Devlog 0.8.1 – The Rise of Philosophies

This update has been a beast. Not because it was technically complex (well, kind of), but because it marks a major shift in the way Old Mana Game thinks about identity, balance, and long-term design.

So, what changed? Pretty much everything – but in a good way.

Why I’m Moving On From Classes

For a long time, OMG followed a familiar structure: Warrior, Mage, Thief… and a pile of neutral cards. It worked. But it also came with problems. Each time I wanted to add a new class, I felt the system bending under its own weight.

So I made the hard call:

No more classes. No more neutrals. Instead – Philosophies.

We now have five core philosophies, each with their own theme, color, playstyle, and sub-classes:

Honor (brown) – From knights to berserkers. Focused on armor, aggression, frontline tactics.
Wisdom (blue) – From mages to scholars. Specialized in spells, control, arcane knowledge.
Nature (green) – From archers to druids. Masters of instinct, beasts, traps, and ranged pressure.
Faith (white) – From priests to paladins. Focused on healing, protection, buffs, and radiant power.
Sin (black) – From thieves to warlocks. Specialists in stealth, corruption, curses, and disruption.

It’s no longer about who you are. It’s about what you believe in. It's a familiar classic TCG vibe, that let's room to grow.

Champions: The New Backbone

Champions used to be locked to a fixed identity and a basic power. Not anymore.

In the new system, Champions represent a single philosophy and define what your deck can equip – Abilities, Equipment, and Traps must match the Champion’s color.

But here’s the twist: Every Champion is also playable as an Ally, like a mini-commander. This gives cards long-term value (especially once we enter booster territory), and more importantly, it allows players to build the character they want to play – not just in mechanics, but thematically.

Champion Abilities are no longer just default hero powers. They scale. They vary. Some are strong, others situational – but all are tied to the Champion’s style. And that opens up tons of possibilities.

The Location System (And How Deckbuilding Works Now)

The color of your Champion determines your core toolkit: Abilities, Equipment, and Traps.

The Location, however, defines which second color of Allies you can include.

Let’s say your Champion is Honor (brown), and the Location is Honor + Nature. That means your spells and gear come from Honor, but you can recruit Allies from both Honor and Nature.

No more neutral cards. Everything belongs somewhere now.

This gives deckbuilding more direction, more flavor, and more synergy – while avoiding the chaos of building with too many disconnected pieces. And all that, with just one mana pool!

Where We’re At

Right now, I’m deep in the rework.

Out of 550+ cards, around 200 have already been updated to fit the new system. That includes rewriting effects, reassessing balance, reassigning sub-classes, and rethinking entire archetypes. It’s slow, but it’s worth it.

We’re still actively playtesting the older version, mostly to keep refining card balance and game flow. Meanwhile, I’m aiming to have the first prototype decks with the new system ready for testing within the next 2–3 weeks.

Printing, prototyping, updating the website, redesigning icons, balancing mechanics – it’s a lot.

But hey – with enough coffee, anything is possible.

Why This Was Necessary

I didn’t make this change lightly.

But I wanted OMG to stand on its own legs – not just visually, but structurally. I didn’t want to create yet another CCG copy. I didn’t want to risk legal headaches by staying too close to familiar mechanics. And I didn’t want to fall into the trap of endlessly adding classes until the game broke under its own weight.

Instead, I now have a system where every card has a place.

Where deckbuilding feels like writing your own fantasy story.

And where expansions can deepen identities, not clutter them.

I wanted to create a classic feel with the best things of different worlds combined.

This is a big step. One that took time, planning, and way too many sleepless nights. But now, with the foundation laid and the identity finally locked in, I can move forward with more clarity – and more energy than ever.

Thanks for following the journey.

Thanks for the support.

And thanks for reading this far.

The future’s looking good. Just… give me more caffeine.

– Christian

Old Mana Game