Turn structure
Five phases, every round
Each round follows the same five-phase sequence. Both players move through every phase together — there are no alternating turns. The game is decided by who reads the board better, not who acts first.
The battlefield
An 8×6 grid
The battlefield is a symmetric 8-column by 6-row grid. Each player's base sits on their back row. Deploy zones let you bring new robots onto the field within your half of the board.
Your base starts with 20 HP. It cannot move. If it reaches 0, you lose. Robots can attack the base directly from adjacent tiles or with ranged attacks that reach it.
Robots
Your units on the field
Robots are deployed onto the grid via Deploy cards. Once active, you assign cards to them each planning phase to move, attack, or trigger abilities. A robot scrapped at 0 HP is removed from the field.
| Stat | What it does |
|---|---|
| HP | Hit points. Reaches 0 → robot is scrapped and removed from the field. |
| Armor | Reduces incoming damage. A Bastion Sentinel with high armor can absorb repeated attacks. |
| Program Slots | How many cards you can assign to this robot per turn. A robot with 1 slot can only act once per round. |
| Movement Range | Base tiles the robot can move when a Movement card is assigned. |
| Initiative | Lower value = acts earlier in the resolution phase. Fast robots can scrap slow ones before they get to act. |
| Special Ability | Passive or triggered effect unique to that robot type. Varies by faction and unit tier. |
Cards
Your toolkit
Every card has an energy cost, an initiative value, and a type. Card types determine when they resolve and what they can target. Most cards are assigned to a specific robot during planning; a few are played directly from hand.
Summons a robot to your deploy zone. The robot's stats are defined by the card. Costs energy; resolves first in the resolution phase.
Assigned to a robot. It moves X tiles in a direction during the movement sub-phase. Includes dash, rotate, and teleport variants.
Assigned to a robot. It deals damage in a defined pattern — melee (adjacent), ranged (line), or area-of-effect — during the attack sub-phase.
Played from hand. General-purpose effects: draw cards, gain bonus energy, heal a robot, or shield your base for a turn.
Attaches to a robot for multiple turns. Boosts stats, grants abilities, or adds an extra program slot to an otherwise limited unit.
Held in reserve, not assigned during planning. Triggers automatically when its condition is met during resolution — for example, reducing damage when an ally is hit.
Decks are 30 cards. You can run a maximum of 2 copies of any card, and 1 copy of legendary cards. All cards in your deck must belong to your chosen faction or the neutral pool.
Energy
Your resource — and it grows
Energy is spent during the planning phase to play cards. You start each match with a cap of 2 energy. At the end of every cleanup phase your energy cap increases by 1, up to a maximum of 10. Your energy fully refills to the current cap every round.
Energy cap per turn — starts at 2, grows to a maximum of 10 over the course of the match.
This creates a natural game arc: early turns are for cheap scouts and positioning; mid-game brings heavier robots and combos; late-game opens up the most powerful plays. Some Utility cards can extend your energy cap beyond the default curve for a single turn or permanently.
Winning
Destroy the enemy base
The primary win condition is reducing your opponent's base to 0 HP. Bases have 20 HP and can be attacked by adjacent robots or those with ranged reach. A base cannot move and cannot fight back — it must be defended by your robots.
Reduce the opponent's base HP to 0. Match ends immediately on the cleanup check.
If a round limit is reached, the player with higher base HP wins. Equal base HP: compare total robot HP on the field.
Either player may concede at any point during the match.
Factions
Choose your playstyle
Every deck is built around one faction. Your faction determines your robot roster, your card pool, and your faction mechanic. Neutral cards are available to both factions and fill gaps in your strategy.
Fast, cheap robots with high initiative. Strong movement and melee attack cards let you dictate the tempo of the fight. Overcharge lets you spend HP to power through an extra action when it counts — high risk, high reward. Weak on defense and sustained late-game pressure.
Tanky robots with armor and high HP. Trap and Reaction cards punish opponents who overcommit. Fortify rewards stationary robots with bonus armor — holding a position is the Bastion way. Slow to win, but hard to crack once established.