Determining card power

So. You want to know how to figure out which cards are good. Here's how.
== 1. Comparisons ==
The most crucial thing to learn about card power is that it is entirely relative; The power of a card is based on the power of other cards. What this means is that, in order to determine card power, we need to compare cards to other cards. There are three forms of comparisons for every card: Strictly Better/Worse, Situationally Better/Worse, and Non-comparable. We'll be going over all three today. (Generally speaking, better cards will lead to you gaining a card advantage over your opponent. A card advantage is when you have more cards in your hand and field combined than your opponent.)
=== Strictly Better/Worse ===
In normal playing scenarios, if a card is better than another card, that card is strictly better. (Don't rely on this method. If a card is strictly better than another in every possible scenario, then it's likely to be changed) For example, let's compare AsrielMemer to ColonelGraff.
File:AsrielMemer Luna.png|AsrielMemer
File:ColonelGraff Card.png|ColonelGraff
 AsrielMemer and ColonelGraff
About AsrielMemer 	About ColonelGraff
Cost: 4C 1B 	Cost: 1C
Health: 400 	Health: 300
Power: 400 	Power: 0
Effect: When this card is cast: Draw a card. 	Effect: When this card dies: Draw a card.
AsrielMemer is strictly better than ColonelGraff.	AsrielMemer is strictly better than ColonelGraff.
As you will see in the Example below, Effects can determine how powerful a card is, While ColonelGraff's effect is much better than AsrielMemer for the price point, AsrielMemer still has bigger stats meaning it can stay alive for more time instead of dying like ColonelGraff (Which is the whole point of the card,)
It should be noted that "strictly better" cares about cards being better in normal playing scenarios. There are scenarios where ColonelGraff (1C 300/0) is better than AsrielMemer (4C 1B 400/400), but we are concerned with just standard, normal playing scenarios.
=== Slightly Better/Worse ===
These cards are roughly even in power. Circumstance is more important in determining which one is better. For example, let's compare TZSara to Luchador.
File:TZSara_Luna.png|TZSara
File:Blotnik.png|Luchador
 TZSara and Luchador
About TZSara 	About Blotnik
Cost: 3C 	Cost: 3C
Health: 600 	Health: 400
Power: 300 	Power: 300
Effect: During your end step: All players gain 100 life.	Effect: Whenever this card attacks: it gains 200 Health.
Depending on the situation, TZSara or Blotnik (Luchador) is better. Whilst TZSara has better stats, Blotnik (Luchador) has something that TZSara doesn't: An effect that allows it to gain Health. This means that when you attack with Blotnik (Luchador) for the first time, its stats increase to exactly the same as they would have been had you cast TZSara instead. However, TZSara's effect should not be discounted. There are numerous cards with effects that trigger when you gain Life, such as NatzHakz and iSpaceDonut, to name a few. Because of this, there are a number of circumstances where TZSara is better than Blotnik (Luchador), and a number of circumstances where Blotnik (Luchador) is better than TZSara.
TZSara is better than Blotnik (Luchador) if:
* Your opponent could take down Blotnik (Luchador) before it attacks.
* You have cards that would benefit from TZSara's lifegain.
Blotnik (Luchador) is better than TZSara if:
* Your opponent has a fighter or several with low Power, like a Doge or Final Tree
* You lack any cards that would have benefited from TZSara's lifegain.
=== Non-comparable ===
Some cards have entirely different purposes, and should not be compared in order to determine card power. For this example, let's compare Mzh3000 to Luck o The Lobsters.
File:Mzh New.png|Mzh3000
File:Luck o' the Lobsters Luna Fixed.png|Luck o The Lobsters
 Mzh3000 and Luck o The Lobsters
About Mzh3000 	About Luck o' the Lobsters
Cost: 24C 	Cost: 8C
Health: 250 	Health: N/A
Power: 1500 	Power: N/A
Effect: Haste.If your opponent controls at least 7 fighters, cast this card using 3 Colourless studs.When you do: Deal 4000 damage to all enemy fighters.	Effect: Cast this card using four Colourless studs if you have 1500 or less life.Deal 4000 damage to all fighters.
Even though they have similar effects, Mzh3000 and Luck o The Lobsters have entirely different purposes. First off, ask yourself the purpose of these two cards.
Mzh3000:
* Its effect deals a very high amount of amount of AoE damage to your opponent's side of the field only.
* Is much cheaper when the opponent has 7 or more fighters.
Aren't there several decks that love to spam fighters onto the board? Take the Doge (Group), for instance. Most of their cards summon Doges. Mzh3000, then, is an anti-aggro fighter that punishes the opponent for overextending.
Luck o The Lobsters:
* Deals a very high amount of damage to every fighter on the field. This means that, when you cast it, you don't want to have more fighters on the field than your opponent.
* It is cheaper when you have 1500 or less Life - typically when you are about to lose.
Sounds familiar? An empty board, your opponent preparing to finish the job... That situation, the 'endgame,' is where this card thrives. Luck o The Lobsters, then, is a late game card that gives you the chance to make a comeback.
== 2. Factors of Power ==
Whilst comparing cards is all good and dandy, what are the traits that make cards better?
* Cost: If a card does the same thing as another card for less, it's strictly better. Note that colourless\coloured studs can be less or more important depending on the deck you're playing, for example, in a swarm deck, it's much easier to build up coloured studs, making colourless cost cards less available
* Card Advantage: "Draw/Give yourself a card" is one of the best effects in the game. Cards that add cards to hand, cards that take multiple hits to kill, etc. all contribute to card advantage. Bee (Group) is a great example of a deck can be very powerful if the duelist uses correctly the card advantage given by the deck
* More Health/Power: If it can destroy higher-Health fighters, or take more hits from lower-Health fighters, it's generally better. But following this blindly is never a good idea, as more powerful effects with less powerful stats, can lead to a more useful card.
* Utility: If a card can do many different things and is applicable in many different situations, it can be considered good. The Crystal Cycle is an excellent example of this.
* Buildaround: Buildaround cards, such as TheNStar, get much stronger if you base your entire deck around its effect and strengths, or "build around" them. Buildaround cards are almost always found at lower rarities.
* Weakness Management: Cards that allow decks and colors to manage their weaknesses, such as Janitor of the Pits in a Control deck, can be very powerful.
* Immunity: Some cards have special Passives which make them harder to be removed via effects. Silver Semtexagon is the granddaddy of this type of effect. Cards that are easy to remove are usually target to more effects.
* Demands Removal: Cards such as Nibblex the Starkiller should be the target of your fighters and removal abilities to take it off the field, If you don't, you risk losing major amounts of card advantage.More on removal here.
== 3. Examples ==
So. You've seen what to compare cards to. Let's see if you can figure out how these cards relate. Are these cards strictly better/worse, slightly better/worse, or noncomparable?
* 1a) In a blue aggro deck, is the comparison of FuryBlocks to RiceStorage Strict, Slight, or non-comparable?
* 1b) Is FuryBlocks better or worse than RiceStorage?
File:FuryBlocks Luna.png|FuryBlocks
File:RiceStorage_Card.png|RiceStorage
 FuryBlocks and RiceStorage
About FuryBlocks 	About RiceStorage
Cost: 2C 	Cost: 2C 1B
Health: 400 	Health: 450
Power: 200 	Power: 300
Effect: Dextrous.	Effect: Whenever your opponent gains life: Unlock this card. It gains 100 Health and Power.
* 2a) In a red control deck, is the comparison of AntiSammeh to DIY Biggerhead Strict, Slight, or Noncomparable?
* 2b) Is AntiSammeh better or worse than DIY Biggerhead?
File:AntiSammeh_Luna.png|AntiSammeh
File:DIYBiggerhead_Luna.png|DIY Biggerhead
 AntiSammeh and DIY Biggerhead
About AntiSammeh 	About DIY Biggerhead
Cost: 2C 2R 	Cost: 2C 2R
Health: 300 	Health: 300
Power: 600 	Power: 700
Effect: When this card is cast, if you control a fighter with total stats 1500 or more: It deals 300 damage to a target fighter.	Effect: Inert in Play. When this card is cast: Deal 250 damage to a target fighter. It gains 300 Power.
* 3a) In a yellow swarm deck, is the comparison of Loogi to DIY Headphones Strict, Slight, or Noncomparable?
* 3b) Is Loogi better or worse than DIY Headphones?
File:Loogi_Card.png|Loogi
File:DIY_Headphones_Luna.png|DIY Headphones
 Loogi and DIY Headphones
About Loogi 	About DIY Headphones
Cost: 3Y 	Cost: 3C 1Y
Health: 400 	Health: 700
Power: 400 	Power: 0
Stealth. Whenever you cast another fighter: It gains 200 Health and Power. This ability triggers only once.	When this card is cast: All allied fighters gain 100 Health and Power.
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