I'm new to Griftlands. Any advice?

[Blue Moth]

So, I am new to Griftlands, I just barely got the game gifted to me for Christmas, and I don't really know anything about it beyond the basic "it's a deck-building game with negotiation and combat" and that stuff. Do you guys have any tips for a new player like me?

[RageLeague]

I would suggest you to just play and see. Depending on whether you're good at other roguelike deckbuilders or not, it might take you some time to grasp the mechanics.

Here's a tip: a common misconception of this game is that you can go with two routes: either negotiation or battle. That is wrong, as your goal of the game is to survive and win using any means necessary. Going too much negotiation will certainly help you a lot, but you will get killed during bosses if your battle deck sucks. On the other hand, going too much battle will sometimes cause you to run head into a battle that you cannot win. You need to work on both decks to effectively win.

[Wumpus the 19th]

Manage your cash, take as many battles or negotiations as you can to flesh out your decks, and the general rule that if you act like a dingus to others, they'll be even bigger dingus's to you.

[minespatch]

I like doing negotiations over battles. In negotiations, treat composure like your defense. I highly recommend shielding any argument that's attacked.

Battles depend on the character you're playing as.

[NorthernOak]

If you're new to deckbuilding games in general, my biggest piece of advice is to prioritize consistency in your decks. Yes, it's important to have strong cards, but more importantly, you need to be able to draw them reliably. To maximize consistency, you want to keep your decks thin and focus on one or two themes/archetypes/builds for your decks.

To keep decks thin, it means you'll often decline selecting a new card when you are given the option. Once you decide on a theme of your deck then you want to try to tailor your deck to that theme: take strong cards that fit that theme and decline almost everything else. For example, maybe you want a bleed deck that causes bleed and capitalizes on enemies with bleed. Look for cards that have the bleed keyword, focus on upgrading them, and decline cards that focus on other themes like combo or improvise. Some cards will fit into multiple themes, but you'll pick that up along the way.

You'll get a few chances to remove cards from your deck over the course of your game. That's a good way to make your deck smaller and remove cards that don't match your theme - again, improving consistency in both ways. Sometimes your starter cards will give you an upgrade option with the destroy keyword. While it may seem counterintuitive, that is the best way to remove that card from your deck to make room for stronger cards that fit your theme, because it doesn't cost other resources to do so.

In the same way you're looking for cards which provide synergy, you should also look out for grafts and boons that align with the theme of your deck.

And as folks said above, just try things out and learn along the way. Griftlands is great because there are a lot of viable strategies and archetypes. Find what works well for you, enjoy the story, learn from your mistakes, and as you improve, try out new strategies and paths and have fun all over again. Good luck!