Master of Forbidden Knowledge - Archivist Morvent (Library Wing): how to beat

Master of Forbidden Knowledge - Archivist Morvent (Library Wing) — dungeon “Scarlet Monastery — Graveyard and Library”, level 38. The deck: phases, turn…

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Dungeon Scarlet Monastery — Graveyard and Library, final boss, level 38.

The boss plays its own deck: every turn it plays the next line of its phase’s cycle, with no randomness. Learn the cycle and you know what is coming. The numbers on this page are the same as in the card tooltip in combat: before Hardiness and Defender’s Stance. Mechanics in detail — Boss mechanics.

In short

Modes: Heroic (at level 60), Normal (at the place’s level, 28–38), Keystone +10 (Mythic+, at level 60).
2 phases, 7 cards in the deck. Schools: ⛰ Earth 2, 🌑 Darkness 2, ⚔ Physical 2, 🔥 Fire 1.
“Reading Room” cold: every enemy turn, everyone through shields — heroic 980, keystone +10 820 to each before Hardiness. No cold in normal mode.
“Spine to the Forehead” test strike — on boss turns 9 and 15: heroic 7,000, keystone +10 8,000; 40% weaker with a defensive card on yourself.
The heaviest hit is “Spine to the Forehead”: heroic 7,000, keystone +10 8,000.

Phases and turn cycle

The phase changes with the boss’s Health. In each phase the boss goes round its own cycle: at the end it starts again. The boss’s next turn shows on its portrait.

1. “The Inventory” — from the start of the fight

Down to 35% Health.

Cycle step	What the boss plays
1	⚔ Heavy Tome
2	⚔ Heavy Tome + 🔥 Into the Furnace
3	⛰ Wall of Books
4	⚔ Heavy Tome
5	🌑 Lost in Reading + ⚔ Heavy Tome

2. “The Forbidden Shelf” — below 35% Health

Below 35%: reads aloud at once, the furnace more often.

On entering the phase the boss plays at once: 🌑 Reads Aloud.

Cycle step	What the boss plays
1	⚔ Heavy Tome + 🔥 Into the Furnace
2	⚔ Heavy Tome
3	⛰ Wall of Books
4	🌑 Reads Aloud
5	⚔ Heavy Tome + 🔥 Into the Furnace

The “Spine to the Forehead” test strike is not part of the cycle: the boss announces it on its turns 8 and 14 and hits on turns 9 and 15.

Cards and numbers

The number is what a hit takes before Hardiness (through shields — from Health only), how much the boss heals itself, the shield it puts up, a minion’s Health. A dash means the card is not in that mode or has no number. Keystone: +10 numbers; hits are the same from +7 to +9 and weaker per level below +7.

Card	What it does	Heroic	Normal	Keystone +10	How to answer
⚔ Spine to the Forehead · Physical, test strike	A test strike on whoever holds the boss’s attention (usually the tank). The boss announces it on its own, outside the cycle, and hits on its 9th and 15th turn; one turn before, there is a countdown on the portrait and a warning above your hand. The target plays a defensive card on themselves before the hit — it is 40% weaker. Not in normal mode. Through shields.	7,000 · with a defensive card 4,200	—	8,000 · with a defensive card 4,800	Test strike, one turn of warning. The tank plays a defensive card, the healer tops him up in advance.
⚔ Heavy Tome · Physical, hit	A hit on whoever holds the boss’s attention (usually the tank).	2,400	700	4,100	A plain hit.
🔥 Into the Furnace · Fire, discard	Knocks 1 card(s) out of the hand of a damage dealer or the healer (past the tank).	—	—	—	The target loses a card from the hand: he decided it was extra. Play important cards in advance.
⛰ Wall of Books · Earth, timed shield	A shield for 3 turns. Fail to break it and the boss plays “The Books Fell”.	shield 5,410	shield 460	shield 14,250	A shield of 5,410 (heroic) / 460 (normal) / 14,250 (keystone +10) for 3 turns. If you do not break it, the books fall on everyone.
⛰ The Books Fell · Earth, hit on everyone	A hit on everyone: the number is for each. Shields hold half.	900	175	1,025	Happens if the wall was not broken within 3 turns. Half through shields.
🌑 Lost in Reading · Darkness, opening: more damage to the boss	The boss is open: damage to it ×1.3 for 2 turns.	—	—	—	His nose is in a book: +30% damage to him for 1 party turn. Big cards here.
🌑 Reads Aloud · Darkness, charge	A charge: in 2 turns it hits everyone, the number is for each. Take 6% of the boss’s Health during the countdown and the charge breaks. Once broken, the boss plays “Lost in Reading”. Shields hold half, ignores 50% of Hardiness.	1,152	224	1,312	Reads for 2 turns. Take 6% of his Health and he loses his place and gets lost in reading. Too late: half through shields at everyone.

“Reading Room” cold

They burn books in the other wing. Here they only read, and it is cold.

Heroic: 980 to each per enemy turn, before Hardiness.
Keystone +10: 820 to each per enemy turn, before Hardiness.
Hits every fighter in the party through shields; Hardiness reduces it — better gear takes less.
The answer is healing every turn: shields do not stop cold. Healer cards do it best — they heal Health only.
No cold in normal mode.

Test strike

“Spine to the Forehead” — on boss turns 9 and 15, through shields, on whoever holds the boss’s attention (usually the tank). On heroic, while the party’s tank is alive, it goes to the tank. Not in normal mode.
Heroic: 7,000 before Hardiness; 4,200 if the target answered with a defensive card.
Keystone +10: 8,000 before Hardiness; 4,800 if the target answered with a defensive card.
One turn before the hit there is a countdown on the portrait and a warning above your hand. The target plays a defensive card on themselves: a self-shield, damage reduction or “cannot be killed”. A card someone else plays on the target does not count.

Enrage

Heroic: from party turn 40, every boss turn is 4% stronger, and it stacks.
Normal: as before — if the fight drags on past its expected length, the boss hits harder every turn.
Keystone +10: as before — if the fight drags on past its expected length, the boss hits harder every turn.

Roles

Tank

The “Spine to the Forehead” test strike lands on the boss’s 9th and 15th turn (heroic and keystone +10). One turn before, play a defensive card on yourself — a self-shield, damage reduction or “cannot be killed”: the hit becomes 40% weaker. Keep such a card in hand for those turns.
Shields do not stop this hit: the healer tops up your Health before it.
“Heavy Tome” hits you. Keep Taunt on rhythm: while the boss hits the tank, the rest stay whole. The heaviest is “Heavy Tome” (“The Inventory” phase, cycle step 1).
Do not fall: on heroic, mythic and in keystones, without a living tank the boss’s hits on its focus go through shields. A resident can be the tank too.

Healer

“Reading Room” cold hits everyone through shields every enemy turn: heroic — 980, keystone +10 — 820 to each before Hardiness. Heal everyone every turn; healer cards do it best — they heal Health only.
“Reads Aloud” and “The Books Fell” hit everyone. Before such turns, get everyone above half Health; they all go half through shields: shields hold half, the rest hits Health.

Damage dealers

“Lost in Reading”: the boss is open and takes more damage — save your strong cards for that turn.
“Reads Aloud” can be broken: take 6% of the boss’s Health during the countdown and there is no hit.
“Wall of Books”: a timed shield — break it before it runs out.
“Into the Furnace” hits your cards and crystals: do not hoard everything for one turn.
Do not drag it out: heroic — enrage from turn 40.

The heaviest hits

“Spine to the Forehead” — test strike, through shields.
“Heavy Tome” — on the tank; “The Inventory” phase, cycle step 1.
“Reads Aloud” — on everyone, half through shields, ignores 50% of Hardiness; on entering the “The Forbidden Shelf” phase.

Loot

All of the boss’s loot with rough drop chances is in the item atlas; rules and items by boss are on the Scarlet Monastery — Graveyard and Library page.

Previous boss — Direfang - Scarlet Pet (Library Wing).

All bosses of the place — Scarlet Monastery — Graveyard and Library. Rules of a fight against a boss with a deck — How to beat: every boss.