Origins Trading Card Game, developed by Koin Games for PC on Steam, blends simultaneous board deployment with tactical three-lane combat. Winning matches requires destroying two enemy barriers, managing escalating mana pools, and positioning units to control combat lanes that resolve from left to right. Every gameplay card unlocks through matches and AI boss encounters without microtransactions, keeping competitive play tied to execution rather than collection spending.
Core Rules and Win Conditions
Each match takes place across three distinct locations. Both players command their own side of each location, which holds up to three card spaces, allowing a maximum of nine units across the board.
Combat revolves around attacking and defending barriers:
- Barrier Health: Each of the three lanes features a barrier with 20 HP.
- Victory Condition: Players must destroy two barriers to win the match.
- Barrier Reset: Breaking an initial 20 HP barrier disables one enemy life notch. That specific barrier immediately reinforces and resets to 40 HP. You can win by dealing 40 damage to that same lane or by breaking an untouched 20 HP barrier in either of the other two lanes.
- Combat Resolution: All combat executes automatically from left to right across the board. Units strike straight across at whatever card opposes them, dealing their attack power to the enemy's defense value. Leftover unblocked damage or direct hits strike the barrier behind that space.
- Persistent Damage: Damage dealt to units does not reset at the end of the turn. A 4-health unit dealt 3 damage remains at 1 health until healed or destroyed.
- Fatigue: When your deck runs out of cards to draw, fatigue damage triggers. Each turn without a card deals escalating damage directly to your barriers, starting at 1 damage to all lanes and increasing each subsequent turn.
Mana System, Turn Flow, and Priority
Matches begin on round one with 2 mana. Each player automatically gains +1 maximum mana at the start of every new round up to a cap of 10. Unspent mana does not roll over to future rounds.
Turns occur simultaneously, meaning both players assign cards and cast spells during the same planning phase before any plays resolve. Understanding the "Reveals First" indicator displayed at the top of the screen is vital for timing offensive spells and deploy effects:
- Priority Alternation: Priority alternates automatically every round between players.
- Deploy and Spell Triggers: The player with priority reveals their played cards and spells first. If that player casts a targeted removal spell on an enemy unit space before the opponent's card reveals, the spell resolves against whatever targets are active.
- Buff Disruption: When you reveal first and remove an opposing unit, any subsequent enemy buffs targeted at that space fail if the target is no longer on the board.
- Combat Phase: After all played cards and spells reveal for both players, units initiate combat in sequence from the leftmost space of the left location to the rightmost space of the right location.
Deck Structure and Legendary Cards
Custom decks consist of 13 unique card choices totaling 25 cards in match play. Players select 1 Legendary card and 12 standard cards, with the game automatically including two copies of each standard card.
Legendary cards act as deck leaders based on public domain figures, offering two distinct elements:
- Game-Start Passive: Legendary cards trigger an immediate effect on round one. Robin Hood places a 0-cost Bullseye spell (normally 1 mana) into your opening hand. Legion of the Dead spawns a 2/2 zombie on the board. Van Helsing grants choice tools before combat, and Three Not So Little Pigs places 1/1 pigs in lanes.
- Deploy Effect: Playing the physical Legendary card onto the board provides a heavy swing late in the match. Robin Hood costs 8 mana for a 4/4 body with Snipe 3 and deals 2 damage across the entire enemy board on reveal.
Card Keywords and Mechanics
Understanding card text prevents miscalculated trades during automatic combat resolution:
| Keyword / Mechanic | In-Game Effect | Example Unit or Spell |
|---|---|---|
| Snipe | Deals direct damage to the lane's barrier when attacking, even if blocked by an enemy unit. | Maid Marian (Snipe 2), Robin Hood (Snipe 3) |
| Trample | Deals excess attack damage directly to the barrier when killing an opposing blocker. | Not So Little Pig, Ellen |
| On Reveal | Activates immediately when the card flips face-up during that player's reveal priority. | Black Knight (deals 2 damage straight across) |
| On Death | Triggers an effect or summons a token when the card is destroyed. | Golden Egg (summons 5/5 Golden Goose), Billy |
| Stun | Forces the affected card to skip its upcoming attack. | Board locations and specific utility spells |
| Reborn | Respawns the unit upon death. Returning units retain prior stat buffs. | Mummy |
| Transform | Turns into an entirely new entity; prior stat buffs and shields do not carry over. | Ugly Duckling (transforms into Beautiful Swan) |
Starter Decks and Card Unlocks
Origins TCG does not sell competitive card packs. All functional cards are unlocked through the in-game progression track:
- Complete the Tutorial: Finishing the initial tutorial matches unlocks the base Snipe starter deck headlined by Robin Hood.
- Fulfill Match Missions: Playing standard ranked or casual games progresses deck quests requiring three match victories.
- Defeat AI Bosses: Winning three games unlocks an AI boss match against characters like Mulan, Queen of Hearts, King Arthur, Wicked Stepmother, or Dracula.
- Acquire New Pools: Defeating each boss rewards that archetype's complete deck, adding cards like Mowgli, Boogeyman, and Morgiana directly into your collection.
- Cosmetics and the Steam Marketplace: Alternate arts, frame breaks, error prints, and digitally graded slabs (rated 1 to 10) are distributed via packs and remain tradable through the Steam Marketplace without impacting card stats.
Board Positioning and Combat Tactics
Because units fight strictly straight across and attack left to right, placement decisions heavily dictate match outcomes.
Maximizing Middle-Space Triggers
Certain cards require placement in the center space of a location. Bagheera costs 2 mana and gains +2/+2 when played in the middle slot of any location, turning into a 3/3 presence. Always verify opposing archetypes; facing Mulan often indicates an opening Bagheera in the center lane.
Manipulating Left-to-Right Order
Placing defensive or reactive units in the third, rightmost slot of a location delays their attack. A unit like Baby Bear—which damages enemies that hit your barrier—gains maximum efficiency in that third slot, ensuring it punishes earlier attacker swings before trading itself.
Choosing Barrier Targets
When pushing for game-ending damage, evaluate lane order. If both players develop lethal boards, the leftmost lane attacks first. Prioritizing the enemy's second or third lane early leaves you with faster finishing attacks during tight late-game turns.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can cards move between locations during combat?
Cards remain locked to their deployed space unless affected by specific spells or movement cards like En Passant, or affected by dynamic location rules that slide units after combat.
What happens when an opposing slot is empty?
When a unit attacks and faces an empty enemy space, its full power value deals direct damage to that location's barrier.
Do card packs give an advantage in ranked play?
Pack openings provide purely cosmetic variants, foil treatments, and graded collectibles. All standard gameplay cards are obtained entirely through match progression and AI boss battles.
