Dead or Destroyed
For 2 players
Difficulty: 5/5
Starting the Game: Shuffle the deck and decide which player is the necromancer and which is the paladin. The paladin draws 3 cards and then the necromancer takes the top 10 cards from the deck and puts them into the Graveyard without changing the order of the cards. The Graveyard is face-up while the Deck is face-down. Any player may look through the Graveyard at any time without changing the order of the cards. The game is played in turns, and the necromancer plays first.
Killing vs. Destroying: There are two main ways for a card to be discarded. Killing a card sends it to the top of the Graveyard. Destroying it sends it Outside the Game. When multiple cards are killed at once the necromancer decides the order on top of the Graveyard.
The Necromancer
Goal: Increase the size of the Graveyard while decreasing the size of the Deck.
Gameplay: The necromancer has 3 main options every turn. The necromancer may choose only one of these options per turn.
- Cycle and Sap
- Put the top card on the graveyard at the bottom of the graveyard then destroy a card at random from the paladin’s hand
- If there are no cards in the Deck the necromancer may still choose to Cycle and Sap, but the paladin does not destroy a card
- Shuffle
- Count the number of cards in the Graveyard. Shuffle the Graveyard into the Deck and then put the same number of cards back into the Graveyard from the top of the Deck without changing the order of the cards.
- Raise Dead
- Place a certain number of cards from the Graveyard face-up into the Crypt or the Battlefield. Each card represents one zombie. Rules Regarding Summons
- Each zombie is summoned by default into the Crypt
- The necromancer summons the top card by default
- 3 is the maximum number of summons per turn
- The necromancer’s first summon to the Crypt is free, but he may summon 2 or 3 zombies in a turn by destroying 1 card in the Graveyard per extra zombie summoned
- A necromancer may summon a zombie that is not on top of the graveyard by destroying 1 card in the Graveyard
- Rules Regarding the Crypt
- Only 3 zombies may be in the Crypt at a given time
- Zombies may not attack the paladin from the Crypt
- Rules Regarding the Battlefield
- Any zombie that has been in the Crypt for at least one turn may be sent immediately to the Battlefield at any time during the necromancer’s turn. The necromancer may send zombies to the Battlefield even during a Cycle and Sap or Shuffle turn.
- Zombies in the Battlefield may attack the paladin during the necromancer’s turn. When the necromancer declares that his zombies attack his turn immediately ends after the battle. A necromancer may attack even during a Cycle and Sap or Shuffle turn. Zombies may attack in the same turn as they enter the Battlefield.
- A necromancer may summon a zombie directly to the Battlefield by destroying 1 card in the Graveyard
- Minor Summons
- 2s, 3s, and 4s of any suit are considered Minor Summons, and may be summoned for free to the Crypt when they are on the top of the Graveyard
- Minor Summons do not cause the necromancer to destroy a card if they are summoned to the Crypt 2nd or 3rd
- Minor Summons may be summoned directly to the Battlefield, but a card must still be destroyed
- If a Minor Summons occurs 1st, the next summon is treated as the 1st summon of the turn
- Minor Summons still count against the 3 summon per turn limit
- The necromancer may destroy more than one card to summon a zombie. For example, if the necromancer wished to summon the bottom card of the Graveyard directly to the Battlefield and then summon the top 2 cards of the Graveyard to the Crypt, he would destroy 4 cards in total (1 card for summoning a zombie directly to the Battlefield, 1 card for summoning a zombie not on the top of the Graveyard, 1 card for summoning a 2nd zombie, 1 card for summoning a 3rd zombie). If the necromancer wished to Minor Summon the top card, a 3, to the Crypt, and then summon the next card to the Crypt and then summon a card in the middle of the Graveyard to the Battlefield, he would destroy 2 cards (1 card for summoning the 3rd zombie and 1 card for summoning a zombie not on the top of the Graveyard). Note that summoning the 2nd zombie to the Crypt does not cost anything because it follows a Minor Summon.
Attacking: Any zombie in the Battlefield may attack at the end of the necromancer’s turn. When the zombies attack, the paladin has a chance to kill or destroy them on a zombie by zombie basis (see paladin). For each zombie that attacks and is not killed or destroyed, the paladin must place the top 3 cards from the Deck onto the Graveyard without changing the order of the cards. Zombies that are not killed or destroyed stay on the Battlefield until killed or destroyed, and may attack during the necromancer’s next turn.
Winning: The necromancer wins if the paladin is unable to put enough cards into the Graveyard after an attack. For example, if the necromancer attacks with two zombies and the paladin is unable to kill or destroy them, the paladin must take the top 6 cards from the Deck and put them into the Graveyard. However, if there are only 5 cards in the Deck, the necromancer wins because the paladin cannot place 6 cards in the graveyard. It is O.K. for there to be no cards in the Deck.
The Paladin
Goal: Destroy zombies in the Graveyard, Crypt, and Battlefield before the Deck runs out
Gameplay: The paladin begins each turn by drawing 1 card. After this, the paladin has 2 main options every turn. The paladin may choose only 1 of these options.
- Smite
- Kill or destroy zombies in the Battlefield according to the rules below.
- In addition to the Battlefield zombies, the paladin may target the top card of the Graveyard to destroy according to the rules below.
- Reveal
- Reveal a certain number of cards from your hand to produce one effect (see below)
- Revealed cards remain on the table until the start of your next turn
- Reveal Effects
- 1 card: For the purposes of the next Battle, each card in the paladin’s hand increases in value by 1 step (3s become 4s, Js become Qs, As are unchanged)
- 2 cards: For the purposes of the next Battle, each card in the paladin’s hand increases in value by 2 steps (3s become 5s, Js become Ks, As are unchanged)
- 3 cards: Draw 1 card
- 4 cards: put the top card of the Graveyard on the bottom of the Graveyard
- 5 cards: For the purposes of the next Battle, suits of the same color are interchangeable (diamonds may act as hearts, spades may act as clubs, etc.)
- 6 cards: For the purposes of the next Battle, choose one suit to be wild (it may act as if it were any suit)
- 7 cards: Destroy all zombies in the Crypt and Battlefield
Battle: When the necromancer declares that his zombies attack, a Battle begins. During a Battle the paladin may kill or destroy zombies. The paladin does this by sending cards from his hand Outside the Game. One card may affect one zombie.
Rules for Killing Zombies- Attacking zombies may be killed by any card of the same color as the zombie
- Attacking zombies may be destroyed by any card of the same suit and a higher value than the zombie (a 5 of diamonds may destroy a 3 of diamonds zombie)
- Attacking zombies may also be destroyed by any 2 cards of the same suit as the zombie
- The paladin wins ties (if he revealed one card earlier, he may use a 2 of diamonds to destroy a 3 of diamonds zombie)
- Aces are the highest value, 2s are the lowest
- The paladin does not have to kill or destroy a zombie even if he has the cards to do so. However, any zombie that attacks and is not killed or destroyed causes cards to go from the Deck to the Graveyard (see the Necromancer). Zombies may only be killed or destroyed if they attack, unless the paladin chooses the Smite option (see above).
Winning: The paladin wins immediately if there are ever no zombies in the Battlefield and the Graveyard. Zombies in the Crypt do not count.