| “ | Gather the coarse, waxy hairs from adult males. The more the better. Soak them in an open basket with water and finch weed. They will swell and yellow until a jelly forms that must be collected with the shell of a hess beetle. | ” |
–Esra | ||
Update History[]
- 2014-08-13: Now restocks a Herd of Rats, but no longer gives +1 resource
- 2014-07-02: The new War Rat is placed directly into play
- 2014-06-26: All of the Daramek Herd cards have been revised
- Card available at release
Rat Ointment serves as a wincon for degenerately fast and cheap Daramek decks. A fully upgraded Ointment will stock a free Herd of Rats and sac one on the field to create a new War Rat for a net two allies increase, allowing you to flood the field with bodies in short order. The main drawback is that none of the Rats activate on play and are fragile, which means they need protection, a clear field, or enough recursion to weather the opponent's response in order to start working. Because Rats tend to flood the user's hand shortly after you go into production, it's important to secure one of these, or at least an alternate line of resources, before you start playing the Ointment.
As both the Herd and the War Rats are fragile, they appreciate shielding from Goat Outriders, or a clear field granted by Bloodlust. Carnage can also trigger them early at the expense of sacrificing them all, which leads the player to vast forms of recursion, usually Rat Catcher and Feast / Repopulation. The inherent sacrifice of Ointment and the rituals needed to keep the Rats in play also lends itself heavily to Sacrificial Idols, useful to make sure you have an income even when you draw nothing but Rats.
Because of their numbers, Rats usually flood the hand quickly, making expensive bank options a pipe dream. They also don't trigger Overseer, and Herd will trigger Shepherd but not War Rat, leaving you in an uncomfortable position when filling out the bank. Static idols like Sacrifice and Rebirth, along with recursion tools, are your best option.