Official living reference

Rules & Keywords

Learn the field, mana system, turn sequence, battle resolution, and every keyword currently represented by the Universia engine or active card drafts.

Starting Life: 10,000
Main Deck: 50
Keywords: 51

Part one

General game rules

Players and victory

Universia is played by two players. Each begins with 10,000 Life. A player loses when their Life reaches 0.

If a player cannot draw, the opponent draws instead. If neither player can draw, the game is a tie.

Field and decks

Each field has one Main Deck Zone, five Enhancement Zones, five Monster Zones, one Field Zone, one Nonmaterial Deck Zone, and one Rest Zone.

A Main Deck contains exactly 50 cards. A Nonmaterial Deck contains up to 15 cards. A deck normally includes no more than three copies of one card ID and uses no more than two Universes: one generic Universe and one specific Universe.

Mana and momentum

Mana is a shared momentum line from 10 to -10. Paying a cost moves the value toward the opponent. When the value becomes negative after effects resolve, the turn ends and the next player begins with its absolute value.

A player cannot pay more than their available mana plus 10 and cannot hold more than 10. Ending a turn before mana becomes negative normally gives the opponent 3 mana.

Draw Phase

Both players begin with five cards. The first player does not draw on the first turn. On later turns, the turn player draws one card from the top of the Main Deck.

Main Phase

Play monsters, activate Enhancements, and set Traps. Monsters may enter face-up vertically in attack mode, face-up horizontally in defense mode, or face-down horizontally as a set monster.

Setting a card costs no mana; its cost is paid when it is activated or flipped face up. Non-permanent Enhancements move to the Rest Zone after resolving.

Battle Phase

An attack-mode monster may attack once each Battle Phase. It may attack an opposing monster or attack Life directly when no opposing monster is present.

Against defense mode, compare attack to defense. Against attack mode, compare attack to attack. The lower value is destroyed as described by the battle, and the losing player takes the difference as Life damage. Equal values cause no change.

End Phase

The player may end after the Main or Battle Phase, and the phase begins automatically when mana is negative after resolution. End Phase effects resolve before the next player takes the absolute mana value and starts their turn.

Part two

Keyword glossary

Card-specific text and newer rulings take precedence over this living summary. Engine spellings are preserved where current cards depend on them.

Core card flow

Keywords that move cards through the hand, deck, field, and Rest Zone.

Revive: Select a same-universe monster in your Rest Zone and place it in an open Monster Zone.
Abduct: Select a same-universe monster and return it to its owner's hand.
Waste: Place the bottom card of your Main Deck in the Rest Zone.
Spare: Place a selected card from your hand on top of your Main Deck.
Recycle: Place a selected card from your Rest Zone on the bottom of your Main Deck.
Draw: Move the stated number of cards from the top of your Main Deck into your hand.
Save: When this card would remain destroyed in the Rest Zone, move it to its controller's hand.
Retreat: Return this monster to its controller's hand after battle.
INNUMERABLE: A deck may contain up to 50 copies of this card ID instead of the normal three-copy limit.

Monster combat

Keywords that alter attack declaration, battle resolution, and monster survival.

Blocker: An attack-mode monster may redirect an opponent's declared non-Swift attack to itself, then changes to defense mode.
Piercing: After destroying a defending monster, deal excess attack over that monster's defense as Life damage.
Indestructable: This monster cannot be destroyed by battle with another monster.
Alert: Return this monster to face-up attack position when its Alert window resolves.
Retaliation: If only this monster is destroyed in battle, destroy the opposing monster after battle.
Evade: Change this attack-mode monster to defense mode to prevent its destruction by an effect.
Swift: Retarget the attack to the highest-power opposing attack-mode monster and ignore Blocker.
Alliance: Rest another attack-mode ally to add its power and one additional hit to this attack.
Maddness: This monster can attack during the end-turn window, including from defense mode, then destroys itself.
Blessed: Opponent effects cannot affect this monster while it is attacking.
Guard: Destroy this card to prevent another allied monster from leaving the field because of an opponent effect.
FrontLiner: This monster receives an attack opportunity during the end-turn attack window.

Monster stacks

Keywords for evolved or stacked monsters and replacement effects.

Regress: Trash cards from the top of a monster stack until the requested reduction or level floor is reached.
Decoy: Destroy this card to prevent an opponent effect from destroying a matching allied monster.
ArmorPurge: Gain a counter when summoned; remove one counter to prevent this monster's destruction.
Fortitude: Replay a destroyed stacked monster in attack position without paying its cost.
Seperation: Prevent non-battle removal by splitting matching cards from this stack into separate monsters.
Beserker: Give opposing monsters Blocker and force available attack-mode monsters to intercept.
Scapegoat: Destroy another allied monster to prevent this monster from being destroyed by an outside cause.
Decode: Prevent non-battle removal by playing a matching universe and cost card from this monster's stack.
UseRequirement: Record a named use requirement that this card may ignore during later play or effect checks.
Ascension: Place this rested card on the bottom of its controller's Main Deck.

Enhancements

Persistent and delayed effects registered by Enhancement cards.

Battlements: When an opponent attacks, destroy that attacker after battle and rest this Enhancement.
SupplyLine: At the start of your Main Phase, set your mana to 3.
Delivery: At the start of your Main Phase, draw one card.
Delay: After this card has remained on the field long enough, rest it and resolve its stored delayed action.
HighMoral: On activation, give all monsters +500 attack.
HighGrit: On activation, give all monsters +500 defense.
Strife: On activation, give all monsters -500 attack.
Raze: On activation, give all monsters -500 defense.
HighCourage: At the start of your Main Phase, gain 1 mana.
Endurance: At your End Phase, if your hand is empty, draw until the effect has drawn five cards.
Leadership: At the start of your Main Phase, play a cost-3-or-less monster from hand without paying its cost.
TeaWithTheGoddess: Rest one of your monsters at Main Phase start, then return it at the End Phase.
DivineAnnoyance: Rest one of your monsters at Battle Phase start, then return it at the End Phase.
DivineIntervention: Rest one of your monsters at Main Phase start, then return it at Battle Phase start.
BattlePlan: Rest an opposing monster at your Battle Phase start, then return it at the End Phase.
BattleFormation: Rest an opposing Enhancement at your Battle Phase start, then return it during the opponent's Battle Phase.
DivineWrath: When a wide opposing board attacks, destroy all opposing monsters and rest this Enhancement.
DivineJudgement: When a wide opposing board attacks, destroy all opposing Enhancements and rest this Enhancement.

Immaterial and draft keywords

Special card families and mechanics still moving through design review.

Loner: Play this card from the Immaterial Zone by sending its named student requirement to the Rest Zone. Only one Loner should be on the field at a time.
Jamming: A reserved Psychodelic Trades design keyword. Its final rules text is still under development and card text takes precedence.