---
key: mechanic/deck-building--family-economy
type: mechanic
id: deck-building--family-economy
lang: en
title: Acquisition costs and economy
summary: >-
Buying, removing and otherwise changing cards compete for a shared resource.
The player weighs a card’s benefit against the alternatives it costs.
updatedAt: '2026-10-21'
status: active
url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/deck-building--family-economy/'
jsonUrl: >-
https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/deck-building--family-economy.json
markdownUrl: >-
https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/deck-building--family-economy.md
aliases:
- The cost of changing a deck
tags:
- Deck building
- Core rules
sourceIds:
- source-913c57cc3395f4be
- source-7f09c8a736762f4f
sources:
- id: source-913c57cc3395f4be
title: Ascension · Stone Blade rules
url: 'https://stoneblade.com/ascension/how-to-play/'
verifiedAt: null
- id: source-7f09c8a736762f4f
title: Slay the Spire
url: 'https://www.megacrit.com/press-kits/slay-the-spire/'
verifiedAt: null
relations: []
placements:
- catalogId: deck-building
id: family-economy
title: Deck building
url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/deck-building/#family-economy'
categoryIds:
- section-1
supersededBy: []
attributes:
preview:
updatedAt: '2026-10-21'
title: The cost of changing a deck
description: >-
Buying, removing and otherwise changing cards compete for a shared
resource. The player weighs a card’s benefit against the alternatives it
costs.
image:
src: images/mechanics/slay-the-spire-shop.webp
width: 1440
height: 810
game: Slay the Spire
sourceUrl: 'https://www.megacrit.com/press-kits/slay-the-spire/'
originalUrl: 'https://www.megacrit.com/images/ss4.jpg'
credit: Mega Crit
rights: © Mega Crit. All rights reserved.
caption: Purchases and removal use the same gold
alt: >-
Slay the Spire: a shop offers cards, relics, potions and a paid
card-removal service.
markers:
- x: 31
'y': 3
label: The gold balance limits spending
- x: 82
'y': 75
label: Removing a card also costs gold
tips:
- Show the complete price before confirming a change.
- Balance the price against alternatives available at the same moment.
examples:
- title: Slay the Spire
url: 'https://www.megacrit.com/press-kits/slay-the-spire/'
endsAt: null
provenance: >-
Original editorial design catalog consolidated from project discussions on
2026-10-20. Complete discussion item lists and contextual limitations are
preserved; linked primary sources support specific techniques, not the entire
classification. English translation was prepared with machine assistance and
editorial review.
license: CC-BY-4.0
codeLicense: MIT
attribution: gamemechanics.pro contributors
catalogKey: catalog/deck-building
---
# Acquisition costs and economy
id: deck-building--family-economy
type: mechanic
key: mechanic/deck-building--family-economy
lang: en
status: active
url: https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/deck-building--family-economy/
Buying, removing and otherwise changing cards compete for a shared resource. The player weighs a card’s benefit against the alternatives it costs.
## At a glance
[Slay the Spire](https://www.megacrit.com/press-kits/slay-the-spire/) · © Mega Crit. All rights reserved.
1. The gold balance limits spending
2. Removing a card also costs gold
- Show the complete price before confirming a change.
- Balance the price against alternatives available at the same moment.
- [Slay the Spire](https://www.megacrit.com/press-kits/slay-the-spire/)
## How it works
What the player pays to change the deck and what competes with this expense.
## Variants
### Variants and applications
- Turn currency. Rule: Resource for purchases is produced by cards and usually expires at the end of the turn.
- Persistent currency. Rule: Money is saved between turns or battles, allowing you to save for rare purchases.
- Multiple currencies. Rule: Different cards or actions require different resources, limiting the interchangeability of purchases.
- Buy limit. Rule: Even with sufficient resources, the player is limited to the number of purchases or receipts per turn.
- Cost modifiers. Rule: Effects change the cost of the selected card, card category, or all subsequent purchases.
- Debt. Rule: The player receives the advantage now and must pay it later or face restrictions before redemption.
- Risk payment. Rule: Obtaining or upgrading a card requires health, increased threat, or accepting another dangerous condition.
- Exchange. Rule: To get a new card you need to give away, remove or replace the existing one.
- Service economy. Rule: Removing, copying, and modifying cards compete for resources with purchasing new cards.
- Opportunity cost. Rule: The rules offer mutually exclusive choices, such as upgrading a card, restoring health, or receiving another reward.
## Context and limits
Design taxonomy of basic rules and options, including card operations and external systems. The number of entries is not a generally accepted classification of independent mechanics.
## Connected materials
## Sources and provenance
Original editorial design catalog consolidated from project discussions on 2026-10-20. Complete discussion item lists and contextual limitations are preserved; linked primary sources support specific techniques, not the entire classification. English translation was prepared with machine assistance and editorial review.
- [Ascension · Stone Blade rules](https://stoneblade.com/ascension/how-to-play/) (id: source-913c57cc3395f4be)
- [Slay the Spire](https://www.megacrit.com/press-kits/slay-the-spire/) (id: source-7f09c8a736762f4f)
CC-BY-4.0 · gamemechanics.pro contributors