This page is dedicated to a few important aspects of the KULT Order of Play that may not be exactly clear while reading the rules.
THE ORDER OF PLAY
1) DRAW CARDS
You must fill your hand to 7 cards at this point. If you already have 7 or more cards in your hand at this point, you may not draw any cards.
In effect, this step actually has three "phases" to it. The reason is that you or your Adversaries may want to play Commandments either before or after the actual drawing takes place, but still within the "Draw Step".
It is important to note that when you draw cards, it is an INSTANTANEOUS EVENT. This means that you may not play ANY cards at all (especially those you just drew) until you have drawn ALL your cards. This means you cannot draw a "play at any time" Commandment card, play it, and then draw another to replace the card you just played!
So, the actual Draw Step goes like this:
1) The player's turn begins, as does his/her Draw Step. Players may play relevant Commandment cards at this time (including cards that state "Play during your turn" or "Play at any time").
2) The player draws cards to fill his/her hand to 7 cards.
3) Players may again play relevant Commandment cards at this time (including cards that state "Play during your turn" or "Play at any time").
If you have 7 or more cards in your hand at the beginning of your turn, you STILL have a Draw Step! This also means that players who play CHESED or GAMICHICOTH (and are limited to 4 cards) do indeed have a Draw Step as well, even though they draw a card whenever they use one.
2) SWAY POP MARKERS
An important thing to remember here is that your may only Sway Pop Markers INWARD toward your Hub (from your Cast to your Stage and from your Stage to your Hub). You may not Sway a Pop Marker from a Cast member to another Cast member, for instance. Also, both cards involved MUST be face-up, since Swaying will cause both cards to Turn. Exception: your Major Arcanum card is never Turned when Swaying.
If a card has 2 or more Pop Markers on it, you may only Sway one Pop Marker at a time, since each Sway must be from a face-up card to another face-up card (and since the cards are then Turned). If the card has 2 Pop Markers on it, the first one Swayed from the card will cause the card to Turn. Therefore, it may not Sway again.
3) RECRUIT POP MARKERS
At this point you place a Pop Marker from the Population Pool on each of your FACE-UP Cast members. You may not place a Pop Marker on cards that are already holding as many Pop Markers as they are allowed, but you may place a Pop Marker on a card that already has a Pop Marker but may hold more. For example, if a card may hold up to 2 Pop Markers, and it currently has one Pop Marker on it (and it is face-up) you may Recruit a Pop Marker to that card.
An important thing to remember here is that Recruiting a Pop Marker to a Cast member does NOT cause the card to Turn! The only thing that does cause a card to turn is SWAYING (plus various card effects).
Also, you may only Recruit onto cards in a Cast, you may not Recruit onto cards in a Stage.
Finally, here is a VERY IMPORTANT clarification that you may have heard otherwise (even from me). Recruiting Pop Markers is NOT MANDATORY. However, you must choose to either Recruit or not Recruit at all. You may not Recruit to some cards and not to others.
For example, I have placed the SECRET AGENT into your Cast. It's time for you to Recruit. You may either Recruit to ALL of the cards that may take a Pop Marker (including my Secret Agent, imagine that) or choose to NOT Recruit AT ALL.
Even if you choose not to Recruit Pop Markers, your Recruit Step STILL occurs. This is important because some players may want to play card effects at this time.
4) PERFORM DEEDS
You may perform the PROCLAIM and INFLUENCE deeds as many times as you wish. There is no limit to the number of deeds you may perform. This is particularly true with CHESED and GAMICHICOTH, who may continue to draw cards and put them into play without restriction! Take a look at SUITS below for more.
PROCLAIM
Originally it was intended that the Proclaim Deed could be used to place cards in other player's Mystic Crosses without restriction, and lately that idea has (incorrectly) come up again. You may NOT Proclaim a card into another player's Mystic Cross unless that card states that it may be played in this manner (for example: the SECRET AGENT).
The only cards that are Proclaimed are BEINGS and REGIONS. They are placed in empty Stations to fill that Station. They essentially become the BASE CARD of that Station.
INFLUENCE
However, there is no restriction to playing Influence cards in other players' Mystic Crosses. In fact, many Influence cards are best suited for your opponents! One thing to remember is that you are not restricted to playing "bad" Influence cards in your opponents' Mystic Crosses and "good" cards in yours. You may play any type of card in anybody's Mystic Cross. Sometimes it is best to hurt your own Beings for the greater goal!
5) ATTACK
Your Beings MAY attack other Beings in YOUR Mystic Cross. The attack rules still apply (Cast members may only attack Cast members). Often this is the best way to eliminate an unwanted Being.
You may not attack Regions.
An important thing to remember here is that you can do just about anything DURING the combat modification portion of combat, especially play cards that may be played "at any time." However, AFTER the combat has been modified the combat is resolved and nothing more can happen (see TIMING, below!). This is an important aspect. Take advantage of it! For example, the DRUG DEALER has a wicked ability take lets it discard any Pawn in play by making a simple Repel. Let's say the Drug Dealer is attacked by a Nepharite - certain doom for the Drug Dealer. During combat modification the Pawn may perform it's Special Ability ("any time" is any time!) and perform a bunch of Repels to get rid of a bunch of Pawns on its way out! Another example of this is if the Drug Dealer is attacked by another Pawn. The Drug Dealer may make a Repel and discard it's attacker, ending the combat!
WEAPONS
Many Influence cards are designated as WEAPONS. A Being may only USE one Weapon during a combat. However, the Being may HAVE as many Weapons as you wish to give it. At the beginning of each combat, simply choose which Weapon you will use. If the current Weapon is somehow affected, you may switch over to a different Weapon at any time. The only rule is that only one Weapon (per Being involved) may affect the final outcome of the combat.
6) DISCARD ONE CARD FROM YOUR HAND
This is purely optional. You do not have to discard a card if you do not want to.
Remember, all discards in KULT are FACE-DOWN. This means that you do not have to show your opponent which card you discarded!
If CHESED or GAMICHICOTH discards a card during this step, they may draw a card to replace it. However, they only are permitted one discard per turn (just like anybody else). Also, see THE VOID.
7) TURN YOUR CARDS FACE-UP
This is MANDATORY. You must turn all of your Turned cards face-up at this point. If a card is not allowed to be flipped face-up, it is not flipped. This is the end of your turn.