Strategies I learned to beat Kaycee's Mod

[PhilyFooFighter]

To be clear I have all of Kaycee's Mod's Achievements (including Skull Storm), and I've won many runs since then. I usually like to play between 155 challenge points and 175 challenge points. [Edit: I also have 270+ hours, so lots of practice! Also, the following advice is predominantly tailored for getting the Skull Storm achievement or at least having the Grizzly Boss challenge active.]

I find that item use is key to victory on the higher difficulties. I don't like it because I prefer to win without Items, and Items have an element of randomness to them, but they are necessary at the highest challenge levels. The player has to get at least two Pack Racks relatively quickly (or creatures with their Sigil), and keep Items well-stocked in reserve. Artificially elongating encounters just to play a Pack Rat (or equivalent creature) to boost one's Item supply is also extremely helpful. Otherwise, the player may get an encounter that is genuinely impossible to beat for whatever reason and not have enough Items (and/or Item-generating creatures) to deal with it. (Also using weaker Items for marginal benefits and then using Pack Rats to see if one gets a better Item is also effective.)

It is possible to have too many Pack Rats or equivalents though (I find 5 or more is pretty bad, and 4 gives inconsistent results), but the game sometimes forces the player to get more anyway due to the Item Bag being a required stop on the path, so I recommend trying to avoid getting more than two Pack Rats as long as one has at least two creatures with their Sigil. Three Pack Rats isn't the end of the world though, and it is not worth using a useful Item simply to avoid getting a third Pack Rat. After all, Pack Rats are great fodder for the Mycologist.

However, I have noticed that many encounters that seem impossible on first glance are actually possible to beat, but they require an extremely skilled and creative player (and lots of lane manipulation). If one is not too proud, I would recommend retrying losing encounters just to see what one is doing wrong and to improve skill. It's a great way to learn about different kinds of strategies and approaches to encounters, and I now find that I am making fewer misplays due to gained experience.

But like I said, every once in a while the player shall get an encounter that is actually impossible to beat, and that's when items in reserve come in handy. I today beat a Bifurcated Strike Totem Battle in which I used the Wiseclock to give my opponent an Aquasquirrel (essentially blocking the opponent's lane) even as I took the Beehive. (I also had a Scissors that I used.) I had thought I had reached an impossible encounter, but creative Item use saved the day. :)

It's also important to get a Totem early on. Even if it's not ideal, as long as a Totem can be used it is almost always worth getting as long as the player is also well-stocked with Items. Balancing both of these needs is key to having successful runs more frequently. (The Fire is great, but unless the survivors are already dead it is usually not worth passing up filling up Items or getting Totem pieces or Pack Rats.)

[Ginger Cookie]

I know it's been a while, but thank you, actually. Hopefully I'll have better luck next time ✌🏻

[Potato Demon]

Pack Rats were never really a part of my core Strategy. Like... they're good and all and being able to slap down a card and get an item is nice, but it's not necessary and it's too random to be consistent. Pack Rats CAN be goated, but sometimes you just end up playing a two sacrifice card with stats that can barely do anything for it's cost. We've all slapped a Pack Rat on the board and got bones. There are plenty of different strategies you can use to beat the Grizzlies like placing down a damage buffed Cuckoo after you snip, hook, or killed a Grizzly, giving any card that's tanky the venomous sigil like the River Snapper, and of course items which are necessary for consistently winning the higher difficulties. You can do it without them of course but RNG can fudge you over and items are the counter to that.

My problem with the Pack Rat is that it's nice to have and all, it's just not a main solution I'd use for the harder challenges in Kaycee's mod. It's always been more of a "Oh, a Pack Rat. Nice." than a "THIS is the solution to everything." As OP said they're nice Mycologist fodder so your deck doesn't get cluttered with them and you don't have to take a copy of a card you have, potentially cluttering your deck. Pack Rats are very consistent and easy to get and that's why they're good. They're not game changing, but every little bit helps. Pack Rats are meant to be looked at as a tool like every other card in the game, nothing is a one size fits all solution.

My point is that there are proven strategies to beat the higher difficulties but knowledge and problem solving always helps as sometimes you don't get that infinite Black Goat. Sometimes the game gives you literal garbage and the Pack Rat is a shining beacon of hope.

Note: I just typed this because I felt like it.

[Morton Koopa Jr.]

I agree with OP. I don't have as much experience. But I don't know how a person could consistently take out the grizzly rushes without relying on items, and relying on items means relying on rats.

Like even the guy above me is like "there's plenty of strategies after you SNIP HOOK and kill a grizzly. I mean just 2 of 3 of those options listed rely on item rng. And then he closes the paragraph talking about necessary items to win harder difficulties.

[Potato Demon]

Originally posted by Morton Koopa Jr.:

I agree with OP. I don't have as much experience. But I don't know how a person could consistently take out the grizzly rushes without relying on items, and relying on items means relying on rats.

Like even the guy above me is like "there's plenty of strategies after you SNIP HOOK and kill a grizzly. I mean just 2 of 3 of those options listed rely on item rng. And then he closes the paragraph talking about necessary items to win harder difficulties.

Yeah, at first I was like "Yeah! There are so many fun strategies and card combinations in this game!" Then me typing that just devolved into me realizing I was just being way too optimistic and that items are king.

Sometimes it takes actively sharing your opinion and typing it out to realize you're wrong.

[RequiemsRose]

Haven't managed to get Skull Storm just yet, prepping for that first bear wall is quite the challenge lol. Have to agree about the item reliance though, pack rats are often one of the first things I go with regardless of what other strategies Im trying to also use on top of that. Yeah, every advantage you can give yourself does help and it can give you more wiggle room for things like extending matches intentionally for items without dying horrifically for it (especially on skull storm runs)...but items can make or break any situation regardless of what else is available.

So far the only other ability I put nearly at that level is hoarder, whether it's through magpie or the magnifying lens item (so pack rats can help there to). Where packrats can help with items, hoarder can make RNG your toy on the card pulls. Great for when you do have powerful win condition cards you never seem to top deck...but the bear wall especially has shown me time and time again, that alone is not really enough most the time (at least what you can get set up by the first boss never seems to be enough to conquer the wall without help, like items).

[Potato Demon]

Yeah, for the Bear Wall I take full advantage of the Backpack spaces, they give you a choice between three items three times over and there's a solid chance you'll get the scissors. Well... two times over on Skull Storm and you don't get the fish hook which normally is the rock you lean on for the bears but it's still a good chance. I intentionally burn through anything that's not Scissors actually. SOMETIMES I might do something different like buffing a flying card to one shot the boss and using the bleach item to remove the bear's anti-airborn sigils but that's about it. You CAN get creative, but there's definitely not much room for varying strategy in Skull Storm, there is some though.

[RequiemsRose]

Out of curiousity, for those who have gotten skull storm already, would you say there are better or best starter decks for it? I mean, everyone loves mantis god for relatively obvious reasons and the ringworm/campfire mechanic does solve the annoying starter issue to a degree as well. I also seem to lean towards the free starters deck to, since i usually use them for sacrifice fodder the annoying starters part also doesnt matter much but it does make it harder to fiddle with fair hand mechanic as well. Any other starters stand out for skull storm runs that im overlooking? 'Cause I just cant seem to get that last achievement lol.

[LittleNinja]

Originally posted by RequiemsRose:

Out of curiousity, for those who have gotten skull storm already, would you say there are better or best starter decks for it? I mean, everyone loves mantis god for relatively obvious reasons and the ringworm/campfire mechanic does solve the annoying starter issue to a degree as well.

Yeah. I beat Skull Storm first try with Mantis.
My tip is to try and get Magpie and put it on some other 1-cost.

[Fierce1]

I followed a guide and chose the geck deck approach. The key to my victory was the immortal warren. Literally. If you can get an immortal warren, you've already won. You may want a second immortal card that requires sacrifices, just to ensure you can get all the immortal rabbits on the field as you need as soon as possible. The key to beating those bears is clogging the lanes with immortal bunnies while whatever attacker you have widdles down a given line until you deal direct damage and finish things up. It's also recommended you put the magnifying glass on the tadpole.