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How Starvoxel: Defender plays

Plan with a hand of three, merge on a 3x3 board, then watch your defenders hold the lane. Here is everything you need before your first match.

The board

Each player defends from a 3x3 deck of stone slabs. Defenders hit anything on the field, so range never matters, but placement does: many abilities help the defenders right next to them.

Your hand

Each round you are dealt three cards from your eight-card deck. Cards cost 3, 5 or 7 gold. You start with 10 gold and earn 10 more for every round you clear. Refresh the hand for 1 gold, freeze a card to keep it, or sell a defender for 1 gold per star.

Merging

Two identical defenders, same creature and same stars, make the next star: one star, two stars, three stars. Damage goes 1x, 2x, 4x. Attack speed stays the same, so every merge is pure power.

Your star

The heart star sits at the end of the lane. Enemies that get through damage it, with elites and bosses hitting harder than ordinary enemies. A Dungeon boss leak is not an automatic defeat: the run ends when the star runs out of hearts.

Planning time

In Arena and Co-op every round starts with 30 seconds of planning, or less if both players press ready. In the Dungeon you plan at your own pace.

Card levels

Packs give card parts and matches pay coins. Spend both to level a card up to 30. Each level adds 5% attack, and levels 10, 20 and 30 also make the card's ability stronger.

Screens from the game

Defenders beaming a Dungeon boss as it walks toward the heart star — A Dungeon boss round

A card being dragged from the hand onto the 3x3 board, with the freeze zone below — Planning: drag a card onto the board

Two decks defending one shared star from a crowd on the lane — Co-op: two decks, one star

An Arena match as a boss round starts — An Arena boss round

Co-op battle against weasels, puffs and brutes — Co-op: weasels, puffs and brutes

Co-op battle with blobs and runners on the lane — Co-op: blobs and runners

Co-op battle against scarabs and golems — Co-op: scarabs and golems

Co-op battle against crabs and mudskippers — Co-op: crabs and mudskippers

An Arena match with enemies bouncing down both lanes — Arena: enemies from both decks

The hand of three cards, gold and the refresh button before an Arena round — A hand of three before an Arena round

The home screen with eight defenders standing on the lobby board — Your deck on the home screen

The card collection with levels and upgrade progress — The card collection

Ember Fox card details with damage, attack interval and level-up cost — Card details and levels

The deck editor with eight chosen cards and five deck slots — Five deck slots

The trophy road with a reward every 50 trophies — The trophy road

The shop with packs to open and offers — The shop

A legendary card revealed while opening a pack — Opening a pack

The three modes

Dungeon

100 solo levels. Waves come from both top corners, elites show up along the way and a boss closes every level. Some bosses harden their shell or rush for the star, so bring burn, poison or a stun.

Arena

A live 1 vs 1. Every defender you own on the board sends two minions down your opponent's lane, and every third round your whole deck sends a boss. Last star standing wins. Until you reach Gold league, a loss costs no trophies.

Co-op

Two players, two decks, one shared star. Each world has five boss runs of ten rounds, with elites on rounds 3, 6 and 9 and the boss on round 10. Pick Rookie, Skilled, Veteran, Brutal or Nightmare, then take on Endless.

Ready for round one?

Free to play. No ads. Optional in-app purchases.