Gridhammer — Currency, Packs & Progression
Everything about Gridhammer's economy: how you earn Anvil Marks, what's inside booster packs, how the Smelting system works, and how new players get started.
Currency · Packs · Smelting · OnboardingDual currency — Earned & Premium
Gridhammer operates on a dual-currency model. Anvil Marks are earned through gameplay and spent on packs and crafting. Crown Ingots are purchased with real money and can buy cosmetics.
Dwarven economies run on forge tallies — marks stamped into an anvil ledger for work completed.
| Source | Marks Earned | Frequency |
|---|---|---|
| Win — Accord Format (4×4) | 30 | Per win |
| Win — War Format (4×4) | 45 | Per win |
| Loss (any mode) | 5–10 | Per loss (consolation) |
| First Win of the Day | +25 bonus | Daily |
| Daily Quest — Small | 40–60 | 1/day (~80%) |
| Daily Quest — Large | 80–100 | 1/day (~20%) |
| Weekly Challenge | 150–200 | 1/week |
| Ranked Season Reward | 200–1000 | End of season |
Casual (~30 min/day): ~3 Standard wins + daily quest = 130–160 Marks/day
Active (~1 hr/day): ~5–6 wins + quests + first-win bonus = 230–280/day
Hardcore (~2+ hrs/day): ~10+ wins + all quests = 400–500/day
Slag is earned by smelting unwanted cards in the forge. It is spent to forge new cards or re-forge existing ones. See the Smelting section below for full details.
Royal-minted gold bars bearing the crest of the Five Kings. Purchasable with real money and spendable exclusively on cosmetics (card backs, board skins, avatars). Crown Ingots cannot buy packs, cards, or gameplay advantages.
| Bundle | Price | Crown Ingots | Bonus |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small Pouch | $4.99 | 500 | — |
| Iron Chest | $9.99 | 1,100 | +10% |
| War Chest | $24.99 | 3,000 | +20% |
| King's Vault | $49.99 | 6,500 | +30% |
Three pack types — Standard, House, and Elite
| Pack Type | Cost | Cards | Contents |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard Pack | 50 Marks | 5 | Cards from all houses. Guaranteed at least 1 Uncommon. |
| House Pack | 60 Marks | 6 | 4 from chosen house + 2 random. Higher rare chance. |
| Elite Pack | 100 Marks | 7 | Boosted rare/legendary rates. Guaranteed Rare or better. |
| Pack Type | Common | Uncommon | Rare | Legendary | Heroic |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | 49% | 35% | 12% | 3% | 1% |
| House | 44% | 38% | 14% | 3% | 1% |
| Elite | 26% | 40% | 22% | 10% | 2% |
Guaranteed Legendary within every 40 packs opened. The counter persists across all pack types. If you open 39 packs without a Legendary, the 40th will contain one.
Cards you don't yet own are weighted more heavily in pack rolls. This reduces duplicate frustration for new players and ensures collection variety. The weighting diminishes as your collection grows, naturally shifting the endgame toward smelting duplicates for Slag.
Server-authoritative corner rolling
All card generation happens server-side. When a player opens a booster pack or forges a card, the server generates a new card instance with randomized corner values within the template's rarity range.
| Rarity | Corner Total Range | Max Single Corner | Max Copies in Deck |
|---|---|---|---|
| Common | 4–10 | 3 | 2 |
| Uncommon | 7–14 | 4 | 2 |
| Rare | 10–17 | 5 | 2 |
| Legendary | 14–19 | 6 | 2 |
| Heroic | 17–20 | 7 | 1 |
Corner values are distributed using a randomized allocation: 4 corners start at 1, then remaining points are distributed randomly one at a time until the target total is reached, capped by the max single corner value. This creates natural variance — your "Anvil Sentinel" might have corners [6, 4, 3, 7] while another player's copy has [5, 5, 4, 6].
Every card instance has a globally unique UUID. The template defines the card's name, house, rarity, abilities, and art. The instance adds randomized corner values. This means the same template can produce thousands of unique cards, each with different combat profiles.
Smelt → Slag → Forge
Unwanted cards are Smelted in the forge, converting them into Slag. Slag is then used to Forge specific cards of your choice, or Re-Forge existing cards to re-randomize their corner values.
| Rarity | Smelt Value | Forge Cost | Re-Forge Cost | Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Common | 5 Slag | 20 Slag | 10 Slag | 4:1 |
| Uncommon | 15 Slag | 60 Slag | 30 Slag | 4:1 |
| Rare | 40 Slag | 200 Slag | 100 Slag | 5:1 |
| Legendary | 100 Slag | 800 Slag | 400 Slag | 8:1 |
Forge creates a brand-new card instance of a specific template you choose. The server generates random corner values within that rarity's range.
Re-Forge keeps your existing card but re-randomizes its corner values. Same template, same abilities, new corners. Costs half. This is the primary endgame Slag sink — chasing perfect corner rolls.
Cards received in the starter deck and Second Forge bundle are marked as "Foundry" cards and cannot be Smelted. This prevents new players from accidentally destroying their only playable deck. The Foundry lock is permanent.
Choose your house — Forge your path
When a new player launches Gridhammer, they are presented with the "Choose Your House" ceremony. Each house is showcased with a lore preview, the Hero card displayed prominently, and a playstyle description. The player selects one house and immediately receives their starter bundle.
| Item | Qty | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-Built Starter Deck | 20 cards | 1 Legendary (Hero) + 4 Uncommon (Chain T1s) + 15 Common. Ready to play immediately. |
| House Packs | 3 packs | 18 cards from chosen house. Expand toward Standard deck. |
| Standard Packs | 2 packs | 10 cards from any house. Discover other houses. |
| Anvil Marks | 200 | Enough for 4 Standard Packs or 3 House Packs. |
| Day 1 Total | ~48 cards | 20 starter + ~28 from 5 packs. |
Giving the flagship card immediately creates emotional ownership that drives retention. The Hero IS the house. The progression loop isn't "get your Hero" — it's "build around your Hero." The aspiration becomes unlocking Chain Legendaries and perfecting corner rolls through Re-Forging.
7-day newcomer quest chain
The "Forge Your Path" quest chain activates after the tutorial match and runs for 7 days. Each day presents a milestone with escalating rewards.
Quest rewards total: 3 House Packs + 1 Standard Pack + 1 Elite Pack + 1 guaranteed Rare = ~30 quest cards.
Anvil Marks from quests: 600 total.
Combined with starter + daily play: ~80–100 cards for primary house.
Capability: Competitive Standard deck. Understands all core systems.
Unlocked after completing "Forge Your Path" (Day 7)
After completing the Week 1 quest chain, the player unlocks the "Second Forge" event — a one-time optional choice to select a second house and receive a smaller starter bundle. The Second Forge does NOT include a Hero — the second house's Hero must be earned through packs or Forging (800 Slag).
| Item | Qty | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Common Cards (curated) | 7 | Mix of vanilla Commons from chosen second house. |
| Uncommon Cards (curated) | 3 | 3 of the house's Chain Tier 1 abilities (player discovers the 3rd chain through packs). |
| House Pack | 1 | 6 additional cards from chosen second house. |
| Total | 16 | 10 curated + 6 from pack. Enough for Accord Format with auto-fill. |
Why only 2 of 3 chains? Withholding 1 creates a discovery moment. When the player pulls the missing Uncommon from a pack, it clicks — "THIS is the third mechanic!" It transforms a routine pack opening into a revelation.
Why no Hero? The primary house Hero was given free to create emotional ownership. The second house Hero is an aspiration target — earn it through the Forge (800 Slag) or hope for a pack pull.
When to take it? The event remains available indefinitely. Once chosen, it cannot be changed.