Behind the Curtain: Just My Type

Whether digital, physical, or both, every TCG shares a few core concepts. One of these is that every TCG will have a variety of cards, both in terms of categories and types of cards. Legion is no different, and today I'd like to go over the multiple card types we have available to add to your arsenal. Without further delay let's dive right into it:

-HUBS-

Decks in Legion are made up of 60 cards, and one of them always has to be your Hub. A Hub is a card that sits outside your deck and will always have an effect that happens whenever its stated to happen. For some this means that at the beginning of your turn something will happen, while others might take effect during an opponent's turn. One of the things that makes Hubs so unique is that they act as a sort of identifier for your deck without explicitly defining its contents. Hubs are flavored, designed, and developed towards a specific domain's play style;  but they never dictate that you MUST play cards of that domain. This means that for some players, their Hub will be what they build their deck around; others will simply find the hub that fits their deck's strategy better than the others.

-SUMMONS-

Summons are the bones of any Legion deck. Without them a player can't play their card. Each domain has its own summon and a player must activate these summons in order to cast spells of that domain. Being defined by their domain isn't the only thing summons can do, and in fact, as the weeks roll by and we reveal more about the game you will see that there are summons with their own special abilities. 

-ESSENCE-

In a majority of TCGs there is some kind of card that acts as a resource, and in most games that resource is limited to one type. In Legion there are two types of resources. The first are Summons, which you've already been acquainted with. The second are Essence. Essence make up a special 10 card side deck that a player may play one card from on each of their turns. Essence are used to activate abilities, and once an Essence is gone its gone for good--unless a player sacrifices a Summon to bring one Essence back to the game; because of their inherently finite nature, Essence lead to a lot of interesting gameplay.

-GRUNTS-

Grunts are the creatures, minions, and beast you will call to your aide during the course of a battle. They all have a number identifying how much damage they can take before begin destroyed (HP), and a number identifying how much damage they deal (ATK). Playable only during your first and second Primary Phases, Grunts cannot attack the turn they're played (unless otherwise stated). Part of what makes Grunts so wonderful in Legion is that each one is its own unique entity with its own abilities, flavor, and type. From the lowliest goat to the mightiest dragon, a player can command a large variety of Grunts in their decks.

-BUFFS-

Buffs are cards that, well, buff your Grunts. Whether played on the battlefield, or onto Grunts directly each one is meant to bestow some kind of extra oomph to your grunts. Allowing you to get the edge over your opponent. Uniquely in Legion, buffs may be played at any time during your turn, including combat. Due to their instantaneous nature, buffs can and often do lead to interesting combat scenarios as well as ensure no two games are identical. All Buffs can be played on any Grunt, and some can be used by the savvy player to derail their opponent's plans.

-PIECES-

Pieces are like Buffs, but specifically for Hubs. Like Grunts, your Pieces may only be played during your first and second Primary Phases. Pieces can be played on any Hub, but a Hub may only have one piece on it at a time. Cunning players can use this to their advantage by playing an inferior piece on their foe's Hub.

-EVENTS-

One of the unique focuses of Legion is effects that are symmetrical and the story around the game, because of this a card type was needed that would tick-off both of these boxes. Enter Events. Cards that  can only be played anytime you could play a Piece, or Grunt; but that effect the entire board and everyone playing. Events are broken up into two categories: ones that happen and then go to their owner's graveyard, and those that stick around. For Events that stick around after being played, their effect will happen to everyone playing whenever it states to happen; for some events this means that everyone will get to draw an extra card, while for some it means that players will have to make a choice between what Grunts they can attack with. In addition to being symmetrical designs, each event depicts an important part of the story surrounding Legion. Be on the lookout for them during games as they are quite powerful and memorable.

-SPECIALS-

Our last, but by no means lesser, card type is Specials. Specials are your miscellaneous spells that do everything from countering a spell to drawing a card. Specials can be played at anytime on any turn, and as such are the quickest cards in the entire game. Every deck builder is going to want to include specials in their lists as they often provide answers to tough gameplay and construction puzzles. 

So there you have it, the eight ways we break up cards in Legion. Each serves an important purpose, and while some of required to have a legal deck (Hubs), not every deck will run every type. As with all things in life discovery is the most enjoyable part, and we hope that with such a wide variety of card types players will spend a lot of time 'under the hood,' fine tuning their decks and experimenting with wild-new combinations.