Exhaust

Exhaust is a card mechanic that removes the card from play for the rest of combat when triggered. Exhausted cards go to the Exhaust pile rather than the discard pile, meaning they will not cycle back into your draw pile. Cards can have the Exhaust keyword as an inherent property (they always exhaust when played), or other cards and effects can cause a card to be exhausted.

Exhaust synergies are central to The Ironclad's identity, with cards like Feel No Pain (gain Block on Exhaust), Dark Embrace (draw a card on Exhaust), and the Corruption power (all Skills cost 0 but Exhaust). Certain relics like Strange Spoon have a chance to prevent Exhaust. The Dead Branch relic generates a random card each time any card is Exhausted, creating powerful combo potential. Exhausting curse cards is generally beneficial as curses provide no value.