Card game blueprint

Alignment

Core rules, faction engines, and card registry for Alignment — Jacob Pendant's original competitive card game.

1. Core Rules & System Architecture

Deck Construction & Formats

  • Main Deck: exactly 60 cards — low-tier units, spells/rituals, and hidden traps.
  • Fate Deck (Extra Deck): 10–15 cards — highest-tier Named Bosses and Active Guide Commanders. Never drawn; summoned by meeting criteria.
  • Starting hand: 10 cards. Single card draw begins turn 2 onward (first player does not draw on turn 1).
  • Hand limit: 10 cards at end of turn. Excess must be discarded to the Graveyard unless a faction modifier exempts you.

Combat System

  • Positioning: face-up vertical Attack (uses ATK) or horizontal Defense (uses DEF).
  • Modified Yu-Gi-Oh! rules — monsters fully heal at end of turn.
  • Higher ATK vs ATK destroys defender; LP damage = ATK difference.
  • Higher ATK vs DEF destroys defender with zero LP damage (unless piercing overrides).
  • Attacks are declared one at a time.

2. Faction Mechanics & Playstyles

Nine-Tier Factions (9000 LP)

The Sinking Oppression · The Ascending Radiance

  • Engine: slow, inevitable scaling. No human vessels — a dedicated Realm Slot advances +1 Tier at start of each turn (Turn 1 = Tier 1, Turn 2 = Tier 2, …).
  • Summoning: play monsters from hand for free when their Tier ≤ active Realm Tier. No summoning sickness.

Seven-Tier Factions (7000 LP)

The Corruption · The Redemption

  • Engine: fast, aggressive, manipulative. Shared pool of Human Vessels on field.
  • Summoning: bypass turn-timer — transform immediately via Spells (Corruptions) or Prayers (Conversions).
  • Balancing lever: all Seven-Tier monsters have Summoning Sickness unless given a keyword like Bloodlust.

3. Shared Human Vessels

Neutral slates for Seven-Tier transformation decks.

UnitStatsBaseline for
Rejected Nerd100 ATK / 300 DEFWrath or Envy
Foolish Party-Goer300 ATK / 100 DEFGluttony or Lust
Poor Unfortunate Soul0 ATK / 500 DEFSloth or Greed
Ambitious Student200 ATK / 400 DEFPride or Diligence

4. Detailed Card Registry

Seven-Tier and Nine-Tier faction rosters.

Seven-Tier factions

The Seven Deadly Sins (The Corruption)

7,000 starting LP

Two-Fold Choice on Spells: sacrifice a Human vessel on field, OR pay 1500 LP to send a Human vessel from Deck to Graveyard to cheat out a Tier 2 unit.

Scaling: Monsters scale stronger based on variety of uniquely named Sin cards across field and Graveyard.

Core main deck

Descent into Plastic

Spell

[Field Offering]: Sacrifice Ambitious Student or Rejected Nerd on field; Special Summon Vain Myrmidon (Demon Warrior) from hand/deck. OR [Blood Pact]: Pay 1500 LP. Send either human from Deck to GY; Special Summon Vain Myrmidon. GY Bonus: Banish from GY to mill top 3 cards of your deck.

Bottomless Appetite

Continuous Spell

Exempts player from 10-card hand limit. All Sin monsters gain +200 ATK for every card held above 10.

Fate deck bosses

Beelzebub, Lord of Gluttony

Named Boss

2500 ATK / 2000 DEF

Summon: Tribute 1 Demon Warrior or Demon Mage.

[Summoning Sickness]. Gains +300 ATK for each unique Sin card in play/GY. When it destroys a monster, banish that monster and gain LP equal to its ATK.

The Seven Heavenly Virtues (The Redemption)

7,000 starting LP

Reactive tug-of-war. Prayers as Quick-Play spells hijack enemy Human Vessels or convert destroyed opposing cards into Holy defenders.

Scaling: Monsters scale on volume of played/spent Prayers and Traps.

Core main deck

Absolution of the Outcast

Quick-Play Prayer

[Redeem Soul]: Target any Human Vessel on field, send to GY; Special Summon Cloistered Zealot (Holy Mage) to your field. OR [Divine Intervention]: Pay 1500 LP. Send 1 Human from Main Deck to GY; Special Summon Cloistered Zealot. GY Bonus: Banish from GY to return 1 Human from GY to Main Deck.

Abundance of Grace

Continuous Spell

Exempts player from 10-card hand limit. If holding 10+ cards during Draw Phase, skip draw to look at opponent's face-down cards and hand.

Fate deck bosses

Raphael, Archangel of Temperance

Named Boss

2000 ATK / 2800 DEF

Summon: Tribute 1 Holy Warrior or Holy Mage.

[Summoning Sickness]. Gains +200 DEF for every Trap/Prayer in play/GY. While in DEF, negates passive burn and caps incoming battle damage from a single attack at 1500 LP.

Nine-Tier factions

The Nine Circles of Hell (The Sinking Oppression)

9,000 starting LP

Passive field debuffs, burns opponent's 10-card hand, and locks down the field.

Field & support

The Phlegethon / Boiling River of Blood

Field Spell

Exempts player from hand limit. Discarded cards can be placed face-up in the River zone. Enemy monsters lose 300 ATK per card in the River.

Descensus ad Inferos

Spell

Pay 2000 LP. Advance Realm tracker by 2 Tiers. You cannot attack this turn.

Stagnation of the Sullen

Quick-Play Spell

Activate before Realm Shift. Freeze your active Tier tracker for the turn. Force enemy monsters to attack your highest-ATK unit.

Progression tiers

Tier 1

Limbo

Circle buff: Circle units gain +500 DEF. Face-down DEF units cannot be targeted by enemy spells.

Unbaptized Soul

400 ATK / 1800 DEF

When attacked in DEF position, forces the attacker into DEF position at end of combat.

Tier 2

Lust

Minos, Judge of the Carnal

1900 ATK / 1200 DEF

On summon, target an enemy monster; it loses 500 ATK for every card in opponent's hand.

Tier 3

Gluttony

Great Worm Cerberus

2400 ATK / 2000 DEF

Taunt — enemies must attack this first. Once per turn, discard 1 card to reduce an attacker's ATK to 0.

Tier 4

Greed

Circle buff: Opponent takes 500 burn whenever they draw outside Draw Phase.

Plutus, Gold-Weighed Beast

2200 ATK / 2200 DEF

Once per turn, force opponent to discard 2 cards or take a direct LP hit.

Tier 5

Wrath

Circle buff: All face-up monsters must attack. DEF stats reduced to 0.

Sullen Slime

100 ATK / 3000 DEF

Attackers permanently lose 1000 ATK after combat.

Tier 6

Heresy

Circle buff: Cards sent to opponent's GY are Banished instead.

Flaming Tombar

2600 ATK / 1800 DEF

On summon, look at opponent's 10-card hand and banish 1 Spell/Trap.

Tier 7

Violence

Circle buff: When a monster is destroyed by battle, inflict burn equal to its original ATK.

Centaur Archer

2800 ATK / 1200 DEF

Can attack twice per Battle Phase. Immune to enemy Spells.

Tier 8

Malebolge (Fraud)

Circle buff: Once per turn, redirect target of opponent's activated Spell/Trap to another valid target.

Geryon, Serpent of Deceit

3000 ATK / 2500 DEF

Once per turn, copy effects and text of an enemy monster and gain +500 ATK.

Fate deck — guide commander

Virgil, the Reasoned Guide

Active Guide Commander

0 ATK / 2500 DEF

Summon: Free from Extra Deck at Tier 1 (Limbo).

Gains +1000 ATK per active Tier Circle. Once per turn, freeze an enemy unit (cannot change positions or attack). At Tier 5 (Wrath), human reason fails — return Virgil to Extra Deck. Protects controller from passive self-burn while in Extra Deck.

Tier 9 end-game boss

Lucifer, The Frozen Emperor

Tier 9 End-Game Boss

4000 ATK / 4000 DEF

Summon: Requires Tier 9 (Treachery) and an empty field.

Fortress: spawns Tower of Babel token on summon — Absolute Invulnerability and freezes your LP pool. Tower crumbles after opponent resolves 3 card effects/damages. True Form: when Tower crumbles, Lucifer sheds shell and permanently gains ATK equal to combined current LP of both players.

The Nine Spheres of Heaven (The Ascending Radiance)

9,000 starting LP

Absolute defense, immense card draw, and interconnected multipliers.

Progression tiers

Tier 1

The Moon

Circle buff: Once per turn, the first time a Sphere monster would be destroyed by battle, it survives.

Inconstant Seraph

1200 ATK / 1200 DEF

On Turn 1 summon, scry and rearrange top 3 cards of your deck.

Tier 2

Mercury

Ambitious Herald

1500 ATK / 1500 DEF

When attacking, draw 1 card. If it's a Spell, reveal it to gain 1000 LP.

Tier 3

Venus

Martyr of Venus

2100 ATK / 2200 DEF

Gains +300 ATK per face-up Sphere card you control. On kill, revive a Tier 1 Sphere monster from GY in DEF.

Tier 4

The Sun

Circle buff: Once per turn, reveal top deck card; if Holy, summon it for free in DEF.

Thomas, Solar Scholar

1800 ATK / 2400 DEF

While in DEF, your other Sphere monsters are immune to enemy monster effects.

Tier 5

Mars

Circle buff: All your active monsters gain +500 ATK per card in your hand.

Crusader of the Cross

2500 ATK / 2000 DEF

Deals piercing battle damage when striking DEF position monsters.

Tier 6

Jupiter

Circle buff: Opponent must pay 500 LP to declare an attack.

Just Emperor

2700 ATK / 2500 DEF

When an enemy attacks, redirect attack target to any monster you control.

Tier 7

Saturn

Circle buff: Skip Battle Phase to draw 2 cards and gain 1500 LP.

Silent Hermit

0 ATK / 3500 DEF

Indestructible by battle or card effects. Must be placed face-up DEF.

Tier 8

Fixed Stars

Circle buff: Your LP cannot drop below 1000 while you control a Tier 8 monster.

Triumph of the Star

3200 ATK / 3000 DEF

On summon, recycle all Banished Sphere cards back into Main Deck.

Fate deck — guide commander

Beatrice, Divine Revelation

Active Guide Commander

0 ATK / 2500 DEF

Summon: Free from Extra Deck at Tier 4 (The Sun).

Aura of Revelation: reduce all enemy Circle monsters' ATK by 1000 per active Sphere Tier (e.g. −4000 ATK to Virgil at Tier 4). Stores 1 Purification Counter per 1000 ATK stripped. If Beatrice leaves field, remove counters to heal 1000 LP each.

Tier 9 end-game boss

The Primum Mobile (The Prime Mover)

Tier 9 End-Game Boss

0 ATK / 0 DEF (dynamic)

Summon: Requires Tier 9 (Primum Mobile).

Clockwork: ATK/DEF always equal to total cards across both hands, fields, and GY × 100. Negates all active enemy cards when declaring an attack. If it would leave field, shuffle board and hands into decks (except active Realms). Last Hope: once per Main Phase, resurrect any monster from either GY — permanently absorb its ATK; at end of turn banish it and take direct LP damage equal to absorbed ATK.