Combat

Combat · 1. When it starts

Starting a Combat

Neutral Combat starts when your Hero enters a guarded Field.

Combat with Neutral Units starts when a Hero moves to one of the unvisited Fields: a Field with a Roman numeral signifying the type and number of Neutral Units guarding it, or (Naval Battles) a Creature Bank Location - in which case follow the rules for Combat against Creature Banks.

Vs Neutral Units

Player Combat: enter their Hero's Field, or their Town/Settlement (Siege).

Combat with another player can start in two ways: you move into any Field containing one of their Heroes; or you move into a Town or Settlement they own (see Siege Combat). You may start multiple Combats during your Turn. When a Secondary Hero is attacked, they may choose to be instantly defeated instead of fighting, which helps preserve units.

Vs another player

Quick Combat: if your Level beats the Field's Difficulty, there is no fight.

If your Hero's Level is higher than a Field's Difficulty when Combat against Neutral Units would begin, no Combat takes place. You are considered to have beaten the Neutral Units by default, and gain no rewards from the Combat itself before Visiting the Field.

Quick Combat

optional: combat start, PDF p.39

Combat · 2. Setup

Combat Board setup

Combat uses the 4x5 Combat Board (two Backlines, two Frontlines, a middle row).

Combat is resolved on the 4x5 Combat Board, which has two Backlines and two Frontlines on opposite ends and a middle row. It can also be resolved on one of the alternative Boards.

The board

Place up to 5 of your units; draw Neutrals by the Difficulty Table.

Choose one side of the board as yours and place up to 5 of your unit cards freely on its Backlines and Frontlines. Check the Difficulty Table and draw the matching number of Neutral Unit cards. Neutral placement depends on the mode. In Clash or Alliance, the enemy player to your right controls and places the Neutrals (Ranged in the Backline if possible). In Campaign or Cooperative, place Neutrals left to right from the player's view: Ranged in the Backline first, then Ground and Flying in the Frontline; if a line is full, use the other. Units go in descending Initiative initiative; on a tie, higher tier first, then players decide.

Placing units

Player Combat: attacker places first, then defender; a Citadel adds Walls, Gate, Arrow Tower.

When fighting another player, the attacking player places up to 5 units on their chosen side, followed by the defender. If the Combat takes place in a Town with a Citadel, the defender adds the Wall, Gate and Arrow Tower cards after placing their units.

Player setup

optional: Combat Board layout, PDF p.40

Combat · 3. Terminology

Every card on the Combat Board is an Obstacle that blocks non-flying units.

The Attacking Player is the one who started the Combat; the Defending Player is the one the Combat was started against. The distinction is used throughout the fight - for example, when two or more units are tied on Initiative, activations alternate between the two sides, always starting with an attacking unit.

Attacking / Defending player

who started vs who was attacked

A unit activates when it is next in the Initiative order, highest first, and each unit activates only once per Combat Round. On its activation a unit may move a number of spaces set by its type and then act: Flying and Ground units attack an adjacent enemy after moving, Ranged units attack any enemy in range and then move up to 1 space, or the unit may Defend instead, which immediately ends its activation.

Activation

a unit acts when its Initiative comes up

A unit is directly adjacent to another if it is one space away in a cardinal (non-diagonal) direction - up, down, left or right, never on the diagonal. Adjacency is what lets Ground and Flying units make a melee attack, and it is also required for a surviving unit to make its Retaliation Attack.

Adjacent

one space away, not diagonal

A Combat Round is one full cycle in which every unit of each player is activated once, in decreasing order of Initiative. If one player runs out of units to activate, the other player keeps activating their remaining units until all units on the board have acted; only then does the Round end.

Combat Round

all units activate once

The Attack Die is a red die whose faces range from -1 to +1. Roll it every time a unit attacks and add the result to that unit's Attack value before comparing it to the target's Defense. The same die is rolled a second time when attacking a unit that holds a Defense Token: a +1 then grants the defender 1 extra Defense against that attack.

Attack Die

red die -1..+1 added to Attack

If a unit survives an attack by an adjacent unit, it attacks back. Each unit performs only 1 Retaliation per Combat Round (mark it with a Black Cube). Retaliations work like normal attacks but cannot cause another Retaliation.

Retaliation

adjacent survivor hits back once per Round

Instead of attacking, a unit may gain a Defense Token and end its activation. When a unit with a Defense Token is attacked, roll the Attack Die again after the initial roll; a +1 grants 1 extra Defense for that attack. If a unit has a Defense Token at the start of its activation, discard it.

Defend

skip the attack for a Defense Token

Some effects place a Paralysis Token. If a unit would activate with one, skip its activation and remove the Token instead. The Token is also removed if the unit is attacked or takes damage. It does not prevent Retaliation Attacks.

Paralysis

skip one activation, then remove

If a unit deals elemental damage, it attacks normally, but the damage works like Spell damage and ignores the unit's Defense. Elemental damage does not count as damage from Spells.

Elemental damage (Conflux)

attacks but ignores Defense

optional: term icons, PDF p.41

Combat · 4. A Combat Round

How a Round resolves

Combat is split into Rounds; all units activate once, then a new Round begins.

Combat is divided into Rounds, during which all units participating in that Combat activate once in Initiative initiative order. After each unit has activated, a new Combat Round begins. Combat lasts until all units on one side are eliminated, a player has to Retreat when fighting Neutral Units, or a player surrenders to another player.

Combat Rounds

Units activate by descending Initiative; on a tie, alternate, attacker first.

Players activate their units in descending order of unit Initiative initiative. If there is a tie, alternate between attackers and defenders, starting with an attacker. Keep activating units until they have all been activated once; after the last unit's activation, the Combat Round ends.

Activation order

Mark an activated unit with a Faction Cube.

When a unit activates, place one of your Faction Cubes on it to show it has already acted this Combat Round. Because every unit may be activated only once per Round and activations run in Initiative order, this marker is how both players keep track of which units still have an activation left. Remove the cubes at the end of the Combat Round.

Marking activation

An activated unit may move and attack according to its type.

Activated units may move and attack according to their type (Ground unit_ground, Flying unit_flying or Ranged unit_ranged). See the Units section for how each type moves and attacks.

Move & attack

Neutral Units must always attack if possible and cannot Defend - no matter who controls them.

Neutral Units controlled by an opposing player must always attack if possible. Instead of attacking, a normal unit may Defend - but in Neutral Combat the Neutral enemy units cannot Defend, even when controlled by another player. (How they choose targets and move toward them is covered in the AI Rules section.)

Neutral behaviour

Before a unit attacks, both players may play any number of cards, in any order.

Before a unit attacks, both players may play any number of cards from their hands, in any order, and the cards are resolved in the order the players choose to play them. This is the window for Ongoing and Activation cards, and just before the Attack Die is rolled both sides may also play Instant cards to raise attack or defense. Only cards already in hand may be used - you cannot draw during Combat.

Cards before the attack

Resolve the attack: Attack Die → minus the defender's Defense → deal the rest as damage.

After the attack has been declared and all cards have been played, roll the Attack Die. Modify the attacking unit's Attack attack by the die result, then reduce it by the defending unit's Defense defense, and finally deal the rest as damage damage to the defending unit.

Resolving the attack

An adjacent surviving defender retaliates, if it has not this Round.

If the defending unit was adjacent to the attacker, it retaliates unit_retaliate - provided it has not already retaliated this Combat Round. A Retaliation works like a normal attack but cannot cause another Retaliation.

Retaliation

Cards in Combat: one Spell per Round; Instants almost anytime.

You may use only one Spell per Combat Round, unlike other cards, which you may play any number of. Ongoing and Activation effects can be used only when activating one of your own units, before it attacks. Instant cards may be played at any time except between rolling the Attack Die and resolving the damage.

Using cards in Combat

Time limit: Neutral Combat is 1 Round - Retreat or pay 1 MP. No limit vs Azure, players or AI.

Combats against Neutral Units have a time limit of one Combat Round. At the end of every Round you may either Retreat or spend 1 MP movement from the Hero that started the Combat to play another Round. When you Retreat, the Combat ends and that Hero returns to the Field they last Visited; Retreating has no other penalty. Combats against Azure Units, other players, or AI Heroes have no time limit, and you cannot Retreat from them.

Time limit & Retreat

In Campaign and Cooperative Combat, enemy units activate per the AI Rules.

In Campaign and Cooperative Combat there is no opposing player at the table, so the enemy units are run by the AI Rules instead. The AI Rules cover how those Neutral or enemy units are set up on the board and how they activate and attack, so Combat still proceeds through the same Combat Round steps as a normal fight.

Campaign & Coop

optional: round flow, PDF p.42

Combat · 5. End of Combat

Ending a Combat

Vs Neutrals: Victory, Retreat or Defeat.

Victory - all Neutral Units are defeated. Retreat - you run out of time or lose all fighting units but still have units in your Unit Deck. Defeat - you lose all fighting units and your Unit Deck is empty.

Neutral outcomes

Vs a player: win/lose by survivors, or Surrender for 10 gold.

If all units on one side are defeated, the side with survivors wins. Instead of activating a unit, a Hero may Surrender by paying the other Hero 10 gold gold to avoid losing their army; Combat ends immediately with no winner or loser. A Surrendering Hero does not count as defeated.

Player outcomes

After Combat: all survivors heal; empty Unit Deck refills with Scenario starting units.

When Combat ends, all damage is healed from surviving units. Move your units back to your Unit Deck and discard leftover enemy Neutral Units. Every time your Unit Deck is empty after a Combat, take the Scenario's starting units again for free.

Cleanup

Experience: equal Level +1 XP, higher +2; an Azure kill grants Level VII.

Winning Combat with your Main Hero usually grants Experience experience. If the Neutral Field's Difficulty or the Level of a defeated enemy Main Hero equals your Level, gain 1 XP; if it was higher, gain 2 XP. Winning a Neutral Combat against an Azure Unit grants your Hero Level VII immediately. A winning attacker must Visit the Field where Combat took place. Secondary Heroes can never gain Experience.

Combat Experience

A defeated Main Hero retreats to a friendly Town/Settlement (penalties if beaten by a player).

A defeated Main Hero moves to a friendly Town or Settlement. If beaten by another player's Hero, they gain 1 Negative Morale morale_negative, pay 5 gold gold to the winner and give them a Faction Cube; defeating a Main Hero may cause Player Elimination. A defeated Secondary Hero (even instantly, without combat) is removed from the map; if beaten by another player's Hero, that player also gets a Faction Cube.

Defeat consequences

optional: outcomes, PDF p.43

Combat · 6. Attack example

= 3 dmg

2 +1 card +1 die

0 +1 card

Bob's Zombies (Attack 2) attack Alice's Griffins (HP 4, Defense 0). Here is how one attack resolves:

At the end of Combat all damage is healed from surviving units.

Bob declares the Zombies attack the Griffins.

Declare

Bob plays a +1 Attack card (Zombies 2 to 3). Alice plays a +1 Defense card (Griffins 0 to 1). Both could play more, but they stop.

Cards

The Attack Die rolls +1: attack 3 to 4, minus Defense 1 = 3 damage. The Griffins have HP 4, so they are not flipped to Few.

Roll

The Griffins survived and were adjacent, so they retaliate. Their ability lets them retaliate any number of times, so no Black Cube is placed. Cards may be replayed for this attack; the earlier Attack/Defense cards no longer apply.

Retaliate

optional: attack example, PDF p.44

Combat · 7. Siege

Siege Combat

Defend a Town/Settlement without your Hero for 8 gold, units only.

When an enemy Hero attacks your Town or Settlement and your Hero is not present, you may immediately pay 8 gold gold to defend with only your units (this gold represents transporting the army). You cannot use your Deck, since your Main Hero is not present, and you cannot surrender when defending your own Faction Town. Defending a Town without a Citadel - and defending a Settlement - is resolved normally on the standard Combat Board.

Defending without a Hero

A Town with a Citadel adds 3 Walls + 1 Gate to the middle row, plus an Arrow Tower.

Defending a Town with a Citadel, add the 3 Wall and 1 Gate Obstacles in any order to the middle row after placing your units (do not use them when defending an enemy Town you previously conquered). The Gate is not an Obstacle to the defender - defending units may move through it and stop on it; Walls protect units behind them. The defender also gains the Arrow Tower card placed next to the board: it acts like a Ranged unit_ranged unit but is never affected by positioning (no ranged penalty either way).

Walls, Gate, Arrow Tower

Walls/Gate can be destroyed; units behind an intact one take 1 less damage from across the board.

Walls and the Gate can be destroyed by any adjacent or ranged unit's attack, even your own: such attacks always succeed, do not trigger the attacker's abilities, and cannot be modified by cards or the Attack Die. The Arrow Tower can only be destroyed by ranged attacks or card effects, but is instantly destroyed when all Walls and the Gate are gone; the attacker need not destroy it to win. Defending units in the same column as a non-destroyed Wall or Gate, on their own side, take 1 less damage damage from attacks made from the opponent's side.

Destroying & protection

optional: siege layout, PDF p.45-46

Combat · 8. Alternative boards

Other Combat Boards

Naval Battles: the Naval Battle Board for sea combats.

As an optional rule, use the Naval Battle Board for combats at sea locations. It removes the two middle spaces: Ground unit_ground units must navigate around them, while Flying unit_flying units can move over them but cannot end their movement there.

Naval Battle Board (Naval Battles)

Battlefield: the Battlefield Board for player-vs-player combats.

As an optional rule, use the Battlefield Board for combats between players in regular games. You can also use it for Neutral Combats, though this is not recommended. See the Battlefield section for the rule changes for this Combat type.

Battlefield Board (Battlefield)

optional: alternative boards, PDF p.47