at the end of the game. Campaigns usually require you to defeat one or more specific Invader cards.

Target: The name and quantity of Invaders that must be defeated to earn Bonus Glory Points.
Card Type: Campaign
Bonus Glory Points: These points are awarded at the end of the game for successfully completing this Campaign.
Expected Glory Points: The standard Glory Points awarded for defeating the targeted Invader.
Expected Health Points: The standard Health Points of the targeted Invader.

Chapter 10: List Of Cards Effects

For a list of Action, Defender, Invader, and Event cards that are not part of the standard Retail version, go to: www.DraconisInvasion.com/Cards

Action Cards

Card	Cost	Bonuses	Effect
Casualty of War	30	Action +1	Trash 1 Non-Terror card from your hand.
Obsidian Tower	30	Action +1	Gain +3 cards to your hand. Then choose 3 cards to place on top of your deck.
Cursed Fury	40	—	Inflict +10 Damage during this turn. Gain 1 Terror card.
Buried Gold	40	Action +1	Reveal 3 cards from your deck. Gain any Gold cards to your hand. Discard the rest.
Shapeshifting	50	Action +1	Discard any number of cards. Gain +1 card to your hand per card discarded.
City Siege	50	Cards +1	Each other player must discard down to 4 cards.
Betrayal	60	Action +2, Buy +1	During another player's turn, if they attack, discard this card to give them -10 Damage.
Rush To Battle	60	Gold +10, Cards +1, Action +1	—
Reinforcements	70	Cards +3	—
Ruler Of The Ruins	50	Cards +1, Action +1	You may gain any cards that you Buy this turn to the top of your deck.
Enchantment	80	Action +1	All attacking Defenders inflict +10 Damage during this turn.
Dawn Of Hope	90	Gold +20, Cards +2, Action +1	Choose another player. That player gains +1 card to their hand.
Growing Darkness	100	Action +1	Choose another player. That player gains 1 Terror card to the top of their deck.
Courage	110	Gold +40, Action +1, Buy +1	Discard Terror cards. For each discarded Terror card, gain +2 cards to your hand.

Defender Cards

Card	Cost	Attack Damage	Attack Cost	Effect
Imperial Guard	10	5	0	—
Dread Knight	40	15	40	—
Gladiator Elite	30	10	20	Trash after use. Choose another player. You each gain 1 Treasure card.
Warlord	50	20	50	You may gain 1 Imperial Guard card to your hand to play immediately.
Valkyrie	60	30	50	—
Arcanist	60	30	60	Reveal 4 cards from your deck. Discard them all or return them all to the top of your deck.
Golem	70	35	60	Avoid gaining 1 Terror card from revealed Invader effect.
Werebear	80	35	70	Choose another player. That player gains 2 Terror cards to the top of their deck.
Shaman	90	10+	70	Inflict +5 Damage for every card that is played and unplayed during your turn.
Fire Mage	90	40	60	You may increase the Terror Count by 3.
Dragon Slayer	100	30+	70	Inflict +50 Damage against Dragon Invaders.
Sorceress	110	50	60	Gain 2 cards from your discard pile to the top of your deck.
Beast Rider	110	30	30	All other players discard 1 card.
Stone Titan	120	60	0	Trash after use. You may defeat multiple Invaders. All players gain 1 Terror card.

Invader Cards

Card	Health Points	Glory Points	Rare Class	Revealed Effect
Skeletal Soldier	10	1	Undead	Attacking player rolls the Terror Die to set new Terror Count. If the Skull appears, reveal an Event.
Succubus	15	1	—	Attacking player draws 4 cards instead of 6.
Reaper	25	2	Undead	Attacking player gains 1 Terror card.
Hellhound	30	2	—	Attacking player gains 1 Terror card to the top of their deck.
Necromancer	30 + N (N = Undead Invaders x10)	3	—	Attacking player gains all Terror cards from their discard pile to the top of their deck.
Wyvern	35	3	—	All players gain 1 Terror card.
Balar	40	4	—	Attacking player chooses another player. You each gain 1 Terror card.
Orc Chief	45	4	—	Attacking player reveals the top 3 cards from their deck, trashes any Gold cards, and discards the rest.
Skull Lord	45	5	Undead	Attacking player gains 2 Terror cards.
Lich King	50	5	Undead	Attacking player draws 3 cards instead of 6.
Ice Dragon	70	7	Dragon	Attacking player draws 2 cards instead of 6.
Fire Dragon	80	8	Dragon	Attacking player gains 2 Terror cards to the top of their deck.

Event Cards

Card	Effect
Horror	Player(s) with the most kills must discard 3 cards.
Demon Spell	Player(s) with the most kills must place 3 cards from their hand to the top of their deck.
Dark Rising	Player(s) with the most kills must trash 1 random card from their hand.
Chaos	Reshuffle and reveal new Invader cards. Ignore effects. Player(s) with the most kills must gain 1 Terror card to the top of their deck.

Chapter 11: Battle Stages

Battle Stage 1: Invading Darkness

Actions	Defenders
Cursed Fury	Dread Knight
City Siege	Warlord
Shapeshifting	Valkyrie
Rush To Battle	Golem
Ruler Of The Ruins	Werebear
Dawn Of Hope	Dragon Slayer

Battle Stage 2: New Blood

Actions	Defenders
Buried Gold	Dread Knight
Shapeshifting	Warlord
Rush To Battle	Arcanist
Reinforcements	Golem
Ruler Of The Ruins	Fire Mage
Dawn Of Hope	Dragon Slayer

Battle Stage 3: Lust For Power

Actions	Defenders
Obsidian Tower	Dread Knight
Buried Gold	Warlord
City Siege	Arcanist
Rush To Battle	Werebear
Betrayal	Sorceress
Dawn Of Hope	Stone Titan

Battle Stage 4: Mysterious Forces

Actions	Defenders
Obsidian Tower	Dread Knight
Cursed Fury	Valkyrie
Buried Gold	Golem
Shapeshifting	Shaman
Betrayal	Sorceress
Enchantment	Stone Titan

Battle Stage 5: Growing Shadow

Actions	Defenders
Cursed Fury	Dread Knight
Shapeshifting	Valkyrie
Betrayal	Fire Mage
Reinforcements	Shaman
Enchantment	Dragon Slayer
Growing Darkness	Beast Rider

Battle Stage 6: Facing Fear

Actions	Defenders
Obsidian Tower	Gladiator Elite
Cursed Fury	Warlord
Reinforcements	Arcanist
Enchantment	Werebear
Growing Darkness	Beast Rider
Courage	Stone Titan

Battle Stage 7: Honor And Glory

Actions	Defenders
Buried Gold	Gladiator Elite
City Siege	Arcanist
Rush To Battle	Werebear
Ruler Of The Ruins	Dragon Slayer
Growing Darkness	Beast Rider
Courage	Sorceress

Battle Stage 8: Great Heroism

Actions	Defenders
Obsidian Tower	Gladiator Elite
Shapeshifting	Shaman
Rush To Battle	Dragon Slayer
Reinforcements	Beast Rider
Dawn Of Hope	Sorceress
Courage	Stone Titan

Battle Stage 9: Struggle To Survive

Actions	Defenders
Obsidian Tower	Gladiator Elite
Cursed Fury	Dread Knight
Buried Gold	Warlord
City Siege	Arcanist
Betrayal	Valkyrie
Rush To Battle	Beast Rider

Battle Stage 10: Triumph

Actions	Defenders
City Siege	Gladiator Elite
Betrayal	Dread Knight
Rush To Battle	Werebear
Reinforcements	Fire Mage
Dawn Of Hope	Beast Rider
Growing Darkness	Stone Titan

Battle Stage X: Random

Shuffle all the Action Randomizers and draw 6 cards to determine the available Action cards. Shuffle all the Defender Randomizers and draw 6 cards to determine the available Defender cards.

Chapter 12: Special Rules

Solo Mode

For 1-Player Solo mode, the setup is the same as the basic game, but includes 3 Event cards. Your collected Invader and Campaign cards are kept face-up. The Glory Points for defeated Invaders and successful Campaigns are scored immediately. To successfully pass each Battle Stage, reach 15/20/25 Glory Points, for Beginner/Intermediate/Expert, before the Retreat card is revealed. Ignore any special card effects or Campaign cards that specifically require "other" players (e.g. Dawn Of Hope or Royal Mission).

2-Player Mode

For 2-Player mode, the setup is the same as the basic game, but includes 6 Event cards. The game ends when a player defeats 9 Invaders, or the Retreat card is revealed.

Team Versus Mode

For Team Versus mode, the setup is the same as the basic game. Exactly 4 or 6 players are required, with teams arranged 2-vs-2 or 2-vs-2-vs-2. Players must seat themselves so that teammates are beside each other. Deal 2 Campaign cards to each team. Keep these Campaign cards in a shared pile with your teammate, along with any other Campaign cards collected throughout the game. You may show your hand and your defeated Invader cards to your teammate to discuss strategies. During your teammate's turn, you may discard any number of Gold cards from your hand and add to their total played Gold. The game ends when one team has defeated a combined total of 10 Invaders, or the Retreat card is revealed.

Chapter 13: FAQ

For Frequently Asked Questions, go to www.DraconisInvasion.com/FAQ