Wiki Cancer Assassin Squads Cancer assassins
Assassin Squads A metastasized cancer sends squads of assassin cells after you wherever you are. Every organ's cancer sends its own kind, each with a twist, and every squad is bigger than the last until the tumor dies.
On this page 9 Assassin squads Squamous Stalker Lepidic Glider Circulating Blast Owl-Eye Mimic Signet-Ring Burrower Hepatoid Regenerator Lytic Stalker Glial Infiltrator A heartbeat warning, then a squad of nearly invisible cells that stalk you, mark a line and pounce.
Only after a metastasis, while any tumor in the organ is alive First squad about 35s after you arrive; then every 30s, 3s sooner per growth stage (never under 14s) Never in a boss room or while you're fighting in a tumor room Warning: THEY'RE COMING, and a red heartbeat pulses three times at the screen edgesThe squad arrives 2.6s later at the room entrance farthest from you (CANCER ASSASSINS xN) Squad size: 3 at first, +1 with every squad, +1 for every two growth stagesNearly invisible at range; fully visible up close or when striking When close, it coils (0.42s), marks a red line and pounces down it The bite hits hard and leaves you MARKED: you take 35% more damage for 5s Much tougher and faster than an ordinary clone cell, and tougher with every stage Oncolytic bonuses hurt assassins too From the Codex Cancer growing in the host while you're there, and what happens if you leave it.
Fun fact: Kill tumors early: they only get worse, and they follow you if you don't.
Tumors & Metastasis in the Codex A dart of layered keratin scales: the Nasal Passage cancer's assassin. It stalks nearly invisible, marks a line and pounces.
The standard assassin: cloak, marked line, pounceIts bite marks you to take more damage Nasal Passage: organ 1
From the Codex Nasopharyngeal carcinoma grows from squamous cells, flat scale-like cells that line the throat behind the nose. Its cells can break off and travel through lymph.
Fun fact: It's far more common in southern China and Southeast Asia, partly because of the Epstein-Barr virus.
Squamous Stalker in the Codex A lacy cell gliding on thin membrane wings. Its pounce glides further than the others, down a longer marked line.
Marked line about 25% longer than other assassins' Its pounce lasts longer, so backing away doesn't save you: step sideways Lungs: organ 2
From the Codex Lung adenocarcinoma can spread 'lepidically', creeping along the walls of the air sacs like butterflies on a fence.
Fun fact: Tumor cells can even spread through the airways themselves, riding air into new parts of the lung.
Lepidic Glider in the Codex A blast cell bristling with needle-like Auer rods. The fastest assassin of all.
Moves faster than any other assassin Its bite marks you to take more damage Bloodstream: organ 3
From the Codex In acute myeloid leukemia, blasts can carry Auer rods: needle-shaped crystals of enzymes that are a telltale sign under the microscope.
Fun fact: Auer rods are named after John Auer, who described them in 1906.
Circulating Blast in the Codex Instead of cloaking it looks like an ordinary lymphocyte, until it gets close and shows its owl-eyed twin nuclei and pounces.
Never cloaked; it wears a harmless blue lymphocyte's face at range Shows its true face up close or when it strikes Lymph Node: organ 4
From the Codex Hodgkin lymphoma is defined by Reed-Sternberg cells: huge cells with two mirror-image nuclei that look like owl eyes, hiding among many normal immune cells.
Fun fact: In a Hodgkin lymphoma tumor, the cancer cells are often less than 1% of the mass; the rest are normal cells they've recruited.
Owl-Eye Mimic in the Codex A cell whose nucleus is squashed to the rim by mucus. Almost completely invisible at range, though a little slower than the others.
Far harder to see at range than any other assassin The slowest assassin; watch for its marked line Gut: organ 5
From the Codex Signet-ring cells are cancer cells so full of mucus that the nucleus is squashed to one side, like a ring's signet. They spread by slipping silently through tissue.
Fun fact: Signet-ring carcinomas often spread before they cause any symptoms at all.
Signet-Ring Burrower in the Codex A hexagonal cell threaded with green bile. Leave it alone for a moment and it heals itself.
Starts healing 1.5s after you stop hitting it, at 5% of its health per second Once you start hitting it, don't stop Liver: organ 6
From the Codex Liver cancer cells keep the hepatocyte's knack for dividing back after damage, and still make bile, sometimes in tiny green threads.
Fun fact: A healthy liver regrows to full size within weeks of losing most of itself.
Hepatoid Regenerator in the Codex A jagged bone shard. Where its pounce lands it punches a small bone lesion that hurts to stand in.
Every pounce leaves a lesion for 3s Dodge the pounce, then step off the hole Bone Marrow: organ 7
From the Codex Myeloma cells signal osteoclasts, the bone-eating cells, to dissolve bone around them, leaving lytic lesions.
Fun fact: Bone pain, often in the back or ribs, is the most common first sign of multiple myeloma.
Lytic Stalker in the Codex A narrow cell trailing long, wavy processes. After its pounce it re-aims and pounces a second time, straight away.
The second pounce comes after a short 0.3s wind-up down a new marked line Save your dash for the second pounce Brain: organ 8
From the Codex Glioma cells squeeze through tiny gaps between brain cells, changing shape to crawl along nerve fibres far from the main tumor.
Fun fact: Glioma cells can shrink their volume by a third to slip through the brain's narrow spaces.
Glial Infiltrator in the Codex 
