Rules and gameplay overview of Genius Invokation TCG.
Rules[]
Genius Invokation TCG[]
| Title | Description |
|---|---|
| Genius Invokation TCG Basics | Genius Invokation TCG is a tightly paced, heart-stopping tabletop card dueling game. Build your decks by basing them around Character and Action Cards, and engage in intense battles against your opponents! 
|
| Prepare to Duel | (1) Both sides will draw 5 cards, which will form their Hand. After that, both sides will get 1 chance to switch out any number of cards in their Hand. (2) Both sides get to choose 1 of their own Character Cards to be their active character. |
| Duel Flow | After a Genius Invokation TCG duel starts, each Round will proceed as follows: (1) Roll Phase: Both sides will get 8 Elemental Dice to roll. (2) Action Phase: Both sides take turns to act until both declare that their Round is over. (3) End Phase: Both sides draw 2 cards. |
| Victory Conditions | Use your Character Cards to attack and defeat your opponent's Character Cards! Once you have defeated them all, victory shall be yours! |
Round Flow[]
| Title | Description |
|---|---|
| Round Flow | Each Round will proceed as follows: Roll Phase > Action Phase > End Phase.
|
| Roll Phase | During each Round's Roll Phase, you will roll 8 Elemental Dice. After throwing these dice, you will have 1 chance to choose any number of Elemental Dice and reroll them. Each Elemental Die can have any one of the following 8 elemental attributes: Cryo, Hydro, Pyro, Electro, Anemo, Geo, and Dendro, as well as the Omni Element, which can be regarded and used as any basic Element. The maximum number of Elemental Dice you can have is 16. You will not be able to obtain more once you reach this number. |
| Action Phase | The two sides will take turns to take action, starting from the player who goes first. The actions you can undertake are: Use Skill: Pay the relevant cost and use your active character's Skill(s). Switch Characters: Pay 1 Elemental Die of your choice to switch your active character. Play Card: Pay the relevant cost and play card(s) from your Hand. Elemental Tuning: Discard a card from your Hand and change the Elemental Type of 1 of your Elemental Die. Declare Round End: End your actions for this Round. The first player to declare the end of their Round will go first during the next Round. |
| End Phase | Once both players have declared the end of their Round during the Action Phase, the game enters the End Phase. 1. Starting with the player who goes first, settle the various card effects triggered by "End Phase." 2. Both players will draw 2 cards from their Draw Piles. 3. Let the next Round begin! |
Take Action[]
| Title | Description |
|---|---|
| Actions | During the Action Phase, actions are divided into Combat Actions and Fast Actions. Combat Actions: After you complete 1 Combat Action, you will pass your turn to your opponent. Using Skills, switching characters, and declaring Round end count as Combat Actions. Fast Actions: You can continue your turn after completing a Fast Action. Playing a card and Elemental Tuning are considered Fast Actions. |
| Combat Action - Use Skill | Use your Elemental Dice to pay the relevant cost, which will allow your active character to use a Skill to damage the opposing active character. Each time a character uses a Normal Attack or an Elemental Skill, they will gain 1 Energy. Once a character maxes out on Energy, they can spend all of it to use a powerful Elemental Burst! |
| Combat Action - Switch Characters | Spend 1 Elemental Die of your choice to switch one of your characters on standby to be your active character. |
| Fast Action - Play Card | Use Elemental Dice to pay the relevant cost and play a card. Played cards are divided into the following categories: Equipment Cards: These are equipped on characters to apply an effect that buffs this character. Support Cards: Place these in your Support Zone to continuously apply supporting effects. Event Cards: Play these to immediately trigger all their effects. |
| Fast Action - Elemental Tuning | Discard 1 card from your Hand to convert 1 Elemental Die to the Elemental Type of your current active character. |
| Combat Action - Declare Round End | Give up on making further actions this Round and declare its end. The player who ends their Round first will go first next Round, meaning that they will have the initiative during the next Round's Action Phase. After this, the player who has yet to declare the end of their Round will continue to take Actions. After both players have made this declaration, the Action Phase will end and this Round's End Phase will begin. |
Game Area[]
| Title | Description |
|---|---|
During a Genius Invokation TCG duel, cards will be placed in the following Zones:
| |
| I. Character Zone | After the game begins, all Character Cards will be placed in the Character Zone. (1) The character's HP will appear to the top-left of the Character Card. HP will decrease when the character takes DMG, and they will go down if their HP reaches 0. (2) The character's Energy is displayed on the right side of the Character Card. When the character's Energy maxes out, they can unleash powerful Elemental Bursts! (3) Each player will have an active character. Only the active character can use Skills, and conversely, and only they can be affected by opposing Skill attacks. The active character's Character Card will be shifted forward to denote their role. (4) Characters who are not in combat will be designated Characters on Standby. "Switch Characters" can be performed to make them the active character. (5) If the active character is taken out, that player must choose a character on standby to take their place. |
| II. Attaching | Every Character Card can have Equipment Cards, Statuses, and Combat Statuses attached to it. (1) When an Equipment Card is played to a character, it will be attached to them. Each character can attach at most 1 Weapon and 1 Artifact Equipment Card, and any number of other types of Equipment. (2) Some Character Skills can create Statuses that can be attached to Character Cards. (3) Some Character Skills can create Combat Statuses that can be attached to active character(s). When the active character is switched out, the Combat Status will be passed to the new active character. |
| III. Support Zone | When a Support Card is played, it will be placed in the Support Zone. The Support Zone can hold up to 4 Support Cards. If you want to play a new Support Card when this zone is full, you must discard a card in it first. (When calculating the effects of multiple Support Cards, their effects will be calculated in chronological order of their placement.) |
| IV. Summons Zone | Some Character Skills can create Summons in the Summons Zone. The Summons Zone can hold up to 4 Summons. Once this zone is full, you cannot create new Summons. (When calculating the effects of multiple Summons, their effects will be calculated in chronological order of their summoning.) |
| V. Draw Pile | Before the game starts, all Action Cards in a deck will be shuffled and will form the Draw Pile. When drawing cards, the player will draw Action Cards from the top of the Draw Pile and add them to their Hand. If the Draw Pile has no card left, then no new card will be added to Hand. |
| VI. Hand | After the game begins, you will draw 5 cards from your Draw Pile to form your starting Hand. When every Round ends, both sides will draw 2 cards. Only Action Cards in your Hand can be played or used in Elemental Tuning. Your Hand is limited to 10 cards, after which you will automatically discard any cards you draw. |
Elemental Reactions: Rules[]
| Title | Description |
|---|---|
| Elemental Application | When characters take  Cryo,  Hydro,  Pyro,  Electro, or  Dendro DMG, they will have the corresponding Element applied to them.(  Anemo DMG and  Geo DMG cannot apply Elements in this way.)
|
| Elemental Reaction Rules | When the target has already had an Elemental Application: (1) Dealing a specific type of Elemental DMG will trigger an Elemental Reaction. (2) Using non-DMG effects to perform specific Elemental Applications will also trigger an Elemental Reaction. When calculating the effects of such Elemental Reactions, all DMG-dealing effects will be ignored. 
|
Elemental Reactions: Effects[]
| Title | Description |
|---|---|
| Melt | Deal +2 DMG for this instance |
| Vaporize | Deal +2 DMG for this instance |
| Overloaded | Deal +2 DMG for this instance; when targeting an active character, the target will be forcibly switched to the next character |
| Superconduct | Deal +1 DMG for this instance, deal 1 Piercing DMG to all opposing characters except the target |
| Electro-Charged | Deal +1 DMG for this instance, deal 1 Piercing DMG to all opposing characters except the target |
| Frozen | Deal +1 DMG for this instance. The target character receives the Frozen status: The character cannot use Skills (Lasts until the end of this Round). When receiving Pyro or  Physical DMG, the character receives +2 DMG and removes this status in advance.
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| Swirl | Deal 1 Cryo DMG to all opposing characters except the target
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| Swirl | Deal 1 Hydro DMG to all opposing characters except the target
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| Swirl | Deal 1 Pyro DMG to all opposing characters except the target
|
| Swirl | Deal 1 Electro DMG to all opposing characters except the target
|
| Crystallize | Deal +1 DMG for this instance, grant 1  Shield point to your active character (Shield can be stacked. Max 2 points).
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| Crystallize | Deal +1 DMG for this instance, grant 1 Shield point to your active character (Shield can be stacked. Max 2 points).
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| Crystallize | Deal +1 DMG for this instance, grant 1 Shield point to your active character (Shield can be stacked. Max 2 points).
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| Crystallize | Deal +1 DMG for this instance, grant 1 Shield point to your active character (Shield can be stacked. Max 2 points).
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| Burning | Deal +1 DMG for this instance and create a [Burning Flame]: End Phase: Deal 1 Pyro DMG. (1 Usage. Max 2 stacks)
|
| Bloom | Deal +1 DMG for this instance and create a [Dendro Core]: When you deal Pyro DMG or Electro DMG to an opposing active character, DMG dealt +2. (1 Usage)
|
| Quicken | Deal +1 DMG for this instance and create a [Catalyzing Field]: When you deal Electro DMG or Dendro DMG to an opposing active character, DMG dealt +1. (2 Usages)
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Other Rules[]
| Title | Description |
|---|---|
 Matching Element
|
When you play Action Cards that have a Cost, you must pay the directed amount of matching Elemental Dice. (  Omni Dice will count as any type of Elemental Dice.)
|
 Unaligned Element
|
When you play Action Cards that have a Cost, you must pay the directed amount of Elemental Dice, regardless of their type.
|
| Defeated | When character's HP hits 0, the character will be considered defeated after their Skill or effect is completed. In this moment, the character's equipment and effects will be discarded and their Energy will be cleared. |
| Will not be defeated | Certain effects will grant characters an immunity to being defeated when their HP hits 0, and will heal them for a certain amount thereafter. When this occurs, characters will not be regarded as having experienced a defeat. (Hence, their attached equipment and statuses will not be removed, and their Energy will remain uncleared.) |
| Calculation Order | If multiple cards are set to culminate at the same point in time, the order of resolution will follow the rules listed below: 1. The present player's card effects will be resolved first before the card effects of their opponent. 2. The card effects belonging to the same player will be resolved in the following order: Character Cards, Character Equipment and Statuses, Team Combat Status, Summons, and Support Cards. 3. Card effects of the same type belonging to the same player will be resolved via the order of their entry. |
Special Entry[]
| Title | Description |
|---|---|
 Food
|
After playing the Food Event Card, the character will enter the Satiated state. Characters in the Satiated state cannot be targeted by other Food Event Cards nor experience any effects from said Food Event Cards.The Satiated state will be removed at the end of the Round or if the character is defeated. Aside from this, when Food Event Cards with the Revival effect are played, no other Food Event Cards bearing the Revival effect can be used in the Round.
|
| Shield
|
Some effects will provide Shields that can protect specific characters. When characters with Shields receive DMG, the Shield points will be deducted to block some DMG, if not all. |
 Arcane Legend
|
Each player can only use 1 Arcane Legend card per match. The Arcane Legend card will be in your starting hand (If you have more Arcane Legend cards in your deck than there are starting hand cards, random Arcane Legend cards will appear in your starting hand.)
|
| Usage | Some cards have limited Usages. Each time the effect of such a card is triggered, 1 Usage will be consumed. Once a card has 0 Usages remaining, it will be discarded immediately. |
| Duration (Rounds) | Some cards have limited Duration. Each End Phase, 1 Round will be removed from such a card's Duration. When a card's Duration runs out, it will be discarded immediately. |
| Piercing DMG | Some effects will deal Piercing DMG. Such DMG cannot be boosted by any effects, but they will not be blocked by any Shields either. |
| Combat Action (Action Card) | Some Action Cards follow the Combat Action rule. If you play such a card, that action will be viewed as conducting a Combat Action instead of a Fast Action. |
| Charged Attack | Before your Action Phase, should the total number of your Elemental Dice be even, your Normal Attack will be considered a Charged Attack. |
| Plunging Attack | After the character is switched in to be the Active Character, should their next Combat Action within this Round be a Normal Attack, it will be considered a Plunging Attack for the instance. |
Gameplay Notes[]
Main Objective[]
Genius Invokation TCG is a game where the player faces opponents with a deck of cards.
A deck is made up of Character Cards and Action Cards. Use Character Cards to attack and defeat the opponent's Character Cards. Once they have all been defeated, victory is achieved.
Game Areas[]
- Character Zone
After the game begins, all Character Cards will be placed in the Character Zone. Each player will have to select an active character to be on the field. Only active characters can use Skills. Active characters are in a more forward position.
- Elemental Dice
Displays Elemental Dice that are available to be expended.
- Character Skills
Displays Skills that the active character can use.
- Summons Zone
Some Character Skills, Event Cards and Elemental Reactions can create Summons in the Summons Zone to assist the player. The Summons Zone can hold up to 4 Summons.
- Support Zone
Support Cards will placed in the Support Zone after they are played. The Support Zone can hold up to 4 Support Cards.
- Draw Pile
Before the game starts, all Action Cards in a deck will be shuffled and will form the Draw Pile. When drawing cards, the player will draw Action Cards from the Draw Pile and add them to their Hand. (If the Draw Pile has no card left, then no new card will be added to Hand.)
- Hand
In a duel, the player can draw cards from the Draw Pile and add them to their Hand. (The player can have a maximum of 10 cards in their Hand; attempting to draw more cards will cause the cards drawn to be discarded.) Playing cards can have different effects, so a correct combination of cards can achieve the best possible effect.
Duel Flow[]
The eight faces of the Elemental Dice (left to right)
1st row: Omni, Pyro, Electro, Dendro
2nd row: Hydro, Cryo, Geo, Anemo
Genius Invokation TCG is a turn-based card game. Each duel consists of three phases: Preparation > Rounds > Victory Evaluation. Each Round will proceed as follows: Roll Phase > Action Phase > End Phase.
Preparation[]
Before a duel starts, both sides will draw 5 cards from their Draw Pile, which will form their Hand. After that, both sides will get 1 chance to switch out any number of cards in their Hand.
Once the player has decided on the starting Hand, a Character Card must be selected as the player's active character.
Rounds[]
A match can consist of up to 15 rounds before the game automatically concedes both players.
Roll Phase[]
Players will roll 8 Elemental Dice at the start of each Round to use for that round. After throwing these dice, the player will have 1 chance to choose any number of Elemental Dice and reroll them.
Once the Roll Phase is over, the player will enter the Action Phase.
Action Phase[]
During the Action Phase, a player will go first, and both sides will take turns to make their moves. In matchmaking and Co-Op Mode, the player who goes first is randomized. In the other modes, you will always go first.
Possible actions include:
- Use Skill: Pay the relevant cost and use the active character's Skill(s).
- Switch Characters: Pay 1 Elemental Die of the player's choice to switch the active character.
- Play Card: Pay the relevant cost and play card(s) from the player's Hand.
- Elemental Tuning: Discard a card from the player's Hand and change the Elemental Type of 1 of the player's Elemental Die.
- Declare Round End: End the player's actions for this Round. The first player to declare the end of their Round will go first during the next Round. Once both players have declared the end of their Round, the Action Phase will end and this Round's End Phase will begin. Remaining Elemental Dice from the current Round are not carried over to the next Round. The first player to declare the end of their Round will have their Summons trigged first.
Actions can be categorized into two types: Combat Actions and Fast Actions
- Combat Action: After the player completes 1 Combat Action, the turn will be passed to the opponent. Using Skills, switching characters, playing most Talent Cards and declaring Round end are considered Combat Actions.
- Fast Action: The player can continue their turn after completing a Fast Action. Playing most cards and Elemental Tuning are considered Fast Actions.
End Phase[]
In the End Phase, starting with the player who acted first, various card effects will be triggered in order on the field. Both players will then draw 2 cards from their Draw Piles and the next Round begins.
The Rounds will continue until a player is victorious.
Card Types[]
Character Cards[]
The character's HP will appear to the top-left of the Character Card. HP will decrease when the character takes DMG, and they will go down if their HP reaches O.
Each Character Card will have the following skills:
- Normal Attack: Costs 0–1 matching Elemental Die and 2 unaligned Elemental Dice to use. Every Character Card has 1 Normal Attack.
- Elemental Skill: Costs 3 or 5 matching Elemental Dice. Character Cards can have 0–2 Elemental Skills, with 1 being the most common.
- Elemental Burst: Costs 3–4 matching Elemental Dice and 2–3 Energy. Every Character Card has 1 Elemental Burst.
- Passive Skill: Only available on specific Character Cards and provides passive effects.
Each time the character unleashes a Normal Attack or Elemental Skill, the Character will gain 1 Energy. The character's Energy is displayed on the right side of the Character Card. When the character's Energy maxes out, Elemental Bursts become available to use.
Every Character Card can have Equipment Cards, Character Statuses, and Team Combat Statuses attached to it.
- Equipment Cards: Each character can attach at most 1 Weapon and 1 Artifact Equipment Card, and any number of other types of Equipment.
- Character Statuses: Some Character Skills and Event Cards can create Character Statuses that can be attached to Character Cards and only affect the Character Card these were attached to. Symbols indicating Character Statuses will be placed will be placed within the Character Card at the lower-left corner.
- Team Combat Statuses: Some Character Skills and Event Cards can create Team Combat Statuses that can be attached to Character Cards. When the active character is switched out, the Team Combat Statuses will be passed to the new active character. Symbols indicating Team Combat Statuses will be placed outside the Character Cards at the lower-left corner.
Action Cards[]
There are 3 types of Action Cards, each with different effects:
- Equipment Cards: These are equipped on characters to apply an effect that buffs this character.
- Event Cards: Play these to immediately trigger all their effects.
- Support Cards: Place these in the Support Zone to continuously apply supporting effects.
During a match, 30 Action Cards in the Deck will form the Draw Pile. When the game starts, each player will draw cards from their Draw Pile to form their Hand each round.
When the player plays Action Cards with a Cost, the corresponding Elemental Dice need to be expended. Action Cards generally cost 
Matching Dice of any element or 
Unaligned Dice, except Talent Action Cards which will require Matching Dice of a specific element and sometimes Energy.
Deck Composition[]
Travelers can open the deck menu using the Casket of Tomes to edit a deck.
A deck needs to have 3 valid Character Cards and 30 valid Action Cards to be set as an active deck.
Elemental Reactions[]
Elemental Application[]
During a match, when a character takes Cryo, Hydro, Pyro, Electro or Dendro DMG, they will be affected by the corresponding element. (Anemo DMG and Geo DMG do not apply their corresponding element)
Additionally, certain special conditions will also apply elements to characters.
When the target has already had an Elemental Application:
- Dealing a specific type of Elemental DMG will trigger an Elemental Reaction and clear the involved elemental statuses.
- Using non-DMG effects to apply an element will also trigger an Elemental Reaction. However, DMG-dealing and DMG-increasing effects will be ignored.
Elemental Reaction Effects[]
+ Bloom: DMG +1 for this instance, creates a Dendro Core that grants +2 DMG to the next instance of Pyro/Electro DMG- + Burning: DMG +1 for this instance, creates a Burning Flame that will deal 1 Pyro DMG at the end of the Round (Takes effect once, max 2 stacks)
- /// + Crystallize: DMG +1 for this instance, your active character gains 1 Shield point (Can stack, max 2 points)
- + Electro-Charged: DMG +1 for this instance, deal 1 Piercing DMG to all opposing characters except the target
- + Frozen: DMG +1 for this instance, the target is unable to perform any Actions this round (Can be removed in advance after the target receives Physical or Pyro DMG, in which case they will take +2 DMG)
- + Melt: DMG +2 for this instance
- + Overloaded: DMG +2 for this instance, the target is forcibly switched to the next character
- + Quicken: DMG +1 for this instance, creates a Catalyzing Field that grants +1 DMG to the next 2 instances of Dendro/Electro DMG
- + Superconduct: DMG +1 for this instance, deal 1 Piercing DMG to all opposing characters except the target
- /// + Swirl: Deals 1 DMG of the involved non-Anemo Element to all opposing characters except the target
- + Vaporize: DMG +2 for this instance
Reaction Priority[]
When a card has both Cryo and Dendro statuses at the same time, if Electro/Hydro/Pyro are applied, the Cryo reaction will be triggered, and the Dendro application will remain unaffected.
Piercing DMG[]
Certain attacks in Genius Invokation TCG are able to deal Piercing DMG. Piercing DMG has the following properties:
- Does not have an Elemental type.
- Cannot be increased by any bonuses.
- Cannot be defended against using Shields or DMG Immunity.
Change History[]
- Split "Other Rules" section of rules to new "Special Entry" section.
- Decreased the number of uses for the Team Combat Status "Catalyzing Field" from 3 to 2.
- Rules for Genius Invokation TCG were released.