Let's Learn the Deck
Now that we have learned the card breakdown and what all Card Types there are in the game, let's learn about deck construction.
The Legions
Choosing your Legion is only the first part of learning and building a fun and/or competitive deck.
All 8 Legions have there own strengths and weaknesses.
Some are more aggressive in nature, like that of the Orcs and Titans.
Where some are more controlling, like that of the Angels and Demons.
Some are more based on manipulating the tempo of the game, like that of the Heroes and Dwarfs.
Where some are all about going for bigger combos, like that of the Mythical Beast and Undead.
Ultimately it is your decision!
The Warlord
After choosing your Legion, we move onto the most important part of all deck construction, choosing your Warlord.
When choosing your Warlord, you want to take into account your play-style as a player (ex. what you like doing during the course of playing a game), the Special Ability that your Warlord supplies you in battle, as wells as, the overall attack power of both the Magical and Physical Attack of your chosen Warlord.
*Keep in mind though, there is the DCM number for your Warlord as well. Like we discussed already, in the Card Breakdown Quickstart Guide, this is your Warlord's Damage Counter Max (basically the overall health of your Warlord). This number as a life total might also factor into your decision of your Warlord.
In the beginning products of Legions Realms at War TCG there are only the Starter Warlords available for each Legion.
More Warlords will come with future expansion sets, for more decisions, and even further customization!
The Synergy
After choosing your Warlord, we move onto the Synergy. This is also a very important card in deck construction. As it says in the name, this card supplies a synergistic connection between what cards are in your deck and the power of your chosen Realm.
The Synergy is a card that will only be used a handful of times throughout a game, as it take turns to Cool Down (CD) and recharge, so make sure you remember to focus on that CD number as well. Synergies with lower CD numbers can be activated more frequently throughout a game, however they tend to not be as game changing with their effects. Where as Synergies with higher CD numbers, will take longer to recharge, but will reward you with more impactful effects when you do choose to activate them.
In the Two Player Battle Decks of Legions Realms at War TCG there are only the Starter Synergy Cards available for each Legion.
However more Synergy Cards are introduced right away at launch in the Ravaged Lands Booster Set, as Foiled Renown Rares no less. These new Synergies allow for more calculated decisions, and further formations of deeper strategies to build your deck around!
The Guardian
After Choosing your Synergy, we move onto the Guardian. Now you must be informed right away, Guardians are an expansion to the game right out of the gates.
Guardians are not found in the Legions Realms at War Two Player Battle Decks. They are not a necessity to play the game, and you may choose to never use one.
*However do be advised, Guardians do give you quite the competitive edge when playing your games. Not only do they grant you an effect at the very start of the game before the first player even starts playing cards, they also have an activated effect that you can choose to use during your turn.
This Guardian effect that you can choose to activate during your turn, pairs with your Warlord's attacks in a way that grants you additional benefits; almost as if they are magically aiding your Warlord in battle.
The Guardians Majik is seen on the cards in Alchemy Points or AP, this like your Warlord's life can be used as a resource to use throughout the game. Not just by your Guardians own ability, but by cards that you can put into your deck during construction. These cards have a (Consume) cost listed on them. Those cards with the (Consume) cost can only be put into your deck or played during your game, if first, you have a Guardian, and second, your Guardian has AP left to spend from their starting number.
Warrior Cards
Moving onto the first types of cards that will appear most in your deck, we have the Warrior cards. These are your main fighters and source of damage output towards your opponent's Warlord, beyond your own Warlord.
The Warrior cards range in attack power from 1 to 5.
Atk: 5 being the strongest and Atk: 1 being the weakest.
*Note* All Warriors in Legions Realms at War TCG with the Atk: 1 have an ability, or various abilities, we call Keywords.
Keywords are abilities that either trigger upon entry to the battlefield, upon battling with another Warrior on the battlefield, or upon being destroyed and/or sent to the discard pile.
All Keyword abilities are listed in full detail describing what they each do, in something we call, reminder text. This appears on all Warrior cards that have Keyword abilities upon launch of the game. As time goes on, and players learn to become more comfortable with the understanding of these Keyword abilities, we will be able to remove the reminder text and just maintain the Keyword abilities on the Warrior cards by themselves.
Unified Cards
Moving onto the second card type to consider during deck construction, Unified cards.
These cards can only be activated (face-up) or played face-down on your side of the battlefield in their respective Unified card zones.
They cannot be activated during your opponent's turn as they are forces of Majik that you wield for offensive purposes.
Unified cards can only be activated during your turn.
Unified effects that activate in the eradication zone and/or discard pile must follow similar rules in terms of their effects must only be activated during your turn.
Fortified Cards
Moving onto the third and final card type to consider during your deck construction, Fortified cards.
These cards can only be set face-down on your side of the battlefield in their respective Fortified card zones. They cannot be activated during your turn as they are fortifications for defensive purposes.
Fortified cards can only be activated during your opponent's turn, and only if you had them set face-down on your side of the field your prior turn.
Fortified effects that activate in the eradication zone and/or discard pile must follow similar rules in terms of their effects must only be activated during your opponent's turn.
Questions about the Deck Construction
How many cards must be in a deck? Is there a maximum or minimum amount of cards necessary?
When building your deck, you will need to have a minimum amount of 50 cards in your main deck. However, you can have up to a maximum of 60 cards in your main deck if you wish. Remember the Veil/Realm, Warlord, Synergy, and Guardian cards do not count towards your minimum 50 card main deck, as they are not actually part of your deck total.
How many copies of each card can I have in a single deck?
You are able to have up to 3 copies of each Common, Uncommon, and Rare of the same name.
However, when it comes to the higher rarity cards, the limits within the decks change. You are able to have up to 2 Renown Rares of the same name in your deck, and you are able to have up to 1 Exalted Rare of the same name in your deck.
Can you build a deck without 1 or more of the 3 different card types?
You can build a deck with 1, 2, or all 3 different card types. There is no limit to how many of one card type of, Warrior, Unified, or Fortified you can have in your deck. However, keep in mind that if your Warlord takes too much damage you will lose the game, so you may need more Warriors and/or Fortified cards to make sure you can defend your Warlord in battle.
Go Back: Learning the Card
If you think you need a refresher on the individual card breakdown, or if you feel like you need a little more clarification on card types you can always go back to revisit the previous Guide. This will give you further understanding to exactly what you are looking at as you are deck building.
Up Next: Learning the Battlefield
If you think you got the structure on how the deck is built, and the basics of how construct one for yourself, you can now move onto learning the Battlefield. This will be the layout of where all the cards you put into your deck will go when you play them in a game.
Interested in playing the game right out of the box?
If you are interested in learning more about the pre-constructed, Two Player Battle Decks that are the best way for players to jump right into the game and learn how to play, you can go to our Armoury page by clicking here. All 4 of these paired decks, as well as booster expansion products, will be available for purchase at your Local Game Store in Summer 2021!