Dueling: To the Pain

Dueling: To the Pain is an XCG (expandable card game) in which two players battle each other using their own unique decks. As a proper gateway game, Dueling blends in-depth strategy and endless replayability with straightforward gameplay and easy to learn rules. It is perfect for serious gamers and new gamers alike.

Each card in the game has multiple uses. It can be played as a strike or a maneuver, and your deck also functions as your hit points. A game of Dueling: To the Pain is played over multiple rounds. Each round, players fill their hands, play a strike, then they have the opportunity to play maneuvers. A successful strike inflicts damage, forcing their victim to discard cards. Running out of cards will result in the player losing the game, and their opponent winning.

You can download a PDF of the rules for free on this page.

This game includes a set of 90 cards which is divided into two different 45 card decks.

No cards are shared between the decks. They are each entirely unique. The first deck relies on brute force, attempting to defeat its opponent with powerful strikes, while playing maneuvers that increase their strength or enable them to hit despite their slow speed. The second deck plays with defensive tricks, attempting to turn the opposing strategy on its head while relying on quick and/or defensive strikes.

A far more interesting option is to construct your own deck using any 50 cards from the set of 90. Then you can play your deck against your opponent's own custom deck. However, doing this requires two separate copies of the game - one for each player.

Note to customers: If you order multiple copies of the game at once, all of the cards will be mixed together. There's nothing I can do about that. It is a byproduct of the manufacturing process. Separating one set from another should be easy enough. Each card has markings indicating how many copies of it exist in a single set. Tedious, but necessary.

Message From the Designer

Dueling: To the Pain is the product of 14 years (even more now... I'm so old) of work and a lifetime of passion. It spawned from a love of and disillusionment from Magic: The Gathering. I wanted to create a game with Magic’s flexibility and expandability while being tremendously more accessible to all players. As a result, I created an XCG without even knowing such a genre existed. I also wanted it to have a much smaller scope. Instead of demigods making war against each other using creatures from across the multiverse, this is a simple showdown between two fighters. It isn't even a fight to the death.

After years of playing and redesigning the game, I finally published the 1st edition here. Nothing is more nerve-racking than that. Surprisingly enough, it actually sold a few copies, and some people liked it. I was content to leave it at that for quite a while, but I was never actually satisfied with the production value of the game. It looked more like a prototype than a finished game. It was the best I could do at the time, but A.I. generated art is a thing now. So I finally remade the whole game, and here it is. Dueling: To the Pain is actually complete. After all this time, I still think this is a better game than Magic. Take that for whatever it's worth.

-Hyrum