How do cards work?

[Unster]

Do you have to apply or activate them somehow or is that automatic when you reach the age for which the cards are specified? Personally I find the cards confusing & unnecessary. They seem like too many freebies for no good reason.

[SWS]

Click the Flag on the UI during a match (or press F2) to select a card. They have to be sent during a match one by one. It works much like researching a tech or training some units.
The ones from higher ages become available to choose from as soon as you reach that age.

You need a specific amount of XP gained during a match to unlock a new card shipment. The number on your civilization flag tells you how many shipments you have available and hovering the mouse there tells you how much more XP you need for the next one.

You gain XP for training units, constructing buildings, killing enemies, and some other ways like via trading posts. Therefore they aren't really free, since XP is kind of an additional (mostly passively gained) resource that you need to unlock shipments.

There is a tutorial hidden in the Tools menu somewhere where most of that is explained (along with basic controls). A few missions into the first campaign it's also kinda explained. But the game doesn't really help new players find that...
Also btw, The Art of War challenge missions work as kind of an advanced tutorial to the game as well (not for cards though).



Edit: You can also build different decks for different strategies, like for rushs or for booming in treaty games.

[Unster]

Thanks, very helpful. I tried playing the first campaign and it made no mention of the cards or anything tutorial-wise, at least not in the first mission. I prefer the skirmishes anyway. I'm very familiar with AoE1 and partly 2 as well. There was no XP or cards in those games.

[Eaglemut]

Originally posted by Unster:

Thanks, very helpful. I tried playing the first campaign and it made no mention of the cards or anything tutorial-wise, at least not in the first mission.

You can find basic tutorials under Tools -> Tutorial
Then there are also more advanced tutorials under "Art of War"

[Catalytic]

The thing about the cards is they serve as tactical plays within the game. You choose ahead of time which cards you want in your figurative "bag of tricks" to help you gain the advantage. Playing the right card at the right time can change the momentum of the game. Especially early on, you get rushed. Being able to drop a card and get 6 more units to help you clear your town is a game-changer, or if you're the rusher, they help you overwhelm the enemy. Sometimes your strategy is to get to later ages and more powerful units quickly, so you use resource cards and send extra villagers to help you get there fast.

They're an interesting dynamic that really reshuffles the standard "snowball effect" a lot of these games have, and they add a lot of interesting tactical depth to the RTS genre, IMO.

[Circa]

The choice and order of cards is a central part of your strategy in each game. Build orders cover this. Eg fast fortress strategy card order is often 3vills, 700g, 700w. And with lots of potential variations.

[Wolfie]

I don't think cards are available until like the 5th mission in the first campaign, im replaying them myself still very enjoyable though that first mission against the ottomons is a pretty rough you either learn fast or die!

[Ezplorer]

In the campaign you have to unlock the cards, some are locked until you reach level 10, and some until lvl 25, much like how the card system worked in the original AoE 3. But in singleplayer skirmish and in multiplayer every country has all of his cards unlocked and you just have to pick the ones that best suit your strategy.

[Artuurs]

When the number isnt 0 on your flag, press it, click the card you want if its not dark and there you go.