Special Operations is an alternative format tournament experience. This second Special Operations tournament takes place over the course of one weekend, with qualifiers on Saturday and the finals broadcast on the KARDS Twitch channel the following Sunday.
For the second Special Operations tournament, we’re bringing back the pauper format - now with a set up that allows a larger number of players to participate! The pauper format means that decks can only contain Standard and Limited rarity cards. Check out our video where KARDS World Champion Jking7 explains the pauper format and gives his take on a pauper deck.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TeX7Pu_hsWA
For this Special Operations tournament, we’ll start off with a Swiss qualifier on Saturday, May 27th. The top 8 players on the first day move on to a single elimination bracket played the following day, May 28th.
For all questions about participating in Special Operations and all things related to KARDS tournaments, please join the KARDS Esports Discord: https://discord.gg/288DQexmng
This will be the last Special Operations tournament scheduled for the year, as we shift our focus to the Officer Club Championship tournaments and community tournament support - you can read more about changes to Esports in the latter half of the year here. Make sure to grab this chance to enjoy some pauper fun!
Format & Schedule
Format
Each participant must submit 1 pauper deck
Play a best of 1 series
Swiss Bracket with 212 player maximum (8 Swiss rounds)
Top 8 Single Elimination Bracket
Schedule
Deck submission deadline: May 27th @ 12:00 UTC
Swiss qualifier: May 27th @ 13:00 UTC
Top 8 broadcast finals: May 28th @ 13:00 UTC
Prizes
1st: 500 Diamonds & 2000 Gold
2nd: 300 Diamonds & 2000 Gold
3rd - 4th: 200 Diamonds & 2000 Gold
5th - 8th: 1000 Gold
Sign up now on Challonge! https://challonge.com/tournaments/signup/FS8etEFoJe#/signup/c90ruw7a2o4
Announcing KARDS Open XVI!
Get ready for some more KARDS Open action as it returns in June with the KARDS Open XVI!
The last KARDS Open had a diverse and competitive pool of players, with Head, TB273, Vinny and Tiger making it to the top 4. After an intense battle, Vinny defeated Tiger and claimed victory in the KARDS Open XV. You can catch up on all the action from the top 4 in the last Open tournament on the KARDS YouTube Channel:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wkWaBJGe7_g
The KARDS Open XVI features the same format as the KARDS Open XV. It will be the last KARDS Open planned for the year, as we shift our focus more towards the OCC and community tournament support. Read more about changes to esports in the latter half of the year here: KARDS Esports Update.
In this upcoming Open tournament, players will have two chances to make it into the top 16 through one of two Swiss Qualifiers held on June 3rd and June 11th.
Read on for a detailed breakdown of the different tournament stages.
STAGE ONE
Starting Saturday, June 3rd, with the Swiss Qualifiers, you will compete in a best of 3 free-for-all deck format. This means that you can bring any deck you want and play it as many times as you’d like. No deck submissions and no deck restrictions! If you make the Top 8 in this stage, you will advance to stage two.
The second chance Qualifier will be held on Sunday, June 11th. This Swiss bracket is open to any player who has not already made the top cuts. You can maximize your chances of making the top 16 by playing in both qualifiers.
STAGE TWO
If you finish in the Top 8 from either of the stage one weekends, you will be qualified for the next stage. On Saturday, June 24th, you will compete in the single elimination best of 5 series. This stage does not require deck submission and deck lists remain closed. However, you must win with decks from different main nations. For example, if you win with a Japan deck, you cannot bring that deck again or any Japan main deck - you’ll have to switch to a different main nation for the next match. If you lose with a Japan deck, you can bring Japan again, even a different Japan deck.
STAGE THREE
If you’ve made it to the Top 4 on June 24th, you’ve made it to stage three! These final games are played and broadcast LIVE on the KARDS Twitch Channel on June 25th. For this stage of the tournament, you will be required to submit four decks. Deck lists for this stage of the tournament are open. Games are best of 5 series with one ban in conquest format.
For all questions about participating in the Open and all things related to KARDS tournaments, please join the KARDS eSports Discord: https://discord.gg/288DQexmng
FORMAT & SCHEDULE
Swiss Qualifiers
Compete in one or both qualifier Swiss bracket weekends.
Top 8 from each weekend bracket moves on to Top Cuts weekend
Closed deck lists with no deck restrictions! Play whatever you want, whenever you want!
Best of Three Matchups
Swiss Bracket with 212 player maximum (8 Swiss rounds)
Swiss Qualifier Bracket A June 3rd @ 13:00 GMT
Swiss Qualifier Bracket B June 11th @ 16:00 GMT
Top Cuts Weekend
Top 16
Deck lists are closed
Best of 5 series
Must win with different decks from different main nations
Top 16 Bracket June 24th @ 13:00 GMT
Top 4
Deck lists are open
Best of 5 series with 1 ban in Conquest format
DECK LIST SUBMISSION DEADLINE: June 24th @ 23:59 GMT
Top 4 Bracket & Live Stream: June 25th @ 13:00 GMT
Prizes The KARDS Open has a prize pool of 1500 USD that is split the following way:
1st: 600 USD
2nd: 450 USD
3rd: 250 USD
4th: 200 USD
5th - 8th: 500 Diamonds and 2000 Gold
9th - 16th: 200 Diamonds and 1000 Gold
17th - 32nd: 1000 Gold
Sign ups are open now! Qualifier A: https://challonge.com/tournaments/signup/Y6PAnA5EZo#/signup/fln4p4f4e7
In January this year, we shared with you some changes that we did to the KARDS esports scene, with some alterations to the Officer Club Championship, the KARDS Open, and introducing a new Special Operations format with special rulesets. You can refresh your memory on these changes here: KARDS eSports in 2023.
Now that we’ve completed our first full cycle of tournaments since these changes were implemented, we’ve been evaluating the results and considering the best way to move forward for the competitive KARDS community. With this in mind, we will be making some alterations to KARDS esports in the latter half of the year. Read on for all the details, or, if you’re strapped for time, head to the end for the tl;dr summary of changes.
Officer Club Championship
The OCC has always been the flagship and a staple of KARDS tournaments, where the most dedicated and skilled players on the in-game seasonal ladder fight to prove that they are the champion of the Officer Club for that month. A part of our esports changes earlier this year was done to emphasize and highlight these champions of the game further, adding the quarterly OCC: Ultimate tournament with the OCC Leaderboard, where players accumulate points through OCC: Clash participation in the three months leading up to an OCC: Ultimate tournament. Additionally, we moved towards a pre-recorded video format for the OCC: Clash tournaments, to try and create an experience that focused more on the gameplay and expert analysis.
After announcing changes to the OCC format earlier this year, we received a lot of feedback on various aspects. While we did make some initial adjustments based on this, we also felt it was important to allow the format to play out fully and analyze the results before making any drastic alterations to what we had initially decided. Now that we’re heading into the second OCC: Ultimate cycle of the year, we’re ready to announce some changes we’ve decided to make based on player feedback and our own analysis of this first quarterly cycle.
Live Broadcast Format
To start off with, we’ve decided to move all OCC tournaments to a live broadcast format. While there are definitely some upsides to the pre-recorded format, such as being able to edit the show beforehand to put a huge emphasis on the gameplay, as well as some unique opportunities to have seasoned players such as Berto Burrito and Jking7 describing their own games in great detail, we also observed some downsides. By moving the OCC: Clash tournaments towards a live broadcast format, we hope to bring the magic of a live show to the OCC: Clash, with giveaways, excitement, and an overall more engaging experience for our viewers in the chat.
Going forward, you can expect a monthly broadcast for OCC: Clash tournaments, where we’ll feature two quarter final games and all semi finals and grand finals games, including a third place matchup, in one day. We’ll also have the OCC: Ultimate tournament broadcast live every three months, an event which takes place over the course of an entire weekend, with the quarter final games played on Saturday, and all semi finals and grand finals games, including a third place matchup, on the following Sunday.
OCC: Clash Prize Pool
We’re bringing back a cash prize incentive for the monthly OCC: Clash tournament! With a prize pool of 500 USD split among the top 3 players, and Diamond prizes for the players in 4th - 8th place, the stakes are getting higher for our OCC participants! From May onwards, the prize pool will be as follows:
Players will also continue to earn points for the OCC leaderboard to qualify for the quarterly OCC: Ultimate. The OCC: Ultimate prize pool remains the same, at 3,000 USD. Additionally, anyone who wins an OCC: Clash tournament and anyone who qualifies for an OCC: Ultimate will earn the coveted KARDS Champion card back, allowing these players to show off their status as one of the most elite KARDS players in the world!
KARDS Open and Special Operations
The KARDS Open has had a great run since it was first introduced in 2020, providing an alternative official tournament for players who want the tournament experience without climbing the seasonal ladder.
While the Special Operations tournament was only recently introduced, we have run a number of alternative format tournament types throughout the years on an ad-hoc basis. These tournaments have provided opportunities, often for newer players or those who prefer alternative formats, to get some tournament experience and have fun with special rulesets.
As the KARDS esports scene has developed, we evaluate our resources and their allocation, as well as analyzing trends among other video game esport scenes. At this point in time, we feel that the best way to move forward for KARDS esports is by putting our primary focus and resources into the OCC format and community tournaments. We aim to hold one more KARDS Open and Special Operations tournaments for the year each, with the Special Operations taking place in late May and the KARDS Open in June - more details on the exact dates and times to follow. There’s still absolutely a chance that we will do more KARDS Open or Special Operations tournaments in the future, but for the remainder of this year, these tournament formats will be taking a rest.
While the KARDS Open and Special Operations formats take a break, we urge you to consider participating in one of the officially supported community tournaments, or consider hosting your own tournament! We are currently focusing on supporting and growing the community tournament scene, providing more resources and support to community organizers.
Community Tournaments
The KARDS community is filled with talented and dedicated people, some of whom have already put a lot of energy into creating and hosting various different community tournaments! Some of these tournaments are done on a regular basis, while others are on an ad-hoc basis. Some of them are open for anyone to enter, while others are invitationals. We’ve seen the number of community tournaments and participants steadily increasing over the course of the last several months as we’ve worked with and supported community members and tournaments. KARDS is committed to continued and increased support for community tournaments, which are a crucial part of the KARDS esports scene.
Depending on the tournament, we may be able to offer assistance with things such as in-game prizes, temporary access to our spectator mode to broadcast the tournament, and giveaway codes for viewers on your tournament stream. If you’re interested in running a tournament of your own, please reach out to us - we’d love to hear from you! Check out the KARDS Contributor Program, which has a section specifically for tournament organizers. You can also feel free to reach out to our Community Manager directly on Discord: Elin#1695.
The upcoming changes to the KARDS esports scene represent an exciting shift in focus towards a more sustainable and cohesive competitive ecosystem. While the absence of the KARDS Open and Special Operations tournaments for the rest of the year may be felt by some players, the increased support for OCC and community tournaments are expected to provide new opportunities for players to showcase their skills and compete at the highest level.
Tl;dr
The Officer Club Championship (OCC) will be the primary focus as the official KARDS tournament.
OCC: Clash tournaments will move to live broadcast format, as opposed to the pre-recorded YouTube premiere format.
A 500 USD prize pool will be offered for the OCC: Clash, split among the top 3 players, with Diamond prizes for players in 4th - 8th place.
The upcoming KARDS Open XVI will be the last Open planned for the year, with a break taken from this format for now.
The upcoming Special Operations tournament will be the last one planned for the year, with a break taken from this format for now.
Community tournaments will continue to be supported and we will continue to seek ways to improve and increase our community tournament support.
That sums up the upcoming esports changes in KARDS. Join us on Discord and let us know what you think!
A New Skirmish Event is Live
A new Skirmish event is live now until May 7th!
Here’s everything you need to know.
Skirmish is a special game mode in KARDS where you play with alternate rules. These rules vary; you’ll face something different at every Skirmish event. Read more about Skirmishes in our announcement blog New game mode: Skirmish.
For this Skirmish, you choose your own deck to battle with. Players start with 12 Kredits, and cards cost a minimum of 4.
We have a special prize for you in this Skirmish! For your first win, you will receive a full set of the new US card, Firewall! This Order card costs 2 Kredits to play and, when played, gives target unit: “Cannot attack the enemy HQ.”
Access the Skirmish event from the game's main screen to get an overview of the game mode, rules and prize.
This Skirmish is accessible from May 5th at 12:00 GMT until Sunday, May 7th at 18:00 GMT.
Join this special event - win your Skirmish to claim victory and the spoils!
Please let us know what you think of the event in the comments below or on the KARDS Discord.
See you in the Skirmish this weekend!
Coming Soon: Shop Update
Hello everyone!
As you may have noticed, a lot of our focus lately has been on modernizing various aspects of KARDS. Next up is the in-game shop! Here, we will break down what changes will be happening to the shop in May and some of the reasoning for these. Read on for all the details, or, if you’re strapped for time, head to the end for the tl;dr summary of changes.
A Brand New Shop
The KARDS shop has not undergone any significant changes for some time. Packs and accessories on offer have stayed much the same, with the occasional new addition and limited time special offers. We feel that the shop could use a bit of streamlining and improved focus. To this end, we are introducing a number of changes and new shop features.
Daily Free Card
Log in every day to claim your free card from the shop! A different, Standard rarity card will be available each day in the shop for you to claim.
Purchase Cards
Each day, two cards will be available for direct purchase with Diamonds. Specific days will include Special or Elite rarity cards, with other days containing a random selection of Standard and Limited cards.
Rotating Cosmetics
To create a more positive shop experience for our players, we aim to fundamentally rework the way in which cosmetics are presented in the shop. We will be removing all equipment, emotes, card backs and bundles from the store and introducing them on a rotating basis. Through these rotating offers, you’ll be able to purchase equipment, emotes, alternative card art, card backs and Battlefield HQs. Shop offers will be rotated every 2-3 days.
Reward Changes
Rewards that players receive for the battles they engage in are a critical part of KARDS. In making KARDS, we have gone through some different reward systems, some of which have stayed even after new and improved systems have been implemented. When Gold for every 3rd win was introduced, the game was a pretty bare boned experience, with very little else in terms of rewards in the game. Now that we have the national progression system, and with the upcoming addition of the daily free card in the game, we will be removing the Gold for every 3rd win reward, while the first win of the day reward remains. This change is important for the health of the economy of KARDS and something that should be considered as one part of the whole picture.
Pack Changes
As part of the shop update, we dived into a lot of data about card packs. For a new player, Base packs can be a good way of building up your initial collection, as you’re getting more cards into your collection for the price you pay. Officer packs are a better way to build up your collection of Special and Elite rarity cards. After analyzing the drop rates in Base packs, we saw that the Special cards have a smaller weight than we would like to see compared to the overall card pool. Therefore, we will be increasing their drop rate in Base packs, at the expense of Limited and Elite cards.
Drop rates for gold cards and wildcards in Base packs is fairly low. To further differentiate between Base and Officer packs, we plan to increase the drop rates of wildcards and gold cards in Officer packs, while removing them from Base packs. With these changes, we will also be adjusting the Gold prices on Officer packs, to 330 Gold instead of 300 Gold. Diamond prices will remain the same and there will be no changes to prices of Base packs.
Duplicate Protection
With duplicate protection, any packs you open will be packed with value! This becomes especially relevant as you complete more of your collection, with the duplicate protection ensuring that if possible, you will not get a card duplicate. This duplicate protection also applies to cards received as end of season rewards, such as gold Elite cards.
Duplicate protection will not affect rarity distribution within packs, so if you have a fully completed collection of cards of a certain rarity you will then receive duplicates in that rarity (e.g. if all Standard cards have been collected you will start getting Standard duplicates).
When Are These Changes Happening?
The shop update is planned for mid-May. The update will include all of the elements described above.
Tl;dr
Daily free card: every day, you’ll be able to claim a free card from the shop.
Purchase cards: specific cards will be available for purchase with diamonds each day.
Offerings streamlined: the shop will be de-cluttered, providing a smaller selection of rotating cosmetics that change every 2-3 days.
Reward change: Gold reward for every 3rd win will be removed as part of an overarching economic balancing, while the first win of the day reward remains.
Pack changes: Special rarity cards will be more likely to drop in Base packs, with some additional changes in drop rates in Base and Officer packs and a small Gold price increase on Officer packs, which will be more likely to drop wildcards and gold cards.
Duplicate protection: duplicate protection is introduced, allowing you to complete your collection faster.
That sums up the upcoming shop changes. Join us on Discord and let us know what you think!
OCC: Ultimate Broadcast - May 6th and 7th!
Attention KARDS players!
It’s time for the most EPIC broadcast event so far this year - the OCC: Ultimate!
Over the course of the last 3 months, the most dedicated and skilled KARDS players in the world have battled in OCC: Clash tournaments to collect points to earn a qualification for the OCC: Ultimate tournament.
The OCC: Ultimate features a 3000 USD prize pool - every player who has made it to the top 8 earns at least 125 USD for their efforts, with the winner taking home a whopping 1000 USD.
Who will win: Head, 金轮会怎么做 (Jinlun), Berto Burrito, Noein5, Jking7, UwU_Moi, Leo or 老虎不发猫 (Tiger)?
OCC: Ultimate Broadcast
The OCC: Ultimate quarter finals games will be broadcast on Saturday, May 6th at 13:00 GMT, with the semi finals and grand finals broadcast on Sunday, May 7th at 13:00 GMT. As always, our expert analysts will be there to break down all the action throughout the weekend.
Make sure to follow KARDS on Twitch and tune in for the broadcasts, as we’ll have giveaways going throughout the broadcast with card packs, draft tickets, and more!
Type ULTIMATE into the Twitch chat during the broadcasts on May 6th and 7th to enter the giveaway!
The OCC: Ultimate is a highly competitive event, where players must showcase their skills and strategic thinking to come out on top. All games in the OCC: Ultimate are best-of-five series played in conquest format. Each player brings 4 decks from different main nations, and can ban one of the opponent’s decks in each matchup. Deck lists are open - type !decks into the Twitch chat to bring up deck lists for the OCC: Ultimate players, including the deck import codes that you can use to try them out yourself!
You don’t want to miss this EPIC broadcast event! Join us on Twitch on May 6th and 7th at 13:00 GMT and find out who will become our first OCC: Ultimate Champion!
The Frontline: A KARDS Podcast - Fourth Episode Available Now!
Hello KARDS players!
We are delighted to bring you the fourth episode of the official 1939 Games podcast - The Frontline: A KARDS Podcast! Join us and get an exclusive insight on the exciting future of KARDS in a discussion with the developers.
The KARDS Podcast is a monthly podcast featuring different KARDS developers in every episode. This is where you’ll hear about all the latest things in KARDS and get a closer look at the team behind KARDS, as we explore developers’ varied work and contributions to the constant development of the game. The podcast is conveniently available on Spotify, Apple and Google Podcasts, as well as on the KARDS YouTube channel.
The Frontline Episode 4: KARDS Mobile
In this fourth episode, KARDS Community Manager Elín and host Christo welcome Programmer and Mobile Development Lead Tuomas to discuss the upcoming release of KARDS mobile. Join us as we discuss the mobile development journey, upcoming release date, and some of the technical aspects of mobile development.
Tune in Now!
Tune in to The Frontline podcast on the following platforms:
Join us on Discord, let us know what you think of this fourth podcast episode and if there are any particular questions or topics you’d like us to cover in the future!
LIVE NOW: New Card Set Structure and Content Cycle
Hello everyone!
We have some exciting news to share with you: the Reserve pool and new card set structure have been implemented and are now live for all players!
This change marks the first step towards a regular content release cycle, which includes a major expansion in summer and winter, each containing new features and around 80 new cards, smaller content releases in spring and fall, as well as the new card rotation.
What Has Changed For You?
Reserve Pool: Five cards have moved into the new Reserve pool of cards. Read more about the Reserve pool in our dev blog: The Cycle of KARDS.
Core Packs: All cards, apart from the latest expansion, Legions, can now be acquired through Core packs.
Removed From the Shop: World at War bundles have been removed from the Shop. Theaters of War campaigns have been temporarily removed as well but will return at a later date with a revamped structure that doesn’t contain the reward cards and costs significantly less.
The five cards that are now in the Reserve pool are:
AT ALL COST
SUPPRESSION
F4F-3 WILDCAT
QF 40mm Mk III
SHIBATA REGIMENT
Now that these cards are in the Reserve pool, that means:
You cannot enter the queue for a Casual or Ranked PvP game with a deck that contains one of these cards. The deck is still in your deck list, but cannot be selected when entering this gamemode, with a banner specifying that the deck contains a Reserve pool card.
You can use a deck containing Reserve pool cards in AI training matches or in challenge matches against friends. Later on, we aim to introduce a new PvP gamemode where you'll be able to use all cards, including those in the Reserve pool.
You can still create any card in the Reserve pool. Note that these are not shown by default in your Collection - navigate to your filters panel and tick the appropriate checkbox to show Reserved cards.
What Are the Next Steps?
This change marks the first waypoint in our journey towards a regular content release cycle, which includes a card rotation. You can read more details about this in our dev blog Coming Soon: New Card Set Structure and Content Cycle.
The next waypoint on this journey will happen with the summer release, where we release a new major expansion, which will contain around 80 new cards. At that time, an equal number of cards are moved to the Reserve pool as cards that arrive with the new release. We plan to release another major expansion towards the end of the year introducing another large batch of new cards similar in size to the summer release. For that winter expansion, some cards in the Reserve pool may re-enter the active card pool. You can read more about this long term plan in Director of Game Design Keli’s dev blog: The Cycle of KARDS.
Bug Fixes and Improvements
Also included in this patch are some general improvements and several bug fixes, related for example to the user interface, some visual issues, and card bugs. Thank you for reporting the issues you locate in the game and providing us with your feedback!
Audio
Fixed some issues with incorrect audio effects.
Gameplay
ENEMY SPOTTED: Fixed an issue where the ability did not trigger when the enemy took the frontline and PZ. BEFEHLSWAGEN 35T was added to it from the enemy's hand.
IMPERIAL DECREE: Fixed an issue where it buffed all orders with the "Deal damage" ability during the player's turn instead of only the next issued order.
RUSH PRODUCTION: Fixed an issue where friendly German units with 1 defense were not correctly destroyed when deployed.
SMOKESCREEN: Fixed an issue where units with Smokescreen could end up in the frontline in some cases.
Cards with targeting on deployment: Fixed an issue where they caused visual irregularities when dropped and dragged around quickly.
Targeting arrow: Fixed an issue where it was not correctly updated in some cases.
Wildcards: Fixed an issue where players could not create new cards and received an error that they already had the maximum number of this card in their collection (even though the collection showed different).
Visuals
5th RANGERS: Fixed an issue where they were visually wrongly shown halfway in the frontline after deployment.
LONDON HQ: Someone forgot to close the blackout curtains. Fixed an issue where it was too bright.
Collection: Fixed an issue where the "New" marker was not displayed on all new cards in the "Collection" menu after finishing battles in the starter campaigns.
Deckbuilder: Fixed an issue where alternative card artwork was not working correctly shown in the deck builder.
Deckbuilder: Fixed an issue where, in some special cases, you didn't see all available cards in the deck builder.
UI: Fixed an issue where some UI elements were not correctly shown (e.g. size was incorrect).
That’s it for now. As always, we welcome your feedback! Please join us on the KARDS Discord and let us know what you think.
KARDS Mobile Release: June 6th!
Hello everyone!
We are incredibly excited to share with you the official release date for KARDS mobile!
💥 D-Day: June 6th! 💥
On June 6th in 1944 allied forces arrived on the beaches of Normandy to commence the liberation of France. This largest seaborne invasion in history became known as D-Day. On this historic day, KARDS will achieve one of its most significant milestones in its history, releasing KARDS mobile!
Developing the mobile version of KARDS has had its share of thrilling twists and turns. Don’t miss our upcoming podcast, where Community Manager Elín and host Chris are joined by Mobile Development Lead Tuomas to discuss the challenges and opportunities of the mobile development journey.
Platforms
Following the mobile release, KARDS will be available on Android through the Google Play Store, on iOS through the Apple App Store, as well as existing PC platforms: Steam, Epic Games, Stove, and the native KARDS launcher.
Cross Platform Play
Access your KARDS account from anywhere at any time!
You can use the same account to play KARDS on PC or mobile devices. To do this, you'll need to create a KARDS Account inside the game client on the platform you currently play on. After you've entered your email and set a password for your KARDS Account, you'll be able to use those credentials to log into your KARDS Account on both PC and mobile devices, progressing on the same player profile no matter which device you're connecting from. We'll communicate more details about the specifics of this process as we move closer to the mobile release date.
If you participated in our second mobile beta and created a KARDS Account during that time, then you already have a KARDS Account and will be able to log in to KARDS on your mobile device using those credentials. If you've since forgotten your password, don't worry - we'll have a simple automated process for you to reset your password.
You’ll also be able to play with other KARDS players regardless of which platform you, or they, are connecting from!
Save the Date!
Make sure to mark this date in your calendar! We’ll have some special things for you around the mobile release that you don’t want to miss!
Community Spotlight: AndYetItMoves and Jking7
Hello everyone!
The KARDS community is filled with players of diverse backgrounds with varied viewpoints. Many of its members create contributions that enrich the community, providing, for example, entertainment or guidance to other community members. Through the relaunch of the KARDS Contributor Program, we aim to provide added support to contributors, as well as to highlight the various contributions of KCP members to the KARDS community.
This month, the community spotlight shines on two members of the KARDS community: AndYetItMoves and Jking7.
AndYetItMoves
Background
Community guide AndYetItMoves (AYIM) started playing KARDS in February 2020. AYIM was originally drawn to KARDS through a love of card games, having played many digital board games and strategy games before, with KARDS being his first CCG. AYIM enjoys helping new players which is reflected in his community contributions.
AYIM says that some of his favorite aspects of the game are the different unit types and the frontline mechanic. When asked about his favorite card, he says that it used to be the 2e RIMa, before its recent nerf. Now, his favorite card is the PETLYAKOV PE-2FT, nicknamed the IQ-test plane in the Chinese community for its ability to stop deployment effects from triggering. AYIM’s favorite meta deck is the popular USA/Germany Frontline deck, but in casual games he plays his own inventions. “Ger/Pol CA anyone?”
Contributions
AYIM’s most notable contributions are his New Player’s Guide to KARDS (KARDS新手手册) and, from that, the Selected Builds for New Players (新手成型卡组选讲). These extensive guides provide a framework for new players who are getting to grips with the game, guiding them in the first steps and giving advice on various aspects of playing KARDS. AYIM keeps the guides regularly updated with consideration of balance updates and new content. Starting as a project to help answer the frequently asked questions of new KARDS players, this guide has grown significantly over time, with AYIM describing that it is now: “twice the length of my Bachelor thesis!”
AYIM also collaborates with streamer Mina to provide commentary and analysis of official KARDS tournaments as they are re-streamed to the Chinese player base on the Bilibili platform.
To access AYIM’s new player guides, join the Chinese KARDS community’s QQ group with the following QR code:
New Player Advice
When asked about advice he would give to new KARDS players, AYIM suggests to “take it slowly, and have fun before everything else.” Many players in the KARDS community have played for years, having completed their collections a long time ago. Their mindset may not align with that of a new player, which may be frustrating for some. AYIM suggests that new players take their time, figure out their main interests and which playstyles they like, build up a collection of standard and limited wildcards and, most importantly, figure out if KARDS is the right game for them. Having fun should always come first!
Jking7
Background
Jking7 (Jking) has become a household name in KARDS, as the two-time KARDS World Champion, with a consistent and exceptional tournament track record, as well as regular appearances on the screens of KARDS community members. Jking started playing KARDS in May 2019, but it didn’t become one of his most regular games until March 2020.
As a history buff that had sunk countless hours into Hearthstone, KARDS quickly captured Jking’s attention and kept his interest with both its artistic design and some game design choices. Of particular interest were the frontline mechanic, operation cost, and mechanically different unit types, which he says “added a level of thought to the game and deckbuilding that was missing from the other CCG’s I’d tried.”
His favorite card of all time was one of the previous iterations of Night Witches that would perpetually create a copy of the card and put it into your deck, allowing for unique Soviet fatigue decks. His current favorite card is Commonwealth - a card that on its own is quite weak and requires a certain type of deck built around it that creates a dynamic where you and your opponent must balance several elements to try and wrest victory from the hands of each other. His favorite decks in general are control decks with no proactive win condition, best represented currently in KARDS by Soviet control or Germany/Italy control decks.
Having been a member of the KARDS community for a long time, Jking has seen the community develop and grow throughout the years. He expresses that he’s always loved how connected the community feels, and that KARDS developers engage with and listen to community feedback.
Contributions
Jking has created live broadcasts on his Twitch channel, but the main content Jking focuses on creating these days are videos on his YouTube channel. These include top-level gameplay, sharing his thoughts on different cards and patches, tournament analysis and guides, which he hopes to do more of in the future. He also makes the occasional content just for fun - such as trying out viewer submitted decks, or playing KARDS blindfolded.
With his extensive tournament knowledge and experience, Jking created his own new competitive KARDS format, which he hosted and cast last year, called the King’s Cup tournament.
Jking has also cast several official KARDS tournaments, providing his expert analysis of the gameplay of some of the top tournament players in KARDS.
Jking releases at least one new video per week. His ability to create and release new content can fluctuate, but he is never far from the screens of KARDS community members: “if you don't see anything new from me on my channel you can definitely expect to see me on a cast or in a tournament”.
https://youtu.be/jsXop8yABpE
https://youtu.be/Pa0S-eock5k
New Player Advice
Jking recommends that new players try and immerse themselves in the community. This can be through talking in stream chats, making friends in the official KARDS Discord, or by watching videos - all of these will help get new players into the game. New players can use these resources to improve their gameplay, get advice on how to build their collection, find fun decks to play or players to play against. As Jking says, “Everyone enjoys KARDS differently but everyone will enjoy it more if they have people to share those experiences with.”
We hope you’ve enjoyed getting to know these contributors better and encourage you to check out their content! Make sure you stay tuned for next month, where we bring you another community spotlight featuring different KARDS contributors. Join us on the official KARDS Discord server and let us know if there’s anything you’d like to see us cover in these articles in the future!
