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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.
Highlights
- Free to play
- Blockchain-based TCG
- Requires ETH wallet
- Sell card NFTs for a profit
- Royalties on minted cards
- Free cards gifted at signup
- Experienced development team
What is Gods Unchained?
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
Playing 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:
- Choose the deck — Every new player is eligible for a welcome set of 70 distinct cards, each with two copies. To edit your decks, select the Choose Deck option. If you don't like the initial deck, you may change it by switching the cards and hitting SELECT to save. After that, select a loadout and press Play to begin a game.
- Select the God Power — Choose the God Power wisely. It can only be used once each turn and costs a set amount of mana. Before a gaming match, you can select your god by aligning it with your card deck. A God Power gives you an advantage during a match, and there are many to choose from.
- Replace the unwanted cards (mulligan) — Select new cards to switch out the existing cards.
- Fight! — Drag and drop cards to their destination to summon monsters. God Powers can be utilized once every round, much like cards. A hand may carry up to nine cards, while the gaming board can accommodate six creatures. How you want to deploy the gods is up to you.
- Rewards — Win ranked battles and get rewarded to level up.
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.
What is the Gods Unchained token?
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:
- Fusing cards to improve quality.
- Evolution (crafting new cards).
- Rewards through play-to-earn.
- Purchasing items.
- GODS staking pool.
- Governance and voting.
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.
How to buy Gods Unchained tokens
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.
How to purchase GODS using a decentralized exchange.
- Find GODS on a decentralized exchange and make sure GODS can be traded for ETH which is the native asset of Ethereum. Popular DEXs include Uniswap, SushiSwap and 1INCH.
- Buy ETH to trade for GODS using an exchange like Gemini. You will need to purchase enough ETH to swap for GODS as well as ETH to pay for transaction fees on the Ethereum network (known as gas). You can use a service like Etherscan to get an idea of how much gas fees currently cost.
- Transfer the ETH into a web 3.0 wallet like MetaMask to connect to the DEX.
- Trade ETH for GODS on the DEX of your choice, following the instructions on screen. Make sure to leave enough ETH in your wallet to pay for gas.
- Wait for the transaction to finalize and the GODS tokens will arrive in your wallet.
- You may now keep the tokens in your web 3.0 wallet or transfer them somewhere more secure like a hardware wallet.
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.
How does play-to-earn work with Gods Unchained?
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.
What are Gods Unchained NFTs?
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.
How to buy NFTs on Gods Unchained
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.
Other crypto games and NFT projects
How to sell NFTs from Gods Unchained
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
Royalties on cards
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.
Unique game features
Gods Unchained has other features to check out, including:
Tournaments
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
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:
- Flux for Bronze rank full Gauntlet = 65.5
- Flux for Mythic rank full Gauntlet = 1,310
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:
- Common: 20 Flux
- Rare: 40 Flux
- Epic: 120 Flux
- Legendary: 200 Flux
About the Gods Unchained developers
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.
Gods Unchained roadmap
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.
Bottom line
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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