Keywords

Keyword Abilities
Keyword abilities are unique effects of cards that cannot stack.

Agile   Agile.png|thumb]left

 * This unit can attack the turn you play it.

Ambush   Ambush.png|thumb]left

 * This unit can block the turn you play it.

Can't Attack

 * The card with this keyword can't attack while having the keyword.

Can't Block

 * The card with this keyword can't block while having the keyword.

Deadly   Deadly.png|thumb]left

 * Kills any unit it damages.

Duelist   Duelist.png|thumb]left

 * Can attack enemy units directly (like an Active).

Fast

 * You can play another card

Flying   Flying.png|thumb]left

 * Can only be blocked by units with Flying (or Leap).

Immortal

 * Can't be silenced or copied. Returns to owner's hand when destroyed or removed from the game. (Not available to players: only found on hero rewards)

Innate

 * Always starts in your starting hand.

Leap Leap.png|thumb]left

 * Can block Flying units.

Lifebond Lifebond.png|thumb]left

 * When this card deals damage, you gain that much life.

Overrun   Overrun.png|thumb]left

 * When blocked, this unit deals excess damage to the defending player.

Rebound   Rebound.png|thumb]left

 * The first time this card would go to the discard pile, return it to your hand and it loses Rebound permanently (except if Milled).

Regenerate   Regenerate.png|thumb]left

 * Regains all lost HP at end of turn.

Unblockable Unblockable.png|thumb]left

 * Unable to be blocked.

Untargetable   Untargetable.png|thumb]left

 * Can't be targeted or chosen by actions or abilities (including friendly ones).

Ward  Ward.png|thumb]left

 * Cancels the effect of one enemy Action, Active ability, or triggered ability on this unit (then loses Ward permanently).

Unofficial Keyword Abilities
Rule of 7: According to the devs, a keyword can be officially implemented into the game if 7 or more cards have the keyword.

Counter

 * A spell that is countered is put into the graveyard instead of doing its effect. It is essentially negated.
 * 1 cards in game. Shadow Consultant

Endure X

 * Has +X HP. When this takes damage, heal X HP, up to the damage taken.
 * 3 cards in game. Ickling, Blue Ickling, Menes, Pharaohs' Sickle

Harmonize

 * This unit gets +1/+1 for each other ally unit that shares a tribe with it or has this ability.
 * 3 cards in game. Grallaxian Soda Jerk, Vox's Polyphony, Biosludge

Merge

 * Add this unit's stats and non-Merge abilities to another unit. Banish this until that unit leaves play.
 * 6 cards in game. Pugilistic Parasite, Brutish Blob, Crawking Crow, Kasei Tricksune, Hydraxi Battlesuite, Tormented Image

Hook Words
Hook Words are the term for keywords that share a trigger ("hook"), but can have different effects when triggered.

Active   Active.png|thumb]left

 * Use this ability (during the Main Phase) instead of attacking or blocking for an effect.

Entomb   entomb.png|thumb]left

 * Does something when it dies.

Feed   Feed.png|thumb]left

 * Gives a bonus to each unit you play after this card this turn (Triggers after play ability of units).

Frenzy X

 * When this is blocked, it deals X damage to its blockers (Frenzy is followed by a number which replaces X).

Rage Rage.png|thumb]left

 * Does something when it takes damage.

Summon

 * Does something when you play this (from hand).

Duel

 * The unit attacks another unit directly, as with the Duelist ability (no reminder text).

Ready

 * Allows a unit to act again.

Silence

 * Remove all abilities from a unit permanently.

Banish

 * Removes a card from the game.

Discard

 * Move a card from the hand into the discard (no reminder text).

Exhaust

 * Prevents a unit from attacking, blocking or using active abilities.

Heal
Healed unit returns to their current max HP. Counts as no damaged.

Herald X

 * Give the top unit of your deck +X/+X.

Mill

 * Puts cards from the deck into the graveyard (See Mill).

Scour X

 * Look at the top X cards of your deck. You can decide if you want to discard each one of these cards separately.

Statpoint worth
A development principle has been determined, which assigns keywords worth equal to the statpoints of a unit. Note that this is isn't applicable for all scenarios such as extremely scaled stat distributions.

For example, if we consider the vanilla statline at 2 mana to "get" you a unit with 3/3 stats, you could then further develop it by giving it a keyword and then decrementing either its ATK and/or HP according to that keyword's "worth." Say, keeping with the statline and giving it both Agile (-1 point) and Rebound (-1 point), you could make it either a 2/2, 3/1 or 1/3.

Notably there are numerous other things to consider (such as keyword synergy with each other or how a keyword like regenerate scales with HP) but this can be used as "general rule of thumb" to baseline an early prototype design on.