by ejclason
In this post I try to sort the King of Tokyo cards into categories. I also make comments on some of the categories and cards.
One general tenancy is that as the cost of cards increase, the benefit increase faster. So that, for example, if the benefit received from 2 cost 3 cards is compared to the benefit of 1 cost 6 card, the 1 cost 6 card will probably provide more benefit.
-Discard: Unlike Keep cards, Discard cards do not tend to decline in value as the end of the game nears. There are fewer Discards cards than Keep cards.
--[Star]s and sometimes something else: The majority of Discard cards are of this type. Late in the game, if you are going for a Fame win, these can be great, especially if buying one pushes you over the top. Early in the game, I seldom buy these cards (at least for there [Star]). The earlier in the game, the less you can predict whether you are going for a Fame win. And if you are, it’ll help you just as much bought late as early. Yes, that early [Star] card may not be there later. But I believe the arguments against buying early [Star] cards outweigh this.
---[Star]s only: These cards provide +N[Star] at the cost of +N+2[Energy].
Corner Store, cost 3, +1[Star].
Commuter Train, cost 4, +2[Star].
Apartment Building, cost 5, +3[Star].
Skyscraper, cost 6, +4[Star].
Amusement Park, cost 6, +4[Star], promo.
---[Star]s and something else: Sometimes the something else overshadows the [Star].
Drop from High Altitude, cost 5, +2[Star] and take control of Tokyo if you don't already control it.
Vast Storm, cost 6, +2[Star]. All other monsters lose 1[Energy] for every 2[Energy] they have.
Gas Refinery, cost 6, +2[Star] and deal 3 damage to all other monsters.
If 3 damage can kill other monster(s), Gas Refinery is often a good purchase, even if you are not going for the Fame win.
Nuclear Power Plant, cost 6, + 2[Star] and heal 3 damage.
----[Star]s and take damage: Cheaper than the [Star]s only cards. If you are close to a Fame win and can afford the damage, these are great cards. Otherwise, not so much.
Tanks, cost 4, + 4[Star] and take 3 damage.
Jets, cost 5, + 5[Star] and take 4 damage.
Army, cost 2, (+ 1[Star] and suffer 1 damage) for each card you have, promo.
--Other Discards:Fire Blast, cost 3, deal 2 damage to all other monsters.
Normally it cost 2 dice sides (2 [Claw] in particular) to do 2 damage to monsters either in or out of Tokyo (depending on where you are). Fire Blast cost 3 dice sides to do 2 damage, but it does the damage to monsters both in and out of Tokyo. If you are out to kill other monsters, this is a way to convert energy into damage.
High Altitude Bombing, cost 4, all monsters (including you) take 3 damage.
Can be good if you can afford the damage and some of the other monsters can’t.
Evacuation Orders (x2), cost 7, all other monsters lose 5[Star].
Great if other monster(s) are getting close to a Fame win.
Heal, cost 3, heal 2 damage.
Can be good if you are desperate for healing and/or in Tokyo.
Energize, cost 8, +9[Energy].
Basically +1[Energy], if you have 8 [Energy]. No reason not to buy it if you have 8 [Energy].
Frenzy, cost 7, when you purchase this card take another turn immediately after this one.
Cost 7 dice sides (7 [Energy]) to get a maximum of 6 dice sides. However if you have lots of energy and need something else (healing, fame, damaging other monsters), it may be worth it.
-Keep: In general the earlier you buy a Keep card, the more benefit you gain. (There are a few exceptions that act sort of like a delayed Discard.)
--Damage Addition: If you are going for a Last Monster Standing win, most of these cards are usually great. Even if you are not, doing extra damage to other monsters may cause them to spend more effort healing, which is a good thing.
Spiked Tail, cost 5, when you attack deal 1 extra damage.
Acid Attack, cost 6, deal 1 extra damage each turn (even when you don't otherwise attack).
Burrowing, cost 5, deal 1 extra damage on Tokyo, deal 1 damage when yielding Tokyo to the monster taking it.
Fire Breathing, cost 4, your neighbors take 1 extra damage when you deal damage.
Nova Breath, cost 7, your attacks damage all other monsters.
Poison Quills, cost 4, when you score [2][2][2] also deal 2 damage.
If you are not going for a Fame win, it is unlikely that you will [2][2][2] very often.
Poison Spit, cost 4, when you deal damage to monsters give them a poison counter, monsters take 1 damage for each poison counter they have at the end of their turn, you can get rid of a poison counter with a [Heart] (that [Heart] doesn't heal a damage also).
Usually this is equivalent of doing 1 extra damage, if it is removed on the poisoned monster’s next turn. However the effect is delayed until the poisoned monster’s turn, so if the monster had only 1 HP when the poison was received, it won’t die immediately. Also there is a chance the poisoned monster won’t roll a [Heart], so the poison will do the equivalent of 2 or more damage.
Reflective Hide, cost 6, if you suffer damage, the monster that inflicted the damage suffers 1 as well, promo.
--Damage Reduction:Armor Plating, cost 4, ignore damage of 1.
Camouflage, cost 3, if you take damage roll a die for each damage point, on a [Heart] you do not take that damage point.
In IMHO, a weak card, there is only 1 in 6 chance of rolling a [Heart].
Jets, cost 5, you suffer no damage when yielding Tokyo.
With Jets, Tokyo is the safest place to be.
Super Jump, cost 4, once each turn you may spend 1[Energy] to negate 1 damage you are receiving, promo.
For cards, 1 for 1 is a good exchange rate, although you must spend a one-time additional 4 up front.
Wings, cost 6, spend 2[Energy] to negate damage to you for a turn.
With Wings, if you put effort into getting energy, you can be very hard to kill. If your opponent gets Wings, you may need to go for a Fame win.
--Healing: Even Bigger, cost 4, your maximum [Heart] is increased by 2, gain 2[Heart] when you get this card.
Gives you 2 [Heart] when you buy this card and, if you did not have more than 8 [Heart] when you bought the card, another 2 [Heart] when you heal to 12[Heart] the first time. Best to buy when you have 8 or fewer [Heart] to get full benefit. Not an accumulating advantage, so benefit degradation for buying later is not an issue.
Rapid Healing, cost 3, spend 2[Energy] at any time to heal 1 damage.
Can heal in Tokyo.
Regeneration, cost 4, when you heal, heal 1 extra damage.
Cannibalistic, cost 5, when you do damage gain 1[Heart], promo.
Healing Ray, cost 4, you can heal other monsters with your [Heart] results, they must pay you 2[Energy] for each damage you heal (or their remaining [Energy] if they haven't got enough).
IMHO this is a pretty lame card. Yes, you can get [Energy] for unused [Heart](s), but unless you spend a lot of time in Tokyo (where you can’t otherwise use [Heart]s) you seldom have excess [Heart]s. And, yes, you get a good exchanged rate, but often times the healed monster is happy to pay 2 [Energy] for 1 [Heart].
--Energy: Most of these cards often combo well with cards the use energy. With most of these cards (Metamorph is the exception) you are spending energy now to earn energy in the future. When considering a purchase, think of what the breakeven point is and the likelihood of exceeding it before the end of the game.
Friend of Children, cost 3, when you gain any [Energy] gain 1 extra [Energy].
Solar Powered, cost 2, at the end of your turn gain 1[Energy] if you have no [Energy].
We're Only Making It Stronger, cost 3, when you lose 2[Heart] or more gain 1[Energy].
Monster Batteries, cost 2, when you purchase this put as many [Energy] as you want on it from your reserve, match this from the bank, at the start of each turn take 2[Energy] off and add them to your reserve, when there are no [Energy] left discard this card.
Need to invest 2 [Energy], in addition to card cost, to breakeven. Monster Batteries is like a delayed Discard card.
Metamorph, cost 3, at the end of your turn you can discard any keep cards you have to receive the [Energy] they were purchased for.
--Fame: If you are going for a Fame win, these are usually good cards. Otherwise, not so much.
Alpha Monster, cost 5, gain 1[Star] when you attack.
Dedicated News Team, cost 3, gain 1[Star] whenever you buy a card.
After acquiring this card, you have strong incentives to buy cheap cards. Combos well with most Energy cards, especially with Metamorph.
Eater of the Dead, cost 3, gain 3[Star] every time a monster's [Heart] goes to 0.
The more monsters in the game, the more potential this card has. If there is only one other monster, this card is useless.
Energy Hoarder, cost 3, you gain 1[Star] for every 6[Energy] you have at the end of your turn.
If you are not willing to hoard 6 [Energy] (not buy that cool card costing ~6), Energy Hoarder is not for you.
Herbivore, cost 5, gain 1[Star] on your turn if you don't damage anyone.
Rooting for the Underdog, cost 3, at the end of a turn when you have the fewest [Star] gain 1 [Star].
IMHO this is a pretty useless card. If you have the fewest [Star], you are probably not going for a Fame win. And if you are not going for the Fame win, you have no need for [Star]. There might be rare special circumstances where this would be a reasonable card, example: only 2 monsters left, both going for Fame wins.
Urbavore, cost 4, gain 1 extra [Star] when beginning the turn in Tokyo, deal 1 extra damage when dealing any damage from Tokyo.
This card also belongs in the Damage Addition category.
Sleep Walker, cost 3, spend 3[Energy] to gain 1[Star], promo.
Throw a Tanker, cost 4, on a turn you deal 3 or more damage gain 2[Star], promo.
Complete Destruction, cost 3, if you roll [1][2][3][Heart][Attack][Energy] gain 9[Star] in addition to the regular results.
Combos well with most of the Dice cards, especially Stretchy or Plot Twist.
Gourmet, cost 4, when scoring [1][1][1] gain 2 extra [Star].
Combos well with most of the Dice cards, especially Herd Culler.
Omnivore, cost 4, once each turn you can score [1][2][3] for 2[Star], you can use these dice in other combinations.
--Dice:---Improve your Dice: These usually combo well with cards that need specific dice rolls.
Extra Head (x2), cost 7, you get 1 extra die.
----Rerolls:Giant Brain, cost 5, you have one extra reroll each turn.
Smoke Cloud, cost 4, this card starts with 3 charges, spend a charge for an extra reroll, discard this card when all charges are spent.
Like a delayed Discard card.
Telepath, cost 4, spend 1[Energy] to get 1 extra reroll.
Background Dweller, cost 4, you can always reroll any [3] you have.
Good if you are going for a Fame win because if you go for 3 [3]s and fail, you can reroll your 1 or 2 [3]s. Also, if you are not going for a Fame win, you can reroll all [3]s without using one of your 2 normal rerolls.
----Change die:Stretchy, cost 3, you can spend 2[Energy] to change one of your dice to any result.
Plot Twist, cost 3, change one die to any result, discard when used.
Like a delayed Discard card.
Herd Culler, cost 3, you can change one of your dice to a [1] each turn.
Often used to change an unwanted [Claw] (because the monster doesn’t want to go into Tokyo) to a [1].
---Effect Dice of Others:Psychic Probe, cost 3, you can reroll a die of each other monster once each turn, if the reroll is [Heart] discard this card.
Great for undoing 3 of a kind for Fame. Because of the possibility of discard, Psychic Probe should only be used if it will make a significant difference or near the end of the game.
Shrink Ray, cost 6, when you deal damage to monsters give them a shrink counter, a monster rolls one less die for each shrink counter, you can get rid of a shrink counter with a [Heart] (that [Heart] doesn't heal a damage also).
Thunder Stomp, cost 3, if you score 4[Star] in a turn, all players roll one less die until your next turn, promo.
--Cards:Made in a Lab, cost 2, when purchasing cards you can peek at and purchase the top card of the deck.
Opportunist, cost 3, whenever a new card is revealed you have the option of purchasing it as soon as it is revealed.
Alien Metabolism, cost 3, buying cards costs you 1 less [Energy].
Should be obvious but, need to purchase 3 more cards to breakeven. This card needs to be an early purchase.
Parasitic Tentacles, cost 4, you can purchase cards from other monsters, pay them the [Energy] cost.
Unstable DNA, cost 3, if you yield Tokyo you can take any card the recipient has and give him this card, promo.
--Misc:Freeze Time, cost 5, on a turn where you score [1][1][1], you can take another turn with one less die.
Combos well with most of the Improve Your Dice cards, especially Herd Culler.
It Has a Child, cost 7, if you are eliminated discard all your cards and lose all your [Star], heal to 10[Heart] and start again.
Like a delayed Discard, as long as it is acquired before you die, its value is not diminished if purchased later. Purchase of this card indicates that you are going for Last Monster Standing win. You should become more reckless in your attempts to damage/kill other monsters.
Monster Sidekick, cost 4, if someone kills you, go back to 10[Heart] and lose all your [Star], if either of you or your killer win, or all other players are eliminated then you both win, if your killer is eliminated then you are also, if you are eliminated a second time this card has no effect, promo.
Mimic, cost 8, choose a card any monster has in play and put a mimic counter on it, this card counts as a duplicate of that card as if it just had been bought, spend 1[Energy] at the start of your turn to change the power you are mimicking.
Intimidating Roar, cost 3, the monsters in Tokyo must yield if you damage them, promo.
