Dealmaker

Dealmaker
Treasure Rooms?
Yes
Devil/Angel Deals?
Yes
Unlock
Coin Case
Debut
Wave 5

Dealmaker is a challenge added into Wave 5 of the Epiphany mod. The player character is Tarnished Keeper, who starts with a passive Stock Fluctuation effect and must defeat ???. Completing the challenge unlocks Coin Case.

Difficulty

Tarnished Keeper is constantly under a passive Stock Fluctuation effect, causing the cost of all shop items to be randomized and rapidly rise up and down; this also applies to the cost of creating shops with Turnover as well. Failing to purchase either with enough coins will completely remove them or, in the case of Turnover, permanently make it impossible to create shops in the room. This means that Tarnished Keeper must be both precise and lucky with creating shops and purchasing items, as the only way he can obtain them is via purchasing them.

Strategy

Because Stock Fluctuation prices change so quickly, it can be nearly impossible to guarantee how much money you spend in a purchase. However, thanks to Tarnished Keeper having numerous ways to obtain money, it can be quite easy to lower the odds of losing items when attempting to purchase them by gathering enough money. Generally speaking, having at least 30 coins is a safe bet for buying items as they can never go over twice their original price, which, since the majority of items are sold for 15 coins, is 30. In terms of using Turnover, it is a bit more tricky due to rooms having varying prices to opening and upgrading shops. Turnover prices will randomize with the same rules as Stock Fluctuation, never going over double their original price, so for the most part, the strategy with purchasing items applies to creating shops as well.

Notably, Devil and Angel Deal prices are not affected by the randomized shop prices, always being 15 coins for one heart deals and 30 coins for two heart deals. As such, they are a reliable source of items for the player that they can use without the risk of losing items.

Buying items with disregard for their price is, in theory, a viable strategy. Because prices fluctuate from ×2 to free, buying at random means you'll spend the same amount of money as in a normal Tarnished Keeper run.

Trivia

• Like Stock Fluctuation, Dealmaker is named and themed after Spamton G. Spamton, a popular character from the videogame Deltarune, chapter 2.
  • In the game, Spamton runs a shop in which all items sold have constantly shifting prices, in which the player must time their purchase correctly in order to get the best deal possible, just like how Stock Fluctuation and, in turn, the Dealmaker challenge works.
  • The challenge is named after the Dealmakers, a defensive item unlocked after sparing Spamton NEO after fighting him.
    • Notably, Stock Fluctuation was originally called 'Dealmaker' and is still referred to that in some internal files.