Ultimate Munchkin deck

[KCVocals]

Forgive me if I am in the wrong place for this question, but I am looking to build the ULTIMATE MUNCHKIN DECK and would like some suggestions/help doing so. Here is what I am looking for:

The original Munchkin decks have 168 cards, split between Doors and Treasures. I would like to keep my decks about that small, as it makes for easier transportation and also, will allow for everyone to experience a majority of the cards.

I do not want a lot of duplicates, which is to say, that a Warrior in the fantasy Munchkin is the same kind of class as a Warrior in Munchkin Conan or Legends. If there are Classes/Races/Birthrights/Species/Dance Routines... whatever... in one set that closely mimics one in another set, there would be almost no reason to have a duplicate. (The only exception I can see at this point, would be a Cultist card, but even then, maybe...)

I would like to combine all of the known 15 types of munchkin, and various expansions/booster packs, so I am not looking for a generic Cthulhu works GREAT with Apocalypse, or Axe Cop and Zombies is a wonderful combo! (BTW, if you haven't tried these mash-ups, please do so post haste!) With that in mind, I should make it clear that I own every current version of the game, along with a TON of promo cards and all booster packs/dice/boxes of holding/pawns etc. You name it, if it was available commercially, I have it. I'm not saying this to brag, but just to say that if it will be a popular card in this ULTIMATE DECK, I would like to include it.

Ideas?

[Malkavman]

My thoughts:
I believe that 168 cards would not be enough to carry the scope and breadth of the Munchkin oeuvre when you consider the sheer number of cards available. Out of the thousands of cards, I would posit that a deck that small, when the cards were cherry-picked(not the intention of the game, mind you, but I admire your idea), would contain all of the most awesome treasures, the craziest baddies, the wackiest doors, the harshest curses, and the most powerful races/classes/etc. That would then make for extremely quick games and probably unsatisfying for some players.

My procedure is thus:
Blend everything, EVERYTHING together into the decks of doooom. Then remove a representative sample of about 3 inches of deck from either pile to play with. Add dungeons, seals, Fairy Dust, Munchkinomicon to taste, and commence play. If you play several rounds, reshuffle. Get to know these cards. Then, the next time you play, replace the representative sample, and begin again, setting the others off to be reshuffled when the process dwindles the cards to less than 10% of the whole. This works extremely well, and the play never gets stale.

HOWEVER, if you are set on a static "ultimate" deck, I suggest at least double the amount of a standard set to get a good cross-section of the various genres.

Just my 2 cents, YMMV

[emillang1000]

Munchkin 1-5+8 works well, though I prefer Munchkin Deluxe to straight Munchkin 1, and getting the new Unnatural Axe (Munchkin 2) with the female pawns works great, as well.

Munchkin Pathfinder is a great addition to the mix, because it's still rather humorous, and it's designed to blend better than Conan did - there are no duplicate classes, as there are 4 entirely new ones, and the Faction cards work great as a third "stat" card type.

I like Conan, but the references aren't as comical, and the races/classes create problems all-around. The treasures are great, so I've kept them in there, but I've take out most of the Conan cards (except for the 15 Conan the Barbarian cards from the pack).

The only problem I've found with adding in ALL the promo cards and packs available is that it eventually waters things down in regards to Classes/Races/Factions. Whereas simply having 1-5+8+Pathfinder leaves you with a roughly 1-in-5 chance of drawing a Race/Class/Faction, adding in all the mini-expansions waters things down pretty heavily.

7, while it means well, also unfortunately waters things down; at the same time, it adds in things like 1/3 Breed, Ultra-Munchkin, Cheat With Both Hands etc., so it's a bit of a trade-off.

I'm still hoping for a pack or series of promos of Classes/Races for Fantasy to help balance things out, but you still get plenty of insanity - it just won't be as race/class/faction-centric.

[Smac]

If you don't mind splitting the deck you can do an Ages themed game. It would consists of about 4 main phases.

The Time of Legends. Find a mix of classic munchkins, legends, conan, and pathfinder, along with a few boosters such as dragons. This deck consist of around 100 cards, and you play it until your level 3.

Age of Exploration. A mix of Pirates, and the Wild West. Use around 50 cards and play until your level 5.

Modern Munchkins would be a mix of Munchkin Impossible, Apocalypse, Fu, and Cuthlu. Use around 100 cards. Play until your level 8.

Future Munchkins. Super and Space munchkin mix, around 80 cards. Play until the end of the game.

If you die you use the Zombie and Vampire deck + whatever age your currently in. you can us probably around 50 cards there.

This set up would be around 380 cards, so around twice as many as you wish, but would easily fit in one box of holding.

[SPECPOL]

So far, we have every Fantasy munchkin card (minus a promo or two). Just fantasy cards make a stack of doors over 8 inches. We have found that even with an epic game, we only use at most 1/3 of the cards in the deck. My thought is that no matter how much you try to "balance" the deck by getting ratios of sets right, you still won't go through enough of any theme (other than fantasy) for it to seem anything other than random. I think that at some point you really can have too many cards. I played a 6 player epic game once that had everything from fantasy, bites, fu, booty, star, and cthulhu, and it honestly wasn't too much fun- there was too much variation with the Door-kicks, and getting a treasure that would give you a bonus for your class/race was too difficult(or it would be a fu only treasure and I was playing a star character, etc). Try it out, but I think you will be disappointed with the result.

[SPECPOL]

I would also recommend leaving the portals out, unless you have multiple sets- because even if you are playing with dungeons, caverns, and hideouts, 48 portal cards are not enough to keep the dungeons moving when you have a 1000 card stack of doors. It is especially tough if you get stuck in the "den of dholes" or an equally murderous dungeon and can not find a portal in over 30 draws.

[Clipper]

Originally Posted by SPECPOL

It is especially tough if you get stuck in the "den of dholes" or an equally murderous dungeon and can not find a portal in over 30 draws.

Don't forget that any player can discard 4 cards from their hand on their turn while not in combat to draw a new Dungeon and optionally discard an existing one. You are never truly stuck in one.