[barbariangrunge]

The main thing that’s fun about these games is figuring out how to gain insights about how to play better. I think offloading the theorizing and problem solving in any way would make the game less fun. See also: most (not all) use of strategy guides and walkthroughs

[cyrialize]

I 100% agree. At A20 I constantly find myself in situations where I have to pick a card I'd never pick because it is my best option at that time. This leads to me learning more strategies and insights.

For example, in a previous A20 run I had I took Metallicize as Ironclad late in Act 1 because I was facing the Guardian and I didn't encounter other good block plans. Prior to that, I tended to avoid Metallicize to save spots for other block cards instead as it was too slow. This situation made me realize that having a Metallicize in your deck isn't that bad, especially if you need block NOW and you can counteract having it in your deck later on with draw/exhaust.

[lanternfish]

Metallicize is also strong because Ironclad has many powerful strategies that want a very thin deck - two dropkicks go infinite if you can get your deck small enough. Metallicize adds a solid block strategy to any deck and doesn't increase the effective deck size because powers don't really take a spot.