Planar Conflict: Rules (Draft)

Here is a rough draft on the rules for Planar Conflict and how it differs from the base game. This is just an early draft, so nothing is set in stone...

You will need a pen and paper, or use some other way of tracking damage (like 2 ten-sided dice) for each creature in play.

Layout
Players begin with only a center Stronghold in play for each player. If there are only two players, each may have two strongholds and two Guardians. Each player chooses a different Guardian and places it behind the Stronghold. Each Stronghold space has 3 empty spaces in front of it where players will be able to place Terrain just like in the base game.

For the Infernal, there is no Stronghold. Instead, the Infernal is placed along with an accompanying Planar card. All Vassals (identified by the word "Vassal" on the back) are placed faced down in the Conflict Deck, which is then shuffled. In addition, place 9 or 12 copies (depending on the number of Terrain spaces) of the Planar card face down in the Conflict Deck. Place the Control Card in play so that the players can read it.

Opening Sequence
Unlike the base game, players will draw only 6 cards instead of 12. The Infernal draws a number of cards listed on the Control Card. Players now place Shields and Creatures on their Stronghold, observing the 30 vitality space limit. Players may trade creatures and Shields with each other...for every card a player gives up, he must receive one in return. Once each player has their Shields ready, it's time to place the Infernal's cards. If the card is a Rune, it is put in play on the left. If it is an Artifact, it gets attached to the Infernal. If it is a Trial, place it next to the Planar card, and it stays in effect for the turn. If a Planar Card is drawn, put it under the one next to the Infernal.

If a Vassal is drawn, it is placed face down in a formation similar to a pyramid, across from each Stronghold and just beyond the empty Terrain spaces. If there are 3 Strongholds, the first row of Vassals contains 3, the second row 2, and the third row 1 Vassal. If there are 4 Strongholds, the first row of Vassals contains 4, the second row 3, and so on. Vassals enter into a free space closest to the front, so if there are 3 Strongholds and 2 Vassals in the front row, the next Vassal would also be placed in the front row, and a Vassal placed after that would go in the second row. Roll to see where a Vassal is placed if there is more than one place open. When a Vassal moves and creates an open space, a Vassal behind it may then move forward.

(Note: I'll create a map to better illustrate this in an upcoming post).

Gameplay
Similar to the base game, players move out into the Terrain spaces and place Terrain. After all players have moved, the Vassals across from them now move. When a Vassal moves to an empty Terrain Space, place a Planar Card on the space instead of Terrain if one is available. There must always be a Planar Card next to the Infernal. For card text purposes, Vassals are considered to be under a Shield even though they don't have one. When a player's Shield and a Vassal occupy the same space, combat ensues. The players' goal is to move Shields to the Planar area and destroy the Infernal.

Combat
Unlike the base game, combat damage is permanent. Think of a creature's Vitality as both an attack value (or damage dealt), and as health (or damage that can be taken, and will still be referred to as Vitality). Let's use an example based on a Shield from one of CJ's examples: Chris's Shield. Chris runs into a Vassal but can't see what he's facing. Chris plays a Vitales Dark Cloud and does 4 damage to the Vassal. In a normal game, the Vitales probably wouldn't affect the Vassal, but here it takes 4 damage permanently.

Next Chris plays Wild Nymph, while the Vassal is flipped to reveal a Valkyrie Champion, a Vitality 44 Vassal that has an AOE destroying channeling receivers. Valkyrie Champion hits the table and launches the AOE. Wild Nymph is a channeling receiver and is discarded. Had Wild Nymph not been a channeling receiver, it would have taken 44 damage and been destroyed, but it also would have dealt 4 damage. Chris also is forced to discard Wraith, which is also a channeling receiver.

Primary attacks have ended and now secondary attacks begin. Chris plays Snogwart, doing 8 points of damage; Supermodel, doing 1 point damage; and finally Archer, doing 6 damage. The Valkyrie Champion has taken 19 points damage, but is in good shape with 25 Vitality remaining. Chris must retreat his Shield and reinforce quickly.

Notice that no channeling was initiated by the Infernal. If channeling did occur, it would be permanent. Let's say that Valkyrie Champion received 8 points of channeling during combat. That 8 points is permanent, so Valkyrie Champion's Vitality, if it was 44, is now 52. It's attack value is unchanged. The Infernal loses one Power Stone when channeling, just like a Guardian. The Infernal's Control Card will state under what conditions it will channel. Guardian channeling is the opposite: it is not permanent, and increases both attack value and Vitality (but only during the matchup).

Wrap-up
Vassals will move across the playing field and try to kill Guardians. Players must work together to stop the Vassals while at the same time try to take the fight to the Infernal. Also, unlike the base game, a Guardian can travel under a Shield and give and receive damage, including attacking Infernals! If a player loses his Guardian(s), he is out of the game.

Other considerations
MDL: if a player controls more Terrain than any other, he gains MDL.
LDL: if a player controls the least amount of Terrain, he suffers LDL.
LUC: the lowest upcard among the players gains LUC.

The opposing Infernal does not affect MDL, LDL, or LUC.

Infernals
Challenging an Infernal is similar to fighting a Vassal. The players do damage to it with their creatures or Guardians. The Control Card will indicate when the Infernal should be flipped to trigger its special ability. For card text and rules purposes, Infernals should be treated like Guardians. For example, if a card states that its ability only affects non-Guardian creatures, it would also not affect an Infernal. Once an Infernal's Conflict Deck is empty, it may destroy 1 Stronghold per turn (roll to see which one). Once all Strongholds are rubbled, the Infernal destroys 1 Guardian per turn (again, roll to see which one).

End of Game
The game ends when either the Infernal is defeated, or all Guardians are defeated.

# of Players

• 2 players: each player controls 2 Guardians and 2 Strongholds, as well as 2 decks.
• 3 players: each player controls 1 Guardian and 1 Stronghold with 1 deck. Alternate: same as 2 player game with player 3 controlling the Infernal.
• 4 players: each player controls 1 Guardian and 1 Stronghold with 1 deck. Alternate: same as 3 player game with player 4 controlling the Infernal.
• 5 players: same as 4 player game with player 5 controlling the Infernal.

I'll post a sample game soon with illustrations of key points, although I'll need to develop a few more cards first...

Cooperative Play: the Development of Planar Conflict

I've used this blog to publish a solo version of Guardians, homebrew cards, and other variants. But there's one thing I haven't really attempted yet: a cooperative variant.

Cooperative games have become quite popular lately. From the Arkham Horror & Lord of the Rings board games by Fantasy Flight Games, to World of Warcraft  and other video games, it's been proven that sometimes it's just as much fun to play alongside your friends as it is to play against them.

As you know (if you’ve been following this blog for awhile), I originally developed Solo Adventures using elements I found in other games such as Runebound and Arkham Horror. I want to do the same for a cooperative-style game of Guardians.

Back in 1999, after I initially stopped playing Guardians, I switched over to another CCG from AEG called Warlord: Saga of the Storm. It was a great game, but probably the most unique feature at the time was the Overlord Challenge. This pitted player decks against an Overlord and his army. The Overlord had inflated stats and a special, custom deck that made defeating it very challenging. To the right is an example of an Overlord.

After a few years I moved on from Warlord, turning to Upper Deck’s World of Warcraft (WoW) CCG. I soon grew bored with this game, except for the excellent Raid Decks. These Raid Decks featured a ramped-up boss, similar to the Overlord in Warlord, except players joined forces to beat Raid Decks. In fact, Raid Decks were optimized for 4-5 players with 1 player playing the boss, so if two players faced the boss, each player used two decks to simulate 4 players! It was incredibly fun and challenging. The merging of the Warlord Overlord and WoW Raid Deck concepts have served as the inspiration for my cooperative Guardian design.

Planar Conflict is a 2-5 player variant - a cooperative game for Guardians - and is part of the Celestial Battlefield set. Players team up to challenge an Infernal on another plane of existence that represents a threat to the Mid Realms and the Guardians themselves. Like Solo Adventures, it is a departure from the base game but uses some of the same elements.

The following are new card types that are seen for the first time in the Guardians environment:

• Infernals: these villains are like Guardians, in that they are the most powerful beings in the Planar realm over which they rule. They use Glyphs and Relics, and get Vassals to do their bidding. They seek to conquer and enslave the Mid Realms, stealing the power of the Guardians. They cannot be bribed.

• Control: these are cards that describe to the players how the Infernals behave and react, and also lists stats such as card draws, etc.

• Vassals: servants of the Infernals, they are wicked and quite powerful in their own right. Glyphs increase their power. They are the front line - the players must go through them to challenge the Infernals. Some Vassals can be bribed.

• Planar: this is the “Terrain” of the Infernals; it represents the realm over which they rule. Although Planar cards benefit Infernals and Vassals, some player creatures will also benefit.

• Conflict: these cards are made up of three card sub-types: Glyphs, Relics, and Trials (see below).

• Glyphs: like permanent Spells, Glyphs remain in play and affect the combat environment. Many Vassals gain bonuses based on the number of Glyphs in play. It takes 3 Dispel Magic cards to dispel a Glyph.

• Relics: similar in concept to Magic Item Accesories, Relics are attached to an Infernal, giving it some kind of special power, boosts in stats, or acting as a weapon to enhance combat ability. Like Glyphs, it takes 3 Dispel Magic cards to dispel a Relic.

• Trials: these are similar to Event cards, and change conditions during combat. They cannot be dispelled.

I'm still fleshing out a lot of the details. Obviously my Florida vacation will delay the development, but I hope to have something firm by the end of June. Just to give you a teaser, here are how some of the cards are shaping up. You might recognize the Limbo art, which we tested and ultimately rejected as C.J.'s First Circle of Hell Stronghold...

Espiral - A Guardians Game Variant

This game variant has been posted over at boardgamegeek.com for some time. Since I have made a habit out of creating game variants for Guardians, I'm posting it here to draw attention to it, to keep game variants centrally located and easy to find, and because it has some cool features. It is a solitaire game created by Will (willdesigns) at boardgamegeek. Will has created several outstanding solo variants for board games such as Arkham Horror, Runebound, Descent, Dungeoneer, Heroquest, and several other games. His solo rules are well-conceived, and I use several of them for my board games. Here is his creation for Guardians, Espiral...

I like Guardians a lot, not only for the impressive artwork but also for the great and simple design of the cards, so being one of the few people that have this game in my country I decided to create this solitary game system called: "ESPIRAL". It is very easy to adapt to magic the gathering but I definitely recommend that you try Guardians first.

Please do not confuse this as a simple variant in the rules, to play "ESPIRAL" you have to forget completely about the rules and check the cards with new eyes.

COMPONENTS

- 23 Land Cards.
- 2 Stronghold Cards.
- As many creatures as you want.
- 1 Hero card (You can choose any kind of card as it will only be a graphical representation of the Hero).
- 1D10, as many D6 as you can grab.
- 1 Miniature to represent your Hero.

OBJECTIVE

Our Hero has been summon to deliver an important message to the next town. To do so he will have to travel through dangerous territories, facing terrible creatures that will delay his delivery. But do not worry for balance should exist in the universe and through the aid of unthinkable allies he will meet his goal.

SETUP

MAP: Shuffle the lands deck and place the cards on spiral like on the image below starting with 1 stronghold and finishing with another one.

HERO: Pick a card to represent your hero. It can be anyone really because it will only represent the image of your hero discarding the stats or other text in it. Place the card to the right of the map as in the picture above and put a dice on the bottom left corner with the number 1 on top to represent the starting level of the hero.

CREATURES: Split the creatures pile into 3 decks. The first one containing creatures up to level 4 (vitality 4), the next one with creatures from level 5 up to level 8 (vitality 8) and the final one with creatures from level 9 to 30.

Place a dice above each pile with the numbers 4 and 8 as a reminder.

Below the first pile place a dice with the number 1. On the second pile a dice with the number 2 and a dice with the number 3 on the third one. This dice will represent the number of cards you will have to draw on encounters with this type of enemies.

STARTING ALLIES: Take 2 creatures from the first deck and put them to the right of your hero. These will be the starting sidekicks that will help you through the adventure (if they survive that long).

MINIATURE: Finally place the miniature that will represent your hero on the first stronghold.

Now it is time to begin with the game.

MOVEMENT

Your Hero moves 1 landcard at a time and throws 2 dice (DICE TRIAL). If sum of the numbers in the dice is bigger than the number on the landcard the hero has an "ENCOUNTER" if not the hero can "RECRUIT" OR "HEAL".

RECRUIT: If you have passed the Dice Trial you can recruit 1 member from the FIRST DECK.

HEAL: If you decide not to recruit you can heal all your allies 1 level by leveling down your hero 1 level. You can never heal more than the original vitality of the allies. This effect can be done several times (1 healing level per hero level - 1). For example: Your hero is level 5 and you decide to heal all your creatures 4 levels leaving your hero on level 1.

Your Hero can never go back. The mission is too important.

ENCOUNTERS

When your hero fails on the "Dice Trial" he has to check first the size of his party. Count how many allies he have:

- up to 4: he draws 1 card from the first deck.
- up to 8 but more than 4: draws 1 card from the first deck and 1 card from the second deck.
- more than 8: draws 1 card from each deck.

BATTLE

STEP 1 - ENEMIES) Place the enemies in the "Battlefield Area" as shown on the image above. They attack first.

STEP 2 - ENEMY STRENGTH) Sum the vitality numbers of all the enemies and take up to 6 dice to do the attack (if the summed vitality is more than that simply ignore the rest).

STEP 3 - ENEMY ATTACK) Consider for both sides a "STRIKE" on 5 or 6 and a "FAIL" on anything else. If a creature's vitality is reduced to 1 it does a berserk attack. Use for this 50% of the original vitality of the creature rounded down to define it's strength.

STEP 4 - RESOLUTION) For each "5" or "6" the enemy scores you will have to pick one or several creatures to receive the damage. None of the creatures that have been damaged will be able to counter attack this round so be wise. Check the vitality of each of your creature and assign the damage by placing a dice on the character over the vitality number with the new number of the creature's vitality minus the attack hits.

Example: The creatures attack with 3 dice and score with 2 "5". You have 2 allies, one of them with a vitality of 2 and the other with a vitality of 4, your hero has a vitality of 1. So you have 3 possibilities:

a) If you assign all the damage to the first creature it will die immediatelly but you will be able to fight with 5 dice (4 from the second creature plus 1 of your hero).

b) If you decide to assign the damage to the second creature that will leave it alive but with a vitality of 2 and it won't be able to counter attack leaving you with 3 dice (1 from your hero and 2 from the first creature).

c) You can decide to split the damage between your 2 allies but that will leave them unable to counter attack so only the 1 dice of your hero will be used.

d) You cannot assign damage to your hero since he is still level one (If your hero is on a level higher than one, he can be assigned damage by leveling him down 1 level per damange, yet he still can counter attack).

Your tactical decision will make the difference.

You cannot assign more damage to an ally than the vitality of that ally.

STEP 5 - DEFEAT CHECK) If you are forced to assign the last damage to your hero and he dies it is the end of the GAME.

STEP 6 - COUNTER ATTACK) Once you have distributed the damage it is the time for your party to attack.

Sum the vitality of all the members that haven't been damaged during the enemy's attack and throw up to a maximum of 5 dice.

STEP 7 - RESOLUTION) As you have done with your hero and allies you can do with your enemy only that this time it will be you who will pick the targets of your attack. You can assign as many damage as scored to any number of creatures. Put a dice on each of them marking the new vitality of the creatures.

STEP 8 - VICTORY CHECK) If the creatures that attacked you have died the battle is over and your hero has level up. Simply change the dice that is showing your Hero's vitality to the next number.

If the creatures that attacked are still alive a new round of combat begins.

Each creature killed is placed under the deck it belonged for further use.

MODIFIERS

Some elements of the original game are kept to make the game more interesting, but not all so watch closely and do not cheat.

OFF-COLOR BONUS: If the hero's party or the enemy's party is matched up in combat against at least one creature (on the opposite party) whose border is the same color as the off-color patch next to the Vitality Shield, then the number in that off-color patch is added to its vitality. For example: I have 1 ally that has a black patch with a number 3 on it. The enemy has an External (dark bordered creature) in it's party. So that ally has it's vitality plus the number in the black patch. Do this on each of your creatures as well as on the enemy's party.

Remember an important rule: If your creature has an off-color bonus you might add more damage than the original vitality of the creature up to the new vitality number. But the off-color bonus will leave as soon as the battle is over, so if by then your ally has a negative vitality value consider it eliminated.

LAND BONUS: If a creature (Ally or Enemy) has a bonus depending on the land you are fighting over, add that bonus to the vitality of the creature. That bonus leaves as soon as your hero moves to the next Landcard.

VERSUS BONUS: If a creature (Ally or Enemy) has a bonus against a specific creature (example: +10 vitality vs. Undead) and the opposite party counts with that creature as a member apply that bonus to the creature with that ability. That bonus leaves as soon as the battle is over.

IMMUNITY: If a creature (Ally or Enemy) has an immunity against another creature that is in the opposite party it cannot be assigned any kind of damage until the creature it has immunity against is killed.

RANGED: If a creature has points on range attacks this creature can attack eventhough if it is assigned damage but instead of using it's vitality to do so use the ranged attack points. If it has not been assigned damage use the vitality points as normal. Remember that on the "Woods" no range attack is allowed.

NOTES

I hope you like the game. As you will size you can adapt this adventure to many other card games. With magic the gathering you can include even a defense system in which you attack with as many numbers as the attack level of your creatures and the enemy defends with as many dice as his defense number. Explore the possibilities. It's good to have fun with others but if your deck is collecting dust why do we have to wait for others to be in the mood when a cool adventure is at the doorstep.

Events: single border or double border?

I'd like to take a brief break from card creation to talk about Events. I have scoured CJ’s blog & website, Phil’s website, and the Yahoo! Group, and one thing I haven’t seen mentioned anywhere in the creation of Event cards is whether they are single border or double border on the back. So which is it? In my opinion they should be double-bordered, and here’s why…

Single-bordered cards are represented by Terrain, Shields, Stronghold Upgrades/Downgrades, Creatures, and Accessory & Creature Magic Items. These are all physical items that either move around the playfield, or in the case of Upgrades/Downgrades and Accessories, are permanently attached to Strongholds or Guardians.

Now consider the double-bordered cards: Spells, Bribery, and Hand Magic Items. While it’s true that Hand Magic Items are a physical item, they do not move around the playfield, nor are they attached to something on the playfield. Like Spells and Bribery, they are effects that change conditions in the game.

When considering Events, the very name itself suggests that these are also effects. The definition of an event is either an occasion/happening/incident, or it is a result/consequence/outcome. Either way it influences or has an effect on the game, rather than being physically attached to something on the playfield or moving around the playfield.

I have therefore concluded that Events should be double-bordered cards. This has little impact on the game, other than the fact that it goes into your Storage Depot instead of your Creature Pen. Some cards do affect the Storage Depot or Creature Pen, or affect cards based on whether they are single- or double-bordered. They fact that Events are double-bordered is very important if you are going to print your own cards, however.

Guardians Stack Attack! Sample Game

Here's a sample game of Stack Attack! intending to show how the rules work, strategy tips will follow in another post...

I place 2 Power Stones in front of me. Then I shuffle all the creatures and deal cards face down into 4 piles to make the Creature Stacks, until there are 9 in each stack (total of 36 cards dealt). I shuffle the Standard Bearers and deal 1 to each stack: Stack 1 gets Brom Standard Bearer Goblin 16; Stack 2 gets Brom Angelic 13; Stack 3 gets Maitz Standard Bearer Dark 16, and Stack 4 gets Brom Standard Bearer Dem Bones 19. I'm left with Brom Standard Bearer Skull 16. Finally I add the Terrain, Magic Items & Spells, the special Creatures, and Bribery cards to the remaining creatures and shuffle. It's time to attack the stacks!

I turn over the top card of each creature stack: Stack 1 is Giant Penguin; Stack 2 is Grilbus; Stack 3 is Baal-a-Gog, and Stack 4 is Slakback Chak.

Turn 1 draw: Gold Bribery.
I set it off to the side.

Turn 2 draw: Big Groaning Cankerd.
Cankerd can beat Grilbus and Baal-a-Gog (thanks to standard bearer's +2 OCB). Attacking Slackback Chak would be a push. So Cankerd's 14 (8 + 3 Ability + 1 OCB + 2 standard bearer) beats Baal-a-Gog's 12. Both cards are discarded, and the next card turned over on Stack 3 is Icky Bugs.

Opposing cards: Giant Penguin, Grilbus, Icky Bugs, Slakback Chak
Turn 3 draw: Prince of the Lost.
Prince can beat all except Giant Penguin; with his OCB he could take out a big Elemental. I could try to bribe Icky Bugs to see if a big Elemental pops up. This could backfire if I need the Gold Bribery later, or if I draw a low vitality creature later that could have beat Icky Bugs and ends up being discarded. This is all irrelavant however since the Stack 3 standard bearer allows no bribery. So Prince is used to beat Slackback Chak. Stack 4 is now Snow Daughters.

Opposing cards: Giant Penguin, Grilbus, Icky Bugs, Snow Daughters
Turn 4 draw: Spirit Mountain.
The terrain in play is now Spirit Mountain; the card is placed above the opposing standard bearers.

Turn 5 draw: Devil Hedgehog.
The only creature Hedgehog can beat is Icky Bugs, so Hedgehog attacks and wins. Stack 3 is now Phil, Bar Fly.

Opposing cards: Giant Penguin, Grilbus, Phil Bar Fly, Snow Daughters
Turn 6 draw: Lake Serpent. Phil Bar Fly is crushed by Lake Sepent's AOE, revealing Brown Backs, who also get crushed. Fangis the Hunter is now on top of Stack 3. Lake Serpent still gets to attack, so I take down Giant Penguin, and Rock Giant is revealed. Good turn for me!

Opposing cards: Rock Giant, Grilbus, Fangis the Hunter, Snow Daughters
Turn 7 draw: Earth Elemental.
Unfortunately Earth Elemental can't beat Rock Giant, who is 20 Vitality (thanks to OCB, the Spirit Mountain in play, and the Stack 1 standard bearer), so Elemental attacks and beats Snow Daughters instead, and Wild Nymph is turned over on Stack 4.

Opposing cards: Rock Giant, Grilbus, Fangis the Hunter, Wild Nymph
Turn 8 draw: Giant Babe.
Giant Babe beats Fangis and Captain is now on Stack 3.

Opposing cards: Rock Giant, Grilbus, Captain, Wild Nymph
Turn 9 draw: Shadow of Ashes
Shadow beats Captain and Archangel Magnus is now on Stack 3.

Opposing cards: Rock Giant, Grilbus, Archangel Magnus, Wild Nymph
Turn 10 draw: Tiny Whining Cankerd
Cankerd can't beat any of the Creatures on the Stacks. However, if I use my Gold bribery card it's possible I will turn over a Creature it can beat. I decide to use the Gold Bribery on Wild Nymph (the only opposing Creature in play bribeable by Gold). Wild Nymph is discarded and Kikijub is now on Stack 4. Cankerd cannot beat Kikijub and is discarded.

Opposing cards: Rock Giant, Grilbus, Archangel Magnus, Kikijub
Turn 11 draw: Rivers and Lakes
Spirit Mountain is discarded and Rivers and Lakes becomes the Terrain in play. This is good for me because Rock Giant and Kikijub lose their Terrain bonus.

Opposing cards: Rock Giant, Grilbus, Archangel Magnus, Kikijub
Turn 12 draw: Great Black Ri'shar
None of the opposing creatures are affected by Ri'shar's AOE. Ri'shar barely beats Kikijub, and River Giant is now on Stack 4.

Opposing cards: Rock Giant, Grilbus, Archangel Magnus, River Giant
Turn 13 draw: Arnath, Lord of the Skies
Arnath destroys Magnus and Lorg Mole is now on Stack 3.

Opposing cards: Rock Giant, Grilbus, Lorg Mole, River Giant
Turn 14 draw: Summon Entropy Storm. This spell is set to the side until I am desperate enough to use it.

Opposing cards: Rock Giant, Grilbus, Lorg Mole, River Giant
Turn 15 draw: Water Nymph
Water Nymph beats Grilbus and Wailing Specter is now on top of Stack 2.

Opposing cards: Rock Giant, Wailing Specter, Lorg Mole, River Giant
Turn 16 draw: Sand Lord
Sand Lord is not affected by Wailing Specter's AOE and beats Lorg Mole. Sloarch is turned over for Stack 3.

Opposing cards: Rock Giant, Wailing Specter, Sloarch, River Giant
Turn 17 draw: Na'Boob
Na'Boob beats Wailing Specter. Axeman is now on Stack 2.

Opposing cards: Rock Giant, Axeman, Sloarch, River Giant
Turn 18 draw: Kurgan, Blademaster of the Exiled
Kurgan is not the only Knight in play, so he doesn't get his bonus and can't beat any opposing creatures. With nothing to lose I decide to play Summon Entropy Storm and have Kurgan attack Rock Giant. I roll a 3. Kurgan bites the dust.

Opposing cards: Rock Giant, Axeman, Sloarch, River Giant
Turn 19 draw: Death
Woohoo! Goodbye pesky Rock Giant! Death destroys Rock Giant; Land Drake is now on Stack 1.

Opposing cards: Land Drake, Axeman, Sloarch, River Giant
Turn 20 draw: Fire Walker
Fire Walker can't beat anyone and is discarded.

Opposing cards: Land Drake, Axeman, Sloarch, River Giant
Turn 21 draw: Succubus
Succubus can't beat anyone either and is discarded. Bummer.

Opposing cards: Land Drake, Axeman, Sloarch, River Giant
Turn 22 draw: Etherwave Magna Lock
Etherwave is set to the side.

Opposing cards: Land Drake, Axeman, Sloarch, River Giant
Turn 23 draw: Rock Rat
Finally, a ranged attack! Rock Rat is also set to the side.

Opposing cards: Land Drake, Axeman, Sloarch, River Giant
Turn 24 draw: Iron Crag Brew Mountain
Rivers and Lakes is discarded and Iron Crag Brew Mountain is now the Terrain in play.

Opposing cards: Land Drake, Axeman, Sloarch, River Giant
Turn 25 draw: Vampire Hunters
Vampire Hunters beat Axeman and Yard Rat is now on top of Stack 2.

Opposing cards: Land Drake, Yard Rat, Sloarch, River Giant
Turn 26 draw: Tanniker Smith
Tanniker beats Yard Rat and Corporal is now on Stack 2.

Opposing cards: Land Drake, Corporal, Sloarch, River Giant
Turn 27 draw: The Dry Heaps
Iron Crag Brew Mountain is discarded and The Dry Heaps becomes the Terrain in play (I sure could have used this BEFORE I drew Tanniker last turn!).

Opposing cards: Land Drake, Corporal, Sloarch, River Giant
Turn 28 draw: Beer Bribery
Beer Bribery is set to the side.

Opposing cards: Land Drake, Corporal, Sloarch, River Giant
Turn 29 draw: St. Ballantine's Evocation
I'm not sure there are any Knights left in my deck, so I discard the Evocation and keep the Etherwave Magna Lock, which is far more useful.

Opposing cards: Land Drake, Corporal, Sloarch, River Giant
Turn 30 draw: Polar Ice Ogre
Ogre beats Corporal and Dreaded Doom Dog is on Stack 2.

Opposing cards: Land Drake, Dreaded Doom Dog, Sloarch, River Giant
Turn 31 draw: S.S. House of Babes
The Dry Heaps is discarded and House of Babes is now the Terrain in play.

Opposing cards: Land Drake, Dreaded Doom Dog, Sloarch, River Giant
Turn 32 draw: Snogwart
Snogwart beats Dreaded Doom Dog and Valley Troll is now on Stack 2.

Opposing cards: Land Drake, Valley Troll, Sloarch, River Giant
Turn 33 draw: Hammer of Doom
I choose to discard Etherwave Magna Lock and keep Hammer of Doom, since House of Babes prevents me from using Babe Bribery, and I might need to get rid of House of Babes to beat a Creature with a Rivers and Lakes bonus.

Opposing cards: Land Drake, Valley Troll, Sloarch, River Giant
Turn 34 draw: Golden Fleecer
Golden Fleecer can't destroy any of the opposing creatures. Merchant, Supermodel, and White Unicorn could be in 1 of the Stacks, or they could be in my deck. I decide to Beer Bribe River Giant to see if one of the 3 is under it, but the card turned over is Greater Air Elemental. I use Golden Fleecer to push Valley Troll, then use my Rock Rat as a ranged attacker to beat Valley Troll. Cyclops is turned over on Stack 2.

Opposing cards: Land Drake, Cyclops, Sloarch, Greater Air Elemental.
Turn 35 draw: Angel of Righteousness
Angel can't beat any opposing Creature (thanks to the standard bearer on Cyclops) and is discarded.

Opposing cards: Land Drake, Cyclops, Sloarch, Greater Air Elemental.
Turn 36 draw: Power Lunch
Since I can use it any time, I put the Hammer of Doom to S.S. House of Babes so that I don't have to discard Power Lunch, and Power Lunch is set to the side. There is now no Terrain in play.

Opposing cards: Land Drake, Cyclops, Sloarch, Greater Air Elemental.
Turn 37 draw: Crystal Flash
Crystal Flash can't beat anyone, and I'm running out of cards, so Crystal Flash attacks Sloarch and I Power Lunch it, spending 1 Stone. With the OCB bonus from my standard bearer, Sloarch is defeated. Stack 3 is empty!

Opposing cards: Land Drake, Cyclops, Greater Air Elemental.
Turn 38 draw: Bantam Drake
Bantam Drake can't beat anyone and is discarded. My chances of winning grow slimmer.

Opposing cards: Land Drake, Cyclops, Greater Air Elemental.
Turn 39 draw: Babes Bribery
Finally! Babes Bribery is set off to the side.

Opposing cards: Land Drake, Cyclops, Greater Air Elemental.
Turn 40 draw: Druk
Druk can't beat anyone. I decide to use Babes Bribery to bribe Land Drake, who has been a real pain in the ass. Now Thackle is on top of Stack 1. Druk can't beat Thackle either, and is discarded.

Opposing cards: Thackle, Cyclops, Greater Air Elemental.
Turn 41 draw: Big Groaning Cankerd
Big Groaning Cankerd can't beat anyone and is discarded.

Opposing cards: Thackle, Cyclops, Greater Air Elemental.
Turn 42 draw: Water Spout
As if. Goodbye, Water Spout.

Opposing cards: Thackle, Cyclops, Greater Air Elemental.
Turn 43 draw: Buzzard
This is one of my special Creatures, a secondary attacker, and is set off to the side.

Opposing cards: Thackle, Cyclops, Greater Air Elemental.
Turn 44 draw: Warrior Spirit
Spirit pushes Cyclops. Buzzard is used as a secondary attacker, and Cyclops is beaten. Ice Ogre is turned over on Stack 2.

Opposing cards: Thackle, Ice Ogre, Greater Air Elemental.
Turn 45 draw: Moon Spirit
Moon Spirit cannot beat anyone and is discarded.

Opposing cards: Thackle, Ice Ogre, Greater Air Elemental.
Turn 46 draw: Bone Shambler
Bone Shambler cannot beat anyone and is discarded.

Opposing cards: Thackle, Ice Ogre, Greater Air Elemental.
Turn 47 draw: White Unicorn
White Unicorn cannot beat anyone and is discarded.

Opposing cards: Thackle, Ice Ogre, Greater Air Elemental.
Turn 48 draw: Jibber
Jibber can't beat anyone and is discarded.

Opposing cards: Thackle, Ice Ogre, Greater Air Elemental.
Turn 49 draw: Watcher
Watcher beats Greater Air Elemental and Black Lung is on Stack 4.

Opposing cards: Thackle, Ice Ogre, Black Lung.
Turn 50 draw: Super Model
Wham! Super Model destroys Black Lung, and Dragon Wing Lord is on Stack 4.

Opposing cards: Thackle, Ice Ogre, Dragon Wing Lord.
Turn 51 draw: Cherub
Cherub falls to Dragon Wing Lord's AOE.

Opposing cards: Thackle, Ice Ogre, Dragon Wing Lord.
Turn 52 draw: Merchant
Merchant also falls to Dragon Wing Lord's AOE.

Opposing cards: Thackle, Ice Ogre, Dragon Wing Lord.
Turn 53 draw: Desert Giant
Desert Giant beats Thackle and Beelzebub is now on Stack 1.

Opposing cards: Beelzebub, Ice Ogre, Dragon Wing Lord.
Turn 54 draw: Joomjaba
The last special Creature card is set to the side.

Opposing cards: Beelzebub, Ice Ogre, Dragon Wing Lord.
Turn 55 draw: Wind Spirit
Wind Spirit can't beat any of the opposing creatures, so it attacks Dragon Wing Lord. Joomjaba is used as a secondary attacker and Dragon Wing Lord is destroyed. Ice Spirit is now on Stack 4.

Opposing cards: Beelzebub, Ice Ogre, Ice Spirit.
Turn 56 draw: Festus
Festus beats Ice Spirit and Stack 4 is empty!

Opposing cards: Beelzebub, Ice Ogre.
Turn 57 draw: Magnate Justice
Magnate Justice beats Ice Ogre and stack 2 is empty!

Opposing cards: Beelzebub.
Turn 58 draw: Lancer
Lancer stomps Beelzebub and Greenback Chak is on Stack 1.

Opposing cards: Greenback Chak.
Turn 59 draw: Ice Elemental
Ice Elemental blasts Greenback Chak and Lizard Skin Lynn is now on Stack 1.

Opposing cards: Lizard Skin Lynn.
Turn 60 draw: Zombie
I spend my last Stone to channel to Zombie and beat Lynn. Sun Spirit is now on top of Stack 1, but I'm out of cards. Only Sun Spirit and Angel remained on Stack1, giving me a final score of 19.

Guardians Stack Attack! (A Solitaire Game Variant)

Guardians Stack Attack! is a game variant for one player. The object of the game is to clear all creatures from the stacks before you run out of cards. The rules are as follows:

You will need the following cards (100 total):

Angel
Angel of Righteousness
Archangel Magnus
Arnath
Axeman
Baal-a-Gog
Bantam Drake
Beelzebub
Big Groaning Cankerd
Black Lung
Bone Shambler
Brown Backs
Captain
Cherub
Corporal
Crystal Flash
Cyclops
Death
Desert Giant
Devil Hedgehog
Dragon Wing Lord
Dreaded Doom Dog
Druk
Earth Elemental
Fangis the Hunter
Festus
Fire Walker
Giant Babe
Giant Penguin
Golden Fleecer
Great Black Ri'shar
Greater Air Elemental
Greenback Chak
Grilbus
Ice Elemental
Ice Ogre
Ice Spirit
Icky Bugs
Jibber
Kikijub
Kurgan, Blademaster of the Exiled
Lake Serpent
Lancer
Land Drake
Lizard Skin Lynn
Lorg Mole
Magnate Justice
Merchant
Moon Spirit
Na 'Boob
Phil, Bar Fly
Polar Ice Ogre
Prince of the Lost
River Giant
Rock Giant
Sand Lord
Shadow of Ashes
Slackback Chak
Sloarch
Snogwart
Snow Daughters
Succubus
Sun Spirit
Super Model
Tanniker Smith
Thackle
Tiny Whining Cankerd
Valley Troll
Vampire Hunters
Wailing Specter
Warrior Spirit
Watcher
Water Nymph
Water Spout
White Unicorn
Wild Nymph
Wind Spirit
Yard Rat
Zombie
Spirit Mountain
The Dry Heaps
Rivers and Lakes
Iron Crag Brew Mountain
SS House of Babes
Babes Bribery
Beer Bribery
Gold Bribery
Etherwave Magna Lock
Hammer of Doom
Power Lunch
St. Ballantine's Evocation
Summon Entropy Storm
Rock Rat (ranged attack)
Joomjaba (secondary attacker)
Buzzard (secondary attacker)
Brom Standard Bearer Goblin 16
Brom Standard Bearer Angelic 13
Maitz Standard Bearer Dark 16
Brom Standard Bearer Dem Bones 19
Brom Standard Bearer Skull 16

Put all the creatures (except for Rot Rat, Joomjaba, and Buzzard) in one large creature deck (separate the Bribery, Terrain, Spell, Magic Item, and Standard Bearer cards and put them off to the side). Shuffle the creature deck.

Keeping all cards face down, deal the cards into 4 piles side by side until there are 9 cards in each pile. These are called Creature Stacks 1, 2, 3, and 4.

Take the Standard Bearers and shuffle them. Place one Standard Bearer, face up, above each Creature Stack; the Standard Bearer will only affect Creatures in that Creature Stack. Deal yourself the last Standard Bearer. Your Creatures will use this Standard Bearer for the rest of the game.

Now add the Spell, Magic Item, Bribery, Terrain, and 3 special Creature cards into the remaining creature deck and shuffle well. This is called your Play Deck. Play begins by turning over the top card of each Creature Stack and placing it face up on that stack. You will draw 1 card from your Play Deck each turn and place it face up in front of you. The object of the game is to defeat all the creatures in each Creature Stack.

Drawing from your Play Deck results in getting one of four card types: Bribery, Terrain, Spell/Magic Item, or Creature. Here are the rules:

1. Drawing a Creature. Use that Creature to try to defeat one or more Creatures on the Creature Stacks. Think of it as a primary matchup from the original rules. If your Creature has an AOE, it may be applied to all Creatures on the Creature Stacks, including the next card in the stack. Otherwise, if no Bribery is taking place, matchup your Creature against one of the Creatures on a Creature Stack. Take into account destruction effects, off-color bonuses, Standard Bearer effects, and Terrain bonuses. If you beat the opposing Creature, it and your Creature go into the Discard Pile, and you turn over the next card on that Creature Stack. If you can’t beat any opposing Creatures, your Creature goes into the Discard Pile.

Special Creature cards: Rock Rat, Joomjaba, Buzzard. When you draw one of these 3 Creatures, you must set them off to the side to use during a subsequent turn (you cannot use them as regular (primary) attackers). If you find that you have a Creature that cannot beat any opponents and you have one of these 3 special cards available, attack with your Creature, then modify the matchup by playing the special card as a secondary attacker or range attacker, after which the special card is discarded.

2. Drawing a Bribery card. Set the card off to the side. You may use the Bribery card at any time. When using the Bribery card, discard it and the opposing Creature you use it on. Turn over the next card on the Creature Stack. You do not have to discard a Bribery card if another is drawn.

3. Drawing a Terrain card. Place the Terrain card above the Creature Stacks. If there was already a Terrain card there, discard the old Terrain card and play the new one. Both the opposing Creatures and your Creatures receive Terrain bonuses if their card text matches the Terrain in play. A Terrain card stays in play until a new Terrain card or Hammer of Doom forces it to be discarded.

4. Drawing Spells and Magic Items. Spells and Magic Items, when drawn, must be set off to the side. Play them at any time, following the instructions on the card. You may only have 1 Spell or Magic Item set aside at a time; if you draw another Spell or Magic Item, you may choose which one to discard.

Place 2 Power Stones in front of you. You may channel to one of your Creatures that can receive it, equal to that Creature’s vitality, by removing one Power Stone. If you play the Spell Power Lunch, you must remove 1 Stone to do so; if you have already used both Power Stones, you can’t use Power Lunch.

Note: When an opposing creature is revealed that has an AOE, that AOE applies to your next creature played. If your creature falls to the AOE, your next creature also must face it. This continues until you play a creature that withstands the AOE.

That’s it! Either you wipe out all the Creature Stacks and win the game, or you use all your cards and don’t defeat all the opposing Creatures, in which case you lose.

I'll post a sample game, along with some general strategy. I've playtested twice and lost both times. It's tough!

Guardians Total Combat! Sample Game

As promised, here is a sample game that illustrates how this rules variant works:

Player One's Deck:
Dry Heaps
Dry Heaps
Babes Bribery
Babes Bribery
Beer Bribery
Beer Bribery
Gold Bribery
Gold Bribery
Warhola Snake Standard Bearer 17
Warhola Snake Standard Bearer 17
Amber Well (e)
Ancient Ogre (m)
Angel of Death (e)
Archangel Magnus (e)
Arnath Lord of the Skies (m)
Axeman (m)
Ba Choomba (e)
Baal-a-Gog (e)
Bantam Drake (x)
Barrow Wight (x)
Big Groaning Cankerd (m)
Black Lung (x)
Black Unicorn (x)
Bold Mold (x)
Bone Fright (x)
Captain (m)
Cyclops (x)
Dead Cats (x)
Death (e)
Energy Toad (e)
Fangis the Hunter (m)
Festus (m)
Fire Walker (e)
Hook Toed Gnasher (m)
Flame Geyser (e)
Goldthwait Jumper (x)
Great Ba’te (m)
Great Black Ri’shar (m)
Great Fanged Ogre (m)
Greater Air Elemental (e)
Greater Energy Elemental (e)
Haba Naba Kaba (m)
Ice Ogre (m)
Inititate of Entropy (e)
Koset of the Light (e)
Kurgan Blademaster of the Exiled (m)
Na' Boob (m)
Magma Elemental (e)
Magnate Justice (e)
Marshal (m)
Mendu Sada the Havoc (e)
Monolith of Chaos (e)
Mummy (x)
Nubian slave Girl (x)
Plague Walker (x)
Prince of the Lost (m)
Rachur Field Marshal (e)
Razor Sliph (x)
Roaming Steam Geyser (e)
Rot Rat (x)
Sloarch (m)
Shadow of Ashes (x)
Skeletal Minion (x)
Slackback Chak (x)
Snogwort (m)
Succubus (e)
Tanniker Smith (m)
Vampire (x)
Wailing Specter (x)
Water Nymph (x)

Mortals: 20
Elementals: 20
External: 20


Player Two's Deck:
Standard Bearer Dark 16
Standard Bearer Dark 16
Babes Bribery
Babes Bribery
Beer Bribery
Beer Bribery
Gold Bribery
Gold Bribery
Power Lunch
Power Lunch
Bone Shambler (x)
Brap Back Goblins (m)
Brown Backs (m)
Corporal (m)
Corruption Stream (e)
Crackhatch at Large (m)
Crystal Flash (x)
Dead Cats (x)
Death (e)
Desert Giant (m)
Devil Dog (e)
Devil Hedgehog (e)
Dragon Wing Lord (x)
Druk (e)
Eats, Cockroach king (x)
Golden Fleecer (m)
Gorgal Skag (e)
Greenback Chak (x)
Grilbus (m)
Grim Skull (x)
Groatie (m)
Grotto Troll (x)
Haba Naba Daba (m)
Humungus Fungus (x)
Ice Elemental (e)
Ice Spirit (e)
Jibber (m)
Joomjaba (e)
Kikijub (x)
Lancer (m)
Land Drake (x)
Light Elemental (e)
Lizard Skin Lynn (e)
Lorg Mole (e)
Merchant (m)
Moon Spirit (e)
Orella of the Mist (e)
Pesky Varmit (m)
Phantom Stalker (x)
Phil Bar Fly (m)
Plague Walker (x)
Polar Ice Ogre (m)
Razor Shiefa (x)
River Giant (m)
Rogue Spectre (x)
Rotten Guy (m)
Roving Force Inferno (e)
Schneeble (x)
Shadrune (x)
Sleeping Spirit (e)
Silver Server (m)
Sun Spirit (e)
Swordsman (m)
Thackle (m)
Valley Troll (x)
Vapor Elemental (e)
Vesuvious Rex (x)
Water Spout (e)
Wind Spirit (e)
Wraith (x)

Mortals 20
elementals 20
Externals 20

Player One chooses Harkin as his Guardian. Player Two chooses Rak Nam. Both players shuffle their decks and draw 12 cards.

ROUND ONE

Player One draws: Ancient Ogre, Baal-a-Gog, Babes Bribery, Black Lung, Black Unicorn, Dead Cats, Energy Toad, Great Black Ri'shar, Mendu Sada the Havoc, Razor Sliph, Rot Rat, Succubus. Upcard: Hook Toed Gnasher.

Player Two draws: Babes Bribery, Death, Groatie, Gold Bribery, Ice Elemental, Ice Spirit, Phantom Stalker, Polar Ice Ogre, Roaming Steam Geyser, Roving Force Inferno, Smoke Spirit, Swordsman. Upcard: Gorgal Skag.

Hook Toed Gnasher's 12 is higher than Gorgal Skag's 4. Player One goes first. Since neither player has drawn an Event, Standard Bearer, or Terrain, both players pass. They form up their 30 Vitality combat hand.

Matchup #1: Dead Cats (Player One) vs. Swordsman (Player Two). Leading with Dead Cats is the obvious move, because you *want* it to die and give all your other creatures +2 Vitality. Dead Cats is 3 Vitality, Swordsman is 6. Dead Cats is beaten, mission accomplished for Player One.

Matchup #2: Black Lung (player One) vs Smoke Spirit (Player Two). Black Lung is 14 Vitality, +2 Dead Cats for a total of 16, no ranged attacks per Smoke Spirit, and Spirit is 7 and accepts channeling. Player Two bribes Black Lung with Babes. Smoke Spirit is now unchallenged.

Matchup #3: Mendu Sada the Havoc (Player One) vs. Roving Force Inferno (Player Two). Mendu is 11 with +2 Dead Cats for a total of 13, Inferno is 12. Mendu wins.

Seconary Attacks: Player Two has an Ice Spirit, which is a 5, and plays it next to Roving Force Inferno. Spirit + Inferno are 17, Mendu is beaten.

Round 1 goes to Player Two, with 17 Vitality; he gets the MDL. Player One ends with 0 Vitality and gets LDL. Dead Cats and Mendu Sada go to Player One's discard pile and Black Lung goes back to his Creature Pen. Roving Force Inferno goes to Player Two's discard pile and Swordsman, Smoke Spirit, and Ice Spirit go back to his Creature Pen. Player One still has a Babes Bribery, while Player Two is still holding a Gold Bribery.

ROUND TWO

Player One draws 2 (Harkin's Base 3, -1 LDL): Hook Toed Gnasher and Flame Geyser, upcard is Greater Air Elemental (16). Player Two draws 4 (Rak Nam's Base 3, +1 MDL): Gorgal Skag, Rogue Spectre, Grim Skull, and Crackhatch at Large, upcard is Bone Shambler (3). Player One goes first, but both players end up passing. They choose their combat hands.

Matchup #1: Razor Sliph (Player One) vs Polar Ice Ogre (Player Two). Sliph is 5, Polar Ice Ogre is 10. Player One bribes Ogre with Babes and Sliph is unchallenged.

Matchup #2: Rot Rat (Player One) vs. Rogue Spectre (Player Two). Rot Rat is 2, + 1 for Fear, for a total of 3. Rogue Spectre is 6. Spectre wins.

Matchup #3: Great Black Ri'shar (Player One) vs. Death (Player Two). Ri'shar is 17 with a 3 point fear AOE (ineffective here), Death is 7 and destroys Mortals affected by fear. Ri'shar is not immune to fear and is destroyed.

Secondary Attacks: Player One has an Energy Toad, which is a 5, and plays it next to Rot Rat. Toad + Rat are 7, Spectre is beaten.

Round 2 goes to Player One with 10 Vitality; He gets the MDL. Player Two ends with 7 Vitality and gets LDL. Great Black Ri'shar and Rot Rat go into Player One's discard pile, while Razor Sliph and Energy Toad return to his Creature Pen. Rogue Spectre goes into Player Two's discard pile, while Polar Ice Ogre and Death go back to his Creature Pen. Player Two still has the Gold Bribery card.

ROUND THREE

Player One draws 4 (base of 3, +1 MDL): Greater Air Elemental, Skeletal Minion, Archangel Magnus, and Standard Bearer Snake 17, upcard is Plague Walker (5). Player Two draws 2 (base of 3, -1 LDL): Bone Shambler and Druk, upcard is Valley Troll (3). Player One goes first and plays the Standard Bearer, which gives him +2 CMP when channeling. Player Two passes and both players make their combat hands.

Matchup #1: Archangel Magnus (Player One) vs. Ice Elemental (Player Two). Magnus is 11 and can receive channeling. Ice Elemental is 15. Player One spends a stone and channels 8 (Harkin's 6, +2 standard bearer). Magnus wins 19 to 15.

Matchup #2: Baal-a-Gog (Player One) vs. Gorgal Skag (Player Two). Baal-a-Gog is 12, Gorgal Skag is 4. Skag gets fragged.

Matchup #3: Flame Geyser (Player One) vs. Swordsman (Player Two). Flame Geyser is 6, Swordsman is 9 (6 + 3 OCB). Swordsman wins.

Secondary Attacks: Player Two has Ice Spirit, which is a 5, and plays it next to Ice Elemental. Elemental and Spirit are 20, Magnus can't receive channeling now and is beaten.

Round 3 goes to Player One (his second round won), 12 Vitality to 11 Vitality. Archangel Magnus, Ice Elemental, Gorgal Skag, and Flame Geyser are discarded. Baal-a-Gog, Swordsman, and Ice Spirit return to the Creature Pens. Player Two still has that Gold Bribery.

ROUND FOUR

Player One draws 4: Plague Walker, Shadow of Ashes, Great Ba'te, and Greater Energy Elemental, upcard is Wailing Spectre (8). Player Two draws 2: Valley Troll and Devil Hedgehog, upcard is Joomjaba (5). Player One goes first but both players pass and head to combat.

Matchup #1: Black Unicorn (Player One) vs. Roaming Steam Geyser (Player Two). Black Unicorn is 13 and can accept channeling. Geyser is a 6 and gets crushed.

Matchup #2: Succubus (Player One) vs. Phantom Stalker (Player Two). Succubus is 9, Phantom Stalker is 14. Succubus is beaten.

Matchup #3: Rot Rat (Player One) vs. Smoke Spirit (Player Two). Rot Rat is 2 + 1 fear, total of 3. Smoke Spirit is 7. Rat is beaten.

Matchup #4: Energy Toad vs. Bone Shambler (Player Two). Energy Toad is 5 and shuts down channeling, Bone Shambler is 3 and can't receive channeling because of the Toad, Toad wins.

Player Two wins again with 21 Vitality to Player One's 18 Vitality. Both players have won 2 rounds.

ROUND FIVE

Player One draws 2: Wailing Spectre and Ice Ogre, upcard is Haba Naba Kaba (4). Player Two draws 4: Joomjaba, Orella of the Mist, Standard Bearer Dark 16, and Moon Spirit, upcard is Silver Server (7). Player Two goes first and plays Standard Bearer Dark 16 (which prevents his creatures from being bribed), forcing Player One to discard the Standard Bearer Snake 17. Player One passes and combat begins.

Matchup #1: Hook Toed Gnasher (Player One) vs. Crackhatch at Large (Player Two). Gnasher is 12, Crackhatch is 17. Gnasher is beaten.

Matchup #2: Wailing Spectre (Player One) vs. Druk (Player Two). Spectre is 8 with a 4 pt. fear AOE (ineffective here). Druk is 8 with an OCB of +2 for a total of 10. Druk wins.

Matchup #3: Skeletal Minion (Player One) vs. Ice Spirit (Player Two). Minion is 5 and can receive channeling, Ice Spirit is 5 but immune to Undead. Matchup is a push.

Secondary Attacks: Player One has Energy Toad and plays it next to Wailing Spectre. Toad and Spectre are 13, Druk is beaten.

Round Five goes to Player Two with 22 Vitality to Player One's 10 Vitality. He earns a third win.

ROUND SIX

Player One draws 2: Haba Naba Kaba and Axeman, upcard is Bantam Drake (8). Player Two draws 4: Silver Server, Corporal, Beer Bribery, and Land Drake, upcard is Corruption Stream. Player One goes first, but both players pass. Player Two has 3 wins and announces he is challenging Harkin and builds a combat hand. Player One chooses a card to play next to Harkin and prays for luck.

Matchup #1: Ancient Ogre (Player One) vs. Ice Spirit (Player Two). Ice Spirit is essentially a sacrifice so that the heavy hitters can go after Harkin. But Player One has been saving Ancient Ogre as a defensive measure to shut down channeling against Harkin. Player Two does not have a Babes Bribery to play on Ancient Ogre. Ogre wins and shuts down channeling.

Matchup #2: Harkin (Player One) vs. Smoke Spirit (Player Two). Smoke Spirit is 7 and can receive channeling but Ancient Ogre has shut channeling down.

Secondary Attacks: All Player Two has left is Land Drake. The plan was to have Land Drake attack Harkin, then have Smoke Spirit come in as a secondary attacker, receive channeling and win the game, but Ancient Ogre screwed that up. Land Drake and Smoke Spirit are not enough to beat Harkin, but Player Two can get rid of that pesky Ogre. Land Drake attacks Ancient Ogre and Ancient Ogre is beaten.

Player One has survived! Ice Spirit, Smoke Spirit, and Ancient Ogre are discarded, and Land Drake returns to Player Two's Creature Pen.

ROUND SEVEN

After a Guardian challenge, there is no MDL or LDL. Player One draws 3: Bantam Drake, Ba Choomba, and Fire Walker, upcard is Slakback Chak (10). Player Two draws 3: Corruption Stream, Phil Bar Fly, and Lizardskin Lynn, upcard is Plague Walker (5). Player One goes first but both players pass.

Matchup #1: Haba Naba Kaba (Player One) vs. Corporal (Player Two). Kaba is 4, Corporal is 8. Corporal wins.

Matchup #2: Greater Air Elemental (Player One) vs. Devil Hedgehog (Player Two). Elemental is 16, Hedgehog is 4. Hedgehog is beaten.

Matchup #3: Skeletal Minion (Player One) vs. Orella of the Mist (Player Two). Minion is 5 and can receive channeling, Orella is 4 with an OCB of +1 for 5, but Orella also has the ability to destroy creatures. D6 result is 1 (destroys Elementals, no effect on Minion). Player One channels to Minion for 5 CMP (now has 7 stones left), and Orella is beaten.

Matchup #4: Plague Walker (Player One) vs. Swordsman (Player Two). Walker is 6 (5 + 1 OCB), Swordsman is 6. Result is a push.

Secondary Attacks: Player Two has Joomjaba and plays it next to Devil Hedgehog. BLAM! Joomjaba destroys large creatures as a secondary attacker, and Greater Air Elemental goes down.

Player Two wins the round with 19 Vitality to Player One's 10 Vitality.

ROUND EIGHT

Player One draws 2: Slakback Chak and Standard Bearer Snake 17, upcard is Rachur Field Marshal (4). Player Two draws 4: Plague Walker, Babes Bribery, Greenback Chak, and Dead Cats, upcard is Haba Naba Daba (5). Player Two goes first but passes. Player One plays his Snake Standard Bearer and Player Two's Dark 16 Standard Bearer is discarded. Player One passes. Player Two announces he's challenging Harkin again, so Player One picks a card to play next to Harkin.

Matchup #1: Ba Choomba (Player One) vs. Groatie (Player Two). Ba Choomba crushes Groatie.

Matchup #2: Harkin (Player One) vs. Phil Bar Fly (Player Two). Phil is crushed, but that paves the way for...

Secondary Attacks: Player Two has Phantom Stalker and Corruption Stream. Not enough Vitality to kill Harkin, but Corruption Stream beats its opponent as a secondary attacker, and Harkin goes down.

Player Two wins!

Player One mutters about how he couldn't get a break - he was ready to pound Rak Nam with his Greater Energy Elemental, but couldn't get that third combat win...

Guardians Total Combat! (A Game Variant)

Welcome back, everyone! I managed to fight off Idiots and Pink Flamingos on my vacation, but I did have a brush with Death. Luckily I'm immune to fear, so I made it through. However, I've been very sick for the last week and a half. Now that I'm feeling better, I'm ready to be bribed by Babes..err, I mean, I'm ready to post more.

Let's get back into form with Guardians Total Combat! This is a game variant that boils the game down to, well, quite simply, lots and lots of combat. There's no movement, strongholds, or terrain spaces. It's meant to be fast-paced, in-your-face combat. It doesn't replace the standard game...the purpose of a variant is to try something new if you're feeling adventurous.

Without movement, terrain, and strongholds, your strategy is to focus on deckbuilding, combat order, and when to bribe and channel. Here's what you will need:

A 70 card deck
A Guardian
Power Stones

Your 70 card deck must consist of:
55-60 non-Command Card Creatures, which must have an equal amount of Externals, Mortals, and Elementals
10-15 Standard Bearers, Spells, Magic Items, Events, Terrain, or Bribery cards

What your deck may not have:
Extra Guardians
Strongholds
Upgrades & Downgrades
Regular Shields
Shield/Terrain

The Rules

Each player places their Guardian and Power Stones on the table in front of them.

Shuffle your 70 card deck and have your opponent cut it. Place it face down in front of you to your left. Your discard pile will be on your right; the discard pile is where you will discard non-creature cards and beaten creatures.

The basics:

1. Only one Event, Terrain, or Standard Bearer may be in play at a time. For example if you play a Terrain card and there was already one in play, the one that was in play is discarded and your Terrain card becomes the one in play.

2. Events and Terrain affect combat globally. If you play a Woods and your opponent plays a creature that has a Woods bonus, he gets the bonus.

3. Your Standard Bearers only affect your creatures, and your opponent's Standard Bearers only affect his creatures.

4. If your hand is out of creatures, your opponent plays secondary attackers and vice-versa.

5. Command Card conflicts resolve before combat, and are handled the same way as the base game.

6. All non-creature cards remain in play until an action occurs that forces them to be discarded.

7. Guardians start with all their Power Stones but do not get any more except through card effects and combat wins. Use the Stones wisely!

8. Creature special abilities are not used unless they are specific to combat (i.e. ranged strikes, secondary attacks, channeling, etc.)

That's it! pretty simple, huh?

Both players draw 12 cards to start the game. Separate your cards into a single-border pile and a double-border pile. Each player turns over an upcard. High upcard goes first. The player going first may play an Event, Terrain, or Standard Bearer; if the player chooses to pass, he may not play any of these cards until next turn.

Player Two follows with an Event, Terrain, or Standard Bearer. Remember that any new card played causes the card that was in play to be discarded.

Players alternate playing Events, Terrain, or Standard Bearers until both players pass. Now combat begins! Players make a combat hand from their Creature Pen, and may use up to 30 Vitality of creatures there.

Combat is very similar to the base game. This is the order of actions that occur during combat:

1. Command cards are placed. If there is a conflict, high upcard wins.

2. Command card AOEs are resolved unless bribery of the AOE creature occurs.

3. If bribery occurs, it must be before any further actions occur. Bribed creatures go back to the Creature Pen. The bribery card is discarded.

4. Check for destruction, AOEs, immunities, text boxes, etc.

5. Look at base vitalities. If there are no other modifiers or actions, this decides who wins the primary matchup.

6. Off-color bonuses, Standard Bearer bonuses, and Terrain and Event bonuses, if there are any, are added in.

7. Ranged attacks, spells, and channeling. This is the same as in the base game, except only Guardians can channel. Your Guardian spends a Stone to channel its CMP. The receiving creature cannot receive more than its vitality.

Once one player runs out of attackers, secondary attacks occur as normal.

When combat is over, players add up Vitality for all creatures that survived but weren't bribed.

Players put bribed and unbeaten creatures back in their Creature Pen. Opponent's creatures that are beaten go in their discard pile, and your creatures that were beaten go in your discard pile. Whoever won the last turn gains the MDL for the next turn while the other player has the LDL.

For the next turn, draw your Guardian's base draw modified by HDL/LDL numbers, using whichever is appropriate, and making sure to draw your upcard as your first card.

Play continues in the same manner as the first turn.

The first player to win 3 rounds may challenge the opposing Guardian on his next turn. The defending player may use one creature in his Creature Pen to help defend the Guardian. If the attacker succeeds, he wins the game. If not, he cannot challenge the Guardian again until he wins another round. If the opposing player wins his third round before then, the opposing player can challenge your Guardian. The first player to beat an opposing Guardian wins.

Example: Player One wins his 3rd round. On the next turn he challenges Player Two's Guardian but can't beat it. He wins the next round and challenges again, but still can't beat it. Player Two wins the next round (his 3rd round won) and challenges and beats the opposing Guardian. Player Two wins.

EDIT: Changed the victory condition from: the first player to run out of cards challenges the Guardian, to: a player can challenge the Guardian after winning 3 rounds. Also changed back to max of 30 Vitality during combat, and changed winning round based on surviving Vitality. Game closely mirrors original now.

Up next: a sample game of Guardians Total Combat!