Board Game Arena

I think it's a weak card.
I can only think of 3 then 16, or 3 then 14(if 16 is present).
It's probably not worth it to lose twice in a row if not going for immediately win.
Thoughts?

I agree that Surgeon is on average the worst card in the deck. It's rare that an effect is worth loosing 2 sigils for. I did some statistical analysis using a small sample size (Less than 50 games) of top level games a month ago and when checking for winrates, given that a card was discarded from Assassin, Surgeon had by far the best. Meaning that if your opponent would start the game without assassin and you would in turn have to remove any card from your deck, removing surgeon would be your best bet.

There are a few other uses besides the ones you mentioned though:
- Guaranteeing the play of void mage, this can be important in some situations if the opponent has a very strong judge
- Getting a Judge or Swamp Guardian off is also okish

There is also the mind game component. E.g. you expect an Assassin and play Surgeon to counter it, or playing surgeon after the opponents surgeon to get a draw versus their Judge.

You also need to keep in mind, that in this game everyone has the same cards. So it's less about playing "good" cards and more about making the best out of your cards. Because while you might have to play surgeon at some point, so does your opponent. If e.g. the opponent wins against my Surgeon with his Inventor and I win against his with my Mediator, I would have used my surgeon more "efficiently".

But beside that, if I know the Opponent is playing Assassin (Due to Fortune Teller), I will always (probably) play Surgeon if I can

Great tips, ty!

DroppelR wrote: ↑03 November 2025, 15:13 But beside that, if I know the Opponent is playing Assassin (Due to Fortune Teller), I will always (probably) play Surgeon if I can

I wonder what would u play if facing Fortune Teller effect?
Puppeteer(10)?

That depends. I try and figure out if there is a card, where I am ok with either its effect or whatever effect the opponent could trigger of of it. This means that often Assassin, Mediator and Fortune Teller (Ironically) are safe plays. But if I have enough high cards (So pupetteer is likely not a problem) I sometimes play Treasurer or Inventor instead. Again Inventor only if the opponent cannot get of a strong Magistra etc. Similarly if the opponent has only a few high cards left, I might play puppeteer. But in general I think puppeteer leads to either the opponent triggering a strong low card (Saboteur, Ambusher, Judge...) or playing a high card with a high chance of keeping the sigil.