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Ancients is a limited Open format. What this means is that the majority of cards printed in Warlords history are legal in an Ancients deck. However, in order to create a more balanced environment, there is a Ban list, a Restricted list and a Reserved list. (See below)

Ancients also follows these rules, in addition to those laid out in the Kingswood Rulebook.

  • Dungeons are legal in Ancients.

  • Damage Types do not exist in Ancients.

  • No new Feats will be introduced in Ancients until they see print on official Kingswood cards. Sleight of Hand and Tinker cannot be used in Ancients.

  • Halo of Secrets should read: "May not perform actions other than the following: Spend React: After a Deverenian is targeted by an action (not a melee strike): Cancel the action. This action may not cancel Standard Orders." The standard orders are attacking, equipping an item, and maneuvering. This applies only to the standard orders taken as decrees: Halo of Secrets can cancel the order of Mischievous Sprite. Although the attack performed via Hand of Might is not a standard order, it still cannot be cancelled by Halo because it targets via melee strikes.

Reserved

The following cards are Reserved in Ancients, meaning they cannot start in play, regardless of card text.

• Archer Tower

• Ardanaalis

• Cocoran

• Brel

• Edwann Ruthard

• Makusog Cavalry

• Nelwys

• Ring of Blasting

• Ring of Guile

• Ring of Mending

• Ring of Piercing

• The Biting West Wind

Restricted

The following cards are Restricted in Ancients, meaning you may not have more than one copy of each card in your deck, regardless of card text.

• Archer Tower

• Helm of Undying

• Improved Invisibility

• Incentives

• Into the Tunnels

• Kapix

• Nepheline Gargoyle

• Nightmaster Rress

• Nodwick

• Paradigm Shift

• Perfect Self

• Phantasm

• Rescue

• Suicidal Charge

• Supply

• Toren Yscar

• Trade Routes

• Winter Warfare

• Yeg-Igryll’s Altar

Banned

The following cards are Banned in Ancients, meaning they cannot be played or performed in Ancients games for any reason.

1) Any and all cards related to specific "Medusan Lords," including, but not limited to; items, actions, characters, and dungeons.

2) Any and all cards specifically related to "Destiny Lords," including, but not limited to; items, actions, characters, and dungeons.

EXCEPTION: The above line items are void in regard to actual “Medusan Lord” and “Destiny Lord” challenges FOR THE RUNNER OF SAID “LORDS.” Challengers of said “Lords” must adhere to the above line items. Runners of said “Lords” are not required to do so.

• A Prophecy Fulfilled

• Amber Gargoyle

• Apprentice Ramah

• Arcane Qor-teth

• Baraxton’s Graveyard

• Brother Averil

• Children of Yscar

• Daedelia

• Day of the Raven

• Duanna

• Fields of Bone

• Gravity Flux

• Healer’s Pact

• Lilah

• Limited Wish

• Locked Ring

• Malrog's Lair

• Medusan Lord’s Guile

• Medusan Lord’s Might

• Mirror Magic

• Negotiated Surrender

• Olivark the Quiet

• One Last Time

• Orm Al’Ghast

• Overwhelm

• Phoenix Feather

• Rouse

• Sakarian Manticore

• Shadan Adler

• Sword of Chaos

• The Restless

• Wyvern's Flames

Ignored MRP's

The entirety of the 10th Anniversary Open Reprint Set’s Most Recent Printing errata is ignored.

Changelog:

08/09/2018 - Edwann Ruthard added to the Reserved list. Edwann stunning the opposing Warlord when starting alongside Sir Robert the Vigilant was too easy to execute, too unfun to play against, and too powerful to remain in the format.

08/09/2018 - Slight change to the Medusan Lord Banlist clause to allow cards with "Medusan Lord" in the title to be played, but continue to exclude cards specific to individual Medusan Lords.

10/31/2019 - Mirror Magic added to the Banned list. In conjunction with Yeg-Igryll's Altar, Ga'dok, and card draw, MM lets you reliably draw your entire deck on the first turn. While answers exist, forcing players to have them on exactly the first turn or lose goes against the spirit of Ancients. And while Yeg-Igryll's Altar, Serj Vorvallyn, Lenox, and Ga'dok are all fair cards, Mirror Magic won't be missed.

10/31/2019 - One Last Time added to the Banned list. Caitlyn the Free pitching Supremus (or similar) to find One Last Time (or Viper's Strike) leads to a lot of first turn and sometimes even first action wins. The two pilots of the deck cruised through GenCon's 40 attendee tournament this year making no friends along the way. While One Last Time does have fair applications, it is still the central component of the combo which is too fast, too reliable, and too degenerate.

9/28/2020 - Wyvern's Flames added to the Banned list. Wyvern's Flames targeting Gush, Sken, or Brakil played out of Taoth creates a non-infinite loop where the character dies, strikes, and saves until they eventually roll a natural '20' on the saving throw. This loop, particularly when facing a high armor class, involves an obnoxious amount of rolling which results in an unparalleled negative play experience.

1/3/2021 - Added a 10AORS Clarifications section.

1/22/2021 - Added an Errata section.

1/22/2021 - Makusog Cavalry added to the Reserved list. Makusog Cavalry is simply too good. Don't feed the Makusog!

1/22/2021 - Nepheline Gargoyle added to the Banned list. Summon Gargoyle, Heerman's Epic, Flamefang, Flory's Monster Guide, and Journal Entry in conjunction with Nepheline Gargoyle is a chain that produces too many guaranteed cards too reliably. Sissilol on Discord used this engine to fuel a combo-control deck that he piloted to a win in 2020's Online October Ancients event and it was evident that the value chain needed a link removed.

1/22/2021 - Day of the Raven added to the Banned list. Day of the Raven is a rules nightmare. It requires no roll or real effort to play, does questionable things to cards like the Avatar cleric actions, provides great value alongside many cards like Phantasm, and completely hoses Warlords like Sir Lucian, Havellin Tansiq, and others along the way. Due especially to the rules issues it creates and the low effort counterplay it provides against many cards, we are removing it from the Ancients environment.

11/1/2021 - Details here.

07/01/2022 - Halo of Fire added to 10AORS ignored MRP list

10/21/2022 - Details here.

08/29/2023 - Removed old targeting rules, addressed by Kingswood rulebook. Added clarification that Dungeons are legal, and that damage types and new feats will not become legal until Kingswood sees print. Added Halo of Secrets errata.

10/16/2023 - Duanna and Baraxton’s Graveyard added to the Banned list. Duanna fuels infinite Eresh q’Shedim punching someone in the face forever and Baraxton’s Graveyard was a key component in a complicated ridiculous infinite combo.

11/24/2024 - Jautya Syne removed from the Banned list

11/24/2024 - The Biting West Wind added to the Reserved list. Too much early pressure combined with the guaranteed Stab combo.

11/24/2024 - Rescue and Winter Warfare added to the Restricted list. Rescue was too ubiquitous and generically good, and largely countered its counters. Winter Warfare is an incredibly powerful effect that hoses a number of Warlords who can no longer reliably defend themselves with Rescue.