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Challengers is at its base a luck-based game. There are things you can do to manipulate your deck with various cards and redundancies, but sometimes the luck of the draw will just go against the best built decks.
Challengers is a card-drafting auto-battler game. Luck determines the cards offered and the order in which each card appears. But there are still important and difficult decisions to be made.


One of the best things you can do is to draft duplicates. These will increase the consistency of your deck as well as limit your unique cards in your deck.
== General Strategy ==


Generally speaking, you want 6 or 7 unique cards, and as many cards as you can fit within that restriction. The more singles that you have as unique cards, the more often you can go with 7 unique cards.
The goal of the draft is to maximize your deck's power and size while minimizing the likelihood of "benching out" (having to put a 7th card on the bench). With that in mind, the following is implied:


Check which set is out of play at the beginning of the game. This can influence your early picks in so far as what to look for and what to avoid:
<ul class="bulletlist" style="margin:1em 0;padding-inline-start:40px;">
  <li>Drafting duplicates is crucial. These will increase your deck size and power without making you bench out. Synergy between a pair of 2-power cards is as good as a single 4-power card. The 2-power cards are sometimes better on the attack but worse on defense. The 4-power is sometimes worse on attack but better on defense.</li>
  <li>Synergy is key. Cards like ''Vendor'', ''A.I.'', ''Stable Boy'', ''Make-up Artist'', ''Band'', ''Blacksmith'', etc. can be strong if the rest of your deck supports them. Learn what all the cards do and what your "outs" are.</li>
  <li>Winning later rounds is more important than early rounds. It's okay to take losses with a bloated deck early to maximize your odds of getting lucky later. Winning only rounds 5, 6, and 7 will almost always get you into the final.</li>
  <li>Redraw if your deck has a lot of one-offs, and you're not offered any duplicates.</li>
  <li>Generally speaking, you want 6 or 7 unique cards. Until the last few rounds, sticking to 7 or 8 can be okay to have more potential opportunities for pairs on the next draft. In the last round or two, you should have doubled up on enough that having more than 6 types of cards is too risky to be worth it. If your deck's overall power is low, you may need to sit at 7 and hope you draw a low on the last card.</li>
  <li>Relying on bench cleaners is risky. If you draw them before any singletons, then their effect is wasted. Usually, you're better off cutting the one-off cards like ''Vacuum Cleaner'' or ''Butler''. Only play them in duplicates.</li>
  <li>Check which set is removed at the beginning of the game. This can influence what to look for and what to avoid.</li>
</ul>


* City (light blue) - Cards in this set tend to depend on cards in other sets to boost them.
== Sets ==
* Castle (dark blue) - Cards in this set tend to boost cards in other sets.
* Film Studio (Green) - Cards in this set tend to focus on the attack.
* Funfair (Yellow) - Cards in this set tend to focus on rearranging your deck.
* Haunted House (Orange) - Cards in this set tend to remove cards from your bench (either to your deck or to your exhaust pile).
* Outer Space (Red) - Cards in this set tend to replace themselves or other cards in your deck.
* Shipwreck (Purple) - Cards in this set tend to give defensive boosts.


There are cross-over cards in each set, but your early picks tend to reflect these themes.  
Keep in mind that individual card effects are more helpful than set synergy. Some cards crossover, but early picks will reflect these themes.


Finally, many of the "lord" cards occur in the "A" tier cards. These cards will boost all cards of a certain number or color from the bench. Seeking duplicates of these cards in the beginning couple of rounds is a common strategy to build effective decks in later rounds.  
Each non-starter card has 4 copies (unless otherwise stated).


Good luck!
<ul class="bulletlist" style="margin:1em 0;padding-inline-start:40px;">
  <li>{{pill|City|DeepSkyBlue}} (buildings) - Depends on cards in other sets for boosts</li>
  <li>{{pill|Castle|DarkBlue}} (castle) - Boost cards in other sets</li>
  <li>{{pill|Film Studio|Green}} (clapboard) - Focus on attack</li>
  <li>{{pill|Funfair|Gold}} (balloons) - Rearrange deck</li>
  <li>{{pill|Haunted House|Orange}} (mansion) - Remove cards from bench to either your deck or exhaust pile</li>
  <li>{{pill|Outer Space|Red}} (planet) - Replace themselves or other cards in your deck</li>
  <li>{{pill|Shipwreck|Purple}} (anchor) - Focus on defense</li>
</ul>

Latest revision as of 21:29, 14 January 2026

Challengers is a card-drafting auto-battler game. Luck determines the cards offered and the order in which each card appears. But there are still important and difficult decisions to be made.

General Strategy

The goal of the draft is to maximize your deck's power and size while minimizing the likelihood of "benching out" (having to put a 7th card on the bench). With that in mind, the following is implied:

  • Drafting duplicates is crucial. These will increase your deck size and power without making you bench out. Synergy between a pair of 2-power cards is as good as a single 4-power card. The 2-power cards are sometimes better on the attack but worse on defense. The 4-power is sometimes worse on attack but better on defense.
  • Synergy is key. Cards like Vendor, A.I., Stable Boy, Make-up Artist, Band, Blacksmith, etc. can be strong if the rest of your deck supports them. Learn what all the cards do and what your "outs" are.
  • Winning later rounds is more important than early rounds. It's okay to take losses with a bloated deck early to maximize your odds of getting lucky later. Winning only rounds 5, 6, and 7 will almost always get you into the final.
  • Redraw if your deck has a lot of one-offs, and you're not offered any duplicates.
  • Generally speaking, you want 6 or 7 unique cards. Until the last few rounds, sticking to 7 or 8 can be okay to have more potential opportunities for pairs on the next draft. In the last round or two, you should have doubled up on enough that having more than 6 types of cards is too risky to be worth it. If your deck's overall power is low, you may need to sit at 7 and hope you draw a low on the last card.
  • Relying on bench cleaners is risky. If you draw them before any singletons, then their effect is wasted. Usually, you're better off cutting the one-off cards like Vacuum Cleaner or Butler. Only play them in duplicates.
  • Check which set is removed at the beginning of the game. This can influence what to look for and what to avoid.

Sets

Keep in mind that individual card effects are more helpful than set synergy. Some cards crossover, but early picks will reflect these themes.

Each non-starter card has 4 copies (unless otherwise stated).

  • City (buildings) - Depends on cards in other sets for boosts
  • Castle (castle) - Boost cards in other sets
  • Film Studio (clapboard) - Focus on attack
  • Funfair (balloons) - Rearrange deck
  • Haunted House (mansion) - Remove cards from bench to either your deck or exhaust pile
  • Outer Space (planet) - Replace themselves or other cards in your deck
  • Shipwreck (anchor) - Focus on defense
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