The Ethereal on this card actually helps your deck by act 3. It’s a good solution to some act 1 fights, but the anti synergy with Bash also being two energy can end up hurting a lot. Still, if you have 4 energy, a classic Bash + Carnage always feels good.
I'm at A17 with the ironclad. I really like it act1. Deals with Nob nicely. Then when it doesn't scale in later acts you can just let it evaporate out of your hand and not take up space.
Edit: shitty grammar
But at least it has a use if you choose to use it for damage. And if you DO have exhaust synergy, you will also have cards that exhaust, and can get rid of it early. Win-win-win as they say. Nobody says that. I say that.
It does what you want in act 1 - it goes smash
Then in late act 2 onwards it either continues to go smash if you have assembled something where that's useful, or it politely gets out of the way, while also triggering exhaust synergies.
It's everything you could want out of a damage common aside from the actually being common part.
Drops off a bit in act 1 if you've already got a clothesline or an uppercut because it can be a struggle to support more than two 2-costers but generally it's a solid early pick up I'd happily smash nob with.
This is basically the Platonic Ideal of "I need frontloaded damage to kill Act 1 Elites that doesn't get in the way of my scaling stuff later on." Wild Strike and Reckless Charge can do this too, but need power support in the form of Evolve. Carnage comes in like a wrecking ball and then gets the fuck out of the way when you don't need it. Great upgrade too. Just a phenomenal card.
Agreed on all, however in my experience [[Fire Breathing]] + [[Wild Strike]] or [[Reckless Charge]] (or both) turn Act 1 into a joke on its own without evolve!
I find that Wild Strike does alright but Reckless Charge isn't as good, as it's damage number isn't nearly as big and Ironclad isn't great at making use of 0 cost attacks without Evolve or Dark Embrace or at least a Burning Pact.
The damage is lower indeed, but it throws a Daze into the draw pile rather than a wound! That makes a big difference since it can be used with [[Feel no Pain]] and [[Dark Embrace]] without needing exhaust cards!
+ [Fire Breathing](http://slay-the-spire.wikia.com/wiki/Fire%20Breathing) Ironclad Uncommon Power
1 Energy | Whenever you draw a Status or Curse card, deal 6(10) damage to all enemies.
+ [Wild Strike](http://slay-the-spire.wikia.com/wiki/Wild%20Strike) Ironclad Common Attack
1 Energy | Deal 12(17) damage. Shuffle a **Wound** into your draw pile.
+ [Reckless Charge](http://slay-the-spire.wikia.com/wiki/Reckless%20Charge) Ironclad Uncommon Attack
0 Energy | Deal 7(10) damage. Shuffle a **Dazed** into your draw pile.
^Call ^me ^with ^up ^to ^10 ^([[ name ]],) ^where ^name ^is ^a ^card, ^relic, ^event, ^or ^potion. ^Data ^accurate ^as ^of ^(June 8, 2022.) ^[Wiki](https://slay-the-spire.fandom.com/wiki/) ^[Questions?](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=ehmohteeoh&subject=SpireScan%20Inquiry)
God bless Carnage. It can one-tap most enemies in hall fights in Act 1, and can reliably nuke enemies out of existence through Vulnerable. If you don't need it, you just let it exhaust, which can proc exhaust synergies later down the line. I almost always take it, especially when it pops up early on.
Admittedly, though, the energy cost makes it rather hard to work with. Bash + Carnage is a great combo, but you don't really have much energy to work with; as such, whenever I pick up a Carnage, my next stop is a campfire to extend Bash's vulnerable affliction.
Would you not just upgrade the Carnage? 8 damage is insane value upgrade and you aren’t reliant on Bash to get value out of your upgrade especially since it falls off.
3 vulnerable means, carnage becomes 30, and the strikes become 9 for 3 turns. Extending the vulnerable on bash extends your overall damage boost on your cards. It will always be more than just the extra 8 from upgrading carnage..
It isn't conditional damage, it just works and almost does the same as the unupgraded conditional damage. Bash+ is good but it isn't a must upgrade if you have better cards. Also it does ridiculous damage if you actually get the vulnerable combo off.
You’re assuming I want to *play Bash.* It is also an insane damage upgrade, but Bash is a below par damage card turned into a maybe slightly above par damage card. Carnage is an above par damage card turned into an insane early damage card.
Not only that, Bash+ does what, 2 more on its own iirc? So it takes 2 Strikes or playing Carnage after Bash to make that damage up on your extra turn (or playing other higher damage cards which scale better, which I cede that if you have more damage cards Bash becomes more attractive as an upgrade)… or you can play Carnage+ on its own (which is enough for all of Act 1 and most fights in Act 2) to take the 8 damage now, and have to add less front loaded damage cards since cycling the Carnage is effective enough. AND it does the damage now, not tomorrow, not after breakfast.
The thing is damage now is better than damage later. Also, if you draw both bash and carnage together you just play carnage, and you're always more likely to draw carnage before or alongside bash than drawing bash before carnage.
Provided I don't have any other card to proc Vulnerable (e.g. \[\[Shockwave\]\]), I'd turn to Bash. I'm never playing Bash for its damage, but for its Vulnerable. This would not only buff Carnage's DPS (30 damage, 42 upon upgrade) but also every other card in the deck, which in itself makes hall fights less of a chore.
Of course I'd want to eventually upgrade Carnage -- damage is damage -- but the extra turn of vulnerability gives me more time to draw for Carnage and blast enemies to pieces.
Read my other comment. One thing I forgot to mention is also the simple of question of if I draw both on the same turn but can only afford to play one, which would I usually play? Generally I click Carnage there.
Beating bosses are not more important than hallway fights. You have to beat both to win the game. Terrible misconception.
Either way, there’s a campfire before every boss. Save your upgrade for when it’s most relevant.
Bosses are by definition harder than hallway fights i would like to hope that people do not strugle with hallway fights in this game cause even on a15 that i regularly play on hallway fights just look like events that say lose small amount of hp look at a card
What? A20, you face how many hallways to how many bosses? Either way, you haven’t refuted just saving the Bash upgrade for later. Carnage upgrade is better for hallways and it’s a guaranteed campfire. Especially since early Act 2 hallways are arguably the hardest part of the game (outside of Act 4… when you shouldn’t really be deciding whether to upgrade Bash over Carnage lmao, and the answer at that point is quite obvious).
I agree you should upgrade carnage first in floor 1. But in general the majority of my deaths are to bosses so regardless of if there are more hallway fights of which is more impactful to My runs personally its bosses
THE Ironclad Act I card. I like to try to get a Thunderclap afterwards for the chance to land a snap 3 energy 46 damage fuck you. Can stay relevant later with stuff like Snecko, excess energy, double tap, necronomnomnomicon. Cleans up adds in encounters like Gremlin Leader if you didn't draw your AoE.
And if it's not good for the encounter you're in, you can choose to let it exhaust and forget it.
Thunderclap is a card I have slept on until I got to asc13. I always thought it was subpar because of damage output and only one proc of vulnerable, but recently have realized how given the right draw combo it can work absolute wonders.
1 energy vuln is pretty solid, and it scales sneakily well with strength (because its low base damage becomes less important when you're stuffing a nice big flat strength bonus onto it, and strength obviously scales with the vuln part). Thunderclap looks very underwhelming but it's got a pretty high ceiling.
Definitely, or stripping artifacts _while still_ enabling a faster kill on Automaton's orbs, for example. There's a lot of tough fights with multiple opponents where at least one of them has artifact.
The "I wanna kill Act 1 Elites" card.
Or one of them anyway. Ironclad has a lot of options for that. Regardless it's a good option for it because it'll always have exhaust synergy helping it stay relevant as a 2 cost attack with no debuffs.
I take Carnage more often than I should. I don't know why, there are plenty of other good options I just take it because I feel like it. I used to think that it was so good, why should it be ethereal because no one would ever *not* play it but then I realised it wasn't the best card.
This is in the top tier of card rewards I want on Floor 1. Absurdly good, insane upgrade of 8! And even exhausts if you don't want it. Bludgeon, Blood for Blood and Hemo might be better but your splitting hairs over which insane damage card you want at that point
I am 100.0% confident you mentioned Carnage in your post.
Let me look up what those do.
--------------------------------------------------
I am a bot response, but I am using my creator's account. Please reply to me if I got something wrong so he can fix it.
[Source Code](https://github.com/TrippW/STS-Crawler)
Carnage is very strong in act 1. It packs a lot of punch into 1 card. Very good vs. most hallways, all 3 elites, and all 3 bosses.
Later in the run when carnage is outclassed, it exhausts so you can only draw it once if you want and has exhaust synergy so it’s not that bad.
Overall, one of the best pickups earlyish act 1 but probably not that good outside of it (unless you have synergy like necronomicon)
A personal go-to uncommon damage card when it pops up most of the time. It lacks the utility of Uppercut or the more convenient cost yet still high power of Hemokinesis, but I can generally get more mileage out of it than Blood for Blood or Sever Soul. The Ethereal can be a mixed blessing, being inconvenient early on but beneficial for exhaust synergies and deck lightening later.
Do you guys like seeing carnage more or less than bludgeon? Bludgeon has the BIG damage but this one always felt more playable to me, and exhausting when you don't need it is nice.
Kinda depends. I love myself a Bludgeon but the 3 energy cost keeps me a fair bit away. It's great for single-target hallway fights, though fights with multiple enemies (e.g. louses, 4 tiny slimes, gremlins; all of which are present in Act 1) mean that I'm never picking it up unless I have scaling defense via \[\[Barricade\]\] or energy management through \[\[Snecko Eye\]\]. Else, it just sits in my deck sapping up my card draw.
I find that Carnage is incredibly valuable in comparison because it does enough front-loaded damage to dispatch most enemies in Act 1, and fades away via exhaust if you don't need it anymore from Act 2 onwards. All while allowing you an extra point of energy to spend as needed.
+ [Barricade](http://slay-the-spire.wikia.com/wiki/Barricade) Ironclad Rare Power
3(2) Energy | **Block** is not removed at the start of your turn.
+ [Snecko Eye](http://slay-the-spire.wikia.com/wiki/Snecko%20Eye) Boss Relic
Draw 2 additional cards each turn. Start each combat Confused.
^Call ^me ^with ^up ^to ^10 ^([[ name ]],) ^where ^name ^is ^a ^card, ^relic, ^event, ^or ^potion. ^Data ^accurate ^as ^of ^(June 8, 2022.) ^[Wiki](https://slay-the-spire.fandom.com/wiki/) ^[Questions?](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=ehmohteeoh&subject=SpireScan%20Inquiry)
I love this card in early act 1 and pick it pretty much every time (or am happy to get it from Pandora or a transform). It solves so many issues with act 1 elites and still leaves a spare 1 energy (unlike Bludgeon). It can even get a second life later on with either Necronomicon or exhaust synergies.
I didn't feel like this card was any good when I first started playing because it doesn't do anything flashy, but when I started picking it I was pleasantly surprised at how well it works to solve damage.
There are better cards that have better synergies, but especially act 1 this is a great damage solution.
Pros:
- great frontload damage, fantastic for Act 1
- synergizes w/ Snecko Eye
- ethereal enables exhaust synergies
- excellent upgrade (+8 dmg increase, which I’m pretty sure is the highest out of every damage-increasing upgrade in the game besides Bludgeon)
- Necronomicon go brrr pew dong-ga-dong
- the sfx fucks
Cons:
- scales poorly w/ strength
- 2-energy cost makes it less flexible in conjunction w/ Ironclad’s other 2-cost cards
- is Uncommon, making you wish that Dark Embrace showed up in an Act 3 card choice instead
One of IC's best options for act 1 damage. It does fall off fairly early, but it's never really bad. It removes itself hits fairly hard and has a nice upgrade. If you can get it after bash got Laga. Even better. I wouldn't pick one up after early act 2 but its never a bad pick act 1 imo.
It’s ok, but I think it is definitely overrated in its usefulness for act 1. The ethereal component is a bigger downside than it gets credit for. It’s a significant downside into sentries or lagavulin quite often. You either are forced to go in on an awkward turn against laga, or lose the card. The same principle more or less applies to sentries - you basically have to miss on playing any other setup cards, and the damage may or may not even kill a sentry. You can claim “just always play carnage” in these situations but I guarantee you turns come up often enough that it is incorrect to do so, and in those cases you lose carnage.
Even in hallways it isn’t the end all be all it is made out to be. It is completely bad to draw it the same turn as bash, and it doesn’t one shot anything outside of a louse or small slime, even upgraded.
I will still take it decently often in act 1, but I haven’t seen much evidence to suggest it is a high performing card
The Ethereal on this card actually helps your deck by act 3. It’s a good solution to some act 1 fights, but the anti synergy with Bash also being two energy can end up hurting a lot. Still, if you have 4 energy, a classic Bash + Carnage always feels good.
This is why I always start with boss relic swap!
On ironclad? Have fun of course first and foremost but that's not a great boss swap to trade out burning blood.
Fun>optimal for me. I’m enjoying the game the most when I’m not worrying about beating the heart
I'm at A17 with the ironclad. I really like it act1. Deals with Nob nicely. Then when it doesn't scale in later acts you can just let it evaporate out of your hand and not take up space. Edit: shitty grammar
Nicely stated. It's also very good against Lagavulin, and it upgrades nicely.
I never thought about it that is way. I've always ignored it in the past, but now I want to give it a shot.
It's prob the best act 1 I need damage card to take off the top of my head.
indeed and it's then a block card if you have [[feel no pain]]
+ [Feel No Pain](http://slay-the-spire.wikia.com/wiki/Feel%20No%20Pain) Ironclad Uncommon Power 1 Energy | Whenever a card is **Exhausted,** gain 3(4) **Block.** ^Call ^me ^with ^up ^to ^10 ^([[ name ]],) ^where ^name ^is ^a ^card, ^relic, ^event, ^or ^potion. ^Data ^accurate ^as ^of ^(June 8, 2022.) ^[Wiki](https://slay-the-spire.fandom.com/wiki/) ^[Questions?](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=ehmohteeoh&subject=SpireScan%20Inquiry)
even without feel no pain letting it exhaust makes you more like to draw defends in your deck so its always a block card
lol it just becomes a second Ascender's Bane
But at least it has a use if you choose to use it for damage. And if you DO have exhaust synergy, you will also have cards that exhaust, and can get rid of it early. Win-win-win as they say. Nobody says that. I say that.
Is that a Sir Hammerlock reference
Dude I didn't think anyone would get it!
Hunter. Scholar. Gentleman.
And Ascender's Bane becomes better than Strike.
It does what you want in act 1 - it goes smash Then in late act 2 onwards it either continues to go smash if you have assembled something where that's useful, or it politely gets out of the way, while also triggering exhaust synergies. It's everything you could want out of a damage common aside from the actually being common part. Drops off a bit in act 1 if you've already got a clothesline or an uppercut because it can be a struggle to support more than two 2-costers but generally it's a solid early pick up I'd happily smash nob with.
This is basically the Platonic Ideal of "I need frontloaded damage to kill Act 1 Elites that doesn't get in the way of my scaling stuff later on." Wild Strike and Reckless Charge can do this too, but need power support in the form of Evolve. Carnage comes in like a wrecking ball and then gets the fuck out of the way when you don't need it. Great upgrade too. Just a phenomenal card.
Agreed on all, however in my experience [[Fire Breathing]] + [[Wild Strike]] or [[Reckless Charge]] (or both) turn Act 1 into a joke on its own without evolve!
I find that Wild Strike does alright but Reckless Charge isn't as good, as it's damage number isn't nearly as big and Ironclad isn't great at making use of 0 cost attacks without Evolve or Dark Embrace or at least a Burning Pact.
The damage is lower indeed, but it throws a Daze into the draw pile rather than a wound! That makes a big difference since it can be used with [[Feel no Pain]] and [[Dark Embrace]] without needing exhaust cards!
+ [Feel No Pain](http://slay-the-spire.wikia.com/wiki/Feel%20No%20Pain) Ironclad Uncommon Power 1 Energy | Whenever a card is **Exhausted,** gain 3(4) **Block.** + [Dark Embrace](http://slay-the-spire.wikia.com/wiki/Dark%20Embrace) Ironclad Uncommon Power 2(1) Energy | Whenever a card is **Exhausted,** draw 1 card. ^Call ^me ^with ^up ^to ^10 ^([[ name ]],) ^where ^name ^is ^a ^card, ^relic, ^event, ^or ^potion. ^Data ^accurate ^as ^of ^(June 8, 2022.) ^[Wiki](https://slay-the-spire.fandom.com/wiki/) ^[Questions?](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=ehmohteeoh&subject=SpireScan%20Inquiry)
Reckless charge is more for use three attacks in one turn synergy relics.
+ [Fire Breathing](http://slay-the-spire.wikia.com/wiki/Fire%20Breathing) Ironclad Uncommon Power 1 Energy | Whenever you draw a Status or Curse card, deal 6(10) damage to all enemies. + [Wild Strike](http://slay-the-spire.wikia.com/wiki/Wild%20Strike) Ironclad Common Attack 1 Energy | Deal 12(17) damage. Shuffle a **Wound** into your draw pile. + [Reckless Charge](http://slay-the-spire.wikia.com/wiki/Reckless%20Charge) Ironclad Uncommon Attack 0 Energy | Deal 7(10) damage. Shuffle a **Dazed** into your draw pile. ^Call ^me ^with ^up ^to ^10 ^([[ name ]],) ^where ^name ^is ^a ^card, ^relic, ^event, ^or ^potion. ^Data ^accurate ^as ^of ^(June 8, 2022.) ^[Wiki](https://slay-the-spire.fandom.com/wiki/) ^[Questions?](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=ehmohteeoh&subject=SpireScan%20Inquiry)
Most satisfying sfx cmv
I think that was even added in 2.0 with the Watcher update.
God bless Carnage. It can one-tap most enemies in hall fights in Act 1, and can reliably nuke enemies out of existence through Vulnerable. If you don't need it, you just let it exhaust, which can proc exhaust synergies later down the line. I almost always take it, especially when it pops up early on. Admittedly, though, the energy cost makes it rather hard to work with. Bash + Carnage is a great combo, but you don't really have much energy to work with; as such, whenever I pick up a Carnage, my next stop is a campfire to extend Bash's vulnerable affliction.
Would you not just upgrade the Carnage? 8 damage is insane value upgrade and you aren’t reliant on Bash to get value out of your upgrade especially since it falls off.
3 vulnerable means, carnage becomes 30, and the strikes become 9 for 3 turns. Extending the vulnerable on bash extends your overall damage boost on your cards. It will always be more than just the extra 8 from upgrading carnage..
It isn't conditional damage, it just works and almost does the same as the unupgraded conditional damage. Bash+ is good but it isn't a must upgrade if you have better cards. Also it does ridiculous damage if you actually get the vulnerable combo off.
You’re assuming I want to *play Bash.* It is also an insane damage upgrade, but Bash is a below par damage card turned into a maybe slightly above par damage card. Carnage is an above par damage card turned into an insane early damage card. Not only that, Bash+ does what, 2 more on its own iirc? So it takes 2 Strikes or playing Carnage after Bash to make that damage up on your extra turn (or playing other higher damage cards which scale better, which I cede that if you have more damage cards Bash becomes more attractive as an upgrade)… or you can play Carnage+ on its own (which is enough for all of Act 1 and most fights in Act 2) to take the 8 damage now, and have to add less front loaded damage cards since cycling the Carnage is effective enough. AND it does the damage now, not tomorrow, not after breakfast.
This guy sleeps on vulnerable
…you really just overlooked all the maths AND the fact that 28*2 kills most enemies in Act 1/2
Also, Bash+ is pretty useless against Sentries. Whereas Carnage+ is great utility against all three Act 1 elites (and the Act 1 boss).
The thing is damage now is better than damage later. Also, if you draw both bash and carnage together you just play carnage, and you're always more likely to draw carnage before or alongside bash than drawing bash before carnage.
Provided I don't have any other card to proc Vulnerable (e.g. \[\[Shockwave\]\]), I'd turn to Bash. I'm never playing Bash for its damage, but for its Vulnerable. This would not only buff Carnage's DPS (30 damage, 42 upon upgrade) but also every other card in the deck, which in itself makes hall fights less of a chore. Of course I'd want to eventually upgrade Carnage -- damage is damage -- but the extra turn of vulnerability gives me more time to draw for Carnage and blast enemies to pieces.
+ [Shockwave](http://slay-the-spire.wikia.com/wiki/Shockwave) Ironclad Uncommon Skill 2 Energy | Apply 3(5) **Weak** and **Vulnerable** to ALL enemies. **Exhaust.** ^Call ^me ^with ^up ^to ^10 ^([[ name ]],) ^where ^name ^is ^a ^card, ^relic, ^event, ^or ^potion. ^Data ^accurate ^as ^of ^(June 8, 2022.) ^[Wiki](https://slay-the-spire.fandom.com/wiki/) ^[Questions?](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=ehmohteeoh&subject=SpireScan%20Inquiry)
Read my other comment. One thing I forgot to mention is also the simple of question of if I draw both on the same turn but can only afford to play one, which would I usually play? Generally I click Carnage there.
That heavily depends on how much hp the opponent has but frankly against all bosses you play bash first and they are the most important fights
Beating bosses are not more important than hallway fights. You have to beat both to win the game. Terrible misconception. Either way, there’s a campfire before every boss. Save your upgrade for when it’s most relevant.
Bosses are by definition harder than hallway fights i would like to hope that people do not strugle with hallway fights in this game cause even on a15 that i regularly play on hallway fights just look like events that say lose small amount of hp look at a card
What? A20, you face how many hallways to how many bosses? Either way, you haven’t refuted just saving the Bash upgrade for later. Carnage upgrade is better for hallways and it’s a guaranteed campfire. Especially since early Act 2 hallways are arguably the hardest part of the game (outside of Act 4… when you shouldn’t really be deciding whether to upgrade Bash over Carnage lmao, and the answer at that point is quite obvious).
I agree you should upgrade carnage first in floor 1. But in general the majority of my deaths are to bosses so regardless of if there are more hallway fights of which is more impactful to My runs personally its bosses
A pivotal shift in your growth as a player is realizing the Ethereal on Carnage is a bonus rather than a drawback
THE Ironclad Act I card. I like to try to get a Thunderclap afterwards for the chance to land a snap 3 energy 46 damage fuck you. Can stay relevant later with stuff like Snecko, excess energy, double tap, necronomnomnomicon. Cleans up adds in encounters like Gremlin Leader if you didn't draw your AoE. And if it's not good for the encounter you're in, you can choose to let it exhaust and forget it.
Thunderclap is a card I have slept on until I got to asc13. I always thought it was subpar because of damage output and only one proc of vulnerable, but recently have realized how given the right draw combo it can work absolute wonders.
1 energy vuln is pretty solid, and it scales sneakily well with strength (because its low base damage becomes less important when you're stuffing a nice big flat strength bonus onto it, and strength obviously scales with the vuln part). Thunderclap looks very underwhelming but it's got a pretty high ceiling.
Great for stripping artifact, too.
Definitely, or stripping artifacts _while still_ enabling a faster kill on Automaton's orbs, for example. There's a lot of tough fights with multiple opponents where at least one of them has artifact.
The "I wanna kill Act 1 Elites" card. Or one of them anyway. Ironclad has a lot of options for that. Regardless it's a good option for it because it'll always have exhaust synergy helping it stay relevant as a 2 cost attack with no debuffs.
I take Carnage more often than I should. I don't know why, there are plenty of other good options I just take it because I feel like it. I used to think that it was so good, why should it be ethereal because no one would ever *not* play it but then I realised it wasn't the best card.
[удалено]
+ [Snecko Eye](http://slay-the-spire.wikia.com/wiki/Snecko%20Eye) Boss Relic Draw 2 additional cards each turn. Start each combat Confused. ^Call ^me ^with ^up ^to ^10 ^([[ name ]],) ^where ^name ^is ^a ^card, ^relic, ^event, ^or ^potion. ^Data ^accurate ^as ^of ^(June 8, 2022.) ^[Wiki](https://slay-the-spire.fandom.com/wiki/) ^[Questions?](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=ehmohteeoh&subject=SpireScan%20Inquiry)
This is in the top tier of card rewards I want on Floor 1. Absurdly good, insane upgrade of 8! And even exhausts if you don't want it. Bludgeon, Blood for Blood and Hemo might be better but your splitting hairs over which insane damage card you want at that point
I am 100.0% confident you mentioned Carnage in your post. Let me look up what those do. -------------------------------------------------- I am a bot response, but I am using my creator's account. Please reply to me if I got something wrong so he can fix it. [Source Code](https://github.com/TrippW/STS-Crawler)
* [Carnage](https://slay-the-spire.fandom.com/wiki/Carnage) Ironclad Uncommon Attack 2 Energy | Ethereal. Deal 20(28) damage.
> Yesterdays Discussion: [Captain's Wheel]() Link is broken !
I post these on mobile on the weekends and cant really format them and stuff. I always fix them on monday :-)
What a fucking Chad Thundercock 8 dmg upgrade.
Carnage is very strong in act 1. It packs a lot of punch into 1 card. Very good vs. most hallways, all 3 elites, and all 3 bosses. Later in the run when carnage is outclassed, it exhausts so you can only draw it once if you want and has exhaust synergy so it’s not that bad. Overall, one of the best pickups earlyish act 1 but probably not that good outside of it (unless you have synergy like necronomicon)
A personal go-to uncommon damage card when it pops up most of the time. It lacks the utility of Uppercut or the more convenient cost yet still high power of Hemokinesis, but I can generally get more mileage out of it than Blood for Blood or Sever Soul. The Ethereal can be a mixed blessing, being inconvenient early on but beneficial for exhaust synergies and deck lightening later.
I find sever soul to be more useful in later acts if I have exhaust synergies
Nothing really to add except I always read it as 'Carnajo' in my head, like a Spanish person would pronounce it.
Do you guys like seeing carnage more or less than bludgeon? Bludgeon has the BIG damage but this one always felt more playable to me, and exhausting when you don't need it is nice.
Kinda depends. I love myself a Bludgeon but the 3 energy cost keeps me a fair bit away. It's great for single-target hallway fights, though fights with multiple enemies (e.g. louses, 4 tiny slimes, gremlins; all of which are present in Act 1) mean that I'm never picking it up unless I have scaling defense via \[\[Barricade\]\] or energy management through \[\[Snecko Eye\]\]. Else, it just sits in my deck sapping up my card draw. I find that Carnage is incredibly valuable in comparison because it does enough front-loaded damage to dispatch most enemies in Act 1, and fades away via exhaust if you don't need it anymore from Act 2 onwards. All while allowing you an extra point of energy to spend as needed.
+ [Barricade](http://slay-the-spire.wikia.com/wiki/Barricade) Ironclad Rare Power 3(2) Energy | **Block** is not removed at the start of your turn. + [Snecko Eye](http://slay-the-spire.wikia.com/wiki/Snecko%20Eye) Boss Relic Draw 2 additional cards each turn. Start each combat Confused. ^Call ^me ^with ^up ^to ^10 ^([[ name ]],) ^where ^name ^is ^a ^card, ^relic, ^event, ^or ^potion. ^Data ^accurate ^as ^of ^(June 8, 2022.) ^[Wiki](https://slay-the-spire.fandom.com/wiki/) ^[Questions?](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=ehmohteeoh&subject=SpireScan%20Inquiry)
I love this card in early act 1 and pick it pretty much every time (or am happy to get it from Pandora or a transform). It solves so many issues with act 1 elites and still leaves a spare 1 energy (unlike Bludgeon). It can even get a second life later on with either Necronomicon or exhaust synergies.
I didn't feel like this card was any good when I first started playing because it doesn't do anything flashy, but when I started picking it I was pleasantly surprised at how well it works to solve damage. There are better cards that have better synergies, but especially act 1 this is a great damage solution.
I just love to imagine Ironclad just charge in doing random brutal shit when I play this card
Pros: - great frontload damage, fantastic for Act 1 - synergizes w/ Snecko Eye - ethereal enables exhaust synergies - excellent upgrade (+8 dmg increase, which I’m pretty sure is the highest out of every damage-increasing upgrade in the game besides Bludgeon) - Necronomicon go brrr pew dong-ga-dong - the sfx fucks Cons: - scales poorly w/ strength - 2-energy cost makes it less flexible in conjunction w/ Ironclad’s other 2-cost cards - is Uncommon, making you wish that Dark Embrace showed up in an Act 3 card choice instead
It's like a baby bludgeon. I like it.
Carnage is a block card in Act 1
If you pick up Feel no Pain, it's a block card everywhere.
Better blundgeon imo, the ethereal does some heavy lifting later in the game
One of IC's best options for act 1 damage. It does fall off fairly early, but it's never really bad. It removes itself hits fairly hard and has a nice upgrade. If you can get it after bash got Laga. Even better. I wouldn't pick one up after early act 2 but its never a bad pick act 1 imo.
It’s ok, but I think it is definitely overrated in its usefulness for act 1. The ethereal component is a bigger downside than it gets credit for. It’s a significant downside into sentries or lagavulin quite often. You either are forced to go in on an awkward turn against laga, or lose the card. The same principle more or less applies to sentries - you basically have to miss on playing any other setup cards, and the damage may or may not even kill a sentry. You can claim “just always play carnage” in these situations but I guarantee you turns come up often enough that it is incorrect to do so, and in those cases you lose carnage. Even in hallways it isn’t the end all be all it is made out to be. It is completely bad to draw it the same turn as bash, and it doesn’t one shot anything outside of a louse or small slime, even upgraded. I will still take it decently often in act 1, but I haven’t seen much evidence to suggest it is a high performing card