SKAZ How to play SKAZ
A duel of two heroes with 30 life each. You have five minutes of reading here and about ten minutes for a battle — that is the whole game.
A turn
Every turn you get one more mana crystal, up to ten. Cards cost mana: creatures go on the board, spells fire at once, weapons arm your hero. A creature attacks only from your next turn — unless it has Sally. When you are done, press End Turn; you have 45 seconds.
The player who goes second is compensated: an extra card, 4 armor and the Wayfarer’s Gift — a card that gives one extra mana for a single turn. That is why the first turn does not decide the game here.
The board
Six creatures per side, eight cards in hand. Attack the enemy hero — or trade creatures, which is often worth more: while their board grows, your life bar shrinks every turn. A creature with Guard has to be dealt with first: while it stands, nothing else can be struck.
Keywords
Twelve of them, and each is a plain word, not jargon:
- Guard
- While this creature is on the board, the enemy can only strike it.
- Prelude
- Triggers once, when the card leaves your hand.
- Bequest
- Triggers when the creature dies.
- Sally
- Can attack on the same turn it comes onto the board.
- Amulet
- The first hit against it is lost entirely — however strong it was.
- Venom
- Any creature it damages dies. It does not work on heroes.
- Shadow
- It cannot be targeted until it attacks itself.
- Lifeblood
- The damage it deals heals your hero for the same amount.
- Twin Swing
- Attacks twice per turn.
- Pursuit
- Grows stronger if you have already played a card this turn.
- Crossroads
- You pick one of two — the other will not happen.
- Spell Might
- Your spells hit harder by that much.
Your first deck
A deck is exactly 25 cards, at most two copies of any one. Do not fill it with expensive legendaries: a deck that cannot play anything on turns one and two loses before its big cards arrive. The rule of thumb — the cheaper the card, the more copies. In the collection you can press Auto-build and the deck fills itself along the mana curve from the cards you own; then swap in what you like.
Cards you are missing can be crafted from dust, and dust comes from extra copies out of packs. The collection holds 150 cards, so there is room to grow for a long while.
Where to learn it hands-on
Koschey the Deathless teaches the game himself: three short lessons with rewards, from “put a creature on the board” to a real battle with a full deck. After that comes the Far Away Kingdom — eight bosses, each bending the rules their own way.