Removing cards from your deck

[vampirebunbun]

So I've been wondering how people are getting so many cards out of their decks. I'm lucky in a run if I can remove 3 or 4, since each level only has 1 or 2 merchants available and often on different paths. Am I missing something?

[Maevin]

I'm not super experienced with the game, however I did beat it on my 4th try with ironclad that focuses on spamming Clash + Headbutt. In order for this to work, I have to minimize non attack cards. Other than the fact that you can remove some cards through luck or merchant, the best thing that you can do is to play cards that exhaust or discards cards. That way when you reshuffle cards into your deck it's smaller and easier to redraw. (That's all I got sorry)

[NinjaX]

My smallest winning deck was 20 cards. It's just getting lucky in random events and prioritizing card removal in merchants.

[Handbanana]

The only cards you need to remove from your deck are curses. You shouldn't have to use the card removal more than once or twice.

A tip about something I didn't realize until like 10 hours into the game is you don't have to take a card after a fight. If there is nothing there that fits your build is very good just skip the card draw for that fight.

[Hotcakes]

Originally posted by vampirebunbun:

So I've been wondering how people are getting so many cards out of their decks. I'm lucky in a run if I can remove 3 or 4, since each level only has 1 or 2 merchants available and often on different paths. Am I missing something?

There's not much you can do besides just managing your gold well and hitting as many merchants as possible. There are some events that will allow you to remove or transform a card but this is up to rng. There is also a relic that you can find that allows you to remove cards at campfires. I would recommend skipping every card choice that benefits you only a little or none at all.

[ItzTommy]

Originally posted by vampirebunbun:

So I've been wondering how people are getting so many cards out of their decks. I'm lucky in a run if I can remove 3 or 4, since each level only has 1 or 2 merchants available and often on different paths. Am I missing something?

Sometimes you get the option to remove 2 cards at the beginning of the run. There are also events to transform your cards as well. Doesn't really remove them, but at least you get something better than Strike and Defend. I always prioritize card removal on my runs. Look for the path with the most Merchants and save your money unless you find something amazing you have to buy instead. On a good run I'm able to remove all strikes and defends.

[ravengage]

- Remove card at beginning of run (or 2 cards)
- Hit at least 3-4 merchants during the run.
- Hit as many ? events as possible, it's common for several of them to remove a card.

It all adds up. Really all you need to remove are half of the basic cards. For example on silent I tend to keep my blocks since with the +3dex power they actually become decent. It's not that hard to remove 5-6 strikes per run.

[Rules Of Acquisition]

Mostly from ? events. I usually favour taking as many as possible, I'm sure keeping the default deck can be fine, but card cycling being what it is, I'd rather remove the strikes. Remove the block if/when you get better options, but in *most* cases its' better to have a smaller deck. A lot of my wins have been 10-15 card decks.

[jkakitsubata]

Mostly luck as others have said. You can target merchants, but I don't usually have the luxury/gold to get rid of many basic cards that way. I tend to get the relic that keeps the removal cost at 50 after most of the merchants are gone. I wish there was a more consitent method for removal because that seems to be the biggest factor in winning.

There are cards that support a large deck though. I've had some success with Mind Blast (no win though). I also had a good and largish cycling deck with Choke that I could afford to keep adding cards to, and would have won if I hadn't gotten the worst possible draws at the beginning (pulling a few more basic cards out would have certainly helped). I hardly lost any life on the third stage, then got destroyed at the end.

[pablo360.repiuk]

Originally posted by Handbanana:

The only cards you need to remove from your deck are curses. You shouldn't have to use the card removal more than once or twice.

This is completely wrong. Your starting cards suck, specifically Strikes and Defends. All else being equal, you want those out of your deck by the endgame, or at least reduced in number, so you draw them less and your good cards more.

If you take enough hallway and Elite fights to get a reasonable amount of gold, you should be able to remove five or six cards throughout the run, more with some luck. Starting with card removal or extra gold will help, and don’t sleep on the Empty Cage boss relic.

[LHGreen]

You know, you don't need to necro EVERY thread about card removal. One is enough. And just who, from the original discussion, do you think will even see this, anyway? This is from 2018! Most of these people have probably died of covid by now!

[The Yeen Queen]

Originally posted by pablo360.repiuk:

Originally posted by Handbanana:

The only cards you need to remove from your deck are curses. You shouldn't have to use the card removal more than once or twice.

This is completely wrong. Your starting cards suck, specifically Strikes and Defends. All else being equal, you want those out of your deck by the endgame, or at least reduced in number, so you draw them less and your good cards more.

If you take enough hallway and Elite fights to get a reasonable amount of gold, you should be able to remove five or six cards throughout the run, more with some luck. Starting with card removal or extra gold will help, and don’t sleep on the Empty Cage boss relic.

Honey. The thread's been dead since 2018. NECRO POSTING IS RUDE. Especially when you haven't said anything that hasn't already been said.

[Wren]

This thread was quite old before the recent post, so we're locking it to prevent confusion.