Demon Deck Builder

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

Demon Deck Builder

Every 10 years, on Drop Night, the gods grant cards to a lucky few. Whoever becomes a deckbearer has access to monsters, magic, enchanted buildings, and even companions.

Everyone wants to be lucky.

Wolfe is the top enforcer of the Grimm Family Mafia, and he’s never been particularly lucky. But on Drop Night, he receives a deck of cards from the Infernal gods—a deck that, oddly, specializes in hunting other Infernal decks.

As if that wasn’t enough, one of Wolfe’s cards claims he will receive incredible power if he can find the five other cards in theGates of the Underworldset.

But bad luck follows Wolfe like a shadow. It turns out, members of the Grimm Crime Family have at least one of the other cards in theGates of the Underworld.

Wolfe must carefully navigate his loyalty to his crime family, his desire to acquire the power of the rare cards, and his desire to save a mysterious angelic deckbearer who has suddenly come into his life…

What to expect:

Litrpg. A strong focus on character development, both in a story arc sense and in a progression fantasy/leveling sense. A complex card game system that makes the deckbearer a significant part of the competition, a modern noire world in which the existence of magical cards is known and included. An MC striving for redemption. Very high profanity, some traumatizing content, some slice of life.

No harem/no explicit sex scenes.

Information

Status: Cancelled
Year: 2023
Author: Tharsult

Royal Road Stats

Rating: 4.5/ 5.0
Followers: 871
Views: 194,051

Chapters(33 total)

Reviews

No reviews yet. Be the first to share your thoughts!

Community Reviews(10)

jaxobelRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Have you ever wanted to see what the original Card monsters from the Yugioh pilot would've gone without the interruption of producers and directors adapting it into a kid's show? Then look no more, 'cause we are here.
Style: The style is consistent and streamlined as well as cohesive. It doe’s however need proofreading and it would be almost perfect.
Grammar: any errors within the grammar and structure are minor as they don’t disrupt the style. There are mistakes still as I’ve kept up till the latest of the 26th chapter from when I write this.
Story: The story is woven expertly through the application of a concept that few could ever think to put into writing form at such a high standard. Yet the author does it in such a fascinating manner that it leaves one intrigued by the inner workings of the world. Starting in an underground black market-esque city, we are presented with its ruling powers, and our MC’s alignment in this story is shown immediately, making us want to follow him through the world.
Characters: So far MC has been introduced as the badass that he is, scoring high marks that find him graced yet owed. He gains an interesting new fate and possibility, that gets us readers to demand more. The Concepts and how characters use, their specific Path to power is a good refresher to those who watched the original Yugioh as kids, and an even better addition is the mindset that those past kids now get to read an adult-rated version.
Absolute work, very little to comment critically aside from slightly better phrasings and proofreading. But keep doing the good work.
Overall: I can only be biased I was completely off put, by the idea of reading about a card game since I haven't been into any of the recent ones. But the gritty and grimy atmosphere portrayed in that first chapter appealed to my slight bar hopping and partying days so I instantly knew aside from the tags that this would be a Dark Adult read. Up to now on chapter 26 as I update this review the story has
SylverRRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I read some of this story in beta and thoroughly enjoyed it then. It's only gotten better the more the author has worked on it. Interesting system (as expected, dude) with cool lore behind it, complicated characters with conflicted motivations, and bonus fun with magical "companion card" animals along for the ride. Well done, and looking forward to more.
awildtechnoRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Mafia-themed deckbuilder with some noir vibes. The writing and pacing is solid and the deck-based combat has type match up vibes from Pokémon. Should be good and is worth a follow for me for now. I look forward to seeing what direction the new female lead pull s the Mc in.
Auntie May's Little CousinRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I'm gonna go ahead and say this promises a lot.
Now, Demon Deck Builder is set in a world where Gods exist, they are seriously anti-social, and have favorites to whom they gift cards with their names. So far, sounds good right?
But the best part is the premise of the main character, the executive right hand of an honest-to-god Godfather. Who also happens to go by the cool name of Wolfe. That's a nice plus.
And then you have the Don's son's conspiracy to take over the business, and Wolfe caught in the middle that all.
On it's own, with the quality style and intriguing story that makes you sink into it and read everything before you even noticed, that makes for an excellent Gangster story.
And then, there's the fantasy element.
Most fantasy stories, at least those I have read in Royal Road, focus on exploring the world setting and unraveling the mysteries of magic and such. What really makes this story shine is that, instead, it focuses Wolfe and his connection with the mafia, making use of the fantasy element as a way of making the story even more entertainment.
What I'm trying to say is: Demon Deck Builder is not a magical deck building story with Gangster elements like most I have seen before. It is a Gangster story, with magic deck building elements. And that alone is, at least for me, a good reason to give this story five stars and recommend it to everyone that happens upon it.
EclipsedAurora7807Royal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
It’s still quite early on in the story but it sure shows a lot of potential.
First the style:
I’m going to be honest I don’t know much about what ‘style’ is, for a book at least, but I know enough of the basics. The story is quick paced but at the same time spares very little detail. I love the noir and somewhat dark feel the author writes in that really sets this fiction apart from others. Additionally there is very little repetition or useless info dumps - which to me is a massive plus.
Next the story:
It’s still early days so I can’t comment too much but so far I’m enjoying the mixed and intertwined plots of both growing stronger I.e collecting cards and levelling up whilst also performing tasks for the Grimm crime family. The only reason it’s not rated 5-star is that I feel the card system combat could use a bit more explaining. N.b It’s proper explanation happens after the first instance of combat around chapter 6-7 so please read the first 10 chapters before judging.
Grammar:
Almost perfect; just a few missing words or typos that are normally quite quickly corrected.
Finally the characters:
I love the contrast between the main two protagonists and the somewhat ambiguity so far of who is a villain in the story. Most characters feel 3 dimensional in a way that you could definitely see someone acting that way in real life. A few of the characters feel a bit plain acting in a typical trope or cliche of x,y,z but hoping this is because we have yet to seem them fully develop yet.
All in all I would say that the story is definitely worth a read at least for the first 10 chapters because I promise you that you will be hooked by then.
Jaryn FrostwingRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I like the card system in this one a lot. Got to read it as a beta reader. Looking forward to seeing what happens when all those special cards come together. Usually not a big fan of criminal protags but the story was interesting enough here that I kept going anyway lol
JenniferWellsRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Here's a review swap, and it doesn't alter my opinion that this book is really intriguing.
Firstly, let me state that I don't usually read many number-driven litRPGs, so when it comes to the data calculations in the text, I don't have much to say. However, I'm familiar with card game designs as a gamer.
Overall Rating: 5/5, a very well-done card-themed litRPG.
Character-wise:
The MC is a player with a decent collection of cards and skilled combat abilities. He shows loyalty to a local gang leader for certain reasons. Yet, he has a softer, good-hearted side. Later, he encounters the girl and begins teaching her how to play cards. Based on the progress I've read so far, she still has a lot to learn, poor thing!
The characters here are vivid, and their motivations are strong. Well, who wouldn't want to collect the most powerful cards and level up?
Regarding the plot:
The MC's luck seems to be mostly spent on card draws, making him capable in battles but his life a mess. The neighborhood he's in is chaotic, forcing him into many "adventures." He takes in the unfortunate female lead (I assume she is), even though he doesn't want anything to do with her. It seems like a worrying start, but hopefully, their situation will improve over time.
There are many foreshadowed plot points that should be explained later. So far, I don't see any major issues with the plot.
Other aspects:
I haven't noticed any significant issues, and I think this work is overall well-done.
One minor point, the timing of card draws, battles, and leveling isn't always clearly indicated. What I mean is, in the card games I've played, whenever a new segment starts, and it's time to draw cards or level up, there's a sense of excitement for the unknown outcome—a feeling that's hard to put into words. I believe this is something that card novels could enhance, adding a more ritualistic aspect. Of course, this is just my opinion and should be taken as a suggestion. I consider this a style-related matter that
KnightfireRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I like all of the author's fictions. This has an interesting card system where individuals decks are based on patrons who give them starter decks. So far infernal/angelic patrons have been introduced. Lots of depth to explore. MC is a flawed hero type who tries to do good surrounded by shit. Lots of violence/gore but love the story so far. Different from most of the deck building stories I've read before.
Ryantang203Royal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
DISCLOSURE: I beta read for this book (and have seen quite a few non-posted chapters, this review won't contain spoilers however). This review will break down between system and story.
System: First and foremost, this book's system is excellent and will appeal to any fan of card game books. It succeeds in doing a few critical things that will satisfy any fan.
First, the deckbuilding system is intricate, with each player having their own deck and needing to pursue cards of a similar attribute. However, each player also has their own build around companion card that provides in-game (specific synergies with other cards in the deck) and out-of-game (evolution potential when other cards are included in the deck) benefits. This really scratches the deckbuilding itch, and it feels very easy to imagine yourself living in this world and putting together your own deck.
Second, the actual battle system is just as spectacular. (I feel like this really combines the two aspects of deckbuilding, the cards and the actual game, so it's basically a 10/10 card collecting system WITH a 10/10 deckbuilding system...in short, fantastic). The battles are very well thought out, with combat between summons/spells but also the deckbearers themselves, with the main character having a Mafia hitman background that he uses to its full potential. Really love the mix of strategy with raw action.
As for the story, it's also excellent. The characters are all very compelling and while the idea of a Mafia hitman looking for redemption is well explored, the way the magical system--and the way the main character acquires magical powers for the first time--adds a lot of new depth to fans of that trope, as the main character is essentially both reborn in terms of his abilities at the same time he decides to be spiritually reborn so to speak. The side characters feel real, ranging from the old Mafia boss, his various sons, the pure-hearted love interest, the list goes on.
As I mentioned at the start of the
ShirimeRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
TLDR; cyberpunk edgerunners but MC is strong from the jump
It's early days for this story, but I really do enjoy everything the author has done with this story. I think my favorite aspect to the story is the worldbuilding surrounding the deck building and the cards. There are multiple ways to get cards in the world and that fact is built upon in every single chapter, creating built in intrigue and natural conflict. It's fun to think about the possibilities of what may happen with regards to the story and the cards. I don't want to ramble, but I thought that was really fun.
If I had to offer a criticism, I'd say chapter 1 reveals a lot of people that don't all do much. That being said, there are only four chapters out at the time of me writing this so it doesn't seem fair to judge that too harshly.
The prose is fine. It felt a bit storybook-ish in the first chapter, but it smoothed out by the second.
The story gave me real cyberpunk vibes -- the show, not the genre. I didn't mind it, in fact it made the story a lot easier for me to read. The MC, Wolfe, is a strong, high ranking criminal in a world clearly used to a high fair bit of crime if chapter 2's gunfight is any indication.
The literally only grammatical hiccup I found was a wordy run on sentence at the end of chapter 2. Not enough for me personally to take points off.
This was for a review swap, but I'm going to follow the story and keep an eye on it! Good stuff, author!