if something is in brackets I consider it to be not so important
I use brackets for grouping, similar to arithmetic expressions. In the case of Push card, it reads “Force enemy to: (list of actions)”, even though in this specific case there is only 1 action in the list.
For example Carnage card has “Repeat 2: (Melee self 1, Melee random enemy 1 per effect played by this card)”, which means that both actions listed in brackets are repeated.
Maybe I can use come other brackets, e.g. square, but I suspect it will cause even more confusion.
but without either “toughness or vampirsm” enabled many cards become useless - is this a wrong assumption?
There are 26 different statuses in the game, and many of them are used in various synergies. Assembling the good synergistic build is the central strategic goal of the game. Taking currently-useless cards for potential future benefit is intentionally a trade-off decision.
To improve chances of assembling a good combo, there are two important mechanisms: stash and quests. To unlock them, player must complete corresponding achievements (in particular, stash achievement is very easy).
If you are interested, I recommend playing with these unlocks, hopefully the “feels-bad” effect will be significantly reduced.
Also note that rerolling is very important part of strategy. Similar to games like Balatro, most options offered between stages are relatively useless, and you need to get good enough “economy” to afford enough rerolls to get “good stuff”.
You can read more about strategy here.
your game would profit from a longer tutorial
Interestingly, most other players asked for a shorter tutorial.
I understand that you would like something like “tutorial campaign”, with progressive stages teaching specific cards and mechanics. It is not a bad idea, although not easy to implement. I will think about it.
I have also toyed with the idea of “give info box on the first time encountering specific effect”, similar to Monster Train.
or do you want it to be more successful?
I primarily enjoy community interactions such as this one. So of course I would like my game to be widely played, but I also do not have any resources for promotion, and the core concept is niche from the start.