Rules of Play

# Basic Rules

## Conflicting Rules

If the rules on a card contradict the basic rules of the game, the card always takes precedence!

Rules that prohibit something are stronger than rules permitting it (e.g. A Lizard Barbarian with Murder Instinct still can't attack creatures)

## Decks

Each player has his own deck consisting of at least 60, and at most 100 cards. If a deck should ever be depleted (by drawing or decaying the last card), the owner of the deck immediately loses the game.

Decks are limited to four copies of each card, unless the cards are basic shrines, which are only limited by deck size.

At the beginning of each turn, the active player draws one card. Exception: On the very first turn, the starting player does not draw a card.

## Mana

Mana represents the amount of power you can use each turn.

At the beginning of each turn, all your mana crystals are refilled and newly gained mana crystals are always full (except when stated otherwise, e.g. Power Surge).

Playing cards depletes a number of mana crystals equal to the card's mana cost.

## Levels

Levels represent your control or influence in the various aspects. There are 6 different aspects in game (sometimes simply called colors): Order is yellow/gold (some MtG veterans call it white), Wisdom is blue, Nature is green, Rage is red, Dominion is purple and Corruption is black.

All cards require a certain amount of levels to play them. Some of those levels are always fixed to a certain aspect (colored symbols), others may be of any aspect (white symbols).

Unlike mana crystals, levels are not depleted when playing cards.

## Heroes

Each player has one hero representing him in the game.

Heroes can have a maximum of three skills which can be used like action spells (not instant, see below). Skills have a mana cost and level requirement like cards. And each skill has a cooldown, which is the number of turns before it can be used again (the hourglass symbol).

## Card Types

There are four basic types of cards in the Spellweaver TCG:

### Shrines

Shrines give the player resources. Each Aspect has one basic type of shrine, and they all give either one level of that aspect or one mana crystal and one drawn card.

Besides those there are some other shrines, that add another skill to the hero if there is a slot available. The added skill replaces the drawn card and is only added when playing the shrine for mana, not for a level.

You can gain a skill even if you do not meet its requirements, but in that case the skill cannot be activated until you meet them at a later point.

The game prompts you if you try to play a shrine for mana if you do not have any levels. Though you may still do so, as the promp suggest it usally makes little sense as there is nothing that can be done without any levles. Though in rare cases your only shrine may be a skill shire that you may really want and for some reason have only one copy in th entire deck (bad draft i trials).

### Creatures

Creatures are minions that fight for the players. Each of them have three basic values: Speed (SP), Attack (ATK) and Hitpoints or Toughness (HP). Many creatures also have some other effects or abilities.

**Speed** determines which other creatures it can attack or block. To attack or block another creature, you have to have at least the same speed.

**Attack** determines how much damage a creature inflicts, either on other creatures or the enemy hero.

**Hitpoints** determine how much damage a creature can take before it dies. If the hitpoints of a creature are less than one, it dies and is moves to the graveyard. Hitpoints are replensished at the start of each turn.

Many of the additional abilities of creatures are defined by Keywords, but some are unique and therefore explained on the creature card itself.

### Spells

Spells come in different varieties and can do any number of things:

Instant Spells can be played in combat or during the opposing players turn. All other spells may only be played during your own turns main phases.

Actions have immediate effects or effects that last until the end of the turn and are played directely into the graveyard. Blessings and Curses have lasting effects and stay on the table. Some of them are attached to creatures, some are simply placed in the playing area. If they are attached to a creature, they are moved to the graveyard if that creature leaves play.

### Artifacts

Artifacts are a bit like Blessing and Curse Spells: They stay on the table until some effect removes them and can sometimes be attached to creatures and sometimes exists on their own.

Some Artifacts are also creatures.

## Battlefield

The battlefield consists of four rows: One combat row and one support row per player.

Support and flying creatures are played into the support row, all other creatures into the combat row.

Creatures in the support usually cannot attack, block or be attacked. Flying creatures can attack and block from the support row but even they cannot attack another flying creature in the support row.

It is possible to move creatures from the support row to the combat row and vice versa.

## Graveyards

Action Spells, Shrines and cards destroyed during the game go to the graveyard of the player from whose deck the card originated. Both players can look through both graveyards at any time.

Cards in a graveyard have no effect, unless a card specifically states otherwise (e.g. Flamebringer Shaman)

## Emblems

Some card and effects create lasting effects on creatures without directly being attached to the creature. Those lasting effects are sometimes represented by emblems:

* **Might Emblem**: The creature has +1 Attack and +1 Hitpoint
* **Weakness Emblem**: The creature has -1 Attack and -1 Hitpoint
* **Shield Emblem**: The next damage the creature would take is prevented and removes the shield emblem instead

Like attached cards, emblems are removed once the creature leaves play by any means, even if it returns later.

## Energy

Some cards have an energy rating, represented by a blue circle in the lower right corner. The energy is usually used for limiting the uses or duration of effects or as a measure of couting something.

Energy has no effect other than the one stated on the card itself.

A card without an energy rating can't gain energy. If the card does have an energy rating, even one of 0, cards and effects can influence that rating. Energy can never be less than 0, but there is no maximum to the energy a card can have.

# Starting Resources

## Cards

Both players get a starting hand of seven cards. Before the game begins, they each have the chance to keep it or replace all cards. This is called a Mulligan. Unlike some other games, you cannot choose to discard only some cards.

## Mana

Both players start with one Mana Crystal.

## Levels

At the start of the game, neither player has any levels.

## The Spark

The player who goes second receives a card called "The Spark", which is already in play. At any point during his own turn, that player can sacrifice the Spark to get 1 Mana.

## Heroes

The heroes both start with 20 life and one skill that is determined by the hero used when constructing the deck.

# Gameplay

The game is played in turns. After every turn, the active player changes and the new active player takes his or her turn.

Each turn is divided into multiple phases:

## Start of Turn

At the beginning of each turn, the active player draws one card. The only exception is the very first turn of the starting player. In that turn, he or she doesn't draw a card.

Effects that happen at the start of the turn happen at this point as well (for example Electrostatic Storm)

## Deploy - First Main Phase

The active player can play one Shrine card and any number of other cards of any type, as long as there is enough mana left and the level requirements are met.

Creatures can be moved from the support row to the combat row and vice versa. Moving them to the combat row usually doesn't allow a creature to attack in the same turn, unless it is swift. Exhausted creatures cannot be moved in this way.

### Divine Offering

The active player has the option to put one card from his hand at the bottom of the deck. Doing so allows him to look at the top four cards of the deck and take one of the shrines from those cards into his hand. The rest of the cards are put at the bottom of the deck as well.

If there are no shrines in the top four cards, the player doesn't get to take any card.

This can be done regardless of the number of shrines the player currently has in hand, but only once per turn.

## Combat

Each combat is divided into several phases:

### Attack Declaration

The active player chooses which of his creatures will attack which targets:

* As long as the speed of a creature is at least one, it can attack the opposing player
* To attack an enemy creature, the speed of the attacking creature has to be at least as high as the speed of the creature to be attacked
* Only creatures in the front row or flying creatures can attack
* Only creatures in the front row can be attacked
* Creatures played this turn or moved to the front row this turn can not attack unless they are swift
* Multiple creatures can attack the same target. If they do, the order in which they are declared as attackers is the order in which combats will be resolved

While declaring attackers, the active player can activate any number of instant effects like instant spells or effects of creatures.

Attacking exhausts creatures, so they cannot activate abilities that would exhaust them in addition to attacking.

### Block Declaration

After the active player is finished with the attack declaration, the defending player can activate instant effects and / or declare blockers:

* Attacked creatures can not block, even if all creatures attacking them are blocked
* Removing all creatures attacking one creature with instant effects allows that creature to block
* Blocking a creature prevents the combat between the creature and its intended target from ever happening, even if the blocker is killed before or during the combat resolution
* Exhausted creatures cannot block
* Only creatures in the front row and  creatures can block
* To block a creature, the speed of the blocking creature has to be at least as high as the speed of the creature to be blocked
* Multiple creatures can block the same attacker. If they to, the order in which they are declared as blockers is the order in which combat will be resolved

### Instant Effects

After the defending player is finished with the block declaration, the active player can play and / or activate instant effects once more before.

### Combat Resolution

During the combat resolution, all creatures and the attacked player deal and receive damage:

* damage is dealt before regular damage. Creatures killed by ranged damage do not deal their own damage anymore, unless they are ranged as well
* Each creature only deals its damage once and it is divided among the opposing creatures
* If multiple attackers and / or blockers are involved in a combat, damage is distributed to them in the order they were declared (from left to right)
* Dead creatures continue dealing their damage because all damage is dealt simultaneously (except for , see above)
* Damage dealt to a creature is exactly the amount needed to kill it (1 in case of  damage or  on a creature, HP in most other cases, inlcuding units having a )
* If there is not enough damage to kill a creature (or remove the shield emblem), all remaining damage is distributed to it
* Leftover damage is wasted, unless the creature is attacking and
* Damage dealt to a player is deducted from the life total of the hero

### Various Things to consider in Combat

There are a few rather complex and sometimes odd mechanics involved in combat:

* All combats happen at the same time. Effects that trigger on the death of a creature are triggered even if the creature with the effect dies itself and your hero can survive even if his health dropped below 1 but an effects brings him back to 1+ before the end of combat
* Removing all blockers with instant effects does not allow an attacker to revert to its original target(s)
* Changing the speed of either attacker or target after the attack declaration doesn't cancel the attack, even if the attacker now would be unable to attack the other creature
* Moving an attacked creature to the support row after attack declaration cancels that combat
* Various special abilities interact in sometimes not intuitive ways:
	+ has the creature deal only one point of damage to every opposing creature. That is good with  when attacking, but not so good with .
	+ The same is true for . Blocking an  creature with a creature with  effect only prevents a single point of damage to the hero.
	+ Even if you are allowed to attack multiple targets (e.g. with Murder Instinct), a single blocker can prevent all of those combats.

## Reinforce - Second Main Phase

After combat, the active players Main Phase continues and he can do everything mentioned in "First Main Phase" above.

Playing Shrines and using a Divine Offering is limited to once per turn, not once per main phase. so those options are only available if they haven't already been used prior to combat.

## End of Turn

After the active player decides he is done with his turn, his end of turn effects trigger (e.g. Path to Transcendence).

Once those have been resolved, the opposing player has the opportunity to activate and / or play instant effects.

Afterwards, all creatures hitpoints are replenished to their maximum and the turn ends.

## Ways of Losing

A player automatically loses if one of the following conditions are met

* The player has less than one life and is not healed back to one or more life before the current action is resolved (see combat above)
* The player has no cards left in the deck
* The player resigns
* The player has no time left on his clock

## Ways of Winning

There are multiple ways for a player to win a game without killing the opponent outright or depleting his deck:

* The player reaches 40+ life
* The player has a card or effect stating that he wins the game (e.g. Grand Reunion)

## Draws

There are no draws in Spellweaver. If both players hit a win or lose condition simultaneously, the player whos turn it is, wins the game.