Sly requires deliberate discard

A Sly card plays for free when it is discarded from your hand before the end of your turn. The ordinary discard that happens when ending a turn does not qualify. Untouchable can therefore become defense through Survivor, Prepared or Acrobatics; leaving it in hand does not create free Block automatically.

This distinction explains why an expensive Sly card can feel excellent in one deck and unusable in another. Count the available discard effects, their draw, and how often the Sly card will share a hand with them. More Sly targets do not solve a shortage of outlets.

Early picks and the first cycle

Acrobatics supplies draw and a discard. Prepared trades fewer resources but can become a more substantial hand filter after an upgrade. Keep an attack or area-damage answer while developing the engine. A beautiful cycling hand that cannot remove a dangerous enemy still loses health.

Master Planner adds Sly to Skills as they are played. Its main payoff arrives when those cards return in a later cycle and can be discarded. It does not supply a discard outlet, and it does not retroactively make the opening hand free. If the deck already contains several setup Powers, adding acceleration can be more useful than adding another Power.

Resource and damage payoffs

Reflex provides draw through Sly; Tactician provides energy. Neither guarantees a permanent loop. Count the cards and resources that remain after exhausts, changing hand sizes and deck reshuffles. A sequence that runs out of discard or draw is a strong turn, not an infinite.

Memento Mori rewards discards with damage. Corrosive Wave turns a draw-heavy turn into Poison applications. Ricochet and Flick-Flack instead let the Sly cards themselves contribute attacks. Choose the payoff that answers the present encounter rather than collecting every card with related terminology.

Upgrades, defense and pivots

A Prepared or Acrobatics upgrade changes how much of the deck a single outlet can see. Afterimage rewards repeated plays with Block, while Tough Bandages rewards discard. Letter Opener rewards repeated Skills; it does not make an attack-heavy sequence count as Skills.

If the deck lacks enough outlets, play a smaller discard package alongside ordinary attacks and defense. Poison or Shivs can provide damage while Sly improves the turn’s efficiency. This strategy does not require removing every card that lacks the keyword.