Win Sites to earn Slava (glory). First to 13 Slava wins, immediately. If nobody has reached 13 by the end of Turn 8, the most Slava wins.
Each turn you both secretly place cards face-down at three Sites, flip together, and score +1 Slava for every Site where you have strictly more Power.
Everything else is written on the cards.
Everything except your hand is open. That is what makes MORANA a game of skill, not luck.
On Turn N you have N Embers to spend (Turn 1 = 1, up to Turn 7 = 7). Embers do not come from cards and do not save up, so you can never be starved or flooded. Skill decides, never the draw.
When a Spirit is defeated it crosses to your Nav, face-up. From there you can Reborn it (pay its Reborn cost) to summon it again and trigger its second life. Every Spirit has an Omen (when first revealed) and a Reborn (when it returns from Nav). Knowing when to let a Spirit fall so it comes back stronger is the deep game.
Every card prints a small reminder the first time a keyword appears, so you never memorize, you just read.
| Omen | Fires when this is revealed. |
| Vigil | An ongoing effect, on while in play. |
| Clash X | On reveal, send one enemy Spirit here with Power X or less to Nav. |
| Ward | Cannot be targeted or sent to Nav by the enemy. |
| Step | After reveal, move this to a neighboring Site. |
| Rooted | Cannot move, by you or the enemy. |
Cost orb (top-right) = Embers to play. Power badge (bottom-right) = wins Sites and is durability. Omen band = on reveal; Reborn band = its second life from Nav. The little wheel means a Reborn life waits in Nav. The rarity gem is cosmetic only, never power.
Lay out 3 Sites, both Slava to 0, Wardens face-up. Each turn: gain Embers = turn number, draw 1, secretly place, flip together, resolve left to right, score +1 per Site you out-power. First to 13 wins. That is it. New here? Play the "Your First Duel" card first.
The two starter decks are tuned so none of the rules below can even come up while you are learning. Open the Codex only when you start building your own decks.
Exactly 20 cards + 1 Warden. Max 2 copies of any card. Max 1 copy of any Legendary.
Your Warden sits face-up all game with a Vigil (a passive) and an Invocation X (a once-per-game power: pay X Embers during Commit). Invocation is a Warden-only ability, not one of the six card keywords.
You may Reborn at most 2 Spirits per turn. The minimum Reborn cost is 1.
You may gain at most +4 Slava per turn from Charms and Omens combined. Slava from controlling Sites is unlimited.
At each Site, the player with less Slava resolves first. Falling behind gives you the first move (a built-in comeback lever).
Some effects grant Initiative. The holder wins any simultaneous-timing tie on the following turn.
If nobody has 13, most Slava wins. Tiebreak: most Sites controlled, then most total Power on the board.