EFURC ships 52 cards a year. Every card follows the same 5-section template. Here is the template.
The 5-section template
- Name (15 seconds): Pick a faction-coded noun + adjective. “Sylvan Elder.” “Clockwork Engine.” “Void-Touched Scholar.”
- Cost (30 seconds): Pick the mana cost (0-8). 0-cost = utility. 8-cost = finisher. Mid-range (3-5) = engine.
- Type (15 seconds): Pick creature / spell / artifact. Creatures stay on board. Spells are one-shot. Artifacts are permanent.
- Effect (3 minutes): Pick the effect. Use one of 12 verbs: draw, discard, heal, damage, summon, buff, debuff, drain, freeze, echo, resonance, void-touched.
- Lore hook (1 minute): Pick the faction thesis + write one sentence. “This is the elder who refused to forget.” “This is the engine that lets the machine body survive.”
Total time: 5 minutes
The template makes every card 5 minutes. The art takes longer (2 hours per card, batched across 8 cards). The implementation takes longer (1 hour per card). The template is the fast part.
Why this matters
- Consistency. Every card feels like it belongs in the same game. No out-of-place mechanics.
- Speed. 5 minutes per card design = 52 cards in 4 hours of design work.
- Discoverability. New designers can join the project and ship a card in their first day.
What this means for your game
If you are designing a TCG, build the template. The template is what makes the card pool feel coherent.
How I ship a card every week (without burning out).
