King Gordok Thundermash, Lord of the Arena: how to beat

King Gordok Thundermash, Lord of the Arena — dungeon “The Dire Chamber (Northern Wing — Ogre Arena)”, level 54. The deck: phases, turn cycle, damage and…

ReferenceBuilt from the game’s data

Loot referenceItem atlasWhat drops whereOpen the atlas

Dungeon The Dire Chamber (Northern Wing — Ogre Arena), final boss, level 54.

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, 44–54), Keystone +10 (Mythic+, at level 60).
2 phases, 9 cards in the deck. Schools: ⚔ Physical 5, ⚡ Storm 1, ⛰ Earth 1, 🩸 Blood 1, 🌿 Nature 1.
“Soft Throne” cold: every enemy turn, everyone through shields — heroic 700, keystone +10 580 to each before Hardiness. No cold in normal mode.
“Royal Kick” test strike — on boss turns 9 and 17: heroic 7,000, keystone +10 8,000; 40% weaker with a defensive card on yourself.
The heaviest hit is “Royal Kick”: 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 Auction” — from the start of the fight

Down to 25% Health.

Cycle step	What the boss plays
1	⚔ Ringed Fist
2	⚔ Ringed Fist + 🌿 Guards!
3	⚡ Who Bids More?
4	⛰ Royal Swing
5	⚔ Ringed Fist + ⚔ Dropped a Tome
6	⚔ Sold!

2. “Not Giving Up the Throne” — below 25% Health

Below 25%: hits twice a turn.

On entering the phase the boss plays at once: 🩸 Not Giving Up the Throne.

Cycle step	What the boss plays
1	⚔ Ringed Fist + ⚔ Second Fist
2	⛰ Royal Swing + ⚔ Ringed Fist
3	⚔ Ringed Fist + ⚔ Second Fist
4	⚔ Sold! + ⚔ Ringed Fist

The “Royal Kick” test strike is not part of the cycle: the boss announces it on its turns 8 and 16 and hits on turns 9 and 17.

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
⚔ Royal Kick · 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 17th 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.
⚔ Ringed Fist · Physical, hit	A hit on whoever holds the boss’s attention (usually the tank).	2,468	945	4,305	A plain hit.
⚔ Second Fist · Physical, hit	A hit past the tank: on a damage dealer or the healer.	1,175	450	2,050	Ignores Taunt. The healer watches everyone.
🌿 Guards! · Nature, summon with a task	Summons “Bodyguard” ×2. While it lives, it covers the boss: damage to the boss ×0.5.	Health 1,710 · hits 141	Health 640 · hits 54	Health 5,940 · hits 246	While at least one lives, damage to the king is halved. Kill them first.
⚡ Who Bids More? · Storm, crystal penalty	Every unspent crystal hits its owner (up to 5): the number is per crystal.	94 per crystal	36 per crystal	164 per crystal	Each unspent crystal counts as a bid and hits its owner. Spend everything.
⛰ Royal Swing · Earth, charge	A charge: in 1 turn it hits everyone, the number is for each. Shields hold half, ignores 50% of Hardiness.	917	234	1,066	One turn of warning. Half through shields at everyone.
⚔ Dropped a Tome · Physical, 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.
⚔ Sold! · Physical, opening: more damage to the boss	The boss is open: damage to it ×1.35 for 2 turns.	—	—	—	Counting the money: +35% damage for 1 party turn.
🩸 Not Giving Up the Throne · Blood, boss empower	The boss’s hits ×1.2 until the fight ends.	—	—	—	Stronger by 20% until the fight ends.

“Soft Throne” cold

The throne is soft but cold. He sits on three fur coats.

Heroic: 700 to each per enemy turn, before Hardiness.
Keystone +10: 580 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

“Royal Kick” — on boss turns 9 and 17, 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 “Royal Kick” test strike lands on the boss’s 9th and 17th 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.
“Ringed Fist” hits you. Keep Taunt on rhythm: while the boss hits the tank, the rest stay whole. The heaviest is “Ringed Fist” (“The Auction” 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

“Soft Throne” cold hits everyone through shields every enemy turn: heroic — 700, keystone +10 — 580 to each before Hardiness. Heal everyone every turn; healer cards do it best — they heal Health only.
“Royal Swing” hits everyone. Before that turn, get everyone above half Health; it goes half through shields: shields hold half, the rest hits Health.
“Second Fist” (a damage dealer or the healer) hits past the tank. Watch everyone, not just the tank.
“Not Giving Up the Throne”: the boss hits harder — keep crystals and heals in reserve for those turns.

Damage dealers

“Bodyguard” covers the boss: while it lives, damage to the boss ×0.5. Kill it first.
“Sold!”: the boss is open and takes more damage — save your strong cards for that turn.
“Dropped a Tome” hits your cards and crystals: do not hoard everything for one turn.
“Who Bids More?”: every unspent crystal hits its owner — spend everything before that turn.
Do not drag it out: heroic — enrage from turn 40.

The heaviest hits

“Royal Kick” — test strike, through shields.
“Ringed Fist” — on the tank; “The Auction” phase, cycle step 1.
“Second Fist” — on a damage dealer or the healer; “Not Giving Up the Throne” phase, cycle step 1.

Loot

All of the boss’s loot with rough drop chances is in the item atlas; rules and items by boss are on the The Dire Chamber (Northern Wing — Ogre Arena) page.

Previous boss — Blind Seer Cho'ruk, Keeper of Disguises.

All bosses of the place — The Dire Chamber (Northern Wing — Ogre Arena). Rules of a fight against a boss with a deck — How to beat: every boss.