1. Both players’ factions start the game in play.
2. Both players look at their faction and find the “Starting Resources” entry. Then, both players must search their deck for the appropriate resource cards and put them into play face-down.
3. Flip a coin or roll a die. The winner decides who will go first. For the sake of this example, assume you are going first.
4. Turn your starting resources face-up.
5. Look at your faction and find the “Starting Draw” entry. Draw the appropriate number of cards from your deck.
6. Pick any number of cards in your hand and put them on the bottom of your deck in any order. Then, draw the same number of cards from your deck to replace the old ones. (You may only do this one time.)
7. Your opponent repeats steps 4 through 6.
8. You take the first turn of the game.