# **Trading Card Games Evolved**

What's up Nerds! Can you even consider yourself a real nerd if you never played any trading card games? For many years nerds assessed each other's brainpower by engaging in competitive games involving collectible cards. One of these games made its entry into the crypto space back in June 2019 under the name of [Gods Unchained](https://godsunchained.com/). It's not only an amazingly fun game, it's also a solid investment whether you want to grab a $GODS bag or collect NFT cards. We at the [NerdQuarters](https://y.at/🤓✉️🤓) believe this is the next evolution of TCGs and that it's going to be one of the games bringing Play-To-Earn gaming to the mainstream.

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## **Brief history of TCGs**
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### Magic The Gathering: The first NFTs
In 1993 Richard Garfields created the first trading card game, [Magic: The Gathering](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic:_The_Gathering). The cards were produced with a finite supply, which made them the first collectibles with a real utility (just like NFTs right?). MTG is still widely played today, has a thriving secondary market, and the oldest cards are worth a [a lot of money](https://www.ebay.ca/itm/232624529959). Unlike NFTs, MTG cards are physical. They can be stolen, damaged, or lost. They can easily lose their value if not properly protected. Also, it's impossible to know exactly how many cards are in circulation.

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### Pokemon: TCGs go mainstream
Pokemon is one of the most recognizable brands all over the world. When Nintendo released the [Pokemon Trading Card Game](https://www.pokemon.com/us/pokemon-tcg/) in 1998, it was unsurprisingly a worldwide success. A lot of people didn't even care about playing the game, they just wanted to catch em all. Pokemon cards valuations skyrocketed these last few years, and are considered as some of the best investments. Just like MTG, Pokemon cards are physical collectibles and are exposed to the same risks.


### Hearthstone: TCGs go Digital
It was only a matter of time before TCGs went digital. In 2014, [Blizzard Entertainment](https://www.blizzard.com/) released its own TCG based on the popular Warcraft franchise. [Hearthstone](https://playhearthstone.com/en-us) is a gorgeous and fun game, which became very popular, but suffers from some serious downsides related to the digital gaming business model.

#### Digital TCGs: A Debatable Business Model

A digital TCG like Hearthstone takes your time, your money, your contribution, but gives nothing back. Blizzard owns the cards you buy and doesn't allow you to trade or sell them. It is nonetheless a great TCG, but gamers deserve to be incentivized for their contribution to a game.

The gaming industry collects billions of dollars every year from digital collectibles. Users came to terms with the fact that they will never see their money back once they acquire these items. It's no surprise that the appeal of digital trading card games has faded recently. In contrast, physical games like MTG and Pokemon are still sought after by collectors and have seen their cards gain value over time.

#### The Blockchain: A New Way to Play

The rise of [Ethereum](https://ethereum.org/) as the premier smart contract platform in 2016 allowed the possibility of new business models. This gave way to several ambitious projects using its novel technology. This tech made it possible to align incentives between users and creators, making it perfectly suited for gaming economies. Now games can reward users with crypto assets, which can be interchanged for other crypto assets, or sold for fiat money. In the gaming industry, it's a new paradigm shift leading gamers toward Play-To-Earn (P2E) gaming.

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## **Gods Unchained: A Big Step Forward**

[Gods Unchained](https://godsunchained.com/) is the first P2E TCG leveraging blockchain technology to allow players digital ownership of their in-game assets. Developed by Immutable, an Australian startup, it combines everything a nerd would look for in a TCG: beautiful card designs, rare collectibles, deep game mechanics, and a thriving game economy.

The game is free-to-play, you start with beginner decks of 30 cards (Core set) for each class, and can quickly earn a few packs by playing, and leveling up. Further cards can be won by performing well in the Weekend Ranked events or can be purchased in the in-game store, and the [secondary market](https://market.x.immutable.com/).

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### Not Your Keys, Not Your Cards

Gods Unchained uses the Ethereum network to enable real digital scarcity. The cards are stored on-chain, and in an [Ethereum compatible wallet](https://metamask.io/). Connect your wallet with [Immutable X](https://market.x.immutable.com/) to play the game and buy cards. There are 4 different card sets released so far:

* Core set
* Genesis (discontinued)
* Trial of The Gods (discontinued)
* Divine Order


When Core cards are acquired in-game, they are not ERC-721 NFTs and are not tradable/sellable yet. You must first collect 2 ''plain'' copies of the same card, which can be ''fused'' in The Forge for a fee(Flux, and eventually GODS token). Only then Core cards are minted on Ethereum and become tradable.


The forge can also be used to upgrade a card's quality. You need 5 copies of the same card to do so, plus some Flux. This means the supply of cards will shrink as people will fuse them. These cards are rapidly increasing in demand as Gods Unchained is welcoming more and more new players. Considering how sought-after TCG cards usually become, hoarding some GU cards seem to be a good idea.

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### GODS: Gamers Rewarded

The GU ERC-20 token was released on October 29th and is currently tradable on many crypto exchanges. Early adopters of the game received a juicy airdrop, while a token sale via [Coinlist](https://coinlist.co/) (their most successful sale to date) was conducted. Further [$GODS](https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/gods-unchained) tokens will be rewarded to players for their active participation and performance in the game.


To allow the token to have a sustainable value, it will be needed to fuse cards in The Forge, make in-game purchases, and participate in the Active Staking pool. This pool will redistribute a share of the game's revenue to the stakers, and give them voting power in the governance system. This way the players have the means to ensure a balanced game, and a fair economy.

As the game gets more popular and the number of players increases, the resources required to play the game (Cards, $GODS token) increase in demand, making the rewards received by players more valuable. As opposed to its centralized counterpart, the time and effort required to master Gods Unchained is rewarded with assets having real-world value, thus allowing players to earn from their victories and their implication within the game.

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### Immutable X: One Marketplace To Rule Them All

[Immutable X](https://www.immutable.com/) being poised to become the go-to marketplace for game assets will benefit greatly to Gods Unchained's visibility. This marketplace is gasless, super-fast, secure, and dApps are already being built on top. The game will get a lot of exposure through Immutable's most recent partnerships ([VeVe](https://www.veve.me/), [ESL](https://www.eslgaming.com/), [IMVU](https://secure.imvu.com), [NRG Esports](https://www.nrg.gg/)), and many upcoming games will use the platform.

### Esports Ready

We can speculate on the implication of Immutable's ESL Gaming partnership on the game. ESL is the world's leading esports organizer and production company. Partnering with important game publishers (Blizzard Entertainment, Riot Games, Valve), they organize thousands of international competitions annually. Considering the competitive nature of Gods Unchained and its ties to the gaming industry, we can expect important events to put the game under the spotlight soon enough. The team is working towards a [GU World Championship](https://gu.cards/tournament-tickets) with a prize pool of over $500 000. Perhaps ESL will be involved?

### A Solid Investment

Many crypto gaming projects have reached crazy valuation recently. Some of them are rather simplistic and lack GU's gameplay depth ([Axie Infinity](https://axieinfinity.com/): 8 billion USD), while some of them haven't delivered a playable product yet([STARL](https://www.starltoken.com/) and [Illuvium](https://www.illuvium.io/): 700 million USD). GU's player base doubled the week following the airdrop after already steady growth since the public beta was released. More sets and new features are in development, and the available cards are rapidly gaining in value. Gods Unchained is offering a complete gaming experience, a dynamic economy, and a strong community. Sitting around 140 million USD market capitalization at the time of writing, it's safe to say $GODS is undervalued.

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## Final Words

Instead of extracting value by maximizing screen time and selling advertising, Gods Unchained is bootstrapping a game economy where players hold decisional power, as well as the means of production of the in-game assets. For once, gamers can enjoy a great game and be incentivized to do so. GU's connections, e-sport potential, and economic model place it in a strong position for growth and mainstream adoption. This game has nothing to envy from the other TCGs and its roadmap suggests a bright future. Collecting cards while playing a game has never been that fun and lucrative before. Just give it a try and start collecting. See you in the arena, mortals!