Browse Terms

Units and Spires In Play are active unless otherwise stated. Active Units and Spires act as described in the rulebook and are able to take all actions or movements they would normally be allowed to take. Units that are not active are Inactive. See also: Inactive

Two hexes are adjacent to each other if they share a side. Units, Spires, and landmarks in adjacent hexes are considered adjacent to each other. Hex groups sharing an edge are considered adjacent even if they exist on different planes of the play area.

Some abilities can be used after or instead of moving. These abilities are resolved during the Movement phase and can replace or follow the Unit's normal Movement. See also: Movement

A special Landmark that provides powerful abilities. Ancient Traxxyr can be captured by factions and provides bonuses to the controlling Faction. See also: Landmark

Faction Units and Spires can attack in order to deal Damage to opponents. An attack is a specific type of Damage that occurs as a stage of your Turn during the Onslaught Phase. Damage dealt in other ways, such as by Retaliation or through talents, is not considered to be an attack. Talents that refer to attacks do not apply to Damage dealt in other ways. For example, Units with the Talent Flying can only be attacked by Units or Spires with Air Defense or Flying. They can, however, receive Retaliation Damage if they attack a Unit without those talents. They can also be damaged by other talents that deal Damage and are not attacks, like Splash or Immolate. If a Talent is triggered "when Attacking," its effect occurs simultaneously with the Damage being dealt, and before Retaliation. If a Talent triggers "after Attacking," it occurs after resolving the attack and Retaliation if it is not defeated. See also: Damage, Retaliation, Target, Attacking with Spires

Orange chip with icon. Increases the Attack stat of Units and The number of Attack dice rolled by Spires. Units with no Attack stat icon cannot gain Attack Upgrades. See also: Hero – Hero Upgrades, Spire – Spire UpgradesWhat follows is a comprehensive alphabetical list of game terms and concepts. Please refer to this section if you find yourself in need of detailed rulings during play. There' s a lot to digest here if you read it from front to back, which is not recommended. Instead, refer to this section only as need demands. 3Attack Stat The amount of Damage a Unit deals when Attacking and retaliating. The icon indicates a Unit' s base Attack stat, and each Attack upgrade on the Unit increases its Attack stat by 1. Units with a 0 Attack stat or no Attack stat cannot Attack. See also: Hero – Hero Attacks, Minion – Minion Attacks, Target

Units Attack Adjacent Opposing Units or Spires during their Attack phase. Attacks deal Damage equal to the Unit's Attack stat. See also: Attack

Your opponents' Spires Fire, or Attack, on your Turn during the Onslaught Phase as opposed to their own. When Spires Fire, the player to your left checks if you, as the current player, have any Units within range of any of their Spires. If you do, their applicable Spires will Attack. For each Attacking Spire, they must choose a Target if there are multiple possible Units in range, roll Spire Attack dice equal to their Spire' s Attack stat, and deal the rolled result in Damage to the targeted Unit. Then, the next Opposing player in Turn order does the same until all Opposing players have had a chance to fire their Spires. Units do not retaliate against Spires. Spires cannot Attack landmarks, Spires, Fortress gates, or Units belonging to players that are not currently taking their Turn.

Your Units Attack as a specific stage of your Turn during the Onslaught Phase. Your minions must Attack if they are able to, while you may choose whether or not your heroes Attack. Units can Attack Adjacent Opposing Units, Spires, and Fortress gates. Adjacent landmarks with Health chips under them can also be attacked even if they are not Landmark minions. If any of your Units have multiple possible targets, you can choose which Target they Attack. Your Units perform their attacks in the order of your choosing. Each Unit may only Attack once per Turn. When one of your Units attacks another Unit, Damage equal to your Unit' s Attack stat is dealt to its Target. The targeted Unit removes Health chips equal to the Damage it receives, and then it retaliates if able. When a Unit attacks a Spire, an Attack of 1 or more Damage will remove a single Attack or Range Upgrade from the bottom of the Spire. If the Spire has a Fortification Upgrade on the bottom, a Unit must deal at least 2 Damage in order to remove it. When Attacking a Fortress Gate, the gate' s Health tracker is reduced by the amount of Damage dealt. Units with a 0 Attack stat or no Attack stat do not Attack unless a Talent says otherwise. See also: Fortress – Fortress Gate – Attacking and Defending a Fortress Gate, Retaliation

Refers to the chip organizer where Faction Units and Spires are kept when not In Play, as well as the area beside the chip organizer. Units in your chip organizer are available to be selected for Deployment in the Prep Phase by paying their CP Cost. Spires in your chip organizer can be constructed during the Build Phase, or using a Limited Build Option in the Onslaught Phase, by paying their Source Cost. Units and Spires beside the chip organizer will include mercs purchased from the Market or heroes which have previously been selected and then returned to the Fortress. Units here may be selected at no CP Cost, and Spires here can be constructed at no Source Cost. These chips are considered to be in your barracks for the purposes of all game effects. See also: Command Points (CP), Select

Any side of a Spire or Unit that does not have . Mercs only have a basic side, while most Faction Spires and Units have a basic side and a Promoted Side.

Some abilities can be used before or after moving. These abilities are resolved during the Movement phase and can precede or follow the Unit's normal Movement. See also: Movement

When a Unit occupies a Hex that a Minion would need to move onto to make Progress with its full Movement, the moving Minion is blocked. Heroes cannot block Friendly minions. Heroes must be displaced if they block Friendly minions from making Progress using their full Movement. Opposing Units and Friendly minions can block your minions. When an Opposing Unit or Friendly Minion blocks one of your minions from using its full Movement to make Progress, the Minion will make Progress using as much Movement as possible. The Minion may need to Defeat an Opposing Unit blocking its Path before it is able to continue to make progress towards its Mark. See also: Displace, Movement

The different choices you are able to make during your Turn in the Build Phase. Build options are as follows: • Construct a Spire: Either pay the Source Cost of an available Spire in your Barracks or Select a previously purchased Merc Spire from beside your Barracks. Place that Spire on a Source Well within your Influence with its Starting Upgrades stacked in the order of your choosing. • Upgrade a Spire: Pay the appropriate Source Cost per upgrade to add any number of Upgrades to a Spire under your Control, up to the Spire' s upgrade capacity. Each range and Attack Upgrade costs Source equal to The number of Upgrades the Spire will have after adding it. Each Fortification Upgrade costs 2 Source. • Earthscape: Put an earthscape from beside your Barracks into play following earthscaping rules. As part of this build option, you may immediately construct a Spire on one of the earthscape' s Source wells as long as you have Influence over its Hex. If constructing a Spire from your Barracks, you must still pay its Source Cost. • Advance Your Fortress: Using your Faction reference sheet as a guide, you may advance a Fortress Structure by paying the Source Cost to purchase an advancement in that structure. Use the Fortress Advancement pegs to indicate which advancements you have purchased. Advancements within each Fortress Structure are progressive and must be purchased in order. • Other Build Options: Some relics, events, or Fortress advancements may grant you additional build options as well. See also: Earthscape, Fortress – Fortress Advancement, Influence, Limited Build Option, Spire – Spire Construction, Spire – Spire Upgrades

The amount of CP you must pay in order to Select a Unit from your Barracks for Deployment. Units beside your Barracks do not cost CP to Select, nor does your Starting Hero. See also: Select

At the start of a Turn in which only one Faction has Units In Play, that Faction' s heroes go into campfire mode for the remainder of the Wave. When a Hero is in campfire mode, it is Inactive. That Faction' s minions continue to act as normal until they are defeated. In a 2v2 or co-op game, campfire mode triggers at the start of a Turn if all Faction Units left In Play are Friendly to each other. Campfire mode is not the same as the end of the Wave, which is triggered when there are no Faction minions In Play. See also: Inactive

The central Isle on the game board. The center Isle contains the most valuable landmarks and is the primary battleground. See also: Isle

When a Hex is cleared, any chips on it are removed from it. Faction minions and Spires are returned to their Barracks. Faction and Merc heroes are removed from the game as if defeated. Merc minions, Merc Spires, and Equipment are placed in the Market discard, and landmarks are placed in the Landmark discard.

For a Faction Unit, closeness is measured by counting The number of hexes matching the Unit' s Terrain Allowance between the Unit and its Mark using the shortest route possible. Count through Faction Units but not through Spires or landmarks. Closeness for any other purpose is measured by counting The number of hexes between the two things in question using the shortest route possible and ignoring Terrain type. See also: Leading Minion, MovementCommand Points (CP) Granted and used during the Prep Phase to Select Units from your Barracks for Deployment. CP can only be used during the Prep Phase and does not carry over if unused.

All Units you deploy and all Spires you construct are under your control. Some game effects may also give you control of additional Units, Spires, or other chips. When you gain control over a chip that is not your Faction' s color, place an unused chip of your Faction' s color on the bottom of the stack as a visual reminder of which Faction controls it. If a Landmark Minion comes under your control, it is considered a Faction Minion rather than a Landmark Minion for game effects. The Defeat of a controlled Unit or Spire is resolved as normal, with any Faction-specific minions or Spires being returned to their original Faction. See also: Defeat

Damage can be applied to Units, Spires, Fortress gates, and landmarks with Health. Units, landmarks, and Fortress gates lose Health equal to the amount of damage dealt to them. Spires lose their bottom upgrade if dealt at least 1 damage. Spires with a Fortification Upgrade as their bottom upgrade lose that upgrade if dealt at least 2 damage. Damage dealt is determined after factoring in any talents or advancements that would modify the damage. For example, if a Unit with an Attack stat of 3 attacks a Unit with Armored, which reduces damage dealt from attacks by 1, the amount of damage dealt is 2.

When a Spire takes Damage, upgrade chips are removed starting from the top. Fortification Upgrades make Spires more durable. See also: Spire, Damage

When a Unit or Fortress Gate loses its last Health, or a Spire loses its last upgrade, it is considered defeated. Defeated chips are removed from the board and returned to their appropriate locations. Faction Units and Spires are returned to their Barracks. Merc Units, Merc Spires, and Equipment are placed in the Market discard. Landmarks are placed in the Landmark discard. Heroes are removed from the game entirely. When a Unit is defeated, any Upgrades on it are lost. When a Spire is defeated, all Upgrades on it are lost. When a Landmark Minion is defeated, it is returned to the Landmark discard and the Landmark loses its Health chip. If a Landmark loses its last Health chip, it is defeated and placed in the Landmark discard. See also: Control, Health

The act of placing Units from your Barracks onto the board during the Prep Phase. Units are deployed Adjacent to your Fortress Gate. You may deploy Units in any order, but you must pay their CP Cost to Select them from your Barracks. Units beside your Barracks may be deployed at no CP Cost. See also: Deployment Stack, Select

The stack of Units you have selected for Deployment during the Prep Phase. Units in your Deployment stack are placed on the board in the order of your choosing during the Deployment Phase. You may rearrange the order of Units in your Deployment stack at any time during the Prep Phase. See also: Deployment, Prep Phase

When a Unit is displaced, it is moved to an Adjacent Valid Hex of your choosing. If there are no valid Adjacent hexes, the Unit is defeated instead. Displaced Units keep all of their Upgrades and current Health. Units can be displaced for the following reasons: • A Friendly Hero is blocking a Friendly Minion from making Progress with its full Movement. • A Unit is occupying a Hex that is being earthscaped. • A Unit is occupying a Hex that is being cleared. • A Talent or other game effect causes displacement. See also: Blocked, Clear, Earthscape, Valid Hex

The game ends when one of the following conditions is met: • A Faction defeats all Opposing Fortress gates. • A Faction defeats all Opposing factions' Units and Spires In Play, and all Opposing factions have no Units or Spires in their Barracks. • All factions agree to end the game early. The Faction with the most victory points wins. Victory points are awarded as follows: • 1 point for each Opposing Fortress Gate defeated. • 1 point for each Opposing Faction eliminated. • 1 point for each Relic collected. • 1 point for each 5 Source remaining at the end of the game. In the Event of a tie, the tied factions share the victory. See also: Victory Points

Equipment are Merc Units that provide passive bonuses to Units that carry them. Equipment can be purchased from the Market and attached to Units that have upgrade capacity. Equipment remains attached to its Unit until the Unit is defeated or the equipment is removed by a game effect. Equipment does not count as Units for game effects and cannot be targeted or affected by most game effects. Equipment cannot Attack, move, or be attacked. See also: Merc, Upgrade Capacity

Events are drawn from the event deck at the start of each Wave and placed face up on the event board. Events provide ongoing effects for the duration of the Wave. Some events have immediate effects when drawn, while others provide bonuses or penalties that last for the entire Wave. Events are resolved in the order they are drawn, and their effects are Active for the entire Wave unless otherwise stated. When a new Wave begins, all previous events are discarded and new events are drawn. See also: Wave

Each player chooses a faction at the start of the game. Factions provide unique Units, Spires, Fortress advancements, and abilities. Faction Units and Spires are color-coded to match their faction. See also: Faction Unit