Cards & printings

Gameplay belongs to the card. Physical details belong to the printing.

Card records

cards/{codex_id}.json contains the current gameplay face: type, category, rarity, slot, subtypes, elements, keywords, umbrellas, cost, attack, defense, power, life, elemental thresholds and rules text. A double-faced card also has a back face; otherwise back is null.

It also includes the permanent ID, current name, errata flag, set codes, printing IDs, default printing, image information and record links. The per-card endpoint adds printings summaries, name_history and card_history.

{
  "codex_id": "C000139",
  "name": "Askelon Phoenix",
  "type": "Minion",
  "rules_text": "Airborne\nIf Askelon Phoenix would take fire damage, it gains +1 power this turn instead.",
  "default_printing_id": "P000571",
  "printing_ids": [
    "P000569",
    "P000570",
    "P000571",
    "P000572"
  ],
  "api_url": "https://api.kairosarchive.net/v3/cards/C000139.json",
  "kairos_url": "https://kairosarchive.net/cards/C000139"
}

Printing records

printings/{printing_id}.json identifies one set, product and finish. It includes codex_id, set name and code, release date, artist, typeline, flavour text, slug, image information, retirement date and printed_as_current. The per-printing endpoint adds its slug_history.

Do not infer a printing’s rules from the card’s current text. An older printing may display earlier values. Use the printing status and card history.

Numbers and absent values

• Missing or inapplicable numeric values can be null. Preserve null rather than displaying it as zero.
• life belongs to Avatars.
• power equals attack when attack equals defense; otherwise it is the floor of their average. If either is null, power is null. Use the published value so clients agree.
• Thresholds are separate numbers: thr_air, thr_earth, thr_fire and thr_water.
• Rules text includes real line breaks. Preserve those when displaying multiple abilities.

Stable IDs and mutable names

IDs are append-only and are never reused or changed. Store codex_id or printing_id, not a name, URL slug or apparent collector number. Set codes and slug fragments do not supply collector numbering.

slugs/{slug}.json resolves current and historical slugs to their permanent IDs, current slug and record links. A retired printing remains addressable; retired_at means it disappeared from the upstream API, not that the archive deleted it.

Default printing

default_printing_id selects the card’s representative printing. Its art supplies the card’s image URLs. It does not promise the newest printing or one whose printed wording is current.

Open the export JSON Schema →

Reference: registry API contract and published object definitions. Report a data or documentation issue.