I'm imagining someone casting a spell on another player and the cards in their hand change without them realizing right away. That would really add to the magical feeling of the game.

So cool! I love it!

Have a look at https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/194607/mystic-vale where cards grow during the game. It's implemented physically.

> Mystic Vale uses the innovative "Card Crafting System", which lets you not only build your deck, but build the individual cards in your deck, customizing each card's abilities to exactly the strategy you want to follow.

You would probably want to go with fewer cards. But something like a deck builder could work.

I've got the starter set sitting at home :D Haven't played it yet, but wanted to check it out.

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/23451/space-dealer also has some interesting mechanic idea (with the timers) that you could steal for something with your setup. Assuming the cards or at least base station themselves have enough logic for a timer.

That's something that goes tastefully beyond what pure normal playing cards can do.

Thanks, I'll check that one out too.

Timers are totally doable.