Ironclad Exhaust Engine Build — Corruption & Dark Embrace Synergy

The Exhaust engine is the Ironclad’s most powerful archetype — and the hardest to pilot. It turns a mechanic that looks like a downside (permanently removing cards from your deck) into a blazing engine that generates block, draws cards, and deals damage simultaneously. When it works, you play 15 cards in a single turn, generate 80 block, and kill everything on turn 4. But the deck requires understanding a web of interdependent Uncommon cards that are individually weak and collectively broken. This guide will teach you how to assemble the engine, survive long enough to draw it, and manage the most important resource in an exhaust deck: time.

Build Overview

The Exhaust engine is a synergy web of three Uncommon Powers: Corruption (Skills cost 0, then exhaust), Dark Embrace (draw 1 when a card exhausts), and Feel No Pain (gain 4/6 block when a card exhausts). With all three in play, playing one Skill costs 0 energy, draws a card, and grants 4 block. The card you draw is also a 0-cost Skill that draws another card and grants 4 more block. The chain Feeds itself until your entire deck is exhausted — which is when you win, because by then the enemy is dead and you have 80 block stacked.

Exhaust Engine

advancedIronclad

Core Cards

Corruption

Dark Embrace

Feel No Pain

Second Wind

Burning Pact

Shrug It Off

Key Relics

Dead BranchCharon's AshesMedical KitSundialPocketwatch

Strategy

Get Corruption in play on turn 1 or 2 — it's your highest priority card. Once Corruption is active, every Skill becomes 0-cost and triggers Dark Embrace and Feel No Pain. Second Wind exhausts your entire remaining hand for massive block while drawing a new one. Beware: Corruption will exhaust your entire deck by turn 5-6. Against bosses, decide when to play it — too early and you run out of cards; too late and you die before the engine spins up. With Dead Branch, every exhausted card generates a random new card, creating infinite loops.

Core Cards — The Engine’s Anatomy

The Trinity: Three Cards That Win the Game

Corruption (Rare Power, 3/2 energy) — All Skills cost 0. All Skills exhaust. This is the namesake, the engine’s heart, the card your entire run revolves around. At 3 energy, it costs your entire turn to play, which is why upgrading it (3 → 2 energy) is your highest priority. Once Corruption is active, your deck transforms: every defensive Skill becomes free, which means you can play your entire hand every turn. The “downside” — that your Skills are removed from play — is actually what makes the engine work. Each exhausted Skill triggers Dark Embrace and Feel No Pain. By turn 5, your deck is 5 cards: your best attacks, and you draw them every turn.

Critical decision: When to play Corruption. Against hallway fights, play it immediately — the fight ends by turn 5. Against bosses, Delay Corruption until you’ve played 1-2 cycle of your deck normally. The first cycle plays your Powers (Dark Embrace, Feel No Pain) without exhausting them. Then on turn 3-4, play Corruption to TURBO-charge the remaining fight. Playing Corruption on turn 1 against a boss means your deck is empty by turn 6 and you have no block left.

Dark Embrace (Uncommon Power, 2/1 energy) — The fuel pump. Every time a card exhausts, draw 1 card. This is what prevents you from running out of steam. With Corruption active, every Skill replaces itself. With Second Wind, you exile your hand and draw a fresh one. With Fiend Fire, you draw 8 cards after discarding your hand. Dark Embrace turns every “downside” exhaust trigger into an upside.

Important: Dark Embrace alone does nothing. Drawing it before Corruption is correct — play it early, then when Corruption hits, the engine is already primed. Two copies are unnecessary (they don’t stack usefully), but the consistency of a second copy is sometimes worth it in 35+ card decks.

Feel No Pain (Uncommon Power, 1 energy) — The armor plating. Every time a card exhausts, gain 4 block (6 upgraded). This is how you don’t die while your engine spins up. One copy generates 100+ block over the course of a fight without ever playing a dedicated block card. Two copies and you’re functionally immortal — 8/12 block per exhausted card out-paces every enemy’s damage output.

Upgrade priority: Feel No Pain upgrade (+4 → +6) is a 50% improvement and should be done before Dark Embrace. One upgraded Feel No Pain + Corruption = you can ignore blocking and play attacks freely.

The Engine Starters: Cards That Kick the Chain

Second Wind (Uncommon Skill, 1 energy) — Exhaust all non-Attack cards in your hand, gain 7 block (10 upgraded) for each. This is your engine’s Ignition switch. With Dark Embrace active, Second Wind draws you a full new hand. With Feel No Pain active, you gain block TWICE — once from Second Wind (7 per card), once from Feel No Pain (4 per card) = 11 block per exhausted card. Exhausting 4 cards generates 44 block and draws 4 new cards. This is a one-card Panic Button that resets bad hands.

Best use: Play Second Wind when your hand is all Defends and Statuses. Keep your attacks. The new hand will be attack-heavy.

Burning Pact (Uncommon Skill, 1 energy) — Exhaust 1 card, draw 3 cards. This card is why exhaust decks are consistent. It digs 3 cards deeper into your deck while pitching garbage (Strikes, Curses, Statuses). With Corruption, it’s free — spend 0 energy to cycle through 3 cards and trigger your engine. It’s also your best tool for finding Corruption in the first 2 turns.

Take 2 copies. The first finds Corruption. The second finds your attacks after the engine is online.

True Grit (Common Skill, 1 energy) — Exhaust a random (or chosen, when upgraded) card, gain 9 block. Your exhaust enabler for Act 1. True Grit is individually good — 9 block for 1 energy is above rate — and it triggers Feel No Pain for an extra 4 block. Upgrade it immediately: targeted exhaust lets you pick which Strike to remove from your deck mid-combat.

Pick priority: Take 1-2 copies in Act 1. True Grit+ is a card you want in every exhaust deck.

The Workhorses: Cards That Keep You Alive

Shrug It Off (Common Skill, 1 energy) — Gain 11 block, draw 1 card. Boring. Essential. With Corruption, this is a free 11 block + draw trigger. It keeps your hand full and your block high while costing nothing. Every exhaust deck wants 2-3 copies.

Power Through (Uncommon Skill, 1 energy) — Add 2 Wounds to your hand, gain 20 block. 20 block for 1 energy is the best block-to-energy ratio in the game. The 2 Wounds seem like a downside, but in an exhaust deck they’re fuel: each Wound triggers Feel No Pain when it exhausts natuRally (or is exhausted by Burning Pact/Second Wind). With Medical Kit relic, you can PLAY the Wounds for 0 energy to trigger Dark Embrace + Feel No Pain.

Sentinel (Uncommon Skill, 1 energy) — Gain 8 block. When exhausted (from anywhere), gain 3 energy. Sentinel is 3 free energy waiting to happen. Exhaust it with Burning Pact or let Corruption handle it — either way, you get a turn with 6+ energy. This enables Corruption + attack in the same turn, which is how you win boss fights.

Offering (Rare Skill, 0 energy) — Lose 6 HP, draw 5 cards, gain 2 energy. The best card in the Ironclad pool. 0 energy for 2 energy and 5 cards. The 6 HP cost is irrelevant because the exhaust engine generates so much block you rarely take damage. Offering finds Corruption on turn 1. Offering powers massive Fiend Fire turns. Take it over everything except Corruption itself.

Detailed Act-by-Act Strategy

Act 1 — Lay the Foundation (DO NOT Force the Archetype)

This is the most common mistake new exhaust players make: they take Dark Embrace on floor 1 and die to Gremlin Nob because they have no damage. You CANNOT force the exhaust engine from floor 1. The core pieces are all Uncommon or Rare — you might not see a single one until Act 2.

Floor 1-5: Play Standard Ironclad

Your starting deck has 5 Strikes, 4 Defends, Bash, and Burning Blood (heal 6 after each combat). This is a solid starting position — Burning Blood gives you sustain that other characters lack. Your priority: add front-loaded damage.

Card pick priority, floors 1-5:

1. Anger — 0-cost attack that duplicates itself. Free damage that scales in your deck. Excellent against Sentries.
2. Twin Strike — Deal 5×2 damage. 10 damage for 1 energy is above rate, and it scales with Strength.
3. Pommel Strike — Deal 9 damage, draw 1 card. Damage + cycle. Upgraded (draw 2) is premium.
4. Headbutt — Deal 12 damage, put any card from your discard pile on top of your draw pile. Lets you replay your best attacks.
5. Uppercut — Deal 13 damage, apply 1 Weak + 1 Vulnerable. 2 energy is expensive but the status effects are game-winning against elites.

If you see True Grit or Burning Pact in early floors, take them — they’re individually good. True Grit is 9 block for 1 energy, which is above rate even without exhaust synergy. Burning Pact cycles your deck and pitches Strikes.

Do NOT take early: Dark Embrace (a 2-cost Power that does nothing yet), Feel No Pain (a 1-cost Power that does nothing yet), any second copy of a defensive card before you have 3+ attacks.

Floor 6-10: Transition to Engine Pieces

By mid-Act 1, you should have 3-5 new attacks. You can now afford to take engine pieces even if they don’t pay off immediately:

1. Feel No Pain — Safe to take now. It blocks passively while you play normally.
2. Dark Embrace — Still risky without exhaust cards, but take it if you have at least one of True Grit/Burning Pact/Second Wind.
3. Corruption — If you see this Rare, TAKE IT. Don’t play it yet against elites (you need block cards). Play it against the Act 1 boss on turn 3-4.
4. Second Wind — Take it. It’s a block card even without synergy — 7 block per exhausted card is fine.

Elite Strategy (Act 1)

The Ironclad’s sustain (Burning Blood) means you can afford to fight 2-3 elites in Act 1. Your elite performance depends on your attack count:

• Sentries (Easy): 3 enemies, they alternate attacking and applying Daze. Your goal: Burst one down in the first 2 turns. Anger is excellent here because the duplicates fill your hand. True Grit helps by exhausting Dazes. You should take <10 damage.
• Lagavulin (Medium): He sleeps for 3 turns. Use those turns to play all your setup cards (Feel No Pain, Dark Embrace, Bash). Wake him with your strongest attack. He hits for 18-20, so you need block. The fight lasts 4-5 turns after waking — you’ll take 15-25 damage.
• Gremlin Nob (DAngerous): Gains 2 Strength every time you play a Skill. Your defense cards are Skills. This is a damage race — play ONLY attack cards after turn 1. If you have 5+ attack cards added to your deck, fight him. If not, avoid this elite. It can deal 40+ damage if the fight drags.

Campfire Priority (Act 1)

1. Upgrade Bash → Bash+ applies 3 Vulnerable (instead of 2). This is +50% damage for your entire turn and your best day-1 upgrade.
2. Upgrade True Grit → Targeted exhaust is dramatically better than random exhaust.
3. Upgrade Burning Pact → Doesn’t need an upgrade (it’s draw 3 at base). Only upgrade if you have no other options.
4. Rest — Burning Blood heals 36 HP per act. You rarely need to rest. Only rest if HP < 20 before an elite.

Boss Preparation (Act 1)

• Hexaghost: He hits for (HP/12 + 1)×6 on turn 2 — lower HP means less damage. Counter-intuitively, don’t rest to full before this fight! 30 HP means you take ~12 damage. Play attacks. Play True Grit for block. Don’t play Corruption yet unless you have Dark Embrace — the fight is too short.
• Slime Boss: AoE is king. Whirlwind, Cleave, or any multi-target attack. Split slimes have low HP and attack for low damage, but there are 3-4 of them. True Grit + Feel No Pain handles the chip damage.
• The Guardian: Block during Thorn form. Attack during defensive form. Corruption is good here if you have Dark Embrace — play it on turn 1, the fight lasts 8-10 turns and you’ll appreciate free block.

Act 2 — Assemble the Engine

Act 2 is where the exhaust deck comes online or dies trying. The hallway fights demand block AND damage simultaneously — Shelled Parasite deals 21 on turn 1, Snake Plant deals 8×3, Avocado + Rat combo for 30+ turn 1. Without your engine, you will bleed out.

Early Act 2: Hunt the Missing Piece

By now you should have at least ONE of Corruption, Dark Embrace, or Feel No Pain. The engine functions with any two:

• Corruption + Dark Embrace → Infinite draw chain. You play cards forever but generate no passive block. You NEED Feel No Pain or you die to chip damage.
• Corruption + Feel No Pain → Infinite block engine. You’re unkillable but eventually run out of cards. You NEED Dark Embrace or card draw.
• Dark Embrace + Feel No Pain → Every exhaust card is a cantrip that blocks. This works without Corruption for hallway fights but is too slow for bosses.

Shop priority: search for the missing piece. Corruption is Rare — if it apPears in a shop, buy it regardless of cost. Dark Embrace and Feel No Pain are Uncommon — check every shop.

Pick priority for early Act 2:

1. Missing trinity piece
2. Second Wind (engine starter)
3. Burning Pact / True Grit (exhaust enablers)
4. Shrug It Off (free block once Corruption is online)

Mid Act 2: Add Exhaust Payoffs

Once the trinity is assembled:

• Fiend Fire — Exhaust your hand, deal 10 damage per card. With Dark Embrace, you draw a full new hand. With Feel No Pain, you gain 4+ block per card. Fiend Fire with 8 cards in hand = 80 damage + 32 block + draw 8. That kills everything.
• Sentinel — Free energy when exhausted. With Corruption online, Sentinel costs 0 and gives 3 energy. It’s a one-card energy engine.
• Power Through — 20 block + 2 Wounds. Wounds exhaust natuRally and trigger Feel No Pain. This is 32 effective block for 1 energy (20 immediate + 12 from Feel No Pain on Wound exhaust).
• Shockwave — Apply 3/5 Weak + Vulnerable to ALL enemies. It’s a Skill, so Corruption makes it free. AoE weak at 0 cost is premium block.

Elite Strategy (Act 2)

Your elite performance depends entirely on whether you have Corruption:

• Tri-Slavers (WITH Corruption: Easy, WITHOUT: Hard): Without Corruption, focus the red Slaver first (applies Vulnerable). With Corruption online, the fight is free — free Shrug It Offs block everything.
• Book of Stabbing (Medium): Multi-hit attacks. Feel No Pain generates block on every exhaust, which out-scales the book by turn 4. Power Through is your best card here — 20 block for 1 energy eats an entire multi-hit.
• Gremlin Leader (WITH AoE: Medium, WITHOUT: Hard): You need Whirlwind, Immolate, or Fiend Fire for the minions. Without AoE, the respawning gremlins chip away while the Leader buffs. With Fiend Fire, you can exhaust 8 cards to kill everything simultaneously.

Campfire Priority (Act 2)

1. Upgrade Corruption (3→2) — Top priority. Playing Corruption for 2 energy instead of 3 means you can ALSO play a block card on the same turn.
2. Upgrade Feel No Pain (4→6) — 50% more block per exhaust.
3. Upgrade True Grit for targeted exhaust.
4. Upgrade Fiend Fire — Exhaust all non-Attack cards (preserves your attacks).

Act 2 Boss Preparation

• The Champ: Phase 1 is preparation — play Dark Embrace and Feel No Pain early. DO NOT play Corruption until phase 2. Why? Corruption exhausts all your block cards in 4 turns. The Champ takes 5+ turns to reach half HP. If you play Corruption on turn 1, you’ll have no block for Execute (60 damage). Instead, play normally until half HP, THEN play Corruption. Your free block eats the Execute.
• Bronze Automaton: Hyper Beam steals your orbs (removes your Strength). Sentinel timing is key — exhaust Sentinel the turn before Hyper Beam for energy to rebuild. Focus on damage, the fight is a race.
• Collector: AoE for minions (Immolate, Whirlwind, Fiend Fire). Corruption is safe to play immediately — the fight is short. Feel No Pain blocks all the minion chip damage.

Act 3 — The Engine at Full Power

By Act 3, your deck is 25-35 cards. When Corruption hits play on turn 1-2, you cycle through your entire deck in 3 turns. Your goal now: add card draw to find Corruption faster, add exhaust payoffs to end fights faster, and remove Strikes to improve pre-Corruption draws.

Card Pick Priority (Act 3)

1. Offering — 0 energy, draw 5, gain 2 energy. The best card in the pool. Finds Corruption on turn 1. Powers massive Fiend Fire turns.
2. Impervious — Gain 30 block. Exhausts. With Corruption, it’s free 30 block. With Feel No Pain, it’s 34/36 block. With Dark Embrace, you draw a card. This card reads “skip one turn of damage.”
3. Battle Trance — Draw 3 cards, can’t draw more this turn. Finds your engine pieces on turn 1. The downside doesn’t matter because your passive exhaust triggers draw for you.
4. Exhume — Return an Exhausted card to your hand. Get back your Fiend Fire. Get back your Offering. This card doubles your best cards.

Act 3 Hallway Fights

Act 3 hallway fights test whether your engine can come online by turn 2:

• Darklings: 3 enemies, respawn once. AoE (Fiend Fire, Whirlwind) wins. Without AoE, focus one at a time.
• Orb Walker: High HP, heavy single hits. Corruption + Feel No Pain blocks everything. Fiend Fire for damage.
• Spire Growth: Constricts (damage per turn). Kill fast. This is a rare fight where Corruption on turn 1 is correct.
• Maw: 300 HP, ramping damage. This is a boss fight disguised as a hallway. Corruption on turn 1. Cycle your deck. Kill by turn 6-7.

Elite Strategy (Act 3)

• Nemesis: Intangible every other turn. Time your Fiend Fire/Big Attacks for non-Intangible turns. Corruption is good — the free block works regardless of your damage output. This fight tests patience.
• Reptomancer: Kill the daggers FIRST. Exploding daggers deal 25 each. Fiend Fire turn 1 kills them all. Without Fiend Fire, focus the daggers with attacks while Corruption + Shrug It Off blocks.
• Giant Head: Scary but free for exhaust decks. You have 5 turns before it scales. You cycle your deck in 3 turns. Play Corruption on turn 1, exhaust your deck, kill on turn 4-5. It never reaches dAngerous damage.

Final Boss Strategy

Time Eater (Variable Difficulty) — 12-card limit. This boss counters exhaust because you want to play many cards. Strategy:

• Play Corruption as your FIRST card on turn 1 (counts as 1 toward the limit)
• After that, each turn: play 6 cards maximum, end turn deliberately
• Let Fiend Fire be card #12 — it ends your turn with a dead enemy
• Feel No Pain generates block without playing cards (passive from exhaust triggers don’t count toward the limit)
• Winning Time Eater with exhaust is about making each card count double

Awakened One (Favorable) — Playing Powers gives it Strength, but you don’t care:

• Turn 1: Dark Embrace + Feel No Pain (2 Strength to boss)
• Turn 2: Corruption + attack (another +1 Strength)
• Now boss has +3 Strength (+3 damage per hit). You have free block forever. You win.
• Phase 2: It resets, you already have all 3 Powers active, you kill it in 4 turns

Donu & Deca (Favorable) — They buff each other. Focus Donu first. Corruption on turn 1. Free block blocks everything. Fiend Fire kills Donu at 250 HP when you have 8+ cards in hand. Then Deca is target practice.

Act 4 — The Heart

The Heart’s Beat of Death deals 1 damage per card played (2 on higher ascensions). Exhaust decks play 10+ cards per turn. This is a problem. Solutions:

• Feel No Pain x2 — 12 block per exhaust out-paces the Beat of Death damage
• Disarm — Reduces the Heart’s Strength. Apply before the big multi-hit attacks
• Flame Barrier — 16 block + 6 Thorns. The Thorns deals damage back on every multi-hit
• Save an Artifact potion for the Vulnerable application

Relic Priority

Run-Defining (These Relics Win the Run)

• Dead Branch: When a card exhausts, add a random card to your hand. This relic Breaks the game with Corruption. Every exhausted Skill generates a random card, which (if it’s a Skill) costs 0 and exhausts, generating another random card. The Loop is functionally infinite. This is arguably the strongest relic-card pairing in the entire game.
• Charon’s Ashes: Every time a card exhausts, deal 3 damage to ALL enemies. With Corruption + 8 Skills played per turn, that’s 24 AoE damage passively per turn. This relic makes attack cards optional — the exhaust triggers kill everything.
• Medical Kit: You can play Status cards. Statuses cost 0. With Corruption, Statuses cost 0. With Dark Embrace, playing a Status draws a card. With Feel No Pain, playing a Status blocks for 4. Every Wound, Daze, and Burn becomes a free trigger for your entire engine. Power Through becomes the best block card in the game because the 2 Wounds it generates are now upside.

High Impact

• Pocketwatch: If you play 3 or fewer cards in a turn, draw 3 next turn. Guards your pre-Corruption turns — sometimes you play Dark Embrace and Feel No Pain as your only 2 cards, then draw 3 extra next turn to find Corruption.
• Sundial: Every 3 times you shuffle your draw pile, gain 2 energy. Exhaust decks thin so aggressively you shuffle every other turn. Free energy.
• Ink Bottle: Every 10 cards played, draw 1. You play 8+ cards per turn. That’s a free draw almost every turn.

Nice to Have

• Toxic Egg: All Skills are upgraded. Corruption reduces their cost. Toxic Egg makes them all upgraded. Every free Skill is now a premium card.
• Runic Pyramid: Retain your hand. Essential because you can hold Corruption until the perfect turn, or hold Fiend Fire until you have 8+ cards. Be careful with Statuses — they clog your hand without Medical Kit.
• Calipers: Block doesn’t reset fully. You generate 30+ excess block per turn with Feel No Pain. Calipers lets you carry it between turns, building a 100-block wall.

Matchup Guide

Bosses You Crush

Slime Boss: Corruption on turn 1. Feel No Pain blocks the chip damage from 3-4 small slimes. Fiend Fire clears the split.

Collector: Free blocks block the minions. AoE kills everything. Fast fight, Corruption is safe to play immediately.

Awakened One: You simply out-scale the Strength it gains from your Powers. Phase 2 is easier than phase 1 because it doesn’t reset your active Powers.

Bosses That Test You

The Champ: The key decision: when to play Corruption. Wait until phase 2 (below 50% HP). Play Corruption as your first phase 2 action. Free block + Execute-proof for the rest of the fight. If you played Corruption in phase 1, your deck is empty and you die to Execute.

Time Eater: 12-card limit. Make each card count. Corruption on turn 1 (card #1). Each subsequent turn, play 6 cards and pass. Fiend Fire as your 12th card to end the turn and kill. Your goal is 3 turns total.

Corrupted Heart: Beat of Death (2 damage per card on A19+) punishes exhaust’s high card volume. Double Feel No Pain (+12 block per exhaust) out-paces it. You need 800 damage output — Fiend Fire + Exhume → Fiend Fire again. Save an Artifact potion or Clockwork Souvenir to block the turn-1 Vulnerable.

Hallway Fights You Should Fear

Snake Plant (Act 2): 8×3 damage. You need 24 block on turn 1. If you haven’t drawn Corruption yet, this fight can deal 30+ damage. True Grit and Shrug It Off are your best friends.

Writhing Mass (Act 3): CHanges intent when you hit it. Corruption + passive block means you can weather any intent. Just attack slowly and block everything.

Alternative Cards

Sever Soul — Exhaust all non-Attack cards in your hand, deal 16 damage (22 upgraded). A damage version of Second Wind. Worse than Fiend Fire for damage but preserves your attacks. Niche: take if you can’t find Fiend Fire.

Havoc — Play the top card of your draw pile, then exhaust it. 0 energy (stays 0). Free card play that triggers your engine. Gambling but 0-cost.

Ghostly Armor — Gain 13 block. Ethereal. Without Corruption, this card exhausts itself at end of turn (triggering Feel No Pain). With Corruption, it costs 0 and gives 13 block. Solid defensive option.

Warcry — Draw 1, place a card on top of your draw pile. 0 energy. With Corruption, it’s 0-cost cycle that triggers engine. With Dark Embrace, it’s free draw-2. Excellent for setting up next turn.

Exhume — Return an Exhausted card to your hand. 1 energy (0 upgraded). Gets back any card. Best uses: replay Offering for +2 energy +5 draw, replay Fiend Fire for a second kill-shot, replay Impervious for another 30 block.

Cards to AVOID

• Rampage — Scales with each play. Exhaust deck wants to win fast, not scale. By the time Rampage is strong, Corrupted deck is empty.
• Searing Blow — Requires campfire upgrades. You need campfires for upgrading the trinity. Can’t afford to pour upgrades into one attack.
• Perfected Strike — Damage based on number of Strikes in deck. You’ll exhaust all your Strikes by turn 5. Perfected Strike hits for 6.
• Barricade — Retains block between turns. Sounds good with Feel No Pain, but costs 3 energy (2 upgraded). That’s a turn you’re not playing Corruption. Anti-tempo.
• Entrench — Doubles your block. Only works with Barricade. Same problem — too slow, too expensive.