Burning Pact

Burning Pact is a 1-cost Uncommon Skill card for the Ironclad that lets you Exhaust 1 card from your hand and then draw 2 cards. This is both a deck-thinning tool and a draw engine, trading one card for two while permanently removing a card from the combat.

Burning Pact triggers Dark Embrace for an additional draw, resulting in 3 new cards from a single play. Feel No Pain provides 3 Block from the Exhaust, making Burning Pact both draw and defense. Exhaust a Wound or Burn status card to get full value with no downside. Forgotten Ritual can convert the Exhaust trigger into energy, and Ashen Strike grows stronger as your Exhaust pile builds. Use it to feed Cascade by ensuring you have Exhausted this turn.

Burning Pact is a versatile card for any Ironclad deck, not just Exhaust builds. It thins your deck of weak cards, digs for key pieces, and triggers Exhaust synergies. Pick it early to improve deck consistency throughout the run. Against Lagavulin Matriarch, where finding your key cards quickly matters, the draw acceleration is invaluable. It is one of the most flexible Uncommon cards the Ironclad has access to.