Greetings, citizens,
Today, we are unveiling an update to Ranked that brings new arenas, fresh challenges, and improved rewards. Ranked has been the cornerstone of Combat Cards for most of the game’s history, but it’s largely remained the same. With the game evolving, we’re giving Ranked a well-earned refresh—keeping the core experience but adding some much-needed depth.
New Arenas
Terra has always been the end goal of Ranked, but it has lost some of its glamour and challenge over the years. To recapture some of that lofty ideal, we’re adding two new arenas beyond Terra, delving further into the holy homeworld of the Imperium:
- The Imperial Palace
- The Dark Cells



What is the true goal of those who travel to Terra if not the Imperial Palace, and those who stray too close may find themselves even deeper and trapped within the labyrinthine Dark Cells.
While just adding new arenas doesn’t drastically add more difficulty on their own, they do come with a twist: a stat modifier to make battles in the top tiers feel more meaningful.
From Terra onward, all opponents will receive increased base stats:
- +10% in Terra
- +20% in the Imperial Palace
- +30% in the Dark Cells



This change serves a few purposes:
- A true test at the top. The final stages of Ranked should feel like the elite tier they’re meant to be—requiring more than just playing more games than anyone else.
- A return to challenge. With many players boasting strong collections and refined decks, win rates in Terra often hover around 80%—not ideal for the supposed pinnacle of competition. We want to reward thoughtful deck building, developed collections, and, above all, skill.
- Laying the groundwork. This introduces the idea of arena modifiers—something we could explore further in future updates or seasonal content. No immediate plans, but the option is now on the table.
Trophy Requirements
Even with the addition of new arenas, we’re not increasing the overall trophy climb. We don’t want time spent to be the only thing that determines success.
Instead, we’re halving the trophy requirement per arena to 500, except for Terra and the Imperial Palace, which now require 750 trophies each. That keeps the total needed to reach the top at 4,000 trophies—the same as before (when starting from max trophies each season).
We’ve also adjusted the Ranked reset formula (more on that shortly).
This change brings several benefits:
- Faster progression. With smaller gaps between arenas, each win has more impact.
- Smoother experience. Especially for new or returning players, the journey up the ladder is now far more achievable.
- Skill-focused gameplay. With reduced grind, the emphasis returns to deck quality and player skill.
One thing remains unchanged: your Ranked score is still based on the total from your four highest-scoring factions.
End of Season Reset
With the new arenas and adjusted trophies, we’ve reworked the season reset too.
At season’s end, the total trophy count across all factions is evenly distributed among them. The maximum carried-over is 500 per faction, meaning players can start the next season with up to 2,000 trophies.
Why this change?
- More flexibility. Previously, a lopsided reset discouraged experimenting with different factions. Now, all factions start equally, allowing for a more varied and dynamic season starts.
- No penalty for taking breaks. Before, inactivity meant your score gradually trended towards zero. Now, once you reach 500 per faction, that progress is protected.
- Better for new players. The top players are now concentrated in the upper arenas, making early matchmaking much fairer.
Ultimately, this reset system improves freedom, encourages experimentation, and welcomes both returning and new players with a smoother experience.


Arena Breakdown
So far, there have been a lot of words, so here’s a quick visual breakdown of the requirements for each arena:
Arena | Trophy Total | Trophies Required | Modifier |
The Dark Cells | 6,000 | 0 | +30% to All Stats |
The Imperial Palace | 5,250 | 750 | +20% to All Stats |
Terra | 4,500 | 750 | +10% to All Stats |
Phalanx | 4,000 | 500 | None |
Mars | 3,500 | 500 | None |
Titan | 3,000 | 500 | None |
Battlefleet Solar | 2,500 | 500 | None |
Shroud of Hatred | 2,000 | 500 | None |
The Rock | 1,500 | 500 | None |
Armageddon | 1,000 | 500 | None |
Fenris | 500 | 500 | None |
Eye of Terror | 0 | 500 | None |
Rewards
Now, let’s talk rewards.
With two new arenas, there are more rewards up for grabs—both milestone and end-of-season placement. The leaderboard has moved from Terra to The Dark Cells, and while some rewards have shifted, the gaps between leaderboard tiers have widened, making it easier to reach a higher reward tier once you get to the top.
That’s all for now! We’re excited to see how these changes refresh the Ranked experience. Whether you’re climbing for the first time or returning for a fresh challenge, we hope you enjoy the journey Beyond Terra.
See how that affects season resets. My main issue now is that boosting non top 4 deck to be relevant again. Takes forever and I loose my heart so stuck with the same decks every season.
Sounds good!
Woohoo! Long time coming. Now you just need to make the last arenas 12 card, 400 point affairs and then you can probably rest on this one for a bit 🙂
Cool rework!
The reset to 500 pts. across all factions is a great idea! Really love the idea of adding on past Terra!
Seems like this change will only benefit the cheesiest builds in order to get to top tiers. Also you can’t get the best decks unless you spend cash. With more than 1,000 cards in the game the likelihood of getting actual cards you need for your best builds is SLIM.
Good game effort and 40k
I dont get it. When my total trophy count (e.g. 2000) at the end of the season is evenly distributed among all nine factions i still gravitate towards zero in the long run. I dont think thats bad btw.
Before i needed 4k trophies to get maximum end-of-the-season rewards. Now i still need 4k trophies but games are harder because of the modifiers which make me think i will need to grind even more.
So what has substantially changed for the better or, apart from the modifiers, even changed substantially at all?