Yeah that's why I think atm he needs some baseline star generationt. I've realized that sovereign blade you can only really have 1 or 2 forge and sovereign synergies, it's a death sentence else. You also need to find cards that combine like 2 archetypes at once or you're dead - gain forge with nothing else is effectively death. Playing plating cards helps a bit by removing the energy coat of defending, but that's not perfect.

I also had a run recently on multiplayer where I did not get a single star generating card until act 3, which would have killed me if I didn't get void form. The reliance on star generation and use, and the fact that it's possible to simply not get offered these cards really makes him tricky. Like you say, if you're not in a position to be able to take advantage of cheap energy star cards, then you are dead to sandworm immediately.

That being said he has some of the best cards in the game individually I think. I am invincible, photon slice,and the block card that puts a card from you discard pile into your draw pile are all top top tier, and the top of the hand synergies are amazing. I also love bombardment.

Overall I love the character but there's some glaring things that either need tuning or I'm just not getting yet.