# Sunshard Lancer: card revision 8, and Empower only when it does something (proposal/sunshard-lancer)

New matches use `cardRevision: 8` and `empowerRules: 'v1'`. Matches created earlier keep revision 7 and their full list of plays, so their saves and replays are unchanged.

- **Sunshard Lancer** (3 Flux, Solari Warrior) is **3/3** (was 3/2). Text unchanged: Battlecry: spend 2 Solar Charge to deal 2 damage to an enemy unit.
- **Empower is offered only when it does something:**
  - Sunshard Lancer: only with an enemy unit as the target. The targetless "Empowered" play (which spent nothing and did nothing) is gone.
  - Kharsis Thunderfoot: only while the enemy has a unit (it used to spend 3 Solar Charge for nothing).
  - Maren Tide Lance: only while you have another unit (it used to spend 3 Pressure for nothing).
  - Sunlance, Rite of Kindling, Orbital Bombardment and Reinforcement Beacon always do something when Empowered and are unchanged.
- **Details:** `outputs/design/sunshard-lancer-balance-v1.md`.

# Dominion: natives, sieges and new buildings — v0.10.0-alpha

- **Home Ground (Native Ambush I / II / III), 7 / 14 / 20 points.** For native sector holders only, never a colony building. The holder's first 1 / 2 / 3 units played get +1/+0 and Shroud. Matches without it play exactly as before; legacy parity held over 1,176 full games.
- **Native tribes.** Native sectors field a tribe deck: the host faction's balanced core plus three pairs of that world's neutral wild creatures. Each tribe has its own named ambush.
- **Sieges.** From Command Spire 4:
  - A lost major raid at a frontier region puts it under siege for 72 hours, and the raiders' next major raid lands there.
  - Losing that raid too overruns the region: its districts and fortifications go dormant until a retake Skirmish.
  - Winning a major raid there lifts the siege.
  - Never the capital. The 48-hour claim grace and rally rules still apply.
- **Extractor.** Built from Command Spire 3 on a plot in a region with a Nullite seam. It produces 0.15–0.4 Nullite an hour by level, ×1.5 on a rich seam. Seams alone now trickle only 0.04 / 0.08 an hour.
- **Offshore plots.**
  - They sit on water regions next to land you hold. A Tidal Generator makes Energy; an Aquafarm makes Food and needs open water.
  - Output is 4–16 an hour, needs no workers, and takes the matching deposit bonus.
- **Orbital station** (from Command Spire 3, one slot at the capital):
  - **Defence Platform:** the Railgun Battery rule applies wherever a raid lands.
  - **Command Relay:** +0.2 to +0.8 Command an hour.
  - On unification the Shipyard docks at the station.

# Dominion planet: sectors and conquest — v0.9.0-alpha

Your colony is a whole planet of regions, grouped into sectors held by rival factions, pirates or natives. The card rules themselves are unchanged; this section describes how Dominion uses them.

- **Opening a sector:** win a card Skirmish in the sector. Then claim its regions with Command.
- **Tier 3+ sectors** need a second win at their stronghold. Owning the stronghold takes the sector.
- **Sector assault rules:**
  - the sector's terrain and weather are the battlefield rules;
  - the holder's fortifications are their side rules;
  - your colony-wide rules (Sensor Array, Shield Dome, faction specialty) are yours.
  - Assaults pay Dominion rewards, not Skirmish War Marks.
- **Raids** land on your frontier and use the defences built in that region and its owned neighbours, plus your colony-wide rules. The stack cap of 6 still applies.
- **Overrun:** from Command Spire 4, a lost major raid can overrun a frontier region, never the capital. Its districts and fortifications go dormant until you win it back in a retake Skirmish.
- **Unification:** take every sector to unify the planet (the Act 1 milestone).

# Dominion: more side rules — v0.8.0-alpha

New Dominion side rules. They apply only to the side that brings them, and matches without them play exactly as before.

**Colony defences:**
- **Sensor Array (I / II / III), 1 / 3 / 3 points:**
  - Your opening hand shows 1 / 2 / 2 extra cards.
  - At the mulligan, your leftmost marked cards are shuffled back into your deck instead of being replaced; if you mark fewer, your most expensive cards go back.
  - Level III also reveals the enemy's opening hand.
- **Shield Dome (I / II / III), 11 / 17 / 21 points:** your first 2 / 4 / 7 units played enter with 1 Armor.

**Faction specialty buildings.** Each works only for its own faction, from Command Spire 3, and also yields 1–5 of that faction's tokens a day.

| Building | Level I | Level II | Level III | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunshard Forge (Solari) | First 2 units get +1/+0 | Start with +2 Solar Charge; first unit gets +1/+1 | First 2 units get +1/+1 | 8 / 15 / 21 |
| Iron Seal Bastion (Hegemony) | A 1/1 Conscript at the start of your turn 5, then every 5th turn | From turn 4, every 3rd turn | From turn 3, every 3rd turn | 11 / 17 / 21 |
| Tide Pools (Nereid) | From your turn 5, restore 1 Health to your Commander each turn | 2 Health | 3 Health | 7 / 13 / 19 |
| Biocore Nursery (Fungus) | A 1/1 Sporeling with Adaptation from turn 4, every 2nd turn | From turn 2 | From turn 1 | 9 / 16 / 21 |
| Reactor Core (Synthari) | +1 Energy at the start, +1 at turn 3 and every 3rd turn after | +1 at the start and +1 each turn from turn 2 | +3 at the start and +1 each turn | 9 / 18 / 20 |
| Smuggler's Den (Spacers) | A Flux Cell into your hand from turn 5, every 5th turn | From turn 3, every 4th | From turn 3, every 3rd | 8 / 15 / 17 |
| Veil Loom (Veilborn) | Start with +1 Taint; your first unit played gets Shroud | +2 Taint; first 2 units | +2 Taint; first 3 units | 9 / 18 / 19 |
| Scrap Heap (Gobbos) | A 2/1 Scrap Drone from turn 6, every 4th turn | From turn 4, every 3rd | From turn 3, every 3rd | 8 / 15 / 19 |

**Colony event charges.** A free one-shot rule is added to your side in the next major raid. It still counts toward the stack cap of 6.

**How the points were set:** each rule's points equal its measured defender win-rate shift (paired AI games across all faction pairings; details in `experiments/dominion-fun/README.md`). Legacy parity held over 1,680 full games: plain matches, matches with shared modifiers, and matches with the v0.7.0 side rules.

# Dominion colony defences (side rules) — v0.7.0-alpha

A Dominion raid is a normal card battle, except that each side can bring **side rules** that apply to that side only. The defender's colony buildings are its rules, and the raider brings a matching siege kit. Matches without side rules, including every Skirmish and Galactic Map match, play exactly as before.

| Rule (defender name / raider kit name) | Level I | Level II | Level III |
|---|---|---|---|
| **Garrison** / Drop Troops | Start the battle with a 1/1 Militia on your board. | Two 1/1 Militia. | Three 1/1 Militia. |
| **Bunker Line** / Breach Line | Your first unit played gets Taunt and +0/+2. | Your first 2 units. | Your first 3 units. |
| **Flak Grid** / Assault Screens | Enemy units with 1 or less Health take 1 damage when played. | 2 or less Health. | 3 or less Health. |
| **Railgun Battery** / Orbital Barrage | From the enemy's turn 6, at the start of each enemy turn: deal 1 damage to a random enemy unit. | From turn 4. | From turn 3. |

- **Budget:** each rule costs defence-budget points (phase-0 pricing, about 1 point per point of defender win rate). The Command Spire sets the budget and the number of rule slots.
- **The stack:** a battle shows at most 6 rules in total, counting shared modifiers (Front Condition, star, weather, environment) and both sides' rules.
- **Saves:** `sideModifiers` is saved and replayed with the match.
- **Rewards:** Dominion battles pay their rewards in Dominion, not Skirmish rewards.
- **Details:** `outputs/design/dominion-economy-v1.md`.

# Veilborn pass: card revision 7, and Synthari reactor-v3b — v0.6.0-alpha

New matches use `veilbornRules: 'veil-v2'`, `cardRevision: 7` and `synthariRules: 'reactor-v3b'`. Matches created under v0.5.4–v0.5.7 keep reactor-v3, revision 6 and the earlier Taint rules (sections below), and older matches keep their own rules.

**Taint (veil-v2):**

| | veil-v2 (new matches) | Earlier matches |
|---|---|---|
| Corruption at the end of your turn (1 at Taint 4, 2 at 7, 3 at 10) | Hits **your Commander and the enemy Commander** for the same amount | Your Commander only |
| Forbidden Insight (Commander action) | Lose **1** Health, draw a card, gain 1 Taint | Lose 2 Health |
| Stat bonus for your units | **+2/+2 at Taint 10 only** | +1/+1 at 6, +2/+2 at 9, +3/+3 at 10 |
| Your Echoes | Have **Taunt** and leave **no corpse** (Fungus cannot Integrate them) | Plain tokens |
| Going second | Start with **1 Taint** | 0 Taint |

High Priestess Lera and Mindstill Warden reduce only the damage to your own Commander. Cantor Hela Vaunt still takes your corruption damage instead of your Commander. Corruption that defeats both Commanders at once is a draw.

**Cards (revision 7 compared with revision 6):**

| Card | Revision 7 | Revision 6 |
|---|---|---|
| ve2 **Veilsworn Initiate** | Same card, renamed (every match, including saves) | Riftbound Initiate |
| ve3 Veil Courier | Deathrattle: summon an Echo (1/1). | No effect |
| ve7 Hollowstar Adept | +1/+1 at Taint 4 | +1/+1 at Taint 7 |
| ve13 Mistwalker | 3/2 | 3/1 |
| ve14 Mindstill Warden | While this is on the board, Taint corruption deals 1 less damage to your Commander. | Suppressed the stat bonus; −1 Taint each turn |
| ve16 Deep Chorus Preacher | Summons two Echoes; no Taint | Also gained 2 Taint |
| ve18 Warden Tolan Aske | Battlecry: deal 1 damage to each enemy unit. | −3 Taint, heal 3 |
| ve22 Soulward Transfer | Cost 5 | Cost 4 |

**Starter decks:** Tempo plays Tear the Veil instead of Whipthread; Signature plays Soulward Transfer instead of The Undying Sovereign; Balanced is unchanged. Saved and custom decks stay valid.

**Synthari reactor-v3b:** as reactor-v3, except that the **Cascade** Fault reads "Deal 1 damage to a random friendly unit and 2 damage to the enemy Commander." (reactor-v3: 1 damage to each friendly unit).

**Simulation:**
- Veilborn win 51.6% over 8,400 games (was 47.5%). By matchup: 45.7% (Fungus) to 57.6% (Hegemony, just above the 56% target); Spacers rose from 33.0% to 47.4%.
- Across every pairing, each faction wins 45.1–53.7%.
- Synthari with reactor-v3b win 49.2%, and 49.7% against Veilborn (was 57.8%).
- Details are in `experiments/veilborn-pass/FINDINGS.md` and `experiments/synthari-cascade/FINDINGS.md`.

# Synthari Malfunction pass: card revision 6 — v0.5.4-alpha

New matches use `synthariRules: 'reactor-v3'` and `cardRevision: 6`. Matches created under v0.5.2–v0.5.3 keep reactor-v2 and revision 5 (section below), and older matches keep their own rules.

**What changes from reactor-v2:**

| | reactor-v3 (new matches) | reactor-v2 |
|---|---|---|
| Which Fault resolves on an overload | **A random one of the six** (seeded, so replays match) | The visible top Fault, which then cycles |
| Overload payoff | Every overload also deals **1 damage to the enemy Commander** | – |
| Surge | **3 Energy** for +2/+2 (overcharge unchanged: with 5+ Energy, spend 4 for +3/+3 and 1 Armor) | 2 Energy |
| Starting Energy going second | 2 + 2 + **2** = 6 | 7 |

Cooling (1), capacity (6 plus Heatsinks), Discharge (5 Energy for 2 damage), Reactor Control and the rest of the overload (lose all Energy, Heat drops to half capacity, "Whenever you Malfunction" triggers) are unchanged.

**Faults are double-edged (reactor-v3):**

| Fault | Effect |
|---|---|
| Power Surge | Each friendly unit gets +1/+0 until the end of your next turn, then takes 1 damage. |
| Coolant Leak | No Cooling at the start of your next turn. Gain 2 Energy. |
| Arc Discharge | Deal 2 damage to a random enemy unit (the enemy Commander if there is none), then 1 damage to a random friendly unit. |
| Motor Lock | A random friendly unit can't attack next turn. It gains +0/+2. |
| Phase Skew | Discard a random card, then draw two cards. |
| Cascade | Deal 1 damage to each friendly unit and 2 damage to the enemy Commander. |

**Cards (revision 6; text only, and all three are in every starter deck):**
- **sy2 Flashburn Firefly** also has "Whenever you Malfunction, deal 1 damage to a random enemy unit."
- **sy5 Desync Skirmisher** also has "Whenever you Malfunction, this gains +2/+0."
- **sy14 Tunnel Maw** also has "Whenever you Malfunction, gain 2 Energy."

**Simulation:**
- Synthari win 49.6% over 8,400 games.
- By matchup: 45.3% (Hegemony) to 57.8% (Veilborn; a Veilborn faction review follows).
- There are 9 Malfunctions per 10 games, and an overload is worth about +4.9 points to the player who takes it.
- Details are in `experiments/synthari-proposal-r6/FINDINGS.md`.

# Synthari Heat pass: card revision 5 — v0.5.2-alpha

New matches use `synthariRules: 'reactor-v2'` and `cardRevision: 5`. Matches created under v0.5.0–v0.5.1 keep the Reactor below (reactor-v1, card revision 4); older matches keep Directive.

**Reactor numbers (reactor-v2; everything else as in the Synthari Reactor section below):**

| | reactor-v2 (new matches) | reactor-v1 (v0.5.0) |
|---|---|---|
| Cooling at the start of your turn | 1 Heat | 2 Heat |
| Reactor capacity | 6 plus Heatsinks | 10 plus Heatsinks |
| Overload drops Heat to | 3 (half capacity) | 5 |
| Discharge | 5 Energy: 2 damage | 3 Energy: 2 damage |
| Surge / overcharge | 2 Energy +2/+2; with 5+, 4 Energy +3/+3 and 1 Armor (unchanged) | same |
| Reactor Control | 1 Flux: gain 2 Energy or remove 3 Heat (unchanged) | same |
| Starting Energy | 2; going second 2 + 2 + 3 = 7 | 2; going second 4 |

With Cooling 1 and a capacity of 6, Heat builds: in simulation the Reactor overloads in more than half of all games (about 7 Malfunctions per 10 games). Plan for the Malfunction, or Vent and cool before your turn ends. The HUD shows the capacity and warns when your Reactor will overload at the end of the turn.

**Cards (revision 5 compared with revision 4):** unit Attack returns to the draft values (Desync Skirmisher 3/2, Mandible Rig 2/3 with Overclock 2, Nexus Ant 2/3, Deprecation 3/3, Crucible Mantis 3/3, Horizon Surveyor 3/3, Spinneret Gantry 2/5). Costs stay as in revision 4. The three Protocols named after Directive are renamed; their art and effects are unchanged:
- Formic Directive → **Formic Exchange**;
- Directive Total Commit → **Total Commit**;
- Directive Overclock → **Cascade Overclock**.

| Card | Revision 5 | Revision 4 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| sy5 Desync Skirmisher | 3 · 3/2 · Thermal | 3 · 2/2 · Thermal | Attack 2 → 3 |
| sy6 Mandible Rig | 3 · 2/3 · Taunt, Armor 1, Overclock 2 | 3 · 1/3 · Taunt, Armor 1, Overclock 3 | Attack 1 → 2; keywords T, A1, Overclock 2; text: Overclock 2: deal 2 damage to a unit. |
| sy7 Nexus Ant | 3 · 2/3 · Generator 1 | 3 · 1/3 · Generator 1 | Attack 1 → 2 |
| sy8 Deprecation | 4 · 3/3 | 4 · 2/3 | Attack 2 → 3 |
| sy10 Crucible Mantis | 4 · 3/3 · Overclock 2 | 4 · 2/3 · Overclock 2 | Attack 2 → 3 |
| sy11 Horizon Surveyor | 4 · 3/3 | 4 · 2/3 | Attack 2 → 3 |
| sy13 Spinneret Gantry | 5 · 2/5 · Taunt | 5 · 1/5 · Taunt | Attack 1 → 2 |
| sy24 Formic Exchange | 3 · Protocol | 3 · Protocol | renamed from Formic Directive |
| sy26 Total Commit | 4 · Protocol | 4 · Protocol | renamed from Directive Total Commit |
| sy27 Cascade Overclock | 6 · Protocol | 6 · Protocol | renamed from Directive Overclock |

Validation and simulation: `experiments/synthari-heat-v052/FINDINGS.md`.


# Synthari Reactor: card revision 4 — v0.5.0-alpha

*The numbers in this section are reactor-v1 (v0.5.0–v0.5.1 matches). New matches use reactor-v2; see the Heat pass above.*

New matches use the Reactor (`synthariRules: 'reactor-v1'`, `cardRevision: 4`). Saved matches and replays created earlier keep Directive, Heat on units, Malfunction N, the old Fault Queue, Recalibrate and the revision 3 cards.

## The Reactor

Every Synthari player runs one Reactor with two gauges, shown in the HUD with the top Fault:
- **Energy** (renamed from Directive): 0–10. Synthari start with 2 (4 when going second).
- **Heat**: 0 up to the Reactor's **capacity**, which is 10 plus any Heatsinks. If a Heatsink leaves, Heat above the new capacity is lost.

**Start of your turn:** gain 1 Energy plus your Generators, then **Cooling** removes 2 Heat.

**Every Energy you spend adds that much Heat.** This covers Overclock, Surge, Discharge and the Station Operation. Reactor Control and cards that "gain" Energy are not spending.

**Reactor actions** need no card and are available once each per turn:
- **Surge (2 Energy):** a friendly unit gets +2/+2 until end of turn. With 5 or more Energy you may **overcharge** instead: spend 4 for +3/+3 and 1 Armor until end of turn. The Health and Armor end with the turn, so a surged unit that has taken more damage than its normal Health is destroyed at end of turn.
- **Discharge (3 Energy):** deal 2 damage to an enemy unit (it must be targetable: Shroud, Phase and Untargetable protect).

**Overload.** If Heat is at capacity at the end of your turn (after your end-of-turn effects), the Reactor overloads and you **Malfunction**:
1. you lose all Energy;
2. the top Fault resolves and moves to the bottom of the Fault deck;
3. Heat drops to half capacity (rounded down);
4. "Whenever you Malfunction" effects trigger.

A card that says "Malfunction" does the same, except that Heat never rises.

## Fault deck

Six Faults in a seeded shuffled order; the top one is always visible.

| Fault | Effect |
|---|---|
| Power Surge | Each friendly unit gets +1/+0 until the end of your next turn, then takes 1 damage. |
| Coolant Leak | No Cooling at the start of your next turn. |
| Arc Discharge | Deal 2 damage to a random unit (either side). |
| Motor Lock | A random friendly unit can't attack next turn. |
| Phase Skew | Discard a random card, then draw a card. |
| Cascade | Deal 1 damage to each unit (both sides). |

## Keywords

- **Overclock N: effect.** Spend N Energy (adding N Heat); once per turn per unit, usable on arrival. Iridium Weaver no longer discounts it.
- **Vent N: effect.** Remove N Heat (you need at least N) to resolve the effect; once per turn per unit.
- **Generator N.** Start of your turn: gain N more Energy.
- **Heatsink N.** While this is on the battlefield, your Reactor capacity is N higher.
- **Thermal.** +1/+0 for every 3 Heat in your Reactor, at most +3.

## Commander action: Reactor Control

**1 Flux, once per turn:** gain 2 Energy, or remove 3 Heat. (Recalibrate, 2 Flux, remains in earlier matches.)

## Station: Mandible Foundry

Commission: gain 3 Energy and summon two 2/1 Scrap Drones. Operation (1 Flux + 3 Energy, adding 3 Heat): summon three 2/2 Scrap Drones. Scrap Drones now read "When this dies, remove 1 Heat from your Reactor"; they no longer Malfunction.

## Cards

| Card | Cost | Stats | Keywords | Text |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| sy1 Needlewing Mosquito | 1 | 2/2 | Overclock 1 | Overclock 1: +2 ATK this turn. |
| sy2 Flashburn Firefly | 1 | 2/2 | Vent 1 | Vent 1: deal 1 damage to a unit. |
| sy3 Molt Scrapling | 1 | 2/2 | – | When this dies, gain 1 Energy. |
| sy4 Vespine Interdictor | 1 | 2/2 | Heatsink 1 | Heatsink 1: your Reactor capacity is 1 higher. |
| sy5 Desync Skirmisher | 3 | 2/2 | Thermal | Thermal: +1 ATK for every 3 Heat in your Reactor (at most +3). |
| sy6 Mandible Rig | 3 | 1/3 | Taunt, Armor 1, Overclock 3 | Overclock 3: deal 2 damage to a unit. |
| sy7 Nexus Ant | 3 | 1/3 | Generator 1 | Generator 1: start of your turn, gain 1 extra Energy. |
| sy8 Deprecation | 4 | 2/3 | – | Whenever you Vent, this gains +1/+1. Whenever you Malfunction, this gains +2/+2. |
| sy9 Iridium Weaver | 4 | 2/3 | Taunt, Armor 1, Heatsink 2 | Heatsink 2. End of your turn: remove 1 Heat from your Reactor. |
| sy10 Crucible Mantis | 4 | 2/3 | Overclock 2 | Overclock 2: another friendly unit gets +2/+2 this turn. |
| sy11 Horizon Surveyor | 4 | 2/3 | – | When this enters, you may Vent 2 to draw a card, or Vent 4 to draw 2 cards. |
| sy12 Hiveship Vector | 4 | 1/5 | Heatsink 3 | Heatsink 3: your Reactor capacity is 3 higher. |
| sy13 Spinneret Gantry | 5 | 1/5 | Taunt | End of your turn: summon a 2/1 Scrap Drone. |
| sy14 Tunnel Maw | 5 | 4/4 | Armor 1 | Whenever another friendly unit dies, gain 1 Energy. |
| sy15 Slagspitter Siege Beetle | 6 | 4/6 | Overclock 3 | Overclock 3: deal 3 damage to an enemy unit and 1 to its adjacent allies. |
| sy16 Splitcore Brood | 6 | 5/5 | Vent 2 | Vent 2: summon a 2/1 Scrap Drone. Whenever you Malfunction, summon two Scrap Drones. |
| sy17 Forgequeen Prime | 7 | 5/6 | Overclock 2 | Your Scrap Drones have +1/+1. Overclock 2: summon two 2/1 Scrap Drones. |
| sy18 Queen Errata | 7 | 4/7 | Generator 2 | Generator 2: start of your turn, gain 2 extra Energy. Whenever you Malfunction, draw a card. |
| sy19 The Unbroken Fault | 9 | 8/8 | – | Cannot be silenced. Start of your turn: add 3 Heat to your Reactor. Whenever you Malfunction, deal 3 damage to each enemy unit. |
| sy20 Hollowmouth, the Devourer | 8 | 7/8 | Taunt, Overclock 4 | Overclock 4: destroy all other units. Gain 1 Energy for each friendly unit destroyed this way. |
| sy21 Brood Lattice Sovereign | 9 | 7/10 | Vent 4 | Vent 4: deal 2 damage to each enemy unit. Whenever you Malfunction, deal 3 damage to the enemy Commander. |
| sy22 Sting Protocol | 1 | Protocol | – | Remove up to 3 Heat from your Reactor. Draw a card. |
| sy23 Redline Ignition | 2 | Protocol | – | Gain 3 Energy and add 3 Heat to your Reactor. |
| sy24 Formic Directive | 3 | Protocol | – | Remove up to 4 Heat from your Reactor. Gain that much Energy. |
| sy25 Reforge the Swarm | 4 | Protocol | – | Destroy one or two friendly units. For each, summon two 2/1 Scrap Drones and gain 2 Energy. |
| sy26 Directive Total Commit | 4 | Protocol | – | This turn, your Overclock abilities cost no Energy. They still add their Heat. |
| sy27 Directive Overclock | 6 | Protocol | – | Vent all your Heat. For every 3 Heat vented, deal 1 damage to each enemy unit and the enemy Commander. Then Malfunction. |
| sy28 The Rustfather | 9 | 6/9 | Armor 2, Overclock 3 | Battlecry: gain 3 Energy. Overclock 3: deal 2 damage to every enemy unit and the enemy Commander. |
| sy29 Wardlight Projector | 6 | 2/5 | Heatsink 2 | Heatsink 2. Your other units take 1 less damage while this unit is alive. Multiple damage-reduction auras do not stack. |
| station-synthari Mandible Foundry | 1 | Hull 7 | – | Commission: gain 3 Energy and summon two 2/1 Scrap Drones. Operation — 1 Flux + 3 Energy: summon three 2/2 Scrap Drones. |
| summon-scrap-drone Scrap Drone | – | 2/1 | – | When this dies, remove 1 Heat from your Reactor. |

Validation and simulation: `experiments/synthari-reactor-v050/FINDINGS.md`.


# Galactic Map match modifiers — v0.4.0-alpha, updated v0.5.0-alpha

Galactic Map matches can carry **modifiers**: the week's Front Condition, the world's environment, its star's effect, and any nebula storm over it that week. They are stored with the match. Normal matches have none and are unchanged.

| Kind | Name | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Condition | Ion Storm | Duelist has no effect; Splash deals +1 damage |
| Condition | Solar Flare | Radiance thresholds are 1 lower, including Battlecry checks such as Sera Ilvane’s |
| Condition | Supply Drop | Both players start with one extra card |
| Planet | Tidal world | Beasts +0/+1 |
| Planet | Foundry moon | Vehicle and Construct units +0/+1 |
| Planet | Choir sanctum | Mystic and Celestial units +0/+1 |
| Planet | Shatter belt | Splash deals +1 damage |
| Planet | Drydock | Stations deploy with +2 Hull |
| Planet | Homeworld | The home faction's Commander starts with +5 Health |
| Planet | Deep Gravity (worlds around neutron stars and pulsars) | Units costing 3 or less +0/+1 |
| Weather | Charged Nebula | Each Commander starts with +1 of their faction resource |
| Weather | Dampening Fog | At the start of each turn, after gaining resources, a Commander with 4 or more faction resource loses 1 |
| Star | Red giant | A permanent Solar Flare in the system |
| Star | Blue giant | A permanent Charged Nebula in the system |

Nebula storms (Ion Storm, Solar Flare, Charged Nebula, Dampening Fog) rotate weekly over seven drifting nebulae. Local effects may favour some factions by design; see `experiments/space-weather-v050/FINDINGS.md`. Deep Gravity is no longer a weekly condition.

A match can also carry a **Doctrine** for each seat. Doctrines only re-weight how the AI evaluates positions, never the rules.

# Gobbos and Hegemony balance pass: card revision 3 — v0.3.18-alpha

These changes apply to new matches (`cardRevision: 3`). Earlier matches keep the previous cards and rules.

**Gobbos:**
- **Test Fire** also deals 1 damage to a random enemy (unit or Commander).
- **The Laughing Spark:** 6 Flux. Whenever a friendly unit takes damage from one of your card effects, it deals 2 damage to a random enemy unit, up to 3 times each turn.
- **Fuse Rat:** its Deathrattle deals 2 damage.
- **Deathrattle Splash:** Scrapyard Scrapper and Boomhugger gain "Deathrattle: deal 1 damage to a random enemy unit and 1 to each of its adjacent allies."
- **Redline Ruckus:** the self-damage is 1.
- **Stats and costs:** Kegboss 3/5, Rivet Queen Zikka 4/6, Boomtown Crawler 5/7, Pocket Foundry 3/4, Grand Finale 7 Flux.
- **Signature starter deck:** plays Tick-Tock Kaboom instead of Patent Pending.

**Hegemony:**
- **Call to Arms** also gains 1 Muster.
- **General Muster:** 5 Flux: "Summon two 1/1 Conscripts, then Promote every Conscript you control to a 2/3 Regular. Gain 2 Muster."
- **Stats and costs:** War Chief Bron 3/5, First Engineer Crow 4 Flux, The Howling Standard 2/4, The Unshackled 2/3, Ironclad Spearhead 2/3, Ironline Automaton 3/4, Iron Sergeant 3/4.

The Commander action text shows the new wording in every match. Older matches still resolve the previous Test Fire and Call to Arms. Validation: `experiments/faction-pass-v0318/FINDINGS.md`.

# Card revision 2 — v0.3.17-alpha

New matches (`cardRevision: 2`):
- Whipthread: 2 Flux 1/1 with Phase and Duelist (v0.3.16: 3 Flux 2/1).
- Purgator: 4/2 with Formation 3, Duelist and Splash 1 (v0.3.16: 5/2 without Splash).

Earlier matches keep their values. Splash is now read from each match's printed card values, like Duelist.

# Duelist batch — v0.3.16-alpha

New matches (`duelistRules: 'v1'`):
- The Gentleman costs 7 Flux (was 9).
- Whipthread costs 3 Flux (was 2) and gains Duelist.
- Maren Tide Lance, Purgator, Danika, Sunbow Rider and Captain Blackspar gain Duelist.

Matches created earlier keep the previous costs and keywords. Validation: `experiments/duelist-v0316/FINDINGS.md`.

# The Gentleman: Duelist — v0.3.15-alpha

New keyword **Duelist**: when this unit attacks another unit, it takes no retaliation damage. The defender still takes full damage, and Splash and other attack effects apply normally. Duelist does nothing when the unit is attacked on the opponent's turn: it takes that damage as usual and deals its normal retaliation.

The Gentleman (sp28) gains Duelist in new matches: 9 Flux, 6/7, Vanguard, Splash 2, Duelist. An unrestored Integrated copy has neither Splash nor Duelist. Saved matches keep their rules: v0.2.18–v0.3.14 matches keep Splash without Duelist, and older matches keep the original Credit Battlecry.

At v0.3.15 no other card had Duelist; candidate cards were tested in simulation only (see `experiments/duelist-v0315/summary.md`). v0.3.16 adds it to five cards.

# Hand limit — v0.3.13-alpha

New matches keep the seven-card hand limit. If the deck contains cards and the hand is full, a draw is skipped: the card stays in its original deck position, is not revealed and does not enter the graveyard. Multi-card draws fill available slots, then skip the remaining draws. The player sees a hand-full notice instead of card-reveal fanfare. This applies to turn draws, Commander abilities, triggered draws and station/card effects.

An empty deck still causes normal increasing fatigue, even with a full hand. Ability costs and other effects still resolve. Effects explicitly removing cards from a deck (such as Open the Tidegate's three-card removal), generated cards, theft, Patent Pending acquisition and returned units retain their existing rules; they are not ordinary draws. Existing matches/replays keep their previous overflow behavior.

# Stations — v0.3.8-alpha locked package

All nine stations cost **1 Flux** and start with **7 Hull** in new matches, with the approved stronger Commission and Operation effects. Summoning does not trigger Battlecry; normal board/hand/resource caps and faction auras still apply.

Include at most one Station total in a 40-card deck: your faction or Neutral. Stations use a separate orbital slot, outside the seven-unit formation. General discounts cannot reduce deployment below 1 Flux; unit/Protocol discounts do not apply.

Commission happens on deployment. From your next turn, select your station and choose an Operation in the command console, then Confirm. Operations cost 1 Flux plus the stated resource or Render cost, once per owner turn. Hull damage persists; ordinary healing, Armor and shields do not affect stations.

Ready units can attack the enemy station **through Taunt**, spending their normal attack. Stations never retaliate. Vanguard alone does not allow immediate station attacks. Unit-targeting effects do not target stations. Breach Charges and Deorbit explicitly target either an enemy unit or station. Destroyed stations enter the public orbital wreck zone; they do not trigger unit deaths, leave corpses, or grant death resources. Stations cannot be bounced, stolen, copied, reanimated or replaced.

**Stations in every preset (deck lists `stations-v1`):** the Balanced, Tempo and Signature presets each carry one copy of the faction's Station in place of one copy of a card chosen by simulation (table below), and the computer's Skirmish, Dominion and Galactic Map decks use the same presets. Native tribes and the scripted tutorial battles keep Station-free decks. The **Station siege** preset (formerly "Station playtest") is unchanged: Balanced with the faction Station in place of one copy of its most expensive card, and Breach Charges and Deorbit in place of two neutrals; it is also a computer strategy. Saved custom decks, saved matches and replays keep the decks they were made with. See outputs/design/stations-default-v1.md for the measurements and station-balance-report.md for the station card balance.

**Station buffs (`stationBalance` `one-seven-combined-v2`, new matches):** two Stations changed after the stations-in-every-deck study showed them adding the least. **The Mycelial Ark**'s Operation (1 Flux + 3 Spores) now *summons* a friendly non-token unit of printed cost 3 or less from your graveyard with +2/+2, instead of returning a cost-5-or-less unit to your hand with +2/+2 and a 1-Flux discount; it needs a free unit slot rather than a free hand slot. **Bluewake Exchange**'s Commission also summons a 3/3 Jailbreak Veterans with Taunt (no Battlecry; skipped when your formation is full); its Operation is unchanged. Every other Station is unchanged. Matches and replays created under `one-seven-combined-v1` keep the earlier Ark and Exchange, including their card text. See outputs/design/station-buffs-v1.md.

| Faction | Balanced: Station replaces one | Tempo: Station replaces one | Signature: Station replaces one |
|---|---|---|---|
| Solari | Lampwright Acolytes | Kharsis Thunderfoot | Lampwright Acolytes |
| Hegemony | War Chief Bron | Forty Rifles | General Muster |
| Nereid | Hullbreaker Leviathan | Breachclaw Marines | Reefheart Reclaimer |
| Fungus | Spore Mother | Spore Flak Battery | The Worldroot Cathedral |
| Synthari | Nexus Ant | Iridium Weaver | Forgequeen Prime |
| Spacers | Slipway Navigator | Hired Gun | Vent the Hold |
| Veilborn | Mindstill Warden | Mistwalker | Hollowstar Adept |
| Gobbos | Return to Sender | Redline Ruckus | The Last Laugh |

# Gobbos addition — v0.3.0-alpha

Eight factions are playable. Gobbos has no additional resource meter (including second seat), and uses normal Flux. Test Fire costs 2 Flux: damage an enemy unit for 1, then give a chosen friendly Construct/Vehicle 1 Armor if available.

Opponents see trap existence and timing, but not identity or effect until it triggers. Your own traps remain readable. Concealed traps occupy a separate two-slot zone, cannot duplicate a name, arm for the next opposing turn and expire at its end. Big Red Button spends activation costs before dealing 3 damage; a dead source cannot resolve its ability. Controlled Demolition cancels an otherwise legal Commander-directed unit attack, deals 4 damage, and stuns for the rest of that turn.

Overprime requires an explicit extra Flux payment before commitment. Friendly collateral and optional targets appear in previews. Patent Pending pays before revealing its three-card choice; the choice can be saved/resumed but not cancelled for a refund.

See GOBBOS-PLAYTEST.md and ../design/gobbos-mechanics-v3.md for all new timing contracts. The following established rules remain in effect except where this current addition explicitly extends them.

# Ultra War — playable demo rules

This reconstructed local ruleset is the authority for the demo. Original card-art review files remain separate.

## Setup and turn flow

Choose one of eight factions and a Balanced, Signature, Tempo or custom 40-card deck. Choose first seat, second seat, or random (the default). Maximum two copies of a card and six neutral cards total. Tokens cannot be included. All 200 base cards are unlocked.

Both Commanders start at 30 Health. Draw five cards and replace any selected cards once. The computer replaces cards costing more than 3. The second player gets a zero-cost Flux Cell (+1 Flux this turn and draw a card) and 2 faction resource, except Veilborn, which start with 1 Taint (veil-v2; no Taint in earlier matches). Synthari also start with their normal 2 Energy (Directive in matches before v0.5.0).

At the start of your turn, increase maximum Flux by one (up to ten), refill it, ready units and draw one card. The first player skips their first draw. Resolve faction start/end triggers as indicated on cards. Maximum seven cards in hand and seven units on board. Excess drawn or returned cards burn; excess summons fail. Empty-deck draws deal escalating fatigue damage: 1, 2, 3 and so on. Tokens returned to hand dissolve.

Reduce the enemy Commander to zero to win. Simultaneous defeat is a draw. A 160-player-turn failsafe decides by remaining Commander Health, or draws if tied.

## Combat and controls

Click a playable hand card or drag it onto your board to play it immediately when no choices are needed. For targeted cards, click or drop onto a highlighted target. Cards with optional costs or other choices still use Confirm. Select a friendly unit to attack or use an ability. Click an attack target or action option once to preview; double-click it to commit, or use Confirm. Cancel or Escape changes nothing before commitment; immediate plays are committed. Dropping outside the board or onto an invalid target spends nothing. Right-click a card for its rules. End Turn passes to the computer. Save & return preserves the match locally.

Units normally wait until their next turn to attack and attack once per turn. Combat damage and retaliation happen simultaneously. Armor is a consumable pool: damage removes Armor first, with excess reaching Health. Explicit Armor grants can raise the pool to 6. Loss of a Health aura can kill a damaged unit. Vanguard allows immediate attacks against units only.

## Commander Actions

Each commander may use one faction action during its own turn, spending 2 Flux. This is part of the normal turn, not an additional phase. Usage resets at the start of that commander’s next turn and survives saving/reloading. The computer follows the same rules.

| Faction | Action | Effect |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Solari | Sunstrike | Attack an enemy unit for 2; take its current Attack as retaliation. Gain 1 Solar Charge. |
| Hegemony | Call to Arms | Summon a 1/1 Conscript; requires board space. |
| Nereid | Pressure Lance | Spend 1 Pressure and deal 2 to an enemy unit. |
| Fungus | Cultivate | Heal a damaged friendly unit for 2 and gain 1 Spore. |
| Synthari | Reactor Control (1 Flux) | Gain 2 Energy, or remove 3 Heat from your Reactor. Matches before card revision 4: Recalibrate (2 Flux), gain 2 Directive; optionally cool a friendly unit by 1 Heat. |
| Spacers | Opportunist’s Shot | Deal 1 to an enemy unit and gain 1 Credit. |
| Veilborn | Forbidden Insight | Lose 1 Health (2 in matches before v0.6.0), draw one card, gain 1 Taint. |

Select the illuminated commander control, choose a highlighted target if needed, then Confirm or double-click the target/action (a second click on the same target within about half a second also commits). With only one legal target it is previewed at once. The preview shows costs and projected consequences. Cancel, Escape or right-clicking empty battlefield spends nothing. Invalid targets say why, and unavailable controls explain their state (for example "No damaged friendly unit" or "Already used this turn").

Sunstrike cannot attack the enemy Commander. It respects Taunt, Shroud and truce; Phase and Untargetable do not prevent combat. Lantern Angler only redirects enemy units, not commander attacks. Armor, Strata, Adaptation and death triggers still apply. The target retaliates even if killed.

Other targeted powers obey Phase, Shroud and Untargetable effect restrictions and trigger Prismatic Sentinel’s Standing Order. Healing requires a damaged legal target. In legacy Directive matches, Recalibrate cannot be used with full Directive and no legal hot unit; resource gains respect their caps. Forbidden Insight can cause lethal Health loss or fatigue; full-hand draws burn as usual.

## Keywords

### Vanguard

May attack enemy units immediately, but not the Commander.

### Duelist

Takes no retaliation damage when attacking a unit. It still takes damage when attacked on the opponent's turn. (v0.3.15-alpha)

### Taunt

Must be attacked before other targets. Hidden or protected-by-truce units do not block.

### Armor

Absorbs damage before Health, losing one Armor per damage absorbed. Armor does not refill at turn start or from healing. Explicit grants add Armor, up to 6. Strata absorb a whole hit before Armor is touched. Adaptation requires actual Health damage; Armor-only damage does not trigger it.

### Shroud

Cannot be selected by enemy attacks or effects until it attacks. Returns at the start of its controller’s turn. Area damage still hits.

### Phase

Cannot be selected by enemy card effects. Can be attacked and hit by area damage.

### Radiance

The number after Radiance is the Solar Charge the card needs: Radiance 3 means its bonus is on while you have 3 or more Solar Charge. Solar Charge isn’t spent, and you can play the card with less. Most Radiance is checked continuously; a Radiance clause on a Battlecry is checked when the card is played. Cards that say “spend” Solar Charge use it up instead.

Under the **Solar Flare** battle modifier every Radiance check is 1 lower, whether continuous or on a Battlecry: Sera Ilvane’s Radiance 4 draws 2 cards with 3 Solar Charge. (Radiance rules `flare-v1`, 1 October 2026. Saves and replays of matches started before this change keep their recorded rules, in which Solar Flare lowered only continuous Radiance and Sera needed the full 4.)

### Formation

Continuous bonus while you control at least that many units, including this one.

### Conscript

On death, summons a 1/1 Conscript. Tokens do not themselves have Conscript.

### Adaptation

After surviving positive damage, permanently gains +1/+1. Fully prevented damage does not trigger it.

### Integrate

During your turn, spend the cheapest friendly Integrate cost to grow a 1/1 copy of an enemy corpse from this turn. Retains Armor and Taunt, gains Adaptation. One use per corpse.

### Overclock

Activate once per unit per turn, spending the Energy shown after Overclock (Overclock 2 costs 2 Energy); every Energy spent adds that much Heat to your Reactor. Abilities can be used on arrival. Matches before card revision 4: paid in Directive and adds 2 Heat to the unit.

### Malfunction

At the end of your turn, if your Reactor is at Heat capacity it overloads: lose all Energy, resolve the visible top Fault, drop Heat to half capacity. See Synthari Reactor above. Matches before card revision 4: a unit at the Heat threshold shown on its card resolves the next visible Fault, cools to zero and grants 1 Directive, at most once per unit per end step.

### Undertow

Returns an enemy unit costing no more than the number after Undertow (Undertow 3: cost 3 or less) to its original owner’s hand. Full hands burn the returned card; tokens dissolve.

### Depth

The number after Depth is the Pressure the card needs: Depth 3 means its bonus is on while you have 3 or more Pressure. Pressure isn’t spent, and you can play the card with less.

### Surface

Pay the Pressure shown after Surface (Surface 3 costs 3 Pressure) for the effect. Below that amount the effect is unavailable.

### Improvise

Optional on play: discard another card to gain +N/+N and N Credits.

### Contraband

Always revealed in hand. May be played for less: Contraband 2 costs 2 less Flux. Each card still in hand costs 1 Credit at turn end; if unpaid it is discarded.

### Render

Destroy a friendly unit as a sacrifice. Printed Taint gain is the total, not an extra bonus.

### Possess

Permanently take an enemy unit within the cost limit. It must wait a turn to attack.

### Untargetable

Cannot be selected by either player’s card effects. Combat and area damage still apply.

### Bulwark

Gains a Stratum at your turn end, maximum 5. Each Stratum absorbs one entire positive damage event.

### Resonance

When Strata are lost, damages all enemies by N, at most once per turn.

### Fracture

Remove all Strata for permanent +2 Attack per layer and ready this unit. Once per unit per turn; Kheim once per match. Requires readiness, except Kheim and Ashlar may use it on arrival.

### Kin

Creature tag used by Nereid support cards.

### Promote

Once per turn, pay 3 Muster to replace a Conscript with a 2/3 Regular, or 4 to replace a Regular with a 3/4 Veteran. Preserves damage and readiness. Discounts have a minimum cost of 1.

## Faction resources

- **Solari:** Solar Charge cap 6, +1 each own turn. Radiance checks current Charge continuously (Radiance 3: 3 or more) and never spends it; “spend” effects use it up. No campaign environment bonus.
- **Hegemony:** Muster cap 10, +1 each own turn and each friendly death. Formation counts itself. Promote preserves damage and readiness; General Muster can lift the normal once-per-turn limit. No generic payment to force Formation.
- **Nereid:** Pressure cap 10, +1 at own turn end. Pressure 8 or higher causes 1 Crush damage to your Commander. Surface spends Pressure; Depth checks current Pressure.
- **Fungus:** Spores cap 10, +1 on every unit death. Integrate uses enemy corpses from the current turn and requires board space. Integrated copies do not trigger Battlecries. Brood Tender’s ability is once per turn for 2 Spores.
- **Synthari:** Energy 0–10 and Reactor Heat; see Synthari Reactor above. Matches before card revision 4: Directive cap 8, starts at 2, +1 each own turn. Overclock adds 2 Heat (4 under the free-Overclock effect). Resolve at most one threshold Fault per unit at its own turn end, then cool and gain 1 Directive.
- **Spacers:** Credits cap 10, earned through card effects. Improvise optionally discards another card; Contraband discounts are optional and retained Contraband costs upkeep.
- **Veilborn:** Taint cap 10. Commander corruption damage at own turn end is 1 at Taint 4, 2 at 7 and 3 at 10. In veil-v2 (v0.6.0) it also hits the enemy Commander, and units gain +2/+2 at Taint 10 only. Earlier matches: units gain +1/+1 at 6, +2/+2 at 9, +3/+3 at 10, and suppression effects can turn off the stat bonus. Render gains the Taint total written on the card once.

Foreign resource effects do not become the controlling faction’s resource. Possessed units retain original ownership for return effects.

## Synthari Fault deck (matches before card revision 4)

New matches use the Reactor Fault deck (see Synthari Reactor above). The six Faults form a seeded shuffled cycle. The next Fault is visible.

- **Power Surge:** This unit gains +2 Attack permanently.
- **Repair Loop:** Gain +1/+1 and restore 2 Health to this unit.
- **Arc Discharge:** Deal 2 damage to the highest-Attack enemy unit, or its Commander.
- **Motor Lock:** This unit cannot attack on its next turn.
- **Phase Skew:** Deal this unit’s Attack to a random other unit.
- **Cascade Fault:** Deal 2 damage to this unit and 1 to adjacent friendly units.

## Deliberate demo clarifications

Phase protects against hostile targeted effects, not combat. Shroud blocks hostile selection until attacking and resets at the controller’s turn start. Untargetable blocks both players’ targeted effects. Area damage bypasses these selection restrictions.

Standing Directive distributes buffs evenly from left to right. Customs Saboteur and Impound automatically tax the highest printed-cost card in the enemy hand; reveal occurs only after commitment. Dead-Eye Getaway sacrifices one friendly unit, gains 3 Credits and draws one card. Nereid’s titan reduces protocol costs to 1 before other discounts. Sound the Deep deals 2 to an enemy unit and draws a card, or deals 3 at Depth 4. Fault manipulation offers explicit finite choices rather than arbitrary reordering.

## Rewards and saving

Win: 100 War Marks. Completed loss: 30. Draw: 50. Surrender: 0. Marks are a temporary record currency; they do not gate cards or purchase anything. Each completed match pays once. Decks, record and current match save in this browser on this computer. Clearing browser storage removes them.

See balance-report.md for simulation results and remaining balance concerns.


## Playtest pass 2 interface

Attack targets and action options can be double-clicked to confirm. Single-click previews show projected Health and deaths, including retaliation and Armor. Random triggers can differ. Damage, healing and resource changes display on the battlefield, and ready units are labelled. Full artwork remains uncropped; hover or use View full card for a larger inspection. Phones use horizontally scrolling rows and a pinned End Turn control.

The lobby shows a Flux curve, unit/protocol totals, early-play count, faction strategy guidance and recent match records. Report an issue saves your note and current state locally for review. Completed matches automatically write records under playtest-records. Nothing is uploaded externally.


## Playtest pass 3

Computer strategy can be selected independently: Balanced, Signature or Tempo. Rematch retains both original deck lists and the opponent strategy. Tempo has a stronger midgame core for most factions; Veilborn retains its earlier list. Card stats and core combat rules are unchanged in this pass.

Recent matches opens detailed deck and action records. New records name the card or unit acting. Export playtest data downloads a JSON copy of the browser profile and current match; it does not include art files or provide automatic restore. Pending project reports can be retried from the lobby.

## v0.2.0 recovery and replay

Recovery in the lobby accepts an export file, pasted export JSON or a listed disk snapshot. Validation and a preview precede replacement. A successful backup of the current save is required. Automatic backups retain the latest 20 snapshots locally; copy the project or portable package to another drive for protection against drive loss. Completed rewards are tracked by match ID.

New v0.2.0 matches record opening redraws and every action; Replay match in Recent matches reconstructs the board and checks the final state. Earlier matches lack this data. Inspect cards toggles safe card inspection without deploying a playable card. Turn it off to play cards normally.

The game now serves recovery and reports through port 4320 and uses bundled assets. Its original art-review inputs remain separate. No card stats or core rules changed in this release.

## v0.2.1 interaction update
Single-click a hand card to select it and read its rules. Double-click to play when no choices are required; otherwise select its target or option. Drag-to-play remains available. Hover board cards for current stats, rules and keyword explanations. The Fungus panel explains Spore spending and Integrate prerequisites. Adaptation is automatic and does not spend Spores.



## v0.2.2 effect visuals

Effect abbreviations are expanded in gameplay. Board markers combine an icon and full name; hover, focus or inspect a card for its rules. Taunt uses an iron frame while it blocks attacks. Armor displays a shield and its remaining damage absorption; Strata use layered shields and are consumed one layer per damage event. Shroud uses an eye and dashed edge; Phase uses a broken boundary. Adaptation uses a growth symbol.

Shared mechanics have the same appearance across factions. Faction mechanics use their own motifs. Radiance and Formation show inactive dashed badges until their thresholds are met. Bold badges identify current states, while on-play/on-death labels identify trigger timing. The field manual contains the complete icon legend. This release changes presentation only.


## v0.2.3 Armor and surrender update

New matches use consumable Armor. For example, 2 Armor absorbs the first 2 points of a 3-damage hit; the remaining 1 damages Health. A broken shield stays depleted. Returning a unit to hand and replaying it creates a fresh unit with its printed Armor; restoring an Integrated unit does not refill or duplicate its Armor. Crystal-Caul Warden’s explicitly printed damage-reduction aura remains a separate effect and applies before Armor.

Existing matches and their replays retain legacy per-hit Armor. Start a new match to use the new rules. Save keys and export schema stay unchanged. The shield value falls with damage and an Armor broken indicator appears at zero.

Surrender opens a centered confirmation dialog. Keep playing or Escape cancels; Confirm surrender records a loss with zero War Marks.


## The Rustfather — v0.2.6

Synthari finisher, 9 Flux, 6 Attack / 9 Health, Armor 2. Battlecry gains 3 Directive. Overclock 3 deals 2 damage to every enemy unit and the enemy Commander. May Overclock on arrival, once per turn; ordinary attacks wait. Normal Overclock adds 2 Heat; at 4 Heat, Malfunction resolves the visible Fault at turn end. Existing discounts/free Overclock rules apply.

## The Gentleman — v0.2.7

Spacer finisher: 9 Flux, 6 Attack / 7 Health, Vanguard. On play, optionally choose an enemy unit and spend up to 3 Credits, dealing 2 damage per Credit spent. Skipping the target spends nothing. Armor and targeting protections apply; only Spacer Credits fund the effect. Vanguard allows an immediate attack against units, not the Commander. Available in the Spacer signature preset and custom decks.

## Quantum Angel — v0.2.8

Neutral unit: 9 Flux, 5 Attack / 7 Health, Taunt and Resonance 2. Battlecry grants 2 Strata. Each layer absorbs one entire positive damage event; losing a layer deals 2 damage to every enemy unit, at most once per turn. Resonance respects enemy Armor and protection and does not damage Commanders. The layers do not regenerate; Angel has neither Bulwark nor Fracture. It waits a turn before attacking. Every faction can include it within the six-neutral-card and two-copy limits. Flavor: “Be not afraid”.

## Protection — v0.2.9

Strata absorb entire hits and are consumed. Ward reduces remaining damage by 1 while a source is alive; multiple sources do not stack. Temporary Armor absorbs before ordinary Armor and expires at the start of the granting player’s next turn. Combined Armor caps at 6. Ordinary granted Armor persists until consumed. These effects do not stop destroy, bounce or possession.

Sunwing Aegis now grants another friendly unit a Stratum (cap 5). Dawnbreak Lancer spends 2 Solar Charge once per turn for Taunt and 2 Armor. Old saved matches retain their earlier effects. See protection-review.md for all four new cards and faction decisions.

## Adjacency and deployment (v0.2.17 new matches)

Single-click a hand unit and choose Deployment position before playing. Default is the right edge; units cannot freely move after deployment. Automatic summons enter on the right. Immediate living neighbors count as adjacent; no edge wrapping. Splash snapshots neighbors before the hit and applies Armor/shields separately. Only the primary defender retaliates. Spore Mother heals her neighbors at her own turn end. Existing pre-adjacency saves retain their original rules. See adjacency-review.md for the revised four-card list and validation.

### The Gentleman — v0.2.18

New matches: 9 Flux, 6/7, Vanguard and Splash 2. When he attacks a unit, its immediate left and right allies each take 2 damage, independently applying shields and Armor. Only the primary defender retaliates. Neighbors are captured before casualties resolve; there is no wraparound. Commander attacks do not splash. This replaces his Battlecry and costs no Credits. Unrestored Integrated copies do not have Splash. Existing saved matches keep his previous Battlecry.

### Inspection, Kin and Brood Tender clarity

Inspection opens an intelligence window until dismissed. Only the actual revealed cards appear. Kin is a creature tag on Nereid and some neutral units; it grants no ability on its own. Hull Cutter randomly discards an enemy card; its optional Improvise payment is chosen from your own hand. Brood Tender buttons directly spend 2 Spores once per turn to summon a 1/1 Sporeling with Adaptation.

Cultivate may target a damaged friendly unit or your own damaged commander. Restore 2 Health (commander capped at 30) and gain 1 Spore for 2 Flux, once per turn. It cannot target an enemy commander or a full-health target.

## Unit types

All units have explicit types shown separately from abilities. Types themselves grant no abilities. A unit with multiple types qualifies for each named type. Integrated units retain donor types and gain Mycelial. Beast replaces Kin in support effects, with expanded membership. Ultrasaur is distinct from Beast and includes Sunspear Outrider, Bastionback Gunner and Sunwing Aegis as well as the five original members. Existing saves adopt current types on reload. The full membership list is outputs/design/proposed-unit-types.md in the project.


## v0.2.36 additions

Twenty neutral cards and Egregore are now playable. All 229 collectible cards are unlocked; nine summons remain non-deck cards. Presets include selected additions, while saved custom lists stay unchanged.

- Deepburrow Ravager (formerly Riftburrow Ravager): first apply normal legal attack restrictions, then require a Construct if any remain. It gains one Attack only for that attack; no bonus while defending. Tunneling is flavor, not evasion.
- Mirrorhide Stalker: choose an adjacent ally at the chosen deployment position; copies current Attack up to six. Playing without a target is allowed. Drag into position before selecting the neighbor.
- Meteorhide Ram removes permanent and temporary Armor, not Strata. Ironspire Snail removes one Stratum and can trigger Resonance. Untargetability still applies.
- Ancient Cursed Nanites damage all other units, friendly and enemy, at own turn end. Commanders and itself are excluded. Mercy Gorgon heals immediate neighbors at own turn end.
- Ossuary Colossus damages the defender’s neighbors before normal combat; deaths resolve first. If the attacker or defender dies to resulting reactions, normal combat does not occur.
- Chromatic Hydra heals two after the first positive Health damage it survives each global turn. Armor/shield prevention and lethal damage do not qualify.
- Doctor Veyr draws two and discounts the next Protocol played that turn by two. Multiple grants stack on that one Protocol; expiry is turn end. The discount never raises an already-free Protocol or lowers a positive cost below one. Playing a unit does not consume it.
- Egregore triggers at the end of its controller’s turn, including deployment turn. Uniformly chooses one enemy unit, including already-stunned units. It cannot attack through its next turn, even with Vanguard, but may use abilities. Multiple applications refresh instead of stacking missed turns. Removing Egregore stops future triggers; existing stun remains. No enemies means no effect. Random choice uses seeded replay-safe randomness.
- Emergency Extraction returns a friendly unit to its original owner’s hand; tokens dissolve and full hands burn returned cards, following existing return rules.


### Predatory Mycelium (v0.3.9)
3 Flux Protocol: deal 3 damage to an enemy unit. Draw one card only if this damage kills that target. Armor and protection apply normally. No faction-resource cost or extra kill reward; normal Spore death triggers and Integrate remain. Existing matches without predatoryRules v1 retain Razor Sporeburst.