Frequently Asked Questions

Q. Which is stronger, Poison or Shiv?

Poison wins longer fights reliably. Shiv has higher burst and cruises through Act 1. The ideal is to commit to one while leaving just a little room for the other.

Q. Adder's Embrace's downside scares me.

Adder's Embrace gives you roughly three turns of near-invincibility in exchange for permanently lower Dexterity afterward. The trick is to fire it late in a boss fight. If you can kill before the penalty matters, the downside is irrelevant.

Q. Should I remove Neutralize (starter card)?

No need to remove it. A 0-cost debuff stays useful from Act 1 to Act 3, and upgrading extends the Weak duration, making it even better.

Underrated Synergies

• Infectious Blast + long fights: auto-stacks Poison every turn. It is a power, so once played it lasts forever.
• Well-Laid Plans + key cards: lets you save key cards for next turn and use them at the optimal moment.
• Bouncing Flask + 0-cost cards: triggers damage per card played. Pairs incredibly well with a 0-cost spam build.
• Corrosive Wave + Poison: doubles Poison (triples upgraded). Amplifies whatever Poison you stacked with Infectious Blast or Poisoned Stab.

Advanced Techniques

• Escape Plan value: discard dead cards and redraw. Doubles as deck thinning.
• Shiv optimization: push Shiv damage with Accuracy, Blade Dance, and Infinite Blades.
• Poison math: at end of turn, Poison ticks damage and then drops by 1 stack. Calculate whether the remaining turns can finish the target.
• Maintaining Afterimage: as long as Block does not reach 0, Afterimage keeps generating Block every turn. Combined with Block skills, your defense never drops.