Mage Wars CCG

I have come up with an entirely new rule-set for the game. The old rules can be found at Mage Wars CCG_old, in the meantime, I've got a lot to do... Oh, and all pages belonging to Mage Wars CCG will begin with the prefix MCG.

In the collectible card game, you take on the role of an Arch Magus commanding a tower. Your goal is simple: destroy your opponent's tower. You must do this by any and all means necessary; for in the Mage Wars, power is the only currency.

Rules

Ok, now that we're past the nambi-bambi make believe crap, let's get to the actual techicals. Mage Wars is a largely condition-dependent game. A lot of factors rely heavily on the presence of certain conditions, and by changing these conditions you can radically alter the course of a game. Another key-strategy is the use of face-down cards. And non-casting card can be played face-down and turned face-up at any time.

Tower

The Tower functions as both your life points and your spell-casting fuel. Yes, in order to cast a spell, you must sacrifice a piece of your tower. Not a literally piece, a figurative piece. When you cast a spell, you pay the cost for it in Tower Levels. Players begin with 200 Tower Levels.

You may GAIN tower levels in any number of ways. Some spells may cost points, but actually give you levels. Resource and Holding cards will also often give you Tower Levels when they are deployed - but only then. This is called the Tower Modifier and can be found on any card, it looks like a small Tower Icon and a number, with a + or - sign. When that card comes into play, apply the modifier accordingly. Only when it comes into play, not when it leaves.

Your Tower is tracked using the Tower Deck, which is a series of cards with numbers printed on them. Theoretically you can use anything as a counter, but why not just keep some extra cards around? Tower Cards come in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 100, and 1,000. If used properly these can quickly and easily represent any number you will need.

Tower Tiers

The Tier value of your Tower is another variable. Under normal circumstances, each Tier is 100 levels, so all players begin with a Tier II Tower. Drop down to 199, it becomes a Tier II, drop to less than 100, and your Tower no longer has a Tier and you will probably cry as most spells and units are Tier I minimum. If your Tower lacks the appropriate Tier, you cannot use the card that requires it. If your Tower is above the requirement, you totally can(Example: Card requires Tier II, your Tower is 350 Levels high and Tier III, you can play it).

Line Rules

Mage Wars CCG features a series of line rules that determine when or what a attacking player can attack. In Mage Wars you do not attack specific cards, but a specific line. There are three lines: Offensive, Defensive, and Tower. Players must divide the play area into offensive and defensive lines and be clear about where they are laying a card(even if it is face-down). Units must be deployed only to the Defensive Line and cannot move to the Offensive Line the turn they come into play. Only Units on the Offensive Line can attack.

Under normal circumstances, units can only attack the forward-most line; meaning if a defending player controls any units on the Offensive Line, the attacking player must first destroy those units before attacking the defensive line. Same goes for Tower, the Tower can only be attacked directly if defending player controls no units able to block on either line.

Aerial Units(things that fly) can ignore line rules, by attacking whichever line their controller chooses. Including going after the tower directly. Only other Aerial Units can block, effectively their are no lines. Further, an Aerial Unit can choose to attack either line, if it attacks the Defensive Line, units from the Offensive Line cannot block.

At any time a player is the target of an attack, he can choose not to block at all, taking all damage directly to the tower.

Magic

Castings are separated into three types: fast cast, slow cast, and weave. Casting costs for these spells are paid from the tower(by subtracting Tower Levels). Whenever a fast cast or weave spell is cast, any player may block it by sacrificing a unit with Power Level equal to the spell's casting cost. Some spells are unblockable.

Additionally, spells have Resource Requirements. These are specific numbers or types of Resource Cards you must control on the field in order to be able to cast a spell. Most spells will only require one of a particular resource.

Turns

The turn structure is seperated into X phases. These are: Draw, Deployment, Combat, and End. These are describbed in greater detail on the Turn page.

Deck

A Mage Wars CCG deck is made up of several parts which we shall identify here. The Main Deck consists of exactly 88 cards, no more, no less. Additionally, you have the Tower Deck(used for tracking Tower Levels), the Side Deck(used when an effect requires you to take a card from "outside the game" and a Side Board. The Side Board is extra cards you carry along to fine-tune your deck in case you wish to customize it between matches.

Allowed Deck Sizes:

• Main Deck: 88 cards exactly
• Side Board: 12 cards maximum
• Tower Deck: as many as you think you'll need.
• Side Deck: required only if an effect in your main deck or side board calls for it.

Card Types

There are 8 basic card types:

• Units: these are your army, this is how you carry out your tower-tactics
• Castings: these are your spells, your tower magic, the spells that are cast from your tower.
• Resources: these cards have many uses, from increasing the height of your tower, to providing bonuses to your units.
• Holdings: these are lands or regions you control of strategic importance.
• Ritual: used for all sorts of fun things.
• Magic Tech: these are something of an enigma: sometimes Unit, sometimes weave, sometimes unnameable horror from beyond.
• Face Down: any card! This is how you screw with your opponent.
• Uhhh... Pass:

Units

Units are your armies. During the Mage Wars, each tower would control vast military forces, these were used in a two-pronged attack against enemy towers. These "tower tactics" were ruthless, and required defending mages to also maintain large defensive forces. This is the basic mechanic around which Mage Wars is built.

Deploying units is condition-based: each Unit will have a number of conditions that must be met in order to summon it; these consist of Resources, Holdings, and minimum Tower Level. Deploying a unit does not subtract from your Tower Level and once the Unit is out, it stays out even if the conditions for deploying it are lost.

• Playing a Unit Face Down: Units can be played as Face Down cards even if the conditions required to deploy them are not met. When a Unit card is turned face up, the conditions must be checked. If they are not met, that card is removed from the game without having entered play. Notriggered abilities can effect this, it goes from being a Face Down Card to not existing, having never been a Unit.

Castings

Castings, there are three types:

• Fast Cast: can be cast any time at lightning speed. Fast Cast spells can only be countered by other fast-cast spells or activated abilities.

• Slow Cast: can only be cast during controlling player's Expansion Phase.

• Weave: creates a permanent enchantment on the field.

Each spell has a Power Level associated with it. This is the cost that must be paid(in Tower Levels) to cast the spell. It may also have a level requirement(a minimum level the tower must be in order to cast the spell) if casting would reduce the level to below the requirement it can still be cast. Finally, spells might have a Resource Requirement, this is a number or type of resources you must control in order to cast the spell.

Combined Resource Casting

There are several Combined Resource Types; if a spell or effect requires a combination you do not control, you can create it by sacrificing two resources of the appropriate types. This allows you to cast one spell, it does not create a combination.

Spell Blocking and Empowering

Whenever a player casts a spell, another player may block it by sacrificing Tower Levels equal to the spell's Power Level. In response, the player casting the spell may empower it by sacrificing additional Tower Levels to raise the spell's Power Level. This system works like an auction, in that the player willing to give up the most determines whether or not the spell succeeds. Both players still loose whatever number they sacrificed.

Resources

Resources are cards you control that supply resources to your tower. You place these on the field, presumably behind your defensive line(but only Line cards have specific location requirements). Each Resource Card adds to your Tower Level when it comes into play.

Their are four basic Resource Types: Earth, Fire, Wind, and Water. There are also many Combined Resources and multi-resources. A Combined Resource is any resource card that consists of two or more types(Example: Earth and Fire create Magma).

Holdings

Holdings represent regions under your control, and determine what type of Units you can summon. There are a few basic types of holdings and several multi-types that can act as more than one. Holdings do all kinds of things beyond just making unit-types possible; some may have activated abilities, others grant you Tower Levels, etc.

The basic Holding types are:

• Fortress
• Mine
• Maze

...think of five or six others.

Ritual

A Ritual Card represents a Ritual Site. Rituals are the ultimate wild-card. They can cast spells, summon Units, any number of purposes. A Ritual Card must be played originally as a Face Down card on either Line. Each Ritual card will give the requirements needed to turn it face up and activate the Ritual.

Magic-Tech

Magic-Tech cards are permanently-enchanted eldritch machines that can hold great power.