Soulshards: Broken Alliance ECG is a high tactics expandable card game for 2 players. Each player uses their own deck assembled from their favorite cards. During the game, players take on the role of a captain of the guard for a city at war with the other player's city. Each player will obtain and play cards from their deck which represent their forces and resources to defeat the opposing city.

Before the game, each player creates a deck of 40 Character, Spell, and Gear cards that is paired with 1 City card. During the game, your deck is called your Arsenal. At any time you have no cards in your Arsenal, lose 3 Resolve, then shuffle all cards from your Home into your Arsenal, excluding any Spell currently being Cast.

You may also have up to 12 cards as your Reserves deck which allows you to change your deck based on your opponent before starting the game. These cards count as part of your deck for determining how many copies of each card you can use.

Each time you draw a card, place the top card of your Arsenal into your hand.

Each player begins with 12-16 Resolve as determined by their City. When your opponent has no Resolve remaining, they lose the game, and you win.

Have time for a long game and want to experience more complex tactics? Have each player start with an extra 6 Resolve!

During gameplay, cards are placed in one of 7 Zones. When a Character or Gear Moves, it switches between the player’s Battlefield and Keep.

Arsenal: Place your deck face-down here.
Battlefield: Characters that have been Moved to the Battlefield are ready to fight.
City: Place your City card here at the start of the game.
Hand: As you draw cards from your Arsenal, hold them so they face you. Do not reveal them to your opponent.
Keep: Characters and Gear you play during the game begin in your Keep. Characters can reuse Spells you have played while here.
Home: Cards that are discarded are placed in Home. When a card goes Home, remove all ongoing effects and Fatigue from it.
Stockpile: Cards placed in your Stockpile increase your resource production every turn.

CITY
Bring one City into the game and it will start on the table.

Attributes: Attributes shown are produced as resources each turn during your Production phase. (See Costs and Attributes)

Name: What the City is called.

Effect: What the City does.

Resolve: The amount of Resolve you start the game with. When you run out of Resolve, YOU LOSE! Resolve may be lost when your opponent’s Characters attack and you do not block or when your Characters are overwhelmed in battle.

CHARACTER
Cost: The resources you must pay in order to play the card to your Keep. While in your Stockpile, you will choose one of these Attributes to produce during your Production phase. (See Costs and Attributes)

Martial: How effective the Character is at winning fights while attacking and the damage dealt to the enemy after winning. (See Attack)

Elude: How potent the Character is at winning fights while blocking or to succeed when using Sabotage after they attack and are not blocked. (See Attack)

Endure: How durable your Character is. When taking damage, you will use this number to calculate the Fatigue received.

Name: What the Character is called. You can only include 3 copies of a card with the same name in your deck. If the card has the Hero keyword, you may only include 1 copy.

Effect: What the Character does, including Character Keywords. These are special effects of the Character and, other than Exhausted and Equip effects, only apply while they are in the Battlefield or Keep.

Trait: The value the Character provides when used for Support. Support happens in fights and for DL effects. In addition, 1 + Trait is how much Resolve your opponent loses when the Character’s attack is not blocked and you choose Demoralize.

CHARACTER KEYWORDS
These keywords enhance a Character. If a Character has the same keyword more than once, it does not grant any additional effect.

Airborne: The Character can only be blocked if the blocker has Airborne or Ranged.
Guard: As another Character in the same Zone as the Character begins a fight, the Character can act at the cost of 1 Fatigue to give them +2 Elude for the fight. This must be used before applying Tactics or choosing Support.
Hero: You can have only 1 copy of the Character in your deck.
Mountable: Characters in the same Zone and at least 1 Trait lower than the Mountable Character may act to have each gain 1 Fatigue and Move. If either Character cannot Move, this fails.
Overrun: After the Character causes an opponent’s card to be discarded, place that card on the bottom of your opponent’s Arsenal and prevent any of your opponent’s Trigger Effects from that card being discarded.
Provoke: When the Character attacks, target Character in your opponent’s Battlefield who is not currently affected by Provoke becomes a blocker against the Provoking Character. This prevents them from blocking other Characters.
Stealthy: The Character gains +1 Elude while using Sabotage and deals +1 damage while using Ambush.
Undead: During your Recover phase, remove 1 additional Fatigue from this Character.
Zealous: After being played, you may have this Character Move.

SPELL
Cost: The resources you must pay in order to play the card to obtain its effects. While in your Stockpile, you will choose one of these Attributes to produce during your Production phase. (See Costs and Attributes)

Name: What the Spell is called. You can only include 3 copies of a card with the same name in your deck.

Effect: What the Spell does. After the effect, if the Spell is not Attached to a Character, place it into your Home.

Trait: The value the Spell provides when used for Support. Support happens in fights and for DL effects.

GEAR
Cost: The resources you must pay in order to play the card to your Keep. While in your Stockpile, you will choose one of these Attributes to produce during your Production phase. (See Costs and Attributes)

Name: What the Gear is called. You can only include 3 copies of a card with the same name in your deck.

Effect: What the Gear does. Effects that cost Fatigue can also be used by Characters in the same Zone. These are special effects of the Gear and, other than Exhausted and Equip effects, only apply while it is in the Battlefield or Keep.

Trait: The value the Gear provides when used for Support. Support happens in fights and for DL effects.

To begin the game, each player performs these tasks in order.

1: Place your City card in your City Zone.

2: Swap any number of cards from your Reserves with cards in your Arsenal.

3: Shuffle your deck and place it face-down in your Arsenal Zone.

4: Draw 6 cards. After looking at your hand, you may pay 1 Resolve to shuffle your hand into your Arsenal and repeat this step.

5: Randomly decide which Player will take the first turn.

6: The Player who does not go first gains 1 Attribute of their choice.

Gameplay occurs in turn order. During your turn, complete each of the following 6 phases in order.

1: Recover: Remove 1 Fatigue from each card that has Fatigue in your Battlefield and Keep, rotating these cards 90 degrees counterclockwise. Lose all of your Edge.

2: Deploy: You may have any number of cards in your Battlefield and Keep Move.

3: Draw: Draw 1 card. If you did not Move any Characters to your Battlefield during your Deploy phase, draw 2 cards instead.

4: Production: Gain the Attributes shown in the lower right of your City’s image. For each card in your Stockpile, gain 1 Attribute of a type in that card’s cost.

5: Stockpile: You may place 1 card from your hand into your Stockpile.

6: Engage: You can play cards from your hand (See The Cards) and have Characters in your Battlefield and Keep act. (See Acting)

When Characters fight, or when you use an effect with a DL, you must use Support by discarding a card to determine success or failure. You can choose a card from your hand, your Stockpile, or the top of your Arsenal. The Support value is the Trait of that card.

Any Trigger Effect that would result from a card being discarded occurs before completing the effect that uses Support. This can result in multiple Trigger Effects from Support cards completing before an original trigger is able to finish and may cause targets selected from an earlier effect to no longer be valid.

When using an effect with a DL, you must reach or exceed the listed DL to succeed. When the effect is from a Character, the effect may indicate that they benefit from Martial, Elude, or Endure. If you fail, the effect does not occur, though any costs paid are still lost.

Cards can become Attached to Characters by a number of effects. To Attach a card, place it under the Character so that its effect can still be seen.

Attached cards provide thier Equip effects to the Character they are Attached to but do not provide any other effect. They can be targeted by effects but cannot Move except when the Character they are Attached to Moves, act or fight. If the Character they are Attached to is discarded or Moved, they are also. When discarded in this way, they do not trigger City effects.

Many cards have effects that trigger as the result of specific conditions being met. When you have multiple effects occur at once, choose the order in which they occur. If both players have effects at the same time, the player currently taking their turn has their effects occur first. Each effect only occurs once from a single trigger.

The Exhausted and Equip icons can appear on cards that specify an effect will trigger at the indicated time. These effects may specify a Zone the card must come from or condition that must be met to allow the trigger to occur. If a cost is shown before the icon, you must pay the cost first or the Trigger Effect does not occur. This cost can be reduced by expending Edge.

You may choose not to use Exhausted and Equip effects at the time they trigger. When a card discarded for Support has a Trigger Effect, the effect takes place before the effect that requires Support completes.

Cards are divided into 4 Attribute types based on their effects. These types determine what is required to play the card. Each card may have any number of Attribute types.
Once attained, you can expend Attributes to pay costs. Track the amount of each Attribute you have, removing them when used to pay costs.

Each non-City card has a cost, which is shown in the upper left side of its image. Cards may also have costs listed in their effects.

To play a card or gain the effect of an effect with a cost, you must pay the listed cost first. For each Attribute shown, you must pay 1 of that specific Attribute. A number shown requires that amount also be paid of any Attribute types.

The Fatigue icon is a cost of 1 Fatigue. As a Character gains Fatigue, rotate them 90 degrees clockwise for each. If a Character gains a fourth Fatigue, discard them after the effect that caused the Fatigue is complete unless they no longer have 4 Fatigue.

Once a Character has 4 Fatigue, discard them immediately if they would gain more Fatigue, ending any actions or effects they had started.

Fatigue is also caused by damage. When a Character takes damage at least equal to their Endure, cause 1 Fatigue to them, then subtract their Endure from the damage to determine any remaining damage. Repeat this until the Character has 4 Fatigue or the remaining damage is lower than their Endure.

You can have Characters in your Battlefield and Keep act during your Play phase by paying the connected costs. Characters can act any number of times if the cost is paid. If an effect causes a Character to act, ignore all costs for that action. All results of an action must be completed before another action can be taken.

Attack: Characters can only choose this action while in the Battlefield. (See Attack)

Cast: This action costs 1 Fatigue and can only be chosen by Characters in the Keep. Pay the cost of a Spell in your Home to play it as if from your hand. The Spell effect comes from the Character, so apply any effects and modifiers from the Character. If the effect succeeds and the Spell does not Attach to a Character, Attach it to the caster.

Effect: If your Character or Gear has an effect with a cost shown on their card, you can pay the listed cost to gain that effect. (See Costs and Attributes)

Tactics: This action costs 1 Fatigue. The Character becomes Prepared until your next turn starts and gain 1 Edge. Track the amount of Edge you have. If a Prepared Character gains Fatigue, they stop being Prepared after the cause of the Fatigue is complete and you lose 1 Edge. You can expend each Edge for any of the following effects.


Any time a Tactics effect is applicable, you may choose to expend any number of Edge to that case. If the case has you use Support, you must expend Edge before choosing Support. The player currently taking their turn chooses how to expend Edge before their opponent.

As you choose the attack action, you may choose any number of your other Characters to have them attack at the same time. Here are the steps to an attack action:

1. Choose your attackers and they gain 1 Fatigue each. (Rotate them 90 degrees clockwise) If an attacker gains their fourth Fatigue, they are discarded after the attack.

2. Your opponent chooses if any of their Characters in the Battlefield will block. For each attacker, 1 Character may block them at the cost of 1 Fatigue. This is not an action.

3. Each blocked attacker fights their blocker. If there is more than one fight, you choose the order to complete them.


4. Complete any Trigger Effects that result from the fight and continue to the next fight. If all fights are complete, continue to step 5.

5. For each Character that is not blocked, choose one of the following effects for that Character to use: