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Early Access has five playable characters. This overview explains what each one asks you to manage and the order in which the roster unlocks.
| Character | Unlock | Base HP | Core mechanic |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ironclad Returning | Available at start | 80 | Strength, heavy attacks, self-damage, Exhaust |
| Silent Returning | Complete a run with Ironclad | 70 | Poison, Shivs, draw, discard, Sly cards |
| Regent New | Complete a run with Silent | 75 | Stars, Forge, Sovereign Blade, created cards |
| Necrobinder New | Complete a run with Regent | 66 | Summon, Osty, Souls, Doom, Ethereal cards |
| Defect Returning | Complete a run with Necrobinder | 75 | Lightning, Frost, Dark, Plasma, Glass Orbs, Status / Fuel |
The order is Ironclad → Silent → Regent → Necrobinder → Defect. Completing a run with the current character unlocks the next one; the run does not have to be a win. That progression introduces the two new characters before returning to the Defect's Orb system.
Returning Ironclad has the most forgiving health economy, but good runs still solve damage before they start collecting late-game scaling pieces.
Build packages: Vulnerable pressure · Exhaust–Block engine · Self-damage Strength
Open the full guide →
Returning Silent wins by turning card flow into cleaner turns. Poison and Shivs are payoffs; draw, discard, defense, and reliable front-loaded damage make them work.
Build packages: Sly discard loop · Poison with a defense shell · Shiv multi-hit
Open the full guide →
New Regent is a resource planner. A clean deck knows whether Stars, Forge, or created cards are solving the next fight instead of taking every card with the same keyword.
Build packages: Stars burst · Sovereign Blade loop · Card-creation engine
Open the full guide →
New Necrobinder plays two health bars and several delayed resources at once. The trick is deciding whether Osty is your shield, your damage engine, or something you are willing to spend.
Build packages: Osty Summon · Doom control · Soul and Ethereal
Open the full guide →
Returning Defect can win with Orbs, Status fuel, or cheap card loops. The common failure is drafting a little of every engine and never completing one resource chain.
Build packages: Mixed Orbs and Focus · Status to Fuel · Claw zero-cost recursion
Open the full guide →These are mechanical starting points, not a fixed tier list. Early Access balance changes, the cards offered during a run, and the current map matter more than forcing a preselected archetype.
These are conditional packages, not fixed tier-list promises. Open the guide when you want to know when a direction is real, what job its cards perform, and when to stop forcing it.
Use Vulnerable as an Act 1 bridge when the deck can apply it and immediately cash it in with efficient attacks. A second Vulnerable source is a signal; it is not permission to stop drafting Block, draw, or front-loaded damage.
Open decision guide → Ironclad Exhaust–Block engineExhaust is a plan when removing a card also produces Block, draw, damage, or a smaller deck that still has answers. Build the payoff side before spending the cards that keep the late fight alive.
Open decision guide → Ironclad Self-damage StrengthSelf-damage is good when it ends the relevant fight earlier or creates a decisive turn. Burning Blood softens the trade after combat; it does not protect you from the next attack or make a slow payoff safe.
Open decision guide → Silent Sly discard loopBuild the deliberate discard trigger before filling the deck with Sly payoffs. Draw first when the card order allows it, then discard a card that is safe to lose while using the free-play window to solve the current fight.
Open decision guide → Silent Poison with a defense shellTake Poison when the deck can survive long enough for the clock to matter and can find or multiply the application. Early Poison is a bridge only if the rest of the deck can handle the next hallway and Elite.
Open decision guide → Silent Shiv multi-hitA Shiv plan needs both generators and a way to make repeated low-cost attacks scale. One generator is a useful attack; it becomes a direction only when Accuracy, Phantom Blades, a relic threshold, or another payoff gives the extra attacks a job.
Open decision guide → Regent Stars burstStars are a bank, not a turn-end score. Keep them when the current hand has no good conversion; spend them when the burst turn solves a real damage, Block, or Energy problem and the Energy-plus-Stars cost is actually payable.
Open decision guide → Regent Sovereign Blade loopForge is worth the space when the setup also helps the current fight or when retrieval, retention, and protection make the Blade reliably payable. A huge Blade in a deck that cannot draw or defend its setup is not a winning plan.
Open decision guide → Regent Card-creation engineCard creation becomes an engine when the generated cards pay for their hand and Energy cost. Start with a reliable creator and a creation payoff; then check whether the next fight has room for random value without losing stable Block or damage.
Open decision guide → Necrobinder Osty SummonTreat Osty as a stateful resource. Current HP, Max HP, summon frequency, and the next enemy threat matter separately. Preserving Osty is not always correct; spending him can be the best answer when it prevents lethal or secures a valuable fight.
Open decision guide → Necrobinder Doom controlDoom is a timing tool. Strip Artifact when needed, reach the threshold with a plan for the enemy's remaining attack, and keep defending until the execution actually occurs. A doomed enemy can still be dangerous before the trigger resolves.
Open decision guide → Necrobinder Soul and EtherealStart with a Soul generator and a payoff you can actually reach during the next fight. Ethereal is valuable when the deck controls the timing of the card and has enough draw or replay to turn the delayed resource into a second useful action.
Open decision guide → Defect Mixed Orbs and FocusOrb slots help only when the deck can fill and cycle them fast enough. Keep the Orb that solves the current job, place the row deliberately, and use temporary Focus when several passives or Evokes will benefit from the same turn.
Open decision guide → Defect Status to FuelStatus becomes useful when creation has a payoff and the hand has a chosen consumer. Compact can turn Status in hand into Fuel; Flak Cannon can spend the same problem for damage. Treat them as competing decisions, not a resource you count twice.
Open decision guide → Defect Claw zero-cost recursionTreat the first Claw as an investigation signal, not a build order. Commit when Feral, All for One, Hologram, or another reliable recursion line appears early enough to make repeated zero-cost attacks solve real fights.
Open decision guide →How the Poison-to-Block effect works after the Beta v0.111.0 Exhaust and upgrade changes.
Build advice is easier to use once the timing rules are clear. The mechanics library covers resource loops and the edge cases most likely to cost a run.
Versioned answers for individual game objects.
Party size, matchmaking, local play, and crossplay status.
Current main and beta versions.