Although is essentially a strategy game that uses decks of cards, an intricate storyline underlies the cards released in each expansion. This storyline is shown in the game in the card art and through quotations and descriptions on the bottom of most cards (called
flavor text). Novels and anthologies published by
HarperPrism and
Wizards of the Coast, and the
comic books published by
Armada Comics complete the storylines hinted at through the cards.