Ironclad Complete Guide

Focus on pushing the Slime Boss past 50% HP as quickly as possible to trigger the split, as the two Large Slimes that spawn have dramatically lower individual HP. Strength scaling excels here—Inflame and Demon Form let you burst the main boss before it splits. Save your biggest attacks like Heavy Blade, Stoke, or Pack 10 for the turn immediately after the split to finish both slimes in one cycle. Second Wind helps exhaust the Slimed status cards the boss adds to your deck.

Never waste attacks when the Guardian enters Defensive Mode—Sharp Hide will punish you severely. Build Strength during defensive phases with Inflame or Demon Form, then unleash during attack phases when it uses Fierce Bash or Twin Slam. Ironclad's high HP and Burning Blood sustain let you trade hits if needed. Taunt plus Vicious creates a strong draw engine; Thunderclap applies Vulnerable to all and synergizes with Vicious in multi-enemy turns.

Minimize the number of attacks you play on Turn 1—Divider scales based on how many cards you played that turn, so playing defensively drastically reduces incoming damage. Use block cards, draw, and setup powers instead. Once Activate has resolved, ramp up Strength with Inflame or Demon Form and overwhelm Hexaghost before Inferno stacks Burns. Bloodletting and Offering accelerate your setup without increasing Divider; Stoke refills your hand efficiently.

The Worm Boss adds numerous status cards to your deck each turn, which can brick infinite combos. Second Wind is critical here—it exhausts all non-attack cards including statuses, keeping your hand clean. Fiend Fire can mass-exhaust statuses while dealing damage. Prioritize setting up your infinite before the deck becomes unplayable; if you have Stoke, Burning Pact, and Bloodletting, go infinite on Turn 1 if possible.

Queen locks the first few cards in your hand each turn, which can disrupt draw-heavy combos. Convergence-style retain effects bypass this—if you retain key cards, Queen only locks newly drawn cards. Small-deck infinites with Glow and Convergence are highly effective. Focus on going infinite quickly; once your loop is online, locked cards matter less. Save potions for turns when Queen's attacks are lethal.