Back to Builds
CARD ANALYSISVerified 2026-04-17

Regent Card Analysis: Stars vs Forge With Exact Numbers

Every Regent card ranked by archetype — Stars, Forge, Card-Copying, and Infinite. Includes why mixing Stars and Forge loses every time.

Regent runs two completely separate currencies — Energy (default) and Stars (persistent, never auto-refilled). Because Stars carry between turns and are spent manually, Regent decks behave more like resource-management RPGs than traditional STS deck-builders. Knowing exactly which cards generate Stars versus which cards spend them is the whole game.

Community consensus after v0.100.0 is that Stars is S tier and Forge is B tier. Both archetypes are playable, but Stars scales with deck size (bigger decks = more Star generators), while Forge stalls once you hit the point where Sovereign Blade one-shots what's left on the board. Do not mix them — splitting cards between both pools guarantees that neither reaches critical mass.

Verification note

community

Regent Card Analysis: Stars vs Forge With Exact Numbers build priorities

This page covers every known Regent Card Analysis: Stars vs Forge With Exact Numbers archetype in the current Early Access build, ranked by consistency and scaling ceiling.

Each build section names the core cards, key combos, and the relics that push the archetype from functional to dominant.

Start with the S-tier build if you want the safest path through Ascension.

Open the related cards and relic pages if a build depends on a specific card or relic interaction.

Treat these rankings as an early-access snapshot — balance patches will shift them.

Starter cards: Falling Star, Strike, Defend, Venerate

Regent starts with a unique statline. Falling Star is a 1E attack that deals 7→11 damage plus Weak and Vulnerable — effectively a Bash replacement with higher value. Venerate is the only starter Star generator and it feels weak because the archetype hasn't come online, but you cannot remove it early or your Act 1 routing breaks.

Strike and Defend are still auto-remove targets because Regent's common attacks and block cards both outvalue them on raw numbers.

  • Falling Star: 1E, 7→11 damage + 1 Weak + 1 Vulnerable. Keep all 4 copies in Act 1. Remove by Act 2 only if you have 3+ Vulnerability payoffs.
  • Strike: 1E, 6→9 damage. First removal target, always.
  • Defend: 1E, 5→8 block. Second removal target. Particle Wall (below) is a strict upgrade.
  • Venerate: 1E, gain 1 Star. Ugly at face value but essential glue until you pick your first Star-generator common. Remove only after you have Secret Box or Gather Light in deck.

Stars archetype: the working build

Stars decks win by generating 7+ Stars over 2–3 turns, then spending them with Seven Stars (AoE finisher), Alignment (Stars→Energy), or Big Bang (mass resource refund). The correct Stars curve is: Star generator Act 1 → Alignment by end of Act 1 → Big Bang or Seven Stars in Act 2.

Because Stars are persistent, every combat starts at 0 Stars. This means your early-fight tempo is low — Regent's block cards must cover the 2–3 turn generator phase before Star spenders come online.

  • Star Wave (별의 파동): 0E, 4→6 damage AoE. Essential Act 1 tempo card. First-pick priority.
  • Guiding Star (길잡이별): 0E, 9 damage + add card to discard (changes draw order). Zero-cost AoE + sequencing. Pick every copy offered.
  • Secret Box (비밀 상자): 1E Skill, +2 Stars + draw 2. Upgraded is 0E. Auto-pick rare.
  • Gather Light (빛 거두기): 1E, +1→2 Star when you Exhaust a card. Keep if deck has Tyranny / Charge / Care burn cards.
  • Alignment (정렬): 1E, convert 3 Stars into +2 Energy this turn. Rare. S tier — the best infinite enabler.
  • Seven Stars (일곱 개의 별): X-cost rare attack, deals 7 × current Star count AoE. 7 Stars = 49 AoE damage. Auto-pick.
  • Big Bang (빅뱅): 0E rare, +1 Energy + 1 Star + draw 2. Zero downside. Always pick.
  • Particle Wall (입자 벽): 1E, 12 block, returns to hand after use. Best Regent block card once Act 1 boss reached.
  • Constellation (별무리): 1E, +4 Stars but add Constellation to deck. Rare snowball card — only in dedicated decks.
  • Stardust (우주 먼지): 2E, 7 damage AoE + scales with Stars spent. Uncommon AoE closer.

Forge archetype: why it loses to Stars

Forge works differently from Stars. Every time you Forge, you pull Sovereign Blade (군주의 칼날 / 至尊之刃) to hand — a 2E colorless Attack with Retained and damage equal to 10 + your current Forge counter. Forging again adds to the Blade's damage even if it's already in hand, discard, or draw pile.

The archetype loses because most Forge cards have bloated numbers (2–3 Energy for a +8 Forge), Sovereign Blade takes 5+ Forge stacks to exceed a normal rare Attack, and by then Stars decks have already finished the fight with Seven Stars.

  • Sovereign Blade (군주의 칼날): 2E colorless Attack, Retained. Base 10 damage + X Forge. Unremovable once pulled. Upgrades: +1 cost but hits twice.
  • Forger (铸剑者): highest-tier Forge generator, pure numbers. The one card the community calls 'worth picking' in pure Forge decks.
  • Hammer Time (망치질 시간): +Forge per hammer used. Only strong with multi-hit support.
  • Conqueror (정복자): Forge generator, mid-tier transition. Okay in pure Forge, skip elsewhere.
  • Forge Wall (筑墙): Pick only with Conqueror or Forger already in deck.
  • Temper Blade (淬炼刀刃): defensive filler. Mid-Act 2 replacement.
  • Pillar of Creation (창조의 기둥): 2E Power, +6 block per Sovereign Blade use. Only in dedicated Forge + block decks.
  • Devastation (초토화): 2E AoE. Decent Forge synergy filler. Avoid in Stars decks.
  • Most other Forge cards: trap picks. Forge loses per-card value to Stars at equivalent Energy cost.

Card-copying and Infinite archetypes

Card-copying (印牌) is the third viable Regent archetype. It wins by using Quasar (类星体) or Arsenal (무기고) to duplicate high-value cards into the deck, then riding Confluence (汇流) to retain the duplicates each turn. Quasar is the build's enabler and must be picked the moment it appears.

Infinite decks want Charge!!!! (돌격!!!!), Care (护驾), and Tyranny (暴政) as their three burn cards, then Glow (광채) or Shimmer (微光) as the cycle engine. Without all five pieces, infinite doesn't close — it's the lowest-floor Regent archetype.

  • Quasar (类星体): 2E Rare, imprints a random colorless card into your deck permanently. Auto-pick, mandatory upgrade.
  • Arsenal (무기고 / 武器库): 2E Skill, +2 Power → pull random power from colorless pool. Secondary printing option.
  • Self-Coronation (君权自授): 2E rare, imprints a copy of a card in your hand into your deck. Situational — shines with Spectral Shift.
  • Confluence (汇流): 1E Skill, Retain hand this turn + draw 1. Card-copying's core glue card.
  • Charge!!!! (돌격!!!!): Forge burn card. 2E Skill, Exhaust all 1-cost cards in hand, gain energy per card. Infinite enabler.
  • Care (护驾 / 护驾): Burn card with built-in draw. Works with Tyranny for infinite Star generation loops.
  • Tyranny (暴政): Burn card, clears status cards from hand. Third piece of the infinite core.
  • Glow (광채): 1E Skill, draw 1 + cycle. Fills out the infinite loop.
  • Shimmer (微광): 0E Skill cycle card. Paired with Quasar printing for infinite engines.

Confirmed trap picks and bad cards

The Regent pool has more explicit trap cards than any other class because of how visually appealing the Forge mechanic is. These cards look exciting but underperform at every Ascension level.

The one common thread across traps: cards that require 2–3 setup turns to break even. Regent's Star mechanic means every setup turn is a turn you could have spent generating Stars instead.

  • Star Child (별의 아이): Power card, generates 1 Star per Power played. Too slow — Stars decks already have enough generation.
  • Gather Glow (收集光辉): 1 Star per upgrade. Extremely low density. Called out by community as worst-card candidate.
  • Dim Blue Dot (暗淡蓝点): 1E small effect. Only ever pick the pre-upgraded version from events.
  • Spoils (战利品): 1E Skill, +gold. Useless in A10 because shop access is limited to 3 per run.
  • Colorless-generation cards without Quasar: picking Arsenal or printing cards without Quasar in the deck means the copies are random and low-value.
  • Solar Strike (태양의 타격): 2E, 18 damage. Looks premium but competes with Moonshot for the finisher slot — Moonshot wins.
  • Royalty (로열티): curse-like self-damage card. Only worth picking if you need gold generation for shop removal.
  • Terraforming (테라포밍): 2E Skill, multi-hit damage boost. Trap unless deck already has 3+ multi-hit attacks.

Relic pairing and boss prep

Regent's starter relic, Moon-shaped Pastry (月面射击 pastry), provides +1 Star at combat start. This means every combat opens with 1 Star on the counter — enough to play Star Wave on turn 1 without Venerate.

Galactic Dust (银河尘), Mini Regent (迷你储君), and Vitruvian Minion (비트루비우스적 하수인) are the three Regent-specific relics that appear in all-Ascension community tier lists. Each defines a different archetype's ceiling.

  • Moon-shaped Pastry (starter): +1 Star each combat start. Enables turn-1 Star Wave play without Venerate.
  • Galactic Dust: +1 Star at end of each turn. Stars archetype auto-pick.
  • Mini Regent: +1 Energy if you end turn with 0 Stars. Infinite archetype enabler.
  • Vitruvian Minion: generate extra Minion cards per turn. Card-copying archetype only.
  • Boss prep: against Queen (Act 3), Star Alignment + Seven Stars clears Torch Head in one Big Bang → Alignment → Seven Stars sequence.
  • Boss prep: against Doormaker, compressed Stars decks with Quasar-printed Forgotten Souls loop through Hunger turns because 0-cost Stars cards are unaffected.
  • Boss prep: against Kaiser Crab, Particle Wall + Seven Stars is the standard clear — direction matters less because Seven Stars hits AoE.

FAQ

Why is Stars considered S tier and Forge only B tier?

Stars cards scale with deck size. Every Star generator adds compounding value because Alignment can convert at any point. Forge cards scale only with the Sovereign Blade, which lives as a single 2E colorless card. Once the Blade exceeds 40 damage, additional Forge stacks are wasted because the fight ends. Stars has no such ceiling — a deck with 15 Stars on the counter always has more options.

Can I mix a few Stars cards into a Forge deck?

No. The community has tested this repeatedly. A 50/50 deck generates too few Stars to reach the Seven Stars / Alignment threshold and too few Forge stacks to make Sovereign Blade lethal. You need at least 70% deck concentration in your chosen currency for either archetype to function.

Is Sovereign Blade ever good on its own?

Only in specific event-constructed decks. Sovereign Blade is useful as a Retain damage floor when you have enough Forge support to push it past 25 damage. Without that support it's a 2E dead card in hand every turn. The Decisions, Decisions event can construct a viable Forge-support deck, but organic card rewards rarely get there.

How does Alignment's Stars-to-Energy math actually work?

Alignment consumes 3 Stars and grants +2 Energy this turn (base). Upgraded converts 2 Stars into +2 Energy, which is why it's auto-pick for infinite decks. A deck with Secret Box (+2 Stars) and Alignment+ (2 Stars → 2 Energy) effectively runs at +2 Energy per draw cycle with zero net Star cost.

What is the Quasar infinite-printing loop?

Quasar lets you imprint a random colorless card into your deck each time you play it. Pair Quasar with Self-Coronation (to imprint cards from hand) and a draw engine (Glow + Shimmer), and you get a deck that generates infinite 0-cost colorless effects every turn. The archetype is fragile because it relies on seeing Quasar in Act 1 — without it, printing doesn't work.

Should I take Charge!!!! if it's offered early?

Yes as long as your deck isn't already infinite. Charge!!!! is a premium burn card that clears 1-cost filler and returns Energy. It's the single most efficient Regent uncommon skill for compressing decks. The only reason to skip it is if you're already running Tyranny + Care and don't need a third burn card.