Are face card decks meant to be unplayed??

[Simple Tora]

Every single time my run started with a lot of jokers regarding face cards show up I think “oh this is gonna be nuts” I ALWAYS get the plant by the 3rd or 4th ante. Why is that even a thing? You just straight up lose with no hope of counterplay because of a random debuff when the only options to counter said debuff are also random?

Games ok but the balance seems to be absolutely garbage. 90% of the jokers seem so situational and bad while most of the boss blinds seem to straight up end the run immediately just because it can

[Shapeling]

By the time you reach Ante 3 or 4, the scores required should still be low enough to pass the Plant regardless, especially at lower stakes. You do not have to go all in on the Faces yet, until you are either past the Plant boss or have a counter prepared. You can look up the counters below, assuming you have them unlocked.

Early on, it is usually best to focus on economy, by maximazing your interest at 25$. This tends to give you enough space to work with and be better prepared for the next boss (always check out next the boss as soon as possible).

Chip jokes, multi + jokers and x multi jokers are your friend (put x multi ones on the right). They allow you to pass all 8 Antes and often regardless of who the boss is and/or your played Hand.

If a specific boss still gives you trouble for whatever reason, the Director's Cut/Retcon Vouchers, Luchadore Joker, Chichot Joker and the Reroll boss skip tag can offer you some degree of counter play.

[RazzberryMocha]

The plant, while totally shutting down a face card build most of the time, does have legitimate counterplay. While there's always reroll tags/vouchers or luchador to just ignore the boss, pivoting your strategy and changing where your point scoring comes from when you see the next ante boss is going to counter you is your next best bet.
For example, if I'm relying on smiley face (gives mult for played face cards) for my flat mult and I see the plant I'd look for another source of flat mult. I find greedy joker (gives mult for played diamonds), make room for it in my build, and then start playing diamond flushes for the ante until I beat the plant and can safely return to my previous strategy. Additionally, boss blinds cannot appear twice in a run, so if you see the plant early it is completely safe to build into face cards.