Gothic added a third group of cards to constructed Sorcery decks: the Collection. It can contain up to 10 selected cards outside your Spellbook and Atlas. You do not draw from it. Specific effects let you cast or transform into cards from it while the game is in progress.
Calling it a sideboard is useful only as a starting point. A traditional sideboard changes a deck between games. Sorcery’s Collection is accessed during its best-of-one game, and it has no value unless cards in play can reach it.
The three parts of a constructed deck
Under the Gothic-era constructed rules, a deck is organised into:
| Zone | Minimum or limit | What it holds |
|---|---|---|
| Spellbook | At least 60 cards | Minions, magics, auras, artifacts, and other spells |
| Atlas | At least 30 cards | Sites used to build the realm |
| Collection | Up to 10 cards | Targets and answers accessed by specific effects |
Your Avatar is separate from those three groups. Normal rarity copy limits still matter when building the playable deck; for sanctioned play, verify the current rulebook and event policy before submitting a list.
Why it is an active sideboard
In a multi-game match, a normal sideboard lets a player exchange cards after learning what the opponent is doing. Sorcery matches are normally one game, so that model does not transfer cleanly.
The Collection brings the adjustment inside the game. A card such as Toolbox can turn into the answer the situation requires, provided that answer is in the Collection, has the right rarity, and can still be cast.
This structure has two important consequences:
- Access must be built into the main deck. Ten strong Collection cards do nothing if no Spellbook or Atlas card refers to the zone.
- Every slot has an opportunity cost. Named targets, broad answers, and combo pieces compete for the same limited space.
Two ways Gothic cards use the Collection
Named targets
Some effects specify the kind or name of card they expect to find.
Troubled Town can let its controller cast a Townsfolk from the Collection to that Site. Eltham Townsfolk is the straightforward target shown in the publisher’s announcement.
Gilman House transforms a minion at the Site into Horrible Hybrids from the Collection when its threshold condition is met.
These cards create reserved slots. If Troubled Town is in the Atlas but no eligible Townsfolk is in the Collection, part of the Site’s text is effectively blank. If the deck plans to use Gilman House more than once, one copy of the target may not be enough.
Open-ended tools
Other cards provide flexible access within a rarity band.
Toolbox can be sacrificed so its bearer may cast an Ordinary spell from the Collection. This turns one main-deck card into a choice among several inexpensive, specialised answers.
Silver Bullet performs a similar job for Exceptional spells. The name describes the deckbuilding purpose: hold a narrow answer outside the Spellbook and access it only when the matchup calls for it.
The rarity restriction is central, not incidental. An Elite spell cannot be found by either of these relics. When planning the Collection, start with the access card and work outward to eligible targets.
Compare access effects
| Access card | What it can reach | Check before choosing a target |
|---|---|---|
| Troubled Town | A Townsfolk, such as Eltham Townsfolk | The target is in the Collection and the Site’s effect can be used |
| Gilman House | Horrible Hybrids through its transformation effect | The effect’s threshold and target requirements |
| Toolbox | Ordinary spells | The bearer can cast the selected spell and meet its requirements |
| Silver Bullet | Exceptional spells | The target’s rarity, mana and threshold |
These are access examples, not a recommended ten-card decklist. Open the card pages for the recorded rules text and prices; use the current official Codex to resolve rules questions.
Worked example: reserve a named target
Suppose your Atlas uses Troubled Town and you want its Collection effect to produce Eltham Townsfolk. Reserve an Eltham Townsfolk slot before selecting flexible answers. During play, check the Site’s instructions and the target’s casting requirements before using the effect. Once that copy leaves the Collection, it is no longer available there for a later activation.
This makes the planning question concrete: how often does your deck expect to use the named effect, and how many matching targets should you reserve? Fill the remaining slots only with cards your other access effects can reach.
Casting still follows the normal rules
Moving a card out of the Collection is not a free cast unless the effect explicitly says otherwise. A player must still satisfy the instructions on the access card and the requirements of the spell being cast.
That means checking:
- Mana: Can the deck pay the spell’s cost when the answer is needed?
- Threshold: Does the Atlas support the spell’s elemental requirement?
- Rarity: Can the chosen access effect reach that card?
- Position: If the effect belongs to a bearer or Site, can that piece reach the relevant part of the realm?
A theoretically perfect answer is a dead slot if the deck cannot cast it.
Building the 10 cards
A practical order keeps the zone coherent.
1. Reserve named targets
Count every main-deck card that expects a particular Collection target. Add enough targets for the number of activations the deck realistically wants.
2. Group cards by access effect
List what each access card can retrieve. Keep the Ordinary options for Toolbox separate from the Exceptional options for Silver Bullet. This catches attractive but unreachable choices early.
3. Cover problems the Spellbook cannot afford to cover
Use remaining slots for narrow answers: removal that is excellent against one threat, interaction for a difficult zone, or a response to a strategy that is uncommon but hard to beat without preparation.
4. Check mana and threshold again
The Collection can tempt a deck into splashing effects it cannot support. Remove cards that require an Atlas configuration the main plan does not already want.
5. Plan for depletion
The Collection is finite. Spending a named target too early may leave a later trigger without a valid card. Where possible, cast or transform when the new card will affect the board immediately rather than leaving it exposed for a full turn.
Casual and Limited play
The publisher introduced a broader casual meaning: your Collection can be the cards you own outside the game. Formal constructed play narrows that into the selected 10-card zone.
Limited formats handle it differently. In Sealed, cards not used in the Spellbook or Atlas can form the Collection, and the format rules account for named targets that a player may not have opened. Do not carry the constructed 10-card assumption into a Limited event without checking that format’s current rules.
Common mistakes
- Treating the Collection as cards you may cast at any time.
- Filling 10 slots without including a way to access them.
- Giving Toolbox an Exceptional or Elite target it cannot cast.
- Ignoring elemental threshold when selecting off-element answers.
- Spending a finite named target before it produces immediate value.
- Applying constructed limits to Sealed or Draft without checking the format rules.
Choose the access effects first, then select targets those effects can reach and your deck can cast.
Sources
- What You Carry With You: A First Look at the Collection and Deck Sizes in Gothic — official introduction to the Collection and constructed deck sizes
- December 2025 Rulebook Update — official rules update adding Collection terminology
- Constructed format — current constructed deck and rarity limits
- Sealed format — Collection handling in Limited
- Sorcery Codex — current rules reference