Sorcery: Contested Realm December 2025 Rulebook Update

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Erik's Curiosa

As Sorcery: Contested Realm continues to grow, we periodically revisit the rulebook to ensure the rules remain clear, consistent, and easy to reference - especially for newer players who we hope will read the rulebook before exploring the Codex.

This December rulebook update aligns the rulebook with the changes introduced by Gothic’s release. If you’ve been playing regularly, very little here should feel unfamiliar. Think of this as a light pass by the Realm’s archivists.

For anyone new to Sorcery, this updated rulebook will give you a solid foundation to dive into the realm!

What’s Changed in the December 2025 Rulebook

Spellbook Size: 60 Cards

The Spellbook size has officially been set to 60 cards, reflecting Erik’s original vision for Constructed play, now made possible by the expanded card pool.

New Glossary Entries

Several commonly used terms and mechanics have now been formally added to the Sorcery: Contested Realm rulebook glossary for easier reference:

  • Ward: Ward has been added to the glossary, consolidating its rules text into a single, easy-to-find definition.
  • Collection: The Collection is now defined in the glossary, providing a clear rules reference for how this new mechanic functions.
  • Can’t Be Modified: This term now has an official glossary entry, clarifying that affected cards or objects cannot have their characteristics changed by modifiers, positive or negative, unless explicitly stated otherwise.

If you’ve already been playing with these mechanics, their functionality hasn’t changed. These updates are about clarity and consistency, especially for newer players.



Further Clarifications

A few existing rules have received small wording updates aligned with what’s already in the Codex to ensure new players reading the rulebook also learn the correct rules:

  • Stealth: Clarified that artifacts carried by Stealthy minions also gain the benefits of Stealth. Notably, such artifacts won’t be targetable, protecting them from effects like Swap.
  • Pick Up: The Pick Up ability now targets whatever they pick up. This update is primarily relevant for minions that can Pick Up enemy minions (e.g. Bodach Bogeyman), so they cannot Pick Up stealthy enemies.
  • Transform: Clarified that when a card is transformed, control remains with the same player.

That’s It!

This update is intentionally light, just a cleaner, more readable rulebook as we head into the end of the year.

As always, we encourage players to use the annotated rulebook to see exactly what’s changed and to keep playing, experimenting, and telling stories across the Realm

You can find both versions of the updated rulebook here:

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