Coalition - Phyrexia War Game Rulebook

The Coalition/Phyrexian War Game, is based upon the conflict of these two military forces for control of the planes. Phyrexia, under the rule of Yawgmoth and his generals, advance through interplanar portals to compleat the Multiverse and remove the weak blight of flesh. The Coalition consists of the native inhabitants of Dominaria, joined under one banner in a fight to survive against the invaders and end their destructive advance.
The War Game continues the 'what if,' where Urza and the Weatherlight did not stick their noses in and ruin everything. Who will be victorious, the Phyrexia war machine, or the Coalition's desperate fight for survival?

 1 Sides
2 Play
3 Armies
4 Movement
5 Healing
6 Strategies
 

1 Sides

Picking a side is as simple as posting a request in the associated boards, the Council of All for the Coalition, or the Phyrexian Council for Phyrexia. 

1.1 The Coalition

The Coalition consists of 5 factions; one for each of the colours of magic (White, Blue, Black, Red, and Green). These represent the various groups under the Coalition flag and determine matters of healing and troop choice for armies. Each member of The Coalition is able to pick 1 primary faction where they will hold rank (this may be changed at a later point), and 2 secondary factions (also able to be changed).Each faction has its own base, as placed upon the map indicated by their respective colour. Also each faction has its own set of ranks (1 Captain, at least 1 Commander, 2 Lieutenant Commanders, and any number of Lieutenants per faction).
The Coalition Rank structure is as follows: 1 General, 2 Admirals, 5 Captains, 7 Commanders, 10 Lieutenant Commanders and any number of Lieutenants. 

1.2 Phyrexia

Unlike the Coalition, Phyrexia consists of a single group. Phyrexia has 5 strongholds and no faction differences, but otherwise the rank structure is equivalent: 1 Chief Praetor, 2 Praetors, 5 Evincars, 7 Plaguelords, 10 Centurian Plaguelords and any number of Centurions. 

1.3 Mercenaries

This group cannot be joined by players at any time, they exist only to protect designated structures. These armies do not heal, but they attack their associated structure every turn they are unengaged. If they fail to retake control after two turns, they are disbanded. They will always move after player armies.
 

1.4 The Judge

As a neutral unbiased controller, the judge's task is to deal with movement, judging of strategies, and make sure that everything is running smoothly. Generally what the judge says goes, but civilised discussion is encouraged. As any other human being, the judge is capable of making mistakes so any constructive feedback is appreciated. 

2 Play

 

2.1 The Map

Most interaction between players happens on the Wizards of the Coast Community Boards; however play takes place upon a separate web-site. All information pertaining to battles, squares, armies, and bases can be found there.
Squares are indicated by a grid system, Dominaria and Phyrexia have 1 - 24 columns and A - I rows, while Mirrodin has 1 - 18 columns and A - H rows. Hovering over a square will indicate the coordinates of the current position at the pointer with additional information about the square in the information area beneath the map. Space bar can be pressed to prevent the information from changing. 

2.2 Armies

Armies are represented by symbols on the map, the Coalition uses the faction symbols (as can be seen on cards such as Coalition Relic, Phyrexia uses the Mask of Yawgmoth, and Mercenaries are represented by a helm. It is at the discretion of the leaders to assign armies to players.In order to see the makeup of an army, clicking on it will bring up a box with all pertinent information. 

2.3 Turns

The start of each turn is announced by the Battle Judge in the Battle Announcements thread. This post will include all the battles for the current turn as well as the deadline before which strategies and movement are to be submitted in order to be valid. The deadline timestamp is at 5PM GMT, so be sure not to omit time conversions as late strategies and moves will be discarded.Once the deadline has passed, the player's responsibilities have ended. It is now up to the judge to go through the strategies and movement, posting the results of each in the Battle Results and Movement threads respectively. Then to post any new battles from that turn in the Battle Announcements thread, starting the cycle again.
For a time frame for armies to move and fight, each turn is defined as six in-game days (with a seventh as rest). The number of actual days this translates to out of game is variable, but can expect anywhere from one to two weeks per turn. 

2.4 Rounds

A round can take as long as necessary for one side to achieve the defined victory conditions. It is also possible to end a round early if one side concedes, or an alterative ending is arranged. 

2.5 Winning

There are three possible ways of winning;
2.5.1 Destroying StructuresThe Coalition wins by destroying all Phyrexian strongholds (Sheila’s Lair, Blobble, Blubble, Blabble, and Blubble). Phyrexia wins by destroying all Coalition bases (Wrath, Eluria, Kamakawiwo’ole, Vesuva, and Mirrodin’s Core) (See 5.3 Destroying).
2.5.2 Killing ArmiesIf a side loses all armies in the top three ranks, it loses (See 6.4 Killing).
2.5.3 Victory PointsThe first side to 500 victory points wins; these can be gained by destroying bases or strongholds, killing armies, dominating planes (See 5.4.1 Domination), controlling some terrain features, and by winning battles (See 6.3 Victory). 

3 Armies

 

3.1 Army Creation

No new armies can be placed on the map while the round is in progress. However if a new player achieves at least two official battles, they may contact their leader about getting an existing army changed to one of their choosing. This army may be reverted back if the player later leaves. Design itself is generally handled by the leaders of each side and they are expected to guide new players in this regard.Each army consists of one legend and 4 slots based on the army rank.Armies must match the following setup: 
Chief Praetor / General army:
~1~ Legend
5000 6/6 creatures
2500 7/7 creatures
1500 8/8 creatures
1000 9/9 creatures;
 
Praetor / Admiral armies:
~1~ Legend
5000 5/5 creatures
2500 6/6 creatures
1500 7/7 creatures
1000 8/8 creatures;
 
Evincar / Captain armies:
~1~ Legend
5000 4/4 creatures
2500 5/5 creatures
1500 6/6 creatures
1000 7/7 creatures;
 
Thane / Commander armies:
~1~ Legend
5000 3/3 creatures
2500 4/4 creatures
1500 5/5 creatures
1000 6/6 creatures;
 
Plaguelord / Lieutenant Commander armies:
~1~ Legend
5000 2/2 creatures
2500 3/3 creatures
1500 4/4 creatures
1000 5/5 creatures;
 
Centurion / Lieutenant armies:
~1~ Legend
5000 1/1 creatures
2500 2/2 creatures
1500 3/3 creatures
1000 4/4 creatures;
 

3.2 Creatures

Any creature is acceptable, as long as it is represented by a Magic: The Gathering card that is accessible through Gatherer. By necessity, some creature abilities must be scaled down for balance reasons. 
3.2.1 Power/ToughnessCreature slots apply only to the maximum of that creature's power and toughness. For example; 3/3, 3/2, 3/1, 3/0, 2/3, 1/3, or 0/3 creatures all fall into the 3/3 slot, and as far as rules go there is no meaningful difference between them.Permanent power/toughness changing effects, such as +1/+1 counters, or creatures with power and/or toughness than are variable can be used in any slot that they could naturally fall into. For example; Dracoplasm is a */* creature that can fill any slot from 1/1 to 9/9, whereas a Vampiric Dragon starts as a 5/5 creature that gets +1/+1 counters, so it can only be used in slots 5/5 and higher. Effects lasting until end of turn cannot be used in this way. 
3.2.2 RestrictionsPhyrexia cannot use white, green or multicolour creatures that are exclusively white and green - unless they have the Phyrexian watermark.Each Coalition army can only include units from their chosen factions (factions of an army cannot be changed mid-round unlike those of players). Multicoloured creatures count for each of their associated colours, whereas any army can use artifact creatures. For example; if Frank, the Intergalactic Space Toad has selected primary of Green, and secondary colours Blue and Red, he can use any artifact creatures, or those with the colours green, blue, and/or red in his army.
Every army is composed of 4 slots, yet each slot may be split into different creatures. However, an army can only have up to 6 unique units at any one time.No other restrictions exist and all creatures that fit these army requirements are free for use. 
3.2.3 LegendsEach army will have a legend; this is generally one from Magic: the Gathering, but a personal design may be submitted to the judge. These units have no perceivable impact in most battles and have no restrictions placed on size or colour. Their purpose only applies in kill strategies (See 6.4 Killing). 
3.2.4 Colour BonusIf all units in an army share a colour (white, blue, black, red, green) or are all colourless (such as artifacts and eldrazi) they receive a +1 bonus on all rolls. 

4 Movement

Movement must be sent to the Battle Judge before the deadline via either PM or e-mail. If desired it may also be posted in the Movement thread. For each army movement should be formatted as follows;
Army Name: Plane; Start > Next > Next > End - Order 
Army Name: the name of the moving army. The name must be of the correct side and be recognisable as an existing army.Plane: designates the starting plane, it is only for ease of finding purposes so there is no strict requirement as long as it is clear which plane each army is on.Start: this is the position the army currently occupies on the map.Next: optional and generally not included, this is only to map out a particular route; if not included it is determined randomly.End: the destination square for the respective army.Order: any applicable orders (See 4.1 Orders). 
Failure to use this format, or to use the orders incorrectly, may result in the move not taking place.
An army can only move if it is not in battle and only up to three squares. Each square takes 2 in-game days to cross at normal marching speed but does not need to be in a straight line (diagonal movement is not counted). Other armies, battles, structures, and portals do not act as obstacles for movement. On Mirrodin movement is across the edges is possible, while on Dominaria and Phyrexia armies cannot move over the map edges. Most moves are enacted at the same time.
 

4.1 Orders

 4.1.1 EngageThis is used when an enemy army is in the End square. The order must include the name of the enemy army. If the opposing army does not move, a battle will result; otherwise the army will move into the destination square.
Format: Frank, the Intergalactic Space Toad: 3A > 2B - engage Jeff the Owl.
 4.1.2 ReplaceWhen an allied army is in the End square this command is required. It must include the name of the allied army. If the ally does not move, then nor will the moving army; otherwise the army will move into the destination square.
Format: Frank, the Intergalactic Space Toad: 3A > 2C - replace The Frogettes.
 4.1.3 InterceptThis order requires the army to not move (still needs the Start square though). However, any enemy army that would otherwise move through that square is stopped and a battle results instead. The first army passing over (determined randomly) will be the one intercepted. Alternatively, an enemy army name can be given, if this army would pass over the square, it will be intercepted instead of any army. It is not possible to create a joint engage with the Intercept command (See 4.3 Joint engage). If the intercepting army is attacked by a closer army, it will no longer intercept armies passing through.
This order can be used when an army is within a portal (See 5.5 Portals), in this case any enemy army attempting to enter or exit the portal will be engaged.
Format: Frank, the Intergalactic Space Toad: 3A – intercept Newt with a Blowfish.
 4.1.4 TransferTransfers allow for troops to be sent between allied armies. It requires that both armies are adjacent, do not move, and that the transferring army is not in a structure (See 5 Structures). There is no specific format for this order as long as it is clear which armies and units are involved. 
4.1.5 RaidRaids are the only move order that occur before any others. As such, they cannot be intercepted and the move for the raided army is negated. This square is then treated as a battle for all other moves that turn. It is not possible to perform a raid into a structure.

This order is only available to armies of the bottom two ranks and is restricted to two raids per side per turn. If multiple valid raids are performed the first two (determined randomly) will work and all others will not move. In addition, the raiding army must have at least 500 units in its highest slot and the raided army must have less than 5000 units overall. The raiding army must enact a kill strategy (See 6.4 Killing). 

Format: Frank, the Intergalactic Space Toad: 3A > 2B - raid Jeff the Owl.
4.1.6 SupportWhen an allied army is in the End square this command is may be used to allow for a joint engagement (See 4.3 Joint engage). Both armies will then defend against at least one attacker. The order requires the name of the allied army, which must remain stationary. If the ally is not attacked, or if the maximum number of joint engages has been reached, the army will move as close as possible. If the allied army moves, then the army will remain in place.
Format: Frank, the Intergalactic Space Toad: 3A > 2C - support The Frogettes.
4.1.7 No OrderWhen none of the above orders apply, the Order field can be left empty. 

4.2 Partial Moves

When two allied armies attempt to move into the same square and the conditions for a joint engage are not met, a partial move may result. The closest army (or if the same distance, determined randomly) will move to the desired square. The other will move as close as possible; after taking into account all other moves. Generally attempts will be made to avoid a battle resulting from a partial move, but this is not always possible. 

4.3 Joint Engage

In some cases, it is possible for more than two armies to be fighting in a square at once. These are restricted to only one for each side per turn and can contain up to four armies in one battle. Only the first (determined randomly) is chosen, in all other cases partial moves will result. Armies of the top three ranks and cannot initiate joint engagements (but they can be jointly attacked), nor can these occur within structures. 

5 Structures

Once an army reaches any structure – indicated by a named square surrounded by a coloured rectangle – they begin counting turns. This value accumulates at any point an army could move (when it is not in combat).The description of each base can be found within the War Game Wiki, however this only indicates that which have been thus far discovered through combat. New features can be revealed across multiple battles, so be sure to check the description before writing a strategy. 

5.1 Healing

If an army is within an allied structure, it may heal or change its troops. Armies will heal to up to full, minus any loses sustained in the last turn of healing. This occurs automatically at the end of each turn.
5.1.1 Healing in StrongholdsOnly Phyrexian armies may heal inside a stronghold. It takes any army two turns to do so. There are no differences between the strongholds for healing purposes. These structures are indicated by a orange rectangle.
5.1.2 Healing in BasesOnly Coalition armies may heal inside a base, and then only at bases they are a member of (either primary or secondary). If not a member, they do not heal regardless of how many turns are counted. If the army is a primary member (as indicated by its symbol) healing only takes one turn but must be requested (otherwise it heals normally on the second turn). If the army is a secondary member, healing takes two turns. Bases are indicated by the colour of their associated faction, white, blue, black, red, and green. 

5.2 Army Changes

When an army is within an allied structure in which it can heal, a player may request an army change. After two turns, the army heals to full with new units, and if desired a new name. In most cases, this is no different to the usual process of healing and does not need to be requested until the same turn the army would otherwise heal.

5.3 Destroying

If an army is within an enemy structure it begins to destroy it. This process takes four turns. Once a structure is destroyed, it is removed from play and armies can no longer heal there. In the case of a Coalition base, it will no longer be possible to perform army changes to creatures exclusively of that colour (destroying red base will deny access to Raging Goblin, but Boros Recruit is still accessible). This grants the destroying side 50 victory points.

5.4 Terrain Features

On each plane there will be five controllable neutral structures. Most have some extra benefit for the controlling side defined in the description. Over time they can suffer permanent damages, but they cannot be destroyed completely. These are represented by yellow squares.
5.4.1 DominationControlling the majority of terrain features on a given plane grants victory points each turn depending on the plane. Domination of the home plane (Phyrexia is the Phyrexian home plane and Dominaria that of the Coalition) gives 5 points, while that for the enemy plane gives 15, Mirrodin grants 10 victory points to the controlling side. Control of a terrain feature is established by occupation, if unoccupied it is the closest unengaged army within 3 squares. If two armies are tied, or there is no such army, the structure is deemed uncontrolled.

5.5 Portals

Pink structures indicate planar portals allowing access to other planes. The plane to which they transport armies can be seen by hovering over the portal. These cannot be destroyed, but can be occupied. Any number of armies can move into a portal on any turn, they then move into the closest free square on the opposing side in a manner similar to how a losing army is bumped (See 6.3 Victory).
5.5.1 GarrisoningIf preferred an army can be requested to not go through a portal when moving into it. It can then be used to intercept (See 4.1.3 Intercept) any enemy armies attempting to move through the portal. If a battle results for a garrisoned army for any reason, then movement through the portal from either side will not be possible as long as the battle continues.  

6 Strategies

A strategy is the orders a player gives to the army when in combat, there are few explicit rules, and what is presented here are closer to guidelines than hard and fast rules. Creature abilities, terrain, weather, everything is available for interpretation. There are few restrictions and players can find/wait for a desired state to present itself. Occasionally abilities must be restricted for balance reasons (based on the interpretation of the judge). Which battles are taken by which players is generally assigned by the leaders of each side.
All battles will be posted in the Battle Announcements thread with the following format:
Army name Battle type Army name, Square (Weather)
Format: Rabid Cat attacks Various Puppies, 2F (Cold Gumdrop Rain and Strong Winds) 
Before the battle deadline all strategies must be sent to the judge using the e-mail address in the Battle Announcements thread. Strategies must be in the body of the e-mail and not attachments. The title of the e-mail should have the following format:
Player: Army name Battle type Army Name.
Format: MonkeyMan: Rabid Cat attacks Various Puppies
The strategy title can include labels to minimise the chance of oversights. Examples of these are ‘Kill Attempt,’ ‘Joint Engage,’ and ‘Contingency’ (a contingency refers to a strategy sent just in case the intended player does not send their strategy). Failure to follow these guidelines may cause a strategy to be discarded or not have the desired effect. 

6.1 Battle States

An entire battle can last up to seven days, most are completed within a few hours or a day, but additional options exist. 
6.1.1 TypeHow a battle occurs will determine the positioning of the armies at the start of the battle. In the case of a no attacker, designated by ‘vs.,’ the armies start within visible range. This range can vary due to factor such as weather, terrain, units of the armies, and how each army advances as some examples. This type of battle arises when two opposing armies move into the same square.The second major type is that of an attacker/defender battle, this is designated by ‘attacks’ and is the result of the engage order (See 4.1.1 Engage). The attacking army (the first named army) starts at the edge of the square, while the defending army (named after the battle type) begins in the centre of the square. It is highly recommended that armies designated as attacking attack.The last common type is intercepts (See 4.1.4 Intercept); in practice it is similar to a no attacker battle with each army starting within visible range. However, the intercepting army (the first named army) is moving to prevent the intercepted army (named after the battle type) from passing through the area. This can result from use of the intercept order, or the case when a losing army is bumped and has no free space to move to. The intercepting army should ensure that they do move to engage the intercepted army.Two less common battle types will occasionally arise;
Sieges; these are more likely when defendable areas are present. They can only follow from previous battles and result when an army only partially captures an area or is unable to entirely force out the opponent. Positioning and other information is provided on a case by case basis. These can last for multiple turns.
Raids; these are the result of the attacking army using the raid order to engage a heavily damaged target (See 4.1.5 Raids). The armies start within visible range with the second named army taken almost entirely by surprise at a point of the raider’s (the first named army) choosing. 
6.1.2 TerrainThe terrain can be determined from the square designated in the announcement made in the Battle Announcements thread. The specific terrain is then given in the information area. There are six possible types: plains, islands, swamp, mountains, forest, and ocean. Each can be thought of as simply the most stereotypical state (for example; forest: lots of trees, mountains: rocky mountain ranges). If desired, a specific feature can be searched for, the more common the feature the less time it takes to find (for example; looking for pine trees in a forest will be quick, finding a ravine in a forest may take the better part of a day).For ocean and island battles, armies can be assumed to have access to any relatively common boat existing in the Dark and Middle Ages (war galleys are fine, iron plated turtles are not).Features of terrain can differ across planes. Dominaria shares traits with standard and expected landscapes. Mirrodin however is a metallic plane, the form of its lands can be found here. Phyrexia on the other hand contains an imitation of natural life via organic artifice, but these can be treated as standard landscape types in form. Further details of these terrains can be found within the War Game Wiki. 
6.1.3 WeatherThis is determined by rolls and assigned in the Battle Announcements thread. What the rolls mean can be found in the War Game Wiki. As with terrain, the description given is for the stereotypical state of weather and then only applies to the average over the entire duration of the battle. One can wait for a particular type of weather, with the more likely it is given the average, the quicker it will result (for example; when overcast waiting for light rain will not take long, whereas waiting for a lightning storm may take most of the day and may not last for longer than a few minutes). 
6.1.4 JointWhen a joint battle ensues, how it is written is entirely up to the players. It can be combined into a single strategy or sent as two separate ones. However, the armies win or lose together. The players have the option of deciding which army remains inside the square in the event of victory but if that that right is forfeit, the larger or higher ranked army remains in the square at the end of the battle. If both are the same this is determined randomly.
A request for which army leaves the square in a joint engage must be announced by post in the Movement thread before the movement deadline – and before the battle results are known. This request must be made by one of the players that will write the joint engage strategy. The request should be made in the following format:
Joint engage bump: Army name > Square
Format: Joint engage bump: Frank, the Intergalactic Space Toad > 7G
Army name is the name of the army that will leave the square in the event that the battle is won. Square is an adjacent and legal destination for that army. If the destination proves to no longer be valid, the army will move as close as possible. 

6.2 Equipment

Armies start battle with the equipment presented in their artwork(s), flavour text, and/or implied by ability text. Additional equipment is only that which would be present in the average medieval army (no magical equipment, modern technology, siege weapons, nor explosives). All other equipment must be made or found. The only exception to this is when fighting at a structure. In this case the occupier can be assumed to have access to equipment befitting the description. 

6.3 Victory

The winner of a battle is given by the battle judge based on relative bonuses and random rolls. The winner and losses for each army are supplied by the judge, this is one case where the judge’s call is not up for debate.The winning army remains in the square, while the losing army is forced into one of the surrounding squares (determined randomly). If all of these squares are occupied, the army may be either bumped into an enemy army creating an intercept battle (See 6.1 Battle States), or the next set of squares out if all surrounding squares are occupied by either allied armies or battles. 

6.4 Killing

When writing a kill strategy the first requirement is to make it obvious that it is a kill strategy. Putting this into the title line of the strategy e-mail is recommended.
To make a kill, an army needs 500 units in its top rank, which will act as the kill squad. These creatures do not participate in the battle itself, only the kill attempt which uses a separate roll. Any extras beyond this can be used within the strategy and also provide a bonus to the kill attempt.In order to make the kill, the army must first win the battle. Then a second roll is made comparing the army’s kill attempt to the opponent’s escape (or protection) attempt, similar to an internal mini-strategy. If this roll is successful, the enemy army is killed, if it fails, there is a chance that the kill squad will be lost (if the battle is lost, the kill squad is lost regardless). A raider has an increased chance of succeeding in his kill attempt (See 4.1.5 Raids).
Most killed armies grant victory points equal to 5 times its rank to the killing side. The top ranked army however gives 50 victory points.

6.5 Stratless

If for some reason a strategy is not received the battle is said to be stratless. This means that the army for which a strategy was received is assigned the winner by default and given the maximum strategy bonus. This is very costly and tends to be frowned upon by all involved.