Who goes first in Mage Knight Board Game?
WizKids English Rulebook and Walkthrough, 2011
Each Round, the player who took the lowest-numbered Tactic card takes the first turn. Before that, players pick Tactics in order of lowest Fame; at the start everyone has 0 Fame, so ties go to the player whose Round Order token is lower in the column.
Official tie-break or fallback
Ties in Fame when choosing Tactics go to the player whose Round Order token is in the lower position.
If your rules call for a random choice, use the player picker.
Rule details
Full game: players determine an order for choosing Heroes (the Rulebook gives no method), and Round Order tokens are stacked in that order with the first picker on top.
First (Walkthrough) game: the Round Order tokens are randomized during setup, and the player whose token is last picks a Tactic first.
After Tactics are chosen, the Round Order tokens are rearranged by Tactic number, lowest on top; that is the play order for the whole Round.
Source & edition
- Mage Knight Board Game — RulebookWizKids · Page 1, Player Order/Hero Selection; page 3, Round Order tokens in setup; page 4, Preparing a Round (Tactic selection) · Checked 2026-09-25
- Mage Knight Board Game — Game WalkthroughWizKids · Page 5, Round Order Token (randomize); page 7, Choosing Tactics and Taking Turns; page 13, Tactics · Checked 2026-09-25
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