Light VS Darkness TCG — Now Available
Light against darkness. A seven-fold Spirit color system. Solo and co-op play. Light VS Darkness TCG — Set 1 (Strongholds) is now available on The Game Crafter ($74.71), and you can play free in your browser with the Version 5 rules.
Get the Card Game
Light VS Darkness TCG — Set 1 (Strongholds) is now available from The Game Crafter. It includes the full deck in a prototype box, plus the Version 5 Master Rulebook PDF.
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1. The Print & Play Demo
A real, fully playable slice of the game you can print at home and play tonight.
- 45 cards — 2 Mentors with their Transformed sides, 2 ready-to-play decks, and 5 Strongholds.
- 1–2 players, 20–30 minutes. Plays solo against the automated darkness, or co-op with a friend.
- No deckbuilding. Full rules included — shuffle and play. Just 5 sheets to print.
2. The Strongholds Prayer Workbook
In the game you demolish Strongholds on the table. This workbook is for the ones that don’t fold up when the game ends.
- 15 chapters — Offense, Fear, Pride, Lust, Control, Greed, Envy, Deception, the Occult, Rejection, Despair, Rage, Addiction, Legalism and the Fear of Man.
- Teaching on how each stronghold operates, honest self-diagnostic questions, and a prayer of repentance, renunciation and declaration.
- No card mechanics, no game references. Just the real thing — yours to keep either way.
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The Comics — Now in Hardcover
The story behind the cards is here. All three seasons of the Light vs Darkness comics are collected in full-color hardcover editions, each with the original issue covers and credits.
- Light vs Darkness: The Complete First Season (6 issues, hardcover, $29.99)
- Light vs Darkness: The Complete Second Season (8 issues, hardcover, $34.99)
- Light vs Darkness: The Mystics, The Complete Third Season (6 issues, hardcover, $29.99)
Prefer digital? The PDF editions are in the shop.
The Novels — Now in Paperback on Lulu
Read the full-length literary novels of the Light vs Darkness universe — from the seven Mentors on the Dark Field and the Cloud of Witnesses to the six historical Mystics:
- The Crown in the Dust: A Novel of the Seven and the Cloud (316 pages, 6×9 paperback, $17.95 on Lulu) — Season 1 Strongholds & Season 2 Cloud of Witnesses
- The Stillness Between the Stones: A Novel of the Mystics (300 pages, 6×9 paperback, $17.95 on Lulu) — Season 3 The Mystics
How to Play — Master Rulebook (Version 5, Draft 5)
Download the printable rulebook: Light VS Darkness Master Rulebook — Version 5 (PDF) · Play the app
LIGHT VS DARKNESS
Trading Card Game
MASTER RULEBOOK
Set 1: Strongholds | Version 5 (Draft 5) | October 2026
“And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.” — John 1:5 (KJV)
Draft 5 supersedes Version 1.1 (Draft 4, July 2026) and the app’s v1.3 “Draft 4a” rules. Every change is listed in Appendix A.
1. Welcome to Light VS Darkness
Light VS Darkness is a cooperative-competitive trading card game for 1 to 4 players. Together, the Light players battle an automated Dark Deck of fifteen Strongholds — spiritual fortresses of lies such as Pride, Fear, Shame, and Grief. One Stronghold already looms over the table at setup, and more rise as the game progresses.
The Light must demolish five Strongholds to win — but if five Strongholds are ever active at once, the Darkness overwhelms the Light and wins. You must topple the darkness faster than it can rise.
Victory is shared, but glory is personal: when the fifth Stronghold falls, players count their Maturity Points (MP) to crown the most spiritually mature Light player. You win together — and one of you shines brightest.
Every card is rooted in Scripture (KJV). As you play, you wield real spiritual truths: the sevenfold Spirit of Isaiah 11:2, the Armor of God, the Fruit of the Spirit, the Beatitudes, and the names and promises of the Lord.
What Makes This Game Different
One enemy, many lights. You never fight each other. The enemy is automated; all hostility flows from the Dark Deck.
Draft your disciplines. The standard game is a draft: keep your Mentor’s fixed core, then draft the disciplines and truths you’ll carry into battle. Every game is different.
Rising darkness. A Stronghold stands from turn one and the pile grows every other round. Let five stand together and the Light falls — the clock is always ticking.
Two layers of victory. The cooperative win plus individual MP scoring rewards both teamwork and personal excellence.
2. The Sevenfold Spirit — Color System
Every Light card belongs to one of seven anointing colors, drawn from Isaiah 11:2 (KJV): “And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD.” The seven colors are equal: each has its own Basic Anointing, its own Mentor, and its own cards. No color is wild.
| Color | Sym | Spirit Aspect | Play Style |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red | R | Spirit of the Lord | Holy fire and the Blood: sacrifice, redemption, direct damage to Strongholds, healing and protection. |
| Orange | O | Wisdom | Clarity, card draw, buffing allies. |
| Yellow | Y | Understanding | Illumination, damage prevention, negating effects. |
| Green | G | Counsel | Guidance, healing, regeneration, team synergy. |
| Light Blue | L | Might | Strength and valor, power buffs, attack multipliers. |
| Dark Blue | D | Knowledge | Prophecy and foresight, deck manipulation, card advantage. |
| Purple | P | Fear of the Lord | Awe and holiness, banishing, sealing effects. |
Red’s role. Red is the Spirit of the Lord that “shall rest upon him” — the fire on the altar. Its cards strike Strongholds head-on (The Lord Our Righteousness, The Lord is my Banner, Father, Forgive Them) and pay for victory with sacrifice and the Blood (Fruit of the Spirit — Love, By His Stripes, Passover, The Blood of the Lamb). Red is played by Esther the Queen and splashed through three Spiritual Disciplines, exactly like every other color.
Cost Notation
Playing costs appear as a color letter plus a number. The letter is a colored requirement: it must be paid with anointing of that exact color. The number is generic: it may be paid with anointing of any color, or with colorless anointing. R+2 = 1 Red AND 2 generic (3 total). Y+1 = 1 Yellow AND 1 generic (2 total). A cost with only a number (for example “3”) is fully generic. “Free” cards cost nothing. Costs range 0–7 in Set 1.
Colorless anointing (made by Mary of Bethany and The Lord Provides) pays generic costs only — never a colored requirement. Where an older card or Stronghold says “colorless anointing” or “anointing (any color)” as a cost increase or loss, read it as generic.
Fixing your colors
- Basic Anointing makes your Mentor’s color. Spiritual Disciplines are dual generators that make either of their two printed colors; Meditation on the Word makes any of three, and Prayer of the Righteous (Rare) makes any of the seven — it is the only “all colors” generator in Set 1.
- Intercession (new in Draft 5). Once per turn, you may pay one colored requirement of a card or ability with 2 anointing of any color instead. Example: with no Red available, you may cast R+2 by paying 4 anointing of any colors. “The Spirit itself maketh intercession for us” (Romans 8:26).
- Intercession pays only colored requirements printed on the card; it does not reduce any cost, and Stronghold surcharges (Poverty, Infirmity) stay generic.
3. Card Types in Detail
Anointing Cards (Light Resources)
- You may play one anointing generator per turn — Basic or Discipline.
- Exhaust a Basic Anointing to add 1 anointing of its color. Spiritual Disciplines are dual generators: exhaust for 1 anointing of either printed color. Disciplines enter play exhausted.
- Basic Anointing cards cannot be sacrificed or committed; they are your foundation. All anointing cards ready at the start of your turn.
Truth Cards
“Truth card” means any Light card that is not an Anointing card or a Mentor: every Living Truth, Equipment, and One Time card. “Truth cards in play” means your Living Truths and the Equipment attached to them. (Stronghold texts such as Lust, Heaviness, and Occult use this definition.)
Living Truth Cards
- Permanents with printed ATK/HP. They attack Strongholds and shield you from Stronghold attacks.
- A Living Truth exhausts when it attacks. Damage persists until healed; a Living Truth at 0 HP is destroyed and discarded.
Equipment
- Attach to a Living Truth or Transformed Mentor you control; grants the printed bonus while attached. If the host leaves play, its Equipment is discarded.
One Time Cards
- Resolve the effect, then discard permanently. Cards marked Reaction may be played during the Dark Turn in the Reaction Window.
Mentors
- Each player begins with their Mentor in play (no playing cost). Side A grants a passive ability.
- When the specific trigger card named by your Mentor is played, flip it: the Transformed Mentor is a 7/7 Living Truth. It can attack, defend, be equipped — and be destroyed. A destroyed Mentor is removed from the game.
Strongholds (Dark)
- The Dark Deck: 15 boss cards deployed automatically. No cost — Darkness pays no price.
- Each has ATK/HP, a persistent negative effect afflicting all players while active, and a printed MP reward for whoever demolishes it. Stronghold stats scale with player count (see Section 6).
4. Game Setup
Step 1 — Choose your Mentor & Core
Each player chooses a Mentor (its anointing-color identity) and takes that Mentor’s fixed 20-card Core: 7 Basic Anointing of the Mentor’s color, the Mentor’s 3 Spiritual Disciplines (dual generators), and 10 identity Living Truths. If your Mentor’s trigger card is not one of those 10 Living Truths, add it to your deck now; it counts as your first draft pick. Place your Mentor face-up (Side A) in your play area. The Core gives you your main color plus three splash colors through your Disciplines.
| Mentor | Color | Spiritual Disciplines (splash colors) |
|---|---|---|
| Esther the Queen | Red | Watch in Prayer (L/R), Solitude (R/D), Communion Celebration (R/P) |
| Mary of Bethany | Orange | Giving (O/Y), Gratitude Overflow (G/O), Prayer of the Righteous (all seven) |
| Deborah the Judge | Yellow | Silence Before the Lord (Y/P), Giving (O/Y), Simplicity (Y/G) |
| Daniel the Prophet | Green | Stillness of Soul (G/L), Gratitude Overflow (G/O), Simplicity (Y/G) |
| King David | Light Blue | Watch in Prayer (L/R), Stillness of Soul (G/L), Fasting (L/D) |
| Apostle Paul | Dark Blue | Solitude (R/D), Fasting (L/D), Meditation on the Word (D/P/O) |
| Samuel the Prophet | Purple | Silence Before the Lord (Y/P), Communion Celebration (R/P), Meditation on the Word (D/P/O) |
Step 2 — Draft your 16 (the standard game)
- Form the shared Market Deck from all Equipment and One Time cards, except the seven Mentor trigger cards. Shuffle it and deal a face-up Market Row of 6 cards.
- In turn order using a snake pattern (in a 4-player game: P1-P2-P3-P4, then P4-P3-P2-P1, and repeat), each player drafts 1 card from the Market Row into their deck; refill the row to 6 from the Market Deck after each pick.
- Continue until every player has drafted 16 cards (15 if your trigger card was added in Step 1). Draft cards you can actually pay for — favor your Mentor’s color, your three Disciplines’ colors, and generic-cost cards. Red is a color like any other: draft Red cards only if your Mentor or Disciplines make Red, or you are willing to use Intercession.
- Your deck is now 36 cards (20 Core + 16), with your Mentor beside it. For a fast start, skip the draft and use a preconfigured deck — see Section 10.
Step 3 — Open the board
- Shuffle your deck and draw a starting hand of 5. Set Life to 30 and Maturity Points to 0.
- Free mulligan: if your opening hand has no Anointing card, you may shuffle it back and draw a new 5 once.
- Shuffle the 15 Stronghold cards face-down to form the Dark Deck (the Dark Field, center of table).
- Seed the darkness: reveal the top Stronghold into play now. Its persistent effect is active immediately, but it does NOT attack until the first Dark Turn (end of Round 3; solo, end of Round 4).
- Apply player-count scaling to every Stronghold, including the seeded one (see Section 6).
- Choose a first player at random. Play proceeds clockwise.
| Starting Value | Amount |
|---|---|
| Deck size | 36 cards (20 Core + 16 drafted) plus your Mentor; Quick-Start: 35-card starter deck plus Mentor |
| Starting hand | 5 cards (one free mulligan if it has no Anointing) |
| Maximum hand size | 7 (end-of-turn limit) |
| Life (Vitality) | 30 |
| Maturity Points | 0 |
| Anointing pool | 0 (empties end of every turn) |
| Cards drawn per turn | 1 |
| Generators playable per turn | 1 |
| Strongholds in play at setup | 1 (seeded, scaled) |
5. The Light Player Turn
A round is one turn for every Light player in order. From Round 3 onward (solo: Round 4), every other round ends with a scheduled Dark Turn (Section 6). Each Light player takes these phases in order:
1. Ready Phase
- Ready all exhausted cards. Resolve “at the start of your turn” effects and Stronghold start-of-turn effects (Addictions, Lust, Lying, Heaviness, and any anointing loss owed from Fear, Grief, or Jealousy).
2. Draw Phase
- Draw 1 card. If your deck is empty, shuffle your discard into a new deck, then draw.
3. Anointing Phase
- Play up to 1 anointing generator. Exhaust your anointing cards for anointing anytime this turn (including mid-turn, exactly when needed). “Sacrifice for anointing” cards may be used any time on your turn.
4. Main Phase
- Play any cards you can afford: Living Truths, Equipment, One Time. You may use Intercession once (Section 2). Activate abilities. Playing your Mentor’s trigger card flips it to Transformed immediately.
5. Attack Phase
- Declare readied Living Truths (and your Transformed Mentor) as attackers against any active Stronghold(s); attacking exhausts them. Split attackers freely. Damage on Strongholds persists between turns.
- If a Stronghold reaches 0 HP it is demolished: remove it, gain its printed MP, keep it as a trophy.
6. End Phase
- Resolve end-of-turn effects (Anger, Grief). Discard down to 7. Unspent anointing expires.
6. The Dark Deck (Automated Enemy)
The Dark Deck runs itself — no player controls it. One Stronghold is seeded at setup; the rest arrive on this schedule. A Dark Turn happens at the end of the listed round, after every Light player has taken a turn.
| Round | Dark Activity (2–4 players) | Solo Pilgrimage (1 player) |
|---|---|---|
| Setup | 1 Stronghold seeded into play (effect active; does not attack yet). | Same. |
| 1–2 | Peace before the storm. No new Dark activity. | 1–3: no new Dark activity. |
| 3 | First Dark Turn: summon 1 Stronghold, then ALL active Strongholds attack. | — |
| 5, 7, 9, … | Every other round: another Dark Turn. | Dark Turns at the end of Rounds 4, 6, 8, 10, … |
With this schedule the 5th Stronghold arrives at the end of Round 9 (solo: Round 10) — 1 seeded + 4 summons — so at least one must already be demolished by then.
Player-Count Scaling
Darkness grows with the fellowship it opposes. For each player beyond the first, every Stronghold enters with +1 ATK and +2 HP (2 players +1/+2, 3 players +2/+4, 4 players +3/+6). Apply this to the seeded Stronghold too. Printed stats in Section 7 are the 1-player baseline.
The Encroaching Dark (Lose Timer)
If five Strongholds are ever active at the same time, the Darkness overwhelms the Light and immediately wins — checked the moment a Stronghold is summoned, before it attacks. Because a new Stronghold rises every other round, you must demolish them faster than they stack — you cannot simply turtle.
Dark Turn Sequence
- Summon: reveal the top Dark card into the Dark Field. Its persistent effect is active immediately. (Check the Encroaching Dark.)
- Attack: each active Stronghold attacks, one at a time in the order it entered play. Each Stronghold attacks EVERY Light player in turn order.
- Resolve any “end of Dark Turn” effects (Fear).
How Stronghold Attacks Resolve (per player)
- Reaction Window: the defending player may play Reaction cards (prevention, buffs, healing).
- Blockers first: assign the Stronghold’s ATK to your Living Truths (you choose the order). Each absorbs up to its remaining HP; destroyed blockers are discarded.
- Overflow: any remaining damage hits your Life directly. No blockers? The full ATK hits your Life.
Your battlefield is your shield — a strong wall protects your Vitality, but every defender you lose weakens your next strike.
Persistent Stronghold Effects
Each Stronghold’s printed effect afflicts ALL players from the moment it enters until it is demolished. Multiple active Strongholds stack — the longer you wait, the darker the world becomes. “Lose N anointing” always means: the first N anointing you make on your next turn are lost (your pool is empty between turns).
7. Stronghold Reference — Set 1
Stats below are the 1-player baseline. Add +1 ATK / +2 HP per additional player. Texts are the Draft 5 official wording; where a printed card differs, this table wins (see Appendix B).
| Stronghold | ATK/HP | MP | Persistent Effect (Draft 5 wording) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pride | 5/5 | 7 | Mentor abilities (Side A passives) are disabled while in play. |
| Fear | 4/6 | 8 | After Fear attacks, the player(s) with the fewest anointing cards in play lose 3 anointing on their next turn (ties: all tied players). |
| Shame | 6/7 | 9 | While in play, MP rewards from demolishing other Strongholds are halved, rounded up. (Shame itself pays its full 9.) |
| Lying | 6/6 | 8 | At the start of each of your turns, choose 1 card from your hand and remove it from the game. |
| Infirmity | 6/5 | 7 | Healing cards (any card whose text heals) cost +2 generic to play. |
| Heaviness | 4/5 | 6 | At the start of your turn, if you have fewer than 2 Truth cards in play, discard 1 card from your hand. |
| Abandonment | 4/7 | 6 | When Abandonment is summoned on a Dark Turn, every player skips their next Draw Phase. (If seeded at setup, nothing happens.) |
| Lust | 5/6 | 6 | At the start of your turn, discard the highest-cost Truth card in your hand. |
| Addictions | 5/7 | 6 | At the start of your turn, you lose 2 anointing (the first 2 you make this turn). |
| Anger | 6/5 | 7 | At the end of your turn, if you spent 5 or more anointing this turn, lose 1 MP. |
| Deaf & Dumb | 7/5 | 6 | Additional-draw and Meditate cards may still be played, but their draw effect is blocked (other effects still resolve). |
| Poverty | 7/4 | 6 | All cards cost +1 generic to play. |
| Jealousy | 7/5 | 7 | Whenever a player gains MP, every other player loses 1 anointing on their next turn. |
| Grief | 7/6 | 8 | At the end of your turn, if you played fewer than 2 cards this turn, lose 2 anointing on your next turn. |
| Occult | 7/8 | 9 | The first Truth card each player plays each round is negated: it is discarded with no effect (its cost is still paid). |
Total MP across all 15 Strongholds: 106. A game ends the moment five are demolished, so the MP actually claimed varies with which Strongholds appear.
8. Life, Defeat & Resurrection
- Players start at 30 Life.
- If your Life reaches 0 you are Defeated: you take no further damage this Dark Turn. At the start of your next turn you Resurrect at 15 Life and lose 5 MP (minimum 0).
- A second Defeat eliminates you; your cards leave play. If ALL Light players are eliminated, Darkness wins.
9. Winning the Game
Light Victory
The moment the fifth Stronghold is demolished, the Light wins. Then each player totals their Maturity Points:
- Printed MP from each Stronghold they personally demolished (dealt the final damage).
- MP gained or lost through card effects during the game.
- Resurrection penalties (−5 MP each).
Destroy counts as demolish. A Stronghold removed by a card effect that says “destroy” is demolished for all purposes. The player who played that effect claims its MP, exactly as if they had dealt the killing blow.
Passive MP cap. The total MP a player may gain from passive and ongoing card effects — everything except Stronghold demolition rewards — is capped at +10 per game.
The highest MP total is the most spiritually mature Light player — the individual champion. Tiebreakers: (1) most Strongholds demolished, (2) highest remaining Life, (3) shared honor — the light is unified.
Dark Victory
Darkness wins immediately if EITHER: (a) all Light players are eliminated (each Defeated twice); OR (b) five Strongholds are active at the same time — the Encroaching Dark.
10. Modes of Play
| Mode | Players | How It Works |
|---|---|---|
| Draft (Standard) | 1–4 | The primary game. Keep your Mentor’s 20-card Core, draft 16 from the shared Market Row. Every game is different. |
| Quick-Start (Preconfigured) | 1–4 | Skip the draft: each player uses a fixed 35-card starter deck tied to a Mentor (36 cards with the Mentor). Best for teaching and first games. |
| Solo Pilgrimage | 1 | You alone vs the Dark Deck. Baseline Stronghold stats (no scaling); first Dark Turn at the end of Round 4. |
| Full Fellowship | 2–4 | Pure co-op: ignore individual MP; win or lose together. Great for teaching. |
| Iron Saints (optional hard variant) | 1–4 | From the first Dark Turn on, every round ends with a Dark Turn in which all active Strongholds attack. New Strongholds are still summoned only every other round (Section 6). For veterans: simulated win rate is roughly 20–30%. Not available in the app. |
11. Keyword Glossary
Standard keywords on Set 1 cards. A card’s full text always overrides the general rule.
| Keyword | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Ready / Stand | Upright and available; may attack, block, or use abilities. |
| Exhaust | Turn sideways to show a card is used; readies at the start of your turn. |
| Sacrifice / Commit | Send a card you control to the discard pile as a cost. |
| Heal X | Restore X Life to a player or X HP to a Living Truth (never above printed HP / starting Life unless the card says otherwise). |
| Reaction | May be played outside your turn, during a Reaction Window. |
| Negate | The targeted card or effect does nothing; discard it. |
| Protection from X | Cannot be damaged, targeted, or affected by the named source. |
| Transform | Flip a Mentor to its empowered side (7/7 Living Truth). |
| Demolish / Destroy | Remove a Stronghold and claim its MP. A card that says “destroy” a Stronghold demolishes it. |
| Truth card | Any Living Truth, Equipment, or One Time card (not Anointing, not Mentors). |
| Generic | The number in a cost: payable with anointing of any color or colorless anointing. |
| Colorless anointing | Anointing with no color. Pays generic costs only. |
| Intercession | Once per turn, pay one colored requirement with 2 anointing of any color. |
| Remove from the game | Put the card aside for the rest of the game; it is not in your discard pile and cannot be returned. |
12. Golden Rules & Timing
- Card text overrides the rulebook. If a card contradicts these rules, the card wins — except the Stronghold texts in Section 7, which are the official wording.
- Light before Dark: when Light and Dark effects would trigger simultaneously, Light resolves first.
- Active player decides the order of their own simultaneous triggers.
- No stack: effects resolve in the order played, except Reactions, which resolve immediately.
- No color is wild. A colored requirement is paid with its own color, or once per turn through Intercession.
- MP can never drop below 0. Passive-effect MP is capped at +10 per game.
- A Stronghold “destroyed” by a card effect counts as demolished; its MP goes to the player who played the effect.
- Damage on Living Truths and Strongholds persists until healed or the card leaves play.
13. Quick Reference (One Page)
Your Turn
- READY all cards; start-of-turn and Stronghold effects.
- DRAW 1 card.
- ANOINTING: play up to 1 generator; exhaust generators for anointing anytime.
- MAIN: play cards, equip, activate, transform Mentor. Intercession once (1 colored requirement = 2 any).
- ATTACK: exhaust Living Truths to strike Strongholds; demolish at 0 HP → claim MP.
- END: end-of-turn effects; discard to 7; anointing pool empties.
Dark Turn (end of Rounds 3, 5, 7, 9, … — solo 4, 6, 8, 10, …)
- Summon 1 new Stronghold (five active = Darkness wins); then each active Stronghold attacks every player (Reaction Window → blockers → overflow to Life).
Key Numbers
| Rule | Value |
|---|---|
| Start: Life / Hand / Deck | 30 / 5 / 36 (+ Mentor); free mulligan if no Anointing |
| Deck build | 20-card Mentor Core + 16 drafted |
| Hand limit / Draw / Generators | 7 / 1 per turn / 1 per turn |
| Colors | Seven equal colors; none wild. Intercession: once per turn, 1 colored requirement = 2 any |
| Strongholds at setup | 1 (seeded) |
| Dark Turns | End of Rounds 3, 5, 7, 9, … (solo 4, 6, 8, 10, …) |
| Player scaling | +1 ATK / +2 HP per additional player |
| Resurrection | 15 Life, −5 MP, once only |
| Light wins | 5 Strongholds demolished |
| Darkness wins | All Light eliminated, OR 5 Strongholds active at once |
| Champion | Highest Maturity Points (passive MP capped +10) |
Appendix A — Design Change Log (Draft 5)
Changes in this version. Balance figures come from bot simulation of 3,000 games per cell with the game engine (Competent bots, mixed Mentors); human results will differ.
- RED IS NO LONGER WILD. Red is one of seven equal colors: the Spirit of the Lord — holy fire, sacrifice, the Blood; direct damage to Strongholds, healing and protection. Section 2 no longer calls Red “wild/universal”, and the draft advice no longer says “favor … Red (wild)”. No card text changes are needed for this: Set 1 already has 25 Red cards, a Red Mentor (Esther) and three Red Disciplines, the same as every other color, and the app engine already treated Red as a normal color.
- COST NOTATION — the number in a cost is now called generic (any color or colorless). “Colorless anointing” now means only anointing with no color (Mary of Bethany, The Lord Provides); Stronghold surcharges and losses are generic.
- INTERCESSION (new fixing rule) — once per turn, pay one colored requirement with 2 anointing of any color. Replaces the fixing that “Red is wild” was meant to give, without favoring one color. In the draft it cut color-screwed turns roughly in half (24% → 13%) and lifted the bot draft win rate by 4–7 points; it has no measurable effect on Quick-Start decks.
- SCALING corrected to Draft 4a — +1 ATK / +2 HP per additional player (the Draft 4 page printed +1/+1; the app has used +1/+2 since v1.3).
- SOLO TIMING written down — the solo first Dark Turn is the end of Round 4 (Rounds 4, 6, 8, 10…), as the app has done since v1.3. Dark Turns happen at the end of the listed round. This settles the Draft 4 conflict between “Dark Turns start Round 3” and the change log’s “was Round 4”.
- FREE MULLIGAN restored — Draft 4 omitted it; the app and the Draft 4a balance numbers include it.
- STRONGHOLD WORDING — official Draft 5 texts for Fear, Shame, Lying, Heaviness, Abandonment, Lust, Addictions, Anger, Poverty, Jealousy, Grief, Occult and Infirmity (Section 7), matching how the app plays them. “Lose N anointing” defined once (Section 6). No Stronghold numbers changed.
- “TRUTH CARD” defined — any Living Truth, Equipment or One Time card. “Remove from the game” defined (Lying).
- DRAFT — Mentor trigger cards are no longer in the Market; each player starts with their own trigger card as their first pick. Market Row stays at 6.
- COMPONENTS — Appendix C lists what a full Set 1 needs for all seven Mentor Cores: 49 Basic Anointing (7 per color) and 21 Spiritual Discipline cards.
- IRON SAINTS — clarified as an optional hard variant (attacks every round; summons still every other round), not in the app, simulated around 20–30% win rate.
- STILL TO CONFIRM AT THE TABLE — human draft strength (bots draft weaker than people, so real Draft win rates should sit between the two rows below); 3–4 player Quick-Start runs 2–4 points easy (optional fix: Strongholds +1 ATK / +3 HP per extra player at 3–4 players, about −6 to −8 points).
Simulation summary (Competent bots, 3,000 games per cell)
| Mode / players | Draft 4a win | Draft 5 win | Avg rounds D4a → D5 | Color-screwed turns D4a → D5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quick-Start 1p | 48.0% | 48.0% | 10.6 → 10.6 | 2.9% → 2.9% |
| Quick-Start 2p | 51.6% | 51.6% | 9.4 → 9.4 | 3.2% → 3.2% |
| Quick-Start 3p | 56.7% | 56.7% | 9.3 → 9.3 | 3.2% → 3.2% |
| Quick-Start 4p | 58.8% | 58.8% | 9.3 → 9.3 | 3.4% → 3.3% |
| Draft 1p | 38.3% | 42.4% | 10.4 → 10.5 | 25.2% → 12.8% |
| Draft 2p | 39.3% | 44.4% | 9.1 → 9.3 | 24.3% → 13.3% |
| Draft 3p | 43.4% | 50.4% | 9.0 → 9.3 | 23.6% → 12.8% |
| Draft 4p | 43.1% | 49.2% | 9.0 → 9.2 | 23.4% → 13.1% |
Earlier history (Draft 4, July 2026)
- Pacing: seeded Stronghold; Dark Turns from Round 3 (was Round 4 in Draft 3); 5th Stronghold by Round 9 (was Round 12).
- Scaling per extra player introduced; Encroaching Dark lose timer; destroy = demolish; passive MP cap +10.
- Anger 6/5 MP 7 and Deaf & Dumb 7/5 MP 6; total MP 106. Draft became the standard mode; preconfigured decks kept as Quick-Start.
Appendix B — Card Text Errata for Reprint
| Card | Printed / database text | Draft 5 text |
|---|---|---|
| Fear (Stronghold) | Player with the least anointing loses an additional 3 anointing. | After Fear attacks, the player(s) with the fewest anointing cards in play lose 3 anointing on their next turn. |
| Shame | MP rewards from demolished Strongholds are halved, rounded up (while in play). | While in play, MP rewards from demolishing other Strongholds are halved, rounded up. |
| Lying | Each player discards 1 card permanently each round. | At the start of each of your turns, choose 1 card from your hand and remove it from the game. |
| Infirmity | Healing related cards cost +2 anointing (any color). | Healing cards cost +2 generic to play. |
| Heaviness | Players with fewer than 2 truth cards in play must discard a card. | At the start of your turn, if you have fewer than 2 Truth cards in play, discard 1 card. |
| Abandonment | Players skip their next draw phase when this is first activated. | When Abandonment is summoned on a Dark Turn, every player skips their next Draw Phase. |
| Lust | Each player must discard their highest playing cost Truth card in their hand. | At the start of your turn, discard the highest-cost Truth card in your hand. |
| Addictions | Each player loses 2 colorless anointing every round. | At the start of your turn, you lose 2 anointing (the first 2 you make this turn). |
| Anger | When any player utilizes 5+ anointing in a turn, they lose 1 MP. | At the end of your turn, if you spent 5 or more anointing this turn, lose 1 MP. |
| Poverty | All cards cost +1 colorless anointing to play. | All cards cost +1 generic to play. |
| Jealousy | When another / any player gains MP, all other players lose 1 anointing. | Whenever a player gains MP, every other player loses 1 anointing on their next turn. |
| Grief | Players who play fewer than 2 cards in a turn lose 2 anointing (any color). | At the end of your turn, if you played fewer than 2 cards, lose 2 anointing on your next turn. |
| Occult | Negates the first Truth card played each round. | The first Truth card each player plays each round is negated (discarded with no effect; cost still paid). |
| Love one another (65) | If you have played more than 5 red cards this game gain +2 MP. | If you have played more than 5 Red Truth cards this game, gain +2 MP. (clarity only) |
| The Blood of the Lamb (164) | Red cards cost 1 less anointing to play. | Red Truth cards cost 1 less generic to play. (clarity only) |
| Mary of Bethany (12), The Lord Provides (191) | “colorless anointing” | No change — colorless now formally means “pays generic only” (Section 2). |
Appendix C — Components (Set 1)
| Component | Count | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Basic Anointing | 49 (7 of each color) | Each Mentor Core uses 7 of its color; all seven Mentors must be playable. |
| Spiritual Disciplines | 21: 2 each of Watch in Prayer, Solitude, Silence Before the Lord, Stillness of Soul, Giving, Gratitude Overflow, Simplicity, Communion Celebration, Fasting, Meditation on the Word; 1 Prayer of the Righteous | Three per Mentor Core; most Disciplines are shared by two Mentors (Section 4 table). |
| Mentors | 7 | One per color. |
| Strongholds | 15 | The Dark Deck. |
| Living Truths | Enough for seven 10-card identity sets (Esther needs 2× By His Stripes and 2× Jesus bore our Griefs in Quick-Start; Daniel 2× Put On Praise) | Core and Quick-Start decks. |
| Equipment + One Time | One of each (Market Deck), plus Quick-Start copies | The draft Market is separate from the starter decks. |