How to Edit Individual Cards in Decklab AI (Step-by-Step Tutorial)

In Decklab AI, a card has two halves:

• Its data: the words and numbers that make it this card (name, cost, effect). These live in Data mode, one row per card.
• Its design: the layout every card in the deck shares. This lives in Design mode, as a template.

Knowing which half to change is the whole trick. To change one card, edit its row. To change how cards look, edit the template.

Edit one card's words and numbers

Step 1: Open Data mode

Open the deck's tab and choose Data. Each row is a card.

Step 2: Find the card

Use Search in the toolbar (or ⌘F / Ctrl+F) to jump to a cell, or Filter and Sort to narrow the grid.

Step 3: Edit the cell

Double-click a cell, or start typing. The live preview on the right shows the selected card, updating as you type.

• Text cells can name a project variable: type {{$ and pick it from the list, so the card follows if the term is renamed.
• Choice cells pick from a list of options (handy for Type or Faction).
• Quantity cells set how many copies of the card you get.
• Image cells show a thumbnail, with a button to upload or pick an image.

A cell whose value doesn't fit its column gets a red corner. Hover it to see why.

Step 4: Change many cards at once

• Find & replace in the toolbar shows how many matches there are first, then replaces them as one undo step.
• Paste a block of cells from a spreadsheet over the grid.
• Right-click rows to insert, duplicate or delete them.

Change how every card looks

Step 1: Open Design mode

Choose Design. The canvas shows the template, filled with one row's data. The row previewer at the bottom of the canvas (◀ Row 12 of 40 ▶) picks which card you're looking at; ← and → step through cards when nothing is selected.

Step 2: Edit the layout

• Click an element to select it. The toolbar above the canvas shows its main settings; More opens the full properties.
• Drag to move, and use the handles to resize. Smart guides help you align things.
• Add new elements from Insert in the panel on the left: Elements (shapes and images), Text, Fields and Icons.
• Reorder, hide, lock or rename elements in Layers.

Everything is measured in real millimetres. Turn on Bleed and Safe zone in the canvas footer to see where the card is cut and where text is safe.

Step 3: Connect elements to your data

An element shows the same thing on every card until you connect it to a column:

• Drag a column from Fields onto the card to add an element that shows it.
• Or select an element and use the link button beside a property to connect it to a column. Its fixed value becomes the fallback.
• In a text box, type {{ to insert a column or variable inline: "Costs {{Cost}} gold".

Show field names in the row previewer swaps the values for column names, to check what goes where.

Step 4: Front and back

Switch between Front and Back in the canvas footer. A back can be one design for the whole deck, or change by data like the front.

When one card needs to look different

Don't edit the template for one card. Instead:

• Use Rules to change how cards look based on their data ("when Type is Spell, hide the power box").
• Use Variants when a type of card needs its own layout.

Both are in the Logic group of the left panel. See How to Change Card Designs With Rules and Variants.

Undo anything

Every change is a step you can undo (⌘Z / Ctrl+Z) and redo. For bigger experiments, save a snapshot first. See How to Keep Your Work Safe With Snapshots and Backups.

Need icons for your cards?

Decklab AI has a built-in icon library in Insert › Icons. You can also browse and download the same icons with the free icon browser:

Game icon browser

Search over 4,000 free game icons from game-icons.net, recolour them, put them on a background and download an SVG or a PNG up to 2048 px, with the credit the license asks for ready to copy. Free, in your browser, with no sign-up.