Hyborian Gates Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Getting Started
• Winning
• Terms
• The Deck
  • Card Playing Rules
• Setting Up
• Action Sequence
  • Stage 1: The Draw Stage
  • Stage 2: The Gate Stage
  • Stage 3: The Sequence Stage
  • Stage 4: Player Turns
  • Stage 5: The Player Activation Stage
  • Stage 7: The End Stage
• Trooper and Companion Ability Activation
• Unsupported Cards
• Native Son Bonus
• Immunity
• Forced Discards
• Unclear Movement for Trooper/Monsters
• Multiplayer Rules
• Sideboard
• Card Wording Notes

Getting Started

Hyborian Gates is for two or more players. Each player needs a card deck. Part of the fun is collecting Hyborian Gates cards to create differently themed decks and discover how to structure special decks to defeat your friends.

Winning

A game ends when one player controls a number of Dimensions until the end of everyone's turns. The number of Dimensions varies with the number of players:

• Two players - five out of six Dimensions
• Three players - four out of six Dimensions
• Four or more players - three out of six Dimensions

Or when a player runs out of cards in their deck. In this case, the player controlling the most Dimensions wins. In case of a tie, the person that has the most Gate cards in play wins. In further cases of ties, compare the total Strength of all cards in Ready Areas. In cases of ties further than this, the game is considered a draw.

Terms

The terms essential to learning the rules are listed below.

Attached Cards - These cards are played underneath a Trooper card. Once attached, they generally stay with the Trooper card and are in play as long as the Trooper is alive. Attached cards usually add to the strength (defensive and/or offensive number) of the Trooper. Attached cards must be played on Troopers while in the Ready Area. Attached cards are Companions, Tech, and Vehicles.

Campaign - When one or more Troopers attack a Gate or a Dimension occupied by opposing cards, a Campaign ensues. The attacker selects one of their Troopers to battle one defending Trooper (chosen by the defending player). The winner stays in the Dimension and may fight another opposing Trooper; the loser is discarded. A player may wish to send in multiple Troopers in case their best attack is defeated by some Vortex Tactics card or other strategy. Troopers occupying a Dimension before an attack are always considered the defender even though they use their attack numbers against opposing Troopers' defense numbers.

Battle - A portion of a Campaign involving one attacking and one defending Trooper (including all attached cards on both sides).

Dimensional Icon - Colored, geometric icons are printed in the cards' upper right-hand corners. These icons determine the cards' home Dimension and how many points of Pyramid power are required to transport specific cards. There are six known Dimensions: Hyboria, Gaea, Asgard, Atlantis, Osiris and Chaos.

Dimension Cards - Below is an illustration of the placement of the Dimension cards. If players prefer, they may arrange the Dimension cards in a circle. The order is as follows: Hyboria, Gaea, Asgard, Atlantis, Osiris and Chaos. Hyboria and Chaos are adjacent.

Ready Area - Troopers and attached cards are played from a player's hand into his Ready Area (an area on the table beneath the player's line of Pyramid Complexes). After Troopers and Monsters are played to the Ready Area they must be in that area during the Sequence stage before they may be transported to a Dimension with a Pyramid Complex. Troopers and Monsters in the Ready Area may defend a Pyramid Complex in Gate Battles the same turn they are placed. Normally, Trooper and Monster cards cannot be played out of a hand directly into a battle.

Gate Cards - These cards represent the rifts, or gateways, between Dimensions. Each Gate (indicated by color) is directly linked (primary link) to one Dimension and indirectly linked (secondary link) to the two Dimensions adjacent to the primary. (i.e. A Chaos Gate is directly linked to the Chaos Dimension and indirectly linked to the Osiran and Hyborian Dimensions.) When Gate cards are combined with Pyramids, a Pyramid Complex is created and may transport Troopers into other Dimensions. All Pyramid Complexes may send an amount of Trooper/Monster and attachment cost less than or equal to the amount of transport power to one of the Dimensions the Pyramid Complex is linked to or from a Gate linked to the Dimension they're in and to a player's Ready Area or another linked Dimension in the same way. A Pyramid Complex may be overloaded by adding additional Pyramids to the Gate. This allows more transport power to transport higher-cost Troopers/Monsters and their Attachments or more Troopers/Monsters to a linked Dimension. This may also add additional links to further Dimensions than the primary and secondary links. This also causes the Complex to self-destruct.

Pyramids - These are special fold-up counters (made from cards) representing devices which tap the energy in Gate cards and transport troopers back and forth between Dimensions. These special, die-cut cards may either be used in their card form by placing them under a Gate, or may be punched out, folded, and assembled by players. These counters are not shuffled into the deck and do not count as a part of the deck when meeting deck-building rules. A player may have up to 5 Pyramids of each type alongside their deck and sideboard.

Pyramid Complexes - Pyramid Complexes are created when Pyramid counters are combined with Gate cards. Once a Pyramid is combined with a Gate card it can not be changed, or moved to a new card, for the remainder of the game.

Trooper/Monster - Troopers and Monsters are the leaders who command the player's forces. A Trooper/Monster's attack and defense numbers are the base to which all attached cards (Companions, Tech, and Vehicles) add their power. The special bonuses and powers these Troopers/Monsters have mean the difference between winning and losing battles. Each Trooper/Monster has a pair of strength numbers in the upper left-hand corner of the card and a special ability (if any) in the information box at the bottom of the card. Generally speaking, these are the only beings who can attack and defend Dimensions or Pyramid Complexes. Each card has a Dimensional icon in the Upper right-hand corner to tell which Dimension they are from. All Troopers/Monsters may be transported to and from any Dimension, not just the one from which they originate. For example, Gaean Troopers may transport to any Dimension, not just the Gaean Dimension. For play purposes, Monsters are the same as Troopers.

Troopers from various Dimensions have special abilities, as listed below:

• Gaea: Gaean Troopers may use Gaean Magic cards.
• Osiris: Osiran Troopers gain a plus one (+1) to their Strength for each attached Tech card. This is in addition to any Strength bonuses or conditions stated on the Tech cards. If an Osiran Trooper creates a combined arms team by attaching at least one Tech and one Companion, the Trooper gains plus three (+3) to its Strength in addition to other bonuses.
• Chaos: Chaos Monsters, once transported to a Dimension, may move to an adjacent Dimension without the use of a Pyramid Complex. This is called Dimension Walking. Their attached cards may not move and, if left alone, are discarded. This movement takes place during the normal transporting phase of the player's turn.
• Asgard: Generally, Asgard Troopers are the only Troopers who may use Vehicles.
• Atlantis: Each Atlantean Trooper, if not engaged in defending the Dimension which they have occupied for at least one turn, may lend support to a battle in an adjacent Dimension. Each Atlantean card may add one to the strength of any Trooper owned by the same player and attacking or defending one of the adjacent locations. If the battle is lost, the card(s) providing this indirect support suffer no ill effects for their support and remain in play.
• Hyboria: Hyborian Troopers generally possess substantially higher attack numbers.

Strength - When a card or rule refers to Strength it includes adding to or subtracting from both the attack and defense values on the card. Any addition to Strength is added to each number, never a total of the attack and defense values.

Total Power Level - By adding all relevant attack or defense numbers from attached or played cards to a single Trooper or Monster card, the total power level is obtained. This is the attack or defense number that must be matched or exceeded to defeat the Trooper/Monster.

Companions (attached card) - Usually Companions can only be played with Troopers or Monsters which originated from the same Dimension (i.e., Companions from the Osiran Dimension may only be attached to Troopers from the Osiran Dimension), unless special circumstances are in effect. Companion cards may never be played by themselves. Each Companion card has a pair of numbers in the upper left-hand corner. These numbers are added to the Trooper/Monster's attack or defense number to boost their power level. Any number of Companions may be added to a Trooper or Monster. Companion cards may be placed in the Ready Area with a Trooper/Monster when the Trooper/Monster is played or they may be placed with a Trooper/Monster in the Attach Cards Phase prior to the Transport Phase of a turn. Once placed, they remain attached to the Trooper/Monster until discarded. When the entire battle is over, Companion cards remain attached to the victor. The loser and their Companion cards are discarded.

Tech (attached cards) - These cards are magical or technical devices and weapons designed to make any Trooper or Monster safer and more deadly in battle. Some cards have a pair of numbers in the upper left-hand corner. The numbers are added to the Trooper's strength to obtain an attack or defense rating. A Tech card's ability or special power is instantly given to the Trooper/Monster to which the card is attached. Any number of Tech cards may be attached to a Trooper/Monster. While all Tech originates in the Osiran Dimension, Troopers/Monsters from any Dimension may have Tech cards attached. Osiran Troopers with Tech cards attached gain plus one (+1) to their strength, over and above whatever the card does, for each attached card.

Vehicle (attached cards) - This is equipment that must be operated by Troopers from the Asgard Dimension or other Troopers which have been granted the ability to operate them. Each has a Vehicle icon in the right corner and special abilities are detailed in the information boxes. Unless otherwise stated, a Trooper may never have more than one Vehicle attached at a time. Some Vehicles require more than one transportation point. The number required is equal to the number of icons in the upper right-hand corner.

Vortex Tactics Cards - Vortex Tactics cards are played to affect a battle in progress and may add bonuses to Trooper/Monster attack and/or defense strengths or in some other way influence the battle. Vortex Tactics cards are only played during Step 5 during combat and are resolved within that step (See The Combat Phase). Only a Trooper or Monster currently in combat may play one or more Vortex Tactics cards. The defender's Vortex Tactics cards always resolve before the attacker's.

Gaean Magic - The special effects of these cards can only be used by Troopers from the Gaean Dimension or by Troopers who have a special ability allowing them to use Gaean Magic. The information boxes determine the power and duration of the Magic's effect. Unless otherwise directed, Magic cards are discarded when the battle ends. Magic cards are played during Step 6 of the Combat Phase (See The Combat Phase) and the effects of Magic cards are resolved after the resolution of Vortex Tactics Cards. The Gaean Trooper casting Magic must either be in the Dimension in which the battle is taking place, or in an adjacent Dimension and not involved in a battle there. Gaean Troopers may cast one Magic spell per battle.

Power Surge Cards - Played from the hand at any time during any player's turn except the simultaneous Draw and Gate Phases. These cards simulate the special effect energy has on Gates. Each of these cards has a red sunburst in the upper left-hand corner. When played, their effect is read aloud and happens instantly. These cards may respond to other played cards or Power Surge Cards. The most recent card played resolves first and then the second most recent and so on. Power Surge cards have various effects on battles, Dimensions, Ready Areas, players, or other targets as specified in the card text.

The Deck

A Hyborian Gates deck contains a minimum of 50 cards. Exactly 1 out of every 10 cards must be a Gate card. Up to 1 out of every 3 Gate cards may be a special Gate card with additional abilities. Other than this, a deck may have any other card in it with a limit of two copies of the same card per deck.

Along with your deck, you will need your own set of Dimension cards and exactly 5 of each Pyramid type.

Card Playing Rules

1. If a rule contradicts the rulebook, the card takes precedence.
2. Unless the card states it affects all Dimensions and/or Ready Areas, it only affects the area where the current battle is taking place. If utilized outside of a battle follow the card's instructions on targeting.
3. A player orients their cards with the bottom of the card facing themselves.

Setting Up

Place the Dimension cards in the center of the table in the aforementioned order either in a line or a circle. In 2 - 4 player games, only one set of Dimension cards is used. In 5-8 player games use 2 sets of Dimension cards separate from each other. To win you must control at least three Dimensions, at least one of which in each set of Dimensions.

The players decide who the first player with Initiative is by some means of their choice.

Each player selects one Trooper/Monster and one Gate card from their deck and places them face down in front of them. Then, the players shuffle their decks and reveal their chosen cards. Each player then places their starting Gate card in front of them and places a single Pyramid on or underneath their Gate card in a way visible to other players and places their starting Trooper/Monster into their Ready Area. Each player then draws 7 cards and play begins.

The player with Initiative moves clockwise in subsequent turns.

Action Sequence

Each turn consists of 6 stages:

• Stage 1 - The Draw Stage
• Stage 2 - The Gate Stage
• Stage 3 - The Sequence Stage
• Stage 4 - Player Turns
  • a) Overload Phase
  • b) Attach Cards Phase
  • c) Transport Phase
  • d) Combat Phase
  • e) Ready Phase
• Stage 5 - The Player Activation Stage
• Stage 6 - End Stage

Stage 1: The Draw Stage

Simultaneously every player draws two cards. (Skip on the first Draw phase of the game)

Stage 2: The Gate Stage

Simultaneously, each player may play one Gate card from their hand face down. Once everyone who wants to do this has done so, simultaneously reveal the Gate cards and attach a Pyramid token to them to create a Pyramid Complex.

Stage 3: The Sequence Stage

The player with the most operational Pyramid Complexes becomes the active player and moves to Stage 4. In case of a tie, decide who will go first by some random means (i.e. a dice roll, coin flip, rock-paper-scissors, etc,...).

Stage 4: Player Turns

The active player may now move through the Player Turn Phases as follows:

A) Overload Phase - The active player may add additional Pyramids (up to 4 more at most for a total of 5 Pyramids attached to the Gate card) to existing Gate Complexes. For every Pyramid of a Dimensional color the attached Pyramid Complex may transport with additional transport power equal to the number of Pyramids attached to the Gate card during the Overload Phase. Then set a counter to mark the turns it has remaining until it self-destructs (If you add 1 additional Pyramid then set the marker to 4, if 2 set to 3, if 3 set to 2, and if 4 set to 1).

B) Attach Cards Phase - The active player may attach as many playable attachments (Companions, Tech, and Vehicle cards) as they want to Troopers/Monsters in their Ready Area.

C) Transport Phase - Using their active Gate Complexes, the active player may transport their Troopers/Monsters to or from allowable Dimensions or opponents' Pyramid Complexes. This is also the Phase where Monsters with Dimension Walk or other movement between Dimensions may occur if the player's Trooper/Monster has the ability.

Transporting a Trooper/Monster to or from a Dimension or opponent's Pyramid Complex requires the Gate being used to have enough Transport Power to do so. Transport power is determined by the Gate and its Pyramids. The Gate type counts as one and each pyramid attached counts as another for whatever Dimension the color of the Pyramid is associated with (i.e. A Red Gate and a Green Pyramid has 1 Transporting Power to the Chaos Dimension and 1 to the Gaean Dimension and can't transport Troopers/Monsters with higher Transporting cost to either Dimension than it has to that Dimension). If a Gate has a matching Pyramid attached to it then it has 2 Transport power to that Dimension and 1 to each adjacent Dimension (i.e. A red Gate with a Red Pyramid has 2 Transport Power to the Chaos Dimension and 1 to each of the Hyborian and Osiran Dimensions).

Transporting to an opponent's Pyramid Complex works the same way and you may transport Troopers/Monsters to Pyramid Complexes whose Gate matches the type of Dimension you would also be able to transport to.

The Transport cost of any given Trooper/Monster is by counting the symbols in the top right corner of the card and adding any of the same symbols of any attached cards. (i.e. a Trooper/Monster with 1 symbol with an attachment with 1 symbol costs 2 Transport Power to transport to a Dimension).

D) The Combat Phase - Combat may occur in either a Dimension or at a Pyramid Complex. The Combat Phase consists of 8 Steps. The active player decides which order these Campaigns will take place in. Combat-related special abilities on Troopers/Monsters and/or attachments may be activated at any time during combat unless otherwise specified.

• Step 1 - If the Campaign is for a Pyramid Complex, the defender draws 3 cards. If the Campaign is in a Dimension skip this Step.
• Step 2 - The defender announces whether or not they will defend the Pyramid Complex. Then, they may play any Trooper/Monsters and/or attachments from their hand to the Ready Area. When conducting combat in a Pyramid Complex the defender may use any or all of their Troopers/Monsters in their Ready Area in the Combat. The defender selects which Troopers/Monsters will be involved in the Combat during this Step after they have played any additional cards they want to. If the Campaign is in a Dimension skip this Step.
• Step 3 - The active player (The active player is always the attacking player and the non-active player is always the defending player) announces which Trooper/Monster will fight in the battle. Each battle in a Campaign is 1-on-1.
• Step 4 - The defending player announces which Trooper will defend in this battle.
• Step 4.5 - Trooper/Monster and Companion abilities that reference a battle or adjust the Strength numbers of either player's Troopers/Monsters activate. The Attacking player activates theirs first in any order. Then the Defending player may activate theirs in any order. All relevant abilities must be activated if possible unless described as optional with wording such as "may" or "can". Any ability on a Trooper or ability that does not specify discarding to activate or another specific clause such as "when played" or is generally worded to suggest a static effect (i.e. "No Magic, Vortex Tactics, or Power Surge cards can be played in their Dimension) is one that would activate here.
• Step 5 - Vortex Tactics cards are played.
  • a. The attacking player plays any number of Vortex Tactics cards face down.
  • b. The defending player plays any number of Vortex Tactics cards face up.
  • c. The defending player resolves their played Vortex Tactics cards first.

E) The Ready Phase - The active player may play any Trooper/Monster cards from their hand to the Ready Area. The active player may also attach any cards they want to from their hands to Troopers in their Ready Area. After this, if the active player has more than 7 cards in their hand, they must discard cards to the Discard Pile until they have 7 cards in hand.

Stage 5: The Player Activation Stage

The active player announces the end of their turn and the next player in clockwise order becomes the active player. Repeat Stage 4 until all players have done so once.

Stage 7: The End Stage

After all players have completed their Player Turn, a new round begins with the Draw Stage.

Source note: the source numbers the End Stage as "Stage 7" in this section although the stage list above names it Stage 6. Both are transcribed as printed.

Trooper and Companion Ability Activation

Many Trooper/Monster cards and attachment cards have abilities on them. Most do not have activation timing described. For activation of cards on the field (i.e. Troopers, Monsters, Companions, Tech, Vehicles, etc,...) follow this guide:

1. If the card's ability appears to be a static effect (such as "Power Surge Cards can not be used") assume that the card effect activates as soon as it's played. On the announcement of playing the card, before it enters a zone in the play field, any player may play a Power Surge card or activate an ability that would otherwise be able to do so before the effect of the card being played would take place.
2. If the card describes an action that can be taken with a described cost (such as "Discard this Trooper & Vehicle to purge a Dimension") it may be activated with the same rules as a Power Surge card.
3. If the card references a battle or adds to Attack and Defense in any additional way outside the numbers in the upper left corner (such as "All Foe's Companions come to her side in a battle" or "Reduce Hyborians' Defense Value to 1") resolve them between Steps 4 and 5 of the Combat Phase with the Attackers' resolving first in the order of their owner's choosing followed by resolving the Defenders' in the order of their owner's choosing.
4. In the case of a card with an ability that does not reference a battle or a cost to the ability and is not written in a way that appears to be a static effect - assume that it activates once the moment it is played and then not again unless it leaves play and returns by some means.

Unsupported Cards

The total number of Troopers or Monsters a player may have in each Dimension is equal to the number of active Pyramid Complexes. Cards in the Ready Area do not count against this limit. If a Pyramid Complex is destroyed, the player must immediately reduce the number of cards in Dimensions to within this limit by returning excess Troopers/Monsters to their Ready Area. (i.e. if a player had four Pyramid Complexes, he could have up to four Troopers in each Dimension.)

Native Son Bonus

Troopers/Monsters attacking or defending the Dimension of their origin (i.e. A Hyborian Trooper attacking or defending the Hyborian Dimension) gain a plus three (+3) to their Strength numbers while they are located in that Dimension.

Immunity

When a card states that it is immune to the effect of another card, this immunity extends to all cards attached to it or that it is attached to. Immunity only affects text and abilities. A card cannot be immune to the Strength of an opposing Trooper/Monster.

Forced Discards

Some cards' special abilities are activated when the owning player discards them voluntarily. These special abilities are not activated if another player forces the card to be discarded.

Unclear Movement for Trooper/Monsters

If a rule or card is unclear about where a Trooper/Monster goes, return it to its owner's Ready Area.

Multiplayer Rules

In games of 5 - 8 players use an additional set of Dimension cards. Troopers/Monsters that can move between Dimensions may not move between sets of Dimensions. A player must control at least three Dimensions with at least one controlled Dimension in each set of Dimensions to win.

Sideboard

A player may have a 20 card sideboard, 2 cards of which may be Gate cards of any kind. A player can swap in and out cards between games in a Best of X match format so long as you begin each game with the same number of cards in your deck.

Card Wording Notes

Use as a reference when determining how to play cards with similar wordings.

• "Allows transport to a Dimension without a Gate" - There are other variations of this wording on cards. May go to a Dimension from the Ready Area or from a Dimension to the Ready Area once per turn without use of a Gate during the Transport Phase.
  • E.g. you have 1 Pyramid Complex along with 2 Troopers with an attached card with this effect (Vehicle attachment) and a single Trooper with no attachments. You use the Complex to transport the unattached Trooper to a Dimension and then you transport the 2 Troopers with this ability to any Dimension you wish.
• "From a Dimension." - When at the beginning of a card text and without context. Abilities may only be activated while this card is in a Dimension and not when the card is in your Ready Area.
• "1 use per game" - Also implies 1 copy per deck.
• "Discard attached card & rest of stack returns to Ready Area" - Discard to activate at any time. All other Troopers/Monsters and their attached cards that you control in the same dimension as this card are returned to your Ready Area.
• "Discard" (to activate) - Discarding to activate takes place at Power Surge speed while the card is in play either in a Dimension or in a Ready Area. It is not discarded from your hand to activate unless otherwise specified.
• "If in a Dimension at end of turn, discards 1 Trooper with defense value less than 4" - If this card is in a Dimension at the end of turn, your opponent discards 1 Trooper/Monster with a defense value of less than 4 from anywhere in play if able.
• "Can withdraw to Ready Area to prevent the loss of his Vehicle" - If a Vehicle is attached to this card and it is not in its owner's Ready Area, it may retreat to its owner's Ready Area to prevent anything that would destroy the attached Vehicle or itself (as that would also result in the discarding of the attached Vehicle).