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Card Values and Balance Review
This review documents configured card values, compares their intended roles and identifies priorities for further validation.
All 26 cards currently define an upgrade. This confirms configuration coverage, not final gameplay balance. The base Poison group has completed its first round of functional playtesting. Other findings below are configuration observations, theoretical calculations or recommendations requiring further testing.
Damage, healing and prevention per Energy are starting points rather than complete balance measures. Comparisons also consider:
- Immediate versus delayed effects.
- Single-target versus all-enemy effects.
- Defence, status interactions and effect order.
- Overkill, overhealing and unused Block.
- Card availability, repeated access and setup costs.
Poison totals assume every configured tick resolves. Ordinary damage totals are before defensive reductions. Block and healing are not added together as guaranteed effective HP. Utility effects are assessed separately, and zero-cost cards are not assigned an efficiency value by dividing by zero.
Base: 1 Energy, 6 ordinary damage.
Upgrade: 1 Energy, 12 ordinary damage.
Strike provides an immediate-damage baseline. Its upgrade doubles the damage without increasing cost, so higher-cost attacks should demonstrate a useful advantage through damage, timing or additional effects.
Recommendation: Retain provisionally and include Strike+ in attack comparisons.
Base: 1 Energy, 5 Block.
Upgrade: 1 Energy, 8 Block.
Nominal Block efficiency increases from 5 to 8 per Energy. Actual prevention depends on incoming damage and how much Block remains unused.
Recommendation: Retain provisionally; measure absorbed damage during playtests.
Base: 1 Energy, 4 ordinary damage and 3 Poison for 3 turns.
Upgrade: 1 Energy, 6 ordinary damage and 4 Poison for 3 turns.
Calculated full-resolution totals are 13 and 18 damage respectively, before mitigation of the ordinary hit. The immediate hit provides value when a target will not survive the full Poison duration.
Recommendation: Retain provisionally and compare with Poison Flask at different encounter lengths.
Base: 1 Energy, Vulnerable to all enemies for 2 turns.
Upgrade: 1 Energy, Vulnerable to all enemies for 3 turns.
The upgrade extends the setup window while retaining Vulnerable value 1. Its benefit depends on follow-up attacks during the active duration.
Recommendation: Retain provisionally; assess actual follow-up damage rather than treating Vulnerable as direct damage.
Base: 2 Energy, 2 Strength for the rest of combat.
Upgrade: 2 Energy, 3 Strength for the rest of combat.
Its payoff depends on subsequent eligible attacks and the current Strength rules. Spending Energy on setup may be costly in short encounters.
Recommendation: Compare with Astral Ward and Sealed Pact on the final integrated build.
Base: 1 Energy, heal 6 HP.
Upgrade: 1 Energy, heal 9 HP.
Nominal healing efficiency increases from 6 to 9 HP per Energy. Overhealing and repeated availability affect realised value.
Recommendation: Retain provisionally and monitor repeated sustain.
Base: 2 Energy, 4 ordinary damage to all enemies.
Upgrade: 2 Energy, 6 ordinary damage to all enemies.
Against two enemies, nominal total damage is 8 or 12. Starfall has higher damage at the same cost, but a different rarity.
Recommendation: Retain provisionally; evaluate accessibility and enemy count when comparing the two cards.
Base: 1 Energy, 4 damage and 1 Feeble for 2 turns.
Upgrade: 1 Energy, 6 damage and 1 Feeble for 3 turns.
The upgrade improves both attack damage and the defensive window. Feeble’s value depends on whether the affected enemy attacks while it is active.
Recommendation: Retain provisionally and record actual damage prevented.
Base: 2 Energy, 9 ordinary damage.
Upgrade: 2 Energy, 13 ordinary damage.
Its base version needs a clearer role relative to Poison Blade, which costs the same and provides 10 immediate piercing damage plus Poison. The upgraded version has a slightly larger immediate hit than Blade+, but ordinary damage remains subject to defence.
Modifiers, acquisition and immediate-damage requirements may change the comparison.
Recommendation: Prioritise a role review before deciding whether to adjust values.
Base: 1 Energy, reduce Armour by 3, then deal 2 damage.
Upgrade: 1 Energy, reduce Armour by 5, then deal 4 damage.
Sunder resolves before the attack. Its value depends on existing Armour and the benefit to following attacks.
Recommendation: Retain provisionally; compare Armour-heavy and Armour-free encounters.
Base: 1 Energy, 5 Poison for 3 turns.
Upgrade: 1 Energy, 7 Poison for 3 turns.
Calculated full-duration damage increases from 15 to 21 HP. The base three-tick sequence was confirmed during playtesting. Upgraded numerical balance still requires validation.
Recommendation: Retain provisionally; compare realised damage in short and long encounters.
Base: 2 Energy, 3 Poison to all enemies for 3 turns.
Upgrade: 2 Energy, 4 Poison to all enemies for 3 turns.
Calculated damage increases from 9 to 12 HP per enemy. Against two surviving targets, totals are 18 and 24 HP.
Recommendation: Retain provisionally; assess target count and how often all ticks resolve.
Base: 2 Energy, 10 piercing damage and 4 Poison for 2 turns.
Upgrade: 2 Energy, 12 piercing damage and 5 Poison for 2 turns.
Calculated combined damage increases from 18 to 22 HP. The card combines an immediate defence-bypassing hit with delayed damage.
Recommendation: Retain provisionally and compare its practical value with other 2-Energy attacks, especially Warden’s Judgement.
Base: 1 Energy, Vulnerable for 2 turns and 2 Poison for 2 turns.
Upgrade: 1 Energy, Vulnerable for 2 turns and 3 Poison for 2 turns.
Calculated Poison damage increases from 4 to 6 HP. Vulnerable remains value 1 and uses the fixed 1.5× multiplier; its additional attack damage is conditional and is not included in the Poison total.
Recommendation: Retain provisionally; verify attack sequencing and status timing on the integrated build.
Before defence and assuming full Poison resolution, base Flask deals 15 total damage and base Dagger deals 13. Their cumulative damage is equal after the second tick: 10 HP each.
For upgrades, Flask+ deals 21 total damage and Dagger+ deals 18. Dagger+ provides 6 immediately, while Flask+ provides none on play.
Decision: Keep both roles provisionally. Total damage alone does not establish that either card is unbalanced.
Base: 2 Energy, 6 ordinary damage to all enemies.
Upgrade: 2 Energy, 9 ordinary damage to all enemies.
Against two enemies, nominal damage increases from 12 to 18. Unlike Cloud, its damage is immediate but subject to ordinary mitigation.
Recommendation: Retain provisionally; compare immediate kills with delayed Poison output.
Base: 1 Energy, 4 damage followed by Vulnerable value 1 for 2 turns.
Upgrade: 1 Energy, 6 damage followed by Vulnerable value 2 for 2 turns.
Increasing Vulnerable’s value does not improve its fixed damage multiplier. The damage increase already provides a meaningful upgrade.
Recommendation: Ask the author to normalise upgraded Vulnerable to value 1 and update the wording. Any duration increase should be a separate balance decision.
Base: 2 Energy, 4 Block, 1 Strength and restore 1 Energy.
Upgrade: 2 Energy, 6 Block, 2 Strength and restore 1 Energy.
The card requires 2 Energy upfront, even when its refund reduces the eventual net expenditure. Its combined defence and lasting offensive benefit warrant comparison with other setup cards.
Recommendation: Prioritise repeated-access, refund and Strength-interaction testing.
Base: 5 Energy, heal 6 HP at the start of the next 3 turns.
Upgrade: 5 Energy, heal 9 HP at the start of the next 3 turns.
Calculated healing totals are 18 and 27 HP. Healing is delayed and capped by missing HP.
Recommendation: Establish whether players can realistically reach 5 available Energy in the final integrated game. High-Energy test fixtures do not prove ordinary-run affordability.
Base: 2 Energy, 7 Block and heal 3 HP.
Upgrade: 2 Energy, 10 Block and heal 4 HP.
The card combines current-turn protection and recovery. Its value depends on both incoming damage and missing HP.
Recommendation: Accept provisionally; record actual prevention and healing separately.
Base: 2 Energy, 12 Block.
Upgrade: 2 Energy, 18 Block.
Nominal efficiency increases from 6 to 9 Block per Energy. It concentrates prevention into one card activation, but excess Block may be wasted.
Recommendation: Accept provisionally and compare with Defend under different incoming damage levels.
Base: 2 Energy, heal 10 HP.
Upgrade: 2 Energy, heal 15 HP.
Its healing per Energy is lower than Bandage’s, but it provides more healing in one activation.
Recommendation: Accept provisionally; assess overhealing, card access and repeated sustain.
Base: 1 Energy, remove all negative effects.
Upgrade: 0 Energy, retain the same Cleanse effect.
Reducing cost provides a meaningful upgrade. Increasing CLEANSE’s placeholder value would not improve an effect that already removes all negative statuses.
Recommendation: Accept provisionally. Verify multiple-debuff removal, positive-status preservation and repeated access. Zero cost alone does not prove an infinite loop.
Base: 3 Energy, 3 Strength and 6 Block.
Upgrade: 3 Energy, 4 Strength and 9 Block.
Its value combines protection with future offensive benefit. The high upfront cost must be justified against other setup options.
Recommendation: Compare with Inner Focus and Astral Ward using actual eligible attacks and current Strength rules.
Base: 3 Energy, 20 ordinary damage.
Upgrade: 3 Energy, 28 ordinary damage.
Nominal damage efficiency increases from approximately 6.67 to 9.33 per Energy. The configuration contains no HP-payment effect; the name and lore must not be treated as a mechanical drawback.
Recommendation: Retain provisionally and assess burst value, mitigation and overkill.
Base: 2 Energy, Vulnerable for 2 turns and 4 Poison for 3 turns.
Upgrade: 2 Energy, Vulnerable for 3 turns and 6 Poison for 3 turns.
Calculated Poison damage increases from 12 to 18 HP. The upgrade also extends Vulnerable’s duration while retaining value 1.
Recommendation: Retain provisionally. Compare its larger delayed output with Mark’s cheaper setup, and align descriptions with unnumbered Vulnerable wording.
Base: 1 Energy, gain 4 Armour.
Upgrade: 1 Energy, gain 6 Armour.
Armour should be evaluated through its actual absorption and persistence rules, rather than treated as ordinary one-turn Block.
Recommendation: Retain provisionally and assess encounter-level prevention and stacking.
- Resolve the Rift Lance+ Vulnerable configuration and wording inconsistency with its author.
- Establish a useful role for Warden’s Judgement relative to other attacks.
- Verify Restoring Light’s practical affordability on the final integrated build.
- Compare Strength setup cards under current runtime rules and realistic repeated access.
- Validate healing, zero-cost cleansing and Poison timing in actual encounters.
These are review findings, not approved numerical changes. No card values were modified as part of this review.
Configuration review is complete for all 26 cards, but final balance approval remains pending documented deck-level playtests.
Complete two playtest and revision rounds using starter and realistically acquired or upgraded decks, multiple seeds and low-health entry states. Record the tested build, deck, modifiers, actions, route, choices and realised outcomes. Separate correctness bugs from balance concerns, document decisions and retest accepted changes before final acceptance.
Reviewed and unchanged: Defend, Sealed Pact, Iron Oath, Humble Sanctuary and Consecrated Rampart. Their current values are retained based on the available verification and playtest evidence. This is a provisional balance decision; it does not confirm every upgraded version or status interaction.
Boss-fight Strength: Known risk; retest after the Strength stacking change lands on main. Existing individual-card checks do not establish that combined Strength effects behave correctly during the boss fight. Final verification should record the tested main commit, Strength applications and resulting attack damage.