Deckbuilder

Deckbuilders make the construction of a deck part of the active run or campaign rather than a task completed entirely before play begins. Card rewards, removals, upgrades, energy curves and relic synergies force players to reshape an initial set of weak options as encounters become harder.

Many examples use branching routes, procedural battles and run-based resets, although permanent unlocks may widen future choices. This page covers archetypes, drafting decisions, combo engines, difficulty, balance, route planning and how randomness can reward adaptation without replacing strategy.