Vix Rattlespine, Menagerie Master: how to beat

Vix Rattlespine, Menagerie Master — dungeon “Gearnid - The Flooded Gnomegrad”, level 31. The deck: phases, turn cycle, damage and healing by mode, cold,…

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Dungeon Gearnid - The Flooded Gnomegrad, boss 2 of 5, level 31.

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, 29–38), Keystone +10 (Mythic+, at level 60).
2 phases, 6 cards in the deck. Schools: ⚔ Physical 4, 🩸 Blood 1, 🔥 Fire 1.
“Toys on the Windowsill” cold: every enemy turn, everyone through shields — heroic 620, keystone +10 520 to each before Hardiness. No cold in normal mode.
“Want to Play?” 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 “Want to Play?”: 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 Workshop” — from the start of the fight

Down to 40%: mice every 4 turns.

Cycle step	What the boss plays
1	⚔ Little Hammer
2	⚔ Little Hammer + ⚔ Clockwork Mice
3	⚔ Little Hammer
4	⚔ Fixing a Toy

2. “New Toys” — below 40% Health

Below 40%: angrier, mice every 3 turns.

On entering the phase the boss plays at once: 🩸 New Toys, ⚔ Clockwork Mice.

Cycle step	What the boss plays
1	⚔ Little Hammer
2	⚔ Little Hammer + ⚔ Clockwork Mice
3	⚔ Fixing a Toy

The “Want to Play?” 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
⚔ Want to Play? · 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.
⚔ Little Hammer · Physical, hit	A hit on whoever holds the boss’s attention (usually the tank).	2,350	350	4,100	A plain hit.
⚔ Clockwork Mice · Physical, summon with a task	Summons “Clockwork Mouse” ×2. If it survives 2 turns it explodes: “They Got Through”.	Health 1,400	Health 100	Health 3,680	Two mice. Smash them within 2 turns, or they reach you and hit everyone.
🔥 They Got Through · Fire, hit on everyone	A hit on everyone: the number is for each. Shields hold half.	529	53	615	If a mouse was not smashed. Half through shields.
⚔ Fixing a Toy · Physical, opening: more damage to the boss	The boss is open: damage to it ×1.3 for 2 turns.	—	—	—	Busy with a screwdriver: +30% damage for 1 party turn.
🩸 New Toys · Blood, boss empower	The boss’s hits ×1.15 until the fight ends.	—	—	—	Stronger by 15% until the fight ends.

“Toys on the Windowsill” cold

He puts them on the windowsill so they can be seen from the street. Nobody looks from the street.

Heroic: 620 to each per enemy turn, before Hardiness.
Keystone +10: 520 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

“Want to Play?” — 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 “Want to Play?” 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.
“Little Hammer” hits you. Keep Taunt on rhythm: while the boss hits the tank, the rest stay whole. The heaviest is “Little Hammer” (“The Workshop” 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

“Toys on the Windowsill” cold hits everyone through shields every enemy turn: heroic — 620, keystone +10 — 520 to each before Hardiness. Heal everyone every turn; healer cards do it best — they heal Health only.
“They Got Through” hits everyone. Before that turn, get everyone above half Health; it goes half through shields: shields hold half, the rest hits Health.
“New Toys”: the boss hits harder — keep crystals and heals in reserve for those turns.

Damage dealers

“Clockwork Mouse” explodes if it survives 2 turns — kill it before then.
“Fixing a Toy”: 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

“Want to Play?” — test strike, through shields.
“Little Hammer” — on the tank; “The Workshop” phase, cycle step 1.
“They Got Through” — on everyone, half through shields.

Loot

All of the boss’s loot with rough drop chances is in the item atlas; rules and items by boss are on the Gearnid - The Flooded Gnomegrad page.

Previous boss — Grimegear, Senior Overseer. Next boss — Electron-Drill XR-9, Rogue Automaton.

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