The upcoming Gothic set doesn’t just delve into shadowy new themes; it also brings long-brewing gameplay updates into the light. During development, our team tackled a simple, but critical design question: Does Sorcery need a sideboard? And if so…how do you build one that works in a best-of-one world without feeling like it wandered in from another game?
Enter: The Collection
This question led us to something new - something flavorful, flexible, and wholly Sorcery.
The result is the Collection: a perfectly flavorful word that in plain English (and casual play) literally means the cards you own that aren’t in the game. In more formal settings, such as tournaments, the collection is a set of 10 cards that you’ve selected to complement your main decks. If your Spellbook and Atlas are the tomes you carry with you, your collection is the vast library at home, or those couple of spare scrolls that you tucked into your belt “just in case.”
In gameplay terms, that means some cards, especially those debuting in Gothic, can now reference your Collection. Rather than being limited to what’s already on the table, you can summon specific allies, tools, or horrors directly from this curated reserve.
The Collection allows us to create a wide variety of evocative effects, without relying on generic tokens. Cards like Troubled Town and Eltham Townsfolk can point to specific characters. And because Sorcery is nothing if not stylish, this allows us to avoid bogging cards down with a lot of technical information. Instead of “Cast an Ordinary 1-cost 2-power Mortal Earth minion,” we get to say things like: “Cast a Townsfolk from your Collection.”
Because the Collection exists outside the game, it gives players an active sideboard, a flexible toolbox of up to 10 cards that can be accessed mid-game. This leans into Sorcery’s best-of-one identity while opening up room for more adaptive counterplay. Whether you’re packing a Silver Bullet or a clutch support piece, the Collection encourages tight, thoughtful deckbuilding. It’s not just what’s in your hand - it’s what's hidden up your sleeve!
A Bigger Deck. A Bigger Toolbox.
With Gothic being our biggest set yet, the time is right for us to move to our intended deck sizes. After a year of extensive testing, deck brewing, and listening to feedback, we’ve determined that the ideal place to land for the decks is 60 cards for the Spellbook and 30 cards for the Atlas. Combine that with a small 10-card collection and you'll be ready to contest any realms you so desire!
Some of you may have noticed that our recent rules update didn’t include a mention about deck sizes. That’s because we need the card pool to reach a certain depth to support the change, so with that in mind, this final deck size change will go into effect with the release of Gothic.
Build What You Bring
The Collection mechanic represents a new way to think about flexibility in Sorcery. It’s not just about hard counters or deep meta reads, it’s about storytelling tools. Your deck is your journey. Your Collection? That’s your rucksack of mysterious odds and ends, full of things that might save the day…or doom it.
So, as you prepare for the creeping dread of Gothic, ask yourself: What are you bringing with you?
Until next time…
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