The short answer
Use a potion when its effect prevents a dangerous turn or enables a decisive play. Decide what it changes before drinking it, and keep enough Energy, hand space or targets to use the result.
Before you start
- Read the potion tooltip on your branch.
- This is a decision guide, not a complete potion database or a promise of the next potion drop.
Match the effect to the turn
| Effect you hold | Check before using it |
|---|---|
| Direct damage | Can it remove an attacker before that attacker acts? |
| Block | How much incoming damage remains after your other defense? |
| Energy | Do you have useful cards left to spend it on? |
| Draw or generated cards | Is there room in the hand, and can you pay for the result? |
| Scaling or a Power | Will it matter over the remaining turns of this fight? |
Sources for this section
Compare the full line, including the potion
Kingy example: suppose the visible attacker has 12 HP and your affordable attacks total 8. If your potion’s displayed effect can supply the missing damage, compare killing that enemy now with blocking its next attack. Recheck modifiers and target restrictions before assuming the kill.
For a draw potion, identify which remaining cards would help and how many you can afford. Drawing a perfect defense with no Energy to play it is a different outcome from drawing an immediately usable answer.
Sources for this section
Make a deliberate keep-or-replace decision
When inventory is full and another potion is offered, compare each option with the next visible threat. A useful potion used now can protect HP and free a slot. Do not discard a planned boss answer merely because a new bottle looks rarer.
A saved potion should have a job. Reconsider that job when your route, relics or deck change; a plan made several floors ago may no longer fit.
Sources for this section
Record the decision, not just the result
Kingy review suggestion: after a loss, note the potions still held and the first turn each could have changed. After a win, note whether an early use allowed a safer elite or an upgrade. These observations are more actionable than judging every potion by the final boss alone.
Sources for this section
Your checklist
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Research checked 2026-09-12. This is a source-based guide; Kingy has not independently play-tested these steps. Evidence and coverage.