Official Rules for a Pitched Battle

Official Rules:

When playing Word & Iron there are two methods of play. Both methods are designed for two player games. First is the Grand Tournament and second is a Pitched Battle. Often players will have a Grand Tournament right before a Pitched Battle and the winner of the Grand Tournament will acquire an additional resource to be added to their realm before the Pitched Battle. Technically a Grand Tournament can be played in a limited way with only one 72-card starter deck shared between two players. To get the full experience two separate 72-card starter decks are recommended. To play a Pitched Battle two separate 72-card starter decks are required.

Rules for a Pitched Battle:

Some cards throughout the pitched battle can affect and adjust the method of application of the following rules. However, these instances are not the norm and when this does happen the details are clearly explained on the cards. Additionally, some numbers when describing ranks of power or when dealing with military units will not always match exactly. The rule of thumb in this game is to round up or go up in ranks of power unless the soldier units that are the next level up are no longer on the field of battle. Then you would go down in military units. Furthermore, if losses from any source only reference ranks of power and do not specify which military units suffer these losses then the losses start from the military unit with the highest ranks of power on the field of battle and progress to the lowest, no more than one card from each military unit will fall. A king or queen is a champion and not a military unit.
To start the game off you choose to be a king or a queen. If you choose to play the game as a king place the queen in with the rest of your champion cards in a deck of only champion cards. Same if you choose the queen. Then place the king on the deck with the rest of the champion cards. Players can either play as a king or a queen. They may remain married or unmarried throughout the game depending on the champion cards drawn. When you choose which card you are playing as the king, or the queen do not apply the benefits of that king or queen card to your war effort. For example, if you are playing as a king, the bottom of the card says your losses after your opponent’s next five strategies will immediately be recruited, and your forces will be made whole. If you are the king do not apply this benefit to your army. If you draw a queen or another champion, you will apply those benefits to your army.
There are two ways you can win a Pitched Battle. Either by defeating your opponent’s entire army and there only being the king and/or queen left, or by taking your opponent’s king and/or queen hostage and your opponent not having enough resources to ransom their king or queen. Once you capture a player’s king or queen, that player is forced to offer up a ransom from the resources in their realm for their captured king or queen. The player that has captured the king or queen may choose which resource they wish to have. The player choosing a resource must accept at least one of the resources their opponent has in their realm. Resources offered to the side that captured the king or queen will start over in their uses once acquired by the other side. Additionally, before a resource can be offered as a ransom that resource must have at least one use left.
Much like the Grand Tournament both sides select a card they wish to have a pitched battle over and the winner will receive that card. Historically battles have taken place over many things so whatever both sides agree on will be the prize for the winner and that card will be the winner’s to keep.
The number of cards on the field of battle and military unit types allowed is listed further below. Each card will have the type of soldier and ranks of power listed on the card. These soldier types, functions, and number allotted for each position cannot change due to an army only being capable of provisioning a limited number of soldiers.
Resource cards, you should have 8 resource cards in your 72-card starter deck. Shuffle and lay out 4 resource cards in an area to your left called your realm. You may have 5 resource cards if you played a Grand Tournament right before the Pitched Battle and won an additional resource. These resource cards are the resources your realm has been blessed with. Resource cards are there to aid you in your battle by helping you recruit more soldiers after yours have been defeated and to ransom your king or queen if needed. Resource cards have the ranks of power they are worth written at the top of the card and can be used to recruit that amount in ranks of power in replacement soldiers. If you are recruiting soldiers and you do not have the full amount in ranks of power in your resource, but you have a partial amount you will round up. For example, if you are trying to recruit three knighted heavy calvary units at 35 ranks of power each and want to use the one use of a navigable river resource which is one hundred per use, you may round up since you have the partial amount needed to recruit the third knighted heavy calvary unit. You can recruit any type of solider you wish with the amount in ranks of power listed on the resource card. You can only recruit more soldiers once your current soldiers have fallen, because an army can only support fielding a certain number of soldiers at any one time. You also cannot recruit more than the allotted amount in each type of soldier. An army can only feed and provision so many types of soldiers so these numbers must be maintained. For example, an army comprised entirely of knighted heavy calvary would not be able to carry enough provisions to supply enough horses, knights, and armor, etc. This is why the king and/or queen must be wise about the resources they use to fill out their ranks in their army. Resources in your realm can also be used to ransom your royals if they are captured. In order to acquire your royal back you hand the entire resource card over to your opponent. If that resource card has been depleted previously it cannot be used as a ransom for the return of your captured royal. A resource card must have at least one use left before it can be used as a ransom for your royal. When the resource card is traded for your royal then the uses of that resource start over. Additionally, some resource cards can be used more than one time. To show how many times you have used a resource card you turn the card clockwise each time you use it. Resource cards used to ransom a king or queen are the receivers to keep.
Soldier cards, you should have a total of 30 soldier cards in your 72-card starter deck. To the right of your resource area, you lay out your soldier cards in your chosen battle formation. *Please see the picture in figure A to see an example of a possible battle formation. Chose whatever battle formation you’re comfortable with.
Strategy cards, you should have a total of 8 strategy cards in a your 72-card starter deck. Now on the right side of where your battle formation will be you will shuffle and lay out your strategy cards. Strategy cards are cards that tell your army how to attack. You never know when you will be able to deploy a strategy. Therefore, strategy cards are shuffled and 5 are placed face up in a deck called your strategy deck. Place the remaining 3 or more if you have them face off to the side field of battle. You draw off the top of the strategy deck of 5 cards until you draw the last strategy card. Then you reshuffle your strategy deck and start over with your 5 strategy cards. Losses or costs described on the card are rounded up for you and your opponent when the numerical value listed in ranks of power does not match exactly. On strategy cards sometimes they reference specific military units you are attacking. If your opponent does not have any of the remaining units listed in the strategy card, you then go up in a military unit in ranks of power unless the higher unit is no longer on the field of battle. In this instance you will go down in military units. No champion partakes in direct combat similar to a Grand Tournament (Joshua 5: 13-15). If you do not have any of the units referenced in the strategy card left to deploy that specific strategy you also will go up in a military unit in ranks of power unless the higher unit is no longer on the field of battle. In this instance you will go down in military units. When a strategy card causes losses to your opponent in ranks of power you start from the highest in ranks of power and work your way down to the lowest until that number in ranks of power is reached. Remember that this number is rounded up. For example, if your strategy card causes your opponent losses of 80 in ranks of power one from each military unit below royal guards. In this instance you would start with a military unit on the field of battle that has the highest in ranks of power and is a unit below a royal guard. Then work your way down taking one unit or one card from each military unit until all 80 in losses in ranks of power have taken place. If these losses do not match exactly in ranks of power, then round up even if two military units have fallen due to this strategy card and only one rank of power in losses is left over the next military unit down in ranks of power will still fall. Often strategy cards will say that losses take place below a certain military unit. The only exception to this is if that military unit is the only one remaining on the field of battle. In this instance then that military unit will no longer be excluded from the losses.
Chance cards, you should have a total of 8 chance cards in your 72-card starter deck. To the right of your strategy cards, you will shuffle all chance cards and make a deck of 8 chance cards laying face up. If you have others, keep your remaining chance cards in a separate deck off the field of battle. Chance cards represent the unknown events the future holds. Draw off the top of your chance deck and read the card to see what events will take place. Once you are at the bottom of your chance deck you re-shuffle and start over. Whether the effects of the chance cards aid or harm your war effort, the effects are rounded up when the numerical value listed in ranks of power do not match exactly. The only exception to rounding up would be for when a military unit is being referenced on the chance card and this military unit is no longer on the field of battle. In this instance you go down military unit ranks of power.
Word of Power cards, you should have a total of 8 Word of Power cards in your 72-card starter deck. To the right of your chance cards are your Word of Power cards. Shuffle all Word of Power cards and draw 3 Word of Power cards off the top. Put these 3 cards in a deck face up and draw off the top of that deck. After both players have cycled through their three Word of Power cards you both will have the opportunity to sue for peace and make a truce. Example: Perhaps offering up a resource of lesser value to the winning side of the Pitched Battle to keep from losing a more valuable resource if the battle conditions remain unfavorable to your forces. If a truce cannot be established, then you will place your three Word of Power cards aside and continue the Pitched Battle until one player has achieved victory. Effects of these cards are rounded up when the numerical value listed in ranks of power does not match exactly.
Champion cards, you should have a total of 10 champion cards in your 72-card starter deck. Champion cards are shuffled, and one champion card is drawn from the top of the champion deck and placed face up behind your king and/or queen. Champion cards have many uses which are described on the champion card. No champion partakes in direct combat similar to a Grand Tournament (Joshua 5: 13-15). If you are playing as a king and you draw a queen as one of your champions, then your queen is placed on the side of your king because God took a rib from Adam to make Eve so your queen is at your side. Then you are able to draw another champion card in addition to your queen. The same is true if you are playing as a queen and you draw a king. If you are a queen place your king as head of your house Ephesians 5:23-24. Ephesians 5:25, He will be the one who is taken hostage for ransom from now on should it come to that. You may draw another champion in addition to your king. When you add a king or a queen in addition to another champion card you are able to add up the benefits from both cards. When both champion cards benefits overlap, use up one of the champion cards benefits first then the next in whichever order you choose. If the benefits do not overlap, then use both at the same time. An example of overlapping benefits would be both champion cards preventing losses to your forces in your opponent's next strategies. In this instance you would use up one champion's protection then the next champion cards protection in whatever order you choose. If you have a king and a queen and your opponent is able to take a royal hostage, then only the king is taken. If you do not have the resources in your realm to ransom the king, your opponent has won the Pitched Battle. If you only have a king or only have a queen, then either one can be taken as a hostage. If you do not have the resources to ransom your royal, then your opponent has won the Pitched Battle. Unless stated on any card currently being used either champion, strategy, or whenever card currently being read and placed into effect your opponent and you will always bear the cost for deploying a strategy. For example, when a champion card protects you from losses from your opponent's next strategy, your opponent always bears the cost for deploying that strategy. Also, whenever a champion card causes your strategies to be more effective against your opponent and your opponent has a champion card that provides protection from your strategies the player that won the coin toss will use up all protections provided by their champion before the other player may use benefits of additional effectiveness in strategies given to them by their champion card. In other words, champion cards will not fight against each other. When two champion cards offer opposing benefits the winner of the coin toss will use up their champion's opposing benefits first then the other player will use theirs.
Once you have all your cards in place starting from left to right with your realm containing your resources on your far left, next to the right is your army in your chosen battle formation, next to the right is your strategy deck, next to your right is your chance deck, next to the right is your Word of Power deck. Below all of that is your king and/or queen protected by royal guards, and your champion card is behind your royals.
Now you are ready for the Pitched Battle. Flip a coin. The winner of the coin toss will now select which belligerent will commence the pitched battle by being the first to attack.
Read your champion cards and see what effects they will have.
Attacks will start by drawing from your strategy deck and deploying the strategy on the first card. Then your opponent does the same.
Next will be the chance deck. You will draw from the chance deck and read its effects on the war effort. Your opponent will do the same.
Next is the Word of Power deck. You will draw from the Word of Power deck and read its effects. Your opponent will do the same.
Finally, draw from your Resources to draw from your realms bounty to recruit more soldiers. If you have no need of the use of your resources, you may skip this initial draw and not use any of your resources in order to save them for the future. Due to the continued cost of maintaining an army in the field you only get to skip a resource draw this one time. From this point on you must use at least one resource even if that resource is not needed. You may not save any of the ranks of power to use at a later time.
This will continue in this order until one side has won the Pitched Battle and taken their card as a trophy commemorating sweet victory!

Number and types of cards you should have in your 72 card starter deck:
5 Spearmen with 10 Ranks of power each.
4 Pikemen with 15 ranks of power each.
4 Archers with 15 ranks of power each.
3 Heavy infantry with 20 ranks of power each.
4 Men at arms with 25 ranks of power each.
4 Light calvary with 30 ranks of power each.
4 Knighted heavy calvary with 35 ranks of power each.
2 Royal guards with 40 ranks of power each.

10 Champion cards.
8 Resource cards.
8 Word of Power cards.
8 Chance cards.
8 Strategy cards.

Figure A