Jacob was late coming home that night, finding his grandfather asleep on the couch. The old man had left the television on, which filled the room with a soft glow. On it was a news report about Veronica Worth and her Invite Card, as well as the raid on her factory. None of the Officers involved were interviewed or shown - standard practice for ongoing investigations - but plenty of footage was shown of the now-empty facility. The machines seemed almost sad and lifeless in their disuse, sitting silent on a line that otherwise would have been pumping out hundreds of vehicles a month. The facility itself was largely empty; not a shred of evidence remained for the newscasters to find. Jacob shut off the television, and his grandfather grunted. Jacob saw a sleep card equipped on his grandfather’s equipper, and he smiled gently.
Jacob walked over to the kitchen, finding a lightly simmering teapot on the stove bubbling lightly on low heat. It would cost them on the gas bill, but he appreciated his grandfather leaving it out. He pulled a mug out of the cupboard and placed it on the counter, before pouring himself some tea. He switched off the stove and grabbed the steaming mug carefully. He turned to bring it to the table and froze.
On the table was a single Wonder Corp. Battle pack, alongside a second equipper. Jacob walked over and put the mug of tea down, staring at the items in surprise. He reached to the table and picked up a piece of paper that had been placed between them.
I called in some favors, I hope these help your deck.
“Grandfather…” Jacob said quietly, looking over the things on the table. The equipper was significantly nicer than the government standard he wore; it was made of solid aluminum with multiple small screens and indicators, all designed to give the caster detailed information about their cards. His government equipper in comparison was plain; a heavy plastic with no screens or indicators. It allowed a caster to fulfill basic card uses, but left them unaware of anything specialized that could create a larger strategy, or how many uses each card had left. Paired with the card pack, the new equipper cost well over a month’s worth of income. Jacob had no idea what kind of favors his grandfather had to call in, but they must have been big.
Jacob set the note back down on the table, and picked up the teacup. He took a deep sip, pondering the items heavily. He sighed and put down the teacup, before pulling the government equipper off his left arm. He picked the corporate equipper and looked it over, noticing the large FateCo logo on the side. The smallest of the 5 card companies, known for reliability over innovation. He slid it onto his forearm, using the straps to tighten it down. The metal was cold against his skin, but the equipper was otherwise comfortable. Jacob debated for a moment, then slid the government equipper onto his right forearm. He tightened down the straps, and looked down at the them. It felt ridiculous, but two equippers would get Jacob through any more surprises like the RevGang Enforcers.
Jacob turned his attention to the Wonder Corp. pack on the table, it’s purple and blue foil glinting at him in the moonlight that filtered through the windows. Moving quietly so as to not disturb his grandfather Jacob pulled out a chair and sat at the table. He folded his hands and rested his face on them as he contemplated. The pack was a Battle Pack special: one of the more expensive ones that promised at least 2 new cards from the latest line. It was a smart pack to hedge your bets on while building a deck; corporate card packs were randomized, no two packs contained the exact same cards. The companies discovered quickly that they would have higher sales if you never knew what you were going to get. There were rumblings that FateCo was considering creating “standard packs” to echo the government ones, guaranteeing specific cards. Thus far they had yet to do so. The profit motive of randomization was too high. It hooked into the human love of gambling, a love that drove more purchases and higher profits. It was a brilliant economic strategy, a strategy that worked against folks like Jacob.
This was why building a deck and competitive casting were a luxury - at least officially. Shadow cards operated differently in the black market, commonly being sold as singles and in organized sets. It was rare to find a proper shadow pack; Jacob had no idea what sources the sellers used to get them, but they were experts at it. CivCreds were limited for Jacob and his Grandfather, but the elderly man was hellbent on building Jacob’s deck. The Card of the Gods lit a fire in the old man Jacob hadn’t seen in decades; not since he had first taken him in. Wonder Corp. was known for having the best cards in its packs, and this pack would have the highest likelihood of something good. There was no guarantee however, which troubled Jacob. The pack could end up having nothing useful, or even worse cards that were harmful to him. Cards that worked against the types he carried, or that focused on different strategies. A pack full of deception cards would do him no good; his deck was a battle deck, and hybrid decks rarely did well matches.
And of course, the search. What if there was an invite card in the pack? It would throw Jacob’s entire life into disarray. The Agency would have a field day. One of their own, being sent into a factory that no government was allowed to touch. Jacob would be lying to himself if he didn’t have a small glimmer of hope that he could find one; the invite card he had held was beautiful, a truly unique card with truly unique purpose. He was no collector like Kerl, but even he quietly wished he could add one to his deck. As jaded as he was, he couldn’t deny it.
Jacob huffed silently, before reaching out to grab the pack. No point in building up the suspense for any longer, might as well get it over with. The pack had a giant W emblazoned on the front, surrounded by illustrations of creatures. It crinkled lightly in Jacob's hand; itwas designed to broadcast its presence, grabbing attention through sight and even sound. Jacob missed the simple matte black of the shadow pack; it was far less ostentatious. The pack was noticeably lighter than the shadow pack, and slightly thinner as well. Not quite as light as the government cards, but clearly printed on the same machines.
Jacob tore the pack open, ripping through the foil at the top. He was careful not to rip the cards as he did, but he treated this pack with little reverence. Wonder Corp. had consumed so much of the world’s sanity, Jacob felt a bit of his frustration release as he ripped it open. He pulled the stack of 12 cards out and felt himself grow nervous; there was a pit in his stomach, and his hands shook slightly. His heartrate rose, and for a moment he felt almost afraid of what he would find. What would he do if there was an invite? Could he tell anyone? How disappointed would he be if there wasn’t one? What if the cards in the pack were useless? What would he do with them, and how would he tell his grandfather?
Jacob held his breath, then fanned out the cards in front of him. Relief flooding through him. No invite card. Just a standard mix of Snares, Creatures, and spells, with one equip at the very back. As he relaxed he felt the disappointment wash over him like a cold shower; he had never expected to find an Invite, nor did his grandfather. Despite that the image of Veronica’s invite flashed into his mind. The glimmering gold and bold letters, the almost obscene beauty the gaudy card demonstrated. The Wonder Corp. mania had even affected him, building a sense of false hope that wormed its way in. He thought he understood the world’s lack of self-control, but in holding the pack he realized it never truly hit him until now. The packs were already designed to be addictive, to play on the human love of risk and gambling. The Invite Cards added an extra layer to that. It was intoxicating; he understood why Competitive Casters and Card Collectors chased that high. It didn’t do much for him, but he understood it better.
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Jacob paused to swallow his disappointment, and looked closely at the cards he actually had. For the most part they were basic; One equip, 4 snares, 4 creatures, and three spells. Of those he had seen 8 before, either in videos of competitive casting or in case files at the station. 3 of the remaining 5 appeared to be new releases, while the other two were low level monsters with nothing notable about them. Their strength and defense stats were lower than 1000 each, they had no effects, they were base cards Casters added to pad out a deck and stall for time. It was unlikely he would use them in practice, but given how small his deck was there was no harm in adding them. He pressed the cards together so only one was visible at a time. As he did a small amount of the wonder he had in the card shop returned; he could pretend he was tired of the cards, but he couldn’t hide his interest from himself. They were beautiful, and he was deeply fascinated with everything about them. In another life, with more resources, he likely would have been almost as obsessed as Kerl or ViolaKu; getting his hands on as many as he could, and constantly testing out new ways to use them. The job and his income made him tired of the cards, but holding them reminded him of that child-like wonder - even if it was only for a moment.
Jacob went through the cards one by one, assessing them in comparison with what he already had. Most of them were fairly unimpressive, not horrible but not great, serving as filling for his deck:
The ManRay of Skaraam - Creature - Ocean Type - Strength: 900 - Defense: 400
Carnivorous Island Potato - Creature - Plant Type - Strength: 800 - Defense: 800
The Snakes of Seraph - Creature - Reptile Type - Strength: 1500 - Defense: 1000 - This card gains strength in higher temperature environments, and loses strength in lower temperature environments.
Cuddlemonster of the Dark Forest - Creature - Dark Type - Strength: 2000 - Defense: 1500 - Once per summoning this card can bewitch another creature ,and lower its defense stat by the same amount of the Cuddlemonster’s defense. It must then attack the opponent with a soul crushing hug.
Mysterious Figure - Snare - This snare summons a mysterious figure. It is unknown what they do.
Snare Reversal - Snare - Any snare revealed while this card is on the field is reversed, and projected onto its original caster.
Creature Theft - Snare - This card may target one creature; while this card is on the field that creature is stolen from its original caster, and given to another.
Unending Pit - Snare - This card opens an unending pit in a random location. Anything above that location is sucked into the pit.
Card Destruct - Spell - The caster of this card may select a single card present and destroy it, regardless of where the card is located.
Draining of Life - Spell - The caster using this spell may drain 500 life points from any source within sight.
Revival of a Lost Soul - Spell - When cast this card can revive one thing that has been destroyed; it is revived with one half its original stats or effects.
Lost Armor of the Wandering Warrior - Equip - This card equips the caster or one of its creatures with mythical armor; raise defense of an equipped being by 1000 points.
Jacob’s mind began moving quickly, thinking of various use cases and combinations. Some of these cards were good to have in a deck, but easily countered. Both the snare and spell cards had no innate protections of their own, relying upon other cards to keep them on the field. Snakes of Seraph was temperature dependent, meaning it needed to either be saved for specific moments or used in a heat deck - which he didn’t have. Cuddlemonster was whimsical but provided a fairly useful power against mid-level creatures; Jacob didn’t have much darkness in his deck, but the card seemed useful.
Just as interesting to Jacob as the match potential was how the cards could be used in daily life. His training taught him to think in terms of fighting, but most individuals used cards outside of combat. Could he have used Lost Armor of the Wandering Warrior in the raid of the factory? Would it work against conventional weapons? Since it has a specific defense number, and allows the card to be equipped to a caster, does it prove that people have stats? Is there a way, hidden in the cards, where one could see their stats? Does Draining of Life reinforce this proof, since it allows any source of Life Points? Do people have Life Points? Animals? Plants?
Could Revival of Soul, with its vague description, be used on real life objects? If one eats a bowl of soup - thus destroying it - could you use this card to have another half bowl? Or would it be a full bowl that’s half as nutritious? Could you create an infinite loop of soup, and could that be used to feed his grandfather and himself? Only equip cards disintegrate after too many uses, which means the spell could be cast infinitely; how many times could you revive something? If it is used on a living thing, how much of a pure horror would it create? Could you use it in a medical setting to save a life, and if so, would it be unethical after a certain point due to the reduction of stats? What stats do living things have that would be reduced?
Jacob knew the longer he sat there, the more questions he would think of. How would these cards have changed the match in the alley? How many ways would it affect the cards he already had? Do Sacred cards work with the others? How could he use them in Agency Raids? How could they help him complete his work at the station? How many more packs would he need to truly put together a high level battle deck, especially given the variability of the cards in each? If he didn’t force himself to sleep, he knew he could stay up the entire night thinking about this. The thoughts explained why competitive casters were addicted to Awakening cards. If they had even a quarter of the ideas he had while opening his pack - and they opened multiple daily - then he was surprised any of them got any sleep at all. The cards provided an endless supply of strategy and inspiration.
Jacob lined up the cards on the table similar to how his grandfather had lined up the shadow pack cards a few days prior. He paused for a moment as the time frame sunk in. His life had become a whirlwind of cards and card crimes, but less than a week had passed. He felt like it had been longer. In a different world he wouldn’t be thinking about the cards this heavily for years, when he got a government deck. When the murder investigations and low level raids all stacked up to finally give him the seniority and reputation. He was circumventing all of that by what felt like pure chance and coincidence.
He grabbed the small note his grandfather had left him, and flipped it over. He headed over to some shelves and rooted around for a moment, before finding a battered ballpoint pen behind a photo of him and his grandfather. The photo was taken in the southern territories, where they had spent some time when he was young. He walked back over to the table and scribbled Thoughts? onto his grandfathers note, placing it next to the cards. He walked over to the couch, and pulled out the small pad he slept on. He pulled off his agency belt for comfort, placing it on the ground next to his pad. The agency had allowed him to keep one of the Arrest decks he had been issued earlier, the station chief arguing that it should be considered standard issue. Whether that was standard issue for him or everyone at the station was never specified. He pulled a sleep card out of the equip deck on the belt and slipped it into the brand new equipper, before settling in. The lights on it blinked, while the display showed the card details.
Equip Card - Government Issue - Standard Sleep - 2 uses left - Countdown to Casting, 3… 2… 1…
The sleep card took effect, and the world faded to black.
building part of the Deckbuilder sub-genre. I love writing card effects and card battles, and seeing our hero grow in his competitive casting. But building a deck is more than just casting cards. It’s also the thoughts and strategy that go into it. When you get new cards there’s always that running question: did I get anything good? More than just handing our hero a deck and telling him to use it, I wanted to show the thought behind making one. The creation of new strategies, and unique ways to use them. That is what separates the best casters in this world from the average ones; their mind for strategy and card use.
FateCo is the first of those I’m introducing. It’ll take time, but I’ll try and introduce more of the things you ask for in the story.
trust in the cards…
Which of the cards in this chapter do you most want to see Jacob use?
