MONSTRA
Quick reference · 1, 2 or 4 players · two active creatures per team · no phone or scan needed
First game · five steps
- Both modes: shuffle twelve different owned creatures (at most one premium card total: Fenara, Aurelith, Vharax, Umbrael or Veloryn), reveal two and keep ten face down as replacements.
- Choose exactly twelve different owned tactics. In a mission, Rift Snare deals 2 damage to the Guardian. Use one boss version and shuffle all twelve different behaviors.
- Shuffle, draw three tactics, and start at 0 energy with no Shield or conditions. In a duel, randomly assign the first-team marker.
- In round one, gain 2 energy, then act from highest SPD to lowest. Each creature gets one action; each team may play only one tactic before one of its creatures acts.
- Example: Flaro's team has 2 energy. Play Spark Reserve (0 EN) to reach 3; use Flame Spiral (2 EN) for 5 damage and Burn. The team keeps 1 EN. The tactic did not use Flaro's action.
Card symbols: coloured emblem = one of five signs (Fire, Earth, Water, Air, Mythic); DNA = EVO; arrow = SPD; heart = maximum HP. Sign and EVO have no battle effect in this version.
2v2: partners share one deck and energy pool. Each controls one active slot and decides whether to use the team's tactic before that creature acts; a replacement stays in that slot.
Each round
- Gain 2 energy, maximum 5. Keep unused energy and Shield.
- From round two, draw one tactic. After any draw, discard down to 5 cards. Do not reshuffle an empty tactic deck.
- Set action order by SPD before any actions. Opposing ties go to the first-team marker; teammates choose their own tied order. In a mission, players win ties against the boss. Slow applied mid-round cannot change the set order.
- After all actions, advance the round; pass the first-team marker in a duel.
Choose one action
Each attack can target either living enemy unless the card says otherwise.
Tactics and damage
Play at most one tactic per team per round, before its creature acts. Pay, resolve and discard; the creature still takes its action. Spark Reserve may fund a signature immediately. An unused damage bonus expires after Guard or a non-damaging move.
Riftbreaker: remove up to 2 Shield before the acting creature's damaging move, then deal +1 damage. Battle Insight: draw 1 tactic and deal +1 damage with the acting creature's move.
Rally: heal the acting creature 2; its move gets +1 damage. Purifying Mist: if no ally has Burn, Poison or Slow, draw 1 tactic.
Damage: Shield first, then HP. Heal: never above printed HP. A defeated creature cannot act or be healed without a revive effect. A revived creature first acts next round.
Duel victory
Cause the opposing team's third creature knockout. When an active creature falls, draw the next creature into that slot; it can be targeted now but first acts next round. If both teams survive round 12, fewer knockouts wins; then compare total current HP of active creatures. Equal totals are a draw. A revive does not erase a recorded knockout.
Use one marker for the current round, one for the first team and one per team to show whether its tactic was used this round.
Conditions
Shield: absorbs damage; maximum 6 per creature. Keep it between rounds until damage uses it.
Burn: lose 1 HP after the creature's next action, then remove. Does not stack.
Poison: lose 1 HP after each of the next two actions. Use two counters; does not stack above two.
Slow: SPD −1 (minimum 1) for next round's order. Remove after that next action.
Cleanse: remove one condition type from a creature: Burn, all Poison or Slow.
Condition damage: Burn and Poison ignore Shield. A condition may trigger in the round it was applied if its target has not acted yet.
Solo or cooperative mission
Rift Guardian: Standard 44 HP or Expert 48 HP, SPD 2. Shuffle all twelve behaviors. Reveal one per round without replacement; the mission ends after round 12. The player team loses on its third knockout. Cinder Rift: 4 damage to each living player creature, then Burn on the living one with highest HP. Standard: defeat the boss or end round 12 with it at 8 HP or less. Expert: defeat it by the end of round 12. At least one player creature must survive. The boss can receive conditions and Shield.