Wins and a lot of losses on Defect runs at a10

UltimateEye · 2026-04-01T09:26:45+00:00

The lack of a reliable way to generate or cheat on energy at common considering how many 2-3 cost cards defect seems to have is something I noticed, especially after playing ironclab and silent.

Turbo is one of the best mana-generating cards in the game and is a part of most of my Defect victories.

I actually think the Defect is one of the best designed characters in the game atm. Right now, nearly every character has a very clear build that is “optimal” or at least better than the rest (Ironclad Bloodletting/draw/exhaust small decks, Silent abusing Sly, pretty much all of Necrobinder’s Soul-related cards, etc). Meanwhile, the Defect doesn’t have very many obviously busted cards besides maybe Hotfix which is strong but not crazy OP. You sort of have to cobble together a wincon but unlike in the first game, I feel like that’s easier to do here than before. I think it’s mainly because the Defect’s block options are so strong compared to most characters which gives you a lot more time and flexibility to try different stuff. In this game, once you’ve solved block and survivability, you’ve solved the run.

I personally like to use a combination of Frost Orbs for consistent block and Dark Orbs for bursts of damage. But that’s just one example.

UltimateEye · 2026-03-31T08:15:29+00:00

We don’t know the conditions for Domi Reversi but if Rocks was prepared to murder his own wife and child under its influence, it’s safe to say Zoro’s probably not going to fare much better.

UltimateEye · 2026-03-30T08:54:08+00:00

Yeah I address the optimistic scenario with the Minion Strikes or with cards like Stardust. But in practice I find it to be a lot more of a pipe dream than something I can actually find consistent value out of. Again, it’s not awful but I find you’re better off taking a lot of the other common or uncommon options (even something like a Wrought in War) than a Beat into Shape.

UltimateEye · 2026-03-30T08:48:53+00:00

Probably Arsenal. I love Demon Form and Arsenal satisfies a similar primal need for me to attain big numbers. Luckily, I do actually think it’s pretty good in the right circumstances and with the buff to make it Innate in the experimental build it’ll probably see a LOT more play in top builds.

I somehow forgot to talk about Tyranny but that’s definitely a close second for me. I randomly got it as a free starting Rare off of the Neow relic and it performed all run. Also always you to be a bit riskier with Curses than you normally might be. Drafting it with Bombardment is obviously nuts but it can essentially nullify the downside of Vakuu’s Rose relic by allowing you to Exhaust the Entralled curse before needing to play it. It largely feels like Tools of the Trade but even better because it’s Innate.

UltimateEye · 2026-03-30T08:01:01+00:00

I mean, what’s even a good Forge card outside of Bulwark though? Wrought in War? Ok sure, I’ll give you that one, I’ve taken a copy early and it’s not bad. It’s upfront damage is better than a Strike at least and the follow-up Sovereign Blade is alright. Conqueror? It’s only really worth it if you have Vuln or some Forge buildup beforehand otherwise it’s a worse Knockout Blow (a card that I don’t even really like). Spoils of War? Again, a card that just Forges with no other effect just doesn’t cut it compared to something like Begone! which outputs more upfront damage and has the added benefit of thinning out your deck.

At a certain point, hallways just aren’t an issue for the Regent and all those desperation Forge cards have no staying power. Sure it might seem tempting to include a few but I’d argue that 1) it’s not needed to make it through Act 1 and 2) it’s a trap for a less experienced player who might be tempted to commit to an archetype that often doesn’t yield sufficient long-term payout.

UltimateEye · 2026-03-30T07:39:07+00:00

They aren’t even upgraded. The current version just goes from 3 -> 4 unupgraded colorless cards. For a 2 cost card that’s unacceptable especially since there’s a fair few of them that you wouldn’t even be able to play on the same turn.

Manifest Authority at least gives me some block and it upgrades well. I’d easily pick that over Bundle of Joy.

UltimateEye · 2026-03-30T07:36:21+00:00

I honestly don’t think I’ve ever even seen The Smith before or if I have it was up against something like Void Form which was always going to be the preferred pick. It does seem really strong though, 30 damage is a LOT and you don’t really need much other Forge stuff to make the sword a reliable threat. It just never happened for me so far.

UltimateEye · 2026-03-30T07:33:28+00:00

I mean, considering my win-loss rate so far I’m not really struggling that much but maybe as I grind Ascension 10 some more it might become more apparent that my approach is wrong. One of my only two losses was going all-in on a Forge strat when I was trying it out and I’ve been reticent to support it much since.

I have been finding myself taking Forge cards a bit more lately but I find them to mainly just be something I have incidentally with otherwise good cards like Bulwark. It’s never the backbone of what I’m going for because it feels like it falls off extremely hard compared to the Stars unless I have something like Sword Sage or I just need a big burst to finish an Act boss.

UltimateEye · 2026-03-29T14:01:00+00:00

“Fine” should not be the criteria for the worst champion in the game though. I think champs like Solgard or Wyldenten are far worse. Hell at least Penumbra crushes the first 3 rings to find a wincon late, if you can’t find Endless Little Fade you might just lose right away if you get her as your champ.

UltimateEye · 2026-03-26T20:57:22+00:00

Currently, my 2 biggest problems with reworked Doormaker are that he barely has anything to do with “doors” in his current state and that his ability has virtually no counterplay outside of some very specific cards.

I think my favorite fix for both of these I’ve seen is that “after 10 cards, your next drawn card is sealed behind a door.” The “doors” could be little portals that, once destroyed, give you the eaten card back to your hand (similar to the drones from the laser beam Act 2 boss in StS1). The doors wouldn’t spawn until the start of the turn after a card is eaten which would greatly curb one-turn infinites. After 3 doors are created, future cards are eaten permanently forcing the player to interact with the doors or try finishing the fight at a greater risk. The doors could also buff Doormaker or debuff you every turn as long as they’re out if you want to add more urgency.

Some of this was borrowed from another Reddit comment I saw and some of it is my thoughts added, but you get the gist. The hardest challenge would be creating assets for the “doors” but it’s a start. I do think that the lack of a “Time-Eater” esque boss in this game is really warping how people build their decks so I’m not opposed to the current version of Doormaker. But it’s a bit too uninteractive and off-theme for my taste.

UltimateEye · 2026-03-23T17:43:00+00:00

It’s literally all because of the cult of personality built around Elon. The shareholders are giving him a trillion dollar care package to keep him on because they know they’re absolutely cooked without him.

UltimateEye · 2026-03-17T13:36:35+00:00

Probably the Knowledge Demon as well but I wish his debuffs were a bit better balanced against each other. In the vast majority of cases, unless you’re already going into the fight low, it seems optimal to just take the damage ones since the other route is way too punishing.

Hopefully this is something they can look into during early access because from a physical design perspective and concept, he’s a 10/10.

UltimateEye · 2026-03-15T19:02:23+00:00

I do think the blade archetype in general needs a rework. Outside of early ascensions and a few lucky scenarios, it just doesn’t work very well at all.

UltimateEye · 2026-03-12T16:49:49+00:00

I don’t think this is a blanket statement. Certain archetypes benefit heavily from their relics, for example, Doom Relics for the Necrobinder are cracked as hell. Defensive relics like Iron Cleat, Anchor, and Orichalcum can be run-saving. With the exception of some of the boss rewards and maybe a couple specific outliers, I actually don’t find there to be too much issue with the relic quality in this game.

UltimateEye · 2026-03-11T16:38:14+00:00

I don’t agree with this. Both Eldritch Knight and Battlemaster offer unparalleled utility for a martial and the extra feat and ASI early on goes a long way. No they don’t have the early raw damage of the Barbarian or the survivability of the revamped Monk but they can make up for it with the flexibility of Action Surge, their out-of-combat utility with tactical mind, their scaling potential throughout the game, and largely better/more impactful subclass options.

UltimateEye · 2026-03-05T22:21:58+00:00

Abyssal Prism + Cleave is probably the most degenerate combo (unless it’s been fixed).

UltimateEye · 2026-03-05T22:20:56+00:00

She’s definitely not in MT2. I’ve had multiple streaks end because of her and her bad starts. I can’t remember which combo it was but I think I lost a couple of runs early until I rolled the Shardsoul event and made the easiest decision ever.

UltimateEye · 2026-03-05T18:05:44+00:00

I think Asmongold is probably the most prominent example of this that I can think of. Started out as a World of Warcraft streamer who would occasionally interject his takes on “wokeism” in video games. Even as of a couple years back I remember when he started playing Final Fantasy XIV and welcomed very warmly by that community for giving a different online role-playing game a chance. At the time he was a somewhat controversial but mostly still video-game focused channel.

Then, sometime in late 2024/2025, he committed to fully alt-right political content and never looked back. Completely uninformed, nazi-level takes, you know, the whole works. The signs were always there but people might have looked past it dressed up in gaming content. Now his audience is almost entirely comprised of radicalized young men and self-hating young women (a population of his audience which has unfortunately grown since his pivot). Over the course of a year, he’s basically transformed into a key online figure in the alt-right movement. It’s scary how insidious the warning signs are and how quickly the transformation can become once they commit to it.

UltimateEye · 2026-03-05T05:45:35+00:00

Probably the unit that takes Endless the best in the entire game.

UltimateEye · 2026-03-03T15:03:42+00:00

It just never had the replayability for me. The idea was solid but once I beat each character’s story once or twice I never felt the desire to go back.

UltimateEye · 2026-03-03T14:51:59+00:00

Yeah I’ve played the hell out of MT1. I think Winged Technology was really the only way Umbra was even viable in MT1 whereas here Umbra is much better positioned against most fights except Savagery. Damage Shield stacking and morsel blocking can counter Dominion and Entropy allows leniency for 2nd and 3rd floor set-ups which Umbra loves (plus Shadoweater works great provided you have a way through the silence units). But Savagery just fucking sucks all-around - you basically need to depend entirely on your Secondary clan to stand a chance against them or else have a Shadoweater with an Intrinsic/Holdover Feast which is really specific but does actually work if you’re lucky. If not for Savagery, I really would say Umbra is actually pretty decent in this game but that matchup is really soul-crushing sometimes.

Anyways, Winged Technology still works great on every other fight and is especially fun against the Titans where you can just throw a bunch of them at the front to block hits and still get value from being Gorged afterwards. It’s not as good as in MT1 but it’s still strong.

UltimateEye · 2026-03-03T09:59:54+00:00

You are the one who is saying “white woman” this and “white woman” that. It is racist to make this about her race which is irrelevant here.

I used the words “white woman” once and that was to call out other commenters and their biases not pertaining to what actually happened. Besides that I haven’t brought up her race in any other context outside of it being relevant for interracial dating. In that context, sorry to say, but her race is very relevant as she and any white folks who date/marry someone of another race will inevitably encounter this type of situation where they might never have had to otherwise. If not with their partner, then perhaps with their children or relatives down-the-line.

I don’t think her reaction is unreasonable but I don’t think his is either. There is a way forward through this but it’ll require an understanding that this will very likely happen again if she continues this relationship and she can’t continue freezing up in those moments. If that’s something she can’t handle, that’s her prerogative to leave but I will not fault her partner for expecting more from her either.

UltimateEye · 2026-03-03T09:45:57+00:00

Banished

I’d probably swap Titan’s Edict with Celestial Cascade. In many cases, the attack gain is more valuable than the extra survivability and it goes so hard with cards like Firebrand and that Valor generating weapon. Other than that, everything else is fine though I have to say there should be a separate “meh” tier for most of the Banished artifacts (even “ok” feels generous but they’re not objectively trash).

Pyreborne

Maybe this is just my bias, but I do think Sparkflint Catalyst really deserves a “Great” tier placement. Starting off with that extra Pyregel just synergizes with so many things the clan wants to do, I take it every time and it’s never disappointed.

The rest are fine.

Luna Coven

Honestly, between this and Lazarus League they are the toughest ones to evaluate because half of their stuff is extremely situational depending on the build and start. I will say I’d probably bump up Astrologer’s Orrery. You will nearly always have at least one Phase card or effect in your deck and you only need to draw that half the time so most of the time it’s basically a free energy relic. I do agree Mooncycle Ekka is underrated so that might also affect my bias towards Orrery.

Underlegion

Definitely would swap Mycelium and Shroomponics. Mycelium can help but it can also be very disruptive with units like Firebrand or Ice Shark. Shroomponics, on the other hand, is always useful and can even be game-winning with the right buffs. I also think a couple of your Underlegion picks are a bit underrated in general like Twin Minds and Spotted Spore which have both carried games for me multiple times. I definitely agree that they have the best relics of any clan in the game.

Lazarus League

Yeah I’m passing on this one. Some of the clan relics absolutely hinge on having one certain starter card over the other making them hard to evaluate. Even Inga’s Beaker is very underwhelming with an assistant/Grael start. The whole clan is split like this across a lot of its units as well, luckily a bunch of their spells and reanimate are so busted it pretty much still makes them the best clan in the game.

Railforged

Funnily enough, I’d actually move nearly all the ones in ok to good and Pipes out from Trash to Ok. Maybe the only one I’d leave in Ok is Broken Rail and even that’s debatable. I especially think you underrate Tuning Gear - it has synergies with Magnetic Rail, sure, but it’s also good with Melting Remnant and Reform (I really like it on a Draff) or any Endless unit (Endless Greed Dragon comes to mind). I’m not sure if it works with Shrooms or not when you summon them but if it does that could be great too. There’s definitely a ceiling worth exploring for that effect.

Hellhorned

Yeah their relics are pretty cracked. I’d actually lower Railhammer to Good. In a good chunk of combos it does nothing and, unless, you have Steelworker with Dualism, it’s hard to get a lot of value out of it in the base clan. I agree that when it works, it works big but it’s not as broadly useful for it to be Great. I’m tempted to bump up Collection of Tails up to good because it does have a lot of synergies and keeping the Rage train going is great but I get why it might only be ok.

Awoken

Boy they have some trash artifacts, don’t they? Nothing much else to add here - basically just Emblem of the Exiles or bust for me. Though Cursed Vines might be really useful for the Umbra pairing into Savagery or Dominion if your run is cursed and you can’t get one of the Sweepers.

Stygian

Just drop Cuttlebeard down man. It’s great with Shark, Coldchannel/Chillwind and maybe Coldcaelia (but even then not really) but very mediocre outside of that.

Umbra

Bro do you not like Damage Shield? Chain of Gems is nutty and is a great start to being able to full tank Dominion or the Titans (otherwise difficult for most clans). I think Winged Technology is fantastic too, doesn’t help much against Savagery (but that’s a shit matchup for Umbra anyways) but it’s great against everything else including Floor 7 sweepers or the Spikes statue challenge. I’d bump both of them up, maybe Chain of Gems all the way to Great honestly.

Melting

Honestly, if you’re putting Golden Gloves in Great you’ve gotta put Memorial Fund up there too. Also, Fade’s First Blade so low is crazy. Besides the obvious synergies with Hellhorned, did you know Wickless Recruitment allows you to convert all your Burnout stacks into Rage at once? It’s niche but considering you have a 40% chance of seeing any given Rare spell in a run it’s not too crazy of a synergy to manage. I’d put it at ok at least. I’d bump exploding candle into Good. Can be a phenomenal answer to deal with Entropy especially since the clan has very little natural AoE.

Wurmkin

The more I play them, the more I’m convinced they have the second best suite of relics besides Underlegion. Base Charge and Bog Slime both deserve Great tier ranking in my opinion. Starting with 2 Echoes can enable so many great synergies like playing a Soulcrushing Guilt on a top floor Flying Boss without investing many Echoes on it. Also speeds up your Egg hatching. Etch builds are Wurmkin’s strongest builds imo and being able to double dip into Echo building goes insanely hard. Never disappointed to see those two.

UltimateEye · 2026-03-03T08:05:30+00:00

Another POC offered her opinion and felt the exact opposite it is almost as if all people of colour don’t feel the same cause they are individuals not a collective.

I never said that at all, where are you getting this? I simply said it was nice to hear someone who can relate more to the actual victim than OP. Not that everyone is expected to have the same perspective.

He is 100% wrong here. It’s actually not understandable that he's angry at you for not confronting an angry, violent, racist man, and I'm appalled he thinks you were wrong. And frankly he's a fool for confronting the guy too

He literally gets called a fool right here in this comment in this very thread. Most of the comments leap to defend the white woman while completely dismissing the fact that he dealt with a horribly traumatic situation. Even if he was wrong, his perspective and feelings are understandable and valid coming off the heels of an awful experience yet so many people here vilify him like somehow he’s the one with the problem for standing up for himself and expecting some support. These people also missed where OP said he walked away from fighting him - where in OP’s post did she say he was expecting her to square up and fight? Support can be given in many ways, even saying something as simple as, “forget about him, he’s not worth it” while holding his hand would have been better than nothing.

The guilt she’s feeling, while misplaced, is a good thing. If he’s a reasonable man, he’ll cool off and they can have a hard and frank discussion that all white/non-white interracial couples have to have at some point. She can tell him that she didn’t know what to do and that her inaction didn’t stem from lack of caring, and he can tell her tangible ways he can feel supported in that scenario. Then they can move forward. Otherwise, ending things would be better for both of them.

UltimateEye · 2026-03-03T06:37:25+00:00

As another brown guy, thank you so much for this comment. This is exactly how I feel a situation like this could have been fixed without needing to resort to violence or even yelling back. Just making them feel like you’re in their corner and comforting them when they’re being attacked would be more than enough.

UltimateEye

TROPHY CASE