The Card Game of Unholy Politics, 5th edition
©Kalle Marjola 2005
This is the latest edition of Lords of Hell, with very different mechanic to earlier editions. The gaming time is 30-90 minutes, depending on the player count, when the rules and cards are known. The main differences to old editions: each Devil has now its own deck, there is possibility to two player game, there is no permanent tabled cards, and no Soul counters are used.
For the latest changes, see the change log.
Lords of Hell is a card game for up to 6 players. It is really meant to have at least 3 players, but it can also be played and enjoyed as a two-player variant. Special rules for two player game are later on in the game rules.
In Lords of Hell, each player controls a mighty Devil in Hell. Lucifer, the previous Overlord of Hell for milleniums has just disappeared, and now it is time to find out who is going to be the new Overlord. But the game is not only about who is the new Overlord, as the game is won by the Devil who has most power when the game ends. This power is divided into three parts: Political, Soul and Military dominion.
But that is not all: these mighty Devils have made long, long time ago promises and Oaths of how they would distribute the power if it ever falls into their hands. And as we all know, if a Devil swears to do something, it must keep it word, and thus these deals still bind them. These ancient deals are represented by Oaths and they are in a very important part when finding out who actually wins the game when the new Overlord is found.
The game has several components. There is more talk about them later in the game rules, but it is good to have an overall view of all components:
Put all three dominion markers and victory point markers to the middle of the gaming board.
Each player gains one Devil (use any method you desire) and the corresponding deck and Alliance card (for now on, each player is referred as Devil)
Each Devil shuffles its deck and draws six (6) cards from it. These cards plus the own Alliance card are the starting hand cards of each Devil.
Take 3 Oaths of each Devil partaking the game and shuffle them and deal to Devils, face-down. Each Devil is free to investigate Oaths it gained.
Each Devil selects a single card from its hand cards and puts it on the table, face-down. When everyone is ready, these are turned over. Devils then switch places so that they sit in ascending order of reversed card numbers. Thus, a card number '513' becomes '315' and so on. The Devil with lowest reversed card number gains the Starter marker. Return selected cards to hand.
Starting from the Starter, each Devil chooses and picks one Realm card to be its home realm. Any exceed realm cards are removed from the game.
The sitting order and the starter can also be chosen by other means, like random placement or Devil age (the first number in each of the Devil's cards), with youngest (Lilith) being the starter.
The Devil with the starter marker chooses the dominion area on which the next conflict is held. The choices are: politics, Souls and military. The corresponding dominion marker is put to the middle of the gaming board and the starter then does a game turn (see below). Then each other Devil does a game turn, clockwise.
After each Devil had made a turn, a trading phase is kept. After the trading is over, elimination turns begin and continue until only one Devil remains, who then wins the conflict. The starter marker is then moved one Devil clockwise and the entire process starts from the choosing of the conflict type.
Whenever a Devil is about to start a new conflict, it may decline that right and instead discard up to two (2) cards from its hand cards. If it does so, it then fills its hand cards to seven (if has less) and the starter marker then moves to the next Devil as if a conflict has been fought.
The game ends if any Devil controls all the 3 dominion markers at the same time or any Devil is down to one (or less) hand cards and no cards left in its draw deck when the starter marker is moved.
During game turn, the active Devil performs following actions:
First, if there is any tabled cards which do something 'at the start of the turn', these events are handled. If there is several such cards, the active Devil is free to choose the order.
Then, if the active Devil has any tabled cards with 'recover' power, it can take any of them into its hand cards.
The main action is to play cards. In normal case, a Devil can play up to 2 non-interrupt hand cards. The order is free. Any support and horde cards are tabled in front of the Devil, while events are put directly into discard pile and then generate an immediate effect. Any global support cards are put into middle of the gaming board.
If any tabled or played cards grant a possibility to play extra cards, this is checked each time a card is played, comparing the current limit to cards which have been played.
Lilith plays Conjuration (ritual) and Diabolic Fiends (which allow to play one extra ritual each turn). Lilith can play one card more, and it can be of any type as she is allowed to play any 2 cards and one ritual, and she has so far played one ritual and one horde.
Next turn, Lilith plays Forge (ritual) and Infernal Plague (ritual). The Infernal Plague discards Diabolic Fiends, and thus Lilith cannot play any more cards, as her limit is now any 2 cards which she has already played.
After card playing, the Devil can yet again take any of its tabled cards with 'recover' power to its hand cards. Then, during the elimination turns, the Devil is forced to retreat if is not the strongest one (see below for details).
Finally, the Devil gets 'free draw', which is normally up to two (2) cards from its draw deck. This draw is up to hand size (7 cards), and thus if the Devil has already seven or more cards, it does not draw any cards, and if it has 6 hand cards, it draws one.
After each Devil have had its turn, Devils can trade their cards in a trade phase. In this trading, Devils can trade all their cards and Oaths and home realms with following rules:
Any things for the trade can be shown as much as Devils desire to, and they are free to lie on contents as long as they have not been revealed. However, the Devils are not allowed to switch traded goods after the trade has been agreed, i.e. if a Devil shows a card to another Devil and offers that for trade and that trade is agreed, this card must be moved and cannot be switched to another one.
The trade phase ends when everyone is finished with it. If the duration of the trading phase becomes problematic, any Devil can call for time limit, when a timer of 2 minutes is started and when that time runs out, the trading immediately ends. After the trade phase, elimination turns are started.
After the trade phase, the next Devil to get a turn is the weakest Devil, i.e. the one with lowest power in the used dominion. If this is tied, select the tied Devil with the highest home realm value in the conflict dominion.
This Devil makes a normal turn but unless it becomes the strongest Devil of all, it must retreat before it ends its turn. Tied power but a better home realm is not enough, but the Devil must have highest power.
After that Devil, the next turn again goes to now weakest Devil and so on until there is only one Devil left. The conflict then ends and the starter moves to next Devil. Note that it is very possible that game turns move across the table in seemingly random order until the conflict is over.
The Devil's power in certain dominion is counted as follows:
Thus, if a Devil has tabled Fallen Angels (2+1/2+1/2+1), Herder Fiends (3+1/3+1/2), and Summon (+1/+2/0), that Devil has political power of 6, Soul power of 7, and military power of 3.
If (and only if) the Devil is not the strongest one at the end of its elimination turn, it must retreat from the current conflict. This is done before the Devil fills its hand cards at the end of its turn.
If the Devil has any tabled (non-global) cards and it has more than one opponent left, it can or be forced to ally with any Devil still remaining in the conflict. First, any non-retreated Devil can play the appropriate Alliance card. If no one plays that card, there is room for certain other interrupt cards.
If those are neither played, any remaining Devil can offer an Alliance card (regardless of owner) for the alliance. The retreating Devil then chooses which one of the remaining Devils it allies with, or can also choose not the ally with anyone. If the Devil chooses a Devil which offered an Alliance card, an Alliance card must then be moved, neither can choose not to do the transaction.
When an alliance is formed, all tabled cards of the retreating Devil are moved to control of the Devil allied with. The alliance itself does not mean anything else than the transfer of tabled cards. If the retreating Devil does not form an alliance, all its tabled cards are simply discarded.
After a Devil has retreated, it cannot partake in the conflict except with certain interrupt cards (namely Break Alliance and Diabolic Seduction). After the retreat, the Devil draws cards normally.
A conflict ends when only one Devil is left and all other have retreated. This Devil is the winner and all remaining tabled cards, including global support cards, are discarded to proper discard piles. Then each Devil fills its hand cards (to seven) if not already has that many.
The winner then gets the corresponding dominion marker and one or two victory points: if the winner had at least four (4) tabled hordes at the end of the conflict, the winner gains 2 victory points, and one otherwise. In addition, if a military dominion was won, the winner can choose to swap its home realm with any other Devil.
Then move the starter marker one Devil clockwise and a new conflict can begin. However, if any Devil now has 3 dominion markers or any Devil run out of all but one hand cards and all its draw deck cards, the game ends immediately.
When the game ends the new Overlord of Hell is the Devil with most dominion markers currently under its control. If the game ends because some Devil run out of cards and the dominion markers are tied, the Devil with Political dominion is the new Overlord, or if no one has it, the Devil with Soul dominion.
Being the new Overlord does not ensure game victory. Instead, final victory points are counted by summing following things:
The game ends and Mammon has military and Soul dominion markers, while Asmodeus have Politics. Mammon is the new Overlord and gains 3 victory points from its dominion markers and being the new Overlord, while Asmodeus gains one point from its dominion marker. Oaths signed by Mammon are worth 4 points each for non-Mammon, and Oaths signed by Asmodeus are worth 2 points each for non-Asmodeus. Other Oaths have no values except if held by the owner, in which case they are 1 point each.
If the final score is tied, use following tie-breakers:
Two player game is different but neverthless enjoyable game. The main difference is, naturally, that there is no trading or alliances. Following special rules apply:
Tabled cards are controlled by the Devil who tabled them unless moved around. No devil controls global support cards. The owner of a card is the Devil whose deck the card belongs to. When referring to 'its cards' it means cards controlled or in hand of that Devil, the owner of the card is irrelevant unless noted otherwise.
Hand cards can be shuffled freely, and hand cards can be from any deck i.e. owned by any Devil. If the number of hand cards exceed the hand size, it simply means that it takes longer for the Devil to get free draws from its draw deck.
Draw deck can be counted by any Devil. If the Devil is supposed to draw certain number of cards from the deck and it runs out, remaining draws are lost. Draw deck can never have Alliance cards nor cards owned by other Devils. If a card event allows Devil to fetch a card directly from its draw deck, it does not need to show the fetched card unless noted otherwise. Whenever any cards are fetched directly from the draw deck, it is shuffled afterwards.
Discard pile is normally kept face-up and like draw deck, there can never be Alliance cards or cards owned by other Devils. Thus, any discarded cards are put to owner's discard pile. When several cards are discarded at the same time, the owner of the cards decides the order in which they are put to the discard pile. No Devil is allowed to investigate other than the top card of any discard pile unless a card states otherwise. If any card fetches cards from the discard pile, it is searched as little as needed to. If random cards are drawn from the discard pile, it is turned over, shuffled, cards drawn without showing them to other Devils, and then finally discard pile turned face-up again.
Each Devil always has one home realm and 3 Oaths. They can be traded around but trade must always be a swap.
Card texts can break and change the basic game rules. If card texts collide with each other, any 'cannot' texts are most powerful.
Played events and interrupts are put into discard pile before their effect is resolved.
When a card is played the Devil can often choose one or more targets. If there is no legal targets, then the effect is simply ignored, but as long as there is any legal targets, one must be chosen, even if it means that the Devil must target its own cards.
If there is any timing issues related to card effects and targets, start from the Devil who played the card and proceed clockwise (for example, Infernal Plague or Vortex of Magic)
Card type is indicated by coloring and a text in lower left corner. The main tyoes are listed here; in addition to them, each card can have extra qualifying names.
Realms are used as final tie-breaker in conflict. Thus, if Devils fight over Souls and powers are tied, the strongest is the one with highest Soul value in its home realm. Always use the value for the current conflict, even if some other power than the current conflict type is used.
| Realm | Politics | Souls | Military |
| High Palace of Hell | 6 | 1 | 3 |
| Lake of Boiling Blood | 5 | 4 | 2 |
| Seat of Judgement | 3 | 6 | 1 |
| Forest of Hanged Ones | 2 | 5 | 4 |
| Mountain of Ever-Rotting Corpses | 1 | 3 | 6 |
| Dis | 4 | 2 | 5 |
In this sample conflict, we have Mammon (Dis as home realm), Asmodeus (Lake of Boiling Blood), Lilith (Seat of Judgement), and Baalzebub (Mountain of Ever-Rotting Corpses), in this order. Mammon is the starter.
Mammon decides that the conflict is fought over Souls. It then plays Looter Fiends but not the second card it is entitled to. Mammon ends it turn by drawing one card as free draw to fill its hand, and then an extra card because of the played Looter Fiends.
The next one is Asmodeus, who plays Summon and Dark Fiends and then draws 2 cards to fill its hand to seven. Then is is Lilith, who plays Conjuration, Diabolic Fiends and Soul Cage, which she can play because of Diabolic Fiends. She ends her turn by drawaing 2 free cards (to six) and then 2 extra cards because of Conjuration.
The last one to play is Baalzebub, who plays Rotten Fiends and Thief in the Night, targeting Asmodeus, who gives one hand card to Baalzebub, which turns out to be Warriors of Darkness which Baalzebub tables - Baalzebub is entitled to play any 2 cards and one event because of Rotten Fiends and as it has already played one horde and one event, it can play a second horde.
Everyone, in order, has played their pre-trading turn. The current situation is:
The trade pahse starts. After short conversation no one agrees on any trading so the conflict continues to elimination turns. The first one to go is Baalzebub as it has lowest Soul power. Baalzebub must reach 7 or more Soul power or retreat. Baalzebub plays Unfair trade and exchanges Warriors of Darkness to Lilith's Soul Cage. Then it plays Summon and ends its turn with 8 Soul power and drawing 2 cards.
As Lilith has now dropped to 3 power it is her turn. She decides not to play cards but instead discards Warriors of Darkness, 2 Dark Fiends and one Forge from her hand which are shuffled back to her draw deck. She must then retreat and Mammon offers to pay for her forces. However, she decides to ally with Asmodeus and her tabled forces, namely Diabolic Fiends and Warriors of Darkness (from Baalzebub), are added to forces of Asmodeus. She then fills her hand and is off from the conflict.
Next to go is Mammon with its 4 Soul power. It plays Nether Fiends raising to Soul power and then 2 Summons (Nether Fiends allow to play an extra card each turn), reaching 9 power. Finally 2 cards are drawn.
The situation is now:
Time for Asmodeus to play. He plays Vortex of Magic which discards Soul Cage and then Mammon and Asmodeus must choose a tabled card to discard as they did not lost any rituals or artifacts. Mammon discards Looter fiends and Asmodeus discards Warriors of Darkness, which are then returned to hand of Lilith. Neither has their Soul power changed because of that but Baalzebub drops to 5. However, Asmodeus must still beat Mammon, too. Asmodeus plays Metal Beasts, which he discards and also Nether Fiends of Mammon, dropping Mammon to 4 Soul power.
It is Mammon again who needs to get 4 Soul power more. Mammon plays Greed, draws 6 cards, and announces retreat as it cannot play any extra cards. For its 2 Summons, both Asmodeus and Baalzebub offer an Alliance card, of which Mammon accepts the offer of Baalzebub.
Now there is two left:
Again, Asmodeus has to play. He plays Absolute Power, which discards all Summons of Baalzebub, and then fills his hand to 7 cards.
Baalzebub is down to 3 Soul power and thus needs 5 more to compete. Instead, Baalzebub plays Diversion, searchs for one card for the next conflict, and then retreats and fills its hand. Asmodeus wins.
For winning the conflict, Asmodeus receives one victory point (he has less than 4 tabled hordes) plus the dominion marker of Souls. Everyone would fill their hand to seven cards, but everyone has already at least 7 cards, Mammon with 13 cards, so no one draws any cards. The starter marker is moved to next Devil, Asmodeus, and a new conflict can start.
In the following pages, decks of all Devils are listed. Each deck consists of 30 cards each plus one Alliance card. Of those cards, 18 has one power dot, 9 has two dots and and 3 has three power dots. Alliance card has one dot. Power dots represent the power of the card, althought not in every situation.
In card list, values P, S and M stand for political, soul and military power, respectively. Notes include card id numbers and any card text affecting the game, plus possible notes to rule various special situations.
Each deck also has theoretical maximum power in all 3 conflict areas, if all hordes and support cards are in play. These numbers only give a hint of the strongest and the weakest power in each specific deck, and cannot be fully compared to other decks as weaker decks usually have stealing cards.
There is also 'skill level' listed for each deck; this is mainly as a hint to new players - the higher the skill level, the better knowledge of own and opponent decks is needed to ensure victory.
In card texts, players are always referred as 'Devils'.
The player may agree that they can tune their decks by swapping cards on them. First they have to decide on how many cards, at maximum, each player can swap. Then each player takes one existing Devil deck as a base and then can up to agreed number of cards on it to cards from other decks, with following restrictions:
When any cards are swapped, some way to distinguish each deck is needed. One possibility is to put the cards into protective sleeves and then have some marking on the face-up side of the sleeves. The players can also use sleeves of distict colors, althought then it would be obvious on how many cards from wrong deck each one has in their hand cards.
Perhaps the simplest but not necessary the easiest to play, this decks lacks any discard or draw deck manipulation and concentrates on pure power and dominance.
| Card | Type | P | S | M | Dots | Notes |
| Dark Fiends x3 | horde | 2 | 3+1 | 3+1 | o | (655, 656, 657) |
| Fallen Angels x3 | horde | 2+1 | 2+1 | 2+1 | o | (614, 615, 616) |
| Night Fiends x2 | horde | 1 | 2+1 | 4 | o | (688, 689) You can play an extra support card each game turn. |
| Warriors of Darkness x2 | horde | 3+1 | 0 | 2+1 | o | (633, 634) If a played card causes discard of tabled Warrior of Darkness, they are returned to owner's hand |
| Metal Beasts x2 | horde | 0 | 0 | 5 | oo | (648, 649) When played, discard your tabled horde and the target tabled horde. You can choose this to discard. |
| Pit Fiends x2 | horde | 4+1 | 2 | 4 | oo | (664, 665) When played, target tabled support card is discarded |
| Council of Lesser Devils | horde | 6 | 4 | 2 | ooo | (699) You can play an extra card each game turn. Your max free draw +1. i.e. you can draw up to 3 cards each game turn, providing your hand size is not exceeded. |
| Leviathan | horde | 0+1 | 0 | 9 | ooo | (666) At the start of your turn, discard all your other tabled hordes and 2 hand cards of your choice. |
| Elder Wisdom x3 | support | +1 | +0 | +2 | o | (636, 637, 638) |
| Summon x2 | support | +1 | +2 | +0 | o | (678, 67x) |
| Dedication | support | +2 | +3 | +1 | oo | (622) |
| Martial Law | global support | n/a | oo | (669) Military power is used to determine the winner of the conflict. If tied, use the Home realm value in the conflict type. If Primary Mission is also in play, Devils use higher of Military or Soul power. | ||
| Wand of Might | recover artifact support | +2 | +0 | +3 | oo | (654) When powers are tied, you can choose to get your turn first or last, instead of being determined by the home realms. You can make that choice every time the tied situation arises. If several Wands of Mights are in play, use home realm as usual when they face each other. |
| Bury x2 | ritual event | n/a | o | (620, 621) Target tabled horde is discarded. Select target non-retreated Devil other than you; that Devil now draws one card for each power dot in the target horde. | ||
| Infernal Plague | ritual event | n/a | oo | (660) Each Devil must choose and discard half of their tabled hordes, rounded up. | ||
| Vortex of Magic | ritual event | n/a | oo | (659) All tabled rituals and Artifacts are discarded. Each Devil which discarded no cards because of this event must choose and discard one of its tabled cards. | ||
| Absolute Power | event | n/a | ooo | (600) All tabled support cards are discarded except for yours and global support cards you own. | ||
| Ancient Allegiance | multiplayer interrupt | n/a | o | (661) Play when you have not yet retreated and a Devil retreats but no one is using an Alliance card. Gain that alliance. Yes, you gain all tabled cards of that Devil. In a two player game, this card is 'Event: after your free draw this turn, draw 2 cards.' | ||
| Alliance of Asmodeus | multiplayer interrupt | n/a | o | (645) When owner retreats, play to gain Alliance. When you retreat, can be discarded. When played or discarded, return to owner. If owner discards, must choose and discard another card if able. | ||
| Max | 23 | 19 | 27 | |||
16 hordes, 8 support cards, 5 events, 1 extra interrupt. 4 rituals, 1 artifact, 1 extra multiplayer card. Skill level: *
This deck is support heavy and relies on powerful combinations and Soul power to win other areas, too. It is essential to play cards with well thought order and timing and use the Recover power for full effect. There is lots of combo tricks available, some of them very powerful ensuring almost clear victory.
| Card | Type | P | S | M | Dots | Notes |
| Fallen Angels x3 | horde | 2+1 | 2+1 | 2+1 | o | (514, 515, 516) |
| Herder Fiends x3 | horde | 3+1 | 3+1 | 2 | o | (501, 502, 503) |
| Night Fiends x3 | horde | 1 | 2+1 | 4 | o | (587, 588, 589) You can play an extra support card each game turn. |
| Diabolic Graverobber | horde | 2+1 | 5 | 2 | oo | (59x) When played, secretly search and then show a card from your discard pile. Then discard a card of at least as many power dots from your hand to put that card into your hand, or re-discard it. You cannot play further cards this turn. |
| Diabolic Smith x2 | horde | 4 | 2 | 4+1 | oo | (546, 547) When played, table the bottom artifact from your discard pile, if any. |
| Infernal Slaver | horde | 4 | 4 | 4 | oo | (592) All your other tabled hordes have 'Recover' power. |
| Succubi | horde | 1+1 | 1 | 1 | ooo | (566) When played, choose and move one tabled horde to your force. |
| Diabolic Advisor | horde | 4+1 | 0+1 | 0+1 | ooo | (599) When played, search for one card from your draw deck and add to your hand. Shuffle the deck afterwards. You cannot play further cards this game turn. |
| Crystal Ball | recover artifact support | +2 | +0 | +0 | o | (553) At any time, you can take a look at 3 top cards of your draw deck |
| Faithful Followers x2 | recover support | +0 | +2 | +0 | o | (597, 598) If this card is discarded from the table by a horde or an event card played by other Devil, put this card to owner's hand cards. |
| Sanctuary | ritual support | n/a | o | (544) If a played horde or event cards affects your tabled or hand cards, you can choose to discard Sanctuary to cancel the effect against your other cards. | ||
| Summon x3 | support | +1 | +2 | +0 | o | (577, 578, 579) |
| World War | support | +0 | +1* | +0 | o | (512) Your Soul power is at least 7. |
| Primary Mission | global support | n/a | oo | (586) Soul power is used to determine the winner of the conflict. If tied, use the Home realm value in the conflict type. If Martial Law is also in play, Devils use higher of Military or Soul power. | ||
| Soul Stone | recover artifact support | * | +0 | * | oo | (552) Your final military and political power is at least your final Soul power. |
| Staff of Undead | recover artifact support | n/a | oo | (551) If the top card of your discard pile is a horde, you can play it as it were in your hand. Any 'when played' powers of hordes played that way are ignored. | ||
| Furnace of Souls | ritual support | * | +0 | * | ooo | (500) Add all your Soul power bonuses to your military and political power. |
| Conjuration | ritual event | n/a | o | (57x) After your free draw this turn, draw 2 cards. | ||
| Maelstrom of Magic | ritual event | n/a | oo | (567) Select target tabled horde or support card. That card is discarded. | ||
| Whispering Call | event | n/a | oo | (562) Select target Devil. If that Devil has only one tabled horde, gain that. Otherwise select 2 tabled hordes of that Devil, which must then move either one to your force. Yes, the target decides which one to give. | ||
| Alliance of Mephistopheles | multiplayer interrupt | n/a | o | (545) When owner retreats, play to gain Alliance. When you retreat, can be discarded. When played or discarded, return to owner. If owner discards, must choose and discard another card if able. | ||
| Max | 18 | 26 | 10 | |||
15 hordes, 12 support cards, 3 events. 3 rituals, 3 artifacts. Skill level: ***
Relying on powers of others, this deck seems weak but is very powerful with its discard and stealing powers. It is not the easiest to play and the player must be careful with numerous cards that must be played as the last card of the turn.
| Card | Type | P | S | M | Dots | Notes |
| Fallen Angels x2 | horde | 2+1 | 2+1 | 2+1 | o | (415, 41x) |
| Insect Fiends x3 | horde | 1 | 4 | 2+1 | o | (455, 456, 457) When played, every other Devil must choose and discard a hand card. |
| Rotten Fiends x3 | horde | 4 | 2+1 | 1 | o | (480, 402, 403) You can play an extra event card each game turn |
| Warriors of Darkness x2 | horde | 3+1 | 0 | 2+1 | o | (433, 434) If a played card causes discard of tabled Warrior of Darkness, they are returned to owner's hand |
| Diabolic Graverobber x2 | horde | 2+1 | 5 | 2 | o | (493, 494) When played, secretly search and then show a card from your discard pile. Then discard a card of at least as many power dots from your hand to put that card into your hand, or re-discard it. You cannot play further cards this turn. |
| Infernal Slaver | horde | 4 | 4 | 4 | oo | (492) All your other tabled hordes have 'Recover' power. |
| Pit Fiends | horde | 4+1 | 2 | 4 | oo | (46x) When played, target tabled support card is discarded |
| Cloud of Flies | support | +0 | +0 | +1* | o | (413) Your military power is at least 7. |
| Summon | support | +1 | +2 | +0 | o | (47x) |
| Twisted Representatives | support | +1* | +0 | +0 | o | (411) Your political power is at least 7. |
| Locust Swarm | global support | n/a | oo | (417) At the start of each Devil's turn, that Devil must choose and discard one tabled card, if any. Owner of this card ignores the effect. | ||
| Realm of Flies | global support | n/a | ooo | (466) Other Devils than the owner of this card cannot play more than one card during their turn. | ||
| Confusion x2 | event | n/a | o | (441, 442) Select target horde. That horde is moved to force of another non-retreated Devil chosen by you, but not to yours. If there is no legible target Devil, the target horde is put to bottom of the owner's draw deck. | ||
| Diversion | event | n/a | o | (463) Cannot be played before the trade phase. Search your draw deck for a single card and put it to your hand. Shuffle the deck afterwards. You cannot play further cards this turn and must retreat. | ||
| Thief in the Night x2 | event | n/a | o | (490, 491) Move one tabled artifact to your forces, or select target Devil which must give you one hand card. | ||
| Recycle | event | n/a | oo | (458) Shuffle your discard pile and deal evenly two piles of cards from it, each no more than 4 cards, face-up. Select another Devil which chooses one of the piles. Add that pile to your hand cards, and shuffle the other one to your discard pile. You cannot play further cards this turn. | ||
| Unfair Trade x2 | event | n/a | oo | (428, 429) Choose 2 tabled non-global cards with equal number of power dots. Swap controllers. | ||
| Double Cross | event | n/a | ooo | (400) Select target tabled card. Put it to your hand cards. You cannot play further cards this turn. | ||
| Misinformation | event | n/a | ooo | (499) Change the conflict area to any other you want. Return the old dominion marker to Devil which had it earlier. | ||
| Break Alliance | interrupt | n/a | oo | (419) Play after any Devil's turn except yours. Get all tabled cards of one Devil owned by you to your forces. If you have already retreated, you do not count as retreated anymore. | ||
| Alliance of Baalzebub | multiplayer interrupt | n/a | o | (445) When owner retreats, play to gain Alliance. When you retreat, can be discarded. When played or discarded, return to owner. If owner discards, must choose and discard another card if able. | ||
| Max | 13 | 12 | 12 | |||
14 hordes, 5 support cards, 10 events, 1 extra interrupt. Skill level: ***
Cards are power and this deck is specialized in filling your hand and extending it over normal boundaries. But do not fall into pit of self-depletion, forced to play with bad hand without a possibility to replenish it. Also know well what to give to opponent when Bribing its troops.
| Card | Type | P | S | M | Dots | Notes |
| Herder Fiends x2 | horde | 3+1 | 3+1 | 2 | o | (301, 302) |
| Looter Fiends x3 | horde | 2 | 4 | 2+1 | o | (355, 356, 357) When played, draw a card after your free draw this turn. |
| Rotten Fiends x2 | horde | 4 | 2+1 | 1 | o | (380, 301) You can play an extra event card each game turn |
| Warriors of Darkness x2 | horde | 3+1 | 0 | 2+1 | o | (333, 334) If a played card causes discard of tabled Warrior of Darkness, they are returned to owner's hand |
| Metal Beasts | horde | 0 | 0 | 5 | oo | (34x) When played, discard your tabled horde and the target tabled horde. You can choose this to discard. |
| Nether Fiends x2 | horde | 4 | 4+1 | 2 | oo | (346, 347) You can play an extra card each game turn. |
| Pit Fiends x2 | horde | 4+1 | 2 | 4 | oo | (364, 365) When played, target tabled support card is discarded |
| Old One | horde | 7 | 0 | 7 | ooo | (399) If this card is discarded from your hand by a card played by other Devil, that Devil must choose and discard 2 hand cards. |
| Retribution x3 | recover support | +0 | +0 | +2 | o | (330, 331, 332) If a horde or an event played by other Devil discards this card from your tabled cards or from your hand cards, that Devil must choose and discard a hand card. |
| Summon x2 | support | +1 | +2 | +0 | o | (378, 37x) |
| Depletion | global support | n/a | ooo | Other Devils than the owner of this card cannot draw cards at the end of their turns from draw decks. Any direct fetch powers are not affected. | ||
| Conjuration x2 | ritual event | n/a | o | (370, 371) After your free draw this turn, draw 2 cards. | ||
| Drunken Agreement | event | n/a | o | (310) Everyone selects 2 hand cards. Check selected ones and take two of your choice; the remaining ones are shuffled and dealt evenly to other Devils. | ||
| Forced Alliance | event | n/a | o | (309) Choose target non-retreated Devil and give to that Devil all your tabled cards. Target Devil must then give you one Alliance card or any 2 hand cards. You must retreat this turn. | ||
| Bribe Troops x2 | event | n/a | oo | (307, 308) Select target tabled horde. If that horde has only one power dot, or you give its controller your hand card with one less power dot, move that horde to under your control. | ||
| Vortex of Magic | ritual event | n/a | oo | (359) All tabled rituals and Artifacts are discarded. Each Devil which discarded no cards because of this event must choose and discard one of its tabled cards. | ||
| Recycle | event | n/a | oo | (358) Shuffle your discard pile and deal evenly two piles of cards from it, each no more than 4 cards, face-up. Select another Devil which chooses one of the piles. Add that pile to your hand cards, and shuffle the other one to your discard pile. You cannot play further cards this turn. | ||
| Greed | event | n/a | ooo | (300) Draw 6 cards. If there is not enough cards in your draw deck, shuffle your discard pile and draw remaining ones from it. You cannot play further cards this turn. | ||
| Alliance of Mammon | multiplayer interrupt | n/a | o | (345) When owner retreats, play to gain Alliance. When you retreat, can be discarded. When played or discarded, return to owner. If owner discards, must choose and discard another card if able. | ||
| Max | 15 | 14 | 18 | |||
15 hordes, 6 support cards, 9 events, no extra interrupts. 4 rituals. Skill level: **
The deck is based on massed Soul hordes (Tormented, Anguished, and Tortured). While only one has total power of 2 or 3, one of each is already 5 power in any field, or 7 if they are all of the same (correct) type. Discard order is important here, you want to be able to table correct Soul hordes from your discard pile.
| Card | Type | P | S | M | Dots | Notes |
| Tortured Souls x3 | soul horde | 2+X | 2 | 2 | o | (233, 234, 235) For your first Tortured Souls, X is the total number of Soul hordes in your force, and 1 for others |
| Anguished Souls x3 | soul horde | 2 | 2+X | 2 | o | (201, 202, 203) For your first Anguished Souls, X is the total number of Soul hordes in your force, and 1 for others |
| Tormented Souls x3 | soul horde | 2 | 2 | 2+X | o | (255, 256, 257) For your first Tormented Souls, X is the total number of Soul hordes in your force, and 1 for others |
| Tormenter Fiends x2 | horde | 1 | 2+1 | 4 | o | (28x, 28x) You can play an extra Soul horde each game turn. |
| Infernal Slaver | horde | 4 | 4 | 4 | oo | (292) All your other tabled hordes have 'Recover' power. |
| Metal Beasts x2 | horde | 0 | 0 | 5 | oo | (248, 249) When played, discard your tabled horde and the target tabled horde. You can choose this to discard. |
| Torturer Fiends x2 | horde | 4+1 | 2 | 4 | oo | (246, 247) When played, table the bottom Soul horde from your discard pile, if any. |
| Abysmal Dragon | horde | 6 | 6 | 6 | ooo | (299) |
| Forge | ritual support | +0 | +0 | +3 | o | (272) |
| Silence | global multiplayer support | n/a | o | (206) There is no trade phase this conflict. When a Devil retreats, no alliances can be formed. In a two player game, this card is 'Event: after your free draw this turn, draw 2 cards.' | ||
| Summon x2 | support | +1 | +2 | +0 | o | (278, 27x) |
| Dedication | support | +2 | +3 | +1 | oo | (222) |
| Soul Torment x3 | event | n/a | o | (283, 284, 285) Table the bottom soul horde of discard pile. If none, table the bottom soul horde of your draw deck and shuffle it afterwards. | ||
| Demonic Torture | event | n/a | oo | (205) Select a target Devil. Take a look at that Devil's hand cards and choose two cards: that Devil must then choose and discard either of them. If target Devil has only one hand card, it must discard that card.. | ||
| Maelstrom of Magic x2 | ritual event | n/a | oo | (267, 268) Select target tabled horde or support card. That card is discarded. | ||
| Young Rage | event | n/a | ooo | (200) You can play any number of cards this turn. Your free draw +3 this turn. | ||
| Ritual of Pain | ritual event | n/a | ooo | (266) All other Devils select and discard 3 hand cards each. | ||
| Alliance of Belial | multiplayer interrupt | n/a | o | (245) When owner retreats, play to gain Alliance. When you retreat, can be discarded. When played or discarded, return to owner. If owner discards, must choose and discard another card if able. | ||
| Max | 23 | 26 | 21 | |||
17 hordes, 5 support cards, 8 events. 5 rituals, 1 extra multiplayer card. Skill level: *
The deck of rituals which runs faster than any other deck. Key issues is to use Warped Time at correct time and not waste Diabolic Fiends. It is also essential to know what to get with Ritual Advisors and to use Chanter Fiends for full power.
| Card | Type | P | S | M | Dots | Notes |
| Dark Fiends x2 | horde | 2 | 3+1 | 3+1 | o | (156, 157) |
| Diabolic Fiends x3 | horde | 4 | 2+1 | 1 | o | (180, 181, 182) You can play an extra ritual card each game turn. |
| Herder Fiends x2 | horde | 3+1 | 3+1 | 2 | o | (101, 102) |
| Warriors of Darkness | horde | 3+1 | 0 | 2+1 | o | (133) If a played card causes discard of tabled Warrior of Darkness, they are returned to owner's hand |
| Chanter Fiends x2 | horde | 4 | 4+1 | 2 | oo | (146, 147) When played, return the bottom ritual on your discard pile to your hand, if any. |
| Ritual Advisor x2 | horde | 2+1 | 0+1 | 0+1 | oo | (195, 196) When played, search your draw deck for a ritual, show it and put to your hand. Shuffle the deck afterwards. You cannot play further cards this game turn. |
| Devourer | horde | 0 | 0 | 6 | ooo | (199) When played, discard all tabled support cards. |
| Beguile | ritual support | +3 | +0 | +0 | o | (175) |
| Forge | ritual support | +0 | +0 | +3 | o | (172) |
| Sanctuary x2 | ritual support | n/a | o | (143, 144) If a played horde or event cards affects your tabled or hand cards, you can choose to discard Sanctuary to cancel the effect against your other cards. | ||
| Soul Cage | ritual support | +0 | +3 | +0 | o | (174) |
| Grand Illusion | ritual support | * | * | * | oo | (176) Your power in one selected area is at least 8. Discard at the start of your turn. |
| Tome of Power | recover artifact support | n/a | oo | (150) You can play an extra ritual each game turn. Your max free draw +2. i.e. you can draw up to 4 cards each game turn, providing your hand size is not exceeded. | ||
| Magical Duel | global ritual support | n/a | ooo | (166) All hordes have base power of 0. Power bonuses are not affected. All Devils can play any number of ritual cards each game turn. | ||
| Bury x2 | ritual event | n/a | o | (120, 121) Target tabled horde is discarded. Select target non-retreated Devil other than you; that Devil now draws one card for each power dot in the target horde. | ||
| Conjuration x2 | ritual event | n/a | o | (170, 171) After your free draw this turn, draw 2 cards. | ||
| Infernal Plague | ritual event | n/a | oo | (160) Each Devil must choose and discard half of their tabled hordes, rounded up. | ||
| Maelstrom of Magic | ritual event | n/a | oo | (167) Select target tabled horde or support card. That card is discarded. | ||
| Steal Power | ritual event | n/a | oo | (140) Select a target Devil. That Devil must choose and give you 2 of its hand cards. | ||
| Warped Time | ritual event | n/a | ooo | (100) Discard your entire hand. Before your free draw this turn, shuffle your discard pile into your draw deck. Show the top 6 cards from it and remove them from the game. Then draw 6 cards. These removed cards are just that, removed, and do not partake this game anymore. Any Devil can investigate them, even later on. | ||
| Diabolic Seduction | multiplayer interrupt | n/a | o | (104) Play when some Devil retreats and no one plays any cards. That Devil cannot ally with any Devil, or, if you have not retreated, may decide to ally with you. So the Devil can only ally with you or not ally at all, but that Devil still choses. If you have already retreated, that Devil cannot ally. In a two player game, this card is 'Event: after your free draw this turn, draw 2 cards.' | ||
| Alliance of Lilith | multiplayer interrupt | n/a | o | (145) When owner retreats, play to gain Alliance. When you retreat, can be discarded. When played or discarded, return to owner. If owner discards, must choose and discard another card if able. | ||
| Max | 12 | 18 | 14 | |||
13 hordes, 8 support cards, 8 events, 1 extra interrupt. 15 rituals, 1 artifact. Skill level: **