Your cards are your character
Classes are not chosen at creation. You earn class XP by playing cards, unlock improved cards with class levels, and your dominant deck decides the portrait.
Trade straight and stay standing. Warrior cards hit for flat damage and stack guard, and Battle Momentum pays you for filling the combo with attacks.
Raise Shield → Battle Momentum → Crushing Blow
Let the wound do the work. Poison bypasses every defensive layer, and reduction cards buy the turns you need for it to finish the job.
Poison Dagger → Phantom Step → Assassinate
Charge, then spend. Mana carries between exploration and battle; spend effects consume the whole pool at once, so combo order is the whole puzzle.
Arcane Lance (spend) → Deep Focus (recharge)
Strongest when nearly out of cards. Survivor pays you for being low, pulls cards back out of the discard pile, and refills guard that has gone to nothing.
Second Chance → Blood Fury below half health
Dig, mark, then strike the weak point. Draw cards resolve instantly without spending a combo slot, and marks turn ordinary hits into pierce.
Mark the Joint → Deep Search → Case Closed
How progression flows
Play cards → earn class XP → class levels unlock improved cards → every five class levels grant a player level → spend player levels on combat skills shared by every class.