Keyword reference

A relic, edifice, tool, or piece of gear that lives on the board. Some can be picked up, dropped, or equipped by minions. Weapons like Lance are artifacts.

Various relics, edifices, tools, gear, gadgets, devices, and baubles, often charged with lasting enchantments.

A lasting spell that sits on the board itself — most commonly at the intersection of four squares, sometimes a border or a single square. Auras affect whatever stands on those squares and persist through both players' turns until removed.

Mostly incorporeal, but lasting, manifestations of elemental power. They usually impact a large area within the realm.

Represents you in the Realm. Has a life total, attack power, and spellcasting ability. Each deck runs exactly one Avatar, and the match ends when an Avatar takes a death blow after hitting Death's Door.

Represents you and your connection to the realm.

A one-shot spell that resolves and is gone. Pay mana and threshold, the effect happens, the card moves to the cemetery. Magics never stay on the board.

Transient spells that have immediate impact and then dissipate.

Units summoned atop your Sites that fight, defend, and use unique abilities. Minions die when damage equals or exceeds their power and reset to full power at end of turn if they survive.

Your greatest allies, assisting you with myriad unique abilities in offense and defense.

A landscape-oriented card from your Atlas, placed on a Void square adjacent to a Site you already control. Each Site provides one mana per turn plus elemental threshold symbols.

A locus of power within the realm.

A minion with Airborne flies above the Surface — it can step diagonally, moves over Surface units, and can only fight other Airborne units (or units with specific reach). Airborne only works on the Surface region.

A minion with Airborne flies above the surface of the realm.

A minion with Burrowing can be summoned to and survive in Underground locations (the subsurface of land Sites). One step moves between the surface and subsurface of the same land Site, or between adjacent underground locations.

A minion with Burrowing can be summoned to underground locations and survive underground.

An Immobile unit cannot move from its current location. It can still attack adjacent enemies, defend its location, and be moved by non-controller effects. Stillness is not helplessness.

An Immobile unit cannot move from its current location.

Grants X additional steps per turn beyond the baseline one step. Movement +1 means two steps, Movement +2 means three. Multiple Movement +X effects on the same unit stack additively.

Grants additional steps per turn beyond the baseline one step.

A minion with Submerge can be summoned to and survive in Underwater locations (the subsurface of water Sites). The structural twin of Burrowing, restricted to water Sites instead of land.

A minion with Submerge can be summoned to underwater locations and survive underwater.

A minion with Voidwalk can be summoned to and survive in Void squares (any square without a Site). Voidwalk units can step from the Void directly to an adjacent Site's surface or subsurface — the keyword version of route control.

A minion with Voidwalk can be summoned to void locations and survive in the void.

One cardinal step away (north, south, east, west). Diagonal squares are not adjacent by default — only Airborne movement crosses diagonally on the Surface.

An automatic reactive action. When an enemy attacks a square your unit occupies, that unit is the defender by default — no declaration needed. Being there is the declaration.

A mechanic, not a printed keyword. When an enemy uses Move and Attack without attacking at its destination, an adjacent friendly unit can step in to fight. Triggers only after all movement resolves — which means Movement +X units can outrun the intercept window.

If an enemy used Move and Attack without attacking, you can intercept.

A one-shot weapon artifact. The bearer's next strike deals +1 damage and strikes first, then the Lance breaks. If the bearer attacks a Site with a Lance equipped, the Lance breaks on impact regardless.

Bearer's next strike deals +1 damage and strikes first, then Lance breaks.

A single action that lets a unit step into adjacency and attack as part of the same activation. If the unit moves without attacking at the destination, it opens the intercept window for an adjacent enemy.

A Ranged unit can attack one cardinal step away without entering the target's square. As of July 2025, Ranged cannot target Sites directly — only the units on them.

Ranged units can attack one step away in cardinal directions without moving into the target's square.

Deals damage in the first-strike step before the regular strike step. If the first-strike damage kills the opposing unit, the fight ends and the killed unit never strikes back. Only one first-strike window per fight, even if stacked.

Strikes first while attacking (or unconditionally, depending on the card).

Affected cards cannot have their characteristics changed by modifiers, positive or negative, unless explicitly stated otherwise. Added to the glossary in the December 2025 update.

Affected cards or objects cannot have their characteristics changed by modifiers, positive or negative, unless explicitly stated otherwise.

A game-state rule, not a card keyword. An Avatar at 0 life is at Death's Door — locked at zero (cannot gain life ever again), immune to damage for the rest of the current turn, and ends the game on any damage taken on a subsequent turn.

When an Avatar's life is reduced to 0, they are now at death's door and can no longer gain life. At that moment, the wounded Avatar becomes immune to damage for the rest of that turn.

A unit with Stealth cannot be targeted by enemy spells, abilities, or projectiles. It can still be fought in regular close combat. Stealth breaks the moment the unit casts, strikes, activates, or deals damage — the first action is when cover drops.

A unit with Stealth cannot be targeted by enemy spells, abilities, or projectiles.

A tax on targeted interaction. An enemy spell or ability targeting this unit costs N additional mana to cast. If the opponent can't pay, the spell or ability does not resolve. Ward does not block non-targeted effects or combat damage.

A unit with Ward N cannot be targeted by a spell or ability unless its controller pays N additional mana.

A Gothic-introduced ability tag. A card with this text can be cast from your Collection zone in addition to your Spellbook. Cost, threshold, and resolution behave normally — only the origin zone differs.

An on-resolve trigger word. The effect after the arrow fires the moment the card resolves into the realm. If the card is countered or otherwise prevented from entering play, the Genesis does not trigger.

Genesis triggers when the card resolves onto the board.

A basic ability for moving artifacts. The Pick Up action targets whatever is picked up — which means a unit cannot Pick Up Stealth enemies (Stealth blocks the targeting).

When a card is transformed, control remains with the same player. Clarified in the December 2025 update.

Your second deck — a 30-card-minimum stack of Sites that builds the board. Each turn you choose whether your single draw comes from your Spellbook or Atlas.

A deck of cards that allow you to add wondrous sites to the play area.

A Gothic-introduced third zone of up to 10 cards, outside your Spellbook and Atlas. Cards are not drawn from the Collection in normal play — they leave only when a specific in-play effect references them, typically via Cast from Collection.

One of four classical forces — Air, Earth, Fire, Water — that Sites, spells, and abilities are tied to. Sites print element symbols which count toward your threshold for cards of that element.

The spendable resource for casting spells and activating abilities. Each Site you control provides one mana per turn. Mana refills every turn — it is spent when you cast, unlike threshold.

Your primary deck — minions, magics, auras, and artifacts. Standardized at a 60-card minimum for Constructed as of the December 2025 update.

A deck of cards filled with all of a player's accumulated magical knowledge.

A card type capable of casting spells. Includes Avatars and certain minions. Only spellcasters can pay mana and threshold to resolve a spell from your hand.

Turning a card 90 degrees to the right to spend its energy as a cost for an ability or attack. Tapped cards untap at the start of their controller's next turn during Step 1 of the Start Phase.

A permanent floor of elemental affinity unlocked by the symbols on your Sites. Not spent when casting — just a minimum you must meet to use threshold-locked cards. Threshold goes away only when the Site providing it is destroyed.

Elemental affinity is not spent like mana. It is simply a minimum affinity you must have for the specified elements to use some cards.

The 5x4 grid the game is played on — twenty squares total, five columns wide and four rows deep. Both Avatars start in the middle of their bottom row.

All the squares in the game and everything in those squares. Typically the realm is a 5x4 grid of squares.

The default region — the top of every Site. Most minions live here. There is one contiguous Surface region across the whole board, even if Sites are separated by Voids.

The subsurface of land Sites. A minion without Burrowing that occupies an underground location immediately dies. Avatars may never enter an underground location.

Underground is the subsurface of land sites. Whenever a minion without Burrowing occupies an underground location, it immediately dies.

The subsurface of water Sites. A minion without Submerge that occupies an underwater location immediately dies. Avatars may never enter an underwater location.

Underwater is the subsurface of water sites. Whenever a minion without Submerge occupies an underwater location, it immediately dies.

A square without a Site. Minions in the Void are immediately banished unless they have Voidwalk. Unlike Sites, Void squares have only a single location — no surface or subsurface split.

A square without a site is a void. Minions in the void are immediately banished unless they have Voidwalk.

An alternate-art or pre-production variant slipped into the Ordinary slot of boosters at a community-estimated rate of roughly one per fifty boxes. Curios sit outside the standard rarity-tier system and trade in collector circles.

The second-highest rarity tier. You may run up to 2 copies per deck. Shares one slot per 15-card booster with Unique.

The middle rarity tier. You may run up to 3 copies per deck. Three Exceptional cards appear in every 15-card booster pack.

The lowest rarity tier. You may run up to 4 copies per deck. Eleven Ordinary cards appear in every 15-card booster pack.

The highest rarity tier. You may run exactly 1 copy per deck. Appears in the same booster slot as Elite, less frequently.

The final turn phase. Four steps in order: end-of-turn triggers resolve, damage clears from minions, for-your-turn effects expire, then the turn ends. Damage on Avatars does not clear — only on minions.

The middle turn phase where everything happens — cast spells, activate abilities, move minions, attack. Combat is not a separate phase. Actions resolve in any order, as long as you have resources.

Return up to three cards from your hand to the bottom of their respective decks, then redraw the same number.

Return up to three cards from your hand to the bottom of their respective decks, then redraw the same number.

What a Site becomes when destroyed. A neutral land controlled by no player that provides no mana, no threshold, and no abilities. You can play a new Site over Rubble to recover the square.

A neutral land site that no player controls, and provides no mana or threshold.

The first of three turn phases. Four steps in order: untap your cards, Sites provide mana, start-of-turn triggers resolve, then draw one card from your Spellbook or Atlas (your choice). First player skips the draw on turn one.