GAMEPLAY NAVIGATION
STORY NAVIGATION
The Battlefield awaits.
The Nexus is the shared space where the game takes place. Each player has their own Play Area within the Nexus, positioned opposite of their opponent.
BATTLEFIELD
Assets (cards & Tokens) with a Battle Map (position diagram) are played to the specific Battlefield positions indicated by their Battle Map.
SUPPORT ZONE
Assets without a Battle Map are played here. This typically includes resource cards called Sources.
CATALYST ZONE
Catalysts are special cards that occupy their own dedicated Zone.
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.
ADDITIONAL AREAS
Each player's play area also includes:
Vault
Deck, face down
Archive
Discard pile, face up
Life Force & Dominance
Victory condition trackers
The Axion Gauge
Tracker shared by all players
Action tracker
Total Actions used or remaining
(Recommended but not required)