Audit readiness, not only health
Current HP matters, but a deck's first two turns, matchup tools and available potions often predict the real cost of an Elite more accurately.
- Check whether the opening cycle produces damage and block without perfect draws.
- Count AoE, debuffs and burst tools relevant to the possible encounters.
- Keep a branch toward a rest site when one poor fight would end the run.
Assign every potion a job
A potion is stored tempo. Decide which future danger it answers so that it is neither wasted in a trivial room nor carried past the run-ending fight.
- Damage potions can shorten a scaling enemy's most dangerous turns.
- Block and Weak effects protect setup turns when the engine is not online.
- Draw and skill potions are best used before committing the last Energy.
Spend to cross a power threshold
An Elite relic can compound for the rest of the run, but only if you survive with enough resources for the next node.
- Use the potion when it prevents meaningful damage, not only at lethal HP.
- Recalculate the route after spending more than planned.
- Skip an Elite when the expected reward cannot repair the likely losses.
Research notes
This guide is an original synthesis. Use the linked pages to inspect the underlying reference material.
