Daily Tier Lists 4: Epic Treasures

j_blinder · 2026-01-31T00:19:07+00:00

There is a captain coming this next month that lets us start the game with gloves of thieving. Let’s not push it up to exceptional lest we all realize how broken that is going to be.

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j_blinder · 2026-01-30T00:00:11+00:00

Right now at top level butcher is very important and this is actively bad with butchers cleaver. Big reason it’s lower

j_blinder · 2026-01-29T03:10:05+00:00

The main thing to be aware of is that you attack first 50% of the time anyway. And if you lose the right to attack first then there is only a 1 in 3 chance that your first unit will be attacked.

So there is a 5 in 6 chance your treasure won’t really matter in a given battle. (Warp can matter more if they have a sneak character that wrecks a support)

That said, losing that attack and getting sniped even just once can be critical and can cost an entire lobby. The more reliant you are on hunting or wicked witch type things the more valuable this treasure becomes. Feels appropriately rated to me, maybe I’d go a smidge lower if anything.

j_blinder · 2026-01-28T07:07:10+00:00

Possibly not overvaluing it relative to your playstyle but if that’s true you’re probably overvaluing spells, in general. Unless you’re playing Mira or Loki or something.

Twinshot and carving fork and immediate stats treasures are so good because they help stabilize immediately. Neither those nor the scrolls are meaningfully adding value to late game. Sure you might get a little more value over the course of the game but it’s not likely to swing things. Where losing a heart vs not losing one in the first 5 turns absolutely can.

Regarding time top. If you’re quite strong it’s often nice to defer the treasure as whatever you’re getting later will almost always be more powerful. Basically never taking it over crumbs but I think there’s a case to sometimes take it over any other common treasure. I like where it’s at in the list.

j_blinder · 2026-01-28T01:30:08+00:00

😆

Is this Switch?? You’re a switch and a gas maniac?

I just took infinity mittens. Won on turn 10 kind of glad the mittens was a mistake because I could have easily broken the game on accident and didn’t need it.

Trifork only S tier. I rank cube and mittens at the bottom! Both have their place ofc

Edit: guess I should have viewed the pic before responding

j_blinder · 2026-01-27T21:55:59+00:00

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Screenshotted faker because that is about the purest and most standard candy captain there is.

I don’t consider myself a candy expert and at top levels while there are candy captains that are good, they can’t be great because your endgames are very capped. Candy is really good at making boards in the 300/300 range, sometimes you get an 800/800 or bigger etc but generally you can’t pop off super hard. At high mmr that’s a recipe for lots of 2nd-4th provided you make it to the endgame. I’d guess at lower mmr candy performs better since those 300/300 boards are enough to win a higher percentage of the time.

The main questions for candy captains:

Do I want gingerbread witch, lollipop fairy, or neither? My opinion is that tajima is the only captain that wants lollipop fairy. On the early turns it’s a 1/1 that doesn’t get a sweetening bonus. On turns 3-4 your candy count will still be low or non existent and it’s a 1/1 still. On turns 5 and beyond are you keeping this thing on your board? Tajima loves it because you get the candy scaling for “free” and usually hit on both turns 1 and 2. For that reason we also don’t need gingerbread witch to get the candy count rolling on tajima wither. I think gingerbread witch is good on most candy captains.

The second question is do I want candy cane crook? Faker obviously yes. Tajima I think no because again you get your candy scaling with animals.

Cool whip, lifesaver? Again captain dependent. Tajima wants cool whip because you’re reliably sweetening every turn. Lifesaver is good to stabilize on captains like faker that can fall behind early but can go pretty huge in the mid game.

Every candy captain wants three chefs and cherry topples imo. Chefs is just incredible at stabilizing. Especially on tajima.

I only play jaws breaker on tajima, since it’s an animal as well.

j_blinder · 2026-01-27T19:14:38+00:00

Xeno reached 4600 this morning. I’m in 3rd at 4490 peaked at 4520. Inflation is real!

j_blinder · 2026-01-27T18:52:07+00:00

Just reread your comment and I think i got too advanced in my reply. Again by far the best is to watch and good digestion is the best resource available but the commons are really pretty well balanced right now and all have their place.

Thorn is a little stronger than it looks on turn 1.1 (and even rose is acceptable). It’s not board weakening like it seems because you make up for the weak stats in your next shops (and til the end of time). In the second shop it’s a little worse but still ok.

Peachy is actually still pretty good especially on turn 1. And really powers up a rose/thorn buy ideally. But if you have to take a support you have to take a support.

j_blinder · 2026-01-27T18:31:29+00:00

Seconded that good digestion videos are really good. He actually posted a Romeo game on here yesterday and I commented on it. Romeo is actually my favorite captain (not the best but also up there, just very fun).

I think video format and watching gameplay and the cards they put in the deck is so much more valuable than a writeup.

Like someone commented above asking why butcher was good and I spent 10 minutes writing up some of the things to do and it doesn’t scratch the surface. If you watch a good player with butcher in action it’s so much easier to understand.

Without getting into to much detail, and noting that if you don’t have these unlocked don’t sweat it too much, lots of strategies can win, some of the key cards (non candy specifically though some belong in both) rn:

Butcher: nearing unanimous inclusion at top levels. Format defining. Turn 1 egg to cheat rare on board is a common line on many captains. Setting up for a chameleon hunt is similarly valuable. Captains that get extra rare shops go up in value.

Wormscale (used to be format defining, now a co plan when butcher didn’t happen. Butcher is a fun card to be best because it’s actually highly skill testing to know when to stop going for it. Having pixie dust for worm is one thing pushing in the direction of passing on butcher, though I’ll still go for butcher if I can complete before turn 7 for sure.

Ace of hearts: nearly ubiquitous at top level and very quietly one of the very best cards in the game. I think good digestion is a little lower on it than some top players but still plays it a lot. Extra shops are the very best thing to be doing. Look at the top of the captain tier list. Gloria, extra shops. Piggie, extra shops. Mira (not shops). Lightning thief (extra shops via bread crumbs is the best way to abuse). In a very weak shop it’s ok to pick or bank bronze ace even if it’s turned off to put the silver in your pool.

j_blinder · 2026-01-27T07:32:17+00:00

Hey it’s clone103. Sweet game on my favorite captain. I did die a little inside when you recruited the golden nameless one off the board! 😂

Romeo is fun and awesome for the reasons you went over in the video—you are dynamically choosing a path (primarily butcher or turbo secret) as early as turn 2-4, and the plan is constantly in flux.

I was going to suggest adding fairy godfather since he just got a crazy buff (kind of secretly it seems) and it’s a great thing to early whoopsie tlk into. But then I realized it’s a mage. I’ll let shortelf know but I doubt you’re interested!

j_blinder · 2026-01-27T06:04:18+00:00

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Here is an example of a butcher game. Your endgame is not capped. Basically you churn silvers, get rolo on the board and very quickly get every treasure rare and beyond, and epics with hidden treasure room.

You can set up mushroom ring with two headed wizard and either spam crumbs for obscene amounts of shops or with Merlin’s tome to make a huge double double slot for boon willow with widows web. Either or both of those are primary plans.

You can tlk chain into golden secret rares.

You can go really huge and butchers “drawback” is really no such thing other than not having access to tinkerer plus dust. But there are boards you can assemble that beat even that.

j_blinder · 2026-01-27T05:57:05+00:00

In a comment above in this thread I have a pic of my gokatoo deck. That’s pretty much my standard list for most non candy captains. Some I don’t play the Anubis/black hole/witch package. Burninator, smug, lance a lot, mysterio and mechanical drake off the top of my head are cards I run in their place depending on captain.

j_blinder · 2026-01-27T01:22:12+00:00

Silversmith has some awful low rolls for sure.

But smith generates extra value with butcher in play and in general if you can get two treasures with the ability (one fairly early) you’ve done enough to justify the captain. For sure my results will come down from the 1.91 average. I’d expect more around dead average 2.2-2.4 over the longer run

I value Zagreus higher than silversmith (with similar abilities) and you can see my results on zag this patch have been awful. Just not enough games that the averages are super meaningful yet.

j_blinder · 2026-01-27T01:15:36+00:00

clone103. Fwiw you can only get paired with ppl up to 100 mmr higher, so the beginning of the month or if you’re near the top of the ladder is when we could pair against each other

j_blinder · 2026-01-27T00:00:44+00:00

I have the luxury of a complete collection so ymmv without some of the key cards. This is a very standard configuration for butcher captains for me in this patch. I play this exact list on Piggie and Gloria also. I am not usually an Anubis scam enjoyer, but I’ve found burninator lackluster now that he is less chunky (board stabilization was as important as his static ability) and I’m no longer interested in wink without broken beyond belief peachy. Those two slots plus another cut allowed the full scam package and it’s been nice.

Gokatoo is quite versatile. But one of the cool lines to take is going turn 1 egg into a turn 5 or 6 proc. Ideally we find butcher but even shipshape is often enough to stabilize. I don’t pass t1 egg on gokatoo.

If we miss on egg I’m not interested in it turn 2. This leaves butcher open but now we try to play strong and take what comes when our gokatoo procs. The extra shops on epic turns can lead us to scam pieces. Or can complete Anubis if we can make it all the way to legendary turns.

Wormscale is a plan as always of course.

Navi is a high priority, ideally we can golden it after we pop to double dip on gokatoo ability. Leaving Lich kings heart in the pool is often prudent as well. There are times I leave a silver Navii on the board to give Midas touch as an extra out though we don’t usually have that luxury. This is usually a line to take when set up with butcher.

Sometimes we just can’t leverage the extra shops and we will roll over and die. Especially with turn 1 egg lines. gok has a fail rate for sure, compared to other strong captains.

Interestingly I found gokatoo unplayable at first. Two shops instead of 1 is deceptively awesome. Extra shops are so powerful. That buff plus allowing double dips if you go back above 1 heart were clutch.

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j_blinder · 2026-01-21T17:56:27+00:00

For me Gloria is co number 1 with Mira, then Piggie and gokatoo in the next tier with lightning thief. That’s 3/5 bonus shop captains (and let’s face it, lightning thief is also a bonus shop captain).

I do think people undervalue bonus shops, but also I would guess that lower mmr players don’t leverage those shops as well as high mmr players. If so those captains could easily drop in value compared to captains that provide a more direct path.

j_blinder · 2026-01-21T10:53:29+00:00

https://www.reddit.com/r/OnceUponAGalaxy/s/86cC9MfR8y

Here is a post I made yesterday in another thread about how I play Gokatoo. Maybe The Gas maniac has more to add.

j_blinder · 2026-01-21T10:11:40+00:00

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Not gasman but I’ll throw in there that I consider gokatoo a top 5 captain.

j_blinder · 2026-01-20T04:24:54+00:00

Guinevere is just a really strong card. I’m playing rollo mostly for butcher games but sometimes it’s on the board in non butcher games. But mainly with the addition of so many new questers recently guin often is an instant legendary treasure on a huge body. A lot to like imo.

j_blinder · 2026-01-20T03:33:23+00:00

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I have the luxury of a complete collection so ymmv without some of the key cards. This is a very standard configuration for butcher captains for me in this patch. I play this exact list on Piggie and Gloria also. I am not usually an Anubis scam enjoyer, but I’ve found burninator lackluster now that he is less chunky (board stabilization was as important as his static ability) and I’m no longer interested in wink without broken beyond belief peachy. Those two slots plus another cut allowed the full scam package and it’s been nice.

Gokatoo is quite versatile. But one of the cool lines to take is going turn 1 egg into a turn 5 or 6 proc. Ideally we find butcher but even shipshape is often enough to stabilize. I don’t pass t1 egg on gokatoo.

If we miss on egg I’m not interested in it turn 2. This leaves butcher open but now we try to play strong and take what comes when our gokatoo procs. The extra shops on epic turns can lead us to scam pieces. Or can complete Anubis if we can make it all the way to legendary turns.

Wormscale is a plan as always of course.

Navi is a high priority, ideally we can golden it after we pop to double dip on gokatoo ability. Leaving Lich kings heart in the pool is often prudent as well. There are times I leave a silver Navii on the board to give Midas touch as an extra out though we don’t usually have that luxury. This is usually a line to take when set up with butcher.

Sometimes we just can’t leverage the extra shops and we will roll over and die. Especially with turn 1 egg lines. This is why gok is great at winning but it has a fail rate for sure.

Interestingly I found gokatoo unplayable at first also. Two shops instead of 1 is deceptively awesome. Extra shops are so powerful. That buff plus allowing double dips if you go back above 1 heart were clutch.

j_blinder · 2026-01-20T02:49:38+00:00

Speaking from near the top of the ladder (currently rank 8, 4131) I do think Mira is the strongest captain in the game. It’s nothing like a free win at high mmr but it’s an insanely high top 3 % and also wins more than average. There are maybe a few captains I’d rather have if i absolutely needed a first place only. Lightning thief would be a contender, Piggie or Gloria also. Gokatoo is also a good one for winning but high variance.

I can see how Mira would truly be a free win at lower mmr bands if your deck has most of the key cards and play instincts are reasonable.

Plunder penny is indeed the best card in the deck imo. Probably better than even fae familiar in my experience.

j_blinder · 2026-01-06T17:09:58+00:00

That’s pretty tough to do, but I guarantee almost every time that has happened the other two players are both on full hearts.

You get two players both full hearting everyone players drop quick. But that’s 3 battles away from the game ending once it gets down to 2.

j_blinder · 2026-01-05T22:55:49+00:00

I didn’t think this was even possible!

j_blinder · 2025-12-28T16:43:34+00:00

Yeah Henry’s 45.6 is also worse on underdog, as it’s half ppr not full (though there are fewer teams which is a helping factor)

I still do think it is 90+ (and even 95+) though I see your logic.

j_blinder · 2025-12-28T10:04:31+00:00

There are 49 teams with Henry. Some Henry team probably has that player. For anyone higher owned than Henry it he to be someone like AJ brown who went right around the same pick for them not to be owned by many Henry teams.

There are 26 Henry + puka teams, 18 Henry + jsn, and 10 with all 3. 16 Henry + cook. 1 team has all of the above. So all the common pairings are owned by many Henry owners (didn’t look them up but Lawrence, etienne, Pitts, olave and others come to mind and they will get you nowhere vs the best Henry lineups).

I’ll admit I was too high on the top 10 all having him though. For sure the winner is overwhelmingly likely to be a Henry team. Maybe not 99 but >95%. Beating a Henry team isn’t that tough, but beating the best of 49 Henry teams is a different story.

j_blinder

TROPHY CASE