Ironclad
"Pain is nothing. My enemies must die."
The last soldier of the Ironclads. Crushes foes with sword and flame against his will.
Strength scaling, Exhaust synergies, self-damage payoffs, block generation
Heal 6 HP at end of combat. Upgrades to Black Blood (Heal 12 HP).
Key Mechanics
Exhaust
When a card Exhausts, it goes to the Exhaust pile (Graveyard) rather than the discard pile — it is removed from the run entirely unless retrieved. Exhaust synergies (Feel No Pain, Dark Embrace, Fiend Fire) trigger off each Exhaust event. Corruption makes all Skills cost 0 AND Exhaust, turning your entire Skill suite into a free chain.
Strength
Each point of Strength adds 1 damage to every attack you play. Multi-hit attacks (Twin Strike, Whirlwind) multiply this bonus — Whirlwind at X Energy hits every enemy X×5 + Strength×X times. Limit Break DOUBLES your current Strength — upgrade it immediately to remove the Exhaust so it can be played multiple turns.
Beginner Tips
- ▸ Survive Act 1, scale later. Demon Form and Limit Break are dead weight if you die to the Act 1 boss. Get stable first.
- ▸ Don't force a build. Stay flexible through Act 1. Commit once you have 2+ pieces of an archetype.
- ▸ Upgrade Limit Break immediately in Strength runs — removing the Exhaust is what makes it broken (exponential scaling across multiple turns).
- ▸ Barricade decks need deck thinning. Remove Strikes early so Body Slam cycles reliably.
- ▸ Exhaust trinity requires all three. Corruption + Feel No Pain + Dark Embrace. Two of three is decent; all three pops off.
- ▸ Burning Blood buys you mistakes. Use it to take fights more aggressively early rather than playing too safe.
Card Tier List
Early Access — rankings reflect the March 2026 launch build and will shift with patches.
Key Cards
| Card | Cost | Effect | Tier |
|---|---|---|---|
| Corruption | 3 | Skills cost 0, Exhaust | S |
| Demon Form | 3 | Gain 2 Strength each turn | S |
| Body Slam | 1 | Deal damage = current Block | S |
| Offering | 0 | Lose 6 HP, gain 2 Energy, draw 3 | S |
| Barricade | 3 | Block no longer expires | S |
| Headbutt | 1 | Deal 9 damage, return top discard to deck | S |
| Impervious | 2 | Gain 30 Block, Exhaust | S |
| Feel No Pain | 1 | Gain 3 Block whenever a card Exhausts | S |
| Dark Embrace | 2 | Draw 1 whenever a card Exhausts | S |
| Bloodletting | 0 | Lose 3 HP, gain 2 Energy | S |
| Burning Pact | 1 | Exhaust 1 card, draw 2 | S |
| Limit Break | 1 | Double current Strength; upgraded removes Exhaust | S |
| Juggernaut | 2 | Deal 5 damage whenever you gain Block | A |
| Inflame | 1 | Gain 2 Strength | A |
| Whirlwind | X | Deal 5 damage to ALL per Energy spent | A |
| Fiend Fire | 2 | Deal 7 damage per Exhausted card | A |
| Battle Trance | 0 | Draw 3, cannot draw more this turn | A |
| Entrench | 2 | Double current Block | A |
| Bash | 1 | Deal 8 damage, apply 2 Vulnerable | D |
Build Archetypes
Strength Scaling
Stack Strength via Demon Form + Inflame. Limit Break (upgraded) doubles Strength with no downside — exponential engine. Whirlwind and multi-hit attacks multiply the bonus across every strike. Survive Act 1 first — Demon Form is dead weight if you die before it matters.
Barricade / Body Slam
Barricade makes Block persist between turns. Stack it high, then Body Slam for damage equal to Block. Juggernaut converts every Block gain into passive damage. Entrench doubles current Block. Slow setup but nearly unkillable once online. Needs deck thinning — remove Strikes with True Grit to cycle reliably.
Exhaust / Corruption
The holy trinity: Corruption (Skills cost 0, Exhaust) + Feel No Pain (Block on Exhaust) + Dark Embrace (draw on Exhaust). When assembled, you often play your entire deck in one turn for free. Fiend Fire is the finisher. Dead Branch relic (random card per Exhaust) is S-tier here.
Top Relics
Best relics to look for on a Ironclad run (universal + character-specific)
Ironclad Relics
Relics exclusive to Ironclad