Elestrals

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).

Playing Elestrals

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

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.