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Common Confusion

Blocking vs Guarding

Blocking is when one or more of your units are put in front of opposing unit(s) attacking your Phoenixborn.

Guarding is when either your Phoenixborn or a unit with the ability Unit Guard is put in front of an opposing unit attacking one of your units. Using your Phoenixborn to guard is usually referred to as "PB Guard" and can only be done once per round. When playing with physical cards this is represented by turning your PB sideways.

How/when fatigue works

Fatigue damage occurs during the Prepare Phase (start of a round) when you have to draw up to your hand size (5). For every card you are unable to draw, you take 1 damage on your PB. If you have at least 5 cards during the Prepare Phase, you will not take fatigue damage.

There are other cards and that can punish having an empty draw pile (eg Abundance) but these are not fatigue damage.

When do units exhaust as part of combat resolution

For attackers, exhaustion tokens are placed after resolving combat if they did not die (wounds >= life).

For defenders, exhaustion tokens are placed as a result of countering an attack. The Alert ability (eg Battle Seer) prevents exhaustion being placed as a result of countering.

It is possible due to the resolution of effects and abilities that a defender does not exhaust if the attacking unit they are blocking is removed from combat before countering occurs. One example is Crystal Archer's Preemptive Shot 1 which can kill a 1-life attacker when declared as a blocker.

What is targetting, how/when it applies
  • Alterations always target.
  • Cards must explicitly state "target <x>" (where <x> can be unit, Phoenixborn, opponent, etc, in order to be considered targeting. Area of effect (AoE) cards (eg Nature's Wrath) do not target.
    • This is important, particularly for some reactions such as Golden Veil, which cancels an effect on a unit being targeted; it cannot cancel damaged applied by an AoE

 

TODO

  • End of round triggers
  • AOE selection and resolution
  • Reaction windows
  • Specific card confusion
    • Strange Copy
    • Void Pulse
    • Rowan's Conscript ability
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