Pen Nib

Pen Nib

Uncommon
Every 10th Attack you play deals double damage.
  • At 9 Attacks: the next Attack you play deals double damage, then the counter rolls back to 0.
  • Cards, not hits: every hit of the doubled card is doubled, so a multi-hit Attack gets the full benefit.
  • You or Osty: the doubling applies to powered attack damage dealt by you or by Osty, so Osty Attacks qualify.
  • Carries over: the counter is stored with your save and is not reset between combats.
  • Uncommon, 225 Gold.
Rarity
Uncommon
Character
All characters
Shop price
225 gold

When to take Pen Nib

Take it in decks with lots of cheap Attacks or Shivs plus one big finisher, played on the tenth Attack. It is much weaker with only a few 2-cost Attacks.

Cards that synergize with Pen Nib

Bludgeon
Attack
3
Deal 32 damage.
Finishers to double: Bludgeon, Bury, Whirlwind, Skewer, Heavenly Drill, Seven Stars, Squeeze.Deal 32 damage.
Bury
Attack
4
Deal 52 damage.
Finishers to double: Bludgeon, Bury, Whirlwind, Skewer, Heavenly Drill, Seven Stars, Squeeze.Deal 52 damage.
Whirlwind
Attack
X
Deal 5 damage to ALL enemies X times.
Finishers to double: Bludgeon, Bury, Whirlwind, Skewer, Heavenly Drill, Seven Stars, Squeeze.Deal 5 damage to ALL enemies X times.
Skewer
Attack
X
Deal 8 damage X times.
Finishers to double: Bludgeon, Bury, Whirlwind, Skewer, Heavenly Drill, Seven Stars, Squeeze.Deal 8 damage X times.
Heavenly Drill
Attack
X
Deal 8 damage X times.
Double X if it's 4 or more.
Finishers to double: Bludgeon, Bury, Whirlwind, Skewer, Heavenly Drill, Seven Stars, Squeeze.Deal 8 damage X times.
Double X if it's 4 or more.
Seven Stars
Attack
2
7
Deal 7 damage to ALL enemies 7 times.
Finishers to double: Bludgeon, Bury, Whirlwind, Skewer, Heavenly Drill, Seven Stars, Squeeze.Deal 7 damage to ALL enemies 7 times.
Squeeze
Attack
3
Osty deals 25 damage.
Deals 5 additional damage for ALL your other Osty Attacks.
Finishers to double: Bludgeon, Bury, Whirlwind, Skewer, Heavenly Drill, Seven Stars, Squeeze.Osty deals 25 damage.
Deals 5 additional damage for ALL your other Osty Attacks.
Blade Dance
Skill
1
Add 3 Shivs into your Hand.
Exhaust.
Ninja Scroll and Blade Dance wind the counter three at a time, and Nunchaku fires on the same tenth Attack.Add 3 Shivs into your Hand.
Exhaust.
Blade of Ink
Skill
1
Add 2 Inky Shivs into your Hand.
Blade of Ink gives you cheap Attacks to play, which Pen Nib countsAdd 2 Inky Shivs into your Hand.
Calamity
Power
3
Whenever you play an Attack, add a random Attack into your Hand.
Calamity gives you cheap Attacks to play, which Pen Nib countsWhenever you play an Attack, add a random Attack into your Hand.
Cloak and Dagger
Skill
1
Gain 6 Block.
Add 1 Shiv into your Hand.
Cloak and Dagger gives you cheap Attacks to play, which Pen Nib countsGain 6 Block.
Add 1 Shiv into your Hand.
Fan of Knives
Power
2
Shivs now hit ALL enemies.
Add 4 Shivs into your Hand.
Fan of Knives gives you cheap Attacks to play, which Pen Nib countsShivs now hit ALL enemies.
Add 4 Shivs into your Hand.
Hidden Daggers
Skill
0
Discard 2 cards.
Add 2 Shivs into your Hand.
Hidden Daggers gives you cheap Attacks to play, which Pen Nib countsDiscard 2 cards.
Add 2 Shivs into your Hand.
Infernal Blade
Skill
1
Add a random Attack into your Hand. It's free to play this turn.
Exhaust.
Infernal Blade gives you cheap Attacks to play, which Pen Nib countsAdd a random Attack into your Hand. It's free to play this turn.
Exhaust.
Infinite Blades
Power
1
At the start of your turn, add 1 Shiv into your Hand.
Infinite Blades gives you cheap Attacks to play, which Pen Nib countsAt the start of your turn, add 1 Shiv into your Hand.
Leading Strike
Attack
1
Deal 3 damage.
Add 2 Shivs into your Hand.
Leading Strike gives you cheap Attacks to play, which Pen Nib countsDeal 3 damage.
Add 2 Shivs into your Hand.
Storm of Steel
Skill
1
Discard your Hand.
Add 1 Shiv into your Hand for each card discarded.
Storm of Steel gives you cheap Attacks to play, which Pen Nib countsDiscard your Hand.
Add 1 Shiv into your Hand for each card discarded.
Up My Sleeve
Skill
2
Add 3 Shivs into your Hand.
Reduce this card's cost by 1.
Up My Sleeve gives you cheap Attacks to play, which Pen Nib countsAdd 3 Shivs into your Hand.
Reduce this card's cost by 1.
Beat Down
Skill
3
Play 3 random Attacks from your Discard Pile.
Beat Down gives you cheap Attacks to play, which Pen Nib countsPlay 3 random Attacks from your Discard Pile.
Blade Symphony
Skill
2
Add 2 Shivs to ALL players' Hands.
Blade Symphony gives you cheap Attacks to play, which Pen Nib countsAdd 2 Shivs to ALL players' Hands.
Anger
Attack
0
Deal 6 damage.
Add a copy of this card into your Discard Pile.
Anger is a free Attack, which feeds Pen NibDeal 6 damage.
Add a copy of this card into your Discard Pile.
Assassinate
Attack
0
Innate.
Deal 10 damage.
Apply 1 Vulnerable.
Exhaust.
Assassinate is a free Attack, which feeds Pen NibInnate.
Deal 10 damage.
Apply 1 Vulnerable.
Exhaust.
Astral Pulse
Attack
0
3
Deal 6 damage to ALL enemies twice.
Astral Pulse is a free Attack, which feeds Pen NibDeal 6 damage to ALL enemies twice.
Backstab
Attack
0
Innate.
Deal 11 damage.
Exhaust.
Backstab is a free Attack, which feeds Pen NibInnate.
Deal 11 damage.
Exhaust.

Relics that synergize with Pen Nib

Ninja Scroll
Ninja Scroll and Blade Dance wind the counter three at a time, and Nunchaku fires on the same tenth Attack.At the start of each combat, add 3 Shivs into your Hand.
Nunchaku
Ninja Scroll and Blade Dance wind the counter three at a time, and Nunchaku fires on the same tenth Attack.Every time you play 10 Attacks, gain .
Crossbow
Crossbow gives you cheap Attacks to play, which Pen Nib countsAt the start of your turn, add a random Attack into your Hand. It's free to play this turn.
✦

Related relics

KusarigamaNunchakuOrnamental FanDaughter of the WindKunaiRainbow RingRazor ToothShurikenMusic BoxLetter Opener

Changes by version

  1. 11 Dec 2025RarityBook of Five RingsInternal playtest
    Swapped rarity on Pen Nib and Book of Five Rings relics
  2. 23 Oct 2025Bug fixInternal playtest
    Fixed an issue where, if you had Pen Nib relic and your 10th attack autoplayed another attack, both attacks' damage would be doubled
  3. 17 Jul 2025Bug fixStrengthExhaustInternal playtest
    Buffs to card values from effects like Strength power or Pen Nib relic are no longer previewed on cards that are in the player's deck, in a shop, or anywhere outside the player's hand or Draw/Discard/Exhaust piles
All 12 patch notes9 older
  1. 3 Jul 2025Bug fixInternal playtest
    Wax Pen Nib relic no longer flashes if it is melted
  2. 5 Dec 2024Bug fixInternal playtest
    Toothpick relic now applies after all other damage modifiers (except Pen Nib)
  3. 14 Nov 2024Bug fixInternal playtest
    Oracle Bone relic now interacts correctly with Pen Nib relic
  4. 14 Jun 2024Bug fixInternal playtest
    Pen Nib now always applies after all other damage modifications
  5. 7 Jun 2024Bug fixInternal playtest
    Pen Nib relic no longer has block hovertip
  6. 4 May 2024Bug fixInternal playtest
    Ink Bottle and Pen Nib now increment correctly when the last card ends combat
  7. 26 Apr 2024Bug fixOstyInternal playtest
    Pen nib now correctly doubles Osty's damage
  8. 15 Sep 2023Bug fixOstyInternal playtest
    Osty now properly benefits from Pen Nib
  9. 30 Jun 2023Bug fixInternal playtest
    Pen Nib no longer affects card choice previews

Internal playtest notes are from before the Early Access release. Names and numbers in them can differ from the game today.

Purchase today
If you haven't bought Slay The Spire 2 yet, it's time. Support the devs, they made an amazing game.Get it on Steam