Thalara: The Last Artifacts
Thalara: The Last Artifacts Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Object of the Game
Your goal is to collect the most victory points by successfully obtaining and using Artifacts.
First game?
In your first game, you'll probably want to use the (easier) characters Myrja and Canto, respectively Accaina and Kandhran.
As the standard game can be overwhelming at first, new players may wish to start by using the "Casual Chaos" game mode (see below).
Energy cards
There are two different types of energy cards: Remnants and Artifacts. You begin the game with 20 Remnants, representing the last of your natural magic power. You will use your Remnant cards in order to win Artifacts. Artifacts are used just like Remnants, except they are not consumed at the end of a round. As a result, more hand cards will be replaced by Artifacts each round and you will be increasingly restricted in your choice of energy cards.
All energy cards have a strength value and a color, but Artifacts are also worth a certain number of victory points — represented by stars — which will determine the winner at the end of the game.
Setup
Each player chooses a character, represented by a collection of 4 unique spells and a Spell Overview card (for other players' reference). Place the spells face up in front of you, and place the Spell Overview card within reach of all players.
Shuffle the 15 Artifacts to form the common Artifact stack.
Both players will use energy supplies made up of 20 Remnant cards each. Both supplies contain exactly the same cards, except they have different colored backs.
Randomly determine the first player.
Playing the game
For the first round, draw three Artifacts and place them face up, horizontally between the two players.
These are the Artifacts you can win this round. The space on either side of each Artifact is where you will place your energy cards, forming conflicts. Accordingly, there are three conflicts each round, one for each Artifact.
Each player simultaneously and secretly looks through their own energy supply and chooses seven Remnant cards to use as their starting hand.
Starting with the first player, each player takes turns placing one energy card from their hand into one of the three conflicts. Each player places their cards on opposite sides of the conflict's Artifact. Both players continue this way until they pass, either because they no longer wish to play cards, or they have run out.
Any energy card can be attached to any Artifact, regardless of color. When you've played an energy card, you may activate a spell (see "Activating Spells" below). Note that the color of an energy card will only be important for the purpose of spells.
When placing additional cards in a conflict, they should overlap so that the strength and color of all cards remain visible.
If you pass, you may no longer play any cards this round. Your opponent may play as many cards as they wish before passing.
When you pass, return any remaining Remnant cards in your hand to your energy supply.
When both players have passed, each conflict is resolved. To resolve a conflict, add up the strength values of each player's cards in that conflict. The player with the highest strength wins the conflict and takes that conflict's Artifact into their hand.
If there is a tie, no player wins the Artifact, and it remains for the next round.
Discard all Remnants used in this round. Each player has their own personal discard pile. When you run out of Remnants, they are not reshuffled, so be careful not to use them all too quickly.
Replace any taken Artifacts by drawing new ones from the stack until three are available.
From your supply, select Remnants to refill your hand to seven cards total (including your Artifacts which return to your hand each round).
Artifacts are used as energy in the same way as Remnants, except they will never be discarded. Instead, they are returned to your hand at the end of each round (even if destroyed by the effect of a spell).
The next round begins with the player who last played a card.
End of the game
The game ends when one of these conditions is met at the beginning of a round:
- There are not enough cards left in a player's supply to select the required number of hand cards.
- A player has won seven or more Artifacts.
Count the victory points (star emblems) of your collected Artifacts. The player with the most victory points wins.
Activating Spells
Each turn, after playing an energy card, you may activate exactly one spell in any conflict.
To activate one of your spells in a conflict, you must have played energy cards in that conflict with colors matching the requirements of that spell. Each card counts as exactly one energy, regardless of its strength. The order of the energy cards doesn't matter.
Note
The energy cards required to activate a spell are not "spent" or removed from the conflict. This also means that two spells can use the same energy cards in the same conflict. But don't forget, you cannot play more than one spell on a turn.
You may activate your spell in any conflict — not just the one where you played an energy card — as long as the spell's requirements are met in the chosen conflict.
When activated, a spell's card is placed into the chosen conflict, where it stays for the rest of the round. Some spells have immediate effects (e.g., destroying cards), while others last until the end of the round (e.g., strength bonuses).
If a spell's effect contradicts another rule, the spell's effect always takes precedence.
At the end of each round, return all of your activated spells to your spell collection. They may be activated again in the next round.
Game mode: Casual Chaos
Thalara can be quite overwhelming for new players. The "Casual Chaos" game mode reduces player choice to help new players learn the game, but has a higher luck factor.
When playing using this mode, instead of choosing Remnant cards at the start of the game, each player shuffles their supply and draws 7 random cards.
At the end of a round, Artifacts return to players' hands as in the standard game. You may choose to shuffle any number of Remnants remaining in your hand back into your supply before drawing back up to seven cards total.
Thalara for 3 or 4 players
Thalara can be played with three or four players once players are comfortable with the 2-player setup, as good knowledge of all characters' spells is important. We strongly recommend playing a few rounds with two players at first.
Combine two Thalara sets, shuffling the Artifacts from both sets. Reveal four Artifacts in a 3-player setup, or five Artifacts with 4 players. Randomly choose a first player, then play proceeds as in the standard game, with players playing energy cards in clockwise order, skipping those who have passed. To help distinguish which cards were played by which player, players should play their cards towards the corners of each Artifact (as in the illustration).
Where there is a tie when resolving conflicts, the Artifact goes to the player with the next highest strength total (i.e., the third-place player). If there is no third player in the conflict, or the third and fourth player are also tied, no player wins the Artifact, and it remains for the next round.
Rules questions
Have a look at www.thalara.com/rules!