GRAVEN
How to Play
Before the game, each player builds their own deck.
These decks each contain thirty cards, including at least three Titan cards.
Every card in these decks has a specific effect.
A player loses once their deck is empty or if they have three Titan cards in their Discard Pile: whichever comes first.
Layout of the Game
Each Player has a Field, a Hand, a Deck and a Discard Pile:
The Field:
Front Line: Where Humans and Titans can be played during the Play Phase. (Used to calculate the Survey Score - Effects are negated)
Back Line: Where Humans and Titans can be played during the Play Phase (Not used to calculate the Survey Score - Effects are activated)
The Hand:
Players start with 7 cards, and draw one each turn, during their Draw Phase.
The Deck:
30 cards, including at least 3 Titans. Each Titan in your Deck must have a different name. Human cards can be repeated in your Deck, but not more than three Humans of the same name.
The Discard Pile:
Where cards go when they're destroyed, discarded, or milled.
Some helpful terms
To play: To play a Human from your hand to either the Front Line or to the Back Line. Can be done twice per turn during the Play Phase.
To resurrect: To play a Human from your Discard Pile to your Front Line or Back Line. This can only be done by a card effect.
To invoke: To play a Titan from your hand. Requires sacrificing two Humans OR sacrificing one Titan from your field.
To mill: To discard the top card of a player's Deck to the Discard Pile.
To discard: To discard a card from a player's Hand to the Discard Pile.
To destroy: To discard a card from a player's Field to the Discard Pile, except as a Titan sacrifice.
To sacrifice: To send cards from the Field to the Discard Pile in order to invoke a Titan.
Turn Structure
1. Draw Phase – A player begins their turn by drawing one card, OR if they start the turn with no cards in their hand, they may draw three cards instead.
2. Play Phase – A player may play two Human cards from their hand every turn. They may also invoke a Titan, by sacrificing two Humans or one Titan from their field.
3. Effect Phase – After playing their cards, a player can use card effects for cards on their Back Line, as appropriate.
4. Survey Phase – After effects have been used by the player who's turn it currently is, all players add up the cards on their respective Front Lines to determine their Survey Score. The players with the highest Survey Score do not mill any cards. All players with a Survey Score lower than the highest Survey Score must mill cards from their deck equal to the difference. Titans are worth three points for the Survey Score.
5. End Phase – After cards are milled per the Survey Score, a player ends their turn, and their opponent begins theirs.
Card Effects
Some card effects are continuous and passive (i.e. Merchant). Such effects last until the card is sent to the Discard Pile, unless otherwise specified.
Some effects can only be used once per game (i.e. Priest). If you have two Priests, you can only use one of their effects.
Some effects activate at the time of play (i.e. Reinforcements).
Some effects have to be activated by the player (i.e. Archer). Such effects must be activated during a player's own Effect Phase while the card is on that player's Back Line, or else not at all.
Some effects can be activated while a card is still in a player's hand (i.e. Defector).
Some effects activate when a card is sent to the Discard Pile (i.e. Conscript).
Cards may have more than one kind of effect, so pay attention to the circumstances in which a card effect can be used.
Extra
Survey Score is only calculated with players who have already had a turn. In other words, the player who goes first only calculates Survey Score against themself.
While there is a player who has not had a turn yet, players can only play one card during the Play Phase.
When a player uses an effect that searches their deck, they must shuffle afterwards.
A player's Survey Score cannot be lower than zero.
There is no maximum number of cards that a player can have in their Hand, their Front Line, or their Back Line.
If control of a card changes, it is still returned to the original owner's hand, deck, or discard pile, instead of to the new owner, unless otherwise stated.
Players are allowed to invoke Titans sacrificing Humans played earlier that turn.
Passive effects do not activate on the Front Line, unless through the effect of Blacksmith or Hesh.
These decks each contain thirty cards, including at least three Titan cards.
Every card in these decks has a specific effect.
A player loses once their deck is empty or if they have three Titan cards in their Discard Pile: whichever comes first.
Layout of the Game
Each Player has a Field, a Hand, a Deck and a Discard Pile:
The Field:
Front Line: Where Humans and Titans can be played during the Play Phase. (Used to calculate the Survey Score - Effects are negated)
Back Line: Where Humans and Titans can be played during the Play Phase (Not used to calculate the Survey Score - Effects are activated)
The Hand:
Players start with 7 cards, and draw one each turn, during their Draw Phase.
The Deck:
30 cards, including at least 3 Titans. Each Titan in your Deck must have a different name. Human cards can be repeated in your Deck, but not more than three Humans of the same name.
The Discard Pile:
Where cards go when they're destroyed, discarded, or milled.
Some helpful terms
To play: To play a Human from your hand to either the Front Line or to the Back Line. Can be done twice per turn during the Play Phase.
To resurrect: To play a Human from your Discard Pile to your Front Line or Back Line. This can only be done by a card effect.
To invoke: To play a Titan from your hand. Requires sacrificing two Humans OR sacrificing one Titan from your field.
To mill: To discard the top card of a player's Deck to the Discard Pile.
To discard: To discard a card from a player's Hand to the Discard Pile.
To destroy: To discard a card from a player's Field to the Discard Pile, except as a Titan sacrifice.
To sacrifice: To send cards from the Field to the Discard Pile in order to invoke a Titan.
Turn Structure
1. Draw Phase – A player begins their turn by drawing one card, OR if they start the turn with no cards in their hand, they may draw three cards instead.
2. Play Phase – A player may play two Human cards from their hand every turn. They may also invoke a Titan, by sacrificing two Humans or one Titan from their field.
3. Effect Phase – After playing their cards, a player can use card effects for cards on their Back Line, as appropriate.
4. Survey Phase – After effects have been used by the player who's turn it currently is, all players add up the cards on their respective Front Lines to determine their Survey Score. The players with the highest Survey Score do not mill any cards. All players with a Survey Score lower than the highest Survey Score must mill cards from their deck equal to the difference. Titans are worth three points for the Survey Score.
5. End Phase – After cards are milled per the Survey Score, a player ends their turn, and their opponent begins theirs.
Card Effects
Some card effects are continuous and passive (i.e. Merchant). Such effects last until the card is sent to the Discard Pile, unless otherwise specified.
Some effects can only be used once per game (i.e. Priest). If you have two Priests, you can only use one of their effects.
Some effects activate at the time of play (i.e. Reinforcements).
Some effects have to be activated by the player (i.e. Archer). Such effects must be activated during a player's own Effect Phase while the card is on that player's Back Line, or else not at all.
Some effects can be activated while a card is still in a player's hand (i.e. Defector).
Some effects activate when a card is sent to the Discard Pile (i.e. Conscript).
Cards may have more than one kind of effect, so pay attention to the circumstances in which a card effect can be used.
Extra
Survey Score is only calculated with players who have already had a turn. In other words, the player who goes first only calculates Survey Score against themself.
While there is a player who has not had a turn yet, players can only play one card during the Play Phase.
When a player uses an effect that searches their deck, they must shuffle afterwards.
A player's Survey Score cannot be lower than zero.
There is no maximum number of cards that a player can have in their Hand, their Front Line, or their Back Line.
If control of a card changes, it is still returned to the original owner's hand, deck, or discard pile, instead of to the new owner, unless otherwise stated.
Players are allowed to invoke Titans sacrificing Humans played earlier that turn.
Passive effects do not activate on the Front Line, unless through the effect of Blacksmith or Hesh.