Monster Train is an excellent variation of the deckbuilder roguelike. It has a Magic the Gathering feel with summonable units and explosive synergies. There are 4 demon clans; you choose 2 to compose your deck at the start of a run. Your primary and secondary choices determine which hero unit you start with. I haven’t counted, but there looks to be a comparable number of cards and artifacts to Slay the Spire. Runs have far fewer battles with a higher complexity per battle.
What stood out to me is the card upgrade system. Each card has two upgrade slots, with upgrades being very cheap as they only apply to one card. Upgrades range from lowering cost to increasing numbers to making the card hold in your hand until cast. Events that duplicate cards can now give you huge power boosts and money saves.
Difficulty is harder to judge. I achieved the win state on my second run, but there are 25 ascension levels with increasing difficulty. I also got lucky by grabbing an artifact that directly countered the last boss. There are a wealth of offers to upgrade and add cards which gives it a much more planned feel than StS. Highly recommend it.
