What’s In the Cards

Fire and iron, ash and art, Craft the tales that from dust start. In the ash, our stories blend, Until the fire's quiet end.

Greetings, Ironlords.

Be it the fate of a person, society, or a whole civilization — nobody really knows what lies in the cards. But as a ruler in your own right, you are one of the few with limited, but crucial knowledge of Fate’s hand..

So let us take a look at your cards in IRONHIVE. May you use this knowledge to your advantage, and guide your people to prosperity.

The Pillars of Society

When things feel barren, remember that no one ever really starts with nothing

Each city starts with a foundation. In your case, you have the cards to guide you before that foundation is established. Each turn, you are given a few cards: you get to use as many as you can before ending your turn. All of your unused cards are discarded afterward, and it might be a while before you can redraw them, so choose carefully! In this world, all things are scarce and a lack of resources could prove fatal in just a few turns.

Time waits for no one, so make it count.

Right-click the card to view it in more detail

Your deck hides many types of cards. All these cards pour into your hand: materials and workers mingle, forcing tough decisions. Will you invest in a grand structure for future glory, or channel citizen power into immediate needs? Even as the Ironlord, there is only so much you have control over.

So what are these cards? Key cards include materials and workers. Materials, like the real world, require specific means of acquisition. Some are readily available, others require dedicated structures to produce. Certain special cards also grant specific material types on draw. Typically, you need a certain amount of material, as well as workers of a particular type to construct a building.

Then there are the citizens, and the citizen cards represent the four classes living in the Ironhive: Elite, Production, Hive, and Belief (more on them at a later time). Each excels in specific tasks, linked to building, construction, and resource generation (Supply, Workforce, Order, Devotion). Expeditions, led by these citizens, unearth vital materials for expansion. Besides that, classes also have their unique advantages that can aid in exploration and retrieval. Expanding and maintaining your civilization will take all the castes working together till their last breath.

Chaos and Order

As the Ironhive develops, all the cogs in your machine become more dependent on each other: different citizens and materials in your hand mesh, fostering further development. Taking further steps will require both specific materials and buildings in your city, all the while the citizen classes boost your further.

Special Management turns drain your Supply, Order, and Devotion based on your citizen and building count. Nothing is ever still in the Ironhive; no equilibrium is ever-stable, and entropy will eventually set in to claim your fledgling civilization.

Your hand won't just hold materials and workers. Special cards can offer potent effects or introduce chaos. One of those types are Leadership cards: they trigger certain effects, but may also require carrying out certain actions to use them.

There are also Rumor cards, which can turn the tide or throw a wrench into your plans. Rumor cards represent possible dangers lurking beneath and brewing within the walls of your city. Rumor cards spawns “Situations” that must be