Hi-Rez Studios has announced at Hi-Rez Expo 2017 that its SMITE turn-based strategy spinoff game, SMITE Tactics, has entered closed beta, consequently replacing the alpha that had been ongoing since November.

For those that don't know: SMITE Tactics is a turn-based strategy, deck-building game where players build decks of gods and minions, which they then take to the battlefield against one, single opponent. Every unit/card has unique abilities and like a game like Hearthstone, has hit points and attack damage values.

What makes SMITE Tactics distinct though is that the battlefield it takes place on is a heavily stylized board, and when you play cards on it, the card (whatever God or creature it is) appears on it 3D. The card-spawned unit than can be deployed around the battlefield, attack, or use whatever its special ability is. The goal is to reduce the enemy AI or human player's primary god's hitpoints to zero.

The game is being built in Unreal Engine 4, will have multiple offline modes, and feature “many familiar faces from the Battleground of the Gods.”

Compared to the alpha, the closed beta adds a full tutorial, as well as a single-player campaign. Players can get into the beta by picking up a Founder's Pack from the game's official website. Getting the Founder's Pack not only gets you instant access to the beta, but dishes out 15 Core Card Packs (with 5 cards per pack), Legendary Leaders Poseidon, Isis, and Freya, a Limited Founder's Icon, a Limited Founder's Card Back, and SMITE goodies such as an Exclusive Enyo Skin for Bellona and an exclusive Tactics loading frame.

The Founder's Pack is currently $15 USD thanks to a 25% discount accompanying Hi-Rez's Expo (normally it would cost $20 USD). The game is currently in development for PC, with a console release also planned.

In case you missed it, you can watch the game's announcement trailer here.