Unplayable

Unplayable is a card keyword indicating that the card cannot be played under any normal circumstances. Cards with Unplayable sit in your hand and take up space but cannot be selected to play. They can still be discarded, Exhausted by other effects, or interacted with by mechanics that do not require playing the card.

Unplayable cards are typically negative additions to your deck, most commonly appearing as Curses such as Writhe (Innate and Unplayable) or Pain (Unplayable, but taking damage from discarding it). Some events and encounters add Unplayable cards as a penalty. The main strategies for dealing with Unplayable cards are card removal (at shops or events like Purifier) or mechanics that benefit from having useless cards, such as Exhaust synergies. The Dead Branch relic notably does not trigger on Unplayable cards.