Game Rules

A comprehensive guide to Taktix gameplay, deck construction, and game mechanics.

Overview

Taktix is a strategic trading card game set in Aethoria, a world where five primal Essences flow through all living things. Players take on the role of Tacticians - powerful generals who command armies of warriors, mages, and mythical creatures in tactical warfare.

What Makes Taktix Unique

🎯 Formation System: Units are placed in a 3x2 grid, and position matters for abilities and combat
⚡ Momentum: A shared resource that shifts between players based on combat outcomes
🎨 Flexible Color Identity: Cards can be mono-color or dual-color, enabling diverse deck building
🛡️ Tactical Positioning: Front row units protect back row; abilities have range and area effects
💀 Attrition Victory: Multiple paths to win including commander damage, morale break, and deck exhaustion

Basic Game Setup

Component	Starting Value
Commander Health	25
Starting Morale	10
Initial Hand	6 cards
Starting Essence	3 (dual-color) or 4 (mono-color)
Momentum	Neutral (0)

Card Anatomy

Card Layout

┌─────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ [Essence Cost]  [Card Name]    [Colors] │
│     {3}         Iron Sentinel    ⚪🔵   │
├─────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                                         │
│             [Card Art]                  │
│                                         │
├─────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ [Type Line]                    [Rarity] │
│ Unit - Golem Warrior              ◆     │
├─────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ [Keywords]                              │
│ Stalwart, Guardian                      │
│                                         │
│ [Rules Text]                            │
│ When Iron Sentinel enters the field,    │
│ adjacent allies gain +0/+2 until end    │
│ of turn.                                │
├─────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ [ATK]    [Formation Icon]       [DEF]   │
│   4           ⬛⬜⬜              6      │
│              ⬜⬜⬜                      │
└─────────────────────────────────────────┘

Key Components

Component	Location	Description
💎 Essence Cost	Top-left	Resources required to play the card
📛 Card Name	Top-center	Unique identifier for the card
🎨 Colors	Top-right	One or two Essence colors
🏷️ Type Line	Below art	Card type and subtypes
⭐ Rarity	Right of type	Symbol indicating card rarity
⚔️ Attack (ATK)	Bottom-left	Damage dealt in combat
🛡️ Defense (DEF)	Bottom-right	Damage required to destroy

Card Types

Units

The primary card type - creatures and soldiers that fight for you.

Attribute	Description
⚔️ Attack	Damage dealt when attacking or counterattacking
🛡️ Defense	Total damage required to destroy the unit
📍 Position	Occupies one space in your 3x2 formation grid

Commanders

Special units that represent you on the battlefield.

Feature	Description
❤️ Health	25 (your life total)
🎨 Colors	Determines your starting Essence and deck colors
⚡ Ability	Unique activated ability usable once per turn
🛡️ Protected	Cannot be attacked while you have front row units

Tactics

Instant-speed effects that can be played at various times.

Speed	When Playable	Example Effects
⚡ Swift	Any time, including combat	Combat tricks, removal
🦅 Quick	Your turn, before/after combat	Buffs, summons
⏳ Slow	Your main phase only	Board wipes, big effects

Enchantments

Persistent effects that modify the game state.

Subtype	Description
🌍 Global	Affects all units or players
👤 Aura	Buffs or debuffs a specific unit
📍 Zone	Affects units in that position

Equipment

Items that attach to units and enhance them.

Slot	Effect Type
🗡️ Weapon	Increases ATK, grants combat keywords
🛡️ Armor	Increases DEF, grants defensive keywords
💍 Trinket	Grants special abilities

Strongholds

Powerful location cards that provide ongoing benefits.

Takes one back row space
Cannot attack or be attacked directly
Some require Essence each turn
Can be destroyed by specific effects

Card Rarity

Rarity	Symbol	Deck Limit
⚪ Common	○	4 copies
🟢 Uncommon	◇	4 copies
🔵 Rare	◆	3 copies
🟣 Epic	★	2 copies
🟠 Legendary	✦	1 copy
🩵 Commander	👑	1 copy

The Five Essences

Essence	Symbol	Philosophy	Playstyle
⚪ White	☀️ Radiance	Order, protection, unity	Defensive, buffs, healing
🔵 Blue	💧 Tide	Knowledge, control, time	Card draw, counterspells, tempo
⚫ Black	💀 Void	Ambition, death, sacrifice	Removal, recursion, drain
🔴 Red	🔥 Fury	Passion, chaos, destruction	Aggressive, direct damage, haste
🟢 Green	🌿 Growth	Nature, strength, adaptation	Big units, ramp, regeneration

Learn More

For deep dives into each Essence's philosophy, lore, mechanics, and strategic combinations, visit the Essences section.

Essence Generation

Your Commander provides 3 Essence of their primary color at game start
Gain 1 Essence of each of your Commander's colors at the start of each turn
Mono-color Commanders provide 4 Essence and gain 2 per turn
Maximum Essence Pool: 15 total

Game Zones

The Formation Grid

Your battlefield is a 3x2 grid:

         FRONT ROW
    ┌───┬───┬───┐
    │ 1 │ 2 │ 3 │  ← Can attack, blocks for back row
    ├───┼───┼───┤
    │ 4 │ 5 │ 6 │  ← Protected by front row
    └───┴───┴───┘
         BACK ROW

    [COMMANDER occupies position 5]

Position Rules

Rule	Description
🛡️ Protection	Back row units cannot be attacked while adjacent front row units exist
📐 Adjacency	Units are adjacent horizontally, vertically, and diagonally
🚶 Movement	Units can move one space as a Quick action (once per turn)
👑 Commander	Always in position 5 (back center), cannot move

Turn Structure

1. Dawn Phase (Start of Turn)

Step	Action
🔄 Refresh	Ready all your exhausted cards
💎 Essence	Gain 1 Essence of each of your Commander's colors
📥 Draw	Draw 1 card
⚡ Triggers	Resolve "At the start of your turn" effects

2. Tactics Phase (Pre-Combat)

Play cards (Units, Enchantments, Strongholds)
Equip items to units
Reposition one unit
Use activated abilities

3. Combat Phase

Declare Attackers - Choose units to attack, declare targets, exhaust them
Declare Defenders - Opponent assigns blockers
Combat Tactics - Both players may play Swift Tactics
Damage - All combat damage dealt simultaneously
End of Combat - Resolve triggers, adjust Momentum

4. Maneuver Phase (Post-Combat)

Same actions available as Tactics Phase.

5. Dusk Phase (End of Turn)

Resolve "At end of turn" effects
Discard down to 8 cards
Turn passes to opponent

Combat System

Attack Requirements

Requirement	Description
🔄 Ready	Unit must not be exhausted
📍 Position	Front row units can attack freely
🏹 Range	Back row units need Longshot to attack
👑 Commander	Your Commander cannot attack

Damage Calculation

Attacker deals [ATK] damage to Defender
Defender deals [ATK] damage to Attacker (counterattack)

If damage >= DEF, the unit is destroyed
Damage does NOT persist between combats

Combat Keywords

Keyword	Effect
⚡ First Strike	Deals damage before units without First Strike
💨 Swift	Can attack the turn it enters play
🛡️ Guardian	Must block if able
🏹 Longshot	Can attack from back row
👻 Ethereal	Can only be blocked by Ethereal units
🦶 Trample	Excess damage hits the Commander
🔄 Vigilance	Doesn't exhaust when attacking

The Momentum System

Momentum shifts between players based on combat outcomes.

     YOUR                              OPPONENT'S
   ADVANTAGE     NEUTRAL              ADVANTAGE

←──●──●──●──●──●──○──●──●──●──●──●──→
  -5 -4 -3 -2 -1  0  +1 +2 +3 +4 +5

Momentum Shifts

Event	Shift
⚔️ Destroy enemy unit in combat	+1 toward you
💀 Your unit destroyed in combat	+1 toward opponent
👑 Deal damage to enemy Commander	+1 toward you
🏆 Win a combat (attacker)	+1 toward you

Momentum Benefits

Position	Benefit
+1 to +2	Draw an extra card at Dawn Phase
+3 to +4	+1 ATK to all your units
+5 (Max)	All benefits + opponent's hand limit reduced to 6

Win and Lose Conditions

Ways to Win

Condition	Description
💀 Commander Kill	Reduce the enemy Commander to 0 Health
🏳️ Morale Break	Reduce enemy Morale to 0
📚 Attrition	Enemy cannot draw when required

Morale System

Event	Morale Change
💀 Unit destroyed	-1 Morale
🏛️ Stronghold destroyed	-2 Morale

Starting Morale: 10 (at 0, you lose)

Deck Construction

Standard Deck Rules

Rule	Requirement
👑 Commander	Exactly 1 Commander card
📚 Deck size	Exactly 50 cards (not counting Commander)
🎨 Colors	Cards must share at least one color with your Commander

Copy Limits by Rarity

Rarity	Maximum Copies
⚪ Common	4
🟢 Uncommon	4
🔵 Rare	3
🟣 Epic	2
🟠 Legendary	1

Recommended Ratios

Card Type	Suggested Count
👥 Units	24-30
⚡ Tactics	12-16
🔮 Enchantments	4-6
⚙️ Equipment	2-4
🏛️ Strongholds	0-2
💎 Essence Shards	4-8

Formats

Constructed Formats

Format	Deck Size	Card Pool
📅 Standard	50	Last 2 years of sets
🗺️ Eternal	50	All cards ever printed
🎭 Singleton	50	All cards, 1 copy each
⚡ Blitz	30	Standard legal (15 Commander Health)
👥 Alliance	50 each	2v2 team format

Limited Formats

Format	Description
📦 Sealed	Open 6 packs, build 30-card deck
🔄 Draft	Pick cards from rotating packs, build 30-card deck

Game Rules ​

Overview ​

What Makes Taktix Unique ​

Basic Game Setup ​

Card Anatomy ​

Card Layout ​

Key Components ​

Card Types ​

Units ​

Commanders ​

Tactics ​

Enchantments ​

Equipment ​

Strongholds ​

Card Rarity ​

The Five Essences ​

Essence Generation ​

Game Zones ​

The Formation Grid ​

Position Rules ​

Turn Structure ​

1. Dawn Phase (Start of Turn) ​

2. Tactics Phase (Pre-Combat) ​

3. Combat Phase ​

4. Maneuver Phase (Post-Combat) ​

5. Dusk Phase (End of Turn) ​

Combat System ​

Attack Requirements ​

Damage Calculation ​

Combat Keywords ​

The Momentum System ​

Momentum Shifts ​

Momentum Benefits ​

Win and Lose Conditions ​

Ways to Win ​

Morale System ​

Deck Construction ​

Standard Deck Rules ​

Copy Limits by Rarity ​

Recommended Ratios ​

Formats ​

Constructed Formats ​

Limited Formats ​