Battle Phase

In this phase, you will use the deck formed by your Bots to fight, in an almost "automatic" way, to beome the Champion.

All player are involved in the Battle Phase, taking turns in a series of clashes as long as they have cards in their deck.

The order of play follows the same direction as the Build Phase. The first Champion is the player who holds the Champion token.

In each clash, two players fight for the title of Champion.

The clash continues until one of the two players is defeated and loses the clash - at which point the next player in turn order becomes the new Challenger to the current Champion.

Clashes continue as long as the players have cards in their decks. When a player is defeated and has no more cards in their deck, they must surrender, abandoning the Battle round. The other players continue the Battle: clases with the current Champion resume with the next Challenger in turn order.

When there is only one player left in the game, that is, the last one to be Champion, they are the winner of the current Battle round.

Beginning the Battle

At the start of the Battle Phase, shuffle your Bot cards to form your battle deck. Don't shuffle in any Contraptions: Keep them face up in front of you, ready to use (upright position).

The Champion reveals the first Bot from their deck and places it face-up in front of them, in defensive position: The card must be placed horizontally in order to point the defense value toward the other players. This Bot constitues the Champion's defense gang for the first clash.

A defense gang is made up of any number of Bots of the same faction, in defense position.

The next player in turn order is the first Challenger, who will try to beat the Champion's defense gang and take their place.

Attacking

As Challenger, you flip over cards from the top of your deck, one at a time, resolving any Bot abilities as they are triggered. Place your Bots in front of you, vertically, stacking them if necessary, but leaving the Attack Value icons visable. The Bots that you place in front of you form your attack gang.

An attack gang is made up of any number of Bots of any faction in attack position. As Bots are added to your gang, add up their attack values, as well as the number of critical hits.

You defeat the Champion's Gang immediately if:

- The total attack value of your gang is greater than the total defense value of the Champion's gang; if the attack value is the same as the defense value, keep drawing!

Or if:

- The total number of critical hits of your gang is 4 or more, if the Champion's gang has no barriers. Each barrier visable on the Champion's gang increases by 1 the number of critical hits you need to beat the defense.

Challenger Winning the Clash

You must continue to flip cards over until you either run out of cards without beating the Champion (and must therefore surrender, see below), or until you defeat the Champion.

As soon as you defeat the Champion, you must stop drawing cards.

A defeated Champion must discard all of the defense gang's Bots from in front of them, into their own discard pile, next to their battle deck.

You become the new Champion!

Note: The cards you discard during battle are not trashed and continue to belong to you. Discard them into your own discard pile, no the Recycle Area.

Note: If you beat the Champion with your last card, you still become the new Champion, but with no more cards in your deck.

Becoming the New Champion

When you become the new Champion, take the Champion token and put it in front of you.

Then choose a faction of Bots from your attack gang to form your defense gang. All Bots in your attack gang that are of the chosen faction remain in play as your defense gang (rotate them to the defense position, in order to point the defense value of each Bot towards the others), while the remaining Bots are discarded in your discard pile.

A Bot that belongs to two factions can be used for either of them.

Your new total defense value is the sum of the defense values of the Bots in your defense gang. Additionally, each barrier increases by 1 the number of critival hits needed to defeat it.

The battle continues in the direction indicated by the arrows on the current round's space. The following player becomes the new Challenger.

Surrender

If, after revealing and resolving the effects of the last Bot in your deck, you fail to defeat the Champion's gang, you must surrender: All of your Bots are discarded and you can no longer participate in this round's clashes.

A Champion who is defeated and who has no cards left in their deck also surrenders.

Note: Some Bots activate their effects when the gang they belong to is defeated while defending (see Cogmender, for example). This could make some Bots available again and form a new deck. Before a Champion is forced to surrender, all of their Bots that can activate, do so.

When you surrender, if there is another Challenger after you who still has cards in their deck, they will challenge the Champion. However, if all players have surrendered except the Champion, the battle ends: The reigning Champion wins the battle!

End of the Battle

When the Battle ends, the Champion takes 2 crystals from the current round's space and places them in their Storage.

With three or four players: The player who surrenders last, as a reward for ranking second, takes the remaining crystal.

At the end of the Battle Phase, all players move all their energized crystals (in their Reactors) to their Cryo-cells.

As a reward for winning, the Champion then moves all crystals from their Cryo-cell to their Storage (these crystals can be energized again).