Comprehensive HexTCG New Player Guide
(As of 26th of February 2016)
Address all feedback and comments to KingGabriel:
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(/r/Hextcg moderator, Fiveshards writer, yeti fanatic, general lunatic.)
"Ardent forever, underworld never!"
● #X quick find codes (use Ctrl+F)
● Menu UI #M
● Starter Cards #S
● Battle UI #B
● Gem Socketing #G
● Deckbuilding #D
● Campaign (f2p) #C
● Frost Arena (f2p) #F
● Equipment searching and equipping #E
● Packs, PvP chests #P
● Gifting and Trading by mail #G
● AH (Auction House) guide #A
● Tournament guide #T
● Extended Art #EA
● Keyword guide #K
● Glossary #G
● FAQ #F
● Keyboard shortcuts/chat commands #CC
● Further Reading #FR
● Common Tech Problems #CTP
Sections to come: (waiting on KG to stop being so dang lazy)
● Intermediate Guide
● Media Packs (streamers etc.)
Authenticator, etc.
[Right click>view image to view images in full resolution]
Shortened Url for this guide: http://v.gd/hex03
Menu UI: #M
Top-right buttons: Store, Auction House, Inventory Stash, Mail, Settings. (Below is Platinum and Gold currency amounts)
P - Platinum count (Purchase from store, or sell cards)
G - Gold amount (Gain from campaign,arena (f2p) or sell cards)
(You can try to use COD (see #G) to convert between the two through other players)
Bottom-right buttons: General chat, Location Chat (unuseable), Guild chat (unuseable), Whisper chat.
The rest is pretty self explanatory, but bear in mind frost ring arena is another form of PvE content although it's in a PvP section.
Starter Cards: #S
http://forums.cryptozoic.com/showthr...l=1#post549412
Please note: These cards are account-bound and therefore untradeable.
(If you're just going stock cards initially, coyotle cleric for campaign is pretty easy to handle)
Battle UI #B
Confused about the in-battle UI? Here are some annotations:

#1 Void/out of play - left click to show cards stuck here.
#2 Crypt, with count in crypt - right click to show cards in here.
#3 Deck count, with the Beta sleeve showing (right click sleeves to see where they come from). If this goes down to 0 and you need to draw, you lose.
#4 Priority skip button: Click this to pass priority, or hit spacebar.
#5 Threshold count - Here I have 1 ruby and 2 sapphire, although the count can be above or below resource count, as they are separate. Required to play cards along with resources - see the terminology section for more.
#6 Resource count - Resources this turn/Resources next turn. separate from threshold.
#7 Charge count: I have 1, my opponent has 1. Hover over the symbol to the right of it to see charge power cost and threshold requirement. You have all champions from the start, and can swap it out in the card manager by clicking the champion’s name. This screenshot is using the campaign champions.
#8 Health count - If this goes to 0, you lose.
#9 Equipment slots - Only used in PvE, shows effects you’ll have on your cards. Click the arrow to show the slots.
#10 Gold indicator to show who’s priority it is.
#11 Phase shifting buttons/indicators - use these or the keyboard commands (ESC and settings to see/change key bindings) to move along faster.
#12 Ardent/Underworld symbol. Only has use in campaign. Below the 1/1 you see is a status effect that you can hover over to see what it does.
#13 Constants and tunneled cards go here, a bit behind the troops.
#14 This is where the chain occurs - any card/action/effect can be stopped or altered here by another, operating on first in last out) (E.G. Stopping a buff (card enhancement) with a removal card destroying the target that would have otherwise been buffed.
When the chain isn't in use, this is just another phase indicator, which changes when the phase changes. This is where the coin flip lands too.
#15 Tunneled card - this will enter play next turn when the tunneling counter goes from 2 to 3, the requirement listed on the card.
#16 Passive powers go here, hover over to see what they do.
Gem Socketing: #GS
Hex has gems you can socket into certain cards. You may want to socket your cards if they have socketable Major or Minor, clicking the arrow buttons at the top on the sides to socket multiple versions of the card) click the three card icon to the left of your deck name and save.
You have all the gems from the start, and they don’t run out. You may only socket 4 of each kind in a deck. (E.g. 4 major ruby of destruction, 4 minor sapphire of sky)

To have the effect work, you need the threshold stated on the gem in play. This does not add to the play cost, it is just required for the effect to work. "On play" gems do not work if you play the card and then gain the threshold.
Wondering what those icons are below? See the extended art section for more details.
If you’re stuck improving your deck and/or the card manager seems confusing, this next section might be for you (otherwise, just skip ahead to the campaign section):
Deckbuilding: #D

Here is the Card Manager with one of the PvE decks I use open. You could see it is PvE by selecting the checkbox icon it would tell me one or more of the cards are invalid for pvp, and you can see the equipment slotted next to brutal commander as well as the gold floral border in the top right of cards like hunger designating them as PvE (PvE sets are numbered instead of having icons, as you'll be able to see in the middle right of cards). Also, it lacks reserves (15 cards you can slot in and out between constructed games).
There is a wide variety of filters you can select from the filter icon and clicking show advanced filters. It should be pretty self explanatory but the race and class filters are used for card effects - the champion you pick has no bearing on what cards you can use. Clicking show all items shows you ALL the cards in the game, and can be very useful for searching for what you want to get next.
Next to the filter button (below the platinum amount you have) is the sort button (the up/down arrow icon), allowing you to sort by quantity, rarity etc. clicking it again will swap it from ascending/descending order. If you tick show all items then sort by quantity, you can easily see what you need for a playset.
Bear in mind that orange rarity cards are AI only.
Usually you want your deck to be the minimum required (60 cards) and on average 24 shards, depending on your curve. The maximum of a card type you can have is 4 apart from in limited formats (draft, sealed) where you can have as many as you want/get.
Unique cards are not one per deck, neither are legendaries. Unique cards can only be one on the field per player and if you play a second the first one you played will die.
The maximum deck card limit is around 300, but the only sensible reason to go that high is a card like Jank Bot. Which is hillarious, may I add.

Smooth moves for a walking lighthouse.
You can click the icons by the sort button (the one by your deck, not at the top) to swap views, allowing you to more easily see your curve.
Note: Shift clicking your cards will not do anything in the card manager, but will link it in general chat for others to see.
Clicking the gear icon by the deck name will let you save/load/rename etc. as well as select sleeves (goes on the back of your deck for your deck/cards) (such as the ones you earn in frost arena)