Recommended Free Game "Justly Sal" | Roguelike Deck Building Battle

This article introduces Just Lethal, a deck-building card battle game where you play cards from your hand to reduce your opponent's health.
This isn't the type of game where you meticulously collect cards; instead, it's a roguelike game where you enjoy the roguelike aspects of skillfully managing randomly assigned opponents and randomly acquired cards.

The completion time for Story Mode is about 1-2 hours, while each playthrough of Free Mode takes 15-60 minutes.
In the free mode, from beginner to advanced levels, it took me 23 hours of playtime to win at least one match with every character.

Game Overview

As a game,You play unit cards to attack your opponent, and you win if you reduce the enemy leader's health to 0.
Each card has a cost to use, and you can use them until your MP reaches 0.
Basically, you play unit cards onto the field and have your units attack to reduce the health of your opponent's units and leader.

In addition to unit cards, there are also commands that activate their effects without being played onto the field, and symbols that exhibit special effects when played onto the field.
The rules aren't that complicated, so I think you'll get the hang of it after playing through story mode once.

I think the main mode in this game is "Free."
This mode involves using characters prepared for different difficulty levels and competing to win.

However, when you first start the game, we recommend playing the "Story" mode to get a feel for how to play before moving on to other modes.
The "story" is not difficult, and new rules are explained gradually, so you can learn the rules step by step.

In Free Mode, you will win several battles with the character you have chosen.
The opponent and the cards you receive after winning are random, so if you get useful cards, the game will be easier, but otherwise, it will be a tough battle.
However, even in tough situations, there are ways to fight back, and I think the fun of roguelike games lies in skillfully navigating those challenging circumstances.
Simply put, whether or not you get strong cards isn't the whole story in this game of chance.

The cards you get in the shop are random, but the thrill of a sudden, unexpected win when you get a powerful card is part of its appeal.
If you're unsure about a card's effect, you can quickly find out what it does by clicking the "?" mark in the upper right corner of the window.
I appreciated not having to constantly switch back to a different screen.

The style of your deck is determined by the main character you choose, and the types of cards you can acquire will vary greatly.
By using various types of characters, you'll be able to learn about the tactical variations in this game.

thoughts

It was an incredibly engaging game, and I played it until I could clear it with all characters in free mode.
In the end, my total playtime came to approximately 23 hours.
I think it was a work that I was that engrossed in.

It has a similar addictive quality to "Alina of the Arena," a game I played on Steam before, and it has an appeal that makes you want to play it again and again.
The variety of cards is just right, so there's a fresh sense of fun in mastering new cards with each playthrough.

I particularly enjoyed the aspect of being able to turn the tide of battle with a magic item that can be obtained once a certain amount of CP (Cost Points) accumulates along with discarded cards.
Even when my deck was in a hopeless state, there were many situations where I could somehow find a way to win by using equipment and magic items that I could buy at the shop.
Even if you get stuck, there's a safety net in place where you can retry and get more magic items, which shows a thoughtful effort to keep players motivated.
Furthermore, even against opponents where a winning strategy seems impossible, sometimes simply restarting the game can lead to a lucky draw with better cards, making the game much easier. I thought this moderate element of luck was perfectly balanced.

I think this game has a difficulty level and system that makes you want to try it again.
It's not a particularly complicated system, so if you're interested, why not give it a try?

What I enjoyed about the story mode was that it wasn't just a tutorial, but it was sprinkled with lines reminiscent of Shiida from Fire Emblem, and words that would make gamers grin, such as "Luzami Island."

Strategy Notes (ver1.0.3 *Not the latest version)

By playing repeatedly, you'll gradually get the hang of it.
The basic strategy is to use a cost 2 card three times.
Therefore, if the proportion of high-cost unit cards becomes too high, you will often find yourself overwhelmed due to a lack of maneuvers.
When considering high-cost units, carefully examine whether they possess abilities that can compensate for their high cost.

story

The story mode doesn't involve deck building, so theoretically, you can't get stuck.
As long as you remember that the victory condition is not to defeat enemy units, but to reduce the enemy leader's health to zero, you should be able to win.

Free

If you lose in Free Mode, your HP will be fully restored, and you will be able to try again with one magic item.
If you lose again, another one will be added.
By trying multiple times, you might unexpectedly discover a winning strategy, so I recommend not giving up and continuing to try.
The important thing is that the goal is to reduce the opponent leader's HP to zero.
Note that the goal is not to defeat enemy units.

When shopping along the way, prioritize purchasing equipment that provides permanent effects.
Since you can upgrade your equipment with almost no downsides, I highly recommend it.

Regarding cards, if you acquire many high-cost cards, you'll often find yourself with fewer cards available to play.
Let's identify and select useful cards that cost 2.
It's important to actively remove unused cards to compress your deck and increase its rotation.

Beginner

Diane

Using General Vesper to summon knights and then unleashing his magic was very useful because it allowed me to quickly create a numerical advantage.
Furthermore, the magic release by Diane and the enhancements by the Holy Knight Brightness make the team even more formidable.
Even though the cost was high, the units like Enlil and Corniva were excellent, making it a difficulty level where you could easily win by simply overpowering them.

Intermediate

Enlil

I wasn't as lucky with cards overall as I was with Diane, but I managed to clear it using a similar strategy.
I wasn't able to employ very technical tactics.
Rod Willow's magic release was very useful for strengthening our defenses.

Roa

This was a completely different set of cards than what I'd used before, and I had to adjust my thinking.
Since there are many cards that can be kept on hold, I felt this style was easy to play because it offered many options for action.
I found it very satisfying to build up enough command casts before summoning Middle Golems, allowing me to make a dramatic comeback in the later stages of the battle.
On the other hand, in the early stages, there are almost no units that can withstand enemy attacks, so figuring out how to survive that was fun.

With abilities like Golem Mage and Fire Magic, there are many ways to defeat enemy units without directly attacking them, so in that respect, the firepower was quite high.
In particular, Pythera of the Whirlwind was powerful because it could reliably defeat multiple enemies just by being played.

Ceravia

This character required skillful play, such as effectively using up troublesome curse cards and converting them into offensive options.
Creating one curse and then dealing 3 damage x 2 with the barbarian war elephant was easy, powerful, and earned me the MVP award.
In the final battle, I pushed through by quickly using the fairy Eliora to increase my maximum MP.
If you accumulate too many curses, you won't be able to draw useful cards, so I think this character required some skill to find the right balance.

advanced

Millidia

The advanced mode was quite difficult, and I had to retry several times along the way.
I think it will also depend quite a bit on the luck you get with the cards you acquire along the way.

I had to retry the final battle against Hyzerem about three times, with the help of rescues.
Starting with the War Princess Millidia card, I strengthened it with magic release bonuses from Rod Willow, Princess Diane, Holy Knight Brightness, etc., and hurried to deal as much damage as possible to the leader.

If the enemy leader takes 10 or more damage in the same turn, their Divine Garment will activate, granting a 99% damage reduction.
If you have the opportunity, consider the order of your attacks and adjust them to deal as much damage as possible, ideally more than 10.
Furthermore, as a card, the God of Thought, Hyzerem, cannot inflict direct damage through commands or combat.
It's a good idea to deal damage using effects such as magic release or effects that activate during gameplay.

Although Zantetsushin Funagiri has a high cost, it activates an attack three times the number of magic releases when played, making it useful for clearing out enemies, especially towards the end of the game (it also works on Soushin Hyzerem).

Cocotte

The journey itself was tough, and the battle against Heizerem was extremely difficult as well.
I had to retry many times with the help of rescues, and it felt like I won by sheer force.
The main source of damage was the well-timed attacks from the sword-eating girl, Jumi.

I find the zero-cost freezing effect very easy to use.
Another card that was useful for its cost was the starter card, Fallen Hell Megalio.
With its magic release after being played, it can deal 1x5 damage if only the leader is on the field, allowing for a pseudo-rush-like playstyle, making it quite powerful.
It's also great that there's a sequel, Soul Rebirth 2.

It's helpful that Whirlwind Pythera has two chances to deal 3 damage: once when it enters the battlefield and once when it's played.
Furthermore, the ability to inflict damage on the leader through magic release gave it a sense of versatility.

Carolina

The card I found to be particularly strong when playing Carolina was the Great Crimson Tree.
The fact that it automatically generates a fairly tough Guardian unit at the end of each of your turns is an advantage, as it allows you to focus on attacking for a while.
Furthermore, Granz's Earth Dragon was also a powerful attacker.
While it doesn't offer a quick attack, its high attack power allows it to chip away at the enemy leader's health through piercing attacks.
By releasing your magic power and lowering your attack power, you'll be less likely to be defeated in combat.
Towa, the Elder of the Ancient Forest, is expensive, but in the mid-game when you have many destroyed units, just playing one card can help you gather many units, so I feel it's worth the cost.

I felt that defeating Hyzerem would be difficult unless you assembled a deck of cards specifically designed to deal damage to the leader along the way.
Specifically, the idea is to maintain the number of cards in your hand using cards like "hold" and "curse" cards, while gradually reducing their HP with damage from the ruins.
The Phoenix Flame Blossom, which can be generated with the Shining Divine Bird, is a trump card that deals 4 damage to all enemies and their leader, and it can be held in reserve, with its cost decreasing each turn.
It was incredibly useful, truly offering three benefits in one.

On the turn that the Skeleton God Kilbert is played, if you don't have effective countermeasures, such as having multiple guardian units with sufficient durability, your leader will take heavy damage.
I managed to survive by using the magic item, Shining Armor, which reduces damage by 20, but I think how much damage I can reduce the leader's damage this turn will be crucial to my chances of winning.

In any case, I think it will be extremely difficult unless you retry many times and gather rescue items before fighting.
Carolina went through the game multiple times from the beginning, including collecting cards.
I still think it's effective to boldly remove unnecessary cards and compress the deck.