Guide
Market And Forge Guide
How to choose between the Market and Forge, when each is strongest, and how the community approaches the gem economy in Cropdeck.
Treat The Market As Timing
Market choices are strongest when they match the state of your field. Buying into a plan too early can leave you with cards that do not pay off before taxes arrive.
Market vs. Forge: The Community Debate
The Cropdeck Discord has an active debate about whether the Market or the Forge is more valuable. Here is the consensus:
The Forge (Stronger — Higher Premium)
The Forge is the community’s preferred destination. As one player put it: “Like 9/10 times I would go to the forge.” The Forge merges duplicate cards to create upgraded versions, which:
- Reduces deck size (two cards become one stronger card).
- Improves individual card power directly (higher yield, faster regrow, lower cost).
- Creates golden and legendary rarities, which are typically the backbone of winning runs.
“The forge is much powerful but it comes at a higher premium cost by requiring you to have the prerequisite pieces to combine or enormous amounts of gems.” — Stanley (Discord)
The Market (Weaker — But Situationally Useful)
The developer himself acknowledged: “There are a lot of voices that say markets are not so useful right now.” However, the Market fills specific needs:
- Missing card types. If you are short on plowing or watering cards, buying a specific card is safer than hoping for a forge pairing.
- Early Scarecrow hunting. Grabbing an early Sprinkler or Water Well from the Market can define your run.
- Late-game gem sinks. When you have already maxed out the Forge and have excess gems, the Market is the only remaining outlet.
“I especially use them to grab an extra plow card if I’m short of them.” — Noodles (Discord)
Noodles’ Strategy: Shop for Gap-Filling
Noodles, one of the most active Discord players, uses the Market specifically to fill holes in the deck — most often plowing cards. When a run feels short on basic tools, a cheap card from the Market is low-risk, high-impact.
When To Choose Each
| Situation | Go To |
|---|---|
| You have duplicate cards ready to merge | Forge |
| You are missing a card type (especially plowing or watering) | Market |
| You want to increase card power directly | Forge |
| You need a new Scarecrow for synergy | Market |
| Your gem economy is tight | Forge (better value per gem) |
| You have excess gems and nothing to merge | Market |
| You want to thin your deck | Forge (merge removes a card) |
Gem Economy: The Overlooked Gatekeeper
The Forge is stronger, but it requires both duplicate cards and gems. The Market is weaker, but it only requires gems. This means:
- During early seasons, when duplicate cards are rare, the Market has a window of usefulness.
- Once duplicates start accumulating (Season 2+), the Forge pulls ahead dramatically.
- Late-game, when the Forge has consumed all duplicates, gems pile up with nowhere to go — the developer has floated contracts/quests as a future feature to address this.
The Developer’s Future Plans
Piotrek (the solo developer) has mentioned several ideas for the Market’s future on Discord:
- Contracts/quests — optional objectives like “Harvest 200 carrots to receive 50 extra gems” that could be accepted at the Market.
- Contracts as Market revitalizer — tying contracts to the Market would give players a reason to visit even in runs where they normally skip it.
Use The Forge To Sharpen A Plan
Forge decisions should improve the build you already understand. Upgrade for consistency, a clear payoff, or a specific weakness rather than for vague future value.
- Merge cards your deck depends on, not cards that appear once in a while.
- Upgrading a crop like Blueberries makes it regrow faster or yield more harvests.
- Do not hoard duplicates — merge them or they clog your deck and reduce consistency.
Compare Opportunity Cost
Every market or forge action competes with another way to spend the run’s resources. If the upgrade does not improve yield, safety, or timing, wait.
- Forge is the safer default when you have duplicates.
- Market is the smarter emergency play when you are missing a key card type.
- Never spend gems you need for the next tax payment.
Keep Numbers Marked
Exact upgrade values and market modifiers require in-game verification. Record sources before treating them as final guide advice. The Forge’s power is well established; the Market’s exact values are still being measured by the community.