Build around a scoring column
Start with the grid, not with an isolated expensive purchase. Playstack describes a loop of drafting units and artifacts, adjusting dice and triggering combinations. Placement connects those decisions: identify the column you want to score, then look for the pair or other combination that makes its effect useful. Budge adjusts a die’s value; Chrono offers rerolls and shop refreshes. Neither resource replaces deciding what you want the roll to accomplish.
Captain: spend Budge or preserve it
The Captain spotlight gives The Mothership one Budge at turn start and artifact XP when a pair scores in its column. Monocle lets a lone Base Die count as a pair. Rocketship rewards spending Budge with random unit STR, while Bunker rewards saved Budge with Mult at turn start. These point in different directions: decide whether the current plan needs an immediate value adjustment or a saved-resource payoff. The spotlight describes the choices; it does not rank them across runs.
Roxy: reroll before trying Budge
In Tyler’s release run, Roxy starts the Base Dice cracked. He cannot budge them until he spends Chrono to reroll; afterward, he can adjust a value and make his pair. If Budge appears unavailable in this situation, check the cracked modifier before abandoning the column plan. This describes the recorded encounter, not an immunity or workaround for every pilot effect.
Frozen dice need a different resource decision
A later pilot in Tyler’s run freezes the Base Dice and prevents them from unfreezing. Chrono therefore cannot reroll those dice, but he still uses Budge to form pairs. Chrono can also remain useful for shop refreshes or an on-spend effect. Read the active restriction: a resource can lose one use without losing every use, and the cracked-dice solution should not be carried over automatically.
Sources
Sources checked October 4, 2026. Player reports remain attributed; this site has not performed the gameplay tests.