Champion Guide in Downfall: Cards, Relics, and Builds

Playing as the Champ in the Downfall mod revolves around Stances. Despite the superficial resemblance to the Watcher, the Champ’s stance mechanics differ significantly. Stances neither directly boost damage nor generate energy. Instead, they confer temporary buffs upon playing any skill.

To benefits more from a stance, Finishers are employed. These potent cards additionally grant 8 Defense or 1 Strength, depending on the current stance. The Champ’s deck also features combo cards, which have various effects tailored to the stance in play.

The Champ has three stances: Berserker, Defensive, and Ultimate. Each of these will be examined in detail in the following three sections.

The Berserker stance is aggressive, in which the Champ gains 2 Vigor for each skill played. Vigor is expended on the next attack, increasing its damage; the value is affected by the enemy's Vulnerable or the hero’s Weak debuffs. Essentially, Vigor is what the Akabeko relic from the base game provides.

Multi-attacks benefit the most from Vigor. Although the Champ's deck does not contain an exact replica of the Ironclad's Whirlwind, it boasts many potent alternatives.

Berserker Finishers grant 1 Strength for the remainder of the fight. Additionally, combo cards are designed to enhance attacks: they either attack an additional time, draw attacking cards, or apply Vulnerability to the enemy.

The Defensive is the Champ’s passive stance. Finishers in this stance provide defense, and using skills provides 3 Counters. The Counter acts when the enemy attacks and is not affected by anything - neither Strength nor Vulnerable nor Weak (it also deals full damage to Byrds); it differs from Thorns in that it is spent on one touch. In a fight with multiple enemies, the Counter strikes back at the first attacking opponent.

Finishers increase the Champ’s defense by 8, and this value does not depend on Dexterity or Frail. The value can be increased to 13 with the Defensive Manual relic.

The bonuses from combos in this stance are also aimed at defense: they offer additional Block, remove Frailty, and impose Weakness on the foe.

The Ultimate stance combines the two previous stances, yielding double bonuses from skills, finishers, and combos. It stays active for the entire round and is not disrupted by the use of finishers. The only downside is that entering the Ultimate stance is not that simple - only two cards and one relic make the transition possible.

The strategies described below have been successfully used to complete the 20th ascension in Downfall mode, including the battle with Neow in the fourth act.

This build is based on two key cards:

• Crooked Strike - an uncommon Finisher attack that doesn’t consume Vigor.
• Backstep - a common defensive skill, which Block is increased by Vigor.

The main strategy of the build is to accumulate Vigor without spending it, which increases the damage from Crooked Strike and the amount of block from Backstep. Backstep is a common card and is easily found in the game, while Crooked Strike may not appear immediately as a reward. However, even without Crooked Strike, the preserved Vigor will eventually be enough for one powerful finishing attack.

Starting Strikes are completely unsuitable in this build and heavily clog the deck. Remove them all at the first opportunity - by paying for the removal in the store or through random events.

To preserve excess block for the next turn, the rare skill Hold Firm fits well into the build. An easier victory is guaranteed by the Calipers relic, which allows you to transfer unused block to the next turn - it is worth buying this relic in the store at any price.

The build is effective against bosses and slow single opponents. For battles with multiple opponents, it is recommended to have an attack with an AOE effect, for example, Death Blow, which also adds Vigor after use.

Warning! This build struggles against the final boss Neow. On top of Neow clogging the deck with curses, she gains Buffers later that reliably protect her from single big attacks. 200 damage limit also makes one-shotting the enemy impossible. Gladiator Form to restore Vigor every turn solves that problem, otherwise it is advisable to have more Crooked Strikes for faster damage or other damage solutions for the final fight.

The Strength build is used much less frequently in practice, as increasing Strength is much more difficult than collecting Vigor. Then why not stick with the first build? The fact is that some relics and cards make the process of accumulating Vigor more complex:

• Power Armor (a boss relic) limits the amount of Vigor to 10.
• Spectre's Hand (a rare relic) adds free strikes to your hand, which consume Vigor.
• Snecko Eye (a boss relic) increases the cost to enter stances on average: their initial cost is 0-1 energy. Without stance dancing, there won't be much Vigor.
• Strike of Genius (a rare card) also adds random strikes each round.

Boosting Strength is a fully achievable goal for the Champ, as all his Finishers in Berserker mode grant 1 Strength. With this strategy in mind, the following cards deserve more attention:

• All Out — adds 2-3 Strength for one energy.
• Reckless Strike — provides +2 Strength, accompanied by 18 damage and a loss of 1 Dexterity.
• Endure — this skill's block is increased by Strength.

These are uncommon cards and may not appear early, so some improvisation will be necessary at the start of the game. This build implies a more flexible approach to the game.

A strategy based on randomness might seem unreliable, but remember how powerful Dead Branch and Nilry's Codex are. The Champ's random build also has its advantages. It is based on a few key cards:

• Strike of Genius (a rare talent) adds a free random strike to your hand at the start of the turn. Among the Champion's cards, there are a dozen different strikes, both common and rare. They do not clutter the deck, as they are exhausted after use.
• Masterful Slash (a rare attack) adds a free skill to your hand. This skill remains free for the entire fight for multiple uses.
• Arena Preparation (an uncommon skill) adds two random skills that can be retained for the most appropriate moment.

Developing a random build is optimal if you get one of the above cards very early in the game. If you are already comfortable with accumulating Vigor, then taking random strikes might not be worth it. However, this build works well with increased Strength.

The strategies suggested above are not the only ways to win. Experiment with different combinations of cards and relics and come up with your own unique builds. Share your methods in the comments.

Champ's starting deck has 10 cards: 4 strikes, 3 defends, 2 stance switchers and 1 finisher.

This set is sufficient to comfortably get through the first few rooms - the total damage in the first round with one upgraded card can reach 30 points.

There are 19 cards in Champ's common pool: 11 attacks and 8 skills.

Interlude: The descriptions and my opinion on the cards are not yet ready. I decided to publish the little I have managed to write so far. In the future, I plan to add descriptions for all the cards and provide examples of other builds.

There are 31 cards in Champ Uncommon cards pool: 11 attacks, 15 skills and 5 powers.

There are 20 cards in Champ's Rare cards pool: 9 attacks, 6 skills and 5 powers.

Thank you for reading the guide.