Basic Play

Need to learn how to play Dreadgate? Look no further! This page is your go-to guide for getting spun up quickly. Note that this page explains how to play Standard Format, which is the most common way to play. Once you are familiar with these rules, you will then be able to play the other two formats, which are Tactical and Campaign. (It is also possible to play team games, which are two vs. two.)

THE GAME

Dreadgate is a 2-player card game that combines actual movement and attack (the cards move into place) with spells and other abilities. Players race each other to be the first to eliminate enough of the opponent’s units (kill them) or to get enough units through the Dreadgate.

PREMISE

After the 3rd Great War, an agreement was made among certain nations to eradicate all magic from the world of Galwyndor. This set into motion a massive purge, and all the spellcasters and magic users were relentlessly hunted and killed off, one by one. One mage, however, managed to escape. Atury the Glyphmaster, who some consider to be the last of the Draol, desperately called forth a magical portal — the Dreadgate — in order to escape the armies sent to pursue him. He and many others entered the Dreadgate and found themselves on another world entirely, a place called Errod. Many of his pursuers followed.

Atury, having a head start, vanished into the Errodi wilderness. When the Dreadgate closed, those from Galwyndor were left with a choice: learn magic themselves in an effort to reopen the Dreadgate to return home, or continue the mission and kill magic users. Thus began a new vicious cycle.

30 years later, however, the Dreadgate has mysteriously reopened. Those who wish to pass through it into the Beyond must do so quickly, as there is no way to know how long it will remain open. Those who still pursue the mission must prevent others from escaping yet again.

WINNING THE GAME

The game is over when a player either pushes a total of 20 vitality through the Dreadgate into the Beyond, or when a player sends 15 vitality into their opponent’s boneyard (they kill enough units equal to 15 total life). 

PLAY AREA

The play area consists of a 5×5 grid (spaces where cards may be placed), with the Dreadgate starting in the center space. This space is annotated with a Dreadgate card (as opposed to a designated spot on a playmat) because it is possible for the Dreadgate to move.

YOUR DECK

Each player has a deck of cards, a boneyard (discard pile), and a Beyond (for units that pass through the Dreadgate). Starter decks come with 36 cards, plus 2 Dreadgate cards (one for the center of the board and one for your Beyond). You can see this on the diagram below. They also come with 24 blank space placeholder cards to use for the battlefield area, and 1 Action counter card.

You may also choose to construct your own deck with anywhere from 36 to 60 cards. No deck may have more than 4 of the same card, with the except of UNIQUE cards (which have a gold star next to their title). There may be only 1 copy of any unique card in the deck.

DECK COLORS (cRAFTS)

There are 6 types of deck, each with its own specific play style and color. These are called crafts. Decks may also be constructed to suit your own preferences, and colors may be mixed and matched, but for the purposes of this tutorial, we will use the 6 basic starter decks.

The crafts to choose from are:

  • Artifice is black, and specializes in deception; they favor opponent control and using their special abilities. This faction is also called the Spider Guild.
  • Champion is green, and specializes in warfare; they favor attack and deployment. This faction is also called the Green Legion.
  • Divine is blue, and specializes in protection; they favor using relics and other equipment. This faction is also called the Blue Faithful.
  • Engineering is red, and specializes in machines and gadgets; they favor using battlefield control and maneuver. This faction is also called the Gear Guild.
  • Hinter is orange, and specializes in nature and creatures; they favor attack and maneuver. This faction is also called the Hinter Horde.
  • Sorcery is purple, and specializes in magic; they favor using spells and deploying creatures. This faction is also called the Vor Lords (vor is short for vorsys, or magic).

cards

For all intents and purposes, think of each deck as consisting of units, talents, and items. That’s really all there is to it. Units do things, talents are the things they do, and items are the things they use. There are also special cards called places, which can be visited by units for specific benefits.

But technically, there are 5 types of cards you will encounter. All cards can be played by recycling cards from your hand to the bottom of the deck, or by paying with specific resources provided by other units in play. You can mix and match resource points with recycled cards. For example, if the card costs 5 to play, you can pay two applicable resources (influence for units, skill for talents, gold for items) and recycle 3 cards. 

  • Units
    • Legend Units – legends are special units that help to play color-specific units. Legend units provide Influence points and sometimes gold. Legends are paid for by “recalling” cards from your hand (placing them on the bottom of your deck) or by paying Influence points provided by other Legends in play. Influence points are represent by the stripes on the banner of Legend cards.
    • Skill Units – skill units are units that provide Talent points and sometimes gold. Talent points can be used to help pay for Talent cards. Skill units can be “influenced” onto the battlefield by legends, so you can pay for skill units with Influence points or by recycling cards. Talent points are represented by a Gear icon on the banner of skill unit cards.
    • Universal Units – universal units are brown and can use any color of Influence points. These are most often creatures. Pay for these with Influence points or recycled cards.
  • Talents – these are extra abilities and spells you will use to further your agenda. Each deck has a selection of talents, which are paid for by spending Talent points (given by skill units) or by recycling cards.
    • Glyphs – glyphs are powerful spells that gain you more advantage than a regular spell ability. Each deck has 5 craft-specific glyphs. Glyphs are considered talents, and are paid for the same way as any other talent.
  • Inventory Items – relics, armor, weapons, and other items can be used to equip units or the battlefield. Each deck has at least 8 inventory items, and inventory items are all universal (brown). Items are paid for with gold and recycled cards.
  • Places – Place cards can be put onto the battlefield, and are meant to be visited. By occupying the same space as a place card, a unit can gain some sort of benefit or effect, but only while they are “at that place.” An example might be Hidden Sanctum, which heals a unit 1 vitality per round. Places can be visited by either player to get the effect they offer, and can only be destroyed by effects.

setup

Set up the play area with a Dreadgate card in the center, and 24 spaceholder cards for the other spaces (unless you are using a play mat, then just place a Dreadgate card in the center grid space). Set aside the other Dreadgate card to form your Beyond pile (one player will have an extra Dreadgate card). Shuffle each deck and draw a starting hand of 7 cards. Decide who goes first however you like.

PLAYER TURN

A turn consists of three phases: the reset phase, the action phase, and the after-action phase.

RESET PHASE: At the beginning of your turn, “unoccupy” any occupied cards of yours (turn them back to normal). Remove any cards which have exhausted their purpose (such as battlefield talents, etc.). Apply any effects that occur at the beginning of your turn (damage or healing, etc.). You will know if you have these, as a card will have given specific instructions.

ACTION PHASE: Players get 4 actions to use during their turn, and their turn is over once they have used all 4 actions. Actions can be done in any order.

AFTER-ACTION PHASE: After your actions are all used, apply any effects that occur at the end of your turn (damage, healing, recycling, etc.). You will know if you have these, as a card will have given specific instructions.

ACTIONS

You get 4 actions to use per turn. These consist of attacking, maneuvering, or drawing a card. Each instance of these costs 1 action point. Use all of your actions on your turn, as actions taken during your opponent’s turn (instants) are considered pre-emptive or reactive, and do not cost an action point. You merely spend talent points to perform those abilities. Note that playing cards do not cost action points.

PLAYING CARDS

To play any card, you must pay its cost, which is listed in the upper left-hand corner. All cards can be paid for by recycling cards from your hand and putting them onto the bottom of your deck, by using resources, or a combination of these. For example, if a card’s cost is 3 Talents, you could recycle 3 cards from your hand, use 3 Talent Points, or a combination. There are 3 specific resources you can use besides recycling: Influence points (can pay for units), Talent points (can pay for talents), and Gold (can pay for items). 

  • Deploying – putting a unit from your hand onto the battlefield. The number of resources needed to deploy each unit is equal to its vitality (the number in the top-left corner of the card). Vitality is the unit’s health. Units may also not attack or maneuver in the same turn as deploying, and must deploy to any of the unoccupied outer spaces on the game grid. In other words, new units must be placed on the outer ring of the board when they come into play.
    • To deploy a Legend unit, pay its cost by recycling cards from your hand or with Influence points provided by other Legends in play (or a combination of both). Legends have stripes on the banner. Recycling cards to pay for another card simply means discarding and placing those cards onto the bottom of your deck. If you choose to use Influence points, you must “occupy” that unit for the remainder of your turn. Once you have adequately paid for your legend, select an unoccupied space on the outer ring of the battlefield for your Legend. 
    • To deploy a Skill or Universal unit, pay its vitality cost by “occupying” Legend units (rotate them sideways), which spends their Influence points, or by recycling cards (or a combination of both). Pay for your new unit and place it onto the outer ring of the battlefield.
  • Talents – activating a talent ability costs what the card indicates, same as for deploying.
    • To activate a talent, pay its cost by “occupying” Skill units (rotate them sideways), which spends their Talent points, or by recycling cards (or a combination of both). Play your talent card. Skill units have stars on the banner.
  • Equipping – equipping an inventory item costs what the card indicates, same as for deploying and abilities. Units can be equipped with multiple items. Units paying for items do not become occupied, you simply use up any gold your units provide. You can also recycle cards or do a combination of gold and recycled cards.

Every card you play during your turn do not cost action points. Instants, or cards you can play during your opponent’s turn, also do not cost any action points, but you will need to pay the card’s individual cost.

INSTANTS

Some cards can be played during your opponent’s turn. These cards will have the word INSTANT on them, along with a lightning bolt icon. These do not cost any action points, but you will need to pay the card’s cost. An example instant would be Ambush, which kills an enemy unit of up to 4 vitality when it comes onto the battlefield. When your opponent deploys their unit, you would basically pay for Ambush and then use it during your opponent’s turn to surprise kill that unit.

ACTION TYPES

Each turn, you have 4 action points to spend on “AMD” actions. You may spend these however you wish, and in any order. Some cards provide additional AMD actions. Each unit may attack up to once per turn and maneuver up to once per turn (unless otherwise specified). So you are allowed to move and attack with the same unit in the same turn if you wish. The actions you may take are:

ATTACK

Attacking another unit costs 1 action point per attack (except for coordinated attacks, see below). Each unit has a specific attack range and direction, and each unit can only attack once per turn unless otherwise specified. If you attack, your unit becomes occupied. You turn that card sideways. You can attack enemy units that are occupied, in which case they are considered caught off-guard and they cannot block. An occupied unit takes full damage. Note: units cannot attack when first brought into play unless their card says they can.

Note that using a Talent listed on a unit card to deal damage is considered an attack, and costs an action point.

MANEUVER

Moving a unit to another space costs 1 action per move. Each unit can only move once per turn unless otherwise specified. Each unit has a specific maneuver speed (distance it can move) and direction, and can maneuver into any unoccupied space (select units can occupy enemy spaces). If a unit moves into the Dreadgate space, that unit is placed onto your Beyond pile. Units cannot pass through the Dreadgate to move beyond it. If a unit passes into the Dreadgate, it goes to the Beyond. Units enter the Dreadgate with whatever vitality score they have at the time of entering it. Note: units cannot maneuver when first brought into play unless their card says they can. New units must be placed on the outer ring of the battlefield.

FLYING UNITS

Some units have the ability to fly. These all have a maneuver speed of 3, meaning they can move up to 3 spaces away. These units may not occupy the same space as another card. They can fly over units, however, to reach a space beyond it, in which case the occupied space counts as 1 space in their range. Flying units can only be damaged by range attacks or other flying units (or by spells, etc.), unless they are grounded. Flying units can only enter the Dreadgate while grounded. Grounding a unit is equal to performing a maneuver, so it costs 1 action point. Returning to the air is also considered a maneuver, costing 1 action point. This is simply considered 1 space within their range. So a unit may fly 2 spaces and ground on the third, or return to flying from grounded and move 2 spaces. Flying units may only maneuver once per turn like other units, unless they have the swift keyword.

DRAWING CARDS

Drawing a card from your deck costs 1 action per card. There is no limit to the number of cards you can draw as long as you have action points to do so. You can draw cards at the beginning of your turn or any time during your turn to use during your turn if you wish.

occupied units

A unit becomes occupied whenever it uses its resources to pay for another unit or talent, or if it attacks or chooses to block. It does not become occupied to use gold. Units become unoccupied at the beginning of your turn in the reset phase. While a unit is occupied:

  • it cannot attack, maneuver, or block
  • it takes full damage if it is attacked while occupied (it is considered caught off-guard); if the unit chooses to block, it becomes occupied, but will only take full damage if it was already occupied at the time of attack
  • it cannot use its resources if it is already occupied (such as when an enemy makes it become occupied)
  • it can equip items or become enchanted, etc.

UNIT STATS

Each unit card has several stats:

  • Vitality – this is the unit’s life total, which goes down if it takes damage. It is possible for a unit to gain vitality above the number listed on the card.
  • Attack Power – the number used while attacking. This is how much damage it sends to the units it attacks.
  • Defense Power – the number used while defending. This is how much damage it can block, if it blocks.
  • Maneuver Speed – how far a unit can move for 1 action point; flying units all have a speed of 3 if flying, 1 if grounded.
  • Attack Range – how far a unit can attack.

combat

Combat consists of attacking and blocking, and comes in two types: ranged and melee. Ranged attacks consist of any attacks beyond an adjacent space of the attacker. Melee attacks consist of attacks to the adjacent space from the attacker. It is also possible to deal damage with Talents; these are not considered attacks, and do not use up action points, as you are playing a card. Dealing damage with a Talent listed on the unit card, however, requires spending an action point. When a unit takes damage, their vitality score is lowered. If it reaches zero, that unit is killed and placed into the boneyard pile, and that unit’s vitality score is tallied towards the attacker’s boneyard win total (kill 15 total vitality worth of units to win).

ATTACKING A UNIT

To attack a unit, simply declare which unit your card is attacking. Occupy your attacker. Your opponent has the option to do nothing (take full damage) or to block. If they block, the card’s defense stat is compared to your card’s attack stat. If your attack stat is higher than their defense stat, they take any leftover damage and their vitality goes down. Your unit does not take regular combat damage while attacking unless a card specifies it does.

BLOCKING

If a unit of yours is attacked, you have the option to take the damage or to block. If you choose to block, the card becomes occupied. Your card’s defense stat blocks that amount of damage and you take the remainder. For example, if your opponent’s card has an attack of 7, and your card has a defense of 5, it would take 2 damage if you block. If you do not block, your card takes all 7 damage.

RANGED COMBAT

Ranged attacks are simply attacks 2 or more spaces away. They function the same as any other attack. Flying units can only be attacked with range (or other flying units, spells, etc.) unless they are grounded, then they can be attacked like any other unit.

melee combat

In melee combat, a unit attacks an adjacent space.

using multiple attackers on one target

If there are multiple units attacking the same target, the attacked unit can choose which unit to block. It takes full damage from all other units it does not block. Attacking a unit with multiple attackers at the same time is called a coordinated attack, and it only costs 1 action point. If you choose to attack the same unit twice, but separately, each attack costs 1 action point. Sometimes it may be advantageous to separate attacks instead of a coordinated one. 

WINNING THE GAME

There are two ways of winning: putting enough units into your opponent’s boneyard to equal 15 vitality, or putting enough of your own units through the Dreadgate to equal 20 vitality. These scores are typically tracked with a pen and paper. Tracking unit vitality and damage can be done however you like (pen and paper, hit dice, counters, etc.). 

  • The vitality score listed on the card counts toward a boneyard win. For example, killing a unit with a vitality of 5 counts as 5 points toward your kill total.
  • The vitality score your unit entered the Dreadgate with counts toward a Dreadgate win. For example, if your unit has full vitality, all of it counts towards your Dreadgate score. If your unit took damage, however many life points (vitality) it has when entering the Dreadgate counts toward your score. So if your unit started with 5 vitality, but it took 2 damage along the way, it would give you 3 points if you put it through the Dreadgate.

CAMPAIGN FORMAT

Note that if you are playing Campaign Format, the first stage consists of Standard play format (all the rules annotated above), except there is no Boneyard win. Play moves to the second stage when the first player reaches 30 Vitality through the Dreadgate into the Beyond. At that point, each player collects only the units that they put through the Dreadgate and removes the other units from their deck. The second stage begins and players use Tactical play format (no Dreadgate), until only 1 unit remains. Last man standing.

tACTICAL FORMAT

Players may choose to try their hand at Tactical play, which uses a different kind of deck construction and no Dreadgate.