PHAGEBORN online card game News

Dear Denizens of Issilith!

Since the dawn of Phageborn, Avatars have played a key role in ensuring victory over the enemy. Their unique skills and traits can either be a good supplement to your deck or a focal point of your strategy. The way they are utilized depends solely on you. That's why it is prudent to know thy Avatars, not just the ones you play but the ones your opponents might play as well.

Evie, also known as the Sting of Issilith, earned her name thanks to her expertise in plots and deception. This assassin gained the favour of the Vestige high queen Arianna by helping her overthrow the previous Vestige queen, thus becoming her personal agent. She is also the leader of the Death Petals, an elite group specialized in infiltration and assassination. They are oftentimes tasked with eliminating any covenants that are deemed unworthy or particularly dangerous and threatening to the current agenda of the Vestige. Evie is no stranger to the use of charms and curses in her quest to dispose of anything that stands in the way of her and her goals. Take everything you hear from her with a grain of salt, as it is always possible that she is keeping her true intentions for herself...

Evie's special skill, Allure, allows her to relocate all non-local enemy Avatars. If your enemy ever finds themself in the opposite lane, hiding behind their units, thinking they are safe with their 1 or so HP, even though their other lane lacks any blockers, you can always Allure them to that lane and make the finishing blow and subdue them.
Like all other Avatars, she also has three traits you can choose from and which can greatly affect the way you play. If you choose Viper's Edge as her trait, Evie will get caustic 1 and lose 1 power while attacking Avatars. This trait synergizes well with cards like Festering Boltus, whose power increases by 2 every time you place an acid counter on any enemy target. Nerve – Racking Poison on the other hand will reduce Avatar's energy by 1 until your next turn every time Evie attacks them. This trait is very useful against Caster type Avatars and energy heavy decks, or simply if you wish to force your enemies to level energy one extra time so they can use their Avatar skill. If you instead opt for Healing Toxins, Evie will become more durable because every time acid deals damage to an enemy unit, Avatar or Core, Evie is healed by 1. Since the whole faction revolves around mechanics that synergize with Acid, that trait shouldn't be hard to activate.

Whatever your choice may be, don’t forget to have fun! Which trait do you prefer to pick when playing Evie? Feel free to comment below or join our Discord channel (Discord) and share your experiences and desires with other Residents of Issilith!

Yours truly,
Games Revolted

“My child… Sometimes it is not enough to rely on your units alone. Sometimes you have to take matters into your own hands. Do not hesitate to use Avatars. You know, they are called like that for a reason…”

If you remember, Avatars are like your extension. At their every turn they can make up to three actions: move, make a basic attack, and use their skill. Every faction has four unique avatars and each of them has a unique skill and three traits you can choose from. That is... One, two, three… 12 Avatars, 12 unique skills, and more than 30 different traits! You really have your work cut out for you. Depending on the trait you use, the way you play your Avatar can change drastically. That allows you to adapt Avatar’s playstyle to your own. When talking about Avatar playstyles, it is possible to divide them into five types: Leaders, Warriors, Casters, Assassins, and Specialists.

Avatars who have offensive and defensive abilities which are centered around your units are Leader Avatars. They buff and protect your units enabling you to maximize their efficiency and get the most value out of each of them. Tyberiuth, The Warrior King of Drakkoriths, is a perfect example of the Leader type Avatar. His skill will allow you to increase the power of one of your units until your next turn, and with his traits, you can either increase your leadership or further buff your units.

When was the last time you managed to kill a mighty dragon or some badass aberrations? If your answer is not long ago, then Warrior Avatars are most likely right up your alley! Their skills and traits usually give them more sustainability which in turn allows them to fight more dangerous creatures and create a meaningful board advantage. Especially if you add Avatar supporting units to your deck. Saffron, The Sentinel in service of the Vestige witches, has some very interesting traits you can choose from. If you wish to be able to kill strong, buffed enemy units with your Avatar the trait that makes it so that it can’t take more than 3 retaliation damage is probably the best choice for you. Or you realize that oftentimes you find yourself on 2 or less health with your Avatar. Saffron has a trait that will in that case unmute its skill. And since you can’t use Saffron’s skill to deal damage directly to the enemy Core unless Saffron has taken damage, those traits can really come in handy and influence your playstyle.

Casters are perfect for those who prefer to stand back and focus primarily on their skills. They usually have traits that allow them to modify the way their spells work, so if you ever find yourself against a Caster type Avatar make sure you check its trait as it can be a major factor in creating the best possible strategy against them. Caster Avatars are most often paired with energy heavy decks which means they have fewer units in their deck. However, it does not mean they should be taken lightly. You can expect heavy ability support from them and some combo finishers. For example, Ozzordomu, Drakkorith’s Cinder Archon, has a skill with which he can target any wounded unit or enemy Core and deal damage to it. Depending on the trait you choose you can add REAP effect which will heal Ozzordomu every time he kills a unit or Avatar, have an extra attack every time you play 7+ cost unit, or obtain an Overpower card which will add +1 on your Avatar’s basic attack and REAP effect that allows you to draw a card.

Sometimes you just want to dive in behind the enemy lines and cripple their defenses. Usually, the best way to do that is to eliminate their Avatar. If it is subdued, the enemy Avatar can’t attack and that player can’t play energy cards. That can take a lot of pressure off of you and put your opponent into an unfavourable position. Perfect Avatars to do this are Assassins. Their skills and traits allow them to get close and personal with the enemy Avatar, and if your opponent isn’t careful, you can even subdue their Avatar multiple times in the game. That is also 5 extra damage to the enemy Core each time their Avatar is subdued! Lyxia, Oblivion’s very own Voidwraith, has mastered this ability. Her skill allows her to target an enemy unit after which her attacks can’t be blocked by it that turn. The traits you can choose from can influence the way you play her. She can deal 1 more damage to Avatars with equal or more health, deal damage to the enemy Core every time she deals damage to the enemy Avatar, or you can just choose that her base skill costs 2 energy less. There is something for everyone.

They are the odd ones, the misfits, the outcasts. At least when we are talking about playstyles. This merry bunch of Specialist Avatars are here to test you and your deck-building skills. With their specific skills, a different type of approach is usually needed and your strategic thinking will be crucial if you wish to fully use their potential. Zhtugg, Oblivion's Lord of Frailty, Theodora, Vestige's Daughter of Thorns, Reina, Drakkorith's very own Crimson Cultist… These are just some of the Specialist Avatars and every one of them brings something different to the table. Zhtugg's skill will target a local unit and reduce its power by 1 until your next turn. You can modify his spell with his traits and choose if he will buff your random local-owned unit with 1 power or if he can use his skill twice per turn. But if that doesn't suit your playstyle, you can always opt for a +1 leadership trait. On the other hand, Theodora can target a local unit after which that unit can't use its move action until your next turn. Her traits can enable you to buff a random local friendly unit with +1 power during the enemy turn, or, if you expect Theodora to be subdued, a trait that spawns a Spirit of Vengeance (a 3/3 unit) may be a better fit for you. And Reina, well, she will deal 1 damage to your local owned unit and deal 1 damage to it, and in return, she will heal your Core for 2. That works quite well with her trait which gives her +1 power as long as your Core is at full health, especially during the early stages of the game. Perhaps you like to strategize a bit more and her trait to obtain a Sanguine Enchantment (a 2 Energy cost card which gives +1/+1 to targeted unit) every time she kills a unit is more interesting to you. Or you want to have a card more than your opponent at the start of the game. There is a sea of possibilities!

Feel free to explore and experiment with different combinations Avatars can add to your arsenal. If you utilize them properly you can easily turn the tides in your favour.

“As you can see, my dear child, it is possible for you not only to lead your units or support them, you can be in the front rows with them, taking down creatures your soldiers wouldn’t even dare to dream of encountering. Or you can shift your focus and do everything in your power to destroy the enemy’s Avatar, making its army weaker and yours closer to victory. Which path to choose is entirely up to you… However, if you find yourself overwhelmed with doubt, feel free to join our Discord channel: Discord. Its Residents are always happy to help.“

Dear Denizens of Issilith!

It is our greatest pleasure to (re)introduce to you our Lead game designer and one of our Phages, the great Nikša Lučev! Today, Nikša will answer the game design question and give us some insight into his vision and thought process regarding Phageborn.

Q: Tell us something about yourself.
A: My name is Nikša and I’ve been working here in Games Revolted on Phageborn for the past five, six years. I’m an avid card game player. Well, mostly Magic, I’ve been playing it for more than 10 years, I can’t really remember the first time, it was around the Kamigawa block, and I’ve been a Magic judge for around five years. That’s my preferred card game of choice. I did play Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh!, Hearthstone, Runaterra and that’s pretty much it. I do like board games in general and I play computer games. So yeah, I did start my career in game development by being a QA and then I basically came here by accident. It was by recommendation of a friend who worked with me in the past. So I came here, I talked with the guys, showed them some of my work, like the board game and the card game I did in college. And they loved it so much they gave me full-time employment here to do a bunch of stuff. Since at the beginning we were a really small team, all of us had to do a bunch of stuff. So I did UI/UX design, concepts, managing assets, and such. And yeah, I just think about all the cool stuff we can make. That’s it.

Q: What’s a typical workday like for you?
A: Well, a typical workday is… Dealing with stuff. Since I’ve been here for a pretty long time, I do an overview of all things that are going on so that we all have the same vision, then I do some of my scheduled tasks, and when I’m not doing that I'll do some brainstorming for future content. I do work on completing our Lore also, because that is the area we are not completely done with, at least with writing everything down. I'll also help out with various bugs and features, are they intended to work that way or not, and so on. That is a typical workday for me now at this point of development.

Q: What are you enjoying working on the most?
A: Mostly I enjoy working on new cards, new concepts, and exploring ideas and how to bring those ideas into the digital card game. It’s one thing to bring them to a physical card game and another to bring them to digital, so it’s a really cool process to do some top-down design.

Q: You said you did a lot of things regarding the design of the Phageborn, is there anything in particular that was your focus during the development?
A: My focus during development was managing assets that others are doing since I personally can't do anything besides telling others what to do. I really tried to make sure that everything is somewhat situated in this dark fantasy setting. Some things may deviate from strictly dark fantasy and are mixed with regular or high fantasy, but I did try to do my best to keep it in that tone throughout all of the assets I was managing. That was primarily through sound and visual effects. So I tried to keep it down to the ground and not too flashy and too out there, but still not going into full-on depression mode with things. I helped whenever we were doing concepts for new cards, new Avatars, anything like that, and I did have my say in some of the Phageborn design balance-wise. Before it was all a combined effort from multiple people and that’s about it.

Q: Where do you draw your inspiration from?
A: Well, mostly I draw my inspiration from other card games in general, like seeing what mechanics are good in them and why they are good, and I try to see how certain mechanics would work in Phageborn and figure out how to make Phageborn more fun. So my primary inspiration comes from board games and card games in general, characters and stories from video games, and old myths and legends. One big inspiration from the start was actually Heroes of Might and Magic and we talked about that a long time ago, and we did implement some of its elements but it didn’t work so we just made them better.

Q: What do you find most challenging about game design?
A: Nothing really, I’m perfect. Just kidding. Well, the most challenging part actually is when you have an idea, a mechanic that sounds really cool on paper, and you test it out and it’s still really cool and amazing and you know that you love it, even some people you test it with love it, but then the sad reality of life sets in and you figure out that it’s not intuitive, the UI mess is horrible, and there are a lot of problems that go with it. The novelty is refreshing but once that novelty runs out you just have a mess. So the biggest problem is to find something that is fun, novel, and engaging but also make it clean execution-wise, functional, and actually enjoyable to other people, not just you and the people who are already very well acquainted with the project.

Q: One of the things you mentioned is how a part of your job is to make sure all of you have the same vision. So my question to you is how do you reconcile creative differences inside the team?
A: Well, we pull out our ideas and we just basically brainstorm until we find the best solution. We gather multiple inputs, take them all into consideration, and just figure out which is the best approach to solve it. Although we rarely have some creative differences, when they do happen it’s pretty much finding common ground, compromising, and seeing what best fits into the game.

Q: Did you re-evaluate the game’s mechanics since our last update to the game?
A: Yes, we have been looking at some mechanics of the game, like the overall feeling of leadership thresholds and what can we do with them. Certain cards have their abilities locked behind the leadership thresholds and we want to see what it would be like if those abilities weren’t locked behind leadership thresholds but if the leadership threshold gave some other bonuses. So, exploring and thinking about what we could do if we make, I’m not gonna say overhaul, but a slight tweak to cards to keep their utility but still have their leadership bonuses, which is not a really simple task, because Phageborn is built upon the three attributes the player can use and we have to make sure that there isn’t a prevalent playstyle. In the ideal meta, the distribution would be like there are equally good leadership decks, equally good energy-only decks, and equally good 50/50 splits. So, I believe that the state of the game is pretty good now but we are always looking at certain aspects of the game and how we can make it better and how to make them not stand out too much, to somehow achieve that harmony of leadership, energy and leadership/energy.

Q: Can you tell us a thing or two about what you did regarding the balancing of the last build?
A: Well, since we never had the chance to openly put the game in front of hundreds and thousands of players, we only had a small group of people who could say their balancing problems and issues, and that all changed once we got a lot more feedback. So we looked at that kind of feedback and statistics, what cards are too used and what cards are underused, and we took those numbers and data in regulating the last balance update, but we still plan on balancing the game regularly until we reach something that is going to be enjoyable to the players. It’s not something that one person handles, we get all the data and then we make an educated decision.

Q: There was some feedback from the community about the high tempo nature of the energy system. One of the potential solutions was the implementation of dual-cost cards. What are your thoughts about that?
A: Well, from what we gathered during our, unfortunately, limited time on Steam is how there can be situations where you can get tempo advantage and never lose it but those situations aren't that often and we got an idea of how decks which use 50/50 energy and essence cards aren’t the best still. So, it’s not really heavily skewed into the tempo match-up and normally, having a card game that has two resources means that you can play double the cards, so, you know, if you have one player that plays two cards per turn and one player that plays one card per turn, naturally, there is going to be a tempo advantage but we didn’t notice that was a big issue because you also get out of the resources that much quicker. But the idea of dual resource cards, it is an interesting mechanic to explore but it isn’t something we would necessarily like to do on a regular basis because it kinda defeats the whole double resource aspect of the game which is like a big part of our game. And just because it’s hard to balance it doesn’t mean we shouldn’t embrace it to the fullest. So, we will try our best not to skewer the game into any one playstyle.

Q: How do you plan to innovate the game to meet the standards of contemporary card games?
A: First, we want to focus on the things that make us unique. We want to take advantage of the fact that we are a digital card game so we can do things you cannot do in physical card games. I mean other contemporary card games do that now, even Magic for some reason. But we would like to explore that area even further. And to do so we plan on introducing new Avatars in our future updates, new factions, new mechanics, and maybe even new game mods that will allow you to play Phageborn like you never played before.

Q: Is there anything else you would like to add before we finish?
A: Yeah, I would just like to thank the community for being so patient with us and keeping their hopes up. This is a really good boost to our morale, that there are people that are still hyped for the game even after all these years. So that's really nice of you. It’s really hard for us to keep all this information back, we would love to tell you EVERYTHING that we do because there are some really, really good things we have in plan. And yeah, stay safe, and we’ll be seeing you soon on the battlefield.



Feel free to join our Discord channel to stay updated with more information about Phageborn and its development: Discord.

Yours truly,
Games Revolted

Dear Denizens of Issilith!

At first, The Oblivion was a place that was used as a graveyard for all those creations that just weren’t good enough. But with so much biological waste at one place, it was only a matter of time before nature took its course and life began to sprout. That is just a part of the story of how the first Oblivions came to be. And the rest is history, written in the DNA of the Oblivions, evolving every time they feed…

Zixeron, The Bringer of Enervation
“It is said that where Zixeron treads, all hope ends. That might have even been an understatement.”
If you are ever so unlucky to find yourself face to face with this imposing dragon-like creature, it will most definitely strike terror in your heart. However, Zixeron is not a dragon. In fact, it is a very powerful shapeshifter that can mimic the traits and abilities of the beings it transforms itself into. It just needs their genetic sample to do so. Even though dragons are extinct, some creatures still have traces of the original dragon genes embedded into their DNA. Teradons, huge beasts of war, are one of those creatures. While feasting on them, Zixeron managed to absorb those genes and shapeshift into a real-life dragon.



Zixeron is portrayed by a legendary card that has all its stats set at 6, making it, at least for now, the only 6 cost unit with 6 power and 6 health. Coincidence? Hmm… The Bringer of Enervation also has a very special effect. When you play this unit, it will put 1 vulnerability counter on each local enemy unit and enemy Avatar. That can be quite handy when you’re faced with a full lane of enemies or just need that little boost to your damage so you can clear the enemy units more effectively with your voidlings. Also, it looks damn good while doing it.



Hazzerin, Harbinger of Tza'thog
“Fear not the ascended ones, those who rose above the rabble and broke free of the collective. Fear the one who chose not to.”
Most Oblivion beings are connected through a hive mind. When an individual attains enough power they can evolve beyond the constraints of the hive mind. However, once Hazzerin reached this level, he refused to become disconnected from the collective. This was highly unusual, but Hazzerin has plans, ones he learned to hide, even while still being part of the hive mind.



This legendary card costs 7 essence and can bring you many advantages on the battlefield. If you play your cards right, you can obtain a legendary unit from your opponent (deck restrictions do not apply) or some other unit that can swing the odds in your favour. With his Blink ability, which lets him attack units in the non-local lane as well, setting him up to deliver a killing blow on the desired unit is even easier.



Rewind Time
“ "Time is as linear as we wish it to be." - Zhutgg ”
Magic is something creatures of the Oblivion use quite often. Manipulation of the boundaries of dimensions gives them a unique ability to perform brief time skips. Those among them who are more powerful can even make a copy of their current state in their dimension. While that copy only lasts for a short time, it grants the Oblivions an opportunity to mitigate damage or even completely avoid attacks.



This energy card is an ambush card which means it will remain hidden until it triggers. If you find yourself in a sticky situation where you expect to receive a lot of damage to your Core next turn, this energy card will nullify all damage your Core sustained that turn, giving you extra time to finish off your opponent or make adjustments to your defense. Just make sure your math is on point, if the damage you take that turn would destroy your core, Rewind Time will not have an opportunity to trigger.



What are your experiences with the Oblivion faction? Which combination stuck with you? Comment below or join our Discord channel to discuss it with other Residents of Issilith: Discord .

Yours truly,
Games Revolted

“Dear child… Before we go ahead and start to talk about synergies and playstyles, let’s take a step back and go over some other basic gameplay mechanics you need to know in order to advance through this world. Today I want to introduce you to card types, blocker mechanics, and attributes. Without this knowledge you are doomed to fail, like those before you.”

Last time, I talked to you about dual resources, Essence and Energy, what they are and what is their use, so today, I would like to introduce to you card types you will encounter while adventuring throughout Issilith and beyond.

You can use Essence for only one card type - units. Don’t take that as a negative thing, units are the core of your deck, they are your soldiers.

This seems like a great time to introduce you to one more gameplay mechanic: Blocking. At the start of your turn, all your previously played units become “Ready”. That means that they can attack, move to the other lane, or they can block. If you leave a unit to be a blocker, then the enemy's Avatar and units can’t attack the core or your Avatar (if your Avatar is positioned in the same lane as the blocker unit). Don’t forget, some units have an effect which will allow them to ignore the blocker and attack your core or avatar regardless. Plan your move accordingly!

Energy can be used to play three different types of energy cards: ability, ambush, and special attack cards. Utilizing energy cards can bring you a strategic advantage over your opponent.

Ability cards have a great variety of one-shot effects which can deal damage, draw cards, heal units, etc. Depending on the ability cards you choose for your deck, they can bring you utility and support, or even some crazy combos with your units and Avatars.

The second type of energy cards are Ambush cards. When you play them, they will be secretly placed on the battleground. That means that your opponent won’t see which card you have played, the only thing visible will be purple mist around your core, indicating that an ambush card has been placed. Every ambush card has its condition which, when met, will trigger the ambush. They can only be triggered on your opponent's turn, so you don’t have to worry about accidentally activating it. After the ambush card has been triggered and its effect has occurred, that ambush card is sent to the graveyard.

The last type of energy cards are Special Attacks which will replace the next basic attack of your Avatar. Special attack stays on your Avatar until it attacks or until you play another special attack, in which case only the last special attack will apply (special attacks do not stack). It’s important to distinguish a special attack from a basic attack since some cards might empower only your basic attack and will not apply to the special attack.

At the beginning of each of your rounds, unless you’re going first, you will be able to level up one of the three attributes: Leadership, Energy, and Overcharge. Which one you will level mostly depends on your playstyle and the circumstances you find yourself in.

Leadership is an attribute that, when leveled, increases your Avatar’s health by one and empowers certain cards. Some cards have a little blue flag icon in their description. That flag represents leadership and how much leadership you need to have to trigger the described effect. If you meet the requirements, the text following the flag will also be blue, if you don’t it will stay white.

Since Energy doesn’t automatically increase every turn like Essence, you can choose to level it at the start of your round. It’s usually prudent to level Energy to the cost of your Avatar’s skill, even if you don’t play an ability-oriented deck, since your Avatar also uses energy for casting his skill, not just for playing energy cards.

Overcharge lets you deal damage to your core and in exchange, you can draw an extra card. The first time you use an overcharge it will deal 1 damage to your core, but every time you use it, the cost of the overcharge is increased by 1. That means that the second time you want to level overcharge, you will have to take two damage to your core for drawing one extra card, and so on. Overcharge is a very powerful tool that can bring you an advantage over your opponent, but it can also put you in an unfavorable position if you use it too much and take too much damage so use it wisely!

“Do not be intimidated, my child... While your knowledge about this world must be vast to proceed, it is your creativity and strategic thinking that will single you out in the sea of adventurers. Perhaps you are ready, perhaps you are not, but you will not know unless you try...
If you need anything before we see each other again, go over to Discord, its Residents will gladly help: Discord.”