In Xena, you take on the role of a powerful warlord, ready to do battle with a rival warlord (any friend with a deck). After you challenge your rival to cross swords with your forces, the two of you meet on the field of battle (i.e., you and a friend sit down at a table and begin play).

As the battle begins, and rages on across many days, a warlord must draw supplies and troops from his or her supply line every day (i.e., start your turn by drawing a card from your deck). That supply line is a warlord's only means of staying on the battlefield--if you have no supply line, you have to surrender the field and hope for another chance some other day!

Each warlord must bring resources to the battlefield carefully and slowly (i.e., you may play only one resource on your turn). You don't want to weaken your defenses back on the home front, do you?

Once resources are stockpiled on the battlefield, a warlord can use those resources to hire troops who will fight the battle (i.e., you may tap your resources to play characters). Even Xena herself may join your side! That warlord can also use those resources to bring about a wide variety of amazing events (i.e., you may tap resources to play actions).

After troops have agreed to work for you and have been paid once, you never have to pay them again for the remainder of the battle (i.e., you only need to pay the casting cost of a character the turn you put it in play). They'll stick around and keep following you until the battle is won or lost.

After your forces have arrived on the battlefield, they'll follow your orders. They'll either try to smash through enemy lines to attack your rival warlord's supply lines, or they'll hold back and ferociously guard your supply lines. (Your characters can be used for attacking your opponent's deck or for blocking any attacks your opponent makes against your deck. A character can't do both, since attacking taps your character and makes it unable to block during your opponent's turn.)

If one of the attacking troops working for you doesn't encounter any enemy forces and manages to get through enemy lines, that attacker destroys some of your rival warlord's supplies (i.e., an unblocked character discards cards equal to its power from your opponent's deck).

The smaller they are, the faster they fall! When your forces do battle with your rival warlord's forces, the more powerful combatant wins, and the weaker one runs away. (If a character is blocked by another character, discard the character with the lower power. If both characters have the same power, discard both of them.)

Sometimes you'll be in a position to give your attacking forces a morale boost. You'll have the resources available to give your forces extra battle incentives, rallying them to fight harder for you as they press the enemy back or charge your rival warlord's supply lines (i.e., during combat, you'll be able to play a combat card).

When your forces have done all they can do, your rival warlord is probably a little eager to dish some of that damage back! (After combat, the attacking player ends his or her turn, and the other player untaps all resources and characters to begin his or her turn.)

If at any time a Warlord has no more supplies, the only thing that really keeps an army alive on the battlefield, that Warlord can no longer wage war and must surrender the field of battle to his or her rival (i.e., if at any time a player's deck has no more cards, the other player wins. So if your opponent runs out of cards. . . you WIN!).