Mario and Luigi: Paper Jam Battle Cards Guide

As you progress through Mario and Luigi: Paper Jam, you eventually unlock the ability to use Battle Cards. These are different from the amiibo Character Cards and you make a set of them. There are many different cards that do things like damage all enemies, increase experience or coins at the end of battle, or heal your team.

I’ll help you understand how this card mechanic works in battle and give details on some of the cards to better prepare you. If you’d like to know more about the game in general, check out my Mario and Luigi: Paper Jam Beginner Tips and tricks.

This guide will go over everything you need to know about Battle Cards in Mario and Luigi: Paper Jam including:

• Battle Cards Basics – How Battle Cards work, the set, and star points.
• Battle Cards Examples – Examples of Battle Cards you can get and what they do.

Battle Cards Basics

When you unlock the Battle Cards feature, you’ll get a set of cards and some extras to swap with. Your set can only have 10 cards in it and you can’t swap while in battle, so choose carefully.

When you start battle, 1 card will be drawn each turn and you can hold 3 at  a time. To use a card, tap it to bring up the info, then tap again. If you don’t want to use a card, tap it, then tap flip over. This will get rid of the card and draw a new one next turn.

Using a Battle Card does not use a turn, so feel free to use them anytime.

You keep the same cards in your hand between battles. When you have used all 10 cards in your set, it will start over after mixing them up.

Star Points

Each card costs Star Points to use. You earn Star Points from normal actions in battle. If you have multiple cards you want to use that cost a lot of points, make sure you save them up by doing many battles. The number shown on each card is the number of star points you need to use it.

Battle Cards Examples

I’m going to list examples of some Battle Cards you can get and what they do. They don’t have names, but each bullet point is a different card you can get.

Attack Cards

• Hits all enemies with 20 damage.
• Costs 4 Star Points.
• Hits all paper monsters with 30 damage.
• Costs 4 Star Points.
• Hits all enemies 4 times with 15 damage.
• Costs 9 Star Points.

Stat Boost Cards

• Raises your characters’ SPEED by 20% for a limited time. 
• Costs 3 Star Points
• Raises your characters’ DEF by 25% for a limited time. 
• Costs 2 Star Points
• Raises your characters’ POW by 20% for a limited time.
• Costs 3 Star Points

Recovery Cards

• Restores 30% of all your characters’ BP.
• Costs 8 Star Points
• Restores 20% of all your characters’ HP.
• Costs 5 Star Points

Experience Cards

• Grants twice the EXP when you defeat an enemy with your next command.
• Costs 4 Star Points
• Increases the EXP earned after battle by 25%.
• Costs 4 Star Points

Star Point Boost Cards

• Boosts the Star Points you earn per successful action by 25% for a time.
• Costs 2 Star Points
• Boost your Star Points by 30% if you aren’t hit by the next enemy attack.
• Costs 1 Star Point

Enemy Stat Reduction Cards

• Lowers enemies’ POW by 20% for a limited time.
• Costs 3 Star Points
• Lowers enemies’ DEF by 20% for a limited time.
• Costs 3 Star Points

• Lowers enemies’ SPEED by 20% for a limited time.
• Costs 3 Star Points

Nullify Damage Cards

• Nullifies all damage to your party 2 times when using Emergency Block.
• Costs 5 Star Points
• For a limited time, reduces all damage by an additional 40% when using Emergency Block.

That’s it for my guide on Battle Cards in Mario and Luigi: Paper Jam. Let me know if you have any questions! Check out the Beginner Tips and tricks for other help with the game.