How to play

Read a card. Read a round.

Clash is deterministic — every match resolves through the same sequence of stats and rules. This guide walks through what each number on a card means, then shows you how a round actually plays out.

Card anatomy

Every stat on a Clash card

Hover or tap a stat in the list — the matching spot on the card lights up so you can place it visually.

Hover or click a stat to learn more

Combat Stats

The numbers that resolve every hit.

HPHealth
The card's life pool. When HP hits 0 the card is defeated and removed from the formation.
ATKAttack
The damage each non-dodged hit deals, with SPD already baked in. Affinity and armor adjust it further.
ARMArmor
A damage buffer that depletes before HP. Once it's gone, hits land directly on HP.
MOVMovement Speed
Initiative stat. Higher MOV acts first each round. Ties break by SPD, then lane priority, then card ID.
SPDAttack Speed
Already factored into the ATK number on the card. Shown for profile context, and breaks MOV ties on initiative.
RNGRange
How many lanes away the unit can target. 0 = mirror only, 1–3 increase how far across lanes this card can target.
DodgeDodge Chance
Hidden stat. Pseudo-Random (PRD) chance to avoid an incoming hit, capped at 10.
AffinityElement
The card's elemental identity. Adds ±1 or ±2 to damage based on attacker vs defender matchup.

Card Identity

What kind of card it is, before any combat math.

TierTier
Rarity-defining number 0–5. Higher tier = stronger base stats and a fancier frame.
StageEvolution Stage
1, 2, or 3 — how evolved the Illuvial is. Stage 3 is the strongest form, but decks are capped.
LVLLevel
Multiplies HP and ATK. Each level adds 1% — a level-25 card hits 25% harder than the same card at level 0.

Trait Hexagon

The 6-axis bonus orb in the upper-left corner.

TraitsTrait Hexagon
6-axis bonus chart. Each rank adds +8% to its stat. The orb in the corner is your at-a-glance bonus snapshot.

Round flow

How a round plays out

Every round is the same four steps. Once you can read this sequence, you can read any battle.

Step 1Initiative
MOV ↑ → SPD ↑ → center lanes → card ID
At the start of every round, all alive units sort by initiative. Higher MOV acts first; ties break by SPD, then by center-out lane priority, then by the card ID final tie-breaker.
Step 2Targeting
Mirror lane → range filter → nearest → highest threat → lowest HP → lowest lane
Each card picks one target. If the enemy in the mirror lane is alive and reachable, that target is preferred. Otherwise, the engine checks which enemies are in range, then chooses the nearest valid target. Remaining ties break by highest threat, lowest HP, then lowest lane.
Step 3Damage
Dodge → card ATK → affinity bonus/penalty → Armor → HP
First, the defender checks for dodge. If the hit lands, the attacker’s card ATK is used as the base damage. Affinity can increase or reduce that damage by 1 or 2, with final damage clamped to at least 1. Armor absorbs damage first; anything left goes to HP.
Step 4Collapse
Survivors reflow toward the center lane
When a card is defeated, the surviving formation compresses toward the center. The group snaps into the most centered contiguous block. Individual cards may shift outward if that keeps the formation better centered overall.

Damage math

The damage pipeline

One formula resolves every hit. Learn this once, and every battle becomes easier to read.

How card ATK is built

card_atk = max(1, round(raw_atk × (1 + raw_spd / 100) / 100))

The ATK number printed on the card already runs through this formula — it's the base hit damage you'll see in the battle log on every non-dodged hit, before affinity and armor.

How a hit resolves

hit = max(1, card_atk + affinity) → subtract Armor → remaining damage hits HP

Affinity (±1 or ±2) is added to the card's ATK and clamped to 1, then Armor is depleted first; only leftover damage reaches HP.

Worked Example

raw_atk 1500 × (1 + raw_spd 60 / 100) / 100 → card ATK 24
card ATK 24 + affinity +1 → hit 25
Armor absorbs 8 (Armor pool: 8 → 0)
HP takes 17 (HP: 30 → 13)

Dodge runs before this pipeline — if the defender dodges, the whole sequence is skipped and damage is 0 for that swing.

Affinity

Element matchups

Picking the right element against the defender can swing damage by ±2 every hit. Over a five-card battle, that adds up fast.

Each cell shows the damage modifier added to the attacker's hit against that defender. Every row sums to zero, so no element is globally stronger.

Attacker ↓ / Defender →	Fire	Nature	Air	Water	Earth
Fire	0	+2	+1	−1	−2
Nature	−2	0	+2	+1	−1
Air	−1	−2	0	+2	+1
Water	+1	−1	−2	0	+2
Earth	+2	+1	−1	−2	0

A unit with no element (the "None" affinity) is neutral both ways — it neither gives nor takes a modifier against any opponent.

Synergies

Linked-group synergies

Adjacent same-affinity Illuvials form a link. The bigger the link, the higher the tier — every element unlocks its own mechanic on top of base combat.

Place same-affinity Illuvials directly next to each other to forge a link. Bigger links climb to higher tiers and unlock per-element effects on top of the base combat math. A different element breaks the chain, and lone cards never trigger a synergy.

Tier ladder

2 cardsI

3 or 4 cardsII

5 cardsIII

Adjacency rules

Three Fire side-by-side form one Tier II Fire link.

One Water in the middle splits the run — two Tier I links instead of one Tier III.

III

Five of a kind ascends to Tier III — peak synergy.

Synergy table

Fire

Burst damage on a cadence

Bonus damage

I+1every 3rd attack

II+1every 2nd attack

III+2every 2nd attack

Attacker · added after Earth mitigation

Water

Pierce armor and Earth mitigation

Pierce cap

I≤ 1direct to HP

II≤ 3direct to HP

III≤ 5direct to HP

Attacker · split before Earth

Earth

Soak incoming physical damage

Mitigation

I−1every 2nd round

II−1every round

III−2every round

Defender · reduces incoming physical

Air

Flat dodge bonus, capped at 25

Dodge bonus

I+7added pre-roll

II+15added pre-roll

III+25clamped at cap

Defender · pre-attack roll

Nature

Heal at the start of each round

Regen

I+1 HPevery 2 rounds

II+2 HPevery 2 rounds

III+3 HPevery 2 rounds

Self · before attacks resolve

Links recalculate at match start and after every collapse-to-center. The battle log surfaces lifecycle events when a link activates, upgrades, downgrades, or breaks.

Ready to play?

Build a deck around the matchups you just learned, then queue up a match.

Build a deck Quick match

This guide describes Clash Engine v2.0.0