A good card answers a simple question: is this something to read or somewhere to click? Shadows, cursors and arrows all shape that expectation. If their message differs from the actual behaviour, people have to guess.
On a linked card, hover can contract the shadow and shift the surface slightly, like pressing down a piece of paper. Keyboard focus needs an equally clear state. Do not polish the mouse experience and forget someone pressing Tab.
A card without a destination may still have subtle visual feedback, but should not use a hand cursor or arrow promising a nonexistent action. An empty link does not turn content into functionality.
Set text colour for the component's own surface. A paper-coloured card inside a dark section needs its own ink colour. Inheriting light text from its parent can make numbers disappear against white even though they remain in the page.
When hover fails, inspect which rule wins before adding another effect. A class keeping cards straight may override the hover transform; a static-card state may preserve the shadow. Fixing the conflict is usually simpler than layering on more CSS.
Finally, test touch interaction and reduced-motion preferences. Do not hide essential information behind hover or add endless movement just to make a page feel alive. A useful effect explains what happened, then gives attention back to the content.