Vandal Rules

Reduce the enemy hero to 0 Life to win. Each hero starts with 30 Life. You play against a bot in the standalone browser game.

This reference covers the match rules and the browser's draft mode. Each card's text describes its own effects; the glossary defines the shared terms. A specific card instruction takes precedence over a general rule.

1. Choose a champion and deck

A champion supplies three Rig blueprints, shown in your Sanctum. Rigs stay outside your draw deck. The rules engine calls this area the Workshop.

A draw deck contains exactly 30 creatures and spells, including traps. It allows at most two copies of a card. Variants sharing a copy-family count as the same card; creature families such as Fuse do not set this limit. Tokens and Rigs cannot be included. A Sanctum contains three non-token Rig blueprints from distinct copy-families. A constructed deck and its Sanctum may use at most two colors; the champion choices shown by the game respect that limit.

Choose an existing deck to play a constructed match, or enter Draft to assemble a deck during play. The Card catalogue lets you read cards and their rules.

2. Draft a deck

Choose a champion, then pick one card from each offer of three. After each pick, the bot takes a card and the remaining offer is discarded. You make 45 picks and then select 30 of your drafted cards for the match. The game prepares the bot's deck from its own picks.

Draft decks keep the size, card type and copy-family limits, but may use more than two colors. Your champion's Rig blueprints remain in the Sanctum. The game saves draft progress in this browser so you can continue after a reload.

3. Choose your opening hand

The first player draws three cards. The second draws four and receives Jump Lead. Each player may replace eligible cards once before play begins. Replacements are drawn before the returned cards are shuffled into the deck.

Jump Lead and Contract cards cannot be replaced. Contracts are dealt before other cards, up to the opening-hand limit. Both players finish choosing their hands before the first turn begins.

4. Take your turn

At the start of your turn, your Power cells increase by one, up to ten, and your unlocked Power cells refill. Drain locks cells for that turn, as described in the glossary. Start-of-turn effects resolve and you draw a card. During your turn, you may play cards, attack, use eligible abilities, and buy a Rig in any legal order. End your turn when you are done.

Creatures normally cannot attack or activate on the turn they enter. Livewire and Jumpstart change this as described in the glossary. Effects can also prevent an action. The board shows the actions currently available.

5. Play cards and make choices

Playing a creature or spell normally spends the Power cost shown in your hand. A spell resolves its effects and usually goes to Junk. A creature enters your board and runs its Boot-up when played from hand. Summoning a creature through an effect does not run its Boot-up.

Choose any required target, payment and option before confirming a play. A creature still enters if its Boot-up has no affordable legal target; otherwise, choose a legal target. If an effect asks you to select cards, finish that choice before taking another action. Different physical copies of the same card remain separate choices.

Effects resolve in order. After a card’s effects finish, the board settles: the game removes dead creatures, resolves death effects and checks hero Life totals. Further deaths are processed until none remain. An impossible part is skipped while the remaining parts continue. A condition on one effect controls that effect, rather than preventing the entire card from being played.

6. Fight with creatures

An eligible creature attacks an enemy creature or hero. When two creatures fight, each deals damage equal to its Attack to the other. Quickstrike changes the order of combat damage. A hero takes the attack damage without attacking back.

A creature normally attacks once per turn. Overdrive and Overclock increase this limit. Barrier, Decoy, Ghosted, Offline and other effects can restrict legal targets. Attacking also spends the creature's activation charge.

Damage remains on a creature. At a settle point, a creature with zero Health or less dies. Its death effects resolve according to its text. Plating prevents the first damage it would take and is then removed.

7. Collect Scrap and buy Rigs

A non-token creature's final death pays its controller Scrap equal to its printed cost, whether it was killed or sacrificed. Tokens pay no Scrap to either player. Reboot delays the Scrap payment until the creature's final death. A hijacked husk leaves no card or Scrap.

Spend Scrap to buy a Rig from your Sanctum. You may buy one Rig per turn. Its effects resolve, but the blueprint remains available on later turns. You must choose a legal target when required. Toll on an enemy target adds a Power payment.

8. Use activated abilities

Activate and Detonate are abilities you choose to use on your turn. Pay the printed ability cost and any required sacrifice, then resolve the ability. Detonate sacrifices its own creature before resolving; ordinary death does not activate Detonate.

A creature normally needs an available activation charge and must meet its timing and status restrictions. Attacking spends that charge; activating normally prevents attacking afterward. Choose between the two unless the card's text provides an exception. The charge normally returns at the start of its controller's next turn. A newly played creature usually waits until a later turn; Livewire permits it to activate immediately. Combat abilities and Juggernaut follow their printed exceptions and limits.

9. Set and reveal traps

Pay a trap's Power cost on your turn to set it face down. It arms when that turn ends. You may hold at most three set traps. Setting a trap does not cast its spell effects.

During the printed window on the opponent's turn, reveal one eligible trap for free or pass to keep it hidden. Attack windows occur before combat damage; creature-play windows occur after the creature and its Boot-up resolve. The trap's printed subject determines its target. Finish any choices caused by the trap before the interrupted action continues.

You may discard a set trap to Junk on your turn to clear a slot, without a Power refund. Trap responses are specific windows; players do not otherwise respond to each effect with a general spell stack.

10. Respect zone limits and hidden information

Your hand holds at most ten cards and your board at most seven creatures. A card drawn into a full hand burns into Junk; tokens disappear instead. An ordinary creature cannot be played onto a full board. Bolt-On can attach to a legal existing creature without using another board slot.

Your hand, deck order and face-down trap identities are hidden from the opponent. Boards, heroes and Sanctum blueprints are visible. The game exposes revealed card information and keeps unrevealed identities hidden.

11. Damage, healing and fatigue

Healing restores Life or Health up to its allowed maximum. A hero's Life never exceeds 30. Shell absorbs incoming hero damage before Life and follows its limits in the glossary.

When you draw from an empty deck, your fatigue counter increases by one and your hero takes that much damage: one, then two, then three, and so on. Shell can absorb fatigue damage. Emptying your deck does not by itself end the game.

12. Finish or resume a match

At a settle point, a hero with zero Life or less loses. If both heroes have zero Life or less at the same settle point, the game is a draw. You may concede to lose immediately. A finished match accepts no further gameplay actions.

Matches and draft progress are saved in this browser. Reloading resumes the saved state. Leaving the board returns to setup and keeps an unfinished match available to resume; conceding ends it. Browser storage is separate from the published card catalogue.

13. Keyword and ability glossary

Activate

Spend this creature’s charge and printed costs during your turn. Cannot activate on entry without Livewire, or while frozen. Activation prevents further attacks this turn.

Adventure

Pay the printed Adventure cost to resolve its spell effect, then set that exact card aside publicly. Later you may play its creature face from there for the printed creature cost.

Aftermath

After another creature dies while this creature is on the board, run the effect. Printed friendly, enemy and non-token filters apply. A printed once-per-turn limit allows only the first qualifying death each turn.

Amplifier

While this stands, your Boot-ups (not its own), Wreckage or end-of-turn triggers run twice.

Assembly

Collects the parts you play, then launches with all of them bolted on.

Attachment

An attackable creature representing equipment or an aura. Bolt-On attachments cost 3 extra Power unless another cost is printed. When the host dies, returns to hand or Blinks, attached cards go to Junk without dying or granting Scrap. Banishing the host removes them; Wipe removes attached cards without a death. Printed exceptions apply.

Attack

The damage a creature deals when it fights.

Autocharge

Recharge this creature at the start of your turn. It still holds at most one ability charge; this does not reset attacks or printed once-per-turn limits.

Backfire

The first time this takes damage and survives, the effect runs. If its text is suppressed then, it is used up.

Banish

Remove the chosen creature from the board without a death, Wreckage, Reboot or Scrap reward. Its actual non-token card goes to the removed pile; tokens and hijacked husks vanish. It cannot be recovered from Junk.

Barrier

While this creature can be attacked, enemies cannot attack your hero. Card effects still can.

Beacon

Raises your Beacon count. A Beacon payoff creature played later enters that much bigger.

Blink

Replace a friendly non-token creature with a fresh body and run its Boot-up. Removes its damage, buffs and attachments without a death or Scrap reward.

Bolt-On

Play this onto a friendly creature to add its stats and text to that creature.

Boost

Pay the extra Power when you play this and the Boost effects also happen.

Boot-up

Runs once, when the card is played from your hand.

Build Up

Grows by 1 at the start of each of your turns while you hold it.

Cascade

Reveal cards from your deck until an eligible non-Site card within the printed cost limit appears. Cast it without its Power cost; required targets and additional costs still apply. Shuffle the other revealed cards back.

Chain

When you play this card, its Chain bonus applies if you played another card earlier this turn. Chain N requires at least N cards played this turn. If a timing is printed, check the condition then.

Chassis Swap

Rebuilds your hero: Shell, and a passive that stays until another Chassis replaces it.

Chemical

A Spell school. Some triggers count only Spells of one school.

Chosen discard

The named chooser selects actual eligible hand instances to discard. The controller chooses unless the card specifies the hand owner. Other viewers cannot inspect the private choices.

Civic

A printed family tag.

Clean Cut

When this attacks and leaves a creature at exactly 0 Health, the effect runs.

Cold

A Spell school. Some triggers count only Spells of one school.

Combat ability

Use during your own turn while this creature is eligible to attack. It needs no charge and preserves remaining attacks. Pay every printed cost on every use; printed use limits still apply.

Companion

Submit this card separately from your deck, meeting its printed condition with the original submitted deck. Once per game, during your own play phase, pay 3 Power to put the companion into your hand. You need room in hand. Claiming does not play it or run Boot-up.

Contract

Starts in your opening hand and cannot be thrown back. A Job with up to three stages.

Cordyceps

A rare strain of Spores, and the only one that steals a body. Ordinary Spores just wither a creature. A creature carrying Cordyceps that is killed by its own Spores is taken over by the other player instead of going to the Junk: it stands up on their board with 1 Health, asleep and clean of Spores, and leaves no card and no Scrap behind when it finally dies. Kill the host any other way and it dies normally.

Corrosive

Damage this deals to a creature destroys that creature. Activate, Detonate and Wreckage damage do not use Corrosive.

Counter

A named persistent counter belongs to its exact creature instance. Adding a positive count applies the printed permanent stat increase and triggers counter gain once per affected instance.

Courier

A printed family tag.

Crew

Bonus if the last card you played is the same type (Creature or Spell) as this one.

Crewcast

Up to two of your ready creatures may each forfeit their attacks and activations this turn to lower this card's cost by 1 each, to a minimum of 1.

Crown

The holder draws an extra card at the end of their turn. A creature that damages the holder's hero takes the Crown for its controller.

Decoy

While this creature can be attacked, enemies must attack a Decoy before other creatures or your hero.

Deploy

Put a random creature from your deck onto the board. Its Boot-up does not run.

Detonate

An activated ability that sacrifices its own source before resolving. Ordinary destruction or sacrifice does not detonate it.

Dig

Look at the bottom three cards of your deck and put one on top.

Dig Site

Each Excavate gives a random card from the next tier.

Discount

Cards in your hand cost less, at most 1 less per effect and never less than 1. A card that costs 0 stays at 0.

Donate

Give control of the chosen friendly non-token creature to the opponent. Preserve its exact identity and original ownership. It does not leave the board or die. The opponent needs board space.

Drain

This many of your Power cells are locked on your next turn. Drain you have no cells for stays owed.

Dredge

Before each draw, you may instead mill the printed number and return this exact card from Junk to your hand. You need that many deck cards and room in hand. Declining draws normally; milling is not a draw or a hand discard.

Drone

A printed family tag.

Duplicate

After you cast this, add a copy without Duplicate to your hand.

Echo Copy

Create a fresh token copy of another eligible friendly creature's printed definition, with Livewire. Runtime damage, buffs and attachments are not copied. Printed text determines Boot-up, expiration and copying restrictions.

Electric

A Spell school. Some triggers count only Spells of one school.

Energy

A persistent resource gained from printed effects and spent on printed Energy costs. Unspent Energy carries between turns and is separate from Power.

Engine

An attackable creature used as a persistent machine or magical engine. It occupies a normal board space and follows normal creature death and Scrap rules.

Excavate

Take a random card from the next tier of a dig site.

Expedition

At the start of the holder's turn, resolve the next printed stage. A creature that damages the holder's hero takes the Expedition for its controller. Transfer keeps progress only when printed; otherwise it resets. Repeat after the final stage only when printed.

Explore

Reveal the top card of your deck. If it is a Site, put it into your hand. Otherwise this creature gains a +1/+1 growth counter; choose whether to keep the revealed card on top or put it in Junk.

Fabricate

Add a card to your hand.

Feedback

Runs once, after your first qualifying spell while this creature is on the board. A printed school limits the qualifying spells.

Food

An attackable creature marked as Food. Food is not an Engine unless Engine is also printed. Its printed costs and effects determine how it can be used.

Freeze

A frozen creature cannot attack, activate or detonate. It can recharge and use passive abilities. It thaws at the end of its controller’s turn. Freeze Ray keeps it frozen through its controller’s next turn.

Fungal

A printed family tag, and a Spell school.

Fuse

A printed family tag. Wipe does not remove family membership.

Ghosted

Cannot be attacked or targeted by enemies until it attacks or activates.

Grid Surge

Bonus if you have at least this many Power cells.

Hack

Take control of an enemy creature.

Health

The damage a creature can take. A creature at 0 Health dies.

Heavy

A printed family tag.

Inert

Cannot activate, trigger, or provide cost or keyword auras through the interrupted controller turn. This persists if control changes, and ends with that original controller turn.

Jack

Take control of an enemy creature until the end of the turn. It can attack this turn, but cannot activate unless it has Livewire.

Job

Track chosen events across up to three stages, earning each stage’s reward when its goal is met.

Juggernaut

Has three abilities, each usable once. Using one takes the place of attacking; it attacks once all are used.

Jumpstart

Can attack creatures the turn it arrives, but not the enemy hero.

Junk

Your discard pile. Destroyed creatures, spent Spells, discards and burned cards end up here. Tokens never do.

Jury-Rig

Costs Life instead of Power, sometimes only while a condition holds. You cannot pay with your last Life.

Kinetic

A Spell school. Some triggers count only Spells of one school.

Last Call

Bonus if playing this spends all of your remaining Power.

Life

Your hero's health. You start with 30, can never go above it, and lose at 0.

Life Drain

The enemy hero loses the printed amount of Life, bypassing Shell and damage protection, and your hero gains that much Life. The normal Life cap applies.

Life loss

Subtract the stated Life directly. Shell and damage protection do not prevent Life loss. It can reduce a hero to zero Life.

Livewire

Can attack and activate the turn it arrives, the enemy hero included.

Lockdown

Takes no damage for the rest of this turn.

Loop

After you play this, a copy goes to your hand. The copy vanishes at the end of the turn.

Loop anchor

Before the first automatic or paid benefit of this printed anchor in an attempt, the opponent gets one Response opportunity. Continuing benefits share that attempt. An interrupted, repaired attempt gets a new opportunity. All real costs remain paid. A finite shortcut repeats a proven exact-instance sequence and stops at changed legality, a Response, an opposing choice, or its declared count.

Loop Response

Respond to a declared Loop anchor attempt using reserved Power. Cancel the pending anchor effect or benefit; its costs stay paid. A board source becomes Inert through the end of its current controller turn.

Markup

Cards in a hand cost more.

Megastructure

When played from your hand, also summons its parts.

Mill

Move the stated number of top deck cards to Junk. This is not drawing and causes no fatigue when the deck runs out.

Mod Kit

Choose one of up to three upgrades for a creature.

Morbid

Bonus if a creature has already died this turn.

Muster

Reveal the top 4 cards of your deck. Take up to two Fuse creature cards; put the rest on the bottom in random order.

Mutate

Upgrades in your hand when you pay more for another card than this costs.

Offline

For X of its controller's turns it cannot act, be targeted or be affected (except by Online), and its text is off.

On Build

Runs each time you buy a Rig.

One-Off

Bonus if no two cards left in your deck are the same.

Overclock

Can attack four times on each of your turns.

Overdrive

Can attack twice on each of your turns.

Overtime

Take another turn after this one. Once per game.

Parts Legacy

When this creature dies, another friendly creature of your choice gains +N/+N.

Pawn

Pay 1 Power: shuffle this card into your deck and draw a card.

Pitch

To play this card, choose and discard another card from your hand as an additional cost. You must have another card to pay.

Plant

Shuffle copies of a card into a deck.

Plating

The first time this would take damage, it takes none instead and the plating is stripped.

Player limit

All copies in this copy family share the printed trigger or activation limit. It resets at your turn start unless another period is printed. Recharge, copying, returning to hand and re-entry do not reset it.

Player trigger limit

Copies in the same copy family share this trigger budget. Spend a use before effects resolve. Returning to hand, copying and re-entry do not refund it. Reset on your next turn.

Poison

A player with 12 or more Poison loses. Poison remains between turns. Only printed effects remove it; gaining Life does not.

Power

Spent to play cards and activate creatures. It refills from your Power cells at the start of your turn.

Quickstrike

In a fight between creatures, this deals its damage first. A survivor then hits back. If both creatures have Quickstrike, damage is simultaneous.

Rally

Bonus if you control at least N creatures when the effect runs. Includes this creature and tokens. Runs on play unless another timing is printed.

Reboot

The first time this dies, it returns with 1 Health. It leaves Scrap only on its final death.

Recast

During your turn you may play this Spell from your Junk for its Recast cost. It is then removed from the game.

Recharge

Restore one ability charge. Does not thaw, wake, or reset attacks. A creature holds at most one charge.

Recover

Return a random non-token card from your Junk to your hand.

Recruit

Choose eligible actual creature instances from your deck and put them on the board, then shuffle. Apply the printed count and cost filters. Skip Boot-up unless printed otherwise. Board capacity applies.

Redline

Has a bonus while it is damaged.

Repeatable Activate

The first use spends charge and prevents attacking this turn. Later uses this own turn waive only charge while this source stays under your control. Pay every printed cost; online, freeze, Crew, arrival rules and limits still apply.

Repeatable Combat ability

Use during your own turn while this creature is eligible to attack. Pay every printed cost for each use. Remaining attacks stay available. The printed player limit is shared across copies.

Reserve

Bonus if at least N Power remains when the effect runs. Runs on play unless another timing is printed; the card’s cost is paid first.

Response

After an opponent pays for a card, play one eligible Response using reserved Power or pass. No reply to a Response. Cancellation keeps all costs paid and sends the original card to Junk; canceled Recast is removed. Response creatures skip Boot-up and use only their printed Response effect. Delayed deployment waits for the original to finish, including its choices and traps. Set traps remain prepaid and separate.

Response Power

At your turn end, store up to 3 unspent Power for opponent Responses, or the printed capacity. Unstored Power expires. Stored Power expires at your next turn start and cannot pay ordinary actions. Set traps are already prepaid.

Retool

Upgrade each of your Rigs one step.

Retrofit

Replace a creature with a fresh body of another card. Damage and buffs do not carry over.

Revive

Return a random non-token Creature from your Junk to the board. Its Boot-up does not run.

Rig

A blueprint in your Workshop. Buy it with Scrap to resolve its effect; the blueprint stays. You may buy one Rig on each of your turns.

Scale Model

When you draw this, you also get a 1-cost 1/1 copy.

Scale Up

You may play this as an 8/8 for 8 Power.

Scavenge

Look at three random cards from the card pool and take one into your hand.

Scrap

When your creature dies, you gain Scrap equal to its printed Power cost, whoever killed it. Tokens and hijacked husks pay no Scrap. Reboot pays only on the final death. Scrap buys Rigs.

Scrapfed

Upgrades in your hand after enough of your creatures die.

Selected Recover

Choose up to the printed count of eligible non-token card instances in your Junk and return them to your hand. Hand capacity applies.

Selected Revive

Choose up to the printed count of eligible non-token creature instances in your Junk and return them to the board. Skip Boot-up unless printed otherwise. Keep their instance identities. Board capacity applies.

Shell

Absorbs damage aimed at your hero before Life does. No effect grants more than 1 (Chassis Swap excepted), you can hold at most 5, and 1 decays at the start of each of your turns.

Shielded

Cannot be targeted by Spells, Rigs or activations. Boot-ups, attacks and area effects still reach it.

Signal

Each damage effect of every Spell you cast deals this much extra damage.

Siphon

Damage this deals also restores that much Life to its controller. Activate, Detonate and Wreckage damage do not use Siphon.

Site

An attackable creature representing a location. It occupies normal board space and obeys normal creature rules.

Snap

Bonus if you drew this card this turn.

Sort

Look at that many cards from the top of your deck. Keep any on top in their order and put the rest in your Junk. A Sort is not a draw.

Spec

If your deck list meets the rule, this runs as the game starts.

Spellcraft

After you cast a spell while this creature is on the board, run the effect. A printed once-per-turn limit applies.

Spillover

When this attacks and kills a creature with damage to spare, the effect runs.

Spore

At the start of its controller's turn, a creature carrying Spores takes 1 damage, loses 1 Attack and loses 1 Spore. A creature holds at most 3. Wipe and returning it to hand clear them. A creature the rot kills dies normally.

Spores

At the start of its controller's turn, a creature carrying Spores takes 1 damage, loses 1 Attack and loses 1 Spore. A creature holds at most 3. Wipe and returning it to hand clear them. A creature the rot kills dies normally.

Stockpile

Bonus if your Junk contains at least N cards when the effect runs. Runs on play unless another timing is printed. Tokens never enter Junk.

Suppress

Disable a creature's triggers and Wreckage until the end of its controller's next turn. Its other text stays active.

Swarm

Summon an N/N token, where N is the number of times you have Swarmed.

Toggle

Choose one of two effects when you play this.

Toll

An enemy Spell, Rig, activation or Boot-up that targets this creature costs that much extra Power. Attacks, your own effects and untargeted effects ignore it.

Toolbox

Choose one of this card's three fixed options. Inspect its related cards to see the options before playing it.

Trap

Pay its Power cost on your turn to set it face down. It arms at turn end. In its printed opponent-turn window, reveal one eligible trap for free or pass and keep it hidden. Up to three set traps.

Tripwire

When you draw it, it goes off on its own (a Creature enters without its Boot-up), then you draw a replacement. It is not played.

Tune

Creature cards in hand gain Attack and Health that carry over into play.

Tuning

Creature cards in hand gain Attack and Health that carry over into play.

Tutor

Choose up to the printed count of eligible actual card instances in your deck, move them to the printed destination (normally hand), then shuffle your deck.

Upgrade

While this is in your hand, pay the cost to upgrade it.

Upgrade Kit

Choose one of up to three upgrades for a creature.

Vehicle

An attackable creature that cannot attack until it has been Crewed this turn. Crewing does not wake it, thaw it or grant an ability charge.

Vehicle Crew

Choose the printed number of other ready friendly creatures, or a group meeting the printed Attack total. Those exact creatures forfeit attacks and activations this turn. The Vehicle becomes Crewed for this turn. Printed crewing values and bonuses apply.

Volley

Deal N damage to a random enemy creature. If there are none, deal it to the enemy hero instead.

Wipe

Removes a creature's text, keywords, buffs, Plating, Spores and bolted cards. Damage already taken stays, but it keeps at least 1 Health.

Workshop

The three Rig blueprints you chose when you built your deck. Always available, never drawn.

Wreckage

Runs when this creature dies, unless it was Wiped, Offline or Suppressed.