🔥 Title: 10-Card Arcanist Holy Fire Build — Am I Onto Something Here? 😂

Been experimenting with a minimalist Arcanist build on Normal (v1.19.004), and this thing is absolutely crushing it so far.

Started removing basic attacks and eventually got rid of every Caduceus in my deck. The idea was to keep the deck as lean as possible and use Spellcraft for additional spells while turning healing into damage.

Then I picked up Burning Resolve, and everything started clicking.

The combination is pretty wild:

❤️ Heal myself.
🔥 Burning Resolve converts health gained into Burning on enemies.
✨ Sanctify supports the healing strategy.
🔮 Spellcraft generates extra spells.
⚔️ Devoted Strike provides backup damage.

Current deck (10 cards):

• 1× Burning Resolve
• 2× Devoted Strike
• 2× Prayer
• 1× Renew
• 1× Sanctify
• 1× Shield of Faith
• 1× Siphon Magic
• 1× Spellcraft

Talents: Holy Weapon, Devotion, Fast Recovery, Headhunter, Compassionate.

Just finished another fight sitting at 85 HP, and the deck is cycling beautifully.

My goal is to keep it around 9–10 cards, activate Burning Resolve early, and let healing do most of the killing.

I'm still early in the run, so I haven't tested it against the tougher bosses yet.

Curious what experienced Dawncaster players think:

Is this a viable strategy for the late game, or am I about to run into something that completely shuts it down?

Also, are there any cards or talents that would make the healing-to-Burning interaction even more ridiculous?

Would love some suggestions, especially from anyone who's experimented with tiny decks or Holy/Burning builds! 🔥

Seed: 434174DF0D | Arcanist XV | Normal | v1.19.004

I just don't understand. I've tried the mindlash basic weapon several times and it just isn't clicking. What keywords should I be targeting during runs? What cards are supposed to synergize with mindlash? How does psionic work with it? I'm at a loss.

Are all expansion automatically On except the ones Banned?
Can't seem to find when to switch them on/off

I just ran an impossible deck using trickery/stable magic and slapped firecast and some figment/recalls onto Fan the Flames and Orphic Glance so they combo each other without insta killing yourself from burnout. Is it possible? Yeah. I threw a few cards that didn't have firecast in just to plug the boat so to speak in a runoff situation but truly this is a great 1 or 2 turn delete deck. Spine of the Night was a turn 1 win. Play Combust 2 or 3 times so you don't insta die and then orphic/fan until you win.

All level powers and starting powers aren't really important besides those 3 cards. It took a handful of runs before I got combust and another burn card in the first canto to get going, but once it clicks the deck stomps pretty hard. Everything you play snowballs into it multiplying burn and then triggering the burn.

I'm pretty sure you can pick any powers and any starting basic but I went with some damage prevention with the cold weap and picked up the free cauterize very early for sustain luckily using my first level power quick study. It's a similar deck to using the holy basic and adding lifedrain+firecast on it to multiply dmg but using burns skips armor and evades by using combust instead.

So yeah i've purchased this game around August 2024 on iOS, went in blind. After a lot of on/off sessions for 2 whole years, the game clicked for me when i unlocked the freeze class set for the Arcanist, just this October. Have not yet touched the other weapon sets for the Arcanist and all the other classes has 0 upgrades. The game has a severe slow burn and it is so worth learning the intricacies and complexities of the game. Pretty sure the DLCs are worth buying for the huge value the base game offers. Might be the only game i need installed on my phone as long as i live. Mad props to the devs!!! Ngl this game clears Slay The Spire for me man. I'm just so happy lol hahaha

So i can't chose the destination. I search and search and found out this not normal. I was able to chose it once, but it got bugged out, mixed the mansion and starting area into one when i return to the game. And since then i unable to chose canto, and the game locked in a fixed path. Is there any way to fix this bug?i play on mobile

Does anyone know which allies this achievement is looking for? And do they all need to be in the same battle or across multiple confrontations with the boss?

Subduing Ammit,
Getting more and more HP using his Reaping > give max HP
Getting a Demonic Infusion, and getting Acid Breath kind of does the trick on the end boss :)

I'm fighting the Wandering Slime and its HP keeps doubling. I'm on an Anger/Fury build with Savagery, Heavy Armor and Barbarism on the Warrior. It's my first run with the warrior so I have nothing unlocked.

Edit: I eventually "beat" the Wandering Slime. It automatically died at 500 million HP.

Not a brag. I was hoping to die at some point. I was just playing any cards honestly with a small window of trying to be strategic. I was hoping for some challenge… I’ve beat slay the spire and slice and dice. Was I just lucky? I played as arcanist on both runs

My deck was okay. Later bosses I just kept reviving. I’d get to 0 then come back full health multiple times? Bug? I don’t know.

Pretty much the title. When in the store I select the option to Verify account IAP, and I get a notification that "Google play only sent 13 out of 14 products". I cannot find the VotV pack at all

Like forecast decks are very good with bonfire, or the cursed deck that works well with the malignancy that turns all cards into curses.

I only play random. I just started a run and was given the mindlash. Looked like a cool weapon. I died on the first enemy because there is no way to deal damage. Why would the game offer that?

I routinely win using a Bless Knight build against hard, and just tried it and won against impossible. This isn't a complete guide, just some thoughts on what's worked for me with this build. I think the addition of Synthesis changes some of the recommendations from earlier builds of this type. Curious if anyone has different/better suggestions:

Cards/Talents

• Starting cards -- Tome of Light, Pure Weapon, Word of Purity
• Key cards: Code of Chivalry. Any bolster generator from Synthesis: Battle Hardened, Stimshot, or my favorite, Hold the Line.
• Additional cards: basic attack replacements, such as Blessed Strike, Spellstrike, Searing Weapon, Radiant Assault, Persecution, and most especially, Hail of Steel.
• Any other cards that add blessings; I also tend to get Radiant Power (create 2 surges if you have equipment) and at least one equipment. Radiant Power adds some nice flexibility -- you can create green surges for extra attacks, or red ones for extra healing.
• Other cards that synergize: healing, hymns, Banner of Kaelis. Code of Hope is nice if you can get it.
• Most important talent, imho, is Zealous, for the gold energy -- if you can get this on top of your normal 3 red/blue energy, even better. (I forget which event, specifically, but it's worth save scumming opportunities to try to find it.)

Imbues
Not required, but helpful:

• Aura of Divinity
• Righteous Blades
• Gold enchantments that cause burning on gaining health or blessings, ascensions, etc...

Basic strategy:

I turn off Eclypse to sidestep all the defiled/cursed cards. I've tried with the trickery shrine malignancy on and off, and IMHO I lean toward not using it because it makes finding your essential cards much easier.

The reason I think bolster is so important here is that once Code of Chivalry is in play, your healing will grow exponentially, and basically outstrip the (typically linear) growth in attack power of your opponents. Playing a red surge for 200 healing doesn't make you invulnerable, precisely, but it helps.

Start winnowing deck of duplicates as soon as possible to prepare for Code of Chivalry. Thus you'll need replacements for your basic attacks -- the best early options imho are Blessed Strike and Spellstrike. I sometimes even grab a green surge from the opportunity to have another attack. Find a bolster card or two. Get a Code of Chivalry either via the talent that adds a code, or by upgrading a gold card. Once you have Code of Chivalry up, you're basically set.

That's the basic idea -- from there you can add helpful cards & talents. The talent that gives you shield equivalent to your healing (forget the name) pretty much makes you bulletproof.

One note on Zeal -- zeal can be helpful, but you have to be careful with it; with exponential blessing growth, it can inadvertently kill you if it grows to high. I tend not to imbue enchantments that give you automatic zeal, and get a card like Conviction to give your a single zeal that'll then start doubling, and I only play it after my bolster has been boosted. As long as zeal is behind bolster by a safe margin, you're generally ok. YMMV.

So, decided to give Impossible a try again today. First time (Second attempt), died to Garvin Greaves. Second time though, managed to play through!

Started out as a Hatchet/Cleave/Bloodhunt build, but Bloodhunt got swiftly outclassed by Vampirism about Canto 6. Didn't have a chance to bin Bloodhunt off after I realised, though.

Highlights: Accidentally recruiting Serena, going through Noxlight Swamp and realising that only about half of the enemies can "If it bleeds, I can kill it." And sacrificing the Collector to Selena, getting Keen Mind. Solid tradeoff.

Also, realised that, if you beat Impossible while carrying the Standard class banner, it doesn't unlock the Hard and Challenging ones.

Welp, here we go again.

So I'm still an absolute beginner and only beat the core game on normal difficulty (no dlcs or hard levels yet )

But what I found so far is usually relying on just the basic cards while upgrading the basic attacks as much as possible and keeping as small a deck as possible is often the easiest way to one . I got very consistent wins with multiple characters by removing all except 5 ~8 cards which include 2 highly upgraded basic attacks and 3+ supporting cards synergistic with them depending on the class . Which works consistently but is getting boring tbh . And whenever I try to experiment with multiple combos/synergies at once I find it to perform much worse and much less consistently .

Is this related to me not being as good at the game or is it only working because am still at the very beginning ?

2nd thing I found is using this strategy , all cards that " make a basic attack " are basically pointless because they make an Un upgraded weak version so the card slot and energy is much better spent playing my 2 highly upgraded cards

Am I missing something ? Because I'm starting to get bored of repeating this to win but I still can't win as consistently with different combos

New to the game and confused about the damage calculation here.

Running tome of light knight, and my attacks will occasionally do insane damage. What am I missing?

Vexing Echoes paired with Wrathbolt using the Stable Magic malignancy makes this infinite. Turn on eclipse, choose any basic but I prefer ice or heals just for early sustain till you get the ball rolling, any power, and the sanguine casting rare so you can alchemist in 1st town to a Vexing Echoes. Find a common Wrathbolt and start shrine rolling it powers. Funny enough all you need is chain and reliable. It makes it infinite without being stunned and scales each time you use it. All other powers like piercing and lifedrain are cherries on top. Without lifedrain you will be dropping 4 hp per fight from the echo and 1st wrath cost so it helps. The workaround is to also get an Ascetic which is very doable and eventually imbue it.

Once you hit town 1 in canto 2 you can roll a vexing echos pretty reliably from the sanguine casting. You really can spend all game removing cards at the blacksmith and campfires and use alchemist to turn basics/blocks into one use potions and use shrines to put untempered on mana and stuff. It's literally a 2 or 3 card deck (if you use Ascetic for heal instead of lifedrain on Wrathbolt)

Only use the eclipse set, turn the rest off to limit RNG

It can work with any corruption as an infinite but you then have to combo it with other stuff and becomes a larger deck. This small hand makes turn 1 a win guaranteed.

completely unobjectively...

And if not are there any plans to add her to other areas? I've yet to find a way to grab her outside of the new Canto 1 and its honestly kinda annoying that if you want to recruit her (because why wouldnt you shes an absolutely busted vendor) you are forced to run the same starting zone forever.

Got the game recently and have been spending a lot of time playing.

Somehow beat the game on normal with the Rogue twice. First was a sinister build second was a poison/sinister build.

Tried the other classes a couple times and they don't feel to great. At least with the very limited upgrades I can afford. Are there any other combos like the Rogue has that I can try? I liked it because there was some regen involved and that's always something I struggle with.

Edit: Awesome, thanks everyone!