Recycler — Mechanics and Synergies

Recycler is the Progress support building introduced in Patch 29. Each card thrown into the pit gives its neighbouring plots damage and HP growth, with the documented effect scaling by Recycler level. Its purpose is to turn selected discards into improvements on a deliberately chosen group of plots.

What triggers the buff

The trigger is any card being discarded into the pit. Upgrading a neighbouring plot or simply holding a card does not replace that action. At the ordinary first level, the announced effect is +2% damage and HP; each building level contributes an additional application. The actual tooltip can include modifiers, so use the displayed effect rather than treating every run as an unmodified example.

Recycler replaced the old Progress Precision slot. Patch 30 later brought Precision back as a Rainbow enchantment with a first-hit damage effect. These are different cards, different types and different acquisition contexts. A guide using the old Precision critical-hit premise is not describing Recycler.

Place recipients before spending cards

Leave a position for Recycler beside the plots that should grow. It provides a local benefit, while Oblation provides units across the kingdom when discarded. A recipient outside Recycler's adjacency does not receive the building's local payoff just because it benefits from Oblation.

For a simple planning example, put a durable combat plot beside Recycler and preserve space for the next essential support. When a surplus card appears, check the recipient's displayed damage and HP, discard the card, and compare the new values. This verifies the relationship on your actual run without assuming an untested growth curve or hidden rounding rule.

When the pit package is worth using

The package is more useful when you can afford to discard cards without losing the next battle's necessary upgrade. It competes for a plot with other support buildings, and the discard also competes with playing the card. Evaluate both costs. A early hand full of essential troop upgrades may provide fewer safe triggers than an established kingdom receiving redundant options.

Patch 30 added Trashy, a Progress perk that supplies a Trash card when a Recycler is destroyed. This can add pit material to a destruction plan, but destroying the Recycler also removes the building that receives future discard triggers. Do not count both a removed Recycler and a live Recycler at the same location.

Troubleshooting

If a supposed recipient does not improve, confirm it is adjacent to the active Recycler, that the card went into the pit, and that you are reading the current plot tooltip. A picture of a finished layout cannot prove the trigger happened. Nor does a table of base stats establish the effect of current modifiers.

Version and verification

The Patch 29 announcement defines the building; Patch 30 documents Trashy. This reference was checked through Patch 31 / 0.9.8 and keeps unverified base combat values empty. Compare placement rules in the card database.