This was a pretty standard Shiv deck. This could have also been a strong potion deck, because I had:
… and I was offered Sacred Bark as an option for my first boss relic. However, I ended up choosing Runic Pyramid and I'm fairly confident that was the right choice, because it was extremely instrumental in setting up the core combo of the deck, which was Accuracy+ + Phantasmal Killer+ + Storm of Steel+. In particular, Runic Pyramid helped in two ways:
- it ensured that I could always play Storm of Steel+ the turn after playing Phantasmal Killer+
- it also ensured that I had a full hand when playing Storm of Steel+ to get the maximum benefit
On these big Storm of Steel+ turns I'd do (6 + 6) × 2 × 9 = 216 damage, which usually ended the fight and that's before I even started mixing in J.A.X.+.
Against the Corrupt Heart this would still not be enough damage, so I ended up using Dolly's Mirror to copy Accuracy+ and also used a Duplication Potion to cast it a third time, for a total of 18 bonus damage for all Shivs. That plus 5 bonus Strength (from one use of J.A.X.+ and a Strength Potion) plus Vulnerable from a Fear Potion meant that in the final turn I could style on the Corrupt Heart with 87 damage per Shiv.
Another key pick up in the run was 3 × Apparition. This regularly bought the deck enough time for the main combo to come online. The only two fights that were not completely one-sided were Time Eater and the Corrupt Heart.
There were a few bad pickups (like Bullet Time+ and Grand Finale) but overall this was a pretty decent deck.