Kam Sunderstrike: how to beat

Kam Sunderstrike — dungeon “Lion's Stronghold Dungeons”, level 23. 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 Lion's Stronghold Dungeons, boss 2 of 6, level 23.

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, 22–28), Keystone +10 (Mythic+, at level 60).
  • 2 phases, 5 cards in the deck. Schools: ⛰ Earth 3, 🩸 Blood 1, ⚔ Physical 1.
  • “Draught from the Tunnel” cold: every enemy turn, everyone through shields — heroic 740, keystone +10 620 to each before Hardiness. No cold in normal mode.
  • “Don't Get in My Way” 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 “Don't Get in My Way”: 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. “Digging” — from the start of the fight

Down to 40%: caves in every 4 turns.

Cycle stepWhat the boss plays
1⚔ Spoon
2⚔ Spoon + ⛰ Sand in the Eyes
3⚔ Spoon
4⛰ The Tunnel Caved In

2. “Almost Through” — below 40% Health

Below 40%: angrier, caves in more often.

On entering the phase the boss plays at once: 🩸 Almost Through.

Cycle stepWhat the boss plays
1⚔ Spoon + ⛰ Sand in the Eyes
2⚔ Spoon
3⛰ The Tunnel Caved In

The “Don't Get in My Way” 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.

CardWhat it doesHeroicNormalKeystone +10How to answer
⛰ Don't Get in My Way · Earth, test strikeA 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 4,800Test strike, one turn of warning. The tank plays a defensive card, the healer tops him up in advance.
⚔ Spoon · Physical, hitA hit on whoever holds the boss’s attention (usually the tank).2,3504004,100A plain hit.
⛰ Sand in the Eyes · Earth, card freezeFreezes 1 card(s) in the hand of a damage dealer or the healer (past the tank) for a turn.———One of the target's cards is locked for a turn.
⛰ The Tunnel Caved In · Earth, hit on everyoneA hit on everyone: the number is for each. After it the boss is open: damage to it ×1.35 for 2 turns. Shields hold half.8811001,025At everyone half through shields, and right after it he is open: +35% damage for 1 party turn. Heal or hit, your call.
🩸 Almost Through · Blood, boss empowerThe boss’s hits ×1.15 until the fight ends.———Stronger by 15% until the fight ends.

“Draught from the Tunnel” cold

He has been digging for thirty years. He no longer remembers where to, but it blows from there.

  • Heroic: 740 to each per enemy turn, before Hardiness.
  • Keystone +10: 620 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

  • “Don't Get in My Way” — 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 “Don't Get in My Way” 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.
  • “Spoon” hits you. Keep Taunt on rhythm: while the boss hits the tank, the rest stay whole. The heaviest is “Spoon” (“Digging” 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

  • “Draught from the Tunnel” cold hits everyone through shields every enemy turn: heroic — 740, keystone +10 — 620 to each before Hardiness. Heal everyone every turn; healer cards do it best — they heal Health only.
  • “The Tunnel Caved In” hits everyone. Before that turn, get everyone above half Health; it goes half through shields: shields hold half, the rest hits Health.
  • “Almost Through”: the boss hits harder — keep crystals and heals in reserve for those turns.

Damage dealers

  • “The Tunnel Caved In”: the boss is open and takes more damage — save your strong cards for that turn.
  • “Sand in the Eyes” 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

  • “Don't Get in My Way” — test strike, through shields.
  • “Spoon” — on the tank; “Digging” phase, cycle step 1.
  • “The Tunnel Caved In” — on everyone, half through shields; “Digging” phase, cycle step 4.

Loot

All of the boss’s loot with rough drop chances is in the item atlas; rules and items by boss are on the Lion's Stronghold Dungeons page.

Previous boss — Targorr the Terrible. Next boss — Hamhock Bloodletter.

All bosses of the place — Lion's Stronghold Dungeons. Rules of a fight against a boss with a deck — How to beat: every boss.

Read next