Axie Origin Leak Compilation and Speculation
With numerous leaks we have on the Axie Origin gameplay, it’s about time for us to organize and compile all of them. This article will collect, categorize, and speculate on the current information available to us.
Our Sources
Before we start, let’s gather first our sources:
Axie Substack Articles (The Lunacian).
Axie Origin Twitter Space Discussion: Feb 16, 2022
Axie Infinity Tweet:
@SmoochAxie’s Tweet
We will also use some of the insights and content from @Ryan_METAT8, @ro11ingboy, and some Twitter interaction with @AxieNomad_NTS, @TheSnideProject, @Ragnar_ATG
Also, it was leaked that Slay the Spire is one of the major inspirations for the Axie Origin. Just look at some of the similarities in the layout of their cards.
So we will be referencing Slay the Spire often in this article.
Note On Image Leaks
We should note first that there is a chance that these leaked images are not screenshots from an actual game run. Most game development starts with artists doing visual mocks of the gameplay. These mocks will, later on, become the basis for other assets that will be used in the actual game. There’s a possibility that these images are actually just mocked. Some evidence that leads me to this is the following image:
Observe that only two characters have health bars and the others are missing. A possible explanation for this is that the missing health bars are actually turned-off during the attack animation. Which is a possibility but not common. Chances are, they are details that are left out during the mocking phase.
That’s one. Another is this screen that shows multiple charms with the same name:
Whatever the case is, for the purpose of our discussion, we will assume that these leaks aren’t that far off from the actual game.
Disclaimer
Most information here is speculative and shouldn’t be treated as financial advice. Even the leaks from Axie Infinity that we will be referencing to even said that:
These are all for the spirit of fun and raising more excitement around Axie Origin. And also this is a good exercise for aspiring game developers and game designers out there.
Core Gameplay
Based on Axie Twitter Space, Axie Substack, and Slay the Spire, the following summarizes the core gameplay of Axie Origin:
Randomly choose who moves first. The 2nd player will have a +1 Energy Card.
Draw cards from the deck pile.
Use cards. Actions take effect upon use.
Press End turn once done.
Unused energy will not carry over to the next turn.
Unused cards will go to the discard pile with the exception of some cards
2nd player turn.
Repeat
Here’s a visual demonstration of this game flow:
Some Basic Game Terminology
Alright, some basic game terminology before we move on.
Turns - refer to the part of the game where the player plays his/her card (or takes action). This is opposed to the term “round” in V2 where it refers to the part of the game where both players play their cards.
Battle - refer to the whole lifetime of the core gameplay.
Hand - refer to the set of drawn cards playable during a turn.
And some unofficial ones:
Player’s Turns - refer to all turns where the player plays his/her card.
Opponent’s Turns - refer to all turns where the opponent plays his/her card.
So if the player starts the game at Turn 1, the opponent at Turn 2, the player at Turn 3, the opponent in Turn 4, and so forth. Then player’s turns are Turn 1, Turn 3, Turn 5, etc… while the opponent’s turns are Turn 2, Turn 4, Turn 6, etc...
Changes from V2 to Origin
One of the major questions moving forward is: how many mechanics in V2 will gonna make it to the Axie Origin. I list down here some of the V2 mechanics that might undergo some changes.
Axie Stat
In Axie Origin, there will only be one stat for all axies — HP. There will be no more speed, morale, and skill stat as described in Axie Substack article:
Card Stat
As stated in Axie Substack article:
A card will not hold both attack and defense anymore. But will either be an attack, defense or possibly heal:
Shield Persistence
Since Axie Origin is turn-based, then during player’s turns: the player can launch attacks as well as set up defenses as a preparation for the opponent’s turn. So it would be natural for shields to persist to the next turn. It’s not guaranteed though that it would persist on succeeding turns after that. It might be similar to V2 where shields reset for each round. But this time, it reset for each player’s turn.
There is a hint though that shield might persist all throughout the battle. Look at the description of the Square Tooth card:
If Initial means that it is the first card used on a player’s turn, then it means that a shield should have been previously set up. Which can just happen during the previous player’s turn. And hence, suggesting the persistence of shield all throughout the battle.
If true, this will open the doors to different possibilities like: (1) shield stack-up infinitely (2) shield stack-up but capped (3) card effects that disallow stacking of shield
Lanes
It seems that lanes still exist in Axie Origin, as can be seen in the following image leak:
Though this time we only have two. The default priority attack seems similar to V2. And that is: who's on the front will be attacked first.
And this is confirmed by the following leaked backdoor cards:
One thing to note with the lane image leak above is this icon:
What could this icon mean? This looks like you can change the axie’s orientation. You can make it look to the left or to the right. My wild-wild guess here is that in Axie Origin, you can set your axie in defense and attack position, similar to Yu-Gi-Oh. Facing backward to your opponent is defense while facing forward is attack. And in the image leak, you can set whether your axie starts in defense or attack position.
Class Power System
As far as I know, no leaks yet for this one. My guess here is that the triangular class power system will still exist in Axie Origin. What do you think?
Breaking Down the HUD
HUD or game HUD refers to the UI that serves as the player’s interface and visual communication to the game. From Axie Substack, we have the following image leak of Axie Origin’s HUD (with some of my speculation on what are these parts)
I speculated that the right-hand jar is a banish card counter because of the similarity in symbol: (more on banish card later)
Here are some details about the game we can speculate from this:
Total Energy Per Turn:
My speculation on this is that there are 3 default energies per turn. There are two supporting pieces of information for this.
First is the opponent’s energy counter in the image leak.
It says 3. But since Axie Origin is turn-based and energy resets to full capacity each turn, then those 3 energies will be the default energy of our opponent next turn. Unless there is an effect that retains energy or removes energy after a turn, this hints that 3 is the default total energy per turn.
The second is that Slay the Spire also has 3 default energies per turn.
Total Drawn Cards per Turn:
My speculation on this is 5 cards. Since Slay the Spire also draws 5 cards per turn.
Total Cards on Battle, The existence of non-axie-parts cards:
One of the first things I do when I saw the image leak of the HUD is to count the total cards in the battle. So let’s count the main player’s cards:
Draw Pile - 12, Discard Pile - 7, Banish Card - 2, On Hand/Battle - 3
With a total of 24 cards. If we have 3 axies and 6 parts each, then we should have 18 total cards in the battle. If it’s like V2, then we will have two copies of each card. We then should have 36 cards. Which still does not match the total cards in the image leak. So if the numbers in the image leak are game-accurate, then this proves the existence of non-axie-parts card. And this will actually be confirmed later on by the succeeding leaks.
Type Of Axie Cards
Here is the list of the type of axie cards so far:
Attack
Skill
Banish
Power
Retain
Secret
Innate
Summon Cards
Defense Cards
Heal Cards
Here are my speculations on what these types mean:
Attack - Attack cards are cards that deal direct damage to the opponent. Some of them have added effects. Note that in the leaks, most attack cards have attack value displayed in the upper left part. But some cards like Rice, don’t:
But via its effect, it still inflicts direct HP damage to the opponent.
Skill - Skill cards are harder to define based on the image leak. But one thing to note though is that we haven’t seen a skill card (so far) that is also an attack card. So they’re probably just effect cards that do not inflict direct HP damage to the opponent.
Banish - If it’s the same as Slay the Spire’s banish card, then these are one-time use cards. Once activated, the card cannot be used in the battle anymore.
Most probably, the banished card will go to the banish jar.
The question here is: “Is there an effect out there that would make banished cards go back to your draw pile, deck pile, or hand?” If there is, it kinda reminds me of the Monster Reborn card from Yu-Gi-Oh.
Power - We’ve only seen one of these so far from Axie Infinity’s tweet on Oct 11, 2021: Sakura, which is an ear part.
If it’s the same as Slay the Spire’s power cards, these are one-time use cards in which effects last for the whole battle. Though power cards and banish cards are both one-time use cards, banish card’s effects last only for 1 turn while power cards last for the whole battle.
Retain - If it’s the same as Slay the Spire’s retain cards, then this card will remain on your hand after you end your turn (assuming you don’t use it on that turn).
Secret - Secret cards are one of the most I’m excited about to speculate.
For these cards to be secret, there should be some sort of information that’s hidden (probably) from your opponent. And there are three pieces of information the card has that can be hidden:
First is the identify of the card itself.
Second is the target of the card.Third is the defense value (for some secret cards)
I’ll be speculating here that Axie Origin’s mechanics will always show the shield value. It's kinda far-fetch to me if there’s a mechanic system that hides it. So I won’t be exploring that case. So that leaves us with two: the card and the card’s target.
From this, we have three possibilities:
CASE 1: Hide the card to the opponent. Hide the target of the card to the opponent.
CASE 2: Show the card to the opponent. Hide the target of the card to the opponent.
CASE 3: Hide the card to the opponent. Show the target of the card to the opponent.
The problem with hiding the card from the opponent is in the case when you only have one secret card. Since your opponent knows your card through the body parts, then your opponent already knows what that card is. This will not be the case though when you have multiple secret cards.
Also, secret cards with defense values have to update the shield value of the card’s axie. Assuming shield value will always be available to the opponent, then the opponent will know what that card is if the axie has just one secret part. So you need axies with multiple secret parts just for the secret to work.
Hiding the target of the card on the other hand does not have this issue. Though hiding the card is an interesting mechanic, hiding the target of the card is much more plausible. Hiding both is ok but might be overkill. So I think CASE 2 is the most plausible execution of secret cards.
Innate - If it’s the same as Slay the Spire’s innate cards, these will be cards that always go to the top when they are on the player’s draw pile. So it means that they will be always on your hand once they are available to draw.
Summon Cards - cards that summon creatures. These creatures probably occupy a space in the battle lanes. By summoning it in front of your axie, these creatures can act as natural defense (since everything in front gets attacked first by default).
This can be countered by the Cloud card which skips summoned creature.
Some of the known summon cards are:
There are probably cards that summon these cuties:
And these summons are the target of the Turnip card:
Defense Cards - Defense cards are cards that add shield on target. They are characterized by the blue stripe on the top-left of its card. And the value on it is probably the amount of shield added on target axie.
There are two supporting pieces of information for this:
First is the shield icon:
Next is the Red Ear card above. Its description only says “Target any ally” and we know that the Red Ear card adds shields in V2. If the card is still the same in Axie Origin, then the 65 value on the top-left must be the amount of shield added to the target axie.
Heal Cards - Heal cards are cards that heal their targets. They are characterized by the green stripe on the top-left of its card. And the value on it is probably the amount of heal on the target’s HP.
There are two supporting pieces of information for this:
First is the design. Looks like healing.
Next is the Silence Whisper card above. Its description only says “Target any ally” and we know that Silence Whisper heals in V2. If the card is still the same in Axie Origin, then the 65 value on the top-left must be the amount of heal on the target’s HP.
Non-Axie Cards
We still don’t know what are they officially called. But these are cards that are not associated with any part of an axie. Most of these cards enter the battle through the effect of an axie card. My guess here is that they are similar to the status cards of Slay the Spire. They are unplayable. With some of them triggering their effect once they are on your hand.
The following are the non-axie cards so far:
Energy Card
Daze
Jinx
Blackmail
Lumber Shield
Void
Goo
Pure Water
Burns
So far, these are the card I can speculate on: (I will update once new speculations come in)
Energy Card - Zero energy card that gives a certain amount of energy to the user upon activation.
Daze - Nonplayable card that simply occupies the opponent’s deck. The goal is to bloat the opponent’s deck with this so that the opponent will have a harder time drawing good cards.
Jinx - Also a nonplayable card with added effects. It probably does something negative with the rage of your axie. This is since the jinx in V2 does something negative with crit and we know rage replaces crit.
Also based on the illustration of Raven card that produces the jinx card:
You can see a beast that is retreating from an attack. Based on the expression of the beast, it feels like it’s ready to unleash its trump card: rage. But failed and forced to retreat.
Blackmail - Similar to V2, it probably gives the debuff of its user to the holder of this card to all axies or some axie. Note that Blackmail is added to opponent’s hand. So its effect will immediately be felt next turn.
Lumber Shield - First note that the Lumber Shield is added to your hand. So its effect must be positive to the holder. Based on what timber is in V2, it probably adds a shield to all or some of the axies.
Void - Similar to V2, void probably does something negative with opponent energy once it reaches the opponent’s hand. Some possibilities are: (1) remove 1 energy (2) disallow generation of new energy. Note that Void is added to the opponent’s discard pile (via Goda card). So it will take time for it to take effect.
Runes and Charms
As Axie Substack defines runes and charms:
The following leak seems a menu containing charms:
The major difference between the two is that runes add new abilities while charms enhance existing abilities. Both are probably equipped before a battle starts. Though we still don’t know yet how they are activated during the battle.
Note the quantity counter in each charm above. This indicates that charms are consumable. And judging by the description of its effect, charms are consumed once its effect is activated. Hard to see charms to be passive powerups where their effect last long during a battle. Rune though will probably be this kind of powerup. A probable rune is a powerup that buffs the HP of an axie during the battle.
Grouping Charms
Judging by the design, I speculated on these charms and grouped them as the following:
“Leaf Charms” - Based on the charm menu leak above, the first one gives 1 Leaf. So the second one probably upgrades it and gives like 2 Leafs.
“Retain Charms” - Because these charms are related to memory, their effect is probably related to retain. You’ll probably be able to retain some cards during the battle using these charms.
“Backdoor Charms” - Based on the charm menu leak above, the first one allows you to target the furthest enemy.
Note how the icon symbolizes this effect. First, a stamp is used to send a letter to someone. Second, the sun symbolizes something that’s far away. So a stamp with a sun image could symbolize sending the attack of your axie to the furthest part of the battlefield.
The second one is probably using this symbolization too. But since it uses a rocket instead of the sun, the target system could probably be (1) more mobile or (2) target nearer enemies. I’m imagining similar to the backdoor effect of (1) Perch card - target axie with lowest HP or (2) Gerbil card - target second-frontmost enemy.
“Gain Mask Charms” - Based on the charm menu leak above, we know that the second mask gains 1 Rage. Since the first one is also a mask, then its effect is probably gaining something too. And since it looks like a chameleon, it probably gains 1 Stealth.
“Bottle Charms” - Based on the word max on it and the fact that they resemble energy drinks, these charms seem to boost a particular effect. In particular, the first one contains an image resembling a beast and a 20% text. Since beasts are associated with rage, this charm probably boosts the rage of the target by 20%.
Charm Accessibility
Since all axies have the same stat, one way for axie classes to make an impact is through the accessibility of charms. Take note of the number just below the charm class icon in the charm menu image leak below:
This number probably represents the number of parts of that type that is required to use the charm.
Also, take note of the class selection on the right-hand side of the charm menu image leak. It seems to serve as a filter for charm classes. But it doesn’t.
This might be just an error though since we have seen an error on this image leak previously. But if it’s not, then it would tell a whole different story about charm accessibility.
Debuffs
So far, here are the list of debuffs:
Bleed
Stun
Fear
Weak
Doubt
Poison
Hex
Vulnerable
Sleep
Silence
Death Mark
Stun
Taunt - Not sure if this is a debuff. But aroma, which might be a similar effect, is a debuff in V2. So I just included it here.
Buffs
Not sure how to categorize the following. But since they indicate positive effects to the holder, I put them in the buff section.
Damage Boost
Cleanser
Feather
Rage
Stealth
Bubble
Leaf
Speculation for debuff and buffs will be in part 2.
PART 2 Preview:
Speculation on debuffs
Speculation on buffs
Speculation on execution of rage
Changes in Playing Style
Combo Speculations