Glyphs and systems
Tau is built from layered systems. Each page explains why the system exists, how it can be used in games, and which cards match each value.
Suits
The ten suits provide Tau's most familiar card identity: color, family, and classic deck feel.
Explore suits 15 instances, 3 groupsRanks
Ranks provide the standard 1-15 ordering. This appears as a number, a glyph and the rank rail.
Explore ranks 10 groupsSequence Numbers
Sequence numbers provide a 000-149 identifier for every card in the top right.
Explore sequence numbers 6 instancesSpheres
Spheres are six 25-card mega-suits: Order, Air, Water, Fire, Earth, and Chaos.
Explore spheres 25 instances, 5 groupsModes
Modes are 25 recurring qualities that pair with spheres as a second suit/rank-like axis.
Explore modes 150 instancesWords
Words are the 150-card vocabulary layer for play, prompts, and narrative inspiration.
Explore words 75 instancesIcons
Icons are the basic card art; and provide one narrative interpretation of the card word.
Explore icons 26 instancesFirst Letters
The first letter of the card word appears in the bottom left, usable for alphabetic filtering and word-building games.
Explore first letters 6 instancesLetter Scores
Letter scores are a 1-6 value attached to the word layer.
Explore letter scores 150 instancesLink Words
Link words turn the deck vocabulary into a richly connected structure.
Explore link words 5 instancesIn-Link Counts
In-link count measures how many other cards point at a card through the word-link graph.
Explore in-link counts 16 instances, 10 groupsBorder Arrangements
Border arrangements describe which card edges carry border marks. Borders can be present or absent on every side, and if present can carry a point score from 1-4.
Explore border arrangements 17 instancesBorder Scores
Each border has a point value from 0-4; totalling these gives a score for each card between 0-16.
Explore border scores 4 instancesDirections
Directions create a four-way partition for movement, orientation, and spatial play.
Explore directions 23 instances, 3 groupsSphere Zodiac
The sphere zodiac is a sparse overlay tied to elemental sphere assignments and higher-rank planets.
Explore sphere zodiac 13 instances, 1 groupsBorder Zodiac
Border zodiac adds another sparse zodiac overlay.
Explore border zodiac 3 instancesIcon Groups
Icon groups split the deck into 3 groups of 50 cards, each with 25 icon pairs.
Explore icon groups 5 instancesPartitions
Partitions are an evenly distributed 1-5 point system.
Explore partitions 2 instancesTarot
Tarot marks identify the 25 cards that carry Tarot major-arcana roles.
Explore tarot