The steps are as follows:
- 1:Start Step: Signals the start of your turn.
- 2:Core Step: Take one core from the Void (out of play area) and add it to your Reserve. WARNING: This step is skipped in the first round.
- 3:Draw Step: Draw one card from your deck.
- 4:Refresh Step: Refresh all spirits and take back cores, (if any) in your discard pile for cores and cards, called the Trash .
- 5:Main Step: Summoning, leveling up spirits, using magic, putting burst cards(only one at a time can be set for each player) placing nexuses and braving starts here. No summoning, braving or moving core is allowed in other steps (except Flash timing and swift summoning).
- 6:Attack Step:WARNING: This step is skipped in the first round. Attacking starts here. The steps are as follows:
- 6a: Decide which spirit attacks.
- 6b: Flash timing:The defender has the right to use magic first.
- 6c: The opponent decides whether to block or take a life. If taking a life, skip 6e.
- 6d: Flash timing: Again, the defender can use magic first.
- 6e: Check BP. Higher BP wins.
- 7: Turn End. Signals the end of your turn.
There are six colors of cards
- Red: Revolves around combat and its Spirits are based on dragons and reptiles. Its symbol is the Ruby.
- White: Revolves around defense and its Spirits are based on machines and arctic animals. Its symbol is the Diamond
- Green: Revolves around gathering cores/exhausting enemy Spirits and its Spirits are based on insects and wild animals. Its symbol is the Emerald
- Purple: Revolves around destroying enemy cores and its Spirts are based on demons and the undead. Its symbol is the Amethyst
- Yellow: Revolves around Magic and Nexuses, and its Spirits are based on fairy tale creatures and celestial beings. Also contains the cute mascot Pentan race. Its symbol is the Topaz
- Blue: Revolves around deck destruction and its Spirits are based on beastmen and golems beings. Its symbol is the Sapphire.
The rarites are as follows:
- Common:Cards which do not have good effects and some even do not have effects. Mainly low cost spirits.
- Uncommon: Spirits which are better than common cards but still weak, medium cost.
- Rare: In the US version, they are all foiled cards except for starter rares. Costs range from 4-7.
- Master Rare: Foiled cards, much like rares. Costs range from 5-7.
- X Rare: Special foil with an X in the effect box background. They typically feature much more powerful effects than other tiers of rarity, normally high costs. Costs range from 2,6-12.
- Mythic X Rare: Full Print Card with an BS in the effect box background. Only two in the world. Won in a national tournament. Both are the same.
As of right now there are several types of cards:
- Spirit: The monsters that are summoned. By adding additional cores to them the card specifices, the Spirits can be leveled up and gain additional BP/abilites.
- Magic: Spells that can add one time effects on the field, some cards have different effects when they're played during flash timing.
- Nexus: Various locations/landmarks that can be placed to add permanent effects. Can be leveled up like Spirits.
- Brave: Spirits that can attach (or "Brave") to other Spirits that meet the requirements turning the Spirit into a "Braved Spirit", which adds addtional abilites, and the Brave's BP to the Spirit
- Ultimate: The newest type of creature, it should be noted that these are NOT spirits, and use a different symbol from the usual 6, a Gold star-like one. To summon one, you must meet the conditions for it that are written on the card. Unlike most normal Spirits. A large amount of them have an ability called Ultimate Trigger, which activates when the Ultimate attacks. The top card of the opponents deck is discarded, and if the cost is lower than the Ultimate, it's a hit and the Ultimate's effect activates. With certain Ultimates, if the card meets addtional requirements (the "hit" card is a Magic Card, has a cost of 3, etc.), it's a Critcal Hit, and a second effect activates. If the cost is higher than the Ultimate, it's considered a Guard and nothing happens. They are considered overpowered due to the above mentioned stats and the fact that they're immune to cards that don't specifcially target Ultimates, start at level 3 and go up to 5, and have B Ps that can reach around 20,000. Though, they can't be used in cost reductions to summon normal spirits, neither can they they Brave with Braves
Card Abilites:
- Burst: Spirits/Magic/Braves with a Burst effect can be placed faced down and can be activated at no cost when certain conditions are met. Some Magic cards have different effects when used as a burst. There are Spirits or Braves can be summoned with Burst, but if they don't have a burst effect that summons them, their Burst Effect takes effect and the card is sent to the Trash afterwards.
- Clash: When a spirit with Clash attacks, your Opponent must block if possible. This effect is in Red.
- True Clash: Same as Clash, but affects Ultimates as well. This effect is in Red.
- Windstorm X: During Your Battle Phase, each time a spirit with Windstorm X is blocked, your opponent exhausts the specified number of unexhausted spirits they control. This effect is in Green.
- Brilliance: When attacking, each time you play a Magic card, at End of Battle Step, move that card from your Trash to your hand. This effect is in yellow.
- Crush: When attacking, move cards from the top of your opponent’s Deck to their Trash equal to this spirit’s LV. This effect is in blue.
- Curse: If a spirit with Curse is blocked, destroy the spirit that blocked this spirit at End of Battle Step. This effect is in purple.
- Destructive Curse: By sending one of your opponent's life to your opponent's Trash, a spirit with Destructive Curse remains on the field, refreshed. This effect is in purple.
- Evil Light: When attacking, each time you play a Magic card, after the effect resolves, you can activate that effect once more, and at the end of the battle, move that card from your Trash to your hand. This effect is in yellow.
- Great Demolish: When attacking, move cards from the top of your opponent's deck to their Trash equal to this spirit's LV x5. This effect is in blue.
- Immunity X: Spirits with Immunity X are unaffected by the effects of Spirit, Nexus, and Magic cards your opponent controls with the listed color(s) X. This effect is in white.
- Invincibility X: Same as Immunity X, but also includes Braves
- Swift: Spirits with Swift may be summoned from your hand during the Flash Step. In that case, the cost of this spirit and cores to be put on this spirit must be paid or moved from your Reserve. This effect is in green.
- Violent Swift: Same as Swift, can be summoned in Flash timing, but Cores have to be paid in the Trash. Cores in the Trash have to be at 5 or above to summon spirits with Violent Swift.
- Awaken: During the Flash Step, you may move any number of cores from spirits you control to a spirit with Awaken. This effect is in red.
- Immortality X: During the Attack Step, If a spirit you control with cost X is destroyed, summon a spirit with the Immortality ability of the same number from the Trash. This effect is in purple.
- Assault X: When attacking, during this turn for the number of times stated in X, you can exhaust one Nexus in order to refresh this Spirit. This effect is in blue.
- Ultra-Awaken: You may move any number of cores from spirits you control to a spirit with Ultra-Awaken. Each time you move cores to this spirit, this spirit is refreshed. This effect is in red.
- Charge: Charge is a special ability which premiered in SD 10. Charge is an ability that is amplified having other Spirits of the same color with the Charge ability on your side of the field. Rather than being restricted to a particular color, like most other special abilities, it is restricted to light spirits. The effect of charge is different for each color:
- Red: Increase the BP limit of your destruction effects by 1000 for every Red Spirit with Charge you control.
- Purple: Increase that the cores move from spirits by 1 for every Purple Spirit with Charge you control.
- Green: Increase the number of opposing cards exhausted due to your effects by 1 for every Green Spirit with Charge you control.
- White: Increase the number of spirits refreshed by your effects by 1 for every White Spirit with Charge you control.
- Yellow: Decrease your BP decreasing effects by 1000 for every Yellow Spirit with Charge you control.
- Blue: Increase the cards moved from your opponent's deck to their Trash due to your effects by 1 for every Blue Spirit with Charge you control.
- Rush: Rush is a special ability which premiered in SD 11. Rather than being restricted to a particular color, this is restricted to dark spirits.Rush encourages mixing colors, as it requires keeping a different color symbol on your field to activate, designated on the card. Similarly to a nexus, for as long as you have the conditions fulfilled, the rush effect remains active. The actual effect of rush varies from spirit to spirit. Currently, these are the known symbol conditions:
- Red: Purple Symbol, Blue Sumbol
- Purple: Yellow Symbol, Red Symbol
- Green: Blue Symbol, White Symbol
- White: Green Symbol, Yellow Symbol
- Yellow: White Symbol, Purple Symbol
- Blue: Red Symbol, Green Symbol, Purple Symbol
- Tribute/Burst-Tribute: To summon this spirit/use this burst, you must tribute a spirit that meets the critera.
- Holy Life: If a spirit with Holy Life deals damage to the opponent's life, it's controller gains one life. This effect is in Yellow.
- Bunshin: Place up to X cards from the top of your deck face down on your field and by adding 1 or more cores from your reserve onto them, during the game, those cards become spirits "Cost 0, Family: Bunshin, <1>LV 1 BP 3000, Green" Bunshin spirits. (Bunshin spirits can't be braved. They're discarded if sent back to the hand or deck). In other words, it created weaker copies of a spirit you control. This effect is in Green.
- Summon Bolt: Cost X : At the end of the battle, by destroying a spirit with Summon Bolt, summon 1 cost X Spirit card in the same family as this Spirit from your hand without paying it's cost. This effect is in Blue.
- Draw Blade: You can summon 1 Brave card from your hand in the family "Exalted Sword" that can be Braved with a Spirit with Draw Blade, without paying the cost. This effect is in all colors.
- Ultra Immunity X: Same as Immunity X and Invicibilty X, but includes Ultimates. This effect exists in White.
- Ice Wall X: If an opponent plays a Magic card of the colors listed in X, by exhausting the spirit with Ice Wall X, negate that effect. This effect exists in White.
- True Awaken: You may move cores from spirits you control to a spirit with True Awaken. And for each core moved, it gains +3000BP. This effect exists in Red Ultimates
- On Stage XX: During your Attack Step, if a spirit you control has On Stage XX, instead of attacking you can return this Spirit to the bottom of your deck, and then a Spirit from your hand with name of "XX" and in family of "Stage Style" can be summoned with no cost, afterwards you draw 1 card. This effect exists in Yellow.
- Spirit Soul: When summoning an Ultimate, spirits with Spirit Soul gain an additional symbol to help with the cost reduction, the extra symbols disappear after the summon. This effect exists in all colors.
- Soul Core: A new type of core released with Burning Soul expansions and up. A Soul Core functions like a normal core, however each player can only have one Soul Core at any time. If it's sent to the void it can still be retrieved. Some Spirits and Ultimates have special abilities if they have a Soul Core on them, while some cards require using it as a cost.
- Soul Burst: If one of your Spirits has Soul Burst and the Set Burst also has it, you may activate it by only paying your Soul Core.
- Soul Drive: Ultimates Only. Soul Drive is a powerful ability that can only be activated if the player is under 4 life. Often these are very powerful abilities, however to activate them they require the player to remove their Soul Core from the game, meaning they can only be used once per game, and removes the other benefits of the Soul Core.
- Consecutive Blade: Red only. Like True Clash, except it attacks two spirits, and each spirit destroyed this way caused it's controller to lose one life.
- * True Consecutive Blade: Red only. Like Consecutive Blade, except it can also force Exhausted spirits to battle as well.
