Opening hand and turn two
Unlock Silent by playing an Ironclad run and opening Fog Rolls In on the Timeline. A victory is not required for that first character unlock.
Ring of the Snake expands the opening hand, not every hand afterward. A first turn that plays several Powers can leave the second turn dependent on a smaller draw. Check what damage and Block remain available after spending the opening advantage.
Neutralize applies Weak while attacking, and Survivor gives Block with a discard. Those starter effects already allow useful sequencing: weaken an enemy before its attack and use Survivor’s discard to remove an unsuitable card or activate an eligible Sly card.
Sly requires an actual discard
Sly plays a card for free when it is discarded from the hand before the turn ends. Letting the ordinary end-of-turn discard happen does not activate it. Drawing a Sly card into the wrong hand can therefore leave an expensive card that cannot be used efficiently.
Acrobatics and Prepared combine hand movement with discard; Dagger Throw adds damage while replacing a card. Their value depends on the hand they improve. With Tactician available, discard can return Energy. With Reflex, it can return more draw. Those payoffs are stronger when the deck can deliberately discard them instead of hoping the starter Survivor shares the hand.
| Opening reward | Immediate use | Later opportunity |
|---|---|---|
| Dagger Throw | Attack while replacing a weak card. | Another deliberate Sly activation. |
| Backflip | Block while drawing toward another answer. | Reach attack or discard combinations sooner. |
| Blade Dance | Several attacks from one card. | Kunai, Shuriken and other repeated-attack payoffs. |
| Deadly Poison | Put damage pressure on one target. | More Poison application and repeated triggers. |
Attacks or Poison
Shivs fit relics and effects that reward repeated attacks. Adding more generators after damage is sufficient can leave the deck short of Block or the draw needed to reach its payoff. Against Vantom, small hits can consume Slippery before a large attack; against Aeonglass, every six played cards can add another Wither.
Poison damages over time, so it needs turns of survival. Noxious Fumes supplies recurring application while Deadly Poison targets one enemy. Accelerant adds another Poison trigger, but the trigger needs Poison already present. An attractive payoff does not replace the first source of application or the defense needed while it works.
Discard as encounter preparation
Discard is useful even when it produces no engine payoff. It can remove a Wither before turn end, replace a starter attack in a defensive hand, or reach a card that solves the current target. Keep enough discard access for those jobs instead of spending the last outlet before the dangerous Status arrives.
The Sly and discard guide, Shiv guide and Poison guide explain the separate dependencies. Aeonglass preparation covers the card-count pressure on long attack chains.
In co-op, Sneaky gains Block when another player attacks. It depends on teammates’ actions, so evaluate the party’s actual attacks rather than assuming a large group automatically activates it frequently.
