We are proud to announce the upcoming release of our next major expansion, THE ENCHANTED GROVE, coming January 11th! This expansion will feature the addition of a 6th faction to the game, DRUIDS, as well as some new cards for the druid faction and a massive revamp of game mechanics and cards. Key features are:

A 6th faction, the enigmatic and nature-loving Druids, have joined the fight! Summon rampaging beasts and harness the spirit of the forest to protect your units and crush your enemies!

Faction identities return! Factions now have much tighter restrictions on what kinds of cards and abilities they may possess. Many neutral units have been returned to their original faction.

TRAP CARDS, a new mechanic available to all factions which allows you to set secret traps that can activate on your opponent's turn!

A general revamp of numbers and formulas, with more powerful spells, a sturdier Castle, and less ability to punish aggressive positions.

For this release, the team went back to examining core gameplay with basic cards to identify ways we could improve the pacing and momentum of the game. Traditionally the game has allowed for tempo swings too easily and too frequently, leading players to play a conservative game and generally not take aggressive positions until late game. Last summer we reduced the HP of the castle from 20 to 12 as a way to reward more aggressive positions with a potential early kill. This worked in improving the player experience without changing the card pool too much, but came with some significant downsides. A lower HP pool means players can sometimes be surprised by how quickly they die and feel that their position is too fragile to allow for interesting setups and longer-plan decks. By focusing on core mechanics and basic cards, we were able to come up with a rule set that feels more fair for all sides and addresses the actual issue of tempo swings directly, at the cost of majorly changing the game.

So Castles now have 20 HP, but we have nerfed or removed most ways for players to significantly punish an attacker directly from the hand. Most significantly, RANGED UNITS CANNOT ATTACK IMMEDIATELY when they are played. Playtesting identified the ability to punish attackers directly from hand with a ranged unit, gaining massive board presence at zero risk, to be the most significant deterrent to attacking.

Melee units have been mostly standardized to 3 movement, with special card text for units that can move 4 or 2 spaces. Units that move 2 spaces ALSO cannot attack on the same turn they are played, again because they tend to have higher stats and were too potently used as value-add castle defenders. Many units that were previously slow or fast have been changed to a standard 3 move unit with different abilities, and the SLOW attribute is used sparingly (and the FAST attribute for 4-move units is exclusive to ninjas).

Combat abilities such as CHAIN LIGHTNING and COMBO now activate when a unit counterattacks as well as when they attack. This can make aggressive positions much more potent.

Factions are now much more restricted in the mechanics they possess. This gives each faction more flavor, adds more weight to the dual-faction decision, and makes gameplay less unpredictable as you can now rule out significant options for your opponent based on the factions they are using. Additionally, many cool new combat mechanics have been added specifically to round out faction abilities and make them as cool as possible.

CRUSADERS: Crusaders are a defensive faction, possessing powerful healing and damage absorption abilities and card draw mechanics.

RESOLVE: The first time this unit would die, it instead survives with 1 health.

ARMOR: Absorbs the first X damage dealt to this unit each turn.

JUDGMENT: When this unit is attacked, it deals X damage to the attacker.

NINJAS: Ninjas are a trick faction, using amazing speed and return-to-hand tricks to surprise enemies and gain advantage in combat. They use the following unique mechanics:

FIRST STRIKE: This unit deals combat damage before the opponent.

STEALTH: This unit is invisible until it attacks. (unchanged from live)

EVASIVE: Can move again after attacking.

VIKINGS: Vikings are all about combat potency, strengthening their units and giving them devastating damage abilities. They use the following unique mechanics:

FREEZE: Freeze now prevents the target from attacking or moving for one turn. Frozen units also deal combat damage AFTER the opponent (the opposite of first strike).

CHAIN LIGHTNING: Chains damage to connected enemies (unchanged from live).

THUNDERSTRIKE: Deals damage to enemies in a cone in front and knocks them back one space (the specific area corresponds to the animation in game).

WARLOCKS: Warlocks love direct damage, spells and dark magic. They can burn their enemies with fire and drain the life from them with their dark powers. They use the following unique mechanics:

LIFESTEAL: When this unit deals damage, it heals itself for the amount dealt.

EXPLOSIVE: When this unit deals damage, it also deals extra damage to nearby enemies (unchanged from live).

INFERNO: At the start of your turn, deal massive damage to EVERYTHING nearby (replaces fire aura).

PIRATES: Pirates are thieving scoundrels who love treasure and will use any dirty trick they can to win in combat. Pirates have exclusive access to gold-generating abilities and are a debuff-focused faciton. They use the following unique mechanics:

TREASURE: Gain X gold at the start of your next turn.

STUN: Prevents an enemy unit from moving, attacking or counter-attacking for one turn.

RIPOSTE: Deals double damage on counter-attacks.

DRUIDS: Druids possess an affinity with nature and the creatures of the forest. They can absorb damage from allies with their spiritual bonds, and summon ferocious beasts to come to their aid. Druid mechanics favor ephemeral units and aggressive plays, completing the circle of life. They use the following unique mechanics:

SPIRIT LINK: Any combat damage dealt to your allies is redirected to this unit.

RAMPAGE: This unit can move and attack a second unit after the first (unchanged from live).

COMPANION: Companion units can be played next to any other unit you have on the board.

We're really excited about the release of this expansion and can't wait to get all these cool new mechanics into everyone's hands! Feel free to post any questions below, thank you!

Read original post: https://www.reddit.com/r/CardsandCastlesCCG/comments/7nb39u/upcoming_expansion_the_enchanted_grove_new_faction/

Cards and Castles is moving to a new release model with smaller, more frequent content updates. Dwarves and Dinos is the first of these updates, but being an intersection with the old and new release methods contains some slight differences of its own.
Because we will be releasing smaller card drops every few months, NEW CARD DROPS WILL NO LONGER HAVE THEIR OWN UNIQUE PACK. This is true for Dwarves and Dinosaurs as well unless you got the special preorder. It's not possible to create a good pack without a massive pool of cards, so new card releases will just be added to the global pool of available cards from now on. Yes, this means you can find new release cards in free packs, quest packs, and CP packs. Recent tech was introduced that makes it less likely to pull cards you already own, so if you already have all cards and are looking forward to the new ones only, odds are you will be able to find some quickly!
New card drops will also have scaling crafting costs for a few months after release, with the largest scaling on common cards. This is to discourage players from instantly obtaining every new card the moment it's released.
New popups in the Store will give players a handy view on all the most recent cards. For Dwarves and Dinos, we have also taken the opportunity to repurpose all of our old art assets to expand the pool of cards available in the game. This expansion ONLY will have about 50 extra bonus cards reprinted from older artwork. This will finally bring the total number of cards in the game to over 300!
Finally, as many of you know we are changing the Castle's HP to 12 with this update to improve gameplay. While we believe this results in a stronger balance and deck variety for the majority of the game's cards, many cards still had to be changed to accommodate this update. Because this is a large scale systems change, there will be no increased sellback on the retuned cards.
Have at!

We are excited to release a preview of the cards being released this thursday! Click here to see some of the cards:
http://imgur.com/a/hhHXF

DRAG is a new ability that pulls a target forward after attacking - the opposite of knockback.
COMBO is an ability that activates after attacking.
DRAMATIC ENTRANCE means the minion is played to the center of the map.

We also have PATCH NOTES for upcoming balance and mechanics improvements:

GENERAL
The global moratorium on direct castle damage has been lifted! We feel this restriction is no longer necessary and can make for clearer, more interesting damage cards based on this distinction. Several cards have been rebalanced around this change, and all random target mechanics now have a chance to hit the castle.
CHAOTIC STORM - Cost increased to 2.
INFERNAL FURNACE - No longer deals damage every turn. Cost reduced to 2.
ICEWEAVING - Damage increased to 2.
FLAME - Cost increased to 2, can now hit castles.
SUNBURST - Can now hit castles.
SACRIFICE - Cost reduced to zero, damage reduced to 2.
DRAGON BOLT - Cost increased to 3, can now hit castles.
FLAMES OF ETERNITY - Cost increased to 4, can now hit castles.
SWIFT JUSTICE - Can now target the castle.

Enchant targeting rules have been more streamlined for balance and gameplay purposes. Most enchants now only apply to MELEE COMBAT MINIONS. The following cards have had their targeting restricted to melee combat minions:
SWIFTNESS
BLINDING RADIANCE
FLAME SHIELD
FACE OF THE DRAGON
MEDITATION
SHROUD OF THE REDCLOAKS
TREASURE HUNT
DRAGON CREST SHIELD
RAMPAGE

BASIC CARD IMPROVEMENTS
BLAZING SWORDS - Changed to "3g: Give your combat minions +2 attack this turn."
MASTER THIEF - Ability changed to INVEST (1), which grants gold on your next turn.
PLUNDER - Changed to "Deal 2 damage and INVEST (1)"
LIGHTNING BOLT - Changed to "3g: Deal 3 damage."
KNOCKOUT - Cost reduced to 2, and price penalty for enemy removed.
FILTHY PEASANT - Changed back to a basic 2/3 unit.
GENERAL BALANCE CHANGES
LUMINARUS - Cost increased to 6.
KING KAIJU - Cost increased to 8.
TITAN WATCHER - Stats reduced to 6/5.
SALAHAR SPITEFISH - Cost increased to 2.
CRUMBLING ARCHIVE - HP reduced to 2.
PACIFISM - HP reduced to 4.
SHATTERING STRIKE - Cost increased to 1.
RALLY THE TOWN - Now 5g and summons three peasants.
STABLES - HP reduced to 2.
DRAGON TEMPLE - Cost reduced to 2, HP reduced to 2, HP bonus reduced to 1.

And finally, we will be releasing a new, limited time smaller preorder bundle later today!

The Cards and Castles team is excited to announce our upcoming expansion, THE ARCHANON WAR, set to release in mid-February! Long ago, the evil mage Archanon, Lord of Chaos, was banished beyond the Door of Madness in a great battle, thought to be trapped there forever. But he has somehow returned, and brought chaos once again to the land of Carderia! Archanon's return will feature over 40 cards as well as new content and goodies including:

- A new desert-themed game map!
- New music tracks!
- New spell mechanic REBOUND!
- The release of all previous event cards!
- Many AWESOME new legendary and epic cards with unique new mechanics!

If you can't wait for THE ARCHANON WAR, preorder it now from the shop at a big discount and also get Archanon's lair, the COBRA CASTLE, as an immediate reward!

Remember our old friend the Pegacorn? He's back today in full released form! The Pegacorn can now be found in card packs at the normal rate, or CRAFTED if you so desire. If you missed the event a few months ago you now have a second chance to get it. Enjoy your Pegacorns!

Hey everyone, our premade deck selection in the shop has been static for a while so we've just rotated FOUR new premade decks into the shop! Each deck contains 40 cards assembled and ready to play including LEGENDARIES and EPICS. Additionally, for a limited time we are allowing players to purchase up to THREE copies of each deck should they so desire. Tap or click on a deck in the Shop for more info!

It's October, and that means it's time for random weird promotions! Would you like a cool looking Skull castle and a free Card Pack? Of course you would! All you have to do is log onto your account using the STEAM version of Cards and Castles and this free gift is yours!

Please be advised, if you already have the Skull castle you will only receive the free card pack, and new accounts cannot receive gifts until at least one hour after they are created.

One last thing: if you have feedback for the devs, or are just a fan of Cards and Castles and would like to show your appreciation, then please leave us a review! The devs read every review and always appreciate fan feedback and observations. Be sure to check out our community Discord and Reddit if you'd like to communicate with other fans as well. Thank you!

Log on to the Steam version now for your free card pack!

Hey everyone, we've got a couple of exciting things coming up! First off, we are going to be doing a soft rank reset on October 1st, starting a new ranking season! The new season will feature a minor balance patch designed to address some interactions in the game that feel broken or unfair. We are also rolling out new card tech into the client that will allow for the direct summoning of random units! Below are the patch notes for the upcoming changes:


- ONE-EYED MADDY: Ability upgraded to INITIATIVE: Summon a random mage. (Originally draw a random mage).

- CALL TO WAR: Changed to 2g: Summon a random unit costing (3) or less. (Originally draw 2 random units)

--- OTHER BALANCE CHANGES ---

- DRAGON'S HOARD: This card will be redesigned due to continued potential for abuse by gold generating cards. It is now 3g: Add a random unit costing (3) or less and a random spell costing (2) or less to your hand, and Gain 1 gold.

- WOETEN: LAST WILL effect will be removed. We feel that the stats and combos on this card make it strong enough on its own, and players generally don't like having to face the same card over and over.

- FENRIR: Attack will be reduced to 5.

- DEFLECTING SHIELD: Cost will increase to 5g.

- RALLY THE TOWN: Because of the new summon tech, peasants created by Rally the Town will also summon their rat companions. To account for this, the number of peasants summoned will be reduced to 2.

We will also be rotating a few new decks into the store tonight. We hope everyone is looking forward to the new patch and ranking season!

Some of you may have received a push notification about a Pegacorn event starting. It appears that our notification timer and the event timer are just a little out of sync due to time zones, so the notification sent some hours too early. No big deal! We'll fix the notification timer, and the Pegacorn event should be started by tomorrow! There will be a popup in the game when the event goes live for real, and there will be a message in the store as well. We're all looking forward to it!