Rulebook v1.0
How to Play
Neon Nexus
Everything you need to enter the city, build your deck, and fight for control of the Nexus. Read through before your first game — the rules are easier than they look.
Version 1.0 — CurrentObjective
Reduce your opponent's Leader's HP to zero. Every attack and strategy ultimately points toward this goal.
If your opponent cannot draw a card because their deck is empty, you win immediately.
Game Setup
Before the game begins, both players prepare their side of the Server by following these steps in order. Each step must be completed before moving to the next.
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1Reveal your Leader. Place your chosen Leader card face-up in your Leader zone. Your Leader determines which faction cards are legal in your deck.
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2Choose your starting Program. Search your deck for one Program card of your choice, reveal it to your opponent, and place it in your hand. Then shuffle your deck.
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3Draw your opening hand. Draw 5 cards from your deck. You may shuffle your entire hand back into your deck once and draw 5 new cards — but only once.
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4Set starting Tech Level. Each player begins at Tech Level 1, unless their Leader card states otherwise.
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5Determine first player. Decide who goes first by any mutually agreed method (coin flip, dice roll, etc.).
Deck Construction
Your deck is your arsenal. Before sitting down to play, you must build a legal deck following these rules.
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①Minimum 60 cards. Your deck must contain at least 60 cards, not counting your Leader.
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②Maximum 3 copies. You may include no more than 3 copies of any single card in your deck.
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③Faction restriction. Your deck may only contain cards belonging to your Leader's faction, plus any Free Agent cards. For example, if your Leader is from the Neon Ninjas, you may only use Neon Ninja cards and Free Agent cards.
Free Agent cards are neutral and can be added to any deck regardless of faction. They're great for filling gaps in your strategy.
Turn Structure
Each turn follows four phases in order. Within the Main Phase, you may take actions in any sequence you choose — there's no mandatory order.
Unspent Tech Points do not reset at the end of your turn. They accumulate indefinitely — there is no maximum. Plan your big plays accordingly.
Playing Cards
To play a card, spend Tech Points equal to the cost shown in the top-right corner of that card. Tech Points are your universal currency — they pay for Units, Hacks, Programs, and Upgrades alike.
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▸Units are deployed to your Server. They can attack on the following turn unless they have the Charge keyword.
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▸Hacks are instant-speed cards that can be played at any time, including during your opponent's turn. When multiple Hacks are played in response to each other, they resolve in last-in-first-out (LIFO) order via the Priority system.
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▸Programs attach to your Leader and increase your Tech Level. You may have a maximum of 2 Programs attached at once. If you play a third, you must send one currently attached Program to the Scrapyard.
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▸Unit Upgrades attach to one of your Units to enhance it. Each Unit can hold 1 Upgrade at a time unless its card text states otherwise.
After any player takes an action, the opposing player gains priority and may respond with a Hack. Hacks stack and resolve in reverse order — the last Hack played resolves first. Once both players pass priority without acting, the current effect resolves.
Combat Rules
Combat is how you destroy your opponent's Units and, ultimately, their Leader. Units deal and receive damage simultaneously during an attack.
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▸Attacking. During your Main Phase, tap an eligible Unit to declare an attack against an opposing Unit or the enemy Leader directly.
If the opponent controls any Unit with Taunt, you must attack one of those Units first before targeting anything else. -
▸Charge. Freshly deployed Units must wait until your next turn to attack. Units with the Charge keyword may attack the same turn they enter the Server.
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▸Damage. A Unit's ATK (bottom-left number) is the damage it deals. Its HP (bottom-right number) is how much damage it can take before being destroyed. Damage is persistent — it does not heal at the end of a turn or phase.
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▸Destruction. When a Unit's HP reaches 0, it is immediately sent to its owner's Scrapyard.
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▸Attacking the Leader. If no opposing Units with Taunt are in play (or all blocking threats have been cleared), your Units may attack the enemy Leader directly, reducing their HP.
Unlike some card games, damage dealt to Units sticks around between turns and phases. A Unit at 1 HP is one hit away from destruction — keep that in mind when choosing your attacks.
Winning the Game
The game ends immediately when either win condition is met — even if it occurs in the middle of a chain of effects.
Reduce your opponent's Leader's HP to 0 through combat or card effects. The moment this happens, you win.
If your opponent is required to draw a card but their deck is empty, they cannot draw and lose immediately.
Card Types
Your champion. The Leader starts in play and defines which faction cards you can use. If its HP hits 0, you lose. Each Leader may have unique starting abilities or Tech Level modifiers.
Fighters deployed to your Server. Units attack enemy Units or the opposing Leader, deal damage equal to their ATK stat, and are destroyed when their HP reaches 0.
Instant-speed action cards that can be played at any time — even during your opponent's turn. After resolving, Hacks go to the Scrapyard. Subject to the Priority system.
Attachments for your Leader that raise your Tech Level, giving you more resources each turn. You may have up to 2 Programs active at once. Replacing one sends the old Program to the Scrapyard.
Attachments that enhance a specific Unit. Each Unit can hold 1 Upgrade at a time unless its card text allows more. If the Unit is destroyed, the Upgrade also goes to the Scrapyard.
Special Units created by card effects rather than played from your hand. Tokens use the stats and rules defined by the effect that created them. They go to the Scrapyard when destroyed.
Card Anatomy
Every Unit card follows the same layout. Understanding what each section means will help you evaluate cards quickly during play.
Tech Cost — spend this many Tech Points to play the card.
Card Art — illustrates the unit, location, or event depicted.
Card Name — the unique identifier used when referencing this card in rules text.
Faction · Type — which faction this card belongs to and its sub-type.
Rules Text — abilities, keywords, and special effects. Card text overrides general rules when there is a conflict.
ATK — the damage this Unit deals when it attacks.
HP — the amount of damage this Unit can take before it is destroyed.
Keyword Glossary
Keywords are shorthand for commonly used abilities. When a card has a keyword, it follows the definition below unless the card's own text specifies otherwise.
The shared play area where Leaders, Units, Programs, and Upgrades are placed. Both players share the same Server space.
Your discard pile. Destroyed Units, used Hacks, replaced Programs, and discarded cards all go here. Cards in the Scrapyard are face-up and visible to both players.
Your resource currency, used to pay for cards and abilities. Gained at the start of each turn equal to your Tech Level. Unspent points carry over — there is no maximum.
Determines how many Tech Points you gain at the start of each turn. Starts at 1. Increased by attaching Program cards to your Leader.
This Unit may attack the same turn it enters the Server, rather than waiting until the next turn.
Once per turn, when this Unit would take damage, prevent that damage entirely. Resets at the start of each turn.
This Unit may attack up to 2 different targets per turn instead of the usual 1.
At the start of your turn, this Unit heals X damage, up to its maximum HP. The X value is defined on the card.
A Dazzled Unit is impaired. Its controller must pay X Tech Points to remove the Dazzle effect before that Unit can act freely. Until Dazzle is removed, the Unit's actions are restricted for the turn.
Any Unit that takes damage from this Unit is immediately destroyed, regardless of how much HP it has remaining.
While any Unit with Taunt is on your side, opponents must attack a Taunting Unit before targeting anything else. When multiple Units have Taunt, the attacker chooses which one to attack first.
Units with Booster may attack the enemy Leader directly — but only if the opponent controls no other Units with Booster. If the opponent has a Booster Unit in play, you must deal with it first.
This Unit cannot be targeted by attacks, Hacks, or abilities until it attacks first. Stealth does not reset at the start of turns — once broken, it's gone for the rest of the game.
Once per turn, when this Unit takes damage, flip a coin. If you win the flip, the damage is prevented entirely.
When this Unit enters the Server, create a 0/1 Data Pest Unit Token with Taunt. The Token appears alongside this Unit and must be accounted for by attackers.
If a card's text directly contradicts these rules, the card text takes priority. Cards are designed to break the rules in interesting ways — that's part of the game.