Amalgamator

"Fuse Strikes"

• Remove 2 Strikes and add Ultimate Strike to your deck
• You need at least 2 Strikes in your deck

"Fuse Defends"

• Remove 2 Defends and add Ultimate Defend to your deck
• You need at least 2 Defends in your deck

You can only pick one option. If the starter card in question is below 2 copies, that option is locked out.

Two starter cards are replaced by a single superior card, so you effectively get 1-card deck compression plus a huge power boost at once. If you meet the requirements, you should always pick one of the two.

Fusing Strikes is usually the higher-priority pick. Strikes are the weakest cards in the deck, and swapping two of them for one strong card is a massive gain.

If you are running a Dexterity-stacking deck, raw Defends actually keep value since high Dexterity makes one Defend generate plenty of Block. Leaving the Defends alone and fusing Strikes is more efficient.

Conversely, if you are heavy on Powers or Attacks and short on Block, fusing Defends into Ultimate Defend to shore up defense is a stabilizing play.

• If you delete too many Strikes or Defends in early Acts, you may not be able to fuse here anymore. When a card removal event comes up in Act 1, keep Amalgamator's existence in mind
• If you meet both requirements, fusing whichever starter you have more copies of is often the right call. With 3 Strikes and 2 Defends, fusing Strikes clears out more dead cards
• Both Ultimate Strike and Ultimate Defend are in a completely different league from the starter cards. This is one of the strongest Act 2 power-ups available
• This event spawns in the Act 2 Coven. If you keep track of remaining starter-card counts at the end of Act 1, it is easier to preserve your fusion options here