Thorns

Thorns is a buff that deals damage back to any attacker each time the Thorns holder is hit by an Attack. The amount of damage returned equals the Thorns stack count per hit. Thorns damage is not affected by Strength, Weak, or other offensive modifiers — it always deals exactly the listed amount per hit.

Thorns is most often encountered as an enemy ability — The Guardian in Defensive Mode deals 3 Thorns damage per Attack hit, which severely punishes multi-hit Attack decks. Players can gain Thorns from relics like Warped Tongs or the card Flame Barrier. Thorns synergizes especially well against enemies that hit many times per attack, as each individual hit triggers Thorns damage. When fighting Thorns enemies, prioritizing Block cards or single-hit large attacks is advisable.