Month 1 of Shattered Stars packs are expected to be shipped by January 31, 2024. Month 2 will not be charged until AFTER Month 1 has been shipped.

Shattered Stars

Board Overview

Playing Elestrals

Game Mechanics

Judge Resources

How to Play

Elestrals

Itching to pick up a deck and start playing? Check out the pages in this series to help you discover the card types and game mechanics of this magical world!

Learn all about Elestrals’ Game Mechanics!

Gameplay

In a game of Elestrals, your Spirit cards are your most important resource: they are your health, and also the fuel that you use when playing cards and attacking your opponent! Knowing when to use your Spirits and when to save them is a key strategy.

There are eight types of Spirits. Most decks have a mix of different types, and the Elestrals and Runes that you Cast will often need specific Spirits or even combinations of them!

![alt text test](https://cdn.cerealapis.com/page/2611f43b-0bff-405f-be37-411025309bee/upload-1724745267455.png)

Spirits start the game in your Spirit Deck. You choose Spirits to move to the field whenever you Cast an Elestral or Rune card, or to your Underworld when you Expend them - usually in battle. Attacking your opponent will make them Expend Spirits. If they run out and have to Expend again, then you win!

Spirits

Your Elestrals defend your Spirits from your opponent, and let you attack them back! Having strong Elestrals on your field is the key to victory. Each one has its own powerful effect, as well as Attack and Defense stats that determine how they do in battle.

An Elestral’s Enchantment Cost shows how many Spirits it needs! If your Elestral ever has fewer Spirits than this, it’s sent to the Underworld. If it has the right number of Spirits but they’re the wrong Element, then it’s Misenchanted; it stays on the field and can still use its Attack and Defense in battles, but it can’t use any of its effects.

An Elestral’s effect is beneath its stats. Some effects start with “when” and describe an event; those activate each time that event happens, even several times a turn! Other effects start with “you can”; those can be activated once on each of your turns. A few effects don’t start with either, they just declare something that’s true. Those are always working as long as the Elestral is Enchanted correctly!

Learn more about the keywords in Elestrals TCG via the [**Glossary**](https://www.elestrals.com/blog/blog__2e627311-ece5-433c-988a-62524aeb9fe5).

Your Runes unleash magic that can strengthen your Elestrals, weaken others, draw cards, or even directly damage your opponent! Each has an Enchantment Cost just like Elestrals do. Some Runes use the rainbow symbol; they can be cast using any of the Spirits.

There are five types of Runes: Invoke and Counter Runes are Instant, and Artifact, Divine, and Stadium Runes are Continuous.

**Instant** Runes have a powerful effect on the game immediately when you Cast them, and then they’re destroyed along with the Spirits Enchanting them. Counter Runes are unique; they have to be Set facedown for a turn, but after that, you can Cast them on either player’s turn!

**Continuous** Runes stick around after you Cast them until they’re destroyed or they don’t have enough Spirits Enchanting them. Artifacts are also destroyed if the Elestral they’re Empowering leaves the field for any reason. Artifact Runes strengthen one of your Elestrals; Divine Runes let you Disenchant Spirits to channel the Gods’ powers; and a Stadium Rune changes the field for you and your opponent.

Learn more about the keywords in Elestrals TCG via the [**Glossary**](https://www.elestrals.com/blog/blog__2e627311-ece5-433c-988a-62524aeb9fe5).

Runes

Each player’s field is broken up into specific zones. At the start of a game, your Spirit Deck and Main Deck are put in the bottom corners of your field. The rest of the field starts out empty. Here’s what that looks like:

In the top left of your field there’s a Stadium slot, where your **Stadium** Rune goes when you Cast one! Only one Stadium can exist at a time; if either player Casts a Stadium when there’s already one Enchanted, it gets destroyed so the new one can enter the field.

In the top right of your field is your **Underworld**; that’s where any cards that you discard or destroy get sent, in a face-up pile. You can look through this pile and ask to look through your opponent’s any time you want.

Between those there are four slots in your **Elestral Row**! Any Elestrals that you play go there, along with the Spirits Enchanting them. If all four slots are filled on your field then you are allowed to Ascend an Elestral, but not Cast any new ones.

Your **Spirit Deck** goes into the bottom left of your field, and your **Main Deck** goes in the bottom right. Your Main Deck gets shuffled at the start of the game, and also gets shuffled any time that you Search it for a card. Your Spirit Deck isn’t shuffled; you look through it any time you Cast a card or Expend Spirits, or whenever you want!

Between them are the four slots in your **Rune Row**! Any Runes (except Stadiums) that you Set or Cast go there, along with the Spirits Enchanting them. If all four slots are filled then the only way to Cast more is with an Invoke Rune - they’re allowed to take Spirits from an Enchanted Rune and replace it.

And last, there’s your **hand**, which doesn’t have a place on the field - you hold it! There’s no limit to cards in your hand, but still, be careful not to draw too many... You lose the game if your Main Deck runs out of cards and you have to draw again!

Zones

To get started, each player has to have:

1. A Spirit deck with exactly 20 Spirits in it. You can mix-and-match different Spirits or play as many of the same one as you like!
2. A Main deck with exactly 40 cards in it. This is where your Runes and Elestrals go; you can only have up to three copies of any single card, so you need some variety.

And that’s it! You’re allowed to look through your own Spirit Deck any time you like, and you can ask your opponent how many cards are left in their Spirit Deck. But you **never\*** get to look through your opponent’s decks, so you won’t know exactly which Spirits they have left. Once your Main Deck is shuffled at the start of a game you can’t look through it anymore unless a card tells you.

*\* Some cards have stats or effects based on how many of a particular Spirit you have. Reveal those Spirits to your opponent so they can confirm the number, but they still don’t get to look through your deck.*

Once both players have their Spirit decks and Main decks ready:

1. Pick one player at random to decide who plays the first turn. If you play several games in a row, the player who lost last game decides
2. Set your Spirit Deck face-down, left of your field.
3. Shuffle your Main deck and set it face-down, right of your field.
4. Both players draw five cards from their Main Deck.
5. If either player wants to mulligan, they can! To mulligan a player Expends\* 2 Spirits, then shuffles their hand into their deck and draws a new hand of five cards. Players can do this any number of times.
6. The first turn begins! That player skips their Draw Phase and their Battle Phase on the first turn only, however, they can still Cast Runes and Elestrals. The game ends when a player’s Main Deck is empty and they have to draw a card, or their Spirit Deck is empty and they have to Expend a Spirit. If either happens then their opponent wins!

*\* To “Expend” a Spirit, choose any Spirit from your Spirit Deck and send it to your Underworld.*

Learn more about the keywords in Elestrals TCG via the [**Glossary**](https://www.elestrals.com/blog/blog__2e627311-ece5-433c-988a-62524aeb9fe5).

Beginning a Game

Each turn is broken into four Phases. Some Rune or Elestral Effects can only activate in certain Phases; if an effect doesn’t say when to use it, then it can only be used in the Main Phase.

| Phase | Action |
| ----- | ------ |
| **Draw** | <ul><li>Draw a card from your Main Deck.</li></ul>***\* Skip this on the first turn of the game.*** |
| **Main** | In any order: <ul><li>Cast, Ascend, or Enchant an Elestral, OR Expend a Spirit to draw a card (once per turn).</li><li>Cast or Set Runes *(as many times as you want)*.</li><li>Change an Elestral’s position *(once per Elestral on your field)*.</li></ul> |
| **Battle** | <ul><li>Each of your Elestrals can attack, once per turn.</li></ul>***\* Skip this on the very first turn of the game.*** |
| **End** | <ul><li>Activate any effects that happen “during the End Phase”.</li><li>Once the End Phase ends and your opponents turn begins, any effects that last "until the next turn" or "until the End Phase" stop being applied.</li></ul> |
 
Learn more about the keywords in Elestrals TCG via the [**Glossary**](https://www.elestrals.com/blog/blog__2e627311-ece5-433c-988a-62524aeb9fe5).

Phases

1. First, draw a card from your Main Deck. *(If you can’t draw a card because your deck is empty, then your opponent wins!)*
2. Next, if a Rune or Elestral on your field has an effect “during your Draw Phase”, you can activate it. You can also Cast Counter Runes now (unless they work “when” something happens). Your opponent can activate effects or Cast Counter Runes at this time, too.
3. When there isn’t an active chain and neither player wants to begin a new one, the Main Phase begins.

Draw Phase

During your Main Phase you can do these actions in any order as long as there isn’t an active chain. You can skip any actions you don’t want to do or
can’t do.

* Spend one Spirit *(once per turn)*. Pick one of these actions: Normal Cast an Elestral; OR Normal Ascend an Elestral; OR Enchant a Spirit to an Elestral; OR Expend a Spirit and draw a card.
* Set a Rune that isn’t a Stadium face-down in your Rune Row *(as many times as you want)*.
* Change one of your Elestrals from Attack or Defense Position to the opposite *(each Elestral can change once if it wasn’t cast this turn, and you can change as many of them as you want)*.
* Cast a Rune from your Hand or a Rune that you Set before this turn started *(as many times as you want)*.
* Activate your Rune or Elestral effects *(as many as you want)*.

To **Normal Cast** an Elestral, follow these steps:

1. Reveal a Spirit from your Spirit Deck.
2. Reveal the Elestral in your hand that you’re Casting, and pick Attack or Defense Position. *(You can’t Normal Cast an Elestral that requires more than 1 Spirit!)*
3. Put that Spirit and that Elestral into an empty slot in your Elestral Row. If it’s in Attack Position it will be vertical, facing you; if it’s in Defense Position it will be sideways.
4. Either player can cast Counter Runes and form a chain.
5. If your Elestral is negated, send it and its Spirits to the Underworld. Otherwise, it resolves! Now you can activate effects that start with “when you cast ...”, including its own.

Some effects let you **Special Cast** an Elestral even if it costs more than 1 Spirit, it’s not in your hand, or it’s not your Main Phase. They may restrict which Spirits you can use or what Position it’s in. Follow these steps except that you reveal one or more Spirits, until its Enchantment Cost is met. This doesn’t count as your once-per-turn action; you can still Normal Cast in the same turn!

\- To **Normal Ascend** an Elestral, follow these steps:

1. Reveal a Spirit from your Spirit Deck and choose as many Spirits Enchanting your Elestrals as you want.
2. Choose the Elestral that’s Ascending. Reveal the Elestral in your hand that you’ll Ascend into, and pick Attack or Defense Position. 
3. Send the Ascending Elestral from the field to the Underworld. Put its Spirits, plus the Spirits you chose in step 1, under the Ascension in the same slot. Those cards are in Limbo for now.
4. Any player can Cast Counter Runes and add to the current chain.
5. If your Elestral is Negated, send it and its Spirits to the Underworld. Otherwise, it resolves and enters the field! You can activate “When you Cast …” or “when you Ascend …” effects now.

 
You can **Ascend** any of your Elestrals to any other, as long as you have enough Spirits to meet its cost. You can even Ascend to an Elestral with a lower cost!

You can also **Special Ascend** certain cards - This follows the same steps as a Normal Ascend except, just like Special Casting, it does not consume your Normal Action for the turn. Even when Ascending to a lower cost Elestral, always Enchant 1 Spirit from your Spirit Deck.

 
\- To **Enchant an Elestral:** choose 1 Spirit from your Spirit Deck, and attach it to any Elestral on your field. Enchanting your Elestrals with extra Spirits helps prepare them to Ascend on later turns or to Disenchant to pay for effects without being left with too few Spirits.

\- To **draw a card:** choose 1 Spirit from your Spirit Deck to Expend and draw 1 card from your Main Deck. There are also some actions that you can take
several times during your Main Phase!

\- To **Set a non-Stadium Rune**, place it face-down in your Rune Row. Don’t Enchant it with any Spirits yet. Stadiums can’t be Set. Counter Runes can only be Cast if they’re Set for one turn first, but no matter what type it is, Runes can’t be Cast the same turn they’re Set.

\- To **change your Elestral’s Position**, switch them from Attack Position (upright) to Defense (sideways), or vice versa. Each one of your Elestrals can only change its Position once a turn and only if it wasn’t cast this turn. But you can change several Elestrals’ Positions if you want, in any order and even if you take other actions between them.

\- To **Cast a Rune**, follow these steps:

1. Choose exactly enough Spirits to meet its Cost. If they’re in your Spirit Deck, reveal them. If it’s an Invoke or Counter Rune, you can choose from Spirits that are Enchanting cards on your field, too, but be careful - that might leave those cards too few Spirits for their Enchantment Cost!
2. If that Rune is Set, turn it face-up and Enchant it with those Spirits. If it’s an Artifact, choose which Elestral it Empowers.
3. If that Rune is a Stadium, send any currently Enchanted Stadiums to the Underworld, then put the Rune you’re Casting into your Stadium Slot and Enchant it with those Spirits.
4. Otherwise, reveal it and put it into an open slot in your Rune Row. Enchant it with those Spirits. If it’s an Artifact, choose which Elestral it Empowers.
5. Both players get a chance to respond with Counter Runes or conditional effects.

 
If your Rune Row is full you can still Cast an Invoke Rune even if it’s not Set. When you choose Spirits in step 1, also choose an Existing Rune to send to the Underworld so the Invoke Rune can take its slot. Spirits Enchanting it can be chosen to Enchant the Invoke Rune instead of being sent with it.

\- To **activate an effect**, choose an effect that starts with “you can” from a card on your field. If your Elestral is **Misenchanted**, you cannot activate its effects. If it has a cost - anything in front of the words “in order to” - then do that part of it now. If it targets a card, choose that target now. Then players have a chance to chain their responses, and after, that effect will resolve and you’ll follow its instructions!

If you activate an effect and then a chained effect negates it, your action is spent but it doesn’t resolve.
If a chained effect makes part or all of it impossible to resolve *(like if a target isn’t on the field anymore)*, it partially resolves and does whatever it can.
*Learn more about Chains [**HERE**](https://www.elestrals.com/blog/blog__b3cf87f9-55e9-4881-830e-f27f0539de77).*

Learn more about the keywords in Elestrals TCG via the [**Glossary**](https://www.elestrals.com/blog/blog__2e627311-ece5-433c-988a-62524aeb9fe5).

Main Phase

If you have Elestrals in Attack Position, you can battle your opponent’s Elestrals! Elestrals can attack up to one time each turn. Follow these steps:

1. Choose which Elestral is attacking, and which of your opponent’s Elestrals is being attacked. If they have none you attack their Spirit Deck.
2. Effects “when [an Elestral] declares an attack ...” activate, and players can chain Counters.
3. If the attack isn’t legal anymore, you can declare a new attack or do something else. Otherwise, those Elestrals enter battle! Until the battle is over, their Positions cannot be changed by effects.
4. Effects “when [an Elestral] enters battle [with] ...” activate, and players can chain Counters.
5. If both Elestrals are still on the field, compare their stats to determine the outcome of the battle *(see the next page)*. If either is missing, then the Elestral that’s still there is battling the opposing Spirit Deck.
6. Process the results. Usually, Elestrals are destroyed and players Expend Spirits.

An Elestral with 0 Attack deals no damage: it can’t destroy an Elestral - even if it has 0 Attack too - and can’t make a player Expend Spirits.

**If your opponent’s Elestral is in:**

**Attack Position**

* Compare both Elestrals’ Attacks. If they’re equal, destroy both. If one is smaller, destroy it.
* If a destroyed Elestral had fewer Enchanting Spirits than the other, its controller Expends Spirits equal to the difference, even if both were destroyed.

**Defense Position**

* Compare your Elestral’s Attack to the Defense of theirs. If theirs is smaller, destroy it, but if they’re equal or theirs is higher, nothing happens.
* No Spirits are Expended even if the defender is destroyed. Some effects can modify this.

 
When an Elestral battles a player’s Spirit Deck, they Expend Spirits equal to how many Spirits are Enchanting that Elestral. It’s rare but possible for a Defense Position Elestral to battle a player’s Spirit Deck; usually this happens if it’s attacked, but the attacking Elestral leaves the field before the battle is over. No Spirits are Expended in that case.

After battle, effects can activate “when [an Elestral] destroys ...” or “is destroyed”. This happens before declaring more battles.

Battle Phase

1. Some Runes and Elestrals have effects that can only activate “during the End Phase”; you can activate those now, or Cast Counter Runes, or both. Your opponent might also activate effects, or Cast Counter Runes, or both.
2. When there isn’t an active chain and neither player wants to begin a new one, the next player’s turn begins.
3. When the next turn begins, any effects that last “until the next turn” or “until the End Phase” stop applying.

 
Learn more about the keywords in Elestrals TCG via the [**Glossary**](https://www.elestrals.com/blog/blog__2e627311-ece5-433c-988a-62524aeb9fe5).

End Phase

Some effects tell you to Nexus: this moves Spirits from one of your Elestrals or Runes to a different one! Nexus instructions always tell you how many and sometimes what kind of Spirits you can move. First, pick an Elestral or Rune on your field, and which Spirits you’re taking from it *(You can’t choose set cards, or Invoke or Counter Runes)*. Then pick a different Elestral or Rune on your field to receive them. Those Spirits are Disenchanted from the first and Enchanted to the second at the same time!

If either card can’t receive Spirits, can’t Nexus, or isn’t on the field anymore, then nothing happens.

Nexus

Counter Runes and conditional effects (ones that activate “when” an event happens) can form Chains! Chains allow players to react to an action and prevent it from happening or change what it does. Cards being Cast, Ascended, or Set can form the base of a Chain. So can declaring a battle, activating an effect, even Searching your deck!

To add a link to a Chain, a player announces that they’re Casting their Counter Rune or activating their effect “in response to” an action. That effect will resolve - have an impact on the game - before the action at the base of the Chain does. More links can be added to a Chain the same way, back and forth, and the turn player always gets to add links before the non-turn player.

Once players are finished adding links to a Chain, that Chain is closed - no more links can be added to it. Resolve the newest link first, then the next, all the way down to the base of the Chain. Any effects that meet their conditions during this process will wait to go onto the next Chain.

If an action gets negated, it counts as spent but nothing happens. If it wasn’t negated but it can’t be finished anymore, it either partially works, or it rewinds; check the rules on Casting and Ascending Elestrals, Casting Runes, and activating effects to know what to do if you can’t finish those actions.

Conditional effects activate only if a Chain ends and their condition was *successfully* met during that Chain. If an action is negated, it doesn’t happen - so it won’t activate effects. Actions that are rewound also won’t activate them.

Learn more about the keywords in Elestrals TCG via the [**Glossary**](https://www.elestrals.com/blog/blog__2e627311-ece5-433c-988a-62524aeb9fe5).

Chains

**Active**: a category of effect that players announce and add to the chain, so that it eventually resolves and impacts the game. They can be used once per turn. (11, 25)

**Artifact:** a type of Continuous Rune that Empowers an Elestral. You choose which at the time you cast the Artifact. (11, 24)

**Ascend:** a way to Cast an Elestral that includes sending an Elestral already on your field to the underworld and re-using its Spirits. (22)

**Attack:** part of an Elestral card used to decide the outcome of a battle when that Elestral is in Attack Position. (8, 27)

**Attack Position:** when an Elestral is placed upright on the field, facing its owner. (20, 23, 27).

**Battle:** a process for attacking an opponent or their Elestrals, using your own. (26, 27)

**Battle Phase:** the part of a turn where one player can declare battles against the another. (26, 27)

**Cast:** the typical process for playing Elestral or Rune cards from your hand to the field. (21, 24)

**Chain:** a system that allows players to act in response to an opponent’s action, sometimes preventing it. (31)

**Closed:** a chain closes when players have finished adding Counter Runes and effects to it. Once a chain closes, it fully resolves before the next chain opens. (30, 31)

**Conditional:** a category of effect that can be activated only after a certain event or during part of a turn. They can be used once each time their condition is met. (11, 25)

**Continuous:** a category of Runes that includes Artifact, Divine, and Stadium. These Runes stay on the field until they are destroyed or aren’t meeting their Enchantment Cost. (11, 24)

**Counter:** a type of Instant Rune that must be Set for a turn before use, but can then be Cast on any player’s turn. Counter Runes can form chains. (11, 24, 31, 32)

**Defense:** part of an Elestral card used to decide the outcome of a battle when that Elestral is in Defense Position. (8, 27)

**Defense Position:** when an Elestral is placed sideways on the field, not facing a player. (20, 23, 27).

**Destroy:** to move a card from the field to its owner’s Underworld as a result of battle or because an effect says to do so. (13)

**Discard:** to move a card from a player’s hand to that player’s Underworld. (15)

**Disenchant:** to remove one or more Spirits that are currently Enchanting a Rune or Elestral on the field, usually as a cost to activate an effect or as part of a Nexus. (7, 29)

**Divine:** a type of Continuous Rune that lets you Enchant it with additional Spirits, then Disenchant it once per turn for an effect. (11, 23)

**Draw:** to move a card from a player’s Main Deck to that player’s hand. If a player tries to draw a card when they have no cards in their Main Deck, they lose the game. (15, 19)

**Draw Phase:** the first part of a turn, when one player draws a card. (19)

**Effect:** text that an Elestral or a Continuous Rune has that impacts the game. There are three categories: active, conditional, and passive. Invoke and Counter Runes also have effects, but they don’t fall into these categories. (9, 11, 25)

**Elestral:** a card type that has an Attack and Defense stat and is used to attack your opponent. (8)

**Empower:** a relationship between an Artifact and the Elestral chosen for it. An effect impacting an Elestral this way can be positive or negative. (11)

**Enchant:** to put one or more Spirits beneath a face-up Rune or Elestral on the field, as part of Casting it or when a rule or effect tells you to. (7, 21, 23)

**Enchantment Cost:** part of an Elestral or Rune card that shows how many Spirits it needs to be cast and to remain on the field. See also “Misenchanted”. (8-10)

**End Phase:** the final part of a turn, where effects often wear off or can be activated. (28)

**Expend:** to move a Spirit card from a player’s Spirit Deck to their Underworld. If a player tries to Expend a card when they have no cards in their Spirit Deck, they lose the game. (17, 27)

**Field:** where cards that have been Cast or Set are placed between players. This area is broken up into several zones. (12-15)

**Hand:** where cards that you have drawn from your deck but haven’t played yet are kept. There is no limit to cards you can have in your hand at once. (15)

**Instant:** a category of Runes that includes Invoke and Counter. These Runes immediately impact the game, then are sent to the Underworld. You can Disenchant Spirits that are already on your field to cast these. (11, 24)

**Invoke:** a type of Instant Rune that is Cast during your Main Phase. (11, 24)

**Main Deck:** where your Rune and Elestral cards are stored in a face-down pile. Your Main Deck is shuffled at the start of a game and also every time you Search it. (14, 16)

**Main Phase:** the part of a turn where one player takes most of their actions like Casting or Setting cards or changing Elestrals’ Positions. (20-25)

**Misenchanted:** when there are enough Spirits Enchanting an Elestral to meet its Enchantment Cost, but their types do not match the Cost. It stays on the field and can still battle, but has no effect. (9)

**Negate:**

1. To Remove a Rune or Elestral’s effect, because it is Misenchanted or as a result of an effect. (9)
2. To cancel a card, an effect, or a turn action before it is performed. (31)

 
**Nexus:** to Disenchant Spirits from one of your cards and Enchant them to another card at the same time. (30)

**Passive:** a category of effect that has an impact on the game constantly as long as the card it’s on is on the field and Enchanted. These effects can’t be activated. (11)

**Rune:** a card type broken into two categories: Instant and Continuous. They are often less powerful than Elestrals, but easier to Cast. (8)

**Search:** to look through your Main Deck for a card and reveal it to all players, usually in order to add it to another zone. Whenever you Search your deck, shuffle it afterwards. (14)

**Set:** to place a Rune that isn’t a Stadium facedown in your Rune Row, to be cast on a later turn. Counter Runes can only be cast this way. (23, 24)

**Special Ascend, Special Cast:** a way of modifying the Cast or Ascend process based on a card’s instructions. Casting an Elestral this way doesn’t count as your once per turn Normal Cast or Normal Ascend. (21, 22)

**Spirit:** a card type that acts as both your life total and your resource for playing cards. Each Spirit has an elemental type associated with it. (6, 7)

**Spirit Deck:** where your Spirit cards are stored in a face-down pile. You can look through this deck at any time during a game. (14, 16)

**Stadium:** a type of Continuous Rune that impacts all Elestrals on the field. Only one Stadium can exist at a time; Casting a new one replaces any currently Enchanted. (11, 13)

**Target:** a temporary designation that some effects give to cards, zones, or players to indicate that they’re going to perform an action involving the designated object. (25)

**Underworld:** where cards that you have spent in a game - usually discarded, Expended, or destroyed - are kept in a face-up pile. (13)