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Rules

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RULES

Razor Trail Survivors is a Collectible Card Game for 2 or more players, set in a post-apocalyptic world. It combines classic deck-building and card-playing with dice-based randomness to create strategic yet unpredictable runs.

The objective is to destroy the enemy player's base by lowering its hitpoints down to zero. This can be done in several ways, often by using Units (humans, animals, mutants, robots, ...) to attack the enemy.

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVE

Buildings

Units

In order to get Units into play, you’ll need Resources. There are 3 main types in RTS: Food, Scrap and Chemicals and one special Resourse: Power.

The three main resources can be obtained directly by playing certain cards or indirectly by controlling cards that produce them (usually Buildings). These Resources can be accumulated and used in any of your turns.

Power doesn’t accumulate - you can only use what you generate within your turn.

RESOURCES

Chemicals

Scrap

Food

Power

Besides Units and Buildings, there are three other major card types: Upgrades, Conditions and Actions.

CARD TYPES

Upgrades

Upgrades are cards that can be attached to Units or Buildings in order to improve or change their behavior.

Conditions

Conditions are cards that alter the environment, the rules or create special situations.

Actions

Actions are cards that impact the game but do not stay in the play area, such as adding resources, damaging units, etc.

Every turn, except on the turn it enters play, each unit can be used to attack the enemy's base, one of their units or a building (combat). Units can also be assigned to one of their own buildings, base or friendly unit in order to protect it from attacks. In that case, enemy units will have to first destroy the protecting unit before they can attack the protected card. Units that are protecting a card cannot attack unless they are removed first, skipping their attack in that turn. Units that are being protected can't attack.

COMBAT AND UNIT BEHAVIOR

Unit Protecting Building

Combat damage is dealt simultaneously: If you attack a unit you deal damage to it according your unit's attack value. The protecting unit also deals damage to your unit according to its attack value.

You can use red tokens to track damage.

Damage is permanent: If a unit or building is dealt damage, that damage is permanent (its hitpoints do not reset at the end of that turn).

Some units and most buildings have special traits. Each bullet icon in the card’s text area represents one trait. There are two types of traits: Abilities and Triggers.

Abilities are deliberately activated by the player, usually by paying a cost. Example:
“<F1/>: Heal 1 damage to this unit.”

Unless stated otherwise, Abilties can only be used during that player’s turn.

Triggers happen automatically when a specific event occurs. Example:
“When Maintenance starts: Add <S1/> + <C2/>.”

TRAITS

Ability

Trigger

Most cards have a Resource cost you must pay in order to play them - displayed on the top right corner. Each resource type has an icon: for Chemicals, for Food, for Scrap and for Power. The number inside the icon indicates how many resources of this type are needed. A hexagon icon represents a wildcard cost, which can be paid using any type of resource (except Power).

Many cards also have a maintenance cost that must be paid every turn, otherwise they become Inactive (see 7. Terms and Abilities) (this cost is shown on the lower left corner).

CARD COST AND MAINTENANCE

The player that starts the game skips their first turn's Draw phase (so that one player goes first and the other draws an extra card). After drawing your opening hand of 7 cards, you may discard up to 3 cards. Place discarded cards on the bottom of your deck in any order. Then draw an equal number of cards.

Each player then selects either Chems, Food or Scrap and gets one resource of that type to start with.

TURN PHASES

Every turn has 5 phases, after which it ends and the other player's turn starts:

Start Phase

The player checks their cards for any abilities that trigger during this phase.

Draw Phase

The player draws a card from their deck.

Play Phase

The player can play cards, move their units (attack or protect) and use abilities in any order. For example, you can attack with a unit, play a card and attack with another unit after that.

Maintenance Phase

The player checks their cards in play and receives any resources they produce, executes any automatic conditions they might have and pays any maintenance costs they may have from units, buildings or conditions. These can be done in any order, except where there are explicit mentions. For example, the player can first receive all resources he's due and then pay maintenance costs. Any cards whose maintenance cost is not paid by the end of this phase, becomes Inactive (see Terms and Abilities).

End Phase

The player checks their cards for any abilities that trigger during this phase. If he has more than 7 cards in their hand, he must choose and discard cards until he has 7.

STARTING A GAME

Inactive: A card usually becomes inactive when its maintenance hasn't been paid. It should be turned 90º (perpendicular to other cards) to show this state. While a card is inactive it can't attack nor protect, doesn't produce any resources or automatic effects and you can't use any of its abilities. It can be attacked and take damage, but it doesn't deal back any damage to the attacker.

Gains: The mentioned stat is increased from its base value to a higher value.

Heals: Damage points are removed. It can't increase Hitpoints beyond their base value.

Special traits are usually marked in yellow in the card. Some of them are explained in the card itself, but here are some of them:

Flying: This unit can only be attacked by other units with Flying or Ranged, unless it is protecting a building or unit.

Rush: This unit can attack in the same turn it is played. It can also attack in the same turn it was protecting a building or unit (it can't go back to protecting after having attacked this turn).

Regeneration: This unit heals the indicated amount of hitpoints at the start of your turn.

Predator: This unit allows you to sacrifice Prey units to gain food for each original hp they had. This can only spent this turn on predator units' costs or maintenance.

Venomous: When this unit deals damage to other unit, place X poison counters on that unit. During each of that unit’s owner’s maintenance phases, remove 1 counter and deal 1 damage to that unit.

Necrophage: This unit allows you to remove from the game non-mech units in your graveyard to add X food for each X HP they originally had. Food added this way can only be used for paying the Necrophage's play cost or maintenance.

Salvage: When this unit is destroyed, add the indicated resources.

Kamikaze: This unit is destroyed when combat ends.

(Two Decks Free!)

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