---
key: mechanic/deck-building--family-lifecycle
type: mechanic
id: deck-building--family-lifecycle
lang: en
title: Card removal and lifespan
summary: >-
A card can leave play for a turn, a combat or the entire run. Removing it
changes the frequency of useful draws and the cost of future choices.
updatedAt: '2026-10-21'
status: active
url: >-
https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/deck-building--family-lifecycle/
jsonUrl: >-
https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/deck-building--family-lifecycle.json
markdownUrl: >-
https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/deck-building--family-lifecycle.md
aliases:
- Removing cards
tags:
- Deck building
- Core rules
sourceIds:
- source-078803ab9784c9da
- source-7f09c8a736762f4f
sources:
- id: source-078803ab9784c9da
title: Star Realms FAQ
url: 'https://www.starrealms.com/faq'
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-lifecycle
title: Deck building
url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/deck-building/#family-lifecycle'
categoryIds:
- section-1
supersededBy: []
attributes:
preview:
updatedAt: '2026-10-21'
title: Removing cards
description: >-
A card can leave play for a turn, a combat or the entire run. Removing it
changes the frequency of useful draws and the cost of future choices.
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: The shop offers to remove a card
alt: >-
Slay the Spire: a paid Card Removal Service appears underneath the cards
for sale.
markers:
- x: 82
'y': 75
label: The service removes a chosen card from the deck
tips:
- 'Distinguish discard, temporary exclusion and permanent removal.'
- Show how the deck’s size and contents will change.
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
---
# Card removal and lifespan
id: deck-building--family-lifecycle
type: mechanic
key: mechanic/deck-building--family-lifecycle
lang: en
status: active
url: https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/deck-building--family-lifecycle/
A card can leave play for a turn, a combat or the entire run. Removing it changes the frequency of useful draws and the cost of future choices.
## At a glance
[Slay the Spire](https://www.megacrit.com/press-kits/slay-the-spire/) · © Mega Crit. All rights reserved.
1. The service removes a chosen card from the deck
- Distinguish discard, temporary exclusion and permanent removal.
- Show how the deck’s size and contents will change.
- [Slay the Spire](https://www.megacrit.com/press-kits/slay-the-spire/)
## How it works
For how long the card disappears and from which zone it can be removed.
## Variants
### Variants and applications
- Trash / remove. Rule: The card leaves the deck until the end of the game or run.
- Zone-limited removal. Rule: Clearance is only available for hand, discard, deck or played cards, which changes the cost and decision point.
- Self-trash. Rule: The card removes itself after being used or for additional benefit.
- Exhaust. Rule: A card goes out of normal circulation until the end of the current encounter, unless another rule returns it first.
- Exile / set aside. Rule: The card is set aside separately and returned by event, timer or special action.
- Ethereal pattern. Rule: A card is either temporarily or permanently excluded if the player has not used it at the given moment.
- Charges. Rule: A card has a finite supply of uses; after it is exhausted, it disappears or stops working.
- Durability. Rule: Use degrades the card or creates the risk of losing it; the player decides when to spend her resource.
- Return to supply. Rule: The card leaves the personal deck and becomes available for purchase again according to the rules of the general market.
- Mass removal. Rule: One effect removes several cards, all copies of the selected card, or an entire category.
- Unremovable cards. Rule: Some cards are protected from deletion or require a special cleaning method.
- Sell. Rule: A player removes a card from his possession, receiving money or another resource.
## 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.
- [Star Realms FAQ](https://www.starrealms.com/faq) (id: source-078803ab9784c9da)
- [Slay the Spire](https://www.megacrit.com/press-kits/slay-the-spire/) (id: source-7f09c8a736762f4f)
CC-BY-4.0 · gamemechanics.pro contributors