⚔ ChessGods — deploy dialog redesigns

The deploy picker (Army tab → click a slot). Problems with today's frame: two full rows of filter chips outrank the actual content, the list column goes empty when a slot type has 1–2 owned pieces (your pawn roster today), the card floats unanchored on the right, and the footer mixes a status sentence with the actions. All four directions below keep the fixed-frame contract (no resizing on click — regions update in place) and the v3 MTG card.

Scenario is identical everywhere: slot D2 · Pawn, currently held by Standard Pawn (7/8 fielded), with 5 pawn-type candidates — Standard Pawn and Hale the Recruit are real; Emberling Scout, Tideson Acolyte, Verdant Squire are mocked to judge layout at moderate fill. Every variant is clickable — including clicking Standard Pawn to see the "already on this square" state from your screenshot.

0 · Today (reference)

940 × ~740 · not fixed here, shown with 5 candidates

Kept for honest comparison — same content as the redesigns below. Note the chip rows consuming ~90px above the fold, the 400px-tall list for 5 rows, and the card hanging without an anchor.

current app · 940 wide

A · Card Spotlight

stage & shelf · gacha-forward

The card becomes the picker. One hero card on a spotlight stage, prev/next arrows cycle candidates, and the list demotes to a horizontal shelf of mini-cards along the bottom. Filters collapse from 12 chips to three dropdowns. Sparse state reads fine: one candidate = one shelf card, the stage still composes. Steal-worthy on its own even if you pick another direction.

fixed 880 × 680

B · War Ledger

compact desk · efficiency

Same bones as today, but the frame shrinks to the content's true size. 740px wide, 46px ledger rows with right-aligned stat triplets and a copies tick, one toolbar row of dropdowns, and the card rail carries stat deltas vs the current occupant. Dead space below short lists becomes an engraved crest + a one-line availability summary instead of a void. The "professional" option.

fixed 740 × 580

C · Swap Bench

inspection · comparison-first

Makes the swap itself the headline. A permanent top strip reads "ON D2 NOW → REPLACING WITH" with stat-delta chips between the two mini-cards (green/red, computed live). Bench list on the left, full card inspection on the right, and the footer gains an explicit KEEP CURRENT action so "leave it as is" is a first-class choice instead of a buried footer sentence. Deltas also work when the current occupant is an unscouted/unknown piece in PvP later.

fixed 920 × 660

D · Binder Page

collection grid · pack-binder fantasy

No list at all — the slot opens a binder page of card faces. Every candidate is a real (mini) MTG-v3 card; empty slots render as dashed sleeves, so a 1-piece roster looks like the start of a collection rather than a broken table. Selected card gets the gold seal; fielded-out cards grey out with a FIELDED band. Least "UI", most "my collection". Risk: tallest fixed frame of the four.

fixed 900 × 700
Shared moves in all four: fixed frame, regions update in place (the no-resize rule stays law) · filters collapse into dropdown chips (12 chips → 2–3 controls) · the "Standard Pawn holds D2 right now" context moves next to the slot identity instead of floating in the footer · stat deltas vs the current occupant appear wherever the card appears.
My recommendation: A as the base — it's the most "chess gacha" and handles the sparse early-game roster gracefully — with C's delta chips + KEEP CURRENT folded into its caption/footer. B is the fallback if A feels too theatrical at 6am; D is the long-term fantasy once card art volume grows.
Mock data note: Hale the Recruit uses its real stats (Light · Epic pawn ⚔7 🛡4 ❤2); the other three mock pieces follow the pawn stat ladder (Common 5/2/2, Rare 6/3/2).