How To Play the Monstars! TCG

## *How exactly do I play a game of Monstars! ?*

In the game of **Monstars!**, you play as **Invokers**, legendary magicians who summon monsters, create equipment, alter planes, and do battle with each other as a test of strength to see who is the best Invoker. **Monstars!** has a large focus on 1-on-1 battles, but up to 6 players can play together against each other in a free-for-all gamemode to test the mettle of all of your friends.

### **Game Set-Up**

Setting up for a game of **Monstars!** is not as difficult as it may seem. **Monstars!**’s resource system is separate from the cards themselves, meaning that the only things you really need to play the game are **some of the game’s cards, one or two dice, a pen/pencil** and **some paper**.

When starting a game, ensure that the cards you bring to the table are in a deck the right size to be allowed to play. Decks for play should be anywhere between the **minimum of 30 cards** and the **maximum of 50 cards**, with a maximum of 3 copies of a card within a deck. Additionally, players can bring to the table up to an additional 15 cards known as their **sideload**. Players are **not allowed to interact** with their sideload during the course of a Match, but players may move cards from their sideload to their deck and vice versa between Matches as long as their deck remains within the minimum and maximum deck requirements.

Both players begin with a total of **50 Defense Points** and **3 Stars** at the beginning of the Match. Defense Points are similar to health points in a video game and determine whether or not you can continue on with a Match. Stars are the resources used in Monstars! in order to play cards to the Board from their location. Players then shuffle their decks into a random order, **draw 5 cards** off the top of their deck in order to create their hand, and then let the game begin!

### **Win Conditions**

A single game of **Monstars!** is decided by the outcome of multiple Matches. Players can choose to play either **best-of-3** or **best-of-5**. You win the Match when one of the three following events takes place during a Match:

Your opponent is reduced to **0 Defense Points**.

Your opponent is **unable to draw a card** at the beginning of their Phase due to having no cards in their Deck Zone.

Your opponent **forfeits the Match**.

Players are allowed to forfeit a Match at any point during gameplay, meaning that their opponent immediately wins that Match. In cases involving games with more than two players, the forfeiting player is regarded as out of the Match and the Match continues on with the remaining players.

### **Basic Game Rules**

A game of **Monstars!** follows a few sets of rules, split into Board State and Start-of-Phase Requirements.

#### Board State

The **Board** is where all cards that go into play are placed. There is a top-row and a bottom-row, along with 4 other spaces for cards to be placed according to their purpose. The Board is made up of a few different components:

The **top-row**, also known as the **Monster Card Zones**, are where the Monster Cards are played. Though this zone is primarily used for Monster Cards, some Support Cards has specific effects that consider them as Monster Cards, requiring them to be placed in the Monster card Zones. You can have **up to four Monster Cards** in the Monster Card Zones at any time.

The **bottom-row**, also known as the **Support Card Zones**, are where the Support cards are played. Most Support Cards remain in this area depending on their type, although **Field Support Cards** have their own section on the Board. You can have **up to four Support Cards** in the Support Card Zones at any time.

The **Deck Zone** is where players place their deck. Players will always draw cards from their deck in their Deck Zone starting from the top of the deck, though some cards alter this rule to draw from the bottom of the deck. The Deck Zone is located on the left side of the bottom-row.

The **Field Card Zone** is a special zone on the Board specifically for Field Support Cards. **All Field Support Cards are placed in this specific position on the Board** in order to properly activate their effects. As stated for the Field Support Card’s reminder text, **you can only have 1 Field Support Card in play at a time**, though there is no limit to the number you are allowed to play in a single Phase. Additionally, if a player activates a Field Support Card while they have a Field Support Card in play on the Board already, the player **must discard the existing card** in order to play the new card. Both players can have a single Field Support Card in play at the same time on either side of the Board. The Field Card Zone is on the left side of the top-row.

The **Discard Zone** is where cards that were either destroyed or discarded go. The Discard Zone is to the right side of the bottom-row.

The **Forbidden Zone** is where cards that have been banished are placed. When a card is **banished**, the card is considered removed from play, meaning that that card is **not allowed to re-enter play** unless otherwise stated by card effects. The Forbidden Zone is to the right side of the top-row.

#### Start-of-Phase Requirements

At the beginning of each player’s Phase, players must **draw** a card. If a player is unable to draw a card due to their deck having 0 cards left in it, they are regarded as having **lost the Match**. The maximum amount of cards allowed in a player’s hand at a time is **10**.

Additionally, players gain Stars at the start of their Phases **equal to the number rolled on a six-sided die**. At the start of each round, either player rolls the die in order to gain Stars equal to the rolled amount at the start of their Phase (**A round being the time between the start of the first player’s Phase to the end of the last player’s Phase**). In the first round, players **do not draw an additional card** or **gain additional Stars**, nor are they allowed to **declare battle**, though they are allowed to take all of these actions starting from the second round onwards.

Players **cannot be directly targeted** for an attack unless they **have no cards in their Monster Card Zones** or unless stated otherwise by card effect. Players are protected by their Monsters while they are in play. When players take direct damage due to the effect of a card, that is called **burn damage**. If a player reaches 0 Defense Points during either player’s Phases, they are regarded as having **lost the Match**.

### **Motions of Battle**

Players pass control of the board back and forth over the course of a Match through each player’s Phase. The **Motions of Battle** are a sequence that usually moves forward in a straight line, but some card effects skip Motions or even end a player’s Phase immediately. Each player’s Phase is split up into three distinct parts: the **Set Motion**, the **Battle Motion**, and the **Conclusion Motion**. As players move from one Motion to the next, they should **announce the end of their Motion** before moving to the next one.

The **Set Motion** is an extremely important part of each player’s Phase. During this time, players can place **any number of cards onto the Board** as long as they can afford the Star Cost for each card. Additionally, the card effects of the cards played activate immediately during the Set Motion unless they say otherwise.

The **Battle Motion** is another important step in a player’s Phase. During the Battle Motion, each player **can attempt attacks** against each other via battle. Players target and declare battle with each Monster card that they intend to do battle with. **Each Monster card can only attack once with a single target** unless the card effect says otherwise. Additionally, any effects that activate during the Battle Motion activate at the beginning of the Motion.

The **Conclusion Motion** is the last part of a player’s Phase and is seen as a moment for upkeep. Not many card effects activate within the Conclusion Motion, but those that do tend to require you to pay a cost of some kind to activate an effect or continue an existing effect. Most importantly, at the end of your Conclusion Motion, you **should declare the end of your turn** and **pass your turn to your opponent**.