đźŽRules
Objective:
There are 2 ways to win a game of Mischief and Malice:
If an individual/team obtains 4 Relic Cards. Relic cards are awarded for perishing (defeating) opponent creatures, defeating Malignants, and other applicable Mischief card pulls.
If the opponent(s) are rendered unable to attack by “decking out”. Once a player’s deck has been depleted and they are unable to power a creature with their remaining cards for attack, they are eliminated from the game. In this case, the last remaining player or team is declared the winner.
Setting Up:
All Relics are placed into 2 piles. The good Relics (gold) are shuffled and placed into one pile, while the negative Relics (rose gold) are placed into another.
Each player shuffles their 40-card deck, which is then cut by the player to their right before they draw the top 6 cards. Each player must start with at least 1 creature and an energy card. If no creature or energy card is drawn, you must show your hand, place it back into the deck, and reshuffle before drawing another 6 cards.
A coin flip or other method of choice is used to decide which player goes first.
Gameplay:
Players may place up to 1 creature and 2 energy cards onto the field or bench at the start of each turn, but the 2 energies must be placed in 2 different lanes. This includes preloading lanes (placing them in a lane without an attached creature yet). On each player’s first turn only, they may place an extra creature (up to 2) onto the field or bench. Every player is required to place a creature onto the field during their first turn, but are not permitted to attack until their second turn of the game. If a player has no field creatures at the start of any turn, the player required to place one onto the field. In the event that a player has no field creatures and none in their hand or on their bench, they must show their hand and reveal the top card in their deck until a creature card is found (and subsequently placed onto the field). All other revealed cards from the deck are returned to their deck before shuffling. The health of active creatures is tracked with an energy counter or other method of choice and may not exceed a maximum value of 20.
Each energy represents a creature type. There are 6 possible creature types, which are found at the top right of the creature’s card: havok (red), bliss (pink), curse (purple), crystal (blue), life (green), and glow (yellow) creatures. A single creature may be multiple creature types (Ethan is both a havok and a curse creature). No creature may attack or utilize its abilities until all required energies matching those in the top right have been placed into its lane (thereby making it an active creature). Each energy card may only provide 1 energy shown in its upper left corner to power the creature. Universal energies may be used to count towards any single energy required to power that creature. You may only use up to one universal energy per creature at a time.
Creature Abilities and Energy Assists:
Creatures have unique abilities labeled on their cards that fall into the categories below. No creatures may use any of their abilities until they are active and abilities that modify their attack do not stack between turns unless otherwise stated.
Special: These abilities are applied before the attack. A player must attack with the attached creature after using its special ability (i.e., they cannot use a special ability and then not attack that turn or attack with a different creature).
Attack: These conditions occur during the attack with the attached creature.
Bench: These abilities can only be applied when the creature is fully powered on the bench (has all required energies and would be active if on the field).
Defense: These are applied when the creature is being attacked. The energy must be committed as the active energy prior to the attack.
Perish: These are only applied when the creature is defeated and perishes.
Kindred: Some creatures have kindred creatures that are familial to them in some way. These creatures typically have kindred abilities that can only be applied under certain circumstances when playing matching kindreds in your deck. Kindred abilities do not stack with more kindred cards (i.e. each kindred ability cannot be applied twice/doubled if you have 2 of its kindred on the field, unless otherwise stated).
Energies also have assists that can optionally be used when attacking with the attached creature. These assists are labeled on each energy card and follow the same labeling and usage as the format above for special, attack, defense, and perish. Like creature abilities, energy assists do not stack between turns, unless otherwise stated.
Abilities that are only applied on the first attack, defense, special, etc. are identified with the word “FIRST” above the ability label. Abilities and assists that require a condition to be moved are identified with the word “LIMITED” above the ability label. If a creature type is above an energy assist label, the effect only applies if it is powering a labeled type of creature.
Benched Creature:
Each player is permitted to have up to 1 benched creature at a time. Placing a benched creature counts as the player’s 1 creature placement per turn. If desired, a player may use 1 of the 2 energy cards they can place per turn to power their benched creature; however, this creature cannot attack or be attacked until moved onto the field. Some creatures have bench abilities that are only active on the bench. If a player already has a creature on the bench at the start of their turn, they may also choose to void it and place a different creature on the bench in its place (all energy remains in lane). This also counts as their one creature placement per turn. Once a player has placed down their desired creatures and energies for the turn, the benched creature and all of its associated energy cards (if present) may be moved to any empty field spot with a vacant energy lane (unless the bench had no energy on it when the creature is moved, in which case it can be may be moved to an empty creature spot with preloaded energies). Bench energy lanes are limited to a maximum of 6 energies, while the creature energy lanes are limited to 5.
Attacking and Energy Commitment:
No players are permitted to attack during their first turn of the game. During your turn, after adding any new creatures or energy cards onto the field (if necessary/desired), you may choose to attack 1 creature of your choice once with 1 of your active creatures. You are permitted to use this attack on 1 of your own creatures, but a creature cannot attack itself unless otherwise stated.
When using a creature’s attack for the first time, the player must choose 1 energy card from that creature’s lane to commit as that creature’s active energy. Only the active energy’s assist is able to be applied to that creature’s attack, defense, etc. Once chosen, it is placed overlapping the other energy cards in the lane, which are subsequently flipped over. At this point, that creature’s energy lane and active energy become locked: no other energies may be placed in the lane and neither player may flip over the inactive energy cards while the lane is locked (even once the active energy has been fully used). While a player is required to commit a creature’s active energy during that creature’s first attack if they have not already done so, they are also permitted to choose and commit the creature’s active energy (once fully powered) during any of their turns prior to attacking with the creature for the first time. Finally, any applicable Relic effects are applied last to the attack. You may only apply an energy assist during 1 turn of your choice unless the energy is providing the creature with its primary energy (the one found in the larger circle), in which case the energy assist may be used the number of times shown in that circle (see diagram). While players are always required to use creature abilities when applicable during/before the attack, defense, etc., unless otherwise stated, active energy assists can be used at their applicable time during any turn(s) of the player’s choosing. When the active energy has been used its maximum number of times, it is tapped by turning it sideways, indicating that it has no uses left. At this point, only perish assists may still be used.
During every attack, the energy assist is applied first (when chosen and applicable), followed by the creature’s abilities. Afflictions are applied afterward (described in the Affliction section below). Each creature deals the amount of damage equal to its base attack power (unless that value has been altered by an energy assist, creature ability, affliction, Relic, etc.).
When any card or affliction forces a creature’s health or damage to be halved, this is always rounded down for odd numbers (with the exception of 1, which remains 1), unless otherwise stated. Some creature abilities or energy assists allow your creature to be immune to its next attack. This is denoted by turning the creature card upside down while it is immune.
If a player does not have an active creature to attack with or chooses not to attack during their turn, they must discard 2 cards from hand instead.
In the rare instance that a player has no creature on their field to attack during an opponent’s turn and the opponent has an active creature to attack with, this is counted as an automatic perish for the opponent and they are thus rewarded with a Relic. In this instance, since no actual creature was voided, no Mischief card is drawn. If a player is ever unable to or chooses not to attack an enemy creature during their turn, they must void 2 cards from their hand instead. At the end of every player’s turn, they must draw from their deck until they have 6 cards in hand. If a player already has 6 or more cards in hand at the end of their turn, they draw 1 card from their deck. While there is no hand limit, no player is permitted to draw this extra card at the end of their turn if their hand size exceeds 9 cards, unless they void a card from their hand first before drawing.
Energy Types and Afflictions:
Each energy represents a creature type. If a creature is powered by a red and a blue energy, then that creature is both a havok (red) and crystal (blue) creature type. Additionally, some energy cards enable players to use those types to cast color-based afflictions onto creatures. This status is represented by placing its corresponding token onto the afflicted creature. The following detail the affliction types and their effects on the afflicted creature:
HAVOK (Red): Roll the die before attacking with the afflicted creature. If odd, attack normally. If even, take 3 damage before attacking.
BLISS (Pink): At the end of your turn, each of your afflicted creatures gains 2 health. When a creature reaches 20 health, it is cured of the affliction.
CURSED (Purple): Attack power is cut in half, and rounded down.
CRYSTALLIZED (Blue): Roll the die before attacking with the afflicted creature. If odd, attack normally. If even, your attack misses and deals no damage. You must choose whether you wish to use your active energy (if able to) before rolling.
LIFE (Green): At the end of your turn, your afflicted creature loses 1 health, which is
then immediately gained by an opposing creature of their choice. If more than 1 of your creatures is afflicted, your opponent may apply the cumulative gain to 1 creature, or spread it out amongst them. If your opponent has no creatures on their field, your afflicted creatures still lose 1 health.
GLOW (Yellow): Roll the die before attacking with the afflicted creature. If a 1 or a 6 is rolled, you must instead attack your own field creature with the highest health. If the attacking creature has the highest health, it will attack itself. You must choose whether you wish to use your active energy (if able to) before rolling.
MALIGNANCY (Black): This special affliction can only be afflicted onto your creature by a Malignant. Your afflicted creature is unable to use energy bonuses, cast afflictions, or retreat. This affliction persists until the creature perishes and cannot replaced by any other afflictions or cured by any means.
Additionally, a creature may only have 1 affliction at a time. If an already afflicted creature becomes cast with a different type, this new affliction replaces the previous affliction, with the exception of Malignancy, which cannot be replaced. Therefore, no afflictions can be cast onto a creature with Malignancy.
Afflictions also have the ability to alter a creature type. For example, Alloy is normally a crystal and life creature; however, if it is afflicted with bliss, it also becomes a bliss creature. Alloy still necessitates a crystal and life energy to become active, but if it has not yet attacked and chosen its active energy (thereby locking its energy lane), the player may also optionally power it with an additional bliss energy, which may be chosen as its active energy when attacking. In this case, because Alloy is now also considered a bliss creature, Portrait of Protection could be chosen as the active energy and applied up to 3 times. However, if Alloy loses this affliction at any point (by reaching the 20 health maximum or acquiring a different affliction), he is no longer able to use the active energy’s assists.
Defeating a Creature:
Once a creature’s health reaches zero (most often from attack), the creature perishes and is placed into the void along with its active energy (if it was fully powered when defeated). If the creature was fully powered, but no active energy had been chosen yet, an attached energy of the opponent’s choosing is voided when it perishes. If the perishing creature is not active, no energy cards are voided when the creature perishes. All cards in the void are to be placed face up. The remainder of the energy cards in the perished creature’s lane are then returned to that player’s hand.
If a player perishes an opponent’s creature with 1 of their own, they are rewarded with a Relic card. Perishing their own creatures, affliction-based perishes, self-destructing creatures/abilities, and perishes resulting from Chaos cards or Malignants do not earn either player a Relic. Some creatures/energies have abilities that result in residual damage or an automatic perish to the attacker. In the case where both the target and the attacker perish, the attacker takes precedence and is therefore the one credited with the defeat. Additionally, if a player perishes 2 or more opposing creatures on one turn, they are only rewarded with 1 Relic. The first 2 Relics a player earns are chosen from the gold Relic pile. The third Relic a player earns is chosen from the rose gold Relic pile. Obtaining a 4th Relic wins that player the game, so the player may choose it from either pile.
Any time a creature is defeated in a manner that earns a player a Relic, their opponent must pull a Mischief card, place it face up on the Mischief space, and follow its instructions; these may be beneficial or detrimental to that player. A coin toss will determine from which player’s deck the Mischief card is pulled: heads result in the player pulling the Mischief card from their own pile, and tails their opponent’s. Just as they do not count towards or against a perish streak, if a creature perishes as the result of a Chaos card instruction, a Malignant, via self-destructing bonuses or as a residual of attacking the opponent, no Mischief card is drawn as a result of that creature perishing. There are 3 types of cards in the Mischief deck:
1. Chaos Cards – These contain instructions that MUST be followed by the player who pulled the Mischief card (and/or their opponent).
2. Challenge Cards – Challenge cards have actions that require you to go head-to-head against your opponent.
3. Malignants – These are bosses that are battled by both players.
Challenge Cards:
Challenge cards contain mini-games that require players to follow a special set of rules or allow players to compete for rewards, ranging anywhere from card draws to Relics. Many of these challenges take place over a specified number of turns of regular gameplay, which follow the normal turn-based rules. In this scenario, if a player perishes an opponent’s creature before the end of the final turn of the challenge, the challenge card is then nullified and placed into the void, the perish still results in a Relic, and the player whose creature perished will draw another Mischief card as usual.
Any challenge card that results in a tie will be determined by a tie-breaker. In this case, each player must show one creature card from their hand. The person whose revealed creature has the highest health is determined to be the winner and that creature is sent to the void. All other players may place their revealed creatures back into their hands. If any player reveals no creature, it will result in an automatic loss for that player. In the event that both creatures have the same health, the winner is determined by which creature’s attack is higher. If both are the same, neither player is declared the winner, and the Challenge card is voided.
Malignants:
Some cards in the Mischief Deck contain Malignants (our version of a boss). If a Malignant is drawn, each player must take turns attacking that Malignant (starting with the player that drew the Malignant card). The same rules of gameplay for turns apply, except no player may attack another creature or have any effect on their opponent’s creatures until the Malignant reaches a health of 10 or lower. If a player is unable or chooses not to attack the Malignant on their turn, they do not void the normal 2 cards from hand when passing an attack but instead must deduct 5 health from their creature with the highest health on the field. If 2 or more creatures are tied for the highest health, they may pick which of those to deduct the 5 health from.
If a Malignant is at 10 health or lower at the start of a player’s turn, that player may attack both the Malignant and their opponent and must use the same creature for both attacks. Energy assist uses for these attacks are independent and using them on both attacks would require 2 energy uses. If a player chooses to pass on attacking the Malignant, they may not attack the opponent on that turn either and must still deduct 5 health from the creature with the highest health. Perishing an opponent’s creature(s) during a Malignant battle does not result in a Relic or a Mischief card pull. If a player loses 2 creatures during a Malignant battle on 2 separate turns (perishing 2 or 3 on the same turn only counts as 1), it is deemed an automatic loss and their opponent receives the Relic. Otherwise, the player or team that delivers the final blow to the Malignant earns a Relic card. At this point, the Malignant battle concludes and the winning player may not attack their opponent after, even if the Malignant was at or below 10 health at the start of their turn.
When a Malignant is defeated, no Mischief cards are drawn. The gameplay then resumes with the turn of the player or team that lost the Malignant battle.
Relics:
All Relics have conditions on them. These conditions are not affected by creature or energy assists. Relic conditions fall into 3 categories, which can be found in the upper-left corner of the card.
1. Your Choice – These Relics allow the player to choose if they want to apply that Relic’s condition each turn (when applicable).
2. No Choice – The conditions on these Relics must be followed on every applicable turn.
3. One-Time Use – The conditions on these Relics can be used only once on a turn of that player’s choice.
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