The Tablet of Truth Badge requires a win with one Max HP. Taking the event and later rebuilding to twenty Max HP can produce a successful run, but it does not satisfy this objective. Choose between those two plans before accepting automatic Max HP growth.
This is a challenge route. The full-deck upgrade can strengthen an already exceptional opening, but a routine deck should not exchange its entire margin for error for upgraded starter cards. Before the event, identify how the next combat’s opening attack is stopped even if the preferred defensive card is not drawn.
Tablet costs and minimum Max HP
Tablet of Truth occurs in the Overgrowth. Its fixed Decipher costs are three, six, twelve and twenty-four Max HP, with a random upgrade at each step. The last option sets Max HP to one and upgrades every card.
| Completed fixed steps | Total Max HP spent | An 80-Max-HP example |
|---|---|---|
| First | 3 | 77 |
| Second | 9 | 71 |
| Third | 21 | 59 |
| Fourth | 45 | 35 |
| Lose Everything | All remaining Max HP except one | 1 |
The fixed steps are not individually clamped to one. With no other effects, a character starting at 45 Max HP reaches twenty-four before the fourth payment and cannot safely pay twenty-four. Starting at forty-six leaves one after those four payments. Inspect the displayed cost at every stage; do not treat the event’s final wording as protection from the earlier payments.
The upgrade applies to the deck you currently own. Cards obtained later do not inherit an automatic upgrade merely because the Tablet was completed. A powerful early deck and a starter-heavy deck therefore receive very different benefits from the same final choice.
One unblocked damage is lethal
Weak and Intangible reduce damage, but reduction is not necessarily zero damage. An Intangible-limited hit of one is still lethal at one HP unless another effect prevents it. Calculate each hit of a multi-attack separately.
Buffer prevents one HP-loss event per charge. A single Lucky Tonic cannot by itself cover three otherwise unblocked hits. Block can protect the charge from earlier hits, but self-damage and other HP loss can consume it. The Buffer timing guide shows the three-hit example.
Osty can intercept attacks while it has enough health, which gives Necrobinder a useful defensive resource. It does not make the player immune to every source of HP loss. Keep the player’s own defenses and the encounter’s non-attack effects in the calculation rather than assuming a large summon solves the entire run.
Opening defense by character
For Silent, Footwork improves repeated Block cards, while Weak reduces the amount those cards must cover. Leg Sweep combines both jobs in a single play. The Shiv defense guide shows how attack-count relics can supply Dexterity before a Block card. These packages still need to appear before damage lands.
For Defect, Frost and Focus can support continuing defense, but a Power that needs several turns to establish does not protect an exposed first turn. Glacier supplies immediate Block and Frost; a later Prolong recording protects the next turn, not the current deficit. Do not count delayed Block against an attack happening now.
Before every fight, separate three questions: which known effects act before the first attack, which cards must be drawn, and which potion covers a failed draw? Bag of Preparation improves access without promising a particular hand. Retaining the right card and spending an appropriate potion can be more important than adding another damage multiplier.
Remove lethal payments from the plan
Bloodletting and Offering pay HP for resources. Brightest Flame loses Max HP. A familiar combo from an ordinary run can therefore be unusable here. Do not assume the Tablet establishes a universal one-Max-HP floor for later costs.
Maximum-health gains require equal care. Feed, Fruit Juice and growth relics can restore a safety margin while invalidating the exact finishing condition. Decline optional gains when pursuing the Badge; inspect automatic effects before taking the Tablet. Planning to repair the count later creates another dependency that the run may never provide.
Encounter risks
Against Infested Prism, a small Block Skill can increase the damage of every incoming hit. Against Waterfall Giant, the lethal attack is followed by a final explosion turn. An opening defense which handles normal enemies can fail either encounter for a different reason.
Avoid optional damage events and choose a route whose immediate fights the current deck can cover. The goal is not the largest possible relic collection. A compulsory encounter with no complete defensive line is more important than a future reward that might strengthen the engine.
At the final victory check, confirm Max HP, not merely current HP, is one. Keep the event choice, finished run and final health state distinct when comparing your result with a recorded challenge run.
