How to Play Star Realms: Command Deck – The Pact

Game Objective

When playing with the Pact Command Deck, you take on the role of Overlord Newburg, a legendary Pact commander. While you can acquire and play cards from any faction, your starting deck and gambits work particularly well with faction 8 and faction cards. The primary objective is to defeat your opponents by reducing their Authority to zero.

This Command Deck can be played in a one-on-one confrontation against any other Command Deck, or you can use it to face two players using standard starting decks. In the 2-on-1 scenario, the two players use standard starting decks (eight Scout cards and two Viper cards) and play as a Hydra team with a total of 75 Authority. Hydra teams share a turn, can share trade and combat, but have separate decks and Ally triggers.

Preparation (Setup)

To start the game, follow these steps:

1. Place your Overlord Newburg card, along with your Pact Dominion and Newburg's Game gambit cards, face up in front of you. The Overlord Newburg card is for reference only and does not count as a faction 8 or in-play card for triggering Ally Abilities.
2. You start with 65 Authority. Your starting hand is six cards. You can track your Authority with the included score markers. To represent a change in the tens digit, rotate and/or flip the card. To represent a change in the units digit, slide and/or flip the card. Add the two numbers in the circle to get your Authority score.
3. Shuffle the Super Carrier card into the Trade Deck before setting up the initial Trade Row. This is a great card for you to acquire, but your opponents can also acquire it.
4. Shuffle the other 12 cards (Cluster Scout, Diplomatic Shuttle, Escort Viper, Frontier Tug, Ranger, Ripper, [4] Scout, Swarming, and Viper) to create your Personal Deck.
5. When playing first, you receive a starting hand of three cards. When playing second, you receive a starting hand of six cards.

Game Flow

Refer to the manual for details on this section.

Actions and How to Play

Refer to the manual for details on this section.

Card Types and Special Abilities

• Alignment Faction Symbol: This faction symbol represents both faction 8 and faction .
• Super Carrier: This card counts as a card of both factions (8 and ) and will trigger the Ally Abilities of either. Its own Ally Ability can be triggered by a faction 8 or card.

Gambits

• Pact Dominion: This gambit remains face up in front of you throughout the game. It automatically grants you 1 Authority the first time you gain Authority during your Main Phase each turn. It only works during your Main Phase, so if you gain Authority at any other time (such as from an event during an opponent's turn), it will not work.
• Newburg's Game: This gambit remains face up in front of you until you use it. You can use it by scrapping it at any time during your Main Phase. When you use it, you count as having an additional faction 8 card and an additional faction card in play that turn for triggering Ally Abilities.

End of Game and Scoring

Refer to the manual for details on this section.

Tips for Winning

• The Super Carrier card is a great card for you to acquire, as it counts as a card of both factions (8 and ) and triggers Ally Abilities of either.
• Take advantage of the Pact Dominion gambit to gain 1 extra Authority the first time you gain Authority during your Main Phase each turn. Plan your moves to maximize this gain.
• Use the Newburg's Game gambit strategically to trigger powerful Ally Abilities by counting as having additional faction 8 and cards in play. The timing of scrapping it is crucial.