EnGarde CCG · Rulebook 2025

§ 1 Object of the Game

Reduce your opponent's Realm to zero Bell, OR force them to draw from an empty deck. First condition met, wins.

Each player starts with a Realm card (faction identity) on their side of the table. The Realm shows 20 Bell and lists one Realm ability usable once per match. Bell is the life total of the game — when it hits zero, you lose.

Concession at any time is legal and ends the match in favour of the opponent.

§ 2 Deck Construction

Decks are 50 cards. Up to three copies of any non-Mythic card. One Realm card. Sideboard of 10 cards for best-of-three.

Banned & Restricted (2025 Standard)

Banned in Standard: The Long Bell, Mira's Final Ledger, Hollowing — Greater. Restricted to 1 copy: Bell-bronze Reliquary, Tideturn: Reflux. See the rolling list at /trust for updates.

§ 3 Zones

Cards move between zones. Where a card is determines what it does and what can affect it.

§ 4 Card Types

Five card types. Each has its own rules row in this section — read once now, refer back during play.

Unit Units

Played to the Field. Have Attack / Defence / Wounds. Attack on the turn after they enter (no summoning sickness if printed with Edge). Removed to Discard when wounds reach zero.

Spell Spells

One-shot effects. Resolved then placed into Discard. Greater spells require paying a printed Tithe in addition to Aether cost — a card sent to the Tithe zone face-down.

Relic Relics

Persistent objects in play. May attach to a Unit (Bound relics) or sit free in the Relic row (max 3 free relics per player). Generate ongoing effects each turn.

Event Events

Global, table-wide effects that resolve immediately, then trigger once more at the start of your next turn before discarding.

Oath Oaths

Placed face-down in your Oath Slot. Reveal when the printed condition is met to claim the reward — usually +5 Bell or a powerful conditional draw. Max two active Oaths per player.

§ 5 Aether & Costs

Aether is the currency you spend to play cards. It refills every turn, ramps slowly, and can be borrowed at a cost.

Each turn you start with Aether equal to the current round number (capped at 10). You may pay one card from hand face-down to your Tithe zone to gain +1 Aether this turn — once per turn.

Cost colours

Some costs require a specific discipline: R Resonance, V Verdancy, T Tideturn, P Pyrotelos, H Hollowing. Generic Aether (printed as a number) can pay any colour. Coloured costs cannot be paid with the wrong colour.

§ 6 Turn Structure

Six phases. Players alternate full turns. The active player has priority throughout their turn except where rules say otherwise.

1. Ring — Untap your Units & Relics. Trigger "at start of turn" effects.
2. Draw — Draw 1 card. (First player skips this on turn 1.)
3. Aether — Gain Aether equal to round number (cap 10). You may Tithe once for +1.
4. Main I — Play any card types. Activate Relic abilities.
5. Combat — Declare attacks, resolve damage (see § 7).
6. Main II / End — Final card plays. Discard down to 7. Pass to opponent.

§ 7 Combat

Combat is declared by the attacker, blocked by the defender, then resolved simultaneously. No back-and-forth strikes.

Sequence

1. Declare attackers. Tap chosen Units. They must attack the opposing Realm or a specific opposing Unit named on a triggering card.
2. Declare blockers. Defender may assign any of their untapped Units to block one attacker each.
3. Damage step. Each combatant deals damage equal to its Attack to its assigned opponent. Damage reduces Wounds; a Unit reduced to 0 Wounds is destroyed.
4. Realm damage. Any attacker not blocked deals its Attack to the opposing Realm's Bell.
5. Cleanup. Destroyed Units to Discard. Damage on surviving Units clears at end of round.

Reactions

After step 2 and before step 3, both players may play Reaction-keyworded Spells in priority order (defender first, then attacker). Once both pass without playing, the damage step resolves.

§ 8 Keywords

Common ability words. Their full text is reproduced on the cards but the keyword alone is enough to remember.

§ 9 Timing & the Stack

EnGarde uses a single-stack last-in-first-out resolution model. It's smaller than it sounds.

When a Spell or triggered ability is played, it goes onto the stack. The opponent gets priority and may respond with their own Reaction. This continues until both players pass priority in sequence, at which point the top of the stack resolves. Repeat until the stack is empty.

Priority shortcuts

At regulation REL events, players are expected to declare "go" to pass priority unambiguously. Implicit shortcuts (passing without speaking) are interpreted by the judge in favour of game flow.

§ 10 Tournament Play

These rules apply only to officially sanctioned events. Casual play is encouraged to ignore them.

• Format: Standard (last 18 months of releases) is the default. Eternal allows all printings.
• Match length: Best of 3, 50-minute round timer, 5 extra turns at time.
• Deck registration: Submit decklist before round 1. Mid-match deck changes from sideboard only.
• Slow play: Two warnings → game loss. Judges have full authority.
• Card sleeves: Opaque, identical backs, no markings. Marked sleeves: game loss + replacement.
• Conceding for prizes: Allowed before pairings are posted. Not allowed after a match has begun.

§ 11 2025 Changes from 2024

Summary of the rule changes that took effect with the 2025 printing. Refer here when a 2024-trained player and a 2025-trained player disagree.

• Aether cap raised from 8 to 10. Late-game ramp decks are again viable.
• Oath slot reduced from 3 to 2. Combo decks chaining three Oaths in one turn are no longer possible.
• Hand size at end of turn reduced from 8 to 7.
• Mulligan rule: Free mulligan to 7, then "London" — each subsequent mulligan is one fewer card with no scry.
• New keyword: Hollowed. Replaces the 2024 "Hollow Cast" sub-rule.
• Sideboard size standardised at 10 (was 15).
• Match time reduced from 55 to 50 minutes in regulation.
• Banned/Restricted list now governed by the Trust Centre and reviewed quarterly. See /trust.