Cards

*Eternal* is played using decks of cards which represent the game's various units, spells, and equipment. Dire Wolf Digital launched *Eternal* with over 400 cards and has added more with expansions and smaller releases in between.

New players start with a free basic set of cards which they can use to build their deck. New cards can be purchased in packs containing random cards as or in pre-set Campaigns. They may be crafted by swapping excess or unwanted cards into into  Shiftstone to create unowned ones. Cards are also collected by playing — you can win cards, packs and various other things without any extra cost.

Cards owned can be seen under the Card/My Collection menu, and selecting 'Crafting' will show all existing cards. Each copy of a card owned is marked by a yellow diamond above the card. Players may own any number of copies of most cards. However, a maximum of 4 copies of each can be used in decks. When you own more than 4 copies of a particular card, a little green diamond with a '+' in it will show to the right of the yellow markers.

## Card Types

These are the main types of cards in *Eternal*:

### Power

*Main article: Power*
**Power Cards** provide the two main resources in *Eternal* used to play the other card types: Power and Influence. All other cards have Power cost and Influence requirements which restrict when they can be played.
### Units

*Main article: Units*
**Unit cards** represent the Heroes, denizens, and creatures of *Eternal*. Units are used to fight players and each other in combat. Units remain on the play area until killed, at which time they are placed in the player's discard zone called the Void.
### Sites

*Main article: Sites*
**Site cards** represent the locations of *Eternal*. Like units, Sites remain in play until killed, and take up two unit slots.
Each Site has a static effect while its in play. It also has an *Agenda*, which may create and play multiple spells, and plays a Hero unit if it isn't destroyed quickly!
### Spells

*Main article: Spells*
**Spell cards** cause various single-use effects. Whether drawing cards, damaging an enemy or saving a unit, the Spell's text happens immediately then the card is placed in the Void.
Some Spell cards have the **Fast Spell** sub-type. Spell cards are normally only played turning the player's own turn, but Fast Spells may also be played at certain points during the opponent's turn.
### Attachments

*Main article: Attachments*
**Attachment cards** are played directly on units or players and remain there unless they, or the unit they are attached to, are destroyed. They grant persistent stat buffs, effects or reusable abilities while in play.
There are no cards with the *Attachment* card type printed on them, rather it is a super-type for Relic, Weapon, and Curse cards. Cards that refer to Attachments will affect any of its sub-types.
### Weapons

*Main article: Weapons*
**Weapon cards** are armaments and tools used to buff units. A weapon is attached to a unit when played, and is placed in the void when the unit dies or is itself destroyed. Weapons typically grant stat buffs to the unit, increasing its  Attack or  Health, in addition to any other effects.
### Curses

*Main article: Curses*
**Curse cards** are similar to Weapons, however they have negative effects and are attached to the opponent's units.
### Relics

*Main article: Relics*
**Relic cards** represent trinkets, artifacts, magical enchantments or curses. When played, these cards are attached to the player's avatar and remain there unless destroyed. A player's attached relics grant persistent effects or reusable abilities.
There are two Relic card sub-types: Relic Weapons and Cursed Relics. Players may use Relic Weapons to attack enemy units directly; this involves special rules and the player's Armor stat. Cursed Relics are played on opponents to cause them negative effects, otherwise they follow the same rules as other Relics.
See the main card type articles for more information. A complete list of all the card type, sub-type, and card pages added to the Wiki can be found in the *Cards* category page.

## Card Layouts

All the cards in *Eternal* are laid out in similar manner.

The above examples show different card layouts from the simplest form (Power cards on the left side) to more complicated (Spells, then Units on the right).

* The top half of the card is mostly occupied by an image, giving the card flavor and recognizability.
* The card's name appears below its image.
* Non-Power cards display their Power cost and Influence requirements above the image. The Power cost is displayed as a number at the top left corner of the card. Influence requirements are displayed as icons along the card's top edge.
	+ The card's border colors are dictated by its influence requirements and generally represent its faction. Factionless or multi-faction cards have a different border treatment.
* Below the card's name is a text box. This is where any keywords, abilities and unique effects are described.
* Below the text box is an icon representing the card's Rarity. Legendary cards have additional flourishes on their borders.
* The card's type or sub-type is displayed along its bottom edge. Unit cards display their unit type instead.
* Unit, Weapon, and Relic Weapon cards display their Attack and Health (or Armor) values at the base of the card image, to its left and right.
* Premium cards (see below) have a silver gem lust below the image.

In addition to the information on each card, many cards display a popup when hovered over by the player. This is used to describe keyword abilities and glossary terms, and to show other referenced cards.

## Premium Cards

Each card has an additional Premium form. The differences are purely cosmetic: A different border treatment, a silver 'gem' between attack/health numbers and animated lighting effects.

Premium cards appear less often in packs. They may be crafted the same as their counterparts.

## Decks

Players build decks from the cards they've collected. Up to 4 copies of any card may be added to a deck. Both normal and Premium cards may be used but they both count towards the same 4 card maximum.

The minimum deck size is typically 75 cards, except in limited game modes (Forge, Leagues, and Drafts) where it is smaller. The maximum deck size 150 cards , however staying close to the minimum is recommended for deck consistency. At least one third of the deck must be made up of Power cards.

When building your deck, you may add cards from any combination of the five factions to your deck. Player avatars don't restrict or affect deck building in any way.

## Playing cards

During the game, cards move between different zones .

## Card Sets

*Main article: Card Set*
Cards are divided between several card sets in Eternal. They are released in large Expansions, and smaller story-based Campaigns.

## Obtaining Cards

There are many ways of obtaining new cards and expanding your collection.

### Packs

Cards from Expansion sets are available in packs. Each pack gives 12 cards: 8 Common cards, 3 Uncommons, and one Rare or Legendary card. Any card in a pack has a chance of being its Premium version.
Packs may be purchased in the in-game Store, and are often given out as rewards for many game modes.
### Crafting

*Main article: Crafting*
Most cards may be crafted using  Shiftstone. Shiftstone is gained by destroying cards from the player's collection, which may then be spent to purchase unowned cards. The amount of Shiftstone a given card costs depends on its rarity, and all cards give one quarter their cost when destroyed. So, for example, you may gain any wanted Rare card by destroying 4 unwanted Rares. Premium cards cost and return more Shiftstone than their non-Premium counterparts.
### Campaigns

*Main article: Campaigns*
**Campaigns** are small card sets released between expansions. Campaign cards do not appear in packs and may not be crafted, rather they are gained all together in a one-time purchase with  Gems or  Gold. After buying a Campaign, its cards are then unlocked by beating story-based missions. The tutorial is a campaign given out for free to all players.
### Preconstructed Decks

*Main article: Preconstructed Decks*
Upon completing the introductory Campaign missions for each of the 5 single factions, players are awarded with a starter deck that consists of 45-50 cards from that faction.
Additional preconstructed decks may be obtained through quest rewards or purchased in the in-game Store.
### Promotional Quests

*Main article: Promos*
**Promotional cards** are periodically released. During a short Promo Quest period one copy of the card is rewarded for the player's first ranked game win of the day. After the period ends its Promo card may be crafted like any other card.
### Limited Game Modes

*Main article: Game Modes*
*Limited* is the term for game modes where, rather than using one of their existing decks, players create a new deck from a limited pool of cards. Forge, Leagues, and Drafts present players with a random cards, where part of the fun and challenge is selecting which of those cards to use throughout a set number of games.
After playing through the game mode, all cards from the player's pool (including those not used in their deck) are added to the player's main collection.
### Rewards

Cards and packs are given away frequently as rewards for various quests, or as game mode prizes. These extra cards can quickly add up and expand a player's collection.
## Cardbacks

The appearance of card backs during gameplay can be customized by cardback cosmetic items.