Animalia, a free-to-play NFT trading card game incubated by Seedify, is coming in Early Access Beta this July, allowing players to experience a host of new features while taking part in a free mint.

What’s New in this Beta?

Plenty of new features are said to be included in this release, for which an exact launch date will be announced soon. Among the listed new goodies is the introduction of more than 100 new NFT cards to use in strategic play-to-earn gameplay, as the official tweet does tease that there will be an earning and rewards mechanism included in this early version of the Web3 title. There will also be NFT Card Packs, as well as a quest system to add further challenge and variety to the NFT-based gameplay.

If you don’t want to always play ranked PvP but would instead like a safe space to practice your new deck and strategies, then you can look forward to the introduction of an AI Bot for unranked fun. Interestingly, the tweet also mentions a “Friends vs. Foe Mode,” but for now it doesn’t seem to be clarified as to what this actually means. A language pack is on the way, though which languages are included is not yet stated, while all of the card descriptions look set to be fully revamped to make it easier to understand the arsenal you have in your hand. Adding further tactical depth to the core experience will be the addition of an Action History Bar that may likely help you better plan your next move.

Next to PvP gameplay, it looks like players can look forward to a major campaign to enjoy as well, while Titan holders are set to be airdropped some rewards. It doesn’t seem like you’ll have to own any NFTs to participate in an upcoming free mint though, but details on this seem to be currently under wraps. The Workshop, a web-based platform for creating items, unique customizable skins and card templates, will be partially released with this new beta.

What Is Animalia?

Animalia is a free-to-play trading card game set in a kingdom of crypto-inspired meme creatures divided into two factions: Bulls and Bears. Using the Ethereum network and BNB Chain (currently migrating to Arbitrum), players create decks of NFT cards featuring meme-inspired art in order to engage in fast-paced, turn-based 1v1 card gameplay across different game modes that include unranked and ranked PvP, as well as a PvE campaign.

In the campaign, players will go on a solo journey in the Animalia Kingdom as a Shiba Inu, exploring and battling across 6 different landscapes, each differing not only in climate but also in the creatures players can encounter: The Prairie, The Sierra, The Weald, The Barren, The Aqua, and The Neutral.

For PvP, players are represented by Titans, characters and bosses you have to take out to win the match. That being said, each Titan has its own special abilities that can give you a tactical edge. At the start of each match, players draw 3 random cards one Gemstone. Gemstones are elemental cards used to power up Titans and Critters. Critters are the main unit cards that you summon and use to attack your opponent. There are also single-use Spell cards with various effects, as well as Weapon cards that the Titans can equip in order to attack, with only one Weapon able to be equipped at the same time.

Critters, Spells and Weapons can all exist as NFTs, but also be unlocked for free through in-game progression. The NFT versions come in different types of rarities, and can be traded on the game’s official marketplace. Titans belong to a collection of 8700 BEP-721 tokens on the BNB Chain, with each NFT having unique attributes and appearance. Holding a Titan NFT brings in-game utilities such as access to higher tier card packs, access to exclusive avatars, unique battle user interface, special animations and sound effects, an extra customizable deck and more in-game features, according to the whitepaper.

The game uses a duel-token model consisting of $ANIM and Phylum ($PHL). $ANIM launched on Ethereum in February 2024 to act as the core governance token for the game’s ecosystem while providing holders with exclusive access to special in-game items and features. Next to governance, it can be used for staking and for trading NFTs on the game's official marketplace.

$PHL is not live yet, and is set to act as an uncapped in-game utility token that players can earn in specific PvE and ranked PvP matches, as well as tournaments, special game modes and daily, weekly and seasonal quests. A certain fixed number of tokens will be allocated for these play-to-earn campaigns, but in order to actually earn $PHL, you need Stamina, which refreshes daily and is spent on certain PvE stages while being used to play ranked PvP games to give you a chance to earn $PHL. Holding Titan NFTs provides you with multipliers to the maximum daily cap of Stamina and to the number of tokens you can earn.

The earnable $PHL token can be used together with NFT Critters for the bonding feature, which allows players to get a new card pack by burning their tokens and assets. Players can also upgrade NFT Critters into a higher tier by combining their existing NFT Critters with $PHL, burning the chosen Critter and tokens in the process. You can also buy non-tradable in-game items with $PHL, including emote packs, sound effects, visual effects, loading wallpapers, front card templates and rear card templates.

This NFT game has been undergoing closed beta testing since October 31st, 2023, and now looks set to open to a wider audience with this upcoming early access beta launch. You can sign up ahead of launch if you’re interested here. The process requires connecting your wallet on the BNB Chain before you can create an account.