Mr. Hammer: how to beat

Mr. Hammer — dungeon “The Deadmines”, level 22. The deck: phases, turn cycle, damage and healing by mode, cold, test strike, role tips.

ReferenceBuilt from the game’s data

Loot referenceItem atlasWhat drops whereOpen the atlas

Dungeon The Deadmines, boss 3 of 5, level 22.

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, 17–26), Keystone +10 (Mythic+, at level 60).
3 phases, 6 cards in the deck. Schools: ⚔ Physical 5, ⛰ Earth 1.
“Draught from the Drift” cold: every enemy turn, everyone through shields — heroic 760, keystone +10 640 to each before Hardiness. No cold in normal mode.
“Move It” 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 “Move It”: 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. “Pickaxe” — from the start of the fight

Down to 66%: the pickaxe.

Cycle step	What the boss plays
1	⚔ Pickaxe
2	⚔ Pickaxe
3	⚔ Pickaxe + ⛰ Clouds of Dust

2. “Shovel” — below 66% Health

From 66% to 33%: fetched a shovel, hits past the defender.

On entering the phase the boss plays at once: ⚔ Went for a Tool.

Cycle step	What the boss plays
1	⚔ Flat of the Shovel
2	⚔ Pickaxe
3	⚔ Flat of the Shovel + ⛰ Clouds of Dust

3. “Crowbar” — below 33% Health

Below 33%: fetched a crowbar, big swings.

On entering the phase the boss plays at once: ⚔ Went for a Tool.

Cycle step	What the boss plays
1	⚔ Pickaxe
2	⚔ Crowbar
3	⚔ Pickaxe

The “Move It” 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
⚔ Move It · 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.
⚔ Pickaxe · Physical, hit	A hit on whoever holds the boss’s attention (usually the tank).	2,350	300	4,100	A plain hit.
⚔ Flat of the Shovel · Physical, hit	A hit past the tank: on a damage dealer or the healer.	1,293	165	2,255	Ignores Taunt. The healer watches everyone.
⚔ Crowbar · Physical, charge	A charge: in 1 turn, a hit on whoever holds the boss’s attention (usually the tank).	3,760	480	6,560	One turn of warning. A defensive card now.
⛰ Clouds of Dust · Earth, hit on everyone	A hit on everyone: the number is for each. Shields hold half.	282	24	328	Small hits on everyone half through shields.
⚔ Went for a Tool · Physical, opening: more damage to the boss	The boss is open: damage to it ×1.4 for 2 turns.	—	—	—	He turned his back: +40% damage for 1 party turn.

“Draught from the Drift” cold

The props were put up with debtors' money. Hence the gaps.

Heroic: 760 to each per enemy turn, before Hardiness.
Keystone +10: 640 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

“Move It” — 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 “Move It” 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.
“Crowbar” and “Pickaxe” hit you. Keep Taunt on rhythm: while the boss hits the tank, the rest stay whole. The heaviest is “Crowbar” (“Crowbar” phase, cycle step 2).
“Crowbar”: a charge on you, with a countdown on the boss portrait. Meet it with a defensive card and full Health.
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

“Draught from the Drift” cold hits everyone through shields every enemy turn: heroic — 760, keystone +10 — 640 to each before Hardiness. Heal everyone every turn; healer cards do it best — they heal Health only.
“Clouds of Dust” hits everyone. Before that turn, get everyone above half Health; it goes half through shields: shields hold half, the rest hits Health.
“Flat of the Shovel” (a damage dealer or the healer) hits past the tank. Watch everyone, not just the tank.

Damage dealers

“Went for a Tool”: the boss is open and takes more damage — save your strong cards for that turn.
Do not drag it out: heroic — enrage from turn 40.

The heaviest hits

“Move It” — test strike, through shields.
“Crowbar” — on the tank; “Crowbar” phase, cycle step 2.
“Pickaxe” — on the tank; “Pickaxe” 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 Deadmines page.

Previous boss — Gilnid the Smelter. Next boss — Captain Rotsail.

All bosses of the place — The Deadmines. Rules of a fight against a boss with a deck — How to beat: every boss.