--- Setting up the Game ---
To play the game you need:
-> Two Players
-> Two decks of exactly 40 cards. No more than 4 copies of a single card in the deck.
-> A coin
-> [Optional] A holodeck on the TGC setting
Flip the coin to decide who goes first, then keep the coin next to the other player, flipped with heads up. Both players start with 20 Healthstards (this game's HP), with the goal of reducing the opponent's Healthshards to 0. At the start of each game each player draws 5 cards then mulligans. Each player can, up to 3 times, discard a card face-down then draw 1. These discarded cards then get shuffled back into the deck.
IMPORTANT: When between-rounds persistency for TGC cards get added a new deckbuilding rule will be added: You can only have 3 card subtypes on your deck. Until persistency gets added (or for draft play) this rule can and should be ignored.
------- Game Basics ------
At the start of every turn you draw 1 card.
At the start of your first turn you gain 1 plasma. At the start of your second you gain 2 plasma, of our third 3 plasma, etc. Plasma is used to play cards, being spent as you play them. Plasma does carry over from your turn into your opponent's turn but any unspent plasma is lost by the beginning of your turn. If you went second you start with the coin, which is put at the table with heads facing up. Once per game you may flip the coin from heads to tails to gain +1 plasma that turn.
Your turn is divided into two main phases the Play Phase and the Battle Phase.
During the Play Phase you may play cards, activate effects and etc. Once you're finished with it you move to the Battle Phase. During the Battle Phase you use your creature cards to attack the opponents' creatures on their side of the field. Once you finished the Battle Phase you cannot go back to your Play Phase - once you start the Battle Phase you can no longer play new cards or activate monster effects until the rest of the turn, with the exception of Instant cards. Always remember to do everything you want to do before starting the Battle Phase!
----- Card Types ------
There are 5 types of cards in the game: Creature, Equipment, Event, Instant and Battlefield.
Creature cards stay on the field when you play them. They have a power (which is how much damage they do), a resolve (which is how much damage they can take before being destroyed) and effect text. You can use them for combat and winning the game!
Equipment cards can be equipped to your Creature cards, letting you buff them with new powers and better stats. When you use it, put it underneath the Creature card you want to equip it to.
Event cards have an effect that applies when they are played. They then go to the discard pile after being played.
Instant cards are similar to Events however can be played at any time - they can be played on the Play Phase but also the Battle Phase, and even on the opponent's turn! The main rules of it are that you cannot use an Instant card after the opponent activates a card but before it goes in effect - if the opponent plays a card that deals 3 damage to one of your cards for example you cannot "respond" with an Instant to heal it before it gets destroyed.
Battlefield are cards that stay on the field after being played but are not creatures. Each player can only have one Battlefield card on their field at once.
----- Card Combat -----
You can only attack with untapped units. In the Battle Phase you can perform two types of attacks: direct attacks and enemy attacks.
When you declare a direct attack the opponent can either choose to let it go through and take damage equal to the power of the attacking card or block it. When they block it they choose one of their untapped units and they fight. If the opponent has no untapped units then they can't block.
You can also make your creatures to attack one of the opponent's creatures. In that case you choose which of the enemy's units becomes the blocker.
When two creatures battle they both take damage equal to the other creature's power. This can mean that both creatures get destroyed in an attack. After an attack, every creature gets tapped, both the attacker and the defender.