2026-09-05 IN THE NEXT BUILD

EVERY CARD HAS A STORY.

We had forty-seven gaps in the illustrated deck. The workshop has filled them: late-night mechanics, suspicious finance, fragile engines and a crash-test dummy who seems much too pleased with himself.

Six real game cards showing Wrecking Ball, Phantom Finish, Phoenix Plating, Perpetual Motion, Tempered Discs and Blank Cheque — The wrecking ball now follows the car. A modest request of a towing arrangement.

The first fantasy pictures had drifted too glossy. We brought them back towards an old racing annual: dusty blue, warm paper, softened red and ink that breaks into little pixel marks. Ghosts and phoenixes are still welcome. They just have to look as though they belong in this battered card box.

Moonshine Nitro, Glass Engine, Cursed Trophy, Loan Shark, Underdog Spirit and Big Stopper rendered in the game card frames — Some upgrades need a mechanic. Others apparently need a financial adviser with teeth.

All 124 cards now have an illustration, and we checked the pictures inside the actual card frames. Upgraded copies keep their base artwork too; a trip to the mechanic should not make the picture disappear.

This is an art pass for the next build. The card effects, balance and racing rules are unchanged.