Eternal Card Game Wiki
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Zones are the different areas that a player's cards can be during a game.

The "Changing Zones" Puzzles explore some of the mechanics of cards moving between zones.

The Zones[]

The Deck[]

Praxis Outlaw

Praxis Outlaw has an ability that triggers while it is in the deck.

Decks are the cards that players have not yet drawn. A card is drawn into the hand at the start of each turn, and more may be drawn as the effect of spells and abilities.

Generally, cards in the deck have no effect on the game until they are drawn, but some cards have abilities that can be triggered while they are in the deck, and Warp allows the top card of a deck to be played.

The deck's cards can be effected by many of Eternal's mechanics. Their stats may be changed (such as by Warcry or Nostrix), they may be transformed into new cards, and they may be moved around the deck.

The Hand[]

Cards in players' hands are available to play. They usually are drawn from the deck, but some effects let cards be obtained from other zones or even be newly created.

Cards in the hand can be discarded to the void, through effects or if the player has too many cards. Players may only keep 9 cards at the end of any turn, and there is a hard limit of 12 cards at any time—cards drawn in excess are immediately discarded.

The Playmat[]

Cards on the playmat include units and sites that have been played, as well as attachments on units and players. In general, text on cards will only be active when the card is in play.

The Void[]

The void is where cards are sent when killed or discarded, and where spells that have been played go as their effects resolve. Some cards (such as Ephemeral Wisp) have abilities that can be activated while they are in the void.

The Market[]

Jennev Merchant

Merchants allow access to the Market.

The Market is a sort of sideboard that is created when building a deck, and can be accessed during the game in numerous ways. It initially consists of up to five cards which must be unique and cannot be part of the main deck, with the exception of Sigils and Bargain cards. During the game, cards in the hand may be swapped for from the Market by Merchants or spells (including the Etchings and Market Spells cycles), played directly with Bargain conditions, or interacted with by cards such as Ponysnatcher, Incendiary Slagmite, Fair Exchange, and Send to Market.

Power[]

Power cards that have been played can be viewed by clicking the player's power indicator. There is currently no way to interact with these cards once they have been played.

Changing Zones[]

When cards move between zones, they will retain some of the changes that have been made to them while others are lost or reset.

What Stays the Same[]

Any permanent changes to the Strength icon strength, Health icon health, cost, and text of a card will remain. This includes cards being silenced, and abilities that increment such as Amilli, Cloudmarshal, the turn count on Little Seed, and the damage count for Mastery. This does not include ongoing effects from other cards in play such as Xenan Obelisk, or temporary effects such as Finest Hour.

Armor icon Armor added to a relic weapon will remain if it leaves play. This includes armor that was on the player when the weapon was played as well as armor added while it was in play.

What is Lost[]

If a unit with any attachments leaves play, the attachments are "killed" and go to their owners' voids.

What is Reset[]

Predator's Instinct

A unit given Killer will retain it when killed. The ability can be used again if the card is replayed.

Skills and keywords that have a single use are reset if a card leaves and re-enters play. This includes the battle skills Aegis, Berserk, Killer, and Regen, and the keywords Ally, Infiltrate, Ultimate, and Renown. If a unit's Mastery has been completed, it will be reset; if not, it will retain its damage count. Revenge is not reset, as the skill is lost after the first activation.

The armor of a relic weapon that was lost through taking damage is restored when it leaves play, unless it was permanently removed through Decay damage or another effect.

Terms for Changing Zones[]

Some effects are triggered if a card is drawn, discarded, played, or killed—these terms are distinguished by the zones a card is moved between.

  • A card is "drawn" as it enters the hand from a deck, void, or market. Cards put into the hand from play, such as with Teleport, are not considered drawn, and will not trigger effects such as Echo or Fate.
  • A card is "discarded" as it goes to the void from a deck or hand, with the exception of spells being played.
  • A card is "played" if it enters play from any other zone. Note that cards played directly from the deck or void, such as with Warp, are not considered to be drawn.
  • A card is "killed" if it goes to the void from play.
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