Updated 1/4/24
What is Vengeance: Battle-Card?
In this game, two players will battle each other with their main Fighter card, using a variety of Action, Counter, and Instant Cards to deal damage and reduce your opponent's Fighters Life to 0. Ensure a quick victory by activating cards and effects that boost your own Fighter’s defensive capability and damage output, while at the same time, crippling your opponent. Everything you need to start is included in various structure decks, each focusing on specific battle strategies for unique and ever-changing gameplay.

What you need to start a Battle
•Each deck consists of no less than 45 cards in the Main Deck and no more than 60 cards. The cards that make up your Main Deck will consist of any variety of Action, Instant, Counter, and Support cards. Action and Counter cards may have duplicates, but only up to 2 copies of each unique card. Support, Instant, and Tiered cards are limited to 1 unique named card each. 
So, to break it down more simply
-Action: Limit 2 copies of each unique named card
-Counter: Limit 2 copies of each unique named card
-Instant: 1 copies of each unique named card
-Support: Limit 1 copies of each unique named card
-Environment: Limit 3 total in side-deck, and 1 of each unique named card 
-Tier: Limit 1 copies of each unique named card
•You may need a two-sided coin and/or a six-sided Die.
•It is recommended each player use a small whiteboard, piece of paper, or a spreadsheet app to keep track of stat changes and Life. 
•It is also recommended that players use multiple D20 or higher dice in order to accurately track turns passed via card cooldowns, stat changes, and more. Or, simply keep track in a way both players agree is easy to follow.
A Balanced Game
•While you are allowed to pit Fighters with a vast difference of Life against one another, for the sake of balance, you are both encouraged to choose a Fighter whose Life is within a 200-500 point difference of your opponent’s Life. So, an example of an unfair match-up would be any Teufel Fighter against any Divine Fighter 

Card Types and Field Zones
Main Deck Zone
•This is where your Main Deck will be placed, and will remain for the battle. Your Main deck consists of all of your selected Action, Support, Counter, Exchange, and Instant cards.
Side Deck 
•Your Side-deck will contain your Fighters Ascended/Unleashed form(if applicable), Tier 1& Tier 2 cards, as well as your 3 selected Environments. Your Side-deck does not count towards your Main Deck card count. You do not draw from this deck.
Fighter Card/Zone
•To begin the battle, each player Sets their Fighter in the Fighter Zone. Once Set, the Fighter cannot be removed from the field in any way or flipped face-down. Only Fighters can declare attacks and can only target the opponent's Fighter, or, a Support card placed in the opposing Defender Zone. 
•Your Fighter has two primary stats to note. Combat Power(Cp) and Life. Cp is stated in the top right corner of the card within the circle boundary. Your Fighter’s Life is to the left of Cp and is the highest it can be at the start of the battle. A Fighter's Life cannot exceed its starting maximum, unless stated able by a card effect. Fighters have multiple Effects located in the body text of the card: Passive(s)[On top] and some other named Ability/Abilities[On bottom]. Each can be used based on the description's limitations. 
•Fighters also have a stated Species and Class, which are only considered if a card specifies. Typically, these categories limit the usage of certain cards. I.e, Divine Fighters can use some cards that Teufel Fighters cannot.
Support Zone
•This zone can only be occupied by Ally, Artifact, and Token cards. You may only Set one Support card per turn(must be face-up), or, move a face-up Support card you already control in your Support Zone, to the Defender Zone once per turn. This is called a Support Action. 
•If all of your Support Zones are occupied, you may recall one Ally back to your hand to Set a new card in its place (This counts as your one Support Action per turn) If you choose to recall a Relic/Artifact card, it will be sent to the DZ instead of returning to your hand. 
•Tokens cannot be interacted with outside of a card effect.	

Whats the difference between Ally and Relic/Artifact?
•Ally cards are character cards much like your Fighter, but do not engage in battle in normal circumstances. They cannot attack, and are primarily on the field in order to provide persistant supporting effects for your Fighter across both players’ turns. Some Ally cards can also activate specific abilities which allow you to perform unique actions, such as draw a card or interact with your opponents cards. Support cards cannot be targeted for an attack of any type while in the Support Zone, unless stated otherwise by a card effect.
•Relic/Artifact cards typically provide singular on-field effects, or equip to another card for a specific purpose. Relics/Artifacts are treated the same as Ally cards but cannot occupy the Defender Zone, unless stated otherwise.
Defender Zone 
•Typically, only Ally Support cards are allowed to occupy the Defender Zone. But as you’ve probably caught on to by now, a lot of standard rulings can be overwritten so long as a card effect specifically states it does something. 
•A card cannot be placed directly in the Defender Zone from the hand or deck, unless stated otherwise. Cards can only be moved to the Defender Zone while face-up, after occupying a Support Zone for at least one complete turn. 
•Moving your Ally to or from the Defender Zone counts as your Support Action for the turn. 
•A Defender cannot be recalled directly from the field to the hand unless stated otherwise by a card effect. 
•While your Ally occupies the Defender Zone, the Support Zone which they were moved from is still considered occupied. 
•While occupying the Defender Zone, your opponent must target your Defender for attacks, and cannot choose to target your Fighter unless stated otherwise by a card effect. Defenders cannot declare an attack and have limited Life as stated in the top right corner of the card. While face-up, Defender cards will provide a specific effect(s) that are stated on the card as Defender Passive and only that effect.(The only effect that applies for the card is determined by which Zone they currently occupy) 
•An Ally cards life persists regardless of position on Field or if returned to the hand. Once a Defender’s Life is reduced to Zero, they are sent to the DZ. 
Discard Zone(DZ) - This is the Zone where cards that are removed from the game go. These cards cannot be interacted with or recovered unless stated otherwise by a card effect. 
Exile - Cards that are Exiled are one layer further removed from the game and generally can never be interacted with. Cards that can interact with the Exiled Zone are few and far between.

Now that you understand some basic terminology, let’s go over some fundementals. 
How a Battle begins. 
•At the start of the Battle, each player places their chosen deck and Fighter in the appropriate Zones and then decide who will go first in whatever way feels fair. Before any cards are drawn, the second-turn player decides which Environment will be active for both players from their Side-Deck. Then, each player starts by drawing 6 cards as their opening hand. 
•The first-turn player does not conduct their standard draw phase (so, they do not draw 1 for their turn). The first-turn player also cannot declare an attack with their Fighter(via Action, Exchange, or Base-attack) but may inflict damage with card effects if able. 
Turn Phase Sequence - Draw Phase, Main Phase, Engagement Phase, Standby Phase, End Phase
Draw Phase - Draw one card from the top of the deck. Any effect that activates during this phase will activate only after the card has been added to the turn player's hand. If the draw is negated, card effects will still apply after the card would have been drawn. 
Main Phase – The turn player can interact with their field by Setting cards, or activating character effects, card effects, and Instants. The other player can rebute with their own effects during their opponents Main phase if all conditions are met. 
Engagement Phase – This phase is where you declare attacks using Action cards, Exchange cards, Inflicting damage with effects. You can only attack with either Action cards or a single Base-Attack, but not both in a single turn unless stated otherwise. Once you enter Engagement, you can no longer Set new cards on the field or remove any cards, except by card effect. Fighter and Support card effects can be activated if available/mandatory. 
Standby Phase- Once you move to the Standby Phase you can no longer declare attacks with your Fighter, but you can still Inflict damage with card effects. During this Phase, if you have yet to activate an available effect on-field, in-hand, or in your DZ, this is the last opportunity before your turn ends. You may not activate an Instant card during the Standby Phase. 
End Phase – Your turn has ended and is passed to your opponent. 

Let’s breakdown some specifics when it comes to attacking your opponent. 
Base-Attack 
•If a player chooses to not activate an Action card for any reason, they can then choose to Inflict damage to their opponent via a Base Attack. A Base attack is a single-use-per-turn action, that Inflicts damage to your opponent for either your Fighter’s Strength or Power stat. Strength counts as a Physical Attack, and Power counts as a Magic attack. Counter cards can be activated for Base-Attacks. Action cards cannot be activated before or after a Base Attack is declared during the same turn.
Action/Cooldown Zone 
•Action cards are your Fighter’s primary means of dealing damage to your opponent. Each Action has calculative damage based on your Fighter’s Cp (Combat power) and other listed stats, and must be activated by placing the Action card in a vacant Action/Cooldown Zone. You can activate as many Action cards as you have available Cooldown Zones in a turn. If your Action is successful, the card remains in the Zone that it was activated in, and the Cooldown timer starts. A ‘Successful’ attack, refers to that card dealing any amount of damage to your opponent.
•A Cooldown turn must consist of a Draw Phase and End Phase after activation. The turn of activation does not count as a cooldown turn, since the Draw phase occurred before the activation of the card. To note: whether either player successfully draws a card for their Draw phase, does not affect the Cooldown counter, just as long as a turn started and finished. 
•Once the Action card completes its Cooldown, it will return to the deck, unless stated otherwise. 
Cooldown logic(As appears on an Action Card)
• 1,2,3. . . – The number of complete turns required to pass, then, the Action card is shuffled into the deck.
• 0 Immediately after resolution, return to deck and shuffle.
• - Immediately after resolution, send to the DZ
• + Immediately after resolution, return to deck, shuffle, draw 1 card.
• 1,2,3…(+) The number of complete turns required to pass, then, the Action card is shuffled into the deck; draw 1 card

What is the difference between Attack & Inflict? 
•Attack and Inflict are not the same when it comes to dealing damage. Attack is typically referring to an Action card or Base-Attack. Whereas Inflict is usually damage caused by card effects. Special Note: Cards that Inflict damage cannot be countered by cards that activate in response to an Attack, and vice-versa. (Referring to the language written on the cards) 
Counter Cards/Zone
•Counter cards are a player's primary means of avoiding damage, mitigating damage, or negating card effects. Counter cards may only be placed face-down in the Counter Zone, and can only be activated after that turns End phase. 
•You can place as many Counter cards as you have available Counter Zones per turn, but only one Counter can be activated per Action instance. 
•You cannot recall a Counter card from your field. Once Set, it will remain there until activated or removed by a card effect. 
•Upon activation and resolution, a Counter card is sent to the DZ unless stated otherwise by its own, or another card effect.
I see Counter Cards say they Block or Evade? How does that work? 
These terms are shorthand for preventing or lessening damage to your Fighter/Defender. Either refers to an attack not being negated, but being unsuccessful.
Think in terms of actual heightened combat. Blocking an attack doesn’t always reduce the entirety of the damage received, and sometimes, you can dodge an attack but still be grazed or hit by concussive force. In the context of this game, certain cards may have conditional requirements or logic that apply to Block/Evade individually.

Instant Cards
•Instants are cards that activate quick effects that mainly consist of, but are not limited to, adding cards from your deck to your hand, crippling your opponent's field, shuffling the deck, providing short-term boosts, and recovering cards from the DZ. 
•Instant cards must be activated in the Instant Zone and can only be activated one at a time. 
•Instant cards are immediately sent to the DZ upon effect resolution.  
Combat Exchange(Chain)
•A Combat Exchange occurs when an Action(Exchange) card is played. These cards are not played in the typical Action/Cooldown Zone therefor you do not need an available Action/Cooldown Zone to activate. Instead, these cards are stacked in sequence in the center of the field in the Exchange Zone. (Only one Chain can be started per turn)
•Each player goes back and forth playing one Exchange card at a time to deal additive damage, or block incoming damage. As long as you have an Exchange card in your hand, the Chain can continue even if your opponent has no response. However, you cannot play multiple Exchange cards in a row, you have to allow your opponent a chance to respond with an appropriate card. If they do not have a card to play in response, you may activate another Exchange Action card to continue the chain. 
•The Chain continues until both players cannot play an Exchange card, or, one player activates a normal Action/Counter card within the Chain, by placing it in sequence in the Exchange Zone. If a normal Action/Counter card is played this way, the Chain is broken, and the Exchange ends immediately. Any card played during this Exchange does not have a Cooldown, and will be sent to the DZ at the end of the turn. 
•Counter Exchange cards do not need to be set to activate, however, normal Counter cards do. Counter Exchange cards can not be activated outside of a Chain.
•Exchange cards stated Name is the declared outgoing damage, and any effect written on the cards body, is activated immediately/when stated, and does not typically wait until the chain plays out. 
•When the chain completes, cards outgoing damage and Counter mitigation is played out in sequence from the first activated card. And at the end, for each Exchange a player played, they draw 1 card. 

Restricted Cards – These are cards that require your Fighter to have certain stat levels to activate, or, state only specific characters/class can use. I.e, Deity, Divine, Teufel, Fiend etc.
Tiered Cards - Some Counter, Action, and Instant cards have Tiered levels (1-3). 
•When adding Tiered cards to your deck, you must select the highest available Tier of that specific card for your Main Deck(1 being the lowest). Then, all affiliated cards of a lower tier must be placed in the Side-deck. When a Tiered card is activated and resolves(even if negated), it is sent to the DZ, then, you must add the next lower Tier of that card from your Side-deck into your Main deck. 
•Tier-1 cards are shuffled back into the deck upon use unless stated otherwise.
Additional Terms and Info
Flipped Face-Down – When a card is flipped face-down by an effect, that card’s effects are negated and it cannot activate any effect while face-down. 
Tally - Some cards will require markers (called Tallies) to keep track of various things. You can use small objects like glass beads, paper clips, or pennies for the counters, which are then placed on these face-up cards
Public Knowledge - The number of cards in a player’s hand, Decks, DZ, and each player’s current Life and stats are all public knowledge and both players can verify these things at any time. A player may request to check their opponent's DZ. Neither player may change the order of cards in DZ. Neither player can ask to see their opponent's side deck.