Origins TCG starter deck progression: How to Unlock Every Deck

Origins TCG starter deck progression revolves around a structured loop: win three matches against opponents, face an AI boss themed around a specific archetype, and defeat that boss to unlock their full pre-built deck. Each victory expands your total card pool, unlocking new archetypes and cards that can be used to construct custom lists.

Developing through these early decks introduces core mechanics, ranging from direct barrier snipe tactics to discard and board-swarming strategies. All progress and card unlocks earned during the Steam demo and playtest carry over to the full release.

The Starter Progression Loop

Unlocking cards in Origins TCG does not require grinding randomized packs or spending money on booster bundles. Koin Games designed the base card collection to be earned entirely through gameplay missions.

The progression framework follows an exact sequence:

1. Win Three Matches: Compete in matches using your currently selected deck. Every three recorded wins unlocks the next mission milestone.
2. Challenge the Thematic Boss: Once the milestone is cleared, an AI boss appears in the mission menu. The boss plays a specialized deck tailored to a specific archetype, often on boards featuring lane modifiers that complement their strategy.
3. Claim the Deck: Defeating the AI boss awards all cards associated with that deck archetype, adding them directly to your collection.
4. Repeat the Cycle: In the current playtest build, there are 10 bosses to defeat across approximately 80 cards. Clearing every boss mission requires roughly 40 games to assemble the entire available card pool.

When you defeat an AI boss and unlock their deck, the game automatically swaps your active loadout to that new deck. If you want to continue playing your previous list or test custom deck adjustments, check your deck selection screen before queuing into the next match.

Boss Progression Route and Unlocks

Players progress through a fixed chain of encounters. High-ranking playtesters established an upgrade path based on the cards rewarded at each stage.

Later boss encounters in the playtest feature other distinct archetypes:

• Dracula: Teaches hand-discard synergies and mechanics that resurrect or empower units when cards leave your hand.
• Dorothy: Revolves around movement abilities, shifting cards between lanes to trigger repositioning payoffs and evade combat trades.
• Van Helsing: Utilizes utility items and reactive tools (such as Holy Water) alongside high-durability Defender units.
• Death: Features heavy board manipulation and graveyard triggers.

Deck Building Rules and Structure

After moving beyond the initial starter matches in the playtest, the collection screen grants access to full deck customization.

Decks follow strict construction parameters:

• Total Deck Size: 25 cards.
• Legendary Card: Exactly 1 Legendary card per deck. The Legendary functions as your deck leader. It provides a unique passive or active effect at the start of the match and can be played onto the board when you have enough resources.
• Standard Cards: Exactly 12 non-Legendary cards. The deckbuilder automatically places 2 copies of each selected card into your deck, bringing the standard card count to 24.
• No Filler: Because you run two copies of 12 distinct cards alongside your single Legendary, consistency depends on picking cards that align with your game plan rather than spreading choices thin.

Legendary Leaders and Match Modifiers

Your chosen Legendary dictates early-game pacing:

• Robin Hood: Costs 8 mana (4/4 body with Snipe 3). His passive adds a zero-cost Bullseye (normally a 1-cost spell dealing 3 damage) to your hand on turn one. On reveal, Robin Hood deals 2 damage to all enemy units, serving as an effective board wipe against swarm boards.
• Three Not So Little Pigs: Costs 7 mana (3/3 body with Trample). The start-of-game passive summons a 1/1 Little Pig in each lane. When played, it summons a 3/3 Not So Little Pig with Trample to each other location.
• Legion of the Dead: A 7-mana Legendary spell. Its passive summons a 2/2 zombie at a random position at game start. Playing the card floods every lane with 2/2 zombies.

Core Rules and Combat Mechanics

Matches in Origins TCG typically last around 7 minutes and use simultaneous turns across three distinct lanes. Understanding how interactions resolve is necessary to pilot starter decks effectively.

Mana and Resources

Both players start the game with 2 mana on round one. Mana capacity increases by 1 each turn, scaling up to a maximum cap of 10. Unspent mana does not carry over between rounds.

Priority and Simultaneous Turns

Cards are placed during a shared planning phase. At the top of the interface, the game displays which player reveals first. Priority alternates every single turn regardless of board state or barrier health.

Revealing first dictates the order of operations:

• If you reveal first, your On Reveal damage abilities and spells activate before your opponent's cards flip face up. Unrevealed cards cannot be damaged by direct single-target removal before they resolve.
• If you reveal second, reactive board-wide damage (like Robin Hood's arrow volley) hits enemy units that your opponent just deployed.
• Buff cards placed on allies will fizzle if the opponent reveals first and removes the target unit before your buff triggers.

Lane Combat and Combat Order

Each lane accommodates up to three units per side, allowing a maximum of nine units per player on the board. Combat auto-resolves from left to right across the board.

Units attack directly across into the opposing card space:

• If an enemy card is directly across, both units exchange damage based on attack and health stats. Damage is permanent and units do not regenerate health at the end of the turn unless healed by an ability.
• If no enemy unit opposes the attacker, the full attack value strikes the enemy barrier at that location.
• Because combat resolves strictly from left to right, high-priority scaling units or vulnerable cards are safest when played in the rightmost lane on turn one, as they face the lowest chance of being attacked before acting.

Barriers and Win Conditions

Each player defends three separate barriers, each starting with 20 HP. A match is won by destroying two enemy barriers:

• Breaking an initial 20 HP barrier marks one victory notch. That specific barrier immediately regenerates with 40 HP.
• You can win by destroying a second separate 20 HP barrier, or by focusing down the same lane a second time through its 40 HP reinforcement.
• In most matches, splitting pressure to break two distinct 20 HP barriers is significantly faster than dealing 60 total damage to a single lane.

Fatigue and Barrier Burn

If a player draws their entire 25-card deck, they enter the fatigue stage. At the start of each subsequent draw step with an empty deck, every friendly barrier takes 1 point of barrier burn damage. This damage scales up by an additional +1 on every subsequent turn (taking 1 damage, then 2, then 3), rapidly ending the match.

Starter Deck Keywords

Early tutorial and boss matches rely on several primary keywords:

• Snipe (X): When a unit with Snipe attacks, it deals X direct damage to the opponent's barrier at that location before physical combat resolves, regardless of whether a blocking unit stands in front of it.
• Trample: When attacking an opposing unit, any damage dealt in excess of the defender's remaining health passes directly through to the lane's barrier.
• Defender: A defensive stat tag often found in Van Helsing lists that anchors a lane and absorbs incoming attacks.
• Stun: Causes the affected unit to skip its next attack phase.
• Reborn: When the unit dies, it returns to play with 1 health, retaining any static enchantments or stat buffs granted prior to death.
• On Reveal: Triggers an effect the moment the card flips face up during that round's reveal sequence.

Common Questions About Starter Progression

Do demo card unlocks carry over to the full game?

Yes. Decks, cards, and select cosmetic unlocks earned by clearing missions during the demo and closed playtest carry over to your account profile for the full release.

How many cards are required to build a custom deck?

Custom decks require exactly 25 cards: 1 Legendary card of your choice and 12 standard cards. The collection builder automatically adds 2 copies of each standard card you include.

Why does my active deck change after beating an AI boss?

The client automatically equips newly unlocked boss decks upon victory. You can switch back to your customized deck at any time through the collection menu before entering the match queue.