Draft verdict: v0.109 Well-Laid Plans is a build-around hand rule, not a generic consistency button. Take it when several cards become much better if held for the right turn and when the deck can discard the leftovers.
What changed
Well-Laid Plans moves from Uncommon to Rare. It now costs 1(0) and prevents your hand from being discarded at the end of the turn. The old version retained a selected one or two cards. The new text removes the selection step and changes every end-of-turn hand decision.
| Old job | New job | New risk |
|---|---|---|
| Preserve one key card | Preserve the whole hand | Unwanted cards remain too |
| Smooth a future combo | Build a multi-card future turn | Hand size can limit fresh draw |
| Small consistency gain | Persistent hand-management engine | Requires active discard decisions |
The upgrade reducing cost to zero matters because the Power already asks you to spend a setup turn. The rarity change matters even more: you cannot draft as if a copy will reliably appear.
Hand space is now a resource
When the entire hand stays, unplayed cards stop being temporary. A situational attack, an expensive Power, and a defensive card can occupy slots that would otherwise become new draw. That can be excellent when the enemy's next intent is known and poor when the retained cards do not answer it.
Before ending a turn, ask three questions:
- Which cards are being held for a specific future turn?
- Which cards are merely leftovers?
- How many new cards can I draw if those leftovers stay?
This makes Tools of the Trade and other controlled discard effects more valuable. They remove the cards Well-Laid Plans preserves by default. Random or forced discard can still break a planned combo, so the quality of the discard outlet matters.
Cards that improve with the rework
The best partners have timing windows. A defensive card can wait for a large intent, a payoff can wait for enough Poison, and a combo piece can remain until the matching half appears.
| Card job | Why full-hand retention helps | What can go wrong |
|---|---|---|
| Expensive payoff | Hold it until Energy and setup align | It clogs the hand for several turns |
| Reactive defense | Match it to the dangerous intent | Too many defensive cards reduce fresh options |
| Discard payoff | Preserve fodder until the payoff arrives | A poor discard outlet chooses the wrong card |
| Multi-card combo | Assemble pieces across turns | Statuses and filler compete for hand space |
Do not add mediocre cards just because they can be retained. Well-Laid Plans improves timing; it does not improve card quality.
Mirage and Expertise change the curve
Mirage is reworked to cost zero and grant 1(2) Energy on the next turn. It no longer turns Poison into Block. That makes it a tempo card: spend a card now to enlarge a future turn. It fits Well-Laid Plans because the retained hand can actually use the delayed Energy, but it no longer rescues a Poison deck's defense by itself.
Expertise now draws 2(3) cards and gives those drawn cards Retain for the turn. The effect is more predictable than drawing to a fixed hand size. With the new Well-Laid Plans, however, it is easy to overfill. Count open hand slots before playing it.
Outbreak rises from 3(4) to 4(5) damage, and Accelerant moves from Rare to Uncommon. Those changes make repeated Poison packages easier to support, but the Mirage rework removes one familiar defensive bridge. A Poison deck still needs a block plan.
A practical draft checklist
Take Well-Laid Plans more confidently when:
- the deck has two or more cards with important timing windows;
- discard is controlled rather than random;
- a larger future hand can be converted into damage, block, or Energy;
- current draw is not already struggling with hand-size limits;
- the Power can be played without losing the next elite fight.
Pass or delay it when:
- most cards should simply be played on curve;
- the deck has several statuses, curses, or expensive leftovers;
- draw is abundant but hand clearing is weak;
- the next fights punish slow Power setup;
- the pick is based only on the old card's reputation.
The Silent guide covers the class's broader plans, while the shiv and discard guide shows where hand management turns into a real engine.
Multiplayer note
The reworked Well-Laid Plans enters the multiplayer pool in v0.109. Its basic job does not change, but teammates can influence when a saved hand should be spent. Communicate before preserving a large combo for a turn that another player already intends to solve.
Source and branch note
The card values here come from Mega Crit's official v0.109.0 beta notes, cross-checked against the Untapped summary. The database page still displays main-branch v0.107.1 text until the beta is promoted.
FAQ
Does Well-Laid Plans still use Retain?
The reworked card prevents the entire hand from being discarded at end of turn rather than asking you to select retained cards. The practical result resembles universal retention, but hand management is now the central cost.
What is the best partner for it?
There is no universal single card. Controlled discard is the most generally useful support because it clears leftovers while preserving selected combo pieces.
Should every Silent deck take it?
No. Decks that play most cards immediately or already struggle with hand space may prefer direct draw, Energy, or defense.
