Beginner's Guide to the Grand Archive

Objective of the game

In Grand Archive, each player controls a champion. You win the game by defeating the opposing champions. Master cards are therefore among the most important cards in deck building and are considered the core of your deck. Each champion has a life stat at the bottom right of the card. When a champion takes damage, damage indicators are placed on the card, and when the damage reaches the champion's life value, the champion dies.

Preparation

Each player has two decks: Material Deck and Main Deck. The material deck contains champion and regalia cards that are used during the game. This deck can have a maximum of one card of each type and a total of 12 cards. At least one level 0 champion in the Material Stock is required to start the game.

The main deck contains cards that are drawn to the hand during the game, with up to four copies of each card and a minimum of 60 cards in the deck. The card types here can vary between allies, actions, attacks and more. The Material Deck is hidden from the opponent, but the Main Deck is not freely available to see through.

Start the Game

The game starts with a random player getting the first turn. Each player selects a level 0 champion from the Material Deck and puts it into play. This champion draws the player's opening hand. The player who starts goes directly to the Main Phase, while the other players begin with a Draw phase, where they draw a card before going to the Main Phase.

Element requirements

Each card has an item in the upper right corner. You can only activate or materialize cards that match the items that your champion has activated. The basic item is available to all players from the start, while advanced items are unlocked as your champion reaches higher levels.

Reservation costs

Cards from the main deck have a yellow reservation cost in the upper left corner. To activate a card, you must pay this cost by placing an equal number of cards from your hand face down into the memory zone. These cards are returned to your hand later during the Recollection Phase.

Card Types and Battle

Allies and attack cards are used to attack opponents' units, including champions. Weapon cards give extra power to your champion under attack, but have limited durability. Action cards provide one-time effects and can be played slowly during the main phase or quickly in response to other effects.

Phases of the tour

A turn in the Grand Archive consists of seven phases: Awaken, Materialize, Recollections, Draw, Main, Battle, and End. In the Materialize phase, the player can use cards from the Material deck by paying with random cards from the memory zone.

Other card types

• Regalia: Can only be played from the Material Deck and are banished when they leave the battlefield.
• Items and Domains: Played on the battlefield without stats, but have special effects.

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