If you're new to Gods Unchained, Stars is an in-game currency that is currently used to buy cards from the Star Store. In your game client or on the Gods Unchained homepage, you can see the number of stars that you currently have.
You earn stars for the first 20 games that you win each day resetting at midnight UTC, with the first few giving the most number of stars. From the original blog post by the Gods Unchained Team, here are the earning rates:
| Win # | Stars |
|---|---|
| 1 | Supernova Vial (400 - 600) |
| 2 - 4 | Supergiant Vial (200 - 300) |
| 5 | Nebula Vial (40 - 60) |
| 6 | Giant Vial (100 - 200) |
| 7 - 10 | Nebula / Giant Vial (40 - 200) |
| 11 - 20 | Nebula Vial (40 - 60) |
Each time you get a vial, there's also a 10% chance of it being upgraded to the next tier, netting you even more stars. Just from this table alone, winning 4 games a day will earn you the most stars for the least effort, netting you 1000 - 1500 Stars. 4 wins a day over the course of a week will also most likely max out your Blessing of the Gods earnings for that week!
The Star Store
You can access the Star Store by clicking on the Star Store from the Market submenu.
This should then lead you to a page like this:
Let's take a look at each of these deals one by one. Do note that you can buy multiples of a deal as long as you have the Stars!
Daily Deal
The Daily Deal refreshes each day and will always offer a plain Common card from the Core set. If you're just starting out, you should check the store every day since some useful common Core cards can be on sale. For just 1000 Stars a pop, they are inexpensive and should be bought if you need them in your deck. Note that plain cards are not on IMX and are untradable unless you forge them.
Welcome Deal
The Welcome Deal refreshes periodically and will always offer a Meteorite card from the Welcome set. It is worth noting that all players have 2x copies of the cards in the Welcome set, so you'll never need to buy this out of necessity for your deck.
So why buy this? The cards that are given to all players in the Welcome set are of the Plain quality, while the Welcome Deal sells Meteorite quality cards. Other than pure aesthetic changes, Meteorite quality cards may result in higher Daily P2E rewards when it is rolled out. (Source: Reddit, State of the Beta November 2021)
Additionally, while these cards are currently not minted to IMX and are untradable, I believe there is a plan to do so. The original Star Store blog post states that it is planned, but the article is also from December 2020, so you might have to wait for a considerable amount of time for this to happen.
I wouldn't buy this deal unless it is a card that is commonly used in a couple of decks for the upcoming Daily P2E, like the Vanguard Axewoman available currently. I snagged 2x of this for good measure 😆
Weekly Special
The Weekly Special refreshes weekly (duh!) and offers a plain Rare card from the Core set. At 7500 Stars a pop, it can be a little expensive. While untradable, it is still worth buying if you need it in your deck, especially if you're F2P or want to spend less on the game. Similar to the Daily Deal, as this is a plain card, it will not be on IMX and is untradable until you forge it.
Welcome Shadow
The Welcome Shadow refreshes something like once or twice a month, offering a Shadow card from the Welcome set. Like the Welcome deal, you already have a Plain copy of whatever card is available, so you will never need to buy this out of necessity. The only difference is the quality of the card which might lead to marginally higher gains in the upcoming daily P2E. At 12500 Stars, it is very costly, and I would not recommend buying this unless you like collecting higher quality cards.
What Else?
What else can Stars be used for? Currently, they can only be spent in the Star Store. But in the future, that may no longer be the case. Referring to an official blog post posted in January 2021, the Sealed format may be coming sometime in the future, requiring Stars per entry. In the blog post, it is stated that each entry costs 5000 Stars but that might be subject to change.
If you've played Hearthstone's Arena, this is looking to be something similar. You form a deck from a couple of random cards, and you battle it out with other Sealed players until you reach 9 wins or lose 3 times. The more you win, the better your rewards. From the prize chart that is given in the blog post, it seems likely that this will also enable players to obtain Core packs, Epics, Legendaries, and a collectible trinket.
When I was playing Hearthstone, I spent all my time playing Arena rather than Constructed, so I am really excited for Sealed to finally roll out! I look forward to being able to make crazy decks that otherwise wouldn't be possible in the regular Ranked format.
Should you save for entries to the Sealed mode? If you enjoy building decks with limited options and lots of randomness, yes, but you might be waiting for a long time before it launches. I wouldn't sweat it too much if I were you - buy cards that you need from the Star Store first, then save the rest.
Conclusion and TL;DR
TL;DR: buy cards that you need from the Daily and Weekly deals, ignore Welcome cards if you're focused on playability only, save for Sealed if you're into that.
Many posts have been made about the Star Store, but with the new influx of players, some might not have known about the Sealed mode that hasn't made it past PTR yet. Hopefully, you'll be able to make the wisest choice on how to spend your Stars!
Post Header Image Source: Official Gods Unchained Media Kit