Silent Deck Strategy I

Introduction

The heart of this strategy is to build a deck with numerous Innate, zero-energy or 1-energy exhaustible cards.  Combined with the Dead Branch relic, each card you exhaust will be replaced with a random new one from your color deck, giving you a renewing supply of cards to play.

Its possible to play an extended hand in this manner, running a dozen, two dozen or even more cards with the right balance of play.

A core to this to focus on putting cards in your deck that are innate exhaustible and those that introduce exhaustible cards, like Cloak and Dagger, which provide block and 1/2 Shivs.  Same for Blade Dance which provides 2/3 Shivs as well.

Storm of Steel can be leveraged very effectively, even with a low 3-energy turn.  It costs two, but if zero-cost exhaustible cards are ran first, it can allow you to convert the rest of the cards you have in your hand to exhaustible Shivs to cycle through again.  Use this after you have ran out of all other possible combinations of introducing cards or adding effects.  Equally, if you have a lot of energy to burn, you can use this to replace your hand with a random but possibly usable amount of cards.

Requirements

• Dead Branch [Relic] is provides a random card for every card you exhaust.
• Zero-cost INNATE cards, as many as possible.  Backstab is the best card to have, since its innate, costs zero, and does 11/14 HP damage.

Relic Synergy

• Bag of Preparation lets you draw two additional cards at the start of combat.
• Kunai provides +1 Dex every 3 attacks played in one turn.
• Letter Opener does 5 HP damage to all foes every 3 skills played in a turn.
• Mummified Hand makes a random card in your hand cost zero (0) that turn when you play a power card.  Incredibly useful when playing a long hand.
• Ninja Scroll provides you with three (3) Shivs at the start of Combat.
• Nunchaku provides you with a bonus energy for every 10 attacks.  Your chance to chain attacks is incredibly high, especially if you are leveraging a zero-cost deck or shiv deck.
• Ornamental Fan provides 4 Block every 3 attacks you play in a turn.
• Pen Nib lets you do double damage every 10 attacks.
• Runic Pyramid lets you keep your hand at the end of the turn.
• Shuriken provides +1 Strength every 3 attacks you play in a turn.

Card Synergy

• A Thousand Cuts provides an endless source of damage as you play cards, as it hits foes for 1/2 HP damage with each card played.  Zero cost cards means damage per card.
• Adrenaline is a zero cost card that allows you to draw cards and gain energy, while also exhausting.  Perfect for this kind of deck.
• After Image card does what A Thousand Cuts does but for Block, providing an endless stream of useful block to go along with card creation (and hopefully good damage).
• Backstab card is the absolute best for this kind of strategy.
• Blade Dance provides 2/3 Shivs.
• Bullet Time card reduces the cost of all the cards in your hand to zero, but keeps you from drawing more cards.  It does not stop exhausted cards being replaced by a random that the Dead Branch provides.  This means you can play all your cards that provides draws, use bullet time and then exhaust cards and get replacements -- though they won't be at zero cost.
• Choke card can really shine here.  It not only does 12 HP damage but 3/5 follow up damage for each card played.  If you are running zero-cost cards or pulling shivs into your hand (same principle), then Choke can rack up an enormous amount of damage.
• Cloak and Dagger card provides Block and 1/2 Shivs depending on its upgrade status.
• Die Die Die card costs 1 energy but hits all enemies before exhausting.  A good damage producer that will prompt the Dead Branch to provide a replacement card after it does damage.
• Dramatic Entrance [Colorless] is innate, zero cost, exhausts and hits all enemies.
• Envenom card costs 2 energy but is a favorite since it provides 1 poison for every unblocked damage you do.
• Exhume [ IronClad] card lets you place a card from your Exhaust pile into your hand.  It then exhausts.
• Echo Form [Defect] card makes the first card you play be played twice.  This can be useful if you make that first card an exhaustible once to prompt the Dead Branch to provide two random cards.
• Panache [Colorless] does damage after 5 cards are played, making it a great play for a long term strategy that this supports.
• Sadistic Nature [Colorless] does HP damage every time you put a Debuff on the enemy, also making it a good play for this deck.
• Shiv cards are your best friends for this.  Not only do they do damage, but that damage can easily be cranked up with the application of Strength or power cards that boost Shiv damage.  Equally, they exhaust, providing a stream of new cards via the Dead Branch.
• Storm of Steel card costs 2 energy but discards your entire hand (important if you have effects that proc on Discard) and replaces it with Shivs (or upgraded ones if upgraded).  That allows you to continue to exhaust and replace cards.

Add-on Strategies

• Adding more cards into your hand.
• Use Nightmare card, which will let you add three (3) copies of the card to your hand the next round you use it.  Its a skill and is not exhausted on use, so you can use Nightmware again to repeat the effect.
• Use Dual Wield [Iron Clad] card, which will add a copy (or two if upgraded) into your hand that turn.  Its a skill and is not exhausted on use, so you can use Dual Wield again to repeat the effect.
• Other cards that provide benefits for Exhaust.
• A variety of Ironclad cards provide benefits for exhausting cards.  If you have access to them, then including them makes this approach that much more powerful.  Having the Prismatic Shard or the "Note to Yourself Event" is probably the two easiest ways to get cards of other colors.
• Colorless cards that exhaust, like Bandage or Ritual Dagger.

Doable Achievements

• Play 10 Shivs in one turn.  
• Play 25 cards in one turn.
• Kill a Boss on Turn 1