New Fighter Reveal! Luna Sentinel, Spiel Essen Showcase & Pledge Manager Extension
6 months ago
– Tue, Sep 23, 2025 at 09:11:24 PM
Hey Challengers,
We’re back with another fighter reveal, an upcoming event appearance, and some important news about the Pledge Manager. Let’s jump in!
Fighter Preview - Luna Sentinel
Here comes the fighter who serves justice in the name of the moon: Luna Sentinel.
Luna Sentinel’s playstyle revolves around Moon Power, a unique mechanic that designates the top card of your Meter Bar as your Moon Power card. As you burn through your Meter, the Moon Power card constantly changes, creating dynamic gameplay windows for bonus effects.
On its own, the Moon Power mechanic isn’t special. But many of Luna’s moves gain bonus effects when they align with the moon. For example:
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To the Moon is an anti-air kick that can be returned to your Hand when it reaches the Moon Power position, allowing you to recycle and spam.
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Stellar Rush makes things more flexible by moving cards around in your Meter Bar. It can easily trigger Moon Powers by swapping the right card into the Moon Power position.
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Prism Mirage makes Wake-Up Games extra interesting, since it becomes an exact copy of your current Moon Power card. This makes Luna’s wake-up plan especially flexible and hard to predict.
If you like adaptable strategies and elegant setup play, Luna Sentinel is a force to be reckoned with.
Besides the gameplay, she also received a full glow-up with completely redrawn artwork.
What do you think of her new style?
Upcoming Event - Spiel Essen Showcase
Coming up, Fight Deck will be showcased at Spiel Essen from Thu, Oct 23 – Sun, Oct 26, 2025, presented by Dina Said So Studio!
We’ll be showing the full Deluxe version of the game, including:
- All 8 fighter decks (physical copy)
- All 8 player-2 decks with palette swaps.
- Improved Fighter Information Sheets & Utility Information Sheet.
- Deluxe enhanced version of the rulebook.
- Playmat prototype.
The Round Indicator tokens will not be included in the box this time, as they take much longer time to prototype.
If you're attending, come say hi and jump into a match with us! Looking forward to connecting with you at the event!
Pledge Manager Extension
Thanks to all the backers who have already completed their Pledge Manager surveys and locked in their orders!
That said, around 18% of backers still haven’t submitted their survey. Please remember that we cannot ship your rewards until your survey is completed. If you’ve lost your survey email, you can retrieve it using this self-serve link.
To give everyone enough time, we’ve extended the Pledge Manager deadline from October 16 to November 30. If you haven’t filled yours out yet, now’s the time!
Thanks as always for the incredible support. We’re working hard behind the scenes and will continue sharing fighter reveals, production updates, and more in the upcoming months.
- Hanz
Cypher Blaze, Player-2 Palette Swap, Pax West
8 months ago
– Thu, Aug 14, 2025 at 09:31:14 AM
Hey Challengers,
We’ve got a update today with a new fighter spotlight, alternate color reveals, and some new convention presence. Let's dive in:
Fighter Preview - Cypher Blaze
Here comes the fighter who breaks beats and bends the rules: Cypher Blaze
Cypher Blaze is all about speed, rhythm, and justice on her own terms.
She specializes in fast basic moves with variable stances. However, many of her quickest attacks carry Vulnerable Stance, meaning they’ll lose in a clash against an opponent using the same stance. To stay ahead, you’ll need to constantly mix up your positioning and keep your opponent guessing.
Her kit rewards flow and precision. If you line up her cards right, you’ll trigger Cypher Flow and Cypher Refuel constantly, drawing more cards and cycling power moves straight to your hand.
And you know it's time to Hype It Up when she lands a combo. With Hype It Up, every copy of Cypher Spinner comes back from the Burn Pile. Thanks to Inertia, Cypher Spinner can copy Cypher Breaker’s combo reset, letting you chain all the Cypher Spinners and stack up serious damage (Inertia has been updated to copy from all move types, not just super moves.).
Play fast. Play loud. Go big.
Player-2 Palette Swap
We are in progress to implement alt color swaps for every fighter! Here is a quick preview:
Promised as part of the stretch goals, these palette swaps bring more flair to your matches and let you pick your favorite look for Player 2. No gameplay changes, just style.
Pax West - We are in the Wild
PAX West is coming up in Seattle from August 30 to September 2!
While we won’t have a booth this time, Fight Deck will still be making an appearance. Our traveling representative will be roaming the show floor with a demo copy of the game. If you spot them, feel free to say hi and challenge them to a match (or two). It’s a great chance to see the game in action and get some exclusive hands-on time.
That’s all for now. Hope you all have an amazing rest of the summer!
- Hanz
Digital Demo, Sumo Sensei Preview, Advanced Gameplay
9 months ago
– Fri, Jul 11, 2025 at 07:25:47 PM
Hi challengers!
We’ve got a packed update for you today, so let’s jump right in.
Digital Demo
Thanks to the awesome work of our community member @DT, you can now play the digital demo of Fight Deck online! No installs, no Tabletop Simulator needed — just head to https://fightmenow.azurewebsites.net and jump straight into the action.
You can play against the AI to learn the game or jump into PVP by creating or joining a room. All three preview decks are ready to go: Dragon Fighter, Covenant Supreme, and Doom Vicar. Just click the link and start playing!
Fighter Preview - Sumo Sensei
Time to meet the indomitable wall of discipline and muscle: Sumo Sensei!
He specializes in powerful throw moves and introduces a new Letter Speed type: I, short for i-frame. This makes his move invulnerable unless the opponent hits with a matching hitbox.
Some of his attacks require burning extra cards from your hand, but with the right timing, Clutch Focus lets you recover quickly and stay in control.
What do you think of the i-frame mechanic? Could Sumo Sensei be your main?
Advanced Gameplay - Distance, Range, & Move Types
We’re always looking for fresh ways to evolve Fight Deck’s gameplay and capture that competitive fighting game energy. This new Distance, Range, and Move Types mechanic builds on the standard ruleset, offering a more strategic and immersive experience for advanced players.
In this advanced mechanic, a Distance Counter tracks the space between fighters. Players can burn meter cards to adjust the Distance Counter, and fighting moves can only be played if the current Distance value is within their Range.
Each move also features a Move Type. These tags provide additional special effects on top of the standard Dynamic Effects. For example, Ranged moves gain Speed the farther you are from your opponent, while Close moves double their Speed when you're right next to your opponent.
This mechanic will be used in Neutral Rounds only to avoid overcomplicating the rest of the gameplay. It is not part of the standard ruleset, so new players don’t need to learn it as part of the core experience.
The mechanic is still experimental and currently going through playtests. More information will be shared in future updates.
Luna Sentinel Visual Update
A new look is on the horizon for Luna Sentinel! Our magical fighter is getting a visual glow-up to better reflect her cosmic energy and heroic charm. This update brings her closer to the aesthetic she deserves: graceful, fierce, and ready to defend the realm under moonlight.
That’s all for now!
We hope you give the digital demo a try and let us know how you would improve it. Also, feel free to share your thoughts on Sumo Sensei's fighter kit and the advanced Distance/Range mechanic. Always happy to hear from you!
- Hanz
Pledge Manager Live, Doom Vicar Unleashed, Tournament Sign-Ups, and UKGE
10 months ago
– Thu, May 29, 2025 at 05:23:47 PM
Hi Challengers,
We’ve got a packed update today with some big news. Let’s get right to it:
Pledge Manager is Live
After resolving some initial technical issues, the pledge manager is now fully online. Everyone should now be seeing the correct shipping rates, which closely match the estimates from the Kickstarter campaign.
If you still haven’t received your pledge manager email, or continue to see incorrect shipping rates, please DM me or email [email protected] and we’ll sort it out quickly.
Doom Vicar Available on Tabletop Simulator
Doom Vicar is now fully playable in Fight Deck's Tabletop Simulator mod!
He’s a relentless, heavy-hitting fighter who thrives when stocked up on meter. With access to high-damage combos, one mistake could mean facing the full force of his massive axe.
Try him out now and see why he’s not to be taken lightly.
King of the Dragon Gauntlet Tournament
Put together by our lovely backer Sompursone, the first Fight Deck tournament is officially open for registration!
It’s free to enter and comes with a real prize pool:
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1st place: $50 gift card (platform of your choice)
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2nd place: $20 gift card (platform of your choice)
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3rd place: $5 Steam gift card
It will take place at 2 PM EST on Saturday, June 21st. All games will be played via Fight Deck's Tabletop Simulator mod and communicate through Fight Deck's Discord channel.
We’re not expecting a massive turnout, so if you sign up, you just might take home a prize!
Fight Deck at UK Games Expo
Fight Deck is currently being presented by Dina Said So studio at UK Game Expo!
If you're attending UKGE, stop by Booth 3-962 and you will see Fight Deck is live and on display!
Come say hi, check out the game in person, and chat with the team. We'd love to meet you!
As always, thank you for your continued support. Your enthusiasm and feedback have brought Fight Deck to life and pushed it further than we ever imagined.
If you have any feedback or just want to hang out with the community, join us on Discord!
- Hanz
Pledge Manager, Tariffs, & Visual Updates
11 months ago
– Sat, May 03, 2025 at 10:38:43 AM
Hi Challengers,
It’s been a while, but we’ve been hard at work behind the scenes. Here’s the latest on Fight Deck’s progress, including some important decisions and exciting upgrades.
Pledge Manager Almost Ready
We're happy to announce that the Pledge Manager is set up and nearly ready to launch! A small group of backers has already received invitation links to complete their orders—this helps us identify and fix any major issues before the full rollout. Once we confirm everything is working smoothly with Back Office (our fulfillment partner) and BackerKit (our Pledge Manager platform), we'll open access to all backers early next week.
For Prelaunch VIPs: Your exclusive bonus content or shipping credit will be added manually. This may take a little extra time, but don’t worry—we won’t lock in your order until you’ve confirmed your VIP rewards are properly applied. Don't worry if you do not see your bonus skin pack or shipping discount right away.
Our Response to US Tariffs
One of the major factors delaying our Pledge Manager setup was the recent US tariff changes. This has caused quite a stir in the Kickstarter community, with many projects passing these additional costs on to backers.
After careful consideration, we've made the decision to absorb these tariff costs ourselves - as long as there are no further percentage increases. In another word, we will not pass any additional tariff-related costs to our backers for the time being. We envision Fight Deck becoming a flagship series for Studio Octane Elevé, and we believe absorbing these costs now will lead to greater long-term success for everyone involved.
That said, given the ongoing volatility of tariff policies, we'll continue monitoring the situation closely and will update you if any changes to this policy become necessary.
Full Visual Overhaul
We've been busy behind the scenes this past month giving Fight Deck a complete visual makeover! Nearly all artistic elements have been updated to ensure better branding consistency. Check out some of the improvements:
We're currently applying these new visuals to the original card files, which has temporarily delayed the Tabletop Simulator mod update. However, we're aiming to release the updated mod within the next week.
What do you think of these changes? We'd love to hear your thoughts—comment below or DM us with your feedback!
Personal Update
As mentioned previously, I've spent the past few weeks abroad reuniting with family. While this did cause some workflow disruptions (and fewer updates than I'd have liked), I'm happy to share that I'll be returning to Montreal on May 10th and diving back into the project at full capacity.
What's Next?
- Pledge Manager launches for all backers next week
- Tabletop Simulator mod update arriving soon
- More behind-the-scenes progress as we push toward production
- An experimental mini-tournament? (more to be revealed)
We're incredibly grateful for your continued support and patience. Fight Deck wouldn't be possible without this amazing community. As always, feel free to reach out with any questions!
- Hanz
