How to play

Choose your deity. Lead your forces. Destroy your enemy.

Taiji is a strategic card game for two players. Each deck includes a Deity as its commander. That Deity determines your starting life; the default is 20 if the card gives no other value. Attack with your Characters and reduce your opponent’s life to 0 to win.

Learn the essentials below, or open the complete English rulebook for setup instructions, detailed rules and card abilities. If a card contradicts the rulebook, follow the card.

Deities: page 4 · Card precedence: page 6 · Winning and combat: page 12

Learn how best to harness your shared Yīn and Yáng energy pool.

Put the Taiji coin between the players and toss it to choose its starting Yīn or Yáng face. It can be used as Qì, and its face changes the effects of certain cards.

No additional Qì enters on the first turn. On the second, add one Qì card opposite to Taiji’s starting face. Add one more on each subsequent turn, alternating Yīn and Yáng independently of later coin flips, until the manual’s limit of 10 Qì cards is reached.

At the start of a player’s turn, Qì returns to the centre, where the active player can use it. To pay a cost, Shift the appropriate Qì towards your opponent. They can then use that Qì by Shifting it back. A phase ends when both players say they do not want to use their available Qì.

Both players also begin with 3 Gold. During your turn, Shift your Deity to gain 1 Gold, or Shift 5 Qì and your Deity to gain 1 Jade. Gold and Jade support card costs, offerings and other abilities described in the manual.

Qì and Taiji: pages 2–3 · Gold and Jade: page 8

Your turn, step by step.

1. Unshift. Return Shifted cards and resources to their ready or central state. No cards or abilities are used in this step.
2. Upkeep. Pay any recurring costs required by your cards.
3. Drawing. Draw one card. Skip this phase on the first turn.
4. Preparation. Play cards by paying their Qì and other costs.
5. Attack. Declare attackers, let the opponent assign blockers, resolve encounters and then post-combat actions.
6. Consolidation. Play further cards if you can pay their costs. Finish this phase with no more than 8 cards in hand.
7. Ending. Resolve end-step effects, let “until end of turn” effects expire and remove damage from Characters.

Complete turn structure: page 11

Attack, defend, and resolve encounters.

Only eligible, Unshifted Characters can attack. Newly entered Characters normally cannot attack that turn unless they have Haste. Declare all attacks together. The defending player chooses which eligible Characters block; several defenders can block one attacker.

An unblocked attacker deals its Attack Power to the opponent. In a blocked encounter, Characters deal damage according to the combat rules and attack speeds. Damage at least equal to a Character’s Defence destroys it; lesser damage remains until the end of the turn.

Attack speed runs from God Speed → First Strike → Normal → Slow → Reactive. Read the detailed rules for speed differences, multiple blockers and special abilities.

Resolving encounters: page 12 · Ability glossary: pages 13–14

Guide your fallen Characters through Dìyù towards resurrection.

Killed non-Divine Characters enter Dìyù at Judgement. Sacrificed, discarded or otherwise specified non-Divine Characters enter at the Gates of Dìyù. They can progress towards Resurrection and return to your hand. Divine Characters instead leave the game when defeated, described by the manual as returning to Nirvana.

The draft’s board diagram is on page 7. Page 8 explains Dìyù, its costs and automatic movement from Judgement. Keep the complete English PDF beside the cards while learning.

Board layout: page 7 · Dìyù: page 8