Welcome to the July 2025 Rules Update for Sorcery: Contested Realm - a carefully conjured collection of refinements to bring clarity to your clashes and flavor to your fights.
As the realm continues to grow with each new set, we’re always looking for ways to tighten up gameplay and keep your kitchen-table contests feeling smooth, intuitive, and rich with flavor. With input from the community (thank you, as always!), we’re rolling out a handful of rule updates aimed at making the game easier to teach and play, and as exciting as possible!
These updates take effect immediately. Whether you’re a wandering Geomancer, a noble Templar, or a Dragonlord looking to take the skies, we encourage you to review the updated rulebook and annotated edition to explore all the changes in context.
But for now, read on, brave Sorcerer - and learn what strange new tides ripple across the Realm.
Strike the Realm! (or at Least Sites)
No enemy in your path? No problem! You can now strike undefended sites.
A good whack will deal damage directly to the site and drain the life from its controller, just like you’d expect. But be warned - if you’re charging with a Lance, that weapon shatters on impact. After all, Lances are made for dueling, not demolition!
The Realm Responds to Interaction
We’re introducing a new concept: Interacting with the realm. If your minion does any of these things: casting a spell, striking an enemy, activating a special ability, or dealing damage, it has interacted with the realm.
For example, Stealth now breaks after a unit interacts with the realm. No more shadowy fireball throwers. And Drop? A unit can’t use it on a turn where that unit has already interacted with the realm.
Avatars Can Fly Now. Yes, Really.
They fly now? They fly now.
If your Avatar gains the Airborne keyword, they can now take full advantage of it - soaring over enemies, moving diagonally, and benefiting from elevated defense. That means, yes, the Dragonlord, can stretch its wings.
Immobile Means Immobile
Let’s put this one to rest. When a unit is Immobile, it simply cannot move itself. But don’t confuse stillness with helplessness. An Immobile unit can attack and defend at its current location.
“You” Means… You
In a game full of Avatars, artifacts, and ancient enchantments, it’s easy to get confused about who’s who.
From now on, “you” and “your” always refer to the player, not the Avatar. This reverses the old Sparkmage FAQ and brings much-needed consistency across the card pool, making Sorcery easier to teach, learn, and play. (We still apply the Golden Rule to Alpha avatars like Avatar of Earth, which obviously refers to the Avatar, not the player).
Big Units, Clearer Language
Oversized units, those glorious units that occupy more than one location, have always pushed the bounds of the board. But how do cards that say “its site” or “its location” interact with something that big?
You pick a single site or location it occupies, respectively.
Intercept Made Simple
Intercept has previously been a little tricky to explain to new players, and now it’s as simple as this: If an enemy used Move and Attack without attacking, you can intercept!
The timing for attack and intercept are now the same: after all movement is completed. Did they attack? You can defend. Did they choose not to attack? You can intercept.
Note that Movement +1 (and faster) units can now speed by any possible interceptor, since interception now only occurs after all movement is completed, if they choose not to attack.
Want the Full Rulebook?
All of these changes, and a few more minor clarifications, are now live in the updated rulebooks:
Thank you for your play, your questions, your feedback, and your passion! These rules exist because the game lives in your hands, and we’re honored to shape it alongside you.
Connect with the Sorcery community on the Sorcery Official Discord and the Sorcery Facebook group, and we’ll see you in the Contested Realm!
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