Legends

1. Overview

Legends is a two-player competitive card game. You build a deck in a shared draft, then fight through rounds of recruiting from a market, casting spells, summoning legends, and attacking. The match is best of three: the first player to win two rounds wins the game.

2. Components

• Shared card pool — all playable cards except tokens.
• Token pile — set aside until an effect creates tokens.
• Each player: main deck, hand (max 10), discard pile, ritual pile, board, life total (20 at the start of each round).
• Draft / market: six one-card faces plus a face-down stock pile.

3. Setup & draft

Before the draft

1. Set tokens aside. They are not drafted and never enter the market stock.
2. Build the draft stock from cost 1 cards only. Shuffle it face down.
3. Deal six faces (one card each, face up) from the top of the stock.
4. Choose who drafts first at random (coin flip or agreement). That player is also first player for round 1.

How drafting works

Players alternate taking cards until each has drafted 6 cards.

• Suggested pace: the first player takes 1 card, then players alternate taking up to 2 cards on each of their turns until both have 6 (shorten the last turns so totals land on 6 each).
• On a pick, choose one face-up pile. That card enters your deck face down — except rituals, which go face up onto your ritual pile.

Draft conveyor (after each pick)

1. Top of the draft stock fills the empty face you took.
2. The card on the last face (pile 6) goes to the bottom of the draft stock.
3. Shift remaining faces one pile higher (pile 1→2, 2→3, …, 5→6).
4. Top of the draft stock becomes the new pile 1.

Each face always shows exactly one card while the stock has cards remaining.

After the draft

1. Each player shuffles their main-deck cards into their deck. Rituals drafted onto the ritual pile are shuffled into the main deck for round 1 (same as every later round).
2. Prepare the market: shuffle a stock of all non-token cards (any cost). Deal six faces from the top. Tokens stay set aside.
3. Round 1 begins with the same first player as the draft.

4. Starting a round

• Set both life totals to 20.
• Return each player’s hand, board, discard, and ritual pile into their main deck; shuffle. Rituals are in the deck with everything else until drawn.
• Refresh the market: return faces to the stock, shuffle, deal six new faces. The market uses the same conveyor during play as in the draft.
• Opening hands: first player draws 1; second player draws 2.
• There is no re-draft between rounds. Decks keep growing from recruits across the match.

5. Structure of a turn

1. Recruit (mandatory). You must Recruit once at the start of your turn. Some cards (see notes) may grant an extra Recruit later.
2. Main actions (any order). You may:
   • Play any number of non-counter spells from hand;
   • Use your one Summon or Substitution for the turn;
   • Attack with eligible legends (normally once each per turn).
3. When you are finished, the turn ends and play passes to the opponent.

Hand size: maximum 10. If a draw would put you over 10, the excess draws simply do not happen.

6. Recruiting from the market

Six faces (one card each) plus a face-down market stock of the remaining non-token pool.

1. Choose one face-up card:
   • Usually it goes to your hand.
   • Rituals go face up onto your ritual pile.
2. Draw 3 − cost cards from your deck. This draw is not optional (e.g. cost 1 → draw 2; cost 3 → draw 0). If a draw would put you over hand size 10, that draw simply does not happen.
3. Market conveyor (same as draft):
   1. Stock top fills the face you took.
   2. Pile 6 goes to the bottom of the stock.
   3. Shift faces up one pile (1→2, …, 5→6).
   4. Stock top becomes the new pile 1.

7. Playing cards

Normal spells

Play on your turn. Resolve the effect, then put the spell into your discard pile.

Continuous & equip spells

Remain in play until their effect no longer applies (or another effect removes them).

Counter spells

Play only on the opponent’s turn, when printed conditions are met (including responses to specific actions). Then discard unless the card says otherwise.

Legends

Enter the board via Summon, Substitution, or a special summon printed on a card.

Rituals

When recruited, go face up onto your ritual pile (not the hand). At the start of each round, the ritual pile is shuffled into your main deck with your other cards. When a ritual is drawn from the deck, it goes face up onto the ritual pile instead of the hand. When the condition is met, place the ritual onto the board — this does not use a Summon. Discarded rituals go to the discard pile; if drawn again later, they return to the ritual pile.

8. Summon & substitution

Once per turn you may perform either a Summon or a Substitution (not both), unless a card grants more.

Summon

Play a level 1 legend from your hand onto the board.

Substitution

• Single tribute: discard one legend you control to play a legend from hand of level up to one higher than the discarded legend.
• Double tribute: discard two legends you control to play a legend of level up to one more than the combined levels of those discarded.
• Restriction: if either discarded legend is the same level as the summoned legend or exactly one level lower, you cannot discard a second legend for that substitution.

9. Combat

• A legend that has been on the board since a previous turn may attack once per turn (unless a card allows more).
• If the opponent controls any legends, you must attack a legend before attacking the player directly (unless an effect allows a direct attack).
• You may attack the same defending legend with another attacker later the same turn. Damage does not remain on legends — the defender’s power is not reduced by earlier battles (unless it was discarded).

Legend vs legend

1. Compare power.
2. Higher power stays; lower power is discarded.
3. Pierce: the owner of the discarded legend loses health equal to the power difference, resolved immediately after that battle. Multiple battles in one turn can each deal pierce separately.
4. Tie: both discarded; no pierce.

Direct attack

If the opponent controls no legends, attack the player for damage equal to the attacker’s power.

10. Card types

11. Ending a round & the match

• When a player’s health reaches 0, they lose the round.
• The loser chooses who goes first next round.
• Clean up as in §4 (life 20, decks rebuilt, market refreshed, draws 1 and 2).
• Best of three: first to two round wins takes the match.

12. Quick reference

*Unless a card such as Charge says otherwise.

13. Card notes

Per-card reminders for the current playtest set. Specific card text overrides general rules when it clearly says so.