ExileCon 2026 Card Game: Runes of Aldur League
A fan-written rules reference for the card game played at ExileCon 2026. It’s based on the printed rules in the starter pack and on clarifications from GGG staff and experienced players. It is not official. If the staff at the venue tell you something different, they’re right.
The game in one minute
- Your deck is your gear. Your starter pack, from badge pickup, holds item cards: weapons, shields, armour and, later, jewellery. Each card has symbols such as Sword, Fire, Cold, Lightning, Life and Block.
- Monsters are GGG staff in monster T-shirts. Each shirt shows the monster’s Attack, Defence and act.
- To win a fight, show
- Attack (weapon symbols, plus any jewellery you assign to Attack) that meets the monster’s Defence, and
- Defence (armour and shield symbols, plus any jewellery you assign to Defence) that meets the monster’s Attack.
- Specific symbols must match exactly. The number on a stat means that many more symbols of any kind.
- Win, and your items take Damage (staff clip durability) and you pick new loot from the staff member’s deck. An item with two Damage is finished. Lose, and nothing happens: you fled.
- Get stronger by crafting with Currency at the Crafting Benches, turning in the quests on the back of your card box, running Maps from Act 4 and taking Logbooks to Expedition Island. Keep going until you can beat a pinnacle boss and win a mirror.
Contents
| Page | Covers |
|---|---|
| Cards and symbols | Reading a card: rarity, symbols, slot icons, one- vs two-handed, durability |
| Equipment | What you can bring to a fight, Attack vs Defence, jewellery, the starter pack |
| Fighting monsters | Monster stats, the matching rule with worked examples, what happens after a fight |
| Progression | Loot, crafting, quests, maps, the Runes of Aldur league, pinnacle bosses |
| FAQ | Common questions, and open questions |
| ExileCon 2023 | The previous edition, and what changed |
| Sources | Where each rule came from, and how to update these docs |
How sure is this?
- Rules stated plainly come from the printed leaflet and cards, or from a GGG staff member.
- Paragraphs that start “players report” or “in 2023” come from players’ experience and may not hold in 2026.
- Anything unresolved is listed under FAQ → Open questions.