Parallel Studios has announced Deception as the 3rd expansion set for their flagship F2P game, Parallel TCG.

What Is Parallel TCG?

Parallel TCG is a free to play PC and mobile card game set in a sci-fi world and currently playable in an open beta state. Anyone can jump in and enjoy strategic 1v1 card battles without needing to connect a crypto wallet. Those who would like to enjoy the web3 side of the game can connect their wallet and dabble in the game’s win-to-earn features which revolve around purchasing seasonal battle passes while playing ranked matches with NFT cards to earn $PRIME, which is an ERC-20 ecosystem token that can be used to buy in-game assets ranging from cosmetics and playable cards to tournament tickets for more skill-based opportunities to play to earn on-chain rewards.

This web3 game has been in development for over 4 years, having raised $50 million back in October 2021 to bring this TCG to life. The closed alpha version went officially live on February 28, 2023, followed by a closed beta launch on July 31 in that same year. Shortly after the closed beta launch, the blockchain gaming studio followed the release up with an announcement of the game’s first expansion set: Planetfall. The Planetfall expansion officially launched with a pre-sale and public sale in October 2023, after which the game gained Epic Games Store approval in November of that year, though the launch on Epic’s store took place in June 2024.

Parallel TCG entered open beta in February 2024, with the second expansion set, Aftermath, dropping in November last year with 90 new cards. And now, almost a year later, the 3rd set is just around the corner. Here’s what we know about it so far.

What Is Parallel’s Deception Expansion About?

Deception is the name of the third expansion set for Parallel TCG, and just like previous expansions, this one too introduces plenty of new cards to add further gameplay depth and open up new strategies for players to employ as they experiment with new decks that could potentially shake up the meta.

For this expansion, the developers are bringing 90 new cards to the game, with half of the Collector Packs said to be allocated to the community for free. In regards to the free allocation, the team said:

“This is our way of saying Thank You to the amazing community that has supported us since 2021.”

When Does the Deception Expansion Launch in Parallel TCG?

The studio plans on launching the Deception expansion set at the end of September, with no specific dates for NFT card pack sales available at the time of writing.

Only one announcement for this set has been made so far, with the official X post stating that more details will be revealed as the month goes by. As with the previous expansion though, you can likely expect the sale for this set’s card packs to take place on the Base network using $PRIME tokens. Last time around, the price for Aftermath packs was 11 $PRIME tokens, with each pack featuring 10 different assets that could include cards and other special items. A total of 46k packs were available back then.

Keep an eye on the game’s social media channels to find out more detailed info in the coming days or weeks.

Play and Earn in Parallel TCG Open Beta Season 19

You can play and earn $PRIME tokens in Parallel TCG by playing the web3 game and winning competitive PvP matches using playable NFT cards, so long as you also purchase the Battle Pass for the season you’re playing in.

Season 19: Silent Foundations went live on September 4 at 3 PM UTC, introducing:

  • 1 new playable card - Korrin, Cryptic Architect
  • 2 Title Achievements:
    • Factory Reset Required 
    • Cryptech
  • 1 new Card Back - Bounty Profile: Architect
  • 1 new Card Frame - Architect's Design

These new cards and cosmetics can only be earned exclusively through the Battle Pass, which you have to level up by earning XP through winning matches and completing quests referred to as Bounties. While the Battle Pass does have a free tier, you’ll want to purchase the Premium tier in order to play and earn $PRIME tokens plus the exclusive unlockable rewards. Battle Passes in this game are purchased using Glints, an in-game currency that can be bought in bundles from the game’s web shop but also earned through the free and premium tracks of the Battle Pass.

While no end date for Season 19 was officially announced, the game’s open beta seasons usually last for around a month. So, if you buy the Battle Pass for this season and own NFT cards, you can start to play and earn now.

Prior to this season, players did not need to buy the Battle Pass to earn $PRIME from ranked gameplay, making this a new requirement from Season 19 and probably onwards. As a result though, $PRIME earnings from ranked matches have been increased.

Before you decide on buying anything, you can try the game out for free by downloading it on PC through the game’s official website or the Epic Games Store. Earlier this year, the mobile version of Parallel TCG launched in the Philippines only for Android users, with an iOS and global release set to arrive at some point in the future. If you’re a fan of card games such as Gods Unchained and Hearthstone, you’ll like feel at home with this sci-fi TCG.

To earn $PRIME tokens from ranked matches, you not only need the Battle Pass, but you also need to have NFT cards in your 40-card deck. The more NFT cards there are in your deck, the more you can earn from your wins. You can find starter decks containing digital collectible cards in the game’s web shop, as well as individual cards on OpenSea through the game’s card page.