Welcome to Cards and Castles 2!
Balance Hotfix - School of Time
School of Time's ability can no longer be used during the extra turn that school of time grant. Originally we thought the 7 card cost would make this a non-issue. However, some clever players have figured out ways to reliably gain 7 cards during their turn, preventing their opponent from playing the game entirely. This hotfix still allows players to as many extra turns as they can afford, but crucially, they can't be all in a row.
Next Battle Pass - Experiment!!
Hello everyone! The new battle pass season is just a few days away, and I am pleased to announce that the next pass will have roughly equal or better content for just TEN DOLLARS! That means 1000 silver to unlock the premium track. This battle pass will last for 60 days and be filled with all sorts of goodies. Do note that we consider this an experimental change, and there is no guarantee that further battle passes will cost this same amount. However, the premium track will include over 2500 silver as well, which will be enough for you to buy the next battle pass even if we update the price again. Yay!
As part of this pricing change, we will be removing the Welcome Bundle and Patron's Bundle from the store. We want there to be no shortcuts to the 1000 silver for a battle pass unlock, and there to be no confusion amongst players about what they should buy first. We're very excited to try this out and hope to see a lot of battle pass purchases from new players! And if we don't, we'll just go back to the current model as its worked out well enough anyway. Happy New Year!
As part of this pricing change, we will be removing the Welcome Bundle and Patron's Bundle from the store. We want there to be no shortcuts to the 1000 silver for a battle pass unlock, and there to be no confusion amongst players about what they should buy first. We're very excited to try this out and hope to see a lot of battle pass purchases from new players! And if we don't, we'll just go back to the current model as its worked out well enough anyway. Happy New Year!
Future Roadmap!
Hey everyone, we'd like to give a brief overview of what's coming to Cards and Castles 2 this year! We're a small team working very hard, so our roadmap is not going to be super fancy or have specific dates laid out, but we want to give you a general outline of what's in store.
- DECK BUILDER REDESIGN: The current deck building UI is not nearly good enough. We are making a new one! Expect it to be completely different, much better suited to the task of deck building, and calibrated for both PC and mobile.
- CORE SET REVAMP: While the big card expansions are being worked on, we've realized we need to make a lot of improvements to the core set. Launching the game has been a big learning experience, and we've gradually realized that there are a lot of gameplay weaknesses that need to be addressed at all skill levels. This isn't the sort of thing we can address with new cards. Expect to see a dramatic rebalancing of agro as a concept, reworking of the early game curve and card draw, pruning of unnecessary complexity, and the addition of necessary complexity among many other updates. We are working closely with the community and players to address feedback and get the core set into tip-top shape before moving on to new stuff.
- BIG CARD EXPANSIONS: We plan to have at least one, and HOPEFULLY multiple big card expansions this year!
- LIMITED FORMAT: We know there is a lot of interest in a draft or event mode, and we will be rolling out SOMETHING as soon as it makes sense to do so.
Again, we are a small team but we are working very hard and with great agility to deliver the very best experience for our players. We hope you are looking forward to the coming updates as much as we are!
- DECK BUILDER REDESIGN: The current deck building UI is not nearly good enough. We are making a new one! Expect it to be completely different, much better suited to the task of deck building, and calibrated for both PC and mobile.
- CORE SET REVAMP: While the big card expansions are being worked on, we've realized we need to make a lot of improvements to the core set. Launching the game has been a big learning experience, and we've gradually realized that there are a lot of gameplay weaknesses that need to be addressed at all skill levels. This isn't the sort of thing we can address with new cards. Expect to see a dramatic rebalancing of agro as a concept, reworking of the early game curve and card draw, pruning of unnecessary complexity, and the addition of necessary complexity among many other updates. We are working closely with the community and players to address feedback and get the core set into tip-top shape before moving on to new stuff.
- BIG CARD EXPANSIONS: We plan to have at least one, and HOPEFULLY multiple big card expansions this year!
- LIMITED FORMAT: We know there is a lot of interest in a draft or event mode, and we will be rolling out SOMETHING as soon as it makes sense to do so.
Again, we are a small team but we are working very hard and with great agility to deliver the very best experience for our players. We hope you are looking forward to the coming updates as much as we are!
Balance Hotfix
This is a small and quick patch to address ongoing balance concerns from the community, and is NOT our more comprehensive upcoming balance revamp:
Preparation: Cost increased to 3 (was 2).
Eternity Strike: Cost increased to 5 (was 3).
Blessed are the Meek: Cost increased to 4 (was 3).
Preparation: Cost increased to 3 (was 2).
Eternity Strike: Cost increased to 5 (was 3).
Blessed are the Meek: Cost increased to 4 (was 3).
Upcoming Revamp Preview
Hey everyone, we made a fairly long post giving a high level overview of the upcoming balance and mechanics revamp. Click here to read the full post on our Steam page and see what's coming to the game next!
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app ... 1027046857
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app ... 1027046857
Major Revamp Is Live!
Draft Mode and the major revamp are now live! Check our community discord for an overview and patch notes.
Balance Patch and Announcement
Hello players! It's been 1 week since the launch of our massive revamp, and we couldn't be happier with the overall cadence of gameplay so far! It looks like the game is in really good shape considering how much we changed at once, and we're very confident in this overall design philosophy going forward. On the details side, we are still doing the occasional balance patch just like any game, and now that we've collected a week of player feedback and data, we wanted to check in with some spot adjustments.
We also wanted to announce that NEW CARDS ARE COMING SOONER THAN YOU THINK! Think of this as the announcement of the announcement.
We have been hard at work on the next major card set all this time, and the time draws near. Stay tuned for more info. Today's patch notes are below! Thank you for your continued feedback, and feel free to hop into our community Discord to discuss the game with the devs or other players.
PATCH NOTES 3/15/2024
- Essence of Hatred: Effect reduced to -4/-4 (was -5/-5).
- Dancing Swords: Buff reduced to +1 Attack (was +2 Attack). This card is a big outlier for agro packages, and we want to tone that down.
- Final Flash: Spell count reduced to 20 gold (was 25). This card has been overperforming at high ranks for how silly it is, so we are tweaking down its overall value.
- Man the Cannons: Initial cannonball volley reduced to 2 hits (was 3).
- Luminarus: Cost increased to 5 (was 4). While many of the other staple AOE cards have leveled off to a more typical play rate, Man the Cannons and Luminarus are both played at extremely high rates compared to all other cards due to their versatile use cases. We want to see the meta develop with these cards being less ubiquitous, and make room for other defensive options to see more play.
- Torgen: Stats increased to 4/4 (was 4/3).
- The Fairy Queen: Stats of summoned fairies has been generally reduced. This card is overperforming at all ranks, especially in lower ranks, and is also frequently mentioned in player feedback. We want to tone down the value of its Last Will a good amount so that it's less critical to hard counter it with a dispel or transform effect.
- Salahar Spitefish: HP reduced to 2 (was 3).
We also wanted to announce that NEW CARDS ARE COMING SOONER THAN YOU THINK! Think of this as the announcement of the announcement.
We have been hard at work on the next major card set all this time, and the time draws near. Stay tuned for more info. Today's patch notes are below! Thank you for your continued feedback, and feel free to hop into our community Discord to discuss the game with the devs or other players.PATCH NOTES 3/15/2024
- Essence of Hatred: Effect reduced to -4/-4 (was -5/-5).
- Dancing Swords: Buff reduced to +1 Attack (was +2 Attack). This card is a big outlier for agro packages, and we want to tone that down.
- Final Flash: Spell count reduced to 20 gold (was 25). This card has been overperforming at high ranks for how silly it is, so we are tweaking down its overall value.
- Man the Cannons: Initial cannonball volley reduced to 2 hits (was 3).
- Luminarus: Cost increased to 5 (was 4). While many of the other staple AOE cards have leveled off to a more typical play rate, Man the Cannons and Luminarus are both played at extremely high rates compared to all other cards due to their versatile use cases. We want to see the meta develop with these cards being less ubiquitous, and make room for other defensive options to see more play.
- Torgen: Stats increased to 4/4 (was 4/3).
- The Fairy Queen: Stats of summoned fairies has been generally reduced. This card is overperforming at all ranks, especially in lower ranks, and is also frequently mentioned in player feedback. We want to tone down the value of its Last Will a good amount so that it's less critical to hard counter it with a dispel or transform effect.
- Salahar Spitefish: HP reduced to 2 (was 3).
Meta Report and Balance Patch
Hello everyone! As many of you know, we set out with our large revamp to improve the pace of gameplay such that the typical game lasts between 8 and 15 turns. Currently, since the revamp, only around 10% of overall games end before turn 8. We think this is pretty reasonable, and unlikely to go down further without harming the meta in other ways. On the other end, around 20% of games last more than 15 turns, and we're not as happy with this. We are also seeing the Crusader faction heavily overperforming and overplayed in the meta, with a number of key cards carrying the faction. This data syncs up very well with tournament results and player feedback. These numbers vary somewhat between skill brackets, but the general trend holds.
To further push the game toward an ideal pacing and meta balance, we're deploying a small balance patch that targets two key elements. First, we think that healing numbers are slightly too high for our game, so we're reducing healing across the board. We think this has more impact in lengthening games on the backend, than it does in preventing agro early on (which has more to do with regaining board control). Secondly, we are nerfing a number of Crusader cards to try and get the faction into a better spot balance-wise.
We're still in the post-patch free exchange period, where players can exchange any card for any other. We'll be keeping an eye on balance in the coming weeks, but we expect this update will push us very far in the right direction.
In addition, Epic Packs have returned to the shop due to popular demand! We had removed these because we are worried about overstuffing the shop with pack options as we start adding expansions, but they are popular enough that we will find some other way to manage shop bloat in the future. We have also added a BUNCH of new deck boxes to the shop as well!
PATCH NOTES 3/17/2024
- Dwarf Paladin: Heal reduced to 2 (was 3).
- Wraps of Mending: Heal reduced to 3 (was 4).
- Adaptive Armor: Heal reduced to 2 (was 3).
- Circle of Life: Heal reduced to 2 (was 3).
- Shaman: Stats reduced to 3/1 (was 3/3).
- Earth Knight: Stats reduced to 2/6 (was 2/7). Heal reduced to 2 (was 3).
- Salvation: Heal for 2. If your Castle had 10 or less Health, draw a card.
- Drain Life: Cost increased to 2 (was 1).
- Plea of the Righteous: Castle HP buff reduced to 2 (was 3).
- Ancient Arbor: Castle HP buff reduced to 2 (was 4).
- Luminarus: Cost reduced to 2, and effect reduced to 1.
- Faithful Drake: Stats changed to 3/2 (was 2/4).
- Baptism of Fire: Damage reduced to 3 (was 4).
- Salahar Spitefish: Stats reduced to 2/2 (was 3/2).
- Angel of Mercy: Now resurrects units costing 2 or less (was 3 or less).
- Wrath of Judgment: Cost increased to 3 (was 2).
- Dragon Knight: Cost increased to 6 (was 5).
- Lionel: Cost increased to 7 (was 5). Stats increased to 5/8 (was 5/5).
- Eternal Phoenix: Cost reduced to 2. Stats reduced to 3/2.
- Jonviev: Stats reduced to 4/6 (was 5/6). Cost increased to 10 (was 9).
- Dramoth: Cost reduced to 9 (was 10). No longer has Guardian. Now draws Dragons from your deck instead of generating them, and your next Dragon costs (3) less.
To further push the game toward an ideal pacing and meta balance, we're deploying a small balance patch that targets two key elements. First, we think that healing numbers are slightly too high for our game, so we're reducing healing across the board. We think this has more impact in lengthening games on the backend, than it does in preventing agro early on (which has more to do with regaining board control). Secondly, we are nerfing a number of Crusader cards to try and get the faction into a better spot balance-wise.
We're still in the post-patch free exchange period, where players can exchange any card for any other. We'll be keeping an eye on balance in the coming weeks, but we expect this update will push us very far in the right direction.
In addition, Epic Packs have returned to the shop due to popular demand! We had removed these because we are worried about overstuffing the shop with pack options as we start adding expansions, but they are popular enough that we will find some other way to manage shop bloat in the future. We have also added a BUNCH of new deck boxes to the shop as well!
PATCH NOTES 3/17/2024
- Dwarf Paladin: Heal reduced to 2 (was 3).
- Wraps of Mending: Heal reduced to 3 (was 4).
- Adaptive Armor: Heal reduced to 2 (was 3).
- Circle of Life: Heal reduced to 2 (was 3).
- Shaman: Stats reduced to 3/1 (was 3/3).
- Earth Knight: Stats reduced to 2/6 (was 2/7). Heal reduced to 2 (was 3).
- Salvation: Heal for 2. If your Castle had 10 or less Health, draw a card.
- Drain Life: Cost increased to 2 (was 1).
- Plea of the Righteous: Castle HP buff reduced to 2 (was 3).
- Ancient Arbor: Castle HP buff reduced to 2 (was 4).
- Luminarus: Cost reduced to 2, and effect reduced to 1.
- Faithful Drake: Stats changed to 3/2 (was 2/4).
- Baptism of Fire: Damage reduced to 3 (was 4).
- Salahar Spitefish: Stats reduced to 2/2 (was 3/2).
- Angel of Mercy: Now resurrects units costing 2 or less (was 3 or less).
- Wrath of Judgment: Cost increased to 3 (was 2).
- Dragon Knight: Cost increased to 6 (was 5).
- Lionel: Cost increased to 7 (was 5). Stats increased to 5/8 (was 5/5).
- Eternal Phoenix: Cost reduced to 2. Stats reduced to 3/2.
- Jonviev: Stats reduced to 4/6 (was 5/6). Cost increased to 10 (was 9).
- Dramoth: Cost reduced to 9 (was 10). No longer has Guardian. Now draws Dragons from your deck instead of generating them, and your next Dragon costs (3) less.
Battle Pass Compression
Hey everyone, we've adjusted the end date of the battle pass to align with a future content release, and have dramatically reduced exp requirements to compensate. Players should still be able to easily finish the pass before its end if they were on track before. We will have more news soon!
CITY OF GODS Launches April 18th!
The gods are invading Lyndris! Prepare now for our first major expansion, featuring over 100 new cards to collect! Harness the destructive power of ZEUS, THOR and other gods alongside NEW DRAGONS and other legendary characters! This expansion introduces the new SANCTIFY keyword; sanctify cards can be upgraded in your hand for a price, giving flexibility between cheaper or more expensive plays. New units can also have the REGENERATE combat keyword, allowing them to survive and recover from one source of damage.
Pre-order now to get 50 City of Gods packs at a big discount! We've updated the Shop as well with better deals on bundles and starter items. Check it out!
Pre-order now to get 50 City of Gods packs at a big discount! We've updated the Shop as well with better deals on bundles and starter items. Check it out!