Treat effects as turn math
Status effects are not flavor text. Check the icon and card text before spending several cards: the best target, attack sequence, and whether to end the fight now can change immediately.
Common decision rules
- Apply **Vulnerable** before the attack that matters, especially before a large or multi-hit payoff. - An **Inspired** enemy can make incoming damage much more dangerous; remove the source or plan around the next hit before chasing raw boss damage. - **Rage** can make a fight escalate. If it is accumulating early, favor a shorter and more reliable kill line. - Retaliation or **Thorns**-style effects punish repeated small hits. Use fewer meaningful hits when the current text supports that line. - **Fatal** is a kill trigger: arrange health totals so the card with the Fatal condition actually delivers the killing blow.
Exact values and individual card wording can change. The current in-game tooltip takes priority over any general guide.
Source and version note
The sequence advice above is the shared practical guidance in the current status coverage on shroomandgloom.site and the combat pages on shroomandgloom.wiki. It intentionally avoids publishing a fixed damage formula.