Gravhounds Mod Deck Builder Guide: Mods, Showstoppers & Deck Strategy

The Gravhounds Mod Deck Builder is the headline system added in the October demo, and it is the closest thing the game has to a build-planning layer. If you played the demo between October 12 and 18, you have already used it; if you are waiting for Early Access on November 2, this guide explains exactly how the deck works, how reward pods interact with it, and how to plan your first deck around your squad's roles.

What Is the Mod Deck Builder in Gravhounds?

The Mod Deck Builder is a pre-expedition system that lets you influence which upgrades appear during a run. Gravhounds drops reward pods across its planets, and by default those pods could hand you anything. The deck builder changes that: once you have unlocked a couple of Mods, you assemble a deck from your library, and reward pods then draw exclusively from the Mods you put in that deck.

Octopus Panic built the system directly from open playtest feedback. The September playtest drew more than 20,000 players, and the consistent request was more control over run-to-run randomness without losing the chaos that makes each shift different. The deck builder threads that needle — you shape the pool, the run still surprises you.

How to Build Your Mod Deck Step by Step

The system is simple once you see the loop: unlock, select, deploy, review.

That last step is the real skill. A deck is a hypothesis — "this is the build I want this shift" — and every expedition is the experiment. If your turret-focused deck keeps leaving you short on mobility Mods, swap two slots before the next drop.

Showstoppers: The Two Slots That Define Your Build

Common Mods are the connective tissue of a run; Showstoppers are what you build around. You only get two slots, so the question to ask before an expedition is: what do I want this run to be about?

• Defense-first squads should anchor one Showstopper slot to the turret-and-generator package, then fill the deck with Mods that keep pipelines alive. This pairs well with squads running a dedicated builder — see the characters guide for how Selene, Zane, Dozer, and Finn split those roles.
• Aggressive extraction squads want Showstoppers that boost speed and carrying capacity, with common Mods that smooth out swarm pressure. The risk is real: every extra second on-planet escalates the swarm, which is the core tension of the extraction loop.
• Solo players should weight the deck toward self-sufficiency. You have no teammates to cover the jobs you skip, so your two Showstoppers need to cover both survival and throughput. Our solo guide walks through that balancing act.

Remember that pods draw only from your deck — which also means anything you leave out simply will not show up. Excluding a Showstopper you never use is free deck space; excluding a common Mod you rely on is how runs fall apart.

Deck Building With a Squad: Don't Stack the Same Plan

In four-player co-op, everyone's pods draw from their own deck, so the deck builder quietly becomes a team-composition tool. If all four players run identical turret-heavy decks, your squad will have four turret kits and no mobility — the swarm will love you.

A simple split that works from the demo onward:

Coordinate decks in the hub the same way you would pick classes in any co-op game. The weapons guide covers the deployed-equipment side (turrets, generators, fabricators); the deck builder is how you make sure the upgrades behind that equipment actually show up.

What the Demo Confirmed (and What Carries Into Early Access)

The October demo ran October 12–18, and the Mod Deck Builder was its biggest new system. A few demo facts worth keeping in mind for November 2:

• Demo progress does not carry into Early Access. The developer confirmed this directly — your Mod library, deck, and everything else reset on launch day. Everyone starts EA on equal footing.
• Multiplayer skips the tutorial. Squads could jump straight into co-op in the demo, and that onboarding flow carried from playtest feedback. Solo players still complete the tutorial first.
• The deck system is launch content, not a demo experiment. It was built into the current build across the playtest → demo → Early Access pipeline, so expect it at launch with a larger Mod library to build from.

That last point is why this guide exists before release: the players who understand deck math on day one of Early Access will have better runs in the first week, when every Early Access question — price, Game Pass day one included — is being decided by squads that know what they want from their builds.

FAQ

How many Mods fit in a Gravhounds deck?

Ten common Mods plus up to two Showstoppers. Reward pods during expeditions draw only from that selection.

Can I change my deck mid-expedition?

No. Deck edits happen between expeditions, back at the hub. In-run, you adapt with what pods deliver from your deck.

Do Showstoppers guarantee they appear in a run?

No. Your deck defines the pool, not the outcome — reward pods still draw randomly from your ten commons and two Showstoppers. The builder tames RNG; it does not remove it.

Does my demo deck carry over to Early Access on November 2?

No. The developer confirmed demo progress does not carry into Early Access. Your Mod library and deck reset at launch.

When does Gravhounds Early Access launch?

November 2, 2026, on PC (Steam) and Xbox Series X|S, with Game Pass day one. The full release-date FAQ tracks everything confirmed for launch week.