Defect Uproar Chain Build — Recursive Free Attack Engine Guide

Uproar is the Defect card that says “forget orbs.” The Uproar Chain build ignores Focus, skips Capacitor, and doesn’t care about Frost vs. Lightning ratios. Instead, you play Uproar — an attack that deals 5 damage twice, then plays a random Attack from your draw pile for free. With multiple Uproars, one triggers another, which triggers another, creating a recursive chain of free attacks that can play your entire deck in a single turn. Meteor Strike gets cast for free. Sunder gets cast for free. You just need to remove every Strike so Uproar always hits premium attacks.

This is the strongest Defect archetype in the current Early Access meta, and it plays completely differently from the traditional orb management that defines every other Defect build.

Build Overview

The Uproar Chain game plan: remove all Strikes from your deck → play Uproar (hits twice, then free attack from draw pile) → that free attack might be another Uproar → chain continues → high-cost attacks like Meteor Strike and Sunder get played for free → Frost orbs from Ice Lance handle defense passively → win.

Uproar Chain

advancedDefect

Core Cards

Uproar

Meteor Strike

Ice Lance

Null

Hologram

Seek

Seek

All for One

Key Relics

Runic CapacitorMummified HandData DiskSymbiotic VirusHorn Cleat

Strategy

Strip all Strikes from your deck — every Strike removed increases Uproar's chance of hitting a premium attack. Play Uproar (deal 5×2, upgrade to 9×2) to start the chain. Each Uproar plays a random Attack from your draw pile for free. Target Meteor Strike (generates Plasma orbs for energy), Sunder (massive single-target), and more Uproars (extend the chain). Ice Lance and Null provide passive Frost/Dark orbs for defense. Use Hologram and Seek to retrieve key pieces. A fully stripped deck with 3+ Uproars chains 8-12 free attacks per turn.

Core Cards — The Chain Engine

S-Tier: The Chain Starters

Uproar (Uncommon Attack, 1 energy) — Deal 5 damage twice (9 twice upgraded). Play a random Attack from your draw pile for FREE. This is the card that defines the build. The free attack can be ANY Attack — another Uproar (extending the chain), Meteor Strike (5 hits for 30+ damage + 3 Plasma), Sunder (32 damage execute), or even a basic attack you haven’t removed yet (this is why you remove Strikes). Take 3-4 copies. Upgrade all of them — 5→9 damage per hit compounds across the chain (×2 hits = 10→18 base damage per Uproar).

Pick priority: Take every copy. This is both your engine starter AND your chain extender. A deck with 4 Uproars reliably chains 3-4 free attacks from a single Uproar play.

Meteor Strike (Rare Attack, 5 energy) — Deal 7 damage 5 times (9 five times upgraded). Channel 3 Plasma orbs. In a normal deck, Meteor Strike costs 5 energy and is unplayable without setup. In an Uproar deck, it costs ZERO when pulled by Uproar’s free attack trigger. You get 35 damage (45 upgraded) + 3 Plasma orbs (+3 energy per turn) for FREE. This is the ultimate Uproar target — it solves damage AND energy simultaneously. Take 1-2 copies.

Pick priority: Highest priority rare Attack. Never play it from hand (5 energy is too expensive). Always let Uproar pull it for free.

Sunder (Uncommon Attack, 3 energy) — Deal 32 damage (40 upgraded). If this kills the enemy, refund its energy cost. When pulled for free by Uproar, it’s 32 free damage with no energy consideration. Against hallway fights, a single Sunder from Uproar ends the fight. Against bosses, it’s 32+ damage toward the kill. Take 1 copy.

A-Tier: The Defensive Layer

Ice Lance (Common Attack, 1 energy) — Deal 7 damage (10 upgraded), channel 1 Frost orb. This is an Attack (gets pulled by Uproar) AND a defensive tool (generates Frost). When Uproar pulls Ice Lance for free: you deal 7-10 damage AND gain a Frost orb for passive block. It’s the perfect Uproar target for fights where you need both offense and defense. Take 2-3 copies.

Null (Uncommon Attack, 1 energy) — Deal 8 damage (11 upgraded), channel 1 Dark orb, apply 1 Weak. An Attack (Uproar target) that provides scaling damage (Dark orb) and defense (Weak). When pulled for free by Uproar: 8-11 damage + 1 Dark orb charging + 1 Weak reducing enemy damage by 25%. Value-packed. Take 1-2 copies.

Cold Snap (Common Attack, 1 energy) — Deal 6 damage, channel 1 Frost. Similar to Ice Lance but with no upgrade scaling on the Frost. Still excellent as a Uproar target because it provides passive block while dealing damage. Take 1-2 copies in Act 1; replace with Ice Lance if offered later.

B-Tier: The Consistency Tools

Hologram (Common Skill, 1 energy → 0 upgraded) — Return a card from your discard pile to your hand. Use this to retrieve Uproar that you discarded or to Fetch Meteor Strike for an Uproar that’s about to trigger. At 0 energy upgraded, it’s free consistency. Take 1-2 copies.

Seek (Rare Skill, 0 energy) — Search your draw pile for 1 card (2 upgraded) and put it in your hand. Seek into Uproar on turn 1. Seek+ into Uproar + Hologram. The best consistency card in the game for this build — it guarantees your engine starts on turn 1. Take 1-2 copies.

All for One (Rare Attack, 2 energy) — Deal 10 damage (14 upgraded). Return all 0-cost cards from your discard pile to your hand. Uproar costs 1, but Ice Lance, Cold Snap, and Null cost 1. The real value is returning Hologram (0-cost upgraded) and Beam Cell. Also functions as an Uproar target itself — when pulled for free by Uproar, it returns your other 0-cost cards while dealing 10 damage. Take 1 copy.

Beam Cell (Common Attack, 0 energy) — Deal 3 damage (5 upgraded), apply 1 Vulnerable (2 upgraded). A 0-cost Attack that applies Vulnerable. In a chain of 8 free attacks, the 50% Vulnerable multiplier adds massive damage. Can be retrieved by All for One. Take 1 copy.

The Removal Strategy

Remove ALL Strikes. This is not optional. Every Strike in your deck is a 20-30% chance that Uproar’s free attack hits for 6 damage instead of 32 (Sunder) or 35 (Meteor Strike) or chains another Uproar. At shops: remove Strikes first, always. At events: transform Strikes, remove Strikes, do NOT add random cards. Target: zero Strikes by mid-Act 2.

Defends can stay — you need some block, and Defends are not Attacks (they don’t dilute Uproar’s random target pool).

Cards to AVOID

• Defragment, Biased Cognition, Capacitor: Orb-Focus cards. You’re not scaling orbs in this build — Frost/Dark orbs provide passive value but aren’t your win condition.
• Claw: Claw is an Attack. Uproar pulls it for 3 damage. Terrible target. Different archetype entirely.
• Scrape: Draws 4, only plays 0-cost. Your deck is 1-2 cost Attacks. Scrape misses on everything.
• Glacier, Coolheaded: SKILLS, not Attacks. Uproar pulls Attacks. These don’t get pulled and don’t advance your chain.
• Loop, Gold-Plated Cables: Focus/Orb relics and synergies. Wrong build.

Relic Priority

Run-Defining

• Runic Capacitor: +3 orb slots. Even without Focus, more orb slots = more passive Frost block and more Dark charge. Your attacks generate orbs; you want space for them.
• Mummified Hand: Every Power played makes a random card in hand cost 0. You don’t play many Powers, but the ones you do (Echo Form, Creative AI) make your Uproars cost 0, which means more energy for Seek and Hologram.

High Impact

• Data Disk: Start combat with +1 Focus. Even though you’re not a Focus build, +1 Focus makes your incidental Frost/Dark orbs 50% more effective.
• Symbiotic Virus: Start combat with a Dark orb channeled. Free scaling damage from turn 1.
• Horn Cleat: 14 Block on turn 2. Buys you one more setup turn to find Uproar.

Nice to Have

• Cracked Core Upgrade: +1 orb slot from start. 4 slots base = more room for incidental orbs.
• Bag of Marbles: Free Vulnerable at combat start. Your Uproar chain deals +50% damage on turn 1.
• Molten Egg: All Attacks added are automatically upgraded. Upgraded Uproar (5→9 per hit). Upgraded Meteor Strike (7→9 per hit). This relic is run-winning.

Act-by-Act Strategy

Act 1 — Hunt Uproar, Remove Strikes

Uproar is an Uncommon — you’ll reliably see it. If you don’t find any Uproars by mid-Act 1, play a generic Defect damage build (Ball Lightning, Cold Snap, Sunder) and pivot if you find Uproar later.

Floor 1-5 priorities:

1. Uproar — Take every copy. Build-defining.
2. Cold Snap — Attack + Frost. Perfect Uproar target.
3. Ice Lance — Attack + Frost. Better than Cold Snap if you have Uproar.
4. Sunder — High-damage Uproar target.
5. Beam Cell — 0-cost Vulnerable applier.

Shop priority #1: REMOVE StrikeS. Every Strike removed is +5-25 effective damage per Uproar chain. Spend gold on removals before cards.

Elite strategy (cautious): Uproar deck is weak in Act 1 before Strike removal. Fight 1 elite max, 2 if you have Sunder.

• Sentries (Medium): Uproar’s random targeting is fine — all three Sentries need to die anyway.
• Lagavulin (Hard): Uproar plays multiple Attacks, which wake it up early. Sunder during sleep phase.
• Gremlin Nob (Very DAngerous): Uproar is an Attack (good!), but you need raw damage stats. Skip this elite unless you have 3+ premium Attacks.

Act 2 — Accelerate the Chain

Priority picks:

1. More Uproars (aim for 3-4 total)
2. Meteor Strike — free when pulled by Uproar
3. Null — Attack + Dark + Weak
4. Hologram — consistency
5. Seek — guaranteed turn-1 Uproar

Shop priorities: Continue removing Strikes. Buy Seek if available. Buy Runic Capacitor.

Elite strategy:

• Tri-Slavers (Favorable): Uproar chain + Sunder kills one per turn. Ice Lance generates Frost to block.
• Book of Stabbing (Hard): Frost from Cold Snap and Ice Lance is your only defense. Null’s Weak is essential.
• Gremlin Leader (Favorable): Random targeting from Uproar clears minions while chipping the Leader. Sunder executes the Leader.

Act 3 — The Perfect Chain

Your deck should have 20-25 cards with: 3-4 Uproars, 1-2 Meteor Strikes, 2-3 Ice Lances, 1 Sunder, 1 Null, 1-2 Holograms, 1-2 Seeks, 0 StrikeS, 4-5 Defends.

Final boss strategy:

• Time Eater (Favorable): Uproar’s free attacks don’t count toward the 12-card limit. You play 4-5 cards per turn, Uproar chains 6-8 free attacks. The limit doesn’t apply to you.
• Awakened One (Favorable): You play very few Powers. The Strength gain is minimal. Uproar chain kills in phase 1, Frost orbs block in phase 2.
• Donu & Deca (Favorable): Random targeting splits damage evenly. Both die at roughly the same time. Ice Lance + Cold Snap provide enough passive block.

Key Tips

1. Remove ALL Strikes. This is the #1 determinant of Uproar deck success. A deck with 0 Strikes + 4 Uproars chains 6-10 premium attacks per turn. A deck with 4 Strikes chains 2-3.

2. Upgrade Uproar FIRST. 5→9 damage per hit doubles Uproar’s base damage (10→18 total). Across 4 Uproars in a chain: 40→72 damage from the upgrades alone.

3. Don’t play Meteor Strike from hand. It costs 5 energy. Let Uproar pull it for free. If you draw Meteor Strike and have no Uproar, discard it (Calculated Gamble) or Hologram it later.

4. Frost orbs are your defense. Every Ice Lance and Cold Snap pulled by Uproar generates passive block. With 3 Frost orbs, you passively block 6 per turn. It’s not Focus-level, but it’s enough for hallway fights.

5. Seek guarantees turn-1 Uproar. Seek+ → Uproar + Hologram = your engine starts on turn 1 every fight. This consistency is what makes the deck S-tier at high ascension.

Matchup Guide

Favorable: Time Eater (free attacks don’t count toward limit), Donu & Deca (random targeting splits evenly), Gremlin Leader (minions die to random hits), Slime Boss (Uproar chain clears splits)

Unfavorable: Book of Stabbing (demands strong block that this build lacks), Gremlin Nob (you need to play Uproar as first card, no Skills before it), Reptomancer (exploding daggers demand immediate targeted damage, not random)

Nemesis: Awakened One phase 2. Your random targeting can’t focus the cultists. You need Sunder or Meteor Strike to land on priority targets. Hologram + Seek help direct the chain.