How to Change Card Designs With Rules and Variants
Make cards look different based on their data without copying templates. Rules change a property when a condition is true; variants give a card type its own layout. Here's when to use each, and how.
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Real decks aren't one layout. Fire cards have a red frame, spells have no power box, and heroes need room for four stats. You could copy the template for each, but then every later change has to be made several times.
Decklab AI has two tools for this, both in the Logic group of Design mode's left panel:
- Rules change a few properties when a card's data says so: "when Faction is Ember, make the frame red".
- Variants are named versions of the template with their own changes, picked by a column: a "Hero" variant with a stat panel the others don't have.
Use rules for small, data-driven differences. Use variants when a type of card needs a noticeably different layout.
Rules
Step 1: Open the Rules panel
Open the deck in Design and choose Logic › Rules.
Step 2: Add a rule
Choose Add a rule. A rule has two parts.
The condition (When). Pick a Column, a Condition and a Value: Faction is Ember, Cost is more than 5, Text is empty. Choose And… to add more conditions; all of them must be true.
The action. Pick an Action (Show, Hide, or set a property), an Element (or use Pick on the card to click it on the canvas) and, to set one, the Property and its value: hide the power box, make the frame's fill red, change the title's text colour.
The rule reads as a sentence in the list: "When Faction is Ember → …".
Step 3: Check which cards it applies to
Each rule shows Applies to N cards. Choose it to filter Preview to those cards. Step through a few with the row previewer in the canvas footer to check them.
Managing rules
- Later rules win when two rules set the same property. Drag rules to reorder them.
- Turn a rule off without deleting it with its on/off switch.
- Duplicate a rule to make a similar one for another value.
- If a rule refers to a column or element you've deleted, it's kept and flagged, so you can fix it.
Variants
Step 1: Have a choice column
Variants are picked per card by a choice column, such as Type or Class. If you don't have one, add a column in Data and set its type to Choice.
Step 2: Open the Variants panel
In Design, choose Logic › Variants, and under Pick variants by column choose your choice column.
Step 3: Add a variant
Choose Add variant and name it to match one of the column's options ("Hero"). Variant names and the column's options are kept in step.
Step 4: Edit the variant
Select the variant to edit it. A banner and a ring around the canvas show you're in variant mode. Every change you make (moving the title, hiding the art, recolouring the frame) is saved as an override for that variant only. Cards of other types are untouched.
Each variant lists how many overrides it has. Choose Reset override on a property to put it back to the main template's.
Step 5: Leave variant mode
Choose Done. Changes you make to the main template now still reach every variant, except where a variant overrides them.
Rules or variants?
| You want… | Use |
|---|---|
| A colour, icon or visibility that depends on data | Rules |
| A small tweak for cards matching a condition | Rules |
| A card type with its own arrangement of elements | Variants |
| Several types sharing most of a layout | Variants, plus rules for the small stuff |
Related guides
To see the template-plus-data idea in its simplest form, try the free quick card maker:
Quick card maker
Make a deck of printable cards from a spreadsheet: pick a starter template, paste or import a CSV, tweak the design, and download a print-and-play PDF or a PNG of each card. Free, in your browser, with no sign-up.