Cardia - Guardians of Nature
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You thought you had figured out how to beat your opponent. Then the guardian arrives, and everything you thought you knew about Cardia changes in one turn.
WHAT IT'S ABOUT
Legendary creatures that turn the conflict for Cardia on its head
Guardians of the Wild is the first expansion for Duel for Cardia, designed by Faouzi Boughida and Mathieu Rivero. The illustrations by Florian Herold, Qistina Khalidah, Ingram Schell, and Jonas Schmutzler bring mythical guardians to the table, embodying the primal forces of the world of Cardia.
Every second round, you encounter a guardian. If you play a card from its faction, you activate its power: it can turn the current conflict around or influence battles already concluded. Timing becomes everything, because each guardian grants its help to only one of the two warring factions.
What they say abroad
Guardians of the Wild transforms Duel for Cardia into a duel of even tighter anticipation and tactical choices.
— FroGames
Duel for Cardia: Guardians of the Wild
FrogScore · FroGames editorial rating · based on rules, international reviews and game sessionsGuardians at your side
Four guardians who change the rules of engagement
Guardian of the Forest
Protects wild fauna. When activated, it can overturn a battle already won by the opponent by bringing discarded cards back into play.
Guardian of the Sky
Dominates the skies of Cardia. Its power allows cards to be moved between different zones, radically changing the balance on the field.
Guardian of the Mountains
Unwavering as rock. When activated, it strengthens your positions, making it impossible for the opponent to contest certain battles.
Guardian of the Waters
Fluid and unpredictable. Its intervention can cancel the opponent's last turn, forcing them to rethink their strategy from the beginning.
In a few hours, you will have learned that in Cardia, victory does not go to the player with the best cards. It goes to the one who knows when to call the guardians.
A five-moment game
What happens at the table
Not the rules. The experience.
Early rounds, classic tactics
Play as in base Duel for Cardia. Plan, bluff, try to conquer zones. Then, in the second round, the first guardian appears. And everything changes.
The guardian enters the game
One of you plays a card from the correct faction. The guardian's ability activates: cards that seemed lost return, concluded battles reopen. The other player bites their lip.
The race to activate
Now you both want to control which guardian appears and when to activate them. Keep key cards in hand, wait for the perfect moment. The tension is palpable.
The impossible comeback
A seemingly lost game is turned around by a guardian activated at the right moment. Three battles change hands in a single turn. This is the moment you'll talk about later.
Victory by a whisker
The last zone is contested. You've both run out of the most powerful guardians. You win with the remaining cards, but the margin is one point. Every previous choice counts.
How to play
The flow of each round (with the expansion)
Guardians of the Wild integrates perfectly into the base game system, adding a guardian activation phase every two rounds.
Every second round, bring a new guardian into play. The guardian displays its faction and the special ability that can be activated.
The round proceeds as in the base game: choose cards, assign them to zones, try to win battles. But now you know there's a guardian in play.
If you play a card that matches the guardian's faction, you immediately activate its ability. It can modify the ongoing clash or influence already resolved battles.
After activation, the round concludes normally. The guardian remains visible but exhausted. In the next even round, another one will arrive.
Why it's different from others
Six mechanics that make a difference
Extreme tactical timing
It's not enough to have the right card: you must play it when the right guardian is in play. Wait too long and your opponent steals it. Play too early and you waste the power. Timing is everything.
Battles that reopen
Some guardian abilities allow you to influence already concluded clashes. That zone you lost three turns ago? It can come back into play. Nothing is truly over until the game ends.
Power asymmetry
Each guardian grants its help to only one faction. If your hand is unbalanced towards another faction, you must adapt or accept that guardian will work against you.
Long-term planning
You know guardians appear every two rounds. This means you can plan three moves ahead, keep key cards in hand, prepare for the perfect combo. But your opponent knows it too.
Even tighter hand management
With guardians in play, every card is worth double: for its value in the immediate clash and for the possibility of activating a guardian. Discarding becomes painful, keeping a card can be a risk.
Multiplied variability
The order of guardian appearance changes every game. A strong guardian in round 2 has a different impact than in round 6. Every game requires a new strategy, impossible to play on autopilot.
How it ends
How to win and how to lose
The victory conditions remain those of the base game, but guardians can overturn the balance until the last turn.
Victory
- You control the majority of contested zones at the end of the game
- You activated guardians at key moments, turning crucial battles around
- You anticipated your opponent's moves, preventing them from exploiting guardian powers
Defeat
- Your opponent controls more zones than you at the end of the last battle
- You wasted key cards too early, with no guardians in play
- You failed to adapt your strategy to the guardians that appeared during the game
With Guardians of the Wild, every game of Duel for Cardia becomes a different story. Guardians don't just add variety: they add drama.
Frequently Asked Questions
FAQ about Duel for Cardia: Guardians of the Wild
Is the base game needed to play Guardians of the Wild?
Yes, this is an expansion. You cannot play it without owning base Duel for Cardia. Guardians integrate into the original game system, they do not replace any components.
How much does the game change with the expansion?
The tactical layer changes quite a bit. The base game is already a tight duel, but guardians add a level of long-term planning and timing that makes every game deeper. It doesn't overcomplicate the rules, but it requires more attention.
Are the guardians balanced?
Each guardian has a strong power, but it's conditional on the faction. If your hand doesn't have cards from that faction, that guardian works against you. Balance lies in adapting, not in finding broken combos.
Is it suitable for those who find the base game too simple?
Absolutely. If Duel for Cardia seems linear or too straightforward to you, Guardians of the Wild adds exactly the complexity you're looking for: more decisions, more variability, more 'I didn't expect that' moments.
Is it available in Italian?
Yes, this is the Italian edition published by Giochi Uniti. All cards, guardians, and rules are fully translated.
Duel for Cardia: Guardians of the Wild is the first expansion for the competitive card game Duel for Cardia, for 2 players aged 10 and up. Designed by Faouzi Boughida and Mathieu Rivero, it introduces mythical guardians that activate every second round, modifying ongoing battles and overturning already conquered zones. Published by Giochi Uniti in an Italian edition, the expansion adds tactical depth without complicating the rules: each guardian grants its power to only one faction, forcing players to plan moves in advance and manage the timing of activations. Available on FroGames.it.
Cardia - Guardians of Nature
Frequently Asked Questions
The answers you're looking for, no beating around the bush.
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