REDMOND, Washington—Card economies are pretty much everywhere in video games right now, and Microsoft is leading that charge. The company’s first major card stab was last year’s Halo 5, whose “Warzone” mode revolves entirely around cards that can be purchased using in-game currency or real cash (and, in my opinion, the game suffers for it).

Clearly, the data shows that people are using, loving, and possibly even paying for cards, because Microsoft is now following up with two major card-economy games: this month’s Gears of War 4, and next year’s Halo Wars 2. We’re concerned with Halo Wars 2 right now because Microsoft invited Ars to its Redmond Halo studio, 343 Industries, to see a reveal of the upcoming RTS’s new “Blitz” mode.

Cards against humanity—if you play as the Banished, at least