1. Set out the Battlemap so that the 16 Battlefields are in a 4x4 grid with the slots for Empire and Modifier Tokens on the left side of the Mercenary slot.
2. Shuffle all Silver Mercenary Cards together and set them in a pile near the board.
   
3. Shuffle all Gold Mercenary Cards together and set them in their own pile near the Silver pile.
   
4. If you are playing Enhanced Play, shuffle all Scenario Cards and draw two of them to shake up gameplay. Remember to keep Modifier Tokens close by, just in case “Class War” or “Class Project” are drawn during Enhanced Play.
1. Each Scenario has unique rules that are explained later in “Enhanced Play Scenarios.”
   
5. Each player selects an Empire Profile Card to play as, placing their Empire Profile Card on the table in clear view of other players and keeping their matching Empire Tokens handy.
   
6. Deal 6 Silver and 3 Gold Mercenary Cards face down to each player. You may look at your cards, but be careful not to let your competition for the throne see your forces!

NOTE: Scenario Cards and Modifier Tokens are only used in “Enhanced Play” and may be set aside if playing the “Standard Version.”

With everything in place, the Empires are ready to battle for the land of Gridaris!

• Increase your score by capturing and controlling strategically placed battlefields and high ranking Mercenaries.
  

• To determine who goes first, take an Empire Token from each player and mix them around in the box. Have someone blindly choose one token at random. The Player whose Empire Token is selected goes first.

• Play continues clockwise.
  

• Place any Mercenary from your hand onto any empty Battlefield in Gridaris, making sure to place one of your own Empire Tokens onto the Battlefield to show that you control it.
  
• Playing a Mercenary of your own next to another Empire’s Mercenary already in play initiates “Combat.”
• In Combat, look at the Combat Value numbers on the cards. If the Active Player's Combat Value on the adjacent side of the Mercenary already played on the field is higher, then both Battlefields and, therefore, Mercenaries are captured by the Active Player.
• Remove the newly captured Mercenary’s current Empire Token and replace it with one of your own.
  
• Remember, unless stated otherwise in a Scenario, Aces always win battles against Non-Ace Combat Values, regardless of Modifiers.
  

• If the Combat Value is lower than that of an adjacent Mercenary already in play, nothing happens. Each Player retains control of its own Mercenaries.
  
• The Mercenary you play on your turn can never be captured that turn. You will always maintain control of a Mercenary while playing it
  
• If the Combat Value is tied with that of a Mercenary already in play, nothing happens. Each Empire retains control of its own Mercenaries.
  
• For Enhanced Play, remember to follow any special Scenario Rules when resolving combat.
  
• Play passes to the next player.
  

Here is an example of a few turns!

During Enhanced Play, before dealing out the players’ hands, two random Scenarios are revealed which introduce new rules to the game. These Scenarios add elements to Standard Play to change the way players approach playing their Mercenaries. Any conflict between Scenario Cards is addressed below!

Earthquake

• This Scenario MASSIVELY erupts the land of Gridaris, changing the Battle Map from a 4x4 grid to a 2x8 grid.
  
• If this Scenario is drawn with either “Tremor” or “Two Islands”, then the table gets to decide how they want the Battle Map to be formed!
  

Tremor

• This Scenario just kind of erupts the land of Gridaris, shifting one of the boards over one quadrant and making the land look like some sort of geometric “S” or “Z” shape.
  
• If this Scenario is drawn with either “Earthquake” or “Two Islands”, then the table gets to decide how they want the Battle Map to be formed!
  

Two Islands

• This Scenario completely splits the land of Gridaris in half, creating two separate 2x4 islands to deploy your Mercenaries onto.
  
• If this Scenario is drawn with either “Tremor” or “Earthquake”, then the table gets to decide how they want the Battle Map to be formed!
  

Show Whole

• Reveal your entire hand by placing them face-up on the table in front of you. These cards are still considered a part of your hand and may be played normally, but must remain face-up in front of you until played.
  

Inverse

• The smaller Combat Value now wins in combat. However, Aces remain the winner in combat.
  

Ace in the Hole

• All Aces are now treated as a Combat Value of 0. They no longer automatically win combat.
  
• If "Ace in the Hole" is drawn with "Inverse," then Aces are back to being the automatic winners in combat.
  

Class Project

• When you play a Mercenary, all four of its Combat Values receive a Positive Modifier equal to the number of Mercenaries of that same class already in play (Max. +5).
  
• This Modifier increases the Combat Values on the active player’s card BEFORE the Mercenary is deployed.
  
• If "Class Project" and "Class War" are drawn together, then they cancel each other out. Congrats! The fates have decreed this a Standard Game.
  
• When this Scenario is in play, make sure to check which classes are already on the field before deploying you Mercenaries!
• In the right Scenario, an Ace might go against another Ace. Modifiers affect Aces to a certain degree. For this instance, an Ace with a +1 Modifier beats an Ace without any Modifier. Essentially, this is “Well, I have infinity +1 so I beat you!!”

Class War

• When you play a Mercenary, all four of its Combat Values receive a Negative Modifier equal to the number of Mercenaries of that same class already in play (Max. -5).
  
• This Modifier decreases the Combat Values on the active player’s card BEFORE the Mercenary is deployed.
  
• If "Class Project" and "Class War" are drawn together, then they cancel each other out. Congrats! The fates have decreed this a Standard Game.
  
• When this Scenario is in play, make sure to check which classes are already on the field before deploying you Mercenaries!
• In the right Scenario, an Ace might go against another Ace. Modifiers affect Aces to a certain degree. For this instance, an Ace without a Negative Modifier beats an Ace with a Negative Modifier.

Rags to Riches

• Play your cards in order of Star Rank (lowest to highest).
  
• If you have multiple cards of the same Rank, you may choose amongst them which card to play first.
  

Carbon Copy

• Now Combat Values that match on adjacent sides can also trigger a card to be captured by the active player. Aces still remain the winner in these battles.
  
• Basically, ties can capture other Battlefields now.
  
• If "Carbon Copy" and "Cascade" happen to be drawn together, then it is probably going to be a crazy game.
  

Cascade

• Now, when a Battlefield is captured, any Mercenary cards adjacent to the newly captured Battlefield with losing Combat Values are also captured. This Scenario only extends to one space all around the newly captured Battlefield.
  
• If "Carbon Copy" and "Cascade" happen to be drawn together, then it is probably going to be a crazy game.
  

Head Stand

• If this Scenario is drawn, draw two cards at random from the Silver Tier Pile. Every card from these classes must be played upside down for the whole game. Then put the cards back into the Silver Tier Pile and shuffle again before dealing out everyone’s hands.
  
• All Combat Value positions are now flipped. However, 6 is still a 6 and a 9 is still a 9.