Power Card

If you've played for a bit, you probably know that it is going to be QUITE the grind before you get a full gold A++ deck.

Let me start by saying that all competitive decks (aside from Xiao Yu's "mistrust" card where the bronze is better than the silver and gold cards) will contain 15 gold cards or 14 gold cards & 1 SR card (note: maximum 1 SR card within the 15 card deck). Of course, you will also have a Power Card. There are gold power cards, and SR power cards. Sometimes the gold will be better than the SR versions for your deck (Nina's 255 HP power card versus the SR version), in these cases the deck will be ALOT cheaper (an SR power card costs 640,000 gold). Selecting a the right power card is very important as it is the single most expensive card in your deck.

The power card determines your maximum HP in the match. This is very important, think of it as your capital in a casino. More capital means you will last longer. The power card also gives you an ability that lasts for the entire match or an ability that activates once in the beginning.

For each deck, I will give a recommendation for power card selection and why.

Lastly, don't forget to purchase 9 bronze versions of yoru power card and fuse them to 3 silver and fuse them to 1 gold, this method saves gold compared to purchasing the gold from the market.

Kazuya

175 HP, Every turn: Nul. P cards +2 Hit
This power card has the highest hp of the 3, is gold (so it costs a quarter of the price of the SR) and comes with an ability that cannot be countered. Also note that "Every turn: Nul. P cards +2 Hit" means all Kazuya's punches have +2 Hit whether they have an ability or not. (I believe the word "Nul. " shouldn't be in the short description)

Paul

For Paul, his SR adds a very unique ability where Every turn: -1 card max, Cards +8 hit (note: if you face up against a Lili that reduces your max cards by 1, you will still have maximum cards = 4, NOT 3). There are cases where this is really good, example: fighting a Yoshimitsu, normally 3x 50 cards will do 150 damage (Yoshimitsu is 160 HP) but with this card, it will be 174 damage. In some cases this is bad, Example Kazuya will be left with 1 HP (3*58 = 174). Because of this, a player may choose the SR power card or the one I recommend below depending on preference and deck.

165 HP, First turn: +1 card, 1st card +15 Hit
Although this is the lowest of the power cards in terms of HP, I selected this because the other gold card has 5 HP more and deals 5 HP to the enemy which (in my opinion) is pretty crappy. This gold card starts Paul (who has almost no card that swings card advantage to his favor) with a nifty +15 damage bonus card. If you run Paul with all 50+ damage cards, then you are looking at a 65+ damage card at the start of the match. This is enough to add some serious intimidation to the opponent. Besides, the only other characters that runs "Opponent -x cards at start of game" are Xiao Yu, and poor Law players (I say poor because I would imagine if gold was not an option, Law players would choose the SR power card).

Law

175 HP, First turn: Opp -2 cards
The reason I selected this power card is because: it costs a quarter of the SR power card. Otherwise I would select the SR power card any day. This power card has 20 HP more than the other golden power card. The ability is useful against Xiao Yu, Paul, Yoshimitsu, and Lili players when they select power cards that give them additional cards in the start of the game. If gold is really not an issue, (which it usually is) buy the SR power card instead for the 5 extra HP and more intimidating Kicks.

Yoshimitsu SR Power Card

Yoshimitsu

175 HP, First turn: +2 concealed cards, Opp +1 card
For Yoshimitsu, I HIGHLY recommend the SR card. It has 10 HP more than the next highest one and  because Yoshimitsu can Heal HP like a fiend, it's best to get that +15 extra HP every time. Also, t he +2 CONCEALED cards could be quite hilarious. You could end up with Iwatsubute (25 Damage, After the attack: HP>=70: Both -65 HP & Card discard) or 2x Dragonfly Fist (14 Damage, After the attack, Opp Focus, Cards ≤ 2: +1 Card) and Oni Kick Combo (20 Damage, This card appears: 1st card +40 Hit) with a little luck you could deal 150 damage in 1 round. Note: apparently because of how conceal works, the bonus damage from Oni Kick Combo is revealed to the opponent. Remember, the cards are concealed so the opponent will literally never see it coming. This will be resolved in the near future.

Xiao Yu

175 HP, First turn: +3 cards, Opp -2 cards
Xiao Yu is all about focusing once and magically getting 5 cards, then pressing strike for 3 turns straight and occasionally pressing focus again. Your opponent will be blocking so often that if you are down 1 max card, you will be dealing a 66% of the damage you normally do than if you had 5. Also, the SR version costs 4x the price and provides an additional one card. If you use Clouded Peak (3 Damage, This card appears: +2 cards) and you get this in the first turn, you'll feel stupid you paid 4x more for the SR version of the card (this occurs 20% of the time).

Nina

255 HP, First turn: -80 HP
Almost every other card in Nina's card list is about gaining about HP, that is why 255 Max HP is just awesome as the power card (If you play a deck that is not about HP at all and is more about just dealing raw damage, ignore this paragraph, and get the SR Power card). Although you start with -80 HP, it is still 5 more HP than the other gold power card. Not to mention it is gold, and therefore a quarter of the price of the SR one.

Lili

Like Paul, one of Lili's gold power cards  is 130 HP and reduces the Opp's max cards by 1. That being said, Some people may choose to run with this power card but beware, the life is only 130 HP, so you could find yourself in sticky situations real fast against a Paul or a Yoshimitsu. Again, this power card is optional depending on the deck you choose to run. Personally I have seen Lili's use this power card and just wreck. It is annoying as hell. If you prefer a different play-style, then my recommendation for Lili is:

185 HP, First turn: +2 cards, Opp +1 card
That's right, I recommend the SR card. Why? because this actually gives you the advantage where as the other alternative gives 3 cards to both players. The SR power card also has 10 more maximum HP which isn't much but it is still something. On the other hand, if you don't have the gold, go with the 175 HP, First turn: both +3 card, power card. Usually with that power card, both players end up blocking and all cards are discarded anyway. Again it is based on preference and what cards are in your deck.

Panda

210 HP
For Panda, I strongly urge to get the SR power card. Why? Panda has no healing capabilities (reliable ones for that matter). So when you lose 1 HP you will never get it back. That being said, I believe no Panda deck is complete without the SR power card which has 35 more HP than the gold alternatives. Thirty-five HP may not seem like much but if you think about it, that is 2 full cards from Yoshimitsu, or at least 1 full card from everyone else.

Conclusion

If you are serious about building a competitive deck and don't want to spend 640,000 gold on a power card, I highly suggest selecting a character that doesn't necessarily require one (Kazuya, Law, Xiao Yu, Nina, sometimes Paul, Lili). Unfortunately for me, I went with Yoshimitsu, And I still don't have the gold to buy the SR Power card. I have never seen one before and I can't wait to see the picture when I do.