Sands of Time War Phase Begins June 3

The Vulcan Forged trading card battler Berserk is launching the second half of its Sands of Time season, with the phase titled War going live on June 3, 2026 at 13:00 UTC. The studio confirmed the rollout through its official channel and blog, framing the moment as the point where the desert discovery phase erupts into full-scale conflict. The sands shift, heroes enter the battlefield, Vulcanites evolve, and new strategies emerge.

The new phase follows the first half of the season, Sands of Time: Discovery, which centered on pack openings, ancient relics, and the early gathering of forces. Players who took part in that opening phase are positioned to move straight into War, while newcomers can join at the start of the new competitive chapter. The studio's pitch to players is direct: adapt or be buried beneath the dunes, with only the best making it through.

The narrative frames the conflict around control of the Sands of Time beneath the deserts of Notus, where ancient powers have awakened, factions are mobilizing, and alliances are fracturing. The studio describes War as setting up one of the most competitive periods Berserk has seen in years.

A Full Ladder Reset

The defining structural change of the War phase is a complete MMR ladder reset. On Wednesday, June 3 at 13:00 UTC, every player returns to the front lines together. There are no protected positions, no comfortable ranks, and no hiding behind old standings. The climb begins again from zero for everyone.

That reset is paired with an evolved meta, meaning the competitive environment players return to will not be the same one they left. The combination of a clean ladder and shifting strategies is designed to create a fresh competitive race, where prior standings carry no advantage and every player has to re-earn their position through the two-week phase.

The two-week competitive window gives the War phase a defined sprint structure. Rather than an open-ended grind, players have a focused period to climb the reset ladder, which concentrates the competition and raises the stakes of each ranked match across the phase.

Season of Change Cards Enter Competitive Play

The War phase brings the Season of Change cards into live ranked combat for the first time. These cards were obtained through the mid-season pack openings during the Discovery phase, and now enter competitive play, where players begin deploying them in ranked matches.

That shift is expected to rapidly evolve the battlefield. The studio anticipates new tactical combinations, meta disruption, unexpected deck archetypes, powerful new synergies, and entirely new approaches to combat as the freshly acquired cards hit the ladder. The introduction of a new card pool into a reset ladder is the kind of change that reshapes which decks dominate, forcing players to adapt their strategies and experiment with new builds.

Players chasing specific cards such as Chiron and Kallisto need to obtain them through the Season of Change packs before entering battle. Access to the new Notus cards requires purchasing a Berserk Pass, the season pass system that gates the latest content. The studio noted that those who prepare early may gain a decisive advantage as the sands move quickly.

A Vulcanite Level Restriction for Balance

To create a more balanced and competitive environment during War, the phase includes a special restriction. Only Vulcanites from Level 0 to 4 will be allowed in this phase of the season. The limitation is designed to level the playing field and keep skill, strategy, and deckbuilding at the center of the competition, rather than letting high-level Vulcanites dominate through raw progression advantages.

Vulcanites are the companion units in Berserk that tie into deck identity and battlefield strategy. By capping the allowed levels, the studio ensures that the competitive outcome hinges more on player decisions than on who has invested the most into leveling their units. That design choice reflects a broader emphasis on fairness during the high-stakes competitive window.

Inside Berserk: A Card Battler in the Vulcan Forged Ecosystem

Berserk is a competitive collectible card game developed by Vulcan Forged, set in the fantasy world of Notus that anchors much of the studio's wider VulcanVerse universe. The card battler combines deckbuilding, tactical combat, and seasonal competitive play, with an MMR ladder that ranks players based on their performance in ranked matches.

The game sits inside the broader Vulcan Forged ecosystem, which runs on the Elysium blockchain and uses PYR as its primary token. Vulcan Forged operates a wide portfolio of products, including the Agora NFT marketplace, Vulcan Studios, MetaScapes, and the VulcanVerse MMO world. Berserk functions as the competitive card game pillar of that ecosystem, with its cards existing as tradeable digital assets and its seasons structured around recurring content drops and pass purchases.

The Berserk Pass system handles access to seasonal content, with pass rotation determining which new cards players can obtain. That structure ties the competitive meta to the seasonal economy, as players need to acquire the latest cards through passes and pack openings to stay competitive on the evolving ladder.

The End of an Era and the Heroes System Ahead

The studio has framed Sands of Time: War as more than a mid-season update, calling it one of the final major competitive chapters of Berserk's current era before the arrival of the next evolution of the game. The future of Berserk is already taking shape behind the scenes, with a significant overhaul on the horizon.

That overhaul centers on an incoming Heroes system, alongside a new Berserk build, expanded tactical identity, deeper strategic gameplay, and a transformed competitive experience. In the new chapter, Heroes will redefine the battlefield, Vulcanites will evolve into deeper strategic companions, and deck identity, faction loyalty, and seasonal evolution will push the game into an entirely new phase.

That positioning gives the War phase added weight. It serves as a bridge between what Berserk has been and what it is becoming, with the studio framing every ranked match in the phase as a step toward glory before the next age of the game begins. For dedicated players, it is a chance to compete in one of the last major chapters of the current Berserk era before the Heroes system reshapes the experience.

What Players Need to Know

The Sands of Time War phase begins on June 3, 2026 at 13:00 UTC, running as a two-week competitive sprint. The MMR ladder resets fully at launch, the Season of Change cards enter ranked play for the first time, and only Vulcanites from Level 0 to 4 are permitted during the phase. Players wanting access to new Notus cards including Chiron and Kallisto need to obtain them through Season of Change packs, which requires a Berserk Pass.

For information on the season's prizes, the studio has pointed players to its earlier Sands of Time announcement covering the rewards structure. The competitive window is short and the ladder is wiped clean, which means the climb is open to everyone from the same starting line.

For now, the message from Vulcan Forged is clear. The ladder resets, the cards awaken, and the battlefield changes. War begins June 3 at 13:00 UTC, and the studio is inviting Berserk players old and new to prepare their decks for the culmination of the Sands of Time season.