Rules questions

How do you win the Azuki TCG?

Bring your opponent’s leader to 0 health. A player who has to draw from an empty deck also loses. There are no draws.

What happens when you run out of cards?

Nothing until you have to draw. The moment you have to draw from an empty deck, you lose. There is no fatigue damage.

What if both leaders reach 0 health at once?

The player whose action caused it loses.

Step by step

How many cards do you start with?

Seven cards and no IKZ. Once per game, before play starts, you may put your whole hand on the bottom of your deck, draw seven new cards and shuffle. You cannot keep some cards and swap others.

Who goes first?

Decide with a coin flip or a die roll. The player going first skips their first start of turn: no untap and no draw. The player going second gets a one-use IKZ token on their first turn.

Can you attack on your first turn?

Yes, with an entity that has Charge, or with your leader once it has attack from a weapon or an effect.

What happens on each turn?

Your turn runs in four parts.

1. Start: untap your cards, resolve start of turn effects, and draw a card.
2. Resource: add 1 IKZ to your IKZ area, up to 10.
3. Main: play cards, attack, use abilities and use your Gate in any order.
4. End: resolve end of turn effects. Weapons go to the discard pile, and stats and damage on entities reset.

How does the IKZ token work?

It pays for 1 IKZ once, then it is gone. It never expires, so you can save it. You still pay every cost in full at once.

Step by step

Is there a hand size limit?

No. You can hold as many cards as you like.

What is the difference between the Garden and the Alley?

The Garden is your front row, where your leader stands and where attacks happen. The Alley is your back row: attacks and effects cannot reach it unless a card says they can. Each row holds up to five entities.

What happens when a row is full?

An entity entering a full row replaces one of yours there, and you choose which.

Step by step

How does the Gate work?

Once per turn, tap your Gate to bring one entity from your Alley into your Garden. Your Gate’s effect grows with that entity’s Gate Power. Your Gate cannot be attacked or destroyed.

Can an entity attack the turn it comes through the Gate?

Not unless it has Charge. Entering the Garden always gives cooldown.

Step by step

What does Displace do?

Displace moves an entity from the Garden to its owner’s Alley, and its card effects do not activate. Because a Gate can portal only one Alley entity per turn (with cooldown), displacing Defenders or attackers clears the front row without putting cards back in hand.

What can you attack?

Your opponent’s leader, whether tapped or untapped, or an entity in their Garden that is tapped. Untapped Garden entities and anything in the Alley are safe from attacks unless a card says otherwise.

Can leaders attack?

Only when they have attack, from a weapon or a card effect. Leaders never have cooldown, so they can attack the turn they gain it.

How is combat damage dealt?

Both sides deal damage at the same time. An entity with 0 attack can still attack. A leader with no attack deals no damage back.

Does damage stay on entities?

Only until the end of the turn. Entity damage resets then, which does not count as healing. Leader damage is permanent.

What order does an attack happen in?

Seven steps, always in this order.

1. The attacker taps and picks a target.
2. The attacker’s When Attacking effects resolve.
3. The defending player may play responses.
4. The defending player may tap a Defender to take the attack.
5. The target’s When Attacked effects resolve.
6. Combat damage is dealt.
7. After Attacking effects resolve, if the attacker survived.

What if the attacker leaves the field mid-attack?

The attack fizzles and no combat happens.

Step by step

What if a When Attacking effect destroys the target?

The defending player still gets their response window, then the attack fizzles with no combat damage.

Step by step

What is a Response card?

A card or ability marked [Response] can only be used by the defending player, after an attack is declared. You can play several during one attack. The attacking player never gets a response window.

How does Defender work?

After responses, the defending player may tap an untapped Garden entity with Defender to make it the attack’s new target. Cooldown does not stop Defender. Infiltrate does.

What does Taunt do?

While an entity with Taunt is tapped, your opponent can only attack entities with Taunt. That includes your leader: it cannot be attacked either.

How do weapons work?

Attach a weapon to your leader or an entity in your Garden, never the Alley. Its attack adds to the holder’s. Every weapon goes to the discard pile at the end of the turn.

Step by step

Does Carapace stack?

Yes. An entity with Carapace 1 that gains another Carapace 1 from Oathstone has Carapace 2, and takes 2 less damage from each source.

Can a Godmode card be destroyed?

Not by damage or card effects. It can still be replaced when a row is full, and it cannot be sacrificed to pay a cost.

Step by step

What is the difference between Shocked, Frozen and Rooted?

Shocked skips the card’s next untap. Frozen stops it attacking, stops it taking damage and switches off its abilities. Rooted only stops it attacking. Each lasts as long as its card says.

How does Bloodlust work?

Bloodlust gives a card +1 attack until the end of the turn the first time it targets a leader for an attack each turn. Attacking a tapped entity does not trigger it. In our reading of the printed wording, a Defender redirecting a leader attack does not remove the +1.

What does Sealed IKZ mean?

A Sealed IKZ is a tapped IKZ resource that cannot be untapped during your Reset phase (your start-of-turn untap) or by card effects until after your next Reset phase.

What does the text before a colon mean?

It is the cost. If you pay it in full, the effect after the colon must happen. If the cost cannot be paid, you get nothing.

What is the difference between “may” and “up to”?

“May” means you choose whether to do it. Text without “may” is required. “Up to” lets you choose any amount, including 0.

Can you target a card that is immune to an effect?

Yes. The effect just does nothing to that card.

Does Once per Turn reset if the card leaves the field?

Yes. A card that leaves the field and comes back is a fresh card, so it can use the effect again. Its stats and other changes reset too.

Do triggered effects interrupt the card that caused them?

No. The card finishes first, then triggered cards resolve in order.

Step by step

Is a card on the field when its own effect resolves?

Yes, so effects like Fumiko’s can choose the card itself.

Step by step

Can damage be redirected back and forth?

Yes, until each redirect is used up.

Step by step

What makes a legal Azuki TCG deck?

One leader, one Gate and exactly 50 entities, spells and weapons, plus 10 IKZ and an IKZ token. The Gate and the 50 must match your leader’s element or be Neutral. A leader with two elements can use a Gate of either.

How many copies of a card can you play?

Up to four of each card number. Alternate art counts toward the same four. Two cards with the same name but different numbers are different cards.

How do dual-element Leaders work?

A dual-element Leader like The Sisters (Lightning and Water) lets your 50-card main deck include cards of either printed element plus Neutral, and lets you choose a Gate of either element. The Sisters start at 15 health instead of 20.

Is anything banned?

Rushfire Gate is banned in constructed play. Some cards also have errata that changes their printed text or numbers.

How long are tournament rounds, and how does overtime work?

In-person Swiss rounds are Best-of-1 with 30 minutes plus up to 5 minutes or up to 2 turns each (including the turn in progress) of overtime, whichever ends first. Top Cut matches are Best-of-3 with 70 minutes plus 15 minutes (5 turns) of overtime if tied 1–1. When overtime ends, tiebreakers check higher Leader health, then cards left in deck, Garden entities, Alley entities, cards in hand, and finally the player who took damage last wins.

What are the sleeve rules at official Azuki TCG tournaments?

All cards must use opaque sleeves with clear fronts. Your 50-card main deck must be sleeved identically, while your Leader, Gate and IKZ cards must use different sleeves from the main deck (all your IKZ cards must match each other). Toploaders and graded slabs are not allowed.

How do Azuki TCG Regional Leaderboards work?

Season 1 tracks two daily-updated leaderboards — Participation points and Winner points — across three regions: North America (US & Canada), EU/UK, and LATAM. Points follow your home region even when you travel to an event abroad, and top finishers at season’s end (mid-2027) earn exclusive prize cards, with North America also awarding products and cash in Season 1 and all three regions eligible for full seasonal rewards starting Season 2.