1. Attacker Moves: Attacker moves attacking pieces, post effects of any Gate Mishaps, from her Node of Origin into the ‘Target Node’.
2. Combat Segment One:
- Declare Combat Cards: All Great Old Ones, including Attacker and Defender, declare combat cards for the first combat segment.
- Roll, Rank, Match, and Remove: Attacker and Defender roll dice for the 1st combat segment, tally pools and remove casualties.
- Attacker May Retreat: Attacker has the option to retreat back to his Node of Origin at this point.
3. Combat Segment Two:
- Declare Combat Cards: All Great Old Ones, including Attacker and Defender, declare combat cards for the second combat segment.
- Roll, Rank, Match, and Remove: Attacker and Defender roll dice for the second combat segment, tally pools and remove casualties.
- Play Other Cards: Any other cards are played, including those from other Great Old Ones not involved in the combat.
4. Determine Victor: If the Attacker has won, he or she has the option to Forfeit Control of the Node in exchange for up to two (2) cards from the Defender’s hand. If the Attacker has lost, they must retreat (if they can) to their Node of Origin or an adjacent friendly Node. Remove pieces in the Node over the stacking limit.