Getting Started
Welcome to the wonderful world of Disc Casters some of you may have already opened up your starter deck and looked at the cards and starting to feel confused or overwhelmed. You don't have to fear because with this guide you will master this game in no time!
Disc Casters uses an Alinment system, Mana cost, and various schools of magic to classify Spell and Rune cards which we will get into in a moment. For Units they are on a Range system and what type of damage that they deal. Let's first get to know the types of cards that we will be using before we start learning the ends and of the game, it might make a little more sense.
Before we get into the cards notice that there are back and front rows on the game mat and picture. These rows are where you will be playing all of your cards some cards work best in certain rows. Off to the right side of the rows are a place for the deck to go and the discard pile or grave. On the left side of the rows is another spot for your Forge Deck which we will get into with Forge Summoning.
Spells & Runes
This game is not about summoning creatures to help you alone it is also about playing Spells and Runes and some games will hinge more on the use of magic over Units. Both of these cards are similar to each other in some ways. Before we can get into the stuff printed on the card that is more tied to some more advanced gameplay you need to know whether you are looking at a Rune or a Spell. At the top of the card, you will see a banner that has the name of the card printed on it and next to it one of two icons. The icon that is Blue that looks like a circle and has lines going through the center of it is a Spell the word "spell" should also be near the icon. If the icon is a Red blank circle then you have a Rune the word "rune" should also be printed nearby and this icon will also be in the banner with the card's name.
Let's look at what printed on the cards so that they are a bit easier to understand.
Alignment
At the bottom of Spell and Rune cards is an Alignment Scale on the right side of the card there is a Sun icon to symbolize Light and on the left, there is an Elicpise to symbolize Darkness. Think of Alignment as how
destructive or
protective a Spell or Rune is. Some Spells or Units can only be played if you play a certain alignment Spell or Rune first. If you played a Light Aligned Spell then followed by a Dark Aligned Spell your Alinment is Dark. To figure out what the Spell's or Rune's Alinment is looking for this indicator that will be next to the Alignment Icon at the bottom of the card. If it is closer to the Sun it is a Light Aligned card and if it is near the Eclipse it is a Dark Aligned card.
Elements
Under the portrait of the card, which should be in the middle top of the card, there is a colored gem that represents an Element. The Elemental colors are
Orange for Air,
Bue for Water,
Red for Fire,
Green for Earth,
White for Light,
Black for Darkness, and
Purple for Void. Now before we go on keep in mind that Light and Darkness Elements are different from Alignments though they bear some similarities. This is where good and evil magic comes in, the Spell's element, not alignment if its a Dark or Light Spell. Jump back to the last section on Alignments if you need a refresher.
Schools
These are more of a classification system to give you a quick idea as to what the Spell or Rune does and the effect it will have. The School symbol is behind the printed text under the portrait like this. There are 5 Schools that a Spell or Rune can fall into
Restoration,
Conjuration,
Destruction,
Illusion, and
Alteration. Let's break down each of the schools so that we can have an idea of what we are dealing with.
First up is Restoration the School of Healing and Defense these Spells and Runes are rarely Aligned to the Dark and focus on keeping the Caster and anything that is summoned alive and defended. The few Dark Aligned spells that this school only works on the undead or cursed Units.
Next is Conjuration which already sounds like it has a Dark Alignment leaning and it does. These Spells and Runes focus on summoning Units and Familiars and allowing you to play Items from your Deck or Grave. Speaking of grave most of the summon from Grave spells and Runes fall into this School. All Unit and Items cards have this School's mark because you are summoning these things to the field. And since Units have a Range Scale to check the alignment on those cards look at the Conjuration symbol on the card. White is Light dark purple is Dark.
The third is Destruction these spells can target Units and Familiars on the field and reduce their health or outright destroy them. Some of these spells and can even cast on your opponent to deal damage to them. All of these spells are Dark Aligned because this school only focus on dealing damage.
After that is the Illusion school which focuses on redirecting your opponent's attacks to other cards on the overall field to protecting the Units and Familiars that you summoned by turning them invisible. Keep in mind that if all of you summoned defense is invisible your opponent can attack you because they can't see your defenders.
Lastly, there is the Alteration school which allows you to build stronger defenses like walls and change the Attack and Defense of Helpers and Familiars.
Casting
Now that we have ornated ourselves on what all of the bells and whistles are its time to learn how to play the cards. To cast place the card on any open space on the field whether it be in the front or back row just keep in mind that some Spells and Runes can stay on the field for quite some time and as long as they are on the field you will not be able to summon or cast anything else to that area.
We have already covered a lot of what makes Spells and Runes similar so let's talk about the difference that they have when they are played.
Spells can be played instantly if all of the requirements for using the Spell are on the field or in your hand although some Spells don't have requirements other than themselves and alignment. Spells can mostly be used to clear your opponent's field of Units without using your own, giving powerups to strengthen your side of the field and even bring fallen Units back from the Grave. To know what the Spell you want to use does read the print under the portrait carefully.
Runes, on the other hand, are played facedown on the field and don't usually require much to use the cost of playing Runes cost when they are activated not when they are placed on the field so some extra planning with your Mana is needed to pull off using them effectively. Runes like Spells can be played anywhere on the field but keep in mind that you can not use that spot until the Rune has serviced its purpose or is destroyed. Runes are good for blocking attacks, reducing damage, summoning more help among other things. Like with Spells, it's a good idea to read what the Rune that you want to use can do before playing the card so read the printed text under the portrait carefully.
Units
Magic may be the bread and butter of this game but no caster will last long without summoning Units to defend themselves. These cards are a bit different from the Spells and Runes but have some similarities as well. These cards have a Range System, have Elements assigned to them, but most importantly have a class that will narrow down the special abilities that they have. Some of these defenders have special Conjuration Spells called Forges that makes them even stronger.
Range System
Take a moment to look at the game mat one more time and notice the two rows on the mat. In the last section
Spells & Runes, we learned that we can place Spells and Runes anywhere on the field. Units are different in that as where they can be played whether it be the front row or back row is determined by the Range of the Units.
Remember that all of these cards are Conjuration Spells so check the Conjuration symbol on the card to verify the alignment of the Unit. White is Light dark purple is Dark. Your alignment is determined by the last card you play Units that Heal or are better at Defense are Light while Units that are better at dealing damage are Dark alignment.
Just like Alignment on the Spells and Runes, Range can be found at the bottom of a Unit card as a scale. The icon to the right is a standard Sword icon this represents Melee combat styles and so these Units can only be played in the front row. On the left, there is a Bow icon this represents Range combat styles and so these Units must be played in the back row. To identify how close a Unit is to be this icon will be near the combat style they prefer.
Class
A Unit's class determines the special abilities that the Unit has. Class is shown by the large icon that is behind the text that is printed on the cards so that you understand what all of the cards can do. The four main classes are Spellcaster, Warrior, Rogue, and Healer. Let's break down what each of these can do.
First up Spellcaster Units that aid in casting Runes or Spells can do this by reducing the amount of Mana that you have to use to play the Spells or Rune. Some will even allow you to play Spells and Runes from your hand, bring them back from the Grave and other Magic related abilities. This class is usually Ranged and prefers the back row.
Next up is Warriors which focus on strong attack and defense when played. Their abilities can be range from attacking everything on the field to taunting all attacks to come their way. Other Warrior abilities can silence magic. Warriors are Melee and prefer to be in the front row. Depending on the weapon that a Warrior is using also depends on how the damage is calculated so read the ability carefully.
Moving right along to Rogues this tricky class can be in either row so check where they stand on the Range Scale. Rogue's abilities can allow you to grave rob, stack cards from the deck, reshuffle, and draw more cards. They can do piercing damage and call for back up making it so that they are not on the field alone.
Lastly, Healers can Heal the negative effects of other cards and restore the Caster's heath they can also recover healing spells from the Grave.
Forge Summoning
Sometimes you just need to trade in the Units that you have for stronger ones this can be trickier as a game progresses and you start to run out on Mana. Forge Summoning is how you can bust out stronger creatures but before we get into that look at the game mat again and notice that there is a spot on the left side that is labeled Forge Deck. Think of the Forged Units as being part of a strong friend group or club making it so that they rather hang out with each other as opposed to hanging out with the rest of the deck. You are only allowed 10 of these cards in the Forge Deck for that more exclusive feel. If you play effects that let you take Units from the Grave and put them in the Deck and if you remove a Forged Unit it must be placed back in the Forge Deck. So, let's break the different forges down.
Rite Forge
Ritual Unit's Cards look like a normal Unit expect the background colors on their cards are Blue with an added stone texture. To play you need the right materials on your field and the Rite Spell in your hand. Play the spell normally and send the rite materials to the Grave replacing them with the Rite Unit. If you don't know what you need to summon a Rite Unit to go look at the Rite Spell Card it will tell you what you need. Some rituals can summon more than one Unit if they share the same name.
Soul Forge
Soul Forge is not a Rite because it can be undone and focuses on taking the bonds that connect Units and fuse them. These cards have a Red and Blue background that swirls mixing to purple. To use a Soulforged Unit, you must have the soul materials in your hand or field and the Spell Soul Forge. When Soul Forge is cast take the soul materials and put them in the Gave replacing them with the Soulforged Unit. To undo the effects of Soul Forge, you need to use the Spell Unbine Souls to send the Soulforged Unit back to the Forge Deck to be replaced with the soul materials from the Grave.
Items
Items come in two types Alchemical and Enchanted both have unique ways in how they are played. These cards can either be equipped to other cards to power them up or can be used for an effect like restoring Mana or Health to the Caster or other Units. These cards also do not have Alignment.
Alchemy
These items were created through the strange magical science of alchemy and are usually one-off power-ups and can restore Mana and Heath to the player. They are identified by the potion bottle on the card.
Enchanted
These items are can be equipped to Units to give them a power boost that lasts until the equipped unit is destroyed or you discard the enchantment.
How to Play the Game
Now that we have looked at all of the card types and learned how they work in Disc Casters let's put all of it together and learn how to play the game.
Mana
Mana is the energy that a caster has at their disposal to play all of the cards in the game. Everything costs Mana to use so be careful. At the start of the game turn the blue counter to 30 when it is your turn you can use Mana to play any cards that are in your hand if there are no other requirements on the card for it to be used. At the start of your next turn add 1 point of Mana back to the counter. Mana is your most important resource try not to use it all at once if you feel like you are running out and you have a Mana Potion you can use it restore some of your Mana.
You will not lose if you run of Mana but the game will become harder as summoning and casting require it.
Deciding Who Goes First
Like most games, Disc Casters has the first-mover advantage so before we begin we need to decide who is going first. There are a variety of ways to decide who goes first so pick a method that works with what you got.
Here is a list of how you can figure this out:
- All players draw a card from the decks the player with the highest costing card goes first. Don't forget to reshuffle the cards.
- Flip a coin and have a player call heads or tails if they call right the coin right have them go first.
- Have both players roll a dice highest roll goes first.
- Have a round of Rock-Paper-Scissors winner goes first.
- Or any other method that works for you and your friends.
Starting a Game
After you have decided who is going first it's time to start the game. Shuffle your's or your opponent's deck however you want to go about it and place them in the deck spot on the game mat. If you have a Forge Deck place it in the Forge Deck spot there is no need to shuffle it as those Units can only be Forge Summoned.
The player going first starts with 4 cards in their hand and the player going second starts with 3. The player that goes second may draw a card from their deck at the start of their turn. This makes it so that everyone starts there first turn with 4 cards. After the first round, both players will draw cards from their decks at the start of their turns this is called the Preparation Phase.
The player that gets the first move cannot attack until their second turn but the player going after them can attack their first move. This way everyone has a chance to defend themselves from a coming attack.
The Turn
During your turn, you can play any Spell, Rune, Unit, or Item in your hand as long as you meet the requirements to play that card. All cards have a Mana cost that is right here on the card you must pay that amount to use the card. Other cards can only be played if your Alignment is either Dark or Light this can be determined by the last Spell or Rune that you activated. Be sure to read the print on the cards carefully.
After you have played all of the cards that you want its time to make some new decisions. If this is not the first player's opening turn you now have the opportunity to attack your opponent's Units and maybe even them. To do this declare that you are going to attack and say which of Units is attacking their Units. When your opponent doesn't have any more Units of their side of the field you can attack the opponent to deal some damage to their Health.
Once you are done playing and have made all of the moves that you can declare that your turn is over so that the next player can play.
Winning
As you have noticed with the Starter Deck that this book came with there were also two counters that go the number 30 one is blue the other is red. These are your Mana and Health Counters they are useful in determining the winner. As we have already learned Mana is how we cast Spells, Runes, Summon Units, and use Items. Health is a bit different in that it's tied to who wins and loses. There are two ways to win the game and both are pretty simple.
The first way to win is to get your opponent's Health to 0 and the second way is decking your opponent. Bringing your opponent's Health to zero is pretty straight forward since all that you need to do is cast strong Spells and summon powerful Units to chip away at their Health. Just be sure to keep your defenses up so that it will harder for your opponent to beat you. The second method is a bit harder to pull off and that is, of course, decking your opponent which is playing until there are no more cards in your opponent's deck. So keep in mind that although Mana is important for you to play cards your cards important to stay in the game. So be careful. If your Mana runs out you lose.
Conclusion
Disc Casters may be the most complex trading card game out there but we at Go Down in Games: A Gaming Company hope that you enjoy playing the game just as much as we enjoyed making the game. Until we see you again good luck and never stop improving.
