Passive Doom Scaling Build

Build Overview

A long-game build around passive Doom generation — Countdown (6 Doom each turn) and Oblivion (3 Doom per card played this turn) — that passively stacks Doom every turn. Combined with Shadow Cloak (2-3 Block per Doom application), offense naturally builds defense at the same time, and after a few turns you release the accumulated Doom with The Hour or Day of Reckoning. Damage peaks late, but Shadow Cloak's consistent Block supply makes this build strong in long fights, especially boss battles.

Tier: B

The deck is simpler to assemble than the Doom Stacking build — you don't need specific high-cost combo pieces like Nowhere to Run or The Hour to keep the fight moving, because passive Doom stacking alone drives the combat forward. The tradeoff is lower burst than the Doom Stacking or Reaper builds, and fights that punish longer combat (Burn, curses, etc.) hurt the plan.

Key Cards (Essential)

• Countdown: Power. At the start of every turn, apply 6 Doom to a random enemy automatically. Set-and-forget — 6 Doom per turn with no effort, and Shadow Cloak adds Block every turn too. High placement cost, but fully automated afterward, so aim to place it early
• Shadow Cloak: Power. Gain 2-3 Block each time Doom is applied. Paired with Countdown you get automatic Block every turn, and any Doom card stacks even more Block. An essential Power that shores up Doom's defensive side

Candidate Cards

• Oblivion: Cost 0 skill. Applies 3 Doom every time a card is played this turn. Play it at the start of a heavy-play turn to stack Doom quickly
• Negative Wave: Cost 1 for 5-6 Block and 7-11 Doom applied to all enemies. Every-turn play that accelerates passive stacking while covering defense. Doubles Block via Shadow Cloak
• The Hour: Finisher attack. Deals damage equal to the target's Doom stacks. Fire it after a few turns of passive stacking once Doom is at 60-100
• Nowhere to Run: Scaling skill adding 5 Doom per existing 10 Doom. Compounds your passive-stacked Doom as a follow-up
• Day of Reckoning: Cost 3 applying 29 Doom to all enemies plus a lethal check. Adds a flat 29 on top of your passive stack to cross the lethal threshold
• Cursed Flesh Trick: Power dealing 9-13 extra damage each time you apply a debuff. Converts Negative Wave and Doombringer's AoE Doom into damage
• Doombringer: Cost 2 applying 21-26 Doom to all enemies plus Weak 1. Used as supplementary bulk Doom and recycled each turn through Grave Explosion
• Grave Explosion: Upgraded, it recovers one card from discard each turn. Reuse Doombringer or Nowhere to Run every turn
• Defend (Necrobinder): Standard Block. Covers the early turns before Shadow Cloak is placed

Relic Synergies

• Immortal Crest: Necrobinder-exclusive relic reducing damage from enemies with Doom-over-HP by 50%. After passive stacking, incoming damage halves, combining with Shadow Cloak for an extremely sturdy defense
• Eerie Lamp: The first debuff-applying card each combat is doubled. The first Doombringer applies 42-52 Doom, greatly accelerating the passive ramp
• Sturdy Clamp: Carry up to 10 Block to the next turn. Shadow Cloak's passive Block compounds into a stacking defense wall in a long-game build
• Frozen Egg: Auto-upgrades Powers added to the deck. Shadow Cloak (2 to 3 Block) and Countdown upgrades strengthen the passive base automatically
• Game Piece: Draw 1 on any Power play. Compensates hand size while placing Shadow Cloak and Countdown
• Letter Opener: Deal 5 damage to all enemies per 3 skills played. This skill-heavy build triggers it frequently while stacking Doom
• Lantern: +1 energy at combat start. Places Shadow Cloak or Countdown on turn 1, starting passive scaling one turn sooner

Play Plan

Act 1

Place Shadow Cloak as soon as you get it — just having it means Doom plays like Negative Wave and Doombringer auto-generate Block. Place Countdown early if you find it, starting the turn-start Doom + Block cycle. Play Negative Wave each turn for defense and AoE Doom, a steady hold-and-stack line. Prefer Negative Wave and Doombringer over Strike, pushing the deck toward Doom specialization.

Act 2

Pick up Oblivion and Nowhere to Run. On Oblivion turns, stacking Doom via many card plays followed by Nowhere to Run to double it locks in a reliable cycle. Upgrade Grave Explosion so Doombringer returns every turn — 26 Doom to all enemies per turn plus Shadow Cloak Block becomes a wall-plus-spear setup. The Hour provides a reliable finisher once passive stacking is loaded.

Act 3

Boss plan: "Place Shadow Cloak + Countdown, passively stack for several turns, Oblivion + card spam to accelerate, Doombringer for bulk AoE, Negative Wave each turn, multiple Nowhere to Runs to double, finish with Day of Reckoning lethal or The Hour." Defend early as Doom builds, and Doom 50-100 is your signal for The Hour. Watch the enemy HP vs Doom gauge before firing Day of Reckoning. Shadow Cloak's passive Block is strong enough to tank Act 3 bosses.

Strengths and Weaknesses

Strengths

• Countdown stacks Doom automatically after placement, and Oblivion stacks heavily on play-heavy turns — so energy goes to attack and defense
• Shadow Cloak plus passive Doom creates a stable Block engine
• Simple core — any one of Nowhere to Run, The Hour, or Day of Reckoning works, so the build is flexible
• Loves long fights, excelling against high-HP bosses

Weaknesses

• Low damage for the first few turns while Doom is being built, so fast-attacking enemies can hurt you
• Passive stacking is slow, so rushdown bosses or low-HP mobs don't reward the long-game style
• Time-pressure situations (burning rooms, curse stacks) flip the long-game strength into a weakness
• Countdown's random target is hard to control when you want to prioritize a specific enemy