In "War of Lemiroth" you are at the head a war faction. You have the choice between 2 sides:
The Gnostics
Les Heresiarcs
At the beginning of the game you and your opponent have 30 life points in your life pool. There are 2 ways to obtain victory:
- Bring your opponent's life pool to zero.
- Lead your opponent to a situation where he is no longer able to draw cards from his deck during the drawing phase.
A deck in "War of Lemiroth" is composed of 60 cards. If Prayer and Incantation cards are not numerically limited during the constitution of your deck, the other types of cards don't obey the same rule:
You are limited to a maximum of 4 cards of the same type, with the exception of those carrying the mention Unique. (i.e: You can only have one card "Gabriel" in your deck, whereas your deck can include 4 "Divine deferment" cards).
War zone
The war zone in "War of Lemiroth" is separated for each player in 5 distinct spaces:
- The Library : The space reserved to your deck.
- The Archives : The space reserved for destroyed, discarded or played cards.
- The Territory : The space reserved for Prayer or Incantation cards.
- The Lectern : The space reserved for Book cards.
- The Crusade : The space reserved for Underling cards.
The cards
There are 5 different types of cards:
- The Prayer and Incantation cards: In "War of Lemiroth" this type of card grants you a Faith Unit when tilted (see chapter The functioning of cards).
Spending Faith Units in the game allows you to perform many actions such as putting an Underling card from your hand to your Crusade, place a Book on your Lectern or else use a Psalm or Parchment. (i.e: There are 4 untilted Prayer or Incantation cards in your Territory, and in your hand you possess the "Celestial Salvation" card (Faith Cost is 2). If you wish to play this card from your hand, you will then have to tilt 2 Prayer or Incantation cards to use it).
- The Underling cards: In "War of Lemiroth", the Underling is a combat or support unit attached to your faction. However, this unit requests for you to pay a Faith Cost so it can enter your Crusade. (i.e: You hold in your hand an Underling "Sister of Salvation" card. The Faith Cost for this card is 3, so you will need to tilt the matching number of Prayer or Incantation cards in your Territory so "Sister of Salvation" can join your Crusade).
- The Psalm cards:These cards are instant effect cards solely playable during your round. Once played, these cards go straight to your Archives. (i.e: You wish to use "Divine Deferment". Pay its Faith Cost, resolve its effect (Add 3 points to your life pool), then place "Divine Deferment" in your Archives).
- The Parchment cards: These are texts with instant effect, playable during any round or phase of the game (including your opponent's). Those cards, upon use, go directly to your Archives.
- The Book cards: These are books with permanent effects, that you will place on your Lectern during your round. These cards have to be destroyed before joining your Archives.
The functioning of cards
In "War Of Lemiroth", when a card is used it must be tilted 90 degrees to the right . It will stay so and remain unusable until the beginning of your next round.
The player can place one, and only one Prayer or Incantation card in his Territory per round. This card can be used as soon as it enters the game (card placed untilted, illustration facing up, in the Territory.)
The Underling cards, on the other hand, join your Crusade tilted and unusable until the beginning of your next round.
If during one of your rounds you have no Prayer or Incantation card in your hand, you can then use any other type of card as a Prayer or Incantation card. If so, the card will have to be placed illustration facing down in your Territory. The cards used that way then become Prayer or Incantation cards until the end of the game. As for the Prayer or Incantation cards, only one of these cards can be placed at each round, with no cumulating.
During the very first round of each player in a new game, there is no Draw phase (see "Round Phases").
Exclusive Capacities
Some Underling cards can have one or more Exclusive Capacities. These Capacities are indicated in the card's text. there are 3 different types of Exclusive Capacities:
- Fanatic : he Underling with the Exclusive Capacity Fanatic enters the game untilted and ready to be used.
- Incorruptible : The Underling with the Exclusive Capacity Incorruptible cannot be targeted by any Psalm, Parchment or Book (Yours or you opponent's).
- Untouchable : The Underling with the Exclusive capacity Untouchable cannot be affected by physical damage. It stays however vulnerable to Psalms, Parchments and Books.
Game setup
Before starting a game, each player composes his own deck (constituted of 60 cards, respecting the limits set in "Game objectives and Deck building"). Each player shuffles his deck and lets his opponent cut it, then puts it face down in his Library. The 2 players then select who will play first (Head or Tail, dice, etc...) each player then takes the 7 cards on top of his deck and puts them in his hand.
The game is ready to start.
Phases du tour
Withdrawal phase
- The player untilts all tilted cards in his war zone.
- The player draws a card from the top of his Library (Except during the very first round, see chapter "The functioning of cards") and discards one card from his hand if said hand already reaches the 7 cards limit.
Meditating phase
- Resolve all Books effects (i.e: The "Dark Omen" card in game targets you and you loose one life point)
- Place one and only one Prayer or Incantation card, or a card from your hand used as such (See chapter "The functioning of cards")
- Play from your hand the cards whose Faith Cost can be covered by the number of Prayer or Incantation cards available and untilted in your territory, if you need to.
Crusade phase
- Order your Underlings to attack or use their abilities.
- Play a Psalm or Parchment card and put it in your Archives
End of round
- Calculate damages, update tokens
- End your turn and pass it on to your opponent.
Functioning of a Crusade phase
All Underlings involved in a Crusade phase must be untilted from the beginning of the round.
During a Crusade phase select the Underling(s) under your control that will attack. The opponent then defines what Underling(s) under his control will block your attackers (only one defender can be assigned to a single attacker).
If no Underling can be selected as defender, the Crusade damages will be directly inflicted to target player. To resolve a fight, the attacker always has offensive supremacy over the defender. If the defender is not destroyed by the attacker's strike, it is then bound to Retaliation Duty. (i.e: "Pikeman of Dogma" (Willpower 3 and Stamina 3, in short 3/3) is designed as attacker. "Wyrm" (1/4) is designed as defender. "Pikeman of Dogma" inflicts 3 damages to "Wyrm". Wyrm is not destroyed (It has 1 stamina point left, 4 - 3 = 1). "Wyrm" uses its retaliation duty and inflicts one damage point to "Pikeman of Dogma" ("Pikeman of Dogma" then has 2 stamina points left, 3 - 1 = 2).
Resolving the damages inflicted during a Crusade phase
For each damage received by an Underling, place a damage token on its card (so placed tokens represent the amount of damages already received by that Underling). There cannot be more tokens than the maximum stamina of this card, else it will be destroyed and put in it's controller's Archives.
If no defender has been selected, damages will be directly dealt to target opponent.
. It will stay so and remain unusable until the beginning of your next round.