Stone Keeper Archedus: how to beat

Stone Keeper Archedus — dungeon “Uldaman — Halls of the Creators”, level 49. The deck: phases, turn cycle, damage and healing by mode, cold, test strike,…

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Dungeon Uldaman — Halls of the Creators, final boss, level 49.

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, 40–49), Keystone +10 (Mythic+, at level 60).
2 phases, 7 cards in the deck. Schools: ⛰ Earth 6, ⚔ Physical 1.
“A Workshop Without Fire” cold: every enemy turn, everyone through shields — heroic 440, keystone +10 360 to each before Hardiness. No cold in normal mode.
“Stone Palm” test strike — on boss turns 7 and 16: heroic 7,000, keystone +10 8,000; 40% weaker with a defensive card on yourself.
The heaviest hit is “Stone Palm”: 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. “By the Blueprint” — from the start of the fight

Down to 25% Health.

Cycle step	What the boss plays
1	⛰ Stone Fist
2	⛰ Stone Fist + ⛰ Wakes the Apprentices
3	⛰ The Floor Shakes + ⛰ Slipped Out of Your Hands
4	⛰ Stone Fist
5	⚔ Wound Down

2. “The Spring Snapped” — below 25% Health

Below 25%: hits twice a turn.

On entering the phase the boss plays at once: ⛰ The Spring Snapped.

Cycle step	What the boss plays
1	⛰ Stone Fist + ⛰ Stone Fist
2	⛰ The Floor Shakes + ⛰ Slipped Out of Your Hands
3	⛰ Stone Fist + ⛰ Wakes the Apprentices
4	⚔ Wound Down

The “Stone Palm” test strike is not part of the cycle: the boss announces it on its turns 6 and 15 and hits on turns 7 and 16.

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
⛰ Stone Palm · Earth, 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 7th and 16th 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.
⛰ Stone Fist · Earth, hit	A hit on whoever holds the boss’s attention (usually the tank).	2,468	735	4,305	A plain hit.
⛰ Wakes the Apprentices · Earth, summon with a task	Summons “Stone Apprentice” ×2. While it lives, the boss hits 8% harder.	Health 1,200 · hits 165	Health 240 · hits 49	Health 2,720 · hits 287	Each one alive: his hits +8%. Fighters hit them first.
⛰ The Floor Shakes · Earth, charge	A charge: in 1 turn it hits everyone, the number is for each. Shields hold half, ignores 50% of Hardiness.	987	196	1,148	One turn of warning. Half through shields at everyone: raise Health.
⛰ Slipped Out of Your Hands · Earth, 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. Play important cards before the shaking.
⚔ Wound Down · Physical, opening: more damage to the boss	The boss is open: damage to it ×1.3 for 2 turns.	—	—	—	He stands there ticking: +30% damage to him for 1 party turn. Big cards here.
⛰ The Spring Snapped · Earth, boss empower	The boss’s hits ×1.15 until the fight ends.	—	—	—	Stronger by 15% until the fight ends.

“A Workshop Without Fire” cold

The forge here went out long ago. The stone cooled first.

Heroic: 440 to each per enemy turn, before Hardiness.
Keystone +10: 360 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

“Stone Palm” — on boss turns 7 and 16, 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 “Stone Palm” test strike lands on the boss’s 7th and 16th 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.
“Stone Fist” hits you. Keep Taunt on rhythm: while the boss hits the tank, the rest stay whole. The heaviest is “Stone Fist” (“By the Blueprint” 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

“A Workshop Without Fire” cold hits everyone through shields every enemy turn: heroic — 440, keystone +10 — 360 to each before Hardiness. Heal everyone every turn; healer cards do it best — they heal Health only.
“The Floor Shakes” hits everyone. Before that turn, get everyone above half Health; it goes half through shields: shields hold half, the rest hits Health.
“The Spring Snapped”: the boss hits harder — keep crystals and heals in reserve for those turns.

Damage dealers

“Stone Apprentice” empowers the boss — kill it first.
“Wound Down”: the boss is open and takes more damage — save your strong cards for that turn.
“Slipped Out of Your Hands” 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

“Stone Palm” — test strike, through shields.
“Stone Fist” — on the tank; “By the Blueprint” phase, cycle step 1.
“The Floor Shakes” — on everyone, half through shields, ignores 50% of Hardiness; “By the Blueprint” phase, cycle step 3.

Loot

All of the boss’s loot with rough drop chances is in the item atlas; rules and items by boss are on the Uldaman — Halls of the Creators page.

Previous boss — Revelosh the Excavator.

All bosses of the place — Uldaman — Halls of the Creators. Rules of a fight against a boss with a deck — How to beat: every boss.