So I made it through Emperor. Defensive deck is the most reliable option for me at that level. Might be a while before I'm confident enough to take the next step up.
The nature of how the gameplay works makes it hard to add a particularly large amount of new stuff. That said, meta progression is a common expectation in games like this, and something you don't really have. A lot of players pick games like this up and expect to be earning persistent modifiers or additional options as they complete runs. It might actually make sense, if you can come up with a couple more options, to make the decks into unlockables.
Add 2 or 3 more decks which operate differently. Default and Defensive both have a good balance of small and large patterns to draw, with Defensive having more block and healing and a bit less damage. High Nodes is what it sounds like, a lot of big patterns requiring more complex drawing to cast, but they have stronger effects, often combining attack and defense, and special properties are more prevalent too.
If you scale the difficulty up a little on enemies - but only a little, imo - you could maybe justify giving players an unlockable item slot too. As you progress through runs, you build up a meta progression currency which lets you unlock the ability to start a run with an item (2 if you're using default, since it already starts with 1). There would initially be a small pool to pick from, but that could grow. And at first, maybe you only get a choice of 2 random items, but later that could be expanded to 3, 4, maybe even 5, as something alongside the unlocking of your various decks.
Some options for new decks, if you're interested:
-Low Nodes: Because there's already something opposite to it, so it's a logical pick. Would start weak, because the small cards have poor base stats, but you can more easily cast your whole hand most turns. If it still feels weak, it could start with one of the "get 2 <something> for every spell with less than X nodes" items.
-Escalation deck: Starts out weak. Give it a mix of low and high node cards, but remove a special property or reduce the strength of each card. As compensation, the deck starts with a grass crown. You're weak at first, but you grow faster from the start.
-Aggressive deck: Fewer defensive cards. A few blocks, but more of the deck is about damage, with a bit of healing and several lifesteal cards to help keep you in the fight.
Thanks for the detailed response! We’ve actually been discussing ways to make the selectable decks a bigger part of the game, possibly reworking them into themed characters or classes that you unlock by beating certain difficulties, or keeping it simple by unlocking the next one after a successful run. So it’s really great to hear that!
I’d never seriously considered meta progression for the game before, mainly because I’m not too keen on systems that just make things easier over time. That said, I really like the idea of an unlockable item slot. It would definitely need some balance tweaks but it wouldn’t change the core of the game too much and would open up more options for varied runs.
Thanks again, there are so many great suggestions here!
I personally dislike long-term meta progression for the same reasons, which is why I leaned into suggesting something less aggressive in terms of power creep. A single item slot with progression giving horizontal expansion (more options) instead of a direct boost to your power makes more sense to me.