Deck building
Players construct and refine a deck of cards during play, adding, removing, and upgrading cards so the deck itself becomes the progression system. Distinct from constructed card games where decks are built between matches — in deckbuilders the drafting happens mid-run, one choice at a time. Designers use it because every card offer is a meaningful decision with compounding consequences, and because a modest card pool generates enormous combinatorial variety. The genre's core skill is deck discipline: passing on good cards to keep a deck thin and consistent. Key design levers: card removal availability (scarcity makes it precious), synergy density (how many cards combo with each other), and offer structure (pick one of three is the standard). Pitfall: if a dominant archetype always wins, the drafting decisions become rote — the system lives or dies on multiple viable strategies.
- Dev effort: Medium
- Timing: Real-time or turn-based
- Common in: deckbuilder, card-game