Dominate Grail War ~Fate/stay night on Board Game~ (ドミネイトグレイルウォー ~フェイト/ステイナイト オン ボードゲーム~, Domineito Gureiru Uō ~Feito/Sutei Naito On Bōdo Gēmu~?) is a board game based on the Fate/stay night visual novel. It was developed by DELiGHTWORKS Inc and it is designed by BakaFire. It is part of the Fate/stay night 15th Anniversary Celebration project. The character design is by okojo and the box illustration is by Task Ohna. It was first announced on March 15, 2019 and first presented during AnimeJapan 2019. It was released on August 3, 2019.
Rules[]
The game is prepared by first shuffling twenty events card and placing them in the designated place on the board. Next, ten situation cards are randomly selected, exclude the card marked climax and two others without looking at them. The remaining eight cards are then shuffled and placed on the corresponding area. Location tokens are then placed at their corresponding areas.
Players select a Master either at will or randomly. When playing with six or less players, Shinji will be switched for Sakura later in the game. A magic token is then placed on the initial value of the magic track according to the player's Master. Command Spell tokens are next placed on the corresponding area of the Master board. Next, players randomly receive a Servant along with their corresponding deck. After confirming their Servants, player place their Servant face down so other players can't see it. The Servant's Noble Phantasm and Skill cards are then removed from their deck and placed next to them. The Servant's deck is next shuffled and placed on the corresponding area of the Master board. Afterwards, players place their battle result token at the zero position of the battle track on the board game. The starting player is then chosen through rock-paper-scissors, with the winner is being given the starting player marker. Once the marker is placed near the starting player's Master board, the game can finally start.
The game progresses by repeating rounds. Each round proceeds by following four phases in order. The first phase is the preparation phase where players draw cards, reveal the situation card, and place the event card. The second phase is where players place their Masters on the game board, starting with player designated as the starting player. The third phase is the action phase where players can move and prepare for battle. Command Spells can be used during this phase. The fourth phase is the combat phase where the total power of Miyama Town and Shinto are compared with the contents of the action phase, and the player with the highest power is the winner. At the end of the round, the starting player marker is passed to the next player in a clockwise direction. The four phases are carried out until the eighth round.
The preparation phase begins with each player drawing cards from their Servant deck until they have three cards in their hand. Next, the situation is revealed and placed on the game board. Event cards are then placed, one in Miyama Town and another in Shinto. One card is placed face up while the other is placed face down.
The outpost phase begins with each player choosing where to place their Master game piece, choosing between Miyama Town, Shinto, and Mage Workshop. Players can gain magic power and benefits depending on the location. The first player who places their Master on a Mage Workshop gains 2 magic power, with next player gaining 1 magic power. Miyama Town and Shinto serve as the battlefield where players fight against each other. The first player to place a Master here will gain +3 ground tokens, with the next player gaining +1.
The action phase begins with each player moving on their Masters on the game board once all face down event cards are revealed. Masters can only be move in a one way direction in order of Mage Workshop, Miyama Town, Shinto, and Reconnaissance. It is possible to move from the Mage Workshop to Shinto or Reconnaissance by paying 3 or 5 magic power. If there is more than one Master on either Miyama Town or Shinto, a battle will proceed. The Next step is the battle preparation which starts with players using two cards in the hand, paying the total amount of magic power of both cards. A Noble Phantasm or Skill card can be used, but at the total cost of 8 magic power. If a card has special effects, execute them, and if both cards have special effects, execute them in any order. If a Noble Phantasm or Skill card designated with "release mana" is used, the Servant must be revealed. If a card is used in Miyama Town or Shinto, players calculate their total power, and then place their Master piece on the calculated value of the game board's power track. Total power is calculated by adding the basic power of both cards, the land token, and the Command Spell if used. Command Spells can only be used before movement, between and after battle preparation. It is possible to use more than Command Spell at a time, with three ways of using them. After declaring the use of a Command Spell, choose which effect to use and implement it. Afterwards, remove the number of Command Spell tokens from the Master board depending on the number used. The three ways of using Command Spells are: zero magic power cost for movement when used in any other location than Mage Workshop, gaining 4 magic power, and gain +2 power and +2 battle result if the battle is used.
During the combat phase, the player who demonstrates the maximum total power in Miyama Town and Shinto will win the battle. If there are players on each battlefield, the battle results recorded on the event card will be earned. If there are more than two players on a battlefield, all participants will gain 2 battle results in addition to the battle results recorded on the event card. If there are more than two players with the same total power, the total sum of the battle results recorded on the event and those earned by the battle's winner divided among the players. After that process, used cards are placed in the trash area. If a Noble Phantasm or Skill card was used, they're placed face up next to the Servant. Location tokens are returned to their original location. Situation cards are placed on the game board's round display, and event cards are placed outside the board.
After the eighth round, the climax round begins. The climax round follows the usual four phases of previous rounds. At the beginning of the round, the player with the least battle results will drop out of the game. The climax round is repeated until there is only one player left, and the remaining player will win the game.
Characters[]
Masters[]
- Shirou Emiya
- A Master for intermediate players. Although his initial magic power is low, Shirou has access to the Kanshou and Bakuya card. In addition, he can always survive the first climax round. In the beginning of the game, it is best to accumulate magic power and make of full use of the Servant's abilities. Special Abilities: Inexperienced, Projection, Avalon.
- Rin Tohsaka
- A Master for intermediate players. If Rin begins the game by spending one of her Command Spells, she can use a variety of abilities using Jewel Magecraft to compensate. Gems can be used to use Gandr, store magic power, or reassembling the player's hand. Special Abilities: Absolute Obedience Order, Jewel Magecraft.
- Sakura Matou
- A Master for advanced players. Sakura's ability, Engraved Fate, saves battle results while forcibly consuming magic power. When playing with less than six players, it can be used with Shinji and Sakura, but used with Sakura alone when playing with seven players. Special Abilities: Engrave Fate, Hidden Secret, Symbol of Everyday Life.
- Illyasviel von Einzbern
- A Master for beginner players. Illya starts with higher initial magic power than other Masters, and accumulates one more unit of magic power each round. Special Abilities: Masterpiece, Holy Grail
- Shinji Matou
- A Master for advanced players. Shinji can earn magic power and battle results every time he enters Miyama Town. This ability is used in conjunction with Sakura when playing with less than six players, and alone when playing with seven players. Shinji also has a unique victory condition where a player wins if he is last at the beginning of the climax round. Special Abilities: Absorbing Command, Book of False Attendant, Clown.
- Souichirou Kuzuki
- A Master for advanced players. Instead of accumulating magic power at the mage workshop, Kuzuki earns battle results. In addition, he has access to the Snake card. He also has unique abilities such as the cost of moving from the magic workshop to Miyama Town being zero. Special Abilities: Calm, Assassination Fist "Snake", Straightforward.
- Kirei Kotomine
- A Master for beginner players. Playing as Kirei changes drastically depending on whether his Servant's True Name is revealed or not. If their True Name isn't revealed, players move to the recon phase in any state, and earn results without fighting. If the Servant's True Name is revealed, players earn a bonus when participating in battles. Special Abilities: Supevisor, Proxy.
Servants[]
- Saber
- Saber has easy access to a variety of offensive and defensive actions. She can also use Magic Resistance and Invisible Air to disable the opponent's card. The main way to fight with her is to advance the battlefield while disabling the opponent's power. Noble Phantasm/Skill: Excalibur, Invisible Air, Magic Resistance.
- Archer
- Archer is good for strategies that take advantage of the power gained from advantageous positions. Players can also use all Servant decks with his Unlimited Blade Works. Noble Phantasm/Skill: Unlimited Blade Works, Caladbolg II, Mind's Eye (True).
- Lancer
- Lancer can always win in one-on-one battle if Gáe Bolg (standard version) is used. When against many opponents, he can earn a lot of battle results with Gáe Bolg (thrown version). He can withdraw from an unfavorable battle with Battle Continuation. Noble Phantasm/Skill: Gáe Bolg (standard version), Gáe Bolg (thrown version), Battle Continuation.
- Caster
- Caster is highly difficult to play, so the key is to quickly establish a mage workshop with Territory Creation. She can use other Masters' Command Spells for a limited time with Rule Breaker. Noble Phantasm/Skill: Rule Breaker, Bride of Mythology and Ashes, Territory Creation.
- Rider
- Medusa has a Noble Phantasm that allows her to simultaneously move, fight, and take the local advantage from an opponent. She can also increase her power with Riding. It is possible to defeat many opponents if certain conditions are met. Noble Phantasm/Skill: Bellerophon, Mystic Eyes of Petrification, Riding.
- Berserker
- Berserker can utilize high power without a Noble Phantasm. By using God Hand, the results an opponent gains from battle can be reduced. Noble Phantasm/Skill: God Hand.
- Assassin
- Assassin's deck mostly has cards with the agility attribute, which is extremely effective when the agility attribute is advantageous. Cards like One Sword, Two Swords, and Three Swords have unique effects, such as impeding the opponent's ability or using additional cards. By using all three cards at the same time, Tsubame Gaeshi can be activated with increased power. Noble Phantasm/Skill: One Sword, Two Swords, Three Swords.
- Gilgamesh
- Gilgamesh's Enuma Elish is a powerful Noble Phantasm, which can increase the power gain from an location and the results gained from battles. Noble Phantasm/Skill: Enuma Elish, Gate of Babylon, Independent Action.
- True Assassin
- True Assassin's deck mostly has weak attack cards, so there are only a few opportunities to win in direct combat. However, by satisfying various conditions and successfully using Zabaniya, the situation can be reversed. Noble Phantasm/Skill: Zabaniya, Presence Concealment, Self-Modification.
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