Thank you for your interest in EtherMage, a skill-based Trading Card Game, inspired by the ever-popular Magic: The Gathering and Hearthstone. In order to become stronger as an Ethereal Mage, it is vital that you understand the most important part of the Game — Your Cards.
If you’ve stumbled upon this by sheer luck and don’t know what’s going on, here’s where you should start: Introducing EtherMage
A quick recap:
The first and most important thing you need to know about Cards in EtherMage is that as a game running on the Blockchain, every card is stored as an ERC-721 token (same as CryptoKitties). This means that every card you own belongs to you and you can trade it with other players for money as you please.
You play as an Ethereal Mage that uses a deck of cards to summon forth Heroes, construct elaborate Structures and cast powerful Magic that conjures spells, equipments and artifacts.
As previously mentioned, Ethereal Mages hail from a place known as the Ethereal Plains and they constantly travel to different realms in search of new adventures. The memories of the people and places they visit are infused into their cards which they can use to summon it.
With every new card pack, it will reveal what new realm Ethereal Mages have travelled to. EtherMage will constantly evolve and introduce new cards, play style and strategies.
Cut to the Chase! Yep yep I hear you…
Let’s talk about the different types of Cards and their uses in Battle.
Firstly, you need know that Red, Blue and Green are the 3 Main Factions and Colors in EtherMage. A card can belong to one or more factions depending on the type of Mana required to summon it.
- The Red Faction advocates strength, aggression, passion, rage, courage and chaos. They are hosts to powerful Heroes that don’t hesitate to deal serious damage to their enemies and win with sheer power and might.
- The Blue Faction is known for its honor, justice, intellect, knowledge, prediction, healing and control. They hold powerful Magic cards that conjures devastating spells, equipments and artifacts.
- The Green Faction represents nature, growth, obstruction, trap, adaptability and protection. They comprise powerful Structures that protects their allies and hinder their enemies, so that the rest of the army can grow over time.
All colors of cards contain a range of Heroes, Structures and Magic Cards.
It is important to be familiar with each type of Card: Hero, Structure and Magic
Hero
Hero cards are the most important cards in your deck as they are the main Attack Force in most Battles. Each Hero leads a set of Troops of their own into battle that help defend it from being destroyed by Enemy Units. They can also form a line of defense protecting you, the Player, from being attacked.
Heroes summoned from Cards are a memory of the different beings you and other Ethereal Mages encountered while travelling through the different realms. They consist of a wide variety of races such as Elves, Dwarves, Orcs, Dragons, Humans and many more. Some cards have effects that only benefit certain races.
Some Heroes even have classes such as Fighter, Lord, Berserker, Thief, etc… even Mages (Yup, Ethereal Mages aren’t the only Magical Folk across the realms), which shows their job, profession, or simply what they do back in their realm.
Hero Cards are identified by the gold-trimmed banner at the top-left of the card.
Structure
Structure cards serve as the main protection against your opponent’s attacks. They can form a strong barricade, slowing the advances of your opponent. When used along with your Heroes, they protect them from being attacked so that they can survive longer to deal damage to the opponent.
Structure summoned from Cards are a memory of the the different places you and other Ethereal Mages visited on their travels through the realms. They range from scenic land forms, to elaborate tower structures and sturdy city walls. Besides defending, Structures can provide support for your Units making them stronger, or hinder your opponent’s forces by slowing their attacks. Structures may even deal damage to Enemy Units, killing them as they attempt to claw through your defenses.
Structure Cards are identified by battlement shaped name banner at the center of the card.
Magic
Magic cards are powers that you as an Ethereal Mage can cast into the Battlefield and even at your opponent. You can hurl powerful spells at your opponent, restore Troops in the Field, and even destroy Enemy Units. Some Magic cards can even conjure equipment and artifacts that give your Units a much needed boost in Battle.
Although they play a support role and should not be the only cards in your arsenal, when used at the right time and along with the right cards in the Field, Magic cards have the potential to tilt the balance in your favor.
Magic Cards are identified by a border and the word ‘Magic’ at the top of the card.
HOW TO READ CARDS?
Summon Cost
Mana is the resource that fuels your summons and each card has a Summon Cost. Displayed on the top left corner of every card, the Summon Cost shows how many and what color of Mana is required to summon it into the Battlefield. There are 3 colors of Mana: Red, Blue and Green. Some cards may require more than one color of Mana to summon while other Cards could be summoned by Mana of any color.
Card Level
Every Card in EtherMage has a Level value in the range of 1 to 10 (displayed as MAX) and shown at the top right corner of the card. Upgrading increases the level of the card by 1. Each level gives a boost to the card’s capability. This can be in the form of a decrease in Summoning Cost or Casting Time, an increase in Troops and Damage, or an improvement in the card’s ability.
Card Name, Sub-name
The name of your Hero, Structure or Magic can be found in the middle of the card inside the name banner. Sub-names below are used to describe the object featured in the Card.
Card Ability
Some cards have abilities that perform an effect when summoned into the Battle Field or triggered during Battle. All of a card’s abilities are written in the bottom section of the Card.
There are a variety of effects, including attacks, sabotaging the enemy’s plans, or creating strategic synergies that compliment other ally units.
Card Abilities examples:
- Charge — Attacks immediately when summoned into the Battlefield
- Taunt — Enemy units must attack units with Taunt before any non-Taunt units.
- Flying — Ignores enemy Heroes without Flying or Range, when attacking.
Card Trigger examples:
- Warcry — A unit with Warcry performs its ability the moment it enters the Field.
- Deathsong — A unit with Deathsong performs its ability the moment it is destroyed and exits the Field.
- Other Conditions — A unit with such ability triggers will perform the ability whenever the condition is fulfilled.
- Ability Persistence: Cards without triggers or conditions are always in effect as long as the card is inside the Battlefield. However, abilities can be removed by other Cards in play.
Troops
Each Unit in the Battlefield is defended by a number of Troops as indicated at the bottom left corner of the card. When a Unit receives Damage, its own Troop count is reduced. Once a Unit receives as much Damage as its remaining Troop count, it will be destroyed.
Damage
Whenever a Unit attacks, it deals the amount of Damage indicated at the bottom center of the Card at its target. A target Unit will have its Troop count reduced by the amount of Damage successfully dealt to it.
Casting Time
Once a card is summoned into the Battlefield, it will wait for its Casting Time to complete before attacking. The Casting Time of a card is shown in the bottom right corner of the card. After attacking, the card restarts its casting time to prepare for another attack. The cycle continues until the card is destroyed.
CARD RARITIES
Rarity is an approximate indication of the quality and scarcity of a card. Higher Rarity Cards are usually more powerful or mana cost efficient, but may be more complex to use.
There are 5 rarities of Cards, as indicated by the Gem display at the bottom of each card. The chance of obtaining a card of each rarity in Booster Packs after launch are as follows:
*STARTER CARDS: Cards without Gems are Starter Cards available after launch and are usable once you create an account.
With your current understanding of Cards, you should be able to build your first deck!
Unfortunately, EtherMage is still in development but if you’d like to be one of the first to experience the fun, join our Mailing List here.
If you want to be well prepared or simply can’t contain your curiosity (or just want to read more of my ramblings -OwO-), you can go ahead and learn about possible deck building strategies. Head over to the Deck Building Guide: EtherMage Art of Deck Building-COMING SOON!
And if you TL;DR, DON’T CLICK ME
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