How to Build a Deck
So you just started a game and you have a chance to edit your captain's deck? Let's look at what you could be thinking about while planning out your perfect deck!
Deck Facts:
- There is a common pool of cards independent of the deck builder that will be available for all captains every game.
- There's a second pool of cards reserved for your captain's decks. They'll only appear in the game if you include them in your deck!
- Each captain starts with 12 cards unlocked and there are over 50 to collect per captain!
- The total list of cards to unlock for each captain's deck is the exact same but each captain starts with a different batch of cards in their starter deck.
- Decks must always be full, containing exactly 12 cards.
Now that you know what a deck is and how it works let's get more specific about strategy. Deck building allows you to plan ahead toward your late game because you can make in game decisions based on what you know might be coming.
Let's say I'm creating this deck for
- Shorting a Rarity
- Planning Ahead
decklist:
You'll notice I've only included one Common and three Uncommon cards in this deck. This is very much on purpose. Including fewer cards at a specific rarity makes it more likely you'll find those cards.
This holds especially true on turns 1 and 2. The first two turns of the game have the smallest pool of cards on offer making it much more likely to find key Commons and key Common silvers. In my Witches, III deck I've added Wormtongue as my only Common card. My early game goal on Witches, III is to find villains and get my first two back row slot buffs going. Wormtongue helps me fish out those extra villains on those crucial early turns.
But this also expands into turns 3 and 4 where I'll find Uncommon characters too. Here I've very deliberately kept my deck list short as well. My only 3 cards are Chaos (a villain that gives a free spell), Morgan Le Fay (a ranged villain that plays very well in slot 4), and Sailor Moonshine (a pirate that can help me find Blackbeard later). On the Uncommon turns I'm still hoping to buy villains and add slot buffs. I'm also working on grabbing treasures that can help me both win right now and possibly find a big power spike in a few turns.
Past turn 5 I think there are too many characters in the pool to effectively take advantage of shorting a rarity. Once you hit the Rare levels your job is now to build on your start. This is where planning ahead comes into play. Using this Witches, III example I'd be very interested to set up a board that can hunt easily. I'm a big fan of Jelly Roger helping me get first attack. I'm also going to be looking for treasures that can boost the rarity of a successive treasure. I'll have my eye on picking up something for True Love's Kiss for a chance at catching an early Legendary or Secret Rare character. If all goes perfectly I'll be well established by the time turn 9 hits.
On turn 9 I can start finding Blackbeard and Hercules possibly running away with the game! One last time shorting a rarity comes back into play. If you notice my deck list is running 4 legendaries (in addition to those already in the common pool). I'm making it less likely to find Blackbeard or Hercules immediately on turn 9 by doing this. You want to consider if each Legendary you add is one you'd really like to find or play this run. I'm happy enough to play a late game strategy including Mephisto and Moonshadow so I've opted to include those over other Rares/Epics.
These are my main points on deck building:
- Consider running fewer common/uncommon characters. Also consider running fewer legendaries if they don't really go with your other legendaries.
- Build your deck around a strategy. It doesn't matter if it's even incredibly powerful. A strategy focused deck will help you stay focused while playing. It'll also help you win more games by playing the different synergies.
Here's this topic covered in a video on my YouTube channel: Building a GALAXY Deck Also catch me live on Twitch for more Galaxy tips and tricks!