Summoner Wars (Second Edition)

2021

Summoner Wars (Second Edition) is an immersive, tactical card game where players command unique armies, unleash various spells and abilities, and outmaneuver opponents to conquer the war-torn planet of Itharia, both offline and online.

60
minutes

2 - 2
player(s)

Medium

About the game

Summoner Wars (Second Edition) is an enticing and interactive board game that brings players into a world of fantasy, warfare, and strategic planning. It’s a game that combines the thrill of deck-building card games with the strategic depth of a board game, offering a unique blend of both worlds.

The game is set in the magical world of Itharia, where players take on the role of Summoners. These Summoners wield powerful magic to call forth units to fight on their behalf in the ever-raging wars between the factions. The goal? To strategically outmaneuver and outfight your opponent, ultimately destroying their Summoner.

Game components Unboxing the fun!

Summoner Wars (Second Edition) includes a variety of components that each contribute to the overall game play. Here is a detailed description of each component:

1. Game Board: The game board is a gridded battlefield where players place their units and structures. It is used to determine movement and attack ranges for the units. Each player controls their own half of the board, which they use to strategically place their units and structures.

2. Faction Decks: Each player has a faction deck, consisting of various cards that represent the unique units, abilities, and structures of their chosen faction. Players draw from this deck to deploy new units, build structures, and activate special abilities.

3. Dice: Dice are used to resolve combat between units. When a player declares an attack, they roll a number of dice equal to their unit’s attack value. The results of the roll determine the success or failure of the attack.

4. Wound Markers: Wound markers are used to track the damage a unit has taken. When a unit takes damage, a wound marker is placed on its card. When the number of wound markers equals the unit’s health, the unit is destroyed.

5. Magic Pile: The magic pile is a separate pile of cards where players store their discarded units and events. These cards can later be used to generate magic, a resource used to deploy more powerful units and abilities.

6. Summoner Cards: Each faction deck includes a summoner card. The summoner is the most important unit in the game. The goal of each player is to protect their own summoner while trying to destroy the opponent’s summoner. The game ends when one summoner is destroyed.

7. Event Cards: Event cards represent powerful abilities or effects that players can use during their turn. These cards can turn the tide of a battle, providing powerful boosts to units, or hindering enemy units.

8. Wall Cards: Wall cards represent structures that can be built on the battlefield. Walls provide defense for units, block enemy movement, and are necessary for summoning new units onto the battlefield.

Game setup Lay it out, line it up, let’s go

Summoner Wars (Second Edition) is a tactical card game for 2 players, where each player takes on the role of a powerful Summoner. Players will strategically place their units on the battlefield, move them around, and attack their opponent, all in an attempt to destroy the enemy’s Summoner. Here is a step-by-step guide on how to set up the game:

Step 1: Player Roles

Each player chooses a faction deck. This deck represents the specific group of fantasy characters they will be controlling in the game. The deck contains a Summoner card, which is the most important card for each player. The main goal of the game is to defeat the opponent’s Summoner.

Step 2: Board Placement

The game board should be placed between the two players. The board is a grid of spaces where the players will place their cards. Each player chooses one side of the board to be their ‘home side’. This is the side where their Summoner and initial units will start.

Step 3: Initial Resources

Each player begins the game with a hand of five cards from their deck. In addition, each player starts with a magic pile of zero cards. This pile will grow throughout the game and can be used to summon more powerful units onto the battlefield.

Step 4: Placing the Summoner and Starting Units

Each player places their Summoner card on one of the back row spaces on their home side of the board. Then, players will look at the setup card in their deck to see which other units to place on the board. These units will be placed on the board as indicated by the setup card.

Step 5: Shuffling the Draw Pile

After the initial units are placed, the players shuffle the remaining cards in their deck and place it face down next to the board. This deck will be the draw pile for each player.

Step 6: Random Elements

While Summoner Wars (Second Edition) is a game of strategy, there are some random elements. The order in which the cards are drawn from the draw pile is random, and some cards have abilities that introduce chance into the game. However, the skilled player will be able to adapt their strategy to the cards they draw.

With the game set up complete, players are ready to begin the first round of Summoner Wars (Second Edition). Remember, the key to victory is careful management of your units and magic pile, strategic placement of your units on the board, and clever use of your Summoner’s special abilities.

Game flow Round and round we go

Summoner Wars (Second Edition) is a captivating two-player board game where players take on the roles of Summoners, commanding their faction’s warriors and casting powerful spells to defeat their opponents. The game is structured into rounds, with each round divided into three phases: the Summon phase, the Move phase, and the Attack phase.

1. Summon Phase

In the Summon phase, players bring new units to the battlefield. To do this, they spend magic points, which are accumulated by discarding cards or defeating enemy units. Players can summon as many units as they want, as long as they have enough magic points and available summoning spaces near their walls.

Action: Spend magic points to summon units.
Placement: Place the new unit adjacent to a wall card.

2. Move Phase

During the Move phase, players can move up to three of their units on the battlefield. Each unit can move up to two spaces, but cannot move through enemy units or walls. Strategic placement is crucial here to launch attacks on enemy units and to protect your own Summoner.

Action: Move up to three different units.
Movement: Each unit can move up to two spaces.

3. Attack Phase

The Attack phase is where the battle really heats up. Players can attack with up to three of their units. Each unit can either perform a ranged or melee attack depending on their abilities. The number of dice rolled for the attack is determined by the attacking unit’s attack value. For each roll that results in a 3 or higher, the targeted unit takes one damage.

Action: Attack with up to three different units.
Attack Type: Perform a ranged or melee attack based on unit’s abilities.
Dice Roll: Roll dice equal to the unit’s attack value, dealing damage for each result of 3 or higher.

After the Attack phase, the player’s turn ends and it’s the other player’s turn to go through the three phases. Players alternate turns until one player’s Summoner is defeated, at which point the game ends and the other player is declared the winner.

End of the game All good games must come to an end

Summoner Wars (Second Edition) is a tactical combat game where players pit their chosen faction against each other on the battlefield. The game ends under specific conditions, and it’s essential to understand these to strategize effectively.

The game of Summoner Wars (Second Edition) comes to an end when any one of the following conditions are met:

Defeating the enemy Summoner: The primary objective of Summoner Wars is to defeat the enemy’s Summoner. If a player manages to reduce the health points (HP) of the opponent’s Summoner to zero, the game immediately ends, and that player is declared the winner.
Exhausting the Draw Pile: If a player cannot draw a card because their Draw Pile is empty at the start of their turn, the game ends. The winner is then determined by comparing the health points of both Summoners. The player with the highest remaining HP on their Summoner wins. If there’s a tie, the player who did not start the game wins.

Before final scoring, players must perform the following actions:

Calculate Summoner’s Health: At the end of the game, each player calculates the remaining HP of their Summoner. This is crucial as the HP can determine the winner in case the Draw Piles have been exhausted.
Check the Draw Pile: Players must confirm that their Draw Pile is completely empty when the game ends due to Draw Pile exhaustion. This ensures the game has ended correctly according to the rules.

In conclusion, strategic planning and careful management of the Summoner’s HP and Draw Pile are crucial to securing victory in Summoner Wars (Second Edition).

Scoring Did you outsmart your rivals?

In Summoner Wars (Second Edition), the scoring system is designed to reward strategic gameplay. The main objective of the game is to defeat your opponent’s Summoner, which will automatically win you the game. However, there are other ways to earn points throughout the game.

Summoner Defeat:

As mentioned, defeating your opponent’s Summoner is the primary goal of the game. Doing so will immediately end the game, regardless of the number of points each player has.

Unit Defeat:

When a player defeats an opponent’s unit, the player may earn points equal to the defeated unit’s cost. This can range from 1 to 3 points per unit depending on the unit’s power and abilities.

Event Cards:

Some event cards have the ability to award points when played. The number of points varies depending on the card.

At the end of the game, if no player has defeated the opponent’s Summoner, the player with the most points wins. The scoring is done as follows:

Summoner Defeat: Instant win and end of the game.
Unit Defeat: Points equal to the unit’s cost (1 – 3 points).
Event Cards: Points as specified on the card.

In case of a tie, the game uses the following tie-breaking rules:

The player who has the most remaining health on their Summoner.
If the health is also tied, the player who has the most remaining units on the board.
If there is still a tie, the player who went first in the game is the winner.

Remember, the key to winning Summoner Wars (Second Edition) is not just earning points, but also using strategy to defend your own units and Summoner while taking down your opponent’s forces.

Particular Cases and Exceptions Wait… is that legal?

The Second Edition of Summoner Wars is a card game that requires strategic thinking and careful planning. While the basic rules of the game are straightforward, there are some rare or special rules, exceptions, and clarifications that are important for players to understand.

Commons, Champions, and Summoners:

Commons: In the event of a tie for initiative (the player who goes first), the player with the least number of commons in their discard pile goes first. If there is still a tie, the player with the least amount of commons in their draw pile goes first.
Champions: Champions are powerful units that can only be summoned once per game. If they are discarded for any reason, they cannot be summoned again.
Summoners: The Summoner is the most important unit in the game. If a player’s Summoner is defeated, that player immediately loses the game. Also, Summoners can’t be healed.

Summoning, Moving, and Attacking:

Summoning: A player can only summon units adjacent to their wall cards. If a wall card is destroyed, any units that were summoned adjacent to that wall do not get discarded.
Moving: Only one unit may occupy a space at any given time. If a unit is forced to move into a space that is already occupied, the unit does not move.
Attacking: Units can only attack once per turn. If a unit has been moved on the same turn, it can still attack. The defending unit does not counterattack unless a card ability says otherwise.

Special Abilities:

Some cards have special abilities that can be activated under certain conditions. These abilities are optional and a player is not required to use them.
If two or more special abilities would occur at the same time, the player whose turn it is decides the order in which they are resolved.
Special abilities that affect ‘all’ units or ‘all’ players do not affect units or players that are immune to that type of effect.

Deck Building:

Each player’s deck must contain exactly 30 cards. This includes the Summoner, 3 Walls, 21 Commons, and 5 Champions.
Players may not include more than 3 copies of any single Common card or more than 1 copy of any single Champion card in their deck.

Please note that these are rare rules and exceptions and it’s always a good idea to refer back to the rulebook when in doubt.

Tips and tricks Play smarter, not harder!

Advanced Strategies for Summoner Wars (Second Edition)

The game of Summoner Wars requires strategic thinking and planning. One advanced strategy is to conserve your magic. Magic is a key resource in the game, and it’s easy to spend it all at once. However, saving up can allow you to summon more powerful units later in the game.

Another strategy is to utilize your summoner’s special abilities. Each summoner has unique abilities that can turn the tide of the game. By using these abilities to their fullest, you can gain the upper hand over your opponents.

Beginner Tips for Summoner Wars (Second Edition)

For beginners, it’s important to understand the deck. Each faction in Summoner Wars has its own unique playstyle. Spend time learning the strengths and weaknesses of your chosen faction’s deck, and use this knowledge to your advantage.

Another tip for new players is to practice patience. The game can be slow-paced at times, but patience pays off. Wait for the right moment to strike, rather than rushing in without a plan.

Common Mistakes to Avoid in Summoner Wars (Second Edition)

Many players make the mistake of overextending their forces. It can be tempting to push all your units forward in an effort to overwhelm the enemy, but this can leave your summoner vulnerable. Always ensure you have sufficient defenses to protect your summoner.

Another common mistake is failing to plan for the endgame. The game isn’t over until the opponent’s summoner is defeated. Don’t get complacent if you’re ahead early in the game; always keep the end goal in mind.

Optimizing Gameplay in Summoner Wars (Second Edition)

To optimize your gameplay, focus on board control. This involves positioning your units in a way that restricts your opponent’s movement and options. By controlling the board, you can dictate the flow of the game.

Another way to optimize your gameplay is to plan your moves in advance. Consider your opponent’s likely responses to your moves and plan accordingly. This can help you stay one step ahead of your opponent.