Hello there!

I’m starting to round out the first roll out of programmable card effects. Once I get all the base decks working, I want to send out the next release. It’s gonna be really impressive. Note that these effects may change by the time I make my next release, but they should be somewhat similar in form.

Here’s a video showing off the deck:

So, what’s up with all these cards?

[+] Once-per-turn

ON ACTIVATE: You can discard one card from your hand to move the opponent’s active philosopher to limbo. The first overlay becomes the new active philosopher. Other effects can’t trigger at this time.

Freud, when activated, knocks out the opponent’s current active philosopher, and disables the effects of all cards besides the discarded card as this effect executes. This means that Freud can really disrupt the opponent, since many effects rely on a card being in a specific configuration. Additionally, he is useful for clearing fields, but because of his low defense, he will likely have any overlay attached to him removed the next turn, while taking significant damage.

[+] Neutral

ON ACTIVE: Flip a coin. If heads, return the opponent’s overlayed cards to their hand.

Lacan is less powerful than Freud in terms of disruption, and his effect is reliant on a coin flip. However, his effect is triggered whenever he becomes active, not just when he is initially activated. This means if he is switched with a benched Philosopher and switched back to active, he can continue to reuse his effect. Additionally, he is not affected by elemental weakness or resistance, making him capable of fending off Spirit types more efficiently.

ON DIALOG: +4 attack if attached to a Mind type, Psychoanalysis philosopher. If this effect is activated, this card is sent to Limbo after Dialog.

Reich is strong and helps boost the power of any Mind type Psychoanalysis philosopher you attach him too. However, he doesn’t provide any defensive capabilities if used this way, because he is moved to Limbo after this effect triggers. Use this to push back a powerful opponent or deal major damage!

ON DIALOG: +2 defense if attached to a Mind type, Psychoanalysis philosopher.

Lyotard is the deck’s main defensive option. Most Psychoanalysis type cards do not have good defensive stats, but he is an exception, and if he is attached to one, he can boost his defense even higher, to ward off most decently powerful attacks. You can use him if you have no real ability to use your main offensive strategy, but remember that he is fairly weak offensively.

[+] Once-per-turn

[+] Permadeath

ON OVERLAY LEAVE: If this card is sent to Limbo, if the active philosopher is Mind Type, or “Deleuze, Gilles”, you can add one Psychoanalysis Philosopher, or “Deleuze, Gilles”, to your hand.

Guattari is the deck’s main searching option, retrieving Psychoanalysis philosopher cards when he is sent to Limbo as an overlay. Note that he cannot combo with Freud’s activation. He can also retrieve his friend, Deleuze, if necessary. However, there are interesting combos with other cards. Combo him with Lacan to reduce damage next turn and likely pull off a search before your next turn, or use him with Lyotard to get a defense boost and switch him out next turn (remember to not use Freud!). Because he has the Permadeath keyword, he won’t return to the deck in the Limbo phase and you should use his effect carefully.

[+] Once-per-turn

[+] Permadeath

ON LIMBO: Return this card to your hand.

Deleuze has a simple but powerful effect, despite his low stats. He will return to the hand the first time per turn he is sent to Limbo. This means he can be used as discard fodder, return cost, and other things without losing physical advantage. However, if you try to use his effect a second time, he will be stuck in Limbo, so be careful.

And HOW am I supposed to learn what philosophy IS from the cards? Well, that’s a matter of the story that is told through the game. I have also been building out a review component that allows players to learn about the cards, but I haven’t had time to write the text for these parts. And through the story, you’ll learn about how the game, school and even the way we look at philosophy as a society is transformed by how we interact with it. But that will be for a later update… for now, I need to finish up the other two decks!