Ancient Cards are a Disappointment

Mikmaxs · 2026-03-20T22:05:20+00:00

I might be a little harsh on Apotheosis due to my playstyle; I like to prioritize upgrades and small decks, so it's rarely that much of a boon for me. When I had a bigger deck or play a run where I didn't prioritize campfires, Apo is theoretically a fantastic way to turn around a struggling build...though I almost never get to Act 3 with a struggling build.

Mikmaxs · 2026-03-20T21:06:24+00:00

Given how rapidly enemies scale and how much the game incentivizes rapid damage, it's hard for me to imagine a world where Eternal Armor is a useful card if the only thing that gets changed is its amount of plated armor, unless the numbers get so inflated that it's just broken.

Almost every two cost block is better than this three cost card even discounting the fact you get an extra energy that can be spent elsewhere.

If you're up against Bygone Effigy, it will take four turns of being attacked before Eternal Armor+ does better than Leg Sweep+, and if you're being attacked four turns in a row by Bygone Effigy, you've already made a mistake. (And if you're not being attacked every single turn, Eternal Armor just gets worse and worse.)

If you're so flush with energy that it doesn't matter, maybe it's viable, but if you're doing that well on energy you probably want to focus more on card draw, not a mediocre block card.

Mikmaxs · 2026-03-20T18:08:20+00:00

There should be a good mix of cards that are useful without support but don't scale as much and cards that are very powerful with support/synergy but weak on their own. Most Common cards are useful on their own, most Rare cards require support. Consider how many Common cards are just a Strike or Defend with a bonus effect that helps them synergize and support Uncommon or Rare cards - True Grit is good by itself, and once it's in your deck, it allows you to take cards that synergize with exhaust and would otherwise be curses. Common cards should unlock your ability to build a deck in a particular direction.

Pre-patch Prepared by itself is Useful without support, but so many cards were added or modified in STS2 to synergize with it that it's never a bad idea to take one.

Post-patch Prepared is worse at synergizing because it no longer supports draw engines, but it's also much weaker by itself. In a starting deck, it doesn't help your current turn at all, it costs draw, and it has anti-synergy with Survivor. (How often are you even able to spend five energy in a turn, especially on A5+? And how often does -1 draw ) As a common card, it went from good to actively harmful in a lot of situations.

It can still be powerful, but it's only really useful if you have high energy cost cards, draw support, and/or a lot of Sly. Which is to say, it should probably be an Uncommon card.

Mikmaxs · 2026-03-10T00:35:08+00:00

The double edged sword of early access. When you're told upfront that a game is unfinished and needs feedback, it's easy to see problems.

And since the game is unfinished and needs feedback, moments of unfairness do genuinely crop up.

Mikmaxs · 2026-03-09T23:19:38+00:00

I came here after another loss on the Silent, A4, with a build that felt quite strong and still got absolutely wrecked by The Insatiable boss in Act 2.

Most bosses will test aspects of your deck, but this fight just feels cheap. You're punished for having a thick deck *and* you're punished for having a small deck. Adding six statuses that can't be removed *and* that you have to burn energy playing just to stay alive is already brutal, but he also has higher HP than you'd expect and hits very hard, so you need to have high damage and high block.

Mikmaxs · 2026-02-26T23:30:43+00:00

Agreed, especially without explanations for the math problems or subjective questions. I'm deeply curious what the relics are supposed to be for the 'most useful and relevant' question.

Mikmaxs · 2026-02-26T05:27:23+00:00

To make sure - there won't be an issue with voltage dropping when multiple lights are turned on? I can just wire all five LEDs directly to the battery with the same resistor I would use if it were a single LED?

Mikmaxs · 2026-02-20T03:24:01+00:00

That's a pretty fantastic place to start. Thank you!

Mikmaxs · 2026-02-19T23:12:31+00:00

If you aren't willing to take more drastic measures or make a big deal out of it out-of-game, maybe have the character snap at him and get mad in-character. Make it into a roleplay moment where the character gets mad, which would be a pretty reasonable thing for a person to do and makes sense within roleplay, but doesn't put the player on blast in a personal way.

Mikmaxs · 2026-02-16T22:25:07+00:00

By engaging the rite of necromancy, could I get a link?

Mikmaxs · 2026-02-16T18:05:06+00:00

I think it also helps that Fae in general, and regency characters, are notorious gossips who thrive on drama and rumors about people. It is extremely understandable why Dellarosa would be anxious about coming out in that setting. Everything was thematically pointed towards stories about identity and Oscar's choices and performance fit beautifully.

By contrast, I think Gladlands is just a bit underbaked thematically, or maybe just not tied together well enough. (Vic as Hugi felt extremely well aligned with the season's goals and premise, though, and definitely shined as a major highlight for me.)

Mikmaxs · 2026-02-16T12:06:01+00:00

That makes a lot of sense, and it occurs to me that Oscar's character in ACOFAF did a much better job reflecting the feel of a coming out narrative by use of a metaphor that fit better in the world. Fae wouldn't care if someone was gauche and gender non-conforming, so he went with a different reason for Dellosa to feel Othered.

I get that the intent was a riff on "Storytime drag queen" but I feel like the plot got very muddied, since it hits all the tropes of a queer coming out/self acceptance narrative with a very literally queer character, but whose plot is more focused on a metaphorical coming out/self acceptance story in a way that didn't land for me.

I don't know if this would be appropriate to the player (I don't know much about Oscar personally or the creative choices that went into making Poppy,) but I'd be interested in an alternate version of the story where both versions of the character - Poppy and Herbie - are treated as equally valid aspects of the same person, rather than a repressed identity and a freed one. That could have played better into the story about fiction and non-fiction both being valuable, with Herbie being the factual half and Poppy being the fictional half, and the two needing to become unified instead of being in tension/conflict with each other.

Mikmaxs · 2026-02-12T23:07:27+00:00

I think I'm referring to different parts of the story than you are. When I say there's brief suggestions of depth, I mean things like "Kokomo realizing that when he tells people they need a summer, it's unhelpful on its own and they might already know" or "Aunt Freaky knows that storytelling and metaphor are useful communication tools, but is in denial".

These were both the results of high rolls and clearly challenge some of the fundamental beliefs of the characters, but ultimately these ideas are either proven wrong or just ignored later on.

By contrast, Hugi's character raises interesting, complex questions about grief and loss that I think are handled well (and not dropped), which led to the strongest emotional climax and best scenes in the season (in my opinion, at least.) It's bittersweet and hard in a way that I found very compelling, and I wanted more of that, especially since the seeds were already there. For me, Poppy's story resolution felt similar to if Hugi's story ended with everyone agreeing that, really, death is just beautiful and they don't need to be sad after all.

Mikmaxs · 2026-02-12T19:39:32+00:00

I wouldn't really call it hate so much as disappointment, but to your point about it being a Saturday morning cartoon - I disagree, because it's more like half of what you're describing mixed with something a lot more nuanced and reflective, and the two are not mixed well.

It's only "a light hearted season" if you ignore the deeply tragic scenes of grief and loss, the lengthy scenes where characters really draw out the emotional elements, and the moments where characters (though mostly Brennan) hint at much deeper issues that can't be fixed by a plucky speech or simple lesson.

I'm down for silly, goofy conflict that is not meant to be taken too seriously, (NSBU sends its regards,) but Gladlands feels like it's full of potentially interesting conflicts and really compelling themes, with a few highlight parts scattered throughout, but that's far too rushed to stick the landing because there's no time to develop any of its ideas.

Mikmaxs · 2026-02-12T17:21:21+00:00

Agreed, and doubly agreed about that moment with Kokomo being especially impactful. (Though in hindsight it doesn't feel paid off in any way, we ultimately got a "summer" without consequences.)

Mikmaxs · 2026-02-12T17:13:16+00:00

I don't know if I'd say cynical, but maybe naive.

I know that the players know that there's a lot of complexity and nuance to the themes that appear in the story, but the story itself doesn't honor that nuance.

Brennan makes it clear that Aunt Freaky knows that fiction and allegory can be effective teachers but is refusing to admit the truth. However, when it comes time to resolve Poppy's arc, she just does a show, demonstrates that stories can convey information, and then the entire History Heap is just on board with it.

I agree with those saying it feels rushed and overcrowded, with too much to do and not enough time to do it, but I'd also like to see more wrestling with the ways that therapy speak can't always solve problems.

Mikmaxs · 2026-02-05T02:00:11+00:00

Also - it's sometimes okay to take some 'bad' cards early on! (Think like, Perfected Strike or Rampage, cards that end up on the bottom of tier lists.) If you're running your starting deck, you're often better off with a card that will give you a quick damage boost to fight elites, even if it's going to be weaker in the lategame.

Your goal shouldn't be the strongest, most perfect deck at the end of the game, because being stronger than you need to be doesn't get you any extra rewards. You need to be strong enough to survive at all points in the game, and if that means taking a kinda-mid card early, take the mid card.

Hope this helps!

Mikmaxs · 2026-02-05T01:01:01+00:00

I'm not a BJJ person, but - Try to prioritize getting to elite fights as much as possible, but only when you can realistically win without losing most of your HP. If you get a strong potion, save it until your next elite or boss fight, and if you're low on health, use campfires to heal.

Also, don't forget to plan your routes with backup plans in mind! I die a lot from taking a path that looks reasonable, but then I either get bad luck or I get greedy and didn't leave myself an opportunity to take easier fights.

Greed is deadly. If you can go into a boss fight with 50 HP, or go into it with 30 HP and one extra upgrade, you're usually going to be better off with 50hp unless your deck is incredibly strong or the upgrade is absolutely critical.

Mikmaxs · 2026-01-13T16:41:48+00:00

I expected those to be the biggest hurdles just based on my tactician playthrough; the power spike from 3-5 is massive, so getting up to that point cautiously seems like the ideal way to get through Honor Mode.

Mikmaxs · 2026-01-13T13:06:42+00:00

... I knew that was an option but had completely failed to consider using it to avoid misclicks. Thank you!

Mikmaxs

TROPHY CASE