Silent Shiv & Discard Build: Infinite Card Cycle Guide

The Shiv & Discard build is Silent's most aggressive archetype, combining free 0-cost Shivs with a discard engine that generates near-infinite card draw and energy. When fully assembled, you can play 15+ cards per turn, stacking damage with Accuracy and Wrist Blade while cycling through your entire deck multiple times per turn.

1. How It Works

This build operates on two synergistic axes:

The magic happens when both engines run simultaneously: discard effects reload your hand with more Shiv generators, free Shivs give you damage without spending energy, and the energy saved lets you play more draw/discard cards. A single turn can easily involve 12-20 card plays.

2. Core Cards

Must-Have (S-Tier)

• Accuracy — +3-5 damage to ALL Shivs. With 3 Shivs per turn, that's +9-15 damage for 1 energy, permanently. The single most important damage card in the build.
• Infinite Blades — 1-cost Power: gain 1 Shiv every turn. Over a 5-turn fight, that's 5 free attacks. Upgrade to Innate so it starts in your opening hand.
• Blade Dance — 1-cost: add 3 Shivs to your hand. At 6-9 damage each (with Accuracy), that's 18-27 damage for 1 energy — elite-level efficiency.
• Calculated Gamble+ — 0-cost: discard your hand, draw that many cards. The best discard trigger in the game. With Tactician and Reflex in hand, this single card can generate 4+ energy and 5+ card draw.

Discard Engine (A-Tier)

• Tactician+ — When discarded, gain 2 energy. The energy backbone. Stack 2 copies and a single Calculated Gamble generates 4 energy.
• Reflex+ — When discarded, draw 2-3 cards. The draw backbone. Combined with Tactician, discard becomes net-positive in both resources.
• Acrobatics — Draw 3-4, discard 1. Triggers Tactician/Reflex while refreshing your hand.
• Prepared+ — Draw 2, discard 2. Cheap draw and double discard trigger. Excellent at digging for key pieces.

Strong Support

• Cloak and Dagger — 6 Block + 1-2 Shivs. The perfect defensive Shiv card. Scales with both Accuracy and Dexterity.
• Finisher — Deal 6-8 damage per Attack played this turn. After 10 Shivs, that's 60-80 damage for 1 energy.
• After Image — Gain 1 Block per card played. Playing 10+ cards per turn = 10+ free Block. Essential for Heart fights.
• Well-Laid Plans — Retain 1-2 cards per turn. Hold Calculated Gamble until Tactician is in hand.
• Tools of the Trade — Draw 1, discard 1 at start of turn. Free discard trigger every turn, helps find your pieces.

3. Best Relics

• Wrist Blade (S+) — 0-cost Attacks deal +4 damage. Every Shiv now hits for 8 base damage. With 2 Accuracies, that's 16 damage per Shiv. This relic alone doubles your damage output.
• Tingsha (S) — Deal 3 damage to a random enemy whenever you discard. With the discard engine generating 5-8 discards per turn, that's 15-24 passive damage per turn.
• Tough Bandages (S) — Gain 3 Block whenever you discard. 8 discards/turn = 24 free Block. Nearly as good as After Image, but as a relic.
• Shuriken (A) — Every 3 Attacks played, gain +1 Strength. The Shiv engine plays 5-10 Attacks per turn → 2-3 Strength per turn. Scales aggressively.
• Kunai (A) — Every 3 Attacks played, gain +1 Dexterity. Free block scaling to survive while you set up.
• Ornamental Fan (A) — Every 3 Attacks played, gain 4 Block. Adds up fast with Shiv spam.
• Dead Branch (B) — Shivs exhaust when played, generating random cards. Can break your deck's consistency but occasionally gifts game-winning rares. Not recommended for reliability, but fun.

4. Run Strategy — Stage by Stage

1. Floors 1-8 (Early Act 1):

   Take attacks that deal damage immediately — Dagger Throw, Quick Slash, Poisoned Stab. You need to kill Act 1 elites. Blade Dance is an instant-pick. Cloak and Dagger is excellent if you see it. Skip discard enablers (Tactician, Reflex) until you have enough draw to support them.

2. Floors 9-16 (Late Act 1):

   If Accuracy appears, take it — it's the build's defining card. Look for Infinite Blades and a second Blade Dance. Start removing Strikes at shops (you have Shivs now, you don't need basic attacks). Upgrade Neutralize at campfires for the early-game Weak utility.

3. Floors 17-25 (Early Act 2):

   The build comes alive. Take Calculated Gamble whenever you see it. If offered Tactician or Reflex, grab them but don't prioritize them over additional Shiv generators. After Image solves all your defensive problems. At this point, you should have 2+ Accuracy cards and consistent 3-5 Shivs per turn.

4. Floors 26-33 (Late Act 2):

   Refine the engine. If you have Tactician+ and Calculated Gamble+, you can now cycle your entire deck each turn. Remove remaining Strikes and Defends. Take Finisher as your boss-killer. Your deck should be 20-25 cards with half being Shiv generators and half being discard/draw.

5. Floors 34-50 (Act 3):

   Every fight is solved. Turn 1: play Infinite Blades (if Innate) + Well-Laid Plans to hold Calculated Gamble. Turn 2-3: chain Acrobatics → Calculated Gamble → play all Shiv generators → Finisher. You'll deal 80-120 damage per turn while generating 20-30 Block passively. Bosses die in 4-6 turns.

5. Two Variants: Discard-Heavy vs. Pure Shiv

Depending on what cards you're offered, you'll lean into one of two flavors:

Most successful A20 Silent runs blend both. You take whatever pieces show up and build around them. A typical winning deck has 2-3 Shiv generators + 1 Accuracy + 1 Tactician + 1 Reflex + 1 Calculated Gamble. That's only 6-8 cards dedicated to the engine — the rest is block and utility.

6. Matchup Notes

• vs Gremlin Nob: Avoid playing Skills (including Shiv generators like Cloak and Dagger). Use Blade Dance and attacks only. Shivs are Skills — Cloak and Dagger triggers Nob's Strength gain. Check your card types!
• vs Book of Stabbing: After Image hard-counters this fight. Every Shiv play gives you Block against the multi-hit. After Image alone makes this fight trivial.
• vs Collector: Kill the torch minions ASAP with Finisher or multi-Shiv turns. The fight becomes simple once they're down.
• vs Time Eater: Play carefully. Each Shiv counts toward the 12-card limit. Stack Accuracy early, play exactly 11 cards, then unleash a 70+ damage Finisher. Don't waste card plays on low-value Shivs.
• vs The Heart: After Image is mandatory. Beats of Death deals 1-2 damage per card played. With After Image and a Kunai/Ornamental Fan, you can offset the Beat damage while still playing 10+ cards per turn. Without After Image, this fight is extremely difficult.

Also check: Silent Poison Build · Card Database · Infinite Combos Guide