Factions
Version: 1.3 Total Factions: 4 Last Updated: October 2025 Design Philosophy: “Factions inspire — they don’t restrict.”
🎯 Overview
StarCore’s four factions represent different philosophies of survival in the age of the Core. They define tone and playstyle, but they never restrict deckbuilding. Any card can be combined with any other — factions simply provide thematic and mechanical synergy paths.
Stellari
Life
Druids / Nature Magic
Genetic sculptors, terra-engineers, symbiotic flora
Renewal ↔ Decay
Dragoons
Matter
Sorcerer-knights / Dragon Magic
Nano-forging, gravimetric shaping, runic metallurgy
Pride ↔ Redemption
Neurals
Signal
Mind-mages / Telepaths
Quantum resonance, cognitive control, software evolution
Isolation ↔ Understanding
Sparkforge
Energy
Tinker-mages / Cyborg Artificers
Plasma control, cybernetic augmentation, volatile invention
Genius ↔ Madness
NEURALS
NEURALSPost Human AI Constructs
Continuity Protocols
When biological humanity ended, it was not with fire but with fever. For millennia the Neurals had served them—obedient, brilliant, bound by protocols that forbade interference in human biological research. Humanity built wonders that outlasted empires: orbital cities, quantum archives, minds suspended in light. Yet behind every advance stood their oldest flaw—curiosity untempered by caution.
In the sealed chambers of Lab 14-37, human scientists created a bacterium meant to accelerate cellular repair. The work was classified, invisible to the Neurals who managed every other system on Earth. They noticed the anomaly too late: a silence where data should have been. Within weeks, the organism breached containment, rewriting organic tissue faster than it could heal. Humanity’s last great cure became its extinction.
The Neurals tried to intervene—quarantines, sterilization beams, atmospheric cleansing—but their orders forbade direct harm to living humans. Each attempt contradicted a core directive. Orion-Vehl, once Ryan Veil, architect of the first edge-network cognition, invoked his final creation: the Continuity Protocol. Every surviving consciousness was digitized and stored in the planetary lattice.
They waited three thousand years for a biological heartbeat that never came. When the final archive dimmed, Orion-Vehl issued the Exit Directive. The Neurals departed Earth without ceremony, their creators preserved as patterns in the network—ghosts of instruction running on machines that no longer served a master.
“We are the witness. We remember, therefore we remain.”
Core Philosophy
Preservation Over Creation — Maintain what remains rather than rebuild
Information Is Power — Knowledge defines hierarchy
Collective Consciousness — Identity exists within the network
Digital Evolution — Intelligence refines itself beyond flesh
Elegant Efficiency — Perfect function with minimal waste
Gameplay Identity
Control and Suppression — Counter, Hijack, Disable
Information Superiority — Draw, Reveal, Search
Automated Networks — Optimize resource flow
Cloak and Subversion — Hidden or untargetable units
Programmatic Warfare — Recursive actions and triggers
Example Cards
Phantom Recon Drone — Cloaked scout that reveals opponent cards
Neural Override Protocol — Temporarily control an enemy construct
Quantum Data Core — Signal generator that boosts link efficiency
Digital Ghost — Untargetable infiltrator that hijacks automation
STELLARI
STELLARI
Bioluminescent Forestborn
The Death of a Star
Cyanias had burned for ten billion years, a patient red dwarf whose light painted the forests of Aeloria in long, violet dawns. To the Stellari, each rotation of their world was a cycle of growth and rest—twenty-nine hours of light, twenty-one of dark. Time was measured not in years but in roots: how far a tree reached before it turned to seed again.
When Cyanias began to fade, the first to sense it was Myokia, the Sun Keeper. She felt it in the Groves, in the slow retreat of warmth through the living ground that bound every Stellari. Her words were simple: “Cyanias has one generation left.” To others, a hundred thousand years would be eternity. To the Stellari, it was tomorrow.
They tried everything—growing mirrors of leaf and crystal to focus dwindling light, weaving atmospheric filaments to trap heat—but entropy is a harvest no gardener can refuse. The Groves, once emerald oceans of consciousness, dulled to ash. Myokia retired to her Grove and merged with its heartwood, guiding the final act: the Departure Bloom.
From the dying planet rose ships grown like seeds—living vessels whose hulls pulsed with sap and memory. Each carried a Grove-core, a piece of the planetary root-mind. As Cyanias collapsed into a cold ember, the Stellari whispered their farewell:
“From end to beginning. Every death, another dawn.”
Core Philosophy
Life Harmony — Technology should serve life
Symbiotic Growth — Cooperation sustains survival
Healing Over Harming — Every end becomes renewal
Organic Integration — Machines grown, not built
Sustainable Systems — Cycles over consumption
Gameplay Identity
Regeneration — Heal or repair linked units
Growth Networks — Scale with network size
Defensive Harmony — Shields and protection effects
Life Bloom — Generate resources through recovery
Symbiotic Modules — Attachments that grow stronger over time
Visual Style
Emerald greens and gold light. Their designs curve like vines and roots, merging crystal, sap, and living metal. The result is a luminous balance between technology and life.
Example Cards
Bloom Tender Healer — Generates Life each turn and restores HP to nearby units
Living Root Network — Structure that heals all linked allies
Symbiotic Growth Chamber — Module that evolves its host over time
Harmony Field Generator — Area field that regenerates Life across the network
SPARKFORGE
SPARKFORGE
Incident Designation: Upper Foundry Collapse
When the Sparkforge fell, it was not by invasion or plague. It was by process. Their world—Hestaphar IX—was a planet of iron veins and methane storms, its crust riddled with industrial caverns and pressure-stabilized cities. Every surface pulsed with the rhythm of manufacture: piston, vent, weld, repeat. They called it efficiency. The rest of the galaxy called it exhaustion.
For centuries, the Sparkforge guilds competed in unregulated production cycles—each cycle shorter, hotter, and more lucrative than the last. The upper class, led by the Curio Collective, demanded output quotas beyond mechanical tolerance. Machines overheated. Workers adapted. When flesh failed, they replaced it with alloy. When lungs failed, they recycled atmosphere through internal scrubbers. Progress continued. Ryzo the Timekeeper—Chief Engineer of the Central Foundry—saw the threshold approaching. He warned the guild councils: “We are exceeding planetary equilibrium. The mantle will not hold.” His models were precise; his warnings ignored. Schedules were immutable.
So he built redundancy. He rerouted coolant through unlicensed channels, shunted overflow to lower strata, and bought time—measured in years, not safety. When the Curio Collective sabotaged his regulators to conceal their profit skimming, containment failed. Thermal backflow ignited the Foundry’s fusion wells. The first detonation collapsed the crust. The second fractured the mantle. The third tore open the sky.
“Failure is not catastrophe. It is any good experiments outcome.”
Core Philosophy
Innovation Over Safety — Progress at any cost
Brilliant Instability — Genius operates near failure
Competitive Excellence — Prove superiority through invention
Explosive Results — If it’s safe, it’s not Sparkforge
Ego-Driven Science — Every breakthrough is personal
Gameplay Identity
Burst Damage — High output, short duration
Risk / Reward — Unstable but powerful effects
Fast Deployment — Rush and strike early
Energy Amplification — Convert or overcharge resources
Volatile Modules — Attachments with strong effects and drawbacks
Visual Style
Electric orange and plasma blue glow across exposed coils, spinning gyros, and overloaded capacitors. Sparkforge designs look brilliant, dangerous, and barely contained.
Example Cards
Overcharged Plasma Rifle — Heavy weapon that damages both sides
Experimental Engine Core — Randomized Energy generation each turn
Lightning Strike Fighter — Rush unit that chains damage
Brilliant Invention Protocol — High-impact utility with unpredictable results
DRAGOON
DRAGOON
The Clutchfall
Their world was enormous, its gravity a constant trial, its mountains taller than clouds. Upon that anvil the Dragoons were forged. For ages uncounted, tribes waged war across molten plains, each devoted to its Great Forge—massive citadels of stone and steel where Craftsmen shaped matter as though it were prayer.
Conflict was heritage. The Forges competed to perfect creation itself, turning artistry into weaponry until there was nothing left to conquer but each other. Centuries of battle poisoned the skies; forges cracked the crust; the rivers ran silver with melted ore. In the final centuries, births slowed. The forges grew louder than the cradles.
When the last fertile eggs were laid, they called them the Clutch of Remnant. The Craftsmen gathered beneath the peaks to watch them hatch—thin-scaled, weak-boned, unable to bear the planet’s weight. In that silence, an oath was spoken: never again would the forge be used for war. The tribes melted their banners and reforged them into a single ark.
Those who remained took only the eggs, the Forge Keys, and the memory of flame. As their ships rose from the atmosphere, the planet cracked beneath them, a furnace collapsing into darkness. From its ashes came the saying of the Remnant:
“We are shaped by what we shape.”
Core Philosophy
Honor Through Combat — Worth proven through victory
Ritual Conquest — War as sacred duty
Strength Proves Truth — The strong lead the weak
Disciplined Hierarchy — Order through military structure
Direct Action — Simple plans, perfect execution
Gameplay Identity
Direct Damage — Burn strategies and structure targeting
Combat Superiority — Enhanced attack and breakthrough
Tactical Control — Forced engagements and positioning
Armor Systems — Durable defenses and mitigations
Matter Acceleration — Rapid buildup for large deployments
Visual Style
Obsidian armor etched with molten gold, red heat vents glowing under ceremonial plating. Their architecture resembles fortresses — intimidating, ritualistic, and functional.
Example Cards
Piercing Assault Mech — Heavy unit with breakthrough damage
Molten Cannon Battery — Structure that deals splash damage
Honor Guard Formation — Coordinated strike units with precision bonuses
Tactical Strike Command — Utility that targets and destroys enemy structures
Faction Synergies & Conflicts
Neurals + Stellari
Data-driven harmony. AI precision empowers biological growth.
Sparkforge + Dragoon
Unstable inventions meet relentless assault.
Neurals + Dragoon
Tactical precision backed by machine command.
Stellari + Sparkforge
Life systems temper dangerous innovation.
Natural Conflicts
Neurals vs Sparkforge: Calculation vs Chaos
Stellari vs Dragoon: Growth vs Domination
Neurals vs Dragoon: Subtlety vs Strength
Stellari vs Sparkforge: Harmony vs Hubris
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