Double your win rate with this one simple trick (The Champ HATES it)

[burningmime]

This is a quick tip for anyone who is struggling with getting a consistent win rate, especially on Ascension. If you're still new and trying to beat the game the first time, this might be less helpful for you, but once I realized this, the game got much easier for me.

The hardest part of the game is Act 2, so build your deck around that. There are many topics here talking about building certain archetypes, how elites aren't worth it for trhe value they provide, how the game has too much RNG, or how small decks are better than big decks because theyr'e more consistent in the late game. And that's all true for a new player trying to get their first win on non-Ascension. But having a small deck at the beginning of Act 2 means you're going to be facing the Chosen and Snake Plant with a deck full of Strikes and Defends and dead combo pieces (ie a Catalyst without much poison, etc). You'll die a lot trying to build the perfect deck.

Grabbing good, solid cards in Act 1 (especially the first few floors) will let you greed some elites in Act 1. Act 1 elites drop gold (to buy other good cards or relics), and relics (giving you a better chance in Act 2). When the game starts getting more challenging, you'll have a deck will of valuable cards that help you win fights straight out. Then you'll have a long time to start figuring out how to scale to beat the final boss.

Thinking about the game in this framework will help guide your decision-making process. When I was new, I easily fell into the trap of trying to build a "good deck", and wanting to end the run with that. I was spending all my gold on removing Strikes, because when you have a small deck and combo-based strategy, that's important. But the biggest challenges come up much sooner than the final boss, so having a decent deck by the beginning of A2 is worth having a only okay-ish deck in Act 3. Then you start thinking of ways to scale into the late game (Demon Form, Noxious Fumes, literally everything the Defect does).

Suddenly, cards you thought were kind of mediocre (ie Piercing Wail) will go way up in value. Piercing Wail doesn't seem like something you'd want against the final boss, but it's pretty great against the 7x3 snake plant. Clothesline looks like it might be fodder clogging up your endgame engine - which it usually is - but it's almost always good to have in early-game fights. Conversely, cards that seem great but require a bunch of time and setup go down in value. Entrench, Prepared, and Amplify start looking pretty useless.

Anyways, hope that was helpful. Especially for people who think this game has too much RNG, I urge you to try building bigger decks based in the mid game, and just focus on keeping a roughly equal number of attack and defense cards. Obviously, don't grab every card available to you (there are lots of times to skip), but think about things like "what can this card do to beat the Slavers elite in my deck right now" instead of "what can this card do to beat Donu & Deca if I also get this other card."

[vinn]

k

[BeastofBones]

Mostly good post. Not wanting Piercing Wail against the bosses though is a bit of a stretch, since it neuters most of the final bosses for a turn (Assuming you can strip artefact Donu & Deca, or you can use it to help strip), and gives good value against Champ + Collector, somewhat less so against Automaton (varies). Actually on second thought, it's pretty good against most act bosses lol. Realistically, Piercing Wail is a good card because it often lets you cheat out a ton of block for one energy, as most damage spikes in this game comes from multiple enemies, or multiple hit attacks.

Weak from Clothesline effectively blocks for more against bosses than regular mooks and across multiple turns, so that's questionable logic as well. If anything, it's the raw damage cards (Carnage, Rip & Tear, Streamline, etc.) you picked to go Elite hunting Act I that end up being write offs against bosses.

The general gist of the post though, to keep an open mind and build a deck tailored to answer specific encounters in the game is correct. Not being afraid to have a larger deck is good advice. Thank you for taking the time to write this post.

[Mehfisto]

I agree. Although for someone climbing ascension there are better structured and more accurate posts but what made me get some win on a10+ was definitely stop worrying about removing all the base cards and worrying more about getting a good cycle through strong cards

[Zu]

Originally posted by burningmime:

"What can this card do to beat the Slavers elite in my deck right now?" instead of "What can this card do to beat Donu & Deca if I also get this other card?"
TL,DR:
Need first, want second.

Ascension in a nutshell.