Poison Build

Build Overview

The Poison build is Silent's signature strategy. Combine Deadly Poison, Bouncing Flask, Catalyst, and Infectious Blast to pile massive Poison stacks on enemies every turn, and continuous damage scales explosively. The core loop is Retaining Burst + Deadly Poison every turn with Well-Laid Plans. Once Poison reaches 20–30 stacks, with Catalyst amplifying Poison ticks, the enemy just bleeds out tens of HP every turn. Heat Shimmer turns those same stacks into Block for defense, so offense and defense share a resource.

Tier: A

Once Poison stacks pile up consistently, damage is reliable against nearly any enemy. Burst + Deadly Poison is a rock-solid combo and Well-Laid Plans lets you repeat it. It shines against high-HP targets but requires setup before the stacks matter, so burst output lags behind Shiv and Discard. It handles hallways through bosses, but when forced into short fights it cannot fully shine, so Tier A.

Key Cards (required)

• Deadly Poison: a cost-1 skill that applies 5–7 Poison. The heart of the Poison build. With Burst, 10–14 Poison in one turn.
• Burst: plays the next skill twice. Works with Deadly Poison, Bouncing Flask, Heat Shimmer — all of it. 0-cost upgraded is even easier to use.
• Catalyst: a power that adds 1–2 Poison ticks per turn. With 30 Poison, that is 60–90 damage per turn — the cornerstone of the build.
• Well-Laid Plans: Retains 1–2 cards at end of turn. Keeps Burst + Deadly Poison in hand and makes the combo consistent every turn.
• Infectious Blast: deals 11–14 AoE every 3 Poison applications. Deadly Poison triggers it on its own, adding bonus damage to bosses.

Candidate Cards

• Bouncing Flask: a skill that adds 9–12 Poison to an already-Poisoned enemy. After Deadly Poison, stacks Poison explosively.
• Heat Shimmer: an Exude skill that grants Block equal to total enemy Poison. After stacking Poison heavily, returns 30–50 Block.
• Corrosive Wave: a skill that applies 3–4 AoE Poison for each card drawn this turn. With Acrobatics, stacks a mountain of Poison.
• Noxious Fumes: a power that auto-applies 2–3 AoE Poison at turn start. Placed early, it keeps stacking forever.
• Acrobatics: 0-cost, 3–4 draw + 1 discard. With Corrosive Wave, explosive AoE Poison.
• Poisoned Stab: a cost-1 attack with damage plus 3–4 Poison. Early damage and Poison supply together.
• Backflip: 5–8 Block + 2 draw. With Corrosive Wave, 6–8 Poison plus Block simultaneously.

Relic Synergies

• Twisted Funnel: a Silent-exclusive Poison relic. Improves Poison efficiency, so Deadly Poison and Bouncing Flask stack faster.
• Snecko Skull: Silent-exclusive. Each Poison application gains extra effect, which is a huge boost in a Poison-core build.
• Spooky Lamp: doubles the effect of the first debuff card played per combat. First Deadly Poison becomes 10–14 Poison, massively accelerating early stacking and putting Catalyst online sooner.
• Letter Opener: deals 5 damage to all enemies every 3 skills played on a turn. In a skill-heavy Poison build (Deadly Poison, Burst, Heat Shimmer), reliable AoE supplementation.
• Chess Piece: draw 1 card each time you play a power. Covers the draw hit on power-placement turns (Catalyst, Well-Laid Plans, Noxious Fumes), stabilizing the opening turns.
• Toxic Egg: upgrades skills whenever added to the deck. In a Poison build heavy on skills (Deadly Poison, Bouncing Flask), every pickup comes upgraded, accelerating the build significantly.
• Paper Crane: Weak targets deal 40% less damage to you instead of 25%. With Weak plays like Leg Sweep and Neutralize, long fights become far safer.

Combat Play

Act 1

Top priority: Well-Laid Plans and Deadly Poison. Together they give consistent Poison application every turn. Burst early lets you double up on Deadly Poison. During Act 1, Strikes and Defends still do real work; stack Poison steadily alongside them. Slot Infectious Blast early to bonus AoE in hallway fights. Keep the deck small, selecting only strong skills.

Act 2

Biggest target: Catalyst. Once placed, Poison ticks 2–3× per turn and damage output leaps upward. Bouncing Flask dramatically speeds up Poison stacking. By the end of Act 2, Burst + Deadly Poison should be a stable combo turn. Heat Shimmer makes boss fights far easier defensively. If Corrosive Wave + Acrobatics both arrive, you have an explosive Poison-ramp turn.

Act 3

The deck is complete. Retain Burst + Deadly Poison every turn with Well-Laid Plans and stack huge Poison on Corrosive Wave turns. Against bosses, once Poison reaches 30–50 with Catalyst active, 100+ damage per turn is realistic. Heat Shimmer covers big attacks by converting Poison into Block. A Nightmare + Deadly Poison copy combo (if available) can stack 15–28 Poison the next turn for a devastating spike.

Strengths and Weaknesses

Strengths

• Poison stacks amplified by Catalyst deal enormous damage every turn automatically.
• Burst + Deadly Poison is a reliable combo that Well-Laid Plans lets you reproduce every turn.
• Heat Shimmer doubles Poison as defense, giving offense-and-defense in one.
• Infectious Blast brings AoE to hallway fights.

Weaknesses

• Before Poison stacks up, damage is low, and rush-attack enemies are dangerous.
• Enemies that neutralize or cleanse Poison (some elites and bosses) nullify the plan.
• Burst + Deadly Poison setup is heavy; burst is lower than Shiv or Discard.