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Gods Unchained is a trading card game (TCG) at its core — with a little blockchain spice. It's completely free to play, the cards can be tradable NFTs and people with little blockchain experience can hop right in.
Gods Unchained is a free-to-play tactical NFT card game built on the Ethereum blockchain. It's one of the most popular blockchain play-to-earn (P2E) card games to date.
There's an estimated 13 million Gods Unchained NFTs and around 65,000 unique asset holders. The game launched in March 2021, and has since had over $25 million worth of assets traded among users.
Minting cards and items allows for earning opportunities and complete ownership of the items. And if you're already familiar with classic TCGs — like Magic: The Gathering — then playing Gods Unchained may come naturally. Players don't need to know much about blockchain tech or crypto to begin playing.
Although cards are kept on the Ethereum network, users only interact with the blockchain when they trade cards with other players.
Image source: Gods Unchained
To start playing, head to GodsUnchained.com and create an account. Account creation is free, and you receive free cards upon sign up, so no need for an initial investment.
You just need an email and password combination, then select CREATE AND DOWNLOAD to have the game downloaded to your computer.
Next, you're redirected to the register page. Create a username or enter a referral code, if applicable. Here, you'll have the option to subscribe to email updates. Then verify your account via email.
Once the game is downloaded, log in to your account.
Image source: Gods Unchained
After logging in, you're greeted by the main page of the game with multiple tabs to choose from, including learning materials, links to the Marketplace, Workshop and Forge.
Image source: Gods Unchained
If you're just getting started, we recommended selecting LEARN TO PLAY on the right side. You're redirected to the Gods Unchained site with learning materials, like how to build a deck and how to play.
Image source: Gods Unchained
You receive free core packs of cards when you: register an account, log in for the first time and level up, as well as at various other moments. The welcome set comes with a total of 140 cards, containing 70 cards, each with two copies.
To start playing, select a gameplay mode, either solo or constructed. Play against a random player or a friend. A solo game is against a computer, and constructive mode is against another player.
Every time you win in constructive mode, you gain a level and may unlock card packs (common core cards). As a result, you receive a ranking in the game dashboard.
Winning ranked games can earn you Flux. Flux is a crafting material that enables you to forge common core cards. The core collection is the regular, fundamental set of cards that every Gods Unchained player may obtain through playing the game.
Here's how playing works if you're just starting out:
The learning curve can be quite steep, especially if you're unfamiliar with TCGs or collectible card games (CCGs). However, the learning materials the site offers are an invaluable resource.
The Gods Unchained — GODS — token is an ERC-20 token that serves as the in-game currency and governance token. GODS has many uses, including:
There's a fixed 500 million GODS tokens in total supply, with 61.5% allocated to the community — rewards, ecosystem fund and community allocation.
Players can hold their GODS tokens and NFT trading cards in a crypto wallet, such as MetaMask.
Multiple exchanges feature trading pairs (GODS/USD), including Coinbase, FTX.us and KuCoin.
Exchange USD for GODS tokens by getting a crypto wallet, depositing funds and creating an account with an exchange. For information on buying GODS tokens, see our buying guide for GODS.
It looks like GODS may not be available to purchase on an exchange in the US.
You can still purchase GODS by using a decentralized exchange (DEX) instead. Decentralized exchanges are web applications that run on blockchains like Ethereum and allow users to trade any asset directly with one another.
Decentralized exchanges (DEX) are unregulated and run using autonomous pieces of code known as smart contracts. To use a DEX you must interact with the blockchain directly, which is not recommended for novice users. Please learn about decentralized exchanges first if you're unfamiliar.
You can follow the same process when you want to sell your tokens, or come back to this page to see if they can now be traded on an exchange in the US.
While playing, you earn nonblockchain cards. Once you earn enough cards and Flux, you can forge blockchain cards and sell them on the marketplace.
To mint new cards, access the Forge via the game launcher and combine duplicate core cards to produce higher-quality cards. These are minted and added to the Ethereum network where they acquire real-world value.
The last step is to exchange these cards for real-world currency via the Marketplace. From there, you may use your existing earnings to purchase additional cards or convert them to your own money to spend as you like.
Some of the cards on Gods Unchained are NFTs that can be traded on secondary marketplaces for a profit.
Image source: iMMUTABLE X marketplace
You can't sell the core, common cards and welcome set cards you're gifted upon signup. But as you play and earn, you can use Flux to enhance your nonblockchain cards and officially turn them into tradable assets.
Trade cards above the level Meteorite or higher. Rule of thumb: Cards with gray borders are plain quality cards — not NFTs — and can't be traded.
As new cards are released, such as the Trial of the Gods set, they must go through a balancing phase before they become tradable.
To access the Gods Unchained marketplace, head to GodsUnchained.com then select MARKET on the main navigation bar.
You're redirected to the Immutable X Marketplace, where you can browse cards for sale. Sort cards by currency listed: ETH, GODS, GOG, IMX, OMI and USDC or by date listed, price and individual card stats.
The market supports software and hardware MetaMask wallets, as well as Magic wallets. Select Connect Wallet in the top-right corner to connect your existing MetaMask wallet, or create a new Magic wallet.
Navigate to the Immutable X marketplace by selecting MARKET, select the cards from your inventory and list them for sale. You must have a crypto wallet linked to the marketplace.
Image source: iMMUTABLE X marketplace
On May 12, 2022, the developers released information on how royalties will work with Gods Unchained. Royalty fees will apply to all new cards created going forward. Existing cards will have royalties added retroactively, which is good news for already-invested players, but it will take time to fully implement.
The royalty fee depends on the Card Quality. The buyer pays the fees, and the fees are added to the list price.
| Card quality | Fee percentage | Approximate fee |
|---|---|---|
| Meteorite | 5% | Less than $0.01 |
| Shadow | 4% | $0.01 |
| Gold | 3% | $0.04 |
| Diamond | 1% | $0.14 |
As described in the Gods Unchained blog post about implementing royalties: The fee percentage is the royalty fee. The approximate fee is the estimated dollar amount the card owner is likely to earn based on the average price of the card quality.
Gods Unchained has other features to check out, including:
At present, the game holds a weekend ranked competition that pays players based on their performance. Players get to demonstrate their mettle to the Gods' community and win some goodies in the process.
The team is also working on a world championship-type tournament with a massive prize pool of approximately $570,000, and a few smaller tournaments.
Flux is a new in-client resource used to enhance your core cards. Flux earnings depend on your current rank. The more you rank, the more Flux you get. For example:
Fusing is where you use the Flux to get an upgraded Meteorite version of that card. You can sell this upgraded card in the NFT markets and earn real crypto.
The quantity of Flux required to fuse core cards varies by card rarity:
Immutable, formerly known as Fuel Games, specializes in games built on blockchain technology. Gods Unchained is the flagship title.
Immutable created Immutable X, the first layer-two scaling solution on Ethereum that allows users to trade and store NFTs without paying gas fees, and gives players true ownership of their in-game assets. As a layer-two solution, "it works with the Ethereum network to provide secure, instant transactions with zero games fees," as the developers explain.
Founded by brothers James and Robbie Ferguson, Gods Unchained has a stellar team — most notably Chris Clay.
Clay is the former director of Magic: The Gathering Arena (MTG Arena). MTG Arena is known as a more "modern" way to play the classic TCG/CCG Magic: The Gathering. Clay is currently the game director for Gods Unchained, and his part in the game adds a lot of legitimacy and prestige to the project.
For the latest news and updates to Gods Unchained, check out its blog — it has new content weekly. On March 8, 2022, there was a Core Set refresh, with 70 new cards released and changes to the original set. Additionally, the developers frequently post card buffs and changes for balance.
Gods Unchained remains one of the most popular trading card blockchain games out there. It's only been out a little over a year at the time of writing.
The Gods Unchained site has many learning materials, a clear marketplace and is free to start playing. As you progress and forge new cards, there are opportunities to earn — but it might be a slow burn depending on how much time you have to invest.
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