By D. Brad Talton Jr.

Presented by Level 99 Games

Preview Game

BattleCON captures the fast-paced head-to-head intensity of

a 2D fighting video game and tempers it with the
strategic decision-making of a card game.
As new villains appear to lay claim to
the world of Indines, new heroes rise
to challenge them. BattleCON:
Devastation of Indines puts you in
control of 18 mighty heroes and
deadly villains to decide the fate of the
world.
Each character's play style
requires new strategies, but
uses the same foundational
tactics, making a new character easy to
learn, but challenging to master.
BattleCON: Devastation of Indines can be played
stand-alone, or combined with other BattleCON games
to create an even greater pool of characters and play modes.

Level 99 Production Staff Designers Foreword

Lead Designer

Hi there, thanks for trying out BattleCON!

BattleCON is probably a bit dierent than
D. Brad Talton Jr.
most board or card games you own or have
played before. It is not intended to be taken o
Lead Character Illustrator
shelf and taught and played on some select
Eunice Abigael Tiu (Nokomento) the
occasions. Instead, it is designed to be an
ongoing game played regularly by a group of
Design & Concept Artist
experienced friends.
Fbio Fontes
Each character requires a bit of work to
master, and each matchup requires a new strategy
to win. Each strategy requires a new counterSupporting Illustrators
Christelle Hyunh, Victor P. Corbella, Yuting strategy to defeat. By playing regularly with an
established group, BattleCON develops a metaLian, Victoria Parker, and Anika Rnowicz
game where players begin to eectively expect
their opponents tactics and adapt their own
Playtesters
John Parmalee, John Kirk, John Celino, Jessey styles, creating a living game that grows beyond
just the box.
Wright, Joseph Tenney, Bo King, Lorenzo
Weve packed as many options, play modes,
Batallones, Ryan Ozzy Lawrence, Bryan
and possibilities as we can into this box, so that
Graham, Marco De Santos, Yaron Raca, Aaron
you can have a new experience each time you
Gresham, Matthew Locklin, Matthew Fournier,
play, even with (and especially with) friends who
Andrey Trubitsin, Dmitry Trubitstin, Danil
have the same level of experience as you.
Trubitsin, Thomas Woodru, Sean Whetton,
If this all sounds a bit daunting, dont fear.
James Johnes, Marco De Santos, Maksim Penzin,
Weve worked just as hard to make the game
C. A. DuChane, Dennis Crenshaw, Mark
accessible as we have to make it deep. Every
Roberts, Ari Tykkylinen, Noah Selzer, Ryan
element, from the characters to the play variants
Gerstein, Vladimir "Grey Swan" Perepelkin,
Noah Bogart, Steve Ripberger, Ar-j Castelo, Icon has been marked with a diculty rating, which
will help you to start on a solid footing and
Ortega, Kiko Santos, Travis 'KingOfOdonata'
advance towards more specialized characters,
Schneider, Nick Eglinton, Richard Peppers,
play modes, and strategies. So grab some friends
Ferdinand Andrew Capitulo, Helder Arajo
and get ready to explore and experience
BattleCON!
Special Thanks
It is my sincerest hope that BattleCON brings
Kevin Bridgeman, Steven Pettit, Steven
Thompson, Graham Russell, Lance Myxter, Tom you endless hours of entertainment with friends
and family!
Vasel, Lynda Yang, Kevin Brusky, Brandon
Happy gaming!
Ragnar Johnson, Mac Ko, Mark Hadley, Alex
Sieland

D. Brad Talton Jr.

Lead Designer

- 2 -

you can gradually explore the more advanced

characters and play variants.

What is BattleCON?

BattleCON is a board game based on the

principles of intense action, direct
confrontation, and tactical positioning present in
fighting video games. Unlike its peers in console
gaming, however, BattleCON provides strategic
elements and a more thoughtful paceallowing
the player to choose carefully his next moves and
gauge his opponents strengths and motives.
BattleCON is a standalone game that comes
as a complete boxed set. There are no random
packs to buy, no exclusives, and no chase cards
you get the complete game up front in the box.
While you can expand BattleCON with
additional sets featuring new characters, there is
no buy-in to collect more powerful cards and no
expensive rare cards to chase downwhen you
get a box, you know exactly what you are getting.

The diculty of characters and variants

comes in three flavors:
Basic - You can jump right in and play with
these characters and play modes.
Intermediate - When you feel comfortable
with the basics of the game, try these out.
Advanced - When you are ready for a
challenge that tests even the abilities of a
seasoned player, try these.

The World of Indines

Welcome to Indines (pronounced In-deans),

a land of mystery, magic, wonder, and war. In
this game, you will take on the roles of the
champions of each nation or faction,
participating in duels to determine their fates
and the fate of the world as a whole.
Each duel is short and fast-paced, as two
combatants move across the field attempting to
strike one another and avoid being struck. Only
the one whose wits are strongest and whose
strategy is surest will be able to claim victory.

Learning the Game

Don't be intimidated by this rulebook or the

number of cards in the game! BattleCON is an
extremely simple game, and most of the cards
and rules in this book exist to allow you to play
dierent variants and to increase the
replayability of the base game. In fact, each
player will only use 15 cards over the course of a
duel.
If this is your first time playing, use
characters listed as 'Basic' in the character guide
(Shekhtur and Eligor), and follow along with the
graphic quick-rules comic. After you feel
comfortable with the basic mechanics and rules,

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Building the Print and Play

To Build your own BattleCON: Devastation

of Indines Print and Play, follow these steps:
1. Print up all cards and gameboards in this
document. There should be 8 pages of cards and
tokens, and one gameboard.
* Many cards will have incomplete bleeds on the left
or right sides. This is intentional. Cut them out along
the white lines. Even if the bleeds dont look quite right
on the sheet, they will once you set up the game.
2. Sleeve the cards so that all bases are in one
color sleeve, and all styles are in another. Styles
are the cards with their numbers aligned to the
right (they are the left side of an attack pair).
Bases are the cards with their numbers aligned
to the left (they are the right side of an attack
pair). Take note that Joal has more bases than
other characters.
2a. Malandraxs Trap Cards can be sleeved as
any third color, to dierentiate them from other
card types.
2b. Sleeve each characters Finisher cards in
clear sleeves so that they are double-sided. Each
side should have a dierent Finisher for the same
character.
3. Assemble the character Standups. You can
build your character standups by pasting them
together, or by folding them along the dotted
line, gluing them together, then cutting the
shapes down to better match the character sizes.
4. Cut out all Tokens. Shekhtur and Eligor
each have 5 tokens they need. Cut these out as
well.
5. Acquire two life counters. Youll need two
counters that go from twenty down to zero.
Poker chips, glass drops, a 20-sided dice, or even
scrap paper work fine for this purpose.
6. Separate Character Kits. Use plastic bags
or card cases to separate each character and the
basic cards. Every characters cards will have that
characters name at the bottom center of the
card. For tokens, check the Character
Introductions at the end of this guide to see
what goes with whom.

After all this, you should have the the

following supplies ready to play:
Eligor Character Kit:
- 1 Character Card (Eligor Larington)
- 5 Vengeance Tokens
- 5 Styles (Chained, Counter, Martial,
Retribution, Vengeful)
- 1 Base (Aegis)
- 1 Finisher (Sweet Revenge / Sheet
Lightning)
Shekhtur Character Kit:
- 1 Character Card (Shekhtur Lenmorre)
- 5 Malice Tokens
- 5 Styles (Combination, Jugular, Reaver,
Spiral, Unleashed)
- 1 Base (Brand)
- 1 Finisher (Soul Cracker / Con Nails)
Joal Character Kit:
- 1 Character Card ( Joal Kalmor)
- 5 Styles (Cutthroat, Dual Wield, Relentless,
Slayers, Warded)
- 5 Bases (Knuckles, Binding Knife, Hand
Cannon, Ironstar, Runeblade)
- 1 Finisher (Annihilator / Neutralizer)
Malandrax Character Kit:
- 1 Character Card (Malandrax Mecchi)
- 4 Trap Cards (Alarm Trap, Electroshock
Trap, Smasher Trap, Wall Spike Trap)
- 5 Styles (Calculated, Ingenious, Leading,
Plotting, Precision)
- 1 Base (Master Plan)
- 1 Finisher (Deathtrap / Plots Within Plots)
2 Base Sets:
- 6 Bases (Strike, Shot, Grasp, Dash, Drive,
Burst)

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1 Game Board
2 Reference Cards (Beat Sequence + Setup)
2 Life Counters (supplied by you)
4 Double-sided standups

Gameplay Overview

Your primary goal in BattleCON is to win

matches against other players in a head-to-head
battle. Both you and your opponent will select
one of the eighteen characters in the game, and
play a match.
A single match consists of two or three duels.
A duel is a complete game, beginning at 20 life
points and ending with one player reaching 0
life. A single duel takes between 10 and 20
minutes, so a match is typically between 30
minutes and an hour long. The player who wins
two out of the three duels is declared the winner
of the match.
In the course of a single duel, the goal of each
player is to reduce their opponent's life total to
zero or fewer points. The first to accomplish this
is declared the winner of that duel.
A duel consists of up to fifteen rounds, called
beats. In a beat, both players act simultaneously
as they play out all of the steps of the beat. There
are no 'turns' in BattleCONboth players are
constantly engaged in the conflict.
If youre just learning the game, it is
recommended to use the two characters Shekhtur
Lenmorre and Eligor Larington and follow
along with the introductory rules comic. After
following through the comic, you can use the
detailed rules here to answer any questions that
come up as you play the game.

Character Card Overview

Characters are specific personas that you use

on the field of battle. Each player will select a
dierent character at the start of the game and
must use all of the styles and bases that are
associated with that specific character.
Each character card has the following
components:
1. Name The name of the character.
2. Unique Ability One or more unique
abilities that this character possesses. These are
staples of their personal strategy and are used
during gameplay.
The reverse side of each character contains a
description of how that character fights and some
insight as to how you can pick them up to play
quickly.
Some characters are more dicult to learn
than others, or require a familiarity with the core
gameplay that makes them dicult to learn first.
We suggest starting with basic characters. The
diculty of a character can be found in their
strategy section on the reverse of this card.

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Base Card Overview

These cards are printed with their numbers

aligned to the left and may be either unique to a
character or generic. Those that are unique to a
character have that character's picture on them.
Bases are the foundations of an attack pair. All
bases have the following parts.
1. Name The name of the base.
2. Range This is what distance the attack
will strike at. Some ranges are expressed as two
values (i.e.: 1~4). These ranges target all spaces
included in the range (so 1~4 would target
spaces at range 1, 2, 3, and 4). Attacks with a
range of N/A will never hit unless they have
some special eect that says they do. Range can
never be less than 0.
3. Power This is how much damage the
attack will do. Attacks with a power of N/A will
not do any damage. Power can never be less than
zero.
4. Priority The speed of the attack. Higher
priority attacks have the advantage of going first
in combat--allowing you to stun or escape your
opponent in many instances. Priority may be
negative on some attacks.
5. Eects Special eects that are part of the
attack. These are explained in more detail later.

Style Card Overview

These cards are printed with their numbers

aligned to the right and are all specific to a
certain character. Each style can be paired with a
base to form an attack pair. A style has the
following parts.
1. Name The name of the style. This pairs
with the name of the base to form the name of
the attack. For example, a 'Calculated' style and a
'Strike' base combine to form the 'Calculated
Strike' attack.
2. Range Modifier The range of the attack is
modified up or down by this amount.
i. If only one side of the attack has a
variable range like (1~4), add the single number
to both sides (so 1~4 plus 2 would be 3~6).
ii. If both sides of the attack range are
variable, calculate the complete range by adding
the highest and lowest parts of both sides (so 1~4
plus 2~4 would be 3~8).
3. Power Modifier The power of the attack
is modified up or down by this amount.
4. Priority Modifier The priority of the
attack is modified up or down by this amount.
5. Eects These eects are added on to the
eects of the base, giving the attack additional
powers. Style eects work the same way as base
eects.

3
3
4

4
5

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Finisher Card Overview

Each character has a Finisher card that they

can make use of during play. We recommend not
using the Finisher cards during your first few
games of BattleCON, and instead introducing
them after you feel comfortable with the basic
gameplay.

The finisher card looks just like a style, except

that it has a purple overlay and a complete
border around the edge. A finisher is not half of
an attack pair thoughit replaces the entire
attack pair, and whatever base or style you play
does not modify it.
Finishers have two sides. During setup, each
player should secretly select which finisher they
wish to use, then reveal those simultaneously.
Finishers can be used during ante if a player
has 7 life or less remaining. Just ante your
finisher and take your attack pair back into your
hand. Do not recycle discard piles after using a
finisher. Instead just remove the Finisher from
the game.

- 16 -

Game Setup

1. Character Selection Each player

chooses one character (choose secretly in a
competitive game). They take all of that
character's cards (1 character card, 5 styles, 1
finisher card, and 1 base), plus a set of generic
bases (6 basesStrike, Dash, Drive, Grasp, Burst,
and Shot), to form a starting hand. Each player
should also find any tokens or markers their
character uses and place them beside their
character card or into play as specified by their
unique abilities.
Each characters complete kit is listed below
their portrait in the character guide, later in these
rules. The name of the character kit a card belongs
to is always listed in the bottom center of the card.
2. Board Setup - Place the players on the
second and sixth spaces respectively (as shown
below), so that each character is on its owner's
left hand side of the board. Use the spinning life
dials to keep track of each player's life points. All
players start with 20 life.

3. Initial Discards - Each player chooses two

bases and two styles*. These will form two pairs
that should be placed in discard 1 and discard 2
respectively. These cards will not be available at
the start of the game but will become available
soon. Make sure your two discard piles are clearly
separated and that you know which is which, as
they both have very important functions (see
Recycle for more information).
3b. Character Setup - Some characters
(particularly advanced characters) require some
additional setup. The characters Unique Ability
will tell you what extra setup steps they may have
to complete.
4. Game Start - Once you have completed
these actions and filled both discard piles, you are
ready to begin the game.
* When learning the game or trying a new
character, the bases and styles marked with a 1
and 2 form the starting discard piles. These are
optional, but are intended to help you to set up the
game and jump into a new character quickly.

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1 - Select Attack Pairs

Each player chooses one style and one base

from his hand, then places those cards face down
in front of him where their opponent can see the
backs of the cards clearly. A legal attack pair
always has one red-backed and one bluebacked card. Once both players have attack pairs
placed down in front of them, move on to the
next step.

The Core Mechanic

An attack pair is formed by selecting one

style and one base from the player's hand and
placing those face-down in front of him.
An attack pair has the power, range, and
priority of the base, plus the modifiers specified
on the style and all the eects of both cards.
Since there are 5 styles and 7 bases, each
character has 35 possible attacks (and even more
when you factor in Unique Abilities!)

Objective

The objective of each duel is to reduce the

opponent's life points to zero before your
opponent can do the same to you. The first
player whose life points reach zero is eliminated,
and the remaining player is declared the winner
of the duel.
A duel has a time limit of 15 beats (just a
fancy name for rounds). At the end of the 15th
beat, if no player has eliminated the other, then
the player with the highest life total is declared
the winner.

Play Sequence

Every beat in BattleCON follows a similar

pattern. Each of these steps is done by each
player simultaneously.
1. Select attack pairs
2. Ante Tokens
3. Reveal attack pairs
4. Execute attacks
5. Recycle

2 - Ante Phase

A character's unique ability may provide that

character with with tokens. These tokens are
chosen and spent during the ante step, after both
players have selected attack pairs. A token's exact
eect depends on the unique ability of the
character using it.
Tokens are in a character's token pool area
until they are used. After being used, they are
typically moved to the token discard pool.
Unless otherwise stated by a character's
unique ability, tokens are discarded to their own
separate discard pile and cannot be retrieved
except by the eects of that character's styles and
bases. Not all characters are able to retrieve their
tokens, so pay attention to your options for
recovery before you use them recklessly!
Players may ante tokens in any order, and may
always ante more tokens (as far as their unique
abilities allow), but antes can never be taken
back. Once both players have elected to pass on
adding tokens, move on to the next step.

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3 - Reveal Attack Pairs

Both players simultaneously flip over their

face-down attack pairs. Any Reveal Eects occur
at this time. Reveal eects can occur in any order
the players wish.
After resolving all reveal eects, check the
priorities of both attacks (considering any
modifications provided by tokens, styles, and
passive special abilities). If the total priorities
tie, then a clash occurs.
Reveal eects do not have any timing, and only
serve to improve the priority of the styles they are
printed on. Players can execute reveal eects in
either order, even simultaneously. They continue to
provide their benefits, even after a clash, and are
never activated more than once per beat.

4 - Active Attack

The Active Player activates his attack first by

performing the following steps*:
1. He performs any Before Activating eects
listed on his cards. If there are multiple eects, he
chooses which order to use them.
2. He checks to see if the opponent is within
his range. Range is counted in spaces, with the
space occupied by the player being space zero (so
adjacent characters are at range 1, and characters
at the start of a match are at range 4).
* It is possible for some eects, such as Eligors
Counter style, to stun the Active Player. If this
happens, his attack is skipped, and you should move
straight to the next step, Reactive Attack.

Priority Tie? - Clash!

In a clash, both players must play a new base

face-down from their hands. They
simultaneously reveal the played base and put it
on top of the old one, hiding the eects and stats
of the original base and forming a new attack.
Players then check to see if another clash has
occurred. If it has, continue again as above.
If any player runs out of cards during the
clash, then skip directly to recycling their top
attack pairs (without activating any End of Beat
eects) and a new beat begins.
During the Recycle step, only recycle the
top attack pair (the one your character
actually used), and return all other cards to
your hand.

Special Ranges

Some attacks have special ranges of X or

N/A. These attacks are treated dierently
than normal.
Attacks with a range of N/A never hit
opponents.
Attacks with a range of X (on either side of
the attack pair) have their range defined by
some special passive or triggered eect. Range
boosts or penalties do not apply to these
special rangesthey can only hit or miss due
to their eects.

The player who has higher priority after

Reveal eects are resolved is called the Active
Player, and the one with lower priority is called
the Reactive Player.
After Reveal eects and Active/Reactive
player are resolved (by clashes if necessary),
Start of Beat eects take place. The Active Player
executes all of his Start of Beat eects, then the
Reactive Player executes all of his Start of Beat
eects. Once the Start of Beat eects are
resolved, attacks begin.
!

- 19 -

3. If the opponent is in range, then the active

player resolves any On Hit eects.
4. If the opponent was hit by the attack, then
the opponent takes damage equal to the power
of the attack, reducing the damage taken by his
own attack's Soak value (if he has this eectsee
common eects).
5. If any damage was done, On Damage
eects are resolved. Also, if any damage was
done, the opponent may be stunned. This stun
can be prevented by an opponent with Stun
Guard (see the section on Stun, page 25).
6. If a player's life is reduced to zero or fewer
points, the game immediately ends, with the
remaining player being declared the winner.
7. The active player resolves any After
Activating eects, regardless of whether or not
the attack hit or did damage.

Once you have recycled your discard piles,

advance the turn timer by one beat, and you are
all set to start the next beat!

The recycling of discard piles means

that each Attack Pair you play will take 2
beats of cycling before it can be recombined
into new attacks. Be careful before you use
your strongest attackit might be more
useful as two parts instead of one!

4B - Reactive Attack

If the Reactive Player is not stunned, then he

may activate his attack by following the same
steps as the Active Player. A stunned player skips
activation entirely, including any Before
Activating and After Activating eects.
Once the reactive player has resolved his
attack (or been stunned), move on to the next
step.

5 - Recycle

Both players activate any End

of Beat eects they possess. If
both players have End of Beat
eects, the Active Player executes
all of his eects first. End of Beat
eects will still be executed by
the reactive player even if he
was stunned.
Finally, both players:
1. Pick up their second
(outermost) discard pile,
2. Move their first (innermost)
discard pile into their second
discard pile, and
3. Move the attack pair they just
played face-up into their first discard
pile.

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Advance This movement brings you closer

to an opponent. (ex: Advance 1, 2, or 3 spaces)

Resolving Effects

During the course of the game, you will need

to resolve many special eects that your attacks
have. How to resolve these eects is explained in
detail here.
There are two kinds of eects, Passive
Eects and Triggered Eects.
Passive eects are always active from the time
the attack is revealed until the end of the beat.
For example, Shekhturs Combination Style
states "This attack does not hit opponents at range
3 or greater." This is a passive eect and should
be followed as long as it is face-up on the player's
current attack pair. Its instructions should be
obeyed by both players at all times.
Triggered eects have two parts: a trigger and
an eect. An example of a triggered eect might
be "Before Activating: Advance 1 or 2 spaces."
This means that the eect is triggered and
resolved during the Before Activating step
(during step 4 of the turn). If a player controls
multiple triggered eects with the same trigger,
then he chooses what order to activate them. All
triggered eects are mandatoryyou must use
them when they trigger.
If triggered and passive eects would conflict
with one another, the passive eects take
precedence.

Retreat This movement takes you further

from an opponent. (ex: Retreat 1 space.)

Pull This movement brings an opponent

closer to you. (ex: Pull the opponent up to 2
spaces)

Push This movement puts an opponent

further from you. (ex: Push the opponent up to
2 spaces)

Status Effects

Some triggered eects will apply powers to

the next beat of combat. These are called Status
Eects and are separate from the cards, tokens,
or abilities that generate them. The box contains
some tokens that you can use to track status
eects, but status eects are not tokens.

Move You may choose either direction for

this movement. (ex: Move 1 space)

Movement

Many eects will cause characters to move.

The only way to move on the board is by these
eects or by the unique abilities of characters.
Movement will be specified by triggered
eects or a character's unique abilities in the
form of eects such as After Activating:
Advance 1, 2, or 3 spaces.
There are 6 kinds of movement:

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Move directly Teleport immediately to the

Stun, Guard, & Immunity
space specified, without moving into or out of
spaces in between. Some eects may prevent you
All attacks have the potential to stun
from moving over your opponent. These
opponents when they hit. A stunned opponent is
eects do not apply to direct movement.
unable to react with an attack of his own. Thus, in
order to score hits a player must either be fast
enough to strike first, maneuverable enough to
avoid damage, or defensive enough to prevent
stun.
A stun occurs whenever a player takes damage
greater than his Stun Guard value. Attacks that
have no Stun Guard on them have a Stun Guard
Movement eects are mandatory. If an
eect says 'advance 1 or 2 spaces', then the player of zero. Here are a few examples that you can
follow along with using your own cards. All of
must move either 1 space forwards or 2 spaces
forwards. He cannot choose to remain where he these examples ignore range and movement.
Example 1 - Hit and taking damage:
is.
For all moves except direct movement, you Shekhtur and Eligor dueling. Shekhtur uses a
'Jugular Grasp' (7 priority) and Eligor uses a
must pass through the spaces between your
'Retribution Drive' (4 priority). Shekhtur will go
current position and your final destination.
If an eect specifies 'Advance up to 2 spaces', first. She hits Eligor for 1 damage. Because Eligor
has no Stun Guard or Soak eects, he takes 1
then the player has the option of choosing a
damage and is stunned. He will not be able to use
movement of zero (which is less than 2) and
any of his eects, since Before Activating is an
remaining stationary. Negative movement is
Attack trigger, and he will not attack this beat.
never allowed.
Example 2 - Taking no damage: Eligor uses
When moving, you hop over opponents and
'Retribution
Aegis' with 3 tokens (priority -1,
do not count the spaces they occupy against your
Soak 3, Stun Guard 6) and Shekhtur uses 'Jugular
movement. (See the example for Advancing)
Grasp' (priority 7). Shekhtur will hit first,
If a player cannot complete a retreat due to
dealing 1 point of damage to Eligor. Eligor has
the presence of a wall, then he moves as far as
Soak 3, which reduces the damage he takes by up
possible and stops. The same holds true for a
player advancing against a player who is adjacent to 3 points. Thus, he takes 0 damage. Because he
has not taken any damage, he is able to retaliate
to a wall. The presence of walls may preclude
and score 2 damage on Shekhtur.
movement entirely. In this case, movement is
ignored.
If a legal movement is possible given the
eect moving the character, then it must be
taken. (Example: Arec must move 1 space forwards or
backwards, but there is a wall behind him. In this case,
he is forced to choose the forwards movement, since it is
the only legal, available move).
Advance and Pull just determine
the initial direction of the movement. Its
possible to pull someone past you so that
they are further away than when they
started, and its possible to advance far
past someone in order to create distance.

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Example 3 - Stun Guard greater than

damage: Eligor uses 'Vengeful Strike' (priority
3, Stun Guard 8) and Shekhtur is using 'Spiral
Drive' with 2 tokens (priority 5). Shekhtur will
hit first, as usual, and deal 4 points of damage.
Eligor takes the damage, but because the damage
is lower than or equal to his Stun Guard value,
he is not stunned. He can hit Shekhtur back for 5
damage.
Example 4 - Damage greater than Stun
Guard: Eligor uses 'Counter Strike' (priority 2,
Stun Guard 5) and Shekhtur uses 'Combination
Drive' (priority 4). Shekhtur will hit first,
dealing 6 damage to Eligor (+2 from
Combinations eect). Eligor takes the damage,
and since it is higher than his Stun Guard value,
he is stunned and will not activate his attack.
Example 5 - Stun by eect: Eligor uses an
extremely defensive 'Vengeful Aegis' with 4
tokens (priority 0, Soak 4, Stun Guard 11).
Shekhtur uses her finisher, 'Soul
Breaker' (priority 3). Shekhtur will go first,
dealing 3 damage to Eligor. Eligor's Soak absorbs
the first 4 points of the damage, so he takes
none. However, Shekhtur's Finisher has a special
eect "On Hit: The opponent is stunned..."
Eligor is stunned because of the eect and will
not activate his attack. This is called an auto-stun
eect and can stun regardless of the opponent's
Stun Guard and Soak.
Example 6 - Stun Immunity: Eligor uses
the same 'Vengeful Aegis' and Shekhtur uses her
same 'Soul Breaker' as above. This time,
however, Eligor decides to ante all 5 of his
Vengeance tokens during the Ante phase. This
ante gives him the eect of Stun Immunity due
to his unique ability. Now when Shekhtur hits
first, her Soul Breakers eect will attempt to
stun Eligor. Eligor is immune to stun, however,
so no eect and no amount of damage can
prevent him from executing his attack this beat.

is always a passive eect. Attacks with no Stun

Guard specified have an implied Stun Guard of 0.
If a player would take damage multiple times
in a turn, Stun Guard applies separately to each
one. The player must take damage higher than his
Stun Guard in a single attack for his Stun Guard
to be broken.
Soak A number will be specified (i.e.: Soak
3, Soak 1, Soak 2). Whenever the player would
take damage this turn, he reduces the damage
taken by the amount specified. Multiple Soak
eects stack together (so Soak 3 + Soak 1 = Soak
4). Soak is always a passive eect.
If a player would take damage multiple times
in a turn, his Soak applies to each individual time
he would take the damage.
Lose Life Eects that say lose life do not
ever cause stun. Only eects that deal damage
can cause stuns. Soak does not prevent loss of life
from these eects. Loss of life can never reduce
a player to below 1 life.
Stun Immunity The character cannot be
stunned by any means or eects. Stun Immunity
overrides any eect or damage that would
normally stun a character. It does not prevent any
damage.
The opponent is stunned - The opponent
becomes stunned. This ignores any soak and stun
guard eects the opponent may have, but will not
bypass Stun Immunity.

Common Effects

Stun Guard A number will be specified

(i.e.: Stun Guard 5, Stun Guard 3). Whenever
the player takes damage this turn, he is not
stunned unless the total damage taken this turn
is greater than his Stun Guard rating. Stun Guard

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Playing Eligor

Playing Shekhtur

Eligor Larington

Shekhtur Lenmorre

Eligor is a dedicated defensive fighter whose

heavy armor and combat training allow him to
stand up against the most powerful attacks
without flinching. He excels in counterattacking,
and fights most eectively when he can predict
the opponent and bait certain attacks.
Start out with Eligor if you prefer to hold
your ground and watch your opponents
strategies unwind in the face of your defenses.

Shekhtur is a deadly rushdown character who

can do great damage to opponents and maintain
significant pressure. Her abilities revolve around
creating and maintaining favorable corner traps
and staying in close melee with opponents.
Start out with Shekhtur if you like to take the
oensive early and stay on the attack as much as
possible.

It only takes one hero to stand up

and change the world for the better.

This power was meant for evil, but maybe

I can use it for good instead.

Eligor acquires Vengeance Tokens as he takes

damage, and these tokens further increase his
defensive potential and ability to eectively
counterattack. He is a great choice for players who
prefer to play defensively and make contingency
plans for their opponents options.

Shekhtur gains Malice Tokens as she does

damage, and these tokens further increase her
speed and damage-dealing ability. She is a great
choice for players who like to use reckless,
unstoppable force as an alternative to a more paced
combat style.

Diculty: Basic
Complete Kit:
- 1 Character Card (Eligor Larington)
- 5 Vengeance Tokens
- 5 Styles (Chained, Counter, Martial,
Retribution, Vengeful)
- 1 Base (Aegis)
- 1 Finisher (Sweet Revenge / Sheet
Lightning)

Diculty: Basic
Complete Kit:
- 1 Character Card (Shekhtur Lenmorre)
- 5 Malice Tokens
- 5 Styles (Combination, Jugular, Reaver,
Spiral, Unleashed)
- 1 Base (Brand)
- 1 Finisher (Soul Cracker / Con Nails)

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Playing Joal

Playing Malandrax

Joal Kalmor

Malandrax Mecchi

Joal is a slightly more advanced jack-of-all

trades type fighter. His additional bases give him
the ability to adapt to all sorts of situations, and
making the best move in any given position isnt
always easy.
Once youve played a few games with
Shekhtur or Eligor, try out Joal and get a feel for
the breadth of possibilities BattleCON has to
oer in a more technical fighter.

Even the immortal dragons can be

hunted if you know their weakness.

Malandrax is an advanced character, a

scheming trap-setter who relies heavily on an
opponents paranoia and recklessness to create
deadly setups.
Once youve played everyone else and feel
comfortable with the games core mechanics, try
out Malandrax to see how much an outlandish
Unique Ability can change the game and force
you to think dierently.

As expected, everything is playing

out splendidly.

Joal possesses additional unique bases, and can

swap out his starting selection of bases to put new
strategies into place. He is a great pick for players
who like to adapt their abilities to match each
opponent.

Malandrax sets traps for opponents, activating

them instantly when the conditions are right, based
on his opponents movements. He is suitable for
tricky players who like to induce paranoia in
opponents to make them trip up.

Diculty: Intermediate
Complete Kit:
- 1 Character Card ( Joal Kalmor)
- 5 Styles (Cutthroat, Dual Wield, Relentless,
Slayers, Warded)
- 5 Bases (Knuckles, Binding Knife, Hand
Cannon, Ironstar, Runeblade)
- 1 Finisher (Annihilator / Neutralizer)

Diculty: Advanced
Complete Kit:
- 1 Character Card (Malandrax Mecchi)
- 4 Trap Cards (Alarm Trap, Electroshock
Trap, Smasher Trap, Wall Spike Trap)
- 5 Styles (Calculated, Ingenious, Leading,
Plotting, Precision)
- 1 Base (Master Plan)
- 1 Finisher (Deathtrap / Plots Within Plots)

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Frequently Asked

Malandrax

Questions

For a more complete and up-to-date FAQ,

check out www.battleconnection.com

Common Questions

Q: Does damage cause life loss, and viceversa?

A: No. These are two dierent things.
Damage is usually caused by attacks based on
their power. Life loss is typically caused by
triggered eects. The primary dierence
between these two are that life loss cannot
reduce a character below 1 life, will never stun a
character, and bypasses soak.

Q: Can my Smasher Trap be used to trigger a

hit with my Master Plan?
A: No. Smasher Trap only activates during
End of Beat, and Master Plan has already missed
the opponent at this point.
Q: Do I have to activate a trap immediately
when its relevant?
A: No, you can always wait to activate a trap,
but if your opponent moves on to the next eect
and doesnt give you another chance to activate,
then youve missed your opportunity!
Q: Can I interrupt movement with a trap?
A: Yes, you can activate a trap in the middle of
another players movement eect. Once the trap
eect is complete, the other players eect
continues as normal.

Q: What happens if priority changes after the

Reveal?
A: Nothing. Once priority order is resolved,
Shekhtur
changes to priority do not alter that order later
Q: Exactly what happens when I hit with the
on in the beat. Triggered eects (like Marmelees
Soul
Breaker Finisher?
Petrifying style) can still alter the priority order.
A: Treat it as though your opponents Unique
Ability text were completely blank.
Eligor
- Eligor can no longer ante or acquire tokens.
- Joals stockpile cannot be accessed anymore
Q: What is included in the power of my Aegis
(he keeps extra bases already in play though).
base?
- Malandrax can no longer set traps.
A: Any numbers printed in the power
Any eects or abilities that reference tokens,
section of your opponents attack pair. Bonuses,
traps,
or the stockpile stop working.
like those provided by Malandraxs Ingenious
style or Shekhturs 3rd and 5th tokens are not
included.
Gameplay Tips

Joal
Q: When do I select my stockpile?
A: Anything that happens during setup (such
as choosing the stockpile or setting your starting
discards) happens secretly and is revealed
simultaneously right before the duel begins.

Start out by sticking with a single character

and mastering them. The more you play a single
character, the better youll get. Only once you
have all of your own eects and capabilities
mastered will you be able to find the ways to
exploit an opponents weaknesses and to
compensate for your own.
Never give up. Except in a very few
situations, theres always a winning move that
will make a positive exchange (or at least avoid

- 26 -

negative exchange). If things get tough, buckle

down and pay more attention to your opponents
discards and play style.
Play best of three matches. Especially with
new characters, a first match will rarely tell you
anything about the depth and possibilities of
your character. A first match lets each side know
what the other is capable of, but the second
match gives those possibilities time to sink in, so
that the other side can eectively counterplay.
BattleCON plays the best with full
information and mastery on both sides of the
field. Playing a complete match rather than just
one duel gives you the opportunity to correct
mistakes made in the first duel and experiment
with new strategies that can deal with your
opponents kit.
Unconventional opponents require
unconventional play. Not all matches will be as
easy as others, but all matches are winnable.
Sometimes a match will require a completely
dierent set of strategies from what youve
become accustomed to.
Characters with extreme mobility, speed,
defense, or certain tricks can completely shut
down the core strategies of your favorite
character.
Finding a new strategy to overcome these
tactics is part of the fun of BattleCON, and one
of the most satisfying parts of mastering a
character is when you can handily win a fight
that looks impossible at first glance.

Thanks for checking out

You can visit www.battleconnection.com to

get a copy of the complete game, or to check out
additional characters, gameplay reviews,
backstory notes, and strategy guides!
If youve had fun with this small slice of the
complete game, theres tons more where it came
from. The complete Devastation of Indines game
has over 18 characters, multiplayer modes,
massive cooperative bosses to fight, and even
solo dungeons to tackle.
Thanks from all of us at Level 99 Games for
taking the time to try out BattleCON!

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