![Post Header (29).png](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/kephler/23uQjyj9xmssmy9S7ttXbLHsy22YQwCf4DegJHXXoSD9y3KEu2efHRFweXLZtnbgKe2pZ.png)


As a follow-up to my [previous post regarding the base statlines a vanilla creature has](https://peakd.com/hive-173286/@kephler/the-vanilla-body-statline-are-you-overpaying-for-card-text),  let's discuss how much stats card text theoretically costs. Card text refers to anything in the body section of a card, including keywords like **Blitz** and **Confused**, as well as any effects like healing. Naturally, cards with beneficial card text like **Blitz** or "Heal a friendly creature for 2" will have worse stats as compared to the vanilla creature, while cards with detrimental effects like "Afterlife: Your opponent summons a random creature from their void" will have better stats than the vanilla creature. The reason is simple - you would simply pick the vanilla creature otherwise. So what do these keywords actually cost?

Let's dive right in!

![image.png](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/kephler/EoCbSnYY5LJ3aVFAM88DN4v2ofY3awwcHG6XEy9qPAQi54Rp2h7bFqUrVUsQJUWkPgb.png)

# Reference: The Vanilla Creature Statline Table

In this post, all comparisons are done against the stats for a vanilla creature. Although not a perfect way of comparison, for consistency and convenience I will usually use the **total stat points** (Attack + Health points) when comparing 2 cards. For example, a 2/6 (8 stat points) is said to have 2 extra stat points over a 3/3 (6 stat points). To see which creatures have the vanilla stats, do refer to my [previous post](https://peakd.com/hive-173286/@kephler/the-vanilla-body-statline-are-you-overpaying-for-card-text)!

| Mana Cost | Stat Points |
|-----------|-------------|
| 1         | 4.5         |
| 2         | 6           |
| 3         | 7           |
| 4         | 9           |
| 5         | 11          |
| 6         | 13          |
| 7         | 20          |

![image.png](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/kephler/EoCbSnYY5LJ3aVFAM88DN4v2ofY3awwcHG6XEy9qPAQi54Rp2h7bFqUrVUsQJUWkPgb.png)

# Keywords

Let's start off with the biggest category, keywords. Keywords are common effects that are seen in many cards, so to reduce the number of words used in the card text, the game designers opted to shorten them into one or two words. Since some keywords don't have enough data points, some of these estimations may not be entirely accurate.

## Blitz

> Creatures with **Blitz** can attack enemy creates, but not gods, the turn they are summoned.

![image - 2022-01-07T001317.213.png](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/kephler/23tvW4DUc1K9h62prGKenRQAgms2kdGmfFwjGsnP4aQgFhmfxUtJFN7VzeBTwE481PaWY.png)

Interestingly enough, there are only 2 cards that only have **Blitz** with no other card text. For the *Vanguard Axewoman*, it costs 0.5 stat points, while for the *Tavern Brawler*, it costs 1 stat point. I think it's safe to say **Blitz** should cost between 0.5 - 1 stat point.

## Confused

> When a confused creature attacks, there is a 50% chance that it attacks a valid random character instead.

![image - 2022-01-07T001712.864.png](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/kephler/23u5xbDUwmENTKPqKk1sF9PQS45ayt2A1B6CCM7vcUVFznQ17uQ8bhkcDT35zaHbERQ8J.png)

The three cards that have **Confused** as its sole card text are the *Wild Hog*, the *Overgrown Rhino*, and the *Riled Ursine*. Doing comparisons with the vanilla creature statline, we can see that **Confused** adds anywhere from 0 - 1 stats to the creature as a trade for random targeting. However, I think the *Riled Ursine* is strictly outclassed by the stronger *Brazen Moose*, which costs the same but has 6/6 in stats and **Blessed**. It's probably more accurate to say that a creature having *Confused* should have an extra 0.5 - 1 stat points.

## Frontline

![image - 2022-01-07T002517.191.png](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/kephler/23tH5a5GyDWSbwg4EmeUjEfabkP4FQmoLWUvxsq28Giw49V778GHFS3V2XtEoaajZ8PTV.png)

There are plenty of units with only **Frontline** as their sole card text. At this point, it gets a bit tricky. For creatures with 1 - 4 mana cost, **Frontline** costs about only 1 stat point, but that cost increases to about 2 - 4 stat points for units in the 5 - 7 mana cost range, with *Minotaur Phalanx* as an exception. It makes sense - **Frontline** gains value as the creature becomes bigger and is able to block more enemy creatures.

## Deadly

> Any amount of deadly damage will destroy a creature.

![image - 2022-01-07T003214.930.png](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/kephler/23tvVWtSSaGnYfFG2yL2z9Cr5mi5Azcv1LKYuGU1XVRTNgyzNtbGd6EhJkruMzY6pCGA7.png)

**Deadly** is tough to evaluate since the attack stat on the creature doesn't matter unless dealing with enemy creatures with armor. Fascinatingly, the 3-cost *Harvest Arachne* has more overall stats than the 4-cost *Poison Peddler*, but is less useful in general due to its lower health. Instead of comparing these cards using their total stat points, if we use their health points as a basis for comparison, **Deadly** seems to cost about 2 health points on average.

## Flank

> This creature can attack any character, ignoring frontline and backline, if any other character has attacked this turn.

![image - 2022-01-07T003959.042.png](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/kephler/EoChBYogwvodE8tmY7sfWpRYsrCZ4LtKMRrnwrKp3RqxRa2zAEUu9s3ZrgSr8wNje6k.png)

**Flank** is a keyword that is seemingly thrown in for free for certain cards, costing 0 stat points for all these cards except for the *Glider Assailant* which has 1 stat less than its vanilla counterpart. Fair, since **Flank**'s effect is usually not of much use in most circumstances.

## Hidden

> Hidden creatures cannot be attacked or targeted by enemy spells or abilities. They become unhidden when they attack.

![image - 2022-01-07T004718.621.png](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/kephler/23uFPYevgk83xX76QY33KHUDniJ6qbx9e6BT13QJGUY1gRS5D2uUTr2THkuyttJHVdpxq.png)

**Hidden** comes in at a cost of 0.5 - 1 stat points for all mana costs here. A fair cost for a fair ability.

## Protected

> Protection stops the next source of damage this creature would take.

![image - 2022-01-07T005157.441.png](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/kephler/23uQkG84CDk1pv54Ab2Uuc2PRnTnuyDNyVnjoWYR6Grr7wwJKV6snGS4FeqZaQag9hRmo.png)

**Protected**, being a fairly strong keyword, comes in at a cost of 2 stat points for the lower mana cost cards, and 4 stat points for the *Protected Deamonbot*. Acceptable, since dealing with **Protected** often costs the opponent 2 mana to deal with it if they have a 1-damage god power or even more if they have to make inefficient trades against the **Protected** creature.

## Blessed

> When summoned, delve 3 blessed effects and play one.

![image - 2022-01-07T005807.522.png](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/kephler/23tbMB683JUbMJiQiW4xRCQKzkJ9NprSh4YRyf6Qmk6URjaPR37NYqoXGwKMewgE45GLU.png)

**Blessed**, being a keyword that was only introduced in the Divine Order set, only has the *Planetar Acolyte* as a card that solely has the **Blessed** keyword. Since we can't draw much data just from one card, I looked at a few other **Blessed** cards and found out that **Blessed** tend to cost anywhere from 0 - 1 stat points, sometimes being thrown as a "freebie" with other effects.

## Twin Strike

> Can perform two attacks. You can't use both of those attacks on a god.

![image - 2022-01-07T010244.661.png](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/kephler/23tvVvwgnvNktWFU3K79uBZAgNyiGHMXMX5QHXordkrUiJqsysdDk7BpbBo7Mrs859ZHu.png)

**Twin Strike** comes in at a cost of 2 stat points. Since **Twin Strike** gains value the more health the creature has, you might come across low-health **Twin Strike** creatures that seem to have this keyword for a lower stat cost, like the *Nokkvi Pillager*.

![image - 2022-01-27T101942.188.png](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/kephler/23tkn4ZNESkdMWujCecqL5cPvZr5PECupqJYWhgmZDHCYiGwaNzYo8x35vZTVyRG2k3c4.png)

## Ward

> Blocks one instance of destroy, transform, sleep or non-attack damage from any opponent's source.

![image - 2022-01-07T010700.447.png](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/kephler/23tkjax8i5MYtARhA1pVe9cKAzLPxxgeWA3ATuyjWb9oUG47iHHZUCB12FeFnuXCX2GSu.png)

Only the *Dryder Sailweaver* has **Ward** as its sole keyword. Looking at a few other cards, it seems that **Ward** tends to cost about 0.5 stat points or bundled as a "freebie" with other effects.

![image.png](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/kephler/EoCbSnYY5LJ3aVFAM88DN4v2ofY3awwcHG6XEy9qPAQi54Rp2h7bFqUrVUsQJUWkPgb.png)

# Why are Some Cards Considered Overpowered (OP) or Underpowered (UP)?

With a rough estimation of the cost of each keyword, we can now see how these plays into cards with multiple keywords or effects.

Cards that people consider are OP often include a bunch of keywords that have synergy and/or cost less than their individual costs, while cards that are UP punch below their weight and have insufficient stats for the effects that they have.

Let's take a look at some of these cards.

![image - 2022-01-27T094030.551.png](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/kephler/23tbPQAFtiLoBf7qQrRvYFwWiTisSH4P7aAWYuHyKFftHkWXdk6oQGcmZ5TDc4f8fsvmy.png)

*Archangel Bruiser* is commonly considered to be really strong in most War decks and bordering on OP. With 8 total stat points, you can say that it trades one stat point for the **Blitz** keyword. This means that its conditional **Frenzy** is given as a freebie, which turns out to be really strong on a creature with **Blitz**. It's no wonder that this card is getting a -1 health nerf soon.

![image - 2022-01-27T094632.050.png](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/kephler/23tbPF3FKGns86MCEKeBgJrEWzdiTYBzWCZfW65QmrZR8jecK2McSNAVUeRY4r1yqL2Gu.png)

*Orcish Elite* trades 2 attack points for both the **Blitz** and the **Twin Strike** keyword, making it a really good deal, since they would have cost 3 points individually.

![image - 2022-01-27T095422.060.png](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/kephler/23tbM6eqGRNkU5D77y6Nf2siXvCNov8umzpR5abHAFbfn6apsj8vBfsrz4379qfQ9jL3b.png)

Let's take a look at the almost-never played *Wizened Warlock*. At a 2/2 body for 3 mana, it trades off 3 stat points for **Ward** and the ability to deal 1 damage to a random enemy each turn. Due to how fragile it is, the ability to deal 1 damage to a random enemy is unlikely to be worth the 2 stat points, rendering it to be UP by today's standards.

![image - 2022-01-27T095830.236.png](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/kephler/23tbLvZV1zWMfu6K4AGxhyUgC3QmZifpuaQfqCiv1V1QcodgDRvatBfoB7QQjRzXy7zqG.png)

The *Runaway Trebuchet* trades off a staggering 6 stat points for **Blitz** and a random 2 damage ping. Is the 2 damage ping worth that many stat points?

![image.png](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/kephler/EoCbSnYY5LJ3aVFAM88DN4v2ofY3awwcHG6XEy9qPAQi54Rp2h7bFqUrVUsQJUWkPgb.png)

# Card Evaluation is Tough

Even with all this analysis, it's hard to evaluate cards because they often cannot be evaluated correctly in a vacuum. In combo decks, the strength of individual cards matter much less compared to how it contributes to the overall win condition - you might be putting way under-statted cantrips (Draw 1 when played) just to draw your combo.

Some keywords and effects are just much stronger together. For example, the **Blitz** and **Overkill** keywords make a great combination. **Blitz** and **Twin Strike** are also great together. When these two keywords are given together on a creature, it may be fair to lower its stats even further to compensate for how strong the combination of keywords is.

Card strength is also dependent on the other cards available within that Faction. Its possible to have a strictly worse version of a card in another faction due to the synergies that it brings to the table.

![image - 2022-01-27T100452.591.png](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/kephler/23tm7GZmjHyAuXGeaDBjuD8hU9WeNCDqN33btoHqyrkCoTehUJav7FXst7vifhrMHf1SB.png)

For example, I recently saw in a Reddit discussion that compared these two cards, *Just a Nibble* and *Revivification*. *Just a Nibble* was going to get nerfed to heal only 5 health, and it didn't seem fair that *Revivification* wasn't receiving the same nerf. After all, *Revivification* cost one mana less, had no detrimental effect of having to deal 1 damage to your own creature, and even had a possible positive effect of adding a random Nature card to your hand. The reason why *Just a Nibble* was nerfed is simply that it was way too strong when combined with the other Death cards, like *Siren of the Grave*. *Revivification* had no synergies with any other Nature cards.

On top of all these, Legendary cards are also balanced differently. Since you can only include 1x of a Legendary in your deck, they are much less likely to be drawn on any given turn as compared to something that you've included 2x of. Due to this limitation, they are given better stats and effects as compared to regular cards. This is also the reason why people complain about decks that are chock full of legendaries - they simply are stronger.

![image - 2022-01-27T101111.519.png](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/kephler/23tm7U7StWUVd8uELBZVc9BGX41mrugxP4RB7f3NZrE7Fnqhe7SuoEQwUxA42rKB6TyNa.png)

*Oddi* is simply a better *Raid Reveller* - no questions asked.

![image.png](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/kephler/EoCbSnYY5LJ3aVFAM88DN4v2ofY3awwcHG6XEy9qPAQi54Rp2h7bFqUrVUsQJUWkPgb.png)

I hope this breakdown of keyword cost did help open your eyes a little to how cards are evaluated. GU has many card effects which help to make the game more dynamic and fun, but it's also good to be aware of what you're trading off for those effects and keywords.

![image.png](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/kephler/23wzYrizi4VriBHyAquxm7jNVPZTGSdgAzbEDwNB96Cz5ERtbRzxLuyiNDZQgNM1WrKHJ.png)

*Post Header image source: [Gods Unchained Media Kit](https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1arZzXrd7FvmWl-zRozEJckk3hzo3RYdB)*

*If you chanced upon this article and are interested in starting Gods Unchained, you can use my referral code to sign up to play [here](https://godsunchained.com/account/register?referral=fGwBsisOrm). It's free to play and free to earn!*

*Some of the card images in this post are generated by [GUListCreator](https://gu-list-creator.vercel.app/), a tool I created for fast card list lookup and creation to write posts like this on Hive. Do check it out if you like to create content for Gods Unchained!*