Dreamblade Basics
Dreamblade is played by two players, each controlling a 16-member army of miniatures. Play takes place on a "dreamscape" map using several special attack dice and two regular dice.
According to the Dreamblade rulebook, "From turn to turn, players put some of their miniatures into the dreamscape, where they claim territory and battle the other player's creatures. The winner of each turn is the player whose creatures have claimed the most key territory and destroyed the most enemy creatures. Victory goes to the first player to win six turns."
The Dreamscape Map
The map is a 5x5 grid, with 25 total spaces, known as "cells." Each cell can hold up to eight miniatures, a maximum of four per player. The five cells on each side of the map are the players' "Spawn Rows" where new characters come onto the board.
The nine cells in the middle of the board are known as "Key Cells." Players can win 1 to 5 conquest points when their miniatures claim and hold those cells.
Dreamblade Miniatures
Each character miniature includes a lot of information right on the base. All the information you need to play is on top of the base; additional information (such as explanations of special powers) is on the bottom of the base.
Each character has statistics for cost, power, defense, life, special abilities and more.
There are also location miniatures which don't have statistics but do offer some special powers.
Dreamblade miniature bases are square in shape and 40mm in size.
A Game Turn
Each turn in Dreamblade is divided into six parts:
- Initiative Phase
- Player One's Spawn Phase
- Player Two's Spawn Phase
- Player One's Two Action Phases
- Player Two's Two Action Phases
- Conquest Phase
The Initiative Phase determines which player goes first and whether or not there will be a Spawn Phase on the current turn. In the Spawn Phases, new miniatures are added to the board.
The Action Phases are where the game is really played. The first Action Phase is "Shift." In this phase, players can move unengaged miniatures into adjacent cells. The second Action Phase is "Strike." In this phase, players may attack with their engaged miniatures. Destroyed creatures are removed from the board.
In the Conquest Phase, the players add up their points to see who won the turn.
Winning Dreamblade
The first player to win six turns wins the game.
Buying Dreamblade
Dreamblade is sold in two kinds of packaging: starter sets, which each include 16 miniatures, a double-sided map, 9 six-sided dice, and the rulebook; and booster packs with 7 miniatures each.
Starter sets sell for about $20 each; boosters sell for about $10 each. Characters are randomly placed in the starter sets and booster packs; there's no way to know what creatures you're buying until you open the box.
A total of 96 miniatures are available in the game's initial release. Each starter set and each booster pack includes a complete checklist.
