Sly & Active Discard
A discarded Sly card is not lost. It is played for free.
A Sly card is played for free when an active effect discards it from your hand before turn end. Natural end-of-turn discard and cards lost to hand overflow do not trigger Sly, Tingsha or Tough Bandages.
Read the exact rules
Rules before recommendations
How Sly & Active Discard works
Active discard means an effect such as Survivor, Prepared, Acrobatics, Calculated Gamble or Tools of the Trade chooses or discards cards from the hand. Simply reaching the end of the turn is not enough.
Prepared and Acrobatics draw first, then discard. A newly drawn Sly card can therefore become the chosen discard and play immediately.
Calculated Gamble leaves the hand as it is played, then discards the remaining hand. It does not discard itself or add itself to the redraw count.
Retain prevents natural end-turn discard but does not protect a card from active discard. Sly plays the whole Attack or Skill, so normal cards-played and card-type triggers can still see it.
The resource loop
What you are trying to convert
- 1
Add active discard that already improves the hand: Prepared, Acrobatics, Survivor or Tools of the Trade.
- 2
Draw before choosing the discard so the decision includes the new cards.
- 3
Discard a Sly card and play it for free, or discard Reflex/Tactician to gain cards or Energy.
- 4
Collect secondary rewards from Tingsha, Tough Bandages or cards-played triggers, then continue cycling.
The pieces that matter
Cards and relics that support Sly & Active Discard
Cards
PreparedDraws first, then lets you choose the best discard.
AcrobaticsAdds deep draw and a deliberate discard.
Calculated GambleTurns the remaining hand into a mass-discard and redraw turn.
ReflexA Sly draw payoff.
TacticianA Sly Energy payoff.
Flick-FlackMakes active discard produce area damage.
UntouchableMakes active discard produce Block.
Relics
TingshaTurns each active discard into damage.
Tough BandagesTurns each active discard into Block.
Gambling ChipRebuilds the opening hand and triggers valid discards.
Execution
Play tips that save real HP
- Draft active discard before increasing Sly density. Survivor alone cannot reliably carry several expensive Sly cards.
- Resolve draw-then-discard cards patiently. The best discard may be the card that just entered the hand.
- Before Calculated Gamble, play cards that must not be lost and grow the hand so the redraw is worth the action.
- Treat Tools of the Trade as one reliable free-card choice every turn and save a high-value Sly target when the hand allows it.
- Check the branch before valuing Haze. It is a Sly Poison card on Main and a different non-Sly card on Beta.
Common mistakes
- Expecting the normal end-of-turn hand discard to trigger Sly or discard relics.
- Counting cards rejected by a full hand as actively discarded.
- Taking several costly Sly cards and hoping an enabler appears later.
- Counting Calculated Gamble as one of the cards it discards and redraws.
Experimental branch
Beta v0.111.0 differences
Active versus natural discard remains the key distinction.
Beta discard loses a premium Sly target while Poison gains a direct group setup.
The remaining Sly area-damage option is a little better in early group fights.
Continue with Silent
See where this mechanic fits beside the character's other build packages, Act 1 picks and relic priorities.
Open the Silent guide