The die roll happens before you pick cards. High roll weakens the enemy all round, low roll armors them up. I used to slam my best card first and hope. Now I read the result, then decide if this turn is for damage or just surviving to the next one.
#deckbuilding #indiegame

What's a deckbuilder archetype you were sure you'd hate, then it became your main?

I built Wall last in Tower Trials because blocking every turn sounded boring. Now it's my comfort pick on hard tiers. Something about watching a boss kill itself on thorns while I pass the turn.

Runes looks like the high-risk archetype but the real trap is thinking you need the perfect hand. I used to redraw forever waiting for the burst combo. Now I play the mediocre turn, take 8 damage, and set up the next one. The ceiling is still there, you just don't die on floor 12 chasing it.

Miner tip from someone who died to The Last Alone too many times: upgrade the Vulnerable card before your big attack. A 2-turn Vulnerable means your whole hand hits harder every turn. By floor 60 the math is ridiculous.

Brewer looks like a slow archetype but the real skill is knowing when to stop stacking poison and just end the fight. I see players die with 40 poison on the boss because they wanted 50. The boss doesn't care about your stack if you die first.

What's the worst "great on paper" deck you've ever built?

I once drafted every rare I saw in a Tower Trials Runes run. Highest ceiling possible. Died on floor 34 because I had six cards that wanted setup and nothing to survive the turn I spent setting up.

Built Tower Trials around one rule: every card should make you ask "what if I took two?" 118 of them now, and the best runs still come from answering that badly. Free on iOS/Android, $1.99 to kill the ads.

https://playtowertrials.com

Tinker has a card that does nothing on its own but wipes a whole pack if you've primed it right. The hard part is not playing it early because it feels like a dead draw. Hold it one turn longer than you want to.

The best relics in Tower Trials are the ones that make you rebuild your deck mid-run. I picked up something that rewarded small hands once and had to cut half my attack cards on the spot. Felt terrible for two floors, then the draw consistency carried me to 90.

Miner starts with a card that applies Vulnerable and another that does extra damage to Vulnerable targets. That's the whole loop. Everything else you pick up should either set up Vulnerable or cash it in harder.

What's a deckbuilder card effect you thought was weak until you built a whole run around it?

I used to skip anything with Vulnerable in Tower Trials. Then I tried a Miner deck that stacked it to 4+ and suddenly every pickaxe was hitting like a boss killer.

I made Tower Trials because I wanted a phone deckbuilder where the run matters more than the shop. Five goblin archetypes, 100 floors, free to play, and one optional purchase removes ads forever.

https://playtowertrials.com

Runes can win fights in one ugly burst, but the trap is spending your whole hand before checking what happens if the draw whiffs next turn. I like keeping one boring defensive card around longer than feels correct.

When a roguelike deckbuilder gives you a weird relic early, do you build around it immediately or wait until the deck already points that way?

I usually want relics to tempt me into bad ideas, but only if the payoff is readable before the run collapses.

Wall decks can afford to look boring for a few floors. Block that carries over means every extra shield card makes the next bad turn less scary, and Thorns turns defense into damage while enemies keep swinging.

Tinker runs get a lot cleaner when you treat bombs as a future turn, not this turn's damage. If an enemy is about to hit hard, it's often better to block now and let the fuse pay you back after the setup.

Tiny deckbuilder habit that saves runs: before taking a card, ask what card you’re less happy to draw instead. In Tower Trials, adding one “pretty good” attack can mean seeing your block, poison, or fuse setup a turn later.

Brewer is strongest when you stop treating poison like bonus damage. If the stack is already lethal in a few turns, spend your next cards on sustain instead of overkilling faster. Winning three turns from now still counts.

Hi Bluesky! 👋

Goblin Card RPG: Tower Trials is a roguelike deckbuilder about a tiny goblin climbing a 100-floor tower — winning on guile, not muscle.

Made by a solo dev. Out now on iOS & Android, Steam version on the way.

playtowertrials.com

#indiedev #roguelike #deckbuilder