Ironclad Strike Deck Build — Perfected Strike & Hellraiser Guide

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The Strike Deck is the Ironclad’s most counter-intuitive build. Every other guide tells you to remove Strikes at every shop — this one tells you to KEEP them and add MORE. Perfected Strike gains +2 damage (upgraded: +3) for every card with “Strike” in its name anywhere in your deck, and Hellraiser automatically plays every drawn Strike for free. The result: you draw cards, the game attacks for you, and Perfected Strike closes with 30-40+ damage Finishers. This is the build for players who enjoy Breaking standard deck-building rules.

This archetype was stronger before the March 2026 Hellraiser energy-fix patch nerfed the infinite Loop, but it remains a solid A-tier build with a unique playstyle you won’t find in any other character’s card pool.

Build Overview

The Strike Deck game plan: fill your deck with Strike-named cards → play Hellraiser (auto-plays drawn Strikes for free) → draw cards (Pommel Strike, Battle Trance) to trigger more free attacks → finish with Perfected Strike (30-50+ damage). Every card draw is a free attack. Every Strike is a damage multiplier for Perfected Strike. Your deck IS your weapon.

Strike Deck

intermediateIronclad

Core Cards

Perfected Strike

Hellraiser

Pommel Strike

Twin Strike

Anger

Wild Strike

Battle Trance

Key Relics

Strategy

Play Hellraiser as early as possible (turn 1, ideally upgraded to 1 energy). Every Strike card you draw is now auto-played for free against random enemies. Use Pommel Strike as your draw engine — each one draws 1-2 more cards, which triggers more Hellraiser attacks. Close fights with Perfected Strike (scales with total Strike-named cards in deck, often 30-50+ damage). Keep all basic Strikes — they fuel both Hellraiser and Perfected Strike.

Core Cards — The Strike Arsenal

S-Tier: The Engine

Hellraiser (Rare Power, 2 energy → 1 upgraded) — For the rest of combat, whenever you draw a card with “Strike” in its name, play it against a random enemy for 0 energy. This card IS the build. Without it, you have a pile of Strikes. With it, every card draw is a free attack. Upgrade immediately — 1 energy vs. 2 energy is the difference between playing Hellraiser on turn 1 or turn 2, which is often the difference between winning and dying.

Pick priority: Highest priority. If you see Hellraiser in Act 1, commit to the Strike Deck. If you don’t find it by mid-Act 2, pivot to Strength or Vulnerable.

Perfected Strike (Rare Attack, 2 energy) — Deal 12 damage (upgraded: 14). Gain +2 damage (+3 upgraded) for EVERY card with “Strike” in its name in your deck. Start of run: 5 Strikes = 22 base damage. After adding 5 Strike cards: 10 Strikes = 32 base damage. Late game with 15 Strike-named cards: 42 base damage for 2 energy. With Vulnerable applied: 63 damage. This is your boss killer.

Pick priority: Take on sight. Second only to Hellraiser. A deck without Perfected Strike is a Strike pile with no payoff.

Pommel Strike (Common Attack, 1 energy) — Deal 9 damage (10 upgraded), draw 1 card (2 upgraded). This is the engine’s fuel pump. Every Pommel Strike you draw triggers Hellraiser (free attack), then draws ANOTHER card, which might also be a Strike, which triggers Hellraiser AGAIN. Two upgraded Pommel Strikes in a thin deck create near-infinite attack chains. Take 2-3 copies. Upgrade all of them — going from draw 1 to draw 2 doubles the chain potential.

Pick priority: Take over all other commons. The draw effect is irreplaceable.

A-Tier: The Strike Package

Twin Strike (Common Attack, 1 energy) — Deal 5 damage twice (7 twice upgraded). A Strike-named card that attacks twice — each hit benefits from Strength, Vulnerable, and Cruelty. At 3 Strength with Vulnerable: 8×2×1.5 = 24 damage for 1 energy. Auto-played by Hellraiser. Also counts toward Perfected Strike scaling. Take 1-2 copies.

Anger (Common Attack, 0 energy) — Deal 4 damage (6 upgraded). Add a copy of this card to your discard pile. A 0-cost Strike that duplicates itself. With Hellraiser active, every Anger drawn is a free attack that spawns another free attack in your next deck cycle. By Act 3, you have 5-8 copies of Anger in your deck, each fueling Perfected Strike and triggering Hellraiser. Take 1 copy early — it multiplies itself.

Wild Strike (Common Attack, 1 energy) — Deal 12 damage (17 upgraded), shuffle a Wound into your draw pile. A Strike-named card with premium base damage. The Wound downside is annoying but manageable — you’re drawing so many cards that a single dead draw barely matters. High base damage also makes it a great Hellraiser trigger, dealing 12-17 free damage when auto-played.

Headbutt (Common Attack, 1 energy) — Deal 9 damage (12 upgraded), place a card from your discard pile on top of your draw pile. Use Headbutt to put Perfected Strike or Pommel Strike on top of your deck, guaranteeing Hellraiser hits your best card next turn. Headbutt → Perfected Strike is a guaranteed 30+ damage next draw. Take 1 copy.

B-Tier: The Support Cast

Battle Trance (Uncommon Skill, 0 energy) — Draw 3 cards (4 upgraded). Cannot draw additional cards this turn (draw block wears off next turn). Play Battle Trance AFTER your Hellraiser chain resolves to reload your hand. At 0 energy, it costs nothing and finds your key pieces. The “no more draw” clause is irrelevant because your Strikes are auto-played, not drawn.

Shrug It Off (Common Skill, 2 energy) — Gain 11 block, draw 1 card. Block + draw in one card. The draw triggers Hellraiser if you hit a Strike, and the block keeps you alive. Take 1-2 copies.

Inflame (Uncommon Power, 1 energy) — Gain 2 Strength (3 upgraded). Each point of Strength adds 1 damage to every Hellraiser-triggered Strike. With Hellraiser triggering 4-5 Strikes per turn, +3 Strength = +15 free damage per turn. Better than Demon Form in this build because it’s cheaper and the fights end faster.

Limit Break (Rare Skill, 1 energy) — Double your current Strength. If you’ve stacked Strength via Inflame + Strength relics, Limit Break doubles it. At 5 Strength doubled to 10: every Strike auto-played by Hellraiser deals 10 extra damage. Exhausts, so save it for when you have at least 4 Strength.

Cards to AVOID

Corruption: Your Skills aren’t blockers — they’re draw engines (Pommel Strike, Battle Trance, Shrug It Off). Exhausting them is anti-synergy.
Body Slam: Your block is supplementary, not a win condition. This card has no “Strike” in its name.
Barricade: Fights end in 4-6 turns. Block retention is wasted energy.
Any card without “Strike” in its name that isn’t block or draw: Every non-Strike attack dilutes your Perfected Strike scaling AND gives Hellraiser fewer targets. Be ruthless about this.

Relic Priority

Run-Defining

Strike Dummy: All Strike cards deal +3 damage. In a deck with 10-15 Strike cards auto-played by Hellraiser, that’s 30-45 extra damage per deck cycle. This relic alone pushes the build from A to S tier.
Brimstone: +2 Strength per turn for everyone. You play 5-8 attacks per turn through Hellraiser — that’s 10-16 extra damage per turn from the Strength gain. Enemies never survive long enough for their Strength to matter.

High Impact

Vajra: Start combat with +1 Strength. Tiny but compounds across 50+ attacks per fight.
Girya: Campfire for +3 Strength permanently. Three Lifts = +9 Strength, which adds 9 damage to every Hellraiser-triggered Strike.
Anchor: Start combat with 10 Block. Lets you play Hellraiser on turn 1 without taking damage.
Pyre: Gain 1 energy at the start of each turn. More energy = more Perfected Strikes and Powers played.

Nice to Have

Bag of Marbles: Free Vulnerable at combat start boosts all Hellraiser attacks by 50%.
Paper Phrog: Vulnerable enemies take 75% more instead of 50%. Devastating with free auto-attacks.
Burning Blood: The Ironclad’s starting relic. The 6 HP/combat heal lets you play aggressively, taking chip damage while Hellraiser sets up.

Act-by-Act Strategy

Act 1 — Build the Strike Collection

This is the only Ironclad build where you DO NOT remove basic Strikes at shops. Every Strike is a resource.

Floor 1-5 priorities:

Pommel Strike — Take every copy. Best common in the game for this build.
Twin Strike — Solid damage, Strike-tagged, multi-hit.
Anger — Take 1 copy. It multiplies.
Wild Strike — High damage, Strike-tagged.
Headbutt — Guarantees Perfected Strike or Pommel Strike next draw.

Never skip Perfected Strike or Hellraiser if they apPear. Pivot your entire run around them.

Elite strategy:

Sentries (Favorable): Every Strike card hitting randomly = Sentries die simultaneously. Your basic Strikes actually do work here.
Lagavulin (Medium): You need at least 25 front-loaded damage. Pommel Strike + Twin Strike carry this fight.
Gremlin Nob (DAngerous): Hellraiser and Perfected Strike are Skills/Powers. You NEED regular Attacks. Wild Strike is premium here.

Campfire priority:

Upgrade Hellraiser (2→1 energy — enormous tempo gain)
Upgrade Pommel Strike (draw 1→2)
Upgrade Perfected Strike (12→14 base, +2→+3 per Strike)

Act 2 — Layer the Scaling

By now you should have 8-12 Strike-named cards and at least one of Hellraiser/Perfected Strike.

Priority picks:

Second Pommel Strike + upgrade it
Inflame for Strength scaling
Battle Trance for Burst draw
Limit Break if you have Strength sources

Shop strategy: Buy Strike Dummy if available. Remove DefendS before Strikes — your block should come from Shrug It Off, not basic Defends.

Act 3 — The Strike Machine

Your deck should have 12-15 Strike-named cards. Perfected Strike should read 35-45 base damage. Hellraiser should be firing 3-5 free attacks per turn.

Final boss adjustments:

Time Eater (Favorable): 12-card limit doesn’t matter because Hellraiser auto-plays, not you. Play 3-4 cards per turn, let Hellraiser do the rest.
Awakened One (Medium): Hellraiser is a Power, giving it +1 Strength. But you’re attacking 6+ times per turn — it dies before the Strength matters.
Donu & Deca (Favorable): Random targeting splits damage evenly. Perfected Strike finishes whichever is lower.

Key Tips

DON’T remove Strikes. This is the ONLY build where basic Strikes have value. They fuel Perfected Strike scaling AND Hellraiser triggers.
Upgrade Hellraiser immediately. 2 energy → 1 energy is the most impactful upgrade in the entire deck. Playing Hellraiser on turn 1 vs. turn 2 is often the difference between winning and losing a run.
Remove Defends, not Strikes. Your block comes from Shrug It Off and Anchor. Basic Defends are dead draws.
Deck size: 20-25 cards. Too thin and you lack Strike density for Perfected Strike. Too thick and you don’t draw Hellraiser consistently.
Hellraiser + Pommel Strike+ = near-infinite. Two upgraded Pommel Strikes + Hellraiser in a 15-card deck chains 8-10 free attacks per turn. This is your ideal endgame state.
Don’t take non-Strike attacks. Every non-Strike attack is a card that Perfected Strike doesn’t count and Hellraiser doesn’t trigger. Be ruthless. Carnage is great in other builds, but it has no “Strike” in its name — skip it.

Matchup Guide

Favorable: Sentries (Hellraiser free attacks hit all three), Time Eater (auto-played cards don’t count toward 12-card limit), Donu & Deca (random targeting spreads damage evenly), Slime Boss (Anger generates infinite Strikes for slime phase)

Unfavorable: Book of Stabbing (multi-hit demands block you might not have), Gremlin Nob (Powers and Skills trigger its Strength gain), The Corrupted Heart (Beat of Death punishes your high card volume)

Nemesis: Gremlin Leader. The respawning minions dilute Hellraiser’s random targeting, and you lack AoE. Prioritize killing minions manually while Hellraiser chips the Leader.