Helix Monsters™ Official Rulebook

Download Official Rulebook PDF

First Edition | 2026 — helixmonsters.com

1. Objective

Be the first player to do either of the following:

• Collect 30 Genome Points, or
• Reduce your opponent's Life to 0.

Starting Life: 60

2. Card Types

• Monster types — Base (◆), Mid (★), Apex (✪) & Supreme (§) monsters with Attack, Health, Nucleotide Cost, and Abilities. 

     | These cards below cost Nucleotide points to play. |

• Activators — Powerful one-time effects (healing, damage, draw, or summoning an Apex).
• Genome Boosters — Setup cards that search your deck or provide strong effects.
• Linkers — Cards that allow Helix Splicing (merging two monsters).

Helix Monster Symbols

3. Deck Construction

• 30-card deck
• Maximum of 3 copies of any card with the same name

4. Game Setup

Each player starts with:

• 60 Life
• 5 cards in hand
• 0 Genome Points
• 5 Nucleotide Points
• Empty field (4 Monster zones)

The first player is chosen randomly and skips their first Draw Phase. Each player may take one mulligan (shuffle hand and draw 5 new cards within the first 2 turns — after 2 turns you cannot take a mulligan). The first player receives 1 Nucleotide to compensate for skipping Draw.

5. Turn Structure

1. Draw Phase

Draw 1 card.

2. Growth Phase

Gain 1 Nucleotide. (Your Nucleotide pool increases by 1 each turn.)

3. Main Phase

You may:

• Play Monsters by paying their Nucleotide Cost
• Evolve a monster (Base → Mid → Apex of the same lineage)
• Play Activators or Genome Boosters
• Perform a Helix Splice using a Linker card

Note: A monster cannot evolve on the same turn it was played!

4. Battle Phase

• Each of your monsters may attack once per turn.
• Nucleotide points carry over between turns.
• You may attack an opponent's monster or the opponent directly.
• Combat: Attacker's ATK vs Defender's current Health. If Health reaches 0, the monster is defeated and goes to the Graveyard.
• Whenever you defeat an opponent's monster, gain 1 Genome Point.

5. End Phase

Resolve any end-of-turn effects.

6. Helix Splicing (Core Mechanic)

Using a Linker card, choose two monsters you control of the same lineage (or as specified by the Linker). They merge into one creature with:

• Combined HP
• Combined ATK
• The best abilities from both

The merged creature counts as one monster. When the splice ends (usually at end of turn or as specified), both monsters return to the field if space is available.

7. Lineages & Playstyle

• Verdant Coil — Life gain, healing, tough board presence
• Pyro Helix — High damage, aggressive attacks, direct burn
• Aqua Strand — Flexibility, bounce, Regen (healing over time)
• Psyche Nexus — Information advantage, disruption, hand control

8. Important Keywords

• Regen X — At the start of your turn, heal X damage from this monster.
• Genome Aura — Ongoing effect that benefits your whole lineage while this monster is in play.

Download Official Rulebook PDF

Helix Monsters is an original game created by Luke Hofmann and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Pokémon, Magic: The Gathering, Yu-Gi-Oh!, or any other trading card game.