Act 2 - The City
The difficulty ramps up significantly. Enemies hit harder and have more complex mechanics. Your deck needs to be taking shape.
🎯 Strategy Overview
Act 2 is where your deck needs a clear win condition. Damage scaling (Strength, Poison, Orbs, Stance dancing) becomes essential. You should have answers for AoE encounters and multi-enemy fights.
📋 Priorities
- 1 Damage scaling (Demon Form, Noxious Fumes, Defragment, Deva Form)
- 2 AoE for multi-enemy fights (Immolate, Die Die Die, Electrodynamics)
- 3 Reliable block generation (Shrug It Off, Footwork+, Glacier)
- 4 Status card management (exhaust, card draw)
- 5 Elite fights for critical relics
⚔️ Elite Encounters
Gremlin Leader
❤️ 140-148Summons Gremlin minions and buffs them. Re-summons when minions die. The longer the fight, the more overwhelming the minions become.
Rally (summon 1 Gremlin) → Encourage (buff all minions +3 Str + 6 Block) → Attack (6x3) → Rally → cycles
Kill the Gremlin Leader directly — don't waste time on minions unless they're about to kill you. AoE helps but the leader is the priority.
Book of Stabbing
❤️ 160-168Multi-stab attack that increases by 1 hit each turn. Starts at 6x(6 damage) and grows every turn. Pure DPS race.
Turn 1: Multi-Stab 6x6 → Turn 2: Multi-Stab 7x6 → Turn 3: Multi-Stab 8x6 → ... (adds 1 hit per turn)
Kill it as fast as possible. Every turn it lives, it gets one more hit. Weak is extremely valuable since it reduces every single hit.
Slavers
❤️ Blue: 46, Red: 46, Taskmaster: 64Three-enemy encounter. Blue Slaver applies Weak, Red Slaver applies Entangle (can't play attacks for 1 turn), Taskmaster adds Wound status cards.
Blue: Stab (12) + Rake (7, apply 2 Weak). Red: Stab (13) + Scrape (8, apply Entangle). Taskmaster: Scouring Whip (7, add Wound to discard)
Kill Blue Slaver first (Weak is annoying), then Red Slaver (Entangle is dangerous), then Taskmaster. AoE is excellent here.
👹 Boss Encounters
The Champ
❤️ 420
Has Defensive and Offensive stances. At 50% HP, executes (cleanses ALL debuffs, gains Metallicize 5, enrages with +5 Strength). Alternates between face slaps and heavy attacks.
The Collector
❤️ 282
Starts by summoning 2 Torch Head minions (each attacks for 7). Re-summons if killed. Gains Strength over time. Uses Mega Debuff to apply 3 Weak + 3 Vulnerable.
Bronze Automaton
❤️ 300
Cycles between normal attacks and Hyper Beam (45 damage, then loses 3 Strength and is Stunned for 2 turns). Summons 2 Orb minions that buff it or attack.
⚠️ Common Mistakes
- ✗ No AoE for multi-enemy fights — Act 2 has many multi-enemy encounters
- ✗ Still taking mediocre cards — be more selective than Act 1
- ✗ Not having enough block — Act 2 enemies hit much harder
- ✗ Skipping shops — card removal and key purchases are critical
- ✗ Taking too many elites without enough HP or deck quality
💡 Tips
- ▸ Act 2 hallway fights are significantly harder. Plan your path carefully.
- ▸ If your deck lacks AoE, avoid paths with many hallway fights.
- ▸ Events in Act 2 can be very rewarding or very punishing.
- ▸ Upgrade priority shifts to scaling cards and key Skills.
- ▸ Start thinking about your Act 3 boss — you need a plan.