Germany-based game developer Calystral Games has released a teaser trailer for the game mechanics of Synergy of Serra, a deckbuilding trading card game.

Alongside the teaser trailer, the team also published an accompanying Medium post in order to provide further clarity and explanation on what is shown in the 2-minute video, with the article emphasizing that this trailer represents the company’s vision for the launch game client, that is, the Closed Alpha pre-release, and not the prototype game client that is currently live under the label of Proto-Alpha. The goal of the prototype version is to test gameplay, while the Closed Alpha will be more similar to the trailer shown, meaning that gameplay will be backed up with “detailed graphics, stunning animations, and epic sound effects.” 

The teaser trailer shows that the “skill-to-win” gameplay in the Closed Alpha will have players put the cards they own into “the river,” a unified card pool, at the start of a match. Competing players then both are given access from all the same cards in the river that they can use to create their deck, regardless of whether they owned the card before the match or not. Allowing both sides access to the same cards creates a more level playing field that encourages skill-based gameplay and should “[negate] some advantages that might be gained through pay-to-win tactics.”

Another element of gameplay shown in the trailer is the ability to craft Faction synergies. This essentially means all cards are able to be combined with one another, regardless of which 6 Factions they belong to, leading to potentially powerful synergies when mixing up certain cards together.

The cards, which are also called Units, can be equipped with various Attachments and Powers, with the right combinations making the Unit more dangerous than before.

For more gameplay details, be sure to check out the official Medium post here.