Epoch Documentation

Epoch

Epoch is a two player battle-style card game that uses two asymmetrical card decks in combination with dice to create a fun experience for all card game lovers.

Characters:

There are 40 unique characters in Epoch; each with their own various power levels and special abilities.

There are 18 characters that are usually better than others in power levels, but lack a special ability.

There are 22 characters who have a special ability which can give them an advantage in gameplay. This is usually to make up for their less-than-average power level, but this not always the case.

In the example to the right: the Sniper has a particularly high power level if a two is rolled, but the Necro Golem's wider spread of numbers offers it the advantage if it came down to pure luck.

Either of these two characters could win based off of the action cards that would back them up and the strategy on the board. The player with the sniper could try and use cards to ensure a 2 is rolled, while the player with the necro golem will try to set up a scenario where multiple other characters die so that the golem gets boosted.

Action Cards:

There are 11 unique action cards in Epoch. Some cards like Positron Shift and Negatron Shift are in each deck multiple times, while more powerful and game altering cards like Miracle or Rally only appear once. In order to help balance the two decks which had entirely different characters, both decks have the exact same number and type of action cards.

Action cards can be used during the listed phases underneath their illustration. Using certain cards in the pre-roll can psyche out the opponent or draw out a response from them, while waiting until the post-roll can lead to traps and surprises which turn the tides of battle.

Phases of Gameplay:

Epoch has 3 main phases of gameplay during each player's turn: the draw phase, recruitment phase, and the combat phase.

Draw Phase:

At the beginning of a player's turn they draw a card off of the top of their deck and add it to their hand. If the player in question has no cards in his hand before this, then they draw 3 cards instead.

Recruitment Phase:

After the player draws they enter the recruitment phase where they can play 1 character card from their hand onto the battlefield. You cannot play a character if there are already 3 on your side of the battlefield. You can also play an action card titled: "Rally!" during this phase; it is the only action card that is not played during combat.

Combat Phase:

After passing through the recruitment phase, the player has an option to declare combat with one of his characters on his side of the battlefield. If this is the first turn then you cannot do so.

If your opponent doesn't have any characters on their side of the field, you can attack directly. If you attack an opponent directly then they lose 1 HP and draw a card.

If your opponent has at least 1 character on their side of the battlefield then their characters must be chosen for combat before they can be attacked directly. In order to do so you must declare which character of yours you are attacking with, and then declare which character of your opponent's you are selecting to attack.

Choosing a target begins the combat phase's sub-phases: the pre-roll, the roll, and the post-roll.

The Pre-Roll:

After choosing a target to attack, both players are given the option to play action cards from their hand that are in the "pre-roll" category. These action cards can provide various effects ranging from effecting a future die roll, to switching the attacker's target.

The Roll:

After both players have stated that they are done playing pre-roll cards; the roll happens. Since both characters that are in combat have multiple power level values, each player simultaneously rolls a dice which chooses their character's power level.

The Post-Roll:

After both players have rolled their dice and their character's power level has been determined, the post-roll phase occurs which allows for last minute action cards to influence combat before the character's power levels are compared.

Winning and Losing:

In order to win Epoch a player must fulfill one of two conditions; to make the other player run out of health points(HP), or to send all of their characters to the discard pile. The most common way of victory is getting the 10 HP off of the opponent, but running out of characters can happen as well if a player is careless.

Though very unsual, it is possible to get a tie in Epoch, since if two characters with the same power level fight, they both are sent to the discard pile. If this occurs and those two characters were the last in both players' decks, then the game becomes a draw.