Ironclad exhaust deck

This exhaust synergy turns your entire deck into an unstoppable engine. Every exhausted card nets you block and card draw, and the Twig relic tosses in random replacement cards on top. It’s controlled chaos at its finest.

4 Key Cards | 2 Key Relics | Tier A | Ironclad

Core Cards

Build Concept

The exhaust build runs your entire deck as fuel. Cards like Feel No Pain gain Block whenever you exhaust a card, Dark Embrace draws cards on exhaust, and Corruption makes all Skills cost zero but exhaust after being played. The Twig relic replaces every exhausted card with a random one to churn out endless value. These pieces synergize insanely well; once the build comes online, you can cycle dozens of cards each turn.

Act 1 – Early Game

Grab Feel No Pain and True Grit as early as possible in Act 1. Both perform solidly on their own long before the full combo comes together. Burning Pact and Reckless Charge serve as reliable exhaust enablers. Feed is an excellent pick, supporting the exhaust archetype while boosting your max HP. There’s no need to rush collecting every core piece; individual cards already pack plenty of power. Ignore and Flame Barrier keep you alive through rough encounters.

Act 2 – Mid Game

Act 2 is the make-or-break stage for rounding out this build. Prioritize picking up Dark Embrace above all else: it turns every exhaust into card draw and kicks off endless chain reactions. Corruption sets all your Skills to 0 cost at the cost of exhausting them after use. Paired with Dark Embrace, every free Skill you play refuels your hand automatically. Add Strike From the Bones, Mark of the Bloom or Bloodbath for extra exhaust triggers. Snag the Twig relic immediately if it pops up in shops — it’s the single most impactful relic for this deck.

Act 3 – Late Game

Once your full engine clicks into place (Corruption + Dark Embrace + Feel No Pain + Twig), you empty your entire hand each turn, exhaust every card, draw replacement cards and stack massive Block. Demon Form becomes your finisher: exhaust your full hand to deal damage scaled to each discarded card. In lengthy fights, you’ll cycle far more cards than are present in your original deck. Your only major risk is decking out in short skirmishes without Twig’s replacement effect.

Card Pick Priority

Must Pick

Corruption

Makes all Skills cost 0 but Exhaust. With Dark Embrace, every free Skill replaces itself.

Must Pick

Dark Embrace

Draw 1 card whenever you Exhaust. Creates chain reactions with Corruption.

Must Pick

Feel No Pain

Gain 3 Block (4 upgraded) per Exhaust. Provides massive passive defense.

High

Fiend Fire

Exhaust your entire hand, deal damage per card. The ultimate finisher for this build.

High

Offering

Draw 5 cards + 2 Energy. Fuels the engine on critical turns.

High

True Grit

7 Block + Exhaust a card. Reliable defense and Exhaust trigger.

Medium

Burning Pact

Exhaust 1 card, draw 2 (3 upgraded). Trades bad cards for better options.

Medium

Havoc

Play the top card of your draw pile for free, then Exhaust it. More triggers.

Flex / Alternative Cards

When core cards aren't available, these alternatives keep the build functional.

Relic Priority

Top Tier Relics

Twig

The core relic of this build. Every exhausted card spawns a random card into your hand, letting Corruption generate infinite value.

Burning Blood

Ironclad’s starting relic. Sustained HP regeneration is critical while piecing together your combo across Act 1 and 2.

Odd Spoon

Cards have a 50% chance to avoid being exhausted. Combined with Corruption, some of your Skills stay in hand — an absurdly strong effect on premium skills.

Viable Relics

Charon's Ashes

Deal 3 damage to all enemies each time you exhaust a card. You get free AoE damage just from playing the build’s natural game plan.

Mummified Hand

After playing a Power card, all Powers cost 0 for the turn. It tremendously speeds up assembling your core combo of Corruption, Dark Embrace and Feel No Pain.

Bag of Preparation

Draw 2 extra cards on your first turn. More cards equal extra fuel for your exhaust engine.

Not Recommended Relics

Velvet Collar

This build regularly plays over 10 cards per turn. The 6-card hand cap will cripple your setup entirely.

Snake Eyes

Randomized costs mess with Corruption’s zero-cost Skill synergy. Rolling high costs can waste an entire turn.

Runic Pyramid

Holding cards between turns cuts down your incoming draws. This exhaust engine constantly needs fresh cards to fuel its loops.

Boss Strategy Tips

Guardian

Set up your Powers (Dark Embrace, Feel No Pain) turn 1. Corruption turn 2 if you have enough Skills in hand. The engine should be running by turn 3, making Guardian's damage output irrelevant.

Hexaghost

Prioritize getting Feel No Pain online before the Inferno turn. With 3+ Exhaust triggers per turn, you'll passively gain enough Block to survive. Corruption + Free Skills handles the rest.

Slime Boss

The Exhaust engine is slower to set up in this shorter fight. Consider frontloading damage with Fiend Fire to push past 50% HP quickly, then clean up the split slimes.

Time Eater

Extremely dangerous. Time Eater's card play limit punishes the core strategy of playing many cards. Play Powers early, then be strategic about which Skills to Corruption. Consider holding back to avoid the 12-card punishment.

Collector

The Exhaust engine handles the Collector's minion spawns beautifully. Cycle through your deck rapidly, generating Block from Feel No Pain while dealing AoE damage if you have Charon's Ashes or AoE Exhaust effects.