Joustus is a card game first introduced in the King of Cards campaign, where it also served as a mini-game. The game itself is played with cards representing enemies and characters encountered all across the Valley.
A Joustus Card is also one of the items of Showdown, and the cards also reappear in the Puzzler's Pack DLC, thanks to a Quandary challenge that unlocks for King Knight the ability to use them in combat.
Story[]
Dig[]
In the timeline of events, Joustus is first briefly mentioned in Shovel Knight Dig by Duelist Di, who is an already seasoned and successful player. This implies that a form of the game existed even before the sudden explosion in popularity seen in King of Cards. Shovel Knight can also see the moment in which she and Cooper strike a deal with each other and begin their ill-fated partnership.
King of Cards[]
In King of Cards, the inhabitants of the Valley are all taking part in a competition of Joustus to win the fabled Joustus Crown, in places called Houses of Joustus. The title of "King of Cards" is to be awarded to the best tactician among them, one capable of besting the three Joustus Judges.
King Knight, hoping to become a true king, enters the competition, quickly finding himself supported by captain Cooper, the Bard, and the rest of the Glidewing's crew, as the daring airship pilot sees the tournament as an opportunity for riches and fame. Cooper had already tried to recruit a champion to represent them, but sadly, their previous candidate, Duelist Di, had tragically died in the area surrounding the Lich Yard, forcing him to seek another player.
Eventually it is revealed that the entire competition, as well as the sudden explosion in popularity of Joustus, were all a plot orchestrated by the recently resurrected Enchantress, who had used her armies to mass produce the Joustus cards. By creating the tournament, as well as appointing a puppet third Judge, King Birder, The Enchantress had originally planned to lure into a trap the other two Judges, King Pridemoor and the Troupple King, so that she could brainwash them into servitude. She, however, changed her mind, as the tournament itself already proved to be such an effective distraction, that she had amassed enough power to be one step away from victory.
After King Knight accepts the witch's proposal, betrays his allies in exchange for Pridemoor Keep's throne, and is nominally named "King of Cards", the tin-pot dictator's first order is to get rid of all the Joustus cards, not wanting for anyone to ever challenge his newfound title. As such, the various Houses of Joustus are detonated, thanks to the assistance of Plague Knight, Mona, and the Hedge Pupil, while the cards themselves are shoved inside some brass horns at Pridemoor Keep.
Specter of Torment[]
In Specter of Torment, King Knight briefly uses the brass horns to expel damaging Joustus cards during his fight against Specter Knight, who arrives to force the wannabe ruler to stop wasting time with his opulent and superfluous renovations of the castle.
Pocket Dungeon[]
A Joustus gaming board makes a minor cameo appearance on a table at the Camp of Shovel Knight Pocket Dungeon, once King Knight is recruited, and he can attempt a Quandary Challenge centered around the card game at Castle Quandary.
King of Cards[]
Gameplay[]
The main objective of a game of Joustus is to claim more gems than the opponent, by finding ways to push their own cards to gems. To start the game, one has to pick a card from their deck. Each card has one or more arrows pointing in a certain direction; the arrows indicate where one can push another card towards.
The game has three end conditions:
- When no more valid moves can be made.
- When all of the open squares are full.
- When a player has no cards left at the start of the turn; should this happen, the other player automatically wins regardless of the status of the gems (although a Gem Sweep, a victory with all gems claimed by a single player, can still occur).
Rules[]
- A player cannot put a card directly on a gem, they have to push one to the gem.
- One cannot place a card on graveyard squares, but they can be pushed there. That is, unless the card has the "Grave" ability or it pushes another card that has said ability.
- Players can't push a card against a card with an opposing arrow more or equal in strength to the card they're pushing with.
- Cheat Cards can be purchased to have an advantage, and they are single-use items.
- There are different arrows (e.g. Double) and abilities (e.g. Slam).
- At the end of the game, the player who has the most gems is declared the winner.
Joustus Cards[]
Push Arrow Types[]
- Standard - Pushes cards without opposing arrows and blocks standard arrows.
- Double - Pushes standard arrows and blocks double arrows
- Bomb - After placement, pushes cards to blow them up!
- Conveyor - A double arrow. After placement, tries to push every turn.
- Count - A triple arrow that disappears after 3 turns of play.
Abilities[]
- Slam - On placement, all arrows try to push at once.
- Grave - Can be played in graveyard squares!
- Switch - After placement, arrows reverse sides after each push.
- Cascade - On initial push, any card pushed will swap teams temporarily (until end of battle).
Cheat Cards[]
- Gem Thief - All cards on a gem flip to become yours!
- Beeto Swap - Change your opponent's hand to 3 weak cards!
- Play Em' All - Play all 3 cards in your hand at once!
List of Cards[]
During a match, the cards owned by yourself are of a blue color, while the ones of the adversary are red. During the King of Cards campaign, King Knight can buy from Mr. Hat a cosmetic upgrade, Gilded Deck, for 
10000, that turns the back of his cards golden, more ornate and with his face printed on it.
Joustus Matches[]
These are the Joustus players met during the King of Cards campaign, as either participants of the Joustus Crown or casual players.
Glidewing[]
Individuals already present or recruited onto the Glidewing.
Traveling bosses who will visit the Glidewing once defeated as a special guests. Only one will appear at the main dining table at a time. Leaving and reentering the room will change the current guest.
- Baz
- Phantom Striker
- Plague Knight
- Treasure Knight
- Mole Knight
- Propeller Knight
- Tinker Knight
- Polar Knight
- Specter Knight
House of Joustus[]
- The Playing Kid
- Goatician
- Croaker, who proposes three Joustus themed riddles
- The Ruffian
- Black Knight, the Joustus Boss of the House of Joustus
Cavern of Joustus[]
- The Armorer and the Shovel Smith, challenged as a pair in a single match
- One Mole Minion
- A Blazorb and a Blorb, who are treated as separate opponents, despite being actually the same individual, who had its flames extinguished
- Toader, who proposes three Joustus themed riddles
- Mona, the Joustus Boss of the Cavern of Joustus
Crag of Joustus[]
- Leo
- A Cogslotter
- A Hover Meanie
- Croaker and Toader as a pair, who again propose three Joustus themed riddles
- A group of three Spinwulves, who play as a single player as the Joustus Boss of the Crag of Joustus
Tower of Joustus[]
- Missy
- One Liquid Samurai Archer
- Red
- Horace, the Joustus Boss of the Tower of Joustus
Challenge Mode[]
These matches are only available in Challenge Mode, as there is not an occasion for a Joustus match, friendly or otherwise, during the King of Cards campaign.
Exhibition Matches[]
By pressing [UP] at the mirror in King Knight's room at The Homestead, it is possible to play optional customizable Joustus matches; in this match-up, it is possible to choose the stage type, the background location, the opponent and the playable character and, if one so chooses, to even face another player in a match.
Showdown[]
The Joustus Card is one of the various Powerup items that can appear in a Showdown match. It is a powerful and dangerous item: once activated it will hover in the air for a few seconds, position itself, then charge towards the nearest adversary of who activated it. If its target is not quick enough to dodge, the card will trap them inside itself, creating one of the cards seen in King of Cards and making the adversary immediately lose one of their stocks, which may result in a game over for them.
That being said, the Card moves relatively slow, so any fighter who is well aware of their surroundings or a CPU with an high level of difficulty should have no problem dodging it, unless encroached by other obstacles or attacks. The Joustus Card also will fail to capture its target if they are currently in an invincibility frame.
Pocket Dungeon[]
Gameplay[]
In the Puzzler's Pack DLC of Pocket Dungeon, King Knight can attempt the Quandary, Joustus Judge, in which King Knight is given the ability to collect Joustus cards from chains and use them to attack enemies or gain a temporary effect; once the Quandary has been cleared, this Refract Ability is permanently unlocked for King Knight, allowing him to switch between it and his standard Shoulder Bash, at any time at either the Camp or Castle Quandary.
Pretty much every single enemy, boss, and chainable object like potions, the various dirt blocks, and turkeys, can be collected as a Joustus Card, each one with unique, slightly different effects; all of the cards of returning foes, such as Beetos, Boneclangs, the members of the Order of No Quarter, or The Enchantress, have the same effect they had in King of Cards, while new characters like Prism Knight, Puzzle Knight, the Shrinemaster, or The Master Mind, all obtain cards for the first time. In order to obtain their cards, minor enemies and objects must be destroyed with a chain (how big depends on the target), but on the other hand, major enemies and bosses do not need to be chained.
Due to the fact that this Refract Ability is exclusive to only King Knight himself, It is not possible to obtain a King Knight's Joustus Card during normal gameplay.
List of Cards[]
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Trivia[]
- One of the names considered for Joustus was "Pushlonger".[1] Its prototype name was "Cardurr".[2]
- During the early releases of Puzzler's Pack, an avocado card with 4 single arrows could be obtained for any chains of objects that did not have their own card. It was replaced by a card featuring said object, but with a single arrow pointing downwards.
- In Pocket Dungeon, while playing as King Knight's refract ability in the Camp, it is possible to obtain cards before entering any run.
- An avocado card can be obtained by bumping into one of the hedge bushes at the Hedge Farm.
- The Joustus Deck in the Table Room can be collected by bumping into it. It gives King Knight one of each existing card in the game. Doing so breaks the limit of a 16 cards deck and keeps him from collecting any until under 16 cards. This is cheat is useful to check on every existing cards and test them in runs.
Gallery[]
Key Art[]
Sprites[]
King of Cards[]
Pocket Dungeon[]
Screenshots[]
