Keyword abilities
Recurring rules are named as keywords — Taunt, Flying, Lifesteal, Deathrattle — so a single word conveys a whole mechanic without repeating its text. Keywords are how card games manage complexity at scale: once a player learns 'Charge', every Charge card is instantly understood, letting designers pack more mechanics into limited card text. Designers use keywords to compress rules, to create synergy anchors (cards that reward or care about a keyword), and to establish a shared vocabulary that speeds up play and teaching. Key decisions: which mechanics are common enough to deserve keywording, the balance between evergreen keywords (always in the game) and set-specific ones, reminder text for newer players, and keyword interactions (does Lifesteal work with area damage?). Pitfall: keyword bloat — too many keywords, especially rarely-reused ones, defeats the purpose by forcing players to memorize a glossary, and dense keyword stacking on single cards becomes unreadable. Restraint and reuse are what make the system pay off.
- Dev effort: Small
- Timing: Real-time or turn-based
- Common in: card-game, deckbuilder