Duskfall Legends

Guide

How to play

Duskfall Legends is a one-on-one card battle. You pick a hero, build a deck of 30–40 cards and take turns summoning monsters, casting spells, setting traps and attacking until one hero falls.

Every number on this page comes straight from the game's live rules data, so it always matches what you see in the game.

Starting health
30
Maximum mana
10
Deck size
30–40
Hand limit
10
Monster slots
7
Spell / trap slots
3
Sigil slots
3
Turn timer
45 s

Goal and winning

Each hero starts with 30 health. Bring the enemy hero's health down to 0 and you win.

If both heroes fall at the same moment, the game is a draw.

  • Turn limit: after 50 turns each without a winner, the game ends in a draw.
  • Idle turns: a player whose turn timer runs out 3 times in a row without doing anything loses.
  • You can concede at any time; your opponent wins.

Starting a game

Both decks are shuffled and a coin toss decides who goes first. The first player draws 4 cards, the second player draws 5.

Mulligan: you have 20 seconds to pick cards from your opening hand to replace. Replacements are drawn from the top of your deck first, then the returned cards are shuffled back in — so you never get the same card straight back.

To make up for going second, the second player also gets a free card:

SparkSpellGain 1 mana this turn only.Basic

Your turn

  1. Start of turn: your maximum mana grows by 1 (up to 10) and refills completely — minus any mana locked by Mana Debt.
  2. Start-of-turn effects happen, Déjà Vu echoes resolve, then you draw a card.
  3. Main phase: in any order, play cards from your hand, attack with your monsters (and with your hero if it has a weapon) and use your hero power (1× per turn).
  4. End turn: end-of-turn effects happen and play passes to your opponent.

Each turn lasts 45 seconds. When time runs out, your turn ends automatically.

Mana, hand and fatigue

Every card has a mana cost. You start with 1 mana and gain 1 more maximum mana every turn, up to 10. Unspent mana is not saved.

Mana Debt: some cards cost less now but lock part of your mana on your next turn. Locked mana is not refilled that turn.

Oblivion: Forgotten cards are hidden from their owner and cost 1 more mana until they are played.

Your hand holds at most 10 cards. If you draw with a full hand, the drawn card is burned — it goes straight to your graveyard.

Fatigue: when you must draw from an empty deck, your hero takes fatigue damage instead — 1 the first time, then 2, then 3, and so on.

The board

Each side of the board has its own zones. When a zone is full, you can't put more cards there until a slot frees up.

Monster row
Up to 7 monsters. Monsters fight and protect your hero.
Spell / trap row
3 slots. Traps are set here face-down; relics stay here face-up (at most 1 at a time).
Sigil slots
3 slots for sigils — lasting effects with durability.
Hero and weapon
Your hero, its hero power and one equipped weapon. Equipping a new weapon destroys the old one.
Quest
At most 1 active quest at a time.
Hand, deck and graveyard
Your hidden hand, your deck, and the graveyard where destroyed cards and resolved spells go.

Tokens are cards created by other cards. They can't be put in a deck and when they leave play they vanish instead of going to the graveyard.

Combat

On your turn each of your monsters can attack once: choose an enemy monster or the enemy hero. Attacker and defender deal damage equal to their Attack to each other at the same time. A monster whose health drops to 0 is destroyed.

Monsters can't attack on the turn they are summoned. Swift monsters can attack right away; Lunge monsters can attack enemy monsters (but not the hero) right away.

Your hero can attack only when it has Attack — usually from a weapon. Each hero attack uses 1 durability; at 0 durability the weapon breaks. When your hero attacks a monster, it takes damage back.

Armor absorbs damage before your hero loses health.

Monsters can also attack enemy sigils to wear down their durability.

Keywords that change combat

Guardian
Enemies must attack a Guardian monster first.
Flight
Only monsters with Flight or Reach can attack it; it ignores enemy Guardians that lack them.
Veil
Can't be attacked or targeted by enemies until it attacks.
First Strike
Deals its damage first; if the defender dies, it doesn't strike back.
Aegis
The first damage it would take is prevented.
Thorns
Deals damage to anything that attacks it.
Cleave
Also damages the monsters next to its target.
Trample
Excess combat damage hits the enemy hero.
Twinstrike
Can attack twice each turn.
Intercept
Sacrifices itself to cancel an enemy attack on another friendly character.

Card types

There are 7 kinds of cards, and each plays differently.

All card types in detail →

Heroes and hero powers

Every deck belongs to one hero. Each hero leads a faction, has its own story and a unique hero power — an ability with a mana cost that you can use 1× per turn.

Hero cards can later replace your hero power with a stronger one.

Meet the heroes →Explore the factions →

Building a deck

A deck has 30–40 cards and belongs to one hero. You can include that hero's own cards and any neutral cards, but not another hero's cards.

Tokens and other non-collectible cards can't be put in a deck.

Copies per card

Maximum copies of the same card in one deck, by rarity
RarityCopies
Basic2
Common2
Rare2
Epic2
Legendary1

Standard sets

Cards from these sets are legal in ranked play:

Rarities and crafting →All card sets →

Special mechanics

Beyond simple keywords, these mechanics shape many cards.

Choose one
when you play the card, pick one of its effects.8 cardsExample: Wheel of the Year, Cernun, the Twofold Antler
Quests
put the quest into play and complete its task to get the reward. You can have 1 active quest at a time.13 cardsExample: Edict of the Ancestors, The Grand Contract
Hero cards
they replace your hero power and give your hero Armor.28 cardsExample: Aldric, the Ash-Crowned, Isolde, Queen of Endless Night
Upgrades (Infuse, Ascend, Ritual)
the card transforms into a stronger version once its condition is met.17 cardsExample: Old Hob, the Patient Wolf, The Amber Womb
Locks
some cards stop certain cards from being played while they stay in play.19 cardsExample: Law of the Deep, The Thornwall Pact
Tokens
many cards summon or create extra cards that aren't in your deck.734 cardsExample: Ashka, Runt of the Litter, Edict of the Ancestors
Adapt
choose one of three random upgrades from this list: +3 Attack, +3 Health, +1/+1, Aegis, Guardian, Twinstrike, Venom, Veil, Untouchable, Flight, Thorns 3.9 cardsExample: Elowen, the Wildshaper, Gorrow, the Thousandform
Déjà Vu
the effect happens again at the start of your next turn — on the same target if it is still valid, otherwise on a random one.9 cardsExample: The Twice-Told Star, The Second Funeral
Echo
after you play it, a temporary copy is added to your hand. The copy disappears at the end of your turn.15 cardsExample: Cantor Vessaly, Voice of Many, Reverberant Gust
Scavenge
exile it from your graveyard to give its stats to a friendly monster.7 cardsExample: Ossyrath, the Marrow Wyrm, Ossuary Mason
Slumber
it starts asleep — it can't attack, be attacked or be targeted for a number of turns.31 cardsExample: The Great Dreaming, Ysmera, Cradle-Witch
Colossal
it enters play with extra parts that take their own monster slots.15 cardsExample: Thal'Uura, the Kraken Below, The Grandbore Leviathan
Recycle
pay 1 mana to shuffle it into your deck and draw a card.4 cardsExample: Hidden Troll, Hasty Courier
Seek
choose one of 3 cards to add to your hand.
Dredge
look at the bottom 3 cards of your deck and put one on top.
Excavate
dig up a treasure; each excavation finds a better one, through 4 tiers.

Extra costs

Some powerful cards ask for more than mana. You must be able to pay every extra cost to play them.

Sacrifice
destroy one of your own monsters.42 cardsExample: The Thousandfold Offering, Baron Gorvald, the Gourmand
Pay health
your hero loses health. You can't pay health that would kill you.39 cardsExample: The Blood Covenant, The Devil's Due
Discard
throw away cards from your hand.12 cardsExample: Hollowhill Glutton, Pit Lord of Forfeits
Mana Debt
part of your mana is locked on your next turn.12 cardsExample: Morgrath, Signatory of Ruin, Malgorath, the Price
Exile from graveyard
remove cards from your graveyard for good.8 cardsExample: Ossuary Reckoning, Bone Colossus
Reduce maximum health
your hero's maximum health goes down permanently.6 cardsExample: The Last Bargain, Morgrath, Signatory of Ruin
Give a card
your opponent gets a card in hand.3 cardsExample: Morgrath, Signatory of Ruin, Infernal Debt Collector

Rule details

  • Countered spells still count as spells you have cast (for example for "spells you've cast this game"), but they don't trigger "after you cast a spell" effects.
  • Traps trigger on their own; you don't choose when.
  • A Unique card can't be played while you already control a copy of it.
  • Frozen characters can't attack until they thaw at the end of their controller's turn.

Keyword glossary

Every keyword has a full definition and example cards in the glossary:

Open the keyword glossary →

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