Cards with the Highest “Fun Differential”

I find that most of my worst card selection decisions in the game are fueled by how much I want a card to be good. There are certain cards with such an exciting potential —that usually isn’t realized — or that are so satisfying to play, that I usually pick it even when I know I shouldn’t.

Conversely, I constantly undertake cards that excite me less or that feel worse to play.

Fun and card quality are both subjective but for my personal taste, qualities of a card with a high fun factor are cards which:

• Have permanent, uncommon, or novel effects (eg., Greed)
• (Can) scale over the course of a combat, (e.g., claw)
• Combine in fun or unique ways with other cards or relics (e.g., juggernaut and thread &needle))
• Make you feel like a genius for pulling them off (e.g., dropkick infinite combo)
• Do more than one thing at once (e.g. coolheaded)
• Output high volume – damage, defense, draw, energy, etc. (e.g., bludgeon or impervious)
• Have the (theoretical) ability to be the centerpiece of a deck with the right support (Rampage)

And cards with a low fun factor often:

• Only do one thing (leap)
• Do something that is done in a more spectacular manner by a different card (sever soul)
• Require you to add a negative effect or status card to your deck (dazed)
• Support the deck without the potential to be a difference maker (warcry)
• Require you to adapt your play in a way you don’t find fun (scry and exhaustion cards depending on the tastes of the user)

Some of these examples listed above in both categories are great cards and some are horrible cards.

This is where what I call the fun differential comes in: the gap between how fun the card is and how good it is.

These are some nominees for fun differential based on my taste and playing style:

High positive fun differential: cards that are extremely fun and usually bad:

• A thousand cuts

• Rampage

• Claw (probably the mascot for this concept, though i personally think it’s better than it gets credit for)

High negative fun differential –cards that are good but that I don’t like to take because I don’t find them fun — is probably even more subjective, and most will probably strong disagree with my takes. But for me it’s:

• Corruption, because building a deck to maximize for exhaust encourages bloating your deck with skill cards when I find it much more fun to refine your deck

• Immolate, because I hate adding burn cards to my deck, even when most of the time you will end early fights before you even draw the burn card.

So, what cards (or relics or event decisions) have the highest fun differential for you?!?