Mana Types

Sanctum is a fantasy-based collectible card game. Its cards are called spells, and their casting cost is measured in mana.

Definitions

Mana Types and Opposing Mana

Mana Pairs and Houses

The Mana Cube

Generating Mana

Definitions

Mana Types and Opposing Mana.

• There are 6 types of mana in Sanctum.
• These are further divided into 3 pairs of opposing mana types, as follows:

• No spell or house in the game uses opposing mana types.

Mana Pairs and Houses.

• There are 12 houses in Sanctum.
• Each house has 2 mana types, which are called its primary and secondary mana types. Most of a house’s spells cost more primary mana than secondary mana to cast.

Lemma: Every pair of non-opposing mana types is a Sanctum house!

Proof: There are (6 choose 2) ways to choose a pair from 6 different items, or 6! / 4! 2! = 6 * 5 / 2 = 15 pairs. But 3 of these pairs are the 3 opposing mana pairs, which we've excluded. That leaves 12 non-opposing pairs. And we have 12 houses. So there must be 1 unique pair for each house.

The Mana Cube. Here's an elegant concept to help you to visualize mana relationships. We call it the mana cube.

• Take any cube. (A 6-sided die is a cube.)
• Label the faces with the 6 mana types, so that opposing mana types go on opposite faces.

Lemma: Every edge of the mana cube is a Sanctum house!

Proof sketch: A cube has 12 edges. (Count them!)

Generating Mana. Before you can cast spells, you must first generate mana. Your typical mana resources are as follows.

1. Sanctum novices. At the start of each turn, your Sanctum generates as much mana as you have trained. To increase your Sanctum's mana generation, you can train a novice in your Sanctum as 1 point of either of your house's 2 mana types.
   • You can do this only in your Sanctum.
   • You can do this only once per turn.
   • You can choose only your house's 2 mana types.
   • Your Sanctum produces new novices slowly (1 every 4 turns). Choose your mana wisely!
2. Captured structures. At the start of each turn, every town and colony generates 1 point of mana for its owner.
   • Whenever you capture a structure, you choose its mana type.
   • Thereafter, you can't change its mana type (unless you lose it and then recapture it again).
   • You may choose any of the 6 mana types. You aren’t restricted to your house’s 2 types. Hint: This is the main way to “splash” 1 point of a 3^rd mana type into your deck, to gain access to a wider range of spells.
3. Active spells. Certain spells generate mana after you cast them.