SUMMARY

Players are rival Mages summoned to an arena on mystical Sapphire Island. There they will engage in duels until the title of Grand Master Spellcaster is awarded. The Sorcery Sapphires have great power, so gaining control of 15 of them will give you victory. Of course, reducing your rival’s supply of magical Energy to zero will do the same.

SET UP

Place the four color placards in a row centered between the Mages. Cards are played onto the placard of their color. 

Shuffle the deck. Deal three cards to each Mage then place the deck in the center of the table. Give each Mage 10 Energy crystals and 2 Sapphires to start. 

The Mage with the longest beard goes first, then turns alternate. If nobody has a beard, you are not permitted to play unless you have special dispensation from the current Grand Master Mage. Alternatively, you can randomly choose a Mage to start. 

During the Spellcaster game, spell cards will be played face up in four central piles on the placards, one for each color. The top card of each pile faces the Mage who played it. In general, Mages control and may use only the spells that face them.

ON YOUR TURN 

1. Cards on the table facing you with this symbol are Active Spells and instantly take effect
2. You draw 1 card.
3. You take two actions from the choices below. You may choose the same action twice but you may only activate a given card one time per turn.

• Draw 1 card (in addition to free card you already drew)
• Play 1 card from your hand to the table face up (facing you, atop the pile  of its color)
• Activate a top card that is facing you (do what the text on the card says)

Once you have completed your two actions, the turn passes to your rival. The game continues in this manner until one Mage wins.

WINNING

There are three ways a Spellcaster duel can end.

• One Mage is sapped of all of his Energy crystals, in which case he loses.
• One Mage acquires15 or more Sorcery Sapphires, in which case he wins.
• A Mage cannot draw a card to start his turn. The Mage with the most Sapphires wins. (Tiebreaker: Most Energy crystals.)

Keep in Mind:

•  When you play a card you take over control of that color.
• Don’t forget about Active Spells marked with this symbol! They go off at the beginning of every turn and they do not cost an action.

• Regarding spells, you control a color if the top card of that stack is facing you. Unless otherwise specified, if a spell requires a discard, it means from your hand.
• The term ‘rival’ refers to your opponent.
• If a spell tells you to draw more cards than what remains in the deck, you only get the cards that are left if any. Then the game ends after your turn.
• If a spell tells you to “lose” or“pay” Energy or Sapphires, this means returning them to the supply.
• If a spell tells you to “lose” cards, this means putting them in the discard pile.

3-MAGES RULES

When three Mages battle in the Arena, it’s a two vs one duel. 

One Mage plays by himself and starts with 6 cards, two Sapphires, and 10 Energy crystals. On his turn, he may only activate cards facing him. 

The other two Mages play as a team against the solo Mage. Each of the Mages starts with 3 cards. Together as a team, they share 2 Sapphires and 10 Energy crystals. They may not look at each others’ cards. On their turns, they may only activate cards facing their team.

The first team Mage goes first, followed by the solo Mage, then the second team Mage, and then the solo Mage again. This order repeats until the duel ends.

4-MAGES RULES

The 4-Mages game is a team game, with teammates sitting side-by-side across from their rivals. Each team has a pool of Energy crystals and Sapphires, but teammates have separate hands of cards. Teammates may not share information regarding their hands.

Each team of Spellcaster starts with 10 Energy crystals and 2 Sapphires. Each Mage starts with three Spell cards. On each Mage’s turn, they may only activate cards that face their team. The rest of the game plays exactly like the 2-Mage game, with Spell exceptions.

• “Draw 2 cards unless rival discards 1 card” becomes 3 or 4 Mages: “Draw 2 cards unless next rival to play discards 1 card”
• The choice of “Each Mage gains/loses 2 cards” becomes 3 Mages: “Solo Mage draws/ loses two cards, team draws/loses one each”, 4 Mages: Unchanged
• “Do three damage and rival draws one card” becomes 3 or 4 Mages: “Do three damage and next rival to play draws one card” 
• “Gain one Energy for each card in rivals’ hand becomes 3 Mages: Only the solo Mage use is different. “Gain one Energy for each card in both rivals' hands added together.” 4 Mages: “Gain one Energy for each card in the biggest handheld by the opposing team”
• “Do one damage for each card in rivals’ hand” becomes 3 Mages: Only the solo Mage use is different. “Do one damage for each card in both rivals’ hands added together.” 4 Mages: “Do one damage for each card in the biggest handheld by the opposing team”

The spellbinding card game opens new worlds as two to four mages face off in a duel of supremacy. Players win by exhausting their opponent's energies or by collecting enough sorcery sapphires to overpower them. Sixty different spells are included from four fields of study: Combat, Conjuring, Healing and Sorcery. Cast one or more spells each turn to overcome your opponent and become the Grand Master Mage!

Ages 14+ | 2 to 4 players | Playing time 20-30 minutes