Exhaust in Ironclad is not a downside. It is a resource. With the right cards, you strip away the filler from your deck mid-combat and turn every draw into a high-impact play. The difference between a good exhaust deck and a bad one is density: how many enablers, how many payoffs, and whether the deck still has enough block to survive while the engine spools up.
Core enablers — the cards that make exhaust work
Burning Pact (1-cost Skill, Exhaust 1 card, Draw 2) is the most versatile enabler. It cycles weak cards into better draws while thinning the deck. Pick one early even without a clear exhaust payoff — it is useful in any Ironclad deck.
Dark Embrace (2-cost Power, draw 1 whenever a card is exhausted) is the payoff that turns exhaust into an engine. One Dark Embrace turns Burning Pact into "Draw 3, exhaust 1". Two copies create absurd draw.
Second Wind (cost varies, Skill: exhaust your hand, gain block for each card exhausted) serves double duty as block and enabler. Against multi-hit enemies, it can generate 15-25 block in a single turn while clearing the hand for next turn.
Payoff cards — the reason to burn everything
Pact's End (0-cost Attack, can only be played with 3+ in exhaust pile) is the cleanest payoff. Once the exhaust pile has three cards, it becomes free damage every cycle. With Dark Embrace, you draw into Pact's End, play it, exhaust more cards, draw it again.
Fiend Fire (2-cost Attack, exhaust your hand, deal 7 damage per card exhausted) is both enabler and payoff. In a 5-card hand, that is 35 damage. With Dark Embrace, each exhausted card draws a replacement, making Fiend Fire a net-neutral hand size play.
Stoke (1-cost Skill, exhaust your hand, draw 1 per card exhausted) cycles the entire hand. Combined with Burning Pact or Fiend Fire, it creates explosive turns where 6-8 cards are played in a single turn.
Energy to fuel the fire
Bloodletting (0-cost Skill, lose 3 HP, gain [energy:2]) is premium — zero-cost energy that feeds exhaust synergies without clogging the hand. Take it early.
Offering (0-cost Skill, lose 6 HP, gain [energy:2], draw 3) is even stronger. The HP loss is manageable with sustain, and the draw accelerates the exhaust engine significantly.
Expect a Fight (cost varies, generates energy based on unplayed cards) becomes extremely potent in exhaust decks where you regularly have 0-1 cards left unplayed. At its peak, it generates 3-4 energy for 1 cost.
Mini-infinite vs full infinite
Full infinite: exhaust the entire deck until only a loop remains — Bloodletting / Offering for energy, Burning Pact / Pommel Strike for draw, Pact's End for damage. Requires careful deck management and removal of anything that breaks the loop.
Mini-infinite (more practical): play 6-8 cards per turn instead of the standard 3-4. Even without a true infinite loop, an exhaust engine that plays Burning Pact into Dark Embrace into Fiend Fire into Stoke will outpace most enemies. This version is easier to draft and more forgiving of mistakes.
Key insight: true infinite is flashy but fragile. A mini-infinite that works 90% of runs is worth more than a perfect infinite that only comes together once every 30 runs.
Defense in exhaust decks
Second Wind is the primary defensive tool — situational but powerful. Pair it with a small hand and it blocks 20+ for 1 energy.
Feel No Pain (if available as relic or card synergy) turns every exhaust into block. Without it, rely on standard block cards like Shrug It Off (1-cost Skill, gain 8 block, draw 1) and Impervious (2-cost Skill, gain 30 block).
Colossus (1-cost Skill, gain 5 block, take 50% less damage from Vulnerable) is worth considering in acts where Vulnerable is common. The 50% damage reduction stacks multiplicatively with other damage reduction.