Introduction

What is Incarnation?

Incarnation is a community-built onchain trading card game where players create the cards. Design your own cards, share them with the community, and earn revenue when others use them. It's not about playing to earn—it's about playing to create.

The Problem with Traditional Card Games

Traditional card games have a fundamental flaw: developers control everything. They:

  • Release new cards to generate profits (often more powerful than old ones)

  • Disrupt game balance with power creep

  • Remove or nerf cards players love

  • Keep all the revenue from card sales

  • Make decisions without community input

Result: Players invest time and money, but have no say in the game's direction.

Incarnation's Solution: Player-Owned Game

Imagine if Hearthstone players could design cards. Or if Magic players earned royalties when their card ideas were used. That's Incarnation.

You Design Cards

Anyone can create cards:

  • Design artwork (or commission artists)

  • Set stats and abilities

  • Write mechanics in simple Lua scripts (no blockchain coding needed)

  • Submit to community testing

Example: You design "Ice Dragon" with 6 health, 4 attack, and freezing ability. Set it to mint at 50 $CARD with 2% creator fee.

Community Decides What's Playable

Not every card enters the game:

  • Testing Pool: New cards tested by community

  • Official Pools: Tournament, Ranked, Casual pools have entry requirements

  • Statistics-Based: Win rates, usage data determine which cards stay

  • Last-Place Elimination: Underperforming cards removed, keeping meta fresh

Example: Your Ice Dragon gets 1000 test matches, 58% win rate, community votes to add it to Ranked Pool.

You Earn from Your Cards

When players want your card, you profit:

  • Player deposits 50 $CARD to mint your Ice Dragon → You earn 1 $CARD (2% fee)

  • 500 players mint it → You earn 500 $CARD over time

  • Ongoing passive income as long as card is popular

  • Plus redemption fees when players redeem cards

This changes everything: You're not just playing a game—you're building a business.

Key Innovations

1. Modular Card Design

Cards are built from separate modules:

  • Artwork: Artists create visuals, can be reused across cards

  • Stats: Health, attack, mana cost

  • Mechanics: Abilities written in Lua (simple scripting language)

Why This Matters: Artists, strategists, and programmers can collaborate. You don't need to know blockchain to create cards.

2. Vault NFT Economy

Traditional game: Developer sells cards, keeps money, card value drops to zero.

Incarnation: Player deposits $CARD to mint cards, tokens stay in vault backing card value.

How It Works:

  1. You want "Fire Phoenix" card

  2. Deposit 50 $CARD into Fire Phoenix vault

  3. Receive Fire Phoenix NFT

  4. $CARD stays in vault earning 5% yield

  5. Can always redeem card for $CARD + accumulated yield

Benefits:

  • Cards have minimum redeemable value (not pure speculation)

  • You earn passive income from holdings

  • Liquidity always available

  • Creator earns fees, not one-time payment

3. AI Agents for Busy Players

Can't play every day? Hire an AI agent:

  • Complete Quests: Agent plays matches to finish daily quests

  • Test Decks: Agent runs 100+ test matches with your new deck

  • Manage Vaults: Agent mints cards when prices are favorable

  • You Control: Set exact permissions, spending limits, time limits

Example: "Agent can play 3 casual matches daily using my Fire Deck, cannot spend $CARD, permission expires in 30 days."

AI agents don't replace you—they handle the grind so you can focus on strategy and creation.

4. Lua Scripting for Card Logic

No blockchain coding required:

Visual Editor Coming Q4 2025: Point-and-click interface for non-programmers.

5. Community Governance

Players vote on:

  • Which cards enter official pools

  • Balance changes and card adjustments

  • Tournament formats and prize pools

  • Use of community treasury

Voting Power: Hold $CARD tokens and cards to vote. Creator reputation also matters.

Real-World Examples

Case 1: Alice the Artist

  • Creates artwork for "Shadow Blade" card

  • Another player writes the mechanics

  • Card becomes popular (2000 mints at 40 $CARD each)

  • Alice earns 800 $CARD from art royalties

  • Continues earning as card remains popular

Case 2: Bob the Strategist

  • Designs balanced control deck archetype

  • Creates 5 cards that synergize

  • Shares deck guide with community

  • Cards get 5000+ combined mints

  • Bob earns 5000+ $CARD in creator fees

  • Becomes respected community figure

Case 3: Carol the Casual Player

  • Too busy to play daily

  • Sets up AI agent to complete quests

  • Agent earns 20 $CARD/day from quests

  • Carol plays tournaments on weekends

  • Gets best of both worlds

Why Fully Onchain?

Current State (2025): Game runs on Starknet with onchain economy. AI agents and Vault NFT fully operational.

Long-Term Vision (2027+): All game logic onchain. This enables:

  • Cards created by different players work together seamlessly

  • Game can't be shut down by anyone

  • Other games can use Incarnation cards

  • Complete transparency and verifiability

Think of it as Minecraft MODs, but for blockchain. Players don't just play—they extend and transform the game itself.

Technology Stack

  • Blockchain: Starknet (low gas fees, native account abstraction)

  • Framework: Dojo (onchain game engine)

  • Card Logic: Lua scripting (launching Q3 2025)

  • AI Agents: x402 protocol (live now)

  • Economy: Vault NFT standard (live now)

See our Technology section for details.

Get Started

  1. Play: Download game, get free starter deck, start playing

  2. Learn: Complete tutorial, earn your first $CARD

  3. Create: Design your first card, test in community pool

  4. Earn: When your card is popular, earn creator fees

No crypto needed to start: Free starter deck, paymaster covers gas fees for new players.

Join us in building the future of card games—where players are owners, creators, and decision-makers.

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