Rules Detailed

Getting Started

To set up a game of Terra Indomita, follow these steps:

1. Gather Components

Each player needs:

A 60-card deck featuring units, spells, equipment, and buildings.
A set of unit, building and research tiles (to represent deployed forces on the board).
Dice for counters.
A Bank Card (to track your gold and mana). Track gold and mana with dice in the gold and mana areas.
One player must also bring the game board.

2. Board Setup

Place the 20×20 game board at the center of the play area.
Identify the four base locations (marked on the board).
Distribute Gold Nodes (36 total) and Mana Nodes (20 total) in their designated spaces. This are marked on the official board.

3. Player Setup

Each player places their base on an available starting location.
Each player deploys workers onto the three closest resource nodes.
Each player shuffles their deck and draws 5 cards.

4. Determine First Player

All players roll a die; the highest roll goes first. If tied, reroll among the tied players.

5. Turn Structure

The game progresses in turns, with each turn divided into the following phases:

Restore Phase – The active player refreshes depleted units and cards.
Draw Phase – The active player draws one card.
Collection Phase – The active player gains resources:

Gold is added to their remaining total.
Mana resets to zero before collecting new mana.

Action Phase – Players can perform multiple actions in any order:

Activate a unit (move and/or take an action).
Play an equipment, ability, spell, building, or research card.
Activate the ability of a building, research, or equipment.
Purchase one worker for 1 Gold (once per turn).

Cleanup Phase – Discard down to 8 cards if over the hand limit.
Next Player’s Turn – Play passes clockwise.

6. Winning the Game

The game ends when one player’s base is destroyed by taking 5 damage or if they surrender.

Alternatively, if using Victory Points (VP), the first player to reach the agreed VP total wins the game.

Detailed Turn Rules

Each turn in Terra Indomita follows a structured sequence to ensure smooth gameplay and strategic depth. The turn is divided into six main phases, with each phase allowing specific actions and interactions.

1. Turn Start

At the beginning of a player’s turn, any effects that trigger at the start of the turn occur. This includes passive abilities, ongoing effects, or card-based triggers.

2. Restore Phase

The Restore Phase allows the active player to refresh their units and resources.

Depleted units (those used in the previous turn) are restored and can act again.
Used abilities that refresh each turn become available again.
Players resolve any effects that trigger during the Restore Phase.

📌 Timing Breakdown:

Resolve any “Start of Restore Phase” Triggers & Reactions (T&R).
Refresh all depleted units and cards.
Resolve any post-restore triggers and reactions.

3. Draw Phase

The active player draws one card from their deck.
If a player is not able to draw, they lose the game.

📌 Timing Breakdown:

Resolve any “Start of Draw Phase” Triggers & Reactions.
(Instant) Draw one card.
Resolve any post-draw triggers and reactions.

4. Collection Phase

During this phase, players gain Gold and Mana from their resource nodes.

Effects that modify income (such as buffs or debuffs to worker efficiency) are applied.
Gold is added to the player’s total.
Mana resets to zero before new Mana is collected.

📌 Timing Breakdown:

Resolve any “Start of Collection Phase” Triggers & Reactions.
Collect Gold and Mana from occupied nodes.
Resolve any post-collection triggers and reactions.

5. Action Phase

The Action Phase is the most strategic phase, allowing players to:

Move and activate units.
Play cards from their hand (spells, abilities, buildings, equipment, research).
Use card or unit abilities.
Purchase a worker (once per turn).

📌 Actions Available:

Activate a Unit – Choose a unit to activate. It may:

Move up to its movement value.
Use an ability (spells, unit abilities, or actions) or Attack an available target.
After acting, the unit becomes depleted until the next Restore Phase.

Play a Card – The player may place or play:

Units (adjacent to their base or via special effects).
Buildings (adjacent to a worker).
Equipment (attached to a unit).
Research (adjacent to a controlled Mana node).
Spells/Abilities (following their casting rules).

Activate a Card’s Ability – Some cards have reusable abilities that can be triggered.
Place a Worker – A player may place one worker per turn.

📌 Timing Breakdown:

Resolve any “Start of Action Phase” Triggers & Reactions.
Perform any number of available actions in any order:
1. Declare which unit is activating.
2. Resolve any pre-activation triggers and reactions.
3. Choose to Move and Attack or Use an Ability/Action:
  1. Resolve pre-move triggers.
  2. Move the unit according to movement rules.
  3. Resolve post-move triggers.
  1. Resolve pre-hit triggers.
  2. Perform hit and damage calculation.
  3. Resolve pre-damage triggers.
  4. Apply damage.
  5. Resolve post-damage and post-attack triggers.
  1. Resolve pre-cast triggers.
  2. Resolve the spell/ability effect.
  3. Resolve post-cast triggers.
1. Announce and pay its cost.
2. Resolve any triggers and reactions.
3. Complete its effects.
1. Announce and pay 1 Gold.
2. Resolve any relevant effects.

Activate a Unit
Play a Card:
Purchase a Worker:
Activate an Equipment, Building, or Research Ability.

Resolve any “End of Action Phase” Triggers & Reactions.

6. Cleanup Phase

At the end of the turn, players must prepare for the next round:

Discard down to 8 cards (if over the hand limit).
Remove any temporary effects that expire this turn.

📌 Timing Breakdown:

Resolve any “Start of Cleanup Phase” Triggers & Reactions.
Remove any temporary effects that expire at Cleanup.
Discard down to 8 cards if necessary.
Resolve any “End of Cleanup Phase” Triggers & Reactions.

Priority System

Priority determines which player can take actions and when.

The active player has priority at the start of their turn.
When an action is taken, priority shifts between players before the action resolves.
If no player interrupts, the action resolves and priority returns to the active player.
If a player responds with an ability, the game follows a “stacking” system, resolving abilities in the order they were played.

📌 Priority Flow Example:

Player A plays a spell.
Player B can respond with a reaction ability.
If Player B responds, Player A may counter-react.
The last ability played resolves first (Last In, First Out rule).
Once all reactions resolve, Player A resumes priority.

Reaction Speed & Triggers

Some abilities and spells can be played outside of a player’s turn.

Reaction Spells/Abilities – These can be cast anytime a player has priority, even during an opponent’s turn.
Triggered Effects – Abilities that activate automatically when a condition is met (e.g., “When this unit is attacked, draw a card”).

📌 Trigger Examples:

“When a unit moves into your Zone of Control, it stops moving.”
“Whenever you gain Gold, draw a card.”

Zone of Control (ZoC)

Every unit (unless specified otherwise) has a Zone of Control (ZoC)—all adjacent squares around it.

If an enemy moves into a ZoC, it immediately stops moving.
If a unit begins its turn in an enemy’s ZoC, it can move freely within and out of it..

📌 Exceptions:

Abilities that ignore movement penalties.
Units with special movement mechanics.

Adjacency Bonuses

An important aspect of combat is Adjacency Bonuses. It represents the disruption caused by enemy units or the assistance of allied units. Whenever a unit attacks another unit you calculate attacker and defender adjacency.

To calculate Attacker Adjacency Bonus simply add up all the units allied with the attacking unit who are adjacent to the defending unit. This number is added to the attacking unit’s hit.

To calculate the Defender Adjacency Bonus simply add up all the units allied with the defending unit who are adjacent to the defending unit. This number is subtracted from the attacking unit’s hit.

Combat: Attack Calculation

When a unit attacks, follow this calculation:

Hit Score Calculation

Hit Score = (Attacker’s Hit + Modifiers) + (Attacker’s Adjacency Bonus – Defender’s Adjacency Bonus) – (Defender’s Defense + Modifiers)

Damage Calculation

Total Damage = Attack’s Base Damage + Modifiers + Hit Score (if negative)

Economy & Resource Management

In Terra Indomita, efficient resource management is key to victory. Players must carefully balance their Gold and Mana income, strategically deploying workers and leveraging their faction’s abilities to maintain an advantage.

1. Resources: Gold & Mana

There are two primary resources in the game:

Gold 🪙 – A persistent resource used to purchase units, workers, buildings, and equipment.
Mana 🔮 – A volatile resource used to cast spells and research powerful upgrades. Unlike Gold, Mana resets to zero at the start of each turn.

At the beginning of a player’s turn, they collect resources from the nodes their workers occupy.

Gold Collection

Gold Nodes provide 1 Gold per worker stationed on them.
Gold accumulates turn over turn and can be saved for later use.
Certain abilities, research, and buildings can modify Gold income or efficiency.

Mana Collection

Mana Nodes provide 1 Mana per worker stationed on them.
Mana resets to zero at the start of every turn, meaning players must spend it wisely before their turn ends.
Certain units, buildings, and research can enhance Mana generation or efficiency.

2. Workers: Expanding Your Economy

Workers are essential for gathering resources. Each turn, players may place one worker during the Action Phase. Some cards or abilities allow additional workers to be purchased or played.

Worker Stats

Health: 1
Defense: 0
Movement: 3
Action: Workers cannot attack but can be used as the caster for abilities that do not involve attacking.
Adjacency Bonus: None

Worker Rules

Placement: New workers must be placed adjacent to their base.
Movement: Workers can move up to 3 spaces per turn.
Resource Gathering: A worker must be on a resource node at the start of a player’s turn to collect resources.
Vulnerability: Workers can be attacked by enemy units.
Limited Per Turn: Players can only place one worker per turn, unless an effect states otherwise.

3. Nodes: The Source of Wealth & Power

Nodes are critical points on the battlefield, providing resources each turn. Controlling more nodes gives a strategic advantage.

Node Types

Gold Nodes 🪙

Provide 1 Gold per worker stationed on them.
Players may contest Gold Nodes by removing enemy workers through attacks.

Mana Nodes 🔮

Provide 1 Mana per worker stationed on them.
Unlike Gold, Mana resets to zero each turn, requiring precise planning.

Node Control Rules

Workers must be present at the start of the Collection Phase to generate resources.
Workers on nodes can be attacked, reducing a player’s economy.
Players cannot place new workers directly onto a node—they must move them there.
Nodes cannot be occupied by more than one worker at a time.
Only workers an move onto a node.

Attacking Nodes

Players cannot move units onto an occupied node, but they can attack workers to eliminate them.
Once a worker is removed, the node becomes available for occupation.

4. Disrupting Your Opponent’s Economy

In Terra Indomita, players can use various tactics to weaken an opponent’s resource income:

Destroying Workers – The simplest method. Eliminating enemy workers reduces their income.
Seizing Nodes – Taking control of key resource nodes limits your opponent’s ability to gather Gold and Mana.
Economic Sabotage – Some factions have access to abilities, spells, or cards that can:

Steal Gold from an opponent’s treasury.
Reduce the efficiency of their workers.
Block access to nodes, forcing opponents to reposition.

Mana Disruption – Since Mana resets each turn, abilities that drain or waste an opponent’s Mana can be highly effective.

Cards & Deck Construction

In Terra Indomita, your deck determines the units you deploy, the spells you cast, and the buildings you construct. Crafting a well-balanced deck is essential to developing a winning strategy.

1. Anatomy of a Card

Each card contains key information that dictates its function in the game. The main components of a card are:

Faction – Indicates which faction the card belongs to, such as Voltaire, Taqla, Sacrony, or Fjordn.
Card Type – Defines the role of the card, such as Unit, Spell, Equipment, or Building.
Subtype – Provides additional classification that affects interactions, such as Infantry, Hero, Research, or Fire Spell.
Card Text – Lists the abilities, effects, and conditions of the card.

Cost System

Gold Cost – The amount of Gold required to play the card. For unit cards, the cost is determined by its Power Level minus the value of its Mana-based abilities, divided by two and rounded up.
Mana Cost – The amount of Mana required to play the card. For units, this is determined by dividing the Mana Ability Value by two and rounding down.

2. Unit Cards

Units represent the troops and creatures you command on the battlefield. When a unit card is played, a corresponding unit tile is placed on the board.

Unit Stats

Each unit has a set of attributes that define its battlefield effectiveness:

Health – Determines how much damage a unit can take before being destroyed.
Defense – Affects the difficulty of hitting a unit during combat.
Hit – Influences the accuracy of the unit’s attacks.
Movement – Determines how far the unit can travel across the board each turn.
Range – Defines how far the unit can attack.
Damage – The amount of damage a unit deals when attacking.

Unit Placement

When a unit is played, it is placed adjacent to the player’s base unless another ability allows placement elsewhere.
If a unit is destroyed, its tile is removed from the battlefield, and the card is placed into the discard pile.

3. Building Cards

Buildings provide permanent effects and structural advantages to a player’s strategy.

Building Placement Rules

Buildings must be placed adjacent to a worker.
Buildings cannot be placed within two squares of a base or the board edge.

Building Stats

Health: 1
Defense: 3

4. Equipment Cards

Equipment cards attach to units, granting them additional stats or abilities.

Equipment Rules

Equipment remains on the unit until the unit is destroyed or the effect is removed.
Equipment effects the unit it is attached to.

5. Research Cards

Research cards provide permanent upgrades and grant new abilities.

Research Rules

Research cards require Mana to be played.
Once placed, Research remains in effect until removed by an effect.
Research cards are placed adjacent to a controlled Mana node.

6. Spell & Ability Cards

Spells and Abilities provide powerful one-time effects or special actions for units.

Spell & Ability Rules

Spells require a unit with a matching magic school, such as Necromancy or Evocation, to cast.
Ability cards allow units to perform unique actions outside of their default attacks.
Abilities/Spells can be played when the player has priority on their turn. Action and Reaction cards have different rules.

Spell & Ability Categories

Action Abilities/Spells – Require an active unit to cast and are used during the player’s turn.
Reaction Abilities/Spells – Can be played in response to an opponent’s action.

7. Subtypes & Interactions

Many cards belong to multiple subtypes, affecting how they interact with other effects.

Unit Subtypes Examples

Race – Classifies the unit’s species, such as Human, Goblin, or Frogman.
Type/Class – Defines the unit’s battlefield role, such as Infantry or Mage.
Hero – A powerful unit subtype that limits each player to only one copy in play at a time.

Building Subtypes Examples

Commerce – Provides economic benefits.
Research – Advances technology and development.
Military – Enhances unit recruitment and performance.

Spell & Ability Subtypes Examples

Spells often belong to elemental or thematic subtypes, such as Fire, Ice, or Necromancy.
Some cards interact with specific subtypes, such as reducing the cost of Ice spells or granting bonuses to Necromantic abilities.

8. Permanent Cards

Some cards remain in play indefinitely until removed by an effect. These include:

Buildings – Unique structures that provide powerful, often game-changing effects.
Research – Permanent upgrades and technological advancements.
Equipment – Attaches to a unit and remains until the unit is destroyed.
Units – Stay on the battlefield until defeated.

Unique & Hero Units

Players may only have one copy of a Hero unit or Unique card in play at a time.
Playing a second copy immediately destroys the original version.