Sealed Throne Rework: Why the Upgrade Now Costs 1 Less Energy
In v0.106.0 Sealed Throne's upgrade switched from granting Innate to lowering its Energy cost by 1. That single change rewrites how the card slots into Regent decks.
Innate vs −1 Energy: what actually changed
Old upgraded Sealed Throne: gained Innate, meaning it started in your opening hand at the first turn of every combat. The value was front-loaded — you got the effect on turn 1 reliably, but only on turn 1, and the card still cost full Energy after that.
New upgraded Sealed Throne: drops Energy cost by 1 every time you play it. The value is now distributed — no guaranteed turn-1 access, but the card is permanently cheaper, which makes it cleaner to fit into multi-card turns later in the fight.
- Old upgrade: Innate — guaranteed turn 1, no cost change.
- New upgrade: −1 Energy cost — cheaper every play, no Innate.
- Same base card otherwise.
Build implications for Regent
If your Regent plan relied on a turn-1 Sealed Throne, that plan is gone. You can no longer assume the card opens every fight, so opening setups need to be valid without it. Conversely, the new version is much stronger in long fights and any deck that plays through multiple Throne replays.
This pairs well with the same patch's Furnace buff (Forge 4(6) → 5(7)). A discounted, recurring Throne pulled through Forge sequences becomes a real engine — you stop paying full freight on the card after the first play, and Forge keeps feeding it back. Treat upgraded Sealed Throne as a mid-to-late game engine, not an Act 1 tempo guarantee.
- No longer a turn-1 guarantee — plan opening without it.
- Stronger in long fights and Forge-heavy decks.
- Pairs with the Furnace buff (Forge 4(6) → 5(7)).
- Treat upgrade as a mid-late game engine, not opening tempo.
When to upgrade Sealed Throne now
Pre-patch, you wanted Sealed Throne upgraded as early as possible to lock in the turn-1 Innate effect across the rest of the run. Post-patch, that urgency is gone — the upgrade no longer guarantees an opening play.
Upgrade priority should now sit behind cards that grow with repetition (your Forge targets, expensive scaling cards) and slightly above static neutral upgrades. If a campfire choice is "Throne vs a card you only play once per fight," upgrade the Throne. If it is "Throne vs a Forge-fed payoff card," favor the payoff.
- No longer a top-priority early upgrade.
- Upgrade after Forge targets and expensive scaling cards.
- Still beats static neutral upgrades.