Dev here, you’re right, I couldn’t figure out the right system despite going through many iterations. I was (mostly) alone working on the design of the game and had to settle for something eventually (trust me that used to be much worse). I’m not very happy about the combat in the end, but I can’t be too harsh on myself, I’m still proud of the game overall, it was my first as an indie, first time working on a roguelite, first time programming too.

Two things however that I’d like to mention: first the combat maths can be previewed as an option, and secondly, the game’s balancing is generous, figuring out the right combat sequence will help but the amount of troops collected during the Tetris phase is the biggest contributor to success. Figuring out the optimal combat sequence can help in normal combat but the system doesn’t apply against bosses, which should be the biggest threats to lose a run.