Akabeko

Akabeko is a common relic found in regular combat reward chests throughout a run. It causes your first Attack card played each combat to deal 8 additional damage. This bonus is applied once per fight and then the relic goes dormant until the next combat begins. The red ox charm is a straightforward damage amplifier that requires no setup or special conditions beyond simply playing an attack.

Akabeko is strongest when your deck has access to expensive, high-damage attacks to serve as the opener, since the flat 8 bonus is proportionally larger on cards that already hit hard. Characters like the Ironclad can use it to turbocharge an opening Whirlwind or Bludgeon. The relic is less impactful on decks that rely on many small attacks or that use non-attack cards to set up before dealing damage. In multi-enemy rooms, pairing Akabeko with a single-target attack can focus down a dangerous enemy early, while using it with an AOE attack spreads the extra 8 damage across all targets.