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Arcana public beta
A trading card game where the rules change every two rounds — for both of you.
25 cards, 30 health, 10 mana. Above them, a tarot spread that rewrites what everything costs and ends the match whether you are ready or not.
Currently in public beta — the game is still changing under you.
- 1
Borderland Footman - 3
Guard Captain - 4
Dawn Knight - 6
Werewolf Lord - 9
Dragon of Eternal Night
- 195
- cards
- 20
- arcana
- 6
- ranked tiers
- 60s
- a turn, live
The world
Painted for this game, and nothing else
Every creature here is a card you can open — 195 of them now, across Core Set and The Moon. Half a minute of it, if you want it; the rest of this page will still be here.
The headline
The match has a clock, and the clock is a tarot deck
Six arcana are drawn per match — two early, two in the middle, two to end it. Each holds for two rounds and applies to both players at once. Below is every one of the 20 the game can deal, and what it does while it is overhead.
The SunUnits you play gain +1 health.
The StarAt the start of each round, both heroes heal 1 health.
The MagicianThe first spell each turn is free.
Wheel of FortuneAt the start of your turn, draw 1 extra card.
The EmpressWhenever a unit dies, its owner draws a card.
The ChariotUnits can attack the turn they are played.
TemperanceUnits cannot attack heroes.
The ScalesSpells cost 1 less mana.
The HermitSpells cost 1 more mana.
DeathA unit that kills another unit in combat gains +1/+1.
JusticeUnits you play gain +1 attack.
The SerpentAny damage a unit takes in combat destroys it.
StrengthEach unit may attack twice per turn, but only once at a hero.
The VeilUnit keywords and abilities have no effect.
The Hanged ManAs this arcana turns over, the two boards change sides.
The MoonUnits strike for their health instead of their attack.
The TowerAt the start of each round, both heroes lose 2 health.
JudgementAt the start of each round, both heroes lose 3 health.
The DevilWhenever a unit dies, its owner's hero loses 2 health.
The WorldAs this arcana turns over, every unit is destroyed.
The last two are drawn from the ending phase, which is why a match cannot run forever — and why the deck you brought has to have done its work before it arrives.
The rules
15 things a unit can do, and an engine that enforces them
Everything a unit can do, it does because the same code that runs ranked matches says so — and it is described here in that code's own words.
Keywords
Printed on the card. A unit carries at most one.
- Tauntenemy units must attack this unit.
- Rushcan attack the turn it is played.
- Wardthe first damage this unit would take is prevented.
- Lifestealcombat damage dealt by this unit heals your hero.
Abilities
Standing bonuses, recomputed from the board — or from the round.
- Beast +1Your other Beast units have +1 attack.
- Adjacent +1Adjacent units have +1 attack.
- Early arcana +1While an early arcana is active, this unit has +1 attack.
- +1 per BeastThis unit has +1 attack for each other friendly Beast unit.
- Waning +2this unit has +2 attack on odd-numbered rounds.
Summon
Fires once, the instant the unit lands.
- Summon: +1/+1 per Wildthis unit permanently gains +1/+1 for each other friendly Wild unit.
- Summon: Giant +1/+1your other Giant units permanently gain +1/+1.
Dirge
Fires once, as the unit leaves the board.
- Dirge: draw a carddraw a card.
- Dirge: 1 to the herodeal 1 damage to the enemy hero.
- Dirge: 1 to all enemiesdeal 1 damage to all enemy units.
- Dirge: Undead +1/+1your surviving Undead units permanently gain +1/+1.
The whole rule book is public and needs no account — read the Codex, or every card in the game, before you decide.
The collection
195 cards, 5 rarities, and a pity counter that tells the truth
Core Set, 105 cards; The Moon, 90 cards. Packs hold 5 and are bought with coins you earn by playing.
20
packs to a guaranteed legendary, at the very most
The counter is the server's own, kept per set and shown to you counting down. Duplicates past the deck limit arrive as Arcane Dust instead, which crafts the cards you are missing.
- common
- uncommon
- rare
- epic
- legendary
Every seal hides a promise — and the duplicates you cannot use become dust to craft the ones you can.
The campaign
Five readings, and something waiting at the end of each
"The Wheel Has Stopped" — chapters with their own decks, their own arcana and their own hero health. Beat them for coins, packs, and for the reading further down this page.
The Gate
The Sealed Road
The Price
Midnight Mass
The Tower
The rest of it
What is waiting once the first match is over
None of this is behind a purchase. The game is free, and everything below is reached by playing it.
Ranked, in real time
Live matches against whoever is queuing, 60 seconds a turn, up a ladder of 6 tiers from Bronze to Arcane.
Opponents that think
Computer opponents that plan a turn ahead, at difficulties that go up — plus a practice bot for the deck you are not sure about yet.
A link to a specific person
Private matches by invitation: send a link, play whoever opens it, no queue in between.
A reason to come back
3 daily quests, a 7-day streak that pays a pack at the end of it, and a season pass 30 levels deep.
Somewhere to argue about it
A forum for decks, complaints and the arcana everyone hates this week.
The Codex
Two volumes: every rule and number the engine runs on, and the world the cards come from. Public, no account.
And the rest
22 positions. 20 have ever been dealt.
A major arcana holds 22 cards. The game draws from 20. The remaining two have never turned over for anybody, and this page is not the place you will find out what is on them.
- The Sun
- The Star
- The Magician
- Wheel of Fortune
- The Empress
- The Chariot
- Temperance
- The Scales
- The Hermit
- Death
- Justice
- The Serpent
- Strength
- The Veil
- The Hanged Man
- The Moon
- The Tower
- Judgement
- The Devil
- The World
Two positions are still face down. Clearing the campaign is how you find out what happens when one of them turns.
The spread is dealt either way.
A 25-card deck of your own, 400 coins to open with, and a coach who will walk you through your first match.