Tales of full-priced games going free-to-play are plentiful these days - and often an indication that those games aren't doing too well. So when a game goes the other way, moving from free-to-play to a "premium" model, this is likely to raise a few eyebrows. However, in the case of strategic card game Faeria, this uncommon move makes a lot of sense.

You see, the move away from free-to-play is supposed to level the playing field. No more "pay to win" shenanigans, as booster packs full of cards aren't exclusively tied to costly microtransactions anymore. This way, the game's balance isn't skewed in favor of the players with the deepest pockets. And that's a good thing, as Faeria really deserves a well-balanced multiplayer part.
The basics of Faeria's gameplay are similar to well-known card games such as Hearthstone. You summon your units, each of which has a health and attack rating and maybe some extra traits, and then those little creatures trade blows on the battlefield. However, this playing space isn't just a flat surface where positioning doesn't matter. Instead, both players build the battlefield, creating paths, and taking over resource-producing nodes.

This allows for several ways of reaching your opponent - you can build a straight pathway and try to overwhelm them with weaker units, or you branch out, take over some nodes, and build up a sizeable army instead. Also, dumping a strong unit in front of your opponent's doorstep while ...