SIGNAL GRID // FIELD MANUAL
ARCHIVE DOC v2.0 — CLEARANCE: PUBLIC
Late Stage Archetypes — Declassified Operations Manual

SIGNAL GRID
FIELD MANUAL

Everything you need to read the frequency. From first deployment to leaderboard dominance.

Cards: 59 Abilities
Grid: 3×3
Budget: 32 Signal
Deck: 5 Cards

60-Second Briefing

Start here — everything else can wait
What Is Signal Grid?

A strategic 1v1 card game on a 3×3 grid. You build a 5-card deck, take turns placing cards, and trigger abilities that buff your cards, drain your opponent's, or flip ownership. When the grid is full, whoever controls the most total Signal wins.

How To Play
1
Build a deck. Pick 5 cards. Your total Signal cost can't exceed 32. Stronger cards cost more budget.
2
Deploy a card. Place it on any empty cell. Its ability triggers immediately, affecting adjacent cards (up, down, left, right — not diagonal).
3
Use a Protocol (optional). After deploying, you can activate one Type Protocol on any of your placed cards that hasn't used its Protocol yet.
4
Repeat. Alternate turns until the grid is full (9 cards). Highest total Signal wins.
The Grid

Three random cells get a Frequency Zone each game. The rest are neutral.

AMP
—
—
—
COR
—
SHD
—
—

■ AMP +2 Signal to any card placed here

■ COR Doubles Corruption added to your Drift

■ SHD Card is immune to abilities for 1 turn

TIP: Don't overthink your first game. Pick cards that look interesting, place them where they'll touch enemy cards, and watch what happens. The depth reveals itself.

Core Rules

Deckbuilding — Turn Structure — Win Condition
Deckbuilding

Select exactly 5 cards from the available pool. Your deck's total Signal cost must not exceed 32. Higher-Signal cards are stronger but cost more budget.

What matters in deck composition: Type diversity for Protocol flexibility, ability synergy for combos, and Corruption management to avoid triggering Drift.

Turn Structure

Each turn has two phases:

A
Deploy Phase. Select a card from your hand and place it on any empty grid cell. The card's ability triggers immediately on placement, affecting adjacent cards (horizontally and vertically — not diagonal).
B
Protocol Phase. After deploying, you may activate one Type Protocol on any of your placed cards that hasn't already used its Protocol. This is optional — you can skip it. Each card can only use its Protocol once per game.
Winning

When the grid is full (9 cards placed) or both players run out of cards, the game ends. Total Signal is calculated for each player across all cards they control. Highest total wins.

IMPORTANT: Cards can change ownership during the game through abilities like INDOCTRINATE or REWRITE. Control matters, not who originally played the card.

Type Protocols

After placing a card, you may activate a Protocol based on the card's Type. Timing matters — these are powerful but one-use-per-card.

TypeProtocolEffect
HUMAN STABILIZE −3 to your Drift meter
UNDEAD CORRUPT +3 to opponent's Drift meter
APE RAGE +3 Signal to this card, +2 to your Drift
ALIEN PHASE Swap positions with any card on the grid
AUTO-AGENT FIREWALL This card becomes permanently immune to all effects

V2 Mechanics

Drift — Frequency Zones — Signal Chains
Drift Meter

Every card has a Corruption stat. When you place a card, its Corruption is added to your Drift meter.

The Drift threshold is 16. If your Drift reaches or exceeds 16, your weakest card on the grid is flipped to your opponent's control, and your Drift resets to 8 (not 0).

WARNING: Cards placed on CORRUPTED zone cells have their Corruption doubled for Drift purposes. High-Corruption cards on red cells can push you over the threshold in a single play.

Managing Corruption in your deck and timing high-Corruption plays is critical. A well-timed Drift trigger on your opponent (via the UNDEAD Protocol CORRUPT) can flip the game.

Frequency Zones

At the start of each game, 3 random grid cells are assigned a zone type. The remaining 6 cells are NEUTRAL.

ZoneSymbolEffect
AMPLIFIED ■ +2 Signal to any card placed on this cell
CORRUPTED ■ Doubles the Corruption added to your Drift
SHIELDED ■ Card placed here is immune to abilities for 1 turn
Signal Chains

When you control all 3 cards in a row, column, or diagonal, you complete a Signal Chain. Each chain can only trigger once per game.

Chain TypeBonus
Row (horizontal) Steal 2 Signal from opponent's highest Signal card
Column (vertical) +3 Signal to the weakest card in the chain
Diagonal Flip one enemy card to your control

TIP: Diagonal chains are the most powerful — flipping an enemy card is a massive swing. But they're also the hardest to complete since your opponent can see the threat building.

Signal Rating

How your score is calculated — Style Bonuses — Streak Multiplier
Formula

After each game, you receive a Signal Rating (SR):

SR = (Base Signal + Style Bonuses) × Streak Multiplier

This is the number that appears on the global leaderboard. Chase every bonus. Protect your streak.

Style Bonuses
PERFECT GRID
Control all 9 cells at game end
+50
CHAIN MASTER
Per Signal Chain completed
+25 ea
DRIFT ZERO
Never triggered Drift threshold
+30
CORRUPTION PLAY
Won with Drift at 12 or higher
+40
COMEBACK
Were losing at midpoint, still won
+35
PROTOCOL SWEEP
Used Protocol on every eligible card
+20
TYPE SPECTRUM
All deck cards are different Types
+15
BUDGET RUN
Deck total Signal cost ≤ 24
+25
DOMINATION
Won by 10+ Signal margin
+20
RAZOR'S EDGE
Won by exactly 1–2 Signal
+30
VOID MASTER
3+ enemy cards at 0 Signal
+20
UNTOUCHED
None of your cards lost Signal
+25
ZONE CONTROL
Placed cards on all 3 zone cells
+15
FIRST BLOOD
First placement ability triggered
+10

NOTE: DRIFT ZERO (+30) and CORRUPTION PLAY (+40) are mutually exclusive — you can't earn both. But CORRUPTION PLAY pays more if you can win while riding the edge.

Streak Multiplier

Consecutive wins multiply your entire Signal Rating. Lose once and it resets.

1 win
×1.0
2 wins
×1.2
3 wins
×1.5
5 wins
×2.0
7 wins
×2.5
10+ wins
×3.0

Ability Reference

59 abilities — Search or filter by category
AbilityArchetypeCategoryDescription

Key Combos & Strategies

Proven synergies from the Archive
VOID + COLLECT
VOID drops adjacent enemies to 0 Signal, then COLLECT flips them to your control. Two-card kill combo. Place VOID first to soften targets, follow with COLLECT adjacent to the zeroed cards.
DECREE + ARCHITECT
ARCHITECT copies DECREE, giving adjacent friendlies +2 Signal twice. Stack near center for maximum adjacency — a well-placed pair can buff 3-4 cards by +4 each.
SYNCHRONIZE + Same Type
Two same-Type cards adjacent each get +3 Signal. That's a +6 total swing from a single placement. Build around Type pairs for reliable value.
SEED (Early) + YIELD (Late)
SEED rewards playing first (empty grid = up to +8 Signal). YIELD rewards playing last (many friendlies on board). Both in one deck covers early and late game.
TAX + RALLY
TAX drains every card by 1 and gains from it. Then RALLY restores your cards by 1. Net effect: all enemy cards permanently −1, and you're net positive.
LEVERAGE + No Neighbors
Place Derivatives Trader away from enemies to guarantee the double. A 6-Signal card becomes 12. Corner cells with no adjacent enemies are your friend.
WRECK + COLLECT
WRECK drops adjacent enemies by 3 Signal. Follow up with COLLECT to flip any that hit 0. Similar to VOID + COLLECT but more targeted damage.
AUDIT + DECREE
AUDIT marks enemies so they can't gain Signal from abilities. Then DECREE buffs your cards. Creates a one-way advantage where only your side benefits.
INDOCTRINATE + Low-Signal Deck
Build a low-budget deck where your cards have higher Signal than cheap enemy cards. INDOCTRINATE flips adjacent enemies with lower Signal — the budget constraint becomes a weapon.

THE META EVOLVES. These combos are starting points. The leaderboard rewards creative deckbuilding — find something no one else is running.