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Adding a new themed deck (even Legends and other sets with the same original card backs) immediately unbalances the core game.

Excluding Munchkin 7 and ignoring Portal cards from Munchkin 6, Munchkin fantasy expansions are built on the back of the previous expansion(s). For instance, Munchkin 2 comes with 7 Race cards: 1 each of the original 3 classes (totaling 4 of each) and 4 of the new Orc class, resulting in an even 4 cards for each race across the entire expanded game so far. This balancing act can be tracked through every single subsequent expansion. And when things like Steeds and Hireling (Door) cards are introduced, the balance of their initial introduction is maintained throughout each expansion after that. In fact, these ratios are maintained within single-digit percentages from deck to deck.

When you combine Legends into your expanded Fantasy deck you are essentially crowding the draw deck with more Clerics, Elves and Wishing Rings then the original game was intended for.

All to say, you'll have a balanced game if you 1.) Exclude Legends or any other differently-themed games from your deck or 2.) Use only base decks like Legends, Shakespeare and MOOP without expansions -- this essentially keeps all card types in balance within a reasonable margin. Statistically you'll have just as much of a chance drawing a Race card from three base games as you would with one. Like a shoe of playing cards in a casino, the odds are the same.


The third option is to crack those knuckles, bust out the spread sheets and get to work. I can tell you that, with the right formula, you can find out exactly how many cards you need to add/subtract from your decks to rebalance the game.