Advanced guide · Steam Demo
Energy refunds: keep your combo affordable at every step
Track up-front costs, fatal refunds and generated food so a long turn does not stop one energy short.
Demo build 23718635The short answer
Check the lowest energy balance in the sequence, not just the final refund. A 2-cost attack that returns 2 on a fatal hit still needs 2 energy to start, a killable target and a way to continue afterwards.
In this guide
Cards explained in this guide
Every link needs energy, a card and a valid target
A large final energy gain can hide an impossible opening. Write the sequence in order and check the energy balance immediately before each play. Then check whether the card is actually in hand and whether its target will satisfy the refund condition.
Draw, energy and card retention are different resources. Fever can draw another attack without paying for it. Persistent can keep an attack available without creating a killable target. Fix the resource that is missing rather than adding more of the one you already have.
Thirsty Mace refunds a successful finisher
The example assumes no damage modifiers or intervening effects. If that enemy survives, the refund never happens and you are left with 0 energy. If you spend 1 of your 2 energy on setup first, you cannot then cast the 2-cost Mace without another energy source.
A series of low-health enemies can provide several successful refunds. That is a finite chain of targets, not proof that you can repeat the attack forever. Recheck the next target before every play.
Conditional energy-neutral attack
Thirsty Mace2 energy · Combat
- Deal 8 damage
- On a fatal hit: Gain 2 energy
Persistent
At base it costs 2, deals 8 and stays available after being played. A fatal hit grants 2 energy. With exactly 2 energy and an eligible enemy at 8 health or less, the successful play returns you to 2 energy.
Full effects, properties & growth →Flambee returns energy through food, not immediately
Both generated foods heal 5 at base and grant 1 energy each. If you do not get the fatal hit, this food sequence is missing. The full Flambee food guide explains how to connect those eating events to growth.
| Step at base values | Energy, starting from 2 | Condition |
|---|---|---|
| Play Flambee | 2 → 0 | The hit must kill to make two Gourmet Toasties. |
| Eat the first Gourmet Toasty | 0 → 1 | The generated food is available and its play resolves. |
| Eat the second Gourmet Toasty | 1 → 2 | The second food play resolves; inspect any effects triggered by playing cards. |
| Choose the next action | 2 available | You still need a useful card and an appropriate target. |
Use setup that leaves the finish affordable
A damage upgrade can be stronger than another draw when it turns a near-kill into a reliable refund. A cost reduction can matter more than extra damage when the opening is unaffordable. Choose the upgrade for the failed step, not for the biggest visible number.
Well Rested can bridge a shortfall when you actually hold it. Minor Growth consumes energy before its damage increase and draw resolve. Do not call both “free setup” just because they replace a card in hand.
A quick combo worksheet
- Write your starting energy and the current cost of each planned card.
- Mark exactly which hit must be fatal. Check the target’s current health and defensive effects.
- Subtract each up-front cost before adding its refund.
- List generated cards separately; do not count food that was never created.
- Stop the sequence at its first impossible or unsafe step, then change one thing: target, setup order, cost, draw or damage.