A deck is five cards in one row. You place them before search. The server plays that line — not a hand of turns.
Five slots, not a hand
All five cards come out at once. Left is the front: it takes hits while it lives. Right is the back: a nuker chips it for half. Front dies — the row shifts left. A role does not lock a slot. You can hide a tank in the back; the line then folds faster.
Arena roles
Each card has arena roles from its template: tank holds, DD hits the front, support lifts the line and still hits. On drop a hero may also roll traits like carry or nuker — those feed schemes and combos. Do not mix them up with the slot on the table.
Scheme and combos
Pick a scheme before search: which roles the five should cover. If a combo lights in the sidebar, the stats are already buffed — those numbers hit the table. Autofill builds a legal five. If the front is paper, fix it by hand.
What to place first
Front: a tank creep or a high-HP hero. Middle: hitters. Back: a fragile DD or a support you do not want under the first volley. The starter pack (3 creeps + 7 unusual and a guaranteed support) covers the first scheme. Hit math is in the rules and the combat guide.