US20220176229A1

US20220176229A1 - Trading Cards and Method of Playing a Trading Card Game

Info

Publication number: US20220176229A1
Application number: US17/544,457
Authority: US
Inventors: Austin Amadeus Dooley
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2020-12-07
Filing date: 2021-12-07
Publication date: 2022-06-09

Abstract

A trading card game based on a plurality of cards that include player cards, seeker cards, and gem cards, and wherein gem cards have elements that exist on a scale of darkness and that enable player cards to “level up” during the course of a game and to play seekers onto the field of play in order to defend and attack.

Description

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Field of the Invention

The invention relates to trading cards, trading card games, and methods of playing such games.

Discussion of Prior Art

Trading card games are strategic games that feature trading cards and were largely introduced with the well-known game Magic: The Gathering in 1993. Generally, a player starts with an initial set of cards and then builds up a card library over time with more cards providing more strategic options for winning the game.
Such games are typically themed around fantasy or science fiction genres. The specially designed cards represent elements of the theme that are geared toward gameplay. Such elements vary from game to game, but frequently include things such as mythical beings, enhancements, events, resources, and locations.
Unlike traditional card games such as poker or crazy eights in which a deck's content is limited and pre-determined, players select which cards compose their deck from any available cards printed for the game. This allows a trading card game players to strategically customize their deck to take advantage of favorable card interactions, combinations, and statistics.
While these types of games have been popular since the initial release of Magic: The Gathering, in many ways they have failed to keep up with the times, and this is particularly true as video games have gained and maintained significant popularity since Magic was first released.
What is needed, therefore, is a trading card game that delivers the traditional type of strategic game based on trading cards that users have come to love while also providing a video game-like experience.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention is a set if trading cards and a trading card game in which the players, each of which is a commando and arbitrator of peace, experience a game of intellect, strategy, luck, and decisiveness that brings a video game feeling to a classic trading card game. The game enables both the Player's and the Seekers they send in to battle to “level up”, in something of a video game sense, and grow with a regiment and troop and to unlock unique perks and abilities throughout the game.
Players learn to tame Seekers of the Vaylyx Realm as they unlock their abilities through the mystery of gems to discover their full potential. The Players prepare for war by strategizing with 4 different types of cards: Hex & Fate, Relics, Seekers, as each Player to carve a path to victory. It's a chance to revive the world as it nears eternal darkness, rewrite history and change the world, and relive life in the undying light to save the human race.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention is described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, like reference numbers indicate identical or functionally similar elements. The drawings are not drawn to scale.

FIG. 1A is an example of a front side of a Player card.

FIG. 1B is an example of a back side of the Player card.

FIG. 1C is a second example of a front side of a Player Card.

FIG. 1D is a second example of a back side of a Player Card, having two separate skill paths.

FIG. 2A is an example of a Seeker card in its Beta form.

FIG. 2B is an example of a Seeker card in its Gamma form.

FIG. 2C is an example of a Seeker card in its Delta form.

FIG. 2D is an example of a Seeker Stat Sheet.

FIG. 3A is an example Relic card illustrating a Fragment.

FIG. 3B is an example Relic card illustrating a Gem.

FIG. 3C is an example Relic card illustrating a Gamut.

FIG. 3D is an example Relic card illustrating a Fragment.

FIG. 3E is an example Relic card illustrating a Fragment.

FIG. 3F is an example Relic card illustrating an Elemental.

FIG. 3G is an example Relic card illustrating an Elemental.

FIG. 4A is a first example of a Hex card.

FIG. 4B is a second example of a Hex card.

FIG. 4C is a third example of a Hex card.

FIG. 4D is a fourth example of a Hex card.

FIG. 4E is a fifth example of a Hex card.

FIG. 5A is a first example of a Fate card.

FIG. 5B is a second example of a Fate card.

FIG. 5C is a third example of a Fate card.

FIG. 5D is a fourth example of a Fate card.

FIG. 5E is a fifth example of a Fate card.

FIG. 6 is an example Scale of Darkness.

FIG. 7 is an example of the categories of the Scale of Darkness.

FIG. 8 is an example of a battle mat.

FIG. 9 is a flow chart illustrating a method of building a deck.

FIG. 10 is a flow chart illustrating a method of setting up the game.

FIG. 11 is a flow chart illustrating a method of playing the game.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention will now be described more fully in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which the preferred embodiments of the invention are shown. This invention should not, however, be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, they are provided so that this disclosure will be complete and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art.
FIGS. 1A-11 illustrate and describe game cards 5, each of which illustrates a number of game components, for a method of play 100, i.e. the game that is based on a unique deck of cards that is constructed by individual players based on a particular style of play and the strategy each player wishes to deploy during the game. While there are no limits to the numbers of players who might play the game at one time, they typical game includes 2 to 4 players.
The game components may be in virtual or physical form, and may come in a number of shapes and sizes. For example, game cards 5 may be similar in size and shape to conventional hand-held trading cards. Or, in other versions of the game, players may interact with virtual cards via gaming consoles, personal computers, smartphones and/or tablets, and interactive applications and social media networks, which are accessed over the internet.
In most embodiments, each individual player uses between 50 and 200 game cards 5, and in preferred embodiments typically use a minimum of 64 cards and a maximum of 85 cards. Each player has at least one, and generally only one, Player Card 10, that is the central character or player in the game. Then, each player's deck is comprised for the following types of cards: Seeker Cards 30; Relic Cards 50; Hex Cards 70; and Fate Cards 90.
A core component to each type of card is that card's Element, as the Element of a card controls what other cards a particular card may be used with. Elements are grouped into different categories that correspond to a Scale of Darkness, which also ties directly to the strategy of the game. In general, Elements that are on the lighter end of the Scale of Darkness favor high levels of shields, which is an indicator of health or life force, and lower levels of attack power, while elements on the darker end tend to favor higher attack numbers and comparatively lower numbers of shields, while elements that fall in between the lightest and darkest blend these two competing forces. This goes to a key strategic component to the game, as each player may choose what types of Elements they wish to base their deck on, which dictates to a larger degree the style of play that a player may deploy.
—The Deck—
Each player's deck is unique and may vary in a number of ways depending on the type of strategy a particular player wishes to deploy. However, while each deck is unique all decks have common features. Principally, each unique deck is built around Seekers and Relics, with the Elements built into the cards determining which cards may be used in conjunction with one another, and also includes a Player card and Hex and Fate cards.
As previously noted, each Seeker card has an Element that comes from the Scale of Darkness and largely guides the characteristics of those cards. While the Scale of Darkness may include any feasible numbers of shades or levels of darkness, and while there may be any number of Elements within each level, one example Scale of Darkness is shown on FIGS. 6 and 7 having six shades each of which has three different Elements.
In general, each deck has one and only one Player Card 10, shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, to represent the individual player in the game. Each player, or Player Card 10, has a number of ability levels 12, starting at an entry level such as 0 or 1, and where each increase in ability level 12 comes with an increase in abilities. This ability to “level up” is a key aspect of the game. The Player Card/Player 10 has a number of individual attributes that define its capabilities for each level 12. For example, the Player has, and the Player Card illustrates, among other things, the Player's level 12, a Player's accumulated Soul Energy 14, and Player's Shields 16. The Player's Shields 16 represent the player's health, or life force, which is a critical component to the game as eliminating the Player's shields 16 is one way to win the game. The Player Card 10 is essentially the main player in the game, and its level and other attributes largely determine much of what a player is able to do during a given turn. The Player Card also includes an attack level or an attack range 18 as well as an amount of Arken 22. The back of the player card may also include a narrative biography 24, or “bio”, of the Player.
Seeker cards 30, shown on FIGS. 2A-2C, which are also referred to as Beasts or Creatures, are cards that a player places in the game as the primary means by which a player both attacks and defends against other players. Seekers 30, like Players 10, may also level up, or mature, over time by gaining certain attributes such as Elements 32, Battle Experience 34, and Age 36 through a process known as BEAM-ing. Each Seeker 30 has unique numbers of each attribute it must reach in order to mature, and as with the Players 10 each level comes with a greater set of abilities. Each Seeker has a number of shields 38 and one or more attack levels 42 that define how the Seeker 30 may both attack and defend.
Relic cards 50, shown in FIGS. 3A-3G, include fragments 52, Gems 54 and Gamuts 56, and are generally used to place Seekers 30 onto the field of play, build up Seekers 30 various attributes to help them mature, and to heal both Players 10 and Seekers 30. More specifically, fragments 52 are fused together to create Gems 54 or Gamuts 56 and the gem or gamut may be used to place a Seeker 30 onto the field. In general, six fragments 52 are needed to create a gem 54 or a gamut 56. Once a player has gem or gamut that has the proper element it may be used to place a Seeker having the same element into the field of play where it may then be used to attack opposing players or defend a player from opposing attacks. In practical terms, “fusing” simply means the six fragment cards are placed together, and then when a player decides to “fuse” the fragments the six fragment cards are replaced by a single Gem or Gamut as appropriate. Relic cards also include Performance Relics, also referred to as Elementals, which enhance a Seeker or Players performance during the battle through bolstering health/shields or bolstering attack or abilities. The final type of Relic cards are have Keepsake Relics, which are something like an item to be held by a Seeker or to dispatch a rare Seeker to the field.
Hex cards 70, shown in FIGS. 4A-4E, are generally used to heal a player 10 or Seeker 30 or to attack an opponent. Fate cards 90, shown in FIGS. 5A-5E, are high risk, high reward cards, and are used to take a chance on either healing the player 10 or Seeker 30 or deal damage to an opponent's player 10 or Seekers 30. Fate cards often involve a risk to the player as a flip of a coin decides the outcome of the card, and there is normally a consequence in which something negative occurs to the player or the player if the coin falls on the wrong side, either directly to the player or to a Seeker. Fate cards fall under the same process as Hex cards, but Hex cards generally may only be used on the player's turn whereas Fate cards may be used at any time during the player's turn or the opponents turn.
Again, each Seeker card belongs to one or more Elements, which determines whether, for example, fragments may be fused to a gem or a gamut, which gems/gamuts may be used to place a Seeker in the game, or whether a particular fate or relic card may be applied to a particular Seeker.
Each type of card also has a specific anatomy.
Anatomy of the Player Card 10.
Player Level: Each player has a set number of levels it may achieve, for example, 7 Level's, all of which are achieved through the cumulative total of Soul Energy (“S.E.”), which the player typically earns through battle.
When a Player reaches the appropriate amount of S.E. indicated in the Total S.E. 26 fields under the number specified by Player Level, they achieve that Level as a Player and unlock those additional skills. When the Player achieves a Level, the player immediately looks at the back of their Player Card, an example of which is shown in FIG. 1B to determine what the particular level provides by reading the narrative assigned to each level. More specifically, the back of the Player Card includes a “Player Level Rewards/Soul Energy Unlockables” section 28 that includes narrative descriptions for each level that describe what the player has achieved and is now capable of. For example, when a player reaches level 2 the Player Card may read: “+2 card draws into your hand, +100 shields, Limbo Unlocked (cost to release onto field or hand—10 S.E.)”. If the player earns more than 1 Level in one turn or on one go, the player collects everything that goes with each level earned. However, if the player is unable to attain something the player must let it pass and such item is not be available for future use. If the player chooses not to collect available rewards they may not be saved for a later turn. As a second option shown in FIG. 1D, the back of the card may have multiple “skill trees” 28A, 28B, or skill paths, that a player may choose from and that provide different sets of benefits as a player advances through the various levels.
Player Shields: Each Player Card 10 has an initial number of shields 16 that indicates the player's life force, or strength. Each time the player is attacked its shields are depleted, and if its shields reach zero the player loses. The change in the number of shields is typically tracked in a separate paper.
Player Attack: Player's have 2 types of attacks 18 that they may use in battle. However, the player may not attack unless defenseless on the battlefield. This means that the Player must not have any Seekers on the battlefield in order to attack an opposing Seeker in retaliation. The Player has a Light attack 18A, which may be used at any time when being attacked defenseless, which may not be used otherwise, but the Player also has a Heavy attack 18B that is typically three times stronger than its Light attack and may be unlocked when the Player achieves a particular level, such as, for example, Level 4. If a Player's attack slays a Seeker while the Player is defending themselves, the excess damage is inflicted upon the opposing Player's Shields.
Arken 22: Arken 22 is a point total that the Player has that may be used to pay for Hex 70 and Fate 90 cards, once those cards have been unlocked through achieving the necessary Player Level 12. The amount of Arken 22 displayed on the Player Card 10 is a set amount that, when used, permanently depletes and may not be recuperated throughout the course of the game, meaning that when a Player's Arken 22 hits reaches zero the Player 10 is out of Arken 22 and may not any more. If a Player is struggling to draw Gems 50, that player may use Arken to Gem Mine even when the Gem Mine has not been unlocked through earning Player Level's. For example, the Player one use one point of Arken to access the Gem Mine.
Soul Energy 14: The Point System 29 in which a Player earns Soul Energy 14 is explained on the Player Card. The Point System 24 illustrates a tally chart for the Player to keep track of their S.E., which is kept by a cumulative total of Soul Energy. The cumulative total is simply the total S.E. throughout the game. A Player does not lose the total amount. A Player may spend S.E. for various different things, e.g. releasing Seeker from Limbo, which takes away from available S.E. but does not impact the cumulative total of S.E.
As previously noted, the back of the Player Card 10 includes the Player Bio 24, which is a brief synopsis of the background of a character of a Player's choosing.
Anatomy of Seeker Cards 30. The Seeker Cards 30 typically have the most complex features. FIGS. 2A-2C illustrate examples of a Seeker card over three stages of maturing, or B.E.A.M.ing, while FIG. 2D illustrates an example Seeker Stat Sheet for tracking a Seeker's stats during the game.
Seeker Rarity & Number: Each Seeker has a name 32 and a rarity 34 and a number 36, which may be found near the top of the card 5/30. Rarities indicate the age or growth stage of the Seeker and include: Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, and Omega, where Alpha is the youngest and the weakest, followed in age and strength by, in order, Beta, Gamma, Delta, and Omega, with Omega being the oldest and therefore the strongest. The number 36 also indicates what iteration the Seeker was discovered in in the Vaylyx Realm, with a decimal point and number following the discovery number. This number indicates its rarity as well but in numerical form, e.g. 50.1—Alpha, 50.2—Beta, 50.3—Gamma, 50.4—Delta, 50.5—Omega.
Attacks and Attack Level 38: Seekers typically have 2 attacks, 38A, 38B, to choose from and sometimes a third, with the example in FIG. 2A-2C illustrating a 2-attack card. If a Seeker 30 has a 3rd move, its first attack is of its Tertiary Element, which is the Element it is least connected with. The first attack, and often times secondary attack, is an attack that does not require any sort of Element to unlock because it is unlocked as soon as the Seeker 30 is placed into the game. To find the true potential of a Seeker's attack its Primary attack must be unlocked. The method of unlocking this attack may be found above the Attack's name and is labeled S.E./E 42, which means that a player is unable to unlock the Attack until the cost to unlock said Attack is paid. A player may pay the cost through Soul Energy or through Elements. For example if the attack says: S.E./E—10, this means that a player needs to attach 10 Elements, e.g. 10 Gem Fragments or 1 Gamut and 4 Fragments, in order to unlock that attack, or pay 10 Soul Energy. The difference of Element and Soul Energy difference may not be split, the cost must be paid by one or the other.
Shields: Shields 44 are a Seeker's life points, or health, and if depleted to 0, the Seeker is sent to the Afterlife and effectively removed from the game. After a Seeker is sent to the Afterlife it is possible to revive the Seeker and place it back into the active field of play.
Elements: Each Seeker has at least one Element 46, and often two or three Elements, embedded within. From a narrative perspective these elements 46 are emblematic of the Seeker's genetic makeup. On the card 5/30, inside the large Banner containing the image of the Seeker are emblems that indicate the elements embedded in the Seeker. The left is the Primary Element of the Seeker and the right is the Secondary Element, and if a Seeker has 3 elements built in it, Seeker's Primary Element moves to the middle of the card, the Secondary Element moves to the left, and its Tertiary Element is on the right of the banner. The Elements also correspond to the Seeker's attack ability, with, for example, its primary element corresponding to its primary attack, which is its heaviest or strongest attack, and its secondary element corresponding with its secondary attack.
Soul Energy (S.E.): From a narrative perspective Seeker S.E. 48 is energy that a Seeker holds within it that supports its soul. The number below the S.E. box 46 depicts what amount of Battle Experience (B) a Seeker and Player attains for slaying the Seeker. For example, if the Seeker has 5 S.E. and is slain the Seeker who has slain the slayed Seeker attains 5 S.E. in which 5 points are added towards that Seekers B.
Stages of Life: On the left and right side of the picture of the Seeker are small images of other Seekers that illustrate the prior and/or next stages of life. Specifically, on the left hand side of the card is the Seeker's previous stages of life and the right side of the card is what the Seeker may B.E.A.M. to or its next/future stages of life.
Strengths/Weaknesses/No Effect: Every Seeker has Strengths 41 and Weaknesses 43 when it comes to attacking and defending. At the bottom middle of the card are letters that read: ‘S’, and ‘W’ with the ‘O’ having a line through it. There are also mini emblems on the bottom. These emblems are the Elements that a Seeker is good or bad against defensively rather than offensively. So if the strength emblem has an x2 over it, the damage is ¼ of the standard attack. For example 300 damage attack does 75 damage. As for Weaknesses: a Seeker's weaknesses do double the damage a normal attack does and a x2 emblem makes the attack do x4 the damage. Ex: 100 damage does 400. No effect makes it so that the Seeker does not take any damage from the opponents attack.
Ultimate Ability/Attack: All Seekers have Ultimate's 45. Ultimate's are a Seeker's strongest base attack from a damage perspective, and it is an attack that uses no particular element such that the attack always does the damage read on the card. Sometimes Ultimate's might be abilities, not only attacks, such as the ability to discard an opposing player's cards. All Ultimate's come at a cost 45B in the form of a Seeker's soul energy, which the Seeker pays to use the attack.
B.E.A.M.: B.E.A.M. is the process a Seeker goes through to get to its next stage of life, meaning its progression from Alpha to Beta and ultimately Omega. All 4 corners of the card have number that correspond to this B.E.A.M, and each number must be met or exceed in order to B.E.A.M to the next stage.
Battle Experience (B) 31: In the top left hand corner of the card is the Seekers Battle Experience B 31. B is a Seekers experience in battle which is determined by attacking and Slaying an opponent Seeker. Every Seeker, upon arrival to the battlefield, has 0 Battle Experience. A player obtains points towards the Seekers B according to the S.E. of an opposing Seeker that has been slain and by attacking in general. Specifically, attacking an opposing Seeker or Player awards the attacking Seeker+1 point towards its (B), while Slaying a Seeker awards the Seeker the Soul Energy points of the opposing Seeker and also adds the amount of Soul Energy to the slaying Seekers (B).
Element (E)/Dispatch Cost 33: In the top right hand corner is a Seekers E (Element). Element points are earned simply by attaching Gem Fragments, Gems, and Gamuts. In order to essentially play anything in a battle Gems or Gamuts must be deployed. From a narrative perspective, Gems are essential for powering up a Seeker to give it confidence to enter the battlefield to protect the Player and to help power it up in general to unlock its attacks. Fragments placed onto the battlefield and attached to a particular Seeker give it +1 (E) point and fused Gems, Spectrum Gems, and Gamuts are worth 6 points towards its (E). Attached Fragments do not go away and remain attached to targeted Seeker unless the Seeker is slain. Fragments attached to a Seeker that are slain are lost and are sent to the Afterlife, i.e. the discard pile. Fusing gems is key because fused gems may not be destroyed and may also be used to power up a Seeker by 6 (E). If a Seeker is destroyed with a Gem or Gamut attached to them, the Gem or Gamut are returned to the Gem Pool for future use. While this number represents Element and one of three categories of what it needs to B.E.A.M., the number also represents the amount of Fragments/Gems/Gamuts that need to be activated in the Gem Pool in order to dispatch Seekers onto the field. For example, if the player has a Seeker that reads 5 on the (E) category, the player needs to either activate 5 fragments in order to play that Seeker onto the field or activate a Gem or Gamut. This is the normal method of Seekers being played onto the field.
Age (A): In the bottom left hand corner of the Seeker card is its Age A 35. From a narrative perspective, a Seeker needs to have time to grow in order to mature both in and outside of battle. Age points are added to a Seeker at the beginning of player's turn for a player that has one or more Seeker's on the battlefield, specifically, each Seeker present on the field at the beginning of a turn earns+1 point towards their A.
Mutation/Maturation (M): In the bottom right hand corner of the Seeker card is its last step before it may grow into its next stage of life, its M 37. Mutation/Maturation is simply just a total of the other 3 numbers in the corners of the card, such that B+E+A=M. Once it reaches its M, a player may search its Regiment for its next stage, which is illustrated on the right side of the Seeker card. As an example for meeting M FIG. 2A shows a 7 for (B) 31, (E) 33 is in the upper right hand corner requires 3, (A) 35 is in the bottom left and reads 6, so that a total of the 3 numbers in the 3 corners, 7+3+6=16, informs the Player that Seeker's Mutation may occur when it reaches a total of 16 B.E.A.M. points. Seeker MUST hit number total for B, E, and A. However, numbers may surpass totals on Seeker cards, the Seeker itself just may not Maturate or Mature until all numbers are met. The B.E.A.M numbers carry over when the players B.E.A.M., including the numbers that were surpassed. If Seeker is at its final stage of life and has met all of its numbers, it reaches Full Potential and unlocks its Ultimate as an extra attack for no cost.
Scale of Darkness (S.o.D.): Located towards the bottom of the card is the S.o.D. 39 that depicts how much dark or light is inside a Seeker. As previously noted, the Scale contains all Elements within it and divides them up into 6 categories: Aurora, having the most light, Glint, Dawn, Dusk, Shade, and Vanta, having the least light. Players may fuse gems and Gamuts together from fragments and by this send out any Seeker that has their elements within that one Gem or Gamut. A player may also use any Gamut on a Seeker as long as it's labeled on their S.o.D. Any category highlighted in this S.o.D. is able to be used for a Seeker. Meaning, if a Seeker had Aurora and Glint as highlighted categories, an Aurora and Glint Gamut is able to dispatch that particular Seeker, if a player has the right amount for its dispatching cost.
Anatomy of a Relic Card.
Relics 50 fall into the following four categories: Fragments; Gems; Gamuts; and Elementals. Unlike any of the Seeker, Fate, and Hex cards, Relic's do not have a casting cost or any stipulations to use/play the card during the game.
Elementals are typically a one-time play-and-dispose type of card that benefits a player some way. Elementals are usually designed to assist the player, for example, either with a healing benefit or some form of “unlocking”, and have no cost to play. As a specific example, the Elemental Relic shown in FIG. 3G allows a player to unlock a Seeker's primary attack for one turn, whereas the Elemental Relic shown in FIG. 3F is a “mending patch” that “heals” a Seeker by adding 50 shields to that Seeker per turn for a total of 3 turns. Each Elemental Card includes a name or title 51, a functional description 53, and a usage description 55. The card's also include a rarity indicator 62.
Fragments, Gamuts, and Gem are related to one another, and once played into the game they are initially stored in the Gem Pool at the bottom middle of the battlefield and then are commonly used to play, or dispatch, Seeker, Hex and Fate cards. Fragments and Gems each have a single element 52, while Gamuts have three elements 52. The elements are shown graphically 52A near a center portion the card 50, and a name 52B of the element is written at the top of the card 50. Each card 50 includes the type 54 of Relic, e.g., Fragment, Gem, or Gamut. A Scale of Darkness 56 is included on the bottom of the card. And, each card has a narrative section 58 that includes “Facts and Things to Know” about the particular card.
Fragments are placed once per turn, if they are present in a player's hand, into the Gem Pool. Once 6 Fragments are placed into the Gem Pool and are active, a player may fuse the Fragments into a Gem or a Gamut in the Gem Pool, and subsequently place the Fragments into Afterlife. To “fuse” Fragments into a Gem each Fragment must have the same element as the Gem. For Gamuts a player needs 1 Fragment per each of the 3 elements in the particular Scale of Darkness category that the particular deck is built around. When at least 1 of each of the 3 Elements in that particular Scale of Darkness are Active in the Gem Pool and there are a total of 6 Fragments a Player is able to fuse the Fragments to form a Gamut. Gems and Gamuts may not be deactivated but Fragments, upon its 3rd use, become deactivated and may not become active again until 6 Fragments are placed into the Deactivated Zone to fuse into a Gem or Gamut. Once fused into Gem or Gamut, a player must wait one turn before moving that Gem or Gamut into the Active Zone to be used again.
As an example, FIG. 3A illustrates a Radiant Fragment, which is a member of the Aurora category on the Scale of Darkness, and FIG. 3B illustrates a Radiant Gem. Once a player is able to play 6 Radiant Fragments into the Gem Pool the player is able to fuse those fragments into the Radiant Gem, placing the Fragment cards into the afterlife/discard pile and placing the Radiant Gem into the Gem Pool. As a further example, FIG. 3C illustrates an Aurora Gamut that is built from a Radiant element, a Nature Element, and a Wind Element, and FIGS. 3D, 3E illustrate a Nature Fragment and Wind Fragment, respectively. In order for a player to fuse Fragments into the Aurora Gamut it must first play into the Gem pool at least one of each of the Gamut elements, i.e. one Radiant, one Nature, and one Wind. The player then needs a total of six Fragment from those three elements, such as 4 Radiant, 1 Nature, 1 Wind, or 2 Radiant, 2 Nature, and 2 Wind. As with the Gem, once a player has the Fragments in the player's Gem Pool that are required by the Gamut card, the player “fuses” the Fragments to “create” the Gamut, and moves the Fragment cards into the discard/afterlife pile and places Gamut into 1st slot of Gem Pool, where, upon each use, cannot be exhausted and will stay in 1st slot upon each use.
Anatomy of Hex 70 and Fate 90 Cards.
FIGS. 4A-4E and 5A-53 illustrate the Hex 70 and Fate 90 cards, respectively, which are based on the “P.L.E.A.S.E. method” as defined below. As previously noted, Hex cards 70 are generally used to heal a player 10 or Seeker 30 or to attack an opponent. Fate cards 90 are high risk, high reward cards, and are used to take a chance on either healing the player 10 or Seeker 30 or deal damage to an opponent's player 10 or Seekers 30. Each card 70, 90, includes a Function Description 71, 91, that describes what the card does.
The hex cards 70 may, for example, as shown in FIG. 4A, shield a seeker from any attack for one turn, or, as shown in FIG. 4B, the hex card my add 50% of a Seekers shield capacity back to the Seeker. FIGS. 4C-4E illustrate further Hex cards, that: heal a seeker but harm the player; add battle experience, age, and soul energy to a seeker; and return a discarded card to the players hand.
The fate cards 90 may, for example, as shown in FIG. 5A, be used to increase the attack of a Seeker or to send a Seeker into limbo. Or, as shown in FIG. 5B, a seeker may be revived or sent to limbo depending on a roll of a dice. FIGS. 5C-5D illustrate other possibilities, including: searching a player's Regiment for a particular card, but, also setting all opposing seekers free from Limbo; Playing an additional Fragment into the Gem Pool based on an opponent's roll of a dice, but allowing the opponent to draw an additional card if they roll the wrong number; or adding 100 shields per flip of a coin if the coin is called correctly while in the air.
The P.L.E.A.S.E method requires a certain player level (PL) to unlock the respective card before it may be used. Once the card is unlocked the player has 3 different options to play the card; 1) using an Element (E) which is by using fragments/Gems/Gamuts that are active in the Gem Pool; 2) using Arken (A); or 3) using Soul Energy (SE). On Hex/Fate cards the top left corner number is the required Player Level (PL), top right is the required element (E), bottom left is the required Arken (A), and bottom right is the required Soul Energy (SE). The P.L.E.A.S.E method is further described as follows:
Player Level: In order to unlock the ability to use Fate and Hex cards, the player must be of a certain Player Level that both Hex and Fate cards indicate, by number, in the top left corner of the card(s) 72, 92. For example: a number in the top left hand corner of a Hex and Fate card may read ‘3.’ This means that a player must attain Player Level 3 on before the card is usable. A player achieves the Player Level by attaining Soul Energy from numerous different ways, as previously described. Once a player has reached this indicated Player Level the player may use a Hex or Fate in battle using 1 of 3 methods: Element 74, 94, Arken 76, 96, or Soul Energy 78, 98. By playing a Hex or Fate card and using any one of the methods, whichever method used is depleted from the available Fragments, Arken, or Soul Energy.
Element: Once Player Level on both Fate and Hex cards is/are met, a player may use this method to play a Fate/Hex card onto the battlefield. In the top right of Hex and Fate cards is what is known as Element. By using Element (E), the player is using the power of the Gems/Gamuts/Fragments in the Gem Pool, meaning, when in battle, to cast out a Fate or Hex a player needs to use Gems, Gamuts, or Fragments that are Active in the player's Gem Pool and are not disarmed from previous use to play these Hex or Fate cards.
Arken: Once Player Level on both Fate and Hex cards is/are met, the player may use this method to play a Fate/Hex card onto the battlefield. In the bottom left hand corner is what is known as Arken. By using Arken, a player is using the power of the Player to play these cards. A player starts the game off with a set amount of Arken on the Player card and as the player uses this Arken the Arken points are then diminished and may not be restored.
Soul Energy (S.E.): Once Player Level on both Fate and Hex cards is/are met, a player may use this method to play a Fate/Hex card onto the battlefield. S.E. may be used from the player's available S.E. located on the Player Card. Player's attain Soul Energy in numerous different ways, such as: Slaying an opponent Seeker, B.E.A.M.'ing a Seeker, Striking an opponent's Shields with a Seeker, S.T.A.R.'ing an opponent Seeker, Absolving an opponent Seeker, and Fusing Gems/Gamuts. If the Player has spent his/her S.E., he/she may not cast out a Hex or Fate card. If a player has paid the cost of the card, subtract from the available S.E. on the Played Card.
Difference in Fate and Hex Cards: The only difference in a Fate and Hex card besides their names and the abilities of the cards are that a Fate may be played at any time and offers high risk, high reward to the Player playing the card, as opposed to a Hex that often does not have a decision to make and may not be played at all times in a battle. Fate cards are usually found as big decision making cards that normally have 2 or 3 different scenarios to decide ones “Fate.” Hex cards are more of a straight forward type of spell/ability. Light Hex/Fate cards may only be played by an element, if this is the method of playing the card, inside the first 3 categories of darkness. Dark Hex/Fate cards may only be played by an element in the last 3 categories of darkness.
Rarity of Card: The rarity of cards 79, 99, are displayed in the left middle of the card. The cards include emblems to indicate the particular rarity such as: ‘AR,’ ‘BR,’‘GR,’ ‘DR,’ and ‘OR.’ These stand for: AR=Alpha Rare, BR=Beta Rare, GR=Gamma Rare, DR=Delta Rare, and OR=Omega Rare. Just like the rarity of Seekers, Alpha's are the most common and easy to find and not as powerful and Omega's are the best of the best and the hardest to come by.
Type of Card: In the window below the large Emblem of a Hex or Fate is the type of card it is: Light or Dark. Light Hexes and Fates may be played by Gems/Fragments that are of the Light on the Scale of Darkness and vice versa for Dark Hex/Fate. On the very bottom of the card is the Scale of Darkness 71, 91. This is to assist a player in what Elements apply to a Light or Dark Hex/Fate.
Deck Building
The deck may be comprised of a wide range of cards, likely anywhere from 50 to 200 cards is feasible, however, using 64-85 cards for an individual players deck is usually ideal. Each deck should be catered to a style a player wants to build the player's deck around. Decks are built around Seekers and their Elements that are built into them. Decks may be constructed to fit just 1 particular Element or constructed to fit multiple elements that Seekers contain. More specifically, decks built around a category in the Scale of Darkness may use 3 Elements in their deck and any Seeker with at least 1 of the 3 elements are able to be used as part of the deck. Decks that are premade, e.g. starter decks, contain all a player needs to start the player's first battle.
Hex, Fate, and Elemental cards have a Rarity scale that depicts how many a player may have in a deck at a time, which scale goes as follows, with the number corresponding to the number that is allowed in a single deck at any time: Alpha Rare (AR)—5, Beta Rare (BR)—4, Gamma Rare (GR)—3, Delta Rare (DR)—2, Omega Rare (OR)—1.
Player's may use as many Fragment/Gem/Gamut Relics in a player's deck as desired. These have no minimum or maximum quantity needed in a deck.
Recommended Cards and Standard Amounts in a Deck:
FRAGMENTS: 1) Fragments pertaining to a 1 Element deck, i.e. where all Seekers must carry the Element the player is building the player's deck around: 25-30; 2) Fragments pertaining to a Gamut deck, i.e. a 3 Element deck: 10-15 Fragments of majority of Seekers that carry this particular Element/Fragment in them; 8-12 Fragments of 2nd most Element of Seekers in a player's deck; 5-8 Fragments of the minority share of Seekers who carry 1 of the 3 Elements inside them. These amounts may vary depending on how many Seekers of different Elements a player may use.
For Example: A Vanta Gamut Deck is the Darkest and last category in the Scale of Darkness. The Vanta Gamut is made by the 3 Elements that are inside the Vanta category of the Scale of Darkness. These 3 Elements are: Toxic, Undead, and Shadow. When building the Vanta Gamut Deck, a player may have about 20 Seekers in the player's Deck. Of those Seekers, a player may have 10 Seekers who contain the Toxic Element in them, 6 Seekers with Undead, and 4 Seekers with Shadow. A player's odds of drawing a Seeker with the Toxic Element amongst the player's Regiment are a lot more probable. So, because a player needs Fragments to dispatch Seekers onto the battlefield, when building the player's deck, the player wants the majority of Fragments to be greater than the other Fragments built into that deck that carry the smaller majority of Elements in the player's Seekers. Henceforth, 10 Seekers who carry the Toxic Element need 10-15 Fragments built into that deck to make it easier to draw those according fragments; 6 Seekers carrying Undead need 8-12; and 4 Shadow need 5-8.
If all the player's Seekers are equal, say the player has 18 Seekers and the player has 6 Shadow, 6 Undead, and 6 Toxic then the player makes sure the player has equal Fragments in the deck. Meaning, the player wants 8-12 fragments per Element in that particular category in the Scale of Darkness.
If a player is building a Spectrum Deck, a deck built with at least 1 Element from each Category in the Scale of Darkness, then the player's Fragments total vary and are more balanced. Meaning if a player had 18 Seekers in this deck, the player has 3 Seekers for each category and about 5 Fragments per Seeker. Meaning, having one Element per Category to keep dispatching Seekers out onto the battlefield. Reminder: 6 Categories, 1 Element per category is all a player needs to form a Spectrum Gem. The Spectrum Deck is easily the hardest Deck to build/make but for having High Risk, there is very High Reward. If a player gets 1 Element of each Category onto the battlefield, the player may fuse this and make a Spectrum Gem. The Spectrum Gem may dispatch any Seeker of any Element down onto the battlefield and may also S.T.A.R. any Seeker. These are tough decks to build but they're also the only decks that may dispatch any Seeker and summon, “The Elemental Divine,” the strongest card in the game.
GEMS/GAMUTS: Gems and/or Gamuts in a deck may include no more than 5 of the same Gem/Fragment because a player may fuse Fragments together to make a Gem or Gamut, where Gamuts must have 1 of each of the 3 elements onto the battlefield, meaning either in the Gem Pool or attached to Seeker, to be able to fuse.
For example, a player has the Vanta Gamut deck and in that Vanta Gamut carries: Toxic, Undead, and Shadow. A player needs at least 1 each of every element to be able to fuse. A player might have 3 Toxic, 2 Undead, and 1 Shadow and the player had 6 Fragments able to fuse because the player had at least 1 per Element in that particular Category and had 6 total Fragments. A player might be unable to fuse if the player had 4 Toxic and 2 Undead Elements for example because although the player has 6 Fragments, the player does not have at least 1 Elemental Fragment, per category in the SoD.
Gems are different because a player only has that particular Element in the player's deck and all the player's Seekers are built around that one particular Element/Fragment. For example, if a player has 6 Fragments in the player's Gem Pool, there is only 1 particular Element in which they have no stipulations. A player just fuses and enjoys that Gem. Spectrum Gems are the only Gem that is different. Spectrum Gems contain 1 Element of each category in the SoD. Meaning, they may only be fused by 1 Element per category.
SEEKERS: Most decks typically have 15-25 Seekers per deck, including the B.E.A.M forms. If a player does not have B.E.A.M.'d forms, the player may not B.E.A.M. the player's Seeker. Also, if B.E.A.M.'d Seeker form is in Afterlife from previously being on battlefield, the player may not select that particular card from the Afterlife to attain it, the card must come from the Main Deck or Mystery Draw.
HEX/FATE/RELICS: Most decks have only 5-10 Fate cards as well as 5-10 Hex cards. There are both Dark and Light Hexes. Light Hexes are able to use on the Light side of the Scale of Darkness, e.g. Aurora, Glint, Dawn, and Dark Hexes are used on the Dark side of the Scale of Darkness, e.g. Dusk, Shade, Vanta.
There are also both Dark and Light Fate's. Light Fate's are able to use on the Light side of the Scale of Darkness, e.g. Aurora, Glint, Dawn, and Dark Fate's are used on the Dark side of the Scale of Darkness, e.g. Dusk, Shade, Vanta.
—The Game—
The game may be won in three different ways. First, a player may take down an opponent by depleting the opponents shields to 0 by the use of the player's custom built Regiment, e.g. the Deck, and the Hex, Fate, Relic, and Seeker cards found within it. A second way of victory is to take down the opponent by taming seven of their Seekers and Absolving those Seekers of Soul Energy. This Soul Energy rids the world, i.e. the game, of darkness. The last way of victory is to deplete opponents cards so they are unable to draw from their Regiment AND have no more cards to play. In any event of a tie, the winner is decided by the amount of Seekers an opponent has tamed. If there is still a tie after this, the match results in a draw.
To setup and play the game each player ideally uses a battlemat, which assists the players in playing their cards and tracking the game play, though one is not necessary. Each player starts with a Regiment, which is a deck of cards. Each player than chooses a Player Card if s/he has collected such a card or they create a card. If the Player Card includes multiple “paths”, the player chooses one of the paths to play in the game. The player then constructs a Mystery Draw pile from the Regiment deck by selecting 5 cards from his/her deck by choice, i.e. looking at the cards and choosing the 5 that the player feels have the most strategic value, and then adding 5 cards drawn at random to create a 10-card Mystery Draw pile. Both the deck and mystery pile are shuffled and placed on the board and then the game is ready to play.
To start, each player draws 7 cards from the Regiment. Whichever Player starts the game, referred to a “Player 1”, does not draw a card to start. The next Player, after Player 1 ends their turn, does draw a card to begin their turn and every turn after the 1st turn all players begin drawing cards at the beginning of their turn.
Each player's turn typically includes the following phases, conducted in order if applicable: a First Main Phase; a Building/Fusing Phase; an Attack Phase; a Second Main Phase; and an Enemy Phase.
The First Main Phase is the core phase where most of the game's offensive strategy occurs. During this phase players are able to place Seekers onto the battlefield and play hex, fate, and relic cards in order to advance the player and/or the player's Seekers or to attack an opponent. A player may continue to make moves and play cards so long as there are moves that may be made or cards that may be played based on the player's strategic position in the game and the cards presently available to the player.
During the building phase players move fragments from the gem pool onto Seekers which enables them to mature so as to become more powerful through the B.E.A.M. process. This phase is also a fusing phase where the users turn fragments into complete gems or gamuts.
The attack phase is the phase where Seekers are in battle position and trying to disarm or harm an opposing Seeker or player. In general each Seeker is able to launch one attack per turn.
The Second main phase is similar to first main phase, where the player has a second opportunity to make the same types of moves now that the state of the game has been altered by the prior phases.
Following the second main phase the player's turn ends, and s/he transitions to the Enemy phase, which is a defensive phase wherein the players are only able to defend attacks by an opposing player.
Players: The game may be played with 1-4 players, with a 1v1 game typically the most favored way to play due to its submersive, quick, and captivating game play. However, this game may be played however the user/player sees fit to make a positive impact on their experience. Game Modes typically are: Solo, 1v1, 1v1v1, 2v1, 2v2, or 1v1v1v1. Length and time of game play increases the more players that are added.
Equipment: the cards required in each player deck are ideally a minimum of 64 and maximum of 85, 1 Player Sheet to track Player Level and other Player stats, 1 Seeker Stat Sheet to track Seeker data for progressions through B.E.A.M., and damage tokens to reduce the headache of calculations when a Seeker is dealt damage. Optional, but beneficial, equipment may include: a coin to flip in the air for Hex/Fate cards; and a conventional six-sided die, and/or possibly a 20-sided.
Estimated Time to Play: Time varies with how many people are playing. A typical 1v1 match lasts usually 30-90 minutes. Typical 3 Player (1v1v1) matches range from 60-120 minutes. Typical 4 player (1v1v1v1 or [2v2]) matches range from 120-180 minutes.
Preparation & Game Setup:
If a player has a battle mat or playing field mat, the player places it in front of them. If not the player is able to play the game without one.
Player's start by selecting a premade or self-built Regiment, i.e. a deck of cards, that the player has customized and places it onto the “field” on a bottom right side of the playing field or table, closest to the player. If a player has a battle mat, the player places the Deck down on the “Regiment (Main Deck)” label.
The player typically has 1 of 6 Player Cards to pick from or a player has the option to create their own Player, referred to as a “C.A.P.” Each Player card has their own biography and stats. A player selects one or creates one that best fits their Regiment and puts it off to the side, the Player Card is where the player keeps stats such as: Soul Energy, Level, Shields, and Arken. Each Player Card has its own class, skills, stats, and perks/rewards. Before the match, Player's select which path of their character class they want to travel. Each C.A.P. has a different class and each class has a dark and light path pertaining to it and their own unique abilities and leveling system.
Using a pen and paper is an easy way for the player to track the information on the Player Card. This allows the player to track the Shields of their Player Card on paper and keep stats for shield increase and decrease as the game goes on.
MYSTERY DRAW: Before placing Regiment in its proper place on the battlefield, the player looks through their deck and places 5 cards off to the side for inclusion into the Mystery Draw pile. Once the player selects the 5 cards they want from their deck, they shuffle to their Regiment and selects 5 cards at random to place with the 5 cards they personally selected before. The player then has a mini pile of 10 cards that comprise the Mystery Draw Pile. The player shuffles this Mystery Draw Pile and places the Pile face down at the bottom left hand corner of the battlefield nearest to the player. The player Shuffles their Regiment until it is well shuffled. Then, the player places this deck face down in the bottom right hand corner of the battlefield nearest to them.
OBJECTIVE—HOW TO WIN: In general there are three different ways to win the game: 1) reducing the opposing player's shields to zero; 2) absolving 7 Seekers; 3) using all of the cards in the player's deck and have exhausted all other available options.
The first method of winning simply involves striking opponents until the Player Card's shield count has diminished to zero.
The second method of winning is to Absolve 7 Seekers. When a player slays an enemy seeker, if the player has active Gem or Gamut, the player has the option to use the Gem/Gamut and pay the soul energy of that Seeker to Absolve that Seeker, which completely and permanently removes the Seeker from the game and counts towards the total needed to win the game.
The third method is completely running out of cards to play. This occurs when the player has no cards to place down or play or move after Main Deck has been completely drawn and there are no cards left to pick up.
How to Play—Phases of the Game:
Who Goes First: After both Mystery and Regiment Decks have been shuffled and are placed on the correct spots on the battlefield or a surface in front of the participants, the players use a random method to determines who goes first such as the game “Rock, Paper, Scissors” or with a flip of a coin.
Each Player Draws 7 Cards: Whichever Player starts the game does NOT draw a card to start (refer to as “Player 1”). The next Player, after Player 1 ends their turn, draws a card to begin their turn. Every turn after the 1st turn, all players begin drawing cards at the beginning of their turn.
Main Phase: At the beginning of a player's turn, the player always draws a card, with the sole exception being the first players first turn. During each turn the players are able to place one fragment into their Gem Pool. After placing a fragment down if a player has no cards that they are able to play and they are unable to attack the player ends their turn. Depending on what a player has in the player's Gem Pool, the player may be able to dispatch a Seeker or multiple Seekers onto the battlefield by paying their dispatch cost located in the top right of the card. If a player is struggling to find a fragment to place onto the field, the player may pay 1 Arken point from the Player Card to “Gem Mine”, which may only be done once per turn. A player also as the option to burn an active fragment in in its Gem Pool, meaning that it may not be disarmed or deactivated for 5 S.E.
To dispatch a Seeker into the game a player matches the player's Fragments or Gems or Gamuts to play a Seeker onto the field. To do this the player must turn the particular relic, i.e. the Gem(s)/Gamut(s)/Fragment(s) to the side, typically clockwise 90 degrees, to indicate that the Relic has been activated. This makes it so the Relics are unable to be used for anything else during this turn because their “power” or “energy” has been used to dispatch the Seeker to the battlefield. This is also referred to as “disarming a card.”
There are 3 regions in the Active Zone of the Gem Pool. A Gem and Gamut differ from Fragments due to the fact that Gems and Gamuts never leave the 1st region of the Active Zone in the Gem Pool. They are used by disarming them and turning them to the right side, 90 degrees from their upright Active position. Then, on their following turn, after being used and disarmed for whatever the player used them for, they are reactivated in that 1st region and ready to be used again during the subsequent turn.
Fragments, on the other hand, are much different. Fragments, when used/disarmed, are turned like Gems and Gamuts, but on their following turn, they are turned upright in the next region of the Gem Pool. They go from the 1^stto the 2^ndregion. Fragments differ from Gems and Gamuts because Fragments only have 3 uses before they are deactivated, whereas Gems and Gamuts reactivate upon every use and may never be destroyed, unless stated otherwise. Fragments move regions upon every use unlike Gems and Gamuts also. In short, when using a Fragment, the Fragment disarms in the region it is in by being turned 90 degrees to the right. This stops the card from further use until the following turn in which the player moves the Fragment back to the upright position but then it is now located in the 2^ndregion (a card length to the right of the 1^stregion). When using the Fragment again in the 2^ndregion, it turns twice 90 degrees, leaving it upside down and indicating its 2^nduse. The same thing occurs for the following turn but this time it moves to the 3^rdand final region of the Active Zone in the Gem Pool. The card is in the Active upright position once again until the player uses it once more. This time, the player turns the card 3 times, 90 degrees to its right, to indicate its 3^rduse. Upon its 3^rduse, it is immediately sent to the Deactivated Zone where the Fragment is not be able to be used again until it is fused into a Gem or Gamut, after which all six fragments enter the deactivated zone.
By activating the(se) Gem(s) or Gamut(s) or Fragment(s), a player is disarming the abilities to dispatch Seekers onto the battlefield and/or eliminating the use for playing Hex/Fate cards by the use of the(se) Gem(s)/Gamut(s)/Fragment(s).
There is no limit to dispatching Seekers onto the battlefield in one turn, as long as a player has the appropriate amount of Gems/Gamuts/Fragments that are Active (upright) to dispatch the Seeker(s). However, only 3 Seekers are allowed on the field at one time. Each of the three Seekers occupies a particular position on the field, with one in the middle, one to the left and one to the right. The Seekers, when played into their positions, must remain in their respective positions that a player has placed them in until they are slain and placed into the Afterlife or unless another card states otherwise.
If a plyer is dispatching a Seeker to the battlefield and this is that particular Seeker's first time on the battlefield, they may not attack unless a player pays that particular Seeker's Soul Energy (S.E.) cost located in the left middle of the card. Meaning, if a player has the available S.E. on their Player Card, the player is able to use it to unlock an attacking phase on their first turn out to the field. Paying S.E. on the first turn one the field allows that Seeker to attack with no delay. A player may pay extra S.E. to unlock the Seeker's Primary attack if the Seeker has not already unlocked its attack through the attachment and building of Fragments/Gems/Gamuts onto Seeker.
However, whenever a Seeker enters the battlefield it is dispatched onto the field in the upright Active position, which indicates that the Seeker may defend an opponent Seekers attack when opponent is trying to strike a player's Player Shields.
Hex and Fate may be used at any time in this phase. However, said Hex and Fate cards must still be unlocked, which is commonly achieved by Leveling Up the player's Player via the Player Level on the Player's Player Card.
The number in the top left corner of both Hex and Fate cards indicate the Level on the player's Player Card that is needed to unlock that Hex and Fate ability. There are three ways to use the abilities of Hex and Fate cards once a player has Leveled Up to the required Player Level. The 3 manners are: 1) by using Relic; 2) using Arken; or 3) by using soul energy. Fate cards may be played in any phase at any time. Hex cards may only be played during a player's turn unless specified otherwise.
As noted, Fragments, Gems, and Gamuts are all Relics, but only Fragments may be placed into the Gem Pool once per turn, unless a particular card/situation specifies otherwise. Gems and Gamuts may not be placed down at any time because they are worth 6 points towards dispatching cost rather than 1 point like Fragments. Gems and Gamuts may only be played through fusing Fragments together.
A Seeker may B.E.A.M. at any time in any phase of the game instantly by meeting requirements in the 4 corners of a Seeker card, namely: battle experience, specified in the upper left corner; elements, specified in the upper right corner; age, specified in the lower left corner; and total of all three needed to “mature”, specified in the lower right corner.
Upon B.E.A.M.ing a Seeker, the player searches the Regiment and Mystery Draw Pile, and/or the cards currently held by the Player to find and deploy the next stage Seeker. If the Regiment and/or Mystery Pile is searched it is shuffled before play resumes. If a Seeker had lost shields prior to B.E.A.M.ing those lost shields are deducted from the total shields of the next-stage Seeker. For example, Alpha Seeker had 180 shields and lost 60 shields before it B.E.A.M.'d such that the Seeker had 120 shields. The Seeker B.E.A.M.'s and its new stage of life has 500 Shields. A player subtracts the 60 shields the player lost from the previous form so now that Seeker has 440 Shields. The player also adds the S.E. of a Seeker a player has successfully B.E.A.M.'d to Player Card. When a Seeker B.E.A.M.'s the Fragments/Gems stay attached onto the next-stage Seeker. The earlier stage Seeker card may be left on the field with the B.E.A.M.'d form placed on top of the previous.
If at any point a player has earned the S.E. to level up the player's Player then the player must and may instantly do so. All that a player earns may not be saved for later unless it is for a Player Perk, e.g. Gem Mine, Mystery Draw, Choice Draw, Limbo, etc., where a player has unlocked these things and may pay their costs to attain cards at a later time if need be. Things such as “earn+100 Shields” must be instantaneous. To see what a player has earned through leveling up, flip the Player Card and find the: “Player Level Rewards/Soul Energy Unlockables,” area on the back and look at the Level the player is attaining. Earn all those rewards instantly.
If a player has dispatched a Seeker down onto the field and it has been one turn since they have been on the field, add +1 “A”, meaning Age, to that particular Seeker's stats. This applies for every full turn a Seeker is on the battlefield.
If it becomes a player's turn again, the player reminds his/her self, if they used their Gems/Fragments/Gamuts, that they don't need to turn back but note that they are activated again and able to use. When a Fragment reaches its 3rd use, it enters the Deactivated Zone. A player may strategize and place Fragment onto a Seeker before a player uses it and deactivates it.
If a player has unlocked perks through leveling up the player's Player Card, such as Mystery Draw, Choice Draw, or Limbo, then the player is able to spend the appropriate S.E. needed to access those areas. 10 S.E. for releasing a card from Limbo or Mystery Draw. 20 S.E. for Choice Draw.
If a player is done or is unable to do anything more with the following above, the player is done with their Main Phase and may now go into the Building/Fusing Phase.
Building/Fusing Phase. The Building Phase is to help build a player's Seekers to make them stronger and power them up. This process is made by attaching Fragments/Gamuts/Gems, from the Active Zone in the Gem Pool only, and moving them onto Seekers in battle position. This process of “building” may power up a Seeker, unlock their attack, and/or create a Gem or Gamut by fusing Fragments together.
Moving Fragments, Gems, or Gamuts from the Active Zone in the Gem Pool onto a Seeker or Seeker's give power to that particular Seeker depending on the Element type a player is attaching to that Seeker. More specifically, the Element of the Fragment, Gem, or Gamut that is attaching onto the Seeker must be of that particular Seeker's Elements that is/are built inside of it. Otherwise, the Fragment, Gem, or Gamut is unable to be moved up onto the Seeker.
The Element(s) that are being attached also added points towards a Seeker's E—Element, e.g. Fragments add 1 point while Gems and Gamuts add 6 points. Moving fragments to Seekers permanently attaches them to the Seeker the player is putting the fragment onto. However, a player is able to fuse the fragments into a Gem, when all Fragments have the same element, or Gamut, when at least 1 of each Element out of 3 Elements in a particular category in the Scale of Darkness. If a player fuses the Fragments into a Gem or Gamut, these newly formed Gems or Gamuts now have the ability to move to and from the Gem Pool; however, only one move per turn where one move is completed by moving to a Relic to the Gem Pool or moving to Seeker of choice. If Gem or Gamut is fused, either on Seeker or in Gem Pool, that counts as a move, therefore, Gem may not be moved to or from that position during the same turn.
Gems and Gamuts must move to the Gem Pool before moving to another Seeker. A player may not move a Gem or Gamut back and forth to and from Seeker's without entering the Gem Pool first. When fusing a Gem or Gamut, the Fragments are placed into the Afterlife. A Gem or Gamut then replaces those Fragments. A player is able to Search through their hand to play a Gem or Gamut first. If it is not there then the player is able to search any place but Limbo or the Afterlife for this Gem or Gamut. Any place a player looks through must be shuffled after selecting Gem or Gamut and now new Gem or Gamut is placed into Gem Pool in place of the Fragments.
Gems, Gem Fragments, and Gamuts that are disarmed in the Active Zone of the Gem Pool, may not be moved up and built onto a Seeker.
If anything is in the Deactivated Zone in the Gem Pool, it may not be used at all unless 6 Fragments are fused together to create a Gem or Gamut. Once a Gem or Gamut is created, the Gem/Gamut is instantly removed from the Deactivated Zone and placed in the Active Zone of the Gem Pool disarmed until following turn. Gems and Gamuts may be Disarmed temporarily for using their power to dispatch a Seeker or play Hex or Fate card but may never be destroyed unless a particular card, e.g. a Fate Card, specifies otherwise, or may never be Deactivated if and once removed from Deactivated Zone entirely.
Inactive cards are typically turned to the side 90 degrees every use from Seeker, Hex, and Fate cards. Upon 3rd use of a Fragment, they are sent to the Deactivated Zone. Anything in the Deactivated Zone of the Gem Pool may not be used or accessed as part of a player's Elements/Fragments in the Gem Pool. Fragments attached to a Seeker may not be deactivated.
A player is allowed to move Fragments to the Deactivated Zone of the Gem Pool but they may not move back until a Gem or Gamut is fused. If a player B.E.A.M.'s with a Gem or Gamut attached, the Gem or Gamut becomes disarmed on the player's Seeker and therefore, the player may not move the Gem or Gamut into the Gem Pool.
Fusing: If a player has up to 6 Gem Fragments in the player's Gem Pool or on the player's Seeker, this 2nd part of this phase allows fusion of these Fragments to create a Gem or Gamut. When fusing a Gem or Gamut, the six Fragments being used to fuse are placed into the Afterlife. A Gem or Gamut then replaces those Fragments. In order to do so, a player is able to search through the player's hand to play a Gem or Gamut first; if it is not there then the player is able to search any place but Limbo or the Afterlife for this Gem or Gamut. Any location a player looks through must be shuffled after selecting a particular Gem or Gamut desired. Then, the Gem or Gamut is placed into the Afterlife zone of the Gem Pool in place of the Fragments. If Fragments were attached to Seeker the new Gem or Gamut is attached beneath the Seeker.
Enemies may destroy fragments attached to a player's Seekers. For example, Fragments may be destroyed by Fate and Hex cards or when a Seeker is slain. If a player is unable to fuse fragments and/or build or choose not to fuse/build upon Seekers or Fragments the player moves onto the Attack & S.T.A.R. Phase.
Attack & S.T.A.R. Phase:
During the Attack and S.T.A.R. phase a player is able to either attack the opponent Player's Shields directly or attack an opponent's Seeker(s). When first entering onto the battlefield a Seeker must wait a full turn to attack unless the Player pays S.E. equivalent to the face value of the player's Seeker card.
For example: a Seeker is dispatched onto battlefield and the Seeker's face value of S.E. located in the middle left of the card reads: 5 S.E. This Seeker may not attack for one turn because it needs to “prepare itself with energy,” but, if the player has available S.E. on the player's Player Card, the player may pay the value of what that Seeker is worth for S.E. and open up the player's available attack. The player has to pay extra S.E. to unlock its locked attacks or move Fragments/Gems/Gamuts onto the Seeker to unlock the attack.
After an attack the attacking Seeker is turned to the right to indicate that it has been activated and is now disarmed, meaning that it is unable to block or intercept an enemy attack for any future use until the beginning of the player's next turn, where it may be turned to the upright Active position again.
A player has a few strategical options while attacking. If a player has just one Seeker on the field and the player's opponent is defenseless, meaning they have no Seeker's on their side of the field to defend them, the player may have a player's Seeker attack the player's opponent's Shields directly. However, if a player does attack a defenseless opposing Player Card the opposing player is then able to use their own attack to attack that particular Seeker back in the same turn.
By attacking with one Seeker, this leaves a player vulnerable from an enemy Seeker's attack and because a player chooses to attack, and has nothing to defend the player's Player Shields, the player technically is not defenseless because the player gave that option up. Meaning, an enemy may attack a player's Shields directly without taking an attack from a player's Player. Player's (C.A.P.'s) may only attack back when defenseless. This applies vice versa for if an enemy has attacked on their turn and Seeker is now disarmed from defending, and it is now the player's turn to attack the opposing Player's Shields. Player's never become disarmed or deactivated and may attack back as many times as an opponent Seeker is attacking But, again, only when defenseless.
If a player has multiple Seekers on the field, the player may choose to have, for example, one to attack and one to block any incoming opponent attacks for the next turn. Or if a player had 3 Seekers, referred to as a Full Troop, the player might have 2 attack and 1 defend, or 1 attack and 2 defend, or even a full out assault by all 3 seekers.
When attacking, a player also chooses who or what the player wants the player's Seeker to target, e.g. which of the opposing player's seekers. However, if a player has a Seeker in an active position to defend an attack, that active Seeker may intercept an attack that's not being targeted towards it. Meaning, if a player chooses to have a Seeker attack the opposing Player's Shields directly, the opponent may choose to have his/her upright active Seeker defend the attack. The damage is then delivered onto that defending Seeker. However, a Seeker in the middle position, i.e. the Troop or Pack leader, is the only position, when active and not disarmed, to defend an attack on either side. If Seeker in middle position is disarmed and there is an attack to a Seeker on the left, the far right Seeker cannot defend the attack. Seekers on the left and right positions may only defend the middle and, of course, themselves from an attack.
When a Seeker intercepts an attack, that Seeker is now taking an attack at their own personal stats. As a part of the strategy, players should check the Seekers strengths and weaknesses to see if the defending Seeker is strong or weak to that new attack, in which case it may make more or less sense to defend based on the ultimate effectiveness of the attack. As always, if any defending Seeker is slain from the/an attack, excess damage is still applied to the defending Player's Shields.
As noted, when one Seeker attacks the defending Seeker checks its strengths/weaknesses/no-effects on the bottom of the card to see defensively what the attackers attack does. First, check what Element of attack the attacking Seeker is attacking with. Then, the Seeker defending the attack looks at the emblems at the bottom middle of the card. If there is an Emblem in the [S-] section that is the same emblem as the Element being attacked with, then that indicates that the defending Seeker is strong against the attack and it does half the damage of the original points of the attack. Ex: Attacking Seeker has an Element of Pyro and that Pyro attack does 100 damage. The Seeker defending the attack checks to see how it fairs defensively against this Pyro attack. The Pyro attack is located in the [S-] (Strengths) section of the card and now only deals 50 damage to the defending Seeker, as opposed to the full 100 because it is strong against the Pyro Element. If a defending Seeker is Weak [W-] to an Element of attack, the damage is doubled. If the Strengths and Weaknesses shows a (x2) this indicates the attack either does ¼ of the original attack in Strengths or 4 times the original attack in Weaknesses.
All Seekers that attack are not able to defend when being attacked on their Defensive Phase, i.e. the Enemy Phase. Any active Seeker may be able defend player or another ally Seeker in their Troop, and when possible they may defend as many times as needed until they are slain, however, this ability depends on placement in the Troop. The Seeker that is located in the middle of a player's troop is the most important position. That middle Seeker may defend to the left and right of it. The Seekers that are placed in the 2 and 3 spots (left and right) in the Troop may only defend the middle Seeker but they are not able to defend each other, no matter if they are in the active position or not. No matter the positioning in the Troop however, any Seeker, if they are in Active positioning, may defend the Player from an attack.
When a Seeker attacks they may accumulate points for themselves and a player in a couple of different ways. When a player's target Seeker strikes the opponent's Player Card directly and does damage to their Shields, that Seeker earns+1 point towards their (B)—Battle Experience. Whenever a Seeker attacks and does damage to an opposing Player or opposing Seeker, that Seeker attacking earns+1 point towards their (B)—Battle Experience, except when a player slays a Seeker. Also, a Player, earns S.E. from the attack equivalent to the player's attacking Seeker's S.E. located in the middle left of the card.
When a player's Seeker strikes and slays an opposing Seeker, they earn that opposing Seeker's S.E. points towards their “B”—Battle Experience points and the Player also earns that particular Seeker's S.E. towards their Player Level.
For slaying a Seeker, a player earns+1 point for striking and then +(x) amount of S.E. points depending on what the defending Seeker that was slain has on their stats. For example, a player attacks a Seeker. Whenever a Seeker attacks a target, it earns+1 towards their (B). Then, let's say that the Seeker is slain from the attack. On top of the +1 for attacking, a player also earns that defending Seeker's S.E. points for slaying it. For this example, let's say the Seeker had [S.E. —4], a player's Seeker that attacked might get the +1 for attacking and +4 more for slaying a Seeker to its (B). As previously noted, when slaying a Seeker, a player earns that slain opposing Seeker's S.E. towards the player's Player as well.
When Slaying a Seeker, the excess damage falls onto the opposing Player's Shields.
Excess damage after slaying a Seeker does not provide the attacking Player extra S.E. for the excess damage strike on the opposing Player, but of course a player acquires opposing Seeker's S.E. when the player slays the Seeker. A player earns S.E. when striking an opposing Player only for when the player strikes a player with a full ‘clean’ attack, with a “clean attack” meaning an attack without any interruptions or excess damage.
After slaying a Seeker the player has a number of options, which are accomplished through the process of S.T.A.R.'ing individual Seekers.
If a player has a Gem or Gamut in the Active Zone of the Gem Pool after if slayed an opposing Seeker the player use that Gem or Gamut to S.T.A.R. that Seeker by turning the Gem or Gamut to activate and disarm it and use it to take an opponent's slayed Seeker, after which the Seeker is placed into a spot on the battlefield called Limbo. For an added challenge, the game may require two Gems or Gamuts to S.T.A.R one of the stronger Seekers, such as those that are classified as either a Delta or an Omega. As an optional manner of play, the opponent may be given a chance to negate the S.T.A.R. by taking a die, calling out a number before they roll, and then rolling said die. If they guess the number right, they negate the S.T.A.R. and the Seeker enters their Afterlife. If the opponent fails to roll the correct number, or the game is played without this option, the player has 1 of 2 options on what to do with the Seeker.
Option 1: As noted above, the player may pay the Seekers soul energy to Absolve the Seeker. Option 2: If Limbo is locked, the Seeker that has been S.T.A.R.'d must remain in Limbo. After Limbo is unlocked, which occurs at some predefined point as the player “levels up” to the required level, the player may pay 10 Soul Energy (S.E.) to place the slayed seeker in the players hand, or the player may pay 25 S.E. to place the Seeker onto the battlefield. If S.T.A.R.'d Seeker's enter Limbo and the Seeker's Elements differ from the elements a player has, the player is unable to play this Seeker is likely to either absolve the seeker or pay the 25 S.E. to immediately play it onto the battlefield, otherwise the player is unable to place the Seeker on the field as it does not have the necessary relics.
S.T.A.R.'ing a Seeker may occur but may only happen if a player has an active Gem or Gamut in the Active Zone of the Gem Pool.
If a player's Gem or Gamut does not pertain to the opposing Seeker's Elements, the player must Absolve the Seeker, which adds the Seeker's S.E. towards the attacking player's Player Level, while the targeted, “S.T.A.R.'d” card is eliminated from the game entirely. More specifically, after a player attacks and a player slays a Seeker, if the player has a full Gem in the player's Gem Pool that is in the Active position, A player has the ability to S.T.A.R. and attain a player's enemy's Seeker. A previously noted, a player's opponent rolls a 6 sided die and calls out 1 number. If they call the number correctly, the opponent keeps his/her Seeker and sends it to their Afterlife. If the player calls the number wrongly, that opponent's Seeker is transferred to the attacking player and is sent to the player's Limbo where the player may pay 10 S.E. to release the into the player's hand with full shields or may pay 25 S.E. to release it onto the field with half of its maximum Shields. Note that a player must have Limbo unlocked before paying S.E. cost to free it. And, if the Seeker is S.T.A.R.'d by a Gem or Gamut that is not relevant to the Seeker's Elements, a player must either Absolve the Seeker or pay the 25 S.E. necessary to have the Seeker placed onto the player's side of the battlefield. Absolving provides a player's Player an amount of S.E. equivalent to the Seeker's S.E. and completely eliminates any opportunity for the opposing Seeker to re-enter the game. As noted, if a player Absolves 7 of a player's opponents Seeker's, the player wins. From a narrative perspective, this manner of winning is due to the fact that the Seeker's “soul” may not survive inside a Gem or Gamut that does not relate to its Elements.
If all of a player's Seekers have attacked or all the Seekers a player likes to have or have not attacked, attack, then the player is finished with the Attack & S.T.A.R. phase and the player moves on into Main Phase 2/End Turn.
Second Main Phase/End Phase:
In the Second Main Phase, also referred to as “Main Phase 2” or “End Turn Phase” a player may do anything that was available during the first Main Phase that had not been done.
For example, if a player earned a Gem Fragment and has not placed down a Fragment during the player's turn, the player is able to do so during the End Turn Phase. If this placing of a Fragment indicates that a player may now dispatch a Seeker onto the battlefield, the player is allowed to dispatch the Seeker, however, the player does not regain the ability to re-enter the previous phases of Building/Fusing and Attack & S.T.A.R. phases.
If a player has not already done so: Add up the points the player attained during the player's attack phase and add them to the player's Seekers B.E.A.M.(s) and the player's Player Level.
If a player is able to dispatch a Seeker onto the battlefield in this Main Phase 2, there is no use in paying S.E. to unlock their attack because they have missed their Attacking Phase and may not go back to it until next turn.
If a player has not played a Fragment and is really desperate in needing a Fragment to play a certain card, the player is able to take a chance and use it's Arken from the player's Player Card and “Gem Mine.” Again, using the Gem Mine costs 1 Arken, which may not be recovered or otherwise restored. As such, using Arken is risky but, if needed, may help a player out if having a tough time drawing a Fragment.
“Gem Mine” is a “Player Perk” that is normally locked on the Player Card. However, this Perk is the only perk that may be accessed without having to unlock the specific Level on the Player Card. It is accessed through spending or “burning” 1 Arken from a player's Player every time the player uses its ability, with the player limited to one time per turn. When a player “Gem Mines,” the player takes the top 3 cards from a player's Regiment and looks at them. Any Fragment gets placed into the player's hand and any non-fragment gets placed at the bottom of the deck. The player does not shuffle the Regiment following this draw. The consequence of Gem Mining before unlocking through Player Level is that a player burns Arken. At any time a player Gem Mines, even when it is unlocked through Player Level, do as follows: If all 3 cards a player draws are all Fragments, the player is allowed to put them all into the player's hand. If 2 are Fragments, the player places these into the player's hand and places the other non-fragments at the bottom of the player's deck. If 1 card is a Fragment, place into hand and the 2 others are placed at the bottom of the deck. If no cards out of the 3 are Fragments, place all cards at the bottom of the Regiment.
If a player is struggling to get S.E. to level up a player's Player, the player is able to burn Fragments in the player's Gem Pool to add 5 S.E. to the player's Player Card. A player may not burn Gems or Gamuts. In this instance “burning” means to discard fragments in place of S.E. towards a player. Any fragments “burnt” must go to Afterlife.
If it comes to the end of a player's turn and the player may not play anymore cards in the player's hand, the player is only allowed a maximum of 9 cards in the player's hand. More specifically, if the player is at the end of this phase and has 10 cards in the player's hand and the player may no longer play or dispatch anything onto the field, the player must discard a card of the player's choice into the Afterlife. A player may only have 9 cards left in the player's hand once the player ends the player's turn.
A player's turn ends once the player has completed everything it may or it chooses to do.
Enemy Phase/Defending
In this phase, the only thing a player is able to do is to defend an opposing Seeker's attack, attack an opposing Seeker back with Player attack, and/or use Hex and Fate cards if at any time it is necessary or applies if Player Level is unlocked.
When a player is defending an attack or intercepting an attack that is directed towards the Player, the player may defend with a Seeker on the field but, only if they are in the Active position. If all Seeker(s) is/are in the disarmed position a player is not be able to intercept the attack with any Seeker and the player receives damage.
A Player may not attack back if a player has Seekers present on the field. The only time a player may attack back as the Player/C.A.P. is if the player has no Seekers to defend themselves and a player is rendered defenseless, i.e. it has zero Seekers on the battlefield.
As previously noted, when defending an attack or intercepting an attack that is directed towards a Seeker, remember, the Seeker in the middle position (1) may defend either side, as long as the Seeker is in an Active position to defend/intercept, but the Seekers to the left (2) and right (3) of that middle Seeker, may only defend the middle (1) but may not defend each other.
Fate's may be used at any time as long as the Player Level is unlocked on the card and a player has the appropriate amount out of the 3 options on the card to cast and play the respective Fate onto the field. Same method for Fate's apply to Hexes as well but they may not be played at any time unless stated otherwise.
If a player's Seeker is slain and the player has a full Gem or Gamut attached to them, the Gem/Gamut falls back into the player's Gem Pool in a “disarmed” position, meaning, a player may not, until the player's next turn, make that Gem “Active” again and it stays turned to its side to indicate it is being used temporarily. If there are only fragments attached to the Seeker, those fragments are discarded and may no longer be used.
Additional Rules:
Adding Elements, e.g. Fragments/Gems/Gamuts, to a player's Seekers help unlock their locked attacks, which is often a Primary attack and sometimes Secondary attack, e.g. if a Seeker has a Tertiary Element attached to it. However, a player wants Gems, Gamuts, and/or Fragments in the player's Gem Pool to help use Hex and Fate and to also dispatch other Seekers to the battlefield. A player may not use moved Fragments that are attached to the player's Seeker to dispatch Seekers. Only active Gems/Gamuts/Fragments in the AZ of the Gem Pool may be used to play cards.
When a player attaches Fragments/Gems/Gamuts to a Seeker, this enables them to earn points towards their (E) but also gives points towards unlocking attacks. Meaning, if a Seeker needs 3 (E), the amount located in the top right of the card, and the player attaches 3 fragments to them, fragments must be of particular Seeker's elements, that Seeker now has 3 points towards its (E) and is meeting 1 of the categories of criteria needed to B.E.A.M. But also, if a player looks on the Seeker card and its Primary attack is locked and, for example, read ‘S.E./E—2’, this means that it either needs 2 fragments attached to unlock the attack or pay 2 S.E. from the player's Player Card. Since in this example a player has attached 3 fragments, the player has unlocked their attack and have met their (E) in the B.E.A.M. process. Say now that a player has a Gem or Gamut attached to the Seeker and chooses to move it down into the Gem Pool, by moving it away from the Seeker, the player is taking away its (E) and therefore, the player has also taken away its points towards unlocking its attack. Meaning, the attack goes back to being locked unless it is paid by soul energy.
A player must select a way to unlock the player's attacks. A player may do so through paying S.E. or building (E)—Fragments/Gems/Gamuts, up onto Seekers. However, a player may not split the cost between the two. It must be that the player pays the full S.E. amount or build the (E) onto the Seeker in order to unlock. If a Seeker has a Tertiary attack, most of the time, its Primary and Secondary attack is locked. Meaning, if a player pays S.E. to unlock an attack, it only unlocks that one attack. So if using S.E. to unlock attacks, a player must pay for both Secondary and Primary unlocks of attacks separately at whatever cost they are. If a player is using (E)—Fragments/Gems/Gamuts, to unlock the attacks, the player does NOT have to use separate Fragments/Gems/Gamuts to unlock the attacks. That is the benefit of attaching Fragments/Gems/Gamuts onto Seeker's.
Seekers that come onto the battlefield may not shift their positions once placed in a certain spot on the battlefield, unless specified otherwise or by another card's ability, e.g. a Fate card.
Building Fragments/Gems/Gamuts onto Seekers must pertain to their Elements. They may not be built onto a Seeker if the Elements of the Gem Fragment, Gamut, or Gem do not pertain to that particular Seekers Elements.
If, for example, a Seeker has Nature and Draco Elements built into it, Nature being its Secondary Element and Draco being its Primary Element, and it is looking to unlock its Primary attack of Draco, the Fragments/Gems/Gamuts being built up onto it must be Draco fragments. A player may build onto a Seeker with other Fragments/Gems/Gamuts that contain the Nature Element inside this particular Seeker in this example, but, if its Primary Attack is Draco and it reads: “S.E./E—6” to unlock its Primary Attack, that means, the player needs 6 Draco Fragments or 1 Draco Gem or 1 Dusk Gamut to unlock its attack.
Divine Seekers, which are Seekers that have 1 Element built into them and are of the Elemental Divine, may be used as Fragments but if used as a Fragment, must remain a Fragment. The same is true if it is used as a Seeker; it may not be used as a Fragment if being used for a Seeker. Divine Seekers may only be absolved when in the Gem Pool. If 6 Seekers, 1 from each category of the Scale of Darkness, are absolved, The Elemental Divine may be played onto the field. This does not add to a player's Absolved Seekers towards winning the game by Absolving 7 Seekers after a S.T.A.R., winning the game must come from S.T.A.R.'d Absolves only. Divine Seekers may be absolved at any time, even when in hand, after which the player earns the S.E. located on the Seeker card. A player may only absolve a maximum of 2 per turn. These cards are place off to the side after Absolving to indicate they are no longer in the game. An Elemental Divine may be summoned at any time by 3 methods: 1) Absolving all 18 Divine Seekers (max 2 per turn); 2) Fuse 2 Spectrum Gems and use both (must fuse 6 Fragments, 1 from each class of the S.o.D. to form a Spectrum Gem); 3) Equivalent of any 20 Points from Fragments/Gem/Gamuts.
If a player uses up a Gem or Gamut with something, for example, that costs 4 to dispatch, the Gem or Gamut does not have 2 points left to it. The entire Gem or Gamut is used, no matter the cost, when the player is activating and using one to play or dispatch something onto the field.
Ultimate's disarm a Seeker and are used as an attack towards the enemy, regardless of whether the ultimate is an ability or an attack. Fragments do not attain 3 uses at one time. They may be used once per turn, like Gems and Gamuts and are disarmed after every use.
It is understood that the embodiments described herein are merely illustrative of the present invention. Variations in the construction of the deck of cards and/or method of play may be contemplated by one skilled in the art without limiting the intended scope of the invention herein disclosed and as defined by the following claims.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A trading card game adapted for play by one or more players, the trading card game comprising:

a plurality of cards, the plurality of cards including at least one player card, a plurality of seeker cards, and a plurality of relic cards;

each player of the one or more players having one player card from the at least one player cards, at least one seeker card and at least one relic card, each of the one or more players respective cards being selected from the plurality of cards;

each player card including two or more ability levels and one or more shields;

each seeker card including one or more attack abilities, one or more shields, and one or more elements;

each relic card including at least one element;

wherein each of the one or more players is able to place a seeker card into the trading card game by attaching a relic card that has the same element as the element of the seeker card; and

wherein once a seeker card has been placed in the game it may be used to attack opposing seeker cards or opposing player cards according to the seeker card's attack abilities.

2. The trading card game of claim 1, the player cards further including soul energy and wherein each of the player card's ability level increases by accumulating a predefined amount of soul energy, and wherein the player card accumulates soul energy by attacking an opposing player's seeker cards; and

wherein as the player card's ability level increases the player card's abilities increase.

3. The trading card game of claim 2, the seeker cards further including soul energy and wherein the seeker cards mature into a higher form be accumulating a predefined amount of soul energy, and wherein the seeker cards accumulate soul energy by attacking an opposing player's seeker cards or the opposing player cards; and

wherein as the seekers cards mature the higher forms have higher shields and higher attack abilities.

4. The trading card game of claim 2, the plurality of relic cards including fragment cards and gem cards;

wherein fragment cards are fused together to create gem cards; and

wherein the player card accumulates soul energy when a player fuses fragments into gems.

5. The trading card game of claim 4, wherein gems are formed by fusing together six fragments that have the same elements.

6. The trading card game of claim 4, the relic cards further including gamut cards, each gamut card having three elements;

wherein gamut cards are formed by fusing fragment cards having the same elements as the gamut card; and

wherein the player card accumulates soul energy when a player fuses fragment cards into a gamut card.

7. The trading card game of claim 6, wherein six fragment cards are fused together to create a gamut and wherein each of the three elements of the gamut must be included in the elements of the six fragment cards.

8. The trading card game of claim 4, wherein each attack from a seeker card or player card towards an opposing seeker card or player card reduces the shields of the opposing seeker card or player card by an amount equal to the attack value of the attacking seeker card or player card; and

wherein, reducing a seeker card's shields to zero slays the seeker card; and

wherein, reducing a player card's shields to zero eliminates the player.

9. The trading card game of claim 8, wherein upon slaying a seeker the player that slayed the seeker adds the slayed seeker card's sole energy to the player's player card.

10. The trading card game of claim 4, wherein each of the elements belong to a darkness level from a scale of darkness, the scale of darkness having a plurality of levels of darkness; and

Wherein the Player cards and the Seeker cards that have a lighter level of darkness from the scale of darkness have comparatively more shields relative to darker levels of the scale of darkness, and the Player Cards and the Seeker Cards that have darker levels of darkness from the scale of darkness have comparatively more attacks relative to the lighter levels of darkness.

11. The trading game of claim 1, the plurality of cards further including a plurality of hex cards and wherein each hex card may be used by a player to either add shields to a player card or a seeker card, or to attack an opposing player card, or to attack an opposing seeker card.

12. The trading card game of claim 1, the plurality of cards further including a plurality of fate cards, each of the fate cards configured to either add or remove shields from one of the player cards or one of the seeker cards, and a coin being flipped to determine which of the respective cards the fate card impacts.

13. The trading card game of claim 10, wherein each of the one or more players has a deck of cards that are comprised of cards from the plurality of cards, and wherein each card in the player's deck of cards has an element that is from the same level of the scale of darkness as every other card in the player's deck of cards.