Card Builder

Name

Description

Item

Handicap

Initiative

Action

Action value

Action sign

Modifier

Modifier value

Modifier sign

Defense value

Movement value

Background (1192×1664)

Custom emoji

Hero Stats

Attack

Defense

Initiative

Movement

Formatting rules

**bold** - use this for important info such as time conditions
~italic - use this for notes at the bottom (only works at the start of the line)
>>List option - use this after "Choose one:" or similar conditions (only works at the start of the line)
>option continuation - use this after a >>List option to avoid creating an extra bullet (only works at the start of the line)
--- - horizontal line - use this to split options where no choice is provided (only works at the start of the line)
::emoji_name:: - insert an emoji (add custom emoji via the form above or use default ones listed below)

Default emoji

::area_blue:: ::area_gold:: ::area_green:: ::area_purple:: ::area_red:: ::area_silver:: ::attack_blue:: ::attack_gold:: ::attack_green:: ::attack_red:: ::attack_silver:: ::defense_blue:: ::defense_gold:: ::defense_green:: ::defense_red:: ::defense_silver:: ::defense_skill_blue:: ::defense_skill_gold:: ::defense_skill_green:: ::defense_skill_red:: ::defense_skill_silver:: ::initiative:: ::life_counters:: ::marker_bounty:: ::marker_poison:: ::movement_blue:: ::movement_gold:: ::movement_green:: ::movement_red:: ::movement_silver:: ::range_blue:: ::range_gold:: ::range_green:: ::range_purple:: ::range_red:: ::range_silver:: ::skill_blue:: ::skill_gold:: ::skill_green:: ::skill_red:: ::skill_silver:: ::tiebreaker_blue:: ::tiebreaker_orange:: ::token_magma:: ::token_smoke_bomb:: ::token_blast:: ::token_dud:: ::token_grenade:: ::token_illusion:: ::token_ice:: ::token_totem:: ::token_barrier:: ::token_tree::

Guidelines

General recommendations [source]

Keep it simple. While it's tempting to fit a bunch of concepts into a character, this rarely flies without some practice. Start small and build up.
The perfect challenge for your first character would be to design a complexity 1 hero.
Break the rules when there is a strong reason to break the rules. Don't break the rules purely in pursuit of making as unique mechanism as possible. It needs to be coherent with the rest of the game.
Try to minimize overlaps. Check if similar effects already exist in the game and avoid copying them 1:1. This is especially true for gold and silver effects.
Find the theme. Every card should resonate with the rest. Both mechanism-wise and theme-wise.
Know how well your character is at each of the 4 roles (Brawler/Initiator/Pusher/Support etc.) and design cards that support that vision.
It should be possible to build a character to perform several different roles but not all of them, nor be locked in just one.
Try to not make the two branches in the same slot too similar. Otherwise the hero will feel one-dimensional.
Keep wording as short as possible. Character should not have 3 lines of text on every card. If you have several cards with lots of text, balance it with the others that don't. Ideally on the same color/tier slot.
Minimize the use of tokens and markers.
Miniminze the use of pure defense cards.
Do not overload the character with active effects.

Balancing rules and restrictions [source]

Primary restriction - no character should be able to defeat 2 minions on round 1 on their own (this does not include major screw-ups or multi-character combos).
No double attacks directed at minions until Tier III.
Default range for a gold ranged attack is 1. Range 2 requires it to be situational, or both reds to be melee. Range 3 requires it to have severe restriction.
No true stuns (complete skip turns effects or equivalents)
Maximum possible coin gain at Tier II = 6 and at Tier III = 8. Average gold income should be around 3 coins per round.
Maximum possible coin gain at Round 1 = 2. (without other hero's assistance).
Potential minimum coin income at Tier I is 4
Card text must fit into the existing text box with existing text font and size.
Silver, Gold, Ultimate and Tier I cards can fit 8 lines of text max. All other cards - 7 lines of text max. These are lines of text, not full sentences. If you are afraid that your wording is too long - it probably is.

Card overview

Defense, initiative and movement values of each hero in GoA II depend on their corresponding stats. Two heroes with the same movement stat will generally have the same movement on all of their respective cards.
Gold card - Highest initiative, lowest defense, lowest movement, a low-damage attack with a twist or (for some higher-complexity heroes) a skill that provides an option to discard a card or defeat a minion. The Gold card is usually used to land a hit before the enemy can escape, or dodge such a hit. The Gold card doesn't receive any direct upgrades throughout the game and doesn't have an alternative. It is your hero's signature attack.
Silver card - Any initiative, low defense, no movement, a skill or (for some higher-complexity heroes) a defense/skill that can do a lot in some situations and nothing in others, due to its conditional nature and no secondary movement. Movement is sometimes present in some form but is always conditional. The Silver cards almost always require some setup in order to bring any value, but when this happens, they can change the situation drastically. The Silver card doesn't receive any direct upgrades throughout the game and doesn't have an alternative. It is you hero's signature skill.
Blue card - High initiative, high defense, high movement, a skill, a movement, or a defense. The Blue card is often used for movement, be it evading the red attack or just a reposition. It can also restrict enemies' actions, discard a card, place tokens or apply an effect.
Red card - Medium initiative, highest defense, highest movement, a high-damage attack, the main way to strike through enemies' defenses. The easier it is to land a hit with an attack the weaker the damage is. Extra range is usually compensated by lower defense value.
Green card - Lowest initiative, medium defense or a block, medium movement, a skill, a movement, or a block that acts as a control tool, due to its low initiative, allowing you to react to the situation: run away from a potential attack, set up an attack, heal or prepare for the next turn in other ways.
Initiative, attack and defense on blue, red and green cards increases by 1 either on level II or on level III (same level for both variants).