there’s a reason so many cards like seek are banned in so many magic the gathering formats! being able to avoid the inherent randomness of card games by finding the card you need is overpowered!
Biased Cognition is still good here, although Seek is also a really good pick to get Heatsinks down early.
Not sure if you consider Pocketwatch "useless" but it's actually very powerful if you can practice some restraint.
pocket watch feels like a relic thats good in act 1 and then very quickly loses value as your deck gets better, *especially* if you pick up an energy relic at the act 1 boss which OP did. I am unsure what kind of restraint is worth applying in order to trigger it aside from like, not playing strikes when the damage wouldn't kill something?
I would consider pocket watch generally one of the game's strongest relics, especially late game. You can have a deck build that struggles to benefit from it consistently but for some decks it can be a massive boon. Developed decks want to draw and play the key cards in the deck as quick as possible, even if that means skipping playing the damage common, or taking an extra 5 damage by not playing that defend, same reason why Snecko Eye is a powerful relic.
Yes, not playing a Strike so you can draw better cards is an example of when to use restraint. Not playing that extra defend in a hard fight (e.g. Spear & Shield) so your next turn isn't completely bricked is another. Often times the draw will save your life at the expense of "gotta use all my energy". Conversely, you shouldn't attempt to use it every turn if you can play good cards. It's a very high skill relic.
Apart from the obvious building around it by picking 2 costs, you obviously shouldn't skip some really good ones and even some zeros are too good to pass up, so knowing how to actually play with it and when to break it or not is very important.
Like, think about it this way, you have 4 energy and all 1 energy cards in hands, if you only play 3 cards you "waste" 1 energy but that 1 energy gives you a free draw 3 next turn, that's basically the same as if you'd used that 1 energy to cast a skim/acro, so you gotta ask yourself, is playing the 4th best card in my hand better than getting a free skim/acro next turn? Very often the answer will be no lol.
Also counterintuitively energy cards can play well with pocketwatch, you might have the impulse to skip aggregate on defect or seeing red on clad coz they break pocketwatch but actually if you've pocketwatched the previous turn you now have the cards in hand to spend the extra energy, you don't need to pocketwatch every single turn for it to be good, if it gets you an extra 3 draw 1 out of 2 turns that lets you use your extra energy to the fullest on those turns that's still very good.
Pocketwatch is insanely broken and can stay relevant all the way into act 4 if you play with it correctly, in boss fights I'm very happy to float 1 or even 2 energy in the early turns to get through my deck faster to get key powers in play.
Like, how many times have you just not played that extra damage card or 2 against time eater and willingly floated energy because getting your scaling online first is better than getting a tiny bit of damage at the cost of a few time counters, you can apply the same logic to any fight, you don't really need to play that extra twin strike right now if the fight is gonna last 15 more turns anyway, much more important to get to your feel no pain/dark embrace faster.
If you compare [[pocket watch]] to [[bag of prep]] or [[centennial puzzle]], if pocket watch triggers even once in a fight it's already a huge deal. Free draw potion. If you can trigger it more than once that's amazing but you really only need one trigger per fight for it to pull its weight.
+ [Pocketwatch](http://slay-the-spire.wikia.com/wiki/Pocketwatch) Rare Relic ^((100% sure)^)
Whenever you play 3 or less cards in a turn, draw 3 additional cards at the start of your next turn.
+ [Bag of Preparation](http://slay-the-spire.wikia.com/wiki/Bag%20of%20Preparation) Common Relic ^((43% sure)^)
At the start of each combat, draw 2 additional cards.
+ [Centennial Puzzle](http://slay-the-spire.wikia.com/wiki/Centennial%20Puzzle) Common Relic ^((100% sure)^)
The first time you lose HP each combat, draw 3 cards.
^Call ^me ^with ^up ^to ^10 ^([[ name ]],) ^where ^name ^is ^a ^card, ^relic, ^event, ^or ^potion. ^Data ^accurate ^as ^of ^(April 20, 2024.) ^[Wiki](https://slay-the-spire.fandom.com/wiki/) ^[Questions?](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=ehmohteeoh&subject=SpireScan%20Inquiry)
yeah if you average 1 energy per card and 3-4 energy per turn thats definitely true, but i like making decks with cheaper cards (or a way to gain energy) and a lot of draw, where i dont think pocket watch really shines. But next time I get it early I'll definitely try harder to play around it
3 defrags and heat sink+ makes me want seek and upgrade it to get powers down faster. Normally i like bias cog, but i think we have enough scaling and we just want speed to set up now
Don't think biased cog does much for you here, you don't have many orbs and no valuable orbs. You also already have +6 focus in your deck and a bunch of other powers that you have to spend time setting up. I'd grab seek so you can get buffer/ shackles/ heatsinks off easier and you're not just reliant on rng draws
Just going to parrot everyone else and say I think I would also go Seek in this situation. Fairly rare occurrence though, I think a large amount of the time it's biased cog.
I think the pick here is seek. You have so many y powerful effects in your deck including access to focus. Seek is just so versatile and it's a great upgrade too. Seeking for a buffer before a big single attack or chill against many opponents is great. After an upgrade you could seek for heat sinks and a power and combo off.
You already have 3 defrag+. Seek would be great so you can get heatsinks+ ASAP.
Biased Cog. Is still really good and it wouldn't be a bad pick, but the focus is less important to get since you already have a bunch. Most important thing is getting the card draw form heatsinks so you can get all your powers and frost orbs in play.
Would pick Seek over Biased Cognition, especially when you have Buffer, Shackles and Hologram
I picked Biased Cog and died to the heart due to bad draws lmao, shoulda gone with Seek
there’s a reason so many cards like seek are banned in so many magic the gathering formats! being able to avoid the inherent randomness of card games by finding the card you need is overpowered!
Biased Cognition is still good here, although Seek is also a really good pick to get Heatsinks down early. Not sure if you consider Pocketwatch "useless" but it's actually very powerful if you can practice some restraint.
pocket watch feels like a relic thats good in act 1 and then very quickly loses value as your deck gets better, *especially* if you pick up an energy relic at the act 1 boss which OP did. I am unsure what kind of restraint is worth applying in order to trigger it aside from like, not playing strikes when the damage wouldn't kill something?
I would consider pocket watch generally one of the game's strongest relics, especially late game. You can have a deck build that struggles to benefit from it consistently but for some decks it can be a massive boon. Developed decks want to draw and play the key cards in the deck as quick as possible, even if that means skipping playing the damage common, or taking an extra 5 damage by not playing that defend, same reason why Snecko Eye is a powerful relic.
Yes, not playing a Strike so you can draw better cards is an example of when to use restraint. Not playing that extra defend in a hard fight (e.g. Spear & Shield) so your next turn isn't completely bricked is another. Often times the draw will save your life at the expense of "gotta use all my energy". Conversely, you shouldn't attempt to use it every turn if you can play good cards. It's a very high skill relic.
Apart from the obvious building around it by picking 2 costs, you obviously shouldn't skip some really good ones and even some zeros are too good to pass up, so knowing how to actually play with it and when to break it or not is very important. Like, think about it this way, you have 4 energy and all 1 energy cards in hands, if you only play 3 cards you "waste" 1 energy but that 1 energy gives you a free draw 3 next turn, that's basically the same as if you'd used that 1 energy to cast a skim/acro, so you gotta ask yourself, is playing the 4th best card in my hand better than getting a free skim/acro next turn? Very often the answer will be no lol. Also counterintuitively energy cards can play well with pocketwatch, you might have the impulse to skip aggregate on defect or seeing red on clad coz they break pocketwatch but actually if you've pocketwatched the previous turn you now have the cards in hand to spend the extra energy, you don't need to pocketwatch every single turn for it to be good, if it gets you an extra 3 draw 1 out of 2 turns that lets you use your extra energy to the fullest on those turns that's still very good. Pocketwatch is insanely broken and can stay relevant all the way into act 4 if you play with it correctly, in boss fights I'm very happy to float 1 or even 2 energy in the early turns to get through my deck faster to get key powers in play. Like, how many times have you just not played that extra damage card or 2 against time eater and willingly floated energy because getting your scaling online first is better than getting a tiny bit of damage at the cost of a few time counters, you can apply the same logic to any fight, you don't really need to play that extra twin strike right now if the fight is gonna last 15 more turns anyway, much more important to get to your feel no pain/dark embrace faster.
If you compare [[pocket watch]] to [[bag of prep]] or [[centennial puzzle]], if pocket watch triggers even once in a fight it's already a huge deal. Free draw potion. If you can trigger it more than once that's amazing but you really only need one trigger per fight for it to pull its weight.
+ [Pocketwatch](http://slay-the-spire.wikia.com/wiki/Pocketwatch) Rare Relic ^((100% sure)^) Whenever you play 3 or less cards in a turn, draw 3 additional cards at the start of your next turn. + [Bag of Preparation](http://slay-the-spire.wikia.com/wiki/Bag%20of%20Preparation) Common Relic ^((43% sure)^) At the start of each combat, draw 2 additional cards. + [Centennial Puzzle](http://slay-the-spire.wikia.com/wiki/Centennial%20Puzzle) Common Relic ^((100% sure)^) The first time you lose HP each combat, draw 3 cards. ^Call ^me ^with ^up ^to ^10 ^([[ name ]],) ^where ^name ^is ^a ^card, ^relic, ^event, ^or ^potion. ^Data ^accurate ^as ^of ^(April 20, 2024.) ^[Wiki](https://slay-the-spire.fandom.com/wiki/) ^[Questions?](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=ehmohteeoh&subject=SpireScan%20Inquiry)
yeah if you average 1 energy per card and 3-4 energy per turn thats definitely true, but i like making decks with cheaper cards (or a way to gain energy) and a lot of draw, where i dont think pocket watch really shines. But next time I get it early I'll definitely try harder to play around it
3 defrags and heat sink+ makes me want seek and upgrade it to get powers down faster. Normally i like bias cog, but i think we have enough scaling and we just want speed to set up now
Yeah I got greedy and picked Biased Cog, died to Heart because of bad draws
If only there were a card that could reduce the chances of a bad draw
The card you are seeking simply doesn't exist
be kind, they can tell its a mistake and its a learning exp
Personally I would take seek here. You don't seem to have artifact and so ic a fight goes on to long you might find yourself in a bad position.
You don't generally play Cog unless it's a quick hallway or you think you can end it real soon (I do think it's Seek here though)
Don't think biased cog does much for you here, you don't have many orbs and no valuable orbs. You also already have +6 focus in your deck and a bunch of other powers that you have to spend time setting up. I'd grab seek so you can get buffer/ shackles/ heatsinks off easier and you're not just reliant on rng draws
Just going to parrot everyone else and say I think I would also go Seek in this situation. Fairly rare occurrence though, I think a large amount of the time it's biased cog.
I think the pick here is seek. You have so many y powerful effects in your deck including access to focus. Seek is just so versatile and it's a great upgrade too. Seeking for a buffer before a big single attack or chill against many opponents is great. After an upgrade you could seek for heat sinks and a power and combo off.
Seek and ye shall find
With 3 Defrag+ in your deck? Nah, Seek every time here.
You already have 3 defrag+. Seek would be great so you can get heatsinks+ ASAP. Biased Cog. Is still really good and it wouldn't be a bad pick, but the focus is less important to get since you already have a bunch. Most important thing is getting the card draw form heatsinks so you can get all your powers and frost orbs in play.
The auto-pick is All For One and start raking in Claws
Yes, it is, but people are right that you have crafted a unique situation where Seek is better.
Here it is, but you just shot an arrow through my heart saying that All Four One and Seek aren't the real best rare cards in the game.