Guaranteed Opening Hand
Pin a few key cards to the opening so every fight starts on plan.
- Prototype complexity
- Who plays
- Solo decisions
- Design focus
- Planning · Optimization
No.064Slay the Spire01The core loop
Action → feedback → next choice- 01Mark a key card
- 02It starts in hand
- 03Turn one follows the plan
- 04Rethink the next mark
↻Feedback changes the situation — the next round starts from there.
Walk through one round
A simplified design example. Situations and numbers illustrate the mechanic, not exact rules from a reference game.
- T1
Turn 1 · The situation
A core power sits in 20 cards and shows up around turn 3; you can make one card innate.
- T2
Turn 2 · The player chooses
The player makes the core power innate.
- T3
Turn 3 · The feedback
It lands on turn 1, saving about 11 HP per fight across three fights.
- T4
Turn 4 · The next decision
The player now debates using a second innate slot for draw or block.
How it plays
Some cards are innate, or gain it via items, and are always in the opening hand. Each fixed card leaves less room for random draws. Feedback is how stable and fast the first turns feel.
What the player weighs
- Reliable start vs remaining hand slots
- Fix a setup card vs fix a defensive card
02Start small
Scope is an editorial estimate for the minimum prototype, not the reference game or a production schedule.
03One mechanic, different implementations
Slay the Spire
Innate cards always start in hand, and the bottled relics make a chosen card innate.
Wildfrost
Cards fitted with a Crown are deployed before the battle begins, a pre-set opening that skips the draw entirely.
The difference worth noticing
Slay the Spire guarantees the card in hand but you still pay to play it; Wildfrost has it in play at the start.
Case notes are Yoroll editorial summaries; rules may change between versions.
04What could you combine?
Make the fixed opener sensor-triggered: it auto-enters hand only if the enemy meets a condition, letting players script if-then openings.
Prototype this combo in Yoroll→Follow the next idea
Assign the Roll
Roll first, then slot each result into the ability that wants it most.
- Prototype complexity
- Who plays
- Solo decisions
- 01Roll the dice pool
- 02Check slot requirements
- 03Place dice into slots
- 04Effects resolve
Clone Your Best Card
Copy the card you’ve already invested in and double the return on that investment.
- Prototype complexity
- Who plays
- Solo decisions
- 01Grow a core card
- 02Find a copy effect
- 03Clone it with upgrades
- 04It shows up twice as often
Pick One or Pass
Every win offers new cards, yet the sharpest pick is sometimes taking none.
- Prototype complexity
- Who plays
- Solo decisions
- 01Win a fight
- 02Review a few offered cards
- 03Take one or skip
- 04Next fight tests the deck