CREDITS

Game Design Art Editor

Kevin Riley Gong Studios Denise Patterson-Monroe
Game Development Art Direction and Graphic Design Business Head
Nick Little, Travis R. Chance, Scott Hartman Brian Wyrick
and Jenny Iglesias
Manufactured by Strom Manufacturing, Inc.
Playtesters: Brian “Big Mac” McCarthy, Benjamin Adelman, David Andrews, Cameron Boozarjomehri, Raymond Carley, David
Colmenares, Stelios Despotakis, Cas Gray, Yizhu Gu, Muneeb Hai, Matt Hin, Ann Iglesias, Yang Jiao, Elad Karni, Mike Leider, Austin
Matthews, Guru Prashanth, Addison Sadewater, Markham Shofner, CJ Smith, Christian Tjandraatmadja, Jay Walker, Wenting Yu,
Ian Zang, Jerry Buhle, Trish Buhle, Brian Busha, Dingyan Zheng, Brick Busha, Shu-Chu, Chun Yin Fung, Patrick Jost, Max Gibiansky,
Mattijs Reinen, Matthew Simpson, Tony Truong, Teddy Brewer, Curtis Redus, Matt Hin, Tricia Victor, Federico “Kentervin” Luison,
Neelam Balasubramanian, Cody Heim, Eric Mullen, Ian Swift, Rebecca Streitz, Matt Hogg, Solomon Stein, Cory Dawson,
Kristen Armellino, and Addison Sadewater.
Special Thanks to: Our collective special loves, who put up with much and ask for little in return: Kristen, Jennifer C., Violet,
Jennifer W., and Denice. We also want to thank Richard Ham, Sen-Foong Lim, Lance Myxter, Brent Poyis, Cas Gray,
Misha Lavrov, and Todd Sanders.. As well as The Game Preserve and Game Time for providing us a place to call home.
Huge thanks to all the awesome supporters that backed this fun project! You guys made it possible!

© 2016 Lone Oak Games. Oakland, CA 94610. All rights reserved.

 This isn’t the end of the world. That already happened. This is what’s left. Us, Gravehold, and The Nameless – creatures
seeking to snatch what little we have left from our grasp. The breath in our lungs. The weak light in our eyes. For generations
we have taken refuge in an ancient and haunted place, one whose first purpose was forgotten for a thousand ages, until our
exodus once again filled its empty halls and hovels with our shadows. Here in the darkness, we seek a way back to the light.
It has taken the breach mages an aeon to hone their dark craft, but they are ready, they are lethal. The breaches, the very
conduits through which The Nameless travel, have become our weapon. The breach mages wield this power with undeniable
ambition: to survive, to take back The World That Was, to protect our home.
Nerva, Gravehold survivor

OBJECT OF THE GAME

Aeon’s End is a cooperative deck building game where your deck is never shuffled. Your goal is to defeat the nemesis before your home,
Gravehold, is overrun or the players are exhausted.
Each round, the players and the nemesis will take turns in a random order. During a player’s turn, they will be able to cast spells, acquire
additional gems, relics and spells from the supply, manipulate their spell casting breaches and use their unique abilities. All four of the different
nemeses included in the game are unique in the actions taken during their turns, and will require a different strategy to defeat.

CONTENTS
The following section introduces the game components and the game terms used with those components. Please take some time to become
familiar with this section before reading the rules.

30 life tokens with value 1 21 charge tokens: 10 power tokens: 15 Fury/husk tokens:
10 life tokens with value 5: used to fuel players’ abilities. used on certain nemesis cards used when playing against
used to track the life of the to track the number of turns Rageborne or Carapace Queen.
players and minions. until a power resolves.

2 life dials: used to track the life of Gravehold and the nemesis. 4 player number tokens:
placed on player mats and used in conjunction
with the turn order cards to determine play order.
1
 4 4 4 4

SEARING RUBY LAVA TENDRIL BLASTING STAFF BLASTING STAFF

GEM SPELL RELIC RELIC

Gain 2 . You may cast a prepped spell You may cast a prepped spell
While prepped, deal 1 damage that you prepped this turn. that you prepped this turn.
Gain an additional 1 that can
at the end of the casting phase.
only be used to gain a spell. If you do, that spell deals If you do, that spell deals
Cast: Deal 3 damage. 2 additional damage. 2 additional damage.
“Some use these to heat and light their hovels
against the dark of the cave. Others know that
within these gems lies a fire that can tamed.” While appearing to be crudely fashioned, these staffs While appearing to be crudely fashioned, these staffs
“My turn!” Nym, breach apprentice
Ghan, gem scavenger contain within them the very essence of the void. contain within them the very essence of the void.
83 174 104 R8

87 gem cards 86 spell cards 30 relic cards 27 randomizer cards:

Player cards – gems, spells, and relics: used by the players to enhance their decks. used to determine which
player cards are available.

PLAYER TURN I II III IV

CASTING PHASE ADELHEIM OPENED BREACH
II
STARTING HAND STARTING DECK
You may Cast any of your prepped spells 1x Amethyst Shard 2x Crystal 2x Spark 5x Crystal
in opened breaches. You must Cast any
of your prepped spells in closed breaches.
Place cast spells on the top of your discard
pile as they are cast. PLAYER
LIFE
MAIN PHASE
NUMBER
4 : Open
You may resolve the following actions in
any order and as many times as you want:
• Play a gem or relic card 2 : Focus
• Gain a card AETHEREAL WARD
• Gain a charge
• Focus a breach Activate during the nemesis draw phase:
CLOSED

: Open

5
2 : Focus
2 : Focus
DISCARD
• Open a breach After a nemesis attack or power card is drawn but
BREACH
DECK

• Prep a spell to a breach

: Open
before it is resolved, you may discard it. It has no effect.
• Resolve a “While prepped” effect
• Resolve a “TO DISCARD:” effect
(The nemesis does not draw a replacement card.)
II

3
DRAW PHASE
Place all the gems and relics that you have
played this turn on the top of your discard
pile in any order you choose. Draw cards
from the top of your deck until you have 2 2 2 2 2
five cards in your hand. : Open 2

4 player aid cards: 8 player mats: used for tracking the 16 breaches: used by the players
used for quick reference important information of each player. to cast their spells.
of the phases of a turn.

DISPEL

ATTACK

70 RAGEBORNE

UNLEASH INCREASED DIFFICULTY

6 BANE SIRE Unleash twice.
The player with the most
MINION
prepped spells discards their
Nemesis
Rageborne gains one Fury token. RULES: After Rageborne Strikes,
he loses one Fury token most expensive prepped spell.
instead of three.

PERSISTENT: Unleash.

Player 1 ADDITIONAL RULES

When Rageborne Strikes, resolve the following in order: “Best to kill these first.”
“The words and gestures needed left him,
and the breach grew dim.”
Θ Draw a card from the strike deck and resolve it. Reeve, breach mage elite Nerva, survivor
Θ Shuffle that card back into the strike deck.
Θ Rageborne loses three Fury tokens.
BASIC 205 1 BASIC 214 2
At the end of the nemesis turn, if Rageborne has four or more Fury
tokens, he Strikes once.

9 turn order cards: used to determine 75 nemesis cards: used by the nemesis
the order of play during the game. 4 nemesis mats: used to display the against the players and Gravehold.
specific rules for each nemesis.
2
 COMPONENT ANATOMY
PLAYER MATS
1 Breach Mage Name 2
2 Breach Setup: The initial configuration of your breaches. Not all I II III IV
players have the same amount of available breaches. 1 JIAN 3 STARTING HAND STARTING DECK 4
3 Starting Hand: The five cards which you will have in your hand 1x Moonstone Shard 2x Crystal 2x Spark 3x Crystal 2x Spark

at the start of the game.

4 Starting Deck: The five cards, and the order in which they are PLAYER
NUMBER
LIFE

placed in your starting deck. Place the leftmost cards at the top of 5 6
your starting deck.
5 Player Number: Place your player number token here. Player BLACK MIRROR
number is used in conjunction with the turn order deck to Activate during your main phase:

DISCARD
Cast any player’s prepped spell without discarding it.

DECK
determine turn order. Then, cast that prepped spell again.
6 Life: Place your life tokens here. 8
(Discard it as normal.)
9
7
7 Ability: Each breach mage has a unique ability. The player mat
explains when that ability can be activated and what it does.
Abilities can only be activated when you have a charge token 2 2 2 2
on all of the spaces shown below the ability. Once an ability is
JIAN

activated, all of the charge tokens are removed.

Father died. The orb. I took it in my hands. And then quiet was upon me.
Orphan. Then the mages. I learned the sister-words. The spark. But never spoke them.

10 Like Phaedraxa, I see. It changed me.

There are many worlds. The Nameless are a scourge to all. So, war.

8 Deck: Place your deck facedown here. Front Back

Once, I was born. Soon, I will save them, then become nothing. Everything in between is just waiting.
A web. It’s all a web.

9 Discard: Place your discard pile faceup here.

10 Breach Mage Story: Has no effect on play. Provides further lore
into the world of Aeon’s End.

BREACHES
Breaches are double-sided cards used to prep and cast spells. A single
spell may be prepped by placing a spell card from hand to an opened 1 OPENED BREACH 7 : Open 3
breach during a player’s turn. On a subsequent turn, a player’s prepped 2 III 3 : Focus
spells may be cast by discarding the spell card. 4
CLOSED
1 Open/Closed: One side of the card is used to indicate that the 1 BREACH

: Open

9
3 : Focus
3 : Focus
breach is open, the other indicates a closed breach.
2 III

: Open
2 Breach Number: Used primarily during setup to indicate where Once Opened:

5
each breach placed next to the player mat. +1 Damage

3 Open Cost: The cost, in aether ( ), to open the breach. When

a breach is opened, flip it to the opened side. Once a breach is : Open 3
opened, it remains opened for the rest of the game. 5+1 DAMAGE ON CAST
4 Focus Cost: The cost, in aether ( ), to focus the breach. When a
Opened Breach (front) Closed Breach (back)
breach is focused, rotate the breach card 90° clockwise. The only
time that spells can be prepped to a closed breach is during the
player’s turn in which that breach was focused.
You may open or focus breaches in any order. For example, you may focus
Adjacency
Breach III before Breach II, or open Breach IV before opening breach II or III. Some spells may refer to adjacent breaches. Breaches are always
5 Opened Effect: Some breaches have effects that occur whenever adjacent to the one or two directly next to them physically.
a spell is cast from that breach while it is opened. For example, I is adjacent to II. II is adjacent to I and III.

3
PLAYER CARDS
Player cards are the various cards the players can use to build their
decks in order to defeat the nemesis. Each player starts with a unique 43
hand and deck of cards. Players will acquire more cards for their deck
by spending aether ( ) to gain them from the supply piles.
1 Card Name
2 Type: There are three types of player cards: gems, relics, and
spells.

• Gems are played to give you aether ( ), the main currency of

the game. Aether can be spent to gain more cards, gain charges
for breach mage abilities, and focus breaches. (Breaches are the
conduits through which spells are cast.) 1 SEARING RUBY
2 GEM
• Spells are the main way of dealing damage to the nemesis and
his minions. Spells must be prepped to a breach (that is, the Gain 2 .
spell card must be placed on a breach card next to your player 4 Gain an additional 1 that can
mat) before you can cast them. only be used to gain a spell.
• Relics have a variety of useful instantaneous effects. “Some use these to heat and light their hovels
5 against the dark of the cave. Others know that
within these gems lies a fire that can tamed.”
3 Cost: The amount of aether ( ) you must spend to gain this card. Ghan, gem scavenger
83
4 Effect: The effect you resolve when you play the card. Gems
and relics have effects that are resolved immediately. Spells need
Player Card
to be prepped to a breach before they can be Cast. If any card
contradicts this rulebook, follow the card’s effect.

5 Flavor Text: Has no effect on play. Provides further lore into the
world of Aeon’s End.
4

SEARING RUBY
GEM

Gain 2 .
Gain an additional 1 that can
RANDOMIZER CARDS only be used to gain a spell.
6 For each player card there is one additional copy that has a grey “Some use these to heat and light their hovels
border. The grey-bordered cards are used during setup to against the dark of the cave. Others know that
within these gems lies a fire that can tamed.”
randomly pick which gems, spells, and relics will be in the supply. Ghan, gem scavenger
These cards are not played with during the game. R5

See Setup on page 10 for more information.

Randomizer Card
4
NEMESIS MAT
1 Nemesis Name
2 Life: Starting life of the nemesis. The nemesis’s life is tracked on its
life dial. If the life of the nemesis reaches zero, the players win.
3 Unleash Effect: The effect that occurs when the Unleash
keyword resolves. Each nemesis has a unique Unleash ability.
4 Additional Rules: Any additional rules that pertain only to this
nemesis.
5 Increased Difficulty: An optional rule which can be used to
adjust difficulty.
See page 19 for further difficulty modifications.
6 Difficulty Level: How difficult this nemesis is compared to the
other nemeses. The difficulty level ranges from 1 (easiest) to 10
(most challenging).
7 Nemesis Story: Has no effect on play. Provides further lore into
the world of Aeon’s End.
8 Setup: Additional information required during setup for this
nemesis.

CROOKED MASK 5 6

2 70 1 CROOKED MASK
The elders say there is a god for every aspect of existence, every creature, every
force. If this is true, then the Crooked Mask’s domain is that of corruption, for
UNLEASH INCREASED DIFFICULTY
the weapon he wields is brought by temptation.
Any player gains a corruption RULES: When a corruption is
3 and places it on top of their deck. destroyed, place it into any player’s 5 7
That player shuffles their discard discard pile instead of returning it How do we slay a god, especially one with such a dark influence over the weaker
pile into their deck. to the corruption deck. survivors among us? When we have endured on so little for so long, how do we
hold back when what we need most seems to be offered so freely?
ADDITIONAL RULES
Θ When a corruption is destroyed, place it on the bottom of the corruption deck. Many in Gravehold murmur that behind its grim visage lies a cruel and
4 Θ If a player would gain a corruption and the corruption deck is empty, desolate grin. There is a noise it makes, a sort of laugh one can hear just under
Gravehold suffers 2 damage instead. the bells and the screams.
Θ At the start of each player’s turn, before that player’s casting phase, that player
resolves all corruptions in their hand, in any order.
Θ At the end of each player’s main phase, that player resolves all corruptions
they drew during their turn. SETUP
Θ Corruptions may not be played at any other time.
8 Shuffle all of the corruption cards together and place them facedown to
form the corruption deck.
Θ When a player gains a corruption, that player may not look at the corruption
unless it is placed into their hand.

Front Back
5
 WOVEN SKY 1 UNRELENTING IRE 1

POWER 2 ATTACK 2

5 TO DISCARD: Discard three cards.

5 HAZE SPEWER 1 Unleash.
3
4 If there are two nemesis turn
MINION 2 4 POWER 2: Unleash. Any player order cards in the turn order
suffers 4 damage. discard pile, Unleash two
PERSISTENT: Gravehold suffers additional times.
4 damage equal to this minion’s
current life. Then, this minion
suffers 1 damage. Nym looked up in awe as Malastar pointed
“I reckon its head would look good on a post.”
6 to the roiling air at the dome of the cave. 6
6 The fumes they belch are so caustic
“Those, boy, are stars.”
Reeve, breach mage elite
that they rarely live long. 8 8 8
BASIC 208 1 BASIC 211 1 RAGEBORNE 266 1
7 7 7
Minion Card Power Card Attack Card

NEMESIS CARDS
Nemesis cards are the attacks, minions, and powers the nemesis uses 3 Life: Minion cards have life which can be depleted by dealing
against the players and Gravehold. The nemesis deck is constructed it damage. If the life of a minion reaches zero, it is immediately
at the beginning of each game from a mixture of basic nemesis cards placed in the nemesis discard pile.
that can be used in any nemesis deck, and a number of unique cards
that are only used with that particular nemesis. You may encounter 4 Effect: The effect to resolve for this nemesis card.
the same nemesis many times, but it will never attack you in exactly
the same way twice. 5 TO DISCARD effect: Some power cards have a “TO
DISCARD:” effect. During any player’s main phase, that player
1 Card Name may fully resolve the effect listed to discard that power card. If a
2 Type: There are three types of nemesis cards: attacks, minions, power card is discarded this way, its effect will not be resolved.
and powers.
Flavor Text: Has no effect on play. Provides further lore into the
• Attacks are resolved immediately and are then discarded. 6 world of Aeon’s End.
• Minions: Minions enter play with life tokens and stay in play Nemesis: The nemesis to which the card belongs. Cards that say
until defeated. They have persistent effects which are resolved 7 “Basic” may be used with any nemesis.
during the nemesis’s main phase. If the life of a minion reaches
zero, it is immediately discarded. Tier: There are three tiers of nemesis cards. Tier 1 cards are less
• Powers: All power cards have “POWER X:” on them. When 8 dangerous than Tier 2 cards, which are less dangerous than Tier
a power card enters play, place X power tokens on it. Unless 3 cards. Some unique nemesis cards are marked as Tier 0. These
discarded, power cards stay in play for X nemesis turns before cards are covered in the additional rules section of the nemesis to
resolving. During the nemesis main phase, remove one power which they belong.
token from every power card in play. When a power card has
no tokens left, resolve its effect and then discard it.
6
 SETUP
PLAYER SETUP PLAYER SETUP EXAMPLE
Abby and Bob are playing a game of Aeon’s End. (1) Abby is the first player and has chosen to play
1 Each player chooses a player mat and a player number token. with Kadir. She sets the Kadir player mat in front of her on the table. She places the Player 1 token on
2 Each player builds their starting hand and deck as shown on the corresponding section of her mat.
their player mat. The cards should be in the order shown with
the leftmost card(s) being the top card(s) of their deck and the CRYSTAL (2) She checks her player mat to see that Kadir starts the game with one Emerald Shard, three
Crystals, and one Spark in her hand. She also notices that Kadir starts with three Crystals and two
Sparks in her starting deck. Abby locates those cards and places her starting hand in front of her, and
rightmost card(s) being the bottom card(s) of their deck.
GEM her starting deck to the left of her play mat, with the Sparks on the bottom of her deck because those
3 Each player receives one of each type of breach shown on their are listed second on the player mat.
mat (I–IV as listed). Players arrange their breaches as indicated (3) Abby grabs one of each type of breach, which are labeled I-IV. She places them above her mat and
on their player mat. orients them so that they match what is shown at the top of her mat. The I breach is open. The II and
IV breaches have the yellow section to the left. The III breach has the yellow section on the bottom.
4 Each player starts the game with 10 life. Set the Gravehold life dial
to 30. The players and Gravehold can never have more than their Gain 1 .
starting life.
Starter Cards
“Thecards
To differentiate the starter aether
fromthat spilled
the cards used forth in thethewake of
in the market,
cards used to form your initial hand and deck are denoted with a S in
The Nameless became trapped in even the simplest
the lower left corner.
of stones.0 Now these gems
0
grant us the
0
same
power that put our world low.”
Brama, breach mage elder
S CRYSTAL SPARK EMERALD SHARD 9
GEM SPELL GEM

Gain 1 .
Gain 1 . OR
Cast: Deal 1 damage.
Any player gains 1 life.
“The aether that spilled forth in the wake of
The Nameless became trapped in even the simplest The caves run deep in Gravehold, some say to a
of stones. Now these gems grant us the same shadow city even older than time. Yet none have delved
“A spark is all that is necessary to rouse the flame.”
power that put our world low.” as deep as Kadir. More than any, she believes their fate
Malastar, breach mage mentor
Brama, breach mage elder lies deeper still, not back to the ruin above.
S 9 S 41 S 3

TURN ORDER DECK

5 The turn order deck is always composed of four player turn order
cards and two nemesis turn order cards. The player turn order
cards correspond to the player number tokens.
• For two players, place two turn order cards for each player in
the deck.
• For three players, place one turn order card for each player
plus the wild turn order card in the deck. When the wild turn
order card is drawn, the players decide which one of them will TURN ORDER DECK EXAMPLE

take that turn. The wild turn order card is a player turn order (5) Abby and Bob are playing a two player game, so they will create a turn order deck that consists of two
Player 1 cards, two Player 2 cards, and two Nemesis cards.
card.
• For four players, place one turn order card in the deck for
each player.
• Regardless of the player count, add two nemesis turn order
cards to the deck and shuffle it. Nemesis
Nemesis

PlayerPlayer
1 1 PlayerPlayer
2 2
When the turn order deck is empty and a new turn order card must
be drawn or revealed, shuffle all of the turn order cards together and 2x Player 1 card 2x Player 2 card 2x Nemesis card
place them facedown to make the turn order deck again.
7
 0 0 0
0 0
3 Breaches I, II, III, IV (aligned as shown on the mat)
OPENED BREACH 3 : Open 7 : Open 7 : Open
I 2 : Focus 3 : Focus 4 : Focus

CRYSTAL CLOSED

Once Opened:
CRYSTAL CRYSTAL

10
BREACH

BREACH

BREACH
CLOSED

CLOSED
: Open

: Open

: Open

+1 Damage
2 : Focus

3 : Focus

4 : Focus
3 : Focus
GEM SPARK
RD
III

IV
GEM
EMERALD SHA
GEM

II

: Open

: Open

: Open
SPELL
GEM
Gain 1 . Gain 1 . Once Opened:
Gain 1 .

4
Gain 1 . +1 Damage
OR “Theofaether that spilled forth in the wake
the wake “Theofaether that spilled forth Cast: Deal 1 dam
“The aether that spilled forth in The Nameless became trapped in evenThe the Nameless
simplest became in the wake of age. 2 : Focus 4 : Focus
s 1 life. in even the simplest
Any player gain
trapped in even the simplest
The Nameless became trapped of stones. Now these gems grant us the same
same of stones. Now these gems grant
say to a Now these gems grant us the
of stones. us the same
in Gravehold, some power that put our world low.”
power that put our world low.” power that put our world low.”
“A spark is all that
The caves run deep Yet none have delved Brama, breach mage elder is necessary to rouse
: Open 5 : Open 3 : Open 13
older than time.

2
fate breach mage elder Brama, breach mage elder the flame.”
shadow city even she believes their Brama, S S 9 Malastar, breach
mage mentor
. More than any, S ruin above.
9
as deep as Kadir
S
back to the 9
lies deeper still, not
3
41
S

Player Starting Hand I II

2
III IV
KADIR STARTING HAND STARTING DECK
1x Emerald Shard 3x Crystal 1x Spark 3x Crystal 2x Spark

0 0 0 0 0
4
1
PLAYER
LIFE
NUMBER

OTHERWORLDLY GATE
Activate during any player’s main phase:

DISCARD
That player may return up to three spells in their

DECK
SPARK SPARK CRYSTAL CRYSTAL CRYSTAL discard pile to their hand. That player may prep up to
SPELL SPELL GEM GEM GEM two spells to each of their opened breaches this turn.

2
Gain 1 . Gain 1 . Gain 1 .
Cast: Deal 1 damage.
Cast: Deal 1 damage.
“The aether that spilled
“The
forth
aether
in the
that
wake
spilled
of“The
forth
aether
in the
that
wake
spilled
of forth in the wake of
The Nameless becameThe trapped
Nameless
in even
became
the simplest
The
trapped
Nameless
in even
became
the simplest
trapped in even the simplest
“A spark is all that is“A
necessary
spark istoallrouse
that the
of stones. Now these gems
is necessary
of stones.
flame.” to rouse the flame.”
grantNow
power that put our world
us the
power
low.”
these
same
gems
of stones.
grantNow
that put our world
us the
power
low.”
these
same
gems grant us the same
that put our world low.”
2 2 2 2 2
Malastar, breach mage Malastar,
mentor breach mage mentor
Brama, breach mage Brama,
elder breach mage Brama, elder breach mage elder
S S S 41 S 41 S 9 9 9

Bottom of deck Top of deck

Player Starting Deck (not shuffled)

4 6

Nemesis
Nemesis
TURN ORDER DECK
7 70 RAGEBORNE

UNLEASH INCREASED DIFFICULTY

Rageborne gains one Fury token. RULES: After Rageborne Strikes,
PlayerPlayer
1 Player
1 Player
2 2 he loses one Fury token
instead of three.

R DISPEL 7 GATHER DARKNESS ADDITIONAL RULES

5 Turn Order Deck (shuffled) When Rageborne Strikes, resolve the following in order:
Θ
Θ
Draw a card from the strike deck and resolve it.
Shuffle that card back into the strike deck.
Θ Rageborne loses three Fury tokens.

ATTACK ATTACK At the end of the nemesis turn, if Rageborne has four or more Fury
tokens, he Strikes once.

CLEAVE
Unleash twice.
Any player places their discard pile
INVOKE CARNAGE ONSLAUGHT 8
ATTACK on top of their deck, shuffles it,
POWER ATTACK

The player with the most

CLEAVE BLOOD CRY
and then destroys the top four 16
ROLLING DEATH

3 damage 5 PROVOKER
9 SCORN AVATAR OF WRATH

prepped spells discards their

ATTACK SPELL POWER

ard.
MINION TOMINION
DISCARD: Spend 7
cards of their deck.
AWAKEN . MINION GATHER DARKNESS

most AGONY
expensive prepped spell.
Unleash three times.
ATTACK ATTACK
PERSISTENT: Gravehold PERSISTENT: Gravehold
Rageborne suffers The players collectively discard
Then, Unleash twice.
Strikes. FIELD POWER 2: Unleash. Any player
suffers 3 damage.
damage equal to the number of Fury suffers cardsRageborne
equal to the number of
OR1 damage. That player PERSISTENT: Strikes.
tokens Rageborne has. suffers 1TO
Unleash additional
DISCARD:
twice. damage for4 charges.
Lose TO DISCARD:
Fury tokens Rageborne has.Spend 8 .
POWER
“I nearly wasted a freshly-forged
Rageborne Strikes. “Part of meeach
almostFury token
envies the Rageborne has.
craftsmanship
Unleash twice and Gravehold Many a mage arrived at their end
chopper on one of these things.” of this horrible thing.”
in the maw of this beast.Any
POWER player places
2: Rageborne theirtwice.
Strikes discardpile
6
Reeve, breach mage elite BANE SIRE Adelheim, breach mage POWER 2: Unleash
weaponsmith four
suffers times.
3 damage.
Thraxir was breach commander for as long as on top of their deck, shuffles it,
most could remember. To honor him,1to this RAGEBORNE“There is but a single 2
269power among OR Even its shadow leaves aand
wakethen
3
RAGEBORNE 265
very day no man or woman has been elected TO MINION
DISCARD: Destroy a card The Nameless that can shatter Gravehold.”
RAGEBORNE 270
destroys
of carnage, the top four
Place the
most recently smoke, and screams. cards
of their deck.
Brama, breach mage elder

3
to the post in his stead.

14
in hand that costs 2 or more.
Thraxir was breach commander for as long as discarded minionCAUTERIZER
in the nemesis JAGGED ONE
Then, Unleash twice.
most could remember. To honor him,1to this discard 268pile 2
and back
quake into play. 271the black 3
“Its breath rasped as it turned rocks red.
mage properly, “The words and gestures needed left him,
RAGEBORNE 264 RAGEBORNE The cave walls crumble RAGEBORNE
very day no man or woman has been elected MINION And those who could, ran.” MINION
POWER 2: Unleash. Any player as it bellows to its kin.
to the PERSISTENT:
post in his stead. Unleash.
“The Nameless do nottodie, for they themselves are death.” Nerva, survivor

one out.” andonethe breach grew dim.”

discards three cards and then
1 card.
“They were always just outside the edge of
When damage is dealt
2 this minion, 3are death.”
RAGEBORNE draws 264 RAGEBORNE
Xaxos,
reduce that damagebreach
our knowing, sitting there267
to 1. made adept
in some quiet abyss RAGEBORNE 272 themselves
“The Nameless do not die, for they

mentor Nerva, survivor

“Best to kill these first.” just waiting to visit ruin upon us.” Xaxos, breach made adept
Reeve, breach mage elite Z’hana, breach mage renegade
PERSISTENT: Any player suffers PERSISTENT: Unleash twice.

Nemesis deck (not shuffled)

damage equal to this minion’s current life.
BASIC “Every breath is205torment.”
1 BASIC 212 2 BASIC 220 3
“Hack away all you like, youngling. It will
Nerva, survivor Jagged Ones are the harbingers of The Nameless,
only grow back another...whatever that part is.”

1 2 3
Adelheim, breach mage weaponsmith
leading legions in siege after siege of Gravehold.

209 BASICBASIC 204 1 214 BASIC BASIC 213 2 220 BASIC 221 3
Tier 1 on top
Tier 1 nemesis cards Tier 2 nemesis cards Tier 3 nemesis cards Tier 2 in middle
Specific + Basic (shuffled) Specific + Basic (shuffled) Specific + Basic (shuffled) Tier 3 on bottom
8
 NEMESIS SETUP
STRIKE
NEMESIS SETUP EXAMPLE: REFER TO PAGE 8 DIAGRAM
(6) Abby and Bob have chosen to play against Rageborne. Bob finds the Rageborne mat and sets it on
6 Choose a nemesis to play against, and set its nemesis mat near the the table. He reads all of the additional rules regarding Rageborne.
players. Carefully read all of the additional rules for the chosen
(7) He checks the mat to see that Rageborne starts the game with 70 life. He grabs the nemesis life
nemesis.
dial and sets it to 70.
7 Set the nemesis life dial equal to the number shown on the nemesis (8) Bob finds the fifteen nemesis cards with Rageborne written at the bottom. He consults the chart
mat. The nemesis can never have more than its starting life. to see what basic cards he will need for a two-player game. He finds three random tier 1 basic nemesis
cards, five random tier 2 basic nemesis cards, and seven random tier 3 basic nemesis cards.
Each nemesis has a set of cards with their name written at the bottom
left. In addition to any specific nemesis cards, some basic cards are Then he sorts the Rageborne nemesis cards into tiers. First he shuffles the three tier 3 Rageborne cards
included in each nemesis deck. into the seven tier 3 basic cards and places them facedown to start the deck. Next, he shuffles the three
tier 2 Rageborne nemesis cards in with the five tier 2 basic cards and places those on top of the tier 3
8 The nemesis deck: cards. Finally, he shuffles the three tier 1 Rageborne cards into the three tier 1 basic cards and places
those on top of the tier 2 cards. At this point, Bob will no longer shuffle the nemesis deck. He sets it
The nemesis deck is comprised of between 20 and 31 cards as
determined by player count. The nemesis deck has three tiers
beside the nemesis mat.
CONVOKE
which increase in difficulty as the game progresses and will
CONVOKE DEVASTATE EVISCERATE FRENZY RAZE SEIZE
consist of both nemesis specific and basic nemesis cards. Tiers are STRIKE STRIKE STRIKE STRIKE STRIKE STRIKE
STRIKE
indicated by a 1, 2 or 3 in the bottom right of the nemesis cards.
Each nemesis has nine nemesis specific cards with the name of the
nemesis written at the bottom left. Any player suffersGravehold
The player with the
4 damage. suffers 5 damage.
Thelowest with the Gravehold
playerlife most opened
breaches suffers 3Any
suffers 2 damage.
The players collectively
suffers 3 damage.
discard
player suffers
damage.
the two most expensive
1 damage.
prepped spells.

er suffers 4 damage.
To build the nemesis deck: “No other thing, in our world or theirs,
“The breach commander Thraxir was split in twain
withina fire.”
“Anger is born single blow, his armor twisted andarmies
“All great like“The
glowinghave fire spread
a warrior that isfrom the old barracks
feared “Howtothis
thecave
southhas
wall
not long ago collapsed
Z’hana, breachamage
has been so violent as this beast.” brand.renegade
I have never seen such aabove
thingall
before or since.”
others. We callintheirs
a moment, the ancient stone hissing and
Rageborne.” is a turning
wonder and a mercy.”
Brama, breach mage elder Mist, breach mage dagger captain
Mist, breach mage dagger black as the beast strode through city.”Nerva, survivor
captain

• Locate the nine nemesis specific cards used for this game, and
Nerva, survivor

separate them into three piles of three cards according to the RAGEBORNE RAGEBORNE
273 0 RAGEBORNE
274 0 RAGEBORNE
275 0 RAGEBORNE
276 0 RAGEBORNE
277 0 278 0

card’s tier. Rageborne Tier 0 cards form the strike deck.

• Use the chart below to add basic nemesis cards to each pile (9) Bob notices that there are six tier 0 Rageborne cards left over. With the nemesis deck now created,
based on the number of players in the game. Bob checks the Rageborne mat for further setup instructions. The mat says, “Shuffle all of the strike
cards together and place them facedown to form the strike deck. Rageborne gains 1 Fury token.” Any player suffers 4 dama
BASIC NEMESIS Bob takes the six Rageborne cards he had left over after creating the nemesis deck; noting that the
CARDS ADDED
1 Player 2 Player 3 Player 4 Player card type states “Strike” instead of the regular Power or Attack. He shuffles them and places them
facedown next to the nemesis deck.
Tier 1 1 3 5 8 Bob also grabs all of the Fury tokens from the box and places one of them on the Rageborne mat to
Tier 2 3 5 6 7 denote that Rageborne has gained one Fury token.

Tier 3 7 7 7 7
ing, in oureachworld
• Shuffle or separately.
pile of cards theirs, 70
“No other thing, in our world or thei
has been so violent as this beast.”
RAGEBORNE

so violent astierthis
3 cardsbeast.” Brama, breach mage elder
UNLEASH INCREASED DIFFICULTY

• Place the on bottom facedown, the tier 2 cards Rageborne gains one Fury token. RULES: After Rageborne Strikes,
he loses one Fury token
instead of three.

facedown on top of the tier 3 cards, and the tier 1 cards

a, breach mage elder
facedown on top of the tier 2 cards. Combined, these tiers form
the nemesis deck.
ADDITIONAL RULES
When Rageborne Strikes, resolve the following in order:
Θ Draw a card from the strike deck and resolve it.
Θ Shuffle that card back into the strike deck.

Fury tokens used when

Θ Rageborne loses three Fury tokens.

At the end of the nemesis turn, if Rageborne has four or more Fury
tokens, he Strikes once.

• Do not shuffle the nemesis deck once it has been created. playing against Rageborne
RAGEBORNE 27
9 After creating the nemesis deck, follow all Setup instructions
written on the back of the nemesis mat.

Tier 0
Depending on which nemesis you’re playing against,

E
there may be other cards used besides the nemesis
deck. These cards are marked as tier273
0. Refer to the 0
nemesis mat for specific setup instructions.

9
SUPPLY SETUP 10 2 4 5
10
The supply piles are the player cards that can be gained during
the game. The supply is composed of nine supply piles. Each
pile contains several copies of the same card. The players can
determine these piles randomly, using the randomizer cards, or JADE SEARING RUBY BURNING OPAL

choose the cards they wish to use.

GEM GEM GEM

Gain 2 . Gain 3 .
Gain an additional 1 that can You may discard a card.
Gain 2 .
only be used to gain a spell. If you do, any ally draws a card.
Empty Supply Piles Jade is as common as bone
“Some use these to heat and light their hovels
against the dark of the cave. Others know that “Careful, youngling. You’ll be wanting
within these gems lies a fire that can tamed.” tongs to handle that!”
at the mouth of the cave.

If a supply pile runs out, it is considered empty. Do not replace it.

Ghan, gem scavenger Adelheim, breach mage weaponsmith
76 83 55

2 3 4
GUIDELINES FOR MAKING THE SUPPLY
Choose 3 gems, 2 relics, and 4 spells. Place each card of the same
name in its own separate pile, in the middle of the table.
FLEXING DAGGER BOTTLED VORTEX AMPLIFY VISION
RELIC RELIC SPELL

Gems are the primary Destroy this.

2
The next time you focus or open a Cast: Focus your closed breach
Destroy up to two cards
source of gaining aether ( ).
breach this turn, it costs 3 less. with the lowest focus cost. Deal
in your hand or discard pile.
OR 2 damage. If all of your breaches are
Draw a card.

Spending aether ( ) is how

Destroy this. Deal 1 damage. “There are worlds within worlds, infinite realms
opened, deal 1 additional damage.
“Forged from unstable void ore, the blade shifts cascading from the yawning nothing, eager
with the will of its wielder.” to devour light and those who look to it.” “The breaches are merely a mirror through which

you gain new cards, focus

Adelheim, breach mage weaponsmith Phaedraxa, breach mage seer worlds whisper.” Phaedraxa, breach mage seer
114 109 134

and open breaches, and gain

charges. 5 6 7
JADE
GEM
• There are seven gem cards
in each gem supply pile.
Gain 2 .

Jade is as common as bone

at the mouth of the cave. ESSENCE THEFT PLANAR INSIGHT CONSUMING VOID
SPELL SPELL SPELL
76

Cast: Deal 3 damage.

Cast: Deal 2 damage. Cast: Destroy up to two cards in
You may discard a card in hand.
hand. Deal 3 damage for each card
Relics have a wide variety If you do, any player gains 1 life. Deal 1 additional damage for
destroyed in this way.
3
each of your opened breaches.
“In the hovels, there is talk of the seeming link between

of effects and are resolved as the breach mages and our adversaries. More and more,
the difference between the two becomes harder to see.”
Ohat, dirt merchant
“She may no longer speak, but she sees much.”
Brama, breach mage elder
“The Far Hollow hovels still smolder from the last
time a mage lost his wits and will to the void.”
Ghan, gem scavenger

soon as they are played. 159 189 149

• There are five relic cards in

each relic supply pile. SUGGESTED STARTING SUPPLIES
BOTTLED VORTEX
RELIC Below are some suggested starting supplies for learning the game.
Destroy this.
Destroy up to two cards
in your hand or discard pile.
Draw a card.
Suggested Supply: “Deck Destruction” (shown above)
“There are worlds within worlds, infinite realms
cascading from the yawning nothing, eager
to devour light and those who look to it.”
Gems: Jade, Searing Ruby, Burning Opal
Phaedraxa, breach mage seer
109 Relics: Flexing Dagger, Bottled Vortex
Spells: Amplify Vision, Essence Theft, Planar Insight, Consuming Void
Spells are the primary source
5 of damage to the nemesis and Suggested Supply: “Free Charges!”
its minions. They must be
Gems: Jade, V’riswood Amber, Diamond Cluster
prepped to a breach on one
turn in order to be cast on a Relics: Unstable Prism, Mage’s Talisman
later turn. Spells: Spectral Echo, Ignite, Feral Lightning, Wildfire Whip
ESSENCE THEFT
SPELL
• There are five spell cards in
Cast: Deal 3 damage.
each spell supply pile. SUPPLY SETUP EXAMPLE
You may discard a card in hand.
If you do, any player gains 1 life. (10) Abby and Bob choose to use the suggested starting supply, Deck Destruction, because they like
“In the hovels, there is talk of the seeming link between
the breach mages and our adversaries. More and more, the ability to make their decks more efficient through cards like Bottled Vortex and Consuming Void.
the difference between the two becomes harder to see.”
Ohat, dirt merchant
159

10
 GAMEPLAY
TURN ORDER TURN ORDER EXAMPLE
Now that Abby and Bob have the game set up, they start the game by drawing the top card of the turn
Aeon’s End has a variable turn order which is determined by the turn order deck. The Player 1 turn order card is drawn, so Abby will take the first turn.
order deck. At the start of the game and after each player or nemesis
turn ends, draw a card from the turn order deck to determine who
takes the next turn. Place that card on the top of the turn order
discard pile.
If you need to draw or reveal a card from the turn order deck and
that deck is empty, shuffle the discarded turn order cards together
facedown to replenish the turn order deck. TURN ORDER DECK

Player 1

On Abby’s turn, she will play through the following phases in order: casting phase, main phase, and
draw phase.
During the casting phase, she will be able to cast spells that she prepped on a previous turn. Since it is
the first turn of the game, Abby will skip this phase and move straight to the main phase.

PLAYER TURN OVERVIEW

1. Casting Phase
You may Cast any of your prepped spells in opened breaches.
You must Cast any of your prepped spells in closed breaches.
Place cast spells on the top of your discard pile as they are cast.
2. Main Phase
You may resolve the following actions in any order and as many
times as you want:
1. Play a gem or relic card
2. Gain a card
3. Gain a charge
4. Focus a breach
5. Open a breach
6. Prep a spell to a breach
7. Resolve a “While prepped” effect
8. Resolve a “TO DISCARD:” effect
3. Draw Phase
Place all the gems and relics that you have played this turn on the
top of your discard pile in any order you choose.
Draw cards from the top of your deck until you have five cards in
hand.
If at any time a player’s life is reduced to zero, that player is
exhausted. Read the exhausted section on page 18 for details.
11
 CASTING PHASE EXAMPLE
For this example, we have skipped ahead a few turns in the game to a point where Bob has gained a
few spells. He starts the turn with a Spark and an Amplify Vision prepped as shown below. His Spark
spell is prepped on breach I, which is opened, so he has the option of casting it now or waiting to cast
it later. Amplify Vision is prepped on a closed breach III. Since that breach is closed, Amplify Vision
must be cast this turn.

0 4

SPARK AMPLIFY VISION

SPELL SPELL

Cast: Focus your closed breach

with the lowest focus cost. Deal
Cast: Deal 1 damage.
2 damage. If all of your breaches are
opened, deal 1 additional damage.
“A spark is all that is necessary to rouse the flame.” “The breaches are merely a mirror through which

4
Malastar, breach mage mentor worlds whisper.” Phaedraxa, breach mage seer
S 41 134

OPENED BREACH OPENED BREACH 7 : Open 10 : Open

I II 3 : Focus 4 : Focus

CLOSED CLOSED

13
BREACH BREACH

: Open

: Open
3 : Focus

4 : Focus
3 : Focus

4 : Focus
III IV

: Open

: Open
Once Opened: Once Opened:

7
+1 Damage +1 Damage

: Open 3 : Open 4

AMPLIFY VISION
PLAYER TURN: 1 – CASTING PHASE SPELL
Bob decides to cast Amplify Vision first.
Cast prepped spells: Cast: Focus your closed breach He immediately places the Amplify
with the lowest focus cost. Deal Vision in his discard pile. Then he
• Any spells that are prepped in an opened breach may be Cast 2 damage. If all of your breaches are
resolves the Cast effect - dealing 2
opened, deal 1 additional damage.
during this phase. damage to the nemesis.
“The breaches are merely a mirror through which
• Every spell prepped in a closed breach (that is, a spell that was worlds whisper.” Phaedraxa, breach mage seer
134
prepped to a focused breach in the previous turn) must be Cast
now.
7 : Open
• You choose the order in which you Cast your spells. Then he focuses his closed breach with
3 : Focus
the lowest focus cost. The I and II
When a spell is Cast: CLOSED
BREACH breaches are open, so he focuses the
: Open

9
3 : Focus
3 : Focus

III III breach. He turns that breach 90°

: Open
• Discard it to the top of your discard pile immediately, then Once Opened: clockwise. (For more information about
5

resolve the effect after the word ‘Cast:’ on the card. +1 Damage
focusing breaches, read the section on
• That spell can only deal damage to a single minion or the nemesis page 14 titled “Focus a breach.”)

unless otherwise specified.

: Open 3

• Some breaches have a “+1 damage when Cast” effect while Finally, Bob decides not to cast the Spark prepped on an open breach. He wants to save this spell for
they are opened. Any spell Cast from an open breach with this a future turn and be ready if a minion shows up.
effect deals 1 additional damage, even if that spell’s effect would
normally not deal damage.
There are some effects in Aeon’s End that will allow you to cast
When you deal damage: another player’s prepped spells. When casting a spell other than
• To a minion, remove life tokens from that minion card equal to your own, you are the “you” referred to on the spell card. You make
the damage you dealt. If a minion has no life tokens remaining, it all decisions pertaining to that spell.
is immediately discarded. For example: You play a Garnet Shard to cast your ally’s prepped Dark Fire. You
must discard up to two cards from your hand (Dark Fire’s effect) to your discard pile.
• To the nemesis, reduce its life total on the dial by the amount You also choose either the nemesis or a minion to suffer Dark Fire’s damage. The
of damage you dealt. If the nemesis has zero life remaining, the cast Dark Fire spell card is placed on the top of your ally’s discard pile.
players immediately win.
12
PLAYER TURN: 2 – MAIN PHASE Discard Order
The following eight actions can be done in any order, any number of Cards gained are immediately placed in your discard pile.
times during a player’s main phase. Any gem or relic cards that you play are placed in your play area. At
For example, you could play a gem, gain a card, prep a spell, play another gem card, the end of your turn, during the draw phase, played gem and relic
and gain another card. cards will be placed in your discard pile in any order you choose.

1. Play a gem or relic card:

MAIN PHASE: GAIN AND SPEND AETHER EXAMPLE
• When you play a card, you must execute all of the text on that
On Abby’s first turn, she has one Emerald Shard, three Crystals, and one Spark in her hand.
card, if possible.
0 0 0 0
• If there is an “OR,” you choose exactly one of the options listed. 0

If you can only complete one of the two options, you must choose
that option. EMERALD SHAR
GEM
D CRYSTAL
GEM
CRYSTAL
GEM
CRYSTAL
GEM SPARK
SPELL

0 0
Gain 1 .
Gain 1 . Gain 1 . Gain 1 .

• You may gain aether ( ) even if you choose not to spend it.
OR “The aether that spilled forth in the wake of Cast: Deal 1 damag
in the wake of “The aether that spilled forth
1 life. “The aether that spilled forth in the wake of e.
Any player gains The Nameless became trapped
The Nameless became trapped in even the simplestThe Nameless became
in even the simplest trapped in even
say to a us the same of stones. Now these gems grant us the same of stones. Now these gems grant the simplest
in Gravehold, some of stones. Now these gems grant us the same
The caves run deep Yet none have delved
power that put our world low.” power that put our world low.”
older than time. fate power that put our world low.” Brama, breach mage elder
“A spark is all that
is necessary to rouse
shadow city even she believes their Brama, breach mage elder Brama, breach mage elder the flame.”
More than any, S S Malastar, breach
as deep as Kadir. mage mentor
above. 9 9
back to the ruin

• Any aether ( ) gained on a turn that is not spent is lost. Aether does
S
lies deeper still, not S 3 9
S 41

not accumulate over turns, nor can it be given to other players. She plays her three Crystals to gain 3 aether ( ). She plays her Emerald Shard, which offers a choice
of gaining 1 aether ( ) or having any player gain 1 life. Since both players still have their starting
• At the end of your turn, any gem or relic cards you played are life, Abby chooses to gain 1 aether ( ).
placed on top of your discard pile in any order.
CRYSTAL EMERALD SHARD
2. Gain a card: GEM GEM

Gain 1 .
• You may gain a card from the supply by spending aether ( ) you Gain 1 . OR
Any player gains 1 life.
have gained this turn equal to the the cost shown in the upper “The aether that spilled forth in the wake of
The Nameless became trapped in even the simplest The caves run deep in Gravehold, some say to a
right-hand corner of the card. of stones. Now these gems grant us the same
power that put our world low.”
shadow city even older than time. Yet none have delved
as deep as Kadir. More than any, she believes their fate
Brama, breach mage elder lies deeper still, not back to the ruin above.
4
• When you gain a card, it is immediately placed on top of your
S 9 S 3

discard pile. Abby has a total of 4 aether ( ). She

has many options as to what she can do
with this aether. She chooses to spend
all 4 aether ( ) to gain a Searing SEARING RUBY
GEM

Ruby. She immediately places it in her Gain 2 .

discard.
Gain an additional 1 that can
only be used to gain a spell.
“Some use these to heat and light their hovels
against the dark of the cave. Others know that
within these gems lies a fire that can tamed.”
Ghan, gem scavenger
83

OR I II III IV
KADIR STARTING HAND STARTING DECK
1x Emerald Shard 3x Crystal 1x Spark 3x Crystal 2x Spark

PLAYER
LIFE
NUMBER

Abby could have chosen to spend her I II

OTHERWORLDLY GATE
III
4 aether ( ) to gain two charges.
Activate during any player’s main phase:
KADIR

DISCARD
That player may return up to three spells in their
DECK
STARTING HAND STARTING D
discard pile to their hand. That player may prep up to
1x Emerald Shard 3x Crystal 1x Spark 3x Crystal 2x
two spells to each of their opened breaches this turn.

PLAYER
2 2 2
NUMBER 2 2 LIFE

3. Gain a charge: OR
• You may pay 2 aether ( ) to gain a charge. 2 OTHERWORLDLY GATE
Activate during any player’s main phase:

• When you gain a charge, place a charge token on your player mat That player may return up to three spells in the
DECK

discard pile to their hand. That player may prep u

beneath the ability description. Alternatively, she could have chosen to two spells to each of their opened breaches this t

gain a Jade, which costs 2 aether ( ),

• You may not pay aether ( ) to gain charges for your allies. and gain one charge with her remaining
JADE
GEM

2 2 2 2 2
• You may not have more charges than your ability requires. The 2 aether ( ). Gain 2 .

maximum charges are denoted by the number of spaces available

Jade is as common as bone
at the mouth of the cave.
76

on the player mat: 4, 5, or 6.

13
4. Focus a breach: FOCUS OR OPEN A BREACH EXAMPLE
• You can focus a closed breach by paying the focus cost shown For this example, we’ll jump ahead to Abby’s second turn. She has three Crystals and two Sparks in her
near the center of that breach card. hand. It is her main phase. She has only one open breach, so she will need to either open or focus another
breach if she wishes to prep both of her spells.
• When you focus a breach, rotate the breach card 90° clockwise.
You may prep a spell to the focused breach this turn. 0 0 0 0
0

• Breaches may be focused any number of times per turn. Any

number of breaches may be focused per turn. You may focus a CRYSTAL
CRYSTAL SPARK

breach without prepping a spell to it.

CRYSTAL GEM
GEM
SPELL SPARK
GEM SPELL

. Gain 1 .
Gain 1
Gain 1 . Cast: Deal 1 damage.
in the wake of “The aether that spilled forth in the wake of Cast: Deal 1 dama
“The aether that spilled forth The Nameless became trapped in even the simplest ge.
wake of in even the simplest
spilled forth in the simplest The Nameless became trapped
“The aether that us the same of stones. Now these gems grant us the same
trapped in even the of stones. Now these gems grant “A spark is all that is necessary

• A breach that has been rotated so that the yellow quadrant is at

The Nameless became gems grant us the same power that put our world low.” to rouse the
Malastar, breach mage mentor flame.” “A spark is all that is necessar
power that put our world low.”
of stones. Now these our world low.” Brama, breach mage elder y to rouse the flame.”
power that put Brama, breach mage elder S 9 S 9 Malastar, breach
mage mentor
elder
Brama, breach mage 9 S
S 41

S 41

the top has a focus cost equal to its stated open cost and can be
opened by an effect that would otherwise focus this breach. OPENED BREACH : Open : Open : Open
3 7 7
I 2 : Focus 3 : Focus 4 : Focus

5. Open a breach:
CLOSED

Once Opened:

10
BREACH

BREACH

BREACH
CLOSED

CLOSED
: Open

: Open

: Open

+1 Damage
2 : Focus

3 : Focus

4 : Focus
3 : Focus
III

IV
II

: Open

: Open

: Open
• You can open a closed breach by paying the open cost currently
Once Opened:

4
+1 Damage

indicated on the top of that breach card. The open cost decreases
2 : Focus 4 : Focus

3 : Open 7 : Open
: Open 5 : Open 3 : Open 13

each time you focus the breach.

• When you open a breach, flip the breach to the opened side. 1 2 : Focus OR 2 3 : Open OR 3 3 : Focus
Opened breaches stay opened for the rest of the game. A spell can
2 : Focus CLOSED
be prepped to a breach on the turn that breach is opened and any BREACH

BREACH

: Open
Abby starts her main phase by playing all three of her Crystals for 3 aether ( ). She

CLOSED
: Open

4
now has three

3 : Focus
2 : Focus

3 : Focus
subsequent turn. options that will allow her to prep both of her Sparks.
III

II

: Open

BREACH
CLOSED
: Open

4
2 : Focus
(1) She could focus her II breach for 2 aether ( ). Once Opened:

5
2

II
6. Prep a spell to a breach:

: Open
+1 Damage
(2) She could open her II breach for 3 aether ( ).
• To prep a spell, play a spell card onto an opened breach or a

2
2 : Focus
closed breach that has been focused this turn. Only one spell may (3) She could focus her III breach for 3 aether ( ).
be prepped to a breach at a time. You cannot prep a spell to a : Open 5 2 : Focus : Open 3
She decides to open her II breach (option 2). Abby flips the II breach card over to show that it is now
breach that already has a prepped spell.
opened. This breach will remain opened for the rest of the game. She will be able to prep spells to this : Open 5
breach this turn and subsequent turns without paying any further aether ( ) costs.
• Prepped spells can be Cast during the casting phase
of that player’s next turn. Finally, Abby preps both of her Sparks by placing them on top of her breaches I and II. Both Spark spells
will be available to Cast during her Casting Phase next turn.

7. Resolve a “While prepped” effect: 0 0

• You can use the effect of any of your prepped spells that have a
“While prepped” effect that is specific to the main phase. Such
effects may be used on the turn that the spell is prepped or any
subsequent turn if the spell is still prepped. SPARK
SPELL
SPARK
SPELL

• Some “While prepped” effects do not occur during the main phase. Cast: Deal 1 damage. Cast: Deal 1 damage.

“A spark is all that is necessary to rouse the flame.” “A spark is all that is necessary to rouse the flame.”
Malastar, breach mage mentor Malastar, breach mage mentor

• Each “While prepped” effect may be used once per turn.

S 41 S 41

OPENED BREACH OPENED BREACH 7 : Open 7 : Open

I II 3 : Focus 4 : Focus

8. Resolve a “TO DISCARD:” effect: CLOSED

Once Opened:

10
BREACH

BREACH
CLOSED
: Open

: Open

+1 Damage
3 : Focus

4 : Focus
3 : Focus

III

IV
• Some nemesis power cards have a “TO DISCARD:” effect.
: Open

: Open
Once Opened:
5

+1 Damage

During your main phase, you may fully resolve the effect listed to 4 : Focus

discard that power card. If a power card is discarded this way, its : Open 3 : Open 13

effect is not resolved.

14
PLAYER TURN: 3 – DRAW PHASE No Deck Shuffling
Once you have finished your main phase, place all of the gem and relic Unlike many other deckbuilding games, you do not shuffle your
cards you played this turn on top of your discard pile in any order. discard pile when your deck is empty. Simply flip your discard pile
over to form your deck.
Then, keeping all unplayed cards in hand, draw cards from the top of
your deck until you have five cards in hand.
DRAW PHASE EXAMPLE
If at any time there are not enough cards in your deck to draw or
It is the end of one of Bob’s turns. During his casting phase, he Cast an Amplify Vision, which was
reveal a card, draw/reveal as many as you can then flip over your immediately placed on top of his discard pile.
discard pile to form a new deck and draw/reveal. At no point in the
game do you shuffle your deck. I II III IV
ADELHEIM STARTING HAND STARTING DECK
1x Amethyst Shard 2x Crystal 2x Spark 5x Crystal

Notes: PLAYER
LIFE
4
NUMBER

• You may not choose to discard cards during your turn. Unlike AETHEREAL WARD

other deck builders, you do not discard your hand at the end of Activate during the nemesis draw phase:

DISCARD
After a nemesis attack or power card is drawn but

DECK
before it is resolved, you may discard it. It has no effect. AMPLIFY VISION

each turn. (The nemesis does not draw a replacement card.)

SPELL

Cast: Focus your closed breach

with the lowest focus cost. Deal

• You may look through your discard pile at any time, although you
2 damage. If all of your breaches are
opened, deal 1 additional damage.
2 2 2 2 2 “The breaches are merely a mirror through which
worlds whisper.” Phaedraxa, breach mage seer

may not rearrange it.

134

• You may not look through your deck. On this turn, he played a Flexing Dagger, three Crystals, and a Jade. He used the Flexing Dagger to
• There is no maximum hand size. focus his III breach. He used the 5 from the Jade and the Crystals to gain an Essence Theft.

When he gained the Essence Theft, he placed it 5 4

directly on top of the Amplify Vision in his discard
pile. Bob is now done with his main phase.
At the start of his draw phase, he places the Flexing ESSENCE THEFT AMPLIFY VISION

Dagger, the Crystals, and the Jade on top of his

SPELL SPELL

Cast: Deal 3 damage. Cast: Focus your closed breach

discard pile in any order. Bob chooses to place the You may discard a card in hand.
If you do, any player gains 1 life.
with the lowest focus cost. Deal
2 damage. If all of your breaches are
opened, deal 1 additional damage.

Dagger first, then the Jade, and finally all of the

“In the hovels, there is talk of the seeming link between
the breach mages and our adversaries. More and more,
the difference between the two becomes harder to see.” “The breaches are merely a mirror through which
Ohat, dirt merchant worlds whisper.” Phaedraxa, breach mage seer

Crystals.
159 134

0 0 0 2 2 5

CRYSTAL
CRYSTAL
CRYSTAL JADE FLEXING DAGGER ESSENCE THEFT
SPELL
GEM GEM GEM GEM RELIC

The next time you focus or open a Cast: Deal 3 damage.

Gain 1 .Gain 1 Gain
. 1 . breach this turn, it costs 3 less. You may discard a card in hand.
Gain 2 . OR If you do, any player gains 1 life.
“The aether that
“Thespilled
aether
forth
“The
thatinspilled
aether
the wakeforth
that
of spilled
in the wake
forth of
in the wake of
The NamelessThe
became
Nameless
trapped
Thebecame
in
Nameless
eventrapped
the became
simplest
in even
trapped
the simplest
in even the simplest Destroy this. Deal 1 damage. “In the hovels, there is talk of the seeming link between
of stones. Nowofthese
stones.
gems Now
grant
of stones.
these
usgems
the
Nowsame
grant
these usgems
the grant
same us the same the breach mages and our adversaries. More and more,
Jade is as common as bone “Forged from unstable void ore, the blade shifts
power that putpower
our world
that low.”
put
power
our that
worldputlow.”
our world low.” the difference between the two becomes harder to see.”
at the mouth of the cave. with the will of its wielder.”
Brama, breachBrama,
mage elder
breach
Brama,
magebreach
elder mage elder Ohat, dirt merchant
Adelheim, breach mage weaponsmith 159
S S S 9 9 9 76 114

Next, Bob draws cards from the top of his deck until he has five cards in hand. His deck only has two
cards in it. Bob draws those two and then, without shuffling, flips his discard pile over to form his new
deck. He then draws three more cards so that he has five cards in hand.

I II III IV
ADELHEIM STARTING HAND STARTING DECK
1x Amethyst Shard 2x Crystal 2x Spark 5x Crystal

PLAYER
LIFE
0
NUMBER

AETHEREAL WARD
Activate during the nemesis draw phase:
DISCARD

After a nemesis attack or power card is drawn but

DECK

before it is resolved, you may discard it. It has no effect. CRYSTAL

GEM
(The nemesis does not draw a replacement card.)

Gain 1 .

“The aether that spilled forth in the wake of

The Nameless became trapped in even the simplest
2 2 2 2 2 of stones. Now these gems grant us the same
power that put our world low.”
Brama, breach mage elder
S 9

15
 NEMESIS TURN OVERVIEW NEMESIS MAIN PHASE EXAMPLE
For this example, we’ll fast forward a few rounds into the game. The nemesis turn order card has been
1. Main phase drawn. Rageborne starts his turn with one Fury token. He has Bane Sire, Woven Sky with one power
From oldest to newest, resolve the effects of each minion and counter, and Provoker in play. Those cards came into play in that order, so Abby and Bob will resolve
power card the nemesis has in play. them in that order.

2. Draw phase 1 2 3
Draw a card from the nemesis deck. WOVEN SKY

POWER

• If it is an attack card, resolve its effect immediately. TO DISCARD: Discard three cards.
70 RAGEBORNE
6 BANE SIRE
5 PROVOKER

• If it is a minion card or power card, place it into play with

MINION MINION
UNLEASH INCREASED DIFFICULTY POWER 2: Unleash. Any player
Rageborne gains one Fury token. RULES: After Rageborne Strikes, suffers 4 damage.
he loses one Fury token
instead of three. PERSISTENT: Gravehold suffers

the appropriate number of life or power tokens. Resolve any

damage equal to the number of Fury
PERSISTENT: Unleash.
tokens Rageborne has.
ADDITIONAL RULES Nym looked up in awe as Malastar pointed
When Rageborne Strikes, resolve the following in order: “I nearly wasted a freshly-forged

effects following “IMMEDIATELY:” on the card. The rest of

“Best to kill these first.” to the roiling air at the dome of the cave.
Θ Draw a card from the strike deck and resolve it. chopper on one of these things.”
Shuffle that card back into the strike deck. Reeve, breach mage elite “Those, boy, are stars.”
Θ Reeve, breach mage elite
Θ Rageborne loses three Fury tokens.

At the end of the nemesis turn, if Rageborne has four or more Fury BASIC 205 1 BASIC 211 1 RAGEBORNE 265 1

its effects will not be resolved this turn.

tokens, he Strikes once.

First, Bane Sire’s persistent effect is “Unleash.” Each nemesis has a unique “Unleash” effect
If at any time a player’s life is reduced to zero, that player is 1 listed on its nemesis mat. Rageborne’s Unleash effect is “Rageborne gains 1 Fury token.” Bob
exhausted. Read the exhausted section on page 18 for details. adds another Fury token to Rageborne, for a total of two Fury.

NEMESIS TURN: 1 – MAIN PHASE

6 BANE SIRE

Starting with the minion card or power card that has been in play the MINION

longest, the players will resolve the effects of each minion card and
power card in play. 70 RAGEBORNE

PERSISTENT: Unleash. UNLEASH

Rageborne gains one Fury token.
INCREASED DIFFICULTY
RULES: After Rageborne Strikes,
he loses one Fury token
instead of three.

• PERSISTENT effects are resolved now. “Best to kill these first.” ADDITIONAL RULES
Reeve, breach mage elite When Rageborne Strikes, resolve the following in order:

Next, they remove one power token from the power card Woven Sky. There are no power
Θ Draw a card from the strike deck and resolve it.

2
Θ Shuffle that card back into the strike deck.

• Each power card in play will lose 1 power token. After removing 1
Θ Rageborne loses three Fury tokens.

BASIC 205
tokens remaining on that card, so it resolves. Woven Sky’s effect is “Unleash. Any player
At the end of the nemesis turn, if Rageborne has four or more Fury
tokens, he Strikes once.

a token, if a power card has no tokens on it, resolve the effect that suffers 4 damage.” The nemesis’s Unleash effect resolves, so the players add one Fury token to
is shown after “POWER X:” and discard it from play. Rageborne for a total of three. Abby and Bob decide that Bob will suffer the 4 damage because he
has more life. Bob removes 4 life tokens from his player mat. Woven Sky is discarded.

WOVEN SKY

POWER

70 RAGEBORNE

TO DISCARD: Discard three cards. UNLEASH

Rageborne gains one Fury token.
INCREASED DIFFICULTY
RULES: After Rageborne Strikes,
he loses one Fury token
instead of three.

POWER 2: Unleash. Any player ADDITIONAL RULES

When Rageborne Strikes, resolve the following in order:
suffers 4 damage. Θ
Θ
Draw a card from the strike deck and resolve it.
Shuffle that card back into the strike deck.
Θ Rageborne loses three Fury tokens.
At the end of the nemesis turn, if Rageborne has four or more Fury
tokens, he Strikes once.

Finally, they resolve Provoker. Provoker’s persistent effect is “Gravehold suffers damage
3 equal to the number
Nym looked up ofinFury tokenspointed
awe as Malastar Rageborne has.” Rageborne has three Fury tokens, so
Provoker causes Gravehold toboy,
“Those, suffer 3 damage. Abby adjusts the Gravehold life dial down by 3,
to the roiling air at the dome of the cave.
are stars.”
from 30 to 27.
BASIC 211 1

5 PROVOKER

MINION

PERSISTENT: Gravehold suffers

70 RAGEBORNE
damage equal to the number of Fury
tokens Rageborne has. UNLEASH
Rageborne gains one Fury token.
INCREASED DIFFICULTY
RULES: After Rageborne Strikes,
he loses one Fury token
instead of three.
“I nearly wasted a freshly-forged
chopper on one of these things.”
ADDITIONAL RULES
Reeve, breach mage elite When Rageborne Strikes, resolve the following in order:
Θ Draw a card from the strike deck and resolve it.

1
Θ Shuffle that card back into the strike deck.
Θ Rageborne loses three Fury tokens.

16 RAGEBORNE 265
At the end of the nemesis turn, if Rageborne has four or more Fury
tokens, he Strikes once.
NEMESIS TURN: 2 – DRAW PHASE NEMESIS DRAW PHASE EXAMPLES
Draw a nemesis card: After fully resolving the nemesis main phase, Abby and Bob proceed to the nemesis draw phase.
During this phase, they will draw a card from the nemesis deck and resolve it. Here are examples of
• If the nemesis deck is empty and the nemesis would draw a card, the three types of nemesis cards, along with how they would be resolved.
instead Unleash three times.
If the drawn card type is: ATTACK CARD EXAMPLE
In this example, Abby and Bob draw Slaughter, an attack
• Attack card SLAUGHTER
card, from Rageborne’s nemesis deck.
Resolve the card’s effect immediately in the order that it appears
Attack cards resolve immediately. Slaugther’s effect is
ATTACK

on the card. Then, place the card in the nemesis’s discard pile.
“Unleash. Gravehold suffers 3 damage.”
• Minion card
Rageborne’s Unleash effect is “Rageborne gains 1 Fury
Execute any effect that follows the word “IMMEDIATELY:”. token.” Abby adds a Fury token to Rageborne.
Then place the minion card into play with the number of life Unleash.
Then, Bob adjusts Gravehold’s life counter down 3 life
tokens indicated on the card. Gravehold suffers 3 damage.
from 27 to 24.
• Power card Finally, Slaughter is discarded to the nemesis discard pile.
Execute any effect that follows the word “IMMEDIATELY:”
Then place the power card into play with a number of power “We have nothing left to lose but our lives.”
Mist, breach mage dagger captain
tokens as indicated on the card.
1
When resolving card effects:
BASIC 210

• When resolving an effect that cannot be fully completed, resolve

MINION CARD EXAMPLE
as much as possible. If you are given an option between two
In this example, Abby and Bob draw Haze Spewer, a
effects, you must choose an option you can fully resolve.
minion card, from Rageborne’s nemesis deck.
• Persistent and power effects only occur during the nemesis’s main
Haze Spewer is a minion with no immediate effect, so it
phase. These effects are ignored for newly placed minion and is placed into play. It has 5 life, so Abby and Bob place a
power cards until the nemesis’ next turn. 5 life token on it.
They also read Haze Spewer’s persistent effect so they
5 HAZE SPEWER
know what will happen during the next nemesis main
phase. This effect doesn’t resolve this turn because
MINION

PERSISTENT: Gravehold suffers

persistent effects are only resolved during the nemesis
damage equal to this minion’s main phase, which has already passed.
current life. Then, this minion
suffers 1 damage.
The fumes they belch are so caustic
that they rarely live long.

BASIC 208 1

POWER CARD EXAMPLE

EYE OF NOTHING
In this example, Abby and Bob draw Eye of Nothing, a
power card, from Rageborne’s nemesis deck.
POWER
Since Eye of Nothing is a power card, it is placed directly into
play. It has a power of 2. Therefore, Abby and Bob place
Ambiguity two power tokens on it. It has no immediate effect, so there is
nothing else that Abby and Bob have to resolve this turn.
Nemesis cards may have ambiguous situations where it’s not clear TO DISCARD: Spend 6 .
what or who should be affected. In these cases the players make that They read the card’s effect so they know what it will do
when it resolves. Power tokens are removed and powers
determination. POWER 2: Unleash twice.
resolve during the nemesis main phase – neither of these
For example, if you are resolving a nemesis card that makes the player with the actions will happen this turn as the nemesis main phase
lowest life suffer damage and two players are tied for having the lowest life, the has already passed.
players decide who suffers the damage.
“We toy with forces we barely comprehend.”
Eye of Nothing has a “TO DISCARD:” effect. Any
Z’hana, breach mage renegade

Another card may have the player with the most charges suffer damage when no players BASIC 207 1 player may resolve the effect listed here during their main
have any charges. In this case also, the players choose who will suffer the damage. phase to discard that power card.

17
 EXHAUSTED EXHAUSTED EXAMPLE
Later in the game during the Nemesis Main Phase, Bleed Static’s effect (The player with the most
If a player’s life is reduced to zero, that player is exhausted. Resolve prepped spells suffers 2 damage for each of their prepped spells.) is resolved.
the following effects in order.
Abby has 3 spells prepped, which is more than Bob, so
• Resolve the nemesis’s Unleash effect twice.
1 she will suffer 6 damage. She only has 2 life left. The first
BLEED STATIC
2 damage she suffers causes her to become exhausted. As
• The exhausted player destroys one of their breaches, discarding any POWER
a result of being exhausted, she does these steps:
spell prepped in that breach. Resolves Rageborne’s Unleash effect twice. Rageborne
Destroyed breaches can be returned to the box – there is no way 2 gains 2 Fury tokens.
to regain a destroyed breach. The remaining breaches stay in their POWER 3: The player with
the most prepped spells suffers
Destroys her IV breach and discards the spell that was
current positions. 2 damage for each of their
prepped spells. 3 prepped on it.
• The exhausted player discards all of their charge tokens.
“There are no words to describe the sound of
4 Discards all her charge tokens.

The exhausted player continues to participate in the game as usual

a breach opening. Only the screams echoing
The remaining 4 damage is doubled and suffered by
off the cave walls after.”
Z’hana, breach mage renegade 5 Gravehold. She adjusts the Gravehold life counter down
with the following exceptions: 1
from 24 to 16.
BASIC 206

• Exhausted players cannot gain life.

5 4 5
• When a card deals damage to the player with the lowest life, it
always deals that damage to the non-exhausted player with the
lowest current life.
ESSENCE THEFT AMPLIFY VISION ESSENCE THEFT

• When an exhausted player suffers damage, instead deal twice that

SPELL SPELL SPELL

Cast: Deal 3 damage. Cast: Focus your closed breach Cast: Deal 3 damage.
OPENED BREACH 4 : Open 5 : Open 7 : Open

amount of damage to Gravehold. This includes excess damage

You may discard a card in hand. You may discard a card in hand.
I
If you do, any player gains 1 life.
with the lowest focus cost. Deal
2 damage. If all of your breaches are
: Focus 3 : Focus
If you do, any player gains 1 life.
4 : Focus
“In the hovels, there is talk of the seeming link between opened, deal21 additional damage. “In the hovels, there is talk of the seeming link between

when a player initially becomes exhausted.

the breach mages and our adversaries. More and more, the breach mages and our adversaries. More and more,
the difference between the two becomes harder to see.” “The breaches are merely a mirror through which the difference between the two becomes harder to see.”

Once Opened:

Once Opened:
worlds whisper.”CLOSED
Phaedraxa, breach mage seer

10
BREACH

BREACH
Ohat, dirt merchant Ohat, dirt merchant

CLOSED

CLOSED
: Open

: Open

: Open
+1 Damage

+1 Damage
2 : Focus

3 : Focus

4 : Focus
2 : Focus
BREACH

III
159 134 159

IV
: Open

: Open

: Open
II
If all players become exhausted, the game ends immediately and the

4
players lose.
3 : Focus 4 : Focus

: Open 2 : Open 9 : Open 13

3
GAME TERMS
I II III IV
KADIR STARTING HAND STARTING DECK
1x Emerald Shard 3x Crystal 1x Spark 3x Crystal 2x Spark

Ally
PLAYER
NUMBER
LIFE 1
An ally is any player other than you. OTHERWORLDLY GATE
Activate during any player’s main phase:

Destroy

DISCARD
That player may return up to three spells in their
DECK

discard pile to their hand. That player may prep up to

Cards which are destroyed are permanently removed from the game
two spells to each of their opened breaches this turn.

and are not used or interacted with in any way once they are destroyed.
4 2 2 2 2 2

‘OR’ effects
When a card gives two options separated by an “OR”, you may
choose either option, unless you cannot fully resolve one of them. In
that case, you must choose the effect that you can fully resolve. 2 5
‘To Discard’
Some nemesis power cards have “TO DISCARD:” effects on them.
During a player’s main phase, that player may resolve the text
following “TO DISCARD:” to discard that power card from play. If 70 RAGEBORNE

UNLEASH INCREASED DIFFICULTY

a player does discard a power card this way, that card has no effect. Rageborne gains one Fury token. RULES: After Rageborne Strikes,
he loses one Fury token
instead of three.

Unleash ADDITIONAL RULES

When Rageborne Strikes, resolve the following in order:

Some nemesis cards will say “Unleash.” Each nemesis has a unique Θ
Θ
Draw a card from the strike deck and resolve it.
Shuffle that card back into the strike deck.
Θ Rageborne loses three Fury tokens.

effect that is resolved when this happens. This effect is listed on each At the end of the nemesis turn, if Rageborne has four or more Fury
tokens, he Strikes once.

nemesis mat.

18
 GAME END SOLO PLAY
In all situations, when an end game condition is met, gameplay ends You can play solo as multiple separate mages where you control all
immediately without further resolution of effects. of those mages. If you choose to play like this, just follow the rules as
The players are victorious if any of the following conditions are true: normal for the player count related to the number of mages you chose
to play.
• The nemesis has no cards in its deck and no minions or powers in
play. To play a true solo experience, consult the chart for constructing the
nemesis deck (pg. 7).
• The nemesis has 0 life.
Create the turn order deck to contain 3 player turn order cards and
The players lose if any of the following conditions are true: 2 nemesis turn order cards. When any of the player turn order cards
• All the players are exhausted (have 0 life). are drawn, the solo player takes a turn.
• Gravehold has 0 life. In solo play, you are your own ally. For example, if a card gives a
charge to an ally, you instead gain that charge yourself. Otherwise,
In addition, a nemesis may have a specific victory condition listed on
play the game as normal.
the nemesis mat that causes the players to lose immediately.

VARIABLE DIFFICULTY
Aeon’s End has adjustable difficulty. Play the nemesis mat as written to
play in normal mode. To adjust the difficulty, follow the rules below:
BEGINNER
Each player starts the game with 12 life (2 more).
Gravehold starts with 35 life (5 more).
The nemesis starts with 10 less life.

EXPERT
Use the Increased Difficulty rules shown on the nemesis mat. These rules
may affect Setup, Unleash, or Additional Rules section of that nemesis.
EXTINCTION
Use the Increased Difficulty rules.
Also, each player starts the game with 8 life (2 less).
Gravehold starts with 25 life (5 less).
The nemesis starts with 10 more life.
19