THE SOLO & CO-OP CASTLE DEFENSE CARD BATTLER

1-2 SOLO CO-OP

2-3 COMPETITIVE PREFER A VIDEO?
Watch a video tutorial at
30 minutes www.playskytear.com/horde

Rulebook

An arcane and unknown power has taken over the world of Skytear, controlling hordes of
monsters led by dreadful elementals, the outsiders. Legendary heroes from all the realms have
set aside their rivalries and forged an alliance to repel the common threat, once and for all!

Learn more about the lore of Skytear Horde on page 20.

 Contents Start Here

INTRODUCTION
Start Here........................................................................... 2
Overview............................................................................. 3
Components....................................................................... 4
Setup................................................................................... 6

KEY CONCEPTS
Key concepts...................................................................... 8
Abilities.............................................................................10
Minions and back line......................................................10
Outsiders..........................................................................11

SEQUENCE OF PLAY
Horde Phase.....................................................................12
Alliance Phase..................................................................13
Treachery Phase..............................................................14
Skytear Horde is a card game with two game modes:
Fight Phase.......................................................................15
Pillage Phase....................................................................16 SOLO-COOPERATIVE One or two players fight as the
End Phase.........................................................................16 alliance against the horde controlled by the game itself.

COMPETITIVE One player controls the horde while one

APPENDIX or two players fight together as the alliance.

Cooperative Mode............................................................16 The rulebook explains the solo and cooperative game
Competitive Mode............................................................17 mode first because it is the main way to play.
Alliance overview.............................................................18
Horde overview................................................................19
THE SETS OF SKYTEAR HORDE
Lore...................................................................................20
Customizing Decks..........................................................20 Monoliths is the second set of cards for Skytear Horde. It
can be played on its own or combined with the first set.
On page 21 you can read some notes to help you mix the
ADDITIONAL RULES two sets together.
The original Skytear Horde set........................................21
Quite a few rules changed in Monoliths. Be mindful of
Additional rules for abilities............................................21
this if you have already played the original or even if
Glossary............................................................................22
you plan to learn to play by watching videos from third
Universal abilities reference............................................24
parties, make sure they are using the rules of Monoliths.

HOW TO RESOLVE DOUBTS

The additional rules section and the glossary have
details that are not needed to start playing but should be
useful to answer doubts while you play.

If that does not help, use your best judgment, ask on

the BoardGameGeek forum, or join the Skytear Games
Discord server: discord.gg/U4Hmvz6k
Game created by: Riccardo Neri and Giacomo Neri
Lore and art direction: Riccardo Parmeggiani
Clarifications, errata, and updates to this rulebook are
Cover art: Gong Studio
Proofreading: Gregor Terrill and Ron Lugo. available at www.playskytear.com/horde
Publisher: PvP Geeks Srl T/A Skytear Games,
Many thanks to the thousands of supporters who funded Good luck and have fun!
Skytear Horde on Kickstarter and Gamefound!

Skytear© All Copyright PvP Geeks Srl 2024. Skytear and all
associated logos, illustrations, images, names, characters, and the
distinctive likenesses thereof, are either ® or TM, and/or © PvP
Geeks Srl, Via Cesare Costa 19/D, 41123, Modena, Italy.

2
 Overview

HOW A GAME IN PROGRESS LOOKS

IN A NUTSHELL WINNING AND LOSING

During your turn, you deploy allies and towers to the six All players win at the end of the turn
lanes of the battlefield to stop waves of monsters from in which the outsider is destroyed.
destroying your castle and pillaging your resources.
All players immediately lose when either:
However, just defending will not be enough to win!
• The castle is destroyed, or
Some of your allies must counter-attack and tear down
the portal that is spawning the horde.
• An alliance deck is empty.
The turn after the first portal is destroyed, the outsider
(the final boss leading the horde) will join the battlefield.
GAME FLOW
Destroy the outsider to claim victory over the horde!
The game is played over a series of turns until all the
Lose your castle or all your resources and you will be
players either win or lose together.
defeated instead.
Each turn has six phases:
This was just a summary to help you get the big picture,
it does not include any rule you need to remember. 1 Horde Phase
Summon a new wave of horde cards
2 Alliance Phase
Play alliance cards and plan for the fight phase
3 Treachery Phase
A boon for monsters might undermine your plans
4 Fight Phase
Allies and monsters fight and strike the castle or portal
5 Pillage Phase
Minions force you to discard cards from your deck
6 End Phase
Various upkeep activities including checking for victory

Use the player aid cards as a checklist for these phases.

3
 Components
AND CARD ANATOMY

These are the 250 cards in the Skytear Horde: Monoliths base box.

87 HORDE CARDS 6 CASTLE CARDS 120 ALLIANCE CARDS CARD ELEMENTS

E F L A Name

B Abilities

G C Health (see page 8)

A K A A D Attack (p. 8)
H F M N
J E Mana Boost (p. 12)
B B B
D I C C D C F Horde: Slitherers, Sinklings,
O
Monoliths (p. 7)

Organize into three decks, one for Organize into three decks, one for G Treachery (p.14)
each horde, based on the symbol each faction, based on the color of the
in the top right corner (F). banner behind the card name (A).
H Horde card type: monster,
spell, or attachment (p. 12)
and a possible qualifier
4 MINION CARDS 8 PORTAL CARDS 3 OUTSIDER CARDS
such as Epic (p. 23)

P U P I Horde Rarity (p. 5)

J Related Hero (only relevant

P for custom decks, p. 20)
P
K Deck-building rules (p. 20)
P A
R C L Mana cost (p. 9)
B B Type: ally, tower, spell, or
Q D C M
S T attachment (p. 13)
C
N Subtype: Shapeshifter,
Dryad, etc... (p. 20)
3 PLAYER AID CARDS 6 ROOTS, 6 TROOP 5 ERRATA CARDS
CARD TOKENS O Alliance rarity (p. 5)

P Wave (p. 12)

Q Portal Mana Boost (p. 12)

R Game mode: solo,

cooperative, 2-player
competitive, or 3-player
competitive (p. 7)

These replace the cards from S Portal stage: I, II, III, IV (p. 7)
the original Skytear Horde set.
They have this symbol at
T Type: enchanter, colossal,
1 BAR CODE AND the bottom of the cards. or immortal (p. 11)
1 FULL ART CARD
The bar code card is only U Outsider Enchantment
used to identify the card sets. (p. 11)
The full art card can be used
instead of the regular card.

4
 60 TOKENS
There is no limit on tokens in the game. If you run out of tokens from the box, use alternate components to represent these tokens.

2 Lane Markers

3 Mana 1 Castle 6 Large Health 18 Health 10 Attack 7 Temporary 8 Armor 7 Temporary

Tokens Health Token Tokens Tokens Tokens Attack Tokens Tokens Armor Tokens

THE ALLIANCE FACTIONS CARD INVENTORY EXPLAINED

The color of the banner on the castle and alliance All cards from the Monoliths set have a unique code (like
cards indicates their faction. MON.018 2x) with this structure:

There are four factions in the game: Liothan

• MON: three letters to identify the set.

(blue), Taulot (green), Kurumo (red), and Nupten

• 018: three digits to identify each unique card.

(yellow). An overview of each faction is on page

• 2x: this number tells you how many copies of the card
are included in the set. If there is no number, it means
18.
there is only one copy of the card.
A card's faction is only relevant during setup when
These are the range of unique identifiers for the four
assembling the pre-made alliance decks or when
products from the Monoliths set:
building custom decks.
• Monoliths base box: 001 to 174
If you have trouble distinguishing between the • Diviners expansion: 175 to 196
colors, each faction also has a different rune • The Brood expansion: 197 to 228
watermarked on the ability scroll. • Colossals expansion: 229 to 255

For customer support, email help@playskytear.com.

To buy products, visit https://www.playskytear.com.

HORDE RARITY
The icon indicates the set (e.g. The original
Skytear Horde or Monoliths).

Its color indicates the power level, from weakest

to strongest: .

During setup you will only pick specific power

levels based on the desired difficulty.

CODE ARTIST
ALLIANCE RARITY
The icon indicates the set.

Its color indicates one of the four possible rarities:

base, rare, mythic, and legendary.

The alliance rarity is only relevant in between

games when building decks, see page 20.

5
 Setup

Solo game EXAMPLE

1
7
5

4 2
1

6 3
8

1 TOKENS
Place the two lane markers in the center of the table so that
the numbers progress from 0 to 10.

Area for monsters Leave room for a row of cards above and below the lane
markers for monsters and allies.

Each player places their mana token on the 0 of the lane

marker.
Area for allies and towers
Place the rest of tokens within reach.

2 CASTLE CARD
Place a castle of your choice to the right of the lane
CASTLE'S markers (for your first game use “Beraph of Grialth”).
STARTING Place the castle health token on the lane marker to track
HEALTH the castle's starting health. Use the token's +10 side to add
10 to the number on the track.

If there are two alliance players, choose another castle

that will remain out of play. This castle will only be used for
determining the second player's alliance deck restrictions.

FACTION (COLOR):
3 ALLIANCE DECK
LIOTHAN KURUMO
To play with pre-made decks, each player shuffles together
TAULOT NUPTEN 40 alliance cards from the same set and of the same
faction as their castle. (For your first game, use the blue
SET: and/or green decks from the Monoliths set).

MONOLITHS Page 18 has an overview of each pre-made alliance deck

and page 20 has rules for building your own custom
SKYTEAR HORDE alliance decks.
If you have the Nupten & Utsesh expansions, you have 41 cards
Each player places their alliance deck within reach and
per faction instead of 40. Remove 1 heroic ally at random (e.g.
Vorhild, Akimo, etc.) to end up with your pre-made deck. leaves room next to it for a face-up discard pile.

6
 4 PORTAL CARDS
STAGE
Take the 2 portal cards with the same game mode. For
your first game, use the solo or cooperative game mode.
Game modes:
Form a face-up pile ordered by stage number with stage
Solo
I on top and stage III on the bottom. Portals are 2-sided,
their stage is a roman numeral: in order: I, II, III, and IV.
COOPERATIVE
COMPETITIVE 2 players
Place these portals to the left of the lane markers.
COMPETITIVE 3 PLAYERS

5 MINION CARDS
Place the four minion cards above the space reserved
for monsters (their order does not matter).

For solo or 2-player competitive games place 1 health

token on each minion card (place 2 on each minion
for cooperative or 3-player competitive games).

6 HORDE DECK HORDE

An overview of each horde with their
For your first game, form the horde deck using the the 18
relative difficulty is on page 19.
Monoliths horde cards with this symbol in their top
right corner and with these power levels: .
This will set the difficulty to level 2. Power level (color)
To build your horde deck in future games, choose
one horde to fight and a difficulty level from the table DIFFICULTY CARDS*
to the right. Then, form the horde deck using all of
Level 1 9
the horde cards from the chosen horde that have the
corresponding power level icons. Level 2 18

Level 3 and also add 1 random 10

Now shuffle all the horde cards you have selected to
form the horde deck and place it within reach. Level 4 20

Leave room next to it for a face-up discard pile where Level 5 11

you will place destroyed monsters, spells, etc... * The exact number of cards is not important and may vary from
set to set and also depending on the expansions you have.

7 OUTSIDER CARD
Place an outsider of your choice face-up and within
Any outsider can be paired with any
reach. (For your first game use "Purple Circle", see
horde, even though some outsiders are
image. The text at the top of it tells you to Reinforce thematically connected with a specific
3. To do so, just place 1 health token on 3 different horde as indicated on page 19.
minions of your choice. You can learn more about the
Reinforce keyword in the glossary.)

8 DRAW AND MULLIGAN

Each player draws five cards from their alliance deck. For your first game we suggest you
mulligan any card that is not of the “ally”
Players may take a mulligan: discard any number of type and/or has a mana cost of 6 or higher.
cards, draw back the same amount, and then shuffle the
discarded cards back into the deck. CARD TYPE
You are now ready to start playing!

7
 Key Concepts

On the next few pages, you will find the key concepts STRIKE AND DAMAGE
needed to start playing. For more complete definitions
see the additional rules and glossary at the end of the
rulebook.
THIS MONSTER HAS
MONSTERS AND ALLIES taken 3 damage and
has zero health, It
is destroyed.
monster ally

When an ally or monster strikes, it deals an amount of

damage equal to their attack.

When a card takes damage, you put that many

damage tokens on it to keep track of its lower health.

Attack Health Attack Health TOKENS

Abilities use symbols that represent tokens that modify
Monsters and allies are the two most important types of the attack and health of cards underneath them.
horde and alliance cards respectively.
They both have attack and health values that can be
modified during the game.
Once they enter play, they remain in play until they are
destroyed (their health is 0 or less).
+1 Health +1 Attack -1 Attack

FRONT LINE AND LANES

-1 Health +1 Attack -1 Attack
ALLY (Damage) this turn this turn
strikes
PORTAL
Opposing tokens of the same type on the same card,
ENGAGED cancel each other out immediately. E.g. If a card with a
monster AND damage token gains a health token, both tokens
ALLY STRIKE are discarded.
EACH OTHER
Temporary and permanent tokens are a different type of
Monster tokens. E.g. A card can have these tokens at the same
strikes time: while they effectively even each other out,
castle the -1 attack token will be removed at the end of the turn.

The main game zone is called the front line.

It consists of 6 lanes identified by the 2 lane markers.

Each lane can have at most:

• One monster above the lane markers
• One ally or tower below the lane markers

During the fight phase:

• Monsters and allies in the same lane strike each other.
• Unengaged monsters strike the castle.
• Unengaged allies strike the portal.

8
DESTRUCTION MANA
When the health of a card is 0 or less, follow these steps:

1 Resolve the card's "Destroyed:" ability. THE MANA TOKENS TRACK YOUR MANA
2 Discard the card's tokens and attachments.
3 The card leaves play. Depending on the card type:

MONSTER OR ALLY Place it in the proper discard pile.

Mana is the resource spent to play alliance cards.
MINION OR OUTSIDER Set the card aside.
Each player must always have their mana token next to
PORTAL Replace the card with the next stage portal in
the corresponding number on the lane markers to track
its upright orientation. Since portals are double sided,
their available mana.
the next stage might be on the back of the destroyed
portal. Mana can be kept from turn to turn, however it cannot
be more than 10 or less than 0, and it cannot be traded
between players.
DRAWING CARDS
All non-token monsters have this additional ability:
CARD TOKENS
"Destroyed: One alliance player may draw 1 card."

In other words: every time you destroy a non-token

monster (be it a normal monster, outsider, or even
a minion) one alliance player of your choice may
draw 1 card.

This is very important to remember because it is

the main way to draw cards in Skytear Horde!

Card tokens are special monsters and allies created

HANDS, DECKS, AND DISCARD PILES by specific abilities rather than played from hand or
summoned by the portal.

There can be at most six monster card tokens of the

same type across the outsider pile, front line, and back
line.

In the rare case in which a seventh monster token would

be summoned, Reinforce 1 instead (this keyword is
explained in the glossary on page 24).

If a card token would enter a deck, discard pile, or would

be drawn, it is removed from the game instead.

Each player has their own deck and hand of cards. Remember that monster tokens do not let you draw a
Players can have at most 7 cards in hand at the end of card when destroyed.
the turn.

Each deck has its own discard pile. When you discard a
card, place it face-up in the appropriate discard pile (the
order of the cards in the discard piles does not matter).

If an alliance deck runs out of cards, all players lose.

If the horde deck runs out of cards, shuffle its discard
pile to form a new horde deck.

9
 Abilities Minions & Back Line

GENERAL RULES FOR ABILITIES The four minions are a special type of monster
threatening your resources (your alliance deck) instead
You must always resolve abilities as much as possible. of your castle.
(E.g. "Destroy 2 monsters" will destroy only 1 monster if
there is only one in play.) The back line is a game zone where the four minion
cards stay in play.
If something is tied or not specified, you are free to
decide. (E.g. "An ally gains 1 " lets you choose any During the pillage phase, the stronger the minions in
ally in play. Or if multiple abilities would resolve at the the back line, the more cards you will have to discard
same time, you decide the order in which they resolve.) from your alliance deck. Remember: all players lose if an
alliance deck runs out of cards!
These are the 2 most important rules to know. On page
21, you can see additional rules to help you resolve all Abilities can target monsters in the back line as long as
kind of abilities in case you have any doubts as you play. they do not specify the targeted monster must be in a
lane or in the front line.

READY AND EXHAUSTED

MINIONS

Ready
Exhausted allies Exhausted
ally and tower castle

Cards in play can be in one of two possible states: ready

or exhausted.

Cards enter play in the ready state and must become

exhausted in order to use one of their “Exhaust:” All four minions have the same abilities, one of which is
abilities. the "Pillager" keyword.
Exhausted cards are pulled away from the lane markers Pillager means minions remain in play in the back line
to represent their exhausted state. unless an ally engages and pulls them into a lane during
Exhausted cards can still be used in the Fight phase. the alliance phase.

The health of the minions will be increased above zero

ADDITIONAL COSTS with health tokens during the setup and, most likely,
also during the game due to horde cards' abilities.
Some abilities might have additional costs that you
must pay in order to use their abilities. These costs are A destroyed minion only exists for abilities giving
highlighted in bold. health to it. As soon as a destroyed minion gains
health, it enters play in the back line.
For example, the ability of most castles requires you to
pay 1 mana in addition to exhausting the castle in order
to resolve the ability.

10
 Outsiders

The outsider is the boss leading the horde and your goal COLOSSAL OUTSIDERS
is to destroy it. The outsider starts out of play and will
later be summoned from the outsider pile.

OUTSIDER PILE
At the start of the game the outsider pile is empty.

The outsider will go in this pile once the Stage 1 portal

is destroyed. Occasionally, other cards will also go in the
outsider pile as well.

The outsider pile is face-up and, unlike the discard piles,

it is ordered. (i.e. the order of the cards matter and
should not be changed.) A colossal outsider has one or more connected cards,
effectively separate monsters, representing its
appendages.
OUTSIDER TYPES
In order for a colossal outsider to be summoned, there
must be enough free adjacent lanes to contain the
ENCHANTER Colossal Immortal
outsider and all its appendages (you must compact all
the horde cards in the lane toward the left, if that makes
any difference in this regard).

The outsider and its appendages enter play at the same

time before resolving any of their "Play:" abilities and
must be placed in the order indicated by the diagram at
the bottom of their cards.

If the outsider leaves play, the appendages remain in

play and vice versa: they are effectively independent
Outsiders can be of three types: enchanter, colossal, or
monsters for all purposes. However, you do not need to
immortal. The type is identified by the symbol at the
destroy the appendages to win at the end of the turn, just
bottom of their card.
destroying the outsider is enough.

ENCHANTER OUTSIDERS IMMORTAL OUTSIDERS

Enchanter outsiders have a special ability at the top of

their card called an enchantment. An immortal outsider is made of two or more cards,
each representing one stage that is indicated at the
The enchantment is always active for the whole game,
bottom of its cards with roman numbers.
even while they are out of play. (E.g. Waiting to enter the
outsider pile, in it, or even destroyed!). The Stage 1 portal "Destroyed:" ability will only place the
stage 1 outsider in the outsider pile.
You win at the end of the turn in which you destroy the
enchanter outsider. Once an immortal outsider is destroyed, you place its
next stage, if any, at the bottom of the outsider pile,
The outsider recommended for your first game is an
meaning it will most likely be summoned during the next
enchanter, so you can skip reading the other types for a
horde phase. You only win at the end of the turn in which
quicker start.
you destroy the last stage of an immortal outsider.

11
 How to Play: Horde Phase

To start a new turn, follow these steps.

HOW TO SUMMON HORDE CARDS
1 GAIN MANA Take the card and follow these two steps:
Each player gains mana equal to the mana boost of the
portal.
1 Depending on the card type do the following:

MONSTER Place it in the leftmost lane not

currently occupied by any monster cards and
resolve its "Play:" abilities.
Each player gains 3 mana
If all six lanes are full, place the card on the
bottom of the outsider pile instead (it cannot be
summoned until the next turn).
Mana boost
SPELL Resolve its "Play:" abilities and discard it.

ATTACHMENT Resolve its "Play:" abilities that

2 SUMMON FROM will instruct you to attach it to another card (slide
THE HORDE DECK the attachment card beneath the target card).
Summon a number of horde cards equal to the portal When the attached card leaves play, discard the
wave number. attachment as well.
Summon these cards from the horde deck, one at a time,
following the steps in the “how to summon horde cards” In the unlikely case in which it is not possible
sidebar. to attach to another card, place the card on the
bottom of the outsider pile instead.

2 One player gains mana equal to the mana boost

of the card, if any.
In cooperative games you may split the +2 mana
boost between the players.

The wave number

changes as the
portal rotates
+2 mana +1 mana NO mana boost
boost boost (these symbols are
only relevant for the
3 SUMMON FROM competitive mode)
THE OUTSIDER PILE
Summon all the cards in the outsider pile, one card at a
time, top to bottom.

Since the outsider pile starts empty, nothing will happen

during this step until there are cards in it.
The Stage 1 portal "Destroyed:" ability will place the
outsider in the outsider pile and will likely be summoned
during the next horde phase.

4 ROTATE THE PORTAL

Rotate the portal 90° clockwise so that a new wave
number will be used in the next horde phase.
Proceed to the alliance phase.

12
 Alliance Phase

Each player may take these actions any number of UNIVERSAL ALLY
times, and in any order, during the alliance phase.
"EXHAUST:" ABILITIES
Fully resolve one action before taking another.
All allies have these universal abilities that you can use
Once all players are done taking actions, proceed to the
despite not being explicitly written on their card text.
treachery phase.

∞ PLAY ALLIANCE CARDS MOVE OR SWAP POSITION

Follow these three steps: "Exhaust: Move this ally to a free lane (one with no
alliance cards)."
1 Pay the mana cost of a card in your hand.
"Exhaust this ally and another one:
2 Then, depending on the card type:
These two allies swap positions."

ALLY OR TOWER Place it in a lane without alliance

cards and in the ready state. While you can play allies in any free lane, you might want
to move them from turn to turn in order to choose what
SPELL Discard it. (Spell never enters play, you will they will strike during the fight phase.
only resolve its "Play:" abilities in the next step).

ATTACHMENT Attach it (slide it beneath) to ENGAGE (MINIONS)

another card in play or discard it with no effect. "Exhaust: Move a monster from the back line to
There is no limit to how many attachments a card the lane of this ally".
can have.

3 Resolve the card's "Play:" abilities, if any. You may want to do this in order to strike minions later on
during the fight phase. If you don't, they will pillage and
∞ USE “EXHAUST:” ABILITIES force you to discard cards from your deck.

Exhaust a card with “Exhaust:” abilities to resolve one of

those abilities. UNIVERSAL CASTLE
In addition to the abilities written on the cards, all "EXHAUST:" ABILITY
allies and castles have universal "Exhaust:" abilities All castles have this universal ability that you can use
as explained in the column to the right. These are also despite not being explicitly written on their card.
repeated on the last page of the rulebook as reference.

For more details on the exhaust mechanic see page 10. DRAW
"Exhaust, pay 1 mana: Draw a card".
∞ DISCARD ALLIANCE CARDS
Discard one ally or tower in play.

You usually take this action to discard towers without

charges left or, occasionally, an ally that you do not
need anymore.

TOWER CHARGES
Tower "Play:" abilities will often add to them.
These tokens are basically charges, since their
abilities will often read: "Exhaust, remove 1 :"

13
 Treachery Phase

Follow these two steps in order.

1 RESOLVE TREACHERY CARD THE BOOSTED MONSTER

Reveal the top card of the horde deck and place it face The boosted monster is the monster in the
up on top of the horde discard pile. This is the treachery leftmost most in the front line, if the symbols are
card for this turn. on the left, or the rightmost monster in the front
line, if the symbols are on the right.
Ignore all abilities and just look to the sides of the
treachery card for any or symbols. If there is only one monster in the fonrt line, it is
considered both the leftmost and rightmost.
Depending on the symbol on the treachery card resolve
the appropriate effect below.

ATTACK BONUS Treachery card

The boosted monster (see box to the right, above) gains
a number of equal to the number of symbols on LEFTMOST RIGHTMOST
the treachery card. monster monster
Each token increases the boosted monster's attack GAINS 1 gains 3
for the remainder of the turn, as explained on page 8.

TREACHERY ABILITY Treachery card

Resolve the “Treachery:” ability written on the treachery Example:
card and ignore ALL other abilities. (Such as “Play:”, Each alliance player
"Destroyed:", etc) discards an attachment
Sometimes the ability will not even reference the from their hand.
boosted monster. In these cases, identifying the boosted The boosted monster
monster is not relevant. is the rightmost in play,
If the ability says “an ally” or “a monster” without even though it is not
specifying other conditions, you are free to choose. (This relevant for this effect.
is a general rule for all abilities.)

2 ALLIANCE REACTIONS
Each player may take the two actions below any number
of times and in any order.

• Play cards with a “ Play:” ability.

• Use “ Exhaust:” abilities on ready cards.
Please note: cards and abilities with the symbol can
also be used during the alliance phase.

You may want to use these special cards and abilities to

adjust your plans according to the treachery effect.
PLAY EXHAUST
Once all players are done taking actions, proceed to the SPELL ABILITY
fight phase.

14
 Fight Phase

Follow the steps below for each lane from left to right.

Make sure to completely resolve a lane before

ALLY
proceeding to the next one.
strikes
PORTAL

1 HORDE FIGHT ENGAGED

monster AND
Resolve the “Fight:” abilities of any monster in the lane. ALLY STRIKE
EACH OTHER
2 ALLIANCE FIGHT Monster
strikes
Resolve the “Fight:” abilities of any ally or tower in the lane.
castle

3 STRIKE
Towers do nothing in this step while monsters and allies
in the lane will strike each other, see right sidebar.
UNENGAGED ALLY
If the lane has an unengaged ally (ready or
exhausted), the ally strikes the portal, dealing
4 RESOLVE THE NEXT LANE
damage to the portal equal to their attack.
Repeat the three previous steps for the next lane to the
If the portal is destroyed, resolve its "Destroyed:"
right until you have resolved all lanes.
ability and replace it with the next stage portal in
If all six lanes have been resolved, proceed to the pillage its upright position.
phase.

MINIONS FIGHTING UNENGAGED MONSTER

All four minion cards have 0 attack and an ability If the lane has an unengaged monster (i.e. not
giving them +1 attack for each on them. opposed by an ally), the monster strikes the
castle, dealing damage to the castle equal to
All minions with 4 or more attack also have
its attack.
Trample, meaning that when they strike, all the
excess damage is dealt to the castle instead. For your convenience, if the castle would gain or
lose you simply adjust the castle health token
on the lane marker.

Please note: a tower is not an ally and, therefore, a

monster in a lane with a tower strikes the castle.

MONSTER VERSUS ALLY

If the lane has both a monster and an ally
(ready or exhausted it does not matter) they
simultaneously strike each other, dealing
damage to each other equal to their attack.

15
 Pillage Phase End Phase

Follow these steps: If the outsider was destroyed this turn, you win!

Otherwise, follow these steps:

1 PILLAGE
1 Remove all temporary tokens .
Each monster in the back line, usually just minions, Armor regenerates: flip all to their side.
pillages. When a monster pillages, they pillage a number 2 Ready all exhausted cards.
of cards equal to their attack.
3 Players discard cards down to 7.
To pillage a card, each alliance player places the top 4 Start another turn from the horde phase.
card of their alliance deck into their discard pile.

"Pillage:" abilities of monsters in the back line resolve YOU ARE READY TO PLAY!
during this step too.
You do not need to read further in order to play your first
You can decide the order in which monsters pillage and game.
resolve their "Pillage:" abilities (this is a general rule for
all abilities triggering at the same time). As you play, make sure to have the player aid cards
nearby and reference the glossary at the end of the
rulebook to look up the meaning of the keywords found
2 RETURN PILLAGERS on cards.
Move each monster with the "Pillager" keyword to the Good luck and have fun!
back line. Usually, this will mean returning the minions
that were engaged during a fight back to the back line.

Finally, proceed to the end phase.

Cooperative Mode
Minion
WITH 0 The rules you have read so far are valid for both the solo
ATTACK and cooperative game mode. These are the key points to
keep in mind for 2-player cooperative games:

Minions IN 1 Both players gain the mana indicated on the portal.

LANE DO not Just remember that there are different portals for
pillage cooperative games.
2 Both players defend the same castle using the same
6-lane battlefield.
3 Both players are affected by pillage at the same time.
(E.g. To pillage 3 cards, both players discard 3 cards
from the top of their decks.)
Example: the minion on the right has 0 attack because it 4 Only one player of your choice may draw a card
has 1 health and a -1 attack token, so they will not pillage when a monster is destroyed.
any cards. 5 Only one player gains mana from a horde card’s
The other two minions in the back line have 3 and 1 mana boost (but it can be split, if the boost is 2 or more).
health, therefore all alliance players must discard the top
4 cards of their decks.

In the second step of the pillage phase, the minion

engaged in the lane (that did not pillage) will return to the
back line.

16
 Competitive Mode

The competitive game mode is a secondary way to play ADDITIONAL HORDE PHASE STEPS
Skytear Horde with 2 or 3 players.
At the end of the horde phase, follow these steps:
One of them is known as the horde player and will be
controlling the horde while the other player(s) will follow
1 The horde player can take any number of the actions
below in any order.
the same rules of a solo or cooperative game.
2 The horde player draws 1 horde card.
The horde player is a bit like a dungeon master in role
playing games, their goal should be to make sure the
3 The horde player gains 1 mana.

alliance has a fun puzzle to solve!

All non-minion monsters have these universal

SETUP "Exhaust:" abilities:

To setup a competitive game follow the steps on page 6.

In particular, make sure to: MOVE OR SWAP MONSTERS
• Choose a competitive set of portals;
• Exhaust:
• Place the horde mana token on 0. The horde player will
Move this monster to a lane without monsters.
not gain mana from the portal. They gain mana after
• Exhaust this monster and another one:
summoning certain type of horde cards instead.
Swap the position of these two monsters.
• The horde player draws 5 cards and may take a
mulligan, like the alliance players.
EXHAUST AN ALLY
To play a competitive game, follow these rules in
addition to the rules explained so far. Exhaust, pay 2 mana:
Exhaust the ally engaged with this monster.

SUMMONING HORDE CARDS

Instead of summoning horde cards from the horde deck,
DRAW & PLAN TREACHERY
the horde players decides the card to summon from
their hand. Pay 1 mana: Draw a horde card.
Then, you may place a card from your hand on
The horde player can summon cards in any lane without
top of the horde deck (this basically allows you to
monsters. Colossal Outsiders must follow the usual
choose the next treachery card).
constraints.

Before summoning a horde card, the horde player

CONCEAL A MONSTER
can pay 1 mana to summon the card Concealed (see
glossary). Pay 1 mana: Conceal a monster without "Play:"
abilities, tokens, or attachments (see Conceal in
Summoning horde cards does not cost mana. After the
the glossary).
horde player plays a card, they gain mana based on the
roman numeral in the top left corner. Then, you may re-arrange all concealed monsters
so that the alliance players does not know which
is which.
Zero, 1, or 2 mana 2 or 1 mana to
to the horde PLAYER THE Alliance USE THE PORTAL ABILITY
The portals have an ability that can be used as an
action once per turn. Pay their mana cost, if any,
and resolve their ability.

17
 Alliance Overview

WHERE TO START...?
If you have the whole collection with 8 hordes and
THE BATTLE PLAN
8 alliance pre-made decks, there are 64 possible Get an alliance deck, custom or pre-made, and go
combinations out of the box... And this is without even on to fight against all the hordes in your collection
considering additional outsiders and custom alliance in the order listed in the opposite page.
decks!
If you do not want to choose an alliance deck,
Unless you like the idea of randomizing all these follow the order below. (I.e. Start from Liothan
choices all the time, having so many options can be Shapeshifters and end with Nupten Diviners.)
overwhelming.
If you win 6 or more games, you can consider
In the right sidebar there is a battle plan to go through all yourself victorious, and it is time to defend
the alliance and hordes of your collections. another realm with another alliance deck.

Good luck and have fun!

FROM SKYTEAR HORDE: FROM MONOLITHS:

LIOTHAN SHAPESHIFTERS LIOTHAN ENFORCERS

Ramp up your Skytear mana Disposable troops will boost your

production in order to play spells, towers, and enable more
massive allies. Make sure to powerful allies. This alliance deck
keep them healed after each has strong healing and mana
fight, and they will lead you to generation.
victory.

TAULOT FOLLOWERS TAULOT CUSTODIANS

Grow the strength of your allies, Rely on a wide array of

while lowering the enemy's towers and totems to achieve
strength. Slow and steady, gain anything you need to win:
more and more of an advantage from summoning allies and
until you are ready for anything. mutaforming them to hunting
down minions.

KURUMO WARRIORS KURUMO ARTIFICERS

Speed is the name of the game! A Kurumo deck that uses bigger
Attachments will empower your warriors. Make the best use of
relatively weak allies. Remember: attachments and upgrades to
the best defense is a good build unstoppable allies!
offense!

NUPTEN ILLUSIONISTS NUPTEN DIVINERS

(COMPLEX) (COMPLEX)

Everything in your deck serves a Curate your hand as you

singular purpose: stall the horde beat back the horde with time
until the three powerful mentalists magic. The effects in this deck
are able to decimate the horde's are surprisingly varied and
forces! unpredictable.

18
 Horde Overview

Below you can see an overview of each horde with

their play style and difficulty. TOTAL DIFFICULTY LEVEL
The hordes were designed with slightly increasing To calculate the total difficulty of any given setup,
difficulty levels and complexity. add the modifiers below to the baseline difficulty
We suggest to play them in the order of difficulty level chosen during setup (which will range from 1
beginning with the original Skytear Horde set. (I.e. Start to 5, see page 7).
from the Renegades and end with the Broods.) +0 for easy hordes.
The outsider card next to the description of each horde +0.5 for medium hordes.
is the suggested pairing. If you are following the battle +1 for hard hordes.
plan (see opposite page) after you have won 4 or more +0.5 for The Ancient Outsider or Silent Ambassador.
games with the same alliance deck, use a random +1 for each card of a colossal outsider.
outsider from your collection instead.

FROM SKYTEAR HORDE: FROM MONOLITHS:

RENEGADE (EASY) MONOLITHS (EASY)

Legendary black knights Huge monoliths empower

coordinate the siege operations minions to charge into the lanes,
of trolls, yetis, and frost giants, threatening your caste and
while forming an impenetrable your alliance deck. What is the
wall between the alliance and its mysterious power behind these
Outsider: The Hate Bringer. monoliths?

UNDEAD (MEDIUM) SINKLINGS (MEDIUM)

The Death Dealer will raise an The Silent Damsel ensures her
army of undead, spirits, and onis monstrous sea creatures crash
to fill the lanes. Hope you like into the battlefield concealed.
skeletons. Will you face the terrors blindly
or wait for them to reveal
themselves?

PREDATOR (HARD) SLITHERERS (HARD)

A wild horde of strange, mutating Try to beat back this infested

carnivores will assault your castle portal as it creeps into the lanes,
as you prepare for the arrival of overwhelming everything with its
the Beast Lord. dangerous plants, fungus, and
spores.

NIGHTMARE (HARD) THE BROOD (HARD)

Mythical monsters such as A ravenous swarms of insect-

harpies, golems, and chimeras like monsters will proliferate in
will lull your alliance into the back line while eating and
submission. The arrival of the pillaging anything within reach.
Dreaming Matriarch will turn your No alliance deck is safe from the
dreams into nightmares. appetite of the swarm!

19
 The Lore Custom Decks

“Temrup seems stronger than ever. His unholy legions

march over our lands, and the number of his followers
grows every day. Do not despair, though: the sparkle of
hope shines brightly, for we know how to defeat him now.”
- Khepiax, Lady of Lightning

Time has passed since the tomb of Temrup was

discovered and his wrath threatened the whole
inhabitants of Olan Taa for the first time. For almost one
year, the four Realms and the free lands surrounding them
have seen a restless war which brought civilization to
the brink of collapse. The last bastions, erected to stop
Temrup’s advance, are now reduced to little more than
enfeebled outposts.

The Hordes seem unstoppable, and even the most

The rules for building custom alliance decks is based on
defended cities in the heart of thought inexpugnable
the castle you are using.
islands are under siege. From the Brood - a race of insect-
like golems controlled by a Skytear-driven Hive Mind - to The back of the castle card indicates, for each rarity,
the mysterious sea monsters known as the Sinklings, which faction (color) of cards can be included and any
which flooded entire continent. The forces threatening the limits.
future of Olan Taa are now countless. In the example above, you can only have 6 Mythic cards
of the blue Liothan faction (the rune indicating the
Cyclopean Monoliths emerge from the ground, as a sign
faction is also watermarked on the scroll of the cards, if
of the Horde’s arrival and the doom of the land where
you have troubles distinguishing between the colors).
they appear. Announced by a deafening rumble, they have
different shapes from place to place, but their message of Some restrictions are in place to cover for possible
destruction and despair is universal. expansions where, for example, Shapeshifters (currently
only in the Liothan faction) may join the friendly Taulot or
Many armies from the falling Realms have attempted to
Nupten factions.
reach them to understand their power and their role in the
Temrup’s conquering, but no one has yet succeeded. The You can include cards from any set (e.g. Skytear Horde,
Monoliths are well protected by the Hordes and breaching Monoliths, etc) when building custom decks, regardless
their ranks seems impossible. of the set icon on the castle card.

Legendary heroes from all the corners of Olan Taa are The only general rule not written on the castle card is:
called to fight side by side in these desperate times. Once across all players' decks, there can be at most 1 copy of
deadly foes, they are now bound to each other in the any Mythic or Legendary card, 2 copies of any
name of the Alliance. Under their guidance, humankind Rare card, and 3 copies of any Common card.
could hinder the unstoppable advance of Temrup’s
Visit www.playskytear.com/horde to get more decks and
Hordes and, eventually, discover the source behind the
share your own with the community!
power of their enemy and destroy it.

Learn more about the lore of Skytear in the four

hard-cover lore books from www.playskytear.com.

20
 The Original Set Rules for Abilities

This section is for players who own the original set of The previous sections of this rulebook omitted these
Skytear Horde and want to integrate it with Monoliths. rules for abilities that were not needed to start playing.
The glossary has also extended entries of concepts
introduced earlier.
HORDE DECK AND DIFFICULTY
Monoliths introduces a new way to set the difficulty by
changing the horde deck instead of using different set
GENERAL RULES FOR ABILITIES
of portals. If a card’s ability contradicts this rulebook, the ability takes
precedence.
If you own the Challenge expansion, that allows you to If an ability says to do something and another says you cannot
play with the 4 hordes from the first set using the new do it, the "cannot" takes precedence.
difficulty system. Abilities can only interact with cards in play. (Specifically:
Otherwise, set the difficulty level by choosing the right the castle, the portal, allies, towers, monsters, and their
portals from the original Skytear Horde set and take all attachments.)
cards of the chosen horde to form the horde deck. If
you do so, remember that the stage 1 portal now has
TRIGGERED ABILITIES AND TIMING
"Destroyed: place the outsider in the outsider pile".
Triggered abilities are resolved at a specific time.
They are either preceded by a bold trigger (Play, Fight, Destroyed)
THE COMMON SET or otherwise a specific time ("After striking").
"After X is destroyed", "When X is destroyed", and "Destroyed:" all
These horde cards from the original set have the
trigger at the same time. The same is said for "Play:", "When X
symbol in their top right corner. In the original Skytear
enters play", "After X enters play" etc...
Horde box there were 4 cards of this set, and 4 more in
You must fully resolve an ability in the order it is written before
the Nupten & Utsesh expansions. resolving any other ability.

We do not recommend including these cards anymore A triggered ability that is resolved remains active for the
specified duration even if the card is destroyed (E.g. Wind Riders
in the horde deck because it slows down game setup,
reads: "Fight: a minion with attack 4 or less cannot pillage for
something we want to keep as fast and simple as
the remainder of the turn." Once it is resolved the ability will
possible.
remain active for the remainder of the turn even if Wind Riders
If you do not mind this extra step, add these cards to the are destroyed).

horde deck to give extra power to the minions. (Spoiler

alert: we plan to make a new horde with these and more STATIC ABILITIES
cards in the future...)
Static abilities do not specify a time like triggered abilities. They
are simply active as long as their card remains in play.
WORDING OF ABILITIES For instance "All monsters gain +1 attack." will grant this bonus
to all monsters in play until the card with this ability leaves play.
Skytear Horde did not feature temporary tokens to keep
Static abilities modifying attack and armor do NOT apply tokens.
track of attack and armor variations that lasted "for the If you want to use tokens as a reminder for static abilities, place
remainder of the turn". the tokens next to the card rather than on top of it because
card abilities will NOT be able to interact with these tokens (E.g.
All abilities written as "... gains +X attack for the
Remove or move them, etc).
remainder of the turn" are equivalent to "... gains X ".

The same goes for all abilities written as "-X attack and
+X armor for the remainder of the turn".
REPLACEMENT ABILITIES
These are abilities worded with a structure similar to: "if THIS
Abilities giving "-X health for the remainder of the turn"
would happen, do THAT instead".
are never tracked with tokens and it is a type of effect Armor is the most common example of this kind of ability. (E.g. If
we did not use in Monoliths nor we plan to repeat in the this card would take 1 damage, consume 1 armor instead.)
future. The effect being replaced is not happening.
If there are multiple replacement abilities trying to replace the
The word damage has been replaced by .
same effect, resolve one at a time in the order of your choice.
This means that, very likely, only one of these replacement
RULE CHANGES abilities will actually resolve, because the others will not have
anything to replace anymore.
The most important rule that changed from the first
set is the universal exhaust abilities of allies to move
and engage minions, even though there are many other
smaller changes.
For a comprehensive list of what changed, visit the
resources section at www.playskytear.com/horde.

21
 Glossary

ABILITY BENEATH
With the exception of the universal abilities, all abilities Some cards may end up with other cards "beneath/
are written on the cards. underneath" them. Let's call the former the hosting card
The card title and subtype (e.g. Shapeshifter) or qualifier and the latter the hosted cards.
(e.g. Epic) are not considered abilities. Hosted cards are considered out of play. Unless noted
If a card loses or copies all abilities of a card, it includes otherwise, you must follow the destruction steps (see:
the universal abilities as well. See page 10 for general Destruction) if they were in play before going beneath
rules about abilities and page 21 for additional details. another card.
When the hosting card leaves play, place the hosted
ADD X MANA cards in the owner's discard pile.
One alliance player of your choice gains X mana.
Players cannot have more than 10 mana. CANNOT ENGAGE / BE ENGAGED
If a monster would be summoned engaged with an ally
ADJACENT that they cannot engage, summon them in the closest
Two lanes are adjacent if they are next to each other. free lane instead (or place them in the outsider pile if
Two cards are adjacent if they are in adjacent lanes. there is no available lane). An ally cannot enter a lane of
a monster that they cannot engage.
ARMOR
Each turn, a card with armor prevents a number of
CHARGE LEFT/RIGHT/ETC
damage the card would take equal to their armor value. To Charge Left or Right, place the monster in the
leftmost or rightmost lane without monsters.
For example: a card with Armor 2 can prevent 2 damage
each turn or 1 damage twice from different effects To Charge the weakest/strongest ally, place the monster
during the same turn. in the lane of the weakest/strongest unengaged ally, if
any.
Place armor tokens on cards with armor and flip
them to their minus side to keep track of the armor CONCEALED MONSTERS
used this turn. (Flip them to the plus sign again during
A concealed monster is a face-down horde card in a lane
the end phase.)
that is considered a monster token with 1 health and 0
A card with Armor X that gains Armor Y (or +Y Armor) attack.
will end up with X+Y armor. Armor values that would
At the end of the alliance phase, all concealed cards in
be negative are considered to be zero when the card is
the lanes are revealed from left to right.
taking damage.
To reveal a concealed monster, flip it face-up and
If all the incoming damage is prevented, the card is summon it in that lane.
not considered damaged. Armor must be used before
If an ability (either from alliance or horde) would affect
Barrier.
a concealed monster, reveal the concealed monster.
Then, if the card was a monster, resolve the effect on the
ASSAULT X
monster instead. If the concealed monster was a spell or
Deal X damage to the portal or to the outsider. The
attachment, resolve the effect as much as possible.
outsider must be in be play to be damaged and it is not
Monsters with attachments or tokens on them cannot be
in play while in the outsider pile.
concealed.

ATTACK DAMAGE
When an effect references the attack of a card, you
When a card takes damage, you put that many
must consider the printed value modified by tokens and
damage tokens on it to keep track of its new lower
temporary effects.
health.
There is no maximum nor minimum attack value but if
It is considered damage any ability worded as: "Deal/
attack ends up being negative because of abilities, it is
gain X " or "Deal X damage".
considered to be zero instead.
Abilities worded as "-X health for the remainder of the
turn" or "remove/loses X " (like Guerrilla) are not
BARRIER considered damage. This distinction is particularly
If a card with Barrier and no damage would gain any important for applying Armor.
amount of damage, put a single damage on that
card instead. DAMAGED
Armor must be used before Barrier.
A card is damaged when it gains one or more .

22
 Glossary

"DESTROYED:" FRONT LINE

See "Destruction". The game area consisting of the 6 lanes.

DESTRUCTION GUERRILLA X
When the health of a card is 0 or less, follow these steps: Remove X tokens from a minion, either in the front or
back line (Armor does not prevent this effect).
1 Resolve the card "Destroyed:" abilities.
2 Discard the card's tokens and attachments. HEALTH
3 The card leaves play. Depending on the card type: When an effect references the health of a card, you
MONSTER OR ALLY Place it in the proper discard pile. must consider the printed value modified by tokens and
temporary effects.
MINION OR OUTSIDER Set the card aside.
There is no maximum or minimum health value.
PORTAL Replace the card with the next stage portal in
its upright orientation. Since portals are double sided, HEROIC X
the next stage might be on the back of the destroyed
As long as this card has 1 or more damage, it gets
portal.
+X attack.
This sequence of steps interrupts any ability that is A card with Heroic X that gains Heroic Y will end up with
being resolved and cannot be interrupted by other Heroic X+Y. Please note: the card does not actually gain
abilities. any tokens, even though you can place those next to
The sequence is also irreversible, meaning that any card the card as a reminder (see Static Abilities on page 21).
tagged for destruction will be destroyed even if their
health goes back above zero. MOST WOUNDED
This sequence is also triggered when the card is about The card with the highest number of damage
to leave play without being destroyed. (e.g., the card is tokens. Do not consider cards without damage.
drawn back in hand or it is placed in the outsider pile).
In these cases, the third and last step of the sequence is
MUTAFORM X
replaced since the card is going to another zone like in Repeat X times: “put 1 or 1 " on the card.
hand, outsider pile, etc. Each time, you can choose a different type of token.

ELUSIVE X NEIGHBOR
After striking a monster for the first time in a turn, an ally The neighbors of a card are the cards of the same side
with elusive may move to a free lane within X lanes. This in adjacent lanes. Horde cards will never be theneighbor
might allow them to strike again this turn. of an alliance card and vice versa.
Moving this way does not require the ally to exhaust.
Elusive triggers before any engaged monster PILLAGE
"Destroyed:" ability. To pillage X cards, each alliance player places the top
X cards of their alliance deck face up in the respective
ENGAGED (MONSTER/ALLY) discard pile (the discard pile is not ordered, so you can
An ally is engaged if there is a monster in the same lane, put them in any order).
and vice versa.
When a monster pillages, it pillages a number of cards
The engaged monster of an ally is the monster in the
equal to their attack.
same lane.
The engaged ally of a monster is the ally in the same “PILLAGE:”
lane.
“Pillage:” abilities on a card in the back line (i.e. not in the
front line) trigger on the first step of the pillage phase.
EPIC
Epic is a class of stronger monster cards. Some abilities PILLAGER
are not able to target epic cards, for example “destroy
A monster with Pillager has this ability:
non-epic monster”. An ability that targets a monster can
"Play, Pillage: move the monster to the back line.".
also target epic monsters.

FREE LANE “PLAY:”

“Play:” abilities on a card trigger when that card is
For a horde card ability: a lane without horde cards.
played. Monsters, allies, and towers must enter a lane
For an alliance card ability: a lane without alliance cards.
before any “Play:” ability is resolved.

23
 Glossary

REBUILD X WEAKEST CARD

Place up to X cards of any alliance discard pile on the The card in play with the lowest attack, considering
bottom of the respective deck, in any order. The alliance all modifiers and tokens. In case of a tie, check for the
discard piles are unordered, you can take any card of lowest health, considering all modifiers and tokens.
your choice when rebuilding. If there is still a tie, alliance players choose.

REINFORCE X WITHIN X LANE(S)

To resolve the keyword "Reinforce 1", place 1 on the A card is within 1 lane from another if they are in the
minion card with the fewest health tokens. Make sure same or adjacent lanes. Two cards with one lane
to also consider destroyed minions. (in case of ties you between them would be within 2 lanes. A card in the
decide which minion.) leftmost lane would be within 5 lanes from a card in the
rightmost lane.
To "Reinforce 2", "Reinforce 1" twice. After every
"Reinforce 1", check for the new minion with the fewest
WOUNDED
health tokens. This effectively means that the health
tokens will be distributed across different minions, A card is wounded as long as there are on it.
prioritizing destroyed minions first.

STRIKE
When an ally or monster strikes, it deals an amount of
damage equal to its attack.

STRONGEST CARD
The card in play with the highest attack, after all
modifiers and tokens. In the case of a tie, consider the
highest health, considering all modifiers and tokens.
If there is still a tie, alliance players choose.

TAUNT
At the end of the alliance phase each unengaged
monster with Taunt from left to right taunts an ally.

To taunt an ally, place the closest ally not engaged with a

monster with taunt in the monster's lane.

TRAMPLE
When an engaged ally or monster with Trample strikes
and they deal enough damage to destroy the enemy, any
excess damage is dealt to the portal or castle. UNIVERSAL ABILITIES
For instance, if a monster with an attack of 3 and ALLIES have these universal abilities:
Trample would strike an ally with 1 health left, that
- MOVE: "Exhaust: move this ally to a lane
monster would deal 1 damage to the ally and 2 trample
without alliance cards."
damage to the castle. If that ally had 1 armor, the castle
- SWAP: "Exhaust this ally and another one:
would only take 1 damage. If that ally had Barrier and no
these two allies swap positions."
, the castle would take no damage.
- ENGAGE: "Exhaust: Move a monster from the
UNDERNEATH back line to the lane of this ally".

See Beneath.
CASTLES have this universal ability:
UNENGAGED - DRAW: "Exhaust, pay 1 mana: Draw a card".
An ally is unengaged if there is no monster in the same
lane, and vice versa. All non-token MONSTERS have this ability:
- "Destroyed: One alliance player may draw 1 card."

24