Gremlin Nob

Gremlin Nob
HP	82-86 85-90 (Ascension 8+)
In Party With	Act 1- None Act 2- Taskmaster (The Colosseum event)
Debut Act	1 + 2
Powers	None

The Gremlin Nob is an Elite enemy found primarily on the first act of the Spire. However, one also appears in act 2's Colosseum Event alongside a Taskmaster, provided the player opts to fight. The enemy may seem to have low damage values for an elite, but the Anger buff it grants itself combined with the Skull Bash's applied Vulnerable make for a tough fight for most decks.

Enrage X: Whenever you play a Skill, gains X Strength.

Pattern

Always starts with Bellow. Afterwards, has a 33% chance of using Skull Bash and a 67% chance of using Rush. Cannot use Rush 3 times in a row.

At Ascension 18+, uses Skull Bash on the 2nd turn and uses Rush twice afterwards. Repeats this pattern for the entire fight.

Name	Intent	Effect	Asc 3+	Asc 18+
Bellow		Gains Enrage 2.	Gains Enrage 2.	Gains Enrage 3.
Rush		Deal 14 damage.	Deal 16 damage.	Deal 16 damage.
Skull Bash		Deal 6 damage and apply 2 Vulnerable.	Deal 8 damage and apply 2 Vulnerable.	Deal 8 damage and apply 2 Vulnerable.

Tips

• With the exception of the first turn, where it has yet to apply Enrage, playing Skills will make the Gremlin Nob much more threatening. Since most Block-granting cards are also Skills, it can be worth more to not play them and take the damage instead. Before using a Skill to mitigate damage, consider how much longer the fight might take.
  • With the Ironclad's Basic deck, the fight is about being as aggressive as possible until the very end. Use Bash to apply Vulnerable as much as possible, and play every you're dealt. When you feel the Nob will only have one turn left to live, it can be beneficial to play a versus a Skull Bash. Burning Blood will absorb some of the impact of the fight at the end.
  • With the Silent's Basic deck, the fight becomes more painful. The objective, however, does not change. Neutralize Helps to mitigate some of the damage. Taking 4 or 10 damage should be much more manageable. Otherwise, lay in with Strikes whenever possible.
  • With the Defect's Basic deck the fight plays out similar to the Silent. Despite the strength gain it may be worth it to cast Zap early in the fight (especially if you traded away your starting relic) and Dualcast late in the fight. Dualcast often lets you finish him off a whole turn earlier, making the strength gain irrelevant.
  • If your deck has Powers, they may be played without fear. The Nob only punishes Skills.
  • Potions do not trigger Enrage, and can be very useful to block.
• If the player is fighting the Gremlin Nob in the Colosseum event, it is probably better to kill the Gremlin Nob before the Taskmaster; the Gremlin Nob will continue to gain Strength when you play Skills.

Trivia

• The Gremlin Nob is a reference to the Ork Nob from Warhammer 40k.
• According to the flavor text of the Gremlin Horn relic, Gremlin Nobs maintain consistent growth from birth to death.
• Two of these used to show up in the Colosseum Event. On January 17, 2019 the event was changed to be a Gremlin Nob and a Taskmaster instead of two Gremlin Nobs.

Update History

• Slay the Spire 1.0: Farewell Early Access
  • Colossuem Nob fight ordering swapped so that the Nob can apply Vulnerable.
• Weekly Patch 56: The Collector
  • Colosseum event's second fight is now a Gremlin Nob + Taskmaster (rather than 2 Gremlin Nobs)
• Weekly Patch 41
  • Colosseum Nobs no longer play double music.
  • Killing a Colosseum Nob no longer causes the music to stop.
• Day 1 Patch
  • Gremlin Nob gets a minor nerf.