Rules of the duel

How to win a duel

Every fight in Shardbound is a card duel between two Binders. These are the complete rules, taken from the game's own duel engine, with worked examples using real cards.

8,000Core each. Bring your opponent's to 0 and you win.
Deck outA Binder who has to draw from an empty deck loses.
Try a practice duel Jump to combat

The practice duel against Kael shows what each attack will do before you choose. No account needed, nothing is saved.

01A turn

Four phases

  1. 1

    Draw

    Draw 1 card. The Binder who goes first skips this on turn 1. If your deck is empty when you must draw, you lose.

  2. 2

    Build

    Summon or set one creature, cast spells, set traps, and change positions.

  3. 3

    Battle

    Each creature in attack position may attack once. No cards are played here. Nobody attacks on turn 1 of the duel.

  4. 4

    End

    Play more cards if you like, then end your turn. You may hold at most 6 cards: discard the rest.

Both Binders start with 5 cards. A coin toss decides who goes first.

02Summoning

One creature per turn

You may summon or set one creature per turn. The stars (its level) decide how many of your own creatures you must sacrifice to the Dust first.

Positions

  • Attack position (face-up): it can attack, and its Power counts in every fight.
  • Defense position: it can't attack, and only its Guard counts. Losing a defender costs no Core.
  • Set face-down: a defender your opponent can't see. It can't attack.
  • Change a creature's position once per turn, in your Build or End phase, but not on the turn it arrived and not after it attacked.
  • Flipping your own set creature puts it in attack position and fires its "On summon" effect. A creature flipped by an attack does not fire it.
  • A Fusion doesn't use up your summon for the turn.

03Combat resolution

Who falls, who takes damage

An attacker always uses its Power. What it is compared with depends on the target's position: a target in attack position fights back with its Power, a defender (or a face-down card) only blocks with its Guard.

Attacker's Power compared with the target
TargetAttacker is higherEqualAttacker is lower
Attack positionPower vs Power Target falls. Its owner takes the difference. Both fall. Nobody takes damage. Attacker falls. The attacker's owner takes the difference.
Defense or face-downPower vs Guard Target falls. No damage, unless the attacker has Piercing: then the difference. Nothing happens. Nothing falls. The attacker's owner takes the difference.
No creaturesDirect attack Only when your opponent has no creatures at all: they take the attacker's full Power.
  • A face-down target is flipped face-up first; then it is a defender and its Guard counts. Its "On summon" effect does not fire.
  • Crushing halves the defender's Guard (rounded down) against that attacker.
  • Fights use the current Power, after buffs and weakening, not always the printed number (see Power changes below).
  • Guard is never changed by buffs. Only Crushing lowers it, and only for that attack.

Worked examples

Real cards, and the numbers the duel engine itself calculates.

The most common mistake

A card's Guard only counts in defense. In attack position, the same card fights with its Power.

04Power changes

Printed vs current Power

Spells, traps and effects change a creature's Power. The duel log then shows both, for example "2200, printed 1700". Power never drops below 0.

05Spells & traps

Timing is everything

Spells

  • Cast in your Build or End phase, never during a battle.
  • They work at once, then go to the Dust.
  • A spell with nothing to hit can't be cast.

Traps

  • Set face-down in your spell & trap zone (5 places).
  • Armed from your opponent's next turn, never the turn you set them.
  • When their condition happens, you choose whether to spring one.
  • Most traps spring when an opponent's creature attacks, a few when your opponent summons.
  • Whirlwind and Tempest Roc can destroy a face-down trap.

06Keywords

What the bold words mean

07Fusion, the Dust & your deck

Building for the long game

Fusion

Fusion creatures wait in your Fusion Deck (at most 10), not in your main deck. Summon one with a spell:

  • Shard Fusion: materials from your hand or field go to the Dust.
  • Dust Fusion: materials from your Dust are shuffled back into your deck.

A recipe names exact cards, an element, or any creature. A Fusion creature never returns to the hand; it goes back to the Fusion Deck instead.

The Dust

Destroyed and sacrificed creatures, used spells, sprung traps and discarded cards all go to the Dust, your discard pile.

Some cards use it: Echo from the Dust and Lich Queen bring back your strongest creature, Dust Fusion fuses from it, Unbinding returns materials to your hand.

Deck rules

  • 30–40 cards in your main deck
  • at most 3 copies of a card
  • up to 10 Fusion creatures, on top of that
  • only cards you own
  • at most 6 cards in hand at the end of your turn

A good start: mostly level 1–4 creatures, a few of level 5–6, only a couple of level 7+, and some answers to walls: Piercing, Crushing, Earthquake, Shield Crush, Undertow, Wither.

Ready to try it?

Practice against Kael with a starter deck. Every Target button tells you what the attack will do.

Try a practice duel Start your adventure Watch: Power vs Guard