As you begin to explore the world of Altered, you’ll find there are many “formats,” or ways to play.

Formats are designated as either Constructed or Limited. Constructed formats require you to build your own deck beforehand, while Limited formats consist in opening boosters or randomizing a pool of cards and building a deck from those.

Altered does not currently use sideboards in any format (a sideboard is a selection of cards you can implement to your deck to adapt it to your opponent’s, especially when you play several games successively). In Limited formats, you can change your deck between games and use cards you initially set aside, or change your Hero, for example.

Check our Balance Updates page. It lists cards that are banned, suspended or errated. This list applies to all Constructed formats.

CONSTRUCTED FORMATS

Constructed formats differ from one another in the deck construction rules. What we call “Standard” is a format where the original Altered rules apply:

• A deck must contain a minimum of 39 non-Hero cards plus exactly 1 Hero card.
• All cards in the deck must be of the same faction as the Hero card.
• It may have a maximum of 3 copies of a card with the same name, regardless of rarity.
• It may have a maximum of 15 Rare cards.
• It may have a maximum of 3 Exalted cards.
• It may have a maximum of 3 Unique cards.

At the moment, Re:Union has two different “Standard” formats: All Uniques and Frontier. 

You will find all details about every playable format below.

Standard — All Uniques

As its name indicates, this format allows any player to use 3 Unique cards among all existing options that were designed by Equinox. It doesn’t matter whether they were printed, opened, scanned, given or sold. In the deckbuilder, you can filter these millions of Uniques to find the treasures you always wanted to play with!

All Standard deck construction rules above apply.

Standard — Frontier

Frontier limits the pool of Uniques to 5,000 per faction each season. Every 6–8 weeks, an algorithm randomly draws a fresh pool of ~30,000 Uniques from Altered's full catalogue — creating a shared, temporary legal pool that rotates each season.

Find the complete description here:

• Frontier Submission
• Frontier Presentation

During deckbuilding, a filter restricts every player's unique choices to the cards in the current pool.

Frontier promises a regularly refreshed meta where every rotation brings the excitement of a "new set release" — a fresh puzzle to brew around. New players can be competitive on day one with zero unique collection. The simplicity of the algorithm is a feature: It is transparent, reproducible and easy for the community to understand and trust.

Standard deckbuilding rules apply otherwise.

Frontier is the Arena Mode on BGA.

No Unique (NUC)

The No Unique format offers a fresh perspective on Altered by focusing exclusively on Common, Rare and Exalted cards. The goal is to highlight the fundamental structure of your decks and emphasize the natural interactions between cards played in multiple copies. In this format, the focus is on stability and consistency: Without the element of surprise brought by Unique cards, victory relies primarily on mastering your game plan and optimizing your core synergies. It is the ideal playground for deckbuilders who enjoy refining the coherence of their archetype and testing the reliability of their favorite mechanics in a known and clear gameplay environment.

Standard deck construction rules are therefore modified as follows:

• A deck must contain a minimum of 39 non-Hero cards plus exactly 1 Hero card.
• All cards in the deck must be of the same faction as the Hero card.
• It may have a maximum of 3 copies of a card with the same name, regardless of rarity.
• It may have a maximum of 15 Rare cards.
• It may have a maximum of 3 Exalted cards.
• It may not contain any Unique card.

Singleton NUC

The Singleton format invites deckbuilders to take on a stimulating creative challenge: each card can only be present in a single copy for a given rarity within your deck. This format transforms the way you approach Altered by celebrating diversity and creativity. By limiting card repetition, Singleton offers rich and constantly renewed games where unpredictability becomes a core mechanic. It is an experience where your ability to improvise and the knowledge of your entire card pool will make the difference. With Singleton, every match becomes a unique experience where you must triumph through your ability to resolve any situation you encounter!

As a NUC format, this one does not allow any Unique card. Here are the exact deck construction rules for Singleton NUC:

• A deck must contain between 59 and 79 non-Hero cards plus exactly 1 Hero card.
• All cards in the deck must be of the same faction as the Hero card.
• It may have a maximum of 3 copies of a card with the same name.
• It may have a maximum of 1 copy of each rarity for a card with the same name (for example, a maximum of 1 Common Pinocchio and 1 Rare Pinocchio).
• There are no restrictions on the number of Rare or Exalted cards in the deck.
• It may not contain any Unique card.

Sandbox

Sandbox is the beauty of chaos for people who like to try new ways to play! It serves mostly two purposes:

1. It allows players to create any deck within the basic construction rules (for example, it is impossible to play 2 Hero cards) and to play versus a friend who follows the same rules. It is therefore very practical in specific tournaments using common constraints (such as mixing factions, choosing only 2 cards and playing 20 copies of each, building only with Uniques, etc.).
2. It is a good way to try what a new format could be. While in the past, it was necessary to make tests on a table or via various tools developed by the community. Now it’s possible to do it directly on BGA! Maybe a new community-created format will emerge soon, just like NUC, Singleton and Frontier did.

The Sandbox format is not intended to be played between two random people paired by BGA; their deck may really not look alike and the experience might be frustrating. However, it is possible to do so.

LIMITED FORMATS

All Limited formats use the same deck construction rules:

• A deck must contain a minimum of 30 cards, including 1 optional Hero card that matches one of the factions in the deck.
• All cards in the deck must be of up to 3 different factions.
• There are no restrictions on the number of cards with the same name in the deck.
• There are no restrictions on the number of Rare, Exalted or Unique cards in the deck.
• A deck may contain special “Mana Convergence” cards to replace the possible missing regular ones if the 3 chosen factions do not contain enough to reach the minimum size of 30 cards.

Booster Draft

Booster Draft is a Limited format where players open booster packs and pick a card before passing the rest of the booster to the player to their neighbour. Cards are drafted this way one after another until players end up with a card-pool out of which they have to build the most balanced deck. Booster Draft is a fun and challenging way to experience Altered. The format requires players to make strategic choices in order to build the most synergistic deck out of the cards available in each pack.

Players may freely change their deck using their pool of drafted cards between games while playing Limited formats.

Setting up an Altered Booster Draft

• The recommended number of players is 8 (but it is possible to play with less or more).
• Each player receives 4 Altered booster packs.
• Players each open their first booster pack, and remove the token/foiler/Mana Convergence card. Each player secretly selects 1 card from the pack, then passes the remaining contents to the person to their left.
• Players then secretly select another card from the pack they were passed, and continue to do so until all cards have been selected.
• Players do the same with their second booster pack, passing to the right instead of the left.
• Finally, players do the same with the third booster pack (passing to the left) and the fourth booster pack (passing to the right).
• Draft decks must respect the construction rules listed above.
• After deck construction, players face one-another in a series of Swiss rounds.

What are “Mana Convergence” cards?

Mana Convergence cards are cards that appear in the token slot of some booster packs. If you’re unable to play 30 cards in your deck (because you have less than 30 cards among the three factions you’ve chosen in your pool of drafted cards), you need to fill out the rest of the slots with Mana Convergence tokens until you reach at least 30 cards in your deck. Like all token cards, they can be used from anywhere, not just those in the drafted booster.

Mana Convergence cards act as any card in your deck, but:

• They can not be played in any other zone than the mana zone by their owner (they cannot be played in an Expedition, Reserve or Landmark area);
• They can be affected by card effects such as “You may discard a card from your hand to send target Character to Reserve” (Plague of Ignorance) or “Target opponent discards a card from their hand” (Baku) and are counted as a card for any other purpose like “I gain 1 boost per card in your hand” (Sylas, Cryptic Warlock).

Sealed Deck

(RoC only for now)

Sealed Deck is a format where you open a set number of booster packs and constitute your card-pool with the cards you open. Choose among different factions and heroes the ones that allow you to build the most synergistic deck while also including your most powerful and versatile cards.

Sealed Deck is a fun and refreshing way to experience Altered and one of the best means to discover and start collecting a new set. This is the chosen format for what we call “Pre-Release” events.

Setting up an Altered Sealed Deck

• Sealed Decks can welcome any number of players.
• Each player receives 7 Altered booster packs. Players must build decks using only the cards within those packs.
• Sealed decks must respect the deck construction rules listed above.
• After deck construction, players face one-another in a series of Swiss rounds.

Exactly like in Booster Draft, Mana Convergence cards can be added to any deck lacking some cards to reach the minimum size (30 cards).

MULTIPLAYER MODES

Multiplayer is a fun and more social way to experience Altered, where you can play with more than 2 players (usually 4 players). It might be in a Constructed format, meaning that you’ll build a deck ahead of time and bring it to the game; but it is also possible to do a Limited event in which you play in a multiplayer mode with a Draft or Sealed deck.

Multiplayer can be played with several modes:

• In 2v2, you and your teammate face another team and whichever team manages to have their Hero and Companion meet first wins the game.
• In Free for All, you compete against all the other players, but you can only race against two of them: the player on your right, and the player on your left. You win when you are the first to have your Hero and Companion meet.

Multiplayer decks in Altered follow the deck construction rules (Constructed or Limited, see above). Players may play with any Hero they like, meaning two players can choose the same Hero.

Interactions with other players

• It is not allowed to show your hand of cards to any other player (even to your teammate in 2v2).
• Communication between players (and limits to such) may vary depending on the setting. A tournament may restrict any form of communication, while another may agree that any information is fair game as long as it’s transparent and intelligible by both teams, while others still may allow coded messages. Players should ensure they are in agreement at the beginning of the game.

2v2

2v2 is a four player mode, with players divided in two teams.

Setting up an Altered Multiplayer 2v2 game

• Form two teams, with players on the same team sitting across from each other. Then randomly determine the first player.
• Place two Hero Region cards opposite each other. Do the same with the Companion Region cards.
• Take two sets of Tumult cards. Form three face-down piles, each containing two identical Tumult cards. Then randomize your 3 piles.
• Take the first pile: place one of the cards next to a Hero Region card, and the other next to the other Hero Region card. Take the second pile and do the same by placing them next to the Companion Region cards. Place the last two cards in the center, side by side.
  
  
  
  
• You can now start the first day. Players take turns in clockwise order until everyone has passed.
• Each player faces a different opponent for each of their Expeditions.
• When a player reaches one of the central Tumult cards, flip both face-up. Place the second card in the opposite direction to the first one, so that the two single region types are on opposite sides.
• The Expeditions markers continue moving towards each other, following the path indicated.

Victory Conditions

• The first player to have their Hero and Companion Expedition meet up in the same Region wins the game for their team.
• If two players on different teams meet the victory condition at the same time: first check if only one player moved further than necessary. If they did, their team wins the game; otherwise, play a tiebreaker Day in the Arena.
• If three players meet the victory condition, the two allied players win the game.
• If all four players meet the victory condition and one team has at least one additional advance compared to the other, that team wins the game; otherwise, play a tiebreaker Day in the Arena.

Tiebreaker in Arena

Play an additional Day with the following rule modification: during Dusk, each team totals their Characters' stats for each type of Arena Terrains (Forest, Mountain, and Water). The team that overcomes its opponents in the most types wins the game.

In case of a further tie, play an additional tiebreaker Day until a team is declared winner.

First player effects

Effects that activate if you are the first player (Akesha & Taru, Kojo & Booda, Lindiwe & Maw, Isaree & Pebble, Kauri & Puff, Zhen & Zephyr, Sam & Spook) are activated if either member of the team has the first player token.

Interactions with your teammate

It is not possible to directly play a card into your teammate's Expedition or Landmark Zone. However, certain effects or abilities may allow creating tokens for your teammate, for example.

Clarifications

• When a card mentions “target Expedition” or "target Character," it can refer to any teammate or opponent Expedition or Character.
• When a card mentions "in your Expedition" or a Character "you control," this only applies to your side of the board and not your teammate's side.
• When a card mentions "target opponent": choose one of your opponents.
• When a card mentions "your opponent": it refers to each of your opponents.
• You can only sacrifice cards that you control and not cards controlled by your teammate.

Free for All

Free for All is a four player mode, where each player plays against the others.

Setting up an Altered Multiplayer Free for All game

Setup for an Altered Multiplayer Free for All game is the same as for a 2v2 game (see above), except player placement around the table does not matter.

Victory Conditions

• The first player to have their Hero and Companion Expedition meet up in the same Region wins the game.
• If several players meet the victory condition at the same time: first check if only one player moved further than necessary. If they did, they win the game. Otherwise, play a tiebreaker Day in the Arena with only the players who moved the farthest.

Tiebreaker in Arena

Play an additional Day with the following rules modifications:

• Players that did not qualify for the tiebreaker leave the game. All the other players keep their Hero and Companion Expeditions at the same place.
• From a rule viewpoint, Expeditions that faced one of these players now face each other (you may in that case have a Companion Expedition facing a Hero Expedition).
• All Hero and Companion markers are moved on the same Arena Region (or around it if there is not enough space on the card), on the back of the Companion Region card.
• During Dusk, each player totals their Characters' stats for each type of Arena Terrain (Forest, Mountain, and Water).
• For each of these, check if one player has a higher total than all the other players.
• The player that overcomes all the others in the most Terrain types wins.
• In case of a further tie, play an additional tiebreaker Day with only the players with the highest totals until a player is declared the winner.

In this example, the fact that Mike and Camille did better than Ella in Forest and Mountain doesn’t matter since neither has the highest score in Mountain nor Forest. Ella wins.

First player effects

Effects that activate if you are the first player (Akesha & Taru, Kojo & Booda, Lindiwe & Maw, Isaree & Pebble, Kauri & Puff, Zhen & Zephyr, Sam & Spook) are activated only if you have the first player token.

Clarifications

• When a card mentions a "target Expedition" or "target Character," it can refer to any Expedition or any Character.
• When a card mentions "target opponent": choose one of your opponents.
• When a card mentions "your opponent": it refers to all of your opponents.

FUTURE FORMATS

Simple Living Legend (SLL)

The SLL format has been voted by the community alongside Frontier. Its implementation has been delayed to keep the wait time for playing a game online lower for now. It is planned to be added in the future.

However, here are the specificities of this format, which is very close to Standard, except in its way to deal with Uniques.

SLL starts with all Uniques legal (except those from set 1, “Beyond the Gates” and ”KS”), then let tournament results progressively “Living Legend” (ban) the Uniques in the best-performing decks until the meta self-balances.

SLL promises a format that curates itself through actual play, no algorithm or committee deciding what’s “too good.” Competitive players keep the thrill of searching for the unique that makes their deck work — but the strongest uniques won’t stay legal for long.

Scouring Uniques from the available pool will bring back memories of searching the marketplace for hidden gems.

Find the complete description here:

• Simple Living Legend Submission