Keywords & mechanics explained

Reduces incoming attack damage 1:1. Dexterity adds to the Block printed on a card. Block does not reduce damage from Poison, Doom, or other non-attack sources — those bypass it entirely.

A persistent buff that increases the Block gained from cards by its value. +2 Dexterity means every Defend-style card grants 2 extra Block. It scales defense the way Strength scales offense.

A durable armor keyword: a layer of protection that does not vanish at the start of your turn the way ordinary Block does, letting you carry defense across turns. Exact decay rules are patch-sensitive — check the tooltip.

Reflects a fixed amount of damage back at any enemy that attacks you, per hit. Multi-hit enemy attacks proc Thorns per strike, so it punishes flurries hard.

A Vulnerable target takes increased damage from your attacks (commonly +50% in the genre) for a number of turns. Apply it before your biggest hit, not after.

A Weak enemy deals less attack damage (commonly −25%). It is a defensive debuff — stacking it can be stronger than Block against multi-turn attackers.

Frail makes you gain less Block from cards. It is the enemy's answer to a block-heavy deck; race the fight or bring unconditional damage when you see it applied.

Adds its value to the damage of every attack. Critically, it is added per hit — a card that strikes 3 times gains 3x your Strength. This is the core scaling axis for Ironclad.

The defensive twin of Strength: adds to Block per card. A Dexterity engine plus cheap Block cards can make a fight unloseable on defense.

Defect's scaling stat: increases the power of orb effects (Lightning damage, Frost block, Dark accumulation). Stacking Focus is how an orb deck goes from tickle to lethal.

An Exhausted card leaves the fight entirely — it goes to the exhaust pile and won't be redrawn this combat. Use it deliberately to remove dead cards (curses, single-use powers) from your draw, or as a build engine when cards reward exhausting.

An Ethereal card Exhausts automatically if it is still in your hand at the end of your turn. Play it or lose it — never hold an Ethereal card 'for later.'

A card with Retain is NOT discarded at end of turn — it stays in your hand. This lets you bank a key card (a finisher, a block spike) until the exact turn you need it.

An Innate card is guaranteed to be in your opening hand. Great for powers and engine pieces you want online turn one; bad if you stack too many and clog your first draw.

An Eternal card cannot be removed from your deck. Usually attached to a strong effect as a downside — you live with it permanently, so weigh the upside against a clogged late-game deck.

An Unplayable card cannot be played from hand — it only matters via another effect that consumes or transforms it. Curses are the common example; they clog draws until you can purge them.

Deals damage equal to its stack count, bypassing Block, then drops by one stack. 20 Poison is 20+19+18... over time — front-load the stacks early so they tick for more turns.

A zero-cost temporary attack card generated into your hand. Shivs scale with Strength and with any 'when you play an Attack' payoff, making them a flexible burst and trigger engine for the Silent.

The Necrobinder's execution keyword. As Doom accumulates on a target, it can be killed outright once Doom exceeds its current HP — a way to delete a fat enemy without out-damaging its healing or scaling.

A Necrobinder resource tied to its summon and Doom package. Spent and generated by class cards to fuel Osty and execution effects; treat it as a second economy alongside energy.

Channel puts an orb into a slot. Lightning hits a target (or all enemies when amped), Frost grants Block, Dark accumulates then bursts. Evoking an orb triggers its big effect and frees the slot. Focus boosts all of it.

Frost blocks, Lightning deals passive damage, and Dark grows each turn before a payoff evoke. Your orb slot count caps how many you can hold at once.

A Sly card gains a bonus effect when played from the discard pile (or interacts with discarding). It rewards the Silent's discard-and-recur engines — churning your deck is the payoff, not a cost.

Summon brings Osty or other minions onto the field to absorb hits and contribute damage; Forge-style effects build or upgrade your summon package. The minion scales on its own kit, separate from your Block stats.

While Intangible, all damage you take from any source is reduced to 1 for the duration. It is the ultimate panic button against a telegraphed nuke — survive the turn, then recover.

The Regent layers a Star resource on top of energy. Star-cost cards trade a cheaper energy price for spending Stars, enabling big finishers once the star engine is online. You are managing two resource curves at once.