1. Core Objective & Win Conditions

• Victory Conditions: You win immediately if you reduce your opponent's 20 Life Points (LP) to 0, OR if your opponent is unable to draw a card from their deck during their Draw Phase (Deckout Forfeit).
• Stat Scale System: All card stats operate on a strict 0 to 3 scale (Cost, Attack / ATK, Hit Points / HP).
• Field Existence: Any unit on the field must maintain HP ≥ 1. If a unit's HP reaches 0, it is immediately destroyed and sent to the Fallen Zone.

2. Deck Construction & Setup

• Deck Size: Decks must contain between 40 and 60 cards.
• Card Copy Limits: Maximum 3 copies of any single named card title per deck.
• General Limits: Maximum 3 Generals total per deck. Generals are shuffled directly into the main deck alongside all other cards during setup.
• Starting Hand & Draw: Both players draw an opening hand of 6 cards. Player 1 does not draw on Turn 1; Player 2 draws 1 card to start Turn 2.
• Hand Size Cap: Maximum 7 cards in hand during your End Phase. Excess cards must be discarded/expended to the Fallen Zone.

3. Resource Economy (The Fallen Zone Loop)

There is no passive mana accumulation. To play cards or use active abilities, you must Expend cards equal to their Cost by moving cards from your Hand or active Field directly to the Fallen Zone (graveyard).

• Cost 0 (Starters / Utility): Low stats (0/1 or 1/1). Free to deploy; ideal as cheap blockers or expenditure fuel.
• Cost 1–2 (Baseline Forces): Efficient combatants (1/1, 2/1, 1/2, 0/3) and standard equipment.
• Cost 3 (Game-Enders): High-impact threats (3/2, 3/3) requiring a heavy 3-card sacrifice.
• Fallen Zone Triggers: Cards with abilities triggered by entering the Fallen Zone (e.g., Scavenge) activate regardless of whether they were spent as a cost or discarded at End Phase.

4. Playmat Topology & Card Types

• Front Line (5 Slots): Primary combat row for active Heroes or an Emergency General. Strictly capped at 5 total units.
• Equipment Row (5 Slots): Located directly behind the Front Line. Holds Hero Equipment attached 1-to-1 to the unit in front. A unit can equip up to 5 items (no duplicate titles), which tuck underneath on retreat.
• Command Zone (1 Slot): Back-left pocket reserved for your 1 active General.
• Tactical Zone (3 Slots): Support row for stationary Tactical Equipment (0 ATK, 1-3 HP) or retreated units. Tactical Equipment cannot move to the Front Line.
• Generals: Max 1 active on field. Can swap mid-game by expending the active General. If your Front Line has 0 Heroes, your General can step forward to the Front Line as an Emergency Defender during either player's turn (takes 1 FL slot, cannot return to Command Zone, but can retreat).
• Actions & Reactions: Actions are played during your Main Phase. Reactions are hand traps cast during either player's turn.

5. Turn Sequence (5 Phases)

1. Draw Phase: Draw 1 card from deck (skipped by Player 1 on Turn 1). Check deckout condition.
2. Main Phase 1: Deploy units/equipment, expend resources, cast Actions. Optionally move retreated units from the Tactical Zone back to the Front Line for 0 Cost at your chosen timing.
3. Battle Phase: Declare and resolve sequential, 1-by-1 combat engagements.
4. Main Phase 2: Post-combat restructuring, equipment attachments, and optional 0-cost redeployments.
5. End Phase: Resolve end-of-turn triggers and enforce the 7-card maximum hand limit.

6. Combat & Persistent Attrition

• First-Turn Restriction: Player 1 cannot declare attacks on Turn 1.
• Sequential Declarations: Combat is 1-by-1. Defenders do not retaliate automatically.
• Targeting: Attackers target 1 enemy unit on the Front Line OR bypass to target Tactical Equipment in the Tactical Zone.
• The Cover Rule: Units with Cover MUST be targeted before any other target.
• The Breach (Direct Attack): Starting Turn 2+, if the opponent's Front Line is vacant (0 units), attackers can choose to strike the opponent's 20 LP directly OR target Tactical Equipment in the Tactical Zone.
• Damage Calculation: Damage is permanent and carries over between turns. Units reaching 0 HP are destroyed.
  New HP = Current HP - Attacker ATK
• Pierce: Excess damage beyond defender HP carries over directly to the opponent's 20 LP.

7. Dual-Turn Tactical Fallback (Retreat)

• Timing & Cost: Declared on your turn OR reactively on opponent's turn in response to an attack/effect for 1 Expend.
• Execution: Unit moves from Front Line to an open Tactical Zone slot; attached equipment tucks underneath.
• Effects: Unit gains Physical Combat Immunity for the remainder of the turn (incoming physical attacks whiff). Deactivates Cover. Remains vulnerable to targeted Action/Reaction/Hero card effects. Cannot attack while in the Tactical Zone.
• Redeployment: During Main Phase 1 or 2 of any subsequent turn, you can choose if and when to move the unit back to an open Front Line slot for 0 Cost.

8. Action & Reaction Resolution (The Reaction Ladder)

When an Action, attack, or effect is declared, players build a Last-In, First-Out (LIFO) stack called The Reaction Ladder:

1. Building the Ladder: Player 1 initiates → Player 2 can play a Reaction → Player 1 can counter-respond → continues until both pass.
2. Reverse Resolution: Resolves strictly top-to-bottom (the last played card resolves first; the initial trigger resolves last).
3. Whiffing & No Missed Timing: Every link attempts to resolve. If a target or source is destroyed or moved before its turn on the Ladder, the effect whiffs (fails gracefully). Missing timing is impossible.

9. Keyword Quick Reference