Welcome to Merge Tactics, a game mode where four players are pitted together in a round-based game of combat and commerce. Buy, sell, merge, fight!
Gameplay
Rounds consist of a Deploy Phase and a Battle Phase.
Deploy Phase: Buy, sell, move, and merge troops.
Battle Phase: Deployed troops will begin fighting automatically. You can continue to buy and sell during this phase, but only between the bench and the shop.
Each player gains four Golden Elixir per round to spend on troops. Tap a card to instantly deploy your troop, or drag and drop it to choose a precise position in the arena.
The Shop, located at the bottom of the screen, offers a choice of three cards. The card options will only refresh to offer three different cards when a card is purchased. Choose a card that matches a troop you’ve already deployed to the Arena to merge it into a stronger version, or choose a different card with a matching Trait to activate powerful bonuses!
Troops
All players have access to the same pool of cards, so leave your decks at home! Deploying troops in Merge Tactics costs Golden Elixir. More powerful troops cost more Golden Elixir, and the cost doesn’t always match the card’s normal Elixir cost. You can sell troops that you’ve deployed by dragging them back to the shop, or move them to the bench if you want to make room for another troop in the Arena without selling it.
You can buy a duplicate troop to merge it and make it more powerful, and gain one additional Golden Elixir. However, a merge can’t be undone! Selling a merged troop refunds the total cost of the merge, minus one Golden Elixir.
Bench
Troops on the bench do not take part in the Battle Phase. If the troop limit has been reached, any additional troops purchased will be placed on the bench. troops purchased during the Battle Phase are stored on the bench, but if it’s a duplicate troop, it will automatically merge at the start of the next Deploy Phase.
Troops on your opponent’s Bench will show up as shadowy figures—you can see how many troops are there, but you won’t know what troops they are until they’ve been deployed.
Rulers
Rulers—the faces of Merge Tactics! Rulers take damage when they lose a round, and are defeated when their HP reaches zero.
Each Ruler has a unique passive ability. You can unlock more Rulers—as well as level them up—by earning Ruler Cards on the League Road!
Ruler Quests
Each Ruler has a Ruler Quest for you to complete during battle. Broken into 3 phases, you’ll earn a matching Quest Orb by completing each phase. Quest Orbs contain rewards that can help you turn the tide of battle!
Quest Orbs have 3 tiers, awarded depending on the milestone of the Ruler Quest reached. Each Orb contains one reward, which can be a troop, bonus Elixir, or a piece of Equipment:
- Tier 1: 1-star Troop / 5 Elixir / Equipment
- Tier 2: 2-star Troop / 10 Elixir / Equipment
- Tier 3: 3-star Troop / 20 Elixir / Equipment
You can view each Ruler’s Ruler Quest by tapping on the Ruler in your Collection tab and then tapping on their Ruler Ability icon.
Modifiers
Modifiers apply different battle rules for all four players! A random modifier will be applied at the start of each Merge Tactics game.
You’ll unlock the first modifiers when you reach Bronze II on the League Road. More Modifiers will unlock as you climb to higher leagues! Here's the complete list:
Buildings
Modifier buildings will spawn on the Bench and join the battle only when you deploy them. Unlike Troops, buildings cannot be moved or sold once deployed.
Buildings don’t lose HP over time, only when attacked! Each building acts individually, with unique range, damage, and HP. They also don’t count towards Team Size or Ruler HP deduction.
League Road
Claim victory and earn Starsteel in Merge Tactics games to climb the League Road and earn cards! The top 3 players of the highest league—The Diamond League—are displayed on a leaderboard for all to see!
Four players compete in each match, but only those who finish in 1st and 2nd place will be considered the winners. Rewards for the winners include:
Battle Rewards
1 Crown per round won
Starsteel
Please note! Starsteel rewards vary depending on your final placement at the end of a game, and the Trophy difference between all players in the game. Finishing in 1st place will grant twice as much Starsteel as 2nd place, while finishing in 4th place will result in losing twice as much Starsteel as 3rd place.
Traits
When enough Troops sharing the same Trait are deployed on the battlefield (Troops on the bench do not count), that Trait activates to grant additional Power.
Summon Troops with the same Traits to activate powerful bonuses! Traits can be viewed on a card’s Merge Tactics tab.
Refer to the list below for a detailed description of each Trait.
Clan (Barbarian, Archer, Archer Queen, Valkyrie, Wizard, Giant)
Clans gain bonus HP and the strongest gains bonus hit speed
- 2 troops: +20% Max HP, +20% Hit Speed
- 4 troops: +50% Max HP, +50% Hit Speed
- 6 troops: +100% Max HP, +100% Hit Speed
Noble (Knight, Musketeer, Prince, Golden Knight, Princess, Royal Giant)
Adjacent Nobles take less and gain bonus damage
- 2 troops: -10% damage taken, +20% damage
- 4 troops: -25% damage taken, +50% damage
- 6 troops: -50% damage taken, +100% damage
Goblin (Goblin Demolisher, Goblin, Dart Goblin, Goblin Machine)
You'll get an extra random Goblin for free next round
- 2 troops: Gain a 2 or 3-Elixir Goblin
- 4 troops: Gain a 3 or 4-Elixir Goblin
- 6 troops: Gain a 2,3, and 4-Elixir Goblin
Undead (Skeleton Dragon, Giant Skeleton, Witch, Skeleton King, Royal Ghost, Bomber)
Each ally defeated increases all Undeads’ HP and damage for the rest of the game
- 2 troops: +1%
- 4 troops: +2%
- 6 troops: +6%
Forest (Firecracker, Executioner, Bandit, Magic Archer, Boss Bandit, Baby Dragon)
Lowest HP% Forest gains invisibility and bonus Hit Speed for 2.5s every few seconds
- 2 troops: +30% Hit Speed, 5s
- 4 troops: +50% Hit Speed, 4s
- 6 troops: +100% Hit Speed, 3s
Boss (P.E.K.K.A, Mini P.E.K.K.A, Mega Knight, Monk)
Can only be unlocked through orbs. Bosses gain bonus damage and HP
- 1 troop: Boss Troops gain 50% bonus attack damage and HP
- 2 troops: Boss Troops gain 100% bonus attack damage and HP
- 3 troops: Boss Troops gain 200% bonus attack damage and HP
- 4 troops: Boss Troops gain 400% bonus attack damage and HP