Mistborn: The Deckbuilding Game
111 questions players ask about Mistborn: The Deckbuilding Game. Pick one for the answer. See also the full rulebook.
Updated 2026-11-05.
Setup & Turn Structure
- Do you move up the Training track on the very first turn?
- Does playing your character's starting Training cards advance the Training track?
- How do I tell which four starting cards belong to my character?
- Can I play cards, burn metals, buy and use abilities in any order on my turn?
- Must I spend all my coins, damage and Mission points, and do leftovers carry over?
- How does a competitive game of Mistborn end?
- How do you actually win with the Confrontation card?
- What happens to an eliminated player's cards and Mission cubes?
Burning, Flaring & Refreshing
- How long does a burned metal stay active, and does it power every card of that metal?
- If I burned a metal for nothing, can I later move it onto a card I draw?
- Does one burn of a metal trigger every ally and character ability for that metal?
- When during my turn can an "if you are burning" ally ability be used?
- Can I burn a token or card for no direct effect just to trigger allies, Savant or character abilities?
- Can I burn a metal, activate allies that use it, and then use the same metal to power an Action card?
- Do cards used as metals count toward my per-turn burn limit?
- Does flaring count against my burn limit, and do I have to burn before I flare?
Atium & Confrontation
Allies
- Can Ally cards be used as metals or to refresh flared metals?
- What does Riot do, and can it be used on an ally I already activated by burning?
- Can Riot activate an ally that has only one ability?
- After Riot activates an ally's top ability, can I still burn for its bottom ability?
- Can Riot activate an Atium ally such as Kandra?
- Does an ally's second effect trigger when I burn a second copy of its metal on an Action card?
- Does the number in an Ally's top-right corner give me coins each turn?
- Does damage on an Ally stay from turn to turn?
- Where do Allies go when they are killed, defeated or discarded?
Action Cards & Market Abilities
- What can Seek use, and do I pay for or burn a metal for that card?
- After Push eliminates a Market card, can the replacement card be targeted?
- Can I use Seeker's second ability if the card it copies has been eliminated or discarded?
- What does Dominate or House War convert: only this turn's points, or my track progress too?
- Does Mercenary let me take an eliminated card without paying for it?
- Does Soar's second ability let me take an eliminated card for free?
- Does Informant reshuffle my discard pile if my deck is empty?
- Does the Hide card eliminate an ally or prevent it being killed?
- Is it legal to burn three Steel every turn to keep using Maelstrom?
Characters & Training Track
- How does the Level II character ability work?
- Can the Level II ability be used on Ally cards?
- Does the Level III Atium ability trigger every time I burn Atium?
- Once I'm at the end of the Training track, do I get Atium every time I train?
- Is an Atium icon on the Training track a one-time gain?
- What is the maximum health a character can have?
Missions
- Do I have to use Mission points right when I gain them?
- Who counts as highest or lowest on a Mission track?
- Can negative Mission points move my cube down a track?
- Do I have to take a Mission reward like eliminating cards?
- When do House Venture and Keep Venture rewards pay out, and do they give boxings?
- Does the Skaa Caverns extra-burn reward apply every turn?
Combat & the Target
- If I hold the Target, does damage spent on an ally reduce what each other player takes?
- Must I kill Defender allies before damaging a player?
- Can I sacrifice my allies to soak up damage aimed at me?
- In a 3-4 player game, must I attack whoever holds the Target?
- When can the Target holder pass the Target?
- What happens to remaining damage when the Target holder is eliminated?
- Does the Smoker's damage reduction still apply once I kill the Smoker?
- Can I play several Cloud cards against one attack?
- If I have more damage than an ally's Defense, can the extra go elsewhere?
Market & Boxings
Solo & Co-op
- What does X mean on Edict and Adversary cards?
- In solo, am I highest or lowest on a Mission track, and do I get first-player rewards?
- In solo, what happens with Edict effects that mention a different or another player?
- Does the Lord Ruler's damage reach my non-Defender allies?
- When does a newly drawn Adversary resolve, and when does the Lord Ruler take his turn?
- What does a Kill an Ally effect, such as Assassinate, do to an Adversary?
- Does Maelstrom remove one shield per Adversary or all shields?
- Is there a difference between kill, defeat and discard an ally on Edict cards?
- How do I attack an Adversary's shields?