RULES
NEW Advanced Rulings at the bottom of this page!
Basics
Both players start the game with 30 health, 10 imperium, and 5 cards in their hand. When it’s your turn, draw 1 card and replenish your imperium to your limit of 10. Note: some cards in the game will increase your limit, so you can potentially begin your turn with more imperium than 10.
The object of the game is to reduce your opponent’s health to 0 by attacking with your fighters. When your opponent’s health reaches 0, or has no cards left in their deck to draw for their turn, you win the battle.
Roll a dice or play rock paper scissors to see who goes first. There is no limit to the size of your hand or nor a max imperium limit.
Imperium is the resource of the game which allows you to play cards. Both players start their turn with 10 imperium. Cards can cost anywhere from 1 to 10 imperium (as seen in the upper left of each card), so you may only be able to play one or two cards in a turn if they are powerful cards.
You can have up to 3 of each card in your deck, except for Greater Beings. You can have multiple Greater Beings in your deck, but only use 1 of each name of Greater Being. For example, you may only use 1 Cassiel, Angel of Honor and 1 Zadkiel, Angel of Righteousness in your deck, but you can use 3 Spirit Wolf.
You don’t have to just play Holy vs Evil. Holy can play against Holy, and Evil can play against Evil.
How to read a card
Deck and Champion
Each player plays with a deck of at least 40 cards with a maximum of 60 (not including the champion card). Select one champion to lead the war, Soren for Holy or Rush for Evil. There are 3 factions in the game – Holy, Neutral, and Evil. An Evil champion, for example, can only use Evil and Neutral soldiers and spells. A Holy champion can only use Holy and Neutral soldiers and spells. A Neutral champion is coming in the next set that can use all cards (except Holy/Evil Greater Beings and structures).
Champions can attack as well. They can also be included in team attacks. This is important!
Your champion has a strength number, similar to every soldier. When you attack an enemy champion with your fighter, you inflict the difference in strength as health damage. However, you must destroy all of your opponent’s soldiers before you can attack their champion directly. The soldiers act as a wall, protecting their champion. If a soldier with 10 strength attacks a champion, who has 1 strength, the player of the champion will take 9 health damage.
Soldiers
Each soldier has a strength number in the bottom right, which indicates how much damage it will do. Some soldiers have lower strength, but great effects, so raw power is not always the best option. Typically, the higher a soldier’s strength, the higher it’s imperium cost, meaning even though the soldier is big, you may have little to no resources left over to defend it.
For example Nefarious Roc, who has 10 strength but costs 10 imperium, will exhaust your entire imperium pool and you will be unable to use spells to protect it until your next turn when you replenish your imperium.
You can use a soldier’s effect on either player’s turn, unless stated otherwise. Card text always reveals when and how you can use an effect. Each card in the game will say either ‘Once per turn” or “Once per turn, during your turn.” If it only says “Once per turn” you may use it on your opponent’s turn. If it does not have any restrictions, you may use the soldier ability at any time.
Soldiers cannot be played as a response.
Combat
If two fighters with the same strength clash, neither are destroyed. If a fighter with higher strength combats one with lower strength, the one with lower strength will be destroyed, but your opponent will not take any damage (unless the soldier has a piercing effect, like Murmur, the Grand Duke of Hell). You must damage your opponent’s champion directly through an attack or team attack, and subtract the difference in strength between the soldier(s) and the champion as health damage.
Each fighter can only attack once per the controller’s turn, including team attacking. You can attack at any time between the draw phase and end phase, but you cannot respond to your opponents cards by attacking. You can rally a soldier, attack, use its effect, and then play more soldiers and they can attack as well. Most games have one combat phase, but Demon Rush does not.
There are two phases when your soldier attacks.
First is the ‘Declare Attack Phase’, in which you will declare an attack, and your opponent can respond with cards like Arkog, the Shield Demon and Sleeping Potion to prevent the attack.
If the attack goes through, you will enter the ‘Damage Computation Phase’, in which your opponent can respond with other cards such as Weight Stone. In this phase you will calculate the strength differences between the attacking soldier(s) and the opponent’s soldier, to determine who is destroyed. During damage computation, you may use cards like Exodus or Divine Intervention to remove a soldier from the battlefield. In this case, it will cause an attack replay and the turn player may re-attack with their soldier.
Attack Replay
During either attack phase, if a soldier is added or removed from the battlefield, the attacking player gets a replay, in which their soldier’s attack will reset. For example, if Player A team attacks Player B’s Gorgon, Bringer of Death (13 strength) with his Mystical Tiger of Legend (7 strength) and Ryuusei, the Divine Griffin (9 strength), but Player B responds with Exodus, vanquishing Divine Griffin for a turn, Player A gets a replay, and can choose not to crash his Mystical Tiger of Legend into Gorgon.
Alternatively, if during combat Player B uses an effect to rally a soldier (Dark Cube), Player A can choose not to team attack, and attack the new target instead.
Team Attacking
Often times your opponent will rally a high-strength soldier, like a Greater Being, and it will be difficult to destroy it. Team Attacking allows you to combine the attacks of your soldiers/champion into one large attack. All soldier effects that united for the team attack will gain their respective effects for destroying a soldier. For example, if you Team Attack with Arkog, the Shield Demon (5 strength) and Oglalen, the Snake Titan (9 strength) to destroy Cassiel, Angel of Honor (13 strength), you will still gain Oglalen, the Snake Titan’s effect to spawn a snake token. There is no limit to the amount of soldiers that can combine into a team attack. Champions can also be included in the team attack.
There is no Team Defense and soldiers that were involved in a Team Attack may not attack again that turn, unless stated as one of their effects. Soldiers that can double attack can attack again by themselves, or team attack with another soldier that has not attacked yet this turn.
If you team attack with a group of soldiers, and the opponent responds with Sleeping Potion to prevent only 1 from attacking, the rest of the group will still attack into their target, even if their strength is lower (in which case they will all be destroyed).
Spell Cards
Spell cards provide you with utility to destroy your opponent’s cards, replenish imperium, draw, and gain other advantages. Most spells you can play on either players turn as long as you hold on to enough imperium, unless the card specifically states otherwise. Spell cards are divided into subcategories:
1. Spell – These are spells such as destruction, negation, or drawing, which you can usually play on either player’s turn. They are indicated with a book icon.
2. Equip Spell – Equipment spells are indicated with an ‘armor’ icon. You can equip these types of spells to a soldier or your champion, unless stated otherwise. Equip spells will remain on the battlefield until they are destroyed. If a soldier equipped with a spell dies, the spell equipped to it will also be destroyed and sent to the cemetery (which makes equipping far more useful on your Champion!). You can only play equip spells during your turn, and they can be activated as a response.
If Player A equips Flaming Sword to Godfery, the Imperium Knight, and Player B responds with Chains of Destruction destroying the Godfery, the equip spell will be sent to the cemetery as it loses its target.
3. Armor Spell – Armor cards can only be equipped to your champion, such as ‘Angelic Armor’, ‘Leviathan’s Hide’, or ‘Demonic Armor’. You can only have 1 armor equipped to your champion, but you may equip as many equip spells as you like. You can only play armor, equip, and structure spells during your turn, and you can play them as a response as well as damage computation.
4. Structure Spell – Structures are a powerful way of boosting your army. Like equip spells, structures stay in play until they are destroyed. You can have as many structures as you want on the battlefield, but only 1 of each card name. For example you can have both ‘Church of Dominus’ and ‘Tower of Babel’ in play, but you cannot have two ‘Church of Dominus’ in play simultaneously. You can only play structures during your turn.
Playmats provide indicators for where each card goes. You can purchase a playmat from our shop.
Playmats are not necessary to play Demon Rush, but the positioning of the cards is. If you don’t have a playmat, refer to this positioning when placing your cards down during a battle.
Static Effects and Negation
Some cards haves static effects, such as boosting the strength of all soldiers by +1. These types of continuous, passive effects activate at the time they are played. If a structure or equip card has a static effect, such as Tower of Babel’s +2 strength, you can negate it with Contradict when it is first played, or when your opponent rallies a soldier. For example, if Player B has Tower of Babel in play and rallies Cassiel, Angel of Honor, the Tower of Babel would activate to give Cassiel +2 strength, allowing you to negate it with cards like contradict.
You can use Contradict to stop structures and equip spells that activate such as Demonic Dagger or Citadel of Galroth’s secondary effect.
If an equip spell card such as Flaming Sword, which inflicts 1 health damage to the opponent when the equipped fighter destroys a soldier, it is counted as activating. When the opponent’s soldier is destroyed, and the opponent can Contradict it.
Rally
When you bring a soldier to the battlefield, whether from your hand or other means, it is counted as rallying. When a soldier lands on the battlefield, you have rallied it. Many effects take place when you rally a soldier.
Destruction and Negation
Cards must remain on the battlefield for their effects to resolve. Thus, destroying a card as it is attempting to use the effect is a form of negation. If you try to use Karner, the Warlock’s effect, and your opponent responds with ‘Holy Water’ to destroy Karner, he will not get his effect, and that player will still have paid the 1 imperium cost for Karner’s ability. This also applies for equip, armor, and structure spells. Cards must remain on the battlefield for their effects to resolve.
However, some cards also resolve in the cemetery. If a card has an effect on the battlefield which did not activate because the soldier was destroyed, the cemetery effect will activate. If Player A uses Gorgon, Bringer of Death’s ability, but Player B responds with Chains of Destruction, Player A will not get the effect to destroy a soldier on the battlefield, but will still get a Demon Soul Token. Effects that activate in the cemetery always begin a new response.
Cemetery
The cemetery is your discard pile. Whenever a soldier is destroyed, a card is discarded, or a normal spell is used, the card goes to the cemetery. Some cards may allow you to access your cemetery and retrieve or revive other cards. You may not rearrange your cemetery.
Vanquish
Vanquishing means to remove from the game entirely. The vanquish pile is a similar pile to your cemetery, because some cards may allow you to access your vanquished cards in the future.
Searching the Deck
Any time you search your deck for a card to add to your hand, you must reveal it to your opponent.
If you add a card from the cemetery to your hand, you must also reveal it to your opponent.
Main Deck and Side Deck
Your main deck must consist of 40-60 cards (not including your champion), with a side deck of 15 cards. Matches are best 2 out of 3 games. You cannot side deck on your first game, but you can side in any amount of the 15 cards into your deck for games 2 and 3. You must replace cards from your deck and side deck so that your deck is the same number of total cards as game 1.
Many times, your opponent’s deck is unique and will require the support of specific cards to help defeat them. For example, some players may choose to run a deck full of equipment spells, boosting their soldiers or champions power to incredible heights. You may need to side in cards like Lightning Blast and Seven Trumps to give you the spell removal necessary to take the advantage.
Sacrificing
Evil decks use sacrificing to gain effects, like drawing cards or replenishing imperium. Sacrificing is not a cost. If the sacrificed soldier, or the soldier attempting to do the sacrificing is destroyed in response, the original target will not be sacrificed.
For example, if Player A uses Citadel of Galroth to sacrifice Skeleton Warrior, but Player B responds with Lightning Blast to destroy Citadel of Galroth, Skeleton Warrior remains on the battlefield and Player A does not draw a card.
Costs
Costs must always be paid first. Some cards have effects such as Ring of Atonement which states to draw 3 cards and then discard 3 cards. This is part of the effect, so it is not a cost in case it is negated. However, Gorgon, Bringer of Death’s effect is to discard a soldier and then destroy one soldier on the battlefield. This is a cost because it is a payment to use the effect. Imperium Costs should always be paid first before any effect is activated, in case it is negated.
Resolution
Whenever a player plays a card or uses an effect, the opponent gets the opportunity to respond with a card or effect of their own. Then, action goes back to the original player to respond to that, and so forth. Card effects resolve backwards in this response link until no more cards can be played. For example, Player A uses Argaun, the Summoner to try and rally a soldier from the deck, and Player B responds with Chains of Destruction, to destroy Argaun before he gets his effect, but Player A responds with Candle of the Hopeless to prevent Argaun from dying. Player B responds with Contradict to negate Candle, and Player A cannot respond any further. Contradict negates Candle of the Hopeless, so Chains of Destruction resolves and destroys Argaun before he can resolve his effect.
Turn Player Precedence
Turn player Precedence means that the player who’s turn it is always gets the option of playing the first card which will initiate a response link.
Some cards have passive effects that may try to activate at the same time as the opponent. In this case, the turn player’s effect will have precedence. For example, Cipactli has a passive ability to destroy all soldiers on the battlefield with 2 strength or less, while also lowering the strength of all enemy soldiers by 2.
Player A has Cipactli on his side of the battlefield.
Player B has The Tower of Babel structure on the battlefield, giving all holy soldiers +2 strength. Player B rallies Jacob, Paladin of Light (3 strength).
Normally Cipactli would lower Jacob to 1 strength and destroy him, but in this case, The Tower of Babel is raising his strength to 5 before Cipactli’s ability kicks in, preventing Jacob from being destroyed. This is because it is the Jacob’s player’s turn, and they have precedence.
ADVANCED CARD RULES
Your opponent can always ask to see your cemetery and you must show it. It is considered public knowledge. What's in their hand or deck is not.
You must decide who goes first before looking at your hand.
The turn player must decide if they want to mulligan first, before the opposing player gets to choose to mulligan.
You are allowed 1 mulligan per match (best 2 out of 3 games), which means if you don’t like your starting 5 card hand, you can shuffle it back into the deck and draw 5 new cards.
In order to keep track of which fighters have attacked and/or used their effects, corner turn if attacked or used effect, full half turn if both used.
End of Turn - Whenever a Player A attempts to end their turn, Player B can respond (for example, with Chains of Destruction). If they do, Player A get’s a replay of the end of their turn, and can continue playing cards, or simply pass again.
Sacrificing does not count as destroying.
You can equip spells and play structures at any time during your turn, even on declaration of attack or damage computation.
You cannot rally from the hand as a response.
Vanquishing from cemetery is a cost (Arkog, Cemetery Hunter, Urzin). If Body Obstruction is used it will still be vanquished and not get the effect.
Base spells (‘spell’) briefly land on the battlefield during resolution of it’s response link, then goes directly to the cemetery. Base spells cannot be destroyed/negated by Lightning Blast or Seven Trumpets.
If two champions clash, the one with lower strength will take damage to their health even if they have soldiers on the battlefield (example - Player A attacks Player B with Soren (1 strength) and Rene, the Spirit Maiden (5 strength) into player B’s Rush (2 strength with his effect). Player B activates Sleeping Potion to negate Rene’s attack. This does not cause a replay, and will force Soren to crash into Rush for 1 damage.
In the case there are multiple simultaneous response links activating at the same time, the turn player picks the order that they resolve.
Structures + strength effect activate as a separate simultaneous response link when a new soldier is rallied.
The opponent can respond to the structure activating to give strength with cards like Contradict.
Evil Greater beings rally a 'demon soul token' but it does not clarify what faction - The faction is evil.
Augustus, the Holy General
Cannot redirect an attack to your champion. The redirect ability must be used at the Declaration of Attack and cannot be used later in combat.
Body Obstruction
You cannot Body Obstruct twice in a response link (unless a new solider effect is being activated), because you must respond to the last card being played and will miss timing. For example, if Player A activates Jacob, Paladin of Light’s effect and Player B responds with Body Obstruction, and Player A responds with Contradict, Player B cannot respond with another Body Obstruction.
If Player A uses Body Obstruction on a soldier and Player B respond with sleeping potion on the soldier Body Obstruct was targeting - Since there is no effect to negate anymore, Body Obstruction fizzles. For example if player A plays Cipactli and Player B responds with Body Obstruction, Player A may sleeping potion his Cipactli to keep it alive and its effects will re-activate next turn after the opponent draws and replenishes.
Body Obstruction only negates the 1 effect it was used on, and only while the soldier remains on the battlefield. For example, you can choose to Body Obstruction either of Cipactli’s effects (granted they are both activating). If the player controlling Cipactli uses Candle of the Hopeless to keep him alive, that effect will remain negated while he is on the battlefield, but Cipactli will stay alive.
Once the Body Obstructed soldier this the cemetery, its effect are reset. Any time a soldier switches piles (with the exception of exodus) its effects reset.
Cipactli
Cipactli's -2 strength effect acts as a separate, simultaneous chain (Example Adriel is rallied with Cipactli out. The cipactli player can body obstruction the Adriel since the -2 is a separate chain to Adriel's effect). Cipactli’s second effect is the first response to the opponent’s rally, if applicable.
Cipactli's kill all 2 or less effect acts as the first response for the controller in the rally response link (not separate), and uses that player's response slot. For example, Player B has Cipactli on the battlefield. Player A rallies spirit wolf and uses its search effect (link 1), Cipactli activates to kill 2 or less, Player A uses Body Obstruction on Cipactli. Player B cannot respond or use Body Obstruction on the spirit wolf, since it would miss timing (trying to body obstruct a body obstruct).
However, if Player A has Tower of Babel on the battlefield, then Spirit Wolf would be 4 strength, and Cipactli's kill all 2 or less would not activate until the -2 strength has resolved. Meaning, if Player A has tower and rallies Spirit Wolf with search (link 1) Player B can Body Obstruct the wolf. Since Cipactli's kill 2 or less effect is 'immediate', it will act as chain link 2 to the chain with the soldier's rally.
Sleeping potion
If used to prevent a soldier from attacking, it must be used during the declaration of attack phase.
Cannot be used to stop an attack during or after damage computation.
Sleeping Potion does not cause a replay. If you team attack with a group of fighters and the other player responds with Sleeping Potion on 1 of them, the rest must still crash into the target.
Sleeping potion must be used on declaration of attack in order to stop the attack. However, the ‘Negate 1 soldier effect’ can be used at any time, for example to prevent Rene the Spirit Maiden from staying alive.
Forgotten Coin
Forgotten Coin must declare target when it hits the cemetery, even if you're mid chain. It will still 'activate' after the current chain on the field resolves, in which the opposing player gets a chance to respond.
Kushiel, Angel of Punishment
If an effect is used that would remove the soldier from the battlefield while Kushiel is attempting to get the draw effect, she will not draw. The soldier must remain on the battlefield during resolution of Kushiel’s effect in order to draw.
Henleth, the Succubus
Helneth’s effect to sacrifice or discard is an effect, not a cost. If she gets negated with Sleeping potion, she will not discard.
Can you use Helneth to discard even though there’s no targets? No. You must have a viable target.
Spear of Destiny
If Player A rallies a soldier and then equips it with Spear of Destiny, Player B can respond with Chains of Destruction, destroying the soldier before the equip card resolves, and spear will miss timing on its effect. However, if Player B uses Chains of Destruction to destroy a soldier, and Player A responds by equipping Spear, then Spear will resolve before chains destroys the soldier, allowing the soldier to be resurrected.
Mystical Tiger of Legend
If you have 2 Mystical Tiger of Legend on the Battlefield, You will replenish triple imperium. For example if you play Prayer Beads with 2 Mystical Tiger of Legend on the Battlefield, you will replenish 6.
Arkog the Shield Demon
Arkog's effect to negate an attack must be used first in the response link during the Declaration of Attack phase.
Only 1 Arkog can be used in the same attack or Team Attack, unless a replay is caused.
Arkog cannot choose to negate during damage calculation if things aren't going the Player’s way.
Opponent attacks, Arkog player allows it and uses candle. player B uses contradict. Arkog cannot use his block ability. Arkog, like sleeping potion, must be used at declaration of attack.
You can only use 1 Arkog ability per response link, and it must be the first effect used during the Declaration of Attack.
Law of Forbearance
Even if your opponent rallies a soldier after law of forbearance is played, its attack is still negated.
Rope of Binding Hearts
Soldiers rallied after playing Rope of Binding Hearts do not get the effect. The effect is applied at the time of resolution.
Adama, the Gazer
Targeting is a mandatory condition. If Player A rallies Adama, the Gazer and selects a target, but Player B responds with Sleeping potion, Adama will still select it’s target. For that turn, the targeted soldier can still attack and use effects. Adama’s effect would re-activate during the draw and replenish phase of the next turn.
Adama negates an angel, does he still get cemetery replenish? Yes - since the Angel switched piles, effects are reset.
Argaun the Summoner
Rally a soldier from your deck that costs up to 3 imperium (not strength). Thus, Argaun cannot search for Urzin.
Skeleton Warrior
You can only activate and rally 1 Skeleton Warrior from your cemetery per turn even with 3 in cemetery.
Rene the Spirit Maiden
In order to activate their effects, the soldier must be destroyed first, and then you can activate Rene. The soldier is not actually 'destroyed' as you are preventing it, but these effects happen after the attack and damage calculation phases. For example if Player A has a sleeping potion in hand with Bonemak the Vile Jackal on the battlefield. Player B has Rene on the battlefield with Exodus in hand. Bonemak declares attack and Player B says it's good. Bonemak enters damage computation. This is the last opportunity for Player B to use Exodus on Bonemak in order to cause a replay. Once Rene uses her effect, the attack has gone completely through and Rene is in the process of dying, which is when her effect activates. It is now outside of Damage Computation. Player A uses sleeping potion on her. Player B cannot use exodus at this time to cause a replay and save Rene
Ray of Heaven
This card only affects your side of the battlefield.
Karner the Warlock
If Sleeping Potion is used on Karner when he activates his effect, he cannot attack this turn because he activated, regardless of being negated. Activations are
Batibat, Eater of Dreams
Batibat can negate any soldier, including hand and cemetery soldier effects.
Bad Bat - Once Bad Bat’s effect resolves to lower a soldier by 3 strength, that effect persists even if Bad Bat is later negated by another card.
Dark Ritual Serpent – Cannot switch from equip to soldier
Batibat vs Adama the Gazer
If Batibat negates Adama's initial rally effect, Adama loses timing/taget and becomes a blank card. But, if you play Batibat a turn after Adama was played and targeted something, Adama will only be be negated for that one turn.
Pristine Coffin and Séance - If you don't meet the requirements, the card fizzles. Example Player A has two soldiers, and Player B uses coffin. Player A responds with Divine Intervention, returning 1 soldier to his hand. Coffin does not meet the requirements anymore and fizzles.
Urzin, the Treasure Meister
You cannot vanquish Urzin from your cemetery in order to gain imperium, then use that imperium to play a spell. If you are resolving the imperium gain, then you must resolve the rest of the responses before you can start a new one.
Urzin can sacrifice on the opponent’s turn.
Spirit Wolf
The effect to resurrect a spirit wolf from the cemetery can only be used once per response link.
Cannot resurrect from the cemetery by themselves. You must have 1 on the battlefield to resurrect others.
Contradict
You can contradict a static effect like Tower of Babel at the time of activation, or when the player controlling Tower rallies a soldier. Granting a soldier +2 strength counts as activating. Plus imperium limit also counts as activating when the card is played (Godfery, Church of Dominus), but not at the beginning of the Player’s turn. Thus, a player can rally Augustus, and the opponent can Body Obstruct him since his +1 imperium limit is activating at the time of play.
Exodus
Now costs 3 imperium.
When the soldier goes to the cemetery, its effects are reset and will activate.
Angels and Timing
An angel replenishing 10 imperium in the cemetery counts as a new response link.
Player A uses Pavanna to kill an Angel and replenish 10, then Player B tries to use and use body obstruct after they have replenished. This will miss timing because Pavaana's effect will already have resolved. Cards that activate in the cemetery start a new response link after the response link that sent the card there.