Variables

A variable is a value with a name, usable anywhere a column token is — including inside other variables.

What they are for

A keyword that appears on forty cards, an icon-plus-word pair you keep retyping, a colour you have not finalised. Define it once as a variable and every use follows the definition.

fire  →  [icon=fire.png]
hit   →  {fire} strike

Then a card's text reads Deal 2 {fire} damage, and the day the fire symbol changes, it changes everywhere.

How they resolve

• They use the same {tag} syntax as columns, and work anywhere a column token works — text, a path, a colour.
• A value may carry markup, icons, column tokens and other variables. Nesting is capped, so a reference cycle stalls with a warning rather than hanging the app.
• A deck column with the same name wins. That turns variables into per-deck fallbacks: define faction as a variable and the decks that carry a faction column override it, while the ones that do not get the default.
• Variable names are not columns your deck owes. Validation will not ask for them.

Managing them

The variables dialog lists them with their resolved values, and they can be filed into folders once there are enough to need it. The markup drawer inserts them into text the same way it inserts icons, so you do not have to remember the exact spelling.