Demo Card Set — Budget, Acquisition Curve, and Selection¶

Status: Proposed — not implemented. Written 2026-08-28, revised same day after the progressive-grant ruling. Note (2026-08-30): the class kits in §6 assume the old five. The live class proposal is docs/proposals/four-crafts.md. House packs, the five prices, the 13-distinct curve, and the two laws still apply. Owner: delan Purpose: answers WO-C1 ("which cards does the demo need, how many, which ones") and turns docs/evaluations/2026-08-27-class-faction-cards.md from critique into a build spec. Canon check: the 20-card / 15-class / 5-House starter rule in docs/official/gameplay-reference.md is preserved. 15+5 is the end state of the induction, not the start state. Verified 2026-08-28: every card named below was read out of data/content/cards.json and has an effect payload, unless explicitly marked [AUTHOR] or [REVISE].

1. The headline finding¶

The evaluation judged the live card pool off ProductionRiftContentCatalog.cs, a 49-card bootstrap seed, and concluded the cores were generic. That conclusion does not hold against cards.json. The real pool is strong:

Class	Base cards naming its own verb, with payloads
Anchor (Density / Vent)	14
Drifter (Echo-Lock / Phase)	23
Conduit (Overload / Burnout)	26
Machinist (Construct / Repair)	25
Catalyst (Mutate / Anomaly)	20

House	Faction cards with payloads
Valerii	18
the Axiom	11
the Syndicate	15
the Censors	14
Salvari	13

Consequence: WO-C1 changes from "author 75–100 cards" to "select ~85 and revise seven." That is the single largest scope reduction available to the demo. The identity work was already done; it was hidden behind the wrong source file.

2. The induction deals you your deck¶

The campaign is a scripted teacher, so cards arrive in an authored order — but that only works if the deck grows during the induction rather than starting complete. A 20-distinct opening deck hands the teaching order to the shuffle, and the shuffle is not a teacher.

So: the induction hands you cards at story beats. The House issues a writ; you gain the card. By the finale you hold the full canon 20 — and every card was introduced at the moment it was explained.

Two forces set the shape of that deck:

Teaching wants few new things at a time → singletons, introduced one per beat.
Consistency wants the engine to assemble reliably → duplicates. A 20-card deck of 20 uniques draws 5 from 20; the payoff card appears about a quarter of turns and nothing can be planned. This is why Slay the Spire ships 5 Strikes.

Resolution: 20 cards, 13 distinct. A dense duplicated core the player starts with, plus singletons granted as beats.

The acquisition curve¶

Stage	Grant	Running deck	Teaches
Induction opens	Class core: 9 cards, 3 distinct	9	The class loop — one verb, every turn
Beats 1–3	3 class singletons	12	Modulations of the verb
House oath	House core: 3 cards, 2 distinct	15	The price
Beats 4–6	3 class singletons	18	The payoff cards
Climax	2 House cards + the passive	20	What the price bought

Ends at exactly 15 class + 5 House. Roughly one new design every three minutes across a forty-minute induction.

Scope note: each induction teaches its own 13 cards, not all 85. "Knows every card" is the reward for playing all five — which is the replay loop.

3. Budget¶

Set	In-deck distinct	Reward pool	Per set	×	Total
Class kits	9	3	12	5	60
House packs	4	1	5	5	25
					85 cards

Plus 8–12 Anomaly faces (WO-C2). Currently zero cardType: anomaly rows exist, so Catalyst's entire kit no-ops. That is a hard blocker on one of the five demo classes.

House packs stay at five, permanently — the evaluation is explicit: "Do not grow House to 20 by adding more 8-damage. Grow it by making the five more radioactive."

4. The two laws¶

Class law — a class card is illegal if it still makes sense with the mechanic deleted. House law — a House card is illegal if it could be printed as a class common. A House card changes the economy of the turn and may never introduce a stacking resource.

5. The five prices¶

Class is the machine. House is what running it costs. No two Houses take payment in the same currency — read the charge column down and that is why one class feels like five games.

House	Sells you	Charges you	Currency
Valerii	Enemies lose turns	Obedience — pays only on a clean turn	Behavioural
the Axiom	Certainty	Commitment — play the plan you were shown	Sequencing
the Syndicate	Power now	Life, billed in gold	HP
the Censors	Your past returned	The present — recalls cost more	Card cost
Salvari	Resources from ruin	Your own gear must break	Attrition

The House passive is the price, which is why WO-C4 must land before these ship — a card cannot invoice a price the passive does not charge.

6. Class kits — the selection¶

Core = granted at induction open, with copies. Singletons = one per story beat.

Anchor — Density¶

×	Card	Cost	Effect
4	Dense Impact	1	Deal 6. Gain +2 damage for each Density.
3	Foundry Bulwark	1	Gain 6 Block. Gain 1 Density.
2	Holdfast Array	1	Gain 7 Block. If you already have Block, gain 1 Density.

Singletons: Sealed Step (0 · Gain 3 Block; if you have Density, retain this) · Tectonic Anchor (1 · Gain 2 Density. Retain) · Plate Cycler (2 · Deal 5 three times. Gain 1 Density) · Compression Doctrine (2 Power · Whenever you gain Density, gain 1 Block) · Tonnage Verdict (2 · Deal 10. Consume 1 Density to deal 10 more) · Tonnage Pact (0 · Gain 6 Block and 1 Density per Energy spent).

Reward pool: Gravemass Advance, Sealed Step+, Compression Doctrine+. Excluded on purpose: Drag Anchor and any Drag card — Drag moves to Valerii (§8.3). Tonnage Verdict is the Vent the evaluation demanded in the core.

Drifter — Echo-Lock¶

×	Card	Cost	Effect
4	Phase Strike	1	Deal 7. Apply 1 Echo-Lock.
3	Vector Slip	0	Apply 1 Echo-Lock. Gain 3 Block.
2	Echo Mark	0	Apply 2 Echo-Lock.

Singletons: Fivefold Error (1 · Apply 1 Echo-Lock; if the target has 4, apply 1 more) · Split Horizon (1 · Deal 4 twice; if locked, second hit +4) · Trace Burn (1 · Deal 6. Consume 2 Echo-Lock to deal 8 more) · Edge Doctrine (2 Power · First Echo-Lock each turn draws 1) · Quietus Script (2 · Deal 12; if the target has exactly 5, deal 8 more) · Final Trace (3 · Consume all Echo-Lock. Deal 5 per Lock).

The curve is the lesson: apply → stack → hit exactly five → execute. Fivefold Error exists purely to walk the player to the threshold.

Conduit — Overload¶

×	Card	Cost	Effect
4	Fuse Breach	1	Deal 8. If you gained Overload this turn, deal 4 more.
3	Surge Shelter	1	If you have Overload, gain 11 Block. Otherwise gain 7.
2	Debt Bloom	0	Gain 1 Overload. Draw 2.

Singletons: Stoke Coil (0 · Take 2 Burnout. Gain 2 Energy) · Cooling Vow (1 · Reduce Overload by 2. Gain 4 Block) · Discharge Round (1 · Deal 8. Spend 1 Overload to deal 6 more) · Capacitor Verdict (2 · Deal 12; at 3+ Overload deal 8 more) · Storm Throne (2 Power · End of turn, if you took 4+ Burnout, gain 6 Block) · Final Cascade (2 · Deal 6. Spend all Overload. Deal 6 more per spent).

Stoke Coil is the burner and Cooling Vow the cooler — the "one cooler, one burner" the evaluation asked for. Debt arrives before the bill, every time.

Machinist — Constructs¶

×	Card	Cost	Effect
3	Latch Turret	1	Deploy: 4 Integrity, end of turn deal 2 to the lowest-HP enemy.
3	Shock Brace	1	Gain 7 Block. If you control a Construct, gain 4 more.
3	Guardian Spindle	1	Deal 8. If you control a Construct, gain 6 Block.

Singletons: Refit Routine (0 · Next Construct costs 1 less. Gain 3 Block) · Repair Drone Bay (1 · Deploy 6 HP drone granting 3 Block/turn) · Weld Choir (1 · Restore 3 Integrity to all Constructs. Draw 1) · Spare Parts (1 Power · When a Construct dies, draw 1 and gain 2 Block) · Copper Bastion (2 · Deploy: 9 Integrity, start of turn gain 2 Block) · Synchronized Strike (2 · Deal 6. Deal 2 more per Construct).

Repair Drone Bay is the second deploy the evaluation asked for. Latch Turret must be honesty-gated first — it is the named example of the text-says-one-thing bug (§8.6).

Catalyst — Mutate ⚠ blocked¶

×	Card	Cost	Effect
4	Unstable Slash	1	Deal 7. Mutate a random card in your hand.
3	Wildcard Compound	1	Gain 5 Block. Mutate a random card.
2	Curated Mutation	1	Deal 6. Mutate a chosen card in your hand.

Singletons: Glass Gospel (1 · Gain 7 Block. Mutate a random card) · Anomaly Strike (1 · Deal 7; +4 if you played an Anomaly) · Split Genome (2 Power · First Mutated card each turn gains 4 Block) · Hothouse Surge (2 · Deal 14; if this card is Mutated, deal 7 more) · Specimen Verdict (2 · Consume an Anomaly. Deal 16) · Unwritten Verdict (3 · Consume all Anomalies. Deal 12 each).

Curated Mutation gives the choice the evaluation demanded instead of a slot machine. Every card here no-ops until WO-C2 authors the Anomaly pool.

7. House packs — the price, priced¶

Valerii — obedience¶

×	Card	Cost	Role
2	Silent Tribunal	1	Price cantrip — Apply 1 Stasis. Gain 5 Block.
1	Zero-Tolerance Drill	1	Signature — Deal 9; if the target is in Stasis, deal 5 more.
1	Calm Doctrine	1 Power	The price — end of turn, if you took no HP damage, gain 1 Energy next turn.
1	Imperial Lock	2 Power	The crime — end of turn, Stasis every enemy that did not attack you.

Reward: Marshal's Edict. Calm Doctrine is the find — obedience paid in energy is the price made literal, and it retires the "+3 Block is a number, not an ideology" complaint without authoring anything. Zero-Tolerance Drill makes Stasis a murder rather than a nap.

the Axiom — commitment¶

×	Card	Cost	Role
2	Auditor's Seal	1	Price cantrip — Scry 1. Gain 6 Block.
1	Logic Lattice	1	Payoff — Gain 6 Block; if you Scryed this turn, gain 6 more.
1	Exact Sequence	2	The price — Deal 7; if you played exactly 3 cards before this, deal 7 more.
1	Calibration Chain	2 Power	Engine — whenever you Scry, gain 1 Block.

Reward: Equation Strike. Scry 1, not 2 — Forecast Tax and Predict Two are deliberately excluded (§8.2). Exact Sequence is the House thesis: you are paid for having been right, not for having looked.

the Syndicate — life, billed in gold¶

×	Card	Cost	Role
2	Velvet Risk	1	Price cantrip — Deal 9. Take 2. If it deals HP damage, gain 1 Energy next turn.
1	Crystal Veil	1	Signature — Gain 6 Block; if you lost HP this turn, gain 4 more.
1	Golden Rupture	2	The invoice — Deal 13; if it deals HP damage, gain 3 Gold.
1	Bullion Burst	2	The spend — Deal 4. Spend up to 5 Gold. Deal 2 more per Gold.

Reward: Market Strike. Echo Flare is excluded — it grants a Chaos Shard, and shards are cut (§8.5). Golden Rupture plus Bullion Burst closes the blood→gold→damage loop inside combat, which settles the old "is Gold spendable mid-run" question in the affirmative.

the Censors — the present¶

×	Card	Cost	Role
2	Annalis Recall [REVISE]	1	Price cantrip — Gain 4 Block. Return a ~~random~~ chosen card from discard.
1	Suppress Page	1	The knife — Redact a card from your discard. Gain 5 Block.
1	Chronicle Strike	2	Payoff — Deal 8; +8 if a card returned from discard this turn.
1	Living Data	1 Power	Engine — start of turn, if discard has 5+, gain 1 Energy.

Reward: Witness Chain. This is the one House whose price is not yet in the data: every Recall card is random, and the House's entire idea is that you decide which record is true. Two cards need the random→chosen revision, and the passive needs the +1 cost tax (§8.4).

Salvari — attrition¶

×	Card	Cost	Role
2	Pocket Jury-Rig	0	Price cantrip — Gain 4 Block; if your Block breaks this turn, draw 1.
1	Grease Debt	0	The signature — Lose all Block. Gain 1 Energy and draw 1.
1	Breaker's Dividend	1	Payoff — Deal 6; if your Block broke this turn, deal 8 more.
1	Broken Tempo	1 Power	The engine — whenever your Block breaks, gain 1 Energy next turn.

Reward: Improvised Endgame. Grease Debt already is the designed "Cut the Wrong Wire," under a better name. Armour that wants to break is the exact inverse of Valerii, and that opposition is the campaign.

8. Revision list¶

Everything the selection cannot fix by choosing differently.

#	Change	Scope
1	Author the Anomaly pool — 8–12 faces. Blocks all of Catalyst.	WO-C2
2	Scry 1, not 2 — exclude Forecast Tax / Predict Two from the Axiom demo pack	Selection only
3	Drag → Valerii — exclude Drag cards from the Anchor kit; Anchor keeps Vent and Density	Selection only
4	Censors: random → chosen on Annalis Recall and Memorial Veil; passive returns a chosen discard at +1 cost	Data + passive
5	Delete Chaos Shards — exclude Echo Flare; shards become Gold or disappear	Data
6	Honesty-gate Latch Turret and its class of bug before Machinist ships	WO-C5
7	Valerii passive — replace "+3 Block if clean" with a compliance effect; Calm Doctrine's energy model is the template	WO-C4
8	Un-register Overload as a global keyword — it is Conduit's verb and currently leaks	WO-C1
9	Syndicate passive → toggle — a forced 2 HP/turn bleed is a wound, not greed	WO-C4
10	Salvari passive → break-pays rather than exhaust-pays	WO-C4

Items 2 and 3 cost nothing — they are choices about which existing cards to include.

9. Quick Play unlock¶

Completing an induction unlocks its class and its House independently, so the player immediately mixes pairs nobody authored. That exercises the 18-combo composition and turns WO-M4's combo-feel question into observed behaviour instead of a survey answer.

Demo value: an unlockable sandbox raises playtime, and playtime is what converts wishlists at Next Fest.
Dependency: cross-run unlock tracking. /meta/unlocks returns [] and /meta/progression returns level 1 today — this pulls a slice of Beta-gate meta-progression into demo scope. Tracked as WO-D10.
The redacted slot: four unlockable entries and one redacted fifth is the Salvari discovery beat marketing itself — the Censors' own verb used as UI.

10. Open decisions¶

The 13-distinct deck and the acquisition curve (§2). Approve, or hold 20-distinct.
Anomaly design (§8.1) — authored faces, or a 2-pick choice at Mutate time?
Three rules gaps, all now load-bearing: Echo-Lock's exact-5 edge case (Quietus Script depends on it), Density's "without taking Life damage" definition, and Stasis counterplay for the player.

Companion to docs/evaluations/2026-08-27-class-faction-cards.md (the critique), docs/proposals/card-pack-gpt54/ (the designed pack this supersedes for demo scope), and docs/proposals/class-mechanic-lean-in.md (which of these selections lean away from the identity lock, and what to swap). Feeds WO-C1 through WO-C5, WO-D10, and WO-M4 in docs/official/todo-inventory.md.