Welcome to Mythic Cards. Players use decks of cards to summon monsters, spells, traps, artifacts, weapons, and other cards to reduce their opponent's shields to nothing. There are two different forms of combat these players can be in: Mythic Duels and War Cards. Here, you will learn about the rules of the game.

Mythic Duels:

These are formal duels between two players, with a judge calling the game. They are turn-based duels alternating between the players. In this format, players have five shields. Shields protect players during these duels. A player wins when they destroy all their opponent's shields. Mana is controlled in this format. The starting Mana is three and will increase by two each turn until the player reaches a maximum of 12 per turn. Players can win credits, cards, experience, rank, or fame.

War Cards: 

These are free-for-all duels against monsters and players. These duels happen in the wild against monsters, in dungeons, and with other players. There are tournament-style War Cards with their own rules. Players have three shields, while the monsters have hit points. Mana starts at five but generates 1 per minute. Players can lose their lives in these Duels if they lose all their shields. There is no protection after all the shields are destroyed, allowing monsters to attack players directly. If players can survive monsters, dungeons, and players, they can get credits, experience, and cards.

Dungeons: 

These are places where artifacts, treasures, and other items are located. Players can brave these ruins for these items that will help their deck better. War Cards is played within these ruins, and the monsters are more deadly.

Actions: 

*Playing cards from the Hand: Players spend the appropriate amount of Mana to play a card from the hand. Monsters, Artifacts, Treasures, and Weapons are placed in front of the player, and their effects trigger. These cards remain on the field until their effect ends or is destroyed. Spells resolve their effect immediately and are placed in the discard pile. Traps are placed down on the field until the effect is triggered. 

*Shield Cards: Shield cards cost no mana to play. (see shield rules) Shield cards can only be played once per turn; if a monster shield card is in play, no other shield card can be played.

*Attack: Monsters can attack after their summoning sickness is cleared unless it has an effect. Players can attack as well if they wield a weapon. Monsters and players must attack monsters first if there is any on the field. If there are no monsters on the field, then shields can be attacked if a monster is attacked. Suppose the combined attack of all attacking monsters and players is higher than the defense of the monster. It loses Hit Points. (Example: If three monsters with a total attack of 20 attacks a monster with 15 defense. It loses 5 HP.)

*Effect: Different effects can be activated at different times. Most effects are activated when cards are played. Some effects, such as traps or monsters, can be activated while cards are on the field. These effects activate as it is written on the cards.

*Treasure/Artifacts: These cards can be activated during a player's turn. Some can change a field or be passive for the player. (see treasure/artifacts rules)

*Skills/Feats: These are earned through leveling up or completing special and challenging tasks. Each of these skills and feats varies. Skills and Feats help more in War Cards than in Mythic Duels.

*Pass/End of Turn: If players complete all the actions they can. They will end their turn and pass to their opponent. Passing does not stop the player from not acting.

Playing the Game: Here is how the Mythic Duels are played. 

The Judge tosses a coin to determine which player goes first. Players shuffle their decks and then present them to their opponents to reshuffle or cut the decks. Then players draw five cards and place them face down as the Shield Cards Mana is generated for the players starting at 2 Mana. (see Mana rules) Draw four cards, and the player that won the coin toss takes their turn. Draw two cards, and then the player can perform any action if they have the Mana. Monsters summoned have summoning sickness. Once the player finishes their turn, it is passed to their opponent. Player 2 performs their turn the same as Player 1. Once both players took their first turn, Mana was restored and increased by 2. Mana is increased by two until the max is reached. All effects are resolved at the start of the turn, if there is any, or at the end of the turn. If players can't draw any cards, then their discard pile is shuffled and placed as their new deck. The player wins the duel when their opponent surrenders or loses all five shields. Players that win will give their rewards. Losing players will still receive exp but at a much lower percentage.

Playing the Game: Here is how the War Cards are played. These rules are most for the wilds and dungeons. War Card Tournaments have their own rules.

When a player encounters a monster. Three cards appear as their shields, and their Mana is generated. Mana is starting at five and has no limit. But Mana generates 1 mana per min. There is no summoning sickness in War Cards. Monsters have HP and must be lower than zero for the player to win. If they defeat the monster, they will be rewarded, but all monsters in the battle area must be defeated before claiming the rewards. If a player encounters another player. Each player gets three shields to protect themselves. If a monster or a player destroys all three shields. The player can continue to fight but are at risk of losing their life as there is no protection for them.

Card Anatomy: There are seven different types of cards in Mythic: The Gathering. These cards can be used in Mystic Duels and War Cards. Different cards can affect the game when played. Every card has Mana to use, but there is a way to reduce the cost. The deck must have an affinity in it. (see affinity rules) 

Monster, Artifact, Treasure, Ace Card, Weapon, Spell, Trap

*Monster: Monsters summoned have the summoning sickness that stops them from attacking for one turn. Monsters stay on the field until destroyed, or an effect is activated. Some effects will allow monsters to attack the turn they are summoned. Each monster has a mana cost ranging from 0-12. Monsters gain benefits if they fit in an affinity base deck that is the same. All monsters have Attack, Defense, and Hit Points. Attack represents how much damage a monster will cause. Defense is how much damage a monster can take before losing HP. Hit Points represent a monster's life. If their HP hits zero, the monster is destroyed. There is no summoning sickness in War Cards.

*Spell: These cards have an impact on the game when played. They have their own mana cost and are discarded once used.

*Traps: These are similar to spells. They are set on the field until triggered, but the player must have the mana to activate these cards. If a trap can't be activated, it could be destroyed or have a negative effect on the player, depending on what the card text says.

*Artifact: These are special cards or items that the players can find within dungeons or special quests. They are like spells, monsters, or traps, depending on the card. The player can have 3 of these cards in their deck or five on their body. The max they can have in deck or body is 5. The artifact must be worn for its effects to be activated. These cards are removed from play when they are destroyed.

*Treasure: These are similar to Artifacts, but these cards can only be used in War Cards. They have a stronger impact on the game when played. Only 1 Treasure can be placed in the deck. These cards are removed from play when they are destroyed. 

*Ace Card: These are the strongest cards within a player's deck. It can be a spell, trap, monster, weapon, artifact, or treasure card. Most decks are built around these cards. Only one is allowed in the deck, and an Ace Card can be changed at any time. They have a golden border around the cards. The Mana cost for these cards is higher and cannot be reduced even if there is affinity within the deck. Each Ace Card has different effects depending on which card is used.

*Weapon: These are cards that summon weapons for players to use. They stay on the field until destroyed. There are two types of weapons: Offense and Defense. Offense allows the player to attack monsters or players. These can vary for the players. Defense can be different if played. These cards have HP and can protect a player's shields or monsters. If the HP reaches zero, the card is destroyed. Only three weapon types are allowed in the deck.

Deck Building:

The decks are 30 cards. They are a combination of monsters, spells, traps, artifacts, weapons, treasure, and Ace cards. It is better to have an affinity within the deck to help the Mana cost for cards. 

Fusion/Chimera Deck (Future use): There are 12 cards in this deck. (see chimera/fusion rules)

Affinity:

Affinity is the focus of what kind of cards you will want in the deck. Any card can be placed within a deck, but the cost will remain the same unless it has affinity; but remember, some cards don't match well with other cards. (Example: If you have a demon affinity deck and place an angel card in the deck. The Mana cost will be double for the angel card). This is for all types of cards. 

Skill/Feat:

As the player gains experience, they will require Skills to help better their playing experience. The skills are best for War Cards. Feats can be earned as well, depending on the conditions of the feat. Every skill and feat can help a player or hinder them, depending on how they play. 

Mana:

Mana is needed to play cards. In Mystic Duels players start at two and will generate two every turn until they hit the max of 12. There are card effects that will give mana to the player and allow them to exceed the limit of the mana to play cards. In War Cards, mana is at five and generates every minute. There is no limit to mana.

Shields:

Shields are barriers that protect players in Mystic Duels. No harm is done to the player when they are attacked. Shields protect players some in War Cards until they are gone. When Shields are destroyed, they enter the hand. They have a blue border. These cards have no mana cost. Shield Cards can only be played once per turn if a shield monster card is played. No other shield card can be played until that card is destroyed. Shield cards, once used, go back into the Shield pile and can be reused. Ace Cards cannot be shield cards if a card effect is activated against a shield. That shield card goes into the discard pile and not the shield pile. When all five shields are destroyed then the duel is over.

Evolution(Longer use):

These cards have a red border. They evolved forms of cards that can be played. They can be played separately or when the lower form is on the field. If played separately, the mana cost must be paid. If the lower form is on the field, place the evolution card on top of the card at no cost. Remove all cards when destroyed. 

Chimera/Fusion(later use):

These are special cards with purple borders around them. They are placed in a separate deck. To play these cards, play the card Fusion Creation/Chimera Fusion. Select the card that is being summoned by removing all the materials from the deck and hand and placing them under the card; when the card is destroyed, place all cards into the discard pile.

World/God Spells(later use):

These are powerful cards that can change the landscape of the duel. They remain in play until destroyed or another similar card is played. Only one is allowed in the deck.

Experience:

Players gain experience from duels, facing monsters, completing quests, dungeons, and many other ways. They level up when they gain the required amount of experience. At each level, they receive skill points that can increase their play style. Every five levels can unlock a feat.

Level 1-4: 1 Skill Point Level 5-9: 2 Level 10-15: 3 Level 16-30: 5 Level 31-50: 7 Level 51-onwards: 10