What the Ironclad does
He is the returning bruiser. Strength scaling, self-damage payoffs, and Exhaust synergies are his identity, and all three survived the jump from the first game into the sequel.
He has 87 cards in the current build — one fewer than the other four characters, who each sit at 88.
The card pool by type
Attack cards dominate his pool, which fits a character built to hit harder every turn rather than to set up elaborate combos.
| Rarity | Attack | Skill | Power | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basic | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| Common | 13 | 7 | 0 | 20 |
| Uncommon | 14 | 14 | 8 | 36 |
| Rare | 7 | 8 | 11 | 26 |
| Ancient | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Total | 37 | 30 | 20 | 87 |
The two engines
Strength appears on eight cards. It is the lever that turns his attacks into real damage, and several of these cards are permanent or repeating sources rather than one-shot buffs.
| Card | Cost | Type | Rarity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Setup Strike | 1 Energy | Attack | Common |
| Inflame | 1 Energy | Power | Uncommon |
| Rupture | 1 Energy | Power | Uncommon |
| Dominate | 1 Energy | Skill | Uncommon |
| Fight Me! | 2 Energy | Attack | Uncommon |
| Brand | 0 Energy | Skill | Rare |
| Mangle | 3 Energy | Attack | Rare |
| Demon Form | 3 Energy | Power | Rare |
Exhaust shows up on eighteen cards — the biggest mechanical theme in his pool. Where the Necrobinder’s Exhaust is a brake on summon cost, the Ironclad’s Exhaust is fuel: cards like Dark Embrace, Corruption and Feel No Pain reward you for emptying your hand. That is why his Rare and Ancient Power slots (Corruption, Dark Embrace) are worth more here than their raw text suggests.
Where the power sits
The Rare and Ancient rows hold the scaling. Demon Form is the headline: a Power that keeps adding Strength every turn, so the longer the fight runs the more every attack is worth. Pair it with Exhaust payoffs and the deck compounds instead of peaking.
Self-damage is the other through-line. Several of his cards trade HP for tempo, which makes block and healing relics more valuable in an Ironclad run than in a Necrobinder or Defect run.
How to build him
Pick Strength or Exhaust, not both at half strength. A Strength deck wants Demon Form plus as many permanent Strength sources as you can draft, and a tight attack count so each hit lands big. An Exhaust deck wants Dark Embrace or Corruption as the anchor and fills the rest with efficient Exhaust cards.
Because he is the starter, his early unlocks are the easiest to reach, which makes him the best character to learn the sequel’s new systems on before moving to the Necrobinder or the Regent.
Where to go next
Cards database lists every Ironclad card in full with upgrade text. Take or remove cards covers when to thin his deck, and Common mistakes covers the habits that stop working in the sequel.