How To Play

Learn the rite without learning it the hard way.

Freyed is a duel of creatures, spells, and monoliths. Build a 50-card deck, grow your mana turn by turn, and collapse the opposing hero from 30 health to 0 before their engine outscales yours.

Win Condition

30 to 0

Reduce the opposing hero’s health to zero before they do the same to you.

Deck Shape

50 Cards

Choose one element, bring exactly 50 cards, and run up to 3 copies of a card.

Turn Loop

5 Steps

Every turn always proceeds in the same order: Draw, Mana, Play, Attack, End.

Monolith Limit

2 In Play

Monoliths are powerful support structures, but each side may only keep two on the battlefield.

Quick Start

The fastest way to understand a match

If you only read one section, read this one. It covers what you are trying to do, how your deck is built, and the few core restrictions that matter every game.

Start Health

30

Both heroes begin at 30 health, so every early hit and drain effect matters.

Copies

Up to 3

Most cards can appear up to three times, which keeps decks focused without becoming single-card piles.

Fragmented

1 Turn

Newly played creatures are Fragmented and cannot attack until your next turn begins.

Table Read

  • Play creatures when you want lasting board presence and attacks on future turns.
  • Play spells when you need immediate damage, healing, removal, or tempo right now.
  • Play monoliths when you want a longer engine that keeps shaping the battlefield while it survives.
  • During the attack phase, creatures may strike the opposing hero, an enemy creature, or an enemy monolith.

Turn Flow

Every turn follows the same five-beat rhythm

The structure never changes, which makes sequencing and timing easier to learn. Most mistakes in Freyed come from using the right card in the wrong phase.

01

Draw

Draw 1 card. If your deck is empty, fatigue starts biting harder each time.

02

Mana

Increase your max mana by 1, refill to full, then resolve turn-based timers.

03

Play

Spend mana to play any number of cards. You can keep up to 2 monoliths in play.

04

Attack

Only creatures that have been in play since your last turn may attack.

05

End

Finish the turn, resolve end-step effects, and pass the rite across the table.

Combat & Targeting

Know what fights back, and what doesn’t

Combat is simple once you know the three cases. Hero attacks do not strike back. Creature fights do. Monoliths absorb damage but never hit back.

Creature vs Hero

Clean damage

The attacker deals its full attack to the opposing hero. The hero does not return damage in combat.

Creature vs Creature

Both sides hit

Combat damage is simultaneous, so both creatures exchange damage unless one side was prevented or reduced.

Creature vs Monolith

Siege pressure

The creature deals damage to the monolith, but the monolith never fights back. Monolith damage is permanent and cannot be healed away.

Targeting Basics

Choose the right target

If a card says target player, you choose a hero. If it says target creature, you must pick a creature in play.

Read the timing words

On Play resolves immediately. On Hit needs combat to connect. Start of Turn waits for the next turn cycle.

Battlefield Tour

Learn the board before you learn the hard punishments

These screenshots come from the live solo battlefield, but the same board language, targeting rules, deck rails, and action dock apply in multiplayer too.

Shared board language

Upper lane means the opponent, lower lane means you. The left side is each hero's status hub, the right side is the Deck and Void / view pile rail, and the bottom dock is where phase prompts and live targeting instructions appear.

Battlefield tour

Battlefield Layout

A clean board state with the main lanes, rails, and action surfaces visible.

Annotated battlefield layout view showing the opponent lane, player hubs, hand row, deck rail, and action dock.
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Opponent lane

The upper half is the opponent's battlefield. Their creatures hold the central slots while their monoliths anchor the side sockets.

2

Hero status panel

The left panel tracks the hero, current health, mana, and reserve pips for that side of the duel.

3

Deck and Void rail

The right rail holds the deck count above and the Void / view pile below, so spent and stolen cards stay readable at a glance.

4

Battlefield playmat

The playmat is where permanents live. Creatures occupy the middle combat band, while monoliths sit in the recessed side sockets.

5

Your lane

The lower half is your side of the board. Your ready creatures and monoliths stay here until they move into combat or get destroyed.

6

Hand row

Your hand lives across the lower edge. Hover or right-click a card to preview it, then play it during the Play phase if it is legal.

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Action dock

The footer bar tells you the live phase. The banner on the left describes the current action window, and the phase steps track the turn flow.

8

Timer and match state

The lower-right clock shows the active turn timer or match clock. It is your pacing reference when a live turn is underway.

Battlefield tour

Targeting In Action

This is what the table looks like when an attacker is committed and the battlefield is waiting for a legal defender.

Annotated battlefield targeting view showing the selected attacker, hero target, creature target, monolith target, and choose target state.
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Target player

If an attack or effect says target player, you are aiming at the opposing hero. Direct hero hits never take combat damage back.

2

Target creature

Target creature means a creature permanent only. Creature fights return damage unless prevention or reduction changes the exchange.

3

Target monolith

Monoliths can be targeted separately from creatures. They absorb damage, never strike back, and can only occupy the side sockets.

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Selected attacker

The active attacker is the creature you have committed. Once selected, the battlefield waits for a legal defender or a direct hero strike.

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Choose target state

When the footer says Choose defender, the game is in targeting mode. Use the visible target markers to pick a hero, creature, or monolith as allowed.

Targeting rules

Target player

Target player always means the hero, not a creature. If the strike goes through, the hero simply loses health.

Target creature

Target creature means a creature permanent only. In attacks, creature battles exchange damage both ways.

Target monolith

Target monolith means one of the side-socket structures. Monoliths take damage but never return combat damage.

Target marker

Whenever the dock says Choose target or Choose defender, the visible battlefield target markers show what can legally be selected.

Preview and inspection

  • Hover a hand card to read it before committing mana.
  • Right-click a hand card, creature, or monolith to keep the preview open while you study the board.
  • Open the Void / view pile from the right rail to inspect what has already been spent or destroyed.
  • The same interaction model applies in solo and multiplayer, so learning one battlefield teaches both.

Card Anatomy

How to read a card at a glance

This is a real card from the archive. The printed face tells you its cost, role, text, and combat stats, while battlefield-only markers appear above it once the card is in play.

FragmentedBarrier 1

Ash-Balloon Supplicant

1
Ash-Balloon Supplicant
On Play: deal 1 damage to target player.

“He kneels where the balloon skin is patched in ash.”

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1234567
1

Mana cost

This is what you must spend during your play phase to cast the card.

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Name plate

Card names matter for recognition, deckbuilding, and effect references.

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Art window

Pure presentation, but it makes faction and tone readable at a glance.

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Rules text

This is the game text that actually changes the table when the card resolves.

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Attack

How much damage this creature deals when it strikes.

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Health

How much damage the creature can take before it dies.

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Status rail

Battlefield badges live above permanents. `Fragmented` means the creature cannot attack the turn it entered play.

Monoliths

Monoliths are engines, not attackers

Monoliths never attack, never strike back in combat, and cannot be healed. Their stage changes as their health drops, so a damaged monolith often becomes more threatening before it finally breaks.

Arbor of the Departed

5
Arbor of the Departed
Dormant: All friendly creatures heal 1 at the start of your turn. Awakened — All friendly creatures heal 2 at the start of your turn. Unleashed — All friendly creatures heal 3 at the start of your turn. The sanctum makes every stem remember how to mend.

“The arbor remembers everyone buried beneath its shade.”

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Example Monolith

Arbor of the Departed

This monolith heals all friendly creatures at the start of your turn, and that effect grows stronger as the monolith moves from Dormant to Awakened to Unleashed.

Dormant

6-7 health

The monolith is still steady and operating at its first stage of power.

Awakened

4-5 health

Once it has taken meaningful damage, the monolith shifts into its second, stronger stage.

Unleashed

1-3 health

This is the final stage. The monolith is close to destruction, but its effect is at maximum strength.

Reference

Full effect reference for the live card pool

This glossary now tracks the actual effect language used by Freyed’s live cards and battlefield statuses, not just the beginner basics. If a card mentions an effect family below, this is the place to decode it.

Statuses & timing

11 terms

Fragmented

A creature that just entered play is Fragmented until your next turn, so it cannot attack right away.

Sealed

A sealed permanent is bound in place. It cannot ready or act normally until the lock is gone.

Suspended

A suspended permanent is delayed and cannot attack or follow its normal action pattern while the delay lasts.

Overloaded

An overloaded permanent skips future ready steps. The bigger the overload amount, the longer it stays unable to act.

Spent

The permanent has already acted this turn and needs the next turn cycle before it is fresh again.

On Play

The effect happens immediately as the card resolves from your hand.

On Hit

The effect happens after the creature successfully connects in combat.

Start of Turn

The effect resolves as that player’s new turn begins, before later phases unfold.

Enemy Play

The effect triggers when an opposing permanent enters play.

Ally Spell Cast

The effect triggers when you cast a spell, often turning one card into a wider chain reaction.

While Alive

The effect remains active while that permanent stays on the battlefield.

Protection & growth

8 terms

Shield

Shield absorbs incoming damage before health is touched. It is consumed as it protects.

Barrier

Barrier reduces incoming damage every time the creature is hit, making repeated small damage less effective.

Fortify

Fortify raises a creature’s health, making it harder to remove in combat or with damage effects.

Regen

Regen restores lost health instead of increasing the creature’s maximum health.

Empower

Empower increases a creature’s attack, making its combat step and attack-triggered effects more dangerous.

Aura

Aura is a broader blessing that increases both attack and health at the same time.

Weaken

Weaken reduces a creature’s attack, making trades and direct attacks less threatening.

Seal

Seal binds a permanent so it loses normal action access without needing to be destroyed outright.

Damage & control

9 terms

Strike

Strike deals a clean burst of direct damage to a chosen target.

Burn

Burn is straightforward damage pressure, used to scorch a hero or permanent down by a fixed amount.

Blast

Blast spreads damage across the opposing board instead of focusing a single target.

Decay

Decay strips health away from creatures and can finish them without combat.

Drain

Drain damages the target while healing the caster by the amount actually dealt.

Fray

Fray marks a target so the next hostile damage or decay against it hits harder before the mark is spent.

Suspend

Suspend delays a permanent, stopping it from acting while the effect holds.

Overload

Overload prevents a permanent from readying for future turns, buying tempo instead of immediate damage.

Banish

Banish removes a creature outright instead of merely damaging it.

Cards, swarms & theft

6 terms

Draw

Draw moves fresh cards from the top of your deck into your hand.

Summon

Summon creates extra token bodies on your side of the battlefield.

Reclaim

Reclaim returns cards from your void or discard pile back into your hand.

Pilfer Hand

Pilfer Hand steals random cards directly from the opponent’s hand.

Pilfer Deck

Pilfer Deck steals cards from the top of the opponent’s deck before they can draw them.

Pilfer Grave

Pilfer Grave steals cards out of the opponent’s discard pile and converts their spent resources into yours.

Worked Examples

Three real plays from the card pool

Examples are the fastest bridge between reading rules and seeing how they matter in a live match.

Ash-Balloon Supplicant

1
Ash-Balloon Supplicant
On Play: deal 1 damage to target player.

“He kneels where the balloon skin is patched in ash.”

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2

Ash-Balloon Supplicant

Play it

You spend 1 mana and put the creature into play.

Resolve the text

Its On Play effect deals 1 damage to the chosen opposing player immediately.

Wait a turn

The creature is Fragmented, so it cannot attack until your next attack phase.

Black Ledger Charge

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Black Ledger Charge
Drain 2 from target player.

“Every listed loss generates a second, quieter invoice.”

Black Ledger Charge

Choose a target player

Because the text says target player, you point it at a hero, not a creature.

Resolve the spell

The target loses 2 health and you gain 2 health from the drain swing.

Discard it

Spells do their work right away, then leave the battlefield instead of staying in play.

Arbor of the Departed

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Arbor of the Departed
Dormant: All friendly creatures heal 1 at the start of your turn. Awakened — All friendly creatures heal 2 at the start of your turn. Unleashed — All friendly creatures heal 3 at the start of your turn. The sanctum makes every stem remember how to mend.

“The arbor remembers everyone buried beneath its shade.”

7

Arbor of the Departed

Raise the monolith

It enters play and begins at its Dormant stage with the full health total intact.

Absorb pressure

Enemy creatures may attack it directly, but the monolith never deals return combat damage.

Grow more dangerous

As its health drops into later ranges, its healing aura becomes stronger before the monolith finally shatters.