TI4 expansion rules

Base game + Prophecy of Kings + Thunder’s Edge, with Codex updates. 10 VP. Faction content left out: read the sheets on the table.

Thunder’s Edge

  • Expedition (Thunder's Edge planet)TE The Thunder's Edge token starts off the board with 6 slices. At the end of your turn you may claim one unclaimed slice by paying its cost and putting your control token on it: spend 5 resources / discard 2 action cards / spend 5 influence / discard 1 unscored secret objective / exhaust 1 planet with a tech specialty / spend 3 trade goods. Max 1 slice per turn; each slice once only; you may own several.
  • Expedition rewardsTE The first slice you claim gives you your faction breakthrough (and a breakthrough roll). Later slices give nothing, except the 6th. If you still lack your breakthrough when Thunder's Edge is placed, you can no longer get it by expedition.
  • Thunder's Edge enters playTE When the 6th slice is claimed: tokens go back to owners. The claimer of the 6th slice flips the token to the planet side and places it in a system with no planet, no supernova, no printed wormhole and not in The Fracture (an existing frontier token stays). The player with the most slices places infantry equal to their slice count on it and takes control (ties: the placer picks among the tied players, can be themselves).
  • Thunder's Edge (planet)TE Legendary, 5 resources / 1 influence. Ability: when you gain it you also gain your breakthrough if you lack it; and you may exhaust it at the end of your turn to perform 1 extra action.
  • BreakthroughsTE Every faction (base, PoK and TE) has a faction breakthrough card, not held at start. Gained by expedition, by gaining Thunder's Edge, or other effects (e.g. Brilliance action card, Quantumcore relic). It has one or more abilities plus a synergy. It is not a technology (can't satisfy prerequisites or tech objectives by itself). Passive abilities and synergy still work while it is exhausted.
  • SynergyTE A breakthrough links two tech colours. When researching, each owned tech or controlled-planet specialty of either colour may count as either colour; for tech-count objectives, owned techs can likewise count as either. Each counts as one colour at a time, chosen individually, and can be counted differently at different times. (Nekro's breakthrough has no synergy.)
  • Breakthrough roll / The FractureTE Whenever a player gains their breakthrough (any source) and The Fracture is not in play, they roll 1 die: on 1 or 10 The Fracture enters play. Other effects can also bring it in (Unravel action card, Silver Flame relic, some faction effects, Rapid Mobilization event).
  • The Fracture: setupTE 3 tiles / 7 systems placed against the map edge (position has no effect; all count as edge systems). Neutral units are placed as printed on the tiles' backs: Cocytus system 2 cruisers + 2 infantry; Styx system 1 destroyer, 2 dreadnoughts, 3 infantry; Lethe/Phlegethon system 1 carrier, 4 fighters, 1 infantry on each planet. Planets: Cocytus 3/0, Styx 4/0 (legendary), Lethe 0/2, Phlegethon 1/2; all have relic icons.
  • Ingress and egressTE Fracture systems are not adjacent to the map systems they touch. Each ingress-token system is adjacent to each Fracture system with a printed egress (ingress-ingress and egress-egress are not adjacent). Placing ingress tokens: if from a breakthrough roll, for each synergy colour pick up to 3 systems with a planet of that tech specialty; otherwise (or Nekro), pick 1 system per tech colour (4). Then 1 more in Thunder's Edge's system if it is in play, else Mecatol Rex's. Max 1 ingress per system; one specialty planet per system chosen.
  • StyxTE Fracture legendary planet, 4 res / 0 inf. Gain 1 VP when you gain its card; lose 1 VP when you lose it.
  • Neutral unitsTE Grey non-player units (in The Fracture and from some cards/events). Your ships in their space area or ground forces on their planet fight them normally. Any player other than the active player rolls for them; stats come from the neutral reference card; they always use every unit ability they can, never retreat, take no turns, own no tech. Hits on them go to the unit lowest on the reference card (usually cheapest), respecting eligibility (e.g. AFB only hits neutral fighters). They count as another player's units for effects, but there is no neutral player.
  • Entropic scarsTE New anomaly type: unit abilities can't be used by or against units in it; wormhole tokens can't go there; ships there let you buy a faction tech with a strategy token at the start of the status phase.
  • Space stationsTE New planet-like stations (Tsion Station, Oluz Station, The Watchtower): control by being the only one with units in the system; +1 commodity value each; remote transactions between station owners; exhaust to convert commodities.
  • Dual traits and new legendary planetsTE Some TE planets have two traits (count as both; choose which deck when exploring). New legendary planets on tiles: Emelpar (ready another non-strategy component, end of turn), Faunus (when you pass: take an empty, unattached non-home non-legendary planet), Garbozia (when you pass: put an action card from the discard pile on it to play later), Industrex (when you pass: place a ship matching one of your unit upgrades into a system with your ships), Tempesta (after activating a system: +1 move to one ship this tactical action).
  • CoexistenceTE Some TE effects let units of two players share a planet without combat. The controller keeps control (if you coexist on your own planet, the other player takes control and it is exhausted). Coexisting structures are always blockaded. Either side may start ground combat later in an invasion. Coexisting counts as control only for scoring objectives. Bombardment: attacker chooses whose units are hit.
  • Galactic EventsTE Optional cards chosen at setup that change the rules for the whole game.
  • Galactic Event: Minor Factions (setup)Cdx Each player gets 1 fewer blue tile for the galaxy. Before building the map, deal each player 1 reference card of a faction not being played; in speaker order each places that faction's home system tile in the 2nd ring, equidistant from player home systems, with 3 neutral infantry spread as evenly as possible over its planets. These are minor faction systems, not home systems.
  • Galactic Event: Minor Factions (play)Cdx Minor faction planets have all three traits (cultural, industrial, hazardous) for objectives and exploration. Take them by beating the neutral infantry. When you control every planet in a minor faction system, take that faction's alliance card (from the deck, or from whoever held it) and you can use its ability.

Prophecy of Kings

  • Leaders: agentsPoK Each faction has an agent, commander and hero on its leader sheet. Agents start readied and unlocked; exhaust to use; ready in the status phase.
  • Leaders: commandersPoK Locked at start; unlock (flip) once your faction's specific condition is met (checked only after the current effect fully resolves). Never re-locks and is never exhausted. Its ability can't apply to the effect that unlocked it. The Alliance promissory note lets another player share your commander's ability (you still keep it).
  • Leaders: heroesPoK Unlock when you have 3 scored objectives (any mix of public and secret; VPs from other sources don't count). Never exhausted; purged after use (Titans of Ul hero excepted).
  • MechsPoK Faction-specific heavy ground force; start with the unit card on your leader sheet and produce them at the printed cost. They count as ground forces (not infantry), can be transported and fight in ground combat. Not a technology.
  • DeployPoK Some units (mostly mechs) have DEPLOY: place the unit from reinforcements when its condition is met, at no cost unless stated. Only once per timing window, and only if one is in your reinforcements.
  • ExplorationPoK When you gain control of a planet nobody else controlled, explore it: draw from the deck matching its trait (cultural, hazardous, industrial) and resolve it. Cards are discarded unless they are relic fragments, ATTACH cards, or say otherwise. Multiple explores: you pick the order. Reveal before resolving; transactions allowed in between.
  • AttachmentsPoK ATTACH exploration cards go on that planet's card and modify it (e.g. extra resources/influence, tech specialty). They stay with the planet when control changes.
  • Relic fragments and relicsPoK Fragments (cultural, hazardous, industrial; frontier 'unknown' fragments count as any type) sit in your play area and can be traded. ACTION: purge 3 fragments of the same type to gain 1 relic (draw the top relic). Relics cannot be traded. If the relic deck is empty you gain nothing.
  • PurgePoK A purged component is removed from the game permanently.
  • CapturePoK Some abilities capture units. Captured non-fighter ships/mechs sit on the captor's faction sheet and return to the owner via transaction, as a cost of an ability, or if the owner blockades the captor's space dock. Captured fighters/infantry go to reinforcements and the captor uses supply tokens instead (they never return by transaction or blockade). A player whose dock is blockaded can't capture the blockader's units.
  • Custodians (PoK wording)PoK Removing the custodians token (6 influence, before committing ground forces) requires committing at least 1 ground force to Mecatol Rex; if you can't, you can't remove it.
  • Legendary planets (PoK)PoK PoK legendary planets: Hope's End (place a mech or draw an action card), Primor (place up to 2 infantry on a planet you control), both at end of your turn; plus Mallice and Mirage (frontier card).

Exploration & relic fragments

  • Explore a planet when you gain control of it and nobody else controlled it: draw from the deck matching its trait (cultural, hazardous, industrial) and resolve it at once. Planets with no trait can't be explored.
  • If you gain several planets at once, you choose the order, resolving each card before exploring the next.
  • After resolving, discard the card unless it is a relic fragment, has ATTACH, or says to keep it in play.
  • ATTACH cards go under that planet's card and stay with the planet if it changes hands. A tech-specialty attachment on a planet that already has one gives +1/+1 instead.
  • Hazardous mech/infantry cards: if you have a mech there you get the reward free; otherwise you may return 1 infantry from the planet to reinforcements to get it.
  • Frontier tokens go in setup on every system without planets (empty space, planetless anomalies, wormhole-only systems), including the Creuss Gate. Hyperlanes are not systems.
  • With Dark Energy Tap: after a tactical action in a system with a frontier token where you have 1+ ships, you may explore it (draw a frontier card). Other effects (e.g. Circlet of the Void) can also let you explore one. The token is then removed.
  • Relic fragments stay face up in your play area. ACTION: purge 3 fragments of the same type to draw the top card of the relic deck (no choosing; nothing if the deck is empty). Unknown (frontier) fragments are wild. Fragments can be traded; relics normally can't.
  • Thunder's Edge: each planet in the Fracture gives you 1 relic when you gain control of it.

The exploration cards and relics are on Reference decks.