Perfect game
This is the most addicting thing since Canabalt. I can't believe it only got daily 6th. This deserves to go on the front page.
People complain and make suggestions about how this or that enemy is overpowered or how you should be able to do this or that, but they don't understand how finely tuned this game is. The average gamer doesn't know crap about this sort of thing and their ill-conceived tweaks would just ruin it. The idea of something being overpowered only applies to cases like fighting games when all the playable characters are supposed to be equal. So it doesn't make any sense to say an enemy is overpowered. It's not necessarily supposed to be as powerful as you or as powerful as any other enemy.
Yes, I would agree that it's about 50% luck but that just means it's so perfectly balanced between luck and skill. Luck has always been an important part of gaming. Without an element of luck there wouldn't be an element of risk. This game is all about choosing between the safe bet or the dangerous one that pays off. Paying 500 gold for a gold ticket leaves you pretty vulnerable since you'll often have to forego healing in order to save up for it and you may not find any more healing items for a while afterwards. Someone suggested a warning system for when a dragon is coming up, but that would eliminate a major risk factor. The divine edge is only good against the dragon, but without it you may go up against one with full health and an elixir and still lose. So there's always that tough choice of whether or not you should buy the divine edge. I've found that dragons are generally preceded closely by Grim's shop so you might even take that as a sign that a dragon might be coming up.
Like Canabalt, the randomization engine is tweaked just right to provide just enough of a chance and just enough of a challenge. Also item costs, item powers, and enemy stats are all at just the right amount for a challenging and fun experience.
I've found that a good cut off point for the soul shrines is 30% life span. If I have more than that, I won't pay for the life, but if I have less than that I will. It always worked out that way. I got 6th place in the high score board and may try for an even better score.