Build, steal, or eliminate power using card abilities and zone placement. When no legal plays are possible by all players, the side with the highest total power wins — a tie is a tie.
You can play 1v1 or 2v2.
Teammates sit on the same side of the mat, but they cannot look at each other’s cards or talk to each other; friendly banter against the other side is encouraged.
An 80‑card deck with 11 groups, a two‑sided mat with three zones on each side and card slots, and a printed guide.
1v1: each player draws 6. 2v2: each player draws 5.
1v1: each player transfers 2 cards face‑up to Contract slots. 2v2: each player transfers 1 card face‑up to Contract slots.
Anyone from any side can start — decide wisely.
Playing a card into a zone slot that allows it (following slot rules and any current ability constraints).
You must pass your turns until space is created by other players in any of your zones.
You keep passing until a legal play becomes possible.
You pass permanently, and the game continues until other player(s) also run out of cards at hand or legal plays.
Sum all alive cards’ powers on each side, apply the latest boost/hinder effects, then add synergy bonuses per zone (respecting the synergy cap). Highest power wins; ties stand.
From left to right: Vask Tower, The Gang Hideout, and Havenvale Campus.
Each zone has 9 slots: 8 for regular or diabolical cards, and 1 bottom slot dedicated to diabolical activation.
They have no dedicated slots — they occupy the empty spaces around zone names.
All cards can be placed in any slot for power (as long as slot rules are followed) and at any time. However, linked groups have ability restrictions.
Vask Executives ↔ Vask Tower; The Gang ↔ The Gang Hideout; Havenvale Batch ↔ Havenvale Campus.
Those three linked groups can only use abilities in their respective zones; other groups can use abilities anywhere.
If a linked group card is placed in its linked zone and survives to the end, it contributes +1 synergy point to that zone. Synergy is capped at +4 per zone.
Power value; the card’s group; a symbols panel; an ability description; and name & type (Human/Apex) plus gender — some abilities care about type or gender.
Usually a card’s ability affects only the zone it’s in, and most are single, instant‑use. If an ability is lost, it can’t be restarted unless another ability says so.
Boost/Hinder, Movement, Kill Capable, Turn Affect, and Cheat Death; some groups (‘Why Even’, ‘Doomed Squad’) bend categorization.
Boost (or be boosted) to power 8, anchored by its own symbol — see the card text/symbols.
It reduces the target’s power, typically to 0 — see the card text/symbols.
The latest boost/hinder takes over.
They move yourself, or move teammates or enemies across zones; note Spiderloom’s ‘Why Stick’ can block movement.
Abilities like Deathdodge/Runaway are the only ones that can save themselves from Kill abilities.
Abilities such as Turntable or Fate Purge that change or extend the Usual Turn.
They may — check the specific card text. Some kills can hit your own side.
Step 1: play one legal card. Step 2: announce/resolve abilities. Step 3: announce a kill choice if applicable. Step 4: opponents may counter if they remember. Step 5: opponents discard dead cards (permanent death if a savable card is discarded). Step 6: if the deck isn’t empty, draw one; end turn.
A high‑risk, high‑reward way to control luck using four face‑up cards that stay visible for trading or purging.
Only if the main deck has 10 or more cards.
No. You can’t use Contract Turns consecutively — every Contract Turn must be followed by a Usual Turn.
Contract Turns are banned for the rest of the game (unless a specific ability like ‘Rewind’ changes this).
Scorched Earth and The Diabolicals are non‑eligible — they can’t be traded in or out of contract slots.
Yes, but only as initial contract cards during setup.
If all contract slots hold non‑eligible cards (Scorched Earth or Diabolicals), contracts are frozen.
Only via a Contract Purge — and a purge is dependent on the deck’s state.
A Contract Purge happens automatically (which can heavily deplete the main deck).
Transfer 1 card between your hand and an empty contract slot; the card in contracts is always face‑up.
Transfer all four contract cards back into the main deck, shuffle, then reveal four new face‑up contract cards to the slots.
They can — every Contract Turn can result in one or more cards being discarded from the main deck; use contracts with caution.
All groups are regular except The Diabolicals and Scorched Earth.
They affect all other groups, and only affect each other in specific scenarios.
When placed in a diabolical slot (activated), diabolical abilities affect all groups except Scorched Earth and other diabolicals in diabolical slots.
Deathrender and Razor — the only Scorched Earth cards — extremely powerful and risky.
If both sides each have a Scorched Earth card and both are played in the same zone, and that zone becomes completely empty on both sides after the second card resolves, both cards fight to the death (are discarded) and the zone is permanently sealed for both sides — no cards of any group can be played there.
If one side has both Scorched Earth cards, a global rule applies: both cannot use the same Endgame choice regardless of zone. If both are played in the same zone, they fight to the death (discarded) and Scorched Earth is not triggered.
Choose exactly one: (1) kill enemy zone entirely (including Diabolicals); (2) kill your own zone entirely (including Diabolicals); (3) kill both same zones entirely (including Diabolicals); or (4) do nothing.
Yes — the global rule (no same Endgame choice) still applies across zones.
Placing a Diabolical in its dedicated diabolical slot activates its ability and grants immunity from regular and other diabolical abilities; only Scorched Earth can then affect it.
It behaves like a regular Apex: it loses its ability and becomes vulnerable to any ability.
No — once placed, a Diabolical cannot be moved between those slot types.
Abilities often depend on group and zone; linked groups must be in their zone to use abilities, and Diabolicals need their dedicated slot to activate.
