Beta Showdown 3: Build your own deck!

4 min readAug 22, 2023

This weekend, Aradena is closing out the summer with our third beta showdown tournament, showcasing some major updates in the latest version of Aradena: Battlegrounds.

The latest updates include: Totally overhauled VFX; over 20 new cards; new mechanics; and finally…the ability to make your own custom decks!

The tournament begins at 12pm UTC on Friday 25th August, and prizes include loot chests, card packs, warriors, cosmetics, and more. The winner will even get to work with our very own game design team to design their own card to be immortalised within the World of Aradena!

Please read on for more tournament details and full patch notes, and we’ll see you on the battlegrounds very soon…

Tournament Details

Showdown 3 will be a 3-day tournament, running from Friday 25th August, 12:00 pm UTC to Monday 28th August, 12:00 pm UTC.

The tournament is free to enter — just create an account on our website and download Aradena: Battlegrounds on Elixir.

For simplicity the format for Showdown 3 will be points only, same as before: 3 points for a win, 1 for a loss or concession, and 0 for a disconnect or concession before Turn 4. There are prize milestones for achieving over 1, 20, and 50 points, and major prizes for the top 8 ranked players on the leaderboard.

Please note that as in our previous tournaments, Aradena makes sure to maintain fair competition and will revise the scores of any players who rack up points through feeding/trading games or engaging in other unsporting activities.

Prize Pool

1st: Design a card or cosmetic with the team and receive a gold copy when released. Also receive 10 Loot Chests, 10 Genesis card packs, 1 Might Warrior, 1 Heroic Cosmetic Set including matching Golem Skin, Ornament, and Card Back
2nd: 7 Loot Chests, 7 Genesis card packs, 1 Heroic Ornament, 1 Heroic Card Back
3rd: 6 Loot Chests, 6 Genesis card packs, 1 Heroic Card Back
4th: 5 Loot Chests, 5 Genesis card packs
5th: 4 Loot Chests, 4 Genesis card packs
6th: 3 Loot Chests, 3 Genesis card packs
7th: 2 Loot Chests, 2 Genesis card packs, 1 Silver Card Pack
8th: 1 Loot Chest, 1 Genesis card pack, 1 Silver Card Pack

Milestone Achievements

We will be continuing with a slightly modified version of our Milestone prizes, which are structured as follows:

1 game = +25 Silver, 5x each Commodity
10+ points = +50 Silver
20+ points = 1 x Silver Card Pack
50+ points = +1 Genesis Card Pack, + 1 Silver Card Pack

*Genesis Packs are first come first serve, 300 Supply. Eligibility for Pack Claims will be based on points at the end of the tournament not when the achievement was reached.

Patch Notes (v 0.0.6)

The latest update to the Aradena: Battlegrounds beta demonstrates a lot of progress compared to previous builds. Player experiences are improved through a combination of new features, balancing tweaks, and visual improvements. We hope you enjoy the revamped Aradena: Battlegrounds! As always, please continue to give us your feedback in our Discord server.

Deck Builder:

Deck builder turned on including Create, Edit, Save and Delete functionality
3 card duplicate limit has been reduced to 2

Mechanic Updates:

Poison Mechanic now grants a permanent -1 Strength and -1 Health Debuff, ignoring armour
Buffs and other spell effects are now stackable

Card Updates:

20+ New cards added
Existing cards have been reevaluated and modified for balance
Old cards previously removed have been reworked and reintroduced to the game
New Warrior added, Abe the Ambitious, a 1 Mana 1/2 Warrior that can trade 1 health for 1 attack
Player 2 now receives two 0 cost cards on turn 1: “Blink” (mini teleport) and “Mana” (Gain 1 Mana this Turn)

Card Art & VFX:

Several cards received visual updates to their artwork
New projectile effects, including Fireballs and Magic Missiles, contribute to a more dynamic battlefield
Spells, effects and board state VFX overhauled

UI Updates:

Faction badges on cards are now functional
Ranged attack icons now functional
Legacy control point counter removed from HUD
Placeholder “35 Rank Achieved” notice has been eliminated

Bug Fixes & Adjustments:

White hexes that would hang around on hexes have been taken out fixed
Removed points achieved notifications from both the defeat and victory screens for a smoother game finish experience.

Conclusion

The upcoming Beta Showdown 3 event marks another major milestone in the development of Aradena: Battlegrounds. Notable updates include a significant revamp of VFX, the addition of over 20 new cards, and more. The highlight, however, is the introduction of the deck builder, allowing players to create their own customised decks and introducing a new level of strategic depth into the latest beta version.

Players are set to engage in fierce competition, with a range of prizes up for grabs, including an exclusive opportunity for the winner to collaborate with our game design team and immortalise their own card in the world of Aradena.

Players, both old and new, are invited to join, give feedback, and most importantly, enjoy the latest version of Aradena: Battlegrounds. The battleground awaits you…may the best deck win!