Card draw is the real resource
You draw a fixed number of cards each turn, so a smaller deck sees its best cards more often. Adding a strong card to a thirty-five card deck is often worse than removing a weak one from it.
Remove strikes early
Basic attacks and defends are the weakest cards you own. Shops should be evaluated for removal first: deleting a basic card permanently improves every future draw.
Answer the act, not the card
Act one rewards damage, act two rewards defence and scaling, act three rewards a coherent engine. Take cards that solve the next problem, not cards that look strong in isolation.
Energy is a budget
Count the energy cost of your intended turn. A deck of expensive cards that cannot play more than one per turn loses to a deck that plays four cheap ones.
Scaling wins long fights
Bosses and elites have large health pools. You need something that gets stronger each turn — strength, poison, focus, or a growing combo. Pure damage does not scale into act three.
Potion discipline
Save potions for fights that would otherwise kill you rather than using them for convenience. A potion held to the boss is worth several used in easy fights.
Path for elites, but not blindly
Elites give relics, which are permanent power. Route through one or two once your deck can handle them, and take the safer path if you are low on health.