Verdict: Toasty Mittens is finally a planning relic. v0.110 replaces a blind top-deck loss with a card you choose from hand. That turns the effect from “hope it misses something important” into a repeatable trade: remove your weakest current card, gain Strength, and accept that the turn continues with four cards instead of five.
The rework in plain English
Before v0.110, Toasty Mittens exhausted the top card of the draw pile each turn and granted 1 Strength. You paid without knowing exactly what would disappear. The beta rework lets you select one card from your hand instead.
| Old Mittens | v0.110 Mittens |
|---|---|
| Removes an unseen draw-pile card | Removes a visible hand card you choose |
| Can hit a key payoff before you draw it | Lets you protect the best card in hand |
| Speeds the deck with real uncertainty | Speeds the deck through deliberate triage |
| Hard to plan around statuses and curses | Converts many statuses and curses into fuel |
Control is the buff. The Strength is still useful, but knowing what leaves the deck is what makes the relic buildable.
The default exhaust order
Use this as a starting order, not a commandment.
- A Status that has already done its damage. If it offers no useful play this turn, removing it improves later cycles.
- A curse with no reason to remain. The relic can turn a bad draw into deck cleanup, though some curses punish being exhausted or support a specific package.
- A starter card whose job is covered. Once better damage or Block exists, a Strike or Defend is often the clean sacrifice.
- A situational card with no target in this fight. AoE after the adds are dead is a common example.
- A redundant setup card. The second copy of a Power may be expendable after the first is active.
Do not auto-exhaust the cheapest card. Cost and value are different. A zero-cost card that protects the next boss turn may be worth more than an expensive attack you cannot play.
The hidden cost: one fewer playable card
Mittens does not simply delete a Strike from the deck between turns. You draw your hand, choose a card, then continue with one fewer option. On a weak hand, the worst card may still be necessary.
Ask two questions before choosing the relic:
- Does this deck regularly draw something it is happy to lose?
- Does added Strength pay for the lost option quickly enough?
A deck with statuses, starter cards, generated filler, or expendable summons answers the first question well. A deck with multi-hit attacks, Shivs, or repeated cheap attacks answers the second.
Character-by-character fit
| Character | Fit | Why | Main caution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ironclad | Excellent | Exhaust synergies and strong Strength conversion | Do not burn the only scaling or defense answer |
| Silent | Strong | Shivs and multi-hit attacks love Strength; discard helps shape the hand | Full-hand plans can need every combo piece |
| Defect | Situational | Status decks produce fuel; some attacks use Strength well | Orb-heavy decks may gain little from Strength |
| Necrobinder | Situational | Can clear weak cards while Osty carries part of the fight | Character-specific engines may rely on precise pieces |
| Regent | Strong in the right shell | Created cards can supply expendable choices; multi-hit payoffs scale | Valuable created cards are not automatically disposable |
Ironclad
Ironclad has the cleanest home for Mittens. Exhaust is already a resource, and Strength converts directly into faster fights. The relic can remove a starter card while feeding effects that care about Exhaust.
The trap is enthusiasm. If the hand contains four important cards and one basic Block card needed to survive the intent, the Block card is not “filler.” Keep the card that solves the turn.
Silent
Silent's cheap attacks, Shivs, and multi-hit turns can turn one Strength per turn into serious damage. Targeted discard also makes it easier to control which cards remain before the next Mittens choice.
Well-Laid Plans complicates the picture. A retained hand may be holding several pieces for one future turn. Mittens forces a sacrifice anyway. If every retained card has a job, the relic's control does not remove its cost.
Defect
Status Defect likes the cleanup. An orb-first Defect deck may not care much about Strength, making Mittens mostly a filtering relic. That can still be good, but compare it honestly with another ancient reward that advances Focus, Energy, or orb slots.
Necrobinder and Regent
Necrobinder can sometimes let Osty preserve fight stability while the deck trims itself, but fragile combos dislike mandatory loss. Regent can create expendable cards and has attacks that appreciate Strength; it can also create exactly the card it wants to keep. “Generated” does not mean “trash.”
Curses and Statuses: good fuel, with exceptions
Mittens makes curse-taking less frightening, not free. A curse still occupies a draw before you remove it. A Status may already have an on-draw or end-of-turn consequence. And an upcoming turn with no disposable card can expose the relic's price.
Evaluate the whole route:
- How often will a curse enter the hand before Mittens can remove it?
- Does the deck want Exhaust triggers, or merely tolerate them?
- Is Aeonglass or another long fight asking you to preserve more cards?
- Will a small final deck eventually force Mittens to eat something good?
The last question matters. Deck thinning is powerful until there is nothing weak left.
When to pass
Pass more often when the deck has a small set of high-value cards, limited Strength conversion, and no reliable junk generation. Also pass when another offered ancient relic directly solves Energy, draw, or defense that Mittens only hopes to reach indirectly.
Take more confidently when the deck produces statuses, carries several removable starters, triggers Exhaust payoffs, or attacks many times per turn. The best Mittens deck has both sides of the trade: safe fuel and a strong way to spend Strength.
A five-second turn routine
At the start of each turn:
- Read the enemy intent.
- Mark every card required to survive or end the fight.
- Mark the one card that matters for a later turn.
- Exhaust the weakest unmarked card.
- Recalculate the turn with four cards; do not follow the plan you had before the exhaust.
That routine is less exciting than calling the relic broken. It is also how the relic wins runs.
