PLAY AREA

The Battlefield awaits.

The Nexus is the shared space in which the game takes place. Each player controls their own play area within the Nexus.

Each player's has their own play area that lines up with their opponent. These areas are identical and contain several distinct zones. Each zone is treated slightly different, but the key areas are the Battlefield and the Support Zone.

Assets (cards) with a Battle Map (position diagram) are played to their specified Battlefield positions, while those without Battle Maps are played to the Support Zone (typically resource cards called Sources) .

Catalysts are special and occupy their own dedicated Zone.

The Axion Gauge is a single shared tracker for all players. It is a special mechanic detailed on its own page.

BATTLEFIELD

Your Battlefield contains 8 positions: 5 Frontline and 3 Backfield.

Battlefield positions may hold only one Asset (card) at a time unless stated otherwise. A card’s Battle Map is a diagram that defines where it may be positioned. Cards without a Battle Map, such as Sources, are played in the protected Support Zone instead of the Battlefield. Unless specifically allowed, players cannot play cards, Tokens, or Counters in an opponent’s zones.

Deploying an Asset means putting a card into play.

Each Battlefield is mirrored, and positional terms such as left and right are always relative to the controlling player. Adjacent positions refer only to immediately horizontal neighbors; Frontline and Backfield positions are not adjacent to each other. Individual Battle Maps always take priority when resolving placement or targeting conflicts.

SUPPORT ZONE

The Support Zone is the protected area outside of the Battlefield for Assets without a Battle Map. It may contain any number of Assets.

Cards in the Support Zone are not part of the Battlefield and are typically not valid targets as they do not occupy any specific position.

The most common card played here are Sources which provide resources called Shards to fuel your economy.

CATALYST ZONE

A Catalyst is a unique card that begins the game in play. It is not an Asset, is never Deployed, never leaves play, and cannot be interacted with by an opponent unless a specific effect states otherwise.

Each deck may contain exactly one Catalyst, chosen before the game begins and fixed for that game's duration. A Catalyst typically serves as a central identity around which a deck is built.

Catalyst cards count toward the minimum deck size of 50 cards and is subject to rarity limits as well.

At the start of the game, each player's Catalyst is automatically placed into the Catalyst Zone.