How to play
Want to learn how to play Ulandi Wars? Then click on the video below to watch our how to play tutorial.
The video will help first time players on how to play the game, starting with the Draw Phase and finishing with the End Phase.
Game setup
FIrst players choose which faction deck they are going to play with (there are four decks to choose from in our Core box set). Once chosen, players need to find their two command cards, (Hero card and Territory card). Place them face up in your Combat Zone.
Players then need to separate their faction deck into two different piles, Wargear (Red backs) and Infrastructure (Blue backs). Shuffle each deck separately.
Choose which event card deck you are going to play with, shuffle it and place it face down where all players can reach.
Players then draw 5 cards from their decks to their hands. Roll a D6 die, the highest roll goes first.
The game is played in 5 phases, let’s look at each phase in turn.
Phase one (Token Phase)
Players remove any just deployed tokens that they may have on their cards, Players then generate deployment tokens using the cards that they have available to them. If this is your first turn the only card you will have that can generate deployment tokens will be your Territory card.
Deployment tokens are used to deploy cards from your hand to the Combat Zone. Infrastructure cards are good at generating tokens, so it is wise to draw more infrastructure cards then Wargear cards if this is your first turn.
Phase Two (Draw Phase)
In the draw phase players draw two cards. First they draw one card from their battle decks, (Infrastructure or Wargear) the choice is down to the player. Infrastructure cards help you generate more deployment tokens, Wargear cards are your more aggressive attacking cards.
Players then draw a card from the event card deck, if the card is an Reward or Upgrade card then keep this card in your hand for later use, if the card is an Effect card then this card must be played immediately.
Phase Three (Deployment Phase)
In the deployment phase, players can deploy cards from their hand to their combat zone using the deployment tokens they have available to them. Players can deploy as few or as many cards as they want. Some cards are free to deploy, keep an eye out for zero to deploy cards.
Phase Four (Attack Phase)
Players decide which cards they are going to attack with, the defending player then decides which cards they are going to defend with. Once attacking and defending cards have been chosen it is then time for the attacking player to declare any Upgrade event cards they may want to play.
The attacking player rolls their attack die and adds the result to their cards attack stat, the defending player rolls their defence die and adds their result to their cards defence stat. The highest score wins
Phase Five (End Phase)
The end phase is the last phase of a player’s turn. Some battle cards special actions may take place in the end phase, such as recovering wounds. Some event card actions are also played in this phase such as Reward event cards.
FAQ’s (updated 08/07/2023)
As a general rule the wording on the card will countermand any ruling in the rule book.
Got a question about how to play Ulandi Wars? Our most up-to-date errata and FAQ’s should answer everything you need to know.
FAQ’s
Q – Can I use an upgrade event card for defence? A – No, upgrade event cards are only used by the attacking player.
Q – Is there a maximum hand size? A – No, there is no maximum or minimum hand size.
Q- Is my Hero Card in the Combat Zone? A – Yes, your Hero card is in the Combat Zone, However, they do not take up 1 of the 6 available slots in the Combat Zone.
Q- When do I pick up an Event card? A – In the draw phase you draw two cards, first you draw one card from either your Infrastructure deck or Wargear deck. Secondly you draw an event card.
Q – Can my monster card not defend using the tanks & monster die? A – No, the tank and monster die is for attacking only. To defend with a tank or monster card you roll a normal D6.
Q – Is there a maximum deck size? A – No, a battle deck can contain as many or as few cards as you wish, you do however, have to abide by the deck making rules.
Q – Is my territory card classed as a building card? A – No, Territory cards are command cards.
Q – I played the string of time upgrade card which allows my hero to attack twice. Does this mean my hero card can attack twice in that turn? A – Yes, when you play this card your hero card can attack twice in that turn. The defending player now has to choose a new card to defend your hero’s second attack. If they do not have an illegal card to defend with then they must defend with their hero card as this is the only card that can multi defend.
Q- One of my cards says I need a scientist card in the Combat zone to play it. Once I’ve played the card, what happens if my scientist card is then destroyed? Do I have to remove my other card as well? A – No, the scientist has already done their job. Your other card is safe!
Errata (Core box set first edition)
Upgrade event card – Freeze – This card has typo and should read – Freeze any card in the combat zone apart from a hero card. The frozen card can no longer defend. The defending player must choose another card to defend with.
Some Effect event cards may state that ‘you may’ play this card. If the player does not wish to play the card then this type of Effect card is discarded, it is not kept in hand for later use.
The rule book (Version one) states that only hero cards can be armed with weapon cards. Since the rule book was printed we have release new cards that are allowed to use weapon cards. The wording on these cards countermands the wording from the rule book.
Tournament play rules
Want a tournament pack? Drop an email to info@ulandiwars.com and we will do the rest!
Are you looking at organising an Ulandi Wars tournament? If so then you may need help in organising a rule set for your games. In this section we set out some tournament rules which should help you run a smooth event.
Game is play 1 v 1
Game decks – Players are permitted to use any of the premade faction decks from our core box set and or individual purchased decks or play with a homemade deck made up with any official Ulandi Wars cards. Homemade decks must comply with the deck building rules as laid out in the Ulandi Wars rulebook.
Event deck – Due to the introduction of our individual faction decks and event card series, some players may have a mixed set of event cards. To prevent any confusion, tournament players must play with an official set of complete Ulandi Wars event cards from our core box set version one.
Judging – It is a good idea to have an independent judge watching over your tournament event. The judge must have good knowledge of the rule set and must be impartial.
Banned card list – At present there are no banned cards.
All latest FAQ and Errata apply to tournament play.
If you are organising a Ulandi Wars tournament in your gaming club then be sure to drop us an email or DM and tell us all about it! You never know we may send you some goodies bags!