At the start of the game, each player places their commandant card face up in the commandant zone.
Next, one of the players chooses which player will be the first to have a turn. If this is a latter game in a series, player who lost the former game makes that choise, otherwise players play a chosen game of chance (ie rolling dice or rock-paper-scissors) and the winner makes the decision.
Then, players select cards from their pool to make their deck, shuffle their decks and present them to opponents to cut and/or shuffle.
Finally, each player draws 5 cards from their deck and the first player's turn begins.
All effects related to the beginning of a turn, such as removal of exhausted status from all cards active player controls, are triggered. Neither player gets to play any cards at that point.
Active player's commandant's draw ability is triggered. No cards can be played in response to activation of said ability and cards drawn using it do not trigger effects related to players drawing cards, unless stated so. This phase is omited during first active player's initial turn.
Active player may choose 1 card from their hand and burn it by placing it in their burn zone. A burned card cannot be played, but provides 1 energy for their owner each turn as long as it remains in their burn zone. Burning a card during burn phase cannot be responded to with other cards.
Active player may use their energy to play chants, summon units, place and build constructs as well as activate various cards' effects. All players may use response cards and/or abilities to respond. Each time an amount of energy is spent by a player, they flip that many cards in your burn zone upside down.
Active player may move a card they control to a neighbouring field within the same zone. If the target field is empty, the card that was moved becomes exhausted, otherwise player swaps the neighbouring cards and they both become exhausted. A card that is exhausted cannot move or declare attacks.
Active player may declare attacks with certain cards they control, namely cards in their unit zones and cards with attack abilities in their texts. There are hovewer certain effects (ie exhausted status) that may prevent such cards from declaring attacks or enable a card that normally wouldn't be able to declare attacks to do so. Units are also unable to declare attacks on the same turn they were summoned unless an effect (ie charge) allows them to do so.
When a card declares an attack, the player that is controling said card chooses a target for said attack. Certain effects (ie being covered) may prevent a card from being targeted, while others (ie sight) may override such limitations.
Once card declares an attack, it becomes exhausted. Players may also play cards in response to that declaration.
If the declaration isn't negated, the attack goes through. If the targeted card is able to attack, both the attacking and targeted card deal damage to each other at the same time, unless an effect (ie counter) makes one card deal damage before the other. Otherwise, only the attacking card deals damage to the targeted card.
Combat damage is calculated by taking one card's ATK as a base and then accounting for all the effects that may alter said damage. If resulting damage ends up positive, the players may respond to this, and if it's not negated and remains positive, that card is considered to have hit and the other card's HP is subsequently reduced by the amount of damage dealt. The players may also respond to this.
When a card's HP is reduced to 0, it is destroyed. Players may respond to that as well.
Any effects related to the end of a turn are triggered. Active player flips all the upside down cards in their burn zone back up and passses the turn to the next player.
The game ends either when one of the player wins or the game is terminated and ends in a draw.
A player wins the game when all their opponents have lost the game, or an effect says that they win the game.
A player loses the game when their commandant is defeated by having their HP reduced to zero or being otherwise removed from play, an effect says that they lose the game, or when they decide to concede.
A game results in a draw when either all players' commandants are defeated by having their HP reduced to zero or being otherwise removed from play, an effect says that the game is a draw, they all agree to intentionally draw, or the game ends in a stalemate.
A stalemate happens when neither player is able or willing to legally advance the game state towards game's end.