How to play

You build a cohort. Then you let go. The fight resolves on its own, and what decided it was already on the board.

A round

Every round has two halves. In planning you buy champions from the shop, place them on your side of the hexagonal board, and spend or save gold. In combat your board fights a rival's, with no input from either side. Lose, and you take damage to your 100 health; reach zero and you are out. Last one standing wins.

The first stage is 3 rounds against creeps; every stage after it is 6 rounds long.

Gold

You earn 5 gold a round once the opening is over (the opening pays 2, then 2, then 3, then 4). Saving pays: every 10 gold you hold earns 1 more at the start of the round, up to 5. Winning a fight pays 1, and a streak — winning or losing — pays extra:

• 3 in a row: +1 gold
• 5 in a row: +2 gold
• 6 in a row: +3 gold

The shop

The shop shows 5 champions a round. Rerolling it costs 2 gold. Your bench holds 9. Buy three copies of the same champion and they merge into a stronger one; three of those merge again.

The shop is yours alone, and it never offers two stages of one line: a champion you do not hold is offered at its first stage, and once you hold one, the shop offers you the stage you hold of that line and never a lower one. Your level plays no part in it, so there are no odds to learn: a higher stage never arrives by a lucky roll. Once a champion reaches three stars, its card shows the next stage, locked until you evolve. Sell your last copy and the line starts over at its first stage.

Levels and evolution

Your level is how many champions you field, and nothing more: it never changes what the shop shows. You start at level 1, and level 5 is the top. You gain 2 experience a round and can buy 4 more for 4 gold.

A champion at three stars can evolve into the next stage of its line, for gold that climbs with the stage. It comes back as a one-star of the new stage, keeping its hex and its items; your other copies of the old stage are sold at full value the moment it evolves, and from then on the shop offers you the new stage.

Traits

Every champion carries traits, and fielding enough champions that share one switches it on for all of them. The thresholds and what each gives are on the traits page.

Items

Items drop from the creep rounds. Each gives one stat to the champion who wears it; the items page lists them.