Certain combos unwinnable?

[MrQun]

I started playing at normal difficulty than hard, than harder. I've managed to win several times and now want to give hardest difficulty a try, but I no matter what I try, I can't win.

I don't have much experience with deckbuilders but have played Monster Train. So I am aware that it is best to keep the deck as small as possible. I am also aware, that you should have a few defensive options like shield or dodge. So I think that I've got the basics covered. But I don't know, my strategy seems to be missing something, but I don't what it is. Maybe I'm unlucky?

Which begs the questions: Is every run winnable? And are certain ship/ crew combos doom to failure?

Right now I'm trying to get a win using Artemis with Riggs, Peri and Books on hardest difficulty. Is this combo doable?

Can people give me advice on what I should do on every run to get consistent wins?
For example:
1) What reroute power option to take
2) What upgrades to prioritise
3) When to start hunting for rare cards/ artefacts (i.e, fight mini bosses) etc.

Thank you.

[KingOfCharge]

Every combo is doable on hardest, and since that one has Riggs it’s not even one of the harder ones because you won’t lack movement. Dizzy and Riggs are the easiest characters to win with, but it’s possible to win with neither. If you want to win hardest for the first time, honestly just go with the default crew.
Thinning the deck is a good option, but the upgrade station and removal station are the same node and sometimes upgrading is a better decision. Keep in mind what cards are in your deck and if it’s better for you to upgrade one or remove the worst (for example, Peri without Riggs wants to do lunge A at the first repair yard rather than removing anything).

[Ysen]

It's definitely possible to win with any combination of characters, though some combinations are harder than others. What to take depends a bit on what you have and what you are offered.

On hardest the first zone is much more dangerous, so you have less leeway to carry around cards that might be strong later but don't do much for you right now. You're probably looking to get a couple of early cards that are reliable and give raw power before you start picking up enablers or combo pieces.

It can also be worth upgrading starter cards that give you something your team otherwise finds difficult to get - I often upgrade Basic Evade if I don't have Riggs, and sometimes Basic Shield if I don't have Dizzy (although Books can help a bit with shields). Getting something down to 0 cost can be useful as usually you'll be drawing more cards than you can play, especially when you're starting with Draw Shot.

I will typically focus on upgrading cards at the start, rather than removing. Removing means you can draw your good cards more reliably, but you need to actually have good cards first.

You can fight elite enemies in Zone 1, but if you don't have the power pieces you need it might go poorly. Books can be a little slow to get started because she usually needs a shard generator and shard spending card before her stuff really works (and you have to dump 1 energy into unpolished crystal for no real return before Mage Hand works), so maybe don't don't go for one super-early especially if you haven't picked up some strong cards and/or upgrades.

I usually take reduced max hull or debris (especially with Riggs), and like the upgrade cards or "remove one card, get a common" options.

[KingOfCharge]

Without Dizzy I take reduced max shield every time on ships with 4+ max shield as I’m unlikely to reach max shield.

[MrQun]

Thanks guys. It was a bit of a pain, but I managed to get a win.

I think that my problem was that I was underestimating the value of some of the starter cards. Take Scramble for example: I would often discard this card at the first opportunity as I figured with three energy it would be too difficult to play. But now that I think about it, the two evade from Scramble could have saved some of my runs. In addition, that card can be upgraded to get three evade for the cost of two energy. Not too shabby.

Bottom line: Don't underestimate the starter cards and don't ignore potential run saving upgrades.

[KingOfCharge]

Yeah, without a certain amount of movement you often just lose. Scramble is a good early way to meet that minimum. You can remove it later if you find yourself not playing it (Riggs has lots of other sources for evade) but don’t get rid of it early. Emp slug is another 2 cost starter card that’s actually really good.

[Ysen]

Originally posted by TheQunRules:

Thanks guys. It was a bit of a pain, but I managed to get a win.

Congrats!

Originally posted by KingOfCharge:

Emp slug is another 2 cost starter card that’s actually really good.

EMP Slug is great!

Most of the common cards you start with are pretty decent, I don't usually remove them unless I get jettison hatch early or take the removal benefit at the start. By the time you've removed the basic shots it's a lot of shop visits otherwise!