Coming with the release of Alchemical Revolution (ALC), are the three remaining classes in Grand Archive TCG: Guardian, Cleric, and Ranger.
In this article, we'll go over the design principles and goals intended for these classes during their creation, as well as show off a lot of spoilers!
Meet Tonoris, the premier Guardian champion in Alchemical Revolution. Just from these two cards alone, you may start to see how his presence affects the field as he levels up.
With his level 1, his allies are protected from being targeted by attacks, allowing a safer deployment of those allies. His level 2, on the other hand, enables big swings for getting rid of large threats that your allies may otherwise have trouble dealing with.
Similar to a champion of the Warrior class, a Guardian champion's awake state is very valuable to the player. Because Guardians excel at defense, players must choose whether to rest and attack with their champion, or leave them awake to Taunt and protect their allies.
Guardians have very big attacks at a higher cost compared to other attack-based classes.
Players will quickly find that attacking with their Guardian champion will leave them lower than usual on resources. This might prevent them from being as reactive to incoming threats on the following turn.
The Guardian class excels at protective actions and redirecting opposing attacks to a more favorable target you control.
In addition, some Guardian allies feature the new keyword, Steadfast, which allows those allies to be a threat even while rested.
On the other hand, there are many Guardian allies that are meant to be protected as well, rewarding Guardian players by doing so.
The new Foster keyword introduces a new permanent state that an ally can be in, which incentivizes that ally to be protected. At the beginning of your recollection phase, if an ally with Foster has not taken damage since the end of your previous turn, that ally becomes fostered. Allies can't become fostered more than once.
Fostered allies may receive bonus stats or have a special ability that triggers when they become fostered.
Clerics specialize in more defensive spells and preventative effects. This includes protection and negation effects.
Cleric's method of winning is usually more roundabout compare to other classes, so Cleric players must be able to outwit their opponent in order to buy themselves more time.
In addition, Clerics have many rewarding mechanics that focus on the memory zone, which can be an unusual concept to many players coming from other TCGs and may prove to be difficult to master.
Hello Arisanna! Arisanna is one of the most unique champions introduced to Grand Archive TCG so far.
Whenever your champion levels up to become Arisanna level 1 and level 2, you'll gather twice. To gather, you make one of these Herb tokens chosen at random:
These tokens are conveniently marked with D6 faces in order to help determine which token should be made based on a D6 roll.
In addition, Arisanna Starter Decks come with a special D6 with the icon of each Herb.
Each of these Herbs have small effects that they can be sacrificed individually, but they also have extra implications for the next topic for Cleric: Potions.
Potion cards have alternative costs via the Brew mechanic, which allows the player to sacrifice certain ingredients (specified by their name or subtypes) in order to activate the card without paying its reserve cost. Doing so may reward the player with a burst of tempo which otherwise won't be possible by paying costs normally.
Potions can be sacrificed for their effect at any time while on the field, just like some regalia. The ingredients created via the gather keyword each have two ingredient subtypes that allow a great deal of flexibility when designing the ingredient list for many Potions to come.
In order to make Potions more interesting as an object subtype and not just glorified "delayed spells," players can be incentivized to keep their potions around for longer.
In order to do so, some Cleric spells augment Potions on the field even further, providing strong effects, but are dependent on having a Potion already on the field. Because each of these Potion enchancement spells requires to rest the potion it's targeting, using multiple will also require multiple potions on the field.
In addition, certain Potions get better as they age, further incentivizing the Cleric player to brew their potions early and keep them a while longer.
Wrapping up Cleric's kit are cards that reward the player for having their memory zone set up in specific ways.
For example, Stream of Consciousness and Fanatical Devotee both get benefits from their controller having four or more cards in their memory.
In addition, several Cleric class regalia have activatable abilities with a reserve cost, allowing a further degree of memory management.
A major inspiration is how ranged-type units in MOBA and RTS-type games can "kite" (to hit and run against, using distance to their advantage) their enemies.
In addition, the Ranger class should also specialize in attack customization, which should lead to a very tactical feel.
Diana is a Ranger class champion who uses Guns, the first subtype in Grand Archive TCG that has new game rules tied to it (before this, only supertypes and types changed how cards function).
Her level 1 doesn't do anything meaningful until level 2, where you will be able to lineage release that champion card and create a burst of tempo utilizing Gun and Bullet regalia.
Guns are a type of weapon that must be loaded in order to be used for an attack. As an additional restriction, attack cards can't be used in conjunction with Gun weapons.
Whenever a Gun is used for an attack, all of its loaded cards are transferred to the attacker's intent where that card's stats and abilities are considered for the combat phase.
Bullet is also a new subtype that has unique rules to it such that Bullets have a power stat whereas other items don't. Bullets can be loaded into Guns and shot.
If the Bullet is a regalia, it might have the Renewable keyword, which sends the card back to the material deck if it would enter the banishment from the intent or field.
The Ranger class also introduces a new state that both allies and champions can be in called distant. Distant units always stay distant until the end of their controller's turn.
Many cards of the Ranger class can make a unit distant and are usually paired with other effects such as damage prevention, as seen in Evasive Manuever.
Many Ranger units have the Ranged X keyword, which gives that unit's attack +X power as long as they're distant.
This pair of keywords work hand in hand to incentivize players to interact on the opponent's turn and reward them with increased damage output from their units during their own following turn.
Although Guns take a while longer to set up in order to be ready to be used for an attack, the Ranger class also specializes in extra materializations specifically for ammunition-based regalia cards.
There are also non-regalia cards that can be activated normally and loaded into Guns, bypassing the need to materialize during players' valuable materialization phases.
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In this article, we'll go over the design principles and goals intended for these classes during their creation, as well as show off a lot of spoilers!
Guardian
Let's start with Guardian, a class that focuses on field presence. The first thing someone may associated with "Guardian" is its role as a protector. Guardian-based strategies should excel at defending their own field and some cards should reward them for doing so. The board control-focused strategies should increase the complexities of Grand Archive's combat system in a healthy and interactive way.An Indomitable Soul on a Journey to Discover His Truth.
Meet Tonoris, the premier Guardian champion in Alchemical Revolution. Just from these two cards alone, you may start to see how his presence affects the field as he levels up.
With his level 1, his allies are protected from being targeted by attacks, allowing a safer deployment of those allies. His level 2, on the other hand, enables big swings for getting rid of large threats that your allies may otherwise have trouble dealing with.
Similar to a champion of the Warrior class, a Guardian champion's awake state is very valuable to the player. Because Guardians excel at defense, players must choose whether to rest and attack with their champion, or leave them awake to Taunt and protect their allies.
Big Swords, Big Swings
Guardians have very big attacks at a higher cost compared to other attack-based classes.
Players will quickly find that attacking with their Guardian champion will leave them lower than usual on resources. This might prevent them from being as reactive to incoming threats on the following turn.
Masters of Defense
The Guardian class excels at protective actions and redirecting opposing attacks to a more favorable target you control.
In addition, some Guardian allies feature the new keyword, Steadfast, which allows those allies to be a threat even while rested.
Something Worth Protecting
On the other hand, there are many Guardian allies that are meant to be protected as well, rewarding Guardian players by doing so.
The new Foster keyword introduces a new permanent state that an ally can be in, which incentivizes that ally to be protected. At the beginning of your recollection phase, if an ally with Foster has not taken damage since the end of your previous turn, that ally becomes fostered. Allies can't become fostered more than once.
Fostered allies may receive bonus stats or have a special ability that triggers when they become fostered.
Cleric
The goal with the Cleric class was to make it specialize in magical spells, similar to the Mage class, but with a deeper focus on interaction.Clerics specialize in more defensive spells and preventative effects. This includes protection and negation effects.
Cleric's method of winning is usually more roundabout compare to other classes, so Cleric players must be able to outwit their opponent in order to buy themselves more time.
In addition, Clerics have many rewarding mechanics that focus on the memory zone, which can be an unusual concept to many players coming from other TCGs and may prove to be difficult to master.
A Talented Yet Obsessive Alchemist
Hello Arisanna! Arisanna is one of the most unique champions introduced to Grand Archive TCG so far.
Whenever your champion levels up to become Arisanna level 1 and level 2, you'll gather twice. To gather, you make one of these Herb tokens chosen at random:
These tokens are conveniently marked with D6 faces in order to help determine which token should be made based on a D6 roll.
In addition, Arisanna Starter Decks come with a special D6 with the icon of each Herb.
Each of these Herbs have small effects that they can be sacrificed individually, but they also have extra implications for the next topic for Cleric: Potions.
Brewing Potions
Potion cards have alternative costs via the Brew mechanic, which allows the player to sacrifice certain ingredients (specified by their name or subtypes) in order to activate the card without paying its reserve cost. Doing so may reward the player with a burst of tempo which otherwise won't be possible by paying costs normally.
Potions can be sacrificed for their effect at any time while on the field, just like some regalia. The ingredients created via the gather keyword each have two ingredient subtypes that allow a great deal of flexibility when designing the ingredient list for many Potions to come.
Saving Potions for Later
In order to make Potions more interesting as an object subtype and not just glorified "delayed spells," players can be incentivized to keep their potions around for longer.
In order to do so, some Cleric spells augment Potions on the field even further, providing strong effects, but are dependent on having a Potion already on the field. Because each of these Potion enchancement spells requires to rest the potion it's targeting, using multiple will also require multiple potions on the field.
In addition, certain Potions get better as they age, further incentivizing the Cleric player to brew their potions early and keep them a while longer.
Memory Manipulation
Wrapping up Cleric's kit are cards that reward the player for having their memory zone set up in specific ways.
For example, Stream of Consciousness and Fanatical Devotee both get benefits from their controller having four or more cards in their memory.
In addition, several Cleric class regalia have activatable abilities with a reserve cost, allowing a further degree of memory management.
Ranger
The Ranger class had an interesting design goal of being a very reactive class but also rewarding preparing and interacting on the opponent's turn.A major inspiration is how ranged-type units in MOBA and RTS-type games can "kite" (to hit and run against, using distance to their advantage) their enemies.
In addition, the Ranger class should also specialize in attack customization, which should lead to a very tactical feel.
A Spirited sharpshooter With a Fiery Streak of Justice
Diana is a Ranger class champion who uses Guns, the first subtype in Grand Archive TCG that has new game rules tied to it (before this, only supertypes and types changed how cards function).
Her level 1 doesn't do anything meaningful until level 2, where you will be able to lineage release that champion card and create a burst of tempo utilizing Gun and Bullet regalia.
Lock and Load
Guns are a type of weapon that must be loaded in order to be used for an attack. As an additional restriction, attack cards can't be used in conjunction with Gun weapons.
Whenever a Gun is used for an attack, all of its loaded cards are transferred to the attacker's intent where that card's stats and abilities are considered for the combat phase.
Bullet is also a new subtype that has unique rules to it such that Bullets have a power stat whereas other items don't. Bullets can be loaded into Guns and shot.
If the Bullet is a regalia, it might have the Renewable keyword, which sends the card back to the material deck if it would enter the banishment from the intent or field.
Distant and Ranged
The Ranger class also introduces a new state that both allies and champions can be in called distant. Distant units always stay distant until the end of their controller's turn.
Many cards of the Ranger class can make a unit distant and are usually paired with other effects such as damage prevention, as seen in Evasive Manuever.
Many Ranger units have the Ranged X keyword, which gives that unit's attack +X power as long as they're distant.
This pair of keywords work hand in hand to incentivize players to interact on the opponent's turn and reward them with increased damage output from their units during their own following turn.
Fast Reload
Although Guns take a while longer to set up in order to be ready to be used for an attack, the Ranger class also specializes in extra materializations specifically for ammunition-based regalia cards.
There are also non-regalia cards that can be activated normally and loaded into Guns, bypassing the need to materialize during players' valuable materialization phases.
Conclusion
That concludes the introduction of the Guardian, Cleric, and Ranger classes! We hope players are now well-informed about how each of the upcoming classes plays and are excited about the upcoming release of Alchemical Revolution on January 26th! As we get closer to the release, we will be releasing another Set Design Notes which covers the new advanced elements: Astra, Umbra, and Neos!