Rivals
Rivals Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
- Content
- Ashaks Set Up
- Set Up
- Ashak Board
- Game Progression & Key Concepts
- Deckbuilding
- Wildtech
- Lines of Sight
- Anatomy of the Cards
- Damage, Injuries & Health Points
- Eras & Rounds
- Structure of a Round
- Phase 3: Discard & Change of First Player
- Phase 4: Wildtech Reduction
- Phase 5: Activation & Generation of Sponsors
- Phase 6: Drought Tokens
- Phase 7: Events
- Phase 8: Interface Reset
- Phase 9: Ashak Boards Reset
- Phase 10: Schemas Reset (only if the Era changes)
- Combats
- Drone Mode
- Special Characters
- The Cards Booklet
Content
For the Wildtech
36 trihex tiles, 6 long tiles, 1 central tile, crystals, resins, 1 1st player token, 138 interface cards, 24 schemas foil cards, 20 event cards, 18 zone cards, 24 drought tokens, 6 sponsors tokens, 8 dice, 1 D6.
For the Players
8 Ashak boards, 2 drone boards, 12 guild cards, 18 blaster cards, 12 psywave cards, 16 Ashaks cards, 1 Atlans card, 8 ultimate cards, 6 flasher cards, 35 poison/nexus tokens, 18 anticipation tokens, 8 Ashak tokens, 18 HP/ultimate/RP cubes, 16 shield tokens.
Ashaks Set Up
Each of the 8 Ashaks has its own Ultimate card, 2 signature interface cards, a set of blaster and psywave cards, and a starting resource icon. The full text of every Ashak's cards is listed in the Cards Booklet at the end of this rulebook.
Set Up
In the center of your table, place all the tiles as shown in the adjacent diagram to form the Wildtech.
The placement of the visible tiles is important, but the tiles must be chosen randomly.
Each player chooses their Ashak and collects:
- Their Ashak board and token
- Their cards
- Their Anticipation tokens
- Their shields
- Their Ultimate card
Place a cube in each gauge of the Ashak boards:
- 20 for the Health Point bar
- 0 for the Ultimate bar
- 0 for the Rival Points
Deal 2 Guild cards to each player, who places their chosen one on the Guild slot of their board and returns the other to the box.
Shuffle all the Zone cards from Era 3 to form a Zone card deck. Shuffle all the Zone cards from Era 2 and place them on top of the Zone card deck. Repeat for Era 1.
Shuffle the Event cards to form the Event deck.
Shuffle the holographic Schemas cards to form the common Schemas deck and place 2 cards face-up beside it.
Shuffle all the remaining cards (except Blaster, Psywave, Ashak, and Guild) to form the common Interface deck and place 2 cards face-up beside it.
Place the Sponsor tokens next to the Wildtech. Then, place one of them face-down (inactive) on the central tile.
Place the resources (Resins and Crystals) and the Drought tokens next to the Wildtech.
Placement & 1st Player
Standard
- The players choose their Ashak.
- They roll the D6 one by one.
- The highest score becomes the first player.
- The first player places their Ashak token on any hex of one of the revealed tiles. The other players do the same in clockwise order.
Competition
- The players roll the D6 one by one.
- The highest score becomes the first player. The players choose their Ashak starting from the last player and then in reverse order until the first player.
- The first player places their Ashak token first, then the other players place theirs until the last player, on any hex of one of the revealed tiles.
The Ashaks cannot be placed on the central tile and must be the only one on their starting tile.
Ashak Board
- Health Points (HP): tracked on the top gauge of the board.
- Ultimate Bonus: a secondary gauge above the Ultimate track.
- Ultimate: tracked on its own gauge, starting at 0.
- Rivals Points (RP): tracked on a small gauge from 0 to 4+.
- Anticipation tokens: 3 maximum, placed on the board.
- Temporary Effect slot: holds a token representing a temporary effect currently affecting the Ashak.
- Skill cards: 3 maximum, installed on the board.
- Guild: slot for the player's chosen Guild card.
- Deck: the player's personal draw deck.
- Discard: the player's personal discard pile.
Game Progression & Key Concepts
Goals
You are an Ashak, and you must save your clan by fighting in the Wildtech! Your success will be measured in Rivals Points (RP).
You have two options:
- Be the last survivor.
- Be the first player to score 5 RP.
The game ends immediately if either of these criteria is met. There are no additional turns. Anticipate and pay attention to the position of the first player token each round.
How to earn RP:
- Eliminate an opposing player: 2 RP.
- Negotiate a Sponsor: 1 RP.
- Spend 10 identical resources: 1 RP.
Ashaks
Each Ashak has three unique cards.
The first two go into their deck.
The Ultimate card is placed next to their board.
Phae has 1 additional Guild card, Atlans, which goes into her deck at the start of the game.
Renko has 6 additional Flasher cards, which go into an Extra-deck next to his player board.
Deckbuilding
All players start the game with a deck consisting of the 5 starting cards plus their unique cards.
During the rounds, players acquire new cards (Interface or Schema) and install them. When they install a new card, it is placed in their hand and can be played immediately.
Modifying the content of the deck by installing (adding to the hand) or uninstalling (removing from the game) cards is the core of the game.
When a card is played, it is placed in the player's discard pile (except for explosive cards, temporary effect cards, and Renko Flashers).
When a player needs to draw and their deck is empty, they shuffle their discard pile to form a new deck and continue drawing the necessary cards.
When a player acquires a visible Interface or Schema card, it is immediately replaced by a new card (two new cards for the Interface).
It is also possible to uninstall cards, removing them from the deck for the rest of the game (the cards are taken out of play). This action allows players to destroy the weakest cards and increase their chances of drawing the desired cards.
Resources
Rivals uses two main resources: Crystals and Resins. These resources will allow you to perform various actions explained in Phase 2.
Wildtech
The players will compete in an arena that shrinks round by round. Certain tiles disappear into the void at the end of each round.
The Ashaks will move and interact in this arena. There is no limit to the number of Ashaks that can occupy the same hex.
Each tile of the Wildtech consists of 3 hexes (except for the central Volcano tile):
- Volcano: No effect.
- Lake: Ends the current movement. Causing the loss of 2 HP with no defense or Utility card possible.
- Anticipation: Allows the collection of Anticipation tokens.
- Crystal: Allows the collection of crystals.
- Forest: Allows the collection of resins. Grants an additional defense die.
- Interface: Allows the installation of Interface cards.
Lines of Sight
Some situations require a line of sight (LOS).
A LOS is blocked by:
- An opposing player who is not the target of the attack.
- An opposing shield that is not the target of the attack.
- An opposing drone.
A LOS is not blocked by:
- Volcanoes
- Allied shields
- Allied drone
- Unrevealed tiles
A line of sight is blocked when the shortest path towards the target contains an obstacle. If two paths with the same number of hexes are possible, and one of them has no blocking elements, then there is a line of sight.
A line of sight is required to play a Physical Attack card or hack an enemy drone. A line of sight is not required in all other cases. It is not necessary to have a line of sight to target a player (except for Physical cards and hacks).
Anatomy of the Cards
In Rivals, there are different categories of cards:
- Interfaces: The majority of the cards that players will install into their decks during the game. Depending on their rarity, there are between 2 to 4 copies of each. They can be installed by collecting.
- Schemas: Unique and more powerful cards than the Interfaces. They can be installed for 5 identical resources, by negotiating a Sponsor, or by retrieving them from the deck of an eliminated Ashak.
- Ultimates: A card that is not part of the deck but can be activated when the Ultimate bar is charged.
- Guilds: Grant a unique ability to the Ashak. Present on the board from setup and throughout the game (Phae is the only one who can change guilds during the game with her Ashak Guild card "Atlans").
- Zones: Used to indicate which tiles will fall and where the Sponsors will be generated.
- Events: Adds a random effect at the end of each round.
A card's face shows: cost in Action Point, type of card, range in hex, number of salvo, temporary effect, damage, automatic effect, and rarity (Common: 4 copies, Uncommon: 3 copies, Rare: 2 copies, Schema: 1 copy).
A Zone card face shows the current Era, the number of Zone cards to reveal during the current round, generated sponsors, and tiles falling during this round.
Playing a Card
To play a card, the following steps must be followed in order:
- Be able to spend the required action points (AP).
- Respect the card's range (if there is no range, it is infinite).
- If the card requires a line of sight (LoS): have a LoS on the target.
Once these conditions are met:
- Apply any effect if applicable.
- Attack phase.
Cards take precedence over the rules. Some cards can be played during the opponent's turn. A lack of AP cost means the card costs no AP.
Damage, Injuries & Health Points
Elimination
Rivals is a Battle Royale. To win, you must eliminate opposing players.
Each player has a Health Points (HP) bar.
If an HP bar reaches the skull: the Ashak is dead. The player responsible for the death gains 2 RP.
If the player dies by falling into the void, no one gains any RP.
When a player eliminates another, they can immediately install a card from the eliminated player's deck (excluding Guild and Ashak cards). This can include a skill placed on the opponent's board. The remaining cards of the eliminated player are uninstalled.
Poison
When a player uses an effect that poisons an opponent, that opponent receives a Poison token of the attacker's color. Poison is cumulative, and each player has 4 poison tokens of their color, allowing targets to remember who poisoned them.
The number of poison tokens that can be given to an opponent is not limited. If you don't have enough poison tokens, take other unused tokens to represent them.
At the beginning of their next turn, before any other actions, the poisoned player loses 1 HP and rolls a die. If they get a success, they discard the token; otherwise, they keep the token.
The loss of HP occurs before any other game effects, at the beginning of the player's turn.
A player can accumulate poison tokens from one or more other players. In this case, at the beginning of their turn, they roll a die for each token, starting with the oldest token and moving to the most recent. When a poisoned player loses 1 HP, the player who poisoned them gains 1 Ultimate point without any bonus.
A player cannot poison themselves.
Ways to make an opponent lose HP
Damage. When an effect causes damage, the targeted opponent can make a defense roll. Each undefended damage causes a wound. Each wound makes the player lose 1 HP. The Ultimate charges WITH the Ultimate bonus.
Wounds. When an effect causes wounds, the targeted opponent cannot make a defense roll. Each wound makes the player lose 1 HP. The Ultimate charges WITH the Ultimate bonus.
HP Loss. Some game effects directly cause HP loss, with no defense roll:
- Lakes cause 2 HP loss.
- Poison tokens cause 1 HP loss per token.
- Other game effects can also directly cause HP loss.
When a player loses HP due to an opponent, the opponent gains as many Ultimate points as the HP lost. The Ultimate charges WITHOUT the Ultimate bonus. 1 HP = 1 Ultimate point.
Eras & Rounds
The game will take place over 3 eras, each divided into several rounds.
- Era 1 (1st ring): 3 rounds — reveals 1, 2, 3 Zone cards.
- Era 2 (2nd ring): 4 rounds — reveals 2, 2, 2, 2 Zone cards.
- Era 3 (3rd ring): 4 rounds — reveals 1, 1, 1, 1 Zone cards.
It is possible for the game to end before the end of the 3 eras, as there is no minimum number of rounds.
Each round consists of several phases, in the following order:
- Beginning of round: draw 4 cards.
- Player turn: Turn 1 (2 AP), Turn 2 (2 AP).
- Discard and change of first player.
- Wildtech reduction.
- Activation and sponsor generation.
- Drought tokens.
- Events.
- Interface reset.
- Resetting of Ashak boards.
- Resetting of Schemas (if changing eras).
Structure of a Round
Phase 1: Beginning of Round
At the beginning of the round, players draw the first 4 cards of their deck.
If their deck is empty, they take their discard pile, shuffle it, and reconstruct their deck. They then draw the missing cards to complete their hand.
Phase 2: Player Turn
Players have 2 Action Points (AP) per turn.
Actions have a cost ranging from 0 to 2 AP. Once a player can no longer or chooses not to take any more actions, it's the turn of the player to their left.
When the turn comes back to the first player of the round, they flip the First Player token to side 2. Then, each player takes another turn with 2 AP in order.
When all players have taken two turns, we move to Phase 3.
During their turn, the player can perform any actions as many times as they wish, as long as they have the necessary AP or resources.
No offensive actions are allowed during the first turn of the first round to give everyone time to prepare their defense.
The possible actions are as follows:
Scout — 0 AP
The player reveals the adjacent tiles to the hex they are on for free. It is possible to reveal only certain tiles.
A tile that is scouted is flipped randomly.
If in doubt about the tile's placement, take the tile by a corner and rotate in on itself.
Move — 1 AP
The player moves up to a maximum of 2 hexes.
One cannot move onto an unrevealed tile, and one cannot move outside of the Wildtech, but there is no limit to the amount of players on the same hex. The active player cannot perform an action while moving.
A lake ends the current movement (and causes a loss of 2 HP). It is possible to start a new movement for 1 AP.
Moving onto or passing over a hex with an opponent's shield counts as 2 hexes of movement.
Teleportation follows the same constraints as movement, with the exception that it ignores obstacles and unrevealed tiles between the starting and destination hexes. Teleporting onto an opponent's shield does not incur any movement penalty. Teleporting onto a lake causes a loss of 2 HP.
Collect — 1 AP
A player cannot collect on a dried-up tile (with the presence of a drought token showing the yellow or green side).
The player collects resources or cards depending on the type of hexes present on their tile.
The player collects from all 3 hexes of the tile, with an enhanced collection for the hex where their Ashak is located.
- Resin hex: 1 Resin (Enhanced: 3 Resins).
- Crystal hex: 1 Crystal (Enhanced: 3 Crystals).
- Interface hex: Consulting 2 visible cards or 2 cards from the top of the Interface pile. The player can install a maximum of one card (no minimum). Enhanced: double the cards (4 cards to consult, 2 visible + 2 to draw, or 4 to draw) and install a maximum of 2 cards (no minimum).
- Anticipation hex: Option to gain Anticipation tokens in exchange for 2 resources of your choice. Enhanced: the first token is free.
During the same collection, the resources gathered can be used to obtain Anticipation tokens.
Once the collection is completed, the tile is dried up, and the player places a drought token with the yellow side up.
Negotiate a Sponsor — 1 AP
Requires being on a hex with an active-side Sponsor. Requires spending an unactivated Anticipation token.
The sponsor token is discarded, and the Ashak gains 1 Rivals Point (RP).
The Ashak chooses one of the following rewards:
- Install a Schema, either from the visible ones or the top of the Schema deck. The chosen visible Schema is immediately replaced.
- Gain 2 Anticipation tokens.
- Uninstall 2 cards from your hand or discard pile.
Spend Resources — 0 AP
An Ashak can spend resources for various effects:
- 2 Crystals: Uninstall a card. Uninstall a card from your hand or discard pile. If the player uninstalls from their hand, they draw a card from their deck.
Reminder: Uninstall = permanently remove a card from the game.
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2 Resins: Create a Shield. The player places a Shield under their Ashak. The shield remains on the hex where it was created and cannot be moved. An Ashak can only have 2 shields present on the Wildtech. If they want to create a new one while 2 shields are already present, the creation of the new shield destroys one of the two present already, chosen by the player.
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5 Resins or 5 Crystals: Install one Schema. Either a visible Schema (which is immediately replaced), or the top card from the Schema deck.
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10 Resins or 10 Crystals: Buy 1 RP.
Shields
A shield absorbs a salvo of physical or mental damage.
- A shield, whether ally or enemy, protects against attacks from all players except its creator. It is destroyed after the first salvo. An attacker generating 3 salvos of damage will destroy the shield with the first salvo, and the two other salvos will not be blocked by the shield.
- Two Ashaks can face off inside a shield. An attack made within the shield does not destroy it.
- The use of the shield is not optional; it blocks the first salvo of damage it receives.
- A shield can be targeted on a hex without an Ashak.
- Only one shield per hex: If a player creates a shield on top of an existing shield, the previous one is destroyed.
- A shield hinders enemy movement: Entering an enemy shield costs as a 2 hexes movement. You cannot enter an enemy shield with only 1 hex of movement left.
- An enemy shield obstructs line of sight (LoS). Exception: Having your Ashak inside the enemy shield. In this case, the shield does not block the line of sight (neither for targeting nor being targeted).
- An allied shield does not hinder movements or LoS.
Shields and Effects: Automatic and optional effects of cards that do not directly involve the targeted opponent are applied. The others are blocked by the shield.
Play a Card — 0 to 2 AP
Interface, Scheme, and Guild cards are broken down into several parts.
Range in hexes
- Your target must be within range in order to play the card.
- When there are two values, they represent the MIN and MAX range.
- When there is no value, the range is infinite.
- A value of 0-0 means the card can only be played on your own hex.
- A value of 3-5 means the card can be played on a target at a minimum range of 3 hexes and a maximum range of 5 hexes.
- Some cards modify the range values of your cards.
- A card's range is only used to play the card. Some card effects will move you or move the target on the Wildtech, but the indicated range is only used at the moment the card is played.
Example: Bone Cracker. The Bone Cracker card has a range of 0-2 and has an effect that moves the player 1 hex toward their target. To play this card, the player must be at a range of 0-2 before the movement caused by the effect. It is therefore possible to end up 3 hexes away from the target after the effect. It is not possible to play the card if the player was 3 hexes away before the effect.
Cost in AP. You must have the required AP at the moment of playing the card.
Automatic effect. Cards can have an automatic effect. This is a mandatory effect. If it is a conditional effect (e.g., Plasma Speeder), it will be applied last. In all other cases, it is always applied first.
Optional effect. Cards can have an optional effect. When playing their card, the player must discard another card from their hand to apply the optional effect. For example, with the Psychic Spike card: when playing the card, the player discards a Blaster. They then lose 1 HP (automatic effect) and heal 2 HP afterward (optional effect).
Types of Card
The card type determines when and how it can be played, as well as the effects it produces. When a card is played, it is either discarded or exhausted (placed face down) at the end of its resolution.
Physical Attack
- Attack card requiring a line of sight (LoS).
- Can be enhanced by one or more Mod cards.
- May have an automatic effect.
- The first salvo is blocked by an enemy shield.
- Cannot target an empty hex.
Psychic Attack
- Attack card ignoring line of sight (LoS).
- Has an optional effect requiring discarding a card.
- May have an automatic effect.
- The first salvo is blocked by an enemy shield.
- Cannot target an empty hex.
Explosive Attack
- Attack card that affects an entire tile (including the Ashak who played the attack if they are on the same tile as the target) (except for Ultimate).
- All attacks from affected targets are resolved in the order chosen by the active player.
- Destroys both enemy and allied shields before dealing damage.
- Can target an empty hex (for example, to hit an Ashak farther on the tile).
- An explosive card, once played, must be uninstalled after the attack. After uninstallation, the player who played the card looks at the top card of the Interface and installs it.
- Exception: Arduino Bomberman allows Grenade cards only to remain installed (not all explosive cards are grenades).
Skill
- Takes place on one of the Ashak board's slots.
- Maximum 3 skills (you cannot have 2 identical skill cards).
- The fourth skill uninstalls a skill already placed for free (no card draw).
- Permanent effect: usable immediately once installed.
- Activatable effect once per round: arrives on the board exhausted (face down) and becomes available at the start of each round (face up). Can be activated once per round (exhaust the card once activated). Effective for a single action unless stated otherwise.
Utility
- Playable during or outside of your turn.
- Interrupts the opponent's turn (which resumes after the utility card is resolved).
- The last card played is the first to be resolved.
- Temporary effect: some utility cards have a temporary effect. Place them on the left side of the board in the designated slot. The card lasts 1 or 2 turns depending on the number in the center of the icon. Cards never carry over from one round to another. They are discarded at the end of the round. There is no limit to the number of temporary-effect cards in play.
Mods
- To be played simultaneously with a Physical card.
- Adds an effect to the attack.
- There is no limit to the number of mods for the same Physical card.
- Applies to the entire Physical card (if there are multiple salvos, unless stated otherwise, all salvos are affected).
Protection
- Allows you to gain Anticipation, create shields, or trigger other specified effects.
- Note: Some require targeting an opponent but are not attacks; shields do not block these cards.
Guild
Guild cards are already placed on the board during setup and cannot be replaced (Exception: the Atlans Guild of Phae). Guilds can be activated from the first round (face up). They function in the same way as Interface and Scheme cards, depending on their type (Physical, Utility, etc.).
Use One's Ultimate — 0 AP
A player's Ultimate gauge fills each time they cause an opponent to lose HP. For each HP lost, the attacker adds 1 point to their gauge. In certain cases, a bonus is added based on the number of HP the target had before the attack.
Once the gauge is full, the player can use their Ultimate.
When a player uses their Ultimate, their gauge resets to 0, and they can immediately start refilling it again. Damage caused by an Ultimate also fills the Ultimate gauge. As long as the gauge is full it cannot overflow. The player has to use their Ultimate if they want to start filling the gauge again.
Each player starts the game with their Ultimate gauge empty.
A player can never be wounded by their own Ultimate.
Example: Atmos has 20 HP. A player attacks him with a card dealing 3 damage. Atmos defends none, so it takes 3 wounds. The attacker gains 3 Ultimate points + 3 bonus points, for a total of 6 Ultimate points.
Phase 3: Discard & Change of First Player
Players discard their hand and the first player token rotates clockwise.
If only 2 players remain, the token goes to the player with the lowest health points.
Phase 4: Wildtech Reduction
Draw 1 to 3 Zone cards depending on the current era.
The designated tiles are removed from the game. The sponsors on the removed tiles are lost. Ashaks on the removed tiles lose 4 HP with no defense or utilities possible. Drones (in 2-player mode) fall (they cannot lose HP).
A player or a drone that falls returns at the end of Phase 4, on a hex of their choice at the Wildtech border. If the case is on an unscanned tile, the player reveals it for free.
Note: One never chooses the orientation of the flipped tile, see Phase 2 Scanner — you must position yourself on the chosen hex before flipping the tile.
If a player dies due to losing HP (during this phase), nobody gains RP for the elimination.
Phase 5: Activation & Generation of Sponsors
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Activate the sponsors present on the Wildtech (flip them from their inactive side to their active side).
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Generate the Sponsors: Roll the D6 twice and place an inactive Sponsor token on the hexes corresponding to the last revealed Zone card in Phase 4.
For the sponsor to appear, the following conditions must be met:
- The hex must still be present on the Wildtech.
- There must not be a sponsor token in that location.
- The die should not be rolled a third time; it is possible that no sponsor is generated.
In a 3-6 player game, when only 2 players remain, sponsors are no longer generated (existing sponsors stay on the Wildtech and activate normally if they are inactive).
Phase 6: Drought Tokens
Drought tokens with the green side are removed from the Wildtech.
Drought tokens with the yellow side are flipped to their green side.
Phase 7: Events
The first card from the Events deck is revealed.
The effect is applied. It can be immediate or last throughout the entire round. It can affect all or some of the players.
The effect only applies for the current round.
Phase 8: Interface Reset
The 2 visible cards from the Interface are discarded and replaced with 2 new ones.
Phase 9: Ashak Boards Reset
The exhausted Guild and Skill cards on the Ashak board are turned face up.
The activated cards in the Temporary Effect slot are discarded. If there are any Flashers there, they are returned to Renko, who places them back in his extra-deck.
Phase 10: Schemas Reset (only if the Era changes)
At each era change, the visible Schemas are discarded.
When transitioning to Era 2: Draw and reveal 3 Schemas. When transitioning to Era 3: Draw and reveal 4 Schemas.
Era I (1st ring): round 1 — 1 Zone card; round 2 — 2 Zone cards; round 3 — 3 Zone cards. Era II (2nd ring): rounds 1 to 4 — 2 Zone cards. Era III (3rd ring): rounds 1 to 4 — 1 Zone card.
Combats
A combat is defined by at least two participants: the Attacker and the Defender.
A combat begins when an Ashak is targeted by Damage.
If the target is a shield or an empty hex, there is no combat. In the case of an Explosive attack, if the target is an empty hex but an Ashak is present on another hex of the same tile, a combat occurs.
Reminder: Explosive attacks affect the entire tile.
If the targeted Ashak is on a shield: If the targeted Ashak is on the shield of the player it is the target of, it is not protected. Otherwise, the shield absorbs one salvo of damage and is destroyed. If it's an attack with multiple salvos: the first salvo destroys the shield (no defense roll). The next salvo triggers the combat with the Ashak.
Stages of a Combat
1. The Attacker
The active player plays an Attack card. They can add Mods (for Physical attacks) or an optional effect (for Mental attacks).
Mods and optional effects must be played at the same time as the card and are valid for all salvos.
If the attack has an automatic effect, it is resolved before the damage and applies to the entire card. For conditional effects (e.g. Double Blaster), the effect is calculated after the attack phase and applies to all the damage caused by the attack, including all salvos.
Situation: Atmos attacks Renko with a Double Blaster. The 1st salvo inflicts 2 damage to Renko. The 2nd salvo inflicts 2 damage to Renko. If Renko doesn't defend, he will have taken 4 damage. The condition for the effect is met, so Atmos can play a physical attack card for free.
2. The Defender
The targeted Ashak is called the Defender.
The defender can play Utility cards at any moment during the attack. If the Utility is played right after the Attack card, it will be resolved first.
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The attacker calculates the number of damage points dealt.
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The defender calculates the number of defense dice:
- Default. An Ashak has 2 defense dice by default.
- Forest hex. +1 if the defender is on a forest hex.
- Activated Anticipation token. Each activated token adds 2 additional dice. A player can have a maximum of 2 active Anticipation tokens.
- Cards. Cards can affect the number of dice to roll (+ or -).
- Roll defense dice. Each success symbol defends 1 damage. Each undefended damage inflicts 1 wound.
Proceed as follows (1, 2, 3) for each salvo.
If the defender reaches 0 HP, they are eliminated.
The attacker charges their Ultimate with the number of wounds inflicted + the Ultimate bonus (the defender's HP count is taken into account before inflicting the wounds).
The defender decreases their HP bar by the number of wounds inflicted.
Anticipation Tokens
An Ashak can have a maximum of 3 Anticipation tokens on their Ashak board.
A player can activate an Anticipation token at any moment (during their turn, during an opponent's turn, or during any phase).
A player can have a maximum of 2 active tokens on their board.
When a player activates a token on their board, it remains active for all attacks targeting them until the beginning of their next turn.
At the start of their turn, active tokens are removed from the board.
Some game actions require removing an Anticipation token. The player must first remove an inactive token; if none remain, they remove an active token.
Drone Mode
Rivals can be played with 2 to 6 players. In a 2-player game, the Drone mode is available.
Set Up
Set up the game as follows:
Remove all Era 1 tiles, except for the 6 usual starting positions.
Remove all Era 1 Zone cards. The Zone deck will only contain the cards for Era 2 and 3.
Distribute a Drone board and the corresponding Drone token to each player.
The first player places their Ashak token on their chosen hex, then their Drone token on the same tile (but not necessarily on the same hex). Then the second player does the same.
Place 1 active Sponsor token on the central hex.
Modification of Phases
The drone boards are similar to the Ashak boards except that they do not have a Health bar or an Ultimate bar.
Phase 1: Beginning of the round. No change.
Phase 2: Player turn.
Turn 1: First player — 2 AP; Second player — 2 AP; First player's drone — 2 AP; Second player's drone — 2 AP.
Turn 2: The first player flips the first player token to face 2. First player — 2 AP; Second player — 2 AP; First player's drone — 2 AP; Second player's drone — 2 AP.
Phase 3: Discard & 1st player. The first player token goes to the player with the least HP. In case of a tie, the token does not change players.
Phase 4: Wildtech reduction. No Zone card is drawn at the end of the first round. The starting tiles are removed from the Wildtech instead.
Phase 5: Generation of sponsors. Sponsors are generated until the end of the game.
No changes to the following phases.
A drone cannot be eliminated. Attacking a drone does not charge the Ultimate gauge. A drone that falls off the Wildtech returns at the end of Phase 4, on a hex of its choice at the edge of the Wildtech. If the hex is on an unrevealed tile, the player reveals it for free.
You can use a card on a drone (ally or enemy). The attack will not deal damage, but the effects can still apply (destroying a shield, moving the drone, stealing Anticipation, etc.).
The Drone
The drone can store:
- 3 cards maximum, face up. The drone cannot use its cards; they are stored but have no effect.
- Resin and crystal.
- Anticipation tokens.
- Rivals points.
The drone's actions are limited by its available slots.
If a drone has 3 cards, it cannot install a new one. If a drone wants to install a card while already having 3 cards, it must spend 2 crystals to uninstall one.
The Ashak owner of the drone does not draw a card when the drone uninstalls.
If a drone negotiates a sponsor and has no available card slots, it cannot install a schema.
Drone Actions
The drone cannot:
- Activate anticipation tokens. However, it can negotiate a Sponsor because the token is spent and not activated.
- Play cards.
- Win the game through RP.
The drone can:
- Scout: 0 AP.
- Move (up to 2 hexes): 1 AP.
- Collect: 1 AP.
- Negotiate a Sponsor: 1 AP + 1 Anticipation token.
- Spend resources: 0 AP.
- Attack: 1 AP, Damage 1, Range 0-1.
Storage & Exchange — 0 AP, range 0-1
During an Ashak turn: if the player is on the same hex or 1 hex away from their drone, they can exchange with the drone. The exchange action is free and allows them to:
- Retrieve one or more visible cards.
- Store cards from the hand on the drone.
- Retrieve all or part of the resources.
- Retrieve one or more Anticipation tokens.
- Retrieve the RP.
Hacking — 1 AP, range 0-2
An Ashak can hack the opposing drone: for 1 AP and a range of 0-2 (LOS required), the Ashak rolls 3 dice. Each success allows them to perform 1 of the following actions (the same action can be repeated):
- Steal 1 card
- Steal resins and crystals
- Steal Anticipations
- Steal the RP
- Make drone move
- Make drone collect
- Make drone negotiate
Making a drone perform an action does nothing more than make it carry out that action, as if it did it on its own. The decisions are made by the hacker.
Special Characters
Renko
When setting up, Renko built an extra-deck of 6 Flasher cards next to his Ashak board.
Swarm of Flashers. Renko puts a Flasher card into the deck of 1 or 2 targets (of his choice). The targets must be within range of the card (0 to 5 hexes from Renko). The player(s) who received a Flasher shuffle their deck.
Acceleration Drone. The target draws the top 3 cards of their deck. If no Flashers are drawn, the cards are placed back on top of the deck in the same order, and Renko draws one card from his own deck.
If the target reveals between 1 and 3 Flashers, they take 1 wound.
The drawn Flashers are activated (placed in the temporary effect slot). The target places the remaining cards back on top of their deck in the same order. There is no limit to the number of activated Flashers.
If the target must reveal 3 cards but does not have enough cards in their deck, they reveal what they can, then rebuild their deck from their discard pile and reveal the rest.
The Flashers. If a player draws a Flasher: they activate it in the temporary effects slot on their board and draw again to compensate. They do not draw in the case of an Acceleration Drone.
If a player is attacked by Renko while they have 1 or more activated Flashers, they take 1 additional damage per Flasher.
Flashers follow the temporary effects rule.
Ultimate: Flashers. Renko's maximum range is increased by 1 hex for all his attacks during this turn. Renko places 1 Flasher in the temporary effect slot of his target. The target draws all Flashers present in their deck and places them in the temporary effect slot of their board. The target then shuffles their deck with their discard pile.
Flashers is a utility card and can therefore be played during the opponent's turn.
Phae
Phae has a personal Guild present in her deck from the start of the game.
When she has Atlans in her hand, she can install it on her board in place of the already installed guild.
The removal of the previous guild is free and irreversible.
The Cards Booklet
Cheetah Leap. You must teleport onto the same hex as your target. Your target must be within range, i.e. between 1 and 2 hexes away from you before the effect.
Premium Card. When placing the Premium Card on your Ashak board, take 4 resources of your choice. This effect is never repeated. Then, as long as the card is installed, you can purchase Rivals Points with the resource combination of your choice.
Explore the Abyss. When using Explore the Abyss, you do not lose additional HP related to lakes.
Steel Skin. Each time you add 1 Anticipation token to your Anticipation gauge, draw a card from your deck. If you play a card meant to give you 1 additional Anticipation but your gauge is full, Steel Skin does not activate.
Nautiblitz. You must move 1 hex toward your target, and you must move your target 1 hex toward you. Your target must be within range before the effect. If your target is inside a shield, the shield is also destroyed when passing through.
Stellar Cannon. Stellar Cannon is an explosive card, so it hits the entire tile. 3 damage is dealt to all 3 hexes of the targeted tile. 3 additional damage is dealt to one of the 3 hexes on the tile. This is not a second salvo, but an addition.
Natural Radiation. This Ultimate deals 4 damage to all hexes of the targeted tile. It deals 3 damage to the hexes of tiles adjacent to the targeted tile. Anticipation tokens cannot be activated in reaction to this attack, but tokens that were already activated before the attack remain active.
Storm Waver. Movement caused by card effects is subject to movement rule constraints. If your target is inside a shield, it is also destroyed.
Parasite Grenade. The automatic effect is applied first. Your target must therefore remove one of their Anticipation tokens before taking damage. If it has no more inactive tokens, it must remove an active token.