SOLBORN WHITEPAPER
Solborn: Arena of Fate · Version 2.1 · May 2026
A deterministic, skill-based tactical card game built on Solana — where every outcome is predictable, every pack is verifiable, and every victory is written into the chain.
Overview
Solborn: Arena of Fate is a competitive tactical card battler deployed on the Solana blockchain. Players acquire cards, construct constrained five-card decks, and enter arenas where every match resolves through deterministic logic — no random critical strikes, no hidden modifiers, no opaque outcomes decided after you commit.
The game is built around three convictions: skill should determine outcomes, transparency should be the default, and financial stakes should be accessible without crypto friction. Every mechanic in Solborn exists to serve one of these three principles.
Players collect verifiable runes, build constrained decks, enter free or SOL-backed ranked lobbies, trade through the marketplace, forge duplicate inventory into higher tiers, and compete for sealed rare drops through the Shadow Exchange. The goal is a game that feels like a skill-based competitive card game first, with blockchain used where trust is required.
Core Game Mechanics
Card Statistics
Every card in Solborn carries two base stats:
- Power — The card's offensive strength. Power is multiplied by rarity during combat resolution to produce final damage output.
- Endurance — The card's survival capacity. A card's HP is derived as
HP = Endurance × 3. Decks constructed entirely of a single element receive a cumulative +10% Endurance bonus applied to their maximum HP calculation.
BP is the deck construction budget unit. It is not used directly in combat — it prevents stat stacking and forces meaningful trade-offs when building a deck.
Rarity System
Rarity establishes the maximum possible base Battle Points (BP) for a card (e.g. Mythics peak at 200 BP, Commons at 100). During combat resolution, rarity also applies a deterministic multiplier directly to a card's final Power. Shadow relics inherit Rare or Epic power bands and add one fixed Shadow ability once revealed. All stat values used against your 800 BP deck limit are base stats, requiring careful allocation even with high-rarity cards.
| Rarity | Power Multiplier | Effect | Deck Limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Common | 1.0× | Base Power | Unrestricted |
| Rare | 1.1× | +10% Power | Unrestricted |
| Epic | 1.25× | +25% Power | Unrestricted |
| Mythic | 1.5× | +50% Power | Max 2 per deck |
| Shadow | Rare / Epic | Fixed Shadow ability | Sealed exchange relic |
Elemental Types
Every card belongs to one of five elemental types. Four types form an advantage cycle; the fifth — Shade — is a neutral element that deals a flat 1.25× against everything.
FlameStrong vs Terra & Volt. Weak vs Aqua.
AquaStrong vs Flame & Terra. Weak vs Volt.
TerraStrong vs Aqua & Volt. Weak vs Flame.
VoltStrong vs Flame & Aqua. Weak vs Terra.
ShadeNeutral (1.25×) against all types.| ATK↓ DEF→ | Flame | Aqua | Terra | Volt | Shade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flame | 1.0× | 0.5× | 2.0× | 1.5× | 1.25× |
| Aqua | 2.0× | 1.0× | 1.5× | 0.5× | 1.25× |
| Terra | 0.5× | 1.5× | 1.0× | 2.0× | 1.25× |
| Volt | 1.5× | 2.0× | 0.5× | 1.0× | 1.25× |
| Shade | 1.25× | 1.25× | 1.25× | 1.25× | 1.0× |
Move Selection — The Tactical Layer
Each round, both players simultaneously choose one of three moves before committing. This creates a prediction layer — your read of the opponent's tendencies matters as much as your card's stats.
Slash
Defeats Pierce
Pierce
Defeats Guard
Guard
Defeats Slash
Deck Construction
Every deck must satisfy all four constraints simultaneously before it is eligible for play. The deck builder enforces these rules in real time and will not allow queue entry on an invalid deck.
5
Cards per deck
800
BP cap (sum of base stats)
2
Max Mythic cards
200
Max cards in collection
The BP cap ensures no single deck can stack maximum-stat cards across all five slots. A valid deck requires genuine trade-offs — a high-Power card forces lower-Endurance elsewhere, and vice versa. Rarity multipliers do not count toward BP, which means a high-BP Common deck is not at a structural disadvantage — skill closes the gap.
Combat Resolution
Every battle in Solborn resolves through a deterministic formula. The exact modifier for every interaction is known and visible before you enter the arena — there are no hidden variables.
Match Format
Matches use a persistent HP pool system. Cards remain on the board across turns until their HP reaches zero (fainting). The first player to faint three of their opponent's cards wins the match.
- HP persists between rounds — damage accumulates.
- Players may switch their active card during the Pick Card phase.
- Switching uses the switching player's turn: they deal 0 damage that turn while the opponent still attacks the incoming card.
- First to 3 faints wins. There is no time limit on the match.
Damage Formula
- 1
Rarity Scaling
Scaled Power = Base Power × Rarity Multiplier
1.0× – 1.5× depending on card rarity.
- 2
Elemental Modifier
Modified Power = Scaled Power × Elemental Multiplier
0.5× to 2.0× based on attacker type vs defender type.
- 3
Tactics Bonus
Final Power = Modified Power + Tactics Bonus
+10 for winning the move, −10 for losing, 0 on a draw.
- 4
Final Damage
Damage = Final Power ÷ 2
Applied to the opponent's active card HP.
Battle Breakdown — Always Visible
After every round, the Arena screen displays an itemised breakdown of how the result was calculated: base power, rarity multiplier, elemental modifier, tactics bonus, and final damage. This panel is permanently visible during all competitive play — it is the primary mechanism by which players learn the game and build trust in its fairness. It is never hidden behind a toggle.
Wager Economy
Solborn's wager economy is intentionally simple from the player's perspective: you think in SOL, you pay in SOL, and you receive SOL back. There is no token wrapping, no conversion step, and no additional layer between the player and their funds.
SOL-First UX
When a player enters a Wager Lobby, their SOL stake is locked directly into a program-derived escrow account (PDA) on Solana for the duration of the match. On settlement, the winner's share is distributed on-chain in native SOL — minus the 5% treasury fee.
Wager Lobby Tiers
Lobbies are tiered by stake. Players choose their entry based on their risk appetite. All lobbies use identical rules — the only difference is the size of the prize pool.
Pack Economy
Packs are the primary source of new standard runes. Each pack contains five cards drawn from the current 100,000-card manifest, with the purchase and generated card IDs recorded on-chain. Players can audit card legitimacy through the Provenance Chamber and inspect purchase records through Solana transaction history.
Standard Pack
1 SOL
Full manifest pool: 65% Common, 30% Rare, 4.5% Epic, 0.5% Mythic.
Hunter Pack
2 SOL
Rare-weighted pool: 30% Common, 55% Rare, 13% Epic, 2% Mythic.
Hero Pack
5 SOL
Rare+ only: 65% Rare, 30% Epic, 5% Mythic.
New card supply enters through packs, milestone rewards, admin-granted launch rewards, Shadow Exchange auctions, and Forge outputs. Player-to-player movement happens through the marketplace rather than off-platform promises.
Marketplace
Players who have purchased at least one pack can list owned runes for sale in SOL. Listed cards leave the seller's playable inventory while active and continue to count toward the 200-card profile cap, preventing listings from bypassing storage limits. Marketplace fills settle on-chain with the same 5% protocol fee model used elsewhere in the economy.
Ambassador Referrals
Solborn includes an on-chain referral layer for ecosystem growth. A referred player stores their initial referrer on profile creation, and qualifying pack purchases route a default 10% referral payout to that wallet in the same transaction flow. Custom referral rates can be configured by the protocol authority up to the program maximum.
Fee Structure
A small treasury fee is deducted from each wager pool on settlement. This fee funds protocol operations, smart contract maintenance, and future development. The exact fee percentage is displayed to players in the lobby entry confirmation screen before any funds are committed. There are no hidden fees.
The full fee breakdown and treasury allocation are detailed in the project's investor documentation.
Shadow Exchange
The Shadow Exchange is Solborn's sealed auction layer for rare-or-better drops. It mixes standard Rare+ relics with exclusive Shadow variants and keeps key card metadata hidden until settlement. This creates discovery tension without allowing the protocol operator to alter the result after bidding begins.
Sealed Listing
Before settlement, the card art, name, rarity, stats, element, and Shadow ability are hidden. Players bid against a public listing, not a fully revealed card sheet.
Commitment Hash
Each auction publishes a sealed metadata hash before bids arrive. The hash commits the hidden card data so rarity, stats, element, and ability cannot be swapped after the auction is live.
Escrow & Refunds
Bids are locked in SOL escrow immediately. If a player is outbid, the previous leading bid is refunded automatically through the same on-chain flow.
Shadow Abilities
Shadow relics inherit Rare or Epic scaling and reveal one of five fixed abilities: Ambush, Aegis, Giant Slayer, Hex, or Mythbreaker. These abilities are part of the committed metadata and become public when the auction settles.
Alchemist's Forge
The Alchemist's Forge gives excess inventory a deterministic use case without creating passive inflation. Players may sacrifice exactly twenty standard runes of the same rarity to receive one random rune from the next rarity tier.
Common -> Rare
Twenty Common runes are consumed to produce one Rare rune.
Rare -> Epic
Twenty Rare runes are consumed to produce one Epic rune.
Epic -> Mythic
Twenty Epic runes are consumed to produce one Mythic rune.
Mastery & Progression
Solborn rewards players who compete consistently through a persistent on-chain mastery system. Players can progress and level up their profile through ranked wins, milestone rewards, and rotating Daily Contracts.
XP System
Each settled match win awards 100 XP, while Daily Contracts award 50-300 XP for goals such as casual practice, ranked wins, Forge activity, and pack openings. Losses do not reduce existing progress. XP is accumulated on-chain and verifiable per wallet.
Mastery Levels
Every 300 XP advances the player's Mastery Level. Levels progress through a named rank ladder, from Void Initiate through to Arcane Champion and beyond.
Milestone Rewards
Every 10 Mastery Levels, a free Mastery Pack is unlocked and claimable from the player's profile. This provides a consistent collection growth path for dedicated players without pay-to-win implications.
Technical Architecture
Solborn uses a hybrid architecture to balance the competing requirements of real-time gameplay and on-chain verifiability. Match state is managed server-side for speed; financial settlement, card provenance, marketplace flows, referrals, Forge outputs, and sealed auction commitments are managed on-chain or cryptographically auditable for trust.
Solana Smart Contracts
Wager lobby creation, fund escrow, match settlement, pack purchases, marketplace settlement, referral payouts, quest XP grants, card burns, transmutation, and Shadow Exchange auctions are handled by the Solborn Anchor program.
Server-Side Match Engine
Real-time PvP synchronisation runs through a server-side engine backed by Vercel KV (Redis). This enables sub-second state updates during gameplay without requiring every round to be committed to the chain.
Deterministic Resolution Layer
All combat outcomes are computed using a stateless, deterministic function. Given the same inputs — card stats, element pairing, move selections — the function always produces the same output. Replays are fully reproducible.
Verifiable Pack Opening
Pack purchases are recorded on-chain with a pack index and seed reference. Players can audit the contents of any purchased pack independently using the pack index exposed in the transparency panel of the pack opening screen.
Provenance Chamber
Every standard rune is linked to a pre-generated manifest and SHA-256 hash record. Players can download the manifest, canonicalize card metadata, and independently verify that a card matches the immutable registry.
Shadow Commitments
Shadow Exchange listings publish a sealed metadata hash before bids arrive. The commitment protects hidden rarity, stats, element, artwork, and Shadow ability until the auction settles and the card is revealed.
Marketplace & Forge Accounting
Marketplace listings remove cards from playable inventory while active, Forge actions burn source cards before granting an upgraded output, and both flows respect the 200-card profile storage cap.
Frontend
Built on Next.js with Turbopack for a fast, modern user experience. Wallet integration supports Phantom and compatible Solana wallets. The interface is designed to minimise crypto-specific friction for new players.
Disconnect Protection
If a player loses connection mid-match, the match state is preserved server-side. On reconnect, the player resumes from their last confirmed state. If the timeout window expires without reconnection, the contract's claim-timeout mechanism ensures funds are not permanently locked.
Roadmap
Development is structured in three phases. The first phase is focused on the live playable loop: verified collection, tactical battles, SOL settlement, inventory management, and social growth. Later phases expand competitive depth and ecosystem ownership without compromising skill-first gameplay.
Core Gameplay & Wager Foundation
- 5-card deck system with BP cap and rarity constraints
- Deterministic combat engine (Power / Elemental / Tactics)
- Free ranked tier plus Wager Lobby tiers (0.1 – 5 SOL)
- On-chain pack purchase and verifiable opening
- SOL-native wager escrow — no token conversion
- Player marketplace with 5% protocol fee
- Alchemist's Forge transmutation and burn flow
- Shadow Exchange sealed auctions and commitment hashes
- Ambassador referrals with 10% pack-purchase payouts
- Mastery XP, levelling, and milestone pack rewards
- Daily Contracts system for varied XP generation
- Bot (casual) matchmaking and practice mode
- Disconnect protection and claim-timeout
Ranked Seasons & Tournament Module
- Ranked ladder with seasonal resets and MMR
- Automated tournament brackets with SOL and future token entry options
- Replay system and match history expansion
- Cosmetic card frames and profile badges (no stat impact)
- Token-gated events and staking rewards for eligible ecosystem participants
- Leaderboard — The Eternal Ledger
Expansion & Ecosystem Governance
- New card series and element expansions
- Optional cosmetic NFT layer — only if organic demand warrants it
- Season pass (cosmetic rewards only, no pay-to-win)
- SBT ecosystem token launch for governance, tournaments, and long-term participation
- Community governance input on balance and future content (advisory, not binding)
Legal Disclosures
Risk Disclosure
Solborn: Arena of Fate is a decentralised, skill-based competitive game built on the Solana blockchain. Participation in Wager Lobbies, marketplace purchases, pack purchases, Shadow Exchange auctions, and other SOL-denominated flows involves a risk of financial loss. Only spend or wager SOL that you can afford to lose.
The developers and contributors of Solborn are not responsible for any SOL lost due to match outcomes, marketplace pricing, pack outcomes, auction outcomes, network congestion, smart contract interactions, or player error. You acknowledge that you are using an experimental blockchain protocol at your own risk.
This whitepaper is provided for informational purposes only. It does not constitute financial advice, investment advice, legal advice, or a solicitation of any kind. Any future token, tournament, staking, governance, or reward system described herein reflects current development intent and is subject to change without notice.
Cards in Solborn are in-game items, not securities or investment vehicles. Marketplace listings, referral rewards, Forge outputs, pack outcomes, and Shadow Exchange auctions should not be understood as guarantees of profit, liquidity, resale value, or future utility. The protocol is not affiliated with any centralised gambling operator.