Welcome to r/FoWtcg, the number one reddit destination for the trading card game Force of Will. Whether you are new to the game or have some past experience with it, I hope this guide helps you. Special thanks to /u/ConsiderationOk56 and /u/rulerschooltcg for help on the MtG, YuGiOh & Hearthstone sections. (Which is to say, they wrote those up, and I was only an editor. :P)

For a simpler guide, Ruler School TCG made this great youtube video, which is formatted really well for new players. For more specific advice though, please check the section below which most fits your experience. If you've played Force of Will before, it may be useful to read all of the sections above the one most relevant to you as well, although some information is repeated.

To begin, the game is now focused on Wanderer format (all clusters legal except the first), with New Frontiers (only the last two clusters) no longer being explicitly supported, and this guide will reflect that. The rulers from Grimm Cluster to Saga Cluster were all reprinted in the 10th Anniversary collector's box, and support for these rulers is expected periodically in future sets. Both reprints and new support have already been printed, and more is expected.

Last played Force of Will in Hero Cluster?

While the cluster-specific mechanics have changed once again since Hero Cluster (A New World Emerges, The Underworld of Secrets, The War of the Suns, Crimson Moon's Battleground, Clash of the Star Trees, and Judgment of the Rogue Planet), notably with the return to the [Judgment] mechanic, the power level is still comparable. Some things to note however:

• After Hero Cluster, a mechanic named "Solo Mode" was created to curb to powercreep caused by players running two or more rulers at a time. It now gives a meaningful choice between running multiple rulers or running main deck cards with more abilities/effects.
• Contract cards were a temporary mechanic, and probably won't return after Pilgrim Memories (the set between Hero & Trinity). They're still quite playable, but keep in mind that the banlist as of this writing includes some key cards for some of the rulers which use these cards.
• Partially due to the sheer length of it, Hero Cluster comprises a large portion of of the banlist and combination banlist as of this writing. Please check the official banlist for more details if you wish to build competitive decks or for any other reason follow the banlist.
• As Hero Cluster came to a close, a project referred to as the Reworking Protocol was introduced, as a formal announcement of which of the cards from the banlist would be reworked and reprinted. The old versions will become legal after this reprinting, but count as having the new text.

*For people who played mainly during early and mid Hero Cluster, it may be worth knowing that many of the rulers in that time have received an errata. Specifically, all instances of [Partner]2 are nor [Partner]1, and Homeland now gives you a free card from hand to field rather than from outside the game to field. Additionally, Ki Lua and Eins have had significant changes made as part of the Reworking Protocol.

• The Asuka Starter Deck is not tournament legal out of the box, due to the combination banlist. While it's probably fine casually, players wanting to get into even locals level tournament play should keep in mind that the ruler Asuka and her Contract "Night of the Legendary Vampire" are combo-banned with each other.
• Once Hero Cluster ended, booster packs no longer contained 10 cards, but instead were reduced to 8 to save costs. Thankfully though this only got rid of the two least valuable slots: The token slot, and one Normal rarity slot.
• Hero Cluster was the first cluster to include six sets, making it particularly long, and as such lasted around a year and a half, so players who are also familiar with prior clusters should keep this in mind if they wish to catch up on their collection set by set. Notably, it was directly followed by a set ("Pilgrim Memories") which is not considered to be part of any cluster.

Last played Force of Will in Duel Cluster?

While the cluster-specific mechanics have changed once again since Duel Cluster (Game of Gods, Game of Gods: Reloaded, and Game of Gods: Revolution. Yes this is a Matrix reference), little else is different. Some things to note however:

• There hasn't really been much power creep in card stats since you last played, and little creep in abilities & effects, however due to the [Revolution] and [Force Resonance] mechanics, quite a few of the cards from Duel Cluster are awkward to play in newer decks unless you wish to still use those same rulers. Thankfully, that's still fairly viable. (Aside from Zeus, who is banned)
• Order cards were a temporary mechanic, and are unlikely to return. They're still quite playable, but keep in mind that the banlist as of this writing includes several key cards for around half of the order rulers.
• As of Duel Cluster, a new kind of banlist was introduced. The standard "can't use this card at all" list still applies to many cards, but in addition to that, a "combination banlist" was introduced, wherein players may not run certain pairs of cards in the same decklist (including the sideboard).
• The Tales Starter Deck with Nyarlathotep is not tournament legal out of the box, due to the banlist. While it's probably fine casually, players wanting to get into even locals level tournament play should keep in mind that "Phantasmal Ascendant" is banned, and that "Sudden Manifestation of Power" was errataed significantly.
• Duel Cluster was the first cluster since the first to include only three sets, and as such lasted less than a year, so players who are also familiar with prior clusters should keep this in mind if they wish to catch up on their collection set by set.

Last played Force of Will in Saga Cluster?

There have been a few changes since this cluster (Epic of the Dragon Lord, Magic Stone War - Zero, Rebirth of Legend, Assault on the Demonic World, and The Seventh), mostly regarding how to get J-rulers. Here's some things to know:

• The game has experienced a small amount of power creep since you last played, but quite a few cards from this cluster are still quite playable, although this is more so true for cards from later in the cluster.
• Alternative cards (the cards split with a top and bottom) and Tag rulers were largely only temporary mechanics. A few of the Tag rulers are in the Wanderer banlist, but otherwise these are still quite playable cards.
• A handful of Saga Cluster rulers got a notable errata a couple years later, for various reasons. Namely, Welser, Ragnarok, Milest, Fiethsing, Grusbalesta, Belial, Carlina, and Asmodeus. (as of this writing, Welser & Asmodeus have been stated that they will get a reprint errata soon, but the details are unknown. All others either have already been reprinted or the details are known)
• Quite a few cards from this cluster have been banned in Wanderer; please check the official banlist for more details if you wish to build competitive decks or for any other reason follow the banlist. Notably, the alternative card with the chant "Heart to Heart Talk" was banned, but the resonator half was reprinted on its own and is legal. The alternative card is not legal to treat as just the resonator version.
• Later clusters introduced alternate methods of getting a J-ruler, including turning resonators spells into J-rulers, and having J-rulers be the reverse side of certain chants or regalia. Judgment is still the "normal" method, but it is no longer the only method.
• While this cluster contained a product designed as a half set (Rebirth of Legend), it is unclear whether sets of this nature will be printed in the future. All sets in the years since then have been the standard 36 pack boxes however.

Last played Force of Will in Alice Origin Cluster?

Only a little has changed since the three Alice Origin sets, the set Prologue of Attoractia, or the Ghost in the Shell set. Here's what you should know:

• The Stranger Deck was only a temporary mechanic. If you use a ruler from this cluster you can still use the mechanic, but future rulers are unlikely to repeat it. Similarly, Stranger resonators cannot be included in deckbuilding unless you are using a ruler which allows it - all of which so far are from Alice Origin Cluster.
• In Alice Origin 1 & 2, booster packs included a variety of cards with different borders and unique art, essentially as reprints of promo cards. This promotion did not continue in later sets, although the cards are still legal in any format other cards of the same name are legal in.
• While Regalia did return in Alice Origin after their first appearance back in Alice Cluster, they remained mostly unused and unreferenced until late Hero Cluster, where they appear to be becoming a mainstay across multiple clusters just like all the other card types except Runes, albeit sporadic.
• Starting from the end of this cluster, all rulers now have [Energize] by default, matching the attribute/s of the ruler card(s) you start with. This includes older rulers and basic rulers, with rulers with no attribute getting a will coin which can produce one Void will instead of an attribute.
• Also starting from the end of this cluster, alongside the third card layout FoW has had being introduced, automatic abilities on newer cards started to become signified with >>> instead of ⇒.
• A couple of cards from this cluster have been banned in Wanderer through the Combination Banlist; please check the official banlist for more details if you wish to build competitive decks or for any other reason follow the banlist.

Last played Force of Will in New Valhalla Cluster?

There's been a few things of note since this cluster (consisting of New Dawn Rises, Strangers of New Valhalla, Awakening of the Ancients, and Decisive Battle of Valhalla)

• The Rune Deck (or Rune Area) was unique to this cluster, and so neither it nor Runes as a card type were created for later clusters. The cards are still legal, but keep in mind that cards which are "Runes" rather than "Chant/Runes" still cannot be run outside of a Rune Deck.
• The game has experienced some power creep since you last played, so there may be some cards which appear objectively better than the ones you last played with. Rune Decks have niche utility, but are currently mostly relegated to casual play.
• This cluster, unlike most others, had starter decks with multiple rulers. Note that unless otherwise specified, players can only run one ruler in their ruler area as they start the game.
• After this cluster, the Common and Uncommon rarities were replaced with Normal rarity, and later a Marvel Rarity was added above Super Rare.
• For collectors: After this cluster, foil cards no longer have "textured" variants, outside certain promos and other special products.

Last played Force of Will in Reiya Cluster?

Back in 2018, the sets were Ancient Nights, Advent of the Demon Lord, The Time-Spinning Witch, and Winds of the Ominous Moon. Here's what's changed:

• The "Sealed Item" mechanic from the cluster, which made Rulers get progressively more abilities throughout the cluster through reprints, was exclusive to Reiya Cluster, and so if that was a turnoff for you, don't worry, it's gone now. All of the cards with the gibberish text are now meant to be treated as though they had the full text, even if it is not printed on them.
• The game has experienced some power creep since you last played, so there may be a number of cards which appear objectively better than the ones you last played with. Casual deckbuilds can still be pretty fun though of course.
• As much of this cluster was based around gimmicks, many of the future sets will lack any form of real direct support, and as such you might find your cards are pretty pigeonholed to Rulers from this cluster if you try to expand into Wanderer or any fan formats. (Strength counters, Magic Crests, and singleton mechanics did all get some later support though)
• In late Hero Cluster and the standalone set "Pilgrim Memories", new support was printed for Gill, Reiya, Ayu, and Dusk Girl, increasing their viability, with Ayu & Dusk Girl getting the better end since they are better at using generic cards.
• A handful of cards from this cluster have been banned in Wanderer. If playing a different format, it is advised that you refer to your local or regional banlist if you wish to build competitive decks. Notably, while Scheherazade was banned for several years following Reiya Cluster, she did eventually come off the list unchanged due to powercreep catching up to her.
• The rules for the keyword [Enter] were changed after this cluster. Any card with the text "When this card enters the field →" is now treated as saying "[Enter]→", and [Enter] now triggers for any card entering the field, no matter how it does so.
• For collectors: After this cluster, no card was available in Uber rarity, other than certain promo cards, until "Pilgrim Memories" and Trinity Cluster.

Last played Force of Will in Lapis Cluster?

Back in 2017, the sets were Curse of the Frozen Casket, Legacy Lost, Vingolf: Ruler All-stars, Return of the Dragon Emperor, and Echoes of the New World. Here's what's changed:

• The game has experienced notable power creep since you last played, so there may be quite a few cards which appear objectively better than the ones you last played with. Casual deckbuilds can still be pretty fun though of course.
• Be sure to check the banlist, as a couple cards from this cluster have been added to the ban list and you probably don't want to be wasting your time with them. If they are ever expected to come off the list, they will likely be reprinted.
• A handful of cards from this cluster were "reprinted" in Saga Cluster, but for the purposes of deckbuilding do not count as being the same card, as they utilize the new Alternative Card mechanic. You may include a playset of the original card in addition to a playset of the Alternative Card in your deck if you wish.
• The terminology "entity" has been added to the game after this cluster, and refers to any card on the field. Note that Rulers on their ruler side are not considered to be in the field, nor are cards in the chant-standby area.
• After this cluster, non-special magic stones became officially referred to as Basic Magic Stones. There is no gameplay function difference with this change - it's purely for clarity. Old non-special magic stone cards may be treated as Basic Magic Stones by any effect which references such.

Last played Force of Will in Alice Cluster?

Back in 2016, the sets were Seven Kings of the Land, The Twilight Wanderer, The Moonlit Savior, Battle for Attoractia, and Vingolf: Valkyria Chronicles. Here's what's changed:

• While it is largely no longer relevant now that the latter has been removed (as of August 2022), after this cluster the formats "Wanderer" and "New Frontiers" were introduced/named. New Frontiers is/was a rotating format where only the latest two clusters are legal, while Wanderer is an eternal format where all clusters are legal except the original Valhalla cluster.
• Many cards from this cluster were reprinted in Alice Origin Cluster, and so keep in mind that only the latest printing of a card counts as the correct text of the card; this has caused many cards to gain traits or races, lose subtypes, and/or slightly change in function. Especially for chants and additions, it is advised that you use the most recent printing in order to have the most accurate text.
• Alice Origins Cluster brought back a return of many of the characters from this cluster, as well as the Regalia. However, the approach to Regalia was much better implemented, with them (almost) all costing 2, being more directly tied to the ruler they were associated with, and the true power of them coming from the ruler rather than the Regalia. Overall a much more enjoyable experience, and using regalia feels a lot more natural and not as insanely broken as some of the situations they initially created.
• The game has experienced significant power creep since you last played, so there may be some cards which appear objectively better than the ones you last played with, although the reprint errata has made up for this in many instances. Either way, casual deckbuilds can still be pretty fun.
• A notable exception to this is Alice Girl of the Lake (and her ascended form, Alice the Ally of Fairies), as she received significant direct support in late Hero Cluster and the standalone set "Pilgrim Memories", allowing her to play level with good casual decks of that era.
• Be sure to check the ban list as some cards from this cluster were added to the ban list and you probably don't want to be wasting your time with them.
• A handful of cards from this cluster were "reprinted" in Saga Cluster, but for the purposes of deckbuilding do not count as being the same card, as they utilize the new Alternative Card mechanic. You may include a playset of the original card in addition to a playset of the Alternative Card in your deck if you wish.
• The Standby mechanic was essentially unused since this cluster, right up until Trinity Cluster seven years later, so essentially nothing in between these reference the zone or any related keywords. The "EX area" mechanics used in Hero cluster resemble it in some ways but are entirely distinct.
• No Additions since this cluster have included subtypes (eg. "Addition:Resonator"). While old addition cards still count as having their subtypes (unless they were reprinted without them), and will behave accordingly, all newer addition cards are simply "Additions", without any subtypes.
• Chants no longer have subtypes. If an old card was a "Spell:Chant", it is now considered just a Chant. If an old card was a "Spell:Chant-Instant", it is now considered a Chant with the ability [Quickcast]. If an old card was a "Spell:Chant-Standby", it is now considered just as a Chant (although it retains the [Trigger] keyword and the rules surrounding that. For example if an effect refers to Spell:Chant-Standby cards, it now refers to "Chants with [Trigger]")
• Automatic abilities were altered after this cluster from "When <trigger>, <effect>." (with a comma) to "<Trigger>→<Effect>" (with a double-lined arrow). Starting from the end of Alice Origin Cluster, this was then changed to "<trigger>›››<effect>" (with three chevrons).
• After this cluster, all starter decks until and including Hero Cluster include full playsets of all cards they contain, rather than partial playsets. This thankfully makes collecting much easier, although if you want playsets of foil cards, you may still need to trade with others or find the cards online.

Last played Force of Will in Grimm Cluster?

Back in 2015, the sets were The Crimson Moon Fairy Tale, The Castle of Heaven and the Two Towers, The Moon Priestess Returns, Millennia of Ages, and Vingolf: Engage Knights. Here's what's changed:

• The game has experienced very significant power creep since this cluster, however the standalone set "Pilgrim Memories" and to a lesser degree the first two sets of Trinity Cluster contained a lot of direct support for all the Grimm Cluster rulers outside Vingolf, including a card which lets you run any two of the rulers in a single deck. In most cases, this let them catch up to powercreep enough to be viable casually amongst even new cards in Trinity Cluster.
• While the cards from this cluster may for the most part be relatively underpowered - especially if not directly refererenced by new cards - if you were a fan of the characters or the Fairy Tale/Cthulhu themes, then you may appreciate that these have reappeared a few times over the years. In particular, Saga Cluster contains a bunch of support for these, a kind of reprint for some of these cards... although the Cthulhu support in Saga is focused on [Awakening] rather than [Incarnation].

Last played Force of Will in Valhalla Cluster?

Back around 2012-2014, the sets were Dawn of Valhalla, War of Valhalla, and if you used Japanese cards, The Shaft of Light of Valhalla. Here's what's changed:

• Break/Lifebreak as a mechanic has been entirely removed, and the red text on cards from this cluster is treated as not existing unless you specifically arrange to play with it.
• The rule stating that when your J-ruler is destroyed you lose half your life has been removed entirely.
• Most formats for Force of Will do not use this cluster, so avoid using cards from this cluster (with nine exceptions, due to reprints) unless you are playing "Origin format", or have specifically arranged for these older cards to be okay to play. And even then, the game has experienced very significant power creep since this first cluster, and while there are niche cards which may still be playable in formats which allow it, most have been overshadowed.
• The nine exceptions alluded to earlier are the five basic magic stones (although not the six promo stones named after the Valhalla starter decks), "Banzai Attack", "Aqua Magic -Tempest-", "Binding Chain", and "Tunnel Vision".
• And lastly, the "Valhalla" theming has returned a couple of times over the years, so if you're interested in seeing the old characters again (for as much they could be called that back then), you may be interested in the clusters "New Valhalla", "Alice Origin", "Duel", and/or "Trinity", as well as the Lapis Cluster set "Vingolf: Ruler All-Stars". In particular, Loki, Odin & Athenia have gotten quite a bit of focus, relatively speaking.

Only played Magic: The Gathering before?

If you have only ever played Standard/Modern in Magic, then deckbuilding for Force/gameplay is going to be a little new, but you already know like 80% of the game. If you play Commander, then you know 85%. The real quick one sentence summary would be, standard/modern deck construction, with a Commander that doesn't lock color identity, and your lands are in a separate deck.

• You have a Ruler, which starts the game in play, and has abilities/can flip and become a creature on board. It can only ever flip once.
• Your lands are in a separate 10-20 stone deck, which your ruler taps to call in to play once per turn (during your main phase) if you want.
• Combat is something you can choose to do more than once in a turn, and it is done by one creature at a time (and only one can block). You can attack the player's face, or a tapped creature.
• There is no shadow blocking, if a blocker is killed before damage is done, the damage will go to the initial target
• The beginning phases go Draw - Recovery - Main - End. Anything with instant speed capabilities can be done during the draw phase and recovery phase before you actually recover your stones and cards
• Starting life is 4000 (or 40) rather than 20. There are no 850, 750, etc stat lines, so you can just drop the last two zeroes from any stat line.

Only played Yu-Gi-Oh before?

Yugioh is a very combo heavy based game, but isn't restricted by the idea of resources, and makes the use of an extra deck. While some rulers in Force of Will do grant an "extra deck" it is not common, and works much differently than Yugioh. That being said, Force of Will is another Japanese style TCG that has the capability of being very combo/synergy focused, just compensates for it by making use of a resource system that slowly grows and can be used however you please during either players turn, as long as you have the available resources.

• You have a Ruler, which starts the game in play, and has abilities/can flip and become a creature on board. It can only ever flip once.
• Deck construction is 40-60 cards, with maximum playsets of 4 of any specific card
• Your Stones are your resource for playing cards, are in a separate 10-20 stone deck, which your ruler rests to call in to play once per turn, during your main phase whenever you want.
• You must pay the cost of a card in order to be able to play it. You can play as many cards in a turn/summon as many things in a turn as you want, provided you can pay the cost.
• The beginning phases go Draw - Recovery - Main - End. Anything with instant speed capabilities (spell speed 2) can be done during the draw phase and recovery phase before you actually recover your stones and cards
• No Field Size Limits for monsters (resonators in this game) or additions (field spells/continuous spells, etc.)
• Combat is something you can choose to do more than once in a turn, and it is done by one creature at a time. You can attack the players face, or a tapped creature. A player may choose to block an attack with any creature they control that is recovered.
• Monsters (resonators in this game) have summoning sickness, meaning they cannot attack or use any ability that requires them to "Rest" to pay cost during the same turn they come into play.
• Only if a creature (resonators) has "pierce" will damage go through to the initial attack target, otherwise all damage just goes through to whatever is taking the damage (so no carry-over damage to lifepoints unless the initial attack went to the opponent and the attacker has [Pierce])
• 4000 life instead of 8000.
• There are no "setting" cards like traps or quickplay spells in the newer (and generally more powerful) sets of cards. If it has [Quickcast], you simply play it from your hand during either players turn (spell speed 2). Older sets do utilize the "standby" mechanic however, which is somewhat comparable to traps, which works for any cards with the [Trigger], [Stealth] or [Ambush] keywords. Cards can be placed into standby by paying two "will" (usually produced from magic stones) at spell speed 1 timing - although this cannot be chained to - then playing them for free at any time the [Trigger] or [Stealth] condition is met.
• There is no spell speed 3, unless a card specifically states that it "cannot be chased". Such spells or abilities can't be chained onto by anything else, including other "this cannot be chased" effects.
• The reaction system does not work like the chain. After every single action is taken, both players get a chance to respond. You can also hold priority to put multiple things on the "chase" at once. If there are multiple things on the "chase" and both players pass priority, then only 1 step of the chase resolves, and then both players have an opportunity to put an effect or spell on the chase before the next thing resolves. Once the very last thing (so the thing that started the chase) resolves, the turn player regains priority.
• Spell speed breakdown - 1:Playing any card that does not have quick cast. 2:Casting any card that has quick cast, using any activate ability of a card in your hand, on the field, or a graveyard. There is no real spell speed 3.

Only played Hearthstone before?

The major difference is that Hearthstone, being a PC/Mobile only game, has so much more RNG that goes into the game. Picking your Ruler is like picking your class, each ruler having their own Hero Power essentially.

• Decks consist of 40-60 cards, with only 4 copies of each card a separate deck for 10-20 Magic Stones (this acts as your mana) and a Ruler (this is your hero). Each player starts with 4000 health (although this is often truncated to 40 by players).
• Hearthstone is played using mana to pay the cost of Spells/Minions. By contrast, Force of Will uses "will" produced by Magic Stones to pay the cost for Chants, Resonators, and other card types. Each turn you can rest your ruler to gain a stone that is used to pay costs, creating a similar result to Hearthstone giving you one extra mana available per turn.
• ...However, a key difference is that where there is only one kind of mana in Hearthstone, in Force of Will there are five attributes, which can make cost requirements more specific than in HS. Magic Stones will state on them what kind of "will" (its name for mana) it can produce, and they may even have other abilities in special cases. Just like in hearthstone, some attributes excel at health recovery, others can gain power through hurting themselves, and so on.
• The turn sequence is Draw-Recovery-Main-End of Turn. The Recovery phase is skipped on your first turn.
• Main phase is when you play resonators (minions), chants (spells) and other cards, although some cards are able to be played out of turn, if an effect or ability allows it.
• In Hearthstone you have Secrets that you play on your turn but only activate based on certain conditions being met on your opponents turn. Force of Will has a condition called “Quickcast” that is somewhat similar. You can hold these cards in hand until the right moment to spend the required Will to play the card to affect what is happening. These can be played at almost any point, including during the draw or recovery phases, before or after you do the phase's action.
• Most ruler cards can perform a "judgment" action, which puts them into the field as a J-ruler, detailed on the reverse side of the card. These behave in most ways like resonators, except for having a different card type name. J-rulers when destroyed return to the ruler area and cannot do judgment again, rather than getting sent to the graveyard like resonators would.
• You declare your attacks one at a time as in HS, but you cannot attack minions unless they are in a rested (sidewards) state. After an attack is declared your opponent may choose to block with one of their minions and going into battle with your declared attacker. Attacking, blocking, and abilities with the black turned-card symbol all cause the J/resonator doing it to become rested, although there are also other effects which do this.

If there are any games not in the above list which you feel should be, or if you feel that this guide could be improved, feel free to let me know in the comments or by DM.

Just as the title says, I am looking for the (secret) card art of Ki Lua's contract card.

Now that Ki Lua is going to be usable again (albeit nerfed) I was looking through my old Ki Lua deck and was reminded of the secret art of her contract card Divine Lightning // Predator. I remember seeing it when the card came out a couple of years ago and thinking it was pretty cool.

I have tried to find the card's art all over the internet without any luck. I can find just about every other secret art contract card, but no matter where I have looked I can not seem to find Ki Lua's.

I was wondering if anyone had access to the Divine Lightning // Predator (secret) card art or just a picture of the card itself. Because I would like to be able to see it again if possible!

New player here and ive bought some cards online. some resonators have attack/defence on the side and some on the bottom. How many times has the design changed? Can someone give me a brief outline of the different ways the cards have changed over time? Thx!